June 2017: We recieved an email from Walmart telling us that an item on our wishlist was finally available for pre-order. That item was the SNES Classic Mini.
September 2017: We were among the thousands who received yet another email from Walmart telling us they were cancelling all pre-orders because they accidentally announced too early or something.
We had never owned a SNES. By 1993, our family wasn't rich enough to splurge on every Nintendo consul, and so we continued playing regular-ass borrowed or used NES games throughout the mid-90s, eventually graduating from NES straight to N64 around 1998.
Obviously the SNES Classic Mini was intended as a nostalgia purchase for us, but we're the odd types who get nostlagic for content we missed the first time around.
June 2018: Our 2nd attempt at a purchase finally arrives. Our first instinct was to search around for games that felt unfamiliar.
We had never heard about Earthbound, and so we blindly started playing out of curiousity. After 2-3 hours, it seemed like a cute little adventure-based RPG with kids exploring around their neighborhood. Its warped, innocent universe felt so alluring, enhanced by an unusual soundtrack. We immediately fell in love with it and wanted to continue revisiting, but we weren't exactly sure why.
Some internet digging ensued a few hours later. It seems like lots of other people also accidentally stumbled upon Earthbound or revisited it over the past year since it was probably the SNES Classic package's most coveted rarity (with cartridges in the original packaging regularly sold on eBay for upwards of $800).
The game took 5 years to create, and it includes what might have been that era's record holder for the largest amount of coding to fit onto a single Nintendo cartridge.
Finally released a year behind schedule in summer 1995 (only a year before N64 arrived) with a $69.99 price tag, Earthbound had an oddly off-putting TV ad campaign that failed to generate initial excitement. Nintendo did not earn a profit from Earthbound, but the game built a strong enough cult following in subsequent years to make the cut for the "Classic Mini" canon. Ness, the game's chief protagonist, is one of the few who later were in every version of Smash Brothers.
After this discovery, we made the mistake of watching the Angry Videogame Nerd's ultra-spoily Earthbound review. We kinda forgot that AVN existed and hadn't watched much of his reviews since 2009ish. We're guessing it popped up because it was coincidentally posted only a few weeks prior. Approaching 40 minutes, his Earthbound review is 2 or 3 times longer than his other videos and has surprisingly large production value. (It states in the description that the review had been in production from October 2017 until April 2018.)
We did not check out the review to have the game spoiled for us. Rather, we were hoping to casually check out a few hints of what might happen later in the game since we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We did not expect AVN's video to be one of the most engaging game reviews we've ever seen, more or less consuming our attention by the 5 minute mark. So we kept watching as he explained basically every unexpected plot twist. The experience of quickly absorbing that much left-field content honestly made us feeling like we might have been dreaming. This couldn't really be what happens in this cute little RPG for children, could it?
Should we even get into it? *SPOILER WARNING??* Heavy drug references (with intent to sell), crazy religious cults, time travel via suicide pact, fighting a boss after travelling through a woman's uterus. There's more, but these premises stand out the most. *END OF SPOILER??*
So now we've been on tour for the past 2 months. When we last left off (late August), we were (probably) about 40% of the way through the game. It feels like an eternity ago. Time has been standing still out here.
In true masochistic fashion, we also decided to spend three months' paycheck out of pocket on the cost for an unrelated Masters class that will eventually complete the MLIS program's remaining requirements. The process of writing a research paper while traveling around the world needs the type of focus that requires sensory exclusion, pushing out the clutter, removing oneself from the Twitter clickbait relays. We don't have time for news-feed outrage or celeb gossip right now. Without earbuds and stoner metal, we would have stabbed our eyeballs weeks ago. We finally got to revisit Les Rallizes Denudes for the first time in years. That new Bongripper album works wonders for productivity.
October 2018: On a Sunday afternoon, we eventually made our way to listening through Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works: Volume 2 for the first time ever. We consider Aphex Twin to be the most helpful "study music" we've ever heard. Upon first listen, something felt familiar.
