This year has brought big news for My Bloody Valentine fans.
The shoegaze icons announced recently that they currently have two new albums in the works for their new label home, Domino Records. In addition to the new music, My Bloody Valentine's 2013 comeback album, m b v, is finally available on streaming, and their albums Loveless and Isn't Anything — famously difficult to find on vinyl — are being remastered and reissued.
Since forming in Dublin in 1983, My Bloody Valentine are widely regarded as the pioneers of shoegaze, the indie rock subgenre defined by distorted, noisy guitars and heavy feedback. Alongside their contemporaries like Lush, Ride, and Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine have been heralded as one of the most influential bands of the '90s, with a cult fan base that includes everyone from Billy Corgan and Courtney Love to teens on TikTok today.
While the shoegaze scene certainly reached its heyday in the '90s, the subgenre is showing no sign of burning out anytime soon. Below, we've listed seven shoegaze-adjacent artists that prove the Loveless worship is still going strong.
Tanukichan
Tanukichan, the solo project of Bay Area musician Hannah van Loon, juxtaposes candy-coated pop melodies with chugging basslines and layered guitar fuzz. Her latest album, Sundays, was co-written and produced by Toro y Moi's Chaz Bear, giving the music of Tanukichan a hypnotic chillwave atmosphere.
Greet Death
Michigan band Greet Death evoke shoegaze at its most cutting, with guitars that roar and rumble like an outdated vacuum or heavy machinery. Yet Greet Death still hone in on precise, memorable melodies on their sophomore album, 2018's New Hell, proving their innate ability to find the beauty in the brutal noise.
Westkust
Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Westkust use shoegaze not as a vehicle to drown out their sorrows, but to mimic summertime euphoria. They achieve this on their 2019 self-titled record by distorting their jangly guitars, speeding up the drum patterns, and spotlighting the sun-soaked vocals of singer Julia Bjernelind.
Alien Boy
A self-described "loud gay band writing love songs for queers," Portland, Oregon four-piece Alien Boy take cues from their '90s shoegaze forebears and filter them through a contemporary emo/pop-punk lens. With lovelorn lyrics and earworm riffs doused in reverb, Alien Boy marry the best of both subgenres in perfect harmony.
Ovlov
Like shoegaze greats of the '90s, Ovlov drench their sound in blown-out feedback and walls of sound. The New England band find their power in grungy, fuzzy textures, with guitar lines that often loop and build until they create a cacophony of clouded bliss.
Nothing
With their droning guitars and barely-intelligible vocals, Nothing take obvious inspiration from the Lovelesses of yesteryear. But the sounds of the East Coast band are also heavily dictated by the experiences of frontman Domenic Palermo, who lets his personal tumult — near-death experiences, a stint in jail — bring an added sense of gloom and depth to their grungy noise.
파란노을 (Parannoul)
파란노을 — AKA "Parannoul" in English — is a relatively new project based out of Seoul, South Korea, with a mysterious identity; as of right now, the artist hasn't shared their real name or age, and their Bandcamp biography only reveals that they are "a student writing music in [their] bedroom." Their ambitious, self-released record To See the Next Part of the Dream takes cues from shoegaze, emo, and post-rock, resulting in a hidden gem of bliss. You won't find this album on Spotify, but you can name your price to purchase it on Bandcamp — we promise it's worth it.
There is an emo band in China called Chinese Football and another in Japan called Japanese Baseball.
For too long, emo has been deferred to the white guys. Even the title of "Midwest Emo" — the subgenre that arose from pioneering bands like American Football and Cap'n Jazz — inadvertently implies that the space was reserved for suburbanites in one of the whitest regions of the United States.
In the past decade, however, emo has made its way to the Eastern Hemisphere. With platforms like Bandcamp flattening the globe in terms of music discovery, a huge emo boom has taken over East Asia, with thriving scenes in Tokyo, Singapore, and other cities. Believe it or not, emo has never been just for the white midwesterners — lest we forget that time Chinese Football opened for American Football on the former's home turf.
