Song of the Day 1/14/19

You know I got a big ass Spotify list of tracks to cover on here and I still find myself at a loss of what to say about them and you know what I guess I may as well take some time to sit down and highlight a few particularly great one's and just work my way out from there.

I am a cheap son of a bitch that has gone for years not wanting to pay for Spotify Premium and because of that I get forced to hear everything on random shuffle all with a host of suggested artist and tracks getting played and in the process of not writing for this blog I found a host of absolutely spectacular tracks on there that I'd completely missed because of one reason or another and a lot of the tracks in question are years old so I am extra not the cool hip guy at the party in the know of what's going on but then again considering the free formed nature of this all I guess it don't matter so here's what may be one of the greatest songs of the 2010's....

Take my Head- Turnover

This bit of shoe gaze indie rock is one of the most beautifully atmospheric pieces of music I've heard in a long time and that mixed with some of the most painfully personal lyrics imaginable you're left with a track that just sonically from the beginning is on a whole other level and maybe my favorite cut from their 2015 effort Peripheral Vision which in and of itself is an absolutely fantastic album just filled with the type of music that reminds you why you love that kind of moody echoing sung in an empty room kind of rock and roll that has more to say once you start to look into it after just being utterly absorbed by it's outstanding instrumentals.

Danny Dempsey Bassist for turnover-

“Take My Head” is about how it could be the best day and you’re surrounded by happy things, but you still want to be pissed off and sit by yourself. 

That feeling rings true for us all and you should give this song, band, and album a real listen because it all fucking rules.

Sam's BEST OF 2019 #1

1. Daydream – Bleached

I literally knew from the first chord of this song that it was going to be a phenomenal piece of art that would blow my fucking mind and Jesus fucking Christ did it ever.

I'm not fucking joking I literally heard that bass line and a shiver went down my fucking spine and I said holy shit this is gonna blow my fucking mind and yes it did.

This is the best song of 2019.

I could end it there I really could but these guy's deserve to have way more said about them that what is out there because they are without a doubt one of the best groups out there and ever since they decided to regroup, sober up, and refocus their lives and career they've managed to pump out the best album of the year and one of the best songs of the 2010's.

This song like all of the songs I've mentioned on this list is fairly simple and straightforward lyrical tale of the struggles of getting over seeing something you loved get over you but still being stuck in this fantasy that you're still together and if I'd not of been dating someone this year then this album as a whole would have hit me extra hard because this song just kind of encapsulates that weird awkward feeling of isolated loneliness and escapism that I'd gone through in the process of dealing with depression, sobriety, and anxiety alone you just kind of want to curl away and live in a fantasy of what could have been but never will be.

I never can truly tell these guy's in person just how important they have been in those awkward transitional phases to me weather it's going through a break up with a  former lover or drinking they've managed to make the last few years a little less painful and reaffirm my adoration for punk and music as a whole and after getting to tell them an idea of just how fantastic this song is to me I kind of had to say something.

Thank you this song made me make this series of post and write something again they are truly the best and deserve to be told such.

Sam's BEST OF 2019 #2

2. Scrawny – Wallows

“I'm a Scrawny mother fucker with a cool hairstyle.”

You know it takes a certain level of UN-ironic confidence to do a line like that and not sound like a try-hard fuck face and these guy's managed to do that and be one of the few new bands I've heard about that people actually listen to and while their album kind of has a bit too many songs that sound the exact same this song is a fucking exceptional cut that brings a certain energy that I often feel is lacking in a lot of the more electronic heavy down tuned offerings I hear blaring out of most alternative stations I find myself listening to for more than 10 minutes at a time these day's and considering I like my rock to be a more guitar driven affair with a lot of punch to hear a newer act make a tune that is both of those things of course I'm going to be pretty happy.

These guy's aren't reinventing the wheel and if I were to be honest with you this is essentially a vampire weekend tune if vampire weekend didn't suck ass and the fact that it's not in every teenage coming of age movie trailer from here to infinity is nice because this song is one of the few bits of spontaneously energetic Indy rock that's managed to not make me roll my eyes.

These guy's are cool and I hope they don't have the same scenario as the 1975 where teenagers make a bigger deal of them than they need and turn their shows into a hodgepodge of annoying ass screaming fan girls reminding me that I'm too fucking old for this shit.

