Hawaiian Bay Games

Got three new songs that I've been listening to a lot.

#3 Metronomy - "The Bay"

Welcome to my first top three songs list for this year. Since we just started 2012, these songs are obviously ones that came out last year. I love finding stuff that I might have missed from previous years, but it's also frustrating because I never got to consider them for my favorite albums list. The first song I'd like to talk about is Metronomy's "The Bay." It comes from their third studio album, The English Riviera, which NME placed at number two on its list of the Top 50 Albums of 2011. They are a British band from Totnes, Devon, England that plays really synthy pop stuff that sounds like it should be in the '80s. "The Bay" has a piano accompaniment that will definitely take you back to that decade. I love the second part of the chorus that goes, "It's so gooooooooooooood, in the bay."

#2 Friendly Fires - "Hawaiian Air"

Dubbed by some as this year's British Foster the People, Friendly Fires is an English alternative/disco/funk band that got together when they were only 13 years old. I find their sound very unique. It's like the music and lyrics of mid-90s pop songs, but with a modern touch. Like, I feel like I should be seeing a boy band dancing in sync, but playing guitars while hearing their songs. "Hawaiian Air" comes from Friendly Fires' second album, Pala, which was released back in May 2011. It's a simple song that focuses on the airplane ride to Hawaii. It's a song that I want to play the next time my plane is a few minutes from touching down in the beautiful state.

#1 Lana Del Rey - "Video Games"

Another party that I was slightly late to, but still getting into the door in time for is Lana Del Rey. Del Rey released "Video Games" online, but it was never intended to be a single. It was so incredibly well-received and she ended up signing with Interscope Records. Her album Born to Die is one of my most anticipated of the year. It's partly produced by Emile Haynie, the genius who has produced albums for Kid Cudi, Eminem, and Gym Class Heroes. The music video above, which was edited by Del Rey, currently has 18 million plays and there's a very good reason. "Video Games" is a great song with the orchestral bombast, the harps, and pizzicato strings. Del Rey describes herself as a "gangsta Nancy Sinatra," which is surprisingly accurate. I would keep an eye on this one.

What have you been listening to lately?