Mercy Licks - January 2013

Hey there, and welcome to a new section of my website. Due to not posting much at the moment this may well be the only section I might actually update regularly going forward. I just don't have the motivation to write much at the minute, I have a lot of other things I'm enjoying in life. I do have this to fall back on whenever I get some motivation, or something to do though. It's a hobby not a job!

Anyway, this section is basically me revealing to you the ten songs I've been listening to the most every month. I've started tracking songs and how much I play them now, I'm a statistical nerd like that you see. Why have I done this? I really don't know, I just find it quite interesting to see what songs I listen to the most and when, and of course, to recommend them to you if you haven't heard them before. If this goes my way I might do an "end of year" list as well, but we'll see.

So what are the Ten Mercy Licks of January 2013? Let's find out...

#10: "Sixteen Saltines" - Jack White
This is definitely one of the best tracks of 2012. Jack White finally branches out on his own and his stuff sounds as fresh as anything he's ever done in honesty. The side projects he has done have been hit and miss, usually more hit to be fair, but still, this is a belter track that really shows the true talent of Mr White. Keep it going sir!

#9: "She Bangs" - Ricky Martin
Really Johnny Mercyside? Really? Ricky Martin? You? Listened to this very often last month? Yes, it's true. I have to be honest I have no shame in liking some cheesy pop nowadays. I used to avoid pop and RnB like a house on fire but now I've really relaxed my refrainment for the genres of music I usually dislike. This song came on in the pub when I went out for a drink with some awesome friends and we danced terribly to it. Since then I've enjoyed putting it on once in a while. It's a very catchy pop song. No embarassment about it!

#8: "Gangnam Style" - PSY
...but of course. Yes I love "Gangnam Style" and yes I've played this song possibly more than any other song in the past half year. And yes, I still play it in January 2013. I can't help it. I just love the song, love the video and to be honest, love PSY. You have to hear some of his other stuff. "Gangnam Style" will probably be a one hit wonder for PSY but it really shouldn't be, because he's actually a lot more talented than that. Check his other stuff out if you get a chance.

#7: "Blackout" - Linkin Park
I love this song. It's become one of my favourite ever by Linkin Park. It's also another of the songs I've been playing a lot over the past few months. I first heard it on FIFA 11, like a lot of people. It's arguably the song responsible for me reigniting my interest in the band, as I wasn't really too high on their most recent stuff. It's just a brilliant track, and well worth a listen if you haven't heard it before.

#6: Zerstoren - Rammstein
One of my favourite all time Rammstein songs. I recently got all of the Rammstein discography and was playing their stuff on random. I hadn't listened to of "Rosenrot" before then, so I'd never heard this song. When it came on random the song just blew me away. It's just such a fricking cool song, and is definitely one you need to hear if you haven't before.

#5: "Gold on the Ceiling" - Black Keys
Another band I can thank FIFA for igniting interest in. I was never big on the Black Keys until I heard "Tighten Up", then of course, I heard the amazing "Lonely Boy" and decided to get El Camino, and of course, this is one of the best songs on the album. It was released as a single too. It's just really cool, and shows why the Black Keys take a slightly different approach to their alternative rock than a lot of the other bands around nowadays.

#4: "Salt in the Wounds" - Pendulum
Read what I said about Rammstein and copy and paste. I recently got all of Pendulum's stuff and was pleasantly surprised to really like a lot of it, considering I'm not really into my drum 'n' bass, which a lot of the album material is. But "Salt in the Wounds" is just amazing. I even love the dubstep section towards the end of the song. I love blasting this track and adding some of the bass to it. It's just excellent.

#3: "Electric Worry" - Clutch

I'd be lying to you if I told you I'd heard of Clutch more recently than the turn of the new year. Somehow the band have gone over my head. A friend suggested I look them up and this track was the first to be played. I later found out it was actually used in a lot of Left 4 Dead 2 advertising, so it's very possibly I'd heard this before. It's a really cool country/hard rock hybrid track that sounds fantastic. I'm definitely looking into getting into more Clutch soon.

#2: "Go Right Ahead" - The Hives

I'm surprised to reveal I've listened this song the second most last month. But I must have done. It's a good track, it's a very safe track to be honest, for The Hives to release. It's nothing really special, but it still kicks enough ass to be noticed. I'm not trying to say it's a bad song, it's not, it's very good, and incredibly catchy, but in honesty The Hives have released far better than this in the past.

#1: "We Like Them Girls" - Your Favourite Martian

Ah... Your Favourite Martian. If you've not heard, YFM are Ray William Johnson's music group. RWJ is the most subscribed man on Youtube, showcasing the best viral videos two days a week on his show "Equals Three". He's a very good presenter of the show, but I've found his group to be lacking in quality. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people aspiring to go into different fields, try different things and if you have the time, money and know the right people to do it, go for it. I'm not a big fan of YFM though.

But... I do LOVE this track. I love "We Like Them Girls", it's a very funny track, the video is not bad either, and it just sounds so good. The electronic music, RWJ's rapping ain't too bad on this song, but the best thing is the lyrics. The lyrics are just really funny. To be fair, I also love a girl with a functioning vagina.

So, that's a wrap for today. I hope you've enjoyed this list. I shall be doing it every month. I'm sorry I don't post as much as I used to, but I'm in a very good place in my life right now, and just don't feel up to writing as much. I'm sure I'll return to a more frequent schedule in the future. Until next time, take care!

If you liked this article you might want to read:

• Best of UK #1s - Mixtape
• Best FIFA Trax - Mixtape
• Left 4 Dead 2 - Game Review

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