This Track Is Fire!

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. At #8 is a track so good, so funky, that it made me wish that my dad was still alive just so that I could share it with him,  Irvine Welsh & The Sci-Fi Soul Orchestra "A Man In Love With Love." Seriously, a soundtrack for a book written within the Trainspotting  universe should simply not be this  good, and yet, it is. Check it out!

Honestly, I can't believe that this log is just over a year old and I have not yet posted The Go-Go's. I admit, their songbook goes pretty deep and by now I should probably should have included another track of theirs by now, but I haven't, and, well, I am on vacation this week, so this song fits , but also, it's a banger! I actually didn't know if I would have the time to post any songs this week, but I found a few minutes and the serendipty was just too good. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday weekend as well! Enjoy!

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. At #9 is a track that is near and dear to my heart, "Stand Close" by California Gold . Most couples have "their" song, and though Shalee and I have gone through a few iterations of what that song may be, I think shortly after we both heard this one we knew that this  was our song. It spoke to both of us, to our relationship, and somehow deftly straddled line of the music that each of us appreciates. The fact that I only just posted this four months ago (albeit, right before Valentine's Day) I think speaks to how great this tune is. Check it out !

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. At #10 is  Perturbator "The Glass Staircase ," which, to be fair, is a strong track in an entire album of fantastic songs. It was honestly hard to pick just one, but there was something about this track that just grabbed me.  I would dare to say that Pertubator isn't anything near mainstream music, so I am tickled that this post has seen more love than some more well-established bands. If you haven't already, please do check it out !

A friend of mine sent this track my way and I immediately loved it, I think it took all of 20 seconds for me to say, "yep, this song rocks." I liked it so much that I wondered if I had heard it previously. I listen to a lot of music, so I can't say for certain, so I am going to give credit where credit is due: Megan, you get all the props for sharing for this banger! Sometimes you wake up on Monday morning, you don't want to go to work, and the idea of choosing violence crosses your mind. Don't choose violence, but instead choose a song like this to focus your ire. Enjoy!

I will be the first to tell you that I am not the biggest fan of metal/nu metal, but there are some bands and tracks that I absolutely love, like Korn, System of a Down, Rammstein, or this track by Slipknot. Maybe its the melodies these bands create (which would also explain my love for Bad Religion), but something about the aggression coupled with the almost pop-sensibilities, albeit hidden behind thrashing guitars, that does it for me. Hell, I'm not even the biggest Slipknot fan, though I do respect them. But this track? Holy shit, this track melts my face in such glorious ways. Right now I'm in my house alone with my family out and about and I am blasting this through the entire place because that's how this song demands to be played. "WATCH THIS!!!!" Please go melt your face this weekend. Happy Friday!

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. Coming in at #11 is Depeche Mode "Insight," which pleases me to no end. Every Depeche Mode fan has their favorites, and amongst them we each have a less-heralded song, a hidden gem, that we feel does not get enough love. For me, that track is "Insight." Also: today is the anniversary of the 101st concert of Depeche Mode's "Music for the Masses" tour, which I highlighted yesterday .

Thursday, June 28 is the 38th anniversary of 101st concert of Depeche Mode's "Music For the Masses" tour, held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and later releases as a live album, fittingly titled 101, in March of 1989. In celebration of that anniversary, I've selected one of DM's popular songs that also displays the power of the band and their fandom, "Never Let Me Down Again." I am no Depeche Mode historian, so I can't say for certain whether or not this occcured before this legendary performance, but during the song lead singer Dave Gahan stepped to the front of the stage, extended his arms up high, and began waving them from side to side. Of course, the crowd immediately followed suit, and thus began a tradition seen every single time DM performs this song, which can be seen in every recording of "Never Let Me Down Again" on every tour since. It certainly helps that this album is seminal for Generation X, but also this performa...

