Sounds of 2012: No. 1!

Here we are at the end of "Sounds of 2012", and I did – just – get the series completed before year's end after all! Not that it matters by this stage in proceedings, but here are the usual inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

01: The Living Tombstone – Discord (Remix)

Come on, were any of you surprised? Let's get right on to the waffly bit:

01: The Living Tombstone – Discord (Remix)

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 21 Jan 2012
People who don't listen to much brony music know about The Living Tombstone's remix of "Discord". There are people who barely know the fandom exists who can sing it. These days, some people even believe it's about the chat app, despite this remix having been released several years before the app existed! It's closing in on 35 million views on YouTube, but even that doesn't really get across just how massive this track became, and to a considerable extent still is. It has seven times the views of Eurobeat Brony's original, so it's unsurprising that many fans even in 2019 are surprised to find that Tombstone didn't do this first. (This misconception has been both a source of slight irritation to EB and a source of slight embarrassment to TLT.) The remix itself is classic Tombstone electronica, but however many times you hear it, it's hard to deny its staying power. The chorus is perhaps a bit dull compared with the original version, but as a dancefloor number it hits all the right notes. There's a 320k MP3 download in the video description.

And there you are! "Sounds of 2012" is a wrap! In answer to the question so many of you are desperate to know the answer to: yes, I do plan on doing "Sounds of 2013" during 2020. I won't get going on that immediately – I have to make up some ground with my S1 rewatch, for a start! – but I hope it won't be too long. Meanwhile, thank you to everyone who stuck with this series right from the beginning. :)

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 3 and 2

Here we go with the penultimate post of "Sounds of 2012", a series counting down the tracks voted by Everfree Radio's listeners back at the end of 2012 as being their fandom favourites of that year. For form's sake, here are the usual inclusion criteria, though anything that ranks in the top three is damn well going in anyway!

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

03: Bronyfied – Brony Metal Medley
02: AcoustiMandoBrony – Loyalty

I normally put a page break here, but I won't bother with that for this post or for the final one, as they won't end up all that long. Here we go...

03: Bronyfied – Brony Metal Medley

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 1 Apr 2012
This seven-minute extravaganza from Bronyfied is pretty much what it says on the tin: a collection of fandom hits, all played in an orchestral metal style. Bronyfied called it "a sort of love letter to all the musicians in the community", and it's accompanied in the video by a collection of art pieces made specifically for this project. The eight or so songs chosen are all well known even today, ranging as they do from Eurobeat Brony's "Luna" to The Living Tombstone's "September". I'm not sure this really deserves to be number three, but it's enjoyable listening for sure. Almost inevitably, the Dropbox link given to download the song is long dead. It's interesting that Mediafire links are nearly always still working years later, whereas Dropbox links are pretty much universally not. Oh well.

02: AcoustiMandoBrony – Loyalty

Rule 1: uploaded to YouTube 24 Jan 2012
This is still, almost eight years after it was released, AcoustiMandoBrony's biggest hit by far. That may be slightly irritating to both MandoPony and Acoustic Brony (now Re:Make), who both released heaps of music after this, but I doubt it's going to change now. The first of the "Elements" series (which still lacks "Magic" to finish it off, but apparently that's coming), this is very much a paean to Rainbow Dash. The production quality here isn't all that amazing, but the song has a tremendous energy that not many other tracks can match. I can vouch for the fact that it sounds very fine live, though I've only experienced it all through once. (BUCK 2014. At UK PonyCon 2019 I had to leave after one verse to make the Pub Quiz!) There's a 320k MP3 download link (a direct one, too) in the video description.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 6 to 4

And we're back! It's getting very near the end, as the Beatles once sang. There are no Beatles songs in Everfree Radio's fan-voted Top 100 tracks from 2012, but the bronies of seven years ago did vote for some numbers that have very much stood the test of time. Just three of them in today's post, then two next time and the Number One song in the last of all. A quick reminder of the inclusion rules:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

06: ponyphonic – Lullaby for a Princess
05: Tsyolin Befriends WoodenToaster – WoodenOverture
04: Forest Rain – Join the Herd

As usual, there's a bit more on each song, including an embedded YouTube video containing the track, after the break. Come with me!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 10 to 7

Into the Top Ten we go! Everfree Radio's countdown still contains a few more surprises before we hit the most popular song of them all that year. Today, we're down to four tracks, and while I think anything that makes it this high up a chart is pretty much notable and includable by definition, just for form's sake here are my usual inclusion rules.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

10: ponyphonic – The Moon Rises
09: MandoPony – Picture Perfect Pony
08: Archie – Love is in Bloom (Archie remix)
07: Alex S. – Party with Pinkie [VIP]

