| Hot Mix 2015 on Spotify |
| #200 - 166 | #165 - 131 | #130 - 101 | #100 -71 | #70 - 41 | #40 - 21 | #20 - 1 |
| All 200 Songs |
100. Major Lazer featuring MØ & DJ Snake “Lean On”
We're proud of ourselves for figuring out how to do that "O" with the line through it. Not sure who MØ is, but their name is very hard to type on a traditional US keyboard. Annoyingly catchy chorus becomes less grating after the rest of the song reveals itself. Hiring Eric to do their videos was a very good move. 99. Janet Jackson “2 B Loved”
It's surprising that TRL/Y2K-era isn't a more frequent target for '90s throwbacks. In "2 B Loved," we hear Jordan Knight's "Give It To You" from summer '99. Wikipedia reveals Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were the masterminds behind BOTH. Well of course they were.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P7qrkOdzMc
98. Leapling “Flesh Meadows”
Cars drive by at night. Headlights slowly work their way across the walls. There's a lot of subtle texture to sort through on Leapling's Vacant Page LP, all of it anchored by careful, delicate restraint. The most immediate tracks - including stand-out "Flesh Meadows" - bordered on the quieter moments from Radiohead's My Iron Lung EP.97. E-40 "Choices (Yup)"
Huge congrats to E-40 for honoring the song's video with a 1-second cameo from Dr. Ruth among a cast of hundreds including Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and possibly MC Hammer at 3:35.
96. Philadelphia Collins "Dogsbody"
White Pony sped up to 45rpms. Word up to drummer Theo Hartlett for such a ferocious performance. We badly wanted to tie this with "Scuttlebutt" from Theo's other 2015 project Spook The Herd, but unfortunately we had to pass due to a certain band closely associated with this website who appears on the B-Side of their split. (We'll embed it below and throw it in the Spotify playlist anyway. Let this be our little secret.)95. Radiohead “Spectre”
Less bleeps and bloops than usual. Perhaps this is an indication of what to expect from Radiohead's next record, although it needs a lot more Colin Greenwood. TURN UP THE BASS. [Edit: Can't believe we missed an opportunity to tie in their cover of "Nobody Does It Better." HUGE fuck up.]94. Failure “Hot Traveler”
Fun anecdote time: People might not remember this so well, but it was kinda difficult to locate Failure CDs way back in 1997/1998. We special-ordered Magnified from Sam Goody one summer. And then every two weeks we returned and asked them what was taking so long. Months later, we finally got an upsetting phonecall telling us the CD was out of print. It was rough times. Eventually, college started right around the advent of Scour Exchange and Napster. And the rest is history.Our first experience with new dope Failure songs in 15 years did a decent job of transporting us back to the 11-Gig HD Compaq Presario days. "Stay up late with me." Yeah, that's basically what we used to do. We would stay up until 4AM waiting on the progress bar of On's "Your Sister Says John" to reach 100%. [In our opinion, this is one of the best cases in favor of legal substitutes for Napster such as Spotify or Youtube. Without them, it's possible bands like Failure would have never been able to build a following strong enough to return for another record.]
93. Big Neck Police “Detritus Man Around”
Sometimes bands get too intimidated to re-record older stuff since it often sacrifices the nuances and subtleties of the original lofi demo. However, BNP's new version of their mathy/angular/weirdo single from 2014 sounds better than ever. RIYL Meat Puppets II. (Also check out their split with Dog.)
