Benjamin Kassel
"Interstate Love Song": a familiar riff leads to introspection
It's the end of my last break, and a song about being on the road soundtracks the way I feel underneath a calm exterior.
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Benjamin Kassel
- Mar 25, 2022
- 4 min
"Learn to Fly" takes on extra weight in the wake of Taylor Hawkins' death
I'd been sitting on this song for a while, never imagining I'd write about it for this reason... but it painfully fits the moment.
Benjamin Kassel
- Mar 20, 2022
- 4 min
"Enjoy the Silence": fitting music for an ironic title
Depeche Mode's most successful song is an inner monologue, formed in a moment when the outside world is quiet.
Benjamin Kassel
- Mar 15, 2022
- 3 min
"Bulls on Parade" is timeless for the unsavory truths it tells
...as is pretty much every Rage Against The Machine song.
Benjamin Kassel
- Mar 11, 2022
- 3 min
"Stars": searching for an answer
I reflect on a song I had trouble finding which itself asks a question of its lyrical subject in light of infatuation.
Benjamin Kassel
- Feb 14, 2022
- 3 min
"California Love" was a perfect soundtrack to this year's Super Bowl Sunday
...especially considering the halftime's West Coast hip hop theme perfectly matched the game's outcome.
Benjamin Kassel
- Feb 10, 2022
- 3 min
With its throwback sound, "Walkin' on the Sun" is far deeper than I realized
It's also just a plain good song from a band that, yes, isn't just a meme.
Benjamin Kassel
- Jan 27, 2022
- 3 min
"Black Hole Sun" was my gateway into grunge
Soundgarden's mainstream breakthrough served as a personal eye- (and ear-) opener, allowing me to appreciate a sound that defined the 90s.
Benjamin Kassel
- Jan 22, 2022
- 4 min
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a Britpop hit unlike any other
Between its sampling dispute, its distinctive vocal elements, and its point of view, the Verve's enduring anthem leaves a unique impression.
Benjamin Kassel
- Jan 8, 2022
- 3 min
"Dreams" displays its title being (somewhat) realized
A lighter entry early in the Cranberries' discography kept me in the right mood when I heard it for the first time today. Thank you,...
Benjamin Kassel
- Dec 31, 2021
- 4 min
"Don't Look Back In Anger" is my New Year's Eve anthem
Move over, "Imagine" — Oasis provide the perfect soundtrack to changing calendars.
Benjamin Kassel
- Dec 22, 2021
- 4 min
Looking back on my adolescence through "1979"
The nostalgia the Smashing Pumpkins evoke isn't rose-colored, but that's fine, if not good; it means their song helps me honestly reflect.
Benjamin Kassel
- Dec 7, 2021
- 3 min
"Waterfalls" combines contemporary theming with morality
TLC, fully immersed in the social world of the mid-90s, remind listeners they can find a way out of the darkness by being their own light.
Benjamin Kassel
- Nov 29, 2021
- 4 min
On "Losing My Religion," obsession, and self-reflection
R.E.M. portray a man whose hindsight reminds him of painful mistakes in love and trust.
Benjamin Kassel
- Nov 17, 2021
- 4 min
The whole of "Shook Ones, Pt. II" is far greater than the sum of its parts
From insane samples to hard-hitting rhymes and a splash of motivation, Mobb Deep's signature track is an all-time great rap cut.
Benjamin Kassel
- Nov 6, 2021
- 5 min
With "One Headlight," the Wallflowers resolutely navigate toward better days
Jakob Dylan and company paint the end of youthful innocence as a time for reaffirming oneself and continuing to move forward.
Benjamin Kassel
- Nov 1, 2021
- 4 min
"Fantasy" is mid-90s pop bliss with an early 80s new wave skeleton
The path between Talking Heads and Mariah Carey is surprisingly straight. And oh, isn't it fitting to talk about Mariah today of all days?
Benjamin Kassel
- Oct 25, 2021
- 4 min
"Kiss from a Rose" yields a momentary, yet troubling warmth
Much more than a movie ballad, Seal's signature song deals with a duality between love and addiction for its entire duration.
Benjamin Kassel
- Oct 17, 2021
- 4 min
"Hyperballad" stands the test of time... and honestly, we've yet to reach its time
A quarter-century after its release, Björk's ethereal dream sequence song still sounds like it's ahead of our current musical era.
Benjamin Kassel
- Oct 12, 2021
- 4 min
Fugees' cover of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" holds its own and then some
In reinterpreting Roberta Flack's soul classic, Lauryn Hill does the heavy lifting, but she's also never alone.
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