"Elizabeth" will be going on my longer HM list at least
#THETENX5 Day 36
"Huku" Sho Madjozi (2018)
Single: ✅️
If this were longer I'd like it just as much as "Chale" - I hear some destructed freestyle & electro in here. I know we have too much 80s revival but I still long for an extended coda with random robot voices & phew phews
#THETENX5 Day 35
"When It Rain" Danny Brown (2016)
Single: ✅️
Has two things I love: manic energy & menacing synth bass
#THETENX5 Day 34
"Disparate Youth" Santigold (2012)
Single: ✅️
Interesting spin on dub reggae
#THETENX5 Day 33
"Surgeon" St. Vincent (2011) (11 pts)
Single: ✅️
I'd like this one to break out of her vote split
#THETENX5 Day 32
"Concrete" Poppy (2019)
Single: ✅️
#THETENX5 Day 31
"Alcohol" FIDLAR (2018)
Single: ✅️
Might be the least tasteful thing on my list - like an unholy union of pre woke Beastie Boys & Buckcherry - but I love this very dumb, preposterously overproduced song
Fodder for the @bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social 2001 spreadsheet!
It was a huge hit in the USA at the time, but last year I did some global chart watching & I noticed it's huge/is still charting in other countries as well...soft/loud dynamics & maudlin melody translates I guess
#THETENX5 Day 30
"In the Middle of the Night" Top Cats (2017)
Single: ✅️
Exactly what I expected from a Swedish rockabilly band - for them to sound like it's 1983 & they're gunning for a Top 10 hit on the Stray Cats' coattails. Has a great soaring bridge & that impeccable Swedish pop production
#THETENX5 Day 29
"Nobody Knows That We're Here" Hidden Masters (2013)
The single (and a favorite song) from my favorite '10s album, Of This & Other Worlds. I love psych whimsy + heavy prog; that's probably the type of band I'd try to form if I had any talent or ambition
#THETENX5 Day 28
"Romance" Wild Flag (2011)
I like that this still sounds a bit weird & awkward even as it gives off Lead Single energy, thanks to the loopy, lurching rhythm & Timony's spacey noodling
#THETENX5 Day 27
"Cement Slippers" Dengue Fever (2011)
Single: ✅️
Some more '10s surf rock for the spreadsheet. This one has silly lyrics & an unexpected skronky sax solo
Started my 2026 listening in earnest; will probably update this monthly. Nothing's knocked my socks off yet but some of the Solid Likes on this list could move up
#THETENX5 Day 26
"Cock Lobster" Daikaiju (2017)
Single: ✅️
Long running heavy surf band that has a visceral, interactive live act I caught for the first time last night. (At one point I was about a foot away from a flaming crash cymbal)
#THETENX5 HM 5
"Don't Call Them Twinkies" The Baseball Project (2011)
...and one nobody else will choose. Greg Finn of The Hold Steady spins his annoyance at a cutesy nickname for the Minnesota Twins into an earnestly poignant tale of his baseball fandom & by proxy, civic pride in his state
#THETENX5 HM 4
"Boom Clap" Charli XCX (2014)
For my last pair of HMs, I have a crowd pleaser...
#THETENX5 HM 3
"Me & Magdalena" The Monkees (2016)
Ha..."Alcohol" will likely be on my main list later. (A 2018 single of theirs after they apparently got a much bigger production budget)
#THETENX5 HM 2
"Werkin' Girls" Angel Haze (2012)
#THETENX5 HM 1
"Gangnam Style" Psy (2012)
#THETENX5 Day 25
"Honky Tonk Horror" The Black Belles (2011)
Single: ✅️
Like my last selection, it's gimmicky but also shakes, rattles & rolls
Aw man, I like all of these except the one that's going to win (Thursday). Will have to decide which one I think is most likely to beat it. 🤔
#THETENX5 Day 24
"S.O.B." Nathaniel Rateliff & the Nightsweats (2015)
Single: ✅️
This one may be polarizing but I think it's quality stomp clap hey. Was a jukebox favorite of my husband's buddy so I picture him grinning & growling SONOFABITCH into a pool cue whenever I play this
*ooops, Gary Clark Jr. Not sure why I always want to add the 'e'
#THETENX5 Day 23
"Gotta Get into Something" Gary Clarke Jr. (2019)
Single: ❌️
Tried to talk myself into picking this album's lead single, which is righteously angry in a timely way, but I'm going with the wiry punk deep cut that I love, which evokes a type of restlessness I often feel & suppress
#THETENX5 Day 22
"Smack a Bitch" Rico Nasty (2018)
Clauses: ✅️ Single: ✅️
I like that this is raw in a way that feels both very modern & very 80s
#THETENX5 Day 21
"1977" Ana Tijoux (2010)
Clauses: ✅️ Single: ✅️
From the bad online translations I think this is fundamentally a boast rap track, but a quirky one; the words match the spaghetti western feel of the production
#THETENX5 Day 20
"Headless Pinup Girl" Chemtrails (2017)
Clauses: ✅️ Single: ✅️
I think this was marketed as garage psych at the time but to me this scans as more lo-fi & prickly Brit pop
#THETENX5 Day 19
"Square Hammer" Ghost (2016) (11 pts)
NKC: ❌️ PC: ✅️ Single: ✅️
I find I like Ghost best when they remind me most of Blue Öyster Cult