92. Weezer “Everybody Needs Salvation”
We didn't realize it at the time, but Weezer's last album was actually ok enough for us to consider updating our nerdy fanfic bizarro discography from almost 3 years ago. It's been very easy to stay skeptical of their newer releases, especially since they're almost all publicized with taglines such as "a return to form," or "in the style of Pinkerton." In the fanfic version, Rivers Cuomo objectively understands that albums 5 thru 8 should be released under a different name (like when Mascis released 2 albums using the name J Mascis + The Fog instead of pretending that it still felt like Dinosaur Jr). The new 2016 addendum to our fanfic include 2014's Everything Will Be Alright In The End as the official long awaited follow-up to 2002's Maladroit. It's not as good as that album, but it feels more similar to Weezer's first 4 records than anything during the 2004-2013 era. "Everybody Needs Salvation" was demo'd during those 2014 sessions and was released as a proper fanclub-only single back in April. Despite the ridiculous coda section, it's still within their handful of recent jams that felt quirky and wild enough to heed fans who miss old Weezer. 2014's "I've Had It Up To Here" is another one of these. "Do You Wanna Get High?" from earlier this year is actually worthy of the tag "in the style of Pinkerton" since it REALLY sounds like "Pink Triangle." These are definitely the weirdest songs they've released in a VERY long time. We're down with weird. Even Bob Dylan had a mid-career slump during the '80s and early '90s before his unexpected comeback album, 1997's Time Out Of Mind. Perhaps Weezer are capable of something similar. Are they back in the shack? Well, sort of! Let's see where this takes them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_CubNjX4u8
91. J. Stalin featuring L-Jay “Bye Felicia”
For some reason, "the kids in 2015" got into the phrase "Bye Felicia" (a random quote from Ice Cube in the movie Friday). We don't really get it, because we're old. (Ke$ha tweeted it at some point over the summer. Over the past 18 months, at least 4 other tracks and a Jordin Sparks mixtape were released with this title. KnowYourMeme claims it was one of the topics discussed in the Straight Outta Compton film.) Yeah anyway, we wouldn't have known about it if this song hadn't grabbed our attention. The beat reminds us of "Juicy" or Reasonable Doubt-era Jay-Z. Also for a minute, we thought they were singing "five foot leesha."
90. Gemma “As Ever”
We promise this was a coincidence, but Felicia also just happens to be one half of Gemma. (See above.) The title track from their As Ever LP arrives abruptly with odd hiccups and sci-fi patches, anchored by a calming Wurlitzer and a classic '60s-style vocal melody reminiscent of Smokey Robinson's best A-sides.89. Wilco “Random Name Generator”
Hardcore fans knew this already, but their bassist John Stirratt (one of the 2 OG's along with Jeff Tweedy) has been responsible for Wilco's signature octave-vox. By all accounts, this guy should be considered "the secret weapon" - or their Michael Anthony, if a Van Halen comparison might suffice. Somebody send this man a beer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v81vhGTzXKE
88. Diddy f/ Pharrell “Finna Get Loose”
This is probably what James Brown's big 2015 album would have sounded like.
87. D.R.A.M. "Cha Cha (Original version)" / Drake “Hotline Bling”
These are tied up because some people think they sound suspiciously similar. Drake's loop of "Why Can't We Live Together" was one of the more inspired choices for any of 2015's actual hits. The original version of "Cha Cha" sampled Koji Kondo's "Star Theme" from Super Mario World for SNES (which was a slowed down version of the 3-second loop played when Mario collects the invincible-star in the original SMB). Perhaps some cease-and-desist action went down, since the sample was changed prior to its availability on legal streaming services. (Granted, this new less-interesting version does actually sound like "Hotline Bling.")"Cha Cha (original version)": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLMf9cqB__o
"Hotline Bling": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxpDa-c-4Mc
86. Dornik “Drive”
Dornik's LP wasn't afraid to pay homage to Michael Jackson's infrequently-referenced late-period records like History or Invincible. "Drive" and "Mountain" (a calming "Human Nature" influenced send-off) were probably the best examples.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj7AOYwo8vA
85. Timbaland featuring Aaliyah “Shakin’”
Timbaland loves bacon. He says so right in the song.
84. Palm “Doggy Doctor”
At long last, the Hot Mix finally gets down with some Palm, the 4-piece from Philly who are responsible for the most hypnotic rock album of 2015. Is it "rock" though? Despite their gtr/gtr/bass/drums/vox instrumentation, few (if any) of its songs adhere to traditional rock structure, instead immersed in unpredictable experimentation and loose theme-and-variations not unlike 20th-century classical composers. One of the most engaging live acts of the moment.83. Mastery “V.A.L.I.S.V.E.S.S.E.L.”
