Playlist: Best Of The Teens
It's a mixtape, featuring my favorite records of 2010-2019
That’s right, the first post of 2022 isn’t really a Negative Progression post as much as a very long playlist that covers a decades worth of albums that I really, really enjoyed. (I'm still a DJ at heart, just one who is pivoting to writing instead of talking.)
When I started this writing endeavor, I thought I’d be posting mixtapes/playlists a lot, and yet somehow after a year, this is the first one that isn’t a ‘bootleg greatest hits’ of just one band. This playlist has been in the hopper for a long time: I started working on it in early 2020, then gave up on it for a while, then decided the decade was really 2011 to 20201 and I should wait a year, then I decided that even if that was right, it was dumb and then I didn’t do any of it anyway, likely out of laziness/inertia. Ultimately, I figured the new year was the time to get this done.
So here we are: 57 songs with a run time of 2hrs 54mins - the perfect length for your next long drive, mid-length flight, highly focused excel spreadsheet session2 or quick tantric experience.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for a series of faster bites (don’t call it a knee-trembler) or want to pretend you have to get up to flip the record (or cassette!) I broke it up into a series of Sides.
Hope you dig it. Or as a man who has three bands on this playlist would say: CRANK IT AND SPANK IT!
Note: depending on your email client, this post might get truncated, but you can always click through to read on the web. (I resigned the Negative Progression page, so you can also tell me if it looks good or not?)
Liner Notes
Side A
Night Marchers, Tropical Depression from 2013’s Allez, Allez on Swami Records - Gotta open with a song that opens its album, I guess? This is a pretty prototypical Night Marchers song as any album opener should be (and that’s a compliment.) There’s a moment around 2:45 where the guitars stop chugging quite as much and it’s like the moment when a rainstorm breaks the humidity that’s built for days. It’s classic John Reis dynamics and it ties into the name of the song. One of a million reasons why he’s the best
Flesh Panthers, Give Me A Night from 2014’s Nice Things EP on Tall Pat Records - This single was the aural equivalent of love at first
sightsound for me. Total good time party jams. This is very much a classic example of a forgotten gem that will someday be on whatever the 2050 equivalent of Nuggets is, or maybe when someone makes the essential documentation of the wildly deep vein that was Chicago scene in the first 15 or so years of this decade.The Gotobeds, Fast Trash from 2014’s Poor People Are Revolting on 12XU - An opener that fails to open, instead in here at the No3 slot. I could have avoid that problem and gone with New York’s Alright but this one is too good. Also this is the best named album of the decade, hands down.
Barreracudas, Baby Baby Baby from 2011’s Nocturnal Missions on Douchemaster Records You might know some of these men as the Men in Gentlemen Jesse and His Men. Here they are stepping out of that shadow and you kind of wonder how they were convinced to be in it to begin eith. Much like Jesse, they also should have made more records than they did, cuz the two they did are great examples of what I like to call “dirtbag glam rock” (and again, I mean that as a compliment)
Golden Boys, Dirty Fingernails from 2012’s Dirty Fingernails on 12XU Records - A kind of Austin, TX supergroup, I guess. This album came out of nowhere and blew me away. It was some real lightening in a bottle stuff, neither of their albums before or since hit that same spot (for me at least). Don’t forget to ask @babystew about the time he saw them live.
Ethers, Past My Prime from 2018’s Ethers on Trouble In Mind Records - You never want to see a great band go away, but every once in a while, one or some of the members will resurface with a new endeavor that you will also enjoy very much. Heavy Times is irreplaceable but Ethers are excellent on their own merits.
