10 Random Songs - 10 Random Bands

10 Random Songs - 10 Random Bands

Released someyear before 2023

Vocalists, guitarists, bassists, drummers, idk what else

Genre: Punk rock (Specifically Spotify Punk Essentials)

Intro

I am a little burnt out from doing albums right now so I feel like I needed a day to just do something different to make my & your life interesting. Therefor I am going to shuffle the spotify playlist "Punk Essentials", and write down the 10 random songs that come up and do a review of 10 completely random punk rock songs in absolutely no order. I will also do a short review of what I think of this playlist based on these 10 songs. I ALSO thought it would be a fun thing to not even know what song or band the song is. I will try to guess it for fun, and then reveal at the end. Let's get into it!

Thoughts & Feelings?

This playlist made me feel like a comment one guy made to me during golf. I was playing my playlist and he said "This playlist sounds like the NHL 04 soundtrack. I said absolutely. That's exactly what this playlist makes me feel.

Overall listening to this playlist, it's a great way to get into punk rock and explore your genre. Spotify does a pretty good job with having playlists based on genre. It's crazy to think about how back in the day we needed physical CD's in order to listen to music. Then Apple iTunes came out and we all needed to BUY music digitally. I feel bad for all the guys that bought albums and songs back in those days, because now it's pretty much obsolete. Spotify is so much more convenient #notsponsored.

Smash or Pass?

Song #1 - SMAAAASSSSSHHHHH. Oh I fucking know this song. It's Reel BigFish. Sell out??? I think that might be it. This is a crazy good ska punk song. It's definitely Sell out by Reel Big Fish. Good I'm 1 for 1 on the guessing game. This is a great song, absolutely punk but also VERY VERY ska punk. A great start and a great showcase of how diverse the genre of punk can be. I'll probably hear very drastically different sounding songs in this playlist and that's perfect. I definitely need to explore Reel Big Fish more considering I own this CD. Anyway. Big smash, fucking LOVE this song.

Song #2 - SMASH. I have definitely heard this song but I don't remember it at all. Oh fucking hell, this is a great song but I can't for the life of me tell what band it is. It's a 2000s punk band for sure. This is definitely testing me. I have absolutely no idea, I give up I'm sorry for anyone that knows this song. Let's spoil it for me. AFI - Girl's Not Grey. I was gonna guess AFI but I thought I was gonna be so far off. I have definitely heard this song and now looking at the info, makes complete sense. Sounds great, I definitely nailed the time period. Anyway yeah this song is super catchy and sounds great. Shoutout to Jake he's gonna be pretty pissed I missed this one. Good song.

Song #3 - Smash. No idea what this is. Gives me more 2000s vibes. Oh actually this is an old school punk bad but a few years later than their prime. Rancid? I'm like 75% it's Rancid, I just know based on the voice. I was correct. It's Fall Back Down by Rancid. It sounds great but I was never really into Rancid, the vocals are just kinda too off for me but regardless this is a great song. I definitely want to do an album of them though, because they were a very influential punk band back in the day. Absolutely nailed the time period again by the way. 2 for 3 so far, let's see what's next.

Song #4 - SMMAAASSHHHH. FUCKKKKK I know this one. 21st Century Digital Boy by Bad Religion. Final answer. Nailed it. What an amazing song. I have a good history with this album so this one fucking SLAPS for me. I fucking love this song, and I fucking love that album. I used to listen to it all the time in college. I fucking LOVE Bad Religion. They are one of my all time favourite old school punk bands and I desperately need to explore them more than I have because I love all the shit they do. That'll definitely be an upcoming song. I have a Bad Religion tshirt somewhere and I fucking lost it, I gotta find that fucking shirt cause I fucking LOVE it. 3/4 baby let's gooo.

Song #5 - SMMMMMMASSSSSSSHHHHHH. HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYY MISS MURDER CAN I. Easy. Fucking easy. This is AFI, I'm 99% sure. Done. Fucking killing it right now, I know my punk rock shit baby. The 2nd AFI song to appear on the list so far and that's awesome. Yeah this is one of those songs that everyone's gotta know to be honest. I have heard this song hundreds of times and each time it gets fucking harder to not sing it. An amazing piece of work, absolutely killer. 4/5 let's go, I'm rocking it.

Song #6 - SMAAASSSHHH. Teenage Anarchist by... Oh fuck I saw these guys live, they opened for Green Day in 2009. Uhhhh... fuck fuck fuck I know it, the singer was a guy but transitioned to a girl but kept the voice so they could still sing. Against Me! That's it, final answer Teenage Anarchist by Against Me! Ooooo good ENOUGH. "I Was a Teenage Anarchist", so I missed out on the I Was a part, but I'm still giving myself the point. That's good enough. Anyway yeah I fucking love this band and this song, I gotta explore them more for sure. This is a great song.

Song #7 - Smash. I have absolutely NO fucking idea. If I can guess the band I'll be lucky. This is a song from like 2001 or 2002, those are the vibes I get. It's like a Simple Plan-esque song but I don't think it's them. I don't think it would be Simple Plan though but that's my only guess. This one is completely stumping me. I give up. Mercy Me - Alkaline Trio. Never even heard of this song or the band in my life sorry. It sounds great though, just a little slower than I would like. Still a decent song though I would definitely fuck with this. What am I now? 5 for 7? That's not bad honestly. Let's get into the next one.

Song #8 - SMMMMAAASSSHHHH. All My Best Friends Are Metalheads by Less Than Jake. Didn't even need to get past the intro to know this fucking song. I know my ska punk songs baby, this shit is fucking GREAT. You could easily listen to this song and not think it's punk rock but it absolutely is. It's your standard ska punk shit that I am so fucking down for. It's SO catchy, so groovy, absolutely amazing. It's a perfect example of a ska punk. I listen to this one pretty frequently but I don't explore more of this band. I really should though. 6 for 8 baby let's gooooo.

Song #9 - SMMMAAAASSSHHH. Sum 41 baby. I think it's Fat Lip. Final guess Fat Lip. Yep, absolutely correct. Great fucking song, this shit is great. I fucking LOVE Sum 41. I think they are pretty underrated. Typically Canadian bands get the shit stick compared to American punk rock bands so it's nice to see a couple of them be successful and praised. Anyway yeah this song is so fucking great but I'm not crazy about the rapping. I'm NOT a rap guy so it's hard to enjoy the verses but other than that it's fucking great. Absolutely the most catchy and groovy shit you've ever fucking heard in your life. Great punk rock song. 7 for 9 let's go. Let's finish strong.

Song #10 - Smash. I have absolutely no idea. Holy FUCK this is a sick song though. The FUCK??? I have absolutely no idea honestly. This song sounds so fucking sick though. I give up, tell me. Anti-Flag, This Is the End. Another classic punk rock band that I desperately need to explore. This is definitely not what I thought Anti-Flag sounded like but this song is fucking SICK. Hell yeah, I definitely need to go check them out more.

Conclusion

This is a bit of a love letter to everyone that might be interested in punk rock. GO EXPLORE. You might find the next band you fall in love with for the rest of your life. You might find that next song that is routine for you to listen to. I had a lot of fun during this little experiment. I'm glad I did this, and I'm glad we switched it up for once. Regularly scheduled album reviews coming back, just wanted to change things up a bit.

PLAYLIST RANK: A

What do you guys think? Flame me in the comments if you think I should have got that AFI song, Anti-Flag, and Alkaline Trio. I definitely need to explore more of those bands in the future. You know what to do, leave your comments below! Thanks everyone, happy Thursday.

- Sharky