Someday, you will be old. Perhaps that day has already come. Maybe you think you’ll live forever, but you won’t. Regardless of where you’re at in life right now, when your final days are knocking at the door and you’re listening to Pennywise’s ‘About Time’ again for the millionth time, you might start to regret that you never branched out and listened to all the great new music that you ignored while letting each meaningless day pass you by. You’ll probably think that you had more time to indulge in life’s fleeting treasures and beg the Reaper for one more day as he laughs and says ‘nah, bruh’. It doesn’t have to be this way, though. We’ve compiled a list of some of the freshest tracks and forgotten classics to help you start living in the now. Don’t blow it. We’re all counting on you.
Fat Mike “Fuck Day Six – String Version”
In ‘Things We Didn’t Ask For This Week’ News, Fat Mike announced the release of a new album featuring string versions of classic NOFX tracks, entitled ‘Fat Mike Gets Strung Out.’ I’m sure we’re not the first to tell you that Fat Mike’s pop-punk arrangements are actually pretty intelligently written, so it surprisingly makes sense to have a borderline orchestral version of these in the bag. The best part of this venture is that he doesn’t even sing on it, leaving conductor Baz the Frenchman to handle the conducting and arrangement. The first single is a rendition of the NOFX’s ‘Double Album’ cut, ‘Fuck Day Six,’ and it certainly sounds… smarter than the album version. Rumor has it that they’re already working on a second record, so we better at least pretend to like the first one.
Cherry Glazerr “Soft Like A Flower”
Marking the first full-length for lead-guitarist and singer Clementine Creevy’s Cherry Glazerr since 2019’s ‘Stuffed and Ready,’ the recently announced ‘I Don’t Want You Anymore’ is promising to showcase a more mature and emotional side of the band. This is not to say that Creevy hasn’t always injected a sense of moodiness in the group’s catalog, but this is the first we’ve heard her go into Warpaint levels of melancholy. ‘Soft Like A Flower’ builds on a drony groove before smacking into a chorus worthy of the trio’s and cheekier back discography. Before we can accuse Creevy of being too serious, she lets out a doubled laugh toward the end of the track that could either have been a kept mistake or a contrived nuisance depending on how you feel about the group.
A. Savage “Thanksgiving Prayer”
Parquet Courts’ A. Savage has just released his first solo track since 2017’s ‘Thawing Dawn.’ Marking his first single since signing to Rough Trade Records, ‘Thanksgiving Prayer,’ features Savage’s trademark baritone talk-sing atop an arrangement that could pass for a Spoon b-side produced by the ghost of Elliot Smith. Much like his last solo outing, fans of Parquet Courts will immediately be drawn into the familiar tones that permeate the track. On the flip side, even the stingiest hipster that hates the band will have to admit to being impressed by the beautiful arrangements, though they probably won’t deign to do so in public.
Snõõper “Xerox”
Jesus fuck, this band rules. Third Man Records’ latest signee’s sound can be likened to a Devo/Blondie duet played at 45 rpm instead of 33. Hardly any song on their self-titled debut makes it past the minute and a half mark, and each rips through a plethora of punk subgenres at break-neck speed. Coming in about a third of the way through the record, ‘Xerox’ proves to use this formula most efficiently, cramming in two verses, two choruses, and catchy as hell guitar solo in just over a minute. Set this one as the alarm sound on your phone if you want to immediately wake up slam-dancing.
Courtney Barnett “Start Somewhere”
In 2021, Courtney Barnett’s excellent Danny Cohen-directed documentary ‘Anonymous Club’ was released. When working on the film, Barnett began working on ambient tracks with collaborator and drummer of Warpaint, Stella Mogwaza, to serve a score. These fragments that soundtracked the diary entries and segues of ‘Anonymous Club’ have now been re-formatted and fleshed out on a larger scale to comprise Barnett’s fourth full-length and first instrumental record, ‘End of the Day.’ Let one of the three newly released singles “Start Somewhere” soothe you on your commute home after almost punching your boss in the face again.
As part of our company-wide initiative to make sure our staff is staying up to date on current trends in music culture, we recently asked our staff to share the playlists they’ve been listening to. While it looks like we still have a ton of work to do to make these people cool, there are still a decent amount of classics to sift through that might seem new to you considering your banal and limited taste. Here are a few highlights.
Frank Zappa “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow”
This song was featured on one of our editor’s playlists designed for combating insomnia. We really don’t enjoy the image of a sleep-paralysis demon morphing into Frank Zappa’s mustache and dancing around the room while we lay helpless and immobile, but maybe that says more about us and less about our editor. Either way, this song is a deliriously weird bop, and is sure to add some life to your next playlist while simultaneously freaking out all of your friends.
Darrius Rucker “Wagon Wheel”
One of our writers said this one came from a playlist his daughter personally curated, but we know good and well he fucking loves this song. Hell, people love this song so much that we’re pretty sure it’s the most covered unreleased Bob Dylan song of all time. Personally we find it pretty overplayed and are a little upset that the chorus will be stuck in our head for months now, but don’t let us dictate your opinion.
Braid “Killing A Camera”
Uh-oh! We’ve got an elder emo in our midst! Just kidding, we’re not going to pretend Braid doesn’t fucking rule. Though short-lived, Braid’s career likely had an influence on most things you listen to now, so if you’re unfamiliar it won’t matter. You’ll feel like you’re just listening to all the bands you already have on repeat. Pop this one on to broaden your knowledge of emo history and finally be the most pretentious member of your friend group.