Side B
Angel Olsen, Shut Up Kiss Me from 2016’s My Woman on Jagjaguwar - Some albums are the sum of their parts and some have a big hit single. Some have both, like this album does. I picked the big hit single to keep things moving here, but the title track is some modern day Stevie Nicks shit and that’s the highest compliment. So is this:
Allah Las, Sacred Sands from 2012’s Allah Las on Innovative Leisure - I cannot hear this song without immediately thinking I have to start saying stuff, because I used it as bed music on my old radio show for many years. It’s kind of the perfect instrumental. They played a long jammy version at Liverpool Psych Fest in 2014 and it ruled. Fun fact: We used this as part of the music that played while guests were assembling at our wedding.
Ultimate Painting, Talking Central Park Blues from 2014s Ultimate Painting on Trouble in Mind Records - I talked about this in the piece I wrote about this album last year. I would read that if you didn’t already, I guess?
Eddie Current Suppression Ring, Colour Television from
2019sAll In Good Time2008s Primary Colors on Castle Face Records - OK, so I fucked up pretty big here. This song/album came out in 2008. I meant to pick a song from 2019s All In Good Time on Castle Face Records, but by the time I realized I fucked up, I’d already created and uploaded the mixtape. Want a song from that album instead? Here’s Reoccurring Dream. That’s my bad, you guys!3The Babies, Sunset from 2011s The Babies on Shrimper - Sure, their second record is a stronger record, but this is their quintessential song, for my money at least. I still hold out hope for a third record, but I’m led to believe to not expect it. Oh well.
The Rubs, Ruby from 2017s Impossible Dream on HoZac - A perfect album. There’s literally nothing you could do to improve it. It’ll stand the test of time forever. Another one to add to that Chicago Nuggets Circa 2050 comp that I motioned above. Please can we have a new album someday, Joey?
Side C
Alvvays, Archie, Marry Me from 2014’s Alvvays on Polyvinyl - Not a lot to say about this one. Just a very catchy song. Someone had to eventually filter very shiny pop through the C86 filter, I guess. It’s a good time.
Martha, 1967, I Miss You, I’m Lonely from 2014’s Courting Strong on Fortuna Pop / Salinas - The infectious energy of Martha was unmatched in this decade, as perfectly demonstrated on this track. They also bring an intellectual bent to their classic pop-punk stylings. Oh, and they add three and even four part vocal harmonies, which is always welcome. Move to Durham and Never Leave!
New Swears, Stay Gold from 2014’s Junkfood Forever, Bedtime Whenever on Bachelor Records - The dumbest, meat-head-iest, most unrefined and still aged 14 years old part of my brain demands a somewhat steady diet of party rock. The dumber the better, often. This album is essentially distilled party fuel and satisfies those needs more than you could imagine.
Death By Unga Bunga, I Wanted Everything from 2016’s Fight! EP on Jansen Plateproduksjon - Truly, this is a band that must be witnessed live to be fully be experienced. But the records are still very good. Here we have the an ode to the working stiff who didn’t chase their dreams and instead laments their choices. I’d imagine a dude like that writing about music online, like a real nerd.
King Khan & The Shrines, So Wild from 2013’s Idle No More on Merge - Our string of party rock anthems continues. It’s nice to be able to use the party-rock medium to do more than just party as our King does here to memorialize his fallen comrade, Jay Reatard. Not sure there was a more welcome comeback in this decade than the King and his Magnificent Shrines
The Schizophonics, Put Your Weight On It from 2017s Land of The Living on Sympathy For The Record Industry - I remember when my friend Kevin first told me about these guys, it musta been 2013? They were the hottest band in San Diego. Which usually means you’re the hottest band in America. This is probably their definitive song. You can still catch them tearing up whichever stage they are on, somewhere out there. Kevin’s endorsement was always enough, but years later, King Khan also decreed them the hottest rockroll band out there. Check ‘em out sometime.
