™Meow∫ by Anamanaguchi
The new single from the upcoming album Endless Fantasy is great. The music video is a huge mash of popular internet culture and in general is another fantastic blend of chiptune and pop-punk. Their new album comes out in spring and screams to be checked out. Five out of five meows.
™At the Helm∫ by Hieroglyphics
This song should be a huge anthem for college students. It’s all about developing your trade and skills before you boast on them. Del the Funky Homosapien dominates the track and breaks a lot of rhyme scheme molds throughout.
™TableRotten∫ by Big D and the Kids
Rotten is a hate letter to the kind of friends that leave people behind at parties. The music video for Rotten came out as an incentive for Big D’s Kickstarter for two new albums. One of them will be a purely ska-punk album while the other is stroll and dub. Look out for it soon.
™The Invisible Cat∫ by Belter
Belter sounds like if The Proclaimers and The B-52s got really trashed one night and did some things they both regretted. Which is awesome. The Invisible Cat EP is on Bandcamp for dirt-cheap, less than three dollars, and definitely worth the cash.
™Bitch Bad∫ by Lupe Fiasco
I don’t know how I haven’t discovered this song sooner. The song is a great analysis of how popular culture objectifies the people that listen to it, and how it affects our interaction with other people. This is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the lyrical stagnancy modern rap has been going through.
™You only Get what You Give∫ by The New Radicals
This is one of the few songs that can pair an uplifting message with a lyric about kicking celebrities’ nether regions. The fact that this song has been played over 1 million times through radio stations is because of who it is written for: the underdog.
™The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)∫ by Simon and Garfunkel
Most of Simon and Garfunkel’s songs are upbeat but horribly depressing in lyrical content. This song’s opening line is the message to be taken away, “slow down, you move too fast”. Great song for after a stressful event.
™Walking on a Pretty Day∫ by Kurt Vile
Vile sounds a lot like Lou Reed from Velvet Underground in this track. This slow and steady song clocks in at around 9 1/2 minutes, but feels much shorter. An incredibly simple song that grows on you after the first few listens.
Derek Kowatsch can be reached at [email protected]