Hot Mix 2012 on Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
30. KW Griff featuring Pork Chop “Bring In The Katz”
This guy REALLY wants to bring in the katz. We’re assuming the vocalist is Pork Chop, who sounds suspiciously similar to DJ Kool in “Let Me Clear My Throat” or Sagat in “Funk Dat.” The song begins with KW Griff’s new jack swing throwback beats, while Pork Chop assumes “they’re ready,” although after the katz are brought in, he retracts, saying it’s actually too much for them. Towards the middle, Pork Chop calls out those who “already know” what’s happening, including Miss Peaches and Kay Swift among many others. We have no idea who these people are, but apparently they know. But as listeners, do we know? By the time the song is over, we might know, but we also might not know. Perhaps one day, we will all know.| Youtube |
29. Mr. Dream “Fatherland”
Everything we want to say about “Fatherland” has pretty much already been said in our “Believing and Shitting” entry, but we’ll try our best. The vocal delay, stabbing guitar tones and dissonance are set in place here just as effectively as on the EP’s 5 other outstanding tracks, although Fatherland’s eponymous screamer is its only moment that could have been on Faith No More’s Angel Dust. Its vocal performance similarly combines the best elements of both John Lydon and Mike Patton, two of rock’s most confrontational and artistically challenging lead singers who have actually scored MTV hits. (“Rise” and “Epic,” respectfully.) While we're unsure what the lyrics are about, we've somehow associated the term “fatherland” with its prominent usage on In Living Color’s “Lassie ‘90” sketch. Any actual political connotations shot over our heads.| Soundcloud |
28. Animal Collective “Today’s Supernatural”
Centipede Hz is Animal Collective’s Back to the Future Part 2. The record presents an alternate version of what direction AC could’ve taken following 2005’s Feels and 2007’s Strawberry Jam. It still follows the “childhood memories drug flashback” theme that underlines their entire catalog, but takes it in a different direction than what evolved into 2009’s hugely acclaimed Merriweather Post Pavillion. MPP was hugely overrated, while Centipede is hugely underrated, splitting the difference of their relatively equal value. They’re both right around 8.7 out of 10. And we understand this to be a highly unpopular opinion, but if y’all don’t like it, y’all can bounce. Like seriously... We’re not sure how songs like "Today's Supernatural" or "Applesauce" are considered any worse than “Grass” or “Peacebone.” They're fucking awesome. GTFO with your bad attitudes.| Soundcloud |
27. Solange “Losing You”
We tend to favor songs with handclaps, although the claps in “Losing You” strangely do not encourage clapping along. A sample of a “female shriek” also appears in every measure, similar to the one in Janet Jackson’s “Alright.” The success of Solange’s EP seem far more reliant on those same pop elements that assisted Janet’s late-80’s output, as opposed to traditional R&B. It seems wrong to label “Losing You” (or Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange for that matter) as part of the current “movement” of “hipster-friendly R&B” described by SPIN and Pitchfork and like 500 other online music publications. We’re also noticing that Solange’s words are not especially deep, and the compelling nature of “Losing You” has more to do with her presence and Dev Hynes’ production. We hear Twin Peaks in the ominous synth outro (a TV show which premiered during the same era as Rhythm Nation 1814). Chill vibes.| Soundcloud |
26. Cloud Nothings “Fall In”
Remember in “Bart the Murderer” when Bart’s having a bad day and ends up stumbling down the stairs into Fat Tony’s “Legitimate Businessman’s Club?” The chorus of “Fall In” remind us of that cartoonish “stumbling” (the kind that doesn’t break anyone’s neck) with its strange beat placements and bizarre drum pattern. Even though it’s easy to place the beats during the verses and bridge, the “fall in, fall in” chorus still fucks with us every time. Dylan Baldi’s roughness and strain during the verses are present throughout the majority of Attack On Memory. But we hear its bridge section as the key to this song: “Nothing left for you to use” sung quietly and thus more affectingly than possibly any other section of the album, over four bars of sustained Cmaj7 chords. “Fall In” also never resolves to the dominant chord (if we’re hearing it correctly) suggesting a sense of frustration that accompanies the inability to accept lack of closure.| Youtube |
25. Josh Homme “Nobody To Love”
| Youtube |
24. Nicki Minaj “Come On A Cone”
