1. Prodigy - Spitfire
   Remember way back around The Fat of the Land, when it seemed like The Prodigy were going to change modern music as we knew it? They’re finally back, with a lead single featuring vocals by Juliette Lewis.
2. Muse - Hysteria
   Just an amazing, driving electro-rock song. If you keep waiting for Thom Yorke and the boys to get back to what they do best, check out Matthew Bellamy and his band doing it instead.
3. Secret Machines - Sad and Lonely
   If Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had been born 25 years later than they were, I think this is what Led Zeppelin circa 2004 would sound like.
4. Cake - No Phone
   John McCrea knows what Cake does best, and he does it with consistency. The one thing that’s new here is that McCrea actually seems to be trying to sing!
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Cabron
   I’m at a point where I’m rarely all that interested in the new stuff that the Chilis put out, but this is a really fun, Latin-influenced track with great acoustic guitar by John Frusciante.
6. Morrissey - First of the Gang to Die
   The second single from Moz’s first album since the nineties is a really good track. It certainly won’t make you forget about The Smiths, but it might just take you back there.
7. Auf der Maur - I’ll Be Anything You Want
   A quirky, bouncy song with a rocking chorus. This song (and a few others on her album) were co-written by Melissa Auf der Maur and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme.
8. The Faint - Desperate Guys
   The first single from Todd Fink’s band’s new album, Wet from Birth. Fun fact: The Faint were originally called Norman Bailer and included Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst.
9. Franz Ferdinand - The Dark of the Matinee
   Are there better opening lines to a pop song than “Take your white finger, slide the nail under/The top and bottom buttons of/My blazer”? Okay, maybe there are.
10. Rubyhorse - Fell on Bad Days
    I don’t know much bout Rubyhorse, except that they’re Irish and from Boston. This is an amazing track that sounds reminiscent of Travis and the Verve, with a guitar riff that sounds like it’s cribbed from Interpol.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 31st, 2004 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Tracks. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.