When I name (personal) playlists, I usually name them exactly what I think when I hear the song that spurred me on to make the playlist itself. One of my favorite playlists right now is titled “Oh Frick!” I picked this name because something about each song included was artistically shocking, at least to me.

 

1. Destruction – JoyWave
This song inspired the entire playlist. The opening of the song throws the listener right into the chaos of the song.

 

2. West Coast – The Neighbourhood
There are snippets throughout the entire song that are just captivating. From the lyrics to the musicality, The Neighbourhood is just so different. One of my favorite lyrics is “I ate some pasta then gave my mom hugs.” I relate.

 

3. You Know What I Mean – Cults
I unintentionally saw Cults in concert a few years ago and seeing them perform this song made my mind explode. The song is building up to the end, which I would credit mostly to the drums. The song starts pretty calmly, but the drums push the song onto the chaos near the end.

 

4. Fineshrine – Purity Ring
Purity Ring catches me off guard constantly. I am a sucker for planned rest/silence so Purity Ring really won me over with “Fineshrine”. The music settles in a quick pause near the middle and end of the song but jumps right back into the insanity. Purity Ring obviously knows how to implement silence into their musicality. Silence is a wonderous thing.

 

5. Silvertongue – Young the Giant
Every time Young the Giant releases a new album, they’ve always changed something about themselves. Their changes are never unprecedented. “Silvertongue” is different from their previous works. The opening of the song blends guitars and multiple voices then shifts to such a calm lead. I will never not be surprised by that shift and the multiple shifts throughout the song.

 

6. Wow – Beck
There are so many aspects of this song that are outrageously different. The flute in the beginning and the sound of the main singers voice.

 

7. Nature’s Child – The Arcs
The Arcs sound like a mixture of The Black Keys and The Arctic Monkeys to me, but on a whole new level of emotionally chill.

 

About Maggie Knoll

If Maggie isn't writing about music or talking about music, she's probably dead. Just kidding. In her spare time, Maggie collects albums, lint rolls dog hair off of all of her belongings or recreates the one SNL sketch where Kristen Wiig has tiny plastic doll hands. Don't worry, she can make it weirder!

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