Please continue past the cut to find YouTube embeds for the four songs featured, as well as the usual little bit of waffle.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 15 to 11

Five posts left with Sounds of 2012! That's because, from here on in, I'm going to be reducing the number of tracks I cover each time by one. So today there are five, next time there'll be four, and the final post of all will be devoted entirely to the song that Everfree Radio's listeners voted to the head of their Top 100. The usual quick reminder of my inclusion criteria first – although really everything by this point gets in under Rule 3 if nothing else.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

15: WoodenToaster & The Living Tombstone (feat. Rina Chan) – Lost on the Moon
14: H8_Seed & WoodenToaster – Awoken
13: Forest Rain (feat. Decibelle) – Great to be Different
12: AwkwardMarina – Anthropology (Lyra's Song)
11: WoodenToaster & The Living Tombstone – Love Me Cheerilee

If you feel like accompanying me past the break, you'll find that I've written a little bit about each track, as well as embedding a video for your listening pleasure.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 21 to 16

At one point I was hoping to finish Sounds of 2012 by the end of 2019. I may not quite manage that, but I'm going to have got reasonably close, at least. On we speed today with Everfree Radio's Top 100 of that year! A quick reminder of the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

21: MandoPony – Sweet Apple Acres
20: AcoustiMandoBrony – A Long Way from Equestria
19: Aviators (feat. Bronyfied) – One Last Letter
18: Forest Rain / Various – The Massive Smile Project
17: Friendship is Witchcraft – The Gypsy Bard (Extended)
16: ShadyVox – Pony Rock Anthem

Come with me to the casbah past the break for a little bit more about each of these songs, with pointers to HQ versions where I can.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 27 to 22

Today, "Sounds of 2012" is moving into the top quarter of Everfree Radio's Top 100 fan-voted songs from seven years ago. Below you can see what's covered this time and read a bit more about each track, but as usual I'll begin by giving you my criteria for inclusion:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

27: The L-Train – A Symphonic Metal Tribute to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
26: Twitch – Flutterborn
25: The Living Tombstone – Octavia's Overture
24: The Living Tombstone feat. Lauren G. – Magic
23: Dasha and The Living Tombstone – Good Girl
22: All Levels at Once – Pony Should Pony Pony

I expect most of you know the form by now, but for those who don't – or who need reminding – I'll have videos and a bit of writing about each song after the page break.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 32 to 28

Still not feeling great, so have another pre-prepared post. I'm pleased with myself for having a small stock of these ready – if only I were like PaulAsaran and could say the same for Ponyfic Roundup! Anyway...

Here we are again with another "Sounds of 2012" post. To remind anyone who's forgotten, this is a series wherein I look at the songs that Everfree Radio's listeners voted into the Top 100 tracks released in 2012. As ever, a quick reminder of the criteria for inclusion:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

32: Lenich & Kirya – Pinkie's Brew Russian Gypsy Jazz
31: Aviators – Friendship
30: The Living Tombstone & Bronyfied – Stuck in Time
29: PrinceWhateverer ft. Liquid Cobalt and ISMBOF – Between Fairytales and Happy Endings
28: Assertive Fluttershy – Boooring!

Just the five songs featured here today, but beyond the cut you'll find videos of them all, as well as where (if anywhere!) you can pick the songs up in better-than-YouTube quality. Let's go!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 38 to 33

The YouTube concerns have, if not gone away, then at least calmed down for the moment, until everyone finds out what's actually going to happen in January. With that in mind, I might as well go back to "Sounds of 2012" and the Everfree Radio Top 100 for that year, and see how far I can get before everything falls apart – if, and it's a big if, that ends up happening at all. I'm going to be sticking to the same criteria for inclusion, so a quick reminder:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

38: MandoPony – Shining Armor
37: Aviators – Loyalty (Aviators Remix)
36: Alex S. – Ultimate Sweetie Belle
35: Aviators – The Fear of Flight
34: All Levels at Once – Changeling
33: Forest Rain – Hay Ms. Derpy

Past the cut you'll find a YouTube video (oh yes!) of each of the half-dozen songs from this instalment, plus the usual waffle and info on how to get a better-quality version of each track.

The future of "Sounds of 2012"

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, and possibly even if you have, you'll probably have heard about YouTube creators' concerns regarding new rules. The signal:noise ratio has been quite poor, but the thing is now starting to have tangible effects for our community – for example, Sim Gretina briefly made all their videos private. Though that decision has now been reversed, it may only be a temporary stay of execution, depending on how things pan out in practice.

