Will you play me the song that makes you wanna dance?

Things are bleak, but music is still magic. Here are six rockin’ records, four sweet singles, two bangin’ bonus singles, and some words on the permanent moral stain of America.

Here’s a playlist. Thanks for reading, listening, existing.

ROCKIN’ RECORDS

Teens in Trouble - What’s Mine

What’s Mine is a record that is fuzzy, dynamic, warm, and full of poppy, anthemic jams. The old Weezer influence can be heard all over these tracks in both the music and the lyrical content. If you’re like me and revere the Blue Album as a foundational text, spin this immediately. These songs are open and inviting, and feel like a big hug from an old friend who understands just how hard it can be to exist some days. Lizzie Killian seamlessly folds big hooks and even bigger riffs into her relatable songs about being “a weirdo,” feeling out of place, and playing back on loop those embarrassing things you said out loud. We’ve all been there. A guest spot from PUP’s Stefan Babcock on the opening track is perfect. In “Playlist,” a standout track, she sings about human connection via music playlist (“if this is how to be close to you / I wanna know what you’re listening to”) which is beautiful, and also the reason I write this blog. That’s what it’s all about. “I’ve got my own thing going / if everyone is gone / I’ve got me / it’s just me,” she sings on “Awkward Girl.” Teens in Trouble has their own thing going for sure, with an incredible debut record that marries classic vibes with something new and exciting.

Ekko Astral - pink balloons

This record is a special, seismic event. It is moving, it is gripping, it is fierce, it is defiant, it is relentless. It finds joy in harsh experimentation, it flips the finger around each corner, it jumps and thrashes against the world and against itself, living on the edge of brutal and bittersweet. It engages in clever wordplay at times and takes direct aim at others. It takes the ominous overstimulation and confusing chaos of the world, talks justified shit, and adds just the right layers of humor and snark while remaining dead serious that “nothing’s funny anymore.” The line “I have friends still hiding while you throw a parade” is a loud, haunting statement that speaks to just how far we still have to go for trans equality in this world. The Josaleigh Pollett guest appearance on the final track only adds to the greatness. May the aftershocks reverberate for years.

Mister Goblin - Frog Poems

There are some people who just know how to write a pop song, and Sam Goblin is one of those people. Fans of Liquid Mike, The Sidekicks, and Owen, this one is for you. A guy with a guitar writing clever, catchy, poppy tunes. I can’t resist a song about getting stoned at Olive Garden and eating until you puke; I can’t resist a song that mentions one of my favorite things, Magic: the Gathering; and a song called “Mike Shinoda” that features a sample of Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) is just good shit. When Goblin wants to rock, he can do that too, like in “Run Hide Fight” (about active shooter drills) and “Lost Data” where the band turns it up and rocks out. Whether full band or solo, holding back or charging forward, these are just damn good songs.

Carpool - My Life in Subtitles

This is the sound of a band taking a huge step forward and finding themselves. From piano ballads to post-hardcore and back, Carpool’s ambition, energy, and talent are on full display. Singles “Can We Just Get High?” and “Open Container Blues” are two of the best songs you’ll hear this year, and self-destruction has never sounded as good as it does on “I Hate Music,” a side B standout.

Molly O’Malley - Noise Beneath the Mantle

Self-described on Bandcamp as “daydream punk / overcast pop to feel your feelings to” and I think that’s an apt description. The songs are dreamy and hazy, with a texture and depth like a breezeless cloudy day that’s just warm enough for you to walk around in a t-shirt but you wear your tattered old hoodie anyway because it just feels good.

Riley! - Keep Your Cool

Hot Mulligan has exploded over the past few years, and if you like them Keep Your Cool is ready for your love. It feels like there’s a groundswell of support around this band and this record, they seem poised to be the next band to start playing much larger venues any moment. This is a record of raw vulnerability and raw energy. It’s good pop-punk but doesn’t allow itself to be too concerned about genre, instead just riffing and running through walls with its intensity. I also must award them bonus points for the exclamation point in their name and the song title “God is an Algorithm and I'm Fighting for Attention with a Million Strangers on the Internet.”

SWEET SINGLES

Tiny Stills - “What’s the Point of Anything?”Charly Bliss - “Nineteen”

Two of the most consistent bands around. Two highly anticipated releases.

Charly Bliss did not have to go this hard. From Guppy to Young Enough to now, they continue to grow and just get better. I want to hear this song echo across a stadium. Eva Hendricks’ voice is a weapon, and this track adds a swelling piano intro, saxophone solo, and gigantic drums to the stockpile. I’d run into battle with that arsenal.

Tiny Stills did it again: a sad but fun bop that makes you want to smilecry. Smy? Crile? My fake words are silly, but they continue to write great songs.

Virginity - “Midweekend”Harrison Gordon - “Plastic Smile”

Here we have a pair of big rippers. Virginity is a FEST staple and Harrison Gordon should be one too.

Real quick, two bonus singles that have dropped since I started working on this post. Jetty Bones and PRONOUN are back.

Here’s the playlist link again. Have a lovely day.

We are a filthy hotel room under the blacklight

There is a permanent moral stain on America. We are a filthy hotel room under the blacklight. The bed, the walls, the floor, every inch lights up like Times Square. Anyone who still thinks the room is clean is lying to themselves with their eyes closed. How dare you suggest we fix this.

Forget the banana stand, there’s always money in the cops-kick-the-shit-out-of-kids fund. There’s always money in the hire-more-cops-to-solve-the-cop-problem fund. Militarize everything! They will not face consequences for their actions, but taxpayers will suffer the burden of paying out the inevitable lawsuits against them. We share the scraps while they continue their reign of (t)error. Just like we pass money back and forth via Gofundme to cover exorbitant medical bills because the insurance scam/industry is useless. How dare you suggest we fix this.

Ethics and morals be damned. In Gaza: Load. Aim. Fire. The crime? Existing. On campus: Load. Aim. Fire. The crime? Protesting. These two things are not at all comparable, but they are both instances of brutality that should not exist in a just world. How dare you suggest we fix this.

Shut up, we must keep the killing machine running, they’re saying, loud and clear. Keep the wheels greased, boys! You are not even allowed to ask “you sure about that?” even if you use the ITYSL meme. That idea just does not compute. This is Who We Really Are and it’s so ingrained, we will kill you before we even think about changing. How dare you suggest we fix this.

The blood and money hasn’t fixed it yet, but we’ll keep running up the score just in case there’s a certain amount of money wasted or a certain number of dead bodies that will lead to a better world. We’ll build a bigger scoreboard if we run out of room for the digits. How dare you suggest we fix this.

Welcome to college! You are here to be leaders for the next generation, to learn and grow and change the world. Wait, not like that! Do you think you could find a way to be a world-changing leader in a less threatening way? Taking a hard look at who we are is really inconvenient for us, actually. How dare you suggest we fix this.

The one guy is bad, so we’re gonna end up with a worse guy instead. How dare you suggest we fix this.

Love and solidarity to anyone speaking out and standing up for something. Thank you for suggesting we fix this.