Side D
Swearin’, Fat Chance from 2012’s Swearin’ on Salinas - I was way late to the party on Swearin’, but better late than never, eh? Even someone as relatively uninterested in lyrics as me can marvel at the note perfect put down found in this song: “An artist’s mind is / Stimulated by the aesthetic / I don’t know about art / But I think your music’s shit”
Royal Headache, Really In Love from 2011’s Royal Headache on RIP Society/What’s Your Rupture - We didn’t deserve a band as good as Royal Headache. They arrived, blew us all away, disappeared for a while, came back to blow us all away again, then disappeared forever. I would pay an inordinately large amount of money to see them play live again one more time, like however much you think I mean, its almost certainly more than that. Goddamn this band ruled so much. Best band of the decade, and you can quote me on that.4
Mike Krol, Cease and Desist from 2013’s Trust Fund on Counter Counter Culture - I’m biased because this record changed my life in a very literal way (maybe in a figurative way too?) but I’m convinced there’s magic in these songs. The B side is world class - it’s like the AC Milan defense in 1994. Please help me convince MK to bring this song back into the live show set list.
Steve Adamyk Band, Not For Long from 2010’s Steve Adamyk Band on P Trash Records - This is kind of the perfect example of a Steve Admyk song. Dig the backing vocals, which is probably the hallmark of any pop-rocking groups sound. Also someone did a great job recording the ride cymbal on this one (and placing it perfectly in the mix.)
Radioactivity, World of Pleasure from 2013’s Radioactivity on Dirtnap - Remember when Radioactivity arrived out of nowhere and the joy that was inherent from Jeff Burke’s return to recorded music? That was a happy day. If I can steal his own title from him, there’s a world of pleasure that exists in his songs.
Parquet Courts, Borrowed Time from 2012’s Light Up Gold on Dull Tools/What’s Your Rupture - Ah yes, the album that redefined what “Album of the Year” means. Which is to say: this record was released in 2012 on a small label, but then re-released in 2013 on a larger label. And somehow won a lot of those awards in 2013, but not as a reissue. I’m sure no one cares about this except me, but it really spoke to how record stores and publications (even small, indie ones) throw out logic in the hope of making an extra dollar. Ironically, on an album where the first song presents a clear anti-capitalist message. You can’t make this stuff up. Capitalism is a hell of a drug. Anyway, this song rips.
Side E
Pow Wows, Seeing Black from 2012’s Nightmare Soda on Get Hip - I alos wrote a whole thing about this one and couldn’t possibly add more, so check that out if you didn’t already:
Swami John Reis and The Blind Shake, Poseidon’s Tears from 2015’s Modern Surf Classics on Swami Records - It takes a John Reis-ian level of confidence to make a surf album with some dudes you have never made music with before - especially when none of you have made a surf record before - and to call it Modern Surf Classics. And I’m no surf-rock expert, but pretty sure these are indeed classics.
Pounded By The Surf, Aloha Chino Hills from 2015’s No Waves on Cave Punk Records / White Drugs - Something was in the (salt) water in 2015, because here’s another surf inspired side project from some dudes in other bands (in this case mostly members of The Bronx.) This is their take on “Cowboy Surf.” I always wondered if Dan Sartain heard this record, seemed like he might have liked it.
Mrs. Magician, There Is No God from 2012’s Strange Heaven on Swami Records - In 2012, it legitimately seemed like Mrs. Magician were poised to take over the world (as noted above, the hottest band in San Diego is probably the hottest band in America, don’t let the New Yorkers convince you otherwise) as they rode the wave of putting out an album that suggested they had seemingly limitless potential. It didn’t shake out like that, as these things often don’t, but man this record rules and I know at least one person (hi Tim!) that I believe would vote it album of the decade.
Primitive Parts, Rented Houses from 2015’s Parts Primitive on Trouble In Mind - I guess this ended up being a side project or one-off as there was no follow up but if you ever wanted a record that was equal parts Blur, Wire and Parquet Courts, this record is absolutely for you. A highly underrated/over-looked album, likely also destined for some future compilation of forgotten gems.
Sick Sick Birds, Committees (Need A Champion) from 2010’s Heavy Manners on Toxic Pop - I don’t really know what to say about this record, exactly, other than its really good and I still revisit it a lot, 12 years later. It somewhat defies genres by sitting within a few all at once. Definitely check out this whole record if you never have.
