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Song of the Day 08/31/2026

"Roll the Fire" - Conception

     Conception is the kind of band that not many know, but everyone in the metal world should know. Well, so far as the progressive metal world goes at least. They are intense! While this is their first time on AintNoisePollution, they have almost been selected more than the grand majority of power or progressive metal bands. Glad they are finally here! Today we talk of "Roll the Fire", the group's most streamed song on Spotify. This is one of those moments where it just makes sense that this is the one. I mean, some bands have their top song as one of their lesser great songs (that is opinion-based, naturally), but when it comes to Conception, "Roll the Fire" is rightfully at the top of their list. Before we get further into that, we gotta do our usual summing up of the month. How was August for you? Truth be told, it isn't unreal of me to forget August even exists. It has always been a month that just shoots by. It could be the longing for cooler weather with its sweet, sweet jackets and hot coffee annnnd leaves and all the good stuff that makes up autumn. Or it might just be a month of stress. Of change. This month was mighty stressful for your dear author, but I hope it was better for you. I don't think there is a single person I know that had a good August this go around. Even the name August sounds disgusting. Maybe next year will be one to get it on the maps, but I am glad to see it go. My only regret is that time moved so damn fast. I hardly got any adventuring in! It was mostly car stress, car work, and car debt. You know how it goes. How about the website? How did we stack up? Well, we have 31 tracks of power here with us this month. A strong one to say the least. There were three 10/10 choices this month. That is a higher number than usual, that, or I say that in every end of the month post. We had Judas Priest serving up a serious can of kick-assery with "The Hellion / Electric Eye". That one track could have made this whole month one of the strongest on AintNoisePollution. Love that fuckin' song. Then we had Aerosmith's classic "Dream On", which is as classic as classic rock can get. Pure gold! Lastly, we had Billy Strings and the modern bluegrass masterpiece, "Dust in a Baggie". All three of those songs are titans, and I am sure they will get plenty of playing from you if you are anything like me. Since you are still here, I will take that as a "hell yeah". Good. Alright, to sum up the choices we had, there were 15 rock choices, 7 metal ones, 2 country boppers, 2 folk stompers, 2 punk choices, 1 pop one, 1 bluegrass choice, and 1 reggae track that made up August for us here on AintNoisePollution. Not a bad variation. Glad you were here with me through it! Alright, let's get into our song and artist of the day, "Roll the Fire" by Conception. Do you ever have a song with such a mean intro you audibly say, "well shit"? For me, that was "Roll the Fire" and while I could have picked a couple of different songs that were definitive of that day, I almost knew it was meant to be Conception right when those full-body chills hit. Luckily for you and luckily for me, it isn't just one of those metal songs that is all about the intro. This song kicks you to the ground and doesn't even feel bad about it. No sorry. Nothing of the sort. In a strange way, you feel like you should thank it for kicking you to the ground. The song comes off the band's second studio album, Parallel Minds, which hit the shelves in 1993. The album had one single come off of it, with "Roll the Fire" being the one. Anyone with ears knew that track was a winner. The four Conception albums that came out of the 1990s are all criminally underrated, but none more than Parellel Minds and also their fourth studio album, Flow, which I stand strong in thinking is their best album. That one caught me completely off guard! Conception was another band I discovered while going through a ton, and I mean a ton, of albums for the 1990s metal studies. I honestly wasn't blown away by their debut the first time I gave it a spin, but after hearing the power and the glory on their second album, I went back and gave it another go. That time was much more chipper, and I walked away with a solid couple of tracks. This isn't a group you wanna sleep on if you like progressive, power, or traditional heavy metal. They might not be as brutal as some of the bands out there, but when it comes to progressive, brutal isn't the name of the game. It all comes down to putting out some impressive and compelling material, something that Conception did well all the way through the 1990s. They came back recently, back in 2020, but I have yet to make it to that album. I am sure it is as good as the others, especially if the stream counts are to be trusted.

     Conception started up in 1989 in Raufoss, Norway. The town is pretty damn small, but that seems to be fairly normal for Norway. Something else that is fairly normal for Norway is dishing out top-tier groups! Especially in the 1990s. Lordy, did they have some mean mothers coming out of that patch of land. Not many were as progressive as Conception in nature, but there is always a balance. They are the answer to the chaos that came out of the black metal world. The group had a completely different lineup during their starting days. They went under the name "Redrum" but dropped it for "Conception" once their core lineup got together. Thank fuck. I love me some Stephen King, but "Redrum" is a cheesy name. Now, Conception? That is a damn good band name. They fit it like a glove. It took them a second since the band started out with something more aggressive in mind, something you can hear on their debut, which dips into the thrash metal well from time to time. Still good, but nothing like what their next album had in store. That debut of theirs caught many ears. This led to them getting signed by a label instead of self-releasing their next album. That is where their second album comes in. Parallel Minds is a bonafide hidden gem here in the United States, and I think that, like many that came and went in the less commercial side of the 1990s metal world, got lost to the test of time to the rest of the world. The band still has fans now; you cannot help but get sucked into the band when songs like "Roll the Fire" exist in their collection of gripping tracks. It was Noise Records that got their claws into Conception, and when it comes to an important German metal label, Noise Records should be one of the first to come to mind. Hidden heroes of the 1980s and 1990s metal world. Conception might not be their strongest or most famous band that was in their ranks, but they sure were a welcome soldier in the metal army. These dudes play like they hadn't slept in weeks just to make sure each song on their albums is great. "Roll the Fire" is the second song on Parallel Minds. The track is epic. I was listening to it at work. Sure, I might have just been walking across the warehouse to deliver a box, but it felt like I was on my way to slay a fuckin' dragon. Not with a sword, mind you, but with my fuckin' mind bullets! Beams of raw psychic energy that will fell that dragon for no other reason than to kill something bigger than me that breathes fire. Power metal is one thing, that one is meant for felling that scaley bastard with a sword, but when you mix in progressive metal into it like Conception does, then that is when you get mind bullets. Let that be the lesson you take away from this post. Parallel Minds is full of both the beautiful and the mighty. Each song is pretty damn good. I have a strong love for the final track on the album, "Soliloquy". You know, that is one of those words that I am scared someone will ask me to spell. What a word. Anyway, that one is an epic! A three-piecer that takes a whole 9 minutes to see it through. That track lacks the same special fire that is in "Roll the Fire", but if you like what you hear on that track, I strongly suggest going there next to see how strong the band's song structuring is. Each member of the band is a bull, but I gotta give the special award of awesomeness to the vocalist Roy Khan and the drummer Arve Heimdal. Those two keep an eye on the front and the back of the album's sound. The guitar and bass work is still highly enjoyable, so don't think I am forgetting them. How could you? Well, I will let the music do the talking. What a way to end the month! Now I gotta get to creating the other page befoe bed. This next one will be our first solid month on the new website builder. The true testing moment to see if this will be our longtime home. Come back and check it out often, would ya? I will give you some fresh tunes, how about that? Sounds like a solid trade to me. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1993

Album: Parallel Minds (1993)

Genre: Progressive Metal, Power Metal

Mood: Epic

​Perfect For: Practicing shooting mind bullets, Getting a burst of energy, Banging your head, Playing loud

Where to Next: "Set Your Controls" - Arjen Anthony Lucassen's Star One

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/30/2026

"Take It All Away" - Girlschool

     Finally we get some Girlschool here on AintNoisePollution! They are one of the groups that inspired me to start up the website in the first place. Crazy it took over 800 other choices before they finally had their spotlight, but better late than never. "Take It All Away" might not be their all-time greatest song, but it does come off one of their all-time strongest albums, Demolition. Do you have any albums that you simply ADORE but despise the album cover? That is Demolition for me. The 1980s are the prime years for god-awful heavy metal album covers, especially during the start of the genre, the core years where the new wave of British heavy metal was turning that amp up higher and higher, influencing legions of budding metalheads to go out and do their own take on the genre. Girlschool was one of those bands that helped usher in a whole movement, and they also happened to have a simply awful album cover for their debut, Demolition. What was with that? I know that most of the bands didn't have the funds to get the most gifted of artists to do their album art, but I would have settled with a simple colored one. Yeah, that doesn't sell as well at record stores, and I will admit there is an appeal to the tacky album covers of the time, but come on! I wanna rock that shit on a patch or shirt, but I don't want some construction worker that looks like he just got broken up with and then ran over. Also, why is he so massive? Tromping down the streets of London (presumably) smashing all in sight. In one hand he has a wrecking ball weapon, and in the other he has a slick lookin' guitar. I mean, just look below the post and tell me you think that is a good album cover. Logo work? Great. Simple. Strong. It explains what is within, but that album cover always makes me want to look away. It breaks my heart, too, since this album is damn good! They made up for it with their second studio album, Hit and Run. Now that is an album cover I would strongly represent on merch. Yeah, still of its time, but I love everything about it. Great color work that makes it pop, the album title being skid marks is a nice touch, and the overall "bad girl" energy is popping out of it. Good attention to detail, like the license plate that says "yeah right". I mean, that is one good album cover, but I guess they needed a little notoriety to achieve it, and they gained that by releasing a strong debut album for the metal maniacs and then being part of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre collaboration EP alongside Motorhead, whom they are often associated with. That EP was under the "Headgirl" moniker and is well worth your time. It features the essential "Please Don't Touch" where the two bands meld phenomenally. It was even both bands' highest-charting song on the charts in the UK. I mean, Girlschool took serious notes on Motorhead for their sound, so it only makes sense. "Please Don't Touch" is a strong as all hell cover. Well, the cover being more of a reworking since it has that heavy metal sleaze in comparison to the original from Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. The other two tracks on the EP are Motorhead doing a Girlschool song with "Emergency" and also Girlschool doing a cover of Motorhead's "Bomber", which is one of my all-time favorite fuckin' songs! Man, do they do that song so fuckin' goooood! Anyway, that got their name moving quite a bit faster since Motorhead was already a highly respected metal group that almost did more than any other band for the genre aside from maybe Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. Like I already mentioned, Girlschool was influenced by the great albums put out by Motorhead in the 1970s. Who wasn't? Those killer albums still influence many each year. It must have been a dream come true when they got signed by the same label who was putting out Motorhead albums at the time, Bronze Records. They are the perfect other side of the Motorhead coin. I do find it a bit unfair how people usually can't help but talk about Motorhead when talking about Girlschool. These chicks set their own pace and had a pretty strong career, especially for their first four albums. While there have been some lineup changes, Girlschool holds the title for the longest-running all-female rock group of history. They were the first all-girl heavy metal group, and with that, they became heroines of the genre. Metal was a cock show. It was severely male-dominated, and the same is said about hard rock, but Girlschool still managed to come in with some serious grit. The Runaways did it years before for hard rock and punk rock, but Girlschool was the first to do it in the metal world and find some success with it. This wasn't their claim to fame, especially since the founding member, bassist, and vocalist Enid Williams has stated that she found more males being influenced by Girlschool than women in rock and metal. The band always had a slight distaste for people making too big of a thing out of it since they weren't trying to make a statement; they were simply doing the same thing as the dudes with playing fast and heavy music. Their music hardly has a place for lyrics with a message; it is all pretty balls to the wall—heavy music that doesn't pull punches. The more outspoken lyrics came much later in their career when charting wasn't much of a thing but pleasing the core fans was. Girlschool can be a little  lusty at times, but that is part of the Girlschool charm more than trying to make the group more feminine or sexy. Still, there is no denying that their place as the longest-running all-female rock and metal group helped many find their place in the macho music world of the 1980s. 

     Alright, let's zone in a little bit on the band's debut, Demolition. Ugly album cover and all. The album came along in 1980 during the high point of the new wave of British heavy metal crazy that took over the UK during the final days of the 1970s into the early 1980s. These are some of the most influential years for the genre. The roots of core heavy metal that left the shores of the United Kingdom and stormed each and every shore out there within the next year. Girlschool was a titan from the genre. Their first two albums are essential albums, and for their debut, it scored them a solid spot in the limelight. It hit the 28th spot on the UK charts when it released. A high crawler. It isn't as out there as some of the heavy metal albums out of 1980, which helped its spot. It is still dipped in the hard rock sound of the 1970s and a little bit of punk rock but with an even heavier right hook that has you dying to listen to the album again. For a band like Girlschool, which doesn't have all too many varying sounds in their core material, they still managed to keep things fresh and rockin'. Some of that comes down to the band having multiple singers, all of which sound fairly similar but each brings something exciting to the table. For our song of the day we have Enid Williams on vocals. She is the dominant singer on this album, having the vocal duties for 6 out of 10 of the songs on the original tracklisting. She is a strong singer. Not in the way of chill-inducing talent, but more so in the way of fitting the Girlschool sound like a glove. The vocal work is aggressive and in your face but still pleasant. Playful. Like a cat toying with a mouse. Enid Williams was only with the band until 1982. She left during the peak fame of the band following the essential Hit and Run and a couple of EPs. She sang most of the tracks on Hit and Run as well, and her missing presence is, in my opinion, some of the reason that Girlschool couldn't keep on the charts much longer. Losing a founding member, one who handles a good chunk of the vocals, is a serious punch to any band. She went on to start up a band called Framed, which didn't really go anywhere. Following that, she got back to life. Finished school, started working all sorts of interesting jobs, and doing her thing. She came back to Girlschool in 2000, taking over most of the vocal duties and songwriting. When 2016 rolled around, she was off again after a tour alongside other new wave of British heavy metal bands, Motorhead and Saxon. The tour sadly came to an abrupt end with the loss of the metal god, Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead, in December of 2015. I am not sure what she is up to now, but Girlschool just ain't quite the same without her. For their debut, Enid Williams didn't do too much of the lyrics. She was more than content to sing the songs and to keep that bass guitar of hers thumpin! "Take It All Away" is one of those songs she sang and thumped along to. It is the fourth track on the album. Earlier I mentioned it isn't the strongest song on the album, but it is still a solid sender. Some of what makes it feel a touch weaker when you are listening to the album in full is where it is placed. Before "Take It All Away" takes it all away, we get their fantastic cover of The Gun's "Race with the Devil". Man! That one song is worth buying this whole album 60 times over. So good. It is fast and rude with some hotrod heart backing, my favorite kind of stuff. After "Take It All Away" already took it all away, we have "Nothing to Lose", which is Girlschool in their purest form. That one song would be my suggestion to fully understand who the band is. It is laid back and cool. The kind of track you cruise along to, just having a rave-up, ya know? So being between two great tracks is bound to have the middle one fighting for some sun. I want to make it clear that I ain't puttin' down "Take It All Away". The song is still damn good. I would play it all day long and still be smiling. "Take It All Away" has a spotlight on drummer Denise Dufort, who had a history with punk bands, and it is her drumming that had people affiliating Girlschool to the punk genre for a little there. She is also one of the only Girlschool original members that never left the group. Anyway, she has fun on that kit and is one of the leading reasons this song grips you the whole time. The rest of the band creates a wall of sound; even the vocalist falls behind the power of Dufort and those sticks. It was rhythm guitarist Kim McAuliffe that wrote the lyrics to the song, and honestly I am not sure what the song is about. It kind of seems like the track is about not letting people know about your rich boyfriend so they don't try stealing him? Yeah, I am not sure what the song is about. It also sort of seems like this dude is a pain to be around, so she got her money together to leave the fool. Maybe she stole the Jag they talk about. Now that would be a fitting Girlschool lyrical theme. Hope it is that, but there is no true pointing in what the song is about. Especially since the song's chorus is the main part of the song. It does get a little repetitive, but with the highly enjoyable drumming and mean atmosphere, you can easily get over that. You just keep stompin' your foot all the way through. It is a rough around the edges track that feels like the heart and soul of hard rock and early heavy metal. A welcome addition to the album and one that I never skip if I see it roll around on a playlist. That is to be said about all the songs from Girlschool and their first three albums. Man, do I love this band! Proud as a pepper to have them on the website after all this time. Hope you dig what you hear! If you do, I suggest spinning the rest of the album and their next one while you are at it. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1980

Album: Demolition (1980)

Genre: Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, New Wave of British Heavy Metal

Mood: Reckless

​Perfect For: Riding motorcycles, Going for a run, Having a beer, Casual listening

Where to Next: "No Time to Loose" - Shakin' Street

Rating: 7 / 10

Song of the Day 08/29/2026

"Ma Petite Mort" - Karma to Burn

     Welcome back! Glad to have you here. For today, we cover the hidden gem, Karma to Burn. Who is Karma to Burn? Well, to start, they have one cool-ass band name. They got their name from the liner notes to Bob Dylan's 1976 studio album, Desire, with the quote "I have a brother or two and a whole lot of karma to burn". But don't go thinking the band is similar to Bob Dylan, they are two wholly different artists. Though, no matter the musical path you walk down, Bob Dylan likely inspired you in one way or another. Karma to Burn started up in 1993 in the cute-looking (but haunted looking) town of Morgantown, West Virginia. For a smaller town, it seems to have a ton of history. Karma to Burn is just another piece of that history. They are a band that has varying sounds, but the grand majority of their tracks feature a ton of distortion and a leaning into stoner rock. I am fairly new to the group. I first came across them during my year-by-year studies in the 1990s, namely for my desert rock section, which led into the stoner rock zone of my studies, a place where I saw the Karma to Burn name left and right. I have only made it through three of their studio albums so far, the last being their third album, Almost Heathen, out of 2001. A fully instrumental album like their second album that I was honestly very impressed with! Now, I tend to avoid some of the instrumental-based stuff aside from when I need to for my studies, but Karma to Burn is one you have simply gotta make an exception for since they do it damn well. Yeah, sure, it can get a tad bit repetitive for a full album listen, but within that repetition is where you find yourself falling deeper in love with the band's set style. A strange tracklisting that was made out of numbers, a haunting hypnosis factor, and the kind of stuff you are compelled to play loud as hell—those are the things that explain that album. Following their third album's release in 2001, the band broke up and didn't release any new material until 2010 with Appalachian Incantation, which I am damn excited to get to when my studies take me there. I have sampled it a little bit, and it seems to be another goodie. Why not just skip ahead and play it now? Honestly, it comes down to liking keeping some candy for later. Gorge all of that sweet stuff now or save some for lunch tomorrow? The ultimate question. When it comes to food, I will gorge and starve tomorrow, but when it comes to music, I find it best to wait. Plus, I would have likely been a fan back in the day, so I would have had to wait regardless. Luckily, it won't take 9 years to get there. Fuck, I hope not. My 2000s studies are taking a damn long time! Everyone was releasing stuff. All the people from back in the day and a ton of new groups that make me wonder if they just let anyone release an album during the early 2000s. Anyway, Karma to Burn is a good one if you like the burned-by-the-sun feeling. Unlike their counterparts in the stoner rock world, Karma to Burn almost matches some of the hard rock sound of the time instead of being full-blooded stoner rock. They allow in some commercial knack, which could grab a fan from any hovel. Karma to Burn also stood apart from some of the other stoner rock groups for how they went about getting their name out there. These dudes literally called up record labels pretending to be other bands, saying shit like, "Man, I heard this crazy new band the other night called Karma to Burn! Yeah, they were crazy! You should go check them out." which is honestly a smart idea. Cheap, maybe, but smart. It worked in their favor since within three years of starting up, they gained the attention from Roadrunner Records, one of those highly respected labels in the heavy metal and hard rock world. They are one you wanna get picked up by. Sadly, it was fairly short-lived. The label and band instantly started butting heads. Karma to Burn had intentions of releasing a full instrumental album, but Roadrunner Records made it clear that they aren't doing anything unless there is a vocalist. They tried out the desert rock icon, John Garcia of Kyuss fame, but it didn't fit right. Next they brought in a friend, Jason Jarosz, which fit quite a bit better. Karma to Burn wasn't the type of group that had a vocalist, so this took a little getting used to. It also made their debut a one-off due to it being the only album with Jarosz on vocals and with it being the only Karma to Burn album to feature singing until 2011's V. Those two are the only ones with a singer. Is it better or worse? That is up to you. For me.... I kind of like the band more with some vocals. I am a fool for lyrics, and like I already mentioned, I can be hit and miss when it comes to instrumental-based rock and metal. It all comes down to taste.

     Most of the bands' fans would say that the instrumental stuff is where it is at. I mean, their stream count says that loud and proud. It isn't until "Appalachian Woman," which is their currently 7th most streamed song, that they have some singing. Then it goes to their tenth most popular and my personal favorite from the band so far, "Ma Petite Mort" to have some more vocal work. It just isn't them, and I respect that, but having the vocals really spices up their style. "Ma Petite Mort" is our song of the day. It is featured on their debut album, Karma to Burn, which was released at the start of 1997. It was a commercial failure but a critical success. That must bite. It is one thing to be slandered but still head to the bank to get that paycheck from a smashing album. I couldn't imagine the frustration of everyone saying, "This shit is damn good", yet nobody came to buy your album. This led them to returning to roots and getting rid of vocalist Jason Jarosz, the one thing Roadrunner Records made clear they wanted, and thus Karma to Burn got the boot from the label. Well, from the American side at least, since their following album was still released in Europe through Roadrunner Records UK. That debut of theirs is a hidden gem. Truly. I was more impressed with it than I thought I would be. The first time I started it up was when I was heading to hang out with my mom when I still lived in Utah County before making the much-needed move up to Salt Lake City. Every Thursday I would brave the hectic nature of rush hour on I-15 to go spend time with her. It was always worth it. But I will admit that it was highly stressful and draining. One of the biggest things that kept me rolling was good tunes, and for that day it was Karma to Burn's self-titled. Now, there are moments that I am more than content to sit in traffic. You kind of just chill. Play some tunes, watch the dude picking his nose a few cars over, and just kind of sit there and ponder what would make someone want to do this every day for a fuckin' job. The first track on the album is our song of the day, "Ma Petite Mort", and instantly I was hooked by the band. The album cover was simple yet fitting. I couldn't wait to make it up to Salt Lake County to Google what the word even meant. "Ma Petite Mort" means "the little death" or "my little death", which had me loving the band even more. It brought up mental images of a cutesy chibi reaper, which is nice, and also the simplicity of death itself. We all have our moment, but we don't know when it is coming. Soon enough we will all face our own little death. I just hope it is as pleasant as the song. Most of the songs on the album were quite enjoyable. I am not saying this is the best album out of 1997, but it is one that anyone who digs some heavily distorted, motorcycle-friendly rock music would certainly enjoy. I have still not found a song that bit me nearly as hard as "Ma Petite Mort" has from the band, but I am only halfway through their discography. The track is fuckin' mean. There is a solid groove to it from start to finish. Sinful lyricism that makes you want to throw away all your cares and live your life. Drums that eat away at your ears. There isn't all too many lyrics to the song, but the chorus is enough to get you hooked. Karma to Burn on this debut could have toured with a wide variety of bands. Queens of the Stone Age, CKY, Helmet, Trouble, and pretty well anyone who appreciates a solid groove backed by heavy sound. Half of the track shows they aren't all just distortion since the belly of the song is pretty mellow and dreamlike. They don't even try hiding their influence of Kyuss, but practically anyone out there jamming in this style has a Kyuss album and merch back home. The mellow part holds on until the track comes back to form at the 3:45 mark, where they give you one more sunbaked kick in the ass before the song moves into "Bobbi, Bobbi, Bobbi - I'm Not God", which is another damn good track that always has me thinking Helmet just kicked on. Karma to Burn has a ton to dig. They are heavy in all the right ways but still keep on the rock side while flirting with the devil of heavy metal. Their songs are made for riding motorcycles on an open highway, jumping between going a little too fast for comfort and holding that steady cruising speed. The stoner-like atmosphere has you feelin' high even if you just got out of church. Unless that is normal for you. I think I would have to be high to go to church. Anyway, the band is good and well worth your looking into. I am excited to get further into their discography, but I will certainly keep coming back to their debut since I really dig their style with vocals attached. Hope you dig it! Enjoy! 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1997

Album: Karma to Burn (1997)

Genre: Stoner Rock, Desert Rock, Hard Rock

Mood: Sinful

​Perfect For: Getting drunk, Heading to the bar, Heading home from the bar, Riding motorcycles

Where to Next: "Cyclops Revolution" - Monster Magnet

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/28/2026

"We Said Hello Goodbye" - Phil Collins

     Time for another post before I go out and get some drinking on in celebration. Celebration of what? Well, the second anniversary of having AintNoisePollution live and proud here for the world to see! If you go back and count my posts, which is a lot of fuckin' work, you might notice that the count doesn't add up right, and you would be correct. I was doing these posts in the background as a tester for a good little bit before it even went live. The first song we covered was from the Violent Femmes, and I wish I could remember what the first song that was posted after actually having the website go live was. It has only been two years, but so much has changed both in my life and within the website. We just barely switched over to a new design, or I should say an updated design, which is a big step. The posts are longer, stronger, and have more direction. The genres and choices are still left and right, but they all come together to craft one intense playlist. Our post today will be the 843rd song that showed up on the website! Once again, the count doesn't make sense for the second anniversary, but what do you do? So, thank you for coming through the website when you find the time. It means a lot to me. There have been many times people asked me what the vision of the website is meant to be. Do I want to make money off of it? Use it as a launching pad for podcasting? Just as a little hobby? My response is the same each time. I started up AintNoisePollution with one simple goal: to make sure that amazing music doesn't fall through the gaps. I have been studying music since I was a little kid, and as I have aged, I have gotten to see how many people stop paying attention to such phenomenal artists. The thing I found, and the thing that inspired me to dedicate my life to rock music, was that artists fade away. I mean, it is the natural progression in things. Who is still out there rockin' the MP3 player? There is always a new kid in town, and when an artist comes into the picture, it hastens the doom of some of the biggest stars of many decades ago. Some artists are untouchable. Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, Metallica, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and so on. Those bands are legendary. They will forever be a piece of music and human history. Though, what about the guys around them? Ones that were high-selling stars that faded away? You probably could look at that list and say that you know each of them fairly well. But what about Gene Vincent? Jefferson Airplane? Uriah Heep? Toadies? I mean, yeah, when the songs play you might recognize them, but do you know the bands name? Those bands and countless others sold well, and some of them had a long and strong career, but they fell out of the limelight. Spotify has both helped and damned those artists. It is easy to take a chance on a group nowadays. You just need to press play, but at the same time, it is also too easy to get stuck into one sound and band that you prefer since it is all there in front of you for a monthly fee or to get the wrong idea of an artist and then discard them. What I am trying to say is when I was a kid, I noticed that artists were getting forgotten, and it was getting faster each year. If I could talk about and get someone to listen to an artist like Warren Zevon and they like what they hear, the artist lives on. They would then tell their friends. That friend would tell their brother, who would tell the mother, who would then buy some merch from the artist. That is the hope. The goal. I do all of this for free. It is all for the love of rock n roll. Why do I choose an outdated medium? Honestly, these are the kinds of websites that inspired me as a kid. Also, I want to find likeminded folk. I could post a story on Instagram and have 10000 people look at it, but it would only stick to a small handful. Our website here is something personal. An open journal of a growing and broken man who wants to share some stories about artists. Have you ever only sort of known an artist but went and watched a documentary or biography about them and walked away feeling like you wanna listen to more? That is this website. I have fanatically talked about artists to strangers and friends alike, and I found that if you do it right, people will actually go listen to the band since they wanna see what it was all about. That is this website. I have been building AintNoisePollution for years before I even posted it, and that vision is what kept me pushing. It is a labor of love. Before I had AintNoisePollution, I had other projects. I won't stop anytime soon. My studies, my projects, and everything else involved is a lifetime project that I will never finish. That is alright, so long as I can get one person to try out a band and maybe join the ranks of a fanbase. Could it be you?

