Modern Rock Monday

Modern Rock Archive


Incubus - Anna Molly - A+
Incubus is back on the radio with this quantum leap forward from their last album. A fantastic hook, a clever chorus and well-written verses make this the type of song that could propel Incubus to the next level of rock stardom.

Nine Inch Nails - Survivalism - A+
Of the two brilliant singles released off of Year Zero, this one is more of a throwback to older NIN songs rather than their recent modern rock turn.

Nine Inch Nails - Capital G - A
The other single from Year Zero sounds as though it would have fit perfectly on With Teeth.

Fiction Plane - Two Sisters - A
An excellent debut single for Fiction Plane, which sort of reminds me of a sobered up Sublime. A great hooky beat is the highlight of the song.

Evanescence - Call Me When You're Sober - A-
After an extended break, Evanescence is back with a vengeance. "Sober" is my second favorite song by the band and a fantastic improvement over the dull, gloomy and repetitive singles that were released following the sensational "Bring Me To Life".

Bloc Party - The Prayer - B
An above average song overall, but far below my expections for this particular artist.

A.F.I. - Love Like Winter - B
This song sounds a bit like a really nasally Interpol song. It's not really all that bad, but it's nothing special either.

Chris Cornell - She'll Never Be Your Man - B
I really hope Chris didn't break up Audioslave because THIS is the type of music he wants to make instead. It's alright, but that's about it.

New Years Day - I Was Right - B
An above average pop punk song that doesn't build on a strong opening.

30 Seconds To Mars - The Kill (Bury Me) - B-
Movie star Jared Leto channels his inner Maynard throughout Mars' latest album and does an admirable impression. They're not as good at ripping off Tool as Chevelle is, but their music is still surprisingly good.

Megadeth - A Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free) - B-
A boring song that's far below the average output for Megadeth, which is to say it's still better than anything Metallica's done in years.

Breaking Benjamin - The Diary Of Jane - C
A.K.A. "Breaking Benjamin Song #34466334 Version 2.3". Honestly, does every damn song need to sound exactly alike, guys? And if they do, couldn't they sound better?

Disturbed - Land Of Confusion - C
So you're a big bad heