The holidays don’t feel like the holidays this year so here are some non-holiday, non-seasonal, random shit I love this season (and always) that passes the vibe check™.
Omni – “Heard My Name”, “Earrings”
I’m way late on the Omni train and still catching up so instead of listening to their new album like a normal person, here are two of my favorites from their back catalog.
Squid – “The Dial”
I feel like this is a new classic. It feels culturally relevant and representative of what’s going on in the rock/punk scene right now, while still being experimental and ultimately kinda timeless.
Dehd – “Lucky”
This is the epitome of my emo tumblr self emerging, but, “Lucky to have people in my life with the power to break my heart,” is up there with my favorite lyrics of all time.
Sidney Gish – “Presumably Dead Arm” Audiotree live version
Sidney Gish might be my favorite songwriter/lyricist and this is her in peak form. I particularly like this version (and honestly the entire session that accompanies it). Another one of my top lyric moments “I wanna know your passwords without changing them in preferences, and all the childhood streets and deceased pets that they’re referencing.” It’s a very simple way of putting words to modern day intimacy and I’m in love with it.
The Nude Party – “Water On Mars”
I’ve been lucky enough to catch the band twice this fall/winter and I can’t get over how much of a banger this is.
BODEGA – “Shiny New Model”
This is another one of those tracks that feels kinda timeless — it’s also really fucking catchy.
BAMBARA – “Serafina”
BAMBARA is what I wished Iceage sounded like. That’s it, that’s the tweet.
Iceage – “The Lord’s Favorite”
That being said, I would be remiss to not give this song the hype it deserves. This is the best Iceage song because it sounds like a Bright Eyes song.
Bright Eyes – “It’s Cool, We Can Still Be Friends”
Running with this whole segue thing, Bright Eyes were maybe the most important band of my adolescence. I remember coming across this song in the throws of my first devastating breakup and was so upset it didn’t exist on streaming services and I couldn’t find a copy of the rarities vinyl with it on it. It’s a wonderfully, self-indulgent, depressing track that you should only listen to if you’re totally ok or totally not ok with never emerging from the hole you’re going to dig yourself into.
Twin Peaks – “Making Breakfast” on a boat
On a much more uplifting note, this is maybe my favorite video to exist on the internet. If you haven’t seen this yet, you’re welcome.
FONTAINES D.C. – “Liberty Belle” on Kimmel
This is another one of my top videos — I feel like in that moment of stillness when the camera moves in on Grian and he’s just taking his time, does not give a fuck this is live, will start whenever he so chooses was like THE MOMENT. That’s when he became a star on American television, don’t @ me.
Naked Giants – “Slow Dance II” on KEXP
I love live sessions, sue me, but this particular performance is one of my favorites. Personally, I prefer it over the recording and it’s also just impassioned and rough and wild all in step with the 1, 2, 3 waltz happening behind it. It’s a cool, almost nostalgic track that didn’t need to go that hard but it did.