Sam's BEST OF 2019 #3

3. Winter Savior – Kid Computer

I saw these guy's play an almost completely packed venue in the release for their EP “The Darnedest Things,” and it blew my fucking mind to see these guy's truly get a reception that showed that they are something worth giving a fuck about and that view of them on that stage looking out in a stuffed room playing these songs that spoke to an entire room of people in such a way that I'm not sure they knew would happen made me feel like a dad looking at their child accomplish something they never thought they could do even if I kind of really didn't actively do much of anything for these guy's really it was one of the last times I can immediately think of that has truly stuck with me in terms of show's I've attended.

This song is a blast of early 90's alternative rock aesthetics with some echoing guitar work, a fantastic pacing, and George doing a vocal performance that sends a shiver down my spine because there's just this weird sense I get that this guy finally found his voice and the line, “To Be a fucking weirdo ALL THE TIME!” is just absolutely perfect just a casually expressed cooler than cool delivery that's just so effortlessly done that I'm at a loss for words really.

These guy's go their shit together way better than I do that's for fucking sure and you better see them whenever the fuck you can because I got a good feeling about them especially if they can keep on making stuff this fantastic.

Sam's BEST OF 2019 #4

4.Us – Faintheart

I saw these handsome son's of bitches just before I started seeing my current girlfriend.

There's no purpose for that statement I just think it's kind of funny also I remember them playing this song at that show and months later it did this weird thing for me where it dropped, I listened to it, thought it was fantastic, forgot about it, heard it again, and now I can't help but not jam to this summery little tune.

These guy's are another pop punk kind of emo group that make the catchiest most easily sing along session ready tunes you'd ever heard in your entire fucking life and the fact that they got a pretty devoted local following should come as no surprise because they know what the fuck they're doing they're just in need of everyone else coming to realize these bright airy tunes are what they need in their lives.

This song is subtle it gently lulls you in before busting out a very energetic and dreamy chorus that makes you think of riding the bike along a coast line during the summer as you see a very attractive girl in a sundress walking by and as she gives you the sweetest smile you've ever seen in your entire fucking life you're then transported to this cloud like state of euphoria that you didn't know could exist nor do you ever want it to go away.

If you haven't felt that feeling then listen to this song, get that feeling, see these guy's live, get your fucking mind blown, awkwardly hit on a girl, and live your best fucking life supporting people making great stuff ya fucking asshole.

 

Sam's BEST OF 2019 #5

2019 A.K.A. THE YEAR I STOPPED!

Yeah that's pretty accurate because I just did not fucking try this year I gave myself a send off of epic proportions and then just been blaring the same things all year so with that in mind there had to be some fantastic things that came out right?

Well yeah and here's the tracks that I personally felt something listening to and remember actively listening to quite a bit in what is some form of an order that while not defined (Minus number 1) should serve as a means of giving this pre-christmas week something else to look forward to so let's fucking do this:

5. Nervous – The Fiction Department

 

You know when a band does one show a year and that show happen to be for you? 

Well when a band does one show a year and that show happen to be for you, you best god damn believe you listen to the music they put out especially when it happens to trickle out at a rate similar to your last few years of being a music blog and that's what these guy's did when they dropped this demo on the same day that my end of the day show was suppose to happen and here we are a little less than a year later and yeah it's a pretty deep hitting tune for me.

These guy's are modern American Emo through and through a bunch of young guy's that write some fairly simple heart on your sleeve tunes that won't be winning any awards any day soon but they speak to a primal sense of dread that even my old ass can't help but feel attached to especially when the line, “Convince myself THIS IS RIGHT WHERE I BELONG!” that shit rings true people especially when you decide to throw all your past efforts into a wood chipper and burn it all up, and there's all the weird personal attachments for me because these guy's really have a lot that they can do they just seem to be at an awkward place a lot like myself and it's weird to sit back and listen to this tune and not feel like it hits closer to home than I think these guy's intended on it doing.

Yeah this song is a fantastic bit of emotionally tinged I need purpose in my life pop punk and you don't need to be a shitty teenager to feel the appeal that's for fucking sure so go listen to this fucking song and pester the shit out of this band and convince them to start playing shows again.

Scruffy and "THE MOTHER FUCKING!" Janitors

I remember a long time ago I was at a show at Minibar and I was talking to one of the local DJ's of the newest alternative music station here in Kansas City and I remember telling him my odd theory in regards to the most likely end result of modern music consumption habits within the next 50 years and him only ever referring to local music as “regional music,” and at the time I was sure it was something he'd been told by an A&R executive from one of the many nation wide studios he was apart of and in the process of trying to come up with something to write about the end of day's headliner that conversation still seems to be present for me and I'll expand upon that in a bit but first let's get to talking about Scruffy and the Janitors as a group.

