This song doesn't get nearly as much credit as it deserves. I mean, who listens to Van Halen and thinks, "Yeah, let's throw in a synth"? A fucking genius, that's who. This song killed more trees than Brazil's agricultural department and cemented Van Halen as a household name. On top of that, it's absolutely electric with that stirring synth line, Roth's killer vocals, and lyrics that are uplifting without being cynical. This song just rocks, period.
I think this album doesn't get enough hate, personally. Sure, everyone knows it as the most tragic album in the Beach Boys discography, but it kind of gets forgotten shy of that. The general public doesn't see this as an album worth getting upset about, and its irritatingly banal lyrics and over-produced drums might lull you into thinking along the same lines. That is, until you put you wake up from your outrageously overpriced margarita-induced stupor and remember - this is, at least in ... read more
If Unknown Pleasures felt like the cold emptiness of outer space breathing down your neck as you try to solve your way out of an unsolvable urban rat maze, Closer feels like songs from the tomb. This is thanks in no small part to Martin Hannett, whose production eschewed the nebulous agoraphobia of the former for violent, ethereal claustrophobia. While the "Joy Division" alone evokes the horrors of the Holocaust, the opening track "Atrocity Exhibition" SOUNDS like the ... read more
One of my favorite power pop singles of all time. The lyrics are decently clever, telling what might might be the only rock story which ended with the characters making a sensible decision. The riff is incredibly catchy, the bridge is magical, and the vocals anthemic even with their unique "Ed, Edd, and Eddy" twinge.
Painfully unfunny garbage man most famous for crying and hitting on minors releases "comedy" EP where the sole joke is singing Jingle Bells in a monotone voice.
I still stand by the idea that this is quite possibly the best album ever released. Literally everything about it is beyond perfect, and I mean that with absolutely no hyperbole. When I first listened to this when I was 15, I was completely taken by it and it just gets better and better with age. The rapping is god-tier and inimitable, the production is mind-blowing, but most of all, the lyrics are straight up tear-inducing with their rage, sadness, and ultimately, hope. This is more than an ... read more
HeartGold and SoulSilver might be my favorite Pokémon games, but DPPt has my favorite OST, and Platinum at the very least is a phenomenal game. Listening to this soundtrack is a good way to make me extremely nostalgic for when I was 9-years-old, living in that old house that was mostly wooden, far away from anyone I knew at school where it was just my brother and I, riding our bikes around the neighborhood until the sun came down, going inside to the smell of my mom's homemade banana ... read more
I've never met someone who didn't like this song, and this is the only rap song to achieve such a feat.
Answering the age old question: What's worse, YourFavoriteMartian trying to be funny or them trying to be serious?
Something about Kevin Parker's music just manages to perfectly capture the feeling of every summer of your adolescence and young adulthood. And yet, the emotions provoked on Lonerism go so much deeper than just bohemian optimism. It's an uplifting, laid-back album, sure, but the undercurrent of loneliness and existential fear pervade every abscess of these 12 tracks. It's all delivered with so much emotionally clarity and simplicity that ends up being as much of a comfort listen as it is an ... read more
Choice of Ray William fucking Johnson to accuse anybody else of being annoying and douchey. Also, the flow on this track is terrible and the beat is even worse.
American Europop singer John Larkin, known to most as Scatman John, was born with a crippling stutter. Bullied unrelentingly for his impediment and slipping into alcoholism in adulthood, few would fault him for thinking that his life had been ruined before it even began. However, John would eventually be introduced to the medium of scat jazz, and through that, what had once been a burden now became his greatest asset. It didn't end there. He was able to adapt his signature vocal style into a ... read more
Listen, I was a weird kid. More than that, I prided myself on being weird and out-of-step with my peers. Any time my classmates would take interest in something, I would think to myself like the little ghoul psychotic Wednesday Adams I was how proud I was that I only watched the weirder end of Cartoon Network's mid-2000s block and would NEVER be caught watching Total Drama or anything of that variety.
Is that why I skipped out on Minecraft when 2011 rolled around? Maybe, but it's literally my ... read more
Oh come on, lighten up, you guys. If you can't find even the slightest bit of amusement in some guy with a Ren and Stimpy voice orating his disturbing rape/murder fantasies to you as seriously as he possibly can, I'm afraid you were just born without a sense of humor. As well, the riffs are all the right kinds of noisy and hit the spot whenever I'm in the mood for some repetitive, aggro Garage Punk.
Even after being out of the game for the last 12 years (wait, really?), Sweet Trip come back with a fresh, swanky new direction, anticipating a return LP which, if this single is to be believed, will be nothing shy of a full and well-deserved comeback. The kicker here, unfortunately, is the first track clocks in at a shockingly brief 3:30.
Best enjoyed during sunset on a warm summer's night with the finest rock of crack you can find.