I feel almost apologetic every time I release these as, at first, I feel like I’m setting up a vibe but as the weeks progress, my feeling at the time changes and my days evolve to the point that I ruin the whole soul of what I was going for by including Catch Your Breath. You can argue the scale was starting to tip with Chevelle but I feel that song in my very soul so I can’t really be faulted on it. This time, I got some favorites with Childish Gambino and CKY, a movie-related track from Kavinsky and two artists making their threepeat on the list. Dig in and enjoy the ride with a good rap kickoff then a solid thriple threat of rock.
Track #1: Childish Gambino – I.Crawl – Because The Internet (2013)
Going back to the Gambino discography to kick off this playlist and I’m picking a track from one of the landmark records of hip hop in the 2010s. There is a lot going on in a song written by Donald Glover and this, the kick-off to the record, is a complex odyssey that we have come to expect from the gifted musician. A great beat with some fast and furious lyrics, trying to keep up with the flow of it makes you almost dizzy. For obvious reasons as a white guy, I don’t even try to rap along with Gambino, I just appreciate it.
“(Who am I?)
Rec League, I ain’t paying to ball
Y’all B-string like a broke guitar
And I still put it down like the family dog
Yeah, I murder some, murder one
Explain it all, Ferguson
We ain’t gotta sing the same old love song
Cut a white girl with the same black gloves on
Yeah, what you saying to it?
Old money look, no money don’t do it
Make ’em turn around in their lane like a U-ie
And I’m only looking back if I’m looking at her booty
(At her booty) What’s the rationale?
They wanna smoke **** when they Black and mild
So we act it out—okay, cool“
Track #2: Jane’s Addiction – True Nature – Strays (2003)
It’s easy for me to say that I didn’t appreciate Perry Farrell and his legendary Los Angeles, California band mates, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Chris Chaney, during their heyday but now, in my mature retrospect, I find myself listening to them a lot. This song, the kick-off to Strays, is so hard not to rock out to. As soon as Perry sings “Here we go!” you really just want to cruise along with Navarro’s crunchy guitar rift. This is also the kick-off of a reunion sparked by Farrell’s side project Porno For Pyros contribution to the Dark Blue soundtrack that brought him and drummer Perkins back together. So, we can thank Kurt Russell for this record in a way.
“Please believe, we live and breathe
Through native tongue and poetry
All these years, man, we believed, yeah”
Track #3: Our Lady Peace – Starseed – Naveed (1994)
This is a cool one for a few reasons. First, I’m adding some Canadian content and, secondly, it is a band that means a lot to us Canucks, one responsible for hit after hit after hit. This song is one of those first hits, leading me to the third reason this pick rocks as it is off an album that was one of the first CDs I ever bought for myself. Naveed as an album is one of the pivotal records in my music appreciating life but it was seeing the music video for this track that put me on the path. A tight group out of Toronto, Ontario, many of their songs are on my liked songs list, so many will appear right here on a later playlist. Also, Jeremy Taggert is one of Canada’s greatest drummers ever. No question.
“When I find out what went on
I’ll bring it back, but it won’t be easy
They won’t believe how a man, he could drown
In a starseed, starseed
Oh-oh, oh-oh”
Track #4: Chevelle – So Long, Mother Earth – NIRATIAS (2021)
If there was an album that was responsible for bringing me back to life in a music-based emotion, it would be Taylor Swift’s Folklore and this record, one that I spun every day since it came out for at least one track. That one song would usually be this one, the first one after the intro, Verruckt. The guitar along with Pete’s incredible vocals keep this song as a beautiful earworm in my head probably for the rest of my life and I have zero problems with that. And his scream on the “so long” at the end of the song? One of my favorite ends to a song ever and that’s not hyperbole.