Kind of like The UK's what we have here is a band that's an end product of the garage rock explosion of the early 00's and if I were to simplify these guy's I'd say they're a lot like Cage the Elephant in that they are this kind of dirty mix of blues and punk that's an unapologetic roughhousing track after track after track with their first Major EP Anglo being chocked full of them from the scorching opening track, "Ms. Crucio," and the popular, "Dirtleg," these guy's were a very no nonsense group of mother fuckers that made music that was very invested in it's roots and unwilling to compromise.

Now fast forward 4 years and a host of life changes then we get to Scruffy of today no longer willing to flesh out their set with Cage the Elephant covers they put those years of relentless touring to use and put out Modeling is Hard my favorite album of last year and what is it that made it that way for me?

Well let's go back to the idea of “Regional Music” for a second and kind of take that into consideration when talking about Scruffy because what they are at the end of the day are 3 guy's from St. Joseph Missouri all in their early to mid 20's trying to make it in a world that's unlike that which their parents lived in a town that I can describe as a city with a small town vibe to it's locals because if you ever see these guy's in their hometown you have a very communal experience of a lot of their closest acquaintances rocking out to a local act, singing along every word, and partying it up like it's their last night on earth because for them it's like a means to kind of escape their small town and partake in something larger than the sum of it's parts and it's that effort that kind of seeps through all of Modeling is Hard it's an album that is starting to move away from the more overt Cage the Elephant tones of a tune like, "Dirtleg," and instead you get a wide variety of sounds  from the angry punkish tunes like "The Spins," and "You got hit," the slower more melancholic "Carry Me home," the psychedelic combo of, "Feelings," and "Elephant," and of course the outstanding title track this album reeks of a bunch of guy's that are doing their thing to not only make their own but give a voice to their community of hard working individuals looking to make something out of nothing and this record really brings forth those feelings especially for someone like me that's spent a good chunk of time following these guy's around, talking with them, and kind of inching my way into their community even if I still feel like an outsider looking in.

I can't really overstate just how much this collection of tracks knocks it out of the fucking park people "Flesh and Bone," and "Modeling is Hard," are some of my most listened to tracks last year and they are just some outstanding rift filled rockers that leave me screaming along and banging my head and the combo of "Feelings," into "Elephant," is something to behold whenever they close a set with it just this intense acid trip of a pairing that is like that scene in Dumbo where the elephants are all trippy and cool before things get heavy and fucked up and you find yourself screaming, “FUCK FUCK FUCK,” at the top of your lungs it's quite a god damn hell of a time only to then start all over again depending on how you're listening to this album.

On a more personal note this record is one of those few I've heard in a long time that seemed to fit in a certain place for me that also oddly enough lined up with this story I'd been writing for quite some time as I listened to it I was able to imagine these host of made up characters having intense moments of confrontation to the various tracks of this album and when I hear those songs I just want to put them in motion in some sort of visual fashion so in helping me achieve a goal I've always wanted I can also showcase respect and perspective for a piece of work I find very near and dear and a group of people who I have a lot of respect for their addition to the craft, but alas all I really could do for this project is give it my #1 and 2 year end spots respectively and while that's something that garnered me a whole lot of views I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's even a fraction of a way to explain why you should feel the same way about this collection of tunes and group as I do.

I mean you can go see them on Saturday with me that's a thing that'd be appreciated all around because trust me it'll be a thing for sure and just the way to go out.

Thanks for reading about the 3 chosen acts for my farewell to this blog they're 3 groups of hardworking individuals that I expect to go somewhere in due time and you should come and appreciate them with me because if I'd waited any longer then I wouldn't of been able to have the ability to book them because big things are going to come I can guarantee that for sure.

Oh and on one last note stay tuned for this Valentines day for the last big piece of this website and if a few non-writing related things can fall in place for me I should have something special for after the show but until then have a wonderful day and listen to all these fucking bands!

Happy birthday SOTD

9 years it's been 9 years since I started Sam's Song of the Day on the Smashing Pumpkins Forums and to think in 8 day's it's all going to be over and done with and that's got me thinking a lot these day's because the anxiety and depression that comes with these things is fucking real people.

This has been quite a wild ride of spending years posting a shit ton of late night random thoughts, trying to come up with a host of songs for various list, telling as many people possible about what I've been doing, and of course 2 house show's that were quite a fucking time and in that time I've done my best to come up with a host of good finishing articles that are to come in the next week where I'll hopefully get a post about Scruffy and the Janitors on Monday and a big Valentines post that is going to be a trip for whoever decides to read.