This is the opening 17-minute track from the most absurdly chaotic blackmetal album since Mortician's late '90s stuff. (It's actually more insane than that Agoraphobic Nosebleed record from the late 2000s.) Its Pitchfork review accurately claimed, "To call this music "dense" would be an understatement." David Lynch should consider this for the Wild At Heart 2 soundtrack.82. Faith No More “Separation Anxiety”
FNM's split happened so suddenly and abruptly after the release of 1997's Album Of The Year that their career arc felt unresolved despite the Abbey Road-style finalizing. Sol Invictus provides their long-awaited epilogue. It almost seems like these ideas had been brewing in their subconscious for 13 years, as if it would have sounded exactly the same recorded in 1999 or 2002 instead of so far into the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXk4Yiz8fs
81. David Bowie “Blackstar”
The boomers and Jann Wenner want another Hunky Dory, and Bowie finds this all very funny. We're hoping the next record is entirely 11-minute Scott Walker jams. (Also, we love that the song had to be shortened to 9:59 due to Soundcloud restrictions.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kszLwBaC4Sw
80. Babysitter “Hippy In The City”
The drums, sax and vocal parts do not coincide or flow with any specific key (except for the female vocalist, who sounds sorta lined up with the bass). What puts it over the top is the sarcastically absurd dissonance between the guitar and the bass. A giant, depressed fuck-you rage. There's nothing positive about this world at all. It's just chaos, and our lives contain no meaning whatsoever. There's no point of attempting to blend in the traditional sense. We wonder if any commentary on gentrification is intended here. "Hipsters in the city?" Pushin' out the poor people and make room for more coffees with the white hearts on top? Where Brooklyn at?79. Tähtiportti “Poikarakkaus”
One thing everybody knows about kids these days is that they LOVE industrial darkwave. So obviously everyone should expect Tähtiportti to be opening for Ed Sheeran as early as Spring 2016. Get pumped!
78. Alessia Cara “Here”
Fun fact: It's not a Portishead sample, but rather both jams sampled "Ike's Rap II" by Issac Hayes. The more you know. For your health.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZRPRf84HO4
77. Ciara “All Good”
Over the summer, we were kinda desperate for summery-sounding summer jams, and this one ended up getting spun a lot. This is the 2nd Ciara album in a row that saves its best song for last, and neither jam was a radio single. What's the deal?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB8xN4udp5c
76. Wilco “Cold Slope”
A few of these finger-pick solos sound like Nels Cline is pulling the guitar strings right off the fretboard. Or like Jerry pulling out Tom's whisker. *yoink*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LVnPD_0GG4
75. Rob Crow's Gloomy Place “Business Interruptus”
Rob Crow is back! Back to music, AND back on Twitter. Double-dope. He's never toured for any of his solo albums (as far as we know), so the title of this new project provides hope that he might be preparing live arrangements of stuff like "Prepare To Be Mined" or "Taste" or "I Hate You Rob Crow." [P.S. The storm trooper works pretty well next to both Wilco and Rob Crow. We swear that was a coincidence.]
74. Beauty Pill “Drapetomania!”
Beauty Pill is more rock than indie despite their bizarre instrumentation and song structures, far closer to Self's Breakfast With Girls or Soul Coughing's Ruby Vroom than Beirut. (No ukeleles in sight.) "Drapetomania" kicks off the party by setting up the scene with one of its record's catchiest jams.
https://soundcloud.com/butterscotch-records/sets/beauty-pill-describes-things-1
73. Ava Luna “Coat of Shellac”
There's countless arty weirdo shit in Brooklyn at any given moment, but Ava Luna are continuing to hold down their position as Brooklyn's strangest and most off-balance rock band. And we know that's an odd claim since their songs are inherently catchy, danceable and hugely accessible, yet so compelling eccentric. If a modern day Talking Heads exists, Ava Luna is that band. We know they just happened to begin a hiatus as of this past weekend, and we're hoping they plan on returning soon.
72. Gunk “Hippy” / Dungen "Sista Gästen"
Our Top 2 "drug sequence jams of the year," or "jams for The Dude from The Big Lebowski while floating in outer space." And here come the rainbows. The sun is shining. It's Woodstock 1969. We're so happy Gunk returned after their brief hiatus, and super unexpectedly. Our verbatim reaction was shouting "THERE'S A NEW GUNK???!" seconds after the message dropped in our inbox. (The message was "Greetings, RANCH just released Gunk by GUNK.") And we're equally pumped that we still have no idea what Dungen is singing about. Passing a tab of acid from one foreign tongue to the other. Dungen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3rlGbSH6i4
71. Ringo Deathstarr “Heavy Metal Suicide”
Ringo goes grunge. YES. Elliott and Alex are pulling off a fantastic Staley/Cantrell impersonation. The rest of Pure Mood is just as fantastic, sounding like a return to the nastiness and floaty textures from 2011's Colour Trip.