We couldn't help noticing SAWv2 was released 6 months before Earthbound in Japan and 15 months before it came to the states.
Earthbound had effectively prepped us for SAWv2. The untitled track on Disc 1 Track 7 (they're all untitled, although fans refer to this one as "Curtains") could have easily been played as Ness traveled through underground tunnels. In an alternate timeline, Disc 2 Track 10 (titled "#22" on Spotify but also known as "Tassels") might have built tension as Ness approaches some bosses later in the game.
Despite our suspicions, a simple Google search does not reveal any crossover between Aphex Twin and Earthbound.
With that speculation aside, "#23" (also creepily known as "White Blur 2") struck us as especially eerie. It begins with a loop that could have accompanied one of Ness's trips through any given underground lair in his extended neighborhood. Otherwise, we picture an outsider's adult perspective of 3rd or 4th graders playing on the swings at recess.
A child's laugh loops ad nauseam. It expressively translates in any language, resembling the reaction a young person would have to an older person's (possibly back-handed or creepy) compliment. Sounding innocent at first, it starts to sound more and more like a nervous reaction as the loop continues (occasionally pitchshifted). This isn't a LOL at a hilarious joke, but a natural subconscious attempt at deflection. The darkness seems to grow as the song progresses, building in intensity only slightly and removing layers just as frequently as they're added. Like Earthbound, the atmosphere surrounds and consumes. This generates a weightiness that may not be realized until physically looking down at the CD player's display and realizing that this is an 11 minute song - one of RDJ's most unheralded epics.
On September 7, 1977, David Bowie taped a performance of "Heroes" on the sixth and final episode of Marc, a weekly musical variety show hosted by Marc Bolan. (
The origins of "Graduate and Congratulate" begin years before Ovlov in the band Home Movies, when Stove was influenced by the chill, summery beachy-ness of "The Game Of Love" by Santana featuring Michelle Branch (written by Gregg Alexander from The New Radicals). An unrelated aside, we really need to get our hands on a couple of those Boner Pedals we've been hearing so much about. The kids are abuzz; "Nothing Beats A Boner," they say. We've heard nothing but good things, and probably at least 20 of the bands in Lit As Fuck Mix 2016 really do use them. Not kidding. (This is an unpaid advertisement, by the way. Boner didn't ask us to write this. We were running out of steam, and this picture of Boner on Stove's Facebook page felt inspiring.) These peds make every guitar sound like Jesus Christ himself were shredding from the top of the highest mountain. World Class craftsmanship, hand-made, custom pedals built by Boner. Give em a big old phonecall right now today. Your one-stop shop for all the peds. 
Get ready for some nasty air guitar. "Redline" had the catchiest, most exciting, most urgent and probably overall best guitar solo of the year. Geronimo's split in 2014 seemed like a huge bummer at the time. But the split seems to have inspired newfound musical freedom unlocking what's probably been their most prolific era to date. Every 5 or 6 months, it seems they have a new project with names like Milked or Future Biff. Nothing's changed. Everything's changed. 
Demons celebrate from deep in the fiery pits of hell. Belly-laughing for hours on end like they just saw Charlie Murphy's "Rick James" sketch for the first time after a series of heavy bong rips, 100,000 crudely shitty little creatures resembling the Iz's from The Maxx surround souls getting drawn-and-quartered in a coliseum setting, busting their guts as the helpless are sucked into the vortex of infinite purgatory.
On Palberta's previous records, their surrealist elements were an undercurrent. The dreaminess was not as blatant and was only mildly present among their most childlike tendencies, whereas now surrealism seems to have taken over their music completely. They're shooting to unlock the unconscious thoughts of the listener in a hugely conceptual multi-layered blueprint that listeners may partially grasp but can probably only be truly understood by the three songwriters. If their discography (up to this point) represents a linear trajectory aligning with basic human rite-of-passage type moments, "Ode To Honey" is the era when someone might first discover mushrooms - at one with nature and with a renewed sense of perspective.