That's the future though let's talk about now and then because today is SOTD's birthday and while I could post the same song I've been posting the past few years I figured I'd do something different and make note of something else coming to an end.

There's a band I reviewed on here called Goodbye Gravity and they're throwing a farewell show of their own tomorrow and with the ever looming possibility that I won't be able to see their show I figured the next best thing would be to be able to tell you guy's about it and post a song that feels appropriate in a large way to myself and them as a whole and that's their song Strings.

So before I get too into things I can't lie after rediscovering their release Sunday Matinee I can't deny that this group sounds like this old Emo band I love called Nightmare of You and other local KC act Pink Royal had some odd love child which isn't a bad thing because when the songs are just as solidly good as these guy's had a habit of making I don't mind that one bit and that EP has a host of tracks that kind of have a good alternative tone to them that's very reminiscent of that pre-indie douche period where everybody wanted to be Mumford and Sons and actually plugged their guitars in and rocked the fucking house and of all the tunes that I think best showcase this for these guy's it's probably this appropriately themed closing track.

Lyrically this song is a farewell to day's gone by and yet it's also a hopeful view forward into a world of infinite possibilities and things to come and their exclamation of how they, “Found themselves a better roll,” is just so fucking fantastic it's like they wanted to make the best set closer in existence and they not only managed to do that but also made a tune that they better end their time as a band with because that reality is even more so now than I think they ever intended.

It's a shame that life leads us all to a path that requires we end the things we love but at the very least we could leave a soundtrack to eventually go back and enjoy what once was.

Happy Birthday Sam's Song of the Day it's been great so stay tuned because the 16th is going to be special.

The UK's

So The Uk's are a band I've covered quite a bit on here and actually had play at my house 2 times for my own little birthday bash so to get them on this bill was a no brainer if I'm going to be honest with you guy's although in all these years I don't exactly know if I've given them the credit they deserve to explain why they are in such an important spot in the ending day's of Sam's Song of the Day so let's take a second to just kind of look at this band.

If I were to describe this band in a very simple way I'd say they're a product of the post 2000's garage rock explosion that occurred considering they're about the first wave of young musicians that you can clearly hear the influences of bands like The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, and most prominently The White Stripes this group uses a lot of low end recording qualities to pump out these blues fueled rockers of tunes that take you in a time machine of sorts but with enough modern sensibilities to keep things up to date and relevant for the modern listener which is good because there's a reason those influential acts were such although somethings occurred for these guy's that I've been trying to properly articulate in the build up to this final showcasing for SOTD and it's sitting here playing Tetris Effects listening to their entire currently available discography on Spotify  that things become a bit more clear for me.

Waxwings, Losing teeth, and Bad Seed you listen to these tracks and the Jack White influences are strong as fuck these strong kind of throwback rockers of tracks that are just these bombastic shots of energy and rock that showcase a bunch of hungry musicians that plug their shit in for a reason they rock and that's the point but you can't help but hear them and rock out but there's a certain sense of they got a way's to go and I remember feeling that for a while until their most recent project American Way Of Death came out.

Why Don't You go it's yet another rocker of a track but there's something different in it that you can clearly hear in comparison to all of Bad Seed in that the band had some lineup changes and went on a pretty extensive series of tours to then go back into the studio and pump out a project on their own and the fact that the EP this song is on is about half the tracks shows that they've now decided to take things in a less bombastic direction and it shows because this song is a slower paced cut that has a lot of the familiar elements you'd expect from these guy's but they're presented in a slower paced cut that feels a bit more substantial in a way.

That's the EP as a whole really yes Wake Up and Poison Squad do still showcase a very Jack White approach to Rock and Roll but then you hear AWOD....and yeah these guy's are a fucking thing.

I've explained to one Noah Bartelt but this may in fact be the best god damn song they've ever made because I don't know what got into him to record an almost pop punk tune but god damn does it sound fucking fantastic this song is a surefire standout of a track that has every great element of a song it's a catchy tune with lyrics that are easy to sing along with that also present a sense of reliability when he exclaims that he's a damaged man, a fantastic chorus, a rhythm that has the frantic rock and roll energy that you've come to expect but with a faster pace and kind of punk influence that gives it a sense of personality that's very unlike their earlier material, and of course one bitching fucking guitar solo in the middle of the song this is a sign of things to come in a way from my observation because a lot of their live only tracks at the moment also seem to be going into this kind of amalgamation of tones that they seem to have here where they're clearly garage rock but with a kind of pop punk fuel that I can most certainly get behind.

