| 100 - 81 || 80 - 61 || 60 - 41 || 40 - 21 || 20 - 1 |
| All 100 Songs |
60. The Shifters “Andrew Bolt”
59. Innumerable Forms "Punishment in Flesh" / Creeping Death "Trail of Confusion"
58. Nicki Minaj f/ Ariana Grande “Bed” / Ariana Grande “God Is A Woman” / Khalid f/ 6LACK & Ty Dolla $ign "OTW"
57. Satan’s Satyrs “Take It And Run”
At the final table of the 2018 World Series of Poker’s $1,500 seven-card stud event in June, Albini wasn’t wearing shades or showing off any tacky ink. But he did have on a black T-shirt featuring the name and logo of a Belgian punk band called Cocaine Piss. Albini works with the group. “We actually have a session booked in a couple weeks,” said Albini, the owner of Electrical Audio in Chicago. “They’re coming to record another album.” After he sported the tee, traffic to the Cocaine Piss Bandcamp page quickly jumped. https://www.theringer.com/sports/2018/7/2/17524632/steve-albini-poker-world-series-champion56. Bad Sports “Comes Close”
55. Mason Ramsey “Famous”
Mason Ramsey went to Walmart sometime prior to March 24th, 2018, and he decided to yodel. Someone took a video with their phone -- likely one of his parents. And they wisely tagged the video "Walmart Yodel Boy" to make it seem like the video was not taken by anyone in the yodeller's family. By March 31st, the uploaded video had an entry on knowyourmeme. By April 13th, Mason had been asked to perform at Coachella. Up until this point, the meme felt pretty annoying. However, it all became justified mere weeks later after a songwriting team of four people wrote him the outstandingly dope song "Famous." It was quickly recorded and released to Spotify on April 27th, later debuting at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's not tough to quickly move on from an unremarkable meme-of-the-week, but a dope jam lasts forever. Also he kinda looks like Jordy.54. Three Keep Deep “Kingz Way”
53. Etran de L'Aïr "Etran Hymne"
The No. 1 LP is the winner of what would have been the Grammy for "Wedding Band Album Of The Year" if such a Grammy Award ever existed. A layer of field recording surrounds the atmosphere of this mysterious 2014 artifact, possibly taped with only one or two mics. Liner notes reveal that these distant captured sounds are an actual wedding, and that Etran de L'Air is one of Niger's most successful wedding bands. We would like them to play at every wedding forever, but that is impossible. So instead, just play the CD or vinyl. It'll be great. P.S. Why don't more wedding people get vinyl DJ's to spin at their weddings? Kinda sick of just seeing the one dumbass with the mic spinning the same dumbass songs for 5 hours.52. Stove "Mosquiter" / Stove “Nightwalk”
51. Otoboke Beaver “Anata Watashi Daita Ato Yome No Meshi”
50. David Nance Group “In Her Kingdom” / David Nance “110 Blues (I-80 Version)”
49. Travis Scott f/ Drake “Sicko Mode”
48. Beach House “Lemon Glow”
47. Windhand "Old Evil" / Windhand “Red Cloud”
46. Sleep "Sonic Titan"
For all practical intents and purposes, the fluid track listing of Dopesmoker finally congealed upon the release of its 2012 vinyl and streaming reissue: Track 1: "Dopesmoker (Parts 1, 2 and 3)" Track 2: "Holy Mountain (live in 1994)," Track 3: "Sonic Titan (live in 1992)." After lasting 20 years without any official studio release, "Sonic Titan" seemed destined to go down as a lost fan favorite. Without much warning, 4/20/2018 suddenly arrived with a Beyonce-style surprise drop from perhaps the most mythic stoner-metal band of all time. The Sciences had arrived.The record's two lengthiest jams - "Antarcticans Thawed" and "Sonic Titan" - both survived similarly long journeys from their 1992 genesis, written alongside "Dopesmoker" starting around the close of the Sleep's Holy Mountain sessions. Fully ripened in its official studio version, "Sonic Titan" now stretches well-past the 12-minute mark, fully formed beyond its 9-minute Dopesmoker version. The placement of the bass solo after its gigantic intro justifies every repetition. The Iommi-thirds accompanying its riff ascend straight into one of Matt Pike's wildest shredder solos.
[Incorrectly labelled as "Giza Butler" on Bandcamp.]