Boekner's original solo version of "Floating World" never received an official release, but it did appear in 
Return To Cookie Mountain is her favorite album (probably). At this point, her stans are ready and loyal enough to follow her to the edge of Hades or balls deep into a completely avant-garde era that will be best understood 15 years from now. We have our hopes up that Anti was her Low and that her next two albums are Rihanna's equivalent to the Berlin trilogy (preferably with Dave Sitak as her Brian Eno).
“It’s been a while. Lots to talk about. I’m glad you’re still here.” Wait, so she's singing to the listener? Hey, that's pretty cool, although it might be less awkward if we pretend she's still singing to that dude from the "Anytime Anyplace" video. P.S. Her best Diana Ross tribute since "Doesn't Really Matter."
An extreme juxtaposition: On one side, this is an incredibly musical punk song with an intro that sounds like it might be paying homage to The Smithereens or Marshall Crenshaw. Nine seconds later, all hell will break loose. *SCREEEEEEAM.* Don't get it twisted: "I Fucking Hate Sports" isn't rage based around misplaced teen angst. It's a depressingly intense frustration with an inability to find a place that fits. And yes, catharsis helps.
Hey, Carly Rae likes you. She really, really, really, really likes you. She told us. And her smiley repetition isn't just confined to single word mantras. "One more time" singalongs strategically recur throughout E•MO•TION, and the "Making the Most" instance is probably the one where we wish she had opted for a hint of variance. It feels like 80% chorus, but it's perfectly structured otherwise: The bridge builds to a grand slam, representing the pinnacle of Carly Rae's big night. The last 15 seconds utilize "the ominous minor-key outro" motif, a cue that may or may not have derived from "Lovefool." It goes by quick, but it might be the most mysteriously satisfying moment from any recent pop record.
How exactly did this song generate such a viciously negative reaction? Are we crazy? Was this the No Jacket Required of 2015? As a standalone single without the context of the three names attached, there's really nothing objectively shitty about it. Had it been sung by Taylor Swift or that Shotgun Annies thing (or whatever Miranda Lambert's group is called), it would have been heard by completely different people, framed in a different context and thus judged as a song instead of a headline. And besides, we'd rather hear Rihanna sing something like this than almost any modern country singer. It's probably the only recent simple-guitar-&-vocals jam we can recall with so many buried weird noises. 
We have no "Best shows we saw in 2015" list this year. But Beak> in Bristol would have been an easy #1. We imagine this show had almost nothing in common with 
Sigur Ros goes pop. Slow motion playgrounds. 55 degrees. Overcast skies. Beach Music sounds very "rite of passage." "Thorns" specifically is the earliest point in someone's life when they can observe a sunset or a cloud formation and perceive it as a perfect gift. The song's cryptic lyrics and title suggest an allure that leads to prickly stings. 
Winner of the "Best Song Called 'Hello' of the Year" Award. Without releasing any new albums or singles of his own between 2004 and 2009, Andre 3000 remained the grand champion of guest rappers. His effortless flow assisted jams like 
Jute Gyte's impressively prolific catalog of free Bandcamp releases focuses on two genres: Blackmetal and ambient. The whole of his blackmetal catalog resembles a balloon with a diameter of several lightyears infinitely expanding far past what was previously deemed imaginable. In this case, it's the first noisy blackmetal on our radar that features a creepily sped-up series of music boxes played simultaneously, with rhythm and atonal dissonance occurring by virtue of controlled chaos. 
"Sour diesel" refers to a weed strain. Thank you Rap Genius. When old people complain "there's no good rap anymore," please remind them that Redman still fills his albums with classic-sounding jams, just as high quality as his radio hits from 1995. Some artists prefer to change with the times, while others aren't finished exploring the sounds that earned them their original fanbase. 
