The Sentinel
Skate video music used to rule all in my world. I made playlists with songs exclusively from my favorite videos and quizzed my friends on where they came from. Back when copyright infringement was easier to avoid and YouTube’s algorithms let most slip through the cracks there was a new song popping into my lexicon every week or so.
“The Sentinel,” seemingly perfect for a David Gonzalez beat down, scored one of the most entertaining parts of the last 10 years. Judas Priest, to me, was classic leather, “radio friendly,” heavy metal. “Breaking the Law” was an ode to never following the rules. “The Sentinel” was much more punishing and certain to squander disapproving looks from my mother.
Down on the Street
Deep cuts always strike me as defining moments for bands. How good is your less popular stuff and why is it less popular? Most radio plays are overplayed to the point of insanity – dolling out the same 20 songs every few hours. Therefore, deep cuts seem fresh, even cathartic. In my experience, these tracks always come out of nowhere and surprise me while quickly becoming my new favorite song. Strictly the reason why I don’t like skipping over bands discographies or listening to one song on repeat.
Whether Stooges fans would find this as a deep cut, I don’t know, but to me, never hearing this particular track felt understandable. Turns out it’s the bands fourth most popular song on Spotify… sometimes my musical hubris fails me.
Anyways, I had to ask the owner of a tiny thrift shop what song was playing as my friends raced out the door. His pirate-esque bandana told me he knew what was up. Learned me a thing that day.
Gila Monster
I texted my brother – “Listen to this a couple times, it’ll grow on you.” That was mid twenty-something play for me. King Gizzard puts out music like clockwork and whatever genre it falls under I seem to love it. This track definitely grew on me. Starting from an interested, distorted face to a sour puss filled with stank appreciation.
I drove to my friends an hour and half away and every third song seemed to cycle around to the Gila Monster coming to reel havoc on my ears. This song kicks ass, plain and simple.
PYT
Michael will forever get me groovin’ and bring a smile to my face. “Man in the Mirror” is one of my friend group's most coveted singalong songs. PYT holds a top notch in my book with its inane ability to cheer me up no matter what is going on.
I’m youngish and I love the oldies, but most times they come to me through inordinate ways. The Jabbawockeez performed my favorite dance of America’s Best Dance Crew with PYT as a central player and the rest is history.
Few and Far Between
Getting into hardcore in my early twenties didn’t necessarily make me late, but it felt like it for a while. I may have an oddly specific taste that makes my search for hard hitting bands that fit my mood a bit more difficult, but I always seem to find something one way or another. A “New York hardcore” search in Spotify gave me a great list, but wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Turns out “Few and Far Between” was the only song I gravitated towards playing multiple times. A simple and moderately aggressive sampling that has me turning up the volume every time that break down hits. Simplicity is key and sometimes lays the ground work for a groovy finish to a jamming track.
Time Is Money
Natural Child is one of my all time favorite bands. Perfectly meshing musical elements I see as core rock and roll formulation. These boys know how to groove, know how to write, and know how to make it fun.
Not unlike their predecessors in rock and roll, natural child was not without controversy. Amid a final album mired with speculation and mystery, the boys, possibly only part of the full lineup, dropped an out of the blue blessing of new songs. “Time is Money” has been my stand out track on said album that exemplifies Natural Child’s prowess and genre weaving abilities.
Spill The Blood
When it comes to thrash metal I’ve found out most of my favorite tracks are of the slower variety - filled with punch and groove. Turns out there’s a reason for my affinity towards hardcore and it’s elemental inclusion of the best parts of metal and heavy metal music.
South of Heaven lands in as my favorite Slayer album amid the probable screams of most Slayer fanatics. The deliberate slow down and the punishment this record brings gets my engines revin’. I can say for a fact that Dave Lombardo’s drumming is the highlight of these songs and my gravitation towards this record, specifically to its ending frame and unbelievable drum tones. A fellow Cuban American awes as the “king of double pedal” lays down unrelenting drum parts driven to the top of the track. An impeccable album with impeccable production. Let the drums sing.
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