     If you stick around or go check out previous posts, you will find that not every chosen track is some hidden gem. There are times we still talk about the legends here. We talk about the hidden, the underrated, the famous, and the legendary of many different genres on AintNoisePollution, that is something to expect. For today, we got Phil Collins. Another rock legend. Funnily enough, my girlfriend told me last night that Phil Collins had died. It wasn't too crazy since it seems we have had some heavily felt deaths this week. Rest in peace Dolly Parton and Tim Curry. So, hearing of Phil Collins was just more water in the bucket with a hole in it. I was likely already going to choose this song for the post since it hit the spot while I was brushing my teeth in the morning, but figured it would be a good memorial post as well. Spent the morning mentally summarizing some stuff and getting ready to binge some Genesis and his solo work. So, I started up the ol' computer and looked up his name just to find he wasn't even dead. Damn rumor mills, man! Either way, this was going to be the song, but it would have been a sort of haunting one if I ended up with one of his tracks on his death day. Alright, let's talk about the man! Phil Collins has had one strong and long career. He is one of the highest-selling solo artists that came out of a previously popular band. As many know, Phil Collins came from Genesis, my favorite phase of Phil Collins. Genesis has a long and dramatic story, but I will try summing it up fairly quickly. Many think of songs like "That's All", "In Too Deep", "I Can't Dance", and many other hit tracks when they hear the Genesis name. Though, there are those that don't know that Genesis started out completely different. They were progressive rock royalty. Some of those early albums will have your jaw on the floor! Before their progressive days, they were some kind of artsy folk rock band on their debut and second album, both of which are highly enjoyable, albeit different. Phil Collins joined up with Genesis for their third studio album, Nursery Cryme, which was released in 1971. During this time in the band he was mainly on the drums, but he did offer up his vocals many times. Phil Collins is one accomplished drummer. He wrote a couple of chapters in the book of prog rock drumming. Genesis was instantly smitten with what he brought to the table on the drumset, and they also liked how well his voice harmonized with the then singer, Peter Gabriel. In 1975 Peter Gabriel left the group, which left Genesis scrambling to fill the void. They auditioned a ton of singers, but there were still obligations to the fans, record labels, and payola to get another album out, so Phil Collins just sang vocals on their growing pain studio album in 1976, A Trick of the Tail. The album sold strikingly well, even if it was a bit more tame than what their previous albums had to offer. It is one I tend to overlook, but not due to it being bad, just because it was in between two powerhouse albums. Anyway, A Trick of the Tail was the band's first high charter in the United States, a country that was hit and miss with Genesis until that point. Genesis kept on keepin' on under the progressive rock banner up until 1978 with the release of ...And Then There Were Three, when they first started showing their transition to that pop sound we know them as now. This was also the time to mark down when Genesis dropped to a three-piece. For their next album, Duke, in 1980, it was clear that the band was keeping with the times and leaving some of their roots behind to chase the illusive dragon of radio play. A wise move since they put out some of the best pop rock songs out of the 1980s. It also set the stage for Phil Collins to have his own solo career in the next year.

     Phil Collins is a musical visionary, and that tends to come with a heavy workload. His first solo studio album came out in 1981, Face Value. Now, I know you already know how this album looks without even seeing it. You know that massively successful song called "In the Air Tonight"? Yeah, you do. Who the hell doesn't?! Well, that has its home on his debut album. That one single could have fed all of Africa and Ireland with its sales. That song is hyper successful. I am listening to it in my head while I am typing this out right now. Name me one more famous drum part of a song and I will buy you a pickle. One of those overpriced, sketchy gas station ones too. Well, with "In the Air Tonight" and the rest of the album being seriously worth a damn, Phil Collins now had the solo success almost equal to the whole of the previous Genesis albums. He was still in Genesis, and the band was still putting out plenty of hit material with their new pop rock sound. In February of 1981 he released his solo Face Value, and then in October Genesis released their eleventh (and massively successful) studio album, Abacab. Talk about being busy! That didn't slow down until Genesis took a breather in 1986. Phil Collins released solo albums steadily, but I wanna zone in on the album that holds our song of the day for a minute. 1985 saw Phil Collins releasing his third solo album, No Jacket Required. Like his previous two studio albums, it was critically and commercially successful as all get out. I am talking to the tune of diamond status in Canada and multiplatinum in the rest of the world. Yeah, that is a fuckin' ton of sales! Especially for a dude that already must have amassed a pretty big fortune with Genesis and his previous two albums being breakout successes. No Jacket Required hit the top of the charts in most countries, and if it wasn't at the top, it was within the top ten. A definitive rock/pop album out of 1985. Phil Collins entered the studio this time with the intention of making an album that is more dance-forward, something he pulled off wonderfully. Our song of the day, "We Said Hello Goodbye" is not one of those dancing songs, but I like the slow Phil Collins songs more, truth be told. You wanna know what else Phil Collins brought with him into the studio to record No Jacket Required? Petty revenge. You see, the album has sort of an odd title to it. That title is inspired by Phil Collins being denied entrance to a fancy restaurant in Chicago called The Pump Room. He was going out to grab a bite with Robert Plant (vocalist of Led Zeppelin) when Collins was denied entry due to not being dressed nice enough, even though Plant was let in. Phil Collins was indeed wearing a nice suit jacket, but the restaurant thought it wasn't nice enough. So, there was no dinner. He called the album that and then followed it up with talking about the event with anyone who would listen. He talked mad shit about the restaurant on each talk show that would ask about the album's title. The dude was fuming! Honestly, it's kind of those rich people problems, but I do find it funny that he went so far over something pretty minor. The restaurant didn't like the backlash and personally sent Collins a top-line sport coat and a letter apologizing and telling him he can come into the restaurant wearing whatever he wants from then on. Our song of the day this go-around is "We Said Hello Goodbye", one of my favorites from the album. I am a fool for the dreamer and rambling type of lyrics, and this one fills the belly well with it. The track is moody as all hell. It is built for cheap coffee in a nice cafe. Expensive cigarettes at the dollar movies. It is the last track on the album, and it leaves you with a sweet goodbye, especially since the majority of the rest of the album is meant to get the blood pumping. One of those Collins tracks with a long intro; the real song doesn't even start until 1:10. "We Said Hello Goodbye" didn't truly even make the cut for the final release; instead, it was released as a bonus track on CD. For me, being someone who first dove into this album from piratin... I mean... Legally buying the album back in the day, it had always been there, so I just figured it was the last track. Truth be told, I find it to be the best way to end it. The track covers the story of moving away from your home with your partner. The fear. The sadness. The confusion. But when you see a new roof over your head with new sights outside the door, it gets better. You feel stronger. This is a track I always run to when I need a distraction from the real world. I love living in my dreams, who doesn't? One of my biggest day dreams is moving away and chasing that freedom. Now, I also really love my girlfriend and would never think of leaving her behind, so this is one of the only tracks that I personally know that melds the two emotions into one. Man, this is going to be one long-ass post. What else to say.... Honestly... I am just gonna let the music do the talking this time. I already threw a ton of opinions and info at you for one day. Thank you for reading, and as always, I really appreciate you stopping in. Thanks for celebrating the second anniversary with me. Time to go get plastered. For now, have a song! We will see you tomorrow. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1985

Single: Take Me Home / We Said Hello Goodbye (1985)

Album: No Jacket Required (1985)

Genre: Pop Rock

Mood: Uplifting

​Perfect For: Daydreaming, Moving, Casual listening, Coffee in the mornings, Relaxing

Where to Next: "Young Turks" - Rod Stewart

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/27/2026

"Dust in a Baggie" - Billy Strings

     Man, we have really been digging that country-based sound recently, huh? Well, I have, I guess, but I hope you have been too! I am sure I will work it out of my system. These moody days with random storms always get me dreaming and dying for a drink, and the same is to be said about country music. Now, The Kingston Trio, once again, isn't country music, but the similarities are there in themes, songs, and fanbases. Billy Walker is that sweet old stuff, but for today, we have a different Billy that gave bluegrass another resurgence in popularity. Billy Strings is.... intense! I mean, intense, man. Even those that don't really dig bluegrass or country music can find themselves completely sucked into his style. What is that style? Honestly, I don't think he even knows. Progressive bluegrass? Jam band? Americana? Who knows. He is certainly strongly situated in bluegrass, but he has made it one hell of a point to experiment. He has tested the boundaries of the genre and pushed even further than it allows. Sometimes his songs are rockin, and then there are the ones that are traditional bluegrass as they come. For our song of the day, we are going with his most famous song, "Dust in a Baggie". I still remember when this song started circling the internet. For those that came late, have you ever gone and watched that first viral video that had him break out into stardom? I was just cruising along Facebook, which is weird to say now, and there came this video. I will admit, I thought it was going to be just another impressive as fuck song that never went anywhere. I had no idea he was going to become a massive star from the song nor that he already had music out there. I have always heard about artists that got discovered from a viral video, but it was more of a pop thing to happen. The video starts out just in some basement. Some dorky-looking dude is sitting on the couch, and his good-time pals are hanging around. They started the video in the middle of a conversation and eventually tried getting the obviously innervated Billy Strings to play that song he played the other day. Someone asked if it was "Simple Man", presumably by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he said that he played "Simple Man" for a competition but not much past that. Then he remembered which one, and you can see him get primed up and ready for slaughter. This random nerdy-looking guy releases one HELL of an attack of strings (hence the name) and kicks into "Dust in a Baggie". His pals must have already heard the song before, but even they were speechless other than hooping and hollering. It is such an aggressive song that he performs wonderfully. Billy Strings has said that the video was shot while he and his friends were tripping on mushrooms and just playing songs. If you haven't watched the video, I suggest you go and give it a shot so all of this makes more sense. He was at his friend's house, where everyone was getting drunk and loud, so those that ate the mushrooms retreated to the comfort of a shabby basement to ride out their trip. In the video there is a dude in the background the whole time in a green shirt who everyone called Barefoot Ben since he was the only true hippie in Ionia, Michigan, where Strings grew up. Wanna know something weird about Ionia? It has just over 10,000 people living there, but half of the population count comes from those in the correctional facilities that are in the town. A pretty small town, and if you listen to some of String's material, it is easy to see that the town left an imprint on him. Found that kind of fun. It must be weird to grow up somewhere so small, and even weirder when half the town is in the joint. Anyway, Barefoot Ben sort of became a star too, especially when the video was climbing in popularity. Billy Strings was already putting out music before the video was put out, but through those archival recordings, his name spread far and wide like a wildfire. The recording quality, the voices, and the overall feeling give me PTSD from my partying days as well. Hanging out in strange basements and getting messed up, but I can say that I never had anyone nearly as impressive there like Billy Strings. Must have been a trip to be flying high and hearing such ferocious bluegrass getting slammed into you. Alright, enough about that video. I watched it again yesterday and was like, "Damn, this has gotta be one of the greatest videos on YouTube". 

     Like I mentioned, Stings already had music out before that video, and "Dust in a Baggie" had its first version on his solo debut EP in 2016, Billy Strings. A pretty good spot to stop in to hear the start of a bluegrass trendsetter. Most of the songs on its 6-song track listing are highly enjoyable. It is hard to knock "Dust in a Baggie" off the "best of" mantle, but the songs "Slow Train" and "Dos Banjos" sure give it a run for its money. Personally, I haven't made it all the way through Strings discography yet. I am about half way there, but I keep getting stuck in repeating the same albums since they hit so damn good! I have made it through his 2016 to 2019 material, all of which has been great. His psychedelic meets bluegrass second studio album, Home, is a thoroughly enjoyable and unique album. One hell of a ride. That one is also put out by Rounder Records, a legendary bluegrass and folk label. I have trusted their compass for the last many years since I first heard George Thorogood's debut and also the hidden gem from Hazel Dickens, Hard Hitting Songs for Hard Hit People. They know when something is good, and Billy Strings is just another outstanding musician that came out of their label, even if his debut wasn't through them. I am sure we can go into that more later; for now, let's get back to talking about Billy String and his legendary "Dust in a Baggie". The song might rub some listeners wrong with its hickish nature at the start, but if you allow the intensity through your defenses, you are going to be blown away. The guitar work sounds like 5 demons are all playing at the same time, but it is just one man. Billy Strings got his stage name at a young age from an aunt who noticed how great he was at playing all traditional bluegrass string instruments. "Dust in a Baggie" covers the damnation that comes from getting hooked on meth. You end up in jail and go further down a path that leads solely to ruin. Strings is sober now, from what he says, aside from minor stuff like ganja and psychedelics, but there was a time where he was playing with all sorts of stuff, even though his family struggled with hard drug abuse while he was growing up. Hard to break the cycle. Anyway, "Dust in a Baggie" seems almost like he lived the life, and while he didn't serve twenty years, you kind of get the feeling he knows someone who did. The song is too real, and that is some of the reason it blew up on YouTube. The performance is chill-inducing, and the song itself is highly enjoyable. Sinful yet impressive. There is slightly shock-based lyricism with it being a drug song, but he backs it up with intense playing that shows this isn't some cheap meth novelty song. The song doesn't have a single dull moment through its 2:53 playing time. Fun guitar pickin' that sends you straight to heaven and the kind of vocals that are aggressive and entertaining. That is Billy Strings. Most of his songs have his singing jumping up and down. You can just tell that he was a fan of the genre for a long time since he knows exactly how to replicate the jumpin' vocal work of the bluegrass legends. From my time looking into modern artists, I am not sure if there are really any other musicians that have impressed me nearly as much as Billy Strings. Each album I have dipped into is a beast of its own. Something new that adds a fresh coat of paint to a very old style. He approaches it with reality and a slice from his personal life. The dude has a strange way of throwing out something traditional in the country world, turning around and adding his own brand to the sound, bringing it back in, and then throwing out a trip-inducing instrumental track all within 4 songs. You kind of feel like you personally know him from his music. Well, I will let you experience that for yourself. Don't start this song up and think you understand his music from this one song. There is so much variance in his styles that you could spend a year just getting comfy with one album. Strongly suggest trying one out for size, especially if you like what you hear here today. He has left his name on the bluegrass world and luckily gave the genre its regular boost in popularity that seems to happen once every decade. I will just let you get into the song. Hope you dig it! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2016

EP: Billy Strings-EP (2016)

Genre: Bluegrass

Mood: Earthy

​Perfect For: Getting drunk, Getting high, Getting messed up, Driving, Casual listening

Where to Next: "Jailhouse Blues" - Ronnie Bowman

Rating: 10 / 10

Song of the Day 08/26/2026

"Banua" - The Kingston Trio

     Well, for those of you new to AintNoisePollution, you sort of stopped in at a strange time. While we are a proud rock n roll haven for all types of music fans, there are certainly times we don't really talk about rock music for a solid block. This is one of them. Rock is a broad genre; its influences and the things that it influenced are much deeper than any other genre out there. So, as any self-respecting music fan might do, there are a lot of genres, artists, songs, and stories to cover. The Kingston Trio is hardly even close to rock music, but the influence it left on both pop and rock is heavily felt. The Kingston Trio is arguably the easiest entry point into the folk genre. In the end there is simply no beating Bob Dylan as being the greatest entry point. If we wanna talk about a musician that left a serious impact on all genres in one way or another, Bob Dylan is the man. The Kingston Trio is more so the entry route into traditional folk music. They have a little bit of a bluegrass thing going on, but the two genres are mostly alike. Bluegrass is more like a.... hellbound train. Fast as hell. Fun. Enjoyable. Chatoic. It feels like you are pretty buzzed, knowing damn well that your vehicle is soon to run straight into a wall. The Kingston Trio brings in the bluegrass elements to keep the energy up, but they mostly do folk traditionals or random comedy bits. They are the mixing of traditional folk, bluegrass, and pop music. They are considered to be the creators of pop folk. The Kingston Trio is an important group, even if they don't get nearly the accolades they deserve modernly. During the late 1950s they pretty well opened up a whole well of folk that disrupted the rock n roll craze. They came out of left field, too. I am not even sure if they saw their name getting nearly as big as it did. They sold records like candy. They are kind of a strange group. Almost more of a folk institution at this point since they have had over 15 different members that made up the trio. There is even a modern variation of the group simply named "The New Kingston Trio". Well, I am sure you might recognize the name. If anyone here is into folk music, then you damn well know these guys since they are some of the most accomplished musicians to come out of the genre. For their prime years, it was Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane that manned the strings and vocal work. Those three became icons and helped open the door for other acoustic artists to hit the record scene. Now, country music had already done it, but The Kingston Trio weren't quite country, even if they recorded some of the same songs and had a little bit of a hillbilly thing to them. During the 1950s, there really wasn't much market for acoustic-based music before The Kingston Trio came and changed that. From the late 1950s into the early 1960s, there were key artists that came along and brought forth folk to the world. The genre never sold all too well aside from The Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan, and all the others that came along during its heyday, but what it lacked in sales it made up for in soul. They spoke of important things, not about teenage love or driving fast cars. Where there was an issue arising, where someone was having their rights infringed upon, and where a worker was getting beat into dust for a dollar, there was a folk musician born. There are the artists that were more activists than musicians. Then there were the musicians who were there for the music instead of the movement, and that was The Kingston Trio. Now, that doesn't mean they avoided topics of corruption, activism, and politics. They sure didn't, but it was much more hush-hush, and The Kingston Trio always tried staying politically neutral. The times they touched into the touchy, they typically handled it with humor. They weren't part of the many United States-based folk artists that had a file built against them with suspicion of being communists. The Kingston Trio was just about as commercial as you could get in the folk world before Bob Dylan showed the world what folk could do if it stepped away from the standard beaten path of the last 50 years or more. They are a great musical group. They have had a pretty long career, and from 1958 to 1960 alone they had 5 chart-topping albums. I adore their first couple; that is where the magic is, but their later stuff still is enjoyable as all hell. The kind of albums you can throw on whenever, and it just works. They had many more massive hit albums in the 1960s but then failed to chart again following that. Strangely, their singles didn't chart as high, but that is understandable. Each Kingston Trio album is a journey into the past and the future. There is no need for just one song; you need them all!

     Our song for today is their version of "Banua". It is the third song on their self-titled debut, which was released in 1958. The group had only been together for a year before they released this album and got signed onto a 7-year contract with Capitol Records. This debut of theirs holds some of their most popular songs, but none hit the same high as their version of "Tom Dooley". "Tom Dooley" has been one of their most famous songs as soon as it was released. The Kingston Trio was a smashing success that came out of nowhere. It was on the charts for four years! Four years! A lot of albums don't hold out that long. I mean, they came out with it during the growing pain stage of both recording artists and the recording industry, but still, that shows what kind of appeal it has. I love the album. Genuinely. It is a great set of songs, and each of them is bursting with confidence and energy. They recorded the whole album in only three days, but for folk, that isn't all too crazy. All it takes is musicians who have worked on their craft for years, and all you gotta do is set a microphone in front of it all. Unlike a lot of other folk artists, The Kingston Trio didn't come into the studio with hopes of uncovering some hidden gem of Yiddish background that was sung around the fire in 1788. No, they just heard a song they liked and were like "wanna play it?" and it worked for them. All they wanted to do was play music for people that was easy to get into. Their debut doesn't have that... Prudish edge. I hate saying that since I do love that feeling, but there isn't any accidemia here, just smooth, jolly singing. Human to human. For our song of the day, they took a Liberian lullabye and spiced it up. Folk is a ton of fun to study into since some of the songs are damn old or way off the mark of what you might typically digest. Though, there is the downside of it being confusing and long, deep dives. I don't want these posts to be history lessons. I just wanna chat with you. The original lullaby was the repeating of "don't cry, pretty little girl, don't cry". How we went from that to the version we hear from The Kingston Trio is sort of odd. Folk revivalist artists put out a couple of versions before The Kingston Trio, but even those don't track that same barroom feeling that tells that tale of a dude that gets thrown into jail after getting drunk and getting into a fight. "Banuwa" was the original name of the song sung over in Africa. The two are two different songs, but they still share the same roots. Well, as culturally blind as it might sound, I think I like The Kingston Trio one a bit more. It has that rebellion to it. That reckless spark. While this guy is in jail, he is begging his love interest for that bail money so he can stop sleeping on the floor and having rats crawl over him. Going so far as to dedicate his love from that moment on for life if she brings the dough. "Banua" kind of catches you off guard at the start since it tricks you with being a mellow ballad. Before you know it, you are sucked into an upbeat track that sounds like it is meant for the palm trees. The song is quick, and I don't mean in just the style of it. The track is a whopping minute and 36 seconds. It comes and goes. Though, with that, I find it hard to not sit there and play the song over and over again. Shit is addictive! The song was arranged by Dave Guard, who attended school in Hawaii as a kid, which makes me wonder if that is why some of the themes on this debut were nautical-based songs and are strangely island-like. Through a lot of the Dave Guard put-together songs, there is always a little lacing of calypso too, which certainly gives the band a unique sound in the folk world. With "Banua" being a traditional song, it is free game for whoever wants to give the song a go. Seven of the songs on their debut are traditional songs, the others being covers or songs that are technically traditional songs that had other artists doing their version, which had The Kingston Trio then cover those ones. The whole album is highly enjoyable, especially if you like shanties. A little less common of a choice here on AintNoisePollution, but that is how I like it. Keep it fresh. Keep it moving, ya know? Plus, if the music is good, who cares what genre it is part of? The Kingston Trio can stop by here any time they like, and with this being their second choice within a year, I think we will be seeing a lot more of them. Especially as I continue collecting all their original pressings on vinyl. Well, I hope you dig the track. It is fast and highly enjoyable. If it ain't your cup of tea, then luckily it is a short little song for you today. Guess you will just have to come back tomorrow and see what I have waiting for you. Thanks for stopping in. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1958

Album: The Kingston Trio (1958)

Genre: Folk

Mood: Good Timin'

​Perfect For: Getting drunk, Lounging in the sun, Casual listening

Where to Next: "Hey, Hey, My Honey" - The Brothers Four

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/25/2026

"If It Pleases You" - Billy Walker

     Welcome back! For today we are talking about one of country music's softest and prettiest singers out of the 1960s, Billy Walker. Walker is the image of rags to riches. He went from orphan to the Big D Jamboree member, to a recording career, to the Grand Ole Opry. He was one of the highest-charting country artists in the 1960s, with having a top ten single almost each year from 1962 to 1972. Pretty well anything I have ever heard from Billy Walker has always got me entranced with his soft singing and strong song composition. Now, country is a pretty repetitive genre; that is some of its appeal, but Billy Walker's songs have a strangely deep amount of layers to them. He is the kind of performer that really sells the images he is talking about. "If It Pleases You" was one of his bigger hits out of 1965 and was only released as a single, hence why the chosen version for our post comes off 2005 compilation, Billy Walker: Columbia Hits. It had its placements elsewhere, but I really like the tracklisting to this compilation above the others I have heard of his. The perfect tasting for his tragedies and his comedies. A taste of his cowboy songs, covers, and those original songs of his about heartache and heartbreak. "If It Pleases You" hit the 16th spot on the US country charts but was overshadowed by one of his all-time greatest hits, "Cross the Brazos at Waco" at the end of 1964, and his following big hit, "Matamoros", at the beginning of 1965. Now, if there is one song you wanna get beaten by, it is "Cross the Brazos at Waco", that is a classic country diamond. Anyway, "If It Pleases You" was actually my first song I ever heard from Billy Walker many moons back, and I have been in love ever since with his brand of country music. I have listened to the song twice in a row since starting this post since I dig its heartfelt nature. It is the kind of song you feel right in your heart and lungs. I will probably give it another one or two more listens before getting back into this Virgin Black album. Has been a strange album so far, but that is something I have come to expect from the band. Maybe we will talk about them another time. Anyway! Billy Walker led a fairly sad life as a kid, but he found his escape within music. His mother raised him and his two older brothers before she died when Walker was 6 years old. His father couldn't take care of them, and they got sent off to an orphanage in Waco, Texas. Through that sorrow, he found release from singing that ended up winning him a place for some radio time on a radio show in New Mexico down the road. He eventually got taken in by his dad, but he spent all his time and energy listening to the silky words of Gene Autry and tuning his craft. By the time he turned 18 he up and split to chase his dreams, singing like the cowboy singers that lit that fiery passion within him many years back. Since he already had shown up on the radio in New Mexico, his name was sort of floating around the country music world. He signed up with the Big D Jamboree in 1949. The Big D Jamboree was a moderately successful radio show out of Dallas, Texas. It was known for its country music and comedy sketches. The radio show got ported over to a TV show in the 1950s, and this is where people got their first look at this soft-spoken singer. Before they saw him performing from the comfort of their house, they heard his singing on the radio show. With some help from fellow Jamboree members, Walker got his first record deal. One of the urgings was that Billy Walker took on a persona known as the "Traveling Texan". He had to wear a mask and all. To put on this mysterious persona as a drifter. "The Masked Singer of Country Music". After his time with the Big D Jamboree, he jumped ship to the bigger program, the Louisiana Hayride, which was about to hit a country music record for viewers when Elvis Presley performed on it during his legendary rise to fame. During this same time Billy Walker switched to Columbia Records and started cutting singles to relative success. He dropped the "Traveling Texas" act and moved into being nicknamed the "Tall Texan". To round off his successes in the 1950s, he went on tour with Elvis and also signed on with Red Foley's Ozark Jubilee. That is my favorite spot to stop off to see country performances. Always good stuff there. Aged like milk comedy bits, but good country music. 

     In 1960 Billy Walker dropped some of his rock n roll backing and went full on into country music, which gained him a slot on the legendary roster of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee. Within the next year Billy Walker released his version of Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away", which charted at the 23rd slot and had his name spreading all over the country world. His version of that track blows most of the others out of the water. Once again, he sings like he means it, like he lived it, and like he wants you to feel it too. That next year, in 1962, he released his first and only number one hit single, "Charlie's Shoes". The song is whimsical and fun, covering the tale of dying to be in the shoes of a lucky guy dating the prettiest of gals, but when it is time for our character to wear those shoes, he finds out why Charlie ran away in the first place since the lady is insufferable. Now, in country style, he is trapped in that relationship and only wants Charlie to come take his shoes back. "Charlie's Shoes" topped the charts and established him as a formidable singer in the country world. He kept the fame up, and that fame grew even stronger when he started singing those cowboy songs like he always wanted to. His song "Cross the Brazos at Waco" was a big-time hit, and it still is one of his most famous songs. Nobody beats Marty Robbins in cowboy songs; that is just a fact, but Billy Walker put out some stellar tracks in that style. Honestly, I am shocked it wasn't the first theme of Walkers to show up on the website. If you are interested, either start with "Cross the Brazos at Waco" or "The Blizzard". Both of those come off his 1965 essential album, The Gun, The Gold, and the Girl/Cross the Brazos at Waco. Anyway, following the massive success of those songs and the album, he released the single for "If It Pleases You" in 1965. It didn't hit the same high as his previous singles, but it still stands as one of his most moving songs. A simple piano brings in a world of hurt. Walker talks about true love, but not in the happy way. He is happy to please the one he loves, even if it means pleasing her through having his heart broken over and over again. One of those classic country pleading songs, one of my least favorite lyrical themes in the genre, but when you sing like Billy Walker, you cannot help but enjoy the hell out of it. Walker would keep charting for years after the release of "If It Pleases You". The normal ups and downs of a recording artist, but he still kept kickin' for his 60-year career in the country world. The 1960s were his true successful years, but he danced with it in the 1950s and the 1970s and even came back for a little bit in the 1980s. We will talk more about his other songs in time, I am sure. What else am I missing.... Oh! So, back in the 1950s-1970s, plane wrecks were eerily common for artists to die in. I mean, it wasn't a once-a-year occurrence, but still enough to make some artists from those time periods never trust those tin cans buzzing through the sky. Billy Walker was likely to board the airplane that went down and killed Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins in 1963. One of the biggest losses of talent in the history of the genre. Sad stuff. Billy Walker was urgently called back to Tennessee after performing at a charity show with the other aforementioned country stars, and Hawkshaw was nice enough to give up his ticket for a commercial flight instead of cramming into the personal charter that went down in the Tennessee forest. He barely missed a sad fate, but I am sure the survivor's guilt was heavily felt. Too many immensely talented musicians have died in plane wrecks, and it seems like it is often during a high in their career. Billy Walker would go on to live 43 more years before dying in a van wreck while traveling home after a show. The wreck took the lives of his wife and fellow musicians. The more you tour, the more shows you play to the freakish populace of the world, the higher the chance of meeting your end. While Walker was here, he put out some great material, and I mean great! I am glad to have some of his tunes on AintNoisePollution, and I know there will be more. "If It Pleases You" is just the start, but might as well start with one of my favorites of his. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1965

Chosen Compilation: Columbia Hits (2005)

Genre: Country

Mood: Heartbroken

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Breakups, Whippin' out the ol' bourbon bottle, Autumn walks

Where to Next: "Lonesome 7-7203" - Hawkshaw Hawkins

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/24/2026

"Dream On" - Aerosmith

     For those of you that came here today to find a nice, juicy hidden gem, I am sorry. I will never be sorry for sharing some Aerosmith, but for today we have a song that all of us know all too well, "Dream On". This is one of the band's most successful and timeless tracks, and I wouldn't be shocked if it were their most popular song of all time. You know... Some of rock music's greatest songs can get a little repetitive. How many times have you heard the intro to "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd or "In the End" by Linkin Park and reached for that skip button? For me, "Dream On" is one I refuse to skip, and even with years and years of having the song playing everywhere, I still never get sick of it. That might be a me thing since I fuckin' adore Aerosmith and everything they have done, but there is still something there. So, why is "Dream On" a song that never gets stale? I think it is due to its moody nature. It isn't just a straight-cut song; it is something much more. Something that talks to all of us. It can fit like a glove on a sad day but can still brighten the mood on a happy day. I won't lie, it hits the best on the depressive days, but if you are anything like me, those are more likely than those happy ones. The song is powerful. "Dream On" was even questioned by the bands' guitarist, Joe Perry, on if it is even a song that he wanted to put out. At this point, Aerosmith wanted to be known as a hard rockin' band, so who were they to put out a more ballad-like song? I guess that the song is sort of a power ballad, just not in the way that the 1980s rock bands did it. Anyway, I don't blame him and the band for being a little apprehensive to take on such a mellow song. Might hurt their rocker credentials, but that is some foolish stuff. If you got something good, put it out, and I am sure there will be many who agree that it is some good shit. For "Dream On", that is exactly what happened. It became the band's first hit single. While it didn't chart as high as you would have thought upon its release nationwide, it was a massive hit in their home turf of Boston and the surrounding area. If you go listen to that single version, you might find yourself a little disappointed. It was cut down so a lot of the songs intro was shortened. I am all about that long and moody intro, and the outro follows suit. The cut-down version is plain wrong. "Dream On" will give you violent goosebumps. Full body. Toe to hair goosebumps. The lyrical content is all about dreaming until your dreams come true. The theme of being a dreamer is a recurring theme in Aerosmith lyricism, and it is also one of my favorite themes. That shit hits way too deep within my soul. I am not talking about the stuff they taught you in school, well, more like the stuff they lied to us about in school. I am talking about true dreams. Passions of life. Life force. Vocalist Steven Tyler is a walking testament to that within this song. He first heard the piano intro to "Dream On" from listening to his father playing the piano when he was just a little boy. As he grew older and started playing himself, he replicated the same thing, never knowing that this song about dreams and goals would end up being the one to set him and the band on the path of being one of the most successful hard rock groups of all time. Tyler wrote the song a couple of years before "Dream On" even fully got put together. The performance from Steven Tyler on "Dream On" is intense! It feels like drinking ice-cold water after brushing your teeth. Or getting out of your car during a snow storm after having your heater blasted. It is sort of cold, sort of uncomfortable, but man, does it make you feel alive! The track shows that Aerosmith is more than a one-trick pony, especially since this was their first big hit. They can move you and they can rock you, and there are times they can do both at the same time. "Dream On" isn't meant to be a rocker, so leave that at the door; this one is meant to take your breath away and comfort you with its cold kiss of hope. The track is frankly beautiful, and I don't mean that lightly. It is as beautiful as Frank. It has always been a comfort song of mine. Fun to sing along to. Fun to play loud and still fun to play quiet. Just an all-around legendary song. That isn't just a personal opinion; this track is one of the best rock songs of all time. It has shown up on countless lists, and it is the kind of song that is a part of everyone's collection even if they aren't your friendly neighborhood rocker. I hardly need to tell you since you are one of the people who love it too! If you aren't... Then shame on you. SICK!