This is the one where Nicki Minaj sucks her own dick for three minutes, straight-up announcing mid-song “I’m not masturbatin’, but I’m feelin’ myself.” Yeah, no shit. Lame boasts need to be earned, but if anyone deserves them at the moment, Nicki is that chick. Over the past ten years, it wasn’t uncommon to hear of hiphop fans unable to respect the current state of the lamestream, recalling the days when workaholics like James Brown could be correctly regarded as “the hardest working man in show business.” But if there’s anything we’ve learned about weirdo starlets like Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga, it’s that they’ve worked incredibly hard to achieve their status. So anyway... Forget everything we just said, because this song is so fucking bizarre that it literally could have been about any topic and still would’ve landed in our top 30. As if the sweetly sung “dick in your face, put my dick in your face, e-yea” on its own wasn’t enough. If Roman Reloaded had been trimmed of all the crap, reduced to its 10-12 best jams, we would be re-considering album of the year.| Soundcloud |
23. Grass Is Green “Somebody’s Something”
Grass Is Green throws a curveball with a song that mentions throwing a baseball. Coincidence? Arguably the centerpiece of Ronson, the uncharacteristically spacious ballad “Somebody’s Something” may be one of those somber “key to the album” moments we’ve noticed on other third albums over the past decade. It’s never intentional, but The Strokes’ “Ask Me Anything” and No Age’s “Common Heat” are among our favorite examples. (“How Near How Far” from Trail of Dead’s third album is a more sonically apt musical comparison, and one of our favorite songs ever, but not quite as spacious or any more solemn than the rest of Source Tags and Codes.) The unexpected space hides its complexities, deceivingly presenting itself as less bizarre and more straightforward than the rest of Ronson. (After dozens of listens, we still haven’t figured out where the measures or time-signature would be placed.) This also may be the song where Alex Prieto’s engineering is at its most vulnerable, displaying a successful evasion of excessive digital gloss heard too often from rock albums in the 2010's, especially from those recently tagged as "90’s-revivalists" like Yuck, Metz and The Men. Ronson instead opts for an analog-sounding production value more congruent with Unwound, Drive Like Jehu or Polvo, made all the more surprising by its pairing with progressively modern songwriting.| Soundcloud |
22. Big Freedia “Booty-Whop”
“BENDITOVERBENDITOVERBENDITOVER.” Nothing in this great big world seems to make Big Freedia happier than a club (or basement, or college dorm) full of party animals (usually chicks) bent over at the waste and waving their huge asses up in the air, with the option of cheek slaps, either from the bender or by a close friend or loved one. Azz everywhere. You know like when the skin jiggles and there’s a wave and it goes “blub blub blub.” That visual is emulated throughout “Booty-Whop.” The relentless excitement of this song turned out to be unexpectedly addictive. In one specific moment, Big Freedia sings “whoaaaa-oa” and then later in the song, the exact off-pitch “whoaaaa-oa” appears a second time, fun as fuck for singing along. In our humble opinions, this is the defining moment in Freedia’s huge catalog of bangers. P.S. HUGE GOOD NEWS: Big Freedia reality show coming soon. (The bad news: It's on Fuse.)| Youtube |
21. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Mature Themes”
Dan Fogelberg's bad acid trip. Attention to detail appears in elements like the Moog synths, and especially the subtly abrupt fadeout, fitting the song within 2:50 and securing rotation on bizarro AM stations circa 1976. The album lays out its paradoxes more plainly than on 2010’s Before Today. The title track of Mature Themes is sung with an especially silly rhythm, while the themes within his self-referential lyrics are notably less-than-silly. He refers to his age, 35, and his height, 5’4, so he's probably referring to himself. He says “I want it to be true,” but at this point, will Ariel Pink ever be able to display absolute sincerity? This justifies his revivalist nature, borrowing the sounds and spirit of earnest mid-70’s singer-songwriters to say the opposite of what everyone assumes he’s saying, flipping the irony backwards. A sort of reverse meta-irony is his only remaining option for speaking his mind, so that he can mask his honesty. He’s actually not kidding when he sings “I want it to be good” over and over again. “Good,” the most general positive adjective that exists. Not “great” or “amazing.” He knows he can’t provide such things right now. But he can at least strive for “good.”| Youtube |
Hot Mix 2012 on Spotify
| #100 - 91 | #90 - 81 | #80 - 71 | #70 - 61 | #60 - 51 |
| #50 - 41 | #40 - 31 | #30 - 21 | #20 - 11 | #10 - 1 |
“They’re old stuff is better” is a subjective statement typically associated with too-cool-for-school “hipster” types. However, our extreme devotion to Japandroids’ 2009 LP Post-Nothing and the three non-album singles that followed in 2010 were destined to lead us to slight disappointment. One of those three a-sides (“Younger Us”) appears on their 2012 LP Celebration Rock, and it’s still our favorite song on this album. We may be alone in assessing it as a slight drop in quality. Post-Nothing and those 3 singles were all recorded in 2008/2009, when Brian and David had no clue that their band might become their full-time job. The resulting effortlessness shone in moments such as the lazy sludge-jam 
