Music Recommendations
Only Child - The Flowering Eyeballs
13/04/25: Found this one a while ago, and it's probably gonna be one of my go-to summer songs this year. The lyric "I fucking dare you to enjoy your life" is just the right amount of optimism for my type of summer music, I think.
I really enjoy the crunchy sound that gives this an air of nostalgia, and the music video suits it perfectly. It feels like something I'd listen to with my horrible internet back in the late 2000s. It's just fun, give it a listen.
Starnineteen (Full EP)
13/04/25: Linked the regular YouTube video so you can access the timestamps.
Found this one while digging for casette rips, and I'm kinda hooked. It's a shame there's not a lot more stuff from this band, I really like their sound, even if it's a bit amateurish (that's part of the charm!). It reminds me of when I used to watch my brother perform with his band in dingy little basement concerts as a kid.
Starnineteen a perfect example of a hidden gem. My favorite track is Ride For Free for the way it sounds exactly like something you'd hear as the intro song to your favorite old edgy crime/mystery TV show. I imagine driving to that would go crazy.
(Bandcamp link) Dead Channel Sky - clipping.
06/04/25: Here's a whole album for ya.
With themes of the digital age, late stage capitalism, and the typical clipping "being overall great music", Dead Channel sky immediately became a favorite, to the point I listen to it daily. It's just that good. While having individual favorite songs is way too hard (which is why I linked the whole thing), my top 5 are Dominator and Madcap, for being extremely catchy, Dodger, for being my favorite story-wise, and Ask What Happened, for its message and great instrumentals. That last one in particular really stuck with me with the lyrics of society going to shit, and hackers rising up to be a new type of revolution.
Last but not least, Code is a great homage to all sorts of cyberpunk media (although obviously, mostly the book Neuromancer ), but it's also a pretty crazy reflection on the fact that a lot of these things are just... reality now.
Overall, I think this album is a great utilization of digital themes as metaphors for real life happenings. It's great.
Pleader - alt-J
06/04/25: I've been listening to so much alt-J lately it's bordering on unhealthy. While I like pretty much all of their songs, Pleader sticks out to me as something completely different.
It's mostly instrumental, and after the long and somber instrumental intro, the vocals and other instruments come in as something undeniably positive, before going incredibly dramatic, and so on and so forth for the rest of the song. This back and forth between tones is a really awesome way to get the "celebration of life VS mourning of loss" vibe across. What really makes this my favorite of theirs is when, at "Glorious, the voice of man!" and later "Victoria! Victoria!", the inspiration from hymns really hits its peak. It's just got so many layers to it, that made it an insane experience hearing it for the first time at the end of the album. Maybe I'm just a sucker for dramatic organ music.
If there's any one song I could make you listen to, this would be the one.
Halo - Cage The Elephant
06/04/25: Halo is one I originally used for some OCs, but ended up really liking myself. The song itself is kinda bland, but I really resonate with the lyrics. The theme of toxic relationships (platonic or otherwise) and overindulgence in someone not healthy for you, really speaks to me. "Tell me that you love me, hold me tight so we can always be friends" and "I remember how you took my favorite knife and slipped it under my skin" reminds me of a mutually destructive relationship, where there's both a sense of codependency and, if you interpret the second as "you hurt me in the same ways I hurt you", the way it can spiral into just causing more harm to eachother than good.
Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine
06/04/25: I've been really into shoegaze lately, and My Bloody Valentine has been my favorite shoegaze band so far. While Only Shallow has some depth to its lyrics, I honestly just really like how it sounds. That's kinda the nature of shoegaze in general, you can barely hear the lyrics, lol.
It has a really iconic almost droning repetitive guitar, due to the crunchiness, and the dreamy vocals are a perfect contrast. The rest of the album is also good, but this (and Loomer) is my favorite. I like it :)
Limp - Fiona Apple
06/04/25: Another song I like because I'm weak for songs about toxic relationships, yaaay!!!!
I really love the way Fiona Apple expresses emotion in all of her songs, especially Limp. You can really feel the frustration and sheer anger bubbling under the surface in this song, and it's just so incredibly good for it. The line "you fondle my trigger, then you blame my gun" in particular really packs a punch, in my opinion. Although, so does the rest of the song tbh.