     The song is one of many great tracks off the band's debut self-titled album that was released in 1973. Now, I love all phases and stages of Aerosmith. I would almost consider myself a megafan. Though, there is no spot I love more than the bands' first two albums. The bluesy touch is divine. The playing is young and raw, and I appreciate that. While there are certainly the sexual undertones, it doesn't get nearly as "we get it" as some of the bands' later material. You can feel these are like-minded rockers to you and me. Not the megastars of a few years down the road in their history. A hard-working young band that wants you to feel the music, to genuinely enjoy it. This is Aerosmith's 6th time on AintNoisePollution, and it's the second time we talk about their debut album. The last time was when we discussed "Walkin' the Dog" back at the start of this year. Anyway, their debut was somewhat a sleeper hit. It hit the 21st spot on the US charts and eventually achieved multiplatinum status. Many people rushed back to buy the album once the single "Dream On" was released in June of 1973. It has that appeal. If the single released again tomorrow, I think the sales for their debut would go up again. How could you not want more of that Aerosmith smack?! Anyway, while I adore "Dream On", I don't find it to be the best song on the album. To me, "Dream On" is one of those power tracks I save for the special moment. It is the ace you keep between your knees and whip out when it is the perfect time. What is that perfect time? Well, thanks for asking! You know... I have methodically found which songs hit best at the right moment, and for "Dream On" there are two moments it hits the best. The first being after a long day of labor at work. I have never really been in the spot of having too much mental fatigue from work. My body gets it first, so the brain is just sort of hanging there all day, ya know? So, from my personal standing, after you bust your ass all day and are completely drained, that is when you play "Dream On". You turn the volume up high, but just barely the sound of the world outside. Enough to take away the whine from the tires on the highway but not enough to block out the douche in a lifted truck gunning it for literally no reason. Then you just... Listen. Let all that shit fade away. Feel the blood coursing through you. Feel the sticky sweet taste of tobacco dance upon your tongue. Now, if you are driving, be sure to still stay focused on that road, but also focus on the honeyed music. Each up and down of the vocal work. The climax building drumming. The dance between guitar and bass guitar. The constant twiddling from Joe Perry keeping the song still comfortable in the rock world. The sweet lyrics that feel as hopeful as they feel hopeless. Feel it all and by the time the song ends... You are cured. The woes of the day have faded. You, sir, have been saved by the power of music. Now, the second best time for this song is during snow. Not snow storms, mind you, but a quiet and steady flow. For my fellow Utahns, that might feel low down and cruel since we haven't seen a good snow for a while, but maybe this year. If you look outside and there are some flakes falling, go get in that car, park in a moderately busy parking lot in the back, and start this song up. Just watch all these people. All striving. All struggling. All living their lives around you. None know you are having that moment, and for a second, you are playing a commentary role to their simple existence. What are they doing out in the snow? Why push so hard to buy that much toilet paper? Do they have someone to love them at home? Have they felt the bite of starving due to the lack of money? If they disappeared, would anyone notice? Dream it. Feel it. Just hear the entrancing music and get lost in the whirlwind of sonder. "Dream On" brings some feelings up, ya know? There is pure magic in the song. Could you imagine driving around on a random Thursday afternoon back in 1973 and having this unknown song from an unknown band being just thrown at you? I bet for a moment all that were tuned in around you must have had time stop. A moment of being one with the passing of time and being one with your inner self. All while the world does move. I would have lost it. Truth be told, I would probably be one annoying bastard to radio people back in the day. Calling 50 times a day for the next song. Stopping off at payphones and gas stations just to call. "Play "Dream On" please. Yeah, it is the same person. What do you mean you can only request the same song 50 times within the 2 hours?! How about just one more time.... Please?" Anyway! The song is moving. You can easily see why this song is one of legend. Perfect. Wonderful. Blissful. Melancholic. Now, I know you know this song. Shit, you might have just listened to it a couple of hours ago, but how about you play it again? This time turn it up a little higher and just close your eyes and take it all in. You at work? Fuck it. Time to fade away. Driving? Fuck that small family crossing the road. Close those eyes. Fade away. There are moments in life you need to take a second for yourself. To destress. This is one of them. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1973

Album: Aerosmith (1973)

Genre: Rock

Mood: Mesmerizing

​Perfect For: Focused listening, Fading away, Destressing, Going for a quiet drive, Snow, Watching the wheels go around

Where to Next: "Live and Let Die" - Wings

Rating: 10 / 10

Song of the Day 08/23/2026

"Got Me Where You Want Me" - The Romantics

     The Romantics are a band that everyone throws in with 1980s pop and moves on down the road, but there is so much more to the group. In a strange way, I almost put them closer to that of Cheap Trick or The Kinks than anything. Their main hits, "Taking in Your Sleep" and "What I Like About You", definitely make them seem to be another 80s pop group, especially "Talking in Your Sleep", but then you listen to most of the other songs on that album, In Heat, and you will find they are more of a power pop group that had a super strong straight forward pop hit on an album. Before we get further into that, did you notice the website changed over?! Pretty cool, right? Like I mentioned in my farewell screen on the original website, if you notice anything not working or that it has any issues, please contact me at aintnoisepollutionconnect@gmail.com. I intend to start up an easier chat board for the issues, but for now that will have to suffice. I dedicated a ton of time getting this puppy up and running again. I went over it with a fine tooth comb, but even then I likely missed something. I kept most of the stuff original, even if a lot of it was quite outdated. My lists need some serious touch-ups. My early posts are rough to read through now, but I intend to keep it that way. To go back and change those would be plain wrong. I have grown. You have grown. We all move along and get better at what we do. No need to hide it. Anyway, let's get back into the music! Thanks for stopping by and seeing how things look now. Hope you like it! Alright, yes, The Romantics. Isn't that a great band name?! It explains them wonderfully, and it has this biting factor to it that has you remembering them. Simple yet effective. The Romantics didn't hit that big fame all the way into 1983 when they released the hit single, "Talking in Your Sleep", off their fourth studio album, In Heat. They were never able to replicate the same fame. Their first brushing with it was in 1980 when they released their minor US hit and major Australian hit, "What I Like About You". That song has gone on to be one of the band's most respected songs, and it almost explains the band's core style much more than "Talking in Your Sleep" ever did. "What I Like About You" is a pretty strong new wave song. We have talked punk and new wave now three times in a row, and you get a taste of all of it. I will say, "What I Like About You" is much closer to pop than punk when it comes to new wave, but it still shows some of the style that comes along with that great genre. One thing that I have always loved about The Romantics is how well they show off their influences while keeping true to their style set within the 1980s power pop world. When I first heard "What I Like About You", I was kind of confused about when it came out. Now, I was still pretty fresh to older rock music and had yet to find my deep love for it, which is so strange to think about now, 20 years later, but even then I thought that the song came out of the 1960s. The Romantics were heavily influenced by the British beat bands and rock bands with similar sounds out of the 1960s. The groups I like to call the "The bands" since they all start with "the". The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Turtles, The Kinks, The Monkees, The Zombies, The Who, The Animals, and so on. Well, The Romantics kept that influence all the way into their most recent (and most likely last) studio album, 61/49, in 2003. Shit, they even have a cover of The Kinks on that sucker with "I Need You" and a cover of The Pretty Things "Midnight to Six Man". If you go and look at early photos of The Romantics before they hit fame, you will notice they even kept some of the dressing style of that decade. Their logo work also followed suit. Now, can you tell me really any other group that kept that style but spruced it up enough to appeal to a set of fans two decades later? I can't really think of many. The untrained ear might miss it, but being someone who has spent countless hours in the material from the "the bands", it is clearly there. The band started up in 1977 and started going on tour supporting many bands and doing their own thing since their first show on Valentine's Day in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. They were some busy beavers, but that busyness paid off since they had their own first single by 1978 with "Little White Lies", but it failed to chart. You can hear that song on their self-titled debut in 1980 alongside other singles released up until that point. They are the re-recorded versions, but if you are a purist and competitionist, you will need to hear the original versions on YouTube. The versions that show up on their debut are more than fine, though, so might as well just enjoy. Anyway, that debut of theirs is a great one. One of their best. It is still a little young, a little rough around the edges, but I stop by it more often than any of the others. It is honest and a ton of fun. It settled at the #61 spot on the US charts, but the single for "What I Like About You" is the shining gem that had them going from touring band to the next big up-and-coming band.

     For their second album, National Breakout, they sort of dropped the ball. Their debut showed potential, but that second one is a little lackluster. Still good. I would listen to it right now and walk away satisfied, but it just seems a little... Confused? Like someone was trying to guide the band to doing a sound they weren't meant for. It only charted in the United States, and even then it only made the 178th spot on the charts. That is what they call a commercial failure, especially after their previous album within the same year did pretty well. In 1981 they released their third studio album, Strictly Personal, which charted even lower. Now, I really like this album. I think it was where they found the sound that would help them become big-time names for pop rock. Still, it is a little weak in comparison to their debut and their following album, but still a worthwhile stop-off. The album was the right string but the wrong yo-yo. The album only spawned one single, "No One Like You", which failed to chart, but I personally put it up there as one of their greatest songs. Their label, Nemperor Records, stood by them through all the declining sales, and it was a good thing they did since they finally hit the nail on the head with their fourth album, In Heat. This is one of those albums that help define 1980s pop and pop-laced rock. It was a late new wave hit that reminded the world what made that sound so compelling in the first place. This album, and the leading single "Talking in Your Sleep", got The Romantics a stage. That track was a decade-defining song, and it is one that I have never once gotten sick of playing into oblivion. The rest of the album is a highly enjoyable treat as well. The majority of the songs sound hardly like "Talking in Your Sleep", that one is kind of a one-off. Through my solid handful of listens of this album throughout my life, I always love coming across "Talking in Your Sleep" since it breaks up some of the repetitive nature of the album. Don't go thinking I am putting down the band by calling them repetitive. That is just the nature of albums unless you are some unique band that makes it a point to stay away from that. Since The Romantics started music, they have always clawed their way to making a good album, but not the kind of album you ship to your friend across the country so they can get a chance to hear it. Just a laid-back time. Though, this album certainly is something to rave about. Everything about it is a serious step up from their previous ones. The production is clean and tough. The guitar work is compelling. The vocals are much stronger. It is a more mature album that isn't too scared to dip its feet in the youthful well of the American youth. The dad and the son can both enjoy it fully. Our song of the day this go-around is the third track on the album, "Got Me Where You Want Me". You know, I have always had beef with the song placement of this album. Why put "Got Me Where You Want Me" right next to "Do Me Anyway You Wanna". Confuses my brain reading them side by side. Anyway! "Got Me Where You Want Me" is a powerhouse on this album. It has that fun 1980s pop rock feeling melded with something from the past. An intro and feeling that is similar to "You Really Got Me" from The Kinks that moves into the thumping bass pedal and catchy as sin chorus work. The song is sleazy but easy enough to overlook the lyrics. The vocal work is strangely punk laden, and then the rest of the song is poppy. Those vocals from Wally Palmar are what make this fit so well into the rock-based website we call home. The track is a little rockin' and the songs surrounding it can say the same. Are they rock? No. Though, could they tour with rock music big names? Hell yeah. I would pay to see it. Actually, aren't they on tour right now? Yeah, they are touring alongside Toto and Christopher Cross. Would be a fun show. Sucks I am broke. Maybe next time. Anyway, "Got Me Where You Want Me" is very early 1980s, but it aged wonderfully. It was one that showed that The Romantics were trying to get away from their power pop and new wave roots to enter a more easygoing, straight-laced rock sound. They tried that out on their next album two years later, Rhythm Romance, which is a good one, but it was their last album all the way to the 2000s. They came, they put out a lot of good songs, a couple of hits, and then faded into the whirlwind of bands that did the same thing in the 1980s. In Heat is an album worth your time if you like some power pop or new wave. Play the track, would ya? If you dig it, then this is your calling to listen to more from The Romantics instead of just their spectacular hits. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1983

Album: In Heat (1983)

Genre: Power Pop, New Wave, Pop Rock

Mood: Fun

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Date night, New relationships, Going out to get a burger... Mmmm... Burgers....

Where to Next: "Baby Talks Dirty" - The Knack

Rating: 7 / 10

Song of the Day 08/22/2026

"The Enemy" - D.O.A.

     All that punk talk got me craving it! Well, I guess it would have likely been a day for D.O.A. either way. It is always a good day for the band. This is the first time that D.O.A. has shown up on AintNoisePollution by their lonesome. During the early days of the Song of the Day section of the website back in 2024, we had a post for "Full Metal Jackoff" by D.O.A. and Jello Biafra. But that version of the band and what we are talking about today are two different beasts. The stuff we are talking about is hardcore punk in its rawest form. D.O.A. was one of the bands at the start of it all. They helped pioneer the hardcore punk genre, and to many, they are the ones to hold the title of the earliest hardcore punk studio album ever released with their second studio album, Hardcore '81, in 1981. To me, I consider that album to be the first to come up with a name for this new brand of punk rock, but not the first. The Dead Kennedys released their debut, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, in 1980. That album is the spitting image of hardcore punk. Then we have the Germs with their cornerstone album, GI, in 1979. People could argue back and forth about the first true hardcore punk album all day, but in my many years of being a massive fan and as someone who studies the punk genre, people will fight no matter what within the fanbase. I guess if you have a genre full of pissed-off musicians that speak their minds, it is only fair that the fans follow suit. Anyway, Hardcore '81 was certainly the first to make it clear that the punk rock of yesterday was just the start for the genre, and the 1980s was the home of hardcore punk to set the core fundamentals of the genre back on track. I will admit, I love D.O.A.'s debut, Something Better Change, a tad bit more. Honestly, quite a bit more. D.O.A. has a strangely large discography, something that most hardcore punk bands of the 1980s cannot say the same about. The fast and short discography tends to be a punk thing. Well, aside from the Ramones, those bastards have a ton of albums. Luckily the grand majority of theirs are great. Anyway, D.O.A. has had 18 studio albums, 1 collaboration album, 2 live albums, and a couple of EPs. I have made it all the way through D.O.A.'s discography many years back when I was first doing my deep dive into punk rock when I was 15 or so. Since then I keep up with each new release that comes through. As it tends to go, I mainly come back to the albums I hold dear. D.O.A. is the kind of band you can really jump in anywhere and enjoy, but if you want more killer than filler, I suggest 1980-1987 & 1990-1995. That could just be down to taste. When it comes to the historical side of the band, it is all about their first two studio albums. For the albums that survived the test of time, it seems that Something Better Change (1980), Hardcore '81 (1981), and Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors (1990) are the ones. You can really jump into any of their albums and find something to dig, even their most recent album, Treason, which was released in 2020 and is pretty politically activated but in all the right ways. That is just the way of D.O.A. From the bands' start in 1978 to modern day, there has only been one constant member, Joe Keithley (better known as "Joey Shithead") who handles the singing and guitar work for D.O.A.; he is practically the band. Keithley was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. He became an icon in the punk world and is someone who takes his political song to a new level since he is involved in the politics of Burnaby. He has served as the city councillor and also now sits on the Burnaby Citizens Council. Man, we need more punkers in power! For Keithley, he took his lyrics to heart and got to changing things. I mean, D.O.A.'s slogan is "Talk - Action = Zero".  He has been an activist since he was young, first taking part in protests since he was 16. He melded music into his path in 1977 when he started up The Skulls, a locally known group but nothing more than that. A demo here and constant shows around Vancouver there. The Skulls fell apart after moving to Toronto. Some of the members went on to create the Subhumans, and then there was Joey Shithead, who started up D.O.A. in 1978 after finding his footing again in Vancouver, and it was there that the band started to rise the ranks to legends. It wasn't until 1980 when D.O.A. had their chance to release their debut album.

    The story of D.O.A. is one of hard work and being at the right place at the right time. When they got their band together and started playing shows, people were digging it. They took all the energy and dumped it into their self-released debut EP, Disco Sucks, in 1978. The songs off of it were a hit, namely in San Francisco, so the band took themselves on vacation to the United States, and the D.O.A. name started spreading quickly. By the next year in 1979, the band had that EP, two singles, and a strong fanbase, so they embarked on their first North American tour. From that tour up until their debut in 1980, there was a ton of stuff going down. Line up changes, singles, opening for some massive names, and jumping between the United States and Canada. Even when the band entered the studio to release their debut album, Something Better Change, they were still in the middle of all the chaos, something you can almost feel on that debut. Something Better Change was released in 1980, but it was comprised of stuff recorded as far back as 1977 to the freshly recorded tracks made for the album itself. It isn't a compilation but more just an album that took a hot while to put together in LP form. Even with all of that, the album has been a hard one to get a copy for yourself. It had a fairly limited run upon its release in 1980 on the small-time label, Friends. I don't even know that label. Something Better Change has since been rereleased many times over, and in the modern age of streaming, it isn't something to fret over. I just feel bad for all of those punkers in the past who had a hard time getting a copy of the album. This is an essential album for early hardcore punk, and for the Canadian punk world, I would say it is one of the country's greatest hardcore punk releases. Something Better Change is made up of a lot of what D.O.A. had previously released on their singles and EPs. Funnily enough, the album also serves as a history lesson of the changing of the times and what punk rock considered its enemy at the time. In 1978 they released "Disco Sucks", and by the time they released their debut album in 1980, the song was retitled and rerecorded to "New Wave Sucks". Adolescent title, but the message is there. I am a fan of all three of those genres, but I know there are those still even today fighting that fight that has long been over. Punk survived, though. New wave got moved into post-punk and disco kind of jumped into the mouth of pop music and lashed out from time to time. So punk was the winner in the end. Anyway, Something Better Change holds some of the band's greatest tracks, but none hit the same spot as one of the band's defining songs, "The Enemy", our song of the day. Man! This song kicks ass! It is on the hardcore punk spectrum but not with such an extreme front. In a way, it is almost more traditional punk rock than anything. A transitionary point in the punk world between yesteryear's style and this new "hardercore-than-thou" style that consumed the 1980s punk world. "The Enemy" was one of the new songs for the LP. In comparison to pretty much any other DOA song, especially outside the collaborative Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors, "The Enemy" is the undisputed most successful D.O.A. track. All for the right reasons. It is a song that those that hate punk rock jam in privacy. Its hard-driving nature makes anything you are doing feel intense and with purpose. While it is the titan of the album, I mean no disrespect to the other tracks that fill its tracklisting. There isn't a bad song on the album. Maybe those that are a little edgy, but nothing bad to be heard. "The Enemy" is as punk rock as they get. Politically activated lyrics, something meant for the youthful but still speaks to all age groups, rough and fast playing, great group vocals, sleazy guitar solos, a drummer's workout, and a rallying call. Lyrically, the track is something of its own. Style-wise, it is strangely close to The Clash, but that is just how punk works. Those fuckers were legends, and there is no way that D.O.A. wasn't following the footsteps of one of the genre's kings that turned to the evil of new wave in the end. D.O.A. keeps up the vision of early The Clash. A time when the band was pissed at those making money, writing songs for the common Joe, and not caring who it hurt along the way. So, do you know who the enemy is? The enemy is the police who make sure you go to work and clock in to keep the rich eating well. He who doesn't work has time to think, and thinking brings trouble. Who is the enemy? The media who paints in shades of red to get you angry and lashing out at those that don't need it. Ignore all those that are robbing you and destroying the planet; hate that guy for how he looks! Wait! He worships a different god? Can't have that. They love a different gender?! Hate. Hate. Hate. You know why you aren't making more money? Those like you that are just trying to survive! They want to rob you of your job! Please, for your country, beat that person down while we are busy outsourcing employees and sending the jobs overseas. Do you know who the enemy is? They are all around us, but it isn't your fellow man you see throughout a normal day, I can tell you that much. They are simply other victims, more pawns in this sad game that has rats racing towards an early grave. What a sad world. What a pitiful race. The folly of man. The first step is looking that truth in the eye, and the second is finding out where you stand in it. Never should you further the problem. Less hate. Less drive to work all those crazy hours for no gain. Know that the police officer is never your friend. The only times they are helpful is if it will look good on their report. The soldier is now just a poor sap either looking for a paycheck or looking to hurt someone. Your boss rarely sees you as more than a cog to keep their life easier and their hands soft. Work is just a means for survival. A career is found once you find yourself. Money is a fake token you trade for time, which is real. All these things are shrouded by the enemy. Who is the enemy? It is corporate greed. Hateful speech. Targeted media. Crooked judicial systems. Selfish people. The enemy is those that support a system that steps upon the backs of those forced to follow. Where do you stand? Can you say with confidence you know who the enemy is? *Ahem* Yes, this song is a good one. It does spark a certain... Thing... In your brain. But that is the power of D.O.A.! Sorry for going off. I guess I will just let you go now. The post has gone on long enough anyhow. Excited for you to digest this track. Simple in nature, deep in thought. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1980

Album: Something Better Change (1980)

Genre: Punk Rock, Hardcore Punk

Mood: Rebelious

​Perfect For: Protesting, Thinking, Summer drives, Heading to work, Living your own life 

Where to Next: "U.S.A." - Reagan Youth

Rating: 9 / 10

Song of the Day 08/21/2026

"Paved in Blood" - Heavy//Hitter

     Alright, this month has been seriously missing that dose of heavy metal. The website overall lacks a lot of the heavier and more extreme genres. For today, we have a track that is new to me from a band that is also new to me, Heavy//Hitter. I will say, this isn't my normal cup of joe. I appreciate the style of modern deathcore, but I find it hard to add it to my battle vest. I love just about everything about it, but there is one little thing that always holds me back: the lyrical themes. Man, do a lot of them act hard as fuck the whole time. That is fine; I have my own bands that do the same thing, but the genre as a whole uses anger as a weapon, and that weapon is primed with a slight douche coating. Now, I don't want to insult any fans of the genre, since there are many. We all like what we like, and I know that there are the songs and bands out there that stay away from the "tough guy" thing. Modern deathcore is a genre that takes itself very seriously while not serious at all, something that also bothers me. I know people didn't come here to hear me talk smack, and I want to make it clear that these are all opinions. Opinions that frankly don't hold much weight since I have only spent maybe 30 hours of my life within the genre's folds. That will change the further I get into my studies, since each new studied year brings in something new to the rock and metal world. Still, I want to make clear that I am not nearly as educated in this genre as I am in all the other subgenres of heavy metal. When I was first laying out the groundwork of my studies many, many years ago, I spent a lot of time within deathcore, both the old and the new. I did it to further my understanding of the wide array of genres that rally under the "core" label. That was many years back, and the genre has exploded since then! Many of the bands are selling out venues, and the others that don't sell them out have passionate fanbases across the country, some in the backwoods and some in the biggest of citites. Heavy//Hitter seems to be fairly new blood in the genre, well, at least when it comes to gathering up some well-deserved fame. They play the role of alpha and omega in the deathcore world, and from what I heard of them yesterday, they might be one of the best groups I have found that came out of the genre so far. Heavy as hell. Catchy as hell. Room for melodic structure that gets broken down for you to get a beat down. From where they stand right now, they get about 175,000 monthly listeners. Pretty impressive for a band that hasn't released a true-to-form studio album quite yet. They do have a ton of great EPs and singles to sink your teeth into if it is a style you dig. I think I listened through just about everything they had when I was doing my new music Friday expasions. Through that, I stand strong that "Paved in Blood" is the band's winner. When I first heard it, I couldn't help but spin it four times in a row. My main intention was to listen through some more Spite, since they are one of the first bands to truly grip me in the ways of deathcore and "core" metal overall. Though, the show was stolen when I first heard Heavy//Hitter's "Hard Candy" which left me wanting more. We keep talking about the "cores" but never really have dived deeper into what that means. You see, well back in the day there were two main genres putting out intense rock-based material: punk rock and heavy metal. Metal started getting heavier and more composed with each passing year from 1977 onward. Punk rock got stomped down by the end of the 1970s by a genre that it helped birth, new wave. Plus, the genre just plainly got too big for its britches. There were many punkers out there that refused the ways of new wave with its heavy pop and disco backing and decided to take the fight to them. This wasn't a fight of words or simply throwing fists; they came back with a fistful of glass to smash right into the face of the genre. That is where hardcore punk comes into the picture.