Post-high school teens who like Cut Copy and Robyn and 80’s dance shit are into this song (apparently) as we learned not long ago when some kids who fit this description kept us up very late listening to jams such as these. From the floor above, we could decipher that one teen wasn’t into "Inspector Norse" as much as the rest, and switched it to a different song, leading 3 or 4 kids to immediately shout things over the 2-second silence such as “awww” and “heyyy” and “what the fuuuuck,” bummed out that their jam had been vetoed. “Inspector Norse” isn't a radio hit per se, but at least certain pockets of youth culture are enjoying it. Like 
The catchiness, the angular tension, the gratuitous profanity, and the scream-along choruses on Red Dwarf’s lone full length - a posthumous 22-song release titled Tell Your Parents You Want Ballz This Christmas - found its way under our skin during the Spring of 2012, unfortunately not long after witnessing one of their final few shows. It’s been years since we’ve discovered a band able to use sloppiness to such grand effect, while simultaneously jam-packing so many earworms into such an enormous sprawling collection. Despite the number of songs, nothing whatsoever about Red Dwarf suggests “trying too hard,” a huge component of what makes them so compelling. “Magic Missile” (the song we used to refer to as “that one with the cool harmonics”) turned out to be the earworm that got stuck most often. Ultimately, we ended up preferring the 2011 EP’s version because of the delivery of the word “fuck” during the breakdown section. Also, they’re yet another band (like those mentioned 
This is probably not the case, but have these guys been listening to Isn’t Anything? We hear the punch from some of those 80’s My Bloody Valentine tracks like 
Imagine Marc Bolan reincarnated, except entirely American, and without the devoted following of teenagers, and slightly more introverted. This is what a lot of King Tuff’s self-titled sounded like to us. Unsung highlight “Swamp of Love” executes some of the same relaxed perfectionism heard on The Slider - going as far as to include spot-on Flo & Eddie style backing vocals – and injecting a personalized center that’s entirely Kyle Thomas. T.Rex is one of those bands like Nirvana that hundreds-of-thousands have unsuccessfully attempted to emulate, unable to realize that guys like Bolan and Cobain were skilled experts at writing the types of songs that made it sound like anyone could do it. King Tuff is the first band since Burning Brides (whose last good release was about 10 years ago) to get our attention by actually matching the serious skills of one of his most obvious influences. “Swamp of Love” got our attention for being this album’s grandest statement, building and climaxing at all the perfect moments. Bolan would have approved.
Sounds like someone tried to make a radio edit out of one of those psychedelic 60’s jams that took up an entire album side, like 
Remove oneself from the idea that “Okay Cupid” is “rap” or “hiphop” but instead exists in and of itself. The sample sounds like one of the warped and possibly backwards-spun outro sections from Loveless, trippy as hell, and truly unique within this context. The non-dancey-sounding drums exist only to establish a sense of rhythm, which is then (seemingly) ignored by Kitty Pryde, who chooses a vocal-rhythm that might just barely line-up. Her style of “rapping” isn't really comparable to anyone else we've heard in the past. Her voice, dialect, delivery and the song’s subject matter work wonders to piss off purists unable to fathom the idea of the blogosphere’s brief infatuation with something that’s actually fresh and different. Yeah, she sounds like a privileged, suburban, millennial, materialistic valley chick. But we don't think it's really HER. We think she's playing a character (since in a different song called "Justin Bieber," she claims to be a 13-year-old, when in reality she's actually surpassed voting age). Her shockingly effective delivery arrives with an unexpected layer of depth thanks to her soft-spoken demeanor. Her immature, childish and carefree words are not in touch with the obnoxiousness that many female rappers tend to use as a crutch for attention, while the trippiness of her sample-choices suggest buried self-awareness. She may not yet know how smart she is. P.S. People got pissed about Kitty Pryde because cute chicks with freckles aren't supposed to get people's attention through music, or something. This took place for about two weeks in May of 2012. By September, she was pretty much forgotten. So no harm done. Her haters jumped the gun. Take a chill pill.
