Music Monday: Happy New Year!

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We're on vacation today, but we still wanted to welcome you guys to 2012. Below and after the jump you'll find a few New Year's songs in honor of the occasion (click on the images to see them on YouTube). If you think we missed any, throw 'em in the comments and we'll check 'em out tomorrow. We'll start with an easy one:

U2 - New Years Day


Classic rock fans probably heard this a lot yesterday, and with good reason. This song, from the middle of U2's first rock phase, is absolutely worth hearing. The only reason we didn't link the official video because we thought you might want to enjoy Bono's "Flock Of Seagulls" hairstyle and Edge's Springsteeny flannel shirt. Ah, the 80s.

Off too a good start, huh? Catch a few more after the jump!

Abba - Happy New Year

 

Abba's hit from the 1980 brings us to the sad side of a New Year's Day. At the time of this song, the 70s party was basically done and the next decade was moving into place. Abba never really kept up with the changes and this was essentially their prophetic goodbye. It applies to all of us, really, because who can say what will and won't be relevant next year at this time? All we can do is live the best we canâ?¦ hang on, are we getting philosophical about an Abba single? Maybe we'd better move on quickly.

Death Cab For Cutie - The New Year

 

Death Cab For Cutie isn't quite as poppy as Abba, but they do make a similar point. Of course today isn't really that much different from last Monday. But it's not where we are right now that matters. It's where we're going. 2012 is still fresh and new, and a new year is a great excuse to start something we've always wanted to start. Even if we forget about it by March, at least we can try, can't we?

Pink Martini - Congratulations

 

We had to have one non-depressing song, so we went with the charming Pink Martini. Their cover of this traditional Chinese holiday song is all about the feeling of community that comes from a new year. "Whenever anyone meets, the first thing they say is: Congratulations!" If you were in the bar at the stroke of midnight New Years Eve, you might also have been hugging total strangers and getting handed free champagne. The nice thing about a holiday is how we can all set down our differences for a little whileâ?¦ and if we're smart, maybe never pick them up again.

Yeah, well, that's a pretty okay list, but it seems kinda short, doesn't it? Certainly you guys can help fill it out with all the New Year's songs we missed. Jump in the comments below with your favorite and we'll check 'em out later in the week, right after we finish our list of Mayan folk recordings. Trust us, they'll be all the rage by summer. Happy 2012, everyone!



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