| Hot Mix 2015 on Spotify |
| #200 - 166 | #165 - 131 | #130 - 101 | #100 -71 | #70 - 41 | #40 - 21 | #20 - 1 |
| All 200 Songs |
Perhaps we've overdosed as well. We seem to be strung out on this website, leading to one of those unfortunate instances where it looks like we're on the verge of another extended break, similar to the one that took place between 2008 and 2009. We really should be finishing this up before officially declaring a hiatus. Between 2011 and 2012, “doing drugs” turned into a prevalent theme on hiphop and R&B stations, far surpassing themes regarding “selling drugs” that had ruled during the days of “C.R.E.A.M.” and “10 Crack Commandments” - a paradigm shift which may be partially attributed to the popularity of molly, but mostly thanks to Frank Ocean. As far as pop structure goes, “Overdose” surpasses anything throughout the past 10 years of releases from either Britney Spears or Kylie Minogue.
Technical virtuosity is not typically our thing, although the occasional fresh blast of prog-influenced brilliance never hurt anyone. "Surfacing" combines these cues with Elephant 6 flavored lo-fidelity, serving their brand as far more inspired than wanky. Dense with hooks, it's just as heavy as a few similarly packed mid-2000s mini-epics from their former tourmates Of Montreal, specifically "Requiem for OMM2" or "Voltaic Crusher." A curious recent signing to Stones Throw, Surface have already announced near-completion of LP2. Air-guitars in position.
The middle doesn't sound like such a great place. The middle is where all the eyes point: the center of attention. It's the easiest place to get lost. Once upon a time, Jimmy Eat World sang about "The Middle," and claimed it was not the best spot, but that eventually everything would be alright. Gerry Rafferty sang about getting "stuck in the middle with you," surrounded by stuff that didn't make no sense at all. It must be pretty shitty to return BACK to the middle, to that nasty uncomfortable place. "It's an endless cycle." The light at the end of the tunnel only acts to taunt and fuck with the head. This shit's getting old. Sick and tired of being sick and tired.
We can think of three quick and easy reasons why we love "Black Skinhead." #1 Monster riffs aren't as frequent these days, which may have assisted in this song's easy shoe-in as "Immigrant Song" or "Smoke on the Water" of 2013. RIFF OF THE YEAR. Let's be honest here. #2 Kanye supplies what is now probably the 19th major resurrection of the drums from "Rock n' Roll Part 2," also famously borrowed for Marilyn Manson in 1996 and also Rihanna in 2006, ushering a 2- or 3-year period when that particular drum pattern was ALL over Top 40 stations. Last but not least, #3: The yelp. Kanye's yelp on SNL contained a raw urgency that hadn't maintained its shape on the recording but was strong enough to resonate on all subsequent listens.
{EDIT 12:57PM APRIL 13} A paraphrased brief conversation with Sadie "The Jesus of Indie-Rock" Dupuis in response to our initial review of this song:
The most frequent critique of “Drown Me Out” that we've heard regards familiarity. “I've heard something that sounds like 'Drown Me Out' before,” but no one seems to be able to pin down exactly what. This supposed familiarity might best be attributed to the effortless simplicity of its craft. Songs like these are often created as a consequence of some magical accident, but in this case it appears far more purposely lethargic than lazy. Somewhere, pissed teens will always be understanding the power of barre chords played through Muff pedals. It's a combination as old as garage rock itself and not exclusive to any specific decade. “Drown Me Out” specifically descends from The Pixies just as much as a pair of 2011's sonically closest cousins, 
We love Two Inch Astronaut so much that we want to squeeze the daylights out of them. The intro of "Sternum" always reminds us of Trail of Dead's "How Near How Far," in a way that's hugely complimentary to both bands. Then after the story fades, "Sternum" utilizes probably its least heralded motif: A gradual rallentando leading into the final ominously unresolved chord. We don't hear songwriters busting out these classic moves as frequently in 2013, and why the fuck not? If it worked on "Lovefool," why not go for it? We're not sure if we've heard any recent claims along the lines of "What the fuck ever happened to Monster Ballads?" but "Sternum" comes fully loaded with a helpfully earwormy chorus, strong enough to push out whatever abysmal Staind knockoff got stuck in your head the day prior. For a slow-burner, its energy surpasses almost anything else on Bad Brother, impressively blending not only within the context of the album's running order, but also among the rest of Exploding In Sound's 2013 roster. 
