Powerrun, "Pulse of the Night"
As someone who actually lived through the 80s, I have a real mixed opinion of stuff like this. Yes, there's a nostalgia that tugs at me, and some of these sounds are genuinely fun. At the same time, it also evokes a lot of boring, dreary stuff from that period. I suppose that nobody is really trying to recreate the lame stuff, but a whiff of that stink still clings to it in my memory. Well, anyway, I do enjoy listening to stuff like this sometimes.
Queens of the Stone Age, "Song for the Deaf"
I go around in circles on which is my favorite QotSA album, but I think I usually land on this one. But never mind that, I want to just mention that while I knew that Dave Grohl played drums on this record, I had no idea that Dean Ween was on it. Seems strange to me!
Sunny Day Real Estate, "Grendel"
Emo was around before this album, with it often traced back to Rites of Spring. But it never made much of an impact until about ten years later, when Sunny Day Real Estate made a lot of noise and really fired up the scene. Tons of emo bands would follow, taking these sounds and running with them, but this record really was the starting point for the explosion.
American Analog Set, "The Only One"
I read a good review of this record somewhere and picked it up, and it doesn't really do much for me. It's just kind of unexciting.
Kendrick Lamar, "A.D.H.D."
Much better!