     Hardcore punk was just about as extreme as you could get in the music world at the time. Underground releases that said some wicked things and backed it up with raw, angry, and youthful vigor and fast as lightning playing that would leave your nose bleeding after sitting through an album. That style would influence heavy metal, and soon enough we were having genres that took some of the attributes of the genre. Thrash metal was the biggest one to point out, but there was also early black metal and death metal that took some serious notes. Anger felt good. Violence is as natural to humanity as anything else. They found that even faster, heavier, and rough around the edges heavy metal sounded great, but it came at the cost of not making much money or gaining many fans. That would change as time went on, but it was a preset path they had to follow. Punk and metal were never meant to be monetized, but it is hard for anything to stand in this world without money. Getting off track. While thrash, death, black, and speed metal took note of what was going down in the punk world at the time, there are few better places to hear that for yourself than in the crossover thrash genre. The true birthplace of the core genres. For a time there, they started calling crossover thrash and the genres that melded hardcore punk and heavy metal "metalcore". There were more bands popping up under the genre; something that was once a niche market was quickly gaining power, especially during the start of the 2000s. It went through its own separate evolution apart from its father genre of heavy metal. Even the term "metalcore" changed, and the style affiliated with it was nothing like what people were originally calling "metalcore". Metalcore spread like a plague, almost damning the core sound of heavy metal, but the traditional sound stood strong and, once again, went its own way, creating a rift within the genre, one that is still heavily felt to this day. Most "core" fans love putting down heavy metal, and many heavy metal fans love doing the same back to them, even if they both share the same roots and extreme styles. Metalcore naturally started into the subgenres that sampled from the other big genres out there. We have grindcore, which was there before any of the other "core" genres, even metalcore. They are the perfect melding of crust punk and death metal. There is deathcore, which is metalcore mixed with death metal. Mathcore, which is the mixing of metalcore, math rock, and progressive metal. Nu metalcore, which as you guessed, is nu metal influenced metalcore. Risecore which is metalcores depressed cousin who melds emo with metalcore. There are so many more! So, our spotlighted band, Heavy//Hitter, is one that rests within the deathcore genre. For those new to the style, they are a great entry point and have a small yet strong discography, so you don't have to dedicate the year getting comfy with their material. Their form of deathcore is strangely structured. It at times comes up with an angelic melody but then slams the hammer down with the fury of demons. Our song of the day, "Paved in Blood", is a mean song. It is their second most streamed song, and from my first run-through of their discography, I do stand by that it is arguably their greatest, even if "Wall of Wax" holds the most streams. The good thing about "Paved in Blood" is how fast it can switch sounds. There are moments that the vocals rub you wrong, but by the time you sneeze, it switches styles a little bit to keep those hackles raised. There is a lot of sound here to grind you into dust. When they slow it down for the break at 1:43 after the friendly call-out of "motherfucker", you feel all the tension of the world launch through your speakers. Insightful stuff. But fuck that. This isn't the genre you come to think with your head; this is the genre where you come to think with your scabbed knuckles. They released the single to "Paved in Blood" at the end of 2023 following the great success of "Wall of Wax" in May of the same year. "Wall of Wax" is the track that got their name out there, and for all the right reasons. They kept up the fury of that sound in "Paved in Blood", and if you ask me, they perfected their style there. Following "Paved in Blood" the fire was still burning wildly all the way into their most recent song alongside Insolaze, "Dark Souls". That one is worth your time if you dig what you hear here today. Well, speaking of what you hear here today. How about we just let you get to jamming out, yeah? This is the kind of stuff that feels great to listen to when you are angry, but it is liable to let some intrusive thoughts through. Don't listen to the devil on your shoulder. Your boss doesn't need a swift kick in the ass. Well, he likely does, but you aren't the one to serve it up. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2023

Single: Paved in Blood (2023)

Genre: Deathcore

Mood: Pissed

​Perfect For: Driving fast with purpose, Working out, Pushing it at work, Hot days, Petting puppies 

Where to Next: "Darwinism" - Kublai Khan TX

Rating: 7 / 10

Song of the Day 08/20/2026

"Unity" - Desmond Dekker & The Aces

     Welcome! Today we are talking about the King of Ska, Desmond Dekker. Everyone out there knows the name Bob Marley, and many know Peter Tosh, and Desmond Dekker is a name that stands right beside them with popularizing the reggae genre for the rest of the world outside of Jamaica. Desmond Dekkers's musical roots and beginnings are similar to many of the reggae groups out of the 1960s. They took all of what they had from their home shores but mixed in some American and British influence into their sound from what they could sometimes catch on the radio. For the United States influence, we brought R&B, namely doo-wop, which you would be shocked how well the two genres go together. I would point someone towards early Wailers material for a great taste of it, or check out the song "The Tide Is High" by rocksteady champions, The Pagargons. It came well after the doo wop scene already died out, but it is a good way to see what I am talking about. A good chunk of us might already be familiar with the version put out by Blondie in 1980, so it will be an easy move into. Anyway, Desmond Dekker is a big name in helping start up ska and rocksteady. He was a massive influence on the reggae genre as a whole. For his tie into the more R&B-touched reggae, you gotta check out his material with his backing band, the Aces. Desmond Dekker had them backing him until 1967, when it was time to do an international tour. Some members were game to move to America, and the others refused to even think about getting on a plane. Leading member Winston Samuel responded to the prospect of leaving Jamaica with "Rastas did not fly on iron birds". The Aces continued on without Dekker, but they didn't find much success and eventually fizzled out. Desmond Dekker, on the other hand, kept releasing material to great acclaim. Mostly within the reggae community, but reggae rarely has mainstream success outside of the big names. What am I saying? Desmond Dekker is a massive name, but nobody can touch the sensation that Bob Marley caused in the United States. Dekker only had two charting singles in the United States, one of which was a big hit with 1968's "Israelites", which is easily one of his greatest songs. That song gives me chills! Also, you can see how it melded into the soul sound of the late 1960s, even if it is still based in reggae. "Israelites" was the first Desmond Dekker song I ever heard, and it was the one that helped me move backwards into reggae. Strangely, I think reggae is the only genre that I started with the modern stuff and then moved backwards over time. I am not sure if you remember, but I mentioned last month (or was it the one before that?) that I was finally expanding my studies into all reggae and folk. Those two genres have been ones that I have adored for a long time and dipped into many corners, but their studies are daunting due to having roots that go back very far. Cultural music. World music. Traditional music. You know the type. Also, I am moving into the 1980s for select country artists. I have a deep, deep love for country music prior to 1980, so it has been interesting moving away from my comfort zone decades. Why am I telling you this? Oh yeah! "Isrealites" is one of the best ports to bring in your schooner if you are interested in taking in some early reggae music. It worked on me; it will likely work on you! Anyway, Desmond Dekker had only one big hit here in the US, but we have always been a stick in the mud with reggae music. In the UK, Dekker had many big hits, and it was there that his albums sold well too. Dekker was one of the first to have reggae hits outside of Jamaica, and through those hits he helped usher in a whole new era for the genre. Dekker released his first album in 1967 under Desmond Dekker & The Aces called 007 Shanty Town.

     Even though he had scored a record deal in 1965, it took two years for the album to come out. Some of that was due to him just living his life. He was a welder at the time, and one day he noticed another welder who had that musical talent, so he told his record label, Beverly's, about him. That dude so happened to be Bob Marley. Small world. I guess it is an island, but still, small world. Bob Marley got his first chance through the help of Desmond Dekker, something he never forgot up until his death. I mean those first songs Marley cut were failures, but it was still a start. As for Dekker, he released two singles to strong success in Jamaica, "Honour Your Mother and Father" and "Labour for Learning", both of which are worth your time if you like what you hear here, especially "Labour for Learning", which is always full of sunshine. Anyway, neither of those singles, which were released in 1965, showed up on that debut of his in 1967. Dekker released a ton of great singles leading up to his debut album, all of which had him becoming a local legend in the music world. It was almost time to take the world by storm. A good chunk of those singles didn't end up making it onto that debut. They would have been great additions, in that there is no doubt, but the tracklisting to 007 Shanty Town is already full up of ear treats. One of my favorites from the album is "Unity", which is all about the spreading of love. Before Desmond Dekker had his album released, he was already known in the area as someone who was spreading awareness and the importance of a lot of the set Jamaican ideals, such as education, religion, and respecting your parents and elders. "Unity" follows suit. It is the second track on his debut, coming right after the shining gem and title track, "007 (Shanty Town)".  "Unity" was the chosen track that Desmond Dekker & The Aces entered into the Jamaica Festival Song Competition, but it ultimately lost to "Ba Ba Boom Time" by the Jamicans, a group that didn't survive into the mainstream outside of Jamica. Dekker got the last laugh. "Unity" is a much stronger song. Peaceful as they come and damn easy to get behind. A simple rocksteady track that has you enjoying the simple things in life. The lyrical content is pretty straightforward, but it is a message needing to be heard across the whole globe in 1967. Jamaica was in a strange period since within the year that 007 Shanty Town was released, they had three different leaders, which is plain strange. Mostly, 1967 was a big year for music in Jamaica. Their music festival showed all the talent of the island, and with acts starting to gain traction outside of their home shores, the sky seemed to be the limit. It was also the first year that the word "reggae" was actually used in print in the Jamaican English Dictionary, solidifying the genre's name in the history books. For the casual music listener, that might not seem that important, but the genre's name and its rising are so damn important! You listen to rock, but have you really thought about where the name came from? How about heavy metal? Punk? Swing? Jazz? Reggae? I mean, folk, country, and blues all sort of make sense, but the others had their name come from somwhere. For reggae we can maybe talk about that another time. So, yeah, 1967 was an impressive year for Jamaica, and Desmond Dekker was there riding the wave and being one of the biggest names in the genre, if not the biggest. You might be wondering, "Then why didn't Desmond Dekker & The Aces win the song competition then?" Well, they got second place, which is pretty good. Have you heard "Ba Ba Boom Time"? That song is great! I still like "Unity" more, but it is still easy to see how "Ba Ba Boom Time" took the trophy. A song all for rocksteady, and it is an important stop-off for anyone studying into the early years of reggae music. The song was meant for dancing, and "Ba Ba Boom Time" has that dancing feeling more than "Unity". Dance music has always sold. We all wanna feel footloose and fancy-free. The message of "Unity" is much more important, and the song itself is moving, but "Ba Ba Boom Time" is a ton of fun. They should have gone with "007 (Shanty Town)", and they might have won since that is a solid dancing track, to say the least. 007 Shanty Town holds a good chunk of Dekker's best early material, but like all the genres with long regional success and limited worldwide success, you gotta pull up the missed singles to see all sides of what the artist has to offer. For Desmond Dekker, you can't even consider yourself a fan unless you pull up all those 1960s singles that never made the LPs. That is where the magic happens. For now, have some "Unity" to brighten up your day. It is one of my favorites from Dekker, and I think you will walk away saying the same thing. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1967

​Album: 007 Shanty Town (1967)

Genre: Rocksteady, Reggae

Mood: Peaceful

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Appreciating the clouds, Finding hope, Sharing the cup, Being better 

Where to Next: "We Shall Overcome" - Toots & the Maytals

Rating: 7 / 10

Song of the Day 08/19/2026

"Ain't Even Done with the Night" - John Cougar (John Mellencamp)

     John Mellencamp is the embodiment of a small-town boy with a ton of frustrations caused by the clashing of love and hate of his roots. His early material is what shows that off best. Everyone knows songs like "Hurts So Good", "Jack & Diane", "Pink Houses", and many other big-time hits from Mellencamp. Not everyone knows his youthful and angry stage at the start of his career. You might have noticed above that I put John Cougar. John Mellencamp went through a couple of different name changes before finally settling with John Mellencamp in 1991 on his eleventh studio album, Whenever We Wanted. For most of his most famous albums, he was going by John Cougar or John Cougar Mellencamp. So, why all the name changes? Mellencamp first went under the name Johnny Cougar, a name that sounds like it is straight out of a cheap pulp noir comic. That wasn't his decision but more the advice from producer Tony DeFries, who said that John Mellencamp would be too hard of a name to market. I mean, I can see why, but the album cover and the stage name were a little silly. It seemed others agreed since that debut sold very poorly. A complete commercial failure. His debut, Chestnut Street Incident, is actually a great album if you ask me. Personally, I put it up there with the other great John Mellencamp albums. I love its honest nature, and much in heartland rock style, the covers on that puppy are pretty damn good. Still, his debut failed. Mellencamp got right back to recording music, a little album called The Kid Inside, but he didn't have a chance to release it before getting canned from MCA Records. The Kid Inside got released down the road by Mellencamp's original music partner and producer, Tony DeFries, once Mellencamp hit the big time. The late release confused almost everyone. The album art is awful. The songs are good, but times have moved on since recording that album. It failed to chart, and most people tend to overlook the album, treating it as more of a good stop-off for true fans only. After getting dropped by his label, he gathered the attention of Billy Gaff, who was known for working with Rod Stewart. Gaff was wanting to help John Mellencamp along on his path and get him his second studio album. Under his guidance, Mellencamp uprooted to London while his second album, A Biography, was getting put together. He toured hard and worked at it for a year before the album actually was completed. The album didn't even release in the United States, even though his sound is strongly rooted in the core American music fundamentals. Ones he would help reshape in the 1980s. It was a solid hit in Australia, one of his strongest supporting countries for his whole career. A Biography was the last Mellencamp album to be released under the Johnny Cougar name, thankfully. It is a solid album! A solid step up from his debut, and he got that commercial sound down pretty good. Especially on tracks like "I Need a Lover" and "Night Slumming". "I Need a Lover" went on to be his first charting single in Australia, and it only got more popular once Pat Benetar recorded her own version in 1979. Mellencamp released the song again as a single in 1979, and that one charted strongly in the United States as well. A great song. Anyway, this album and the singles off it gave Mellencamp his first taste of success, and he liked it. For his third studio album, we see John Mellencamp changing his name to John Cougar for the album of the same name. This is where I think that Mellencamp found his sound, the thing that set him apart from all the others. This one was recorded in the states, and one of the most defining moments on the album is the rerelease of "I Need a Lover", which helped kickstart his career in the United States. For his following album, we get the second one under the John Cougar name, Nothin' Matters and What If It Did. This is the album that holds our song of the day, but first let's finish up his timeline of name changes. From 1983's Uh-huh to 1989's Big Daddy, he went under the name John Cougar Mellencamp. A name that most people affiliate him with. Following that, he just rolled with his real name, John Mellencamp. Mellencamp had one hell of a run; even when his singles weren't chart toppers anymore, he still managed to get critically praised from his second studio album onward. I have done a couple of run-throughs of John Mellencamp's discography, and it is easy to see why the fans and critics loved each of his albums. He is just a simple joy to listen to. He talks of the human condition better than most. As he aged, his lyrical content followed suit, giving you a chance to age alongside him. Alright, we can talk more about Mellencamp at a later date. A deep history dive since I was just randomly obsessed with his name changes more than anything in this post. Let's zone in on our spotlight album for today, shall we?

     Nothin' Matters and What If It Did was Mellencamp's first studio album to release in the 1980s, releasing on September 30th in 1980. It still holds his core sound pretty tight, but you can tell by the middle of the album that he is trying out some new things to catch your attention. None show that off better than our chosen song, "Ain't Even Done with the Night". This is his transitionary album. You can feel the shift from the angry young man into the understanding adult. His songwriting is tighter, his lyricism is broader, the experimentation within his safety net is heavily felt, and the confidence of the album is bursting out of the grooves. Nothin' Matter and What If It Did was Mellencamps' first strong charter in the United States, eventually reaching platinum status. It isn't nearly as impactful as his legendary albums, which start after this album, but it is still a necessary stop-off for any Mellencamp fan. Keeping the ongoing theme of Mellencamp album art, this one is pretty rough. His goal was to convey a lower-class living status, but it aged like gravy. Still, I won't lie, he pulled it off well. He just seems like a good son there with his mother. On the other hand, he sort of looks like a gigolo, especially with the seedy lyricism that appears on the album. I have always hated this album art, it is almost as bad as The Kid Inside, almost. As I mentioned before, Mellencamp really got his pen going on this album. He was never one to shy away from writing personal songs, but on this album it feels all too personal. He even wrote a song for his high school girlfriend on the track "To M.G. (Wherever She Might Be)". Aside from the personal songs, there are some boogie-based tracks that will have you rocking, dirty songs that will have you snickering, and the blue-collar pleasers you should come to expect out of Mellencamp. For our song of the day, "Ain't Even Done with the Night", Mellencamp approached the song with the intent to write a soul song, something he did pretty well with. I will have to remember this song when I think "a heavily layered rock song" since there is a ton going on, but it all comes together to blossom into one of Mellencamp's most memorable songs off the album. "Ain't Even Done with the Night" was the biggest success of the album, and all these years later that still rings true. It is just a classic from Mellencamp. The song starts off mellow as they come. Multiple guitar pieces fold on top of each other, creating a whole wall of sound that never gets shaken. Once the bass and drums jump into the party, you are hooked. Then in comes Mellencamp on vocals, but it is hard to focus on him when there is so much going on elsewhere. This is the kind of song you hope never stops playing. It is just a smooth ride. In comparison to the other tracks on the album, this one is strangely mature. Many tracks on Nothin' Matters and What If It Did have a lot of sexual overtones, not to mention the unfortunate "Cry Baby", which is literally just sex jokes, but when it comes to "Ain't Even Done with the Night", Mellencamp shows he is a strong musician that can put together one seriously strong song. It was a launching point for his career, something that helped his following album, American Fool, top the charts in 1982. He would have never made it if he kept on the lusty and adolescent feeling from the rest of the album. There is a place for that. Something for the rockers, but not half the album; it was clear everyone wanted more of "Ain't Even Done with the Night" since it charted higher than any of his other songs in the United States. He pleased the masses as his career moved on. He found a way to mix in lusty themes with commercial heartland rock like we hear on "Jack & Diane".  I wish I could say more, but I am finding it hard to type today! Heavy fingers or tiredness? Not sure what is up. Too much heat. Can't summer just be over already?! Glad we have had so many great tracks to support us through this damn heatwave. Come back tomorrow and see what we have in store! I gotta get to bed. See you then! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1980

​Album: Nothin' Matters and What If It Did (1980)

Genre: Rock, R&B, Pop Rock

Mood: Smooth

​Perfect For: Focused listening, Casual listening, Making love, Driving, Relaxing at home 

Where to Next: "Candy's Room" - Bruce Springsteen

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/18/2026

"Rie's Wagon" - Gomez

     Welcome back! I am still trying to get used to this new website builder, but we are getting there. I am sure this is still posting on Weebly, but soon enough you will also be getting used to the new platform. One thing that is a pain about these editors is how you never know how it will look on people's devices. I do all the editing and creating on a desktop, but I strongly doubt many of you are out there digesting these posts on them. I would take a gander that most people use phones. Now, one of the biggest hurdles of that is the text size. Weebly made it quite difficult to have the words be big enough for the phone readers without making the letters massive on the computer. I am talking that bible you find in tourist town hotels large font. Articulation gives me a little more wiggle room, so I hope it looks better. Well, we aren't here to talk about the editors. I mean, I guess we are, but I am sure that your goal today was to come get some new tunes. I got a nice little hidden gem for you today with Gomez and their thrilling yet slightly stressful "Rie's Wagon". The track comes off of the band's most enduring album, Bring It On. I am still wet behind the ears in their material. I only came across the band and our song of the day during my 1998 section of the studies that I don't think was even a year ago. Maybe? Time is fake. Anyway, they were a strong launching point into the indie rock world. Like many in the indie rock world during the end of the 1990s, their sound isn't something people tend to put with indie music modernly. It can be angsty, it can be artsy, but all of it is full of emotion and drive. Aside from today's spotlight album, I have listened to the following two albums from the band. I must say that it is hard to beat that debut of theirs. There is a special sound to it that the others lack. Melancholy blues? Roots rock with an artistic edge? I guess that all three of the studio albums I have listened to so far are all pretty unique and stand apart from each other. They don't stay in one place. Some of that is what kept them out of the indie rock genre as it moved along. They had their place and served their time, but they are more "indie" in the way of independent released rock music more than the scene that came along with it once it hit the mainstream. Alright, enough about terminology. Since this is the band's debut on AintNoisePollution, let's introduce them! Gomez started up in 1995 and had their first official show in 1996. The two that started it up were drummer Olly Peacock and Ian Ball who took care of guitar and vocal duties alongside Ben Otwell, whom Bell met while attending college. Bell and Peacock were childhood friends that learned their synergy from playing in many local small-time bands. Did they intend for Gomez to be the one to put them on the map? Only the rock gods know. Well, it wasn't until their first show that they came up with their band name. I honestly thought at least one of their names would be Gomez in some way, but nope. For their first show they didn't have a name. They left a sign out for a friend to find them that said "Gomez in here", and the crowd just thought it was the band's name. It stuck, and Gomez has gone on to be a powerhouse of the underground side of UK indie, art, and alternative rock. All of their 7 studio albums charted fairly strongly. Their highest charter and seller is their second studio album, Liquid Skin, which released in 1999. I think their debut would have been the highest seller if they didn't drop it out of the blue with a self-produced album that came out on the fairly small label, Hut Records, which is a subsidiary of Virgin Records. Hut Records was a proving ground for many in the UK indie rock world, most of which didn't make it out alive. Some big names came out of Hut. Some of note are The Verve, Placebo, Embrace, and arguably one of their strongest releases, The Smashing Pumpkins debut, Gish, alongside Caroline Records. Gomez was one that Hut Records helped give a name. All releases from Gomez were with Hut Records until their fifth studio album, How We Operate, in 2005. I still need to get that far to talk about it, so we will just dial it into that debut of theirs.

     Gomez jumped into the studio now signed by a true record label that wanted their name to be a success. The recording started in late 1997, and the album itself was released April 13th, 1998. Bring It On hit the scene with critics ranting and raving, most of them being quite impressed with their blues style, though they come far from the home of the genre in the United States. If I heard Gomez before the internet, I would just figure they were an American band from their sound. There weren't too many bands doing the same thing in the UK at the time. While Gomez had minor yet strong success around their operating area, nobody really knew of the band aside from those who had a taste during their tour in support of Embrace. They had one single drop before the album came out with "78 Stone Wobble". From left field, this new, fresh band took the stage and put out a great album. Good enough to win the 1998 Mercury Music Prize, beating out all the other great UK-based albums that came out that year. The album has a lot to love. There are the commercial tracks, but there is still plenty of room for experimentation, something I have come to expect from Gomez. They don't seem like the kind of group that cares if they hit the top of the charts. Each track brings in something new. Are they going to treat it like a jam band? Blues? Straight-cut rock? How about putting out something with a Brit-pop sound since that section of rock and pop was still doing great at the time? It is impressive how far that Gomez pushed the limitations set by genres and album themes. They seemed to just have put out music they liked, and others liked it too. An oddity essential album. There are plenty of good songs off the album, but we have "Rie's Wagon" in our lap today. I would say this is one of the oddest songs on the album. There is the melding of the blues, jam rock, westernesque psychedelia, noise rock, and art rock here in the song. I wish I could say the whole song is killer. I appreciate the first quarter and the last quarter more than the whole song. The gut of the song is some trippy noise rock stuff. I can dig the style, but I am frankly not always in the mood to sit down and hear noises being catapulted at me. That intro though... Now we are talking. Stressful fuzz gives way to a space ride of sound. Trippy and twangy guitars battle with heavily distorted chainsaw-esque guitar attacks. The whole time the bass is holding the picture together with slow and steady plucking. When the vocals jump in, you are ready to take the song alllll in. You have no choice since it is one compelling track! It is the final true song off of Bring It On. It is the longest one too. It is certainly the kind of song you aren't supposed to jump into at random. You gotta sit yourself down, dust off that liquor glass, pour in some of that amber current, and sip while it takes fold. There are so many layers of sound throughout the whole thing that it works all your senses. Alarm-like noises that bounce between speakers. A constant ghostly wailing of the guitar that stays around so long that you only subconsciously listen to it. Funky drumming. Spinning keys. Repititous bass lines that make you feel all sorts of loony tooney. You would have to hear this song 16 times in a row to hear it all. Once again, the song gets awfully close to the noise rock section of art rock. Then, just before you had enough of the noises, the band returned to the style at the start when 5:36 rolled around. A slight pause allows the vocals to come back in. Calm after the storm. The screaming guitar took the form of a mellow strumming sound that sets the ears and soul at ease. I adore the final part of the song. Starting around 6:40. The blues come back strong, and the lyrical content gets a little more easygoing. There is a moodiness to this part. Something that has always made me wanna run the song again. Lyrical content isn't the song's shining gem. I honestly don't even know what it is all about. Who is Rie? Why is Rie running over the vocalist and then driving him home after? I think I am missing something. I don't come to Gomez for lyrical knack; I come here for spontaneous music that boldly hits multiple genres within one song. This track strongly showcases their talents at making a wholly compelling track. Something to hold your attention. If you like what you hear, go and check out some more. I am pretty new to them, but they have impressed me many times so far. None more than their debut, but I still have many albums to go. Enjoy! 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1998

​Album: Bring It On (1998)

Genre: Blues Rock, Art Rock, Indie Rock

Mood: Intense

​Perfect For: Focused listening, Working, Doing chores, Smoke breaks, Getting stoned 

Where to Next: "Ride" - The Dandy Warhols

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/17/2026

"The Everglades" - George Hamilton IV

     I am stoked to finally have a George Hamilton IV song here on AintNoisePollution. He is one country artist that drives outside of his lines when it comes to the similar lanes that both folk and country travel down. A soft-spoken and deeply written artist that doesn't get the love he deserves! He should be one of the old-time country artists people still commonly know today, like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Hank Williams. Sure, he didn't make nearly the same impact on country and mainstream music, but I still hold his quality up next to the country legends. Like some of the country stars of the 1960s, George Hamilton IV was one of them that started out as a teenage idol. Jumping between covers of rock n roll, R&B, and pop but sometimes throwing out some original material. He is one that is hard to envision doing that teen idol thing since his brand of country music is a little more mature, a touch more thought-out, but it is the truth. George Hamilton IV released his first album in 1958, a teenybopper album called On Campus. I have listened through the majority of George Hamilton IV's discography, half for studies and half for leisure, but I haven't ever heard his debut. It seems it isn't the easiest find, and if I want to ever listen to it, I may have to whip out the ol' eBay or Discogs and buy it on vinyl for a stupid price. You would be shocked how expensive rare country albums can be. Luckily for me, the majority of record stores in my area don't know how much they go for and sell them for cheap. Is that the same everywhere? They see country artists and think, "Oh great, more country albums. Value bin!" or is that just a Utah thing? Well, I just checked, and that debut is actually pretty cheap. Music to my ears. Or eyes. Whatever. Anyway, I haven't heard his debut album, but from the tracklisting I can put together it is made up of simple and easy songs. Pop and folk covers. The album cover is... Quite bad. Though, that is how some of the old albums go. Cool turned silly. The album doesn't even feature his first single, "A Rose and a Baby Ruth", which he released in 1956 through the ABC-Paramount label. That was his first taste of fame and what saw him getting his chance at a record deal down the line. "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" charted at #6 on the US charts. Not bad for a random singer doing a cutesy song. Marilyn Manson later did a cover of it. Just got done listening to it, and it is very much Marilyn Manson for better or worse. Anyway, while "A Rose and a Baby Ruth" is a decent pop song, I wanna talk about that little goodie that showed up as the singles b-side, "If You Don't Know, I Ain't Gonna Tell You". That song is more of a rockabilly track and later showed up on the album we will be talking about in a little bit. Here we see Hamilton taking a stab at his true passion, country music. The song is silly enough to still sit comfortably on the back of a pop hit, but there is no doubting its country leaning. That pop hit did get him his ticket to tour around in the late 1950s with some of the biggest names in rock music, such as Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, and others. The name was spreading, and when that brand of rock and pop started tapering off, Hamilton had his chance to jump the country stagecoach, where he would later find fame. He went from teen pop star to rockabilly up and comer to having a piece of the Jimmy Dean Show, where he would play with some of the big stars in pop-washed country music, such as Patsy Cline. To make sure his name was known, he would play on many different music television shows, and soon enough his smooth vocals made their way all over the place. He didn't wait and ran off to Nashville, where he became a certified Grand Ole Opry member and in 1963 struck out for a sound of his own with his fourth studio album, Abilene. Previous to that album, he had that aforementioned pop album debut, a Hank Williams cover album called Sing Me a Sad Song, which also dropped in 1959, and then the pop-washed country album, To You and Yours (From Me and Mine), which was released in 1961. That one was technically his first true country album, but it still seemed to be dipped in growing pains between his previous style and this new him. It is his fourth that he fully found his footing in country music with an iconic sound that was as playful as Tommy Collins but as soothing as Porter Wagoner. Let's talk about it.