Earworm alert: That 16-note intro tends to stick. Class of 2015’s singer-songwriter VIPs not only fuel our hope for the future of this genre but lead the pack with a notable lack of pretention unseen since at least 15 years ago. Out of all of them (which includes names like Alex Giannascoli and Taylor Ross), Ellen Kempner’s songwriting development - dating back to 
The vocals seem vulnerable to analog peaking upon entering the red. We highly doubt any of the music on E•MO•TION was taped, but this one aspect (also obvious on a few other songs) raises our suspicions. Also, the Rap Geniuses revealed that two of this song's co-writers were formerly in Boston's own The Click Five, who along with Fountains Of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger are responsible for 
The waging war in this humble place against the forces of darkness where Satan's seed is, the zip code of this evil place is the mark of the beast: 666. The ritual begins slowly, working around the circular room. After all 33 candles are lit, the dark spirits may receive the signal to enter. A slow, dark mass fills the atmosphere, overtaking everything in its path with spirits working their way in and out, left and right. There's no escaping it. "Slow Death," The Deadbeats' finest epic, is the opposite of an exorcism. It invites the demons in. [Note: The song is actually so satanic that it's one of the few jams on Hot Mix 2015 completely unavailable outside of legal streaming services.]
Make way for Bristol's smiley-est rock band as they challenge the punk aesthetic and stretch the rules of what to expect from a punk 4-piece. Their records proudly insert elements from not only UK-punk but also power-pop, grunge, and campfire singalongs. The key-change in "Dreams" is one of their catchiest moments, kinda like how Ash used to do it back in the mid-'90s on singles like 
A good old fashioned punk-rock double LP finally graces its presence upon the 2010s. Forgive us, but records like Screaming Females' Ugly from 2012 always kinda felt more like a CD-length album expanded to 2 LPs, while Tenement's Predatory Headlights actually feels like a sprawling magnum opus a la Zen Arcade complete with odd experiments and a well-paced tracklisting. It's a grand and impressive complete statement, which might be why we've yet to notice many reviewers cherry picking their own personal stand-outs. We're nerdy for singles though, and plus we still make mixtapes. Gravitating towards the late-'70s Americana of "You Keep Me Cool" was def a cool selection for some fiery summer mixes. Or wait, maybe it was a hot selection for some icy mixes?
Thanks to "Get Paid," fans of 1998's "bounce rap" trend might be more hopeful than usual for its big 2016 comeback. Sources have speculated that Jay-Z's forthcoming 2016 hit single "Can I Get A (Part 2)" will include the lyric "Can i get a part two?"* while Mariah Carey plans to revisit her "evil bizarro" counterpart previously featured in the video for 1999's "Heartbreaker."* Rap and pop might actually get fun and adventurous again. Also we thought Vince was saying "pocket fulla lean" which is a phrase that apparently doesn't mean anything, but it sounded cool at the time. 
"With an 'S' on your chest / You're feeling like a God." Political or no? Or maybe it's about Anthony Kiedis? You decide. There have been plenty of "why did they even bother" type of reunion records in the past couple years, with Indy Cindy and now Compton as two of the most baffling offenders. Sol Invictus (along with Failure's album released around the same time) was this year's rare instance of a "'90s reunion" record that didn't allow an extended hiatus to stain their nearly flawless discography. Overcoming the odds seems to be a huge factor in these reunions. So now, what's gonna happen with Mr. Bungle? Bare in mind that Trey Spruance DID in fact join FNM to perform King For A Day in its entirely back in 2011, somewhat increasing the almost non-existent odds that a Mr. Bungle reunion might ever happen within our lifetime. 
The salt imagery feels closely related to its album title, Beach Music. So it's possible that "Salt" is the key to this entire record, tying together its surrounding jams with its hugely nostalgic slow-motion cascades of rhythm and melody. Tween-life is when innocent crushes might feel the scariest. It's when friends ride bikes through the woods or down narrow alleys. It's the thrill of discovery and uncertainty and videogames and touching boobs. Not necessarily summery, but definitely full of memories and the creation of future memories. Alex G's records are all the better for including his atypical curveball jams, and "Salt" might be among the very best of those.
