Unfortified Castle

From insane samples to hard-hitting rhymes and a splash of motivation, Mobb Deep's signature track is an all-time great rap cut.

Genesis capture the strife which penetrates our world on all levels, while also leaving the door open for humanity to still work things out.

In my excitement for this coming week, I hear this tune capturing my eagerness to go full speed ahead into these next few days.

I discuss a trio influences that lie behind one of my favorite songs from nearly a decade ago.

10 minutes, 13 seconds. 111 lines of lyrics. It's a daunting feat to attempt, but Taylor Swift passed her own test with flying colors.

In a thousand-yard stare of a song, CCR — contrary to many other artists — reflect on how darkness can always penetrate the light.

Twenty-nine men and the ship with which they went down are memorialized each November 10, with this song serving as a backdrop.

...and I had to figure out which one version I liked / wanted to write about the most.

With a more restrained, yet emotive break, ODESZA reminded me that nothing is to be gained from wallowing in one's pessimism.

Its sound as as mid-60s as you can get, but its perspective might lend itself to being a forerunner of more contemporary movements.

Jakob Dylan and company paint the end of youthful innocence as a time for reaffirming oneself and continuing to move forward.

Snail Mail's superb second record begins with a tone-setting build-up and bang.

Redbone's indigenous background is also reflected through their simple, but profound lyrical message.

His accomplishments are visible throughout one of the Gap Band's signature and most evergreen songs.

Upon a close listen, the load-bearing in the chorus leads to a reconfiguring of the entire narrative and outlook of the tune.

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?

The industrial instrumental's dark, chilling nature makes it a great fit for the holiday — but it also isn't exclusively an October track.

Furthermore, the title echoes a message not as frequently heard in the breakup song canon: kill it off now to save yourself the pain later.

And to what exactly are we supposed to hold on? Well, the answer is... a lot of things.

Given both the song's origins and its more modern use, it honestly makes a good amount of sense to approach the topic in this way.