      For many out there, Abilene would be the best place to start into Hamilton. I like his next couple a little bit more, but I still find myself coming back to this album more than most of the others. There is a fancy free feeling to it. Something easy to get into, and some of the songs off the album are Hamilton at his finest. Naturally, the title track "Abilene" is one of his greatest. It is his most popular song on Spotify for a reason. "Abilene" was written for George Hamilton IV, and he had a massive hit with it in 1963. With having a hit song like that, Hamilton made his fourth album have the same name so people knew what to buy the next time they were in a music store. Funnily enough, I always thought "Abilene" was about Abilene, Texas. Turns out I am learning a lot of new tasty info this month. The Abilene they are talking about is Abilene, Kansas, which the Texas town named itself after. I mean, can you blame me? Abilene in Texas is way bigger than the little guy in Kansas. Anyway, that one song is worth it enough to listen through the whole album. It is as good as they come from 1963 country music. The album has only quality songs so far as I am concerned. It was Hamilton's first charting album. It hit the 18th spot on the US Country charts and #78 on the mainline US charts. The album kicks off with one of my favorite songs from country and folk music, "The Roving Gambler". George Hamilton IV has one of the greatest versions of the tune. You hit the high pretty fast as soon as the album kicks off. The second song is a joy too, "China Doll", which follows the strange sweet Asian lady lyrical theme that had a couple of country hits off it at this time and then faded away. I am all about it, but I do wonder where the inspiration came from. Likely from the stories that came back with the soldiers from World War 2. Next up is the classic "(I Want to Go) Where Nobody Knows Me", which is always a good country track, my favorite version coming from Jean Shepard. Track #4 is the song we all came together to hear today, "The Everglades". The song was originally released by Skeets McDonald in 1960 to minor success. It was written by Harlan Howard, one of the backbone songwriters in country, folk, and rock music. The song got covered by the Kingston Trio within the same year of 1960, and it had much higher success from them. The Kingston Trio at that point was considered the go-to place for casual folk fans to stop in, so it isn't all too shocking. I love their version. The first version I ever heard was from Waylon Jennings off the all Harlan Howard written album, Waylon Sings Ol' Harlan, in 1967. Man, do I love that album! A true gem from Waylon. Anyway, the version we are hearing today predates the Waylon Jennings version by a couple of years. George Hamilton IV takes control of the story and almost makes it sound like he is the one who wrote it by how well he performs it. His is certainly based off the Kingston Trio version. Folksy, but there is still some of that original version that reminds you of its country roots. The story covers the story of a man who killed another man during a fight over a woman. He naturally didn't wanna get busted, so he ran off into the Everglades in Florida. It is crazy that a place like that exists in America; it is so unlike anything else we have, and it is huge! I think I would take my chances at the end of a rope rather than brave that swamp. Anyway, the law didn't even try chasing the man. They figured he would never make it there because who could? An urban legend sprouted, and people in the area would say they could see a man still running like a dog through the Everglades. Time moved on. His family thought he was dead, and the woman he left behind wedded another. In the old country story-telling style, the song has a twist at the end. During the trial over the death of the other man, it turns out that the running wasn't even necessary since everyone agreed it was self-defense. He would have been let off. Instead, he was leading a rough life hiding from the law that wasn't even looking for him. Kinda silly. That is why I love country music, man. I love the plot twists, the storytelling, and the joyful nature while they talk about something unfotunate. "The Everglades" didn't only spawn several great versions, it also gave a set of words that have shown up in other songs and media: "If the skeeters don't get him, the gators will". A goodie off of Hamilton's breakout album, and luckily for the both of us, there are easily over 10 albums of other great material. George Hamilton IV can please your sun-baked soul for the rest of your life with the amount of quality songs he has. Glad to finally have him here, and I hope we can get some more soon! For now, I give to you "The Everglades". Enjoy! 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1963

​Album: Abilene (1963)

Genre: Country

Mood: Earthy

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Going for a drive, Summer travels, Working, Enjoyin' a little story

Where to Next: "Miller's Cave" - Hank Snow

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/16/2026

"Things Go Wrong" - Chris Isaak

     Man, Chris Isaak has been a truly definitive artist for my 20s. Like most of us, I was always a fan of tracks like "Wicked Game" and "Blue Hotel", but as I have gone deeper into his discography, all I come up with is solid gold! Track after track after track of great material. He somehow melded many of my favorite styles into one sound. He has that lonesome style that is kissed with the overly polished pop sound of the 1980s. A little bit country, a little bit soul, and a little bit rock n roll. He truly has it all, well, so far as the softer side of music goes. Chris Isaak is also one of the last to be on the Sun Records label, my favorite record label of all time. There is a lot of praise. He was there in the limelight but fell victim to the same test of time as many. Still, for his time there, he released some compelling albums that bring all of what was good of the past into the then modern day with a natural grace. When I say he was lost to the test of time, I don't mean that as in he isn't popular anymore. Some of his songs will forever be mighty famous. How could they not? It has his signature smooth as hell singing. It has this feeling that is genuinely timeless. So long as there is heartache, Chris Isaak will be relevant. Isaak had a hard time moving into the 2000s. The sound he was fronting lost a good chunk of its appeal, yet he trudged on. In 2002 he released Always Got Tonight, a decent album from start to finish, but you can tell the well was running dry of new ideas. They all sounded like the last one, and while that is a decent thing as far as I am concerned with Chris Isaak, it does grow stale. Always Got Tonight charted fairly in the US, coming in at the 24th spot, so it wasn't a commercial failure. It just showed that his time was coming to a close. He luckily resurged some of that popularity in 2011 with the Sun Records cover album, Beyond the Sun, which is one of his best albums. Chris Isaak found plenty of fame in the United States, but it was always Australia that had his back once they caught wind of him. Australia just always has their musical compass tuned right! Anyway, why did we talk about some of his later work? Not sure. The album that holds "Things Go Wrong" is his essential fifth studio album, Forever Blue. While his other albums had tones of rockabilly and that old rock n roll feeling, I would say there weren't any that matched the same rockabilly feeling as Forever Blue. The album did strikingly well for an older style, even getting nominated for the Grammy award for the best rock album of the year. It lost to Alanis Morissette, but Jagged Little Pill is one of those albums that it is fair to lose to. Forever Blue is a classic that hit platinum status in the United States and multi-platinum in Australia. It charted strongly at #31 in the United States and even higher elsewhere across the globe. It might not be nearly as essential as his previous albums, but it is one you certainly cannot afford to miss out on if you've liked any of his other material or want some updated rockabilly bliss. "Things Go Wrong" is the chosen song from the album this go around. It shows up as the sixth track on the tracklisting. Right in the belly of the beast. This one could have gotten chosen for a single release and I would have bought the album. Instead, it was overshadowed by "Somebody's Crying" and one of Isaak's most famous songs, "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing". Only fair, those songs are great, but for the last two years I have had a soft spot for "Things Go Wrong". Lyrically, it isn't anything to gawk at. Still good, but quite simple. Repetitious lyricism sometimes has its benefits. For this one, it makes you understand that yeah, sometimes things go wrong, especially in love. Lyrics aren't what I am here for. I am aaalllllll about that guitar tone and intro! Then the cripplingly smooth vocals creep into your spine when he first comes across the speakers. 

     Chris Isaak has so many powerful intros. The kind of stuff that calls to the ramblers soul and the lonesome. Meant for neon nights or early mornings with heartache, cigarettes, and coffee. It is Chris Isaak's backing band that gives it that special feeling. The Silvertones are his backing band; they are named after the 1950s guitar that gave rockabilly that special feeling in the first place. There have been ups and downs in their lineups. For "Things Go Wrong", we have studio session musician Bruce Kaphan on that steel guitar, Rowland Salley on bass guitar, Kenny Johnson on drums, and interestingly Jeff Watson on lead guitar. I honestly didn't know that until now. Watson is known for his time with Night Ranger. He was there for most of Night Rangers' essential albums like Dawn Patrol, Midnight Madness, and 7 Wishes amongst others. Turns out that Jeff Watson was also there for some of Chris Isaak's previous album, San Francisco Days. The more you know. The Silvertones original guitarist wasn't on this album. James Calvin Wilsey gives a kick to Chris Isaak. He gained the nickname "King of Slow", which is a strangely cool nickname. I guess he and Chris Isaak had a falling out before this album was being recorded, and he never came back. Well, while he is there for the best Chris Isaak albums, the band played on and still managed to knock out one of my favorites from Chris Isaak and the Silvertones with Forever Blue. If you want to know what to expect out of the album before pressing play, then you get an idea from the album name. Chris Isaak often gets compared to Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Ricky Nelson, and Roy Orbison. All four of those play a role in his signature sound. We have the lusty, sexy, and deep vocals from Elvis Presley like we hear on "Love Me". There is the lost and alone feeling that makes you wanna cry when Ricky Nelson sings songs like "Poor Little Fool". Eddie Cochran comes in the form of Chris Isaaks dressing style and also plays that role in the deep and moving vocal work. Lastly, we have the one that plays the biggest role, Roy Orbison. Now, Orbison was a man haunted by the word "lonesome". The lyrical content of Isaak and Orbison is of the same making. That atmosphere that has you chain smoking, thinking of what could have been match suit between the two. The thrilling and highly talented vocal work from both resignates the same, even if their approaches are different. There isn't just the rockabilly legends side. We also have some of what made the 1980s so timeless: the recording. If someone sneezed in the next house over, you might hear it during the mellow parts of Chris Isaak tracks. All noise is stolen when he plays. Everything that moves freezes. It is the same feeling before a storm touches down. Smells about the same too. I am obsessed with that. Truly taken by how powerful the atmosphere is. The romance between the steel guitar, lead guitar, and that unique Gibson that Chris Isaak plays is something to behold. The intro on "Things Go Wrong" is a prime example of that. It gives me chills. I swear I cannot breathe during the first part all the way until the rise in vocals and power. For being a song in the gut of the album, it holds its own weight. I would buy this whole album 16 times in a row just to hear that intro again. And again. And again. The other songs on Forever Blue are also a massive joy. "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing" is the most famous song off the album. It is one of Isaak's most aggressive rockabilly songs that I have come across. More southern rock, blues rock, or boogie rock than anything. The music video for that one is also steamy as all hell. Though, that is something you just gotta expect out of Chris Isaak. Alright, we can talk about that more later on down the road. There is bound to be more Chris Isaak here, and I am ashamed it took this long to see his name at the top of a post. Oh! Before I let you go. This just might be the first post you see on the new website! It is still transferring some stuff over, but when it finishes it, we go truly live! Hope you dig it! I also hope you dig this song! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1995

​Album: Forever Blue (1995)

Genre: Rock and Roll, Rockabilly

Mood: Lonesome

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Night drives, Early morning rain, Traveling, Breakups

Where to Next: "Feels Like Rain" - John Hiatt

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/15/2026

"Take What's Mine" - The Parlor Mob

     How about we keep on the modern side of music for a second? You know... I have always had a hard time with what is and isn't modern. The Parlor Mob is still putting out tunes, even if they haven't released anything new since "April Showers" in 2024. Still, I would consider them modern music. In my deluded eyes, anything from 2010 forward is considered modern music. I mean, ten years is a crazy long time in the art and music world. A genre can come, dominate, and disappear all within a three-year period. At the same time, the speed music moves seems so much different now. It could be due to all the ideas being used already, or maybe it could be how music is taken in modernly. Whatever it might be, The Parlor Mob has been one of the more modern rock artists that have impressed me since I first heard "Take What's Mine" on the immensely underrated video game, Sleeping Dogs. Man, that game is so damn good! It has a pretty strong soundtrack to boot. "Take What's Mine" was first shown to me from Sleeping Dogs, and from that moment on I have slowly but surely gathered a strong handful of tracks to call my own. I won't lie, I haven't gotten too far into The Parlor Mob and their discography, but what I have heard has left me satisfied. I really need to get further into them! But I will likely wait until I come across them in my year-by-year studies. "Take What's Mine" is a raw and rough rocker with perfect lyricism and execution. It has that feeling that it could be easily used for movie trailers. What is that feeling? Do you know what I am talking about? There has to be a word for it... The song is epic but not in the way of metal or anything. It is shined to a commercial sheen that you cannot help but like. They use these kinds of songs in movie trailers, FX original shows, and TV movies. This is a hard topic to convey over the internet, but the set style has always made me wonder if it is intentional. Not to reach into the bag of underrated PS3 games, but there is one more video game I want to talk about called Driver: San Franciso. The last game from a past king of racing video games. Driver: San Francisco comes equipped with a carefully selected soundtrack that has that same feeling to it! They utilize it the same way! Key song moments during cutscenes, specifically chosen songs to match the racing feeling while still keeping the game's police TV show-like setting. I wish I could express what I am trying to say! Whatever. Might as well leave it alone. Alright, The Parlor Mob. The group started up in 2004 under the name What About Frank?, which is frankly a bad band name. The Parlor Mob is such a better band name! The band came along with a no-frills rock sound that impressed many and eventually got them signed to Capitol Records, but during the strange merging of Capitol and Virgin Records, they were dropped. In that time they still recorded and released their debut EP, but they just decided to give the EP away for free. What might seem like a strange move was actually beneficial for the band, and they caught the attention of Roadrunner Records, who signed the group for their debut album, And You Were a Crow, which hit the shelves in 2008.

     For those that like to track record labels, such as myself, then you might be wondering what The Parlor Mob was doing on Roadrunner Records, a label that is mostly known for heavy metal. Well, Roadrunner Records has a pretty big selection of traditional rock to extreme metals, and The Parlor Mob strongly fits into their ranks, even if they aren't as heavy as some of the others. The Parlor Mob had already gained a lot of noteriety for their intense stage show, something many compared to the same energy and antics of previous rock stars, and had The Parlor Mob standing next to the legends that popularized losing your shit on stage, dressing outlandishly, and smashing your instruments following an intense set. So, the rock and roll soul was easily there, and for the bands' first two albums, they are fairly heavy. Not the kind of stuff that has Grandma clutching her pearls, but more so the kind that allows anyone in to jam in comfort but still getting full body goosebumps. Anyway, they released their debut in 2008, and And You Were a Crow is still their most popular release on Spotfiy. It is a damn enjoyable album, even if I do prefer their second album, Dogs, a smidge more. Previous to And You Were a Crow, the band self-released an album while they were still named What About Frank?. So that is technically the band's debut, but those self-releases can sometimes be overlooked, and for the Parlor Mob, we are doing just that. We can cover their strong debut album another time, I am sure, so how about we zone in on the album that holds our song of the day, Dogs. This little goodie was released in 2011 and was met with pretty high praise, even winning iTunes Best Rock Album of 2011. It was a fairly short-lived high, but it still showed that straight laced rock music has a place within the masses. Many of the songs off the album were used in sporting events and video games, both of which are excellent advertisements for an album and songs. It has worked on me countless times to find new bands, some of which have become some of my most listened to groups. Never underestimate the power of having music in your games! I swear modern video games miss that mark. They throw some cheap songs into the game and call it good. Yes, I know liscensing can get expensive, but the proper song can truly make or break a game for me. It also serves as a time piece. When I go back and play the PS2 games, there is the 2000s music, which then helps the overall aesthetic of the time. It makes it age with nostalgia and antiquated appeal. The same is to be said about each following console and the feeling of that decade. So, why drop the ball now? Honestly, doing it cheap and not caring about the soulful nitty-gritty is exactly what the 2020s are about. Soulless clones of something that used to be good. I am scared for the future of all forms of media and art. Money has tainted the soul of everyone. Anyway, on their second studio album we have our song of the day, which actually connects into what we were just talking about. "Take What's Mine" is the powerhouse off that album, even if "Into the Sun" was the leading single. That one is also damn good; check it out. "Take What's Mine" gets me with its lyrical content and how much force they put behind the performance, which has you easily agreeing with what they say as if it was now or never. The song revolves around humanity fucking up this planet with greed. When we cannot make ends meet, we find our own freedom. Those that scorch the planet in hopes of selling its bounty will soon meet the sword. We all really need to come back to our roots. I'm no saint. I am the spitting image of someone struggling to get money, but it shouldn't have to be this way. I push myself to get paid since it is a matter of survival. If we could switch the system, humanity would be so much better off. There is just one giant obstacle to overcome.... Greed. We all have a piece of it, but there are those with more than just a piece of it within their soul. So, let's hang them! All jokes (sort of), but with greed there, we will never be able to achieve unity. Though humans are naturally wicked and greedy creatures, so we will likely never be able to get there. The vultures who employ us just string us along until we are too weak to work. Then we got the wolves who are waiting outside of the pen. Salivating to get a piece of a person who just wants to live their life the way they see fit. Society is built to destroy those who cannot buy into their little system. Each day I dream of breaking out, but reality and dreaming are two different beasts. I am not alone on this hope, not in the slightest, but society beats all of us down enough that we become sweet little robots to keep product moving and money flowing into the pockets of those that already have way too much. Can't believe I have to skip meals at times to make ends meet while there are those wasting more than they could have ever stomached. I know that I am not alone since there are so many songs about the topic. I can see it in so many eyes as I pass through the day. We are all faking it in hopes of making it. It is what it is. I am just glad we have a great soundtrack for this dumb-ass corporate existence. I don't have an answer on what to do next, but I do have a solution for those greedy fucks on the top who use us and the planet to live lavishly and die before there are any consequences. I don't think I should write what that solution is here for the world to see. It ain't buying them ice cream I can tell you that much. Alright, let's end it there, especially since we hardly even talked about the song. Give the track a go! It is one hell of a good time. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2011

​Album: Dogs (2011)

Genre: Rock, Hard Rock

Mood: Serious

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Thinking of the future, Betting yourself, Heading to work, Eating the rich (yum yum)

Where to Next: "There Ain't No Future" - The Virginmarys

Rating: 9 / 10

Song of the Day 08/14/2026

"In the Ruins" - Mastodon

     Good news, ladies and gents! We have the other website completed. It is just a matter of fine-tuning and getting the financial side down to the swap. Everything costs money, man. I wonder how people are winging it modernly. Are we all just screwed? Well, who knows, but one thing is for certain. So long as there is a sun, and so long as the moon returns after it, we will continue dishing out top-tier music here on AintNoisePollution. No matter the stresses of life, it makes it all worth while knowing that people are coming here to check out all that is out there for their musical pleasure. For today, we have a fresh one! Mastodon just barely released "In the Ruins" on Thursday in support of their upcoming album, Marrow Deep. They have released three songs from it so far, the first being "Your Ghost Again" and then following up with "Snakes for Dinner". Out of the three, "In the Ruins" has been my favorite so far. As you would expect from Mastodon, the drum work on this album is intense! "In the Ruins" shows that off with a natural grace. That drum work is handled by Brann Dailor, one of the best drummers in rock and metal. That isn't just my opinion; that is a well-respected opinion that many share. It was his sticks that first got me sucked into the waves of intensity that is Mastodon. Brann Dailor does more than just play the drums; he also sings on some of the songs and handles the other pieces of percussion. He didn't start having lead singer roles until 2008, but it was a wise choice for him to give it a go. His tracks have this certain edge to them, something that is easier for modern metal fans to get into. If you want to hear him in action, then check out "Steambreather" or "Crack the Skye". For our song of the day, "In the Ruins", it is Troy Sanders backed by Brann Dailor, who takes on the vocal roles. Troy Sanders is the band's bassist and also has his lead vocal roles within the band; his are a ton more intense. When there is a sweet and soft spot vocally, it is Sanders who is the one feeding the growling in the background. For an example of a song or two with him leading the vocals, I strongly suggest "March of the Fire Ants" and "High Road". Well, or today's song for that matter. This is a good one to hear both Sanders and Dailor dishing it out back-to-back. "In the Ruins" is a progressive track instead of one of those heavy Mastodon songs that get your nipples hard. This one still can hit you with the heavy stick, have no fear, but it is one more wrapped in the dark veils of dreams. For those that don't know, the band lost Brent Hinds just last year. He passed away following a motorcycle crash. Hinds left the band anyway, but who knows if maybe he was to come back? Guess not. He was a big portion of what made Mastodon so damn powerful! He did a solid chunk of the vocal duties, and he was the man behind the guitar. That is a double whammy that you can hardly recover from. I was skeptical when I heard that Mastodon was dishing some stuff out, and with the haunting "Your Ghost Again" coming out in early June, I don't think I was ready for some new stuff quite yet. Though, they proved the band still had a fire, even with a ghost in the background playing phantom guitar lines. I am just glad I got to see Mastodon in its original form live before the sad passing of Hinds. The lead guitar was taken up by instrumentalist Nick Johnston. A man with a silver pick and someone who could fill the void that Mastodon was feeling. I hardly knew of Johnston before him taking the helm with Mastodon and becoming a full member. So, like any fan might do, I did my homework once they announced who joined the band. He is good! Somewhere between Jeff Beck and John Scofield. If you want a taste of his stuff, try out the album I gave a go, Remarkably Human. By the time you get halfway through the album, you will see how he was a good match for Mastodon. Good to see the band still going, even after such an incredible loss. It is even better to see when the band is putting out material this good.

     I have been dying for a new Mastodon studio album since their last one was all the way back in 2021. Hushed and Grin is one great album, and it gave Mastodon this modern coat of paint that had them melding into the rock and metal climate of today wonderfully. That is one thing you gotta love about Mastodon. They somehow found their own signature sound that set them apart from others while seemingly being able to meld with just about anyone. Mastodon's style is heavy enough to get the metalheads frothing at the mouth but mellow enough to let the rockers into the fold and give them a steady flow of heaviness. This leads me into thinking that Mastodon is one of the best bands to get those that don't like heavier music into liking heavier music. So long as they have the patience, that is, since Mastodon is progressive metal in nature, and thus, their songs are long as fuck sometimes. That progressive side takes the forefront on our song today, "In the Ruins". I won't lie, I didn't think this song was going to be as enjoyable as it was. The previous two singles were damn good, but there was still something missing that didn't have me ranting and raving about the new songs. That changed with "In the Ruins". I got about 45 seconds into the song and rushed to add it to a bunch of playlists so I can come back to it more often. The album it comes off of will be coming out later this month. All the hype is seemingly going to be worth it. Marrow Deep is going to have seriously potent guest appearances on the album. So far we have had Josh Homme show up on the second single, "Snakes for Dinner". Homme is the mastermind behind stoner rock and desert rock. His credentials run deep, but Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, and Kyuss are some of the most important stop-offs, but trust me, there are a ton of bands and projects. Other guests include Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath), Joe Duplantier (Gojira), Nate Newton (Converge), Ben Koller (Converge), Neil Fallon (Clutch), and Randy Blythe (Lamb of God). If that lineup doesn't get you excited, our song of the day and the other singles certainly will. I already got that sucker presaved, and if I only had the money, I would get that beautiful colored vinyl preorder on their website. So pretty! It compliments the great album art. Even the cassette is pretty. It's weird that the cassette is having a revival, huh? Anyway, it's crazy how cheap those records are while in preorder. Give it a month and they will be selling for 90 dollars online. I ain't the type of collector that needs the special vinyl colors, but there are some bands that I do want them, and Mastodon is one of them. A week or two ago my girlfriend and I got Mastodon's essential Leviathan in a blue special edition. It is a double album, and on the back of the second record they have art etched into it. Such a pretty album! If you were here, we would be jamming it and drinking those beers that have been in my fridge for about a year now. Why are they there? I guess I don't want to lose my fun youthful days and am scared if I throw them away, I will throw the last piece of those days away. Annnnnyway, yeah, I look forward to the release of Marrow Deep, now more than ever, with such an epic track hitting the scene on Thursday with "In the Ruins". Wonder what the others will sound like. It hits streaming services and record store shelves on August 28th. Mark those calendars! It is looking like a year-defining album for me! Hope you dig the track! If you do, I strongly suggest checking out the music video. It is an epic one. It will give Mastodon plenty of great imagery for their upcoming tour, which kicks off in September. They will be coming to Salt Lake City on October 6th. More to look forward to. Alright, I will let you go so you can get into the track! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2026

​Album: Marrow Deep (2026)

Genre: Progressive Metal

Mood: Dreamy

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Going for a walk, Playing on a sound system, Having coffee in the morning

Where to Next: "Water & Time" - Rivers of Nihil

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/13/2026

"Return of the Phantom Stranger" - Rob Zombie

     Welcome to the website! Glad to have you here. For today, we got a spookshow spectacular for you! Rob Zombie is becoming a common name to roll through AintNoisePollution, but he has likely already been a pretty common name for rolling off your tongue as well. When it comes to an artist that serves as one of the best entry points into heavier music, Rob Zombie is the man. He has a special way of melding multiple sounds, themes, and styles together to make something completely his own. Rob Zombie has honestly been a hard one to place. Being someone who grew up in the 2000s, it was damn near impossible to avoid the intoxicating gaze of Rob Zombie on his debut solo studio album, Hellbilly Deluxe. That goes doublefold if you spent a lot of your growing in a trailer park. Anyway, Rob Zombie has been playing around me since before I knew how to speak or wipe my own butt properly. Even if my dad and mom both weren't fans of the heavy metal Jesus, I would have naturally answered the call of the Zombie as soon as I heard his call on the radio. Good stuff. I have had countless memories tied to his songs, most of which are from that debut we already mentioned and will be diving deeper into here in a second. We have discussed Rob Zombie here only one other time with the deep cut, "Sick Bubblegum". "Sick Bubblegum" comes off Rob Zombie's sequel to our spotlighted album here today, but it doesn't hit the same spot as early Rob Zombie. This is Rob Zombie still in that early shocking and sickening horror B-flick feeling that he swam in while White Zombie was still rolling. Hellbilly Deluxe was pretty well just another White Zombie album, but it still managed to set itself apart with a heavier electronic backing. The sound is a little more commercial, and the experimenting that Zombie does within his solo work is a trip in comparison to White Zombie when it was a stressful and fuzzy fuckfest. In all the right ways, mind you, but they are two different beasts. Rob Zombie put out Hellbilly Deluxe on August 25th in 1998. From that moment on, Rob Zombie brought this freak show into metal and rock music. He has been one of the high kings of both genres since then as well. Who doesn't know this dude? As someone who has listened through pretty well everything Rob Zombie has touched many times over, there is just simply no beating his debut. This thing is perfect! A start-to-finish thrill ride into the pits of hell. Sure, there are the oddity tracks, but when listening to it as an album, those oddity tracks complement that peculiar feeling that fills the air while you play the album. I wish I could put into words what that feeling is... Do you know that sound and feeling in horror movies when everything goes quiet before the hiding character gets a machete through their gut from the side of the screen you didn't expect? Well, that strange and scary silence is Rob Zombie. How about those hillbilly horror movies? Where everything is mighty unsettling and too real? Well, that is Rob Zombie. The tacky early slasher films with overkill gore? Rob Zombie. This dude is horror, but not the real stuff. The kind of fun stuff. Tacky in all the right ways, serious in all the right ways, and perfect for having a beer to, ya know? He is certainly the kind of mad scientist atop the mountain that is performing acts against humanity. For his debut, Rob Zombie had the help of Mike Riggs on guitar, Rob Nicholson on bass guitar, and John Tempesta on drums. Honestly, Zombie had a lot of help, even outside those strong musicians to have created such a notable and unique album like he did with Hellbilly Deluxe. 

     Hellbilly Deluxe is a concept album, but not the kind that tells a story. More so, it is a collection of what Rob Zombie loves the most. What might that be? You haven't guessed it? Well, horror movies, the supernatural, pulp novels, electronic music, and the sound of the beast: heavy metal. He mixed them together to massive acclaim. I am talking multi-platinum in both the United States and in Canada. Songs like "Dragula", "Superbeast", "Living Dead Girl", and "Meet the Creeper" are industrial metal, heavy metal, shock rock, and hard rock classics. Here in Utah, you could hardly go a full day without hearing one of those four songs on the radio, especially "Dragula" and "Living Dead Girl". They have this hypnotic thing to them. A satanic serenade. A demons dance. Sermons of a sinner. That spookshow basing naturally has some strange, almost carnival-like attributes to the sound of Rob Zombie, something that helped set him apart from... Well.. pretty well everyone. Especially in the mainstream. He truly is a unique gem. Hellbilly Deluxe is easily Rob Zombie's most successful album he ever put out. "Dragula" alone could have sold out stores left and right. Like the majority of songs on Hellbilly Deluxe, "Dragula" has that same hair-raising feeling to it. Audible electricity. For today, we have the less celebrated but still essential, "Return of the Phantom Stranger". This is one of the more odd ones on the album, but it gets stuck in my head each time I listen to it again. It has that same hard-driving energy, and aside from how Rob Zombie sings on this one, I would say it is one of the closest Rob Zombie ever got to touching the White Zombie style again. If this showed up on Astro-Creep, I would have been shocked with how much more electronic it was in comparison to the others, but it would still fit in quite well. Anyway, "Return of the Phantom Stranger" has this foreboding nature to it. Unsettling to say the least. Rob Zombie jumps around with vocal styles, even sounding like Marilyn Manson sometimes, and in comparison to a lot of his other songs, this one almost lyrically makes sense. Almost. The song is hard-driving as hell, something you should expect from the album. It has a thick and layered atmosphere that always has you wondering what hides behind the door or might reside in that murky lake. I know that "Return of the Phantom Stranger" can get overlooked by the casual fan, but for those like me, we know it is prime Rob Zombie. So damn intoxicatingly spooky. Great tension building gave way to a more unique-sounding Rob Zombie before he found his niche and ran with it. "Return of the Phantom Stranger" is the second to last track on Hellbilly Deluxe. The final song is "The Beginning of the End", which is a short instrumental track that sees the album off. I have always considered "Return of the Phantom Stranger" as the main ending to the album. A great way to send it off. It might not be as heavy as tracks like "Meet the Creeper" and "Superbeast", but I love ending such an intense album on a smooth note. It is like the cake after dinner. It is a perfect compliment to the album. An album that is the audio variation of classic horror. You can envision a lot of what is going down. The thing is crafted perfectly. I think it also aged like fine wine. Truly. Something about it sounds so fuckin' good, and it almost sounds even better 28 years later. Sucks we never got more of this from Rob Zombie. I mean, he tried, but you cannot one-up such a great album. Other groups might have poked at it too, but there is just. no. beating. this. one. Trust me, I have looked! Just can't get close. Only quality songs here. Those that aren't as perfect serve their role in keeping up the maticulously crafted atmosphere of fear and cartoon insanity. Alright, I guess we will end the post there. I really wish I could express how great this album is! You'll just have to take my word for it, or better yet, go listen to it for yourself. I wholeheartedly think it is an album you have gotta hear before you die. Even if it is for the time period it came out of. An industrial metal and shock rock masterpiece. If you don't have the time, then just try our goodie for the day out for size. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1998

Album: Hellbilly Deluxe (1998)

Genre: Industrial Metal, Shock Rock, Hard Rock

Mood: Eerie

​Perfect For: Playing loud, Playing some Twisted Metal on the side, Casual listening, Focused listening, Haunted houses

Where to Next: "The Golden Age of Grotesque" - Marilyn Manson

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/12/2026

"Lightning Strikes" - Ozzy Osbourne

     Time for another ride on the crazy train as we jam along to the glory of Ozzy Osbourne. We all know him, we all love him, and it is time for another song. Now, Ozzy led one pretty damn wild life. One that would have even GG Allin blushing. That is to be said about both his music career and personal life. His music career is rivaled by few for success. His time in the heavy metal godfathers, Black Sabbath, had them releasing some of the most essential hard rock and heavy metal songs of all time. Ozzy was one of the first, if not the first, gods of heavy metal. He is a beast! He was only with Sabbath until 1979 when he got the boot for his overconsumption of drugs and liquor, and since Black Sabbath was having a hard time with leadership and musical direction. Well, for a lot of artists out there, it would be time to figure out what real estate to invest in and go dark to the public eye. There are those that would have fallen on their ass and then started up many failing projects. There could have been so many directions, but all Ozzy wanted was a bottle full of pills, booze, and self-pity. He was saved from that deep and dark pit by his wife (and manager), and she even helped him get a start on his solo career. As you know, this wasn't any ordinary solo career startup. Ozzy pulled off what very few did after such a successful run: continue his career with the same strength, if not even more than their first breakout band. He outshined those that left him to rot. Black Sabbath still trudged on, but when they hit their wall, they really hit it. Ozzy was still selling out stadiums in the name of rock n roll at that point. Crazy to think that he was 32 when his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, hit the shelves with intense force in 1980. I mean, 32 isn't even that old, but for a solo career kickstart, it sort of is. His vision and style gave him a serious leg up. He melded with the changing hard rock sound, with metal starting to gain traction. As his career moved along through the 1980s, so did the sound and style. When the 1990s hit, he was there to greet it and keep selling records like it was nothing. Following the 1990s material, Ozzy sort of found his thing and didn't alter the course all too much. It is more of a track-by-track situation for the late 1990s and on albums. Anyway, what I am trying to get at is how fuckin' important, impressive, and downright crazy it is that Ozzy had such a long and wildly successful career, both in his first band and then his incredibly successful solo career. He quickly became a rock and metal icon, something that will never be shaken even with his body leaving this mortal plane. I really can't think of a single group that broke up and had such a long-lasting and successful solo career from any of the musicians. Sure, maybe Paul McCartney, but I would argue that McCartney didn't have nearly the same success or impact on popular culture like Ozzy did. Critical claim practically all the way, but not the same in impact. Ozzy is a name everyone knows, no matter their walk of life. He is a legend. A legend that proved his worth many times over with platinum-selling albums, countless notable stories, and decade-defining songs. I hardly need to tell you any of this. Even if you aren't super into metal or hard rock, you know who this dude is and how much he did for music. For today we talk about Ozzy's intense and a little glammy 1986 album, The Ultimate Sin. This was Ozzy's fourth solo studio album, and it kept most of the same power and feeling as his previous three albums. A little less gritty and traditional heavy metal, there is more of a glam feeling here, something that matches what was going down in 1986. It isn't overkill, just a little taste. I mean, metal was in its first massive wave of popularity, which also saw Ozzy having his highest-charting album of the time with it. I love Ozzy, but I would be lying if I said I adored this album like his others. I know... Shoot me.