Holy Toledo - Vundabar
06/04/25: I have a lot of music to catch up on with my recommendations, so I'm starting with a bit of a backlog. Anyway. I found Vundabar a few years ago, but only really started listening to them in the second half of 2024, after finding a really good cover of this song by Angelina Pirolo.
I really like the repetitive chorus of it, and the nihilistic tone to the lyrics. Both the original and the cover are good, I suggest listening to both.
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Hold Me Like I'm Leaving - Welles
29/05/24: I found Welles through the lead's newer acoustic stuff like most others, but I've been really enjoying their music on its own. Hold Me Like I'm Leaving is my current favorite of theirs, and for pretty predictable reasons. I love a good repetitive lyric, and the theme about feeling unfulfilled in life and love is always bound to stick with me.
I obviously also like the sound of it, being pretty slow in tempo while still keeping it heavy. Jesse's voice is really unique, even compared to similarly gravelly vocalists. It brings great charm to it, in my opinion.
叢 - 虻瀬犬
06/04/24: I can't believe I haven't put this song on here yet? I guess I found it when I didn't feel like posting. Anyway.
This one is... so good... It's kinda weird, and the half-butchered official translation doesn't help. I still love it though, and listen to it on repeat a lot. It's got themes of self-discovery and uncertainty, and the comment by usoppfangirl8153 brings some really good context forward, as well as some nice theories.
The screaming towards the end while the music gets more and more chaotic is part of what I've really enjoyed about Abu-Se's recent, more experimental stuff, and I'm happy this is the direction he took with this song. I feel like the experimental stuff really enhances it.
Fair warning that the music video has some NSFW art towards the end.
I'm Your Man - Mitski
06/04/24: I've been a fan of Mitski since... 2016-ish? I'm Your Man is probably one of the few (if not the only) newer song of hers that I find myself listening to when I feel vulnerable. There's just something about the choir mixing with the sound of dogs barking that makes it stick out from a lot of her other stuff. It gives it the same vibe as a lot of her older albums have, I feel.
The lyric "You believe me like a God, I betray you like a man" will always feel so... immense? It's so very something and I don't know how to explain it.
Cry For Me - Castle Rat
07/03/24: This one's a recent find, but a clear new favorite of mine. I really like this song and the entire vibe it comes with. The grainy quality of the song (and the music video) makes it feel like a timeless classic, but it's surprisingly recent. When I first clicked on the video, I had no idea what to expect other than something maybe gothic? But I was honestly really pleasantly surprised to find out it was something more psychedelic and dreamy. It's a bit different from my usual stuff, but I think Cry For Me would suit a wide range of tastes, to be honest. I recommend listening to it when you're a bit sleep deprived and woozy. Makes it hit different.
Leech Boy - Crywank
15/01/24: Leech Boy by Crywank was one of my favorite songs back when I was... 15? 16? I was real depressed at the time, and the facade I'd tried to keep up was starting to slip. I sung along to it while relating to every single word, as if it was taken straight out of my own heart. I haven't listened to it in a very long time, but it felt right to put it here. I hope this one doesn't speak to you as much as it used to do to me.
The lines "For if I can recognize my flaws, you'll assume I'm trying to change, but I am lazy and disheartened, and I know I will remain the same." will forever stay unbearably close to me.
I Am Shit - Crywank
15/01/24: Keeping on the Crywank streak, here's one that speaks to me in the current day. I Am Shit perfectly summarizes my daily struggles to an uncomfortable degree. It's the feeling of being depressed and anxious when life is otherwise going well, the guilt that suffering comes with when there's no source to it. Feeling like you're not doing enough, but the little you're doing is wearing you thin. It's weird how I'll find a different song every few years from Crywank that perfectly mirrors how I feel at the moment.
A Deer Mistaking Candles for Headlights - Crywank
15/01/24: Final one of the Crywank spam for now, A Deer Mistaking Candles for Headlights was my favorite back when I was 17-ish, although I feel like it's always been pretty spot-on for me. Feeling passive and like a people pleaser to a fault is probably something most people can relate to, and the added lyrics about hiding who you really are in an attempt to do as little harm as possible (and thus, causing harm in a different way) obviously speaks to me a lot. The line "You see who I am and that scares me" speaks volumes in itself.