These guy's got a shit ton of upward trajectory and I very much advise you pay attention especially to the stuff they got to show at this show I'm throwing because I'm pretty sure that they'll sell you just as much as they've sold me and I'm sure the Jack White comparisons will be a thing of the past if they keep going where they are.

 

Song of the Day 1/23/19

So we're at less than a month until the end and in that time I got a few things cooked up to post on here hopefully and one of those things is to cover all the songs that I give the most fucks about because they hold some special place for SOTD and with that in mind I think I should tell ya about what's probably one of my favorite songs ever.

Wolves(You Got Me)-DREAMERS

You know who fucking rules this god damn band and you know what got me into them? THIS FUCKING SONG!!!!

I remember at the time I covered this on that particular year end list I remember mentioning how this song reminded me of a song called Demon Dance with it's kind of throwback alternative tone and a set of lyrics that are simple but that impact me in a way that give it this explainable level of quality and hype that reminds me why I like these kinds of songs so much and over time it's really only continued to not only maintain that but have a host of positive memories attached to it.

These guy's where the first band to ever respond to one of my post about them on facebook when I first randomly made a post about how awesome this song is, I remember the first time I ever saw them live I was singing along to it front row and the lead singer gave me his pick, at that same show they signed my set list and wrote thanks for the kind words, and every subsequent time I've seen them this fucking song just hits me every single time especially the line, "You got me drugged up, you got me undone, falling in love like you do," at the end of the song it's just a fucking fantastic piece of music that doesn't often get the credit it deserves.

Yeah I love this song and you should to the guy's who perform it are swell dudes and will take all the fun selfies with ya...

Song of the Day 1/19/19

Pynch-Dreamgirl

SO there's this band from here in KCMO called Dreamgirl and when you look them up on Spotify their top song has over 5 million streams which is insane for a local act so I'm wondering why is that the case?

3 minutes and 54 seconds later....

OH that's why they're fucking great!

OK I'm going to be honest I've known about these guy's for a while now and to say they're the most appropriately named group around is an understatement with some lighter than air vocals and a penchant for making some really groovy indie pop tunes you have a group who makes you feel like you're having a slow dance at a prom with every groovy groove they make and if you get the chance their self titled release from last year is quite a good release and they're making more strives towards a national tour so there's even more chances for people all around to experience the dream for sure.

A rant and Song of the Day 1/18/19

There's a song by a band called Middle Kids called Edge of Town and it's a pretty solidly good track that came out at a terrible time for me, it's this kind of lower end indie rock tune that's dripping in this overwhelming sense of pretentiousness that's made worse by the fact that the other songs on that EP just sounded like a half rate Paramore and I realized this band peaked with this song and I never bothered to listen to them ever again, but it's not honestly their fault when I think about it in retrospect because it was about the time this song came out that I was going through an angry lonely period of time where nothing was very good for me and I was starting to have this weird falling out with the radio because I guess these guy's, Glass Animals, and the most recent Catfish and the Bottlemen record at the time where being rammed down my throat and I got this feeling of not wanting to have to be a drone of what the radio wanted me to be all hyped for and I rejected in such a way that I didn't even really listen to much of anything new or national because I'd honestly gotten sick and fucking tired of being told that those bands as well as the vast majority of mdoern alternative rock wanted me to be into because I'd developed this feeling that it was all a bunch of fucking bullshit that dragged on and on and was only meant for teenagers to say they discovered something and that's awkward for me because I'd come to grips and have been doing this whole being a god damn adult thing and these tracks don't speak to me because they're the same old recycled as fucking garbage that I've been hearing for years it's not being broken because the radio station is wanting you in on a cool little secret it's all corporate telling you this is your band this is what you want and you all need to pretend that these are your songs and that's fucking bullshit because those aren't me or what I want to associate with you bastards haven't broken a god damn thing in years you just are hoping that everybody remains a dumb ass shell of a human not willing to actually have their own fucking taste and that really had tainted me and is why I don't really ever find myself listening to the buzz these days.

Although even with all that vitriol spilled I mention that song because even with the lack of fucks I have for that band there's a part of that tune just one part between 2:20-30 where things kind of awkwardly slow down and stop trying to be this anthem of sorts where she starts asking if some guy has something on his mind and then things just blow the fuck up in this blast of energy that's utterly captivating to me in such a way that it's literally the only thing about the song that I like and will occasionally still remember every now and then and just mark the ever loving fuck out over it's an utterly bombastically awesome way to end what's ultimately a pretentious piece of trash of a tune that at the time I tried my hardest to accept it as a good tune because of that but never could in time.

