I’m not big on “best of all time” lists, but these are the songs that hit me at the exact right moment and never let go. Every one of these rewired how I hear music and, in a lot of ways, how I write it. Some are obvious, some are a little left of center, but all of them stuck with me for a reason. This is less about ranking and more about impact. These are the ones that changed everything for me.

Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" / Smashing Pumpkins - "Bury Me"

I put these two tunes together because I experienced Gish and Nevermind on the same day when Ted Stevens (Cursive Guitarist) passed me a cassette tape with an album on each side during Latin class. Nothing more can be said about "Smells Like Teen Spirit," other than that song moved in a way that was transformative for me as a guitarist . . . and Kurt’s crackled scream in the chorus was/is so visceral. "Bury Me" blends, early pumpkins blues influences with muffle-crunching guitars, solos and repetitive leads (starting around 3:18 and 3:26) that absolutely slay over Billy’s gentle crooning of “She will bury me.” 

Archers of Loaf - "Hate Paste"

I remember my friend, Mary Nisi (Chirp Radio out of Chicago) telling me I needed to hear this band called Archers of Loaf and their album Icky Mettle. On first listen, it took me a few minutes to even orient to what was going on. Then "Hate Paste" hit and it hit me hard. This is an all time fav Indie ROCK anthem! 

Neutral Milk Hotel - "Song Against Sex"

Jeff Mangum (singer/songwriter) is a mystical musical genius. My friend, Miah Summer put On Avery Island on his record player during a heated game of trivial pursuit and "Song Against Sex" was the lead track. I’d never heard such a shambolic, joyous, acoustic guitar-distorted mishmash of instruments and sounds come together so beautifully.

Chavez - "Break Up Your Band"

Chavez is the band I want to be in when I grow up, but I’ll never be this cool. They are apex art rock predators with the champion drummer of this era of NY rock! "Break up Your Band" starts with an ear-piercing dissonant dual guitar attack that still informs how I write songs today. 2:11 to 2:30 remains one of my favorite ROCK moments!

Weezer - "My Name Is Jonas"

The first time I heard Weezer’s Blue Album I was returning from a recording session where I just thought I’d laid down some pretty massive rock tunes. Weezer disabused me of that notion in the first 20 seconds of "My Name is Jonas." Tight, MASSIVE guitars, built on simple structures and great melodies. It was game over and game on! 

Battles - "Fort Greene Park"

Give Ian Williams a Gold Star for being the coolest guitarist of the last 30 years. This song exemplifies the unique relationship between Ian’s guitar/keyboards and drummer John Stanier’s off-kilter but always in the pocket beats. No words needed.

Now hear it all in one place. Listen to all seven songs, along with a new track from Criteria, in the Spotify playlist below.