Disco Inferno-D.I. Go Pop

For Fans of: Bark Psychosis, AR Kane, Talk Talk, being smugly superior about the general obscurity of your music

 Disco Inferno has recently been enjoying a slight revival and boost in popularity due to the reissue of their "5 EPs" compilation. Very slight, diminutive in fact. Like that guy you know with the Godspeed You! Black Emperor tattoo probably listens to them now. Or the shoegaze obsessed music historian everyone loathes now points to them as the missing link in the genre's development. Intolerable hipster adoration aside, the band deserves every fan that they acquire. They are essentially a hipster's wet dream as far as bands go. Their style is something of a combination of Wire's bass and synth heavy post-punk, The Jesus and Mary Chain's dreaminess, and, surprisingly, Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys penchant for finding seemingly random, yet appropriate and emotionally affecting samples.

2013 Top Five Albums

1. My Bloody Valentine-mbv 2. Death Grips-Government Plates 3. Deafheaven-Sunbather 4. Savages-Silence Yourself 5. Kanye West-Yeezus All of these albums of overrated though...

The Flying Burrito Brothers-The Gilded Palace of Sin

For fans of: The Byrds, the brief parts of "Gimme Shelter" where people are not being beaten to death, appearing to enjoy country music

I've often heard great bands describe as "the band for people that typically hate X genre," but what does that phrase even mean? When Outkast is called rap for people that hate rap, does that make them any less connected to the lyricism of other hip hop groups? When Mastodon is labeled as metal for hipsters, does that mean they are better or worse in heavy metal standards? Is Converge any less punk because they reach beyond the average hardcore audience? What makes these bands so broadly appealing anyway? If the goal of every artist to affect as many people as possible why does this description sound like an insult? Regardless of the answer, one could certainly call The Flying Burrito Brothers the exception to the general snobbish music dictum that states that country music is objectively terrible, but why? The guitar twangs in that familiar, detestable way. The harmonized singing clearly reflects a homey style, and the lyrics often deal with the old country standards: God, government and girls, and yet, I found myself incessantly listening to this album. Why?

The Birthday Party-Live 1981-82

Criminally Underrated # 4

Artist: The Birthday Party

Album: Live 1981-82

For fans of: Hell, suicide (the band or the activity), Halloween, ear damage.

This album is Nick Cave and Goth music at their peak. Violent, ugly, disgusting and terrifying, even without the visual dimension of their live performance, The Birthday Party remains one of the most gripping live bands of all time. The band plays all their hits (I assure you, I use the term in its broadest definition) and conclude the album with a cover of The Stooges' "Funhouse" which sounds even more like the destruction of humanity than the original. Indeed, Nick Cave's three demonic shrieks that hail the beginning of the first chorus may be, if not the most sublime, certainly the noisiest moment of all recorded sound.

Why Die Antwoord is the Greatest Thing to Happen in Music

Random Op-ed

I make no secret of my love for the South African nutjob rap-rave duo. Their songs are catchy, their image is hilarious, their music videos are grotesque in the best possible way, and the rappers at the center, Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er are fucking fascinating. Now, I understand what many must be thinking when they read the title of this op-ed. "The fuck dude, I thought you had good taste in music. They're crap. Also, they're music is dumb and they're homophobic. How could this band have any redeeming qualities?" Hear me out, I used to be of the same opinion, but they Die Antwoord is simply very good and hiding their brilliance.

The Constructus Corportation-The Ziggurat

For fans of: Horrorcore, Experimental hip-hop

History: Way back before Kanye, 50 Cent, Outkast's one bad record, and Dr. Dre's beats headphones, the mystical early 2000's left a lot of creative room for new rappers. With the mainstream success of late 80's and 90's hip-hop, more people were mceeing than ever before, taking chances and/or pandering to the mainstream rap radio stations. However, hip-hop as an expression, much like jazz, quickly left the United States and found homes in the hearts of people across the globe.