45. Kim Petras “Heart To Break”
44. Mister Goblin “Option Vampire”
43. Rolling Blackout Coastal Fever "Talking Straight"
42. Surface To Air Missive “Life is So Sad” / Surface To Air Missive "Phases"
41. 6ix9ine f/ Fetty Wap & A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie “KEKE”
We were bad.
| 100 - 81 || 80 - 61 || 60 - 41 || 40 - 21 || 20 - 1 |
| All 100 Songs |
"Mantra" gives us hope for a future Earl & Miguel collab. The beat suggests a painful struggle with intimate exploration. With Miguel, this would entail a more sensual (sexual) journey, while Earl's is entirely introspective - a drug song. Starting at 2:40, the warped coda sounds like the chemicals are finally starting to work their magic. By 3:20, Earl is painless and catatonic while the intro of a far more relaxed and polished beat slides its way into the picture.
The classic rock radio backlash 
“Take a sip of my secret potion / One taste and you’ll be mine.” We hate to break it to you, but what people call "love" is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, and then it slowly fades leaving you 
Despite popular belief, there's a lot more Frank Black than Kim Deal injected into "Purple Rage," a jam that might have been the most perfect traditionally structured loud rock song of 2015. There's even a breakdown after the second chorus, plus plenty of opportunities for audiences at their shows to scream "YAAEEEEEEAAAAAA" while throwing their fists in the air. Slack is back - with a vengeance. 
Not gonna lie here: We don't know enough about jazz to correctly identify which sections of The Epic sound closest to John Coltrane or Chick Corea. But we listen to 
We found two other online reviews of Stove Is Stupider that individually note the ignition of the Big Muff in "Dusty Weather's" outro as an album highlight. And while we're inclined to agree, the preceding 3 minutes and 20 seconds of quiet restraint are equally crucial. Within the album's sequencing, it's the first moment on this record that doesn't rest comfortably on the line between Ovlov and what happened afterwards. The Stove era feels more introspective than ever, and possibly as a consequence, slightly more aligned with the textures of Jimmy Eat World's Clarity and The Get Up Kids' Something To Write Home About (both from 1999). But what's truly remarkable is that any randomly chosen song from Is Stupider might actually prove itself just as timeless as almost anything from either of those albums.
This refers to the 3:34 version posted to Soundcloud back in July and (for some reason) 
Sources have reported that Ava Luna's creative process involves brainstorms and organization so extensive that their notepads might be incomprehensible to average humans. Whenever any band does a song about money or bills, we always say it's "their official commentary on the nation's economic climate," and we're usually half-kidding. But in this case, Ava Luna seem to have sonically captured a frustrating balancing act between responsibility towards both money and relationships. The complexity in the lyrics reflect its "mini-symphony" arrangement, soulful vocals that wouldn't be out of place on a Hall & Oates record, and drum mics pushed into the red. Its arrangement seems oddly balanced as well, with an earwormy singalong chorus that doesn't return the same way twice. 
We regret not throwing together a few interviews for this year's Hot Mix. In this instance, it might have been helpful to know if "Sofa Queen" was remotely composed, like that Postal Service album. In either case, we stand by our initial assessment that we've probably already drunkenly confessed to the three musicians involved: "It sounds like Ellen singing on a Grass Is Green song," which for us is a "Breaking News" headline worth far more than "Check Out Josh Homme and Dave Grohl's New Band." You know those instances of big business collaborations where the headline is worth more than the actual music? Dave Grohl is usually involved in a lot of these. "Check Out Kanye and McCartney's New Single On Tidal." You get the point.
Fact #1: As an official Beyonce-dubbed title, 
2015 may have been "the year of lead singles from promised albums that never got released." While Missy's "WTF" and Rihanna's "BBHMM" were among the most notorious, many Kanye fans must have been tipped early on that the odds of these McCartney collabs ending up on Swish were just as likely as "Mercy" or "Clique" winding up on Yeezus. All three songs arrived within the first 3 months of 2015. By the time October arrived, it was pretty certain that Kanye had moved onto other things. A lot of fans couldn't help noticing the similarities between the intros of "All Day" and 
On their tour following the release of A Distant Fist Unclenching, Krill would frequently close their setlists with a strategically placed emotional earthquake: 
Our favorite moments on Alex G's last few records are the darker, more bizarre moments, if only because they're always more unexpected among the larger, more traditional fraction. The oddities have been showing up more frequently since 2012's Trick. "Salt," "Look Out," "Brite Boy" and "In Love" might be the weirdest, darkest and arguably best sequence on any of his albums so far, while the more traditional singer-songwriter parts of Beach Music are as strong as ever. There's a very good possibility that it's his best album yet. The quiet dissonant guitar feedback in "Kicker" suggests a madness creeping underneath all the coolness. "Big plan for a big man / Tough change for a tough guy." A definite album highlight.
