"Sucker for the pain, huh, honey?"



38. Ben Franklin by Snail Mail

-I didn't know about the giant snake in the video before making this pick, but it could've only helped. I guess the snake is meant to represent leaving your comfort zone. I dunno about that, but whatever Lindsey Jordan had to do to get to this place musically was well worth it cause this track titled after the most famous guy that got cut from Hamilton is her best work to date. Where she goes from here will certainly be interesting and I hope it keeps the same oomph.

That's it for now. It's appropriate to end with Snail Mail since the countdown will be slow going for the next few days. Next week I have many days off though and all I wanna do is see moviefilms (Spidey/Nightmare/Licorice) and write about musicsongs.

I don't know who these people are

Get learnt then!

Good news everyone, the event at my work got cancelled, so I can see Spider-Man today! I really didn't wanna have to tip toe across the internet for the next few days so this has worked out well. And, I'll post more songs than usual, though not as many as a true off day since the multiverse is calling.

"I got these names I'm hanging onto like I made them"



37. The Room It Was by Cloud Nothings

-Cleveland's own favorite punk act Cloud Nothings are a regular act around these parts. And for the second time in a row, we end up going with the song that says the album's name in it. I swear this is not a fetish though, it just so happens that it was the best song they played at their return show! Well, except for the 15+ minute version of Wasted Days, with many horns added in, but we'll categorize as best new song, and thus it winds up here on the list. This song doesn't have a music video, but if it did you all could see that the bassist now looks like a ringer for Jon Moxley.

"When my spirit starts sinkin’ that picture always makes it float baby"



36. Heart On Fire by Eric Church

-As he often does, Eric Church the lone country song on this year's list. I didn't get to see him live though since I was doing something else the night he came to the Cle, though I can't remember what. Maybe Vegas? Time is hard to keep track of in the quarantine era. Anyways, Eric released two albums in back to back weeks, one called Heart which has the fast and fun songs and one called Soul which is kinda boring, but I'm sure the real country fans loved it. I personally just like when Eric is trying to do his Mick Jagger impersonation, and he sure does a great job of it on Heart On Fire.

"All the kings and queens, when they explored the seas, they were searching for a gem like you"



35. Precious Metal Girl by Weezer

-The W actually released a pair of albums this year. The long-delayed Van Weezer, which sounds exactly as you'd expect from the title, and OK Human which is full of softer and more personal tracks. Listening to PMG, you'd expect it to be on the latter, but nope it actually closes out the stadium rock record. It has references to faster pussycat, LA Guns and Aqua Net to make it lyrically fit on that album, but I see it as a perfect balance between the two projects. And it's an earworm, one of my top played songs of the year. If I could play guitar well I'd break this baby out all the time and the ladies would never be able to leave the palm of my hands.

"The world is yours and you should know it, so don't let love get out of focus"



34. Future Starts Now by Kim Petras

-I dunno if Kim Petras is Charli XCX's official apprentice, but she certainly shares the mantra of "don't let a single year go by without releasing at least one track thats on fire." Thus why they both turn up here all the freakin time, though they do trade the higher spot back and forth (Claws was #4 last year while Kim was in the 40s with Party Till U Die.) There's not much else to say about this song, you listen and can either dance with it or be a total loser and not dance. Your call.

OK that'll be it for now. I'll be back later with more after watching some Spider-Man (s).

I'm swinging from Cloud 9 off Spider-Man and can't believe that




However, I did promise more songs and shall deliver promptly!

"What would you do to stay alive if the planet was burning?"



33. Black Lungs by Achitects

-I've known about, and somewhat enjoyed, the UK metalcore band Architects for a little while now, but didn't know the full story. About the original singer died young and now his brother fronts the band. Trying to replicate the original sound wasn't quite working, so they stepped in a new direction. They brought in an orchestra and switched their lyrics to exploring grand concepts like fantastical war and religion. That's usually more in line with just straight metal bands, but they keep their breakdowns, and they break .. hard.

"Your friends are really morons, can we still date?"



32. Hollywood Sucks by KennyHoopla

-The third and final Travis Barker produced track comes from Kenny H here. He was at Riotfest, but I did not see him cause it was on early on. Apparently he crowd surfed while singing this song here so whoops. The second biggest thing I regret there, after missing CM Punk introduce Cult of Personality. The song Estella is another good way to go if you the like the sound of these fellas. It might even have better lyrics, but Hollywood Sucks is so much fun that it wins out.

"I know I've made this call before, not crying wolf ... pretty sure"



31. Knife Under My Pillow by Maggie Lindeman

-I'm sure this song is metaphorical, but I get it. I'm not big on the whole ghost thing, so whenever I hear a weird noise my mind thinks "fuck, it's on" before remembering that buildings make weirds noises all the time and it doesn't mean I'm gonna need to fight someone to the death. Maggie is pretty cute, channeling some mega Paramore vibes, but I'm pretty sure if we both had knives under our pillows it would result in both of us being stabbed.