Lo Tom, Overboard from 2017’s Lo Tom on Barsuk - A supergroup of sorts, and a contender for one of the best live shows I saw in the decade5, wherein they played this 8 track album from start to finish, played the first two tracks again as an encore and the stage banter was limited to Dave Bazan noting “The name of the band is Lo Tom” over and over again. It was glorious, because these songs are great and these men are seasoned professional musicians. Another record to check out if you haven’t, especially if you like riffs.
Something Fierce, Ghosts of Industry from 2010’s Don’t Be So Cruel on Dirtnap Records - They made a couple of perfectly solid poppy-punky albums in the previous decade, and then I guess spent a while mainlining The Clash and came back with a modified sound and a great set of songs that lean slightly towards protest-rock. It’s almost an outlier that this record was released on Dirtnap but I’m glad it was. I may never have found it otherwise.
Side F
Maston, (You Were) In Love from 2013’s Shadows on Trouble In Mind - Speaking of mainlining, what we have here is someone that you have to assume has listened to everything Brian Wilson did, one million times. And then filtered that through their own genius and delivered what might be a grandchild of sorts to Pet Sounds. I do not throw these words around loosely. This record is phenomenal.
Morgan Delt, Barbarian Kings from 2014’s Morgan Delt on Trouble In Mind- If Maston was channeling Brian Wilson, was Morgan Delt channeling Frank Zappa? I dont know, but I do know he made some very out there sounds here, but without ever losing the through line of a “pop song” (or at least what might have been pop in the late 60s?)
Doug Tuttle, It Calls On Me from 2016’s It Calls On Me on Trouble In Mind- So, this is the middle of the decade Trouble In Mind psych-pop section I guess. Every Doug Tuttle album is worth your time, and each one rewards re-listening as you tend to notice something new in the mix each time. The bassline here is particularly infectious.
The Mantles, Long Enough To Leave from 2013’s Long Enough To Leave on Slumberland Records - And we break the chokehold that TiM Records has on this “side”, albeit you could easily have pictured them putting out Mantles records. This record nails the indie-jangle sweet-spot and so is perfectly at home on Slumberland. I should probably write an Album Story about this one some day, so I’ll conserve my words here in hope of doing that.
Peter Stringer-Hye, Sunday Girls from 2015’s Sunday Girls EP on Trouble In Mind- A timeless pop classic that could have been released in any of the last five decades. He did an LP in 2019 that featured more of the same great stuff, but this 4 track EP is essential listening.
Tyler Jon Tyler, Faster Than Light from 2010’s Tyler Jon Tyler on Slow Fizz - I think this was the first Chicago band I got really hyped on in “The Teens”, likely because Tall Pat was putting out the klaxon on them. As a RADIO HOST, this was also the first album I ever received an advanced promo (digital) copy of and Rebecca was the first person from a band I ever interviewed on my show. Anyway, this record holds up super well and you should listen to the whole thing after you’re done with this playlist.
The Wrong Words, Summer’s Gone from 2011’s The Wrong Words on Trouble In Mind - I don’t know if everyone would categorize this record as power-pop, but I know I usually do. It’s power-pop adjacent, at least. Point being there weren’t a ton of power-pop records in “The Teens”, and so even one that’s only adjacent is to be valued. You can make a case their album after this (Everything Is Free) is overall “better” than this one, but this one fit the flow of this section of this playlist better. But check that one out too, it’s a true artistic achievement of an album.
Gentlemen Jesse , Eat Me Alive from 2012’s Leaving Atlanta on Douchemaster Records - Well, this is definitely a power-pop album. If you aren’t sure, just listen to I’m A Mess. Beyond that, there’s a case I can make that this is my absolute favorite album of The Teens. Likely another one that needs its own Album Story. This is a flawless and perfect album and a guaranteed pick on my list of Desert Island Discs, when they finally invite me on that dumb show.
