It only took nine playlists to get to this point but I think I have finally made a playlist that is largely accessible and without any metal or hardcore rap to dispell any good energy I had earlier cultivated. Heck, this is a playlist my mom could listen to. Hear that, Mom! Just press play! Keep in mind, the opening track is me getting a little close to metal to start as my WWE love go the best of me and Code Orange is a solid band but after that, it’s clear sailing!
Track #1: Code Orange – Shatter – Bray Wyatt Entrance Theme (2022)
This is a cool and sort of bittersweet one to start off this new playlist with because when I first heard this song I was absolutely freaking out (or “marking out”) about the return of superstar Bray Wyatt to the WWE. Sadly, Wyatt, real name Windham Rotunda, passed away last year but this song, so full of atmosphere and wonder, still remains on my shuffled favorite songs and I give it a spin pretty regularly. Code Orange is such a cool and inventive band.
“Die for me brother
(Know not what you’ve seen)
Love one another
(Know not where you’ve been)
Lie for me brother
(Know not what you’vе said)
Use me for cover
(Whеn things break, things shatter)”
Track #2: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Get On Top – Californication (1999)
A track off of one of their greatest albums, for me the last front-to-back masterpiece, I’ve always loved the sound of the Chilis but mostly their guitar and bass combos. John Frusciante and Flea work like fire in this fast and funky track that is reminiscent of something they would have made in the Blood Suger Sex Magic days. I also love it when they do a flighty bridge and this song definitely has one. This is what I call an energy bringer and the track was inspired by Public Enemy which I think is so cool.
“I’mma linger on your block and
Give the finger to a cop and
Pick a lock before I knock and
Set you up to get on top”
Track #3: Metric – Speed The Collapse – Synthetica (2012)
Emily Haines and Company are one of my favorite Canadian music makers and this track totally envelopes me in atmospheric sound, echoey guitar and beautiful vocals from one of our home and native land’s greatest poets. While not released as the first single off of Synthetica, this song was part of the tease for the new record at the time and I was drooling for the complete record afterwards. Upon a deeper look at the subject matter and inspiration, the song draws close parallels to the US involvement in World War I and II, from their neutrality at the beginning of the war to the end which I think is kind of wild for a rock song from a band out of Toronto.
“Pushed away, I’m pulled toward
A comedown of revolving doors
Every warning we ignored
Drifting in from distant shores
The wind presents a change of course
A second reckoning of sorts
We were wasted, waiting for
A comedown of revolving doors”
Track #4: The Rolling Stones – Can’t You Hear Me Knocking – Sticky Fingers (1971)
There are a few classic songs that are appearing on this playlist that have direct relations to cinema and this one is the first as The Stones are clearly a go-to for a legendary director like Martin Scorsese, this track appears in Casino. Featured again six years later in the George Jung biopic Blow and a decade later in David O. Russell’s The Fighter and Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain, this track has that iconic opening on it and always adds a beautiful atmosphere every time it’s used. An all-time great song.
“Can’t you hear me knockin’? Ah, are you safe asleep?
Can’t you hear me knockin’? Yeah, down the gas light street, now
Can’t you hear me knockin’? Yeah, throw me down the keys
Alright now”
Track #5: Deftones – The Chauffer – B-Sides & Rarities (2005)
Yes, with the Deftones being one of my all-time favorite bands, it’s definitely weird of me to pick a cover song as the first that I post from their catalogue and one that isn’t on one of their standard studio records. That said, frontman Chino Moreno’s love for new wave music of the 1980s as well as this being an iconic song from Duran Duran made it an easy choice when it popped on randomly during the work day. I will never not headbang to that heavy stylist outro with that patented Deftones crunch on it from Steph, Chi and Abe. So damn great.
“And the sun drips down, bedding heavy behind
The front of your dress, all shadowy lined
And the droning engine throbs in time
With your beating heart”
Track #6: AC/DC – Shoot To Thrill – Back In Black (1980)
Is there any better evidence of the fact that I’m slowly moving through the Marvel Cinematic Universe again than me posting this driving track from the second Iron Man film? This song suits Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark like a Black Sabbath t-shirt and the build in the beginning can almost be timed as the suit forms around the billionaire playboy philanthropist. Being an overtly sexual song makes it a bit questionable in its use in Iron Man 2 as singer Brian Johnson utilizes the metaphor of a gun to describe his own junk, in which his climaxing is referred to as “pulling the trigger”. Actually, maybe it really is a Tony Stark song but more to the comics version of him. Like the MAX side of him. Comic term, don’t worry about it.
“Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Too many women with too many pills, said
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
‘Cause I shoot to thrill, and I’m ready to kill
I can’t get enough and I can’t get my fill
I shoot to thrill, play to kill
Yeah”
Track #7: Garbage – Push It – Version 2.0 (1998)
On Mother’s Day, I definitely had to pick the Scottish Mommy, Shirley Manson, and her group and, yeah, I, without a doubt, had a number one crush on her in my teen years. The first single off of their second album, I saw the video premiere for Push It on MuchMusic and my love for the group was reinvigorated. I picked up the CD on release day and probably played this song until there was an etched groove in the disc. The full allure of Shirley is definitely on display in this song.
“This is the noise that keeps me awake
My head explodes and my body aches”
Track #8: Opeth – Harvest – Blackwater Park (2001)
The black metal minstrels finally made their way onto a playlist and it was merely a matter of time as they are a favorite of mine, especially this record in particular. Funny enough, the first song I chose was one that is more palatable for listeners and doesn’t feature frontman and lead guitarist Mikael Åkerfeldt’s death metal roar or any heavy riffs for that matter. Instead, Harvest is a beautifully crafted ballad that deals with the immediate arrival of mortality from a first-person perspective. This is one of my favorite bands to see live and seeing them do this song was a life memory for sure. I recommend finding their live DVD Lamentations and you’ll see what I mean.
“Into the orchard I walk, peering way past the gate
Wilted scenes for us who couldn’t wait
Drained by the coldest caress, stalking shadows ahead
Halo of death, all I see is departure
Mourner’s lament, but it’s me who’s the martyr”
Track #9: Post Malone – Wrapped Around Your Finger – Twelve Carat Toothache (2022)
This album definitely got it’s play in my household when it came out, a definite best-of-2022 record in my opinion, so, really, any track off of it would be a welcome addition to a playlist. I opted for this fun and light-sounding track that shows off Posty’s range so beautifully, one of my favorite current singers in popular music. There is something really universal about his music, the current generation absolutely vibes with him as well as their wine-drinking moms just looking for a fun groove to bop to. Twelve Carat Toothache is the album to bop along with and I think I’ve given a solid first cut from it if you’re unfamiliar.
“When we met, you ain’t know I was a singer
You weren’t impressed by all the ice on my fingers (So icy)
I had your mom and daddy’s house on my pinky (My pinky)
If I’da known what it’d be like now
I wouldn’t be in misery right now
Look in the mirror, I don’t see myself
Being with me has gotta be like hell
So tell the devil I’ma be right down”
Track #10: Kaiser Chiefs – Wait – Duck (2019)
With a clicky little beat and a whole horn section, the fact that this wasn’t a single off of their 2019 record is kind of crazy to me because it has radio play written all over it. Making their way from Leeds, England, the indie rock band once known as Runston Parva or simply Parva has always had a penchant for churning out energetic rock hits as Ruby was a favorite even before it was on Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock. The chorus of this track also has a reference to drinking Diet Coke so I know it has an immediate fanbase in my house with my wife and daughter.
“Laughin’ all the time, singin’ as they go
Lookin’ like an ad, drinkin’ Diet Coke
Everybody dance, let’s breakdown tonight
Making up the lies, keeping up the show
Checkin’ out the boys, wearin’ summer clothes
Get it while you can
Let’s breakdown tonight
I’ll just wait”
Track #11: Lee Ranaldo – Waiting On A Dream – Between The Tides And The Times (2012)
Being a guy who became a teen in the mid-nineties, I know exactly who Sonic Youth is but my focus was limited to Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon generally. So, when Spotify popped this track into my recommendations from Ranaldo, a co-founder of the legendary New York City rock band, a track off of his ninth album, it led me on a journey through his solo work. Surprisingly, like the last song on this playlist, this wasn’t a track released as a single, the honor of the first single falling to the song that appears after this one, the opening track on the record. Though, at over six minutes, I can understand why it wasn’t shopped to radio stations.
“Hanging around with saints and sinners, losers, winners, I try to pay no mind
I can see thru all that shakes and quivers, every loveless soul strung out on the line
There’s a golden light in the sky tonight, where 10,000 soldiers stand with feet of clay
Secrets to be told will keep for the night and we will soon be on our way”
Track #12 – Thom Yorke – Black Swan – The Eraser (2006)
Another incredible track off of a fantastic album that was never released as a single and should have been. At four minutes and fifty seconds, this song may clock in as too long for radio but it’s so damn catchy in its execution and it could be anthemic but with a bit of bleeping on the cuss words. On the outside of this pick, it’s a little crazy that I didn’t present a Radiohead song first, a band that was a part of the evolution of my musical palate but to include a sort of lo-fi song from Yorke is almost more fitting because it is the side of him I appreciate a lot. The pops of the drums and his low vocals make this easily one of my favorite songs he has ever written.
“You cannot kick-start a dead horse
You just cross yourself and walk away
I don’t care what the future holds
‘Cause I’m right here, and I’m today
With your fingers you can touch me”
Track #13: Kings Of Leon – Waste A Moment – WALLS (2016)
It may just be the May long weekend as I’m writing this but there is something about the resonance of this Mount Juliet, Tennessee band’s sound that makes the sun hit a bit sweeter, the wind has a bit of warmth and the atmosphere really bringing the season home for you. This song kicks off with that big-time feel and it really is a no-brainer as to why this was the leading single to tease the album and also why it is what starts off this fantastic album. No matter where you are or how you’re feeling, Caleb and the rest of the Followills always have a way of making the sun break over the horizon for you in your musical landscape.
“Tex, he was her boyfriend with no kin always running from the law
Every other weekend, the week ends with his back in her claw
He’s a livewire, wired, shooting sparks in the night
He’s a gun for a hire, hired with a bead in his sights”
Track #14: Tegan And Sara – Closer – Heartthrob (2013)
The first two time artist on one of my playlists arrives to finish off this week and they’re Canadian as well! This also makes this playlist, the ninth in, the most accessible and sort of mellow since I started this journey. Hell, my mom could listen to it and enjoy it! Maybe I’ll call it that! Anyways, this is one of the more accessible and commercial tracks from the Quin sisters but I really love the poppiness to it as they lean into the catchy hooks that really started getting them radio popular. This song was just more icing on the mainstream cake in my opinion.
“The lights are off and the sun is finally setting
The night sky is changing overhead”
Steve Stebbing 