Although it's hardly the most important bit of fallout, it does have a bearing on "Sounds of 2012", since the vast majority of songs I feature are found on YouTube. True, some of them are also available on artists' Bandcamps or similar, but a lot are not – and for all the reasons I've mentioned before, I'm not usually keen on embedding videos from third-party re-uploaders unless I'm fairly confident they have the original artist's blessing. (Or unless they're stupidly famous.)

I'll keep a watching brief for now and see how many YouTubers do decide to blank out their channels. I suspect it won't actually be a huge number, but I do think it may include some big names – as we're seeing here. I also suspect that the implementation of the new rules in practice won't quite be as terrifying as some are suggesting. I mean, how many people actually take much notice of the penalties listed in the type of software EULA that's existed for decades?

Of course, that the obvious way to make sure you keep access to these videos is to download them from YouTube while they're still there – something that is itself in breach of YouTube's existing regulations, even though nearly everyone does it. Why does life have to be so ironic?

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 43 to 39

Since I don't want to do two "My Little Repeats" posts on successive days, I need to put something else up today. "Sounds of 2012" would seem to fit the bill nicely. We're getting well into the upper half of the Everfree Radio listeners' selections now, and there are a couple of fairly well-known songs featured in this post. A quick reminder of when I'll feature a song – Rule 1 is by far the most common:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

43: Sim Gretina – Colgate Brushie Song (Inspector Brushie Remix)
42: Bronyfied – My Little Metal Medley
41: Bronyfied – Flower of the Season (ft. Aviators)
40: The Living Tombstone – Dubstep Dishwasher
39: Replacer – Let Your Mane Down (d.notive cover)

I have YouTube links, download info where offered and some brief information about each song beyond the cut.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 48 to 44

Let's have a quick "Sounds of 2012" post today. Unfortunately I've had to skip two of the five tracks this time for not complying with the four rules I've set myself for determining inclusion or otherwise. That's made this a rather short edition, for which apologies. Still, at least we have some music to remember! Before I get on to the three tracks I can talk about here, have a reminder of the inclusion criteria:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

48: skipped
47: Makkon – Deae Lunae
46: MLP:FiM Season 1-2 Medley
45: Aviators – Never Back Down (feat. d.notive and Yelling At Cats)
44: skipped

Come past the cut with me to find out a bit more about the tracks I didn't have to skip.

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 55 to 49

"Two of these posts in the space of three days?" you may be thinking. "Who are you and what have you done with Logan?" But yes, we are indeed returning to "Sounds of 2012" today: the top 100 fandom tracks of that year, as voted for by listeners to Everfree Radio. Boilerplate coming up to remind you how I decide if a track should be included, and then we'll be off towards the fringes of the top 50. Unfortunately, one song this time didn't qualify for inclusion.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

55: Aviators – Love is in Bloom remix (feat. Yelling At Cats and HMage)
54: Silva Hound ft. Rina-Chan – Hooves Up High
53: Forest Rain – Raise the Sun
52: JakeLion – Fluttershy Inc. (Gorillas Pony Parody)
51: The Living Tombstone – Smile Song (remix)
50: skipped
49: Random Encounters – The Brony Song

If you'd like to read my rambling about these tracks, then past the cut with you!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 61 to 56

Friendship is Magic is over and done with (at least as far as the TV show is concerned) but there's a lot more for me to write here yet! And one of the things I need to get on with is "Sounds of 2012". As usual, here's a quick refresher on the rules I use to determine inclusion here. I think I'll put them in a smaller font from now on, so that they don't sprawl over so much space. Besides, Rule 1 covers everything this time around.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

61: Sim Gretina – Twilightlicious ('Troll it down' remix)
60: Stablefree – Discord (Big Band Jazz Cover ft. Replacer)
59: RainbowCrash88 – Rainbow Dash Stage Theme
58: Aviators and Omnipony – Monster
57: Sim Gretina – Twilight ft. Dusk Shine – Magic
56: Echelon – Sleep

If you'd like to know a bit more about these six tracks, then please keep reading!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 66 to 62

With any luck, as you read this post I shall be away at UK PonyCon, and the final episodes – ever! – of Friendship is Magic will have received their official broadcast on Discovery Family. I know this could be considered a time to look ahead, and I'm sure I'll do some of that in due course, but right now I'm heading back seven years for another Sounds of 2012. A quick refresher on the rules I use to determine whether a song is featured – they're all Rule 1 songs this time:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

66: Sim Gretina – BBBFF (remix)
65: Sim Gretina – Laughter (feat. Bubble Berry)
64: Baasik/BlackGryph0n – Paper Sky
63: Matthew Mosier – My Cadence (feat. Megaphoric and ismBoF)
62: Flaedr – Crystal Ponies (Flaedr Remix)

