albums i like and why i like them by Kayode D. '27

I like music. A lot. And I like telling other people about the music that I like. I message my friends fairly often asking if they’ve listened to [insert mildly obscure musician here], and their random album from 2018. I keep having new ones, and I want some way to document why I like the albums that I like. So here is a list of cool musical projects⁠01 Caleb M. 27 complains that people will call it anything but an album. 'LP, project, record, JUST SAY ALBUM' that I like and why I like them. Imagine we’re walking through Newbury Comics, and I see this record, run over to you, and being to yap about why i like it: 

Beat The Champ [2015] – The Mountain Goats

I’m not sure how I found this album, but I love it. It’s like the 5th album put out by The Mountain Goats, and it’s a concept album about Chavo Guerrero, a WWE lucha wrestler that the singer (and presumed protagonist of the album) watched as a kid in Texas. The album follows the boy as he grows up watching Chavo, and the path that Chavo had to walk in his life as a wrestler. I went down a wikipedia rabbit hole one day, so this might all be wrong but this is what I remember: 

The creator of this album, John Darnielle, didn’t have many good memories with his step father. One point of contact between the two was professional wrestling. The two would frequently go to watch the local circuit of obscure wrestlers where John’s stepdad, Mike, would sometimes be the only person cheering for the heel, or villain. In his preteen years, John became obsessed with wrestling and watched twice a week on a black and white TV. He always rooted for the hero, and whenever they threw out the rulebook against the heel to fight fire with fire, it would ignite something primal in him. His favorite wrestler was Chavo Guerrero Sr.

Chavo Guerrero was born the son of Gordy Guerrero, an early pioneer of the Mexican Lucha Libre fighting circuit. The Guerreros had a wrestling ring in their backyard, and Chavo would practice wrestling with his uncle of a similar age, Eddie Guerrero. The two would grow up and join wrestling circuits, eventually making it to WWE. Eddie was known to be a “cheater” in the ring, and would try to get Chavo to fight dirty as well, although Chavo resisted. The two fought in tag team matches and individually, seeing a moderate amount of success, before the Hair Match (climax of the album), in which Chavo took on Eddie, and the loser got their head of long hair shaved by the victor.

Eddie passed away on November 13, 2005, and Chavo continued to wrestle in Eddie’s honor. The album shifts from peppy and “wrestlemania!”-esque into a more somber tone, and I think this album hits especially hard when you know the full story. It makes the final track, Hair Match, even more resonant. 

Thank you Bry for getting me the physical CD of this album for my birthday. 

Fav. Tracks: Choked Out, Luna

The Only Members That Show Up [2018] – Tomtsu

This album is amazing. Tomtsu was active from 2018 – 2021, and was based out of Boston. I know, like, 3 Boston Bands and this is one of them. This is an album of complex guitar riffs and absolutely KILLER drum rhythms. I would describe it as “asymmetric” in the best way possible. They have this one song called “This Is Milk” off of their 2021 EP “the last tsupper” where they end with a syncopated 4/4 guitar riff and a non-linear, distinctly NON-4/4 drum solo over it. And this album, their self-titled freshman album, is the beginning of their grungy-nerdy-math rocky-asymmetrical musical sound.

And they were in high school when they made this album. HIGH SCHOOL. Puts me to shame. 

They also have a youtube channel where they recorded a ton of their live shows so you can literally watch the band grow over the years.

Fav. Tracks: Tongue Tied, Marmalade

The Masquerade [2019] – mxmtoon

I listened to mxmtoon for the first time like a week⁠02 a year and a week atp. this blog was basically finished but i lacked the Courage to Change and finish it ago, and this album, The Masquerade, is SO GOOOOD. It’s her first full album, and was released after her senior year of high school. It features the song “prom dress,” which went viral on tiktok in 2018. The album is a big collection of love songs, and it opens with some bangers. Unspoken Words, Prom Dress, Blame Game – a lot of bops. But the most important song in the entire album⁠03 and the turning point is the 6th track, my ted talk. In this song, mxmtoon reveals that she’s never been in love before. She explains that she writes these songs as if she’s an expert, but she’s only fooling herself. I think this singlehandedly makes the album at least 11 times better. Now, not only can you relate to the love songs if you have been in love, but if you haven’t been in love, you can relate to mxmtoon on an even deeper level because you too want these things you don’t really know anything about. With this one song, she succeeds in hitting two major groups in the apparent target audience– teenagers in high school. Just look at me: I’m a guy that didn’t even go to prom. I can’t relate at all to prom dress, and yet I love that song so much, because I know that I don’t relate to it! It’s a big metaphor! 

Also, mxmtoon plays fortnite and posts about it on her instagram so yeah. pretty cool.

Fav. Songs: prom dress, blame game, dream of you

Hard Feelings [2017] – Future Teens

If Tomtsu is one of the only Boston bands that I know, Future Teens is the other one.

[I have a lot of thoughts about this. I think that if I went to MIT before the mainstream rise of spotify and personal streaming platforms, I would know a lot more Boston bands. Where would I get my music? From record stores or friends. So the music I buy is limited by physical transfer. And furthermore, I would have to be lent music by my friends!]

Future Teens was formed in 2014 by a group of friends [pictured above] who created a band to perform for a Fourth of July BBQ. Their music is described as “Bummer-pop” which to me sounds how it felt to apply to college, haha. Kind of like how crying really hard feels good afterwards. It’s comforting. I like it

I found this album freshman year of MIT and listened to it on loop during freshman fall. It was the first album that I listened to from beginning to end on repeat. They’re so witty and clever with all of their song titles, and when I saw them live that November with my friend, Noah R. ’27, they retuned there guitars between every song, haha.

They also sold Future Teens Trading Cards at the checkout. Top Tier band.

Fav. Songs: Expiration Dating,  In Love or Whatever, Bored and Alone [off of the 2023 Deluxe Edition]

Older Boys [2014] – Art Sorority

Words cannot begin to describe the deep and immense love I have for this album. 

Art Sorority (formerly Art Sorority for Girls⁠04 the name got changed because people kept getting confused that the sorority was just one guy. Also, people (himself included) referred to the band as just Art Sorority, so he ditched the latter half ), is the personal project of Daoud Tyler-Ameen. Older boys is his second album, and is made up of songs he wrote while in college and afterwards. He uses lines that cut sharper than a knife and chords I didn’t even know existed. He puts so much passion into these songs as he writes about relationships, growing up, his father, and a bunch of other things that I probably don’t even fully understand. Each song is like a little universe, and every time I listen this album never disappoints. 

I shared this album with my friend, Caleb, and we both have grown to deeply appreciate this album and the time that we shared it. For Caleb’s birthday I was able to get THE ACTUAL Art Sorority to sign an album cover to make this custom CD: 

[neither of us took a picture of the cd, i will add when Caleb gets back to me.]

Thanks DTA! 

DTA is also the drummer in the band Bad Moves, which has made a ton of bangers, and I would listen to their 2018 album while driving in my 2010 Nissan Altima in high school. Bad Moves has now disbanded, but DTA recently announced new Art Sorority music, so be on the lookout for that!

Fav. Songs: The Cape, Like Like Like, [and literally all of them]

me rn frfr

OK, I could talk about a lot of music for a lot of time. But I will leave it at that for now. See you later!