Staff Playlist – Songs to listen to right now

“Man”
Neko Case
With M. Ward’s fuzzy guitar and a frantic drumbeat practically tumbling over itself, this is Neko Case’s rockingest song to date, taking her away from the dark “country noir” she’s perfected on past albums. She’s sung about being a man-eater before, and here, Case switches gender roles, singing, “You didn’t know what a man was until I showed you.”

“FOH”
Superchunk
Every two years or so, Superchunk comes out of hiding to show the younguns how to make a good alternative rock disc. Guitar solos? Check. Stellar drumming? You bet. “FOH” is from the band’s umpteenth release, I Hate Music (out this month). The song continues the band’s trend of giving modern music a much-needed, energetic, rocking punch to its face. 

“On Sight”
Kanye West
The reverberating electronic beats give a bold sound to this hip-hop number. “A monster about to come alive again / Soon as I pull up and park the Benz”—the lyrics suggest this Daft Punk-produced track is a well-suited opener to prime the listener for what might be the notoriously egomaniacal artist’s most polarizing album yet.

“The One That Got Away”
The Civil Wars
After a brief hiatus, the folk duo goes rock with the first single from their upcoming self-titled album. Don’t be fooled by the song title, though; this is not an unrequited love story. The pair’s perfectly cohesive harmonies blend to tell the tale of that ex you wish you’d never met.