Twostepcub's Best of 2012: Part Four - #70-#61...

Hey gang, I'm back with part four of the biggest songs on my personal chart this year. You can click to check out part one, part two, and part three as well.

#70 - Usher - "Climax"
          from the album Looking 4 Myself (2012)
          Twostepcubchart peak: #15 (one week)
          Weeks on the chart: 19

Usher ushered in his seventh studio album not with one of his frequent dance jams, but rather a futuristic slow jam about breaking up that was co-written with produced by Major Lazer's Diplo. The song ended up sounding unlike anything else on R&B radio at the time, and regained his elder top-dog status that Chris Brown has been chasing. I love how both the punned title and seductive beat underlie what's truly going on in the lyrics.

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#69 - Chevelle - "Face To The Floor"
         from the album Hats Off To The Bull (2011)
         Twostepcubchart peak: #20 (three weeks)
         Weeks on the chart: 17 (in 2012)

This hard-rocking rant against the financial grifters on Wall St. is my personal Occupy theme song. And lord am I a sucker for a dirty guitar hook. Bernie Madoff gets special ire deservedly, but sadly most of the perpetrators are still out there.

#68 - Florence + The Machine - "Spectrum (Say My Name)"
         from the album Ceremonials (2011)
         Twostepcubchart peak: #13 (three weeks)
         Weeks on the chart: 16

The British singer's climax from her spectacular sophomore album was beautiful in itself, then transformed into a club anthem by Calvin Harris that propelled it to the top of the UK singles charts, and got enough heads to turn to have covered on The Voice by shoulda-won Amanda Brown.

#67 - Andy Grammer - "Fine By Me"
         from the album Andy Grammer (2011)
         Twostepcubchart peak: #23 (two weeks)
         Weeks in the chart: 23

This year's "nice guy" pop singer gets his second big hit with this earnest, simple piece of songcraft. Absolutely so inoffensive and sunny it makes Train seem hard. But I hand it to Andy for making a real positive album that doesn't sound embarrassing.

#66 - Shinedown - "Bully"
         from the album Amaryllis (2012)
         Twostepcubchart peak: #6 (three weeks)
         Weeks in the chart: 17

The Jacksonville, Florida hard-rock group led their fourth album with a driving ode to the downtrod that puts the power back in their hands, and focuses on the opposite of "It Gets Better" for the bullies themselves.

#65 - Ne-Yo - "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)"
          from the album R.E.D. (2012)
          Twostepcubchart peak: #1 (two weeks)
          Weeks in the chart: 14 (in 2012)

Ne-Yo gets some help with the now A-lister Sia (Furler) who co-wrote this anthemic "it gets better" jam for the clubs and could service as a pick-me-up for any gender or sexuality on this jam that closes out the year as the #1 song on my personal chart.

#64 - The Eli Young Band - "Even If It Breaks Your Heart"
          from the album Life At Best (2011)
          Twostepcubchart peak: #20 (three weeks)
          Weeks in the chart: 20

The Eli Young Band (named from the last names of two of their members) are the Train of country music, making solid but ungroundbreaking workingman's country that got them the biggest country single in Billboard last year with "Crazy Girl". Extra points for not trying to sound like a rock band moonlighting in country, or a redneck cliche-dump, but a real country act.

#63. Kylie Minogue - "Timebomb"
        from the single Timebomb (2012)
        Twostepcubchart peak: #1 (two weeks)
        Weeks in the chart: 13

My "queen" surprised her fans by arranging a "Twitter-bomb" that led to the release of a one-off single seemingly purely released for the fun of it. "I wanna dance like it's the last dance of my life" is one of the lines of the year.Now America, what's a girl gotta do to get some love?

#62. Josh Turner - "Time Is Love"
        from the album Punching Bag (2012)
        Twostepcubchart peak: #38 (two weeks)
        Weeks in the chart: 26

The best baritone in the business is back with an extra-sunny midtempo charmer that hung around both mine and the Billboard country charts for half of a year. Another awesome song to dance to, Josh's return was truly welcome. Nice guitar/mandolin solo in the middle, as well. It's longevity is proven by the fact that it was the magazine's top country song of the year without going to #1.

#61. Miranda Lambert - "Fastest Girl In Town"
        from the album Four The Record (2011)
        Twostepcubchart peak: #15 (three weeks)
        Weeks in the chart: 18

Mrs. Shelton's "Bonnie & Clyde" theme, written by two-thirds of her side-project the Pistol Annies, was so good she took for her own album, with a barn-burner that runs on 80mph from start to finish.

That's a wrap for this installment, I'll be back tomorrow with a song covered in Glee's most tear-inducing moment, a novelty act that knows when to quit, and a couple Idols.