     Since it is Ozzy, I would still buy the album and play it hundreds of times. Something I have done and intend to keep doing, but I have to say that it is a fair step down from the previous studio album, Bark at the Moon. Ozzy was going through rehab, therapy, and was also getting sucked into some selfish tendencies with his band members, something that was having people leave and others getting randomly fired. Even without those tendencies, everyone was trying their damnedest to get their piece of the Ozzy pie, some through cheap tactics and others that genuinely deserved a slice. Drama aside.... The well hadn't run dry, but after doing this whole music thing for a while, The Ultimate Sin feels a touch forced. Once again, that is not going to stop me from enjoying the album, but it doesn't have it being one of my all-time favorites. There are still some songs on this album that easily make up for it and would be considered some of his best tracks out of the 1980s. Songs like "Lightning Strikes", "Shot in the Dark", "The Ultimate Sin", and "Secret Loser" are some seriously strong songs! It complements the rock sound of the time and serves as a solid stop-off for any Ozzy Osbourne fan out there. Still, the album is wedged in between two really strong albums, Bark at the Moon in 1983 and No Rest for the Wicked in 1988. This album is simply a holdover kind of album. Still an essential from Ozzy, and one you shouldn't just pass up. All of this could be just opinion, but it has always rubbed me wrong where it rests in his discography. Some comes down to the production, some comes down to repetition, and a chunk of it comes from less thrilling lyricism. Plus, my last nitty-gritty complaint is that album art! It was done by one of my all-time favorite artists, Boris Vallejo, one of the finest and most successful fantasy and sci-fi painters out there. The girl on the cover is intense and of the time, but what about that... Ozzy monster?! What the hell is that?! It looks like an Ozzy tattoo you might get after getting blackout drunk. Everything surrounding the Ozzy monster is outstanding. Great colors, great artistic vision, and with the accompanying classic Ozzy logo and great choice of font for the album title, it has so much potential to be a great album cover. But it is the face of the monster. This mean, green, murky dragon with a silly chubby Ozzy face. Maybe that is just me, but it feels so silly. Sort of like that old gag where you cut out a picture of your face and put it on a smokin' hot babe or a buff dude claiming that is you in real life. Thing is... I think Ozzy was all about this one. Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but I just have a distaste for it. The majority of Ozzy album art is borderline silly and intense, and all do express the style within, but this has gotta be his worst. Anyway, that is enough picking apart this album. It is a good album, something I cannot state enough, but for anyone's first true Ozzy album listen through, maybe don't start here, ya know? The song we are talking about today is anything but silly or peculiar; it is one of the greatest Ozzy put out in the later half of the 1980s. "Lightning Strikes" is the sixth track on The Ultimate Sin. It is the one to kick off the second side of the vinyl, and it makes sure to keep you in your seat until the whole album finishes. Jaw dropped and all. "Lighting Strikes" has stayed one of the most popular songs off of The Ultimate Sin. I have been a massive fan since I was a wee 12 year old. This song has always been sort of motivational for me. I love the Ozzy rock culture lyricism already, but something about this one gets me pumped! Ozzy pretty well gives the middle finger to the critics and anti-rock masses once again on the song. This is what... His 3rd or 4th song doing it, but man, does he do it well. Ozzy makes it clear that while it may be a miracle, lighting is gonna strike the same place again for the Prince of Darkness. With all the stress of life and all the little things we get stuck on, this track sort of reassures us of the simple things. The strength to keep pushing, the will to defy odds, and most importantly, that rock n roll is always there to see you through. Music is the one thing that everyone can listen to and even participate in, no matter their class or region. It is one of the things built within our souls, something people cannot take away. Rhthym pours out of us in every action we do. Rockers come from all walks since the words and rhythm simply feel like they are coming home. That is when I chose this song. The reminder of the simple things. Music especially. No matter what might happen, I will always have it. A perfect coping mechanism. I'll just keep on rockin' all night until the lightning strikes again. The songs of The Ultimate Sin were put together by the band, but it was mostly guitarist Jake E. Lee who wrote the songs, and the band's previous bassist, Bob Daisley, who wrote pretty well all the lyrics. Bob Daisley strangely didn't play bass on this album due to some infighting, but his impact was felt here more than on other albums since the words are mostly his. Well, we will come back again to talk about this album again. I just wanted to give you some inspiration in the form of rocking since a lot of the choices this month have been slightly depressive or filled with heavier lyrical content. Sometimes you just need a break, and there are few artists out there better suited to give you some release than the signature sound of Ozzy Osbourne. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1986

Album: Between the Never and the Now (1986)

Genre: Hard Rock, Heavy Metal

Mood: Proud

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Heading to work, Errands, Playing loud, Finding inner strength

Where to Next: "Take Me to the Top" - Motley Crue

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/11/2026

"There Only Is" - Vendetta Red

     Today we got another hidden gem from Seattle, a thing you will see often. Seattle seems to have a strange music world. There have been multiple scenes that have launched out of there. Obviously we have grunge, the rock genre that practically reshaped what we call "rock" and saw rock and the heavier stuff through the 1990s with grace. Seattle also had a strong jazz scene well back in the day; it was there that Hendrix became engrossed in that sweet, sweet music. Ray Charles had his start in that circuit, and if you know anything about music, Ray Charles is an absolute legend. No, Ray Charles wasn't born there. I think he came out of Georgia or something. Still, many forget the impact that Seattle had on popular jazz. Then, as you have to only assume, Seattle was a leading force in indie music. All the soul, all the moody weather, and all the culture are what make me dying to live there. Shit, at this point I would settle for just visiting, but I don't know if I could pull myself away. All the music that comes from its shores speaks deeply to me. Do you ever see something and just feel a certain pull? Almost like you were meant to be there, or maybe you lived there in a previous life? A natural pulling force. Could it be fate? Could it be escape? Or could it be the hopeless nature of man who always wants something far away when all they really need rests upon their feet? Anyway, Seatlle has done a lot for practically every mainline genre in the United States. Vendetta Red is one of many that came, kicked the rock and roll totem pole, but never left their print on it. They had a pretty big hit in 2003 with the song "Shatterday", and the album it came off of, Between the Never and the Now, fared pretty well on the charts. They gained a strong local following that had them flirting with the flame of fame. Between the Never and the Now is their biggest claim to fame, hitting the top spot on the US Heatseekers chart. They couldn't keep that energy up and broke up in 2006 due to musical differences and feeling alienated from the music world. Fame is a cruel mistress. Have you ever wondered if you have walked past someone that at one point had a taste of the limelight? I always wonder what happened to some of these musicians that had it for a second and then faded away. The 1960s was full up with them, and then when punk showed up to kick the rock beesnest, they spawned a ton of youthful, pissed-off groups that never made it past a handful of EPs that later became classics, yet the artists are hardly anywhere to be found. Probably working normal jobs like the rest of us, but I bet they always have the curiosity of what might have been. Don't we all? Anyway, Vendetta Red wasn't simply one of those groups since they did pretty well for themselves. Modernly they still have plenty of fans, but for the casual stop-offs, it seems most people jam to "Shatterday" and then move on down the line. For me, I only recently came across them while I was finishing up my studies for the year 2000 and listened to their debut, Blackout Analysis, which was a decent one. It is a shame when I have to fish for an album on streaming services since that debut of theirs isn't on Spotify. The quality is a little lower on YouTube, and my phone begs for release the whole time, but I managed to listen to a couple of the tracks. The others came across the speakers thanks to Last.Fm, they are often a shining knight in finding the oddities. If you go to track it down to hear a sampling of their first album, I suggest "Opiate Summer", which later was put on their album we are talking about today, Between the Never and the Now.

     If you hear today's song choice and think "holy shit", then go dive into them. Vendetta Red is honestly pretty underrated. What I thought was to be another quick run-through of a small forgotten discography turned into me finding a home within their sound. Now, that debut is not one you have to call out of work for to listen to all day; I would strongly suggest starting with their third album, Between the Never and the Now. If you dig it, then great! Go back one album to their second studio album, White Knuckled Substance, which is almost equal to their third album. We kind of poked on finding a home within their sound, but we never talked about who they are. Vendetta Red is part of the emo genre. Now, I thought I knew what emo music was, but it turns out I didn't know how deep the genre ran. It has honestly been a bane of mine since starting in the 2000s. One artist is emo but leans towards pop, then the next comes in with the same look and album art, but they are randomly close to metalcore. Next one is more punk; the following is more alternative rock. It seems the genre is based around feeling more than styles since that is the one thing they all hold. Now, what is that feeling? I guess that is for each of us to feel and decide for ourselves. I would call it... Angry yet sort of melodramatic. Sorry, emo fans, I mean no disrespect, but that is how I feel. Kind of like stubbing your toe and actually sitting down to have a cry about it. I get it, that stubbed toe killllls, but there ain't no use shedding a tear over it. Emo is more than just that, and with each next album and new band I jump into, it seems the genre expanded, and I question how far they can go before breaking out of their own set mood and fanbase. It is a definitive genre for the 2000s and did a lot of good. They are like the angsty side of indie but with a much meaner right hook. Music for panic. Music for the pissed-off people that don't know what to do about being pissed off. Cry? Fight? Die? Who knows... Might as well turn that volume dial loud enough that the feeling goes away. The genre gets a lot of grief from left and right, but when you take the time to stop in and hear it with clear ears, you walk away with gold. Vendetta Red is that gold for emo, even if they never got close to the same fame or acclaim as some of the genre's big guns. Our song of the day is by far one of my favorite songs from the band. "There Only Is" serves as the first song off their 2003 album we keep mentioning, Between the Never and the Now. Talk about a grand way to start an album off. I was hooked right when it started and got chills being reminded of their previous album that impressed me more than I thought it would. This was their first album with a big-time label, Epic. The true make-or-break moment. Will the mainstream accept you? Will the fans forgive you? Well, it seemed to have gone well for them. Even all these years later there are budding fans finding the album and its strong tracklisting. I am one of them. I try looking under every rug and between the cushions in my studies, and it is often for tracks like "There Only Is" that are too easy to miss but feel so damn good when you find them. Is it a dollar bill or a used tissue behind the cushions of a couch? Only one way to find out. You pull it on out and put it in your ear. "There Only Is" starts off pretty damn peaceful and fun. It has that fun enough attribute to want to restart the song a couple of times. When you first play it, you will feel some of the stress fall away from your shoulders. Though, this is still emo, so soon enough that stress will be back. Sweet stress. The kind of stuff that makes you walk away more prepared and ready for the world. There is an edge of a novice sound here that I appreciate. It keeps the band youthful enough to speak to those taking tests on a Wednesday and getting shoved into a locker on Thursday. Though, it still has this mature sound to it. The sweet bass guitar keeps things moving in the background the whole time. The vocal work is damn strong even at the 2:28 mark when it switches to screaming. That intensity hits you like a glove full of fish bowl pebbles. I love it when a song can be so chill but then flips the switch and socks it to ya. Last night was the first time I heard this song in this version since it was previously put out on their debut with less quality, and while I had some strong tracks from Alice Cooper and Blue October, it was the underdogs. Vendetta Red, who walked away with their very own post. The track is so good that I am thinking about playing it again even though it just finished while I was writing this. I think I will. While I do that, maybe you should pull it up too. A nice little hidden gem from me to you. Hope you dig it! If not, stop by tomorrow and see what we have here on AintNoisePollution. Thanks for reading! See you then. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2000

Album: Between the Never and the Now (2003)

Genre: Emo

Mood: Frustrated

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Breakups, Playing at a solid volume

Where to Next: "Instructions on Building a Model Airplane" - Action Action

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/10/2026

"Regal" - Godflesh

    I don't know if it was just chance or what, but by the end of the day I had mostly industrial metal and industrial rock tracks to pick from for the song of the day. For those that are new here, I choose these songs based on the impact they had on me during the day. I listen to different stuff from different decades daily while I create playlists, so each day can bring in something new. Well, for the day we chose "Regal", we also had Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, and Static-X in the running up. Must have just been that kind of day. I have been stressed as all fuck over money and vehicle stuff, so it is only fair that I found a home within the sound of industrial metal. It is a place for the depraved and depressed. The style of industrial metal has a place for the casual fans that want a little bit of electronica with their heavy metal, and it also has a deep, dark, well of sound that will have you feeling plain disgusting for those that go looking for it. Disgusting in all the right ways, mind you, but there is no doubting that the genre can get dark. Godflesh is somewhere between the two. The deeper you get into the band, the more they show their industrial side and have you feeling hollow. "Regal" is a pretty good example of just that. It isn't the heaviest track the band ever put out, but the entrancing repetition of that industrial grind has you feeling all sorts of strange. It is the kind of stuff that has you staring at nothing, thinking about nothing. "Regal" comes off the band's sixth studio album, Hymns. For modern metal fans, I strongly suggest starting with 2014's A World Lit Only by Fire; that is one heavy sucker and sounds wonderful. Though for those of you out there like myself that have an older taste, then I would suggest starting at the band's first album in 1989/1990, Streetcleaner. That album is a landmark of heavy metal and industrial. Ministy was already doing it, and noise rock had a strong hand in melding a heavier sound with electronica, but Godflesh really showed what you could do with it. They became underground legends and never really truly left the underground. They will forever lure in fans with their style, but they aren't the type of group that wants to see the limelight. With a style as dark as theirs, it would certainly taint who they are as a group. Speaking of the group. Godflesh is mostly two people: Justin Broadrick and G.C. Green. Broadrick is who you hear on vocals, guitar, and he does the programming of the song alongside G.C. Green who is on the bass guitar. Those two cooked up something seriously heavy! They first met in the band Fall of Because in 1982, but that one never really grew wings. Still, it served as a testing ground for what genres you could meld to achieve something unique. Something unique is exactly what they put out with Godflesh starting in 1988. Godflesh is a pioneering band in industrial metal and also left one hell of an impact on post-metal and sludge metal. They have stuff that appeals to all sorts of different types of metalheads. For our spotlighted album, Hymns, which released in 2001, they also have drummer Ted Parsons on board. During the recording of Hymns Godflesh continued on their path of moving away from heavy industrial with a touch of metal into more metal with a touch of industrial. With that in mind, it is obvious that you would need a human drummer to get that certain feeling. Hymns is one of the only two studio albums to have an actual drummer there instead of a drum machine, something I am all there for. This is the final album with that, but the band doesn't fully need a live drummer and thrives surrounded by machines. Hymns marks a few "lasts" for the group. It was their last with a human drummer, and it was their last studio album all the way until 2014, when they came back with A World Only Lit by Fire, which is one hell of a comeback album. It was the last (and only) Godflesh album to be put out on a mainline label, which had Justin Broadrick feeling out of place since they had been on Earache Records since the start.

     The producing and promotion of Hymns went quite poorly. The tour that was supposed to follow the album's release followed suit, which had Justin Broadrick having a mental breakdown and G.C. Green leaving the group to focus on his personal life. It just seemed to be the time to leave well enough alone. Their time had come and gone, but I am damn glad they came back and came back with such a fuckin' fire. Hymns was met with plenty of problems. The production watered down some of their sound, the mainline label had their own vision for the album, and both Green and Broadrick were having a hard time keeping the ship afloat. Even with all that, Hymns is one mean album! Highly pleasant, and that little bit of a more hard rock sound sort of helps shake up their discography that often all sounds the same. I say that with love. With a style like theirs, there really isn't much need to shake up the pot. The album was met with high praise and your normal dosage of shittalk. Amongst the fans it was mostly praise, aside from the holier-than-thou hardcore fanatics, but you can't keep those bastards satisfied even if you tried. I find it to be a peaceful moment in the band's discography. A place where it sounds like they got all their gooses in a row. In the modern eye, it also is a great album to show what the band was going to do when they got back and what they could have done with a hard rock sound. That hard sound that has casual fans dropping in instead of hoping some equally freakish folk stop into your album. Being a freakish folk, I love all things Godflesh. The gross, the evil, the uplifting, the electronic, and the heavy as fuck. Our song of the day this go-around is "Regal", one of the best off the album. "Regal" is the second to last track on the album, coming right before the epic "Jesu". Speaking of "Jesu", that is the name of Justin Broadrick's following band after Godflesh got put on the back burner. Strongly suggest the group if you dig the lighter side of ambient metal and this song. Anyway, "Regal" is a dreamy track. Not dreamy as in that heart throb in your homeroom class, nor dreamy in the way of hope. Nope. Think.... an unsettling nightmare. Not the kind you get so scared you wake up, but more so this strange time, something wicked and menacing just toying with you. Your screams turn to mud. Your racing heart matches the thickness of the air. Slow. Steady. Death. But once the death comes, you find yourself happy, sort of satisfied that the horror comes to an end. I could also see "Regal" being the same feeling you get while drowning. Strangely... Happy? Calm? Peaceful. A kiss of quiet death. The song, in a strange way, can sound like the Smashing Pumpkins from time to time. If it wasn't for the iconic thumpin' bass guitar of G.C. Green, you might forget where you were on the music spectrum. The song is truly enchanting. Understanding in a weird way. I chose it while driving home on my lunch break to take care of the queen of the house, Mocha. It was hot, I was hot. My work burns me the fuck out sometimes, so I was already drained. Do you ever drive and forget you are driving? Not like in the dangerous way. More so like... the action? You realize that you are a living thing currently behind a death machine. An expensive one. Just hoping that today isn't the day that you blow a tire and flip or the day that some drunk decides to go joyriding. Well, while tripping on that thought, in came "Regal". Did it help? Honestly, I think it did. That, or it made the thoughts run even deeper. Then within those 30 seconds of losing your shit and refinding your shit, you get met with a strangely happy melody from a band well known for their dark ones. "Regal" much like the majority of songs off of Hymns, is forgotten by casual Godflesh fans. Many want that industrial fuckfest, something I completely understand, but this human side of Hymns is blissful. A reminder that it isn't a pretty hate machine making the music, but humans, all with their own faults. Alright, I will stop while I am ahead. Try the song out for size. It ain't for everyone, but I still think you can find a love for it. If you dig what you hear here, go check out some more Godflesh. Just know the other stuff is a lot heavier. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2001

Album: Hymns (2001)

Genre: Industrial Metal, Post-Metal

Mood: Enchanting

​Perfect For: Getting lost in thought, Casual listening, Going for a hot drive, Stressing

Where to Next: "Your Path to Divinity" - Jesu

Rating: 7 / 10

Song of the Day 08/09/2026

"The Hellion / Electric Eye" - Judas Priest

    Welcome metal maniacs, to another post here on AintNoisePollution. For today, we have a two-in-one! "Electric Eye" is one of Judas Priest's most famous songs, but any Priest fan will tell you that the song simply isn't the same without the intro track, "The Hellion". That was one of the hardest pills to swallow when first moving into the streaming era of music. There are so many songs that simply need their intro track, and since most of us hit that shuffle button when streaming music, there is no way to get two songs together, especially on a large playlist. "The Hellion" is the ultimate intro to "Electric Eye", the song really isn't the same without it. The whole shake-up of missing intro tracks seems to hurt early metal, progressive rock, and psychedelic rock the most. Album-oriented music isn't as common now, so I don't see why it matters to the modern listener. Sure, there are probably many songs out there that have intro tracks, but it simply isn't the same since albums used to be listened to as albums. Alright, enough telling you information you already knew. "The Hellion / Electric Eye" took a hot while to get its full track together on Spotify. Trust me, I watched it religiously. It wasn't until the compilation, Living After Midnight: The Best of Judas Priest, made it onto Spotify that I had my first version. Shit, when was that? I think it popped back in 2023, though the compilation did release on CD all the way back in 1997. I was so damn glad to have a version I could spread on all my playlists that featured both songs together. If you are someone who has just casually listened to Judas Priest, which means that "Electric Eye" as a standalone track was a common listen, then you have gotta hear it with the intro. It will change your life! It did for me. Judas Priest is one of my most favorite bands, and I don't mean that lightly. They helped guide me at a young age. One of my earlier obsessions started with one shining track, "The Hellion / Electric Eye". Hearing that intro still gives me chills. When I was a kid, maybe 8 or so, that intro of "The Hellion" was like seeing God. Shit, it was something more than that. It was like seeing my whole future laid out before me. It was like the first time you figured out how to masturbate. Your first touching a boob. I stared off for a good minute. I felt the first bite of heavy metal, and from that moment I was never the same. It was a defining moment in my life. Judas Priest has been by my side since I was just a child. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't load up some of their songs. Out of all the groups we have discussed here, out of all the bands that helped shape me, Judas Priest has the discography I have listened to the most. I have had many late nights alongside the bands' earlier hard rock material, a time when they were sharpening their skills to become the gods of heavy metal. I have driven wrecklessly as a teenager to the bands' core heavy metal years. I have found love and loss beside their awkward synthesized stage. Even the stuff with Tim Owens has had its spot in my life. I will admit, it was a small part of my life, but I still respect all things Priest. As Judas Priest kept moving forward and pushing their metal limitations, I have been there to listen to each new thing they have done. Easy to say that I adore the band with all my person. They are a group I will never leave behind. I would rather die than live on a planet without Judas Priest. Extreme? Maybe. Though, it would feel like losing a parent or life partner since the band has been there through it all. They will never know my admiration for the many outstanding albums, timeless songs, and epic rides, but that is alright. I am happy for it to be a one-sided love affair. Alright, enough fan girling. That was a lot. Sometimes I just gotta let it out. And since we are talking about one of my favorite metal songs of all time, it was a given. "The Hellion / Electric Eye" was an awakening moment for me, almost like I was predestined to hear the scream of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton's guitar. I sometimes still get that feeling when I hear it even now, all these years later. It is pride. It is the lifeblood of heavy metal.

     "The Hellion / Electric Eye" are the first two tracks off of the band's PERFECT eighth studio album, Screaming for Vengeance. Priest took a while to get to the power and limelight they deserved, though their 1970s hard rock albums are all fucking phenomenal. So, this was the band's 5th album set in true heavy metal, something they helped create. It was also the band's third since they became a sensation worldwide. Screaming for Vengeance is one of the band's all-time greatest albums. Not even a single weak track. That stays true even into the expanded editions that have released over the years. My first version of the album I owned was the 2001 CD reissue, which featured a live version of "Devil's Child" which is great, and one of my all-time favorite Judas Priest songs, "Prisoner of Your Eyes" which was recorded during their 10th studio album, Turbo, was getting put together, but it never made the cut. I think "Prisoner of Your Eyes" could have done wonders on Screaming for Vengeance. Some of Priest's best tracks were the more mellow ones. They have that night time feeling in clutch! "The Hellion / Electric Eye" is not one of those mellow tracks. It kicks the album off with vigor! One of those songs that doesn't ask for your permission to shake your floorboards, it will just do it. Raw fuckin' power! Easy to see why these guys are the gods of heavy metal. "The Hellion" shows off the sweet romance that the dual-guitar action Priest puts out. The kind of sound that completely steals the air out of a room. "The Hellion" starts raising the tension throughout its 41-second playing time. By the time you can hardly contrain yourself, "Electric Eye" comes in, and that damn famous intro sets into motion. It has all the greatness of traditional heavy metal. A constant galloping rhythm that demands you bang your head. Mean chugging guitar. Steady drumming that is just waiting to bust out. A bass guitar that makes sure there isn't even a single moment of silence. Intense vocal work, and if you know Rob Halford, this dude could shatter windows without breaking a sweat. "Electric Eye" serves as a heavy metal 1984. The track is obviously revolving around George Orwell's groundbreaking dystopian novel. "Big brother is always watching". The song covers modern surveillance and well, 1980s surveillance. That is nothing in comparison to now, but I am sure it was a bigger trip then. Modernly, every house, business, park, overpass, street corner, and traffic light has cameras on it. We are always being watched. Something you think would be bothering more people, but that just comes with the modern day. Now, I don't really mind, I guess, but I don't love the idea of it. No, I am not doing anything that I need to be hiding. I just don't like being recorded all the time. I take Mocha the dog for walks and often count how many blue rings I can see on people's porches, or how many cameras they have above their garage, and the numbers are shocking as hell. I can hardly walk out of my own house without instantly being watched by that electric eye. Once again, I am not doing anything wrong, but I don't like it. I've always hated cameras with their strange, soulless eyes. Forever watching. Never talking. "Electric Eye" uses some intense mental imagery to show you the evil of those soulless eyes. The lyrical content is great, but it still all comes down to how blatantly powerful this song is. Perfect from start to finish. The guitar solo is intense! Glenn Tipton is the man behind this one, and he doesn't try holding back. Straight razor blades right to the ear hole. Still, you gotta love the lyrical theme; it isn't one that was used all too often. When I was in 8th grade we had a project where we had to choose a song and then create a slideshow explaining the lyrics to the song. It was a good way to express yourself and to spread the love of music. Most kids went for what was popular at the time, but I had to shoot for Judas Priest. The lyrical content was safe enough for school and also expressed some of who I was. Dance songs and love songs gave way to the RAW power of Judas Priest. No "They wrote that they loved their girlfriend since they loved their girlfriend". It was, "Did you know that statistically you show up on 70 cameras throughout a single day? What do they do with that info? Who is it going to? Who is watching? Do you want them to watch?" Also, I am grateful for that teacher; when I asked if I could have a little bit longer for my song since it NEEDED the intro track, "The Hellion", she said that was fine. I always get along with the English teachers; they got soul. Mass surveillance is a scary topic, and it is getting more real as the years move along. Soon enough we will need to wear things to scramble them just to get to work without any hassle. The allseeing eye. The topic that Judas Priest chose was great, and it shows how something that came out in 1982 still holds true even today, if not even more. I was very excited to talk about the album, Screaming for Vengeance, but I got caught up talking about myself. Sorry about that! I just love this song and album! Plus, it is a given that there will be another time we can. I am honestly shocked we haven't had the chance yet. I look forward to it the next time! Maybe this is your calling to do it yourself. Take in the glory of the album and maybe do a little looking into. Screaming for Vengeance is a bonafide heavy metal classic that is smooth as butter. A historical album. Alright, that is enough out of me. Check out the track! Be sure to listen to "The Hellion" first. It is essential. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1982

Album: Screaming for Vengeance (1982)

Genre: HEAVY fuckin' METAL

Mood: Aggressive

​Perfect For: Pedal to the metal, Playing dangerously loud, Bangin' your head, Feeling mighty fine, Energy boosts

Where to Next: "Tag Team" - Anvil

Rating: 10 / 10

Song of the Day 08/08/2026

"Too Many Puppies" - Primus

     I swear we were just talking about Primus the other day. Previously we discussed "Pudding Time", which came off the same album we are spotlighting once again today, Frizzle Fry. Like we just talked about, this oddity hit the scene in 1990. I am sure we covered all you wanna know in the previous post about this album. You would think I would remember what was said, but I simply don't. Anyway, Frizzle Fry was the band's debut studio album. It gives you a quick idea of who Primus is, and with an album cover like that, you get a pretty good idea before you even hear it. Primus has a strange clay approach to their art. The majority of their main visual artistic direction comes from Lance Montoya, a dude that Les Claypool met and was amused with his sculptures and art. Funnily enough, only the most successful Primus albums featured his artwork. Chance? I think not. It is a gripper, and once again, it explains the Primus sound the best. It is unsettling, kind of ugly, creative, grimey, and comically awesome. Lance Mantoya had his sculpture on the cover of Suck on This, Frizzle Fry, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, and Pork Soda. All of those are the biggest hits Primus had, well aside from their debut live album, Suck on This. There was a ton more that went into the Primus feeling on those album covers. Les Claypool had a direct hand in all of them, and there was a full team to set them up right, especially as the fame grew. My favorite sculpture that Lance Montoya did is featured on the DVD collection of music videos from Primus, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. That one has two strange humanoid... things.... with big ol' lips boxing eachother. Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People also had an EP come off of it, a little hidden gem from Primus. Anyway, I have always had a love/hate relationship with the album art of Frizzle Fry. The thing is identifiable; there is no denying that. That album art would stand out when going to pick up a new CD. Primus was never the type to be quiet; their style is as intense as their imagery, but in a silly way. It feels like when someone does psychedelics in a show and it shows what they are seeing from their POV. Primus is a trip. A dumpster fire you want to jump into. An addictive sound that appeals to those with some funk in their soul. Their style has jumped between the heavy to the progressive to the strange since the start of their career, but they also seem to manage to keep things interesting with each album. Most would agree that their first handful of albums is where the magic is, but the same people would agree that their later discography is still worth all the time in the world. Frizzle Fry is the band in its rawest form doing a style that hardly anyone had even tried up until that point. It must feel good being a musician and finding a special sound that others simply cannot replicate, and if they do, they can never manage to hit that same stride. Les Claypool is a mastermind when it comes to his style and sound, even if it did grow a little stale in time as he moved through his various projects. Still, any rocker out there will respect him and his artistic vision. His bass playing is top-notch, his lyrics are peculiar but at times leave you in deep thought, and that heavy beatdown he cannot seem to go without in each song always gives you chills, no matter the Primus album or his other sideprojects. We can't give Claypool all the glory; Primus only lets in the able, the gifted musicians that can keep up with Claypool's crazy bass guitar. I do believe we covered that on the last post, so we will leave the lineup that shows up on Frizzle Fry alone for now. Let's just take a look at our song, shall we?