Here's a great example of visuals in a music video capturing the essence of a song. The Youtube viewer gets to literally run away with Carly Rae as she escapes to Paris, NYC and (possibly) Tokyo. The production elements and sax riff help it to fit within the current fake-'80s trend (M83's 
"NOW she wanna fuck with me...". She sounds like she's dealt with this many times before. This lyric accompanied by a abruptly warm and dark introduction kicks off an otherwise outstanding 4-song front-load and the year's most sadly unheralded song sequence. If '90s nostalgia is still considered hip, then Ego Death arrived just in time for what appears to be a brief revival of neo-soul. Syd Tha Kid's understated coolness recalls Amel Larrieux's vocals on 
Homeshake is a home recording project of Mac Demarco's former rhythm guitar player. The sleepy, melancholy aura within "Heat" somehow aligns pretty well with its unauthorized 
In October 2014, we were fortunate enough to visit the Odd Future store on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles (which closed down the following January). The items were a bit pricey, but Devin bought socks, and we picked up some "GOLF" bumper stickers. It was pretty empty with the exception of 1 or 2 clerks and 2 or 3 dudes at the front of the store who were loudly playing FIFA 2014 on XBOX. And by "the front of the store," we mean you had to walk right past them since the TV was above the entrance. And by "loudly," we mean they were laughing and yelling expletives at each other creating a less-than-typical environment for a retail store. And if memory serves correctly, there was no music, so these FIFA dudes were the only audible sounds throughout the entire time you were there. We'd like to think that those 2 or 3 dudes were employees who were paid to help generate an OFWGKTA-approved atmosphere. 
Palehound's knack for strong melodic hooks is probably the most obvious attribute at the heart of "Healthier Folk's" dopeness, alongside their excellent usage of careful restraint. But the structural twists and turns are what might make this their quintessential jam. Like the finest Simpsons episodes, it 
A welcome inclusion to any of her future Greatest Hits packages, "No Sleeep" chronicles Janet's sexual excursions confined within some lavishly decorated house or apartment throughout a rainy 48 hour period - one in which Janet and the object of her desire receive no sleep despite surrounding themselves with very soft and comfortable beds, couches, blankets and pillows. It sounds like they start to run out of steam around 2:51 as the beat switches back to the heartbeat-sounding kick drum from the intro. Janet starts to doze off here, but then gets awakened for another round. "No Sleeep" might also a strong candidate for the "fade out hall of fame" (alongside Aaliyah's "One In A Million," Beck's "Loser," Bowie's "Space Oddity") as the heartbeat resurfaces throughout its final 15 seconds. (Sadly, this is the portion of the song that J. Cole raps over in the album version. But fortunately, R&B radio has avoided this version.)
We may have blown our #BBHMM load on 
Pitchfork likes this one enough that it placed decently well on their 
This was the first new song we heard in 2014 way back on 01.01.14. "Boss Ass Bitch" arrived with an immediate impact courtesy of the sample's crushing minimalist attack (doing wonders for our New Years hangover). This not only inspired a few lyrical peaks in the "badass" category but also showed her artistically turning to a new chapter. Frequent homages to Biggie weren't just limited to "Four Door Aventador" (reviewed a few pages back), but 
In the January 1999 issue of SPIN, Sasha Frere-Jones described Rufus Wainwright as 
TMK: Tell us a little about "Scattering Ram."