“So with miles and miles to go
You never left or found your purpose
Get up, you can and you will
Time is so vast and risky as hell”
Track #5: Kavinsky – Nightcall – Nightcall (2010)
My love for movies and music blends right here because I wouldn’t have known about this killer synth track by this Seine-Saint-Denis, France-born DJ if it wasn’t for this song’s use in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive. Without this being the soundtrack to RyanGosling’s cruise around Los Angeles, I wouldn’t have been immersed in his discography and those like him and I am grateful for all the suggestions that have come from it. I also love that Childish Gambino uses it for “R.I.P” with Bun B and it was beautifully covered by London Grammer who makes it their own. Thanks to my friend Leanne for the recommendation on the cover song.
“I’m giving you a night call to tell you how I feel
(We’ll go all, all, all night long)
I want to drive you through the night, down the hills
(We’ll go all, all, all night long)
I’m gonna tell you something you don’t want to hear
(We’ll go all, all, all night long)
I’m gonna show you where it’s dark, but have no fear
(We’ll go all, all, all night long)”
Track #6: Fozzy – Nowhere To Run – Boombox (2022)
It’s really funny to follow Kavinsky with this because there is a movie-related reason for this song being on the list too. The reason is band founder and lead singer Chris Jericho is the producer on a new film called The Death Tour and I am trying to secure an interview with the wrestling god, a huge figure in my pro wrestling fandom. As a result, I have been playing Fozzy tracks all day and his song simply stood out as my favorite of the day. It was the first track released off of the Boombox record, which, right now, is the last album they put out.
“Where do I go, go from here?
Hold my ground or disappear
Nowhere to run, nowhere to run, oh
Now that I’m all out of time
One last stand to make it right
Nowhere to run, nowhere to run
Nowhere to run
Staring at the barrel of a gun
Nowhere to run, nowhere to run
I can feel it burning in my lungs
Nowhere to run, nowhere to run
Nowhere to run”
Track #7: Catch Your Breath – Deadly – Shame On Me (2023)
I really have to thank Spotify for putting me on the path of this metalcore band out of Austin, Texas. I know it totally dispels the vibe of this playlist so far with some metal crunch and dreams but, you know me, I can’t resist. There’s a well-roundedness to the sound of this band, including full synth, that really gets me going and when it comes on my stereo, I really blast it. This song is one that I go to all the time, a track that might be my favorite off of this album, their debut arrival on the scene. I can’t wait to hear what’s next.
“Oh, let me die in your arms tonight
Crashing down ’til we both collide
Under the knife, barely alive
I had a vision of how I would die
From a kiss so deadly”
Track #8: Dead Sara – Weatherman – Dead Sara (2012)
The first time I heard this track on Vancouver radio I was absolutely blown away by it. A good opening riff and some great sultry singing from lead singer Emily Armstrong drew me in and then she unleashed a roar in that chorus and I knew this Los Angeles band would stick in my ear for a while. A really kicking three-piece band, it’s crazy to think that they’ve only released three records including this debut from 2012 and that none of the songs have reached the success of Weatherman but it’s a solid start for anyone that needs a good rock band with some crunch to them.
“I sing for the melody and I sing for reason
And I’ll sing as the neglect for all that un-American”
Track #9: Kasabian – Club Foot – Kasabian (2004)
This one is really cool as it is a classic Brit rock song that is going to be hitting the milestone of twenty years on my birthday this year at the beginning of September. Hailing from Leicester, England, Kasabian arrived with energy and originality and never seemed to make the same song or record twice. This track in particular is a great pump-up song and has been used by European football clubs regularly to get them psyched for their upcoming battles. It feels like the perfect song to use over a video of action-packed highlights in my opinion.
“One, take control of me?
You’re messing with the enemy
Said it’s two, it’s another trick
Messing with my mind, I wake up
Chase down an empty street
Blindly snap the broken beats
Said it’s gone, with the dirty trick
It’s taken all these days to find ya”
Track #10: Atreyu – Bleeding Mascara – The Curse (2004)
Clearly, I have a deep love for Atreyu as this is the third time they have appeared on a playlist and they are the first artist to do so thus far. This was the first song I ever heard by Atreyu and it’s the lead track off of this record, a roar of a beginning that follows the intro, Blood Children. It was the tipping point to a fandom that exists today and an introduction to an album that I still listen to regularly. If you don’t want to hear more from this band after listening to this track, you won’t be into them at all.
