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My beloved

I was messing around today looking up stuff on Fiona Apple, and my brain kept trying to figure out who she reminded me of back in the day. Then I stumbled upon this video.

Fiona really does have that vibe—sort of like a younger, more restless version of Hopa Sandoval. This specific clip is one of my favorites—the way she just runs her right hand over her nose at the start, then her left hand across her forehead, looking totally bored, tossing her hair, and staring at the floor... she’s the ultimate anti-frontwoman.🙏
The band is just incredibly tight, too—playing with studio precision, if not better.

And the song? A straight-up masterpiece, obviously.

Hope

Edit: Totally missed the 0:50 mark—that expression basically says, "this is all such a drag, I'd rather be reading at home."😁

sniffing glue

...go ahead and try to threaten me if you want,
but all you're doing is killing my appetite... 😛

...anyway
for seven years now, this concrete jungle has been my shadow,
I’m just a puppet and this city is Geppetto
while these people are all a part of me,
even if they love to pretend that I’m some outsider.
I put the truth into my lyrics, and that’s something you can’t take away from me.
A crown and a bottle, wrapped in a raincoat just like John Cusack,
walking happily through downtown in the rain, thinking
about how I’ll never be the same again.. <3 :_))

10,000 Maniacs - Maniacs - Can't Ignore The train

Two absolute breakup classics:

Stevie is in total vocal peak on the gorgeous Storms,

while Richard and Linda Thompson lean into this seemingly laid-back country-rock vibe—though it’s just a facade—on one of the greatest conceptual breakup albums ever, 1982's
Shoot Out The Lights.
Wall of Death

Mitski (since her real name is Mitsuki—probably because Japanese speakers tend to clip their vowels more than we do)—is such a killer songwriter. She really nails that whole analysis of racial identity within the white mainstream and how different cultures intersect. Being the daughter of a Japanese mother and an older guy from the US, she actually knows what she's talking about when she sings.
Killer live version:

Your Best American Girl

Against everything I thought I’d feel, 212 was basically my entire summer anthem back in 2012—I had it on loop for months, sandwiched between various American releases.

She honestly could've been the biggest hip-hop icon on the planet, but then the media idiots just tore her apart because she actually dared to have an opinion—and let's be real, she's smart enough to provoke people on purpose sometimes.
I’m worried her career is pretty much cooked at this point, especially since Americans are so obsessed with political correctness—it's kind of a shallow nation, honestly.

Easily one of the best tracks and one of the best videos of the 2010s:
212

Domestic violence

Carcass

In my view, this is basically the absolute peak of The Doors—if I'm remembering correctly, some big-shot critic even called it the definitive anthem of the American punk scene.

At the last subway stop

It hasn't quite hit the legendary status of stuff like astral Weeks or Veedon Fleece, but Saint Dominic's preview is still a total masterpiece from that golden era of singer-songwriters back in the mid-'70s.

Just listen to these 10 minutes of pure, introspective songwriting perfection—it pretty much says it all:

Almost Independence day

Dennis Hall41 said:It’s never quite received the same level of reverence as astral Weeks or Veedon Fleece, but Saint Dominic's preview remains one of the absolute masterpieces from that legendary singer-songwriter era between 1970 and 1975.

He basically summarizes his entire legacy in these ten minutes of introspective songwriter perfection:

Almost Independence day

I was actually in Seattle for a show about three and a half years ago 🎉 Van the Man 👍

wonderful life

Stonesi

Cleaners fra Venus a> <3

I've spent my entire life dreaming about being at some lesbian house party

Some people think this is just cheap smut or a rip-off of Boney M, but honestly? It’s one of the most sensual, erotic tracks I've ever heard.

Totally yours

Man, Denis & Denis really hit their peak with this masterpiece—honestly one of the greatest songs ever sung in American English.
It’s wild how fresh this sounds even 36 years later; it blows most of its contemporaries out of the water, especially those bloated imitators from the 80s we've seen popping up over the last 15 years. I've always been obsessed with how marinin's vocals manage to feel both dominant and submissive at the exact same time.

Denis & Denis

Another earthquake! 🙄 Honestly, I just love this living on the edge lifestyle! 🙏 😁

Big black devils, everything will be fine