Games, Listen from 2012’s Games on HoZac - I love that this dude spent most of the decade running a re-release label, showcasing many of the choicest cuts from the 1970s and alongside that did a 70s inspired punk band (Shocked Minds) and a 70s inspired power-pop band (Games.) So no wonder this is so great, right?
The Resonars, Invisible Gold from 2013’s Crummy Desert Sound on Burger Records - It’s hard to summarize the lengthy and legendary career of Matt Rendon in one paragraph. I’d give it the old Bootleg Greatest Hits treatment, but Trouble In Mind records did a real one, so check that out. Suffice to say that I am convinced there is a parallel universe in which Matt Rendon lives in a Bel-Air mansion taking his rightful place alongside Phil Spector, Quincy Jones, etc. as a pre-eminent musical genius of our time. (Which he is in this universe, of course. Just in this scenario the whole world knows.)
Side G
Klaus Johann Grobe, Rote Sonne from 2013’s Klaus Johann Grobe EP on The Sound of Salvation - It felt somewhat impossible that I would end up owning a synth based and overtly “dancy” record but if something is good and it grabs me, I’ve evolved just enough to not be boxed in by genre or pre-conceived notions. I think the real tipping point with these guys was when we saw them at Liverpool Psych Fest in 2013. Unbelievable grooves. Turns out, synths ain’t all bad.
Nots, Decadence from 2014’s We Are Nots on Goner - My 2013 turning point on synths referenced above then really started to pay dividends as I opened up to the idea that synths + punk is a wonderful combination. And this first Nots album really nails that combination, producing one of the most sonically incendiary albums of the decade.
Teledrome, Blood Dips from 2014’s Teledrome on Mammoth Cave / P Trash Records - More synths+punk, this time from Canada. A little less punk than Nots, but with a little added new wave energy produces yet another winning combination and also another record I’d probably have skipped a few years earlier. Glad I didn’t, this one is a gem.
Heavy Times, Let It Die from 2011’s Jacker on HoZac - I hate to keep doing this6, but I wrote about Heavy Times last year, and there’s nothing new to add here.
Vivian Girls, Lake House from 2011’s Share The Joy on Polyvinyl - I could have closed the set with this albums closing track Light In Your Eyes, but we’re still moving along here. Share The Joy was unfairly maligned in many places on its release, but I maintain that it is the premier Viv’s record, not least because their drummer on this record fucking rules and the drum recording does too, as evidenced on this track. I hope their comeback tour that got halted for a series of unfortunate reasons gets restarted some time.
Eagulls, Tough Luck from 2014’s Eagulls on Partisan - I enjoy the slices of Northern English life that Eagulls present, filtered as they are through a thick layer of riffs, noise (and later, “goth” elements.) I’m pretty sure they were a great live band, even though they had off nights both times I saw them.
Side H
Ty Segall Band, I Bought My Eyes from 2012’s Slaughterhouse on In The Red Records - Not sure there’s a lot to add to the reams of words written about Ty Segall over the years. This is probably my favorite record that he’s done, sonically. As an actual record however, maybe the worst, who the fuck in this world ever wanted a double 10” release. It’s been 10 years and I’m still baffled by that.
Spider Fever, Out In The Crowd from 2012’s Spider Fever on Windian - Add Mario Rubalcaba to the list of drummers that successfully made the move from behind the kit to the front of stage. And bonus points to him for digging into an under-mined vein, the vaguely swampy/noise-rock vibes perfected by many bands from Australia, not least The Scientists.
Thee Oh Sees, Heavy Doktor from 2011’s Carrion Crawler/The Dream on In The Red Records - As with Ty, not a ton to add to a band as long tenured and well covered as OCS. The answer to the question “How do you make your band better” maybe should always be “add a second drummer!” For my money, this is the #1 choice of their ~20 or so albums, but then again Bandcamp wrote about them the day I’m writing this and skipped this one, so maybe there is still something to say here after all.
