Great, unforgettable tracks from the past - part six

"Destroy Everything You Touch" is a song by British electronic music band Ladytron. It was released on 19 September 2005 as the second single from their third studio album, Witching Hour. It is one of those tracks that stick in your head, and after a while, you start singing along with its fantastically hooky verses and chorus and blend of guitar and synth hooks all over the place. There are many more tracks on the album, but this one sticks out further than the others and is worth checking out.

Much can be said about pop and rock from the 2020s, but some acts stick out and make something that is not only a bit different but better than almost everything released in 2020. The track "Real Love Song" by Nothing but Thieves has a great guitar riff and a vocal performance by Conor Mason that is amazing and takes you back. The band came on the radar when the track "Unperson" was released, the first track on the album "Moral Panic," which also contains the track listed here. A very diverse and exciting album that is worth checking out.

Very few instrumental songs tell a story better than what the American post-rock band Explosions in the Sky from Texas do. Even more impressive is that it's an 8 min instrumental track with just as much feeling in the first few chords as the last ones. It is like the guitars have a conversation while the drums are the metronome or moderator to ensure the conversation moves forward and is constructive. It is rather impressive. The song "Your Hand in Mine" has been featured in the films Friday Night Lights, The Big Empty, Love Happens, The King of Staten Island, the TV series Prisoners' Wives, the documentary Gideon's Army, and the Cerveza Pacifico TV commercial "Anchors Up," to name a few.

The track "Mavericks" by Johnossi catches you a little off guard and then takes you by storm if you are into Alternative Rock or Indie Rock. Very guitar-focused, along with the lonely and somewhat desperate vocals of Johan Engelbert, coupled with the building rhythm and haunting lyrics, makes this song a masterpiece. The title track of the 2010 album with the same name is for those that want to discover the band. Be sure to check out "Dead End," "Roscoe," and "What's the Point" on that album as well.

Well, there are plenty of heavy riffs around, and then there is Gojira. This French heavy metal band from a sleepy town on the southwest coast of France might be the most unlikely band to grace this list of "Great, unforgettable tracks from the past." But there is something exceptional about the track from the album with the same name, released in 2012. It's heavy, angry, frustrating, and simply amazing. The vocal performance by Joe Duplantier and his younger brother's (Mario Duplantier) total destruction of the drums gives this track its power. "L'Enfant Sauvage" by Gojira will live close to the heart for a very long time, not because of its aggressiveness, but because of its sheer power and underlying meaning (something you must find out for yourself).

A track that became more or less immortalized when it was featured in the 1998 Lukas Moodysson movie "Fucking Åmål" (released in some countries as Show Me Love) shortly after the band released it on the album "Broder Daniel Forever," which came out just mere months before the movie itself. The track "I'll be Gone" speaks volumes about youth angst, depression, and the overwhelming feeling of not belonging in this world, but also about the struggles of the band itself and its singer, Henrik Berggren. Broder Daniel is a band that has released some of the best pop/rock songs ever. This specific track is on this list due to its perfect blend of rock n roll and pop music that is as catchy and straightforward. It is timeless as well.

Listen to all the tracks.