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[5-5-5] of 2024 Part 3: Top Tracks

The year 2024 was, like all other years by definition, one for the history books. In the world: Steamboat Willy hit the public domain; Boeing had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year; the Nicest Man in the Country was arrested for no good reason; Tr*mp was found guilty of defamation (costing him $83.3 mil); Shithead Alex Jones lost in a very big way; Tr*mp was found guilty of falsifying business records, thereby becoming the first felon president (34 counts!); Giuliani was disbarred; someone tried to kill a fascist; Diddy had the worst year ever; Hurricane Helene really fucked things up for us. 

We said goodbye to Tony Todd, Maggie Smith, Phil Donahue, Ruth Westheimer, Richard Simmons, Carl Weathers, James Earl Jones, Sid Vicious (the wrestler), Kevin Sullivan, Shelley Duvall and American Democracy.

On a personal level: I was still way into folk punk this year but also listened to more pop than I have in years; I was able to successfully turn 40; went to Disney World; ran my first 5k in years; went to Orvieto, Massa, Cinque Terre, Montepulciano, Florence, Assisi and Rome; I wrote a book; I did my first convention as a vendor; built a very nice garden bed; celebrated two years of getting to be Katie’s husband.

Despite the turbulence and the poor forecast ahead, it was still a good year and I’ll be doing what I can to rock out the next one. This year’s posts are in loving memory of Quincy Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Tito Jackson, Jack Russell, Dave Loggins, Shifty Shellshock, Dennis Thompson, John Barbata, Steve Albini, Mojo Nixon, Fatman Scoop and Brother Wayne Kramer…

Part 3 of 3

Top 5 Tracks, New and Old, of 2024

In no particular order, of course.

Olivia Rodrigo – Vampire

Album: Guts – Released: September 8, 2023

Repeating much of what I’ve already said in Part 2, “Vampire” by Olivia Rodrigo is one of the most well-written songs I have heard in a very long time. The piano arrangement reflects the ebbing and flowing of emotions in ones body during such an emotional time while the chorus’ build-up to ultimate crescendo adds to the song’s tension in such a perfect way. Rodrigo did a killer job of putting together the perfect melody and flow for her verses that make it so much fun to sing.

“Every girl I ever talked to told me you were bad, bad news; you called them crazy, god I hate the way I called them crazy, too; you’re so convincing, how do you lie without flinching?; What a mesmerizing, paralyzing fucked up little thrill; can’t figure out just how you do it and god knows I never will; went for me and not her, ‘cause girls your age know better.”

One of the things that makes me love Nina Simone so much is she has a knack for making me feel like an angry black woman, something I could never in a billion years understand … and Rodrigo does the same in making me feel like I have experienced her heartbreak. I listen to her music and I am so, so angry at these men that she is so, so frustrated with – yet another emotion I couldn’t possibly understand. Great artists have the ability to force their vision onto the consumer regardless of whether or not they understand it and she’s killed it here.

Structure and emotion aside, Rodrigo’s voice is flawless anyway but especially in the delivery of this song. It’s equal parts forlorn, frustrated, angry, pouty and broken. And her vocal emotion flows perfectly with the instrumental arrangement, beginning as a piano ballad and ending in chaos. I love everything about this song.

Chappell Roan – Casual

Album: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Released: September 22, 2023

Of all the dancy, poppy and fun songs on this record, I think it’s kind of weird that the slow-poke “Casual” is my favorite track off the record. You can hear the hurt in Chappell Roan’s voice as she laments the frustrations of being in a relationship that one party believes is nothing more than a casual hookup. 

Musically, the song doesn’t blow minds – it’s a pretty simple four-chord progression but it does a dynamite job of supporting the heavy-lifting lyrics. Another fun song to sing along with, the melody – especially in the chorus – is absolutely sugary sweet.

“Knee-deep in the passenger seat and you’re eating me out; Is it casual now?”