Below, we've listed just a few of our favorite emo bands from Asia that are definitely worth a listen and available to stream everywhere. Sadness is worldwide, after all.
as a sketch pad
Japanese four-piece as a sketch pad made their official debut with a self-titled EP last May. With a heavy focus on melodies, the band seamlessly bridges the gap between emo and indie rock. While mainly based in Tokyo, the band also has ties to the United States: as a sketch pad's lineup includes Andy Schueneman of Florida emo band, Worst Party Ever.
Subsonic Eye
Hailing from Singapore, Subsonic Eye evoke midwest emo tendencies with their tight-knit rhythm section and agile guitar. Flourishes of dream pop emerge through the band's saccharine melodies, accentuated by vocalist Nur Wahidah's crystalline croons. Subsonic Eye's fantastic third record, Nature of Things, was released early this year.
Arigarnon Friends
On the more "math rock" side of the emo coin is Arigarnon Friends, a self-described "sparkle punk" four-piece also from Japan. Their debut EP, Boy to Man, was reissued in 2017, finally spreading their killer guitar riffs, breakneck drums, and unforgettable melodies to a wider audience.
By the End of Summer
The fact that By the End of Summer have received a coveted co-sign from the 1975 frontman Matty Healy is probably all the convincing you need to check them out. Namedrops aside, the Kyoto band live up to the hype with their raucous blend of emo and pop-punk that sounds like the most fun you could ever have at a sweaty basement show.
Weave
For the emos whose tastes veer more towards the grit of late-'90s groups like Mineral, Braid, and Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World, Weave are a treat. The Japanese band's latest record, last year's The Sound II, is chock-full of gargantuan heavy hitters that call to mind the heyday of emo's second wave.
Falls
Another gem from Tokyo, Falls make rollicking, emo-tinged pop-punk in line with their American contemporaries in bands like Joyce Manor and Modern Baseball. Their solid drumming and hightailing guitar riffs are indicative of blink-182 worship, but done impressively well.
Forests
Just a glimpse of the tracklist of Forests' 2019 album, Spending Eternity in a Japanese Convenience Store, indicates the Singaporeans are here for a good time — song titles include "Kawaii Hawaii," "This Town Needs Fun," and "Tater Tots," to name just a few. Like beloved emo revival icons Algernon Cadwallader, Forests offer a playful take on midwest emo, with plenty of yell-along gang vocals to go around.
After a 28-year run, Daft Punk are reportedly shelving their robot helmets for good.
A publicist confirmed to Pitchfork this week that the legendary and elusive dance duo, composed of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, have broken up. Daft Punk announced the news in a clip titled "Epilogue," taken from their 2006 film Electroma, in which the band explodes. Their publicist gave no reason for the breakup (although they've been pretty quiet over the past few years).
Daft Punk formed in Paris in 1993 and put out four studio albums, finally releasing Random Access Memories in 2013 to widespread critical acclaim and worldwide recognition. But before the duo were ubiquitous on American radio, they cut their teeth in France's house music scene, making gritty garage-house tracks that have since been considered techno classics.
To honor our favorite helmet-wearers, we've rounded up the 15 best tracks that Daft Punk put out over their nearly three decades together.
15. “Doin’ It Right” feat. Panda Bear (Random Access Memories)
Prior to 2013's Random Access Memories, the record that cemented Daft Punk in America's pop mainstream, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were recluses who rarely accepted interviews and used robot helmets to conceal their identities — shocking, considering they had the power to command massive music festival crowds. Then arrived RAM, full of collaborations, and Daft Punk suddenly felt like the most humanized versions of themselves.
While RAM's high-profile features definitely garnered the most buzz, "Doin' It Right" smartly utilizes vocals from an indie favorite named Noah Lennox — AKA Animal Collective's Panda Bear — who grew up inspired by the sounds of early Daft Punk. His vocals, paired with a looped vocoder and a minimal, trap-tinged beat, are one of the album's biggest highlights.