Cave-Mess

Now what does that rant have to do with this band? Well in all honesty not a god damn thing minus that one sentiment about when a song just comes at you out of nowhere with a sense of bombastic energy because that's kind of this little Kansas City Emo outfit.

Mess are a band with some of the prettiest most lighthearted  vocals I've heard from anyone in this city and those wonderfully dreamy vocals are usually situated over some very not happy lyrics that make you wonder how such a down trodden group of people can also manage to be so sad, pretty, and energetic because their live shows are a very energetic affair of a crowd of people who are incredibly into this band and radiate that energy into a group of musicians who surprisingly rock the fuck out way more than you would think they would listening to their releases.

They have an under produced charm to the way they approach tunes that's a good way to showcase their kind of unfiltered efforts and emotions, and if you get the chance you should give em a view they're a real surprise for sure.

Song of the Day 1/17/19

In Your Skin-Shadow Rabbits

So Shadow Rabbits are an alternative rock act from here in KCMO that have a sound that's what I imagine the coolest band you'd know would sound like. They have a host of tunes that evoke a kind of 60's rock and roll vibe with grooves that are incredibly slick and vocals so alluring that they're damn near hypnotizing in most instances and of the host of quality well constructed songs they've made this one in particular seems to really be something I fancy.

A haunting piano intro leads into what's some retro tuned guitar work that perfectly compliments Ashley Dattola's chilled confident vocals that allure you in and give you this false sense of security as the melody just grows in intensity leading you down a spiral before things calm down and guitarist Jon Ulasien comes in and perfectly compliments Dattola as they lead the song out echoing, “as you wait now.”

This song fucking owns in a way that is more than the sum of it's parts for me and it's something that occurred to me one random show I remember seeing them play where they did it in front of a white sheet just letting their silhouettes be all you see and every subsequent time I've gotten to hear this song live has been fan-fucking-tastic in such a way that I think more people need to get around to listening to it.

Song of the Day 1/16/19

Colette-Faintheart

So you want an insanely catchy set of pop punk tunes ready to rock out to and sing every lyric to with a cute girl who's name most likely begins with the letter A then OH you need to acquaint yourself with this bands early 2018 release The Overview Effect because that EP kicks some serious ass and of all the tracks on it that tickled my fancy the most I'd have to say it was this little short but sweet number.

That Ep in question had a host of heavier more focused tunes that attempted and in most cases succeeded in being something fairly larger than the sum of their parts but if you where familiar with my adoration of their 2017 cut Two Hearted then you'd probably not be surprised to know that the tune that I liked the most was this fun little pop punk tune.

"We don't always have to be our insecurities, defining enemies we divide and disagree," it's something I frankly kept singing wrong until I typed out the right lyrics after looking them up on their website BUT YOU SURE AS FUCK KNOW IT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM SINGING ALONG! 

That's the biggest strength this tune as well as most of their catalog is just how easy it is to find yourself singing along to every single song and isn't that what makes pop punk so much fun?

Song of the Day 1-12-19

Black Soap-Ex Cops

You know I haven't done this in a hot fucking minute mother fuckers and as I'm making dinner listening to a YouTube feed of videos this song came up and I'm going to have to be honest with you this song is a FUCKING BANGER!

A slow start and some cooler than cool mildly new wave inspired guitar work with a heavy Joy Division tone you get this cooler than cool feeling that you're about to really listen to something tight just before Amalie Bruun's vocals kick in and you get something that's a little bit Shirley Manson esque and rather inviting before she just wallops you in the face with the chorus and it's exclamations about going to the city and drying your eyes you're instantly hooked on a tune that's very reminiscent of it's time in alternative music where bands like Metric where the rage and in some way it still feels like it'd fit in today's landscape.

This was rather high up there on that years best of list but I remember just kind of forgetting all about it for quite a while afterwards until I was going back through all my songs to write up about for these end of day's post and this song came up and yeah it's still probably more so now fucking fantastic and if you haven't heard it fix that RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

Sam's best of 2016

Cool Heat-Momma's Boy

This year I tried to truly help this community out by letting people know about how fucking good the music in this city is but it also didn't help the fact that 2016 in mainstream radio sucked ass through a fucking straw and I started to really fall off with the buzz because most of their programming started to go to fucking shit and the following 2 years have gone on to me pretty much never listening to them for more than a few minutes a month.