I Will - Radiohead
06/01/24: Despite this being "The angriest song [he has] ever written" according to Thom Yorke, it's also one of the gentlest sounding ones, in my opinion. My favorite part is the simple lyric "little baby's eyes, eyes, eyes, eyes" repeated. The way he sings it almost makes me shiver.
I really like both the anti-war message behind it, and the powerful lyrics combined with the soft guitar. I Will is one of my favorite Radiohead songs, and always will be.
Lounge Act - Nirvana
06/01/24: This is one of the songs that really encouraged me to get better at playing bass in the beginning. I think I first heard it when my brother's band played a cover of it at a concert I was at. I've always loved the sound of the instrumentals, and the lyrics that I never really understood until I actually did some research recently. The lyrics don't mean all that much to me now, although in a roundabout way I can relate to them anyway. That's the power of vague lyrics, I guess.
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ほめてね - 梨本うい
25/12/23: Homete ne by Nashimoto Ui somehow just... gets to me. The simple lyrics combined with the gritty instrumentals just really makes this song turn into an earworm for me. It's one of those songs I listen to when I'm feeling particularly shitty, and I tend to just leave it on repeat. I may just be crazy. It's good.
The Same - Alex G
25/12/23: This is one of those songs that I relate to on such a deep level that it's almost scary. I don't really have many memories of being myself as a kid, and I spent a long time trying to blend in by pretending to be the person I used to be. I felt sick physically and mentally a majority of the time, before I let myself live just the tiniest bit. The Same reminds me of the feeling I had when I was younger, back when I couldn't really put a name to what I was feeling. I cherish this song more than any other, and I hope you'll enjoy it at least a little.
過呼吸ダンス - あらいやかしこ
10/12/23: This is a bit of an older favorite. I've been a fan of Nashimoto Ui for as long as I can remember, and the live performances he did with his band were always great. I really feel like the out of breath sound you usually get with live performances fits specifically Kakokyu Dance really well, since the theme is hyperventilation. Funny how this is the second song so far that features that as a theme... Anyway, it's good. Give more of his music a listen while you're at it.
Optimistic - Radiohead
08/12/23: Can't believe I still haven't put a Radiohead song on here yet. Radiohead is my absolute favorite band, although I rarely listen to any of their albums other than Kid A and Amnesiac. I could probably claim a lot of songs as my favorite, but Optimistic is the one right at the top of my personal playlist, so it was the obvious first pick to put here. I especially like the line "The best you can is good enough". Some people probably interpret it in a non-genuine way, but I like the reassurance it gives me.
Break - Alex G
06/12/23: A song I feel a bit embarrassed about liking this much is Break by Alex G. It's a lot sappier than my usual music taste at first glance, although if you take a deeper look at the lyrics it paints a deeper picture. Most people theorize it's about drug use, and quitting because of love.
"And I'm sick for you, baby, and it's never gonna go away" is probably my favorite part, as it illustrates the real message really well. Lovesickness is a sickness, too.
Only - Nine Inch Nails
01/12/23: Nine Inch Nails is one of my favorite bands lately, and Only is a song I've been able to relate to a lot. Self-esteem issues and all that. Whatever. It's a good song with good lyrics and a catchy bass line. I wanna learn it sometime. Trent Reznor's voice gets a bit hard to stand sometimes, but this one's not that bad.SUPERSTAR - Ocean Grove
01/12/23: I really like how SUPERSTAR by Ocean Grove starts off, the bass and drums kicking in with a small delay. It packs a punch that never fails to reset your trail of thoughts. I'm not a huge fan of the vocals, but the lyrics are catchy enough that it doesn't matter all that much. In general I really like the instrumentals, even if they're a bit harder than what I usually listen to.Hyperventilation - RADWIMPS
30/11/23: I honestly don't listen to a lot of RADWIMPS anymore, but Hyperventilation is a song I still enjoy a lot. I think the use of actual hyperventilation sounds at the end is a huge reason why I still like it. It makes it stand out more.Black Snake Voodoo Hiss - Chemlab
30/11/23: I've been pretty obsessed with Chemlab in general the past few months, but something about specifically the first line in the chorus of Black Snake Voodoo Hiss has me hooked. It's stupid ("I've got my fork and my knife") but I like it.