14. “Teachers” (Homework)
As much as Daft Punk were considered innovators, many of their ideas were borrowed from their forebearers. The duo thanks many techno and house pioneers on "Teachers," which reads like a grocery list of inspirational musicians, citing Dr. Dre, DJ Funk, Jeff Mills, and many others in Bangalter's pitch-shifted vocals. Considering "Teachers'' is featured on Daft Punk's debut, 1997's Homework, it almost feels like the duo were predicting their own fate as musical icons.
13. “Human After All” (Human After All)
On their third album, 2005's Human After All, Daft Punk ditched the disco-pop of their 2001 breakthrough Discovery for a heavier, more abrasive sound that backed darker and often nihilistic lyrical themes. Songs like "Television Rules the Nation," "Brainwasher," and "Technologic" — paired with some truly nightmare-inducing music videos — use crunchy, repetitive riffs to evoke the impending doom of glueing your eyes to the screen.
But Human After All opens on what seems like a more optimistic note, with a title track that lulls you into a state of comfort: "We are human after all," the robots murmur over a catchy, major-key guitar riff. "Much in common after all." Sure, it's a pleasant sentiment, but in the context of such a dystopian album, being human is a downright damning state.
12. “Lose Yourself to Dance” feat. Pharrell Williams (Random Access Memories)
With a co-writing credit from Chic's Nile Rogers, it should be no surprise that "Lose Yourself to Dance" — another infectious Random Access Memories cut — provides a perfect soundtrack to do just what the title suggests. The disco-house jam intersperses Pharrell Williams' falsetto with a robotic voice tempting you to join the dance floor, making for a song that takes the best of the '70s and updates it for a futuristic club setting.
11. “Human After All / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better With You” (Alive 2007)
Alive 2007 isn't just any ordinary live album. Spanning over an hour and a half, the record is tracked like a Greatest Hits compilation-turned remix album with hardly any moments to take a breath. The setlist culminates into an epic closer that splices "Human After All" and "One More Time" with "Together," a song Bangalter recorded with DJ Falcon, as well as "Music Sounds Better With You" by Stardust, which has become a techno standard in its own right.
While Daft Punk naysayers have brushed off the band's music as being repetitive and tedious, "Human After All / Together / One More Time / Music Sounds Better With You" proves how well they knew their own music. The closing track to Alive 2007 is sheer bliss, celebrating the great unifier: dance.
10. “Face to Face” (Discovery)
One of the more straightforward pop songs Daft Punk made pre-RAM, "Face to Face" is made distinguishable by co-production from New Jersey-born house musician Todd Edwards, who backs the track with a chopped-up guitar and synth riff that sound like milliseconds of sound spliced together. With Edwards lending his vocals to the song, too, "Face to Face" easily had the potential to reach "One More Time"-levels of popularity.
Like seemingly everyone and their mother in the 2000s, Daft Punk were longtime fans of the Strokes. It wasn't until the making of RAM that Bangalter and de Homem-Christo finally met the band's frontman, Julian Casablancas; fortunately, a musical connection struck.
Daft Punk presented Casablancas with the instrumental demo to a dreamy, synth-driven love song called "Instant Crush," and Casablancas was receptive about putting his finishing touches on the album. Though his voice is processed through a vocoder, his sound is instantly recognizable, making "Instant Crush" feel a bit like a Strokes song from the future.
8. “Da Funk” (Homework)
If "Da Funk" reminds you a bit of '90s hip-hop, you're probably not alone. The track, a standout single from Homework, was inspired heavily by G-funk, a subgenre that evolved from West Coast gangsta rap. While "Da Funk" is only an instrumental, its laid-back beat and jittery riff, made with a Roland TB-303 synthesizer, make the song feel effortlessly cool. It's since become a house music classic.
7. “Technologic” (Human After All)
If the Chucky-like robot in the music video doesn't make it evident enough, "Technologic" is intended to disturb. A pitch-shifted voice utters a list of commands: "Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it," go the song's first lines. Then, Daft Punk's gnarled guitar riffs come in, making for a darkly entertaining dance track.
While "Technologic," on paper, seems a bit divisive, it continues to receive acknowledgement from artists across genres. New York rapper Busta Rhymes turned Daft Punk's chants into a set of NSFW taunts on his 2006 track "Touch It," while Dua Lipa used them in a reworked livestream performance of "Hallucinate" last year.
6. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” (Discovery)
Discovery is likely Daft Punk's most funk-forward record, an aesthetic they achieved by crate-digging record stores for songs to sample. That's how "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" came about, based around a riff from the late Edwin Birdsong's "Cola Bottle Baby."
"[I recorded 'Cola Bottle Baby'] 30 years ago, and then here come some guys from France, their name was Daft Punk," Birdsong said in 2016. "I asked them, 'Where did you find the music?' And they said, 'Well, I was going through bins and it popped out.'"
Birdsong received a songwriting credit for "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," which became the subject of multiple viralvideos. And then, of course, Kanye West's "Stronger" came along, which prominently sampled Daft Punk's version — the duo even joined the rapper for his 2008 Grammy performance of the song. For many, this marked the beginning of Daft Punk's immersion into America's mainstream.
5. “Around the World” (Homework)
Like an expertly-crafted Dr. Seuss poem tailored for the club, the only lyrics of "Around the World" are the three words in its title, repeated 144 times. Yet the seven-minute song somehow never grows stale, as the minimal instrumentation shifts and creates an irresistible momentum. With its ascending bassline, "Around the World" is a journey in dance.
4. “Get Lucky” feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers (Random Access Memories)
Sure, Daft Punk were hitmakers and Grammy nominees even before "Get Lucky" arrived. But was pop radio ready to accept two robots? Not quite — at least until Pharrell Williams and Nile Rogers lent their contributions.
In an interview series Rolling Stone conducted around the collaborators of Random Access Memories, Williams recalled meeting "the robots" in a studio in Paris, and he mentioned to the band that he was in the midst of a Rogers kick. Sure enough, Daft Punk had already asked Rogers to record the rhythm guitar part of "Get Lucky."
"When I heard 'Get Lucky,' it just reminded me of this exotic island — not sure if it was on this planet or not," Williams said. "But it just felt like a place where it was forever four in the morning."
3. “One More Time” (Discovery)
Rarely has house music sounded as euphoric as "One More Time," the opening track of Discovery. Here, Daft Punk boil down life's necessities to dancing, celebration, and freedom, reciting these tenets of happiness over a melodic loop that repeatedly builds tension and then releases it throughout the song.
Depending on your age, either "One More Time" or "Get Lucky" is Daft Punk's biggest song; but while both are guaranteed dance floor burners, "One More Time" carries the air of nostalgia, a reminder of "the good times" — whenever those were for you.
2. “Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” (Alive 2007)
Of the many highlights from Alive 2007, "Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" best encapsulates the thrill of Daft Punk's live shows. From their towering pyramid, backed by an elaborate light show, the robots intertwined their deep cuts and biggest hits flawlessly, keeping the familiarity of "Around the World"'s steady bassline as the gradual buildup evokes the excitement of hearing the band's songs for the first time.
Some otherwise fantastic live recordings are unfortunately muffled by crowd noise, but the frequent cheers, wallops, and singing along from Daft Punk's crowds only elevate Alive 2007. Close your eyes, and it's not too hard to imagine yourself shouting "harder! Better! Faster! Stronger!" with thousands of perfect strangers in a stadium.
1. "Digital Love" (Discovery)
The first chords of "Digital Love," a standout track from Discovery, turn a 1979 George Duke sample into one of the best love songs of the 2000s. "Last night I had a dream about you / In this dream, I'm dancing right beside you / And it looked like everyone was having fun / The kind of feeling I've waited so long," the robots sing in the first verse. "But suddenly, I feel the shining sun / Before I knew it, this dream was all gone."
Bittersweet, campy, and complete with an iconic vintage synthesizer solo, "Digital Love" is also one of Daft Punk's most recognizable songs, thanks to its prominence in a number of commercials. But the general success of the track doesn't take away from its magic; the legend of the love-at-first-sight, the type that always feels like a once-in-a-lifetime dream.
Rihanna has been holding her fabled upcoming album hostage and, to make it worse, teasing us all over social media with clips of her recording and listening to R9 while we wait, playing 2016's ANTI on repeat to fill the void.