If you want to know more about these five tracks, please keep reading!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 72 to 67

It's long past time I got back to looking at Everfree Radio's Top 100 of brony music from 2012. As always, my four rules determine whether I should feature each track; this lets me skip any where it's fairly clear that the artist wants them gone from the internet and there's no overriding reason why I should go against that apparent wish. Here's the summary:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

The entire half-dozen can be categorised as Rule 1 this time, so yay for that! I'll talk about each song in detail after the cut below, but here are the six tracks that I'll be featuring today:

72: H8_Seed – Neverending Strife
71: Stormwolf + WoodenToaster – Fruits Of Her Labour
70: Aviators – Melody
69: Eurobeat Brony – Diamond Dogs (Euro Dirt Mix)
68: Forest Rain – Memory Lane (cover)
67: dbPony (feat. EileMonty) – Miles

If you want to know more about these tracks, please keep reading!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 77 to 73

It's August Bank Holiday weekend here in England, and by some miracle it's actually sunny and warm. As such, I've been spending some time in the garden reading ponyfic – and listening to fandom music. That reminds me that I've slightly neglected Sounds of 2012, my look at the Everfree Radio Top 100 from that year. My four rules determine whether I should feature each track, since I'm not always very comfortable with featuring songs whose artists have nuked them and disappeared. Happily I didn't have to skip any this time, but here's the rundown:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

As usual with "Sounds of 2012", first I'll give a quick list of the songs I'm looking at this time, and past the cut I'll embed some videos and talk a little about each track. Five of them today, as follows:

77: toastwaffle – Sweetie's Big Race - FiW REMIX
76: H8_Seed ft. Mic the Microphone – Petrified
75: ReicheruCharin – Bad Harmony
74: PrinceWhateverer – Taking Flight
73: AcoustiMandoBrony ft. EileMonty – Nightmare in Everfree

If you want to know more about these tracks, please keep reading!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 83 to 78

About time I returned to the old days, and to be specific to 2012. Yes, it's time to get back to Everfree Radio's Top 100 fandom songs from that year. You can read about my four rules that decide whether I include or skip a song by clicking that link, but here they are in potted form.

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

The format is the same as before: a brief summary up here, then videos and waffle beneath each one. Here are today's tracks:

83: Alex S. – Trixie the Pony Troll
82: Zabrina – Pinkie Pie Smile Song Piano Cover
81: Sim Gretina – Crystal Fair (Sim Gretina Remix)
80: ThatSonofaMitch – First Night Alone
79: Rina-chan – Colgate's Brew
78: PrinceWhateverer – Guardians of Equestria

If you want to know more about these tracks, please keep reading!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 90 to 84

It turns out that a late report from Cambridge Botanical Garden means that last Thursday was in fact the hottest day ever officially recorded in the UK, at 38.7 °C (101.7 °F). Whew. Anyway, it's now cool enough to return to Sounds of 2012. This week, I'm skipping music for the first time. That's because of my four rules. Summarised criteria for inclusion:

Rule 1: Still available in the same or (1b) similar form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

To compensate for the two songs one song I've had to skip this time around, I'm going a couple of entries past where I'd normally stop, so you're still getting five six tracks. Here's the run-down:

90: MandoPony – I Am No Hero
89: Forest Rain – Luna (Alt Mode)
88: skipped
87: Sim Gretina – Princess Of The Night
86: PrinceWhateverer & Acoustic Brony – Breaking Bonds
85: Aviators – Luna (Aviators Remix)
84: Sand Josieph – Daddy Discord

Past the cut for videos and details!

Sounds of 2012: Nos. 95 to 91

It's long past time I got back to Sounds of 2012, my look back at Everfree Radio's brony-voted Top 100 tracks from that year's fandom output. As before, whether I include a song or not will be guided by these four rules. I'll repeat the potted version of these; I may do that for every post, but I'm not promising anything. Here:

Rule 1: Still available in some form direct from the artist
Rule 2: Available from a third party, with reason to believe the artist is fine with this
Rule 3: So famous that it would be plain silly to leave it out
Rule 4: Being unlisted is not, on its own, grounds for exclusion

I'm bringing you five more tunes today! Here's what you'll see lower down this post:

95: TeiThePony – Twilight's New Stockings
94: Freewave – Balloons in my Basket (Freewave's Deep Thoughts Remix)
93: Whitetail – MLP Fighting is Magic – Pinkie Pie Theme
92: Pony1Kenobi – The Party Hasn't Ended
91: All Levels At Once – Go Take Flight