Songs of the Year - "Gallows Pole," Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Just the existence of an album by Neil Young & Crazy Horse in 2012 would have been reason for celebration, but this year we were lucky enough to be graced with two - "Americana," a somewhat oddball collection of old songs fitting into the theme of "American music," and "Psychedelic Pill," a somewhat oddball collection of songs ranging from three minutes long to 27 minutes long (with two others clocking in near the 20-minute mark).

I haven't quite gotten my arms around the latter album, but the former was a lot of fun.  This song, "Gallows Pole," is the one that had the heaviest rotation on my iPod this year.  And it has the distinction of being the oldest song on the list - dating back to Leadbelly's first recorded version in 1939.