While many music releases were delayed due to the pandemic, nothing hurts more than the wait for R9. Rihanna and her collaborators have been talking it up for years, promising big things and, most recently, hinting at a 2021 release.
However, we've learned our lesson about getting our hopes up. Rihanna will release R9 when both she and it are ready and, knowing it will be everything we want and more, we can count on it being worth the wait. We'll also keep our pleading to ourselves, lest we risk a @badgalriri call out in the comment section.
She's tired of usvia @badgalriri on Instagram
It also doesn't hurt to remember that, while Rih may be withholding her magnum opus, she's given us so much. From the game changing Fenty Beauty to the newly released Fenty Skin, her clothing lines, and never failing to deliver on Instagram.
She was also featured in PARTYNEXTDOOR's "Believe It" in March 2020, and we know we weren't the only ones who played her part on repeat — sorry PND.
As she celebrates her 33rd birthday with the release of her art book, The Rihanna Book, we're celebrating by listening to her entire discography. Rihanna has been a verifiable star since "Pon De Replay," and her fame was solidified with the iconic "Umbrella."
But she's never been one to rest on her laurels or produce repeat iterations of the same sound. What makes Rihanna so influential is her ability to switch up her sound and resist the machination of the mainstream.
But when everything Rihanna does is so influential, what counts as a deep cut? Before the music drought, Rihanna was prolific — not just delivering albums but also appearing in frequent collaborations, features, and dropping non-album singles.
With all that content, it was inevitable that some of them would fly under the radar and be overshadowed by her massive radio-hits. But the underrated songs are just as good and deserve the same amount of recognition.
“Cry” (2006)
Good Girl Gone Bad was the album that propelled Rihanna to the forefront of pop. With lead singles "Umbrella" (one of the greatest songs of all time), "Disturbia," "Don't Stop the Music" and "Take a Bow," the album had no misses. It also features the Ne-Yo collaboration "Hate That I Love You" and the Justin Timberlake collab "Rehab," in which he mostly ad libs while Rih does all the work — but still, a banger.
In short, the album was stacked. "Cry," its thirteenth track and bonus single, is less flashy than other songs on the album. It's a stripped down, emotional piano-driven track which holds its own next to more prominent Rih love ballads like "Higher" or the gorgeous "Stay ft. Mikky Ekko."
If I Never See Your Face Again (ft Maroon 5) (2009)
Like with "Stay," Rihanna has become known for lending her vocals (and fame) to indie-alternative artists as much as to fellow R&B and Hip-Hop features. As Rihanna reached her pop heights after Good Girl Gone Bad in 2007 and the preceding Loud in 2010, her features became ubiquitous in radio friendly alt-pop songs.
The video for "If I Never See Your Face Again" feels like a time capsule. Rihanna's short hair, Maroon 5's peak, and the vaguely sexist undertones of watching Rihanna writhe sensually on a bed or in a maid's costume as Adam Levine looks on creepily with his token blank stare.
The song lives in some half forgotten place in my mind, almost indistinguishable from like … every other Maroon 5 song (yet another feeble attempt to recreate "This Love") with nothing but Rihanna's vocals and the admittedly catchy chorus to salvage it.
American Oxygen (2014)
Perhaps "American Oxygen" flew under the radar because it was mostly released on Tidal in an attempt to entice fans to the subscription service. Perhaps it flew under the radar of her other pre-ANTI Kanye project, "FourFive Seconds," which also featured Sir Paul McCartney — some new guy with a promising career ahead of him.
Whatever the reason, the Springsteen "Born in the USA" inspired track deserved better. The song feels poignant now for its take on the national anthem and the American dream with lyrics like, "You can be anything at all / In America, America. / I say, if you can't see, / Just close your eyes and breathe"
Love the Way You Lie (Part II) (2010)
"Love the Way You Lie" was everywhere the summer it was released as a single from Eminem's Recovery album. The song was a glorification of a toxic relationship, so classic Eminem fodder. Rihanna sang the iconic chorus and, for her own 2010 album, Loud.