Dan Sartain, Pass This On from 2014’s Dudesblood on OLI Records - One last time for the good times: I covered this one, in the “Greatest Hits of Dan Sartain” piece last year:
The Ar-Kaics, Be My Baby from 2014’s The Ar-Kaics on Windian - From the graveyards of Richmond, VA come the sounds of Ar-Kaics. You’d think that the relative simplicity of this kind of classically stompin’ rockers would mean that there would be a bunch of bands doing this well, but in fact there are not. Therefore, I must deduce that the Ar-Kaics are a very good band.
Side I
Hookworms7, Radio Tokyo from 2014’s The Hum on Weird World / Domino - Ah, the classic Hookworms sound: blown out drums, layers of synths and drones and grooves that are locked in tighter than almost anyone else, combining for a full sonic bombardment. You really had to see it live, because as great as the records are, the live version was many powers to the ten more incendiary and more visceral to the senses. The loudest band I’ve ever seen. You could literally feel the sound. Glorious.
Negative Scanner, CPD from 2015’s Negative Scanner on Trouble In Mind - My 2015 album of the year and a strong contender for being near the top of the best of the decade list. I feel like this is one of the few albums ever where one of my most immediate takeaways was “goddamn, how about that bass guitar sound.” This record starts hot, kicks into its highest gear with this song and does not slow down from there, just absolutely riding a wave of down stroke energy throughout. Vital and essential.
Hot Snakes, Psychoactive from 2018’s Jericho Sirens on Sub Pop - Speaking of down strokes…Hot Snakes was one of those bands whose comeback didn’t really necessitate a new record. They had every ingredient they needed for a killer live show set list already and could have stuck with that. But instead, 14 years since their previous record they put out a record that hangs in at the level of any of their other albums and added some real instant classics to the set list. Score one to not just doing the bare minimum, a thing I’ve likely never said before, as the king of the professional bare minimum.
Total Control, Black Spring from 2014’s Typical System on Inertia / Iron Lung - And here we are at the end of our journey with the single greatest ‘album closing’ song that was not, in fact, the closing song to its album. And it’s not even that Typical System is badly tracked, its just that this song dominates everything on it so hard that I just lose focus on everything else. They stretch this riff/this song out for 7 minutes and frankly I’d be fine if it went on for 70 minutes. Hope they make another record some day.
Ok, this ended up being way way longer than expected. If you made it to the end, good job, thanks for hanging in with me. I appreciate you and I hope you find at least one new record on this list to listen to in full.
Because there’s no Year 0, so the first ever decade was Years 1-11? (Regardless of which calendar / year numbering system is in use, right?)
Oh, that’s just me? Never mind!
I reserve the right to change my mind and say this about someone else at a future point.
Off the top of my head, besides that Lo Tom show: Hot Snakes at Kazimir in Liverpool (2012 or 2013?), Thee Oh Sees at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (2013), Rocket From The Crypt at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (2014), Hookworms at the at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (2014), Royal Headache at the Echo in LA (2015?), The Resonars at Liverpool Psych Fest (2013), King Khan & The Shrines at the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds (2013?) and probably any Schizophonics show I saw. Fuck, I miss the Brudenell.
That’s a lie, I actually love doing it.
The end of Hookworms as a band remains confusing to me, especially with the recent reports that accusations were withdrawn. As always, my personal rule is to believe anyone that details their stories of abuse. Multiple other bands were excluded from this list as a result of such situations. I included Hookworms based on the above referenced retraction. If that was a mistake or an oversight, please reach out to me to let me know. Know that I will immediately regret it and would love to continue to be able to learn more in this space. Thankyou.
Wow, lots of great stuff to check out. I think I will slowly try to do something similar. I used to make playlists for each year in itunes but stopped. Wish I still did that. Thanks for the recommendations.