“Look how pretty she is
When she falls down
Now, there’s no beauty in
Bleeding mascara
Lips are quivering
Like a withering rose
She’s back again”
Track #11: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Gold Lion – Show Your Bones (2006)
The goddess Karen O graces the list for her second time with a song off of the second album so it looks like I’m going in succession with their discography. The difference between this song and the last one is that this song was the first single released off the record, just the day before the album was. It is also the song that kicks off the record, a noticeable next step in the evolution of sound that this incredible New York three-piece is capable of. I also love the high-pitched Karen O choruses and Gold Lion has a great one.
“Now, tell me what you saw
Tell me what you saw
There was a crowd of seeds
Inside, outside
I must have done a dozen each
It was the height I grew
The weight, the shell was crushing you
I’ve been around a few”
Track #12: CKY – 96 Quite Bitter Beings – Camp Kill Yourself, Vol. 1 (1999)
Just like my inclusion of H.I.M. on a playlist a while back, I have to credit Bam Margera’s skate and Jackass predecessor CKY or Camp Kill Yourself videos from the early 2000s for me bringing his brother Jess’s alt-metal band. He plays the drums for those who don’t know. This song in particular is the lone single released from it but exits, for me, in a vacuum of fantastic songs off this debut record. It’s also the first part in the “Hellview trilogy” which tells of a deranged town and its inhabitants, the second and third piece being “Escape from Hellview” and “Hellions on Parade.” I may be biased, but the simplicity of these songs and the catchiness of the tunes always have me revisiting it, right up until now.
“At the fork turn left, a store, but on the right stay free from sight
Cause 96 quite bitter beings like to stack the bodies high
The only way to ever leave is overflooded by the storm
And entanglement in Hellview brings you fear in fifty forms
They’ve deleted all the tourists at the bottom of the lake
And not one supports the cause to leave the blood stay in the veins”
Track #13: Nicki Minaj – Last Time I Saw You – Pink Friday 2 (2023)
Starting out my thoughts on this track, I will say that as a human being, fom what I know, it’s hard to be supportive of Nicki Minaj. Her husband is beyond problematic and some of her own documented actions have been just as suspect, including a recent public feud with Megan Thee Stallion which got embarrassing and left the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago rapper and singer in the dust. Professionally, she is an incredible talent that is included at the top of her genre and has an argument for being included in the best of all time and this song is another jewel in that crown in my opinion. The song itself has Nicki reflecting on a past relationship and what she could have done better during it. It’s this kind of inner soul searching that might help her personally, rather than just for music hits.
“Listen
So close, but we were so distant
Wish I’da known in that instant
Ignored the hints or I missed it
I killed it
You’d always be in attendance
No flights, but always attendant
Handwritten letter, you penned it
Them nights we wish never ended
Those rules that we wish we bended
Heartbreak that we never mended
Those messages we unsended
Best friends we somehow unfriended
Ain’t care ’bout who we offended
Parties they wish we attended
Got drunk and laughed, it was splendid”
Track #14: Tegan And Sara – Walking With A Ghost – So Jealous (2004)
There’s something special and unique towards the end of this playlist as the final song is another threepeat artist with Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin bringing this grouping of songs to a close with the first single off of their fourth record and a song that was also covered by The White Stripes. I just found out about Stripes cover and it has such a different edge to it, I recommend checking it out after the original. I think it just showcases how great they are as songwriters that it translates so well between signature sounds. It’s also a solid song to go out on, I think. I love that hook.
“I was walking with a ghost
I said please, please don’t insist
I was walking with a ghost
I said please, please don’t insist”
Steve Stebbing 