Pandemic Playlist: Our Top 5 tracks to geek out to while you deal with quarantine blues
We're getting into another week of the lockdown, so it's time for us to let our inner misunderstood selves finally feel heard with these top five songs that you can geek out to.
Featuring everything from superhero and graphic novel references to accidentally shouting out timeless classics like Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon', these songs are sure to help you check out and relax.
Wheatus - 'Teenage Dirtbag'
Easily one of the top favorite songs for anyone who feels misunderstood, 'Teenage Dirtbag' revolves around an unrequited school romance. The band's frontman Brendan B Brown wrote the song against the backdrop of a Satanic, drug-induced ritual teen homicide that happened in his hometown in 1984 when he was just 10 years old. The person who committed the horrific crime happened to be wearing an AC/DC t-shirt, which made the media and the town inevitably associate the band with Satanic activity.
And 10-year-old Brown, with his collection full of AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Metallica albums, soon came to be thought of as a Satan worshipper himself.
And from that experience 'Teenage Dirtbag' was born, soon becoming the anthem of kids everywhere who were treated as outcasts because of their hobbies or taste in music. The song's chorus was, for Brown, a way to tell the world he didn't care what they thought of him. He was going to like the bands he liked, and play the music he played.
For many people, this lockdown feels like a never-ending bad dream. But for others, it's a welcome reprieve from an often cruel world. And for this latter group of people, no song encapsulates that feeling better than 'Teenage Dirtbag'.
3 Doors Down - 'Kryptonite'
This song has been infamously linked to Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' as well as, more obviously, to Superman. However, the band's lead singer-songwriter Brad Arnold eventually clarified that it was actually related to neither.
Arnold began writing the song when he was 15 years old, sitting in his math class, and bored out of his mind. He began tapping on his desk, the tapping turned into drumming, and eventually, into one of the group's biggest hits.
The song makes references to feeling powerful, like Superman, but being done with saving the world and sitting by watching it fade into darkness. But when it comes to the singer's 'Kryptonite', the one person he loves, he wonders whether she'll be there for him at his best and at his worst, the way he has for her.
Despite not being related to Superman, and in fact, being written before the movie even came out, the song has, nonetheless, become a popular song among fans of the superhero as well. And with its themes of world-ending and impending doom, it's pretty perfect for where we're all at right now.
They Might Be Giants - 'Infinity'
In total contrast to 'Kryptonite', which was written thanks to a distaste for math, 'Infinity' appears on the album 'Here Come The 123s' which happens to be an entire album dedicated to math. That's right, this album is built around explaining math to kids, but musically, the album actually has tracks that are just as easily enjoyed by adults.
The song in question deals with the concept of infinity, marveling at just how vast and incomprehensible it truly is. And if you haven't spent an afternoon musing about that same thing, then perhaps this is the day you let your mind wander and ponder the universe and our place in it. After all, what better time to reevaluate what we think we know about the world than now?
Check out 'Infinity' HERE.
Weezer - 'Island In The Sun'
One of the most laidback songs in existence, 'Islands In The Sun' is perfect for anyone who would like to take a break from their life and slip away to a remote sunny island. The song has gained quite a following in the years since its release among people who found life was getting a bit hard and sought out a peaceful escape. And that makes it the perfect song to turn up during these times because escaping to a summer retreat is exactly what most of us would like to be doing right now.
This was one of the last songs the group's bassist Mikey Welsh wrote for the band before he exited the group following a series of mental breakdowns he suffered while on tour. Welsh attributed his struggle to a lifetime of substance abuse as well as undiagnosed bipolar disorder. He eventually passed away from a heart attack, which many suspected was related to heroin-abuse.
Despite the painfully sad reality of its writer, this song is one of the simplest, most inspirational songs that puts anyone who hears it in a good mood. And it serves as a testament to Welsh's skill as a writer and artiste.
Plumtree - 'Scott Pilgrim'
As their most popular song to date, 'Scott Pilgrim' is Plumtree's crowning jewel. The song would go on to inspire Canadian author and cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley to create his graphic novel centered around the character of 'Scott Pilgrim', a slacker and part-time musician who falls in love with a delivery girl called Ramona Flowers but has to defeat her seven evil exes in order for them to be together.
The novel was later converted into the cult classic film 'Scott Pilgrim vs the World' starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, and Mae Whitman, among many others. The movie continues to be a favorite among both comic and gaming communities, despite not fully living up to its graphic novel counterpart, both for its stunning visuals that brought the comic panels to lives as well as its soundtrack.
Thirteen years after its release, the movie then brought things full circle by featuring the song that inspired the franchise on its soundtrack. The song itself is about an unrequited love, where the singer has loved someone "for a thousand years" but they can't stand to see them in that way. But despite its seemingly sad message, the song somehow manages to sound extremely upbeat and relaxing.
Check out the video for 'Scott Pilgrim' HERE.
Pandemic Playlist is a daily list of songs that will keep you entertained instead of feeling drained while you're isolated at home. Look out for a fresh selection of great tunes from MEAWW to refresh your mood every day!