     "Too Many Puppies" is one of Primus's most successful songs. It is certainly a fan favorite. As a fan, I can say with confidence that "Too Many Puppies" is one of the songs that sucked me into the band's style. I like to consider "Too Many Puppies" a make-or-break track. Primus is an acquired taste, but if you can make it over the strange vocal style and unique style of "Too Many Puppies", you will find yourself a fan of the band for life. It is still a commercial track from them, hence why it is one of their biggest hits, but it shows a little more of the band's signature sound than that of "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" and "My Name is Mud". The perfect compositions that aren't all for the throat the whole time. There are moments to breathe in "Too Many Puppies". Its stomping style keeps the addrenline up, and the "set em' up, shut em' down" song structure never ceases to make you have a fuckin' good time! Lyrically, this is one of the Primus songs that seems more than some random silly words. The track revolves around the military. While the song had been being performed live by the band since 1987, the official studio version didn't come out until 1990 on Frizzle Fry. In 1990 the United States was involved in the Gulf War. So, naturally, the song had some political overtones. Using "puppies" as the word for soldiers was a strange choice, but it is Primus, so it matches. It could be set in two ideas: one is that nobody cares hearing about humans dying, but you bring up puppies dying, and we all whip ourselves into action. While that one is likely not the meaning, I like it. Now, what the purpose likely is is how dogs treat each other. They can be awfully vicious to one another, though they are the same species. Territory, protective nature, and sharp teeth to see the job done. The same is to be said about us, but we like the ease of just shooting eachother. No matter the choice of using "puppies" as soldiers, it might just come down to it sounding better, less political, and more silly Primus. Speaking of silly Primus, how about that part at 2:23? It is damn near impossible to hear, especially with the train-like dinging that comes from the drums, but Les Claypool says a little silly nursery rhyme:

"Peanut sat on a railroad track

His heart was all a flutter

Along came the train

Toot, toot, peanut butter"

     Randomly dark, but pretty funny! Strange to include it in the song, but not all too shocking, especially with the already dark overtones of the song and its war themes. The song pulls it off wonderfully. A constant thumping and stomping from the band lets you enjoy the song without paying attention to the lyrics, but it also allows anyone who wants to come into the world of Primus to feel their frustration at the loss of young men at the hands of the greedy rich. See, serious song, but in Primus style, they make it silly. Maybe that is the best way to get your message across? I mean, if we wanted political activism in music, we would go out looking for it. For those that don't like thinking about the nasty war machine that is America, then Primus sort of slipped the theme in. Planted a seed. That seed sets its roots awfully quick with the songs damn catchy nature that will have it stuck in your head for hours! A classic from the band, to say the least, and another welcome addition to the AintNoisePollution list of songs! Time for you to do your thing. What is your thing? Load up the track, even if you have already heard it hundreds of times. One of those songs that doesn't grow all too old, no matter how many times you listen to it. See you next time. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1990

Album: Frizzle Fry (1990)

Genre: Hard Rock, Alternative Metal, Funk Metal

Mood: Hard Driving

​Perfect For: Playing loud while driving, Summer days, Feeling that bass, Casual listening, Driving fast

Where to Next: "In the Meantime" - Helmet

Rating: 9 / 10

Song of the Day 08/07/2026

"I Makes Money (Money Don't Make Me)" - Jerry Jeff Walker

     Time for some folk. Well, honestly it is hard to put Jerry Jeff Walker there. Typically, he would be thrown in with country music, namely progressive country music, but for our choice today, it is more fitting to put it under folk. "I Makes Money (Money Don't Make Me)" comes off Walker's third official studio album, Mr. Bojangles, in 1968, which was released under the Atco label. Jerry Jeff Walker has a long career with plenty of albums, and while later he was considered a predecessor to outlaw country and became an icon in the progressive country world, Mr. Bojangles shows off his much more folksy roots. The title track to Mr. Bojangles is one of those songs that have been covered a ton of times. Jerry Jeff Walker was the man to pen it and release the first version on this album. It was later released to great reception by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, giving this song a much larger market to dig into. There were many great versions of this song that floated around; some of my favorites are from John Denver, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bob Dylan. Through the 10+ versions I have heard, there is no beating the version put out from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Their version of "Mr. Bojangles" has this life to it; more ramblers delight than a sad tale. The sadness of the song is fleshed out in the original from Jerry Jeff Walker. Though, we aren't here to talk about that song today. "Mr. Bojangles" will have its day here, in that I have no doubts. Jerry Jeff Walker is an underrated musician; some of his albums are as blissful as a morning while camping. Like many in the folk world, Jerry Jeff Walker often wrote lyrics of things he saw and things he felt. He grew up with a typical childhood, and when he got old enough, he joined up with the National Guard. His wandering soul saw him stepping far enough out of line he went AWOL and then was discharged. He spent the next while roaming across the land with his guitar strapped across his back. Any strange bar that he could warm a seat and play a song, he would. This eventually had him ending up in Greenwich Village in New York City, the heart and soul of the folk revival in the 1960s. There he started up a group, Circus Maximus, which released two decent studio albums. They are a mix between folk and jazz, which has the two genres clashing most of the time. Good luck finding them; they used to be a pain to find. I had to listen to them on a strange website, the kind that has questionable ads shooting around the whole time. Who profits from those fuckin' ads? I haven't once seen an anime chick bouncing in the corner of my screen and thought, "Huh... I have been thinking about subscribing to Adult Anime Online Games recently". Actually... I just checked, and it seems you can listen to them on Spotify now. It has been a minute since I listened through them, maybe I should do it on Monday. Anyway, following his original group, he struck out on his own and released his first true solo album, Mr. Bojangles, in 1968. Like we already mentioned, the album held his most famous song, "Mr. Bojangles". Next to that classic were two of my other favorites from him, "Little Bird" and "I Makes Money (Money Don't Make Me)", both of which express the folk soul that he found himself with while in Greenwich Village but with his country future showing around the corners. After some minor success, Walker got back to doin' what he did best, rambling. He moved around, released singles from time to time, and put out two more studio albums in the 1960s, Driftin' Way of Life and Five Years Gone, both of which are some strong folk albums. He started the 1970s with his folk sound but started moving heavier and heavier into country music as time went along. His ramblin' shoes brought him to the "Live Music Capitol of the World": Austin, TX. He settled down and started going harder into his career, something that people were wanting since his albums sold mellow but strongly. He predated the outlaw country genre with the themes, style, and aggressive hillbilly-like nature. He took what he learned of the world in his travels and added some twang to the sound, which people ate up once the outlaw country scene kicked off. In between the outlaw songs was always this folk-like country sound, something that would later be considered progressive county. I will admit, I am here for his folk albums more often than not, but I always love stopping by and uncorking a new album from time to time.

     "I Makes Money (Money Doesn't Make Me)" is one of the most thrilling songs off the album. Nice and fast-paced and written with a talented pen. The first time I heard this song was the version from Steve Earle, which is worth the stop-off if you like what you hear here. I won't tell you who has the better version, but I will say that I am glad to have the original here today. Do you ever have a song come in as an answer to a mental blockade? I don't know if that makes sense. Just today, my girlfriend and I were wondering what album to play while I made her ramen. She was hesitant to listen to The Beatles Let It Be since she isn't crazy about The Beatles, and also it makes her feel icky sometimes, especially later Beatles, and she said she didn't really like "Let It Be". All I said to that is "actually listen to it, feel it". There are songs that give you answers. They soothe you or sometimes tell you things you need to hear. The power of the bard. "Let It Be" was a life-changing song for many. My buddy said he was tripping one time, and the song came on, and it felt like a weight was taken off his chest, like the answer he was looking for came in the form of Paul McCartney putting a hand on his shoulder and telling him to let it be. Anyway, I have been having a hard time recently deciding if I want to stay at my current gig. The job has altered, and the pay has stayed the same. Not only that, but the company I signed up with has changed a lot within the year—pretty well none of it for the better. So, I was doing some shit-ass labor while listening through Jerry Jeff Walker's folk classic, Mr. Bojangles, when the answer to my problems came slumming through the headphones. "I Makes Money (Money Doesn't Make Me)" follows one of my biggest visions on life: the unimportance of status via money. Love, happiness, purpose, and nature are all much more important to the human existence than money, the root of all evil. Still, I cannot help but stress on it. Wanna travel? Need that money. How about that slick original copy of Bob Dylan's debut on vinyl? Money. Your lady wants to go get some Indian food? Fuck yeah... Money. Money. Money. Money. Money! Fuckin' money! Well, I denounce it! Yessir. All it causes is stress, and no matter how I chase it, the damn stuff falls out of pocket right when I put it in there. So, yeah, why do I waste my life and body at this job that obviously doesn't care about me? Why am I slaving while over half of those that actually make good money are off enjoying their Friday? Driving to their house, you heard me, a fuckin' house. Driving there with a vehicle free of warning lights. Walking into their clean entryway, letting out a little fart, and then going to greet their wife or husband. Will they plan their weekend? Watch a show on their big-ass TV? Have a nice dinner? I wouldn't know; I have never been there. There I was. Working in the heat all so I can say, "thank you, sir, maybe give me some more work for less pay, sir". I can make money; I will work hard for that money, but money can never make me. Those that dedicate their lives chasing money might die richer, but they waste themselves on it. Their personality is that of money: lifeless and flimsy. Now, this song isn't one against work, or even against money, but more so against those that dream of money, bitch about money, but don't ever actually take any steps to get to that next level. He says at the start of the song that money could never sway him away from who he is, but he hears many talk about money and all it can buy, but they don't do anything to go get it. He is content but questions why others chase the dollar so. Like he points out, you can run all day to get that mansion on the hill, but you'll find that mansion letting out a cold whistling of the wind with how little is in there. Nice property, nice wheels, pretty women, the best food, and an abundance of your favorite things won't fill the thing we all need within ourselves. Love and contentment. I would love to have money, trust me. The whole "money doesn't buy happiness" thing is an excuse, a reason to not begrudge those that have too much of it, but there is indeed truth there. Still, if you have a good amount of money to live comfortably, happiness is much easier to find. Who the fuck has time to find happiness? Meaning? When you are so damn tired from work. Weary from an unkind life that is always waiting around the corner to hit you with a reality check. I wish I could go out and say I don't care about money, but I do, you see. I stand by my choice of not dedicating my whole life to chasing it, but I sure do wish it would stick around a little while longer. I have always had one goal when it comes to money. I just want enough regular income that I can repair my vehicle when it needs it and go out to get food or drinks once or twice a week without shitting my pants when I see the tab. That goal used to feel attainable, but in recent years, those two things don't even seem fully attainable by those that had decent money a few years back. Things are rising in price at an alarming rate. The dollar might not mean anything in time. Especially if we are all bashing in each other's skulls for the last piece of bread at the grocery store. Lots to look forward to in this life. What a time to be livin', right? Alright, we hardly even talked about the song, but that is how these folk posts tend to go. Music for thinkin' and breathin'. Thanks for reading! Remember that life has its good things, stuff that is cheap or free; one of those things is music. Sweet music. Hope you like today's song. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1968

Album: Mr. Bojangles (1968)

Genre: Folk, Country, Bluegrass

Mood: Carefree

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Working, Thinking of your future, Finding inspiration, Going for a walk

Where to Next: "Satin Sheets" - Willis Alan Ramsey

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/06/2026

"Jungle" - Jimi Hendrix

     Man, it has been too long since we talked about the ultimate guitar god here on AintNoisePollution. I am happy to welcome back some Jimi Hendrix, this time with a nice deep cut that is a little off the beaten path. When it comes to Hendrix, it is much too easy to miss a top-tier track with the large as hell amount of archive releases and posthumous releases. I have been a Jimi Hendrix fan before I even started growing hair on my chin, and even now I come across a random compilation that I missed and find some groovin' tracks to set the day off right. Our song of the day, "Jungle", was one of those tracks I came to pretty late, but a lot of that comes down to when the compilation it comes off of Both Sides of the Sky, was released, which wasn't all the way until 2018. For most, they would assume that they couldn't have possibly found more Hendrix material after all these years, so you might pass on it like I did, but that would be one of those mistakes you might not want to make. It took me a good while until I played that compilation, maybe 5 years back or so, and when I did and came across "Jungle", I hit my forehead with my full palm. I hate missing tracks, but I sure do love finding them in the end. This smooth track has made its way into my heart since, and it tends to be an instant go-to if I have the hankering for a Hendrix instrumental. We can come back to that in a second. When was the last time we talked about Jimi Hendrix? I think it was forever ago when we discussed the live version of "Foxey Lady" on the Blue Wild Angel variation of the Live at the Isle of Wight, one of his best and his last concerts before his death. I strongly suggest going back to listen to that one. Reading the post is up to you, but I honestly hate some of my old posts. Oh, how I have grown. Well, we really don't need to give Jimi Hendrix an introduction. If you are here on the website, there is a 100% chance you know him all too well. How could you not? He is one of the most legendary rock musicians of all time. His guitar playing opened up the well of inspiration to a whole nation, if not the whole world. Hendrix is often considered the most important instrumentalist to ever come into the rock world. Fuck "often considered", let's just say it like it is, that he is indeed the most important insturmentalist to ever come into rock. There are those artists out there that have to struggle and strive for a long time, but Hendrix found friends and slots in bands as soon as he turned 20. Fame took a while, but his playing never ceased. Jimi Hendrix was born Johnny Allen Hendrix in the Emerald City of Seatlle, Washington, in 1942. He was obsessed with guitars since a very young age, even bringing a broomstick along with him wherever he went to pretend it was a guitar when he was a kid. His father refused to get him a guitar, but while he was helping his pops with cleaning out an old lady's house for a side dollar, he stumbled upon a ukulele in the pile of trash. She said he could keep it, and it was there that he had his first taste of the strings to fingers. While it only had one string, he still learned by ear to play along to Elvis Presley's version of "Hound Dog". It wasn't until he was 15 that he got his first acoustic guitar, and through emulating what he saw on TV on the streets and what he heard on his records, he quickly learned how to play. He was heavily inspired by the blues artists of the time like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and B.B. King. Hendrix would practice all day and night and would often jam with his friends and family. Even at that young of an age people were taken with his skills. Alongside his friend, he went and saw Hank Ballard and the Midnighters in 1959, where he met their guitarist, Billy Davis. Davis and Hendrix became quick friends, and Hendrix even joined along to play guitar on a few of the shows they had locally. After being taught some chords from a bigger musician and finding his way around the strings, he started up his first band called the Silvertones. He found out pretty quickly that he couldn't be heard over the rest of the band with just an acoustic guitar; he knew he needed an electric guitar. Hendrix was meant to be heard! His first electric guitar was a Supro Ozark, a strange but pretty slick-looking electric guitar. After that got stolen, he got his first true love, a red Silverton Danelectro that he named Betty Jean.

     After getting busted twice rolling around in stolen cars, he was faced with a choice: serve time or join the army; he chose the army. He wasn't in there long, but while there, he started performing alongside his military friend and musical companion, Billy Cox. Cox played the bass guitar and is even the bassist on our song of the day today. Anyway, Hendrix did not take the military seriously and got let go after a year of service. Alongside Billy Cox, Hendrix moved to Tennessee after his discharge, where he started up a couple of bands and played alongside some pretty big blues names for the next while. He felt like he was being held back artistically, so he moved on to New York City. He started doing the live circuit again, opening for the big names and the little names of the area. Things changed for Hendrix when he was offered a place in the Isley Brothers backing band, the I.B. Special, something he agreed to quickly. The story now fully began for Hendrix, and it is there that we will leave the story for next time! I just hope I remember where I left off, chances are I will not. To sum up the next parts. He had his first time showing up on a recording with the single to the Isley Brothers' "Testify". It didn't make any waves, but it got his name out there, and he started playing in some bigger bands and lending his guitar to releases from a wide plethora of genres. It wasn't until 1966 when he broke off from being part of people's backing band and got into his own groove. After bending the right ears and the right strings, he finally had his in with the bassist of the Animals, Chas Chandler, who wanted to strike out at producing artists instead of playing on albums. He liked what he saw of Hendrix and had an idea swirling around for finding the right artist to put out a version of "Hey Joe" originally put out by Billy Roberts, and he just knew that Hendrix was the man for that. Though the Animals weren't a US-based band, so Chandler dragged Jimi back to the United Kingdom. There Chandler started getting to work finding the right artists to support Jimi Hendrix, and there we have the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The rest is history! History we will cover another time! Alright, let's talk about "Jungle", our song of the day. This is one funky instrumental. This was a discovered track that showed what Hendrix might have done if he didn't die young. "Jungle" shows off a funky side, something along the lines of progressive soul and funk. Think the guitar work from Eddie Hazel of Funkadelic, the atmosphere of Isaac Hayes, and the heavy influence from Curtis Mayfield, especially Mayfield's funk tracks. "Jungle" runs for 3 minutes and 28 seconds, and not a second goes by that it isn't intoxicatingly beautiful. It does have that archive feeling to it, but you drop that feeling pretty quick when the spacey guitar work and steady drum whacks from Buddy Miles completely consume you. This is the type of instrumental that has you floating before you know it. The 2:00 mark is where things get truly thrilling. It is impossible to not get caught up in that groove! It is crazy that it took 48-49 years for this song to see the light of day! This could have popped up on Electric Ladyland and had a comfy home. Still glad we got it years later. Both Sides of the Sky, which holds our song of the day, came out in 2018 and serves as the final of 3 posthumous compilations, which are meant to make up a follow-up album to the final Jimi Hendrix Experience studio album, Electric Ladyland. The other two compilations are Valleys of Neptune in 2010 and People, Hell and Angels in 2013. Both of those collections are great! Any big Hendrix fan needs to hear these three compilations, good stuff, man, good stuff. For Both Sides of the Sky, I think that "Jungle" takes the cake as the best release from it. Don't get me wrong, "Stepping Stone", "Mannish Boy", "Woodstock", and "$20 Dollar Fine" are all great tracks, but some of those could be found elsewhere before their home on Both Sides of the Sky. Overall, this is a nice place for big Hendrix fans. If you came here after "Fire", "All Along the Watchtower", "Foxey Lady", and all the other truckloads of rock classics Hendrix dished out, you got some more homework to do with his core discography, but don't overlook this trio of compilations. You don't wanna miss it. Well, no matter your progress into Hendrix and his discography, give the song a spin, yeah? A solid instrumental from start to finish. Psychedelic, groovy, funky, and impressive. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2018 (Recorded in 1969)

Compilation: Both Sides of the Sky (2018)

Genre: Rock, Funk

Mood: Groovy

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Mellow drives, Studying, Getting a burger

Where to Next: "Freedom Flight" - Shuggie Otis

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/05/2026

"Pushin' Too Hard" - The Seeds

     You wanna talk about a hidden gem from the 1960s garage rock world? Well, you found yourself in the right place. Garage rock has had a ton of top-tier groups get lost to the test of time, but The Seeds have seemingly stood above the test better than most, and a lot of that is attributed to our song of the day, "Pushin' Too Hard", and their other hit "Can't Seem to Make You Mine". Both of those tracks come off the band's biggest claim to fame, their self-titled debut, which hit the scene in 1966. I hardly knew of the band before I started into my 1960s section of my studies, but after hearing that debut of theirs, they became a comfy home for the psychedelic side of garage rock. There have been many bottles tipped to "Can't Seem to Make You Mine", used to be plenty of bowls sparked to "It's a Hard Life", and many miles put behind me with "Tripmaker" blowing through my hair with its whimsical nature. The Seeds are a strange group, and it is easy to see how they didn't become legends in the rock world. That isn't due to their quality since they have a ton of good songs and that debut of theirs is one of the best in 1966, but it is due to them not being all too different aside from the breathless singing of "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" and overall aggresive nature. That isn't always a bad thing. The 1960s is a graveyard of repetition, much like the 1980s was. Each decade has its "thing", that is what has people coming back to its antiquated or unique sounds and styles. The band was put together by vocalist and bassist Sky Saxon (Richard Marsh), Jan Savage (Buck Reeder) on guitar, Daryl Hooper on keyboards, and Rick Andrich on drums. Before we continue into the band's short burst of fame, I wanna stop off on Sky Saxon for a little bit. As a Utahn, and as a Salt Laker, I wanna mention that Sky Saxon was born here in the Beehive State. He lived over in the Rose Park and Glendale section of the SLC. Like the good majority of people here in the state, he was raised in a Mormon household, something that didn't really carry into his career, thankfully. The Seeds didn't start up in Utah; hardly any bands had their start here. Like the majority of the big names from garage rock and psychedelic rock, they had their start in sunny Los Angeles in 1965. San Francisco was known for the artsy side, something that survived the test of time longer, but Los Angeles had their own strong psychedelic scene. The Los Angeles sound was more rough around the edges. It wasn't scared of a little fuzz and a little harder backing. The Seeds are one of the best to come out of that. Still, California as a whole was the lifeblood of rock music in the mid-to-late 1960s in the United States. The Seeds never made too many waves aside from "Pushin' Too Hard", but they still put out a solid couple of albums. They got together after Sky Saxon started gathering up a band. He had already been putting out some stuff, mostly under the doo-wop style, where he performed under the name Little Richie Marsh. Is Sky Saxon better than that name? Honestly, I cannot tell, but I wasn't there around that time period. Shit, if you want a little history lesson of rock, then that kind of serves as one. A homey and silly doo-wop name that got traded for the flower-powered Sky Saxon. I ain't talking shit, it sure beats the hell out of Caleb. Anyway, the band started scoring gigs around the Bay Area. People would talk about this high-as-hell energy band that they saw last night while they were high-as-hell. The Seeds are one of many that came along with a sound people would later be calling proto-punk. The punk before punk. Most of the bands are a wall of sound and creativity, never fully sounding like anyone while sounding like everyone. Think The Kinks, Velvet Underground, and our band today, The Seeds. It wasn't all too long before their chance at fame came knocking.

     The Seeds aren't the type of band that gets a letter from RCA Records; they are the ones that thrive in the underbelly of the rock scene. The label that snagged them was GNP Crescendo Records. Haven't heard of them? It isn't too shocking. They started with doing jazz albums but moved into other categories such as oddity rock bands and then Star Trek soundtracks. Anyway, the label wasn't too big but was just the right size for The Seeds. They put out their first single, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine", in July of 1965, but it didn't pan out too well and only was met with minor success. Still, success, though, mostly in their home region. That was the song that really got me into the band. It is always a joy even if it is an oddity, a sort of cult classic of the 1960s rock world. But their second single, "Pushin' Too Hard", is where things got interesting for the band. They went from having a 41 spot on the US charts to having a 36! For those that were waiting to pop the champagne and now have a sad and confused expression, feel free to still pop that bottle. It might sound dumb that 5-spot difference would be such a big deal, but it was the fact they hit over the top 40 mark. That is where the breadwinners dance. Big-time groups such as the Beatles had theirs there, albeit in the top 10, which is where legends party, but still they were on the same sheet as some of the worlds biggest rock bands. Still, from having a low charter to one that people read into is a big deal, and it is some of the reason that the band had a relatively successful studio album in 1966, the same year that "Pushin' Too Hard" started pushing with its re-release. Relatively successful, meaning it never hit over the 100 mark on the charts, but sales aren't everything. The Seeds went on to be a big influence for the still-budding punk rock scene that was going to slaughter the masses less than ten years later. The album and especially "Pushin' Too Hard" became protopunk classics. It is no shocker this was their big one during the 1960s, but I wonder what eventually had "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" take it over in the modern-day streaming world. I guess that track is a ton more out there. "Pushin' Too Hard" was written by Sky Saxon while he was waiting for his then girlfriend to finish up grocery shopping while he was waiting in the car. Why not just go in as well? Stretch those legs. Anyway, the song is about a controlling relationship, but during the peace era it was taken in many different forms, mostly in the form of society. I actually chose this song while at work, a place that I am indeed getting pushed too hard. I swear the good majority of people never sat down to read Orwell's Animal Farm. So, while I was sitting there pushing to get everything done, which, might I add, is practically impossible, here came "Pushin' Too Hard" and it was impossible for it to not be the song of the day. I mean, now listening to it again, thinking of that moment, I was likely being dramatic, but it sure did seem to come in at the right moment. Anyway, no matter how you take it, whatever you might be rebelling against or having weigh down on you, the song fuckin' hits. A pretty fast sucker for its time, and not one that even tries impressing you with instrumental flourishes or crazy studio effects. Nope, this is straight forward garage rock that has its fuzzy style being scratched into your ears. In all the right ways, mind you. The album in general was pretty intense for its time. Many were shocked by the quality of the album and its overall forceful nature. Many put them in the same league as The Sonics, but The Seeds were a little more psychedelic than that. They were almost a hybrid of the 13th Floor Elevators, The Sonics, and The Yardbirds. No matter what they were, they put out a hidden gem, something I am glad to have with us here today, even if it is the band's most successful song. What better place to start? "Pushin' Too Hard" was finished in two takes, and the rest was history. It is one of the high points from the band's debut album, coming in as the 6th track on the listing. It was the one to finish off the first side, making it almost impossible to not stop what you are doing to flip the record over right away for more; it just has that kind of power. In the modern world, we just simply press play, but even with that simple action, my finger is always itching to just listen through the band's debut album to completion again. Always a simple yet exciting time. Alright, that is enough out of me. Hope you dig the track! If not, you know where to come tomorrow to get another dose of that sweet rock n roll. Enjoy! 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1965

Album: The Seeds (1966)

Genre: Garage Rock

Mood: Frustrated

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Working, Controlling relationships, Feeling like another cog in the corporate wheel

Where to Next: "The Witch" - The Sonics

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/04/2026

"Life Goes On" - The Damned

     You know, there are a ton of great band names out there and plenty of bad ones. For The Damned, I have always found theirs to be great; no matter the sound of theirs, you jump into, it just makes sense. The Damned are punk rock royalty, but instead of staying on the razor-edged path, they went the direction of gothic rock in the long run, but eventually returned to their punk rock roots once more in their later career. It was never the same. The image they created for themselves in the gothic rock world was too powerful to just leave that behind, so they melded the two for their later albums. That sound is good, but my heart always goes to the bands' iconic punk rock stage in the 1970s. They were one of the biggest and most essential names to come out of early punk rock. They were there alongside the other early legends like the Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, and the Dead Boys. Now, let's compare The Damned to those other groups. Ramones stayed mostly true to their sound throughout their whole career, the classic case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Sure, they tried a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but for the most part you knew what to expect each time you jumped into the next Ramones album. The Clash was one of true innovation. They started out snotty, young, and ready for a fight, but that gave way when the new wave movement came through. They saw their current ship burning and were smart enough to jump over the edge, something that kept them alive into the 1980s and saw them releasing their masterpiece, London Calling, in 1979. The Clash brought in some pretty different styles into punk rock. They were one of the key players in getting ska going in the mainstream, even having a pretty much full dub album. The Clash are legends, and unlike the Ramones, they kept with the times and had an insanely successful career, liekly more than anyone else we will mention here today. How about the Dead Boys? You might be wondering what they are doing here, but the Dead Boys are essential early punk. They were the best stepping stone for hardcore punk to do their thing in the 1980s. They were pretty damn aggressive and rough around the edges with angsty lyricism and the lip to back it up. The Dead Boys had a pretty short career, but within their first two albums are something of legend and shows off the true inner soul of punk rock. So, from a historical standpoint, they are just as important as the others as far as I am concerned. The last on the list is the Sex Pistols, the flaming star. The Sex Pistols are a young punk's wet dream. Snotty-ass music that balanced on the tightrope of keeping on the mainstream. While they are amazing as a band, they were lucky to hit it as big as they did. They were more important than the others in setting the image of the punk. The soul of the punk. They only released one studio album before the tragic tale of Sid Vicious pretty well stole that flame. Besides, the Sex Pistols were simply meant to be the hottest oven that burned out before it exploded. I am talking about tensions, big dreams, youthful vigor, violence, and a solid dose of stage fright. The band got too big for their britches. Still, the Sex Pistols left a serious impact. They pretty well set the pace for stage shows, attire, and punk culture, and for that, we thank them. For those that came here to read about the Damned and not the information they already know, I apologize, but not everyone will understand how odd it was that the Damned didn't just burn up or burn out before switching their sound. The Damned was innovative and served as one of the most important groups to come out of gothic rock. The Damned started up like many in the punk empire of the 1970s, in London. The US had their scene, and then the UK had theirs. Who was better? Well, that is up to you, but there isn't much denying that the UK had most of the powerhouses that changed music practically overnight. The Damned formed in 1976 and had their first true show in support of the Sex Pistols within the same year. They were bound for glory, especially since they already had their nubby little fingers all over the punk underbelly of the UK. Most of the members were already in bands, and the ones that weren't showed up at all the parties and shows. It was only a matter of time until the four got together. 1976 was a busy year; they were on a big-time punk tour alongside the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and the Heartbreakers in the UK called the "Anarchy Tour of the UK", a show that had venues boarding up their doors from the name alone. The tour only successfully did 7 shows out of the 20 due to the cold reception and warnings from law enforcement. The Damned didn't even finish the tour before getting the boot from the Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McLaren. Still, that name of theirs was now out. The Damned technically was the first punk band in the UK to put out a single with their damn good "New Rose", so it wasn't like they were some joes with spiked hair supporting the Sex Pistols. They were a band that people knew, just not to the same extent as the Sex Pistols when they dropped their "Anarchy in the UK" single.