Everyone seems to be ready and hopeful for the next era of Odd Future, one in which Tyler no longer reigns as the loudmouth rebel without a cause, opting instead for its new leaders - Frank and Earl - to usher in a new dawn, lyrically closer to the teachings of JD Salinger. While introspection and right of passage have been accompanying OFWGKTA's best music since 2012, the lopsided and off-kilter loop in "Molasses" (accompanied by its subject matter) seems closer to what would have happened if Earl had followed along the path of his 2010 self-titled mixtape. RZA's cameo suggests a passing the torch to his disciples while remaining just as curious as the rest of us to discover what becomes of the former wild kids.
“Track 8” begins with an intro (apparently) sampled from one of the Harry Potter movies (where one character transforms into a werewolf or something) juxtaposed immediately afterward by the most joyous and frustratingly brief passage to appear on any record in the past year: “Just wanna have a good tiiiiiiime...” 26 seconds later, the song has ended. Fade to black.
“Chew” - the swansong of Yuck 1.0 - marks the final point before their fork in the road. The Hebronix dude commendably avoided turning into Axl Rose and shouting “fuck these guys, I'm taking the band name with me,” helping fans to more closely examine the separation of Yuck 1.0. Hebronix and Yuck 2.0 aren't exactly the perfectly matched puzzle pieces that were revealed when STP briefly split into Talk Show and solo Scott Weiland. Yuck 1.0 have instead split into perpetually evolving units. Both halves issued music of approximately equal quality, although we unexpectedly preferred the highlights on Yuck 2.0 Glow and Behold, especially the dreamy jams like "Rebirth." Perhaps they'll regroup at some point, but at least the bitter split hasn't stifled either half.
Kevin Barnes ditches his long-cherished quadruple-track layered falsetto and bouncy intertwining upper-fret walking bass lines in favor of a return to Of Montreal's 90s production values fused with 70s classic rock cues. The songwriting is still sprawling, but the playful and strangely effortless hooks are as memorable as anything on Satanic Panic or Sunlandic Twins, especially on “She Ain't Speakin' Now,” the tune that currently stands tallest as an early highlight of what may become Of Montreal's freshly launched third era.
Earlier in 2013, 
A big year for Kim: After helping with new songs during a particularly frustrating Pixies session in England, she pulls the rage-quit card and immediately flies back to Ohio for planning the LSXX tour and possibly the best series of 7-inches from any artist this year. Inside sources have informed us that “Walking With a Killer” may get re-recorded for a prospective fifth Breeders LP. We chose stomper-chomper “Hot Shot” as our favorite a-side, arriving with the brightest Kim Deal smile out of her six 2013 jams, all of which surpassed Nu-Pixies recent misguided clunkers. Kim's tireless perfectionism wouldn't allow for anything less.
After throwing back a few shots, Selena ignores the “Do Not Enter” sign and busts down the doors to crash Ke$ha's secret spectacular birthday party. After successful undetected entry, it turns out that Ke$ha is absent from her own affair as a consequence of selling her soul to the reality TV devil. Selena takes advantage of the situation, covering her head with a blonde wig and impersonating Ke$ha so convincingly that no one notices.
In 1971, Z-Man throws yet another happening and makes an effort to invite the same band from 1 year prior. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Jimi Hendrix is no longer with us, leaving the 3 remaining members - Burt Ward, Geezer Butler and Wings-era Paul McCartney wearing black cloaks and surrounded by a shrine of candles - ready to jam on some sludgier “Album 3” darkness. Higher quality production suggests they've become one of the most revered sludge-pop bands of the moment, although their blusier approach includes subtle undercurrents of sadness seeping into the performances, perhaps a consequence of their mission to rediscover an initial fleeting high.
Our bias against Post-Phantom Limb indie-pop is never strong enough to push away an irresistibly tasty handful of jams year after year. After bands like Hooray For Earth, The Morning Benders and Stars found their way into our last few Hot Mixes (usually placing somewhere around #45), Cloud Control similarly beat the odds in 2013. Elsewhere on their LP, the lead singer dude belts some soulful croons that reach a little too far over the top for our tastes (i.e. their single “Promises”). We prefer the stuff that sounds more like “Dojo Rising,” wisely holding back from these instincts.
Neon Indian converts from VHS to LaserDisc for his Vice City contribution. Just kidding, it was GTA:V - not Vice City, but it almost feels like no one bothered telling him. "Summery, smiley and vaguely nostalgic" is typically a good combination for murdering hookers with a forklift. It should also suit just fine for whatever Neon Indian has in store for 2014.