Even if the title of the song wasn't "Break the Bank," the music already sounds suspenseful enough to soundtrack the perfect heist. You know how every time you watch the movie Heat, you're like "I wanna do that!" You just wanna be runnin' down Main Street with an AK47 screaming 
Viral-crossover jams are injecting a freshness into hiphop stations unlike any other point throughout the 2010s. Radio programming hasn't felt this adventurous in at least a decade, even pushing a song as weird as 
This is the song that gets stuck in the heads of every character in David O'Reilly's 
In August 2013, two lead singles from two of the music's biggest names debuted very nearby each other. Accordingly, a PR strategy involving friendly competition was set in motion, including performances of Katy Perry's "Roar" and Lady Gaga's "Applause" at the 2013 VMAs. A few weeks later, the numbers returned with Katy hitting #1 while Gaga stalled at #4. This marked the start of a solid year where Katy found herself alone at the top with no actual competition, crowned with the heavyweight title of "biggest U.S. Top 40 singer" (up until she was dethroned in August 2014 when "Shake It Off" conveniently coincided with the the end of Prism's promo cycle). Katy Perry is now the only artist who's had the biggest song in the country at least once a year since 2010.
from these albums have performed nearly as well 3 years earlier? Are we wrong to suggest that their success can be entirely attributed to timeliness? Is it possible that the success of these songs has anything to do with listeners growing accustomed to ephemeral trends?
lush chord progression in a minor key, vaguely resembling recent hits from Drake, M83 and Rihanna's "Diamonds" (another Benny Blanco hit from months prior). Juicy J was summoned for a cameo not long after the 8-minute "Bands a Make Her Dance (Chopped & Screwed)" went viral. This familiar combination of elements may have played a part in why "Dark Horse" has started to feel like it's been lingering around Top 40 and hiphop stations for the past 3 or 4 years.
G-Toss played about six bands before the close of SUNY Purchase's Culture Shock concert back in April, prior to both Lil B and Lightning Bolt. About 5 minutes into their set, it seemed like the majority of the audience had just started peaking on molly or some combination of uppers and hallucinogens. And without warning, shit got fucking INSANE. We don't remember if they played "367 Equalizer" at this show, but it's likely since it premiered online only a few weeks later. Either way, it exemplifies the effect they had over everyone in that enormous room, encouraging movement from all 5 senses at once, potentially inducing convulsions and wild fits. They are a 10-speed blender, and their favorite margarita mixes the first Liars album with the PCP freakouts from Black Dice's Repo. Whereas hot jams like "TV Spell" and "Smack the Brick" are on the smoothie or shake setting, "367 Equalizer" chops up the tiny ice cubes for the frozen drink setting. (We're not sure what this means, but we're leaving it.)
Adolescent-sounding voices + "going viral" = one way ticket to one hit wonder (usually). It's not like 
We had to combine these because #1 they flow together within the album context, and because #2 both songs sound like composites of about a half-dozen '70s AM Gold hits. Some might scoff at us for suggesting where sounds might have been borrowed, but Sloan are no plagiarists. Plus, cracking the code yields fun puzzle times. Our case begins as we skim through about 10 reviews of Commonwealth, ultimately revealing two interviews with Jay Ferguson regarding the former. He cites Phoenix, Wings, ABBA and Fleetwood Mac. From our end, we're also hearing ELO, 
The thrashing garage-rock energy of "New Kid" immediately struck us as one of the standout jams on Ex Hex's Rips LP. We simply had to know more, and so we tracked down everyone in the band for our wild n' crazy TMK exclusive:
Meeting somewhere between 
Consider this one sort of an unofficial three-way-tying of the 8-minute To Be Kind jams. (We weren't really into the rest of this album nearly as much. Sorry.) 
Damnit, we really didn't want this one to be a tie. But we would have been kicking ourselves hard had we neglected "Doctor," a punk moment so authentic that it might be tough to decipher whether or not it's a lost relic from the early '80s. "You put your fingers in other people's mouths all day." Priests' cathartic blasts make up the majority of their live set, but it was the invitingly catchy refrain of "Right Wing" that perplexed us most, playing in our heads as we woke up at least a dozen times this past year. Maybe it's the beer talking, but this kinda beats 
"I'm just sittin' in the studio just tryna get to you, baby / But this song so fuckin' dope, girl, it's harder not for me to blaze it / To tell the truth, wish it was you in this booth that I was blazin." Alright, we're confused. This could mean "The faster I'm done with this dope track, the faster I'll get back to you." Or possibly, "Sitting in the studio trying to get everything down and solid so that you can understand me." Or wait, we thought of another possibility too, but we just lost it. Fuck. The tape slows down in the last 10-seconds, sort of suggesting defeat. Schoolboy Q was unable to reach his lady baby, and we're left witnessing the song collapse onto itself despite his best efforts. We're actually kind of feelin' this ambiguity and would rather not consult Rap Genius with this one.