Another band we were lucky enough to catch only weeks before their last performance, Batcave’s sparse gothic-punk stood out for us the most after hearing the crunching dissonance in the opening chords of “Stereovision.” We’re not sure if their normal lineup included a dude who just stood there shaking things, but he was there for this show. Also they possibly pushed each other over at the end of the set. At any rate, we were bummed as hell to learn of their split not long afterwards. Up the upside, they stuck together long enough to grace us all with one of the year’s best releases.
2012 kicked ass because it’s finally looking like some newer and far more talented singers are arriving who can finally push douchebags like Chris Brown out of the spotlight. We were also happy to notice an upsurge of non-album tracks filling up this year’s Hot Mix. We didn’t expect any of these to be from R&B geniuses, and yet here we are. Miguel kicked off the year with a series of 3 mini-mixtapes titled Art Dealer Chic, Volumes 1, 2 and 3. Volume 1 concluded with “Gravity,” one of his grooviest and grittiest sex-jams, and probably his most immediately enjoyable head-nodding intro section, as opposed the majority of the Kaleidoscope Dream LP’s grower-tracks that start to sound their best around the 15-20th listen. In this respect, “Gravity” was best left as a standalone jam, although it’s a shame that more people won’t get to hear it. (Edit: Turns out “Gravity” actually was included on the CD, but it was only available on a limited-edition version that you had to buy at Target or something. LAME.)
Did anything else from this album get released yet? Would it be out of line to label this as Toro Y Moi’s best song to date? It’s gotten us psyched as hell to hear the rest of his new stuff. “So Many Details” is probably the best single from the “chillwave” subgenre since Neon Indian’s last LP. We’re not even sure if anyone refers to this type of music as “chillwave” anymore, but from what we can recall, it started getting heavily recognized around the summer of 2009 as dudes and chicks who record by themselves exclusively using analog recording technology. Three years later, analog is probably more commonplace and less bizarre than it used to seem. If it exists as an option, why not use it? Why should it have to be condemned simply because of nostalgic fashion-dummies giving it a bad name? It still provides the same refreshing sense of warmth not heard within digital technology. And plus, it's hugely affordable. 6-packs of cassettes are still available at CVS for under $5. Analog also provides no risk of hard-drive failure. It’s a simpler medium that’s easier to salvage. “A look back on simpler times” is an unfortunate common underlining theme of hipster preference, but sometimes the canvas looks better within a different medium.
The summery hits of 
R. Kelly's been bad. He's not proud of it, and he's having some trouble training himself to break his bad habits. But at least he can try to warn others of falling into the trap. “I’m just tellin’ the truth.” The subject of “trust” and “Truth” is nothing new in the world of R&B, but no one’s lying to themselves by admitting how hard he kills the vocal performance here, on a deep album track of all places. (We're pretty sure this isn't a radio single.) Discovered in the lower portion of 
If there's a song on Tempest that removes any doubt of Broken Water’s admiration of Sonic Youth, “Coming Down” is that jam. Previous recordings might not have made this as obvious, but this time around, vocals and guitar tones are distinctly influenced by Thurston Moore, although the theme and subject matter appear to be more direct and human than most of SY’s themes. The vocals are buried, although the lyric “fuckin’ up everything I touch” rises to the surface. Frustration builds throughout the song, which becomes more unbearable as the song progressives into one of the most effective usages of a stretched-out crescendo since 
Calm, alone, in a cage, on antibiotics. The gradual build of layers in “Zelda” seems very simple at first, but as the small floating dot ascends closer, it reveals itself to be a somewhat monsterous and freakishly gorgeous (or gorgeously freakish) wonder of complexities. We took a field trip last September to a church temple where The Antlers performed this song (
While the vague minimalist lyrics in “Robson Girl” suggest an intentionally cryptic message, its music seems far more direct. A screaming chaotic guitar solo lies in the center of this jam, but without the intense distortion that would be typical on a song from Nirvana or Spoon. It’s not so much a cathartic release, but instead it’s more of a “shaking my head” type of moment. A youtube comment describes “Robson” as a high-end shopping and entertainment district in Vancouver, although it seems like Mac Demarco’s subject is closer to 
Most of what we could say about “Recognition” was already stated 
Up until the blogs and publications reveal their year-end results, we really have no clue what songs are considered critics’ favorites. “Jasmine” is apparently this type of jam, which took us by surprise if only because this mysterious Jai Paul dude has a discography that currently contains only two songs released over the span of three years, although the murkiness and depth of this song yields more space and infectiousness than most bands are able to cram into a 40-minute full length. At first we heard “Jasmine” as an R&B version of Junior Boys with an “accidentally” catchy vocal melody submerged DEEP, with sick usage of handclaps as an added bonus. Around the 12th or 15th listen, we started hearing this as the hangover from a super-dark all-night coke session. 