Now with that bit of vitriol out there this year's offerings in the local alternative music scene were fucking great and this song OHHHHH I spent so many drunken fucking nights just alone and blaring the ever loving fuck out of this surf inspired bit of garage rock glory and if you go back and read the incredibly expletive filled post about this song you'll know it was a track that just kind of came out of nowhere and opened a world of possibilities to me because this is not only an outstanding piece of music from who may be the best band this city has to offer but the song that kind of really got me to attempt to truly start trying to heal the wounds from years prior by going out, making an ass out of myself, and living my fucking life it also happen to be about this time frame that I had started to get a job that wasn't a complete shit hole of toxicity and realize that growing up is inevitable and that I'm going to have to be a fucking adult and do some shit all for myself.

The transition was made and while it was a rough ride to get there this song showed me that I can become a thing again it's just gonna be uncomfortable and also the most rocking time of your life fucker.

OH and one more thing Momma's boy FUCKING RULE! And their live show is a religious experience you should all experience yourself because when they fire on all cylinders they'll blow your fucking mind dude.

Sam's Top 5 of 2018 #1

#1

Past Love-Kimbra

You know in the 7+ years I've obsessed over this woman I have yet to ever put her atop my year end list starting with her guest spot with Gotye on the first list and into Vow's which in retrospect is a hell of a pop album but my writing around 2012 was at best the cringiest point of my life and 2014 a confusing mess of things as well as a surprisingly strong year in retrospect in terms of both the songs on that years list and the amount of effort I really put into this blog and over those years I've gone through a lot and done a lot of growing as a person in terms of where I've ended up in life and what I consider good music or writing but through all of this Kimbra has been an artist that I've consistently supported and enjoyed watching do her thing and this year not only did I get to see her again but she gifted me with something I didn't realize I've always wanted.

Kimbra made a fucking Doo-wop song and it is the best god damn thing EVER! If you look back on the earliest day's of this blog you'd know that since I started this I've grown an appreciation for old school Rhythm and Blues and the kind of simple yet clean way it presents what's at their core very simple songs that don't need to rely on complex song writing but rather the vocalist ability to properly emote feelings from the words through their performance and Kimbra being one of the most underrated vocalist in the game not only stood up to the plate but hit it beyond the stratosphere and has crafted what's truly an instant classic to be appreciated for decades to come in my humble opinion.

This is truly the only instance of ever hearing a song that I didn't know I needed in my life but now that it is I never EVER want to let it go. This is sorrow, regret, joy, and every which what emotion a song could possibly make you feel on top of a rhythm that's so tight, clean, and simple that it doesn't need any fancy effects what so ever just Kimbra's beautiful sultry delivery and a steady drum beat with some light baroque instrumentals near the end just to keep things just that extra bit of exceptional.

I fucking love this god damn song more than life itself people and I think Kimbra not only recorded the best song of her entire career here but she's honestly probably made the single greatest song of the decade and I'm sure I'll always have that sentiment for sure.

I didn't do a whole lot of going out this year and in terms of writing and inspiration through music I just haven't felt a god damn thing but for how long and important this all has been for me there's still moments that had to hit me and of all the things I've heard this tune hit me in a way that I truly can't recall having felt in quite some time and seeing her live from my tickets I won in a show that I'd literally waited years to have happen again only confirmed that this is one of those number one picks I'll never regret and in all honesty the only song I could put here no matter how good the rest of my picks really were.

That's the end of the year list I wasn't going to not post something on here and stay tuned for one more announcement later this month just before January of 2019 folks because it's maybe the most important thing I'll ever announce on here and I need everyone to be there.

It was quite wonderful to get to post on here again and this years song selections where quite the pleasure to post and listen to I'd like to take a second to thank everyone for reading, sticking around, sharing the post, and of course just generally being there don't have too much fun this holiday season and stay tuned for a HUGE announcement coming soon.

-Sam

Sam's Top 5 of 2018 #2

#2

Modeling is Hard-Scruffy & The Janitors

You know we almost had a repeat of last year not gonna lie it was really fucking hard to not have any of the songs from 2018's hands down best album be number one but I'll get to that later because right now I have to talk about St. Joseph Missouri's finest Scruffy and the MOTHER FUCKING Janitors and this exceptional piece of music they released.

I've seen these guy's so many times in the past 2+ years that I got put in this album's liner notes which was absolutely insane but what's really crazy is how since this album dropped back in February I haven't stopped listening to it and in all seriousness it's maybe one of the best god damn albums I've heard in a long ass time every single song from beginning to end has been refined beyond perfection with a fine tooth comb and back after 4 long years of relentless touring, blood, sweat, tears, bottles of booze, and being the most hard working sons of bitches around you got 14 impossibly great tracks that showcase a band looking to truly showcase that they've grown exponentially in terms of their abilities as a group of musicians looking to spread the message of life through rock and roll and this song just barely stood above the rest in my book to do that.