In a post-WAP world, we should no longer be shocked by women being sexually graphic in their songs, but I can’t help but love that Roan has put in a reference to cunnilingus sans-metaphor right smack in the middle of her chorus. It echoes back to the unapologetic promiscuity I mentioned in Part 2. I think it’s great and I am here for it 100% – anything to make conservative men upset.

Much like Rodrigo does in “Vampire,” I’m also a huge fan of how Roan conveys so much emotion throughout this song – primarily subtle rejection and heartbreak, but also frustration to the point of dissing her love interest for not being able to get her off by the end of the song. There’s something identifiable in the song’s bridge where she begins to air her grievances only to land on a heartbreaking confession:

“It’s hard being casual when my favorite bra lives in your dresser; it’s hard being casual when I’m on the phone talking down your sister; I try to be the chill girl that holds her tongue and gives you space; I try to be the chill girl but … honestly, I’m not.”

Gnome – Old Soul

Album: Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome – Released: 2024

Belgian rockers Gnome have rocked my face off this year. Their brand of tongue-in-cheek stoner metal is everything I need most days: always heavy, sometimes slow-sometimes chugging and lyrics about epic quests. It’s great, because the content of most stoner-metal bands is one-note and boring … while you usually find songs about ancient lore and great adventure in power metal, which is a genre I don’t care for.

And then Gnome released “Old Soul.”

Lyrically the song doesn’t bring much to the table (unlike others from this record), but they still blend well with the song’s heavy-hitting riffs. When the song kicks in, my head just starts banging along with that crash cymbal that is being abused, my feet begin stomping holes to the netherworld along with the beat. The verses lead the listener on a funky little groove journey atop eighth notes and bubbly basslines before crashing back into the ultra-heavy main riff behind the chorus.

And if that wasn’t fun enough, the song’s breakdown is a masterclass in doom with slow guitar noodling, a bass line that’s equally noodly but heavier than death, then a build-up that brings the song back to it’s ultra-hard, ultra-true identity before reaching the song’s epic conclusion.

It’s a very heavy, very exciting, ride to take.

Lay Bankz – Ick

Album: Now You See Me – Released: August 9, 2023

This song popped up as a surprise one day as Spotify shuffled songs it thinks I might like based on something else I don’t even remember. When it comes to new music, I need to have my attention grabbed by something, be it a tight beat, an original riff, a nasty vocal or SOMETHING … and this song nabbed me by pairing an aggressive beat with Lay Bankz’s smooth rap flow. And did she just say “red bottoms don’t fit, I’m a hood Cinderella?” Alright, I’m listening…

By the time the chorus comes around, I’m already hooked, then that “He gave me the ick …” starts repeating in such an egregious way – it’s just so much fun! It can’t get better, can it? 

Turns out it can.

“Lady boner gone …”

She had no reason to make such a hilarious line so damn catchy. She had no reason to make such a silly song so damn perfect. This is a never-skip track on my 2024 playlist.

The Dead South – In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company

Album: Good Company – Released: 2014

Rounding out the list this year is Canadian folkies The Dead South with their (now kind of old) song “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company.” This one came up on Katie’s YouTube suggestions and we ignored it for a bit but eventually gave in due largely to curiosity about the pilgrim-looking men standing on the railroad tracks. What met us was not only a unique take on Old Time Bluegrass, but an all-around great song by a very accomplished group of artists.

Simple and very stripped down, aside from the vocals, this song only consists of a cello (played horizontally) and a banjo. Lead vocalist Nate Hilts has an irresistible voice that’s perfect for the genre (especially when backed up by mandolin player Scott Pringle). Banjo player Colton Crawford has also written a magnificent instrumental for the song that I hope to learn in the next year.

My favorite part of the song, however, is the second verse lyric delivered by cellist Danny Kenyon:

“I see my red head, messed bed, tear shed, queen bee, my squeeze; The stage, it smells, tells, Hell’s bells, mis-spells, knocks me on my knees; It didin’t hurt, flirt, blood squirt, stuffed shirt, hang me on a tree; After I count down three rounds, in hell I’ll be in good company.”

Honorable Mentions:

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