Regarding what’s hot on the streets and what the world is feeling RIGHT FUCKING NOW, it would not at all be out of the question to label “Fuckin’ Problems” as the definitive rap jam of the moment, totally encapsulating everything that rules about modern hiphop as of January 2013 (a radio jam perfect for bouncing along during long car rides, a badass singalong chorus with the word “fuck” in it) while dishing a heaping dose of everything that completely sucks about modern hiphop (lame boasts, fake-authenticity, Drake). While it’s a slight bummer that 2 Chainz didn’t receive a verse, Kendrick’s slightly squeezed-in closing statement exudes head-nodding freshness. It’s not exactly on par with the last verse of 
Is this ridiculous or genius or both? Similar to Ariel Pink in sonically paralleling the intricacies of AM Gold singer-songwriters, Ryan Power structurally ups the ante, approaching from more of a theme-and-variation standpoint than verse-chorus. His A section is followed by a B section, but the next time A and B appear they arrive with unexpected appendages and attachments, transforming into alternate C, D, E and F sections before returning back to the original intro run…. If that makes any sense. So yeah, I guess THIS could technically be considered “progressive” (a term often misused in 2012 rock journalism) although what makes it interesting has more to do with delicate tone and texture, as well as a string of surprisingly catchy vocal melodies that could just as easily have filled an entire album’s worth of songs in the hands of a different writer. 
Earl Sweatshirt’s first appearance in nearly two years still generates smiles. We don’t think it would be out of the question to label “Oldie” as an “event” type of song, coupling the context of Earl’s exhumation with the largeness of the song itself, which somehow actually sustains itself as exciting over the course of its nearly 11 minutes. Playfulness wasn’t normally as prevalent in noteworthy hiphop prior to 2012, although Action Bronson and Joey Bada$$ have been lending a hand in this area. “Oldie” fits into this category as well, which is both its strongest and most perplexing attribute – perplexing because of the lyrical contrast with Tyler The Creator’s curiously ominous choice of beat. While we were prepared to label Jasper Dolphin’s unfortunate insertion (between two relatively giant names, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt of all people) as a low-point, it’s actually the song’s most obviously playful and “who gives a fuck” moment. This is the real Odd Future: the Wolf Gang we’ve been waiting for. 
We seem to recall last Spring when web-announcements of a Grandaddy reunion album were floating around. Perhaps these were rumors? Maybe they’re just taking their time... If it’s not happening, then we’re assuming Jason Lytle’s Dept. of Disappearance was intended for new Grandaddy. But if it’s simply taking longer than expected, then tracks like the outstanding “Your Final Setting Sun” (his best since 2003’s Sumday) are a very good indication that they’ve been up to no good, brewing some serious-ass Sophtware Slump-style awesomeness. We miss the weirdo robot noises and bizarro arrangements. Hoping these guys come back very soon. 
Tagged by millions as the most colossal megaton chorus since “Since U Been Gone,” which is possibly accurate. But what about the verses? Does “Call Me Maybe” have verses? Upon relistening, the answer seems to be “yes,” although they are largely forgotten by 99% of the people who know of this song’s existence. This is because the writers discovered an awesome hook and then formed the other song-related elements entirely around it, instead of crafting it into something that sounds complete, an unfortunately wasted opportunity to create some magic because the music-biz CEO’s were all like “this needs to be released now, we need a hit so I can get my kids on My Super Sweet 16.” But while it’s a still hugely overrated as a whole, the chorus is too perfect to not be recognized among the year’s best. 