And that'll be the end of today's updates. Also, it is a whole ass 21 degrees colder than when I posted my afternoon update. What the fuck? I need more Spider-Man to make me feel better about this. I think I'll go with Amazing. I've seen the Raimis a bunch, but don't remember much about the Marc Webb era other than Emma being awesome and Garfield being the coolest guy in town even before he gets his powers.

Well the reason I couldn't remember too much about The Amazing Spider-Man is because it's very forgettable. They spend so much time redoing the origin story yet also half-ass it like 'yeah yeah we know you know but we have to do it anyways because Sony said so.' Still love Emma as Gwen though. And the Stan Lee cameo during the library fight is one of the best.

Anyways, quick quick update today. I have to work and woke up later than intended lol.

"This weight feels like I'm wrestling with my head, obsessing in the dark"



30. Slide Tackle by Japanese Breakfast

-Japanese Breakfest, JBrekkie on instagram, had a major breakthrough year mostly thanks to the song Be Sweet which captured the hearts of all alt-popper fans out there. While that song is great, you gotta go a few more down the album to find this Gem of a song. It's just as catchy, but with more horns! A good mix between her old very low-fi-girl style and a major pop jam. You tackle those inner demons and I'll try to block for you!

"For your amusement, for your confusion, I guess I'll do it cause I'm bored"



29. Flux by Poppy

-Poppy placed #30 last year with the song I Disagree, and moves up one in 2021 with what I think is her best song to date. The 2040s are gonna be her decade at this rate. Ya'll might know her as HHH's favorite artist who showed up NXT a few times a year. I was burnt out on NXT and very nearly almost skipped this record because of it. And while watching her walk through a brightly colored Candyland in the video does give 2.0 vibes, this song is fluid and adaptable - the exact opposite of the new class of NXT. They would never be able to flux n flow with me because they're too damn stiff!

And that's it! I wasn't kidding when I saids I was in a hurry. Maybe more later? More likely more tomorrow!

In honor of Spider-Man's opening day, I shall post 121 new songs today!

Nah I'm just kidding, it's probably gonna be 3 to get us to the halfway mark. I have five of the next seven days off though and should be able to finish by then!

"Salmon shish kebab, in a misty fog, rollin' sticky log,b ig dawg affair, no kids involved"



28. Rare by Nas

-Every rapper these days claims to be the greatest of all time, but Nas is one of the few who actually has a case. His consistency is unreal. Illmatic came out over 27 years ago! And while none have reached the high of his very first record, there hasn't been a single flop amongst them. So when Nas says he is in rare form, I'm gonna believe him. The whole King's Disease 2 album is a huge win, but Rare in particular stands out. I love how hard he goes on it and especially love how the changes not once, but twice, only increasing the edge on it.

"They don't care what the science says, they don't want to talk"



27. Self Destructor by Chevelle

-Was not expecting a Chevelle return to form this year. Actually, return to form is not an accurate description. While I do like their old songs, they are very grunge and sing-alongy. Self-Destructor just rips. And while ripping anti-vaxxers, covid deniers, etc... is an easy thing to do lyrically, ripping a guitar riff like this one to go along with it is anything but easy.

"If we suddenly expire would we get some peace and quiet? Would streets just fill with tigers"



26. Big Cat Judgement Day by With Confidence

-A catchy pop-punk song that frames the post apocalypse as a haven for tigers? Well that's just Flava'd bait right there. In past years that might have been enough to earn it a top ten spot, like last year's Jurassic Park by Stand Atlantic, but as we've seen it has been a particularly strong year for the genre. And for apocalypse songs. I wonder where all these writers are getting the inspiration?

Aight, second half will begin tomorrow, and the rumor mills say that the next 25 songs are even better than the first 25!

In Normal times it might be too late to post an update on a Football Sunday. However, the Browns have been delayed, the Bengals (boo!) and Ravens (booooooooooooo!!!!!!!) don't play their games until 4 and Omicron is just running wild on other teams. It should be called the Jonathon Taylor variant if anything. But yeah, I'll do at least three before hopping over to Red Zone and hoping for something interesting to happen.

"So tell me, what do you mean when you say that we're not okay?"



25. Beautiful Way by You Me At Six

-One of the earliest songs of the year to make the list, this song somehow feels even more appropriate now then when I first heard it back in January. I had high hopes of singing this song alongside thousands of people once things were finally back to normal, but guess that'll have to wait a little while. It's an anthem for the moment though, one for people who are fucked up in beautiful way, which is all of us right now.