Listening to Julia Holter’s third album, “Loud City Song,” is like reciting poetry while walking atop the Pacific Ocean’s surface at midnight, feeling so deeply connected to your own unique creative spirit that the very laws of nature cower in your indecipherable presence. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the first professionally recorded example of this Los Angeles-based musician’s knack for delivering simple and striking ideas with poignant pop insight, this time drawing upon a classic French romantic comedy to explore eternally applicable themes of urbanity, fame, eccentricity, and infatuation in the context of ultramodern ambient pop. @juliaholter #juliaholter #loudcitysong #artpop #ambientpop #chamberpop #orchestralpop #orkpop #jazzpop #chamberjazz #orchestraljazz #orkjazz #modernclassical #21stcenturyclassical #twentyfirstcenturyclassical #ambient #indiepopmusic #ambientpopmusic #jazzmusic #westernclassicalmusic #ambientmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to “Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished” — the first collaboration between Avey Tare and Panda Bear, later redistributed as Animal Collective’s first album — is like entering a magical portal into a truly bizarre fantasy world where all fruits and vegetables are poisonous, all workplaces are intolerably loud, and all available medicine is derived from psilocybin mushrooms. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this unhinged adventure through all manner of rustic soundscapes, which introduced the world to this Baltimore-based group whose music strikes a terrific balance between experimental oddity and psychedelic captivation. @anmlcollective #aveytare #pandabear #animalcollective #spirittheyregonespirittheyvevanished #neopsychedelia #neopsych #experimental #avantgarde #noise #folktronica #laptopfolk #progressivepop #progpop #artpop #psychedelicmusic #experimentalmusic #industrialandnoisemusic #electronicmusic #popmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Thom Yorke’s first solo album, “The Eraser,” is like watching a quiet man take a first look at his custom-made leotards, then having a barely perceptible nervous breakdown after realizing that the catchphrases emblazoned upon them might make too much sense. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this blend of indietronica’s persistent rhythms and deep harmonies with pop’s comparatively forthright melodies and forms, resulting in a delicate, elaborately stratified ambient pop grower with which producer Nigel Godrich helped Radiohead’s frontman create the first legitimately soothing (!) album of his famously strained career. @thomyorke #thomyorke #theeraser #glitchpop #ambientpop #idm #intelligentdancemusic #braindance #electroniclisteningmusic #postrock #indietronicamusic #popmusic #ambientpopmusic #rockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Jockstrap’s first full-length album, “I Love You Jennifer B,” is like spending a day downtown with a woman wearing cat ears on her head and floral print all over her body, who demonstrates no qualms or errors in pointing out that everything around you is fundamentally shaped like genitalia. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to a more pleasant, deliberate, and exciting variation on this London-based duo’s opaque amalgam of graceful pop melodies and exploratory indietronica timbres. @jockstrap_music #jockstrap #iloveyoujenniferb #artpop #glitchpop #chamberpop #orchestralpop #orkpop #progressivepop #progpop #folktronica #laptopfolk #indiepopmusic #indietronicamusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Piana’s fourth album, “Muse,” is like witnessing a woman carefully research every feasible detail about all kinds of home decor styles, all in yet another unsuccessful attempt to try coping with the latest in a seemingly infinite series of long, lonely nights. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the most approachable and natural-sounding record yet created by this frequent Kashiwa Daisuke collaborator, who blends pop and indietronica in a way seemingly custom-made for languishing on days when even the sunrise feels utterly bereft of warmth. @pianamusic #piana #muse #artpop #glitchpop #ambientpop #downtempo #downtempoelectronica #downtempoelectronic #chamberpop #orchestralpop #orkpop #indiepopmusic #indietronicamusic #ambientpopmusic #chilloutmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to David Sylvian’s third album, “Gone to Earth,” is like making jewelry during a beautifully tranquil rainstorm at midnight on the beach near your home, occasionally pausing to meditate upon the gently undulating waves before you and slightly obscured tapestry of stars above you. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this two-LP collection of pop songs and ambient themes, which found this former Japan frontman working with some of rock’s most immediately identifiable figures (Robert Fripp and Mel Collins of King Crimson, Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe, etc.) to help pioneer the kind of hazy, otherworldly music that eventually became known as “ambient pop.” #davidsylvian #gonetoearth #artpop #ambientpop #ambient #artrock #newage #progressivepop #progpop #sophistipop #postrock #popmusic #ambientpopmusic #ambientmusic #rockmusic #newagemusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Grandaddy’s seventh album, “The Sophtware Slump ….. on a wooden piano” — which, as the title implies, reimagines said band’s third album to celebrate its 20th anniversary — is like drinking copious amounts of alcohol, putting on equally copious amounts of vegan makeup, and studying every scale available within Western music theory, all in a creative and deliberate yet ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop existing as a poster child for loneliness among young adults in the U.S. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to a solo rendition of this Modesto-based group’s eccentric and sorrowful magnum opus, recast as a pop rock singer-songwriter record highlighting Jason Lytle’s vulnerable voice and cynical examinations of the semiconductor industry. @grandaddymusic #grandaddy #thesophtwareslumponawoodenpiano #singersongwriter #indiepop #independentpop #pianorock #pianopop #neopsychedelia #neopsych #singersongwritermusic #poprockmusic #psychedelicmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Elton John’s seventh album, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” is like eavesdropping on a man who sings one extravagant melody after another as he inspects weeds in his backyard, determining which ones could be turned into trendy living room decor and which ones have color palettes that could be used in his next line of makeup products. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most wonderfully cluttered and resourcefully accommodating records in pop rock history, which essentially reintroduced this Greater London-bred musician as one of the 1970s’ most luminous and rightfully idolized performers. @eltonjohn #eltonjohn #goodbyeyellowbrickroad #pianorock #pianopop #poprock #glamrock #glam #glitterrock #glitter #progressivepop #progpop #poprockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Billy Joel’s sixth album, “52nd Street,” is like receiving a series of effortlessly singsong texts from a man whose attitude toward the Bronx is either seething with sarcasm, drowning in sentimentality, or somewhere between both emotions. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to a simultaneously more refined and flamboyant development of this singer-songwriter’s accomplished tunes and exuberant drama, which permanently established one of conventional pop rock’s most consistently gratifying blueprints. @billyjoel #billyjoel #52ndstreet #pianorock #pianopop #singersongwriter #poprock #jazzrock #poprockmusic #singersongwritermusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Audio content warning: satirically utilized racial slur Listening to Randy Newman’s fourth album, “Good Old Boys,” is like starring in a play based on a satirical comic strip about a call center employee in New Orleans, who ultimately abandons their task of raising money for some Republican reelection campaign in favor of arrogantly explaining theories of the spiritual brain to shotgun-toting, tobacco-chewing Klansmen who are entirety bereft of both spirit and brain. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to some of the most splendidly, intentionally offensive and aggravating satire ever created by this pop rock singer-songwriter, whose tour of the Southeastern U.S.’ most desolate corners is littered with characters that are sometimes courageous, sometimes idiotic, and always profoundly fallible. @randynewmanofficial #randynewman #goodoldboys #singersongwriter #pianorock #pianopop #satire #neworleansrnb #baroquepop #baroquerock #pianoblues #singersongwritermusic #poprockmusic #musicalsatire #rnbmusic #louisianamusic #bluesmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Radiohead’s fourth album, “Kid A,” is like being the protagonist in a novel about a shy, emotionally volatile architect who uses innovative materials and techniques to construct all manner of tall, sturdy, and majestic structures, all in some desperate attempt to rescue humanity from a world where an ever-diminishing polar vortex slowly drains traditionally tolerable winters of all measurable heat and energy. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the most outstandingly aloof electronic record ever created by a nominally “rock” band, full of skipping rhythms, beautifully ominous harmonies, and oblong forms that still resemble little else aside from these Oxford-based masters of simultaneously benevolent and disturbing originality. @radiohead #radiohead #kida #artrock #electronic #electronica #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #avantrock #ambient #idm #intelligentdancemusic #braindance #electroniclisteningmusic #artpop #postrock #rockmusic #electronicmusic #ambientmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Can’s third album, “Ege Bamyası,” is like being approached by a dancing weaver and drug dealer, whose moves and words are so charismatic and vaguely familiar that you comfortably, confidently ingest the LSD he offers you and purchase every single one of his eerie rhinestone tapestries. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the most concise recorded example of this German experimental rock group’s trademark combination of meandering, merrymaking, and impressive technique (you would be hard-pressed to find another drummer with a style as simultaneously spartan and earthy as Jaki Liebezeit’s). @can_spoon_records #krautrock #kosmischemusik #psychedelicrock #psychrock #funkrock #experimentalrockmusic #psychedelicmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Faust’s “Faust IV” (do I really need to tell you its chronological placement within their discography?) is like receiving an “F” on your final clothing design class project for submitting digital sketches of models wearing skin-tight plaid bodysuits, puffy wrist braces, and oversized bonnets. Still under the influence of mind-altering drugs you took before creating said sketches the previous evening, you confront the teacher and declare with dazed, smiling confidence: “In the cities I see eight light years away from and ahead of this insufferably basic planet, outfits like these are as practical as they get.” Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to a somewhat low-key and largely vocal-driven record that found this Hamburg-based quintet employing more traditional and methodical songcraft, all while maintaining many of the abrupt fluctuations that made them one of the most compelling acts in Germany’s rich 1970s experimental rock scene. @hans_joachim_irmler #faust #faustiv #krautrock #kosmischemusik #psychedelicrock #psychrock #drone #postrock #experimentalrockmusic #psychedelicmusic #experimentalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Can’s fourth album, “Future Days,” is like trying to keep yourself dry and warm during one of the worst rainstorms in Cologne history by dropping 75 micrograms of acid, then projecting a looped hypnotic swirl on your home gym wall while vividly hallucinating that Olympic rhythmic gymnastics victory you have always secretly dreamed of. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most thoroughly accomplished exemplars of European experimental rock, with which this German quintet completely abolished traditional form in favor of murky, elastic panoramas drawn with pervasive rhythms, expressive textures, and absurd lyrics that essentially functioned as just another instrument in the boldly forward-thinking mix. Rest in peace, Damo Suzuki. @can_spoon_records #can #futuredays #krautrock #kosmischemusik #psychedelicrock #psychrock #ambient #experimentalrockmusic #psychedelicmusic #ambientmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Yegor i Opizdenevshie’s second album, “Сто лет одиночества,” is like painting a giant, floating, multicolored eye while listening to an endearingly worn “Soma”-themed vinyl record, all in a successful attempt to develop a mindset poetic enough to creatively tackle all of life’s deepest philosophical issues. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the best example of this psychedelic side project by Russian punk originator Yegor Letov, who refused to let a little thing like the Soviet Union’s dissolution quell his turbulent (if increasingly religious and patriotic) rock spirit. @egor.letov.fan #yegoriopizdenevshie #ЕгориОпизденевшие #Столетодиночества #psychedelicrock #psychrock #postpunk #newmusick #noiserock #folkrock #poetry #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #avantrock #neopsychedelia #neopsych #garagerock #rockmusic #psychedelicmusic #punkmusic #spokenword #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Peter Gabriel’s third self-titled album is like watching a mysterious and tragic thriller starring a man who fights his own post-COVID anxiety in a resolutely confident yet ultimately doomed attempt to find truly passionate love in this rapidly declining world, all set to the most hair-raisingly tense music you are ever likely to hear. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most austere, hostile, and sinister rock records to ever garner radio airplay, with which this former Genesis frontman finally complemented his abstractly intense substance with charmingly somber and pretentious style. @itspetergabriel #petergabriel #artrock #newwave #progressivepop #progpop #artpop #postpunk #newmusick #rockmusic #popmusic #punkmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Amon Düül II’s second album, “Yeti,” is like glancing at a circular mirror in the center of a colorful vortex swirl on your bedroom wall and seeing the swolest muscles imaginable, becoming so hypnotized by the effects of steroids on your body that you spontaneously sing and dance as if you have been rehearsing this moment for your entire life. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this collection of organized (yet still very experimental) rock tunes and impromptu psychedelic jams, all delivered with such facility and agility that it is virtually impossible to tell the differences between either compositional style in terms of sound or quality. @renateknaup #amondüülii #yeti #krautrock #kosmischemusik #psychedelicrock #psychrock #heavypsych #hardpsych #jamband #jamrock #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #avantrock #progressiverock #progrock #prog #experimentalrockmusic #psychedelicrockmusic #hardrockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to David Bowie’s 11th album, “Low,” is like playing captive audience to an abstract painter rambling about how useless it is for him to portray things as they actually are when all reality offers anymore is global warming, social anxiety, and technological “progress” that fails to adequately solve either problem. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this artistic chameleon’s most deliberate abandonment of his then-recent history, rife with alternately jagged and misty compositions that not only helped introduce 1970s rock’s vanguard to a slightly larger audience, but also stands as a daringly exploratory and profoundly intricate classic in its own right. @davidbowie #davidbowie #low #artrock #ambient #electronic #electronica #artpop #krautrock #kosmischemusik #experimentalrockmusic #ambientmusic #electronicmusic #popmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Paavoharju’s first album, “Yhä hämärää,” is like treating your own PTSD by ingesting liberal doses of LSD, then imagining that Lo-Fi Girl transforms into an anthropomorphic mouse and transports you through every layer of Earth’s atmosphere to read and chill in her airless, Heavenly home. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the record that introduced the psychedelic music world to this Savonlinna-based collective’s smooth, downcast, and occasionally mangled take on contemporary folk, subtly imbued with a simultaneously creative and direct character seemingly designed to accompany images that only exist within listeners’ minds. @paavoharju.savonlinna #paavoharju #yhähämärää #psychedelicfolk #acidfolk #psychfolk #avantfolk #avantgardefolk #experimentalfolk #folktronica #laptopfolk #dreampop #fieldrecordings #phonography #ambientpop #contemporaryfolkmusic #psychedelicmusic #electronicmusic #alternativerockmusic #ambientpopmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s seventh album, “Paper Mâché Dream Balloon,” is like successfully calming down and warming up a group of seven hyperactive, hypothermic children by teaching them how to play various acoustic instruments in a padded cell that comes positively alive with LED lights and superficial yet tangible vibrations. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this audacious Melbourne-based psychedelic group’s left turn into relatively clear-cut contemporary folk, the uniformly breezy mood of which never becomes dull thanks to its creators’ succinct, faintly catchy, and irrepressibly odd rock and pop compositions. @kinggizzard #kinggizzardandthelizardwizard #papermâchédreamballoon #psychedelicpop #psychpop #psychedelicfolk #acidfolk #psychfolk #folkrock #neopsychedelia #neopsych #sunshinepop #softpop #tweepop #twee #chamberpop #orchestralpop #orkpop #psychedelicmusic #indiepopmusic #contemporaryfolkmusic #rockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Nelson Angelo and Joyce Moreno’s first and only album together, “Nelson ngelo e Joyce,” is like watching a romantic film about a man and woman who co-own a meticulously organized and completely sustainable wool clothing shop, and spend most of the film’s runtime paying close, quiet attention to each other as they patiently shear the sheep inside the beautiful barn behind their storefront. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this short-but-oh-so-sweet contemporary folk essential by two Brazilian music legends, who collectively created the ideal soundtrack for naturally and psychedelically foggy evenings. Really, who needs marijuana when you have music like this? @nelsonangelooficial @joycemoreno.oficial #nelsonangelo #joycemoreno #mpb #músicapopularbrasileira #brazilianpopularmusic #psychedelicfolk #acidfolk #psychfolk #bossanova #progressivefolk #progfolk #brazilianmusic #contemporaryfolkmusic #psychedelicmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Hoplites’ fourth album, “Paramainomeni,” is like studying the job application submitted by a man who clearly created it during a sleepless, agitated manic episode, with a six-page manifesto about the differences between consonance and dissonance instead of a cover letter, and a resume that extensively lists musical compositions in odd time signatures instead of personal skills and accomplishments. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to the best and most voraciously forward-thinking record yet created by what is almost certainly the only Greek-obsessed metal artist in China, whose violent labyrinth of guitars is rendered all the more exciting by unpredictable changes in rhythm and timbre. @minyagskad #hoplites #ὁπλίτης #paramainomeni #παραμαινομένη #progressivemetal #progmetal #blackmetal #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #mathcore #brutalprog #brutalprogrock #brutalprogressiverock #dissonantdeathmetal #dissodeath #skronkdeathmetal #skronkdeath #technicalthrashmetal #technicalthrash #techthrash #metalcoremusic #avantprogmusic #technicaldeathmetalmusic #thrashmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #bestof2024sofar
Listening to Ad Nauseam’s first album, “Nihil quam vacuitas ordinatum est,” is like being hired to work for an advanced hardware troubleshooting company that requires you to wear the most boldly unconventional outfits in your wardrobe, then share a single cubicle with three other techies while exclusively chromatic and microtonal clusters blare from the overhead box speakers. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this repulsive excursion through one outrageous hour of sour harmonies and restless rhythms, which not only embellishes the harshness of technical death metal’s already-demanding intensity, but is also fundamentally based upon refined, spellbinding compositional sensibilities. @ad_nauseam_official #adnauseam #nihilquamvacuitasordinatumest #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #technicaldeathmetal #techdeath #dissonantdeathmetal #dissodeath #skronkdeathmetal #skronkdeath #progressivemetal #progmetal #technicaldeathmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to The Trees Community’s second and final album, “The Christ Tree,” is like wandering as a lost sheep toward the sound of a choir rehearsing inside their Roosevelt Island sanctuary, then kneeling before the altar’s crucifix and quietly offering all of your pain and stress to the Good Shepherd. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this doctrinally gracious and stylistically fluid brouhaha of psychedelic folk, courtesy of an Episcopal community whose comprehensive, iconoclastic approach bears little (if anything) in common with what most of the Western world associates with Christian music. @oldbearrecords #trees #thetreescommunity #thechristtree #psychedelicfolk #acidfolk #psychfolk #freefolk #freeformfolk #chamberfolk #baroquefolk #orchestralfolk #orkfolk #progressivefolk #progfolk #hymns #hymnody #psychedelicfolkmusic #musicalhymns #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Hellwitch’s first album, “Syzygial Miscreancy,” is like overhearing the notoriously manic coworker in the cubicle next to yours discover that the website he meticulously designed is not showing up in any search engine results. Rather than cope by hitting himself in the face and wasting his entire paycheck on some impulsive purchase, however, he decides to take his therapist’s advice and jump in place while shouting at you about how frustrated he feels. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this catchier-than-average blast of Floridian thrash metal, which elevated the genre’s occasionally shallow mix of outlandish speed, brutal belligerence, and grim lyrical themes with erratic tempo changes and generally intelligible vocal deliveries. @hellwitchofficial #hellwitch #syzygialmiscreancy #technicalthrashmetal #technicalthrash #techthrash #deathmetal #technicaldeathmetal #techdeath #thrashmetalmusic #deathmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Hoplites’ third album, “Antitimoroumeni,” is like calling an information technology support service for what you initially think will be a typical troubleshooting session … only for the representative on the other end to slap exclusively odd-metered rhythms on his massive belly while insisting that the only way you will get your computer to properly function again is to scare it with the harshest, most bone-chilling guitar chords you can possibly learn. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to this grippingly savage thrash metal record, delivered with the kinds of relentless complexity and extreme rage that become addictive in their aurally lacerating density. Not for the faint of heart or sensitive of ear. @vitriolic_sage #hoplites #Ὁπλίτης #antitimoroumeni #Ἀντιτιμωρουμένη #blackmetal #technicalthrashmetal #technicalthrash #techthrash #mathcore #dissonantdeathmetal #dissodeath #skronkdeathmetal #skronkdeath #thrashmetalmusic #metalcoremusic #technicaldeathmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Inanna’s first album, “Converging Ages,” is like being one of four perpetually moving and growling anthropomorphic terriers in a fun, uplifting adventure novel, during which you and your canine comrades learn and teach all the communication and leadership skills necessary for the entire universe to achieve justice, dignity, and peace. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this magnificent, gargantuan journey through the Milky Way, guided by a Santiago-based quartet who are not afraid or incapable of recreating decades’ worth of death metal methods in their own celestial image. @inannametal #inanna #convergingages #progressivemetal #progmetal #melodicdeathmetal #melodeath #mdm #technicaldeathmetal #techdeath #deathmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Tool’s third album, “Lateralus,” is like using every iota of mathematical knowledge ever acquired in your lifetime to improvise over a metronome that changes meter with each passing measure, then creating an elaborate plan to ultimately help other musicians realize that numbers themselves are just an easily manipulated social construct. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the definitive statement of purpose by a Los Angeles-based band who have always used their eerie, intricate, and aggressive style of metal to compel listeners toward avoiding assumptions, making independent judgments, and striving for higher standards of musical quality. @toolmusic #tool #lateralus #alternativemetal #altmetal #progressivemetal #progmetal #postmetal #metalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Devin Townsend’s second album, “Biomech,” is like entering a simultaneously opaque and delicate universe where there is no discernible difference between air and water, and no humans are around to prevent you from writing the most sublime melodies of your entire life. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this futuristic masterpiece by a British Columbian polymath who initially confused and upset many a Strapping Young Lad fan with the pleasant, straightforward music therein, but also laid the foundation for an unpredictable, constantly forward-looking solo career rife with consolidated affronts against the metal community’s preconceived notions about “extremity.” @dvntownsend #devintownsend #biomech #progressivemetal #progmetal #alternativemetal #altmetal #postmetal #industrialmetal #shoegaze #shoegazing #shoegazer #wombadelia #metalmusic #postindustrialmusic #alternativerockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Heldon’s seventh album, “Stand By,” is like writing a novella about Parisians using random scientific experiments to relentlessly move forward and strive for a better future within their city, all while accompanied by the best instrumental music in their combined collections. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this oft-overlooked artifact of France’s vibrant 1970s progressive rock and experimental rock cultures, blending meticulous electronic arrangements and unconstrained human spontaneity into a veritable space odyssey of timbres. @pinhasrichard @pgauthier6 @francoislaizeau #heldon #standby #progressiveelectronic #progelectronic #avantprog #avantgardeprog #avantgardeprogrock #avantgardeprogressiverock #experimentalprog #experimentalprogrock #experimentalprogressiverock #berlinschool #berlinschoolofelectronicmusic #spacerock #zeuhl #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #progressiveelectronicmusic #avantprogmusic #psychedelicrockmusic #metalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Serpent Column’s second album, “Mirror in Darkness,” is like being invited to showcase your visual and musical art on an aesthetically multifaceted YouTube channel, which gladly promotes your busy illustrations of weights made from various metals and your compositions driven by patterns that make no distinction between melody and discord. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to a virtual how-to guide for creating skillfully executed and genuinely interesting metal in the 21st century, with sole member Theophonos using the genre’s audacious pandemonium as a map toward comprehensible and (gasp!) catchy destinations. @mystiskaos #serpentcolumn #mirrorindarkness #blackmetal #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #mathcore #metalcoremusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Liturgy’s fourth album, “H.A.Q.Q.,” is like watching a woman light a diverse array of scented candles to conjure an equally diverse array of heroic spirits. The only traits shared between each spirit are bizarre costumes that make little aesthetic sense yet somehow feel completely appropriate, as well as a willingness to thoroughly, dramatically redeem and invigorate their summoner’s unconscious mind. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this exciting and obstinately metaphysical counterpart to Haela Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix’s continuous social media discourse, which took her notoriously mystical style of metal to unprecedentedly grandiose and elaborate pinnacles of composition and arrangement. @litvrgy #liturgy #haqq #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #blackmetal #glitch #clicksandcuts #totalism #postmetal #metalmusic #electronicmusic #experimentalmusic #postminimalistmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to God’s second and final album, “The Anatomy of Addiction,” is like initiating children into your anger management cult by giving them all matching tattoos, then leading them through an elaborate ritual during which one volunteering child is crushed by an elephant while the rest of them snake, spiral, and twirl red satin ribbons. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this deafening collection of terse metal guitars and powerful post-industrial grooves, which found frontman Kevin Martin (aka The Bug) ever-so-slightly increasing the approachability of this project’s music while also somehow intensifying his singular brand of agitated anarchy. @bugmanldn #god #theanatomyofaddiction #industrialmetal #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #avantrock #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #avantgardejazz #avantjazz #experimentaljazz #dub #dubreggae #noiserock #metalmusic #postindustrialmusic #jazzmusic #reggaemusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Oksennus’ second album, “Sokea idiootti,” is like starring in a particularly mysterious and dramatic horror film, during which your character discovers a terrifying yet intriguing universe after taking 300 micrograms of LSD, then introduces said universe to the insufferably square and sober world via paintings of faceless humanoid figures with spider legs, skintight outfits made of black leather and silver chains, and guitar chord progressions that consist entirely of minor seconds and major sevenths. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most offbeat and utterly deranged doom metal records ever made, courtesy of a Joensuu-based group whose sparse, bass-anchored textures and unpredictable fluctuations in rhythm and form would not be half as successful without its three musicians performing in complete, breathtaking (dis)harmony. @oksennvs #oksennus #sokeaidiootti #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #experimentalmetal #deathmetal #deathdoommetal #doomdeathmetal #deathdoom #doomdeath #dissonantdeathmetal #dissodeath #skronkdeathmetal #skronkdeath #blackmetal #doommetalmusic #technicaldeathmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Fredrik Thordendal’s first and only solo album, “Sol Niger Within,” is like starring in a series of action-adventure short films in which your character responds to life‘s ever-growing complexity by violently trembling and psychotically rambling to themselves, all while rampaging through an overbuilt city with a stolen tank that they can only somewhat operate with any level of competence. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to a bracingly bizarre record that found Meshuggah’s lead guitarist taking his band’s famously angular approach to progressive metal in looser, rowdier directions, resulting in a suite of secrecy and chicanery that never diminish with repeated listens. @fredrik_thordendal #fredrikthordendal #solnigerwithin #djent #mathmetal #avantgardemetal #avantmetal #progressivemetal #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #jazzfusion #electricjazz #brutalprog #brutalprogrock #spokenword #freeimprovisation #freeimprov #nonidiomaticimprovisation #nonidiomaticimprov #freemusic #totalimprovisation #totalimprov #openimprovisation #poetry #progressivemetalmusic #jazzmusic #avantprogmusic #experimentalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Weezer’s self-titled first album (informally known as the “Blue Album”) is like joining a man on his three-month summer vacation to Los Angeles — most of which he spends mourning the fact that he cannot successfully garden due to an influx of spurge, then making up for his disappointment by applying his recent enthusiasm for melodic contour to the composition of background music for extreme sports videos. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this urgent and straightforward pop rock record that initially became a commercial success (and critical flop) thanks to its massive, sleazy power chords and effortlessly memorable choruses, and ultimately became a classic thanks to its subtle jokes and flawed openness. @weezer #weezer #bluealbum #powerpop #alternativerock #altrock #geekrock #nerdrock #dorkrock #poppunk #punkpop #emo #poprockmusic #alternativerockmusic #punkrockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Pavement’s second album, “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain,” is like trying to teach the concept of accidentals to a music theory student whose playful sarcasm is so subtle that it is impossible to tell when his questions are sincere … yet fearing the damage that could result from discouraging humor in the classroom, you simply allow the seedlings of this boy’s snarky remarks to rapidly transform into lesson-consuming vines. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this vigorously profound watershed of 1990s indie rock, with Scott Kannberg and Stephen Malkmus using a retooled lineup and slightly higher recording quality to enhance their music’s deliberate anarchy, spontaneous tunefulness, mischievous wit, and poignant tenderness. @pavementband #pavement #crookedraincrookedrain #indierock #independentrock #slackerrock #lofi #lofiindie #lofiindierock #noisepop #indierockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Relient K’s sixth album, “Forget and Not Slow Down,” is like watching a man in all orange clothing stand outside during an autumn thunderstorm and drink 15 consecutive cups of coffee while refining the intervals between each pitch in the melodies he just wrote, all in an attempt to combat his own immense loneliness by creating something meaningful and/or getting struck by lightning. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most optimistic records ever created in the aftermath of a broken engagement, delivered with introspective outbursts and economical pop rock hooks that reflect frontman Matt Thiessen’s creation of these songs during three months at a private lake house in Winchester, Tenn. @relientk #relientk #forgetandnotslowdown #alternativerock #altrock #powerpop #poprock #pianorock #pianopop #emopop #indierock #independentrock #indiepop #independentpop #poppunk #punkpop #christianrock #alternativerockmusic #poprockmusic #emomusic #punkrockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to The Queers’ sixth album, “Don’t Back Down,” is like feeling so hedonistic and optimistic that you ignore how heavy drinking increases your risk of ultimately suffering from more than 200 different diseases, instead beginning every day of the hottest and brightest summer on record downing a six-pack of Budweiser, then driving (!) to the next interesting town on your itinerary while enthusiastically humming variations on the infinite amount of melodic contours in your mind. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this thrilling and awesomely captivating collection of superb punk rock songs, courtesy of a Portsmouth-based group who treat the genre like a template to expound upon rather than a formula to preserve. @thequeersofficial #thequeers #dontbackdown #poppunk #punkpop #bubblegum #bubblegumpop #powerpop #surfpunk #punkrockmusic #poprockmusic #surfmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Jeff Rosenstock’s second solo album, “WORRY.,” is like eavesdropping on a man who wakes up singing every ascending and descending solfège exercise he can possibly think of, and continues doing so as he prepares breakfast, works out for 30 minutes, takes a hot bath, puts on his best clothes, and draws hearts on everything he passes during his walk to work. He does all this not because he is happy or genuinely cares about his own wellbeing, but because he simply refuses to entertain his own fear of losing the person who taught him what true love means. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to a record that continued accentuating this former Bomb the Music Industry! frontman’s pop rock influences while remaining indebted to his independent alternative rock principles and crude punk rock heritage, definitively exemplifying his music’s clever, ramshackle, and spirited blend of raucous lyrical proclamations and extensive stylistic intelligence. @jeffrosenstock #jeffrosenstock #worry #poppunk #punkpop #powerpop #indierock #independentrock #singersongwriter #punkrock #punkrockmusic #poprockmusic #alternativerockmusic #singersongwritermusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Ging Nang Boyz’ “… Young Alive in Love” — one of two simultaneously released debut albums — is like being interviewed inside your studio apartment littered with trading cards from seemingly every such game ever created, enthusiastically telling this volunteer-run online publication about how relentlessly clashing cymbals together somehow became the key to you finally being able to fully give and accept love. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this unconstrained mess of pop punk, which is not only guaranteed to silence anyone who would dare treat said genre like a dirty word, but also vividly evokes a need to escape from the constant neurological flood of postmodern urban life. @mine.minet @gingnang.boyz #gingnangboyz #youngaliveinlove #noiserock #seishunpunk #青春パンク #seisyunpunk #青春パンクロック #seishunpunkrock #poppunk #punkpop #powerpop #jrock #ジェイロック #jロック #jeirokku #noisepop #poppunkmusic #poprockmusic #indierockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to The Vandals’ seventh album, “Hitler Bad, Vandals Good,” is like successfully teaching your general music students the hardest solfège exercises in your curriculum by having them not only jump up and down a series of eight gradually heightening boulders as they sing, but also encouraging them to make a different silly face for each boulder and pitch syllable. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this eccentric and often endearingly horny record, which completely abandons this Huntington Beach-based punk rock group’s relatively dread-fueled beginnings in favor of infectious, adroitly executed whimsy. @vandalsofficial #thevandals #hitlerbadvandalsgood #poppunk #punkpop #skatepunk #skaterock #punkrock #comedyrock #powerpop #punkrockmusic #musicalcomedy #poprockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Jeff Rosenstock’s fourth album, “NO DREAM,” is like watching one of your coworkers relentlessly pogo in their cubicle while belting a seemingly infinite sequence of catchy tunes about how career passion is nothing more than a status symbol in what passes for U.S. culture, clearly not caring about whether his intense expression of fury and frustration will annoy or alienate squares like you. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to a fiercely spontaneous record that is not exactly revolutionary in its mix of pop rock melodies and punk rock protests, yet stands out for the sheer speed and vigor it brings to the table, as well as pointed articulations of everyday concerns that feel genuinely important in a stylistic landscape rife with fashionistas trying way too hard to be generational mouthpieces. @jeffrosenstock #jeffrosenstock #nodream #poppunk #punkpop #powerpop #skatepunk #skaterock #indierock #independentrock #punkrockmusic #poprockmusic #alternativerockmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Sampha’s second album, “Lahai,” is like visiting a shopping mall where an otherworldly deity sings a series of improvised melodies to lure you into his store full of organic cosmetic products, which he lets you smell and apply while telling you that your obsessions with Afrofuturism, particle physics, and even your own recent parenthood will do no good unless they ultimately help you become the best version of yourself. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to and peers of this long-awaited and cooperatively produced sophomore effort by the music industry’s go-to source for contemporary R&B keening, whose expressions of bliss, awe, and sentimental remembrance are obscured by ever-present feelings of anxiety and desire. @sampha #sampha #lahai #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #neosoul #nusoul #ukbass #futuregarage #nugarage #postgarage #spacegarage #minimalgarage #atmosphericgarage #artpop #contemporaryrnbmusic #soulmusic #ukgaragemusic #popmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #bestof2023
Listening to Djrum’s second album, “Portrait With Firewood,” is like exploring a mysterious shipwreck that washed up on the Northumberland coast during a particularly windy storm incurred by the North Atlantic Oscillation, ultimately finding the ghost of a woman in yellow, green, and pink clothing who gladly shows you the remnants of countless vintage VHS tapes. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this bold and brilliant master class in scenic momentum and painstaking arrangement, with London-based producer Felix Manuel using his fragile, disciplined piano skills to saturate these compositions in a beauty that is all too rare in electronic dance music. @felix_djrum #djrum #portraitwithfirewood #ukbass #ambient #atmosphericdrumandbass #atmosphericdrumnbass #atmosphericdnb #atmosphericdrumandbass #ambientjungle #artcoredrumandbass #artcoredrumnbass #artcorednb #artcoredrumandbass #intelligentdrumandbass #intelligentdrumnbass #intelligentdnb #intelligentdandb #ambienttechno #modernclassical #21stcenturyclassical #twentyfirstcenturyclassical #idm #intelligentdancemusic #braindance #electroniclisteningmusic #drumandbassmusic #ambientmusic #technomusic #westernclassicalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Jamie xx’s first (and, thus far, only) solo album, “In Colour,” is like responding to the simultaneously hottest and rainiest summer in London history by virtually living inside your record collection, carefully studying each vinyl classic for melodic fragments that you can manipulate into masterpieces of your own. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to a deliberately sweeping encapsulation of The xx producer and percussionist’s contemplative, alluring, and highly influential style, which does not engross listeners in the energetic joy of vintage British electronic dance music so much as evoke hazy reminders of it. @jamie___xx #jamiexx #incolour #ukbass #futuregarage #nugarage #postgarage #spacegarage #minimalgarage #atmosphericgarage #deephouse #soulfulhouse #downtempo #downtempoelectronica #downtempoelectronic #altpop #alternativepop #ukgaragemusic #housemusic #chilloutmusic #popmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Smino’s third album, “Luv 4 Rent,” is like hanging out with a gymnast who smokes joint after joint and drinks cup after cup of hot buttered rum, all in a successful attempt to stop worrying about everything he cannot change about his ongoing fight for gender equality in the world of baton twirling. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to this Chicago-based MC’s examination of affection and all its consequent burdens, expressed via his most compelling crosses between contemporary R&B and multigenerational hip hop thus far. @smino #smino #luv4rent #poprap #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #neosoul #nusoul #trap #trapmusic #traprap #trapsoul #contemporaryrnbmusic #soulmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Billie Eilish’s second album, “Happier Than Ever,” is like watching the concerningly thin owner of a mattress and home furnishing store sit down after what seems like two straight years of being on her feet, then use her tiny hands to finally write down her rapidly increasing array of design and décor ideas. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this virtual how-to guide on embracing teenage superstardom with courage and elegance, which finds Billie O’Connell abandoning the “weird kid” image upon which she built her reputation while also broadening her already-exploratory approach to pop and R&B, as well as amplifying the prolonged experiential crisis that is young adulthood. @billieeilish #billieeilish #happierthanever #altpop #alternativepop #contemporaryrnb #contemporaryrandb #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #electropop #ambientpop #singersongwriter #popmusic #contemporaryrnbmusic #electronicmusic #ambientpopmusic #singersongwritermusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Lorde’s second album, “Melodrama,” is like trying to help your teenage daughter cope with her first major breakup, suggesting journaling and meditation as much healthier alternatives to staying up all night every night and filling her body with whatever mind-altering, soul-destroying substances her “friends” offer her. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this exceptionally performed synthesis of music and persona, on which tastefully old-fashioned electronic producer Jack Antonoff helps Ella Yelich-O’Connor imbue her studiously forlorn pop with the exploration-cum-acceptance that comes with womanhood, as well as frequent moments of authentic, impulsive bliss that helped establish her as something more than a poster child for adolescent gloom. @lorde #lorde #melodrama #altpop #alternativepop #synthpop #synthesizerpop #technopop #electropop #dancepop #artpop #popmusic #electronicmusic #dancemusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Caroline Polachek’s third solo album, “Pang,” is like reading the autobiography of a woman who endured even longer and lonelier nights than most people do in the wake of a divorce, yet ultimately found solace in the illusion of a Moon growing as it nears the horizon, as well as the night’s vast spectrum of illuminations that have nothing to do with said satellite’s light. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this intensely poignant record that not only refines this former Chairlift frontwoman’s skillful equilibrium between gentle pop and melancholy electronics, but also functions as an unpretentiously visionary trek through her creative and personal renewal. Rarely has an artist’s decision to release an album under their given name felt this intentional. @carolineplz #carolinepolachek #pang #artpop #altpop #alternativepop #electronic #electronica #ambientpop #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #electropop #glitchpop #popmusic #indietronicamusic #ambientpopmusic #contemporaryrnbmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Kelela’s first album, “Take Me Apart,” is like being kissed, caressed, and … um … otherwise stimulated all over by an otherworldly antechinus-human hybrid in a floating, perpetually moonlit city where every resident has high-speed Wi-Fi, recycles and composts, works a STEM job, can afford rent, and bicycles instead of drives. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this more self-assured and profoundly passionate improvement upon Kelela Mizanekristos’ already outstanding and rewarding amalgam of electronic dance music and contemporary R&B, using quietly creepy production, balanced yet heartrending vocals, and emotionally volatile lyrics to create an auditory world where love dies as soon as it blossoms. @kelela #kelela #takemeapart #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #ukbass #artpop #wonky #streetbass #ambientpop #contemporaryrnb #contemporaryrandb #contemporaryrnbmusic #electronicdancemusic #popmusic #ambientpopmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Duda Beat’s first album, “Sinto muito,” is like watching a woman sit in front of her fireplace and briefly try to set realistic self-care goals after yet another devastating breakup, but ultimately resolve to continue flirting with every man she sees while obsessing about the great love she lost and even greater love she could potentially gain. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this charming concoction of pop and contemporary R&B, which does not require a knowledge of Portuguese to appreciate how its alternately opulent and austere instrumentation magnifies the sheer euphoria of Eduarda Simões’ raspy, dynamic singing. @dudabeat #dudabeat #sintomuito #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #altpop #alternativepop #brega #electropop #tecnobrega #tecnomelody #trap #trapmusic #chillwave #glofi #ukbass #contemporaryrnbmusic #popmusic #bregamusic #indietronicamusic #northernbrazilianmusic #hiphopmusic #electronicdancemusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Iglooghost’s first album, “Neō Wax Bloom,” is like yet again being scolded in class for playing your favorite fantasy-adventure trading card game instead of finishing your assigned worksheet — at which point you transport your yelling teacher into the beautifully glitchy cyberpunk universe of said game, where they involuntarily shout faster than they can think, dry hump anything that moves, and consume everything that is remotely edible until their abdomen literally bursts. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to one of the most innovative, intoxicating, and downright ecstatic records released within the past 10 years, transitioning between countless styles of electronic dance music at a pace that is psychologically overwhelming yet all guided by an instinctive rationale (and — apparently — a story about a nebulous, transtemporal worm named Xiāngjiāo). @iglooghost #iglooghost #neōwaxbloom #ukbass #wonky #streetbass #bubblegumbass #pcmusic #glitchhop #drillandbass #drillnbass #footwork #futurebass #grime #glitchpop #hybridtrap #hybrid #deconstructedclub #postclub #experimentalclub #clubnotclub #avantgardeclub #avantclub #trapelectronicdancemusic #intelligentdancemusic #popmusic #indietronica #postindustrialmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Jessy Lanza’s third album, “All the Time,” is like reading a sci-fi novel about a whimsical woman casually traveling from planet to planet to teach young inhabitants how to effortlessly leap, contort, and dance their way across the roofs of their hometowns’ most cutting-edge architecture. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the most buoyant, tactile, and contemporary R&B-influenced collaboration between this Hamilton-bred artist and Junior Boys’ Jeremy Greenspan, who maintain their previous efforts’ bizarre, restless manipulations of electronic dance music while also paying greater heed to Lanza’s shrewdly vague approach to pop lyrical tropes. @jessy.lanza #jessylanza #allthetime #alternativernb #alternativerandb #indiernb #indierandb #pbrnb #pbrandb #rnegb #synthpop #synthesizerpop #technopop #ukbass #freestyle #glitchpop #contemporaryrnbmusic #electronicdancemusic #dancepopmusic #indietronicamusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Panopticon’s 10th album, “The Rime of Memory,” is like staring up at a paradoxically rainy sky during what should be yet another snowy winter in Ely, Minn., all while listening to a news story about alleged progress in the fight against global warming that fills your increasingly fat yet frail body with black, bitter, and highly carcinogenic bile. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to this instrumentally rich and occasionally mournful collection of black metal sagas, during which melody, harmony, and overall atmosphere are given the same priority as the genre’s customary sonic provocations. @thetruepanopticon #panopticon #therimeofmemory #atmosphericblackmetal #atmoblack #postrock #postmetal #americana #blackmetalmusic #northernamericanmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #bestof2023
Listening to Blut aus Nord’s seventh album, “Memoria Vetusta II: Dialogue With the Stars,” is like eavesdropping on three men sitting at midnight inside a completely unlit bedroom, staring out its one window at countless unidentifiable things set adrift in the slowly worsening winds, and singing one forlorn melody after another in a desperate attempt to prevent said winds from carrying away their house. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to this exceptionally composed and performed onslaught of despair, courtesy of an inventive Mondeville-based group who have often pissed off black metal purists by treating assonance and assault as equally important. @blutausnord.official #blutausnord #memoriavetustaiidialoguewiththestars #atmosphericblackmetal #atmoblack #melodicblackmetal #blackmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Weakling’s first and only album, “Dead as Dreams,” is like looking out upon a world slowly but surely ravaged by war, overpopulation, and greenhouse gasses, yet deciding that the only battle worth fighting amidst this self-destruction is the one against your own mounting sorrow about it all. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to the excruciatingly passionate and vigorously intricate fruits of this San Francisco-based black metal band’s two-year rehearsal labor, filtering the infamously Northern European genre through opaque blankets of understated nuances and textural enigmas until achieving a gigantic, trance-inducing, and wholly unique result. Who knew that the United States could be this kvlt? @joshsmithguitarzan #weakling #deadasdreams #atmosphericblackmetal #atmoblack #blackmetal #depressiveblackmetal #suicidalblackmetal #depressivesuicidalblackmetal #dsbm #doommetal #doom #progressivemetal #progmetal #blackmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Wolves in the Throne Room’s second album, “Two Hunters,” is like taking your second-grade class on a full-day field trip through Olympic National Forest, which is so increasingly affected by global warming that a mirage appears of two men telling these children to take photographs of the trees before they all die and disappear. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this record that not only brought a more sophisticated appreciation of progress, strain, atmosphere, and balance to black metal’s notorious delirium, but also uses its organic blend of intensity and danger to explore those deeply vulnerable and anguished places where grace and ugliness are virtually indistinguishable from each other. @wittrofficial #wolvesinthethroneroom #twohunters #atmosphericblackmetal #atmoblack #blackgaze #blackenedshoegaze #atmosphericblackmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Lurker of Chalice’s self-titled first and only album is like wandering outside with an umbrella shielding your freshly highlighted hair and earbuds blasting virtually every subgenre of extreme music during a San Francisco thunderstorm, all in a desperate attempt to find someone else who has had the annual rhinovirus for as long and as severely as you have. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this horrifying, eccentric, and singularly detailed grower by Leviathan’s Wrest, who proves that speed and volume are not completely essential to black metal brutality. @wrestplague #lurkerofchalice #atmosphericblackmetal #atmoblack #funeraldoommetal #funeraldoom #darkambient #ambientindustrial #atmosphericsludgemetal #atmosphericsludge #atmosludge #depressiveblackmetal #suicidalblackmetal #depressivesuicidalblackmetal #dsbm #blackmetalmusic #doommetalmusic #ambientmusic #postindustrialmusic #sludgemetalmusic #postmetalmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Comforting’s “S/T I” (do I really need to tell you its chronological placement within his discography?) is like feeling such infuriating, debilitating depression that you decide nothing in existence deserves to thrive, then scream so loudly that all nearby clouds disperse, all nearby trees wither, and any nearby human thoughts succumb to the merciless void. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors to and peers of this stunning and freely downloadable metal gem, which finds Damián Antón Ojeda (of Sadness and Trhä fame) experiencing one disoriented and disorienting catharsis after another within the music’s alternately mesmerizing and excruciating panoramas of sound. #comforting #stI #postmetal #noiserock #experimentalrock #avantgarderock #avantrock #blackgaze #blackenedshoegaze #noise #idm #intelligentdancemusic #braindance #electroniclisteningmusic #drone #postindustrial #dronemetal #atmosphericblackmetalmusic #industrialandnoisemusic #experimentalmusic #electronicmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory
Listening to Vàli’s first album, “Forlatt,” is like starring in a film documenting some bittersweet romance between your preternaturally lonesome character and the Reinebringen forest, which you thank for the wood you used to build an acoustic guitar before letting the trees teach you how to fingerpick patterns that are indistinguishable from Reinevatnet’s gently undulating waters. Check out my Instagram story for clips of tracks that I consider predecessors, peers, and successors to this unassumingly exquisite half hour of neofolk innocence and tranquility, which uses its threadbare instrumentation to summon all manner of gloomy yet magical sonic scenery. #vàli #forlatt #darkfolk #norwegianfolkmusic #norskfolkemusikk #neofolkmusic #nordicfolkmusic #musicnerd #toddstoptens #knowyourmusicalhistory