     In 1977 the band released their debut album, Damned Damned Damned. Now this is an album that every punk rock fan should know well; treat it as one of the versions of the punk bible. This release saw them getting on the road supporting T.Rex, the glam rock legends. After that the Damned did another big achievement in the punk world, they were the first British punk rock band to tour the United States. They brought the fight to our shores and walked away victors. During this time they were still playing fast and loose, which left seeds in each town they stopped in. Within the same year of 1977, The Damned released their second studio album, Music for Pleasure. This is the type of album that you have to whisper about in the fanbase since half of them seem to try to forget this one came out. For me, I don't hate it; there just isn't much reason to stop by often when the two albums that serve as its bookends are by far better. Still something you should give a swing if you want the full 1970s punk picture, but there isn't anything all too special on the album. This misstep almost had the band going belly up as soon as they hit the big time. Half of the band bounced, and too did the fans, and by 1978 the band dissolved, and it seemed to be the damned end for the Damned. Yet, the story of the band had just begun! In 1979 they got back to the studio with a belly of fire and a strong urge to remind the world what The Damned meant to the punk world. They weren't a one-off, nor did they collapse under their own weight; they almost came back even stronger with their third album, Machine Gun Etiquette. This is where I started into the band; it was my first album of theirs that I couldn't put down after first getting licked by "I Just Can't Be Happy Today". Even thinking about that song now makes me want to delete this whole post and switch to that track, it is a gooood one! You see, the power of Machine Gun Etiquette is found in the sauce. The sound of the album is still situated in the 1970s punk spunk, but instead of adding in some new wave or disco like punk bands were doing at the time, they brought in what had them jamming in the first place, the proto-punk sound of the 1960s. It gave it this light feeling, something easy for just about any type of rocker to get behind, no matter their stance on punk rock. They came back strong and figured they would then shoot themselves in the foot again with switching their sound. Though, unlike the last time, it pulled through this go around. I am sure it alienated their fans, but in 1980 the band released their fourth studio album, The Black Album, the first of their gothic rock transition. Many would consider this to be an essential of theirs, and I am there on board with that opinion. It is one strong album with a strange psychedelic edge that gives it this mystical graveyard lantern feeling. I will admit, it took a second to grow on me when I was a teen and was getting into the Damned, but once I was there, oh baby, was I there! The Black Album is a good album and serves as the easiest transition point from their punk rock sound to their new one, but it wasn't until their fifth studio album, Strawberries, that they found that thing that had them pushing into the 1980s like it was meant to be from the first moment they played a chord on stage. Strawberries is a strangely... Happy album. I mean, it is shrouded in a little bit of gloom, but overall it feels pretty bright. The band took some chances, and it paid off. They had a whole new fanbase. The show would be filled with goths and punks in unity. One of the best off the album is the eighth track on the album, "Life Goes On". For those like myself that mostly keep on the true punk side of the band, I think "Life Goes On" will do you right. That guitar intro gets you hooked. It is the same tone you would expect out of prime Blink-182 many years down the road. A perfect tone with a strange clock clicking in the background before the band moves into a playful guitar tone that reminds you which genre you are listening to: gothic rock. More so like The Cure than that of later gothic rock bands, like we heard in the industrial-laced gothic bands out of the 1990s. "Life Goes On" is keeping the current theme we have had this month, straightforward tracks that try to remind you of the ugly beauty of life. I dig the lyrics, but I won't lie that I am mostly here for the guitar work. I love the psychedelic notes that have you floating away. The thick bass strings and vocals bring you back to the gloom, but that guitar serves as a silver light piercing through the fog. All while a clock-like sound keeps ticking in the background to serve as the reminder of life and death. A moving track that comes in smooth and leaves smooth. This track cooled me right down when I was getting pretty stressed at work. A simple reminder of pushing on. Life is life. Live it up since it is yours to use. These are the happiest days of your life. Truth be told, I wanted to go on a spiel around those words, buuut I used up all my space for the day. I mean, I can do what I want, but I am sure you got somewhere to be, and we can talk about that later. Besides, I gotta get to bed. For now, do me a favor and spin the track, won't ya? It is a good one. Come on back tomorrow to see what pops up. You do that, and I will write you an overly long post, deal? Deal. Alright, well, I hope this one helps you make it through the week. We all could use it. Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1982

Album: Strawberries (1982)

Genre: Gothic Rock

Mood: Peaceful

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Relaxing, Working, Going for a walk, Focused listening

Where to Next: "The Passion of Lovers" - Bauhaus

Rating: 8 / 10

Song of the Day 08/03/2026

"Amanda" - Boston

     We have the emotional songs so far this month, ey? First we had the Pixies with their silly little love song, "La La Love You", then the reality check of "Just Breathe", and now we have one of the poweriest power ballads in the rock game with Boston's "Amanda". Boston had a fairly short run for how important they were to mainstream rock of the 1970s. When it comes to a "clean rock sound", Boston is one of the first names that comes to mind. The band is commercial to a fault, but I find no fault in it. They were a powerhouse in the arena rock genre, shit, they practically showed how it was done, something that people lived and breathed in rock all the way until the glam monsters ate up the genre and then spit out grunge music. Boston was the natural progression for the genre, and even with their prime years being relatively short for how famous they are, they released some of the most powerful, moving, and compelling songs out of the 1970s. As many already know, and it might just be based on opinion, the 1970s was the heyday for rock music. It was a time that expansion brought forth all kinds of great sounds. There was the mainstream and the underground. There was art rock that inspired legions, and then there were straight-cut rock groups that sold out stadiums to legions. Heavy metal was in the rise, punk rock was fully established, and there was so much intermingling of genres that there was no way of knowing who the next top dog was going to be. The 1960s served as the trial grounds. A place where the groundwork of commercial rock music found its footing. So, when the 1970s came, it was to see how far they could push it and how much money they could squeeze. So many top-tier groups, some of which had a long and successful career, and then there were those that only released a small but essential discography. So, how about Boston? The band released their debut album in 1976, a self-titled masterpiece that completely changed the rock world and how polished you could make your sound. There were many that were against it; the grainy feeling of rock music was half the soul, something I agree with, but Boston cleaned it up in all the right places. The guitar solos from Tom Scholz don't pull any punches; he has some of the most memorable solos out of the decade. The same is to be said about Fran Sheehan, the man behind arguably the best solo from Boston on "Long Time". Not only that, Scholz does a good majority of everything else on Boston's debut and biggest songs. He played the bass, clavinet, he did the sound effects, and he had his spot on producing and engineering the album plus filling in any corner that needs filling. A through-and-through profectionist that was the mastermind behind one of rocks ultimate albums. The drums of Sib Hashian hit hard and steady, maybe not something insane, but something that serves as the perfect backdrop to the straight rock dose you take in your vein. Then we have the powerful vocal work of Brad Delp. Man, does this dude belt! Not only does he hit the high notes, but he still keeps the comfort level there. He still keeps it rockin' into the night. Man, I could fan girl and squeel about their debut album for the rest of the night. I love it and all the amazing memories I have based around each of those debut songs. It is genuinely a perfect album, and that isn't just me thinking that. Their debut hit the diamond status in Canada and currently stands at 18x platinum in the United States. While most of their fame came out of North America, the band is loved just about anywhere they play rock music. That debut is a rock staple. We can talk about it later, though. Today, we have "Amanda", a power ballad that is so sweet it will give you cankers, and this sucker comes off of their third studio album, Third Stage.

      Third Stage is one of those albums you cannot tell if it is amazing or a little lacking. It pains my fingertips to type those words since I adore the band, but Third Stage is missing that same something that the band's first two studio albums had. Boston's second studio album, Don't Look Back, released back in 1978, while Third Stage released in 1986. An almost ten-year gap is some serious time between releases. Third Stage is the opitome of a comeback album. It has the altered sound, and it features lyrical content that talks to the fans that have also aged almost ten years since the last time they brought their music to the masses. Even with the band not putting anything out for awhile, the album was still a pretty big commercial success. It hit multiplatinum in both the United States and Canada. A good chunk of the album's sales came from the first single to be released from the album, "Amanda". Shit, there is a solid chance that if you talk to most people about this album, they will be able to name you one song with confidence, and that is "Amanda". Even if you are someone who isn't all the way obsessed with power ballads or the softer side of rock, you cannot help but adore "Amanda". It has the perfectionist touch to it. The moments the song ramps up knocks the air out of you. Some of what makes this song stand apart from the others is the fact that it was recorded years prior to its release. So, it is dipped in that same fire, that same alluring scent that the bands' first two albums had. You could have put this one on Don't Look Back and it just would have made sense. Sure, a little more pretty, a little more 1980s, but there is no denying it holds that same layered, all-consuming wall of sound that Boston was known for in the 1970s. "Amanda" went on to be Boston's highest-charting single of all time. No easy feat, especially in the 1980s, but how come? Many did it. Well, "Amanda" didn't have a music video to go along with it. That is just how rock and the 1980s played ball. Want success? Put out a music video, even if it ain't good, put one out. The visual aspect is damn important, and the radio almost started playing second fiddle to MTV. "Video killed the radio star". Yet, there "Amanda" was, high as hell on the charts, even though they never put out a music video. It is just that kind of song. Could you imagine not hearing a new song from such a great band for years and then, out of the blue, there is a new one? And to make it allllll that much grander, the song is damn good, almost too good. So, it ain't much of a shocker that it hit the charts with such force. The song was even a sensation before it was officially released or announced. Some radio stations got their hands on a poorly done demo tape bootleg of the song, and even with the song lacking quality and vision, it was a massively requested song. The song has power. That power would make you think that the song must have been written about someone's wife, someone they love so much, since the song convinces you of nothing else. Well, the song ain't. Nope, Tom Scholz simply chose the name since it flowed with the lyrics. I bet there were plenty of kids named Amanda following this song, and you just know there were plenty of kids being made to "Amanda". The song has a hard-fought battle being up against some of Boston's previous songs, but it still manages to make it to the top 5 on plenty of "best of Boston" charts. The track came way later but reminded people why Boston was able to release only two studio albums but still stay household names in the rock and roll house. The track has you staring at the night sky. It makes the lonely demand love. The lover demand comfort. The traveler to turn the vehicle around and drive all night to fix all the wrongs they might have done. That chorus will give you chills, especially with the speakers up high. The power words "I'm gonna say it like a man and make you understand" always get you. It probably alienates most of the female listening base, but rock has always been macho, especially arena rock. Still, to put it that way is strangely... Powerful. To drop all defenses, to accept the emotions that most of us fellers have a hard time putting into words, to completely lose ourselves within the deep velvet folds of love. Another thing to adore about this song is at the 3:30 mark when the song switches it up, one last blast from the Boston spaceship before the song ends on a comforting note. Anyone who is dating or married to an Amanda has an easy love song, something to write those adolescent love letters to, ya know? I have always been envious of those that have the perfect song. Luckily for me, "Amanda" and "Alesha" have the same ring, so it still works out. If only I could sing like Brad Delp. Maybe next lifetime. For now, I just enjoy it, and I enjoy it again. This song has hovered around me for well over a decade now, and there will be many decades more. So long as I live, I will love this song. How about you? Guess you gotta load the song up now. Hope you are ready to have your hairs standing on end. Goosebumps for days! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1986

Album: Third Stage (1986)

Genre: Arena Rock

Mood: Romantic, Powerful

​Perfect For: Date night, Having sex, Going for a couples drive, Stargazing, Playing fairly loud

Where to Next: "Africa" - Toto

Rating: 9 / 10

Song of the Day 08/02/2026

"Just Breathe" - Pearl Jam

     Man, this month has started off with hurdles. Still, we are here and we are rocking. When life gets you down, it seems music is always a remedy. Sure, that might sound like something right out of a teenager's edgy little diary, but there is truth in those words. For me, I tend to find relief from the mellow songs, the stern yet understanding tracks that outline this human experience. I don't listen to happy music when I am sad, nor do I really listen to overly sad stuff. I look for something that feels like a hug. That or something that serves almost more as a stern talking to than anything. If you want to know what I mean by a song that feels like a hug, then check out our song of the day, "Just Breathe". A fitting song title, right? Well, this song makes me feel like I am getting a big ol' hug. Not from Eddie Vedder, well, maybe, but more so from the universe. From the soundwaves that fill my vehicle as it plays. "Just Breathe" has become a go-to track of mine when life seems to get too much. I am having a lot of financial stress recently. Enough to make me sick. Getting that balance back after getting a new car loan. A solid 250 bucks a month has had me on my ass, which is plain crazy. Did I sleep through the American dream? The same financial choice I made is already coming into those known "Jeep issues" since I traded a truck that overheated for a lower-mile, newer vehicle that is now overheating! I am doomed to be stressed upon the road. Fuckin' cars... Wish I lived somewhere big enough you wouldn't really need a car. So, I crave "Just Breathe" and other strangely comforting Pearl Jam songs like "Release", "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town", and others. Eddie Vedder has a whole album of comforting songs on the soundtrack he made for the movie Into the Wild. "Just Breathe" trumps them all when it comes to the understanding nature, to serve as a big ol' hug. For those that know me in real life, don't go trying to hug me. It just doesn't have the same feeling, ya know? Nothing personal. "Just Breathe" is one of Pearl Jam's most popular songs on Spotify, and for all the right reasons. It is the titan off their ninth studio album, Backspacer, which hit the shelves in 2009. I have something to admit: I love Pearl Jam and try going into all their albums with admiration in my heart, but I cannot help but keep just going back to the bands' 1991-2000 work. I cannot help it! Something about Pearl Jam lost their edge as time moved on. I still enjoy each time I listen through one of their later albums again, and there are a ton of songs off those albums that I adore, but if I had to choose between Backspacer and Vs. I will always jump to their early stuff. It has been an issue of mine since the first time I listened to their 2006 self-titled album when I was a kid. I try with all my might, all my heart, but cannot find that same love. So, yeah, I know that Backspacer is a pretty widely respected album in both the fanbase and amongst the vulture critics, but I still cannot get fully into it. Breaks my fuckin' heart, man. There are still the tracks that I jump on each time I get the chance; our song of the day is one of them. "Just Breathe" is the powerhouse of the album and also serves as its second single to come off it. "Just Breathe" is a track completely washed in what Eddie Vedder learned and loved from his iconic soundtrack to Into the Wild. It is so much in that style we hear there that Vedder even reused a chunk of what appears on the instrumental from Into the Wild, "Tuolumne" on "Just Breathe". That is fine with me. I cannot get enough of that soundtrack album, something you would rarely hear from me. "Just Breathe" serves as the refresher in the gut of Backspacer, serving as the 5th track before it moves into one of the other grand tracks on the album, "Amongst the Waves". I still remember when this album dropped how much they played that song on the radio. My dad was staunchly against Pearl Jam; he was always opinionated in music but couldn't back up his claims, so I would rarely get to finish the song before he noticed it was playing. Still, it isn't "Just Breathe". This track is for the record books.

     "Just Breathe" was Pearl Jam's first platinum-selling single, something that shocks even me. You would think the others would have made it before 2009, but if there was one to do it, "Just Breathe" would be one of my first guesses. This song has the attributes to reach across the radio waves to suck in anyone who hears it. The hug that I mentioned before is something we all can feel. It feels warm. Comforting. Cosmic. Motherly. One of those tracks that you can't help but wonder if you should be smiling or crying. Such a peaceful intro, something that feels like what the trees feel, gives way to the heartening vocals of Eddie Vedder. Like the whole of Backspacer and the majority of Pearl Jam material, Eddie Vedder is the one who wrote the lyrics of the song. It is from the heart lyrics about understanding life and death and understanding what an impact a single individual can have on countless lives. Then one day... They are gone. The song is a reminder to feel lucky to be beside someone with so much love. I am someone who struggles with telling people what I think. For some stupid reason I think my jokes and pestering explain that, show it, but it isn't the truth. So, I get these lyrics, and I feel it within me. The song makes me want to be a better person for those around me. Do I do it? No. Sadly, I don't. Time moves, which is no excuse, but somehow I am at the end of the month, and I forgot to eat or tell people that I love them. Ahh... Life. I try choking the thoughts that everyone I know one day will die. Will I be ready? Am I ready now? Is it selfish to hope I go first so I don't need to deal with the loss? Shit hurts even thinking about it. What will it feel like to be alone? I hope I never find out. As someone who prides themselves on their individuality and not needing someone, I really hope I don't have to challenge that. Shit, we are making this one of those dramatic posts. Let's get back into the music. The track doesn't ramp up all that much until the 1:48 mark, where some more emotion comes in with a fever. Vedder perfectly sells the lyrics with raw emotion. It reminds you of the fragile nature of existence. So, do you feel that hug that I keep mentioning? Kind of like some strange energy fills the room for 3 and a half minutes. Kind of hard to breathe, yeah? That is what Pearl Jam can do when they want to. They steal the air out of the room, and for "Just Breathe" they replace it with something even cleaner. More pure. Eddie Vedder has said the song is "as close to a love song as we have ever gotten". Which... Yeah. You know, I never really noticed that Pearl Jam has very few love songs. Ones that touch on the topic, but no straight songs for lovers. Even if they did, the mumble approach of Eddie Vedder during the early days of the band would make it hard to understand for casual fans. I have never had a hard time understanding Eddie Vedder, even on "Even Flow", which sounds like random mumbling, with the last word of the line being understandable. Man, that song is too good; it might even beat out "Just Breathe". It all depends if you want a good time or a moment of silence. "Even Flow" feels like the busiest part of the day while "Just Breathe" feels like that moment right before bed. Cuddlin' up with the one you love, the romantic ambiance of the loud-ass compressor that goes off at that time each night. Damn... I have to go to work tomorrow.... And go to bed tonight. Will this be my existence? Every fuckin' day?! Gross! Well, if you are stressing about that too, I might just have a remedy for you. A tried and true cure! Ready to hear it? Alright, but if it works for you, then you gotta spread the word, yeah? Try listening to this song. No, really. Shit is like a wonder drug. I will leave you to it. Thanks for stopping by to listen to a po' boy ramble on and to listen to this great tune! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 2009

Album: Backspacer (2009)

Genre: Alternative Rock

Mood: Warm

​Perfect For: Listening to in a dark room, Feeling low, Watching the sunrise or sunset, Telling people how you feel

Where to Next: "Guaranteed" - Eddie Vedder

Rating: 9 / 10

Song of the Day 08/01/2026

"La La Love You" - Pixies

     Time for another month here on AintNoisePollution. I am glad you decided to stop in. As I have been mentioning for the last month, the website will be getting moved in due time. This last week was busy as all get out, so I hardly had the time to work on it. The damn thing is stressing me out! Nothing like wondering if something you have put a ton of hours of work into might be gone the next day. The rise and fall of Weebly. I can't tell if I will miss it or not. Either way, it has gotta be done, even if it stopped acting up as much. My goal is to have it done and moved over by the end of this month. AintNoisePollution was published for all the world to see on the 31st of August back in 2024. So, I think it might be nice to port it over on its second-year anniversary. The website was being crafted for years before then, and even now I am working through issues to make it a great experience for anyone who stops in, friends and strangers alike. The new website is going to be.... Different. Is it for the better? That will be for you to decide, but I will be glad to share it with you. So long as you keep coming back to get some tunes, I will keep you up to date on the progression of moving the website to its new home. Alright, enough about that. Let's get into our post! Today we talk about the almighty Pixies, an artist that is timeless and did more for the alternative music world than hardly any other artist in the 1980s. To actually put a label on the Pixies is like trying to saddle up the most rambunctious of horses. It isn't something easy to do. Each album keeps their core sound but brings in something new. For most of those albums, it is still a track-by-track situation for labeling. Our song of the day this go-around is the hypnotic and strange "La La Love You" off of the essential album, Doolittle. Before "La La Love You" is "Crackity Jones", which is a punk rock based song that showed some signs of noise rock and is a wild ride. After "La La Love You", we have the blissful "No. 13 Baby", which is as experimental as they come and, in my opinion, is one of the greatest moments on the album. Now, our song of the day, "La La Love You", is a perfect introduction to "No. 13 Baby". It has the same westernesque feeling from the guitar work and tone of Joey Santiago, but while "No. 13 Baby" is a lot more of an aggressive and artsy song, "La La Love You" is peaceful, probably the most calm moment on the whole album. No random aggression bursts, something you should expect from the Pixies, nor are there any random heavy fuzz storms, another thing you should expect from the Pixies, especially within their early years. For me, Doolittle has always felt a little deranged. A little mentally unwell. I adore the Pixies; their music never ceases to impress and inspire me, but as a fan I am not afraid to say that their albums wear me the fuck out! The kind of stuff that you get sucked into, go for a thrill ride, and then get spit out without knowing where you are. Some songs have you dreaming of heaven while not realizing you're sinking down to hell. Song by song, you get sucked further into the confusing dream world of the Pixies. The distortion has your mental wall getting heavy stones thrown at it. Then, right when you know your wall is about to start falling down, sweet, clean, and loving bass work comes along and patches up the holes just for the next track to throw those stones once more. A wild ride. For the metal fans out there thinking this all sounds pretty damn intense for just the Pixies, obviously, you don't know the Pixies. They are a walking, talking psychedelic trip. Not the ones you see in the movies, nor the ones where everything is blissful, but more so the fast-paced, jaw-clenching, gas-inducing, sleepless psychedelic trips. You feel the energy of the music, but the mental images still don't line up with what the vocalist is saying. I have tripped only one time to a Pixies album, and that one was the 2004 compilation, Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies. It was worth it, not my best trip, but their enclosed-feel-tinged mean songs and carefree pop-laced ones served as a mighty fine ride. How did I get here? Oh yeah, the band stresses me the fuuuuck out, but in all the right ways. If music doesn't move you, then you are listening to the wrong music.

     "La La Love You" comes off the band's second studio album, Doolittle. Doolittle released in 1989 and is regarded by fans and critics alike as one of their best albums, if not their best one. One of those albums you need to listen to at least once before you die. Their debut album, Surfer Rosa, is another timeless classic, but it mostly flew under the radar when it was released in 1988. Doolittle was the band's breakthrough album, and for all the right reasons. It took a lot of what is within Surfer Rosa but backed it with a style that found a happy home in the alternative rock and indie rock genres, which were slowly but surely gaining a lot of traction in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The touch of Doolittle went even further than that. There are touches of the Pixies in grunge, hard rock, noise rock, indie, anti-folk, and even punk rock. They are the kind of group that find the strange people, the ones society left behind, and offer them a hand up. The Pixies are more artists than musicians. They use silver strings, soothing vocals, and crisp drumming as their own personal paint brush. Their pictures are often murky, depraved, hopeful, and desperate, but you are compelled to display their work in your living room. It feels like something you know. Something that is deep within you but you won't let out. Honestly, this is a lot of talk for me using "La La Love You" as the jumping point. I mean, the song is certainly in their sound, not much to doubt there, but it is one of the more sunny tracks. I have always wondered if "La La Love You" is a silly song. Like if it is satire, which I believe it is. The Pixies have a couple of love songs, but they are all still a little off the set path you tend to go with love songs. "La La Love You" is a standout track from the Pixies full discography. Its whimsical nature makes you feel like the circus just came into town. There is a tongue-in-cheek humor throughout the sexually backed lyricism and the whistling. The most unique thing about the track is who is singing, which is the drummer of the band, David Lovering. Lovering never had his voice on an album yet, and I don't think he ever did again. He altered his voice to sound deeper to give a sexy feeling to the track, taking a joking stab at the crooners of the 1950s. The lyrics, vocal work, and whistling could be left at the door for me. I am there for the guitar and bass guitar. A peaceful song, even if it is a bit silly. There isn't a time the track doesn't go down smooth. I chose the track while driving through a mountain highway after going on a little adventure. My girlfriend was asleep in the other seat, which is probably for the best since she would say, "What even is this?". I think she likes the Pixies? But maybe more so in the greatest hits kind of way, not the cream of the crop we find within the bands' tracks that make up the body of the album. Anyway, it seemed to be a strangely fitting song for the moment. Passing through little towns, natural beauty enough to make a city boy shed a country tear, the peace of the open road, and the sunshine beating down on any skin it could touch through my windows. You can feel the summer heat in this song, and the song also tastes... Orange to me. Not like the fruit, but like... The color? Do you think orange tastes orange? I always wondered if the orange was called an orange because it is orange or if they called orange "orange" from the fruit. Hold on, I am gonna look it up. Alright, I am back. The orange (fruit) gave the name to the color. Kind of weird, right? Turns out that people called orange "red-yellow" for a long while. It wasn't until the 1500s that people started calling the color "orange" once the orange was a widespread fruit. The more you know. Anyway, this song tastes orange. Well, maybe it tastes like a dirty pink? Dark blue? Whatever. The track is a fun one. Not one that asks anything in return when it plays. It is there to give you a simplistic good time, nothing more, nothing less. A breather track on an album full of high-energy tracks. So whatcha waitin' for? Load up the song, already! Enjoy!

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Year Released: 1989

Album: Doolittle (1989)

Genre: Alternative Rock

Mood: Whimsical

​Perfect For: Casual listening, Keepin' Trickin', Date night

Where to Next: "Totally Nude" - Talking Heads

Rating: 8 / 10