As the market for “nostalgia” increases in largeness with every passing year, it becomes more inevitable to notice a few borrowed ideas getting used to create something that’s actually fresh, instead of simply repackaging the same shit with a glossier exterior. When we saw Bruno Mars’ recent album described as “10 songs that sound like 10 different 80’s bands,” we were mostly skeptical since this same guy was responsible for our worst song of 2011, as well as three other appearances in our “worst songs” list since the start of this decade. We’ll be the first to admit when a shit artist surprisingly steps up their game; we just had no idea that it would be Bruno Fucking Mars of all people. But it happened! Unorthodox Jukebox is shockingly not horrible! In fact, it’s actually somewhat listenable as a whole, with his “X-Factor contestant” vocal-style as the album’s only true turn-off. However, within the context of “Treasure,” his singing style actually fits. We doubt “Treasure” has any chance of getting radio airplay, although we might have thought the same about “Locked Out of Heaven” which has turned into somewhat of a mega-hit in the past 3 months, so who knows? “Treasure” pulls more directly from the late-90’s and early-2000’s version of disco-nostalgia. More than half of Jamiroquai’s catalog is based around this idea. Britney Spears also tried this out in 2001 on one of our favorites of hers, the album track “Anticipating.” So yeah, somehow Bruno Mars actually put out a bunch of songs that don’t completely suck. No one’s more surprised than we are. 
Eat dem drugs all day err day. “We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold.” That moment when the simple experience of enjoyment ascends into “balls tripping holy fucking shit” territory, a.k.a. when “Elephant” switches from the vocal section to the psychedelic guitar jam, a.k.a. when baby Dumbo gets drunk by accident with the mouse dude and they see all the purple elephants dancing around. Afterwards, the outro section includes the final drum fill and “yeah!” followed by the abrupt cold ending, when you suddenly come down with no memory of what just transpired. 
Thanks to meticulous attention to detail in the mixing, mastering and songwriting-structure on Mr. Dream’s “Fatherland” EP, it wouldn’t be entirely difficult to confuse this record with an authentic lost 1979 punk relic buried deep within John Peel’s vast collection. We’re psyched as hell that any NYC bands are still interested in playing this kind of music while still writing songs that are entirely worthy of attention. Taking cues from PiL, Stooges and Big Black with a hint of Wolfy Mozart in the song’s title, well-paced side 2 opener “Believing and Shitting” packs the same urgency as that which is normally associated with late-decade or pre-millennial or pre-apocalypse tension (“everyone knows it’s the end”) concluding with a mysterious open-ended coda section. 
“Lost” might be more of a continuation of nostalgia,ULTRA than the rest of Frank’s newer stuff, both in sound and theme, creating a trifecta of sorts with “Novacane” and “Swim Good” which we believe to be among his most drug-influenced and earwormy singles to date. All three express a desire to break away, or in this case, “get lost” in the moment. We’re not sure if Channel Orange was meant to express a flowing narrative in the same way as good kid, M.A.A.D. city, but it raises our suspicions when it appears after "Pyramids," which already appeared after two songs about class separation, “Sweet Life” and “Super Rich Kids.” 
Sometimes the long-distance runner is on a shit-ton of speed pills. Dripping’s sequencing suggests meticulous planning, starting and finishing strongly. An intense momentum especially builds during one of the most ass-kicking 4-song middle sections in recent memory, with “Prom Song” as its crowning moment. After “Grunt like a Pig” concludes the intense chase sequence, “Prom Song” starts with the “peaceful sunrise” intro segueing into a pummeling guitar riff, complimented perfectly by the sparse rhythm section. Pile’s signature tension-building leads them to one of the year’s best and most soulful guitar solos, played from atop an especially gigantic mountain. From up above, long-bearded God obliges, throwing up the devil-horns as he rides his chopper across the sky desert. 
“Drinking songs” have a surprisingly wide spectrum of categories, a fact that only occurred to us after hearing “Swimming Pools.” Kendrick’s meditation might appear alongside Hank Williams jams or Johnny Cash’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” exploring the psychological aspects of self-medication. On the opposite side of this spectrum, one might find soulless frat-douchiness such as Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup,” or songs exploring freedom from stress and enjoyment-of-life, an effort to forget problems with fun instead of depressingly drowning out our sorrows, in songs such as Andrew WK’s “Party Til You Puke.” Kendrick’s sped-up soliloquy in the second verse (which we didn’t realize was him at first) pushes this exploration to an even deeper level.