Note: In honor of one full year of This Track Is Fire I thought I would highlight the top 10 posts over the last year, but there's a tie in the seventh position, and a three-way tie in the tenth position, so instead you're getting the Top 12 Posts over the past year. At #12 is Nine Inch Nails "As Alive As You Need Me To Be" from the Tron: Ares  soundtrack, a track that I am still enjoying on vinyl these last few weeks. Who knew back in 1989 when "Head Like A Hole" was released that NIN would still be as relevant and as on top of their game today as they were then? Love it!

At over seven minutes, this is not a short song, but that's OK, because it builds along its sampled vocals, folding in the synth-bass line, incorporating more sounds and the track fills out, beats and synths dancing around each other before the vocals finally flow in.  Hot Chip invite the listener in to hear their music, feel it, and then, when the time is right, let it sway you to dance. It's several minutes of pure, electronic bliss, and really, who doesn't want to postpone Monday for as long as one can? Welcome to the beginning of your week. Enjoy!

Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live at the Royal Arena Copenhagen was released back in February, but I just grabbed it this past week. I took some time when it arrived to listen to the CDs while I was working, but last night while cooking dinner I threw on the BluRay, and damn, does it look and sound great! I had bought tickets to see the Pet Shop Boys and New Order for their co-headlining tour in early 2020, before the world shut down. After several postponements, I finally got to see both of them in September of 2022 and I will say this: the Pet Shop Boys have still got it! This is essentially the same show that I saw performed, so watching it from the comfort of my kitchen last night was a wonderful way to relive such a fun performance. I mean, Neil is no spring chicken, but unlike some of his peers, his voice is still able to hit those high notes. Despite this song being 40+ years old, the boys have made sure live that it's not a recreation of the same song that all of us have h...

Despite already having a blog , as well as a podcast , apparently I thought that I needed to pollute the internet with even more of my thoughts when I launched This Track Is Fire!  exactly one year ago today! This marks the 190th post on this blog, so if you've ever stopped by to check it out, I thank you for taking the time to read about the tracks that I enjoy so very much. I have plenty more to share, for example, this one. I am not sure where I first heard this track, but it made me laugh, and ever since hearing it I think I now play it every year on my birthday. Why? Well, I am a middle-aged, middle class man, I am anything but gangsta, so it amuses me to play something that is so not in league with who I am. Besides, it's a banger! Thanks for checking out my music blog! You in first place! You in first place! Bad bitch contest, you in first place!

This is some driving, hardcore techno that speaks to the young man inside of me that no longer goes to clubs where this kind of music is played, but chair-dances like a motherfucker while working. Also, work stress and anxiety is affecting my sleep, so there's a double meaning going on there! Monday is busy, so why not jump right in? Enjoy!

While Zoé tend to fit more into the psychedlic/space rock genre, this song caught my attention years ago while I was in Mexico as it sounded like a bunch of Mexican musicians had grown up listening to synthpop and decided to make their own version. I speak very little Spanish, so for the most part I do not understand the lyrics, but sometimes when a song is good the language does not matter (which also explains my love for all things Rammstein). I think it's been eight years since I first heard this song but I come back to it time again because, yes, this track is fire (ironic, when its title literally means "ice," but cold can burn too, right?). Enjoy!

I've been listening to Nina Nastasia for the better part of 20 years now, having discovered this album via its reissue that was highlighted on whatever episode of what show I was listening to on NPR. I remember distinctly driving on the expressway from work back home as I listened to "All Your Life." Though the song is not about this, the repeated line "she's never coming back..." struck me, despite me being in my early 30s, it reminded me of my first real relationship, by first love from my college days. It was like Nina was singing from the future, a siren song to my former self, hearing the words that I knew I had to accept when I was in my early 20s. It's strange, because at the time I was dating the woman I was going to eventually marry (and later still, divorce), and had been in a few different relationships between that relationship and my current one, but the words were still what my heart needed to hear at 21-22. It had been an old wound that ne...