Congratulations to Stove, recipient of our coveted "Most Amazing Song Intro of 2015" award. Who knows what was contained within those libations, but the song's fire seems indebted, somewhat mirroring its themes of "wondering if you've made the right choices" and "deciding if it's too late to change" (not too far off from what might have informed Stove's recent re-branding). It doesn't matter if it's called Stove or Ovlov or McGuirk or Guitarmageddon, as long as it's got that smooth Stove seal of approval. That's how you know you're fucking with a quality-ass product. "Jock Dreams" highlights a very strong Side B with all those classic Stove moves you've grown to love over the years.
This contains possibly the darkness beat of 2015, sampled from The Velvet Underground and Nico of all places. But even with that in mind, the most surprising aspect of "Ask Charlamagne" is that Waka Flocka hasn't released a truly great song in over 5 years. We were certain that he had quietly retreated to the has-been camp, content with his unremarkable mixtapes and the millions of dollars he earned from "Hard In The Paint" and "No Hands." His official comeback begins now: "Ask Charlamagne" might be the best song this dude's ever laid to tape, his flow and swagger seemingly reinvented. It's the sound of someone who's had enough of wackness and fakeness, desperate to break away from a trap of cliches, no longer mired in self-parody. We're suddenly (shockingly) very excited for Flockaveli 2.
Track 3 is called "Under Control," while the chorus of track 4 includes the phrase "lose control." So it's possible that these two songs represent the ying and yang of Ego Death, one of the most oddly slept-on releases of 2015, front-loaded with 4 of the absolute best soul jams of the 2010s so far. The sensuous and sultry "Under Control" might have the record's best-sounding live instrumentation, while "Go With It" is anchored by one of the year's best basslines, recommended for any fans of Big Boi & Andre's "Royal Flush."
Insane David Lynch Posse. Flat Eric probably loves this song. If you don't know who 
Palberta has lots of songs about going to the store. Two of these are tied here. This makes us wonder, what exactly is going on at this special "store" that keeps them coming back for more? Is it a product or a person? Is it neither? Is it both? It's all very cryptic and mysterious. One might notice the triangle in their live presentation suspiciously resembling the Illuminati symbol. The looseness in their musicianship seems to drastically counter-balance and mask meticulous craftsmanship. We refused to believe all those minor-2nds and diminished triads just miraculously ended up in their songs by accident, as if mom dropped them off at daycare that morning and within seconds they all looked at each other and decided "let's do a band" and all at once they ran into the kitchen pulled out some pots and pans and Marshall halfstacks and started screaming "I WENT TO THE STORE" in unison. They won't even crack a smile within their live setting - not unless it's been written into whatever song they're playing. And they have choreography! We usually hate choreography in rock music, but Palberta is the exception. Go team dissonance.
Breaking news: We got the final word from Sam Rosenberg, Matt Gatwood and Andy Chervenak about "Black Fridge Area." What we learned may shock you.
We're bummed that it took us until this far down the road to realize that the title of Geromimo!'s demo cassette series 
After Mary Timony spent decades dabbling in ass-kicking renaissance-influenced math rock, who knew she had it in her to dream up so many flawless power-pop gems? Did Mary even know? We sometimes get the impression that she doesn't know her own strength. Her latest batch rivals all the giants of late '70s garage and power-pop: The Undertones, Blondie, Joan Jett and Buzzcocks. It's been years since THIS kind of album has sounded THIS good. Track 1, Side 1. Start with the big hit. "Like Motown used to do." (Wasn't that in the liner-notes for 
"What's that one that's like 'Bang Clang Pow?'" "Boom Clap" initially felt lost in the haze of faceless summer hits not long after it got linked into the promotion for 
It might not be fair to tag "Special Snowflakes" as Pile's "Stairway to Heaven." We'll instead reserve that honor for 