From it's opening bass line, to the soaring wall of guitars and echo's of, “AH,”(Yes I know it's simple but fuck you it rules) you have a song that crawls into your head and demands you take notice of how fucking awesome it really is and the delivery of, “The more you talk about it, The More it Lingers on, I'm trying not to follow but you're coming in strong, now I'm Hanging out the Window, and reaching for the words that you said, and I can't figure out your head,” just hit's you in a way that you can't help but scream along to Steven Foster's voice just reaches a point in this track that's anything and everything you could ever really want in a 4 ½ minute rock song.

This band took all the momentum they had off Jonestown and delivered times infinity and this song is really something outstanding if you're hearing it out of your car, on your phone, in a shitty little dive bar, basement, or high end venue being played live this song fucking rules and it's something I think everybody needs to experience for the sake of all that's good in this world do it.

Sam's Top 5 of 2018 #3

3 

Afterglow-Kid Computer

Do you like 90's alternative rock? Well I FUCKING DO and while I honestly didn't get too much into the Holiday's as a group I did have them perform at my house for their very last show and in the process of one thing coming to an end came this new group Kid Computer who just kind of entered 2018 in a similar place that they were before but with a brand new sense of motivation to prove themselves and what we have here is a song that did what very little seemed to do for me this year and that's really pull me in and make me want to listen to something new.

This song is a very 90's sounding college rock tune that's reminiscent of the Meat Puppets with a bit of Polaris thrown in to make it feel ever so slightly special George McMillian as young as he is does possess a sense of maturity in his performance of this song and the guitar work is some top notch feedback heavy air guitar ready stuff that I've literally had playing around in and out over the course of the whole year as I still try to think of just how something this good came seemingly out of nowhere.

What we have here is an example of a potentially great band to come so what we need to make that a thing is for all of you folks to go see them live, buy all the stuff they have to sell, and promote and rock out to this bad ass beast of a jam because in a day and age of traditional rock and roll falling by the waste side this song is a reminder of why in the fuck all you ever fell in love with that genre to begin with and these guy's are still on the up and up and as exceptional as I find this tune I can only think they're getting better it's just a matter of seeing where this afterglow takes them.

(note they didn't even play this song at this show in particular but fuck it they still ruled)

Sam's Top 5 of 2018 #4

#4

Other Team-The UK's

OK mother fuckers I have been waiting since...hold on let me check the poster on my wall real quick....April 23rd, 2016 the release show of their first album which they ironically ended up not headlining due to shenanigans we don't need to get too into at this very moment in time since they ended their set with that song I've been patiently waiting for them to record and release this god damn song and finally 2 years later and countless shows later they finally got around to self financing and recording a release for this song and NOW I CAN FINALLY FUCKING TALK ABOUT IT MOTHER FUCKERS!!!!

So if I'm going to be honest there's a juvenile quality to this track about the struggles of falling in love with a lesbian but you know what when you're heartbroken pettiness comes with the territory and when you manage to at the very least channel that into a very old school rocker of a tune with an insanely catchy hook and some pretty air guitar ready rifts you can't help but get hooked on that and it also kind of doesn't help that I was in a very salty place in my life when I first heard this song but we don't need to get too into that my overly self reflective posting day's aren't really a thing hardly anymore with the increased presence of online trolling and the ever decreasing mental conditioning of your average millenal we need healthy means of coping with our pent up aggression and if this blog was ever any indication of the fact that music has generally been mine then I don't honestly know what to say to all of you.

Yeah like time eventually great things come to ya and this song most certainly is an example of that because while this is a late release in the year it's something I've know was gonna be high on my list the second it's time came this song is an incredibly satisfying piece of aggression that doesn't come off as so petty it hurts but rather a bombastically aggressive and rocking cut for the lonley hearts club with a chorus that's both ready to sing and scream along with and some of this bands most aggressive instrumentals yet and I just love how they do this choir thing near the end of the song before just ending it in one giant bang.

This song is the UK's really finding a means of making something that lives up to the label of garage rock from it's bare boned production, simple but effective lyrics, and most importantly that pure unfiltered rocking instrumental to give a tune that after all these years still makes me scream YEAAAAAAH!

Also I may or may not have yelled, “It's about fucking time,” at the release show I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Picture below may or may not be from that show but I can garuntee it wasn't during this song...