"Part II" didn't receive the same press and play that the Eminem version did, although it's inarguably superior. Rihanna's version is more vulnerable than violent and still includes a verse from Eminem (unfortunately), but it's less obstructed by his murder fantasies.
The Last Song (2009)
If Good Girl Gone Bad did for Rihanna's image what the title suggests, her next album, Rated R, solidified her "bad gal" status. From the provocative "Hard" and "Rude Boy, to the declarative "Rockstar" and "G4L," Rihanna was establishing herself as the unflappable icon we know her as today.
But Rated R wasn't all bravado. Songs like "Russian Roulette" showed her emotional side as well as her power vocals — lest we forget she is a singer first. "The Last Song," the final track on the album, is a quiet gem, a post-mortem for a failed relationship, whose vocals go from soft to soaring. Above all, it's a testament to Rihanna's range and a reminder that she can do it all.
BONUS: Shy Ronnie (SNL, 2009)
Remember when we were all tormented by The Lonely Island? When Andy Samberg's "Like a Boss" was somehow, everywhere? The Lonely Island were popular for their appearances on SNL, including one with Rih herself.
In the skit, Rihanna helps "Shy Ronnie" sing for a class project. It's so bizarre to watch now, though hilarious mostly because of how ridiculous it seems. To be honest, maybe this one (and it's 2011 sequel, Ronnie & Clyde) is better off in the vault.
With that being said, there are a plethora of great rock songs about The Man, even if those songs don't paint P.O.T.U.S. in particularly shining light. In honor of Presidents Day, here are eight great rock songs about the various Commanders-in-Chiefs over the years.
The Ramones – Bonzo Goes to Bitburg
Towards the end of the Cold War, Reagan flew to West Germany in 1985 to praise and reflect on its allyship with the U.S. against the communist threat. When he arrived, Reagan laid a wreath and spoke at the Bitburg military cemetery, where he condoned Naziism and honored those who had fallen victim to the movement's cruel ways.
The issue was that 49 of the 2,000 corpses laid buried were in fact Waffen-SS Nazis. Protestors coined the phrase "The Bonzo Goes to Bitburg," an obscure reference to Bonzo the Chimpanzee from the 1950s, to which The Ramones crafted a somber but at times hilarious ode: "C'mon, sort your trash better," the boys call out. "Pull yourself back together."
NOFX – Reagan Sucks
Another ode to the strangely unifying time of the Reagan presidency, NOFX's "Reagan Sucks" merely reflects back to how great the punk community was during Reagan's time as president. "I miss the days of Reagan punk," they scream out. "We all shared the same enemy." In its brief, thrashing runtime, the band also pays homage to the Dead Kennedys and D.I. and simply states in conclusion, "I miss the songs about Reagan sucks."
Misfits – Bullet
The grinding, gory ferocity of Misfits perfectly captured the boiled over frustrations caused by the assassination of JFK. On "Bullet" the grotesque horror-punk rockers spare no details as they reflect back on that gruesome day. "President's bullet-ridden body in the street / Ride, Johnny ride, Kennedy's shattered head hits concrete / Ride, Johnny ride."
With that said, it wouldn't be a Misfits song without sexually distasteful commentary, so the group takes aim at Jackie: "Texas is the reason the president's dead / You gotta suck, suck, Jackie, suck...The dirt's gonna be your dessert / My c*m be your life source / And the only way to get it is to suck and f**k."
Sum 41 –45 (A Matter of Time)
The goofy skate punk rockers were never known to be an overtly political outfit, but on "45 (A Matter of Time)," the Canadian quintet put Trump in their sights and got a few angry far-right responses in the process. Deryck Whibley offers up some of his best songwriting as he eviscerates the 45th POTUS: "You're something to few but nothing to me," he calls out. "You've proven a real man is something you're not."
Pearl Jam – Brain of J
Dissecting a decade-old conspiracy theory, Grunge rockers Pearl Jam contemplated the mystery on their 1998 effort Yield. "Who's got the brain of JFK?" Eddie Vedder caws into the mic. Rather than being fully examined at the Dallas Parkland Hospital, JFK's body was transported for autopsy to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. The move came after Parkland doctors suggested the bullet wound was at the front of the head, which contradicted the idea that Lee Harvey Oswald shot him.
Bethesda would support this claim, and conspiracy theorists for years would feast on this underlying doubt that Oswald was not responsible for JFK's death. The boys of Pearl Jam seem to agree this is no strange coincidence. "Oh it's sound insurance," cries out Vedder. "But I can tell you, this is no lie."
Green Day – American Idiot
Another pop-punk group who had seemingly no interest in political theater, Green Day would emerge in 2004 as the voice of political protest for the George W. Bush era. "American Idiot" was a post-9/11 call-to-action that lit a fire under thousands to stay awake and stay informed.
While it was initially viewed as an indictment for the current administration, Billie Joe Armstrong later clarified that American Idiot as a whole was merely crafted to criticize the America-first mentality — a mentality that, they theorized, would become increasingly violent and problematic. "American Idiot" was merely telling Americans to wake up and not become numb to what was happening around them.
BRUJERIA - Viva Presidente Trump! (OFFICIAL TRACK)
The faceless extreme metal group satirically embraces a turbulent Trump presidency on their aggressive single "Viva Presidente Trump!" "I actually want him to be president, because he wants war and so do we," they call out in Spanish. The track suggested that Trump's hostile tactics, especially in the south, will no doubt spark a full-on war, which to be fair, on January 6th it almost did.
The Offspring – Kill The President
"Kill the President, listen to the voice of reason," Dexter Holland calls out on The Offspring's deep cut "Kill the President." Due to the track's thematic material, the band left the track off of their debut album and have since not released it to streaming services. They don't want any smoke from the same government (George H.W. Bush) they're criticizing. "In a world without leaders, who'd start all the wars?" Holland asks. "The world that you're saving, will always be yours!"
If you're anything like us, you're probably overwhelmed by the sheer number of albums being released on a weekly basis.
Welcome to Popdust's first Indie Roundup of 2021, the weekly column where we find the five best albums coming out each week so that you don't have to. Every Friday, we'll tell you what's worth listening to that might not already be on your radar.
Viagra Boys, Welfare Jazz
Though they hail from Sweden, Viagra Boys' off-kilter post-punk is taking the U.S. by storm. Their second album Welfare Jazz infuses standard guitar work with eerie distortion and classical instruments, making for a record that's as thought-provoking as the topics of society they sing about.
Casper Clausen, Better Way
On his debut solo album, Efterklang frontman Casper Clausen swirls together elements of art pop, krautrock, and prog rock into a record that dares to push boundaries. "It's a record about finding a better way, loving stronger, falling harder," the Portuguese musician said in a statement, and Better Way reaches across the entire emotional spectrum.
Frozen Soul, Crypt of Ice
For those who delight in the bitter cold of winter, let Crypt of Ice make the season bright. The debut album from Texas band Frozen Soul is an exemplary odyssey of all of death metal's most crucial pillars: Drilling bass drum hits, face-melting guitars, and vocals that sound like an exorcism. The result is not for the faint of heart, but for the ideal crowd, it's a perfect catharsis.
AGGi DiX, SIMMER EP
Equal parts neo-soul and hip-hop, Danish singer-songwriter AGGi DiX is a promising rising artist. The 21-year-old's new EP Simmer spotlights her featherlight flow atop glossy production, with a whimsical, carefree attitude indebted to '90s R&B. Across the EP, AGGi DiX's lyrics bear an optimistic sense of independence.
Devotion (Deluxe), Planet 1999
Since signing to PC Music — the record label that's become heavily affiliated with the hyperpop genre — London band Planet 1999 are a fast-rising act that mixes glitchy beats and sugary melodies with the dreaminess of '90s shoegaze. They solidified their place in the scene with last year's Devotion; the deluxe issue of the record is out today, featuring remixes by Dinamarca, D.J. Lostboi, and of course, PC Music founder A.G. Cook.
She's tired of usvia @badgalriri on Instagram
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