Unfortified Castle

My 210th Senior Year Soundtrack selection is a staple of 2000s pop... sort of.

Soft Cell weren't the originators of this song, new wave, or synth-pop, but their take on Gloria Jones set the stage for a decade of music.

It's a fitting song to soundtrack my return home... but that's a pretty new way for me to approach it.

That's a question I've had recently as I've gotten to thinking about just one of Janelle Monáe's show-stopping numbers.

CamelPhat are leaders of the style now, and I saw it coming with this 2015 production.

I didn't realize that until I looked a little closer for this post, which also led me to appreciating the song even more.

*deep breath* This is a pretty personal piece, but that's because of what this song means and has meant to me.

The Pointer Sisters' eternally catchy hit is more than meets the ear.

Elderbrook and Bob Moses' lyrically driven house production has been a personal anthem since I first heard it about half a year ago.

As weird as that sounds, that's exactly how Sting positions his lyrics in one of the Police's many timeless hits.

My old System of a Down favorite is extreme in its timbral changes, but musically consistent — a recipe for an intense, engaging listen.

It's a somewhat confusing song by a band with a somewhat confusing name: The The. How fitting.

Their title track from last summer's EP has an unavoidable gravitas as it speaks to the fallout the innocent suffer from war.

In complete King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard style, its weirdness only makes it better.

This song is out there, but it's a good kind of out there because of how Blood, Sweat & Tears mediate all its intricacies and oddities.

With the employment of a mandolin, Blue Merle gave a sound I love a twist I never expected, but one I thoroughly enjoy.

Few pop songs have genuinely surprised me in a positive way on first listen more than today's selection did.

I examine why Kate Bush's work stands out from that of her contemporaries through one of her most successful songs in the mainstream.

Between its sampling dispute, its distinctive vocal elements, and its point of view, the Verve's enduring anthem leaves a unique impression.

The Bee Gees delved into what happens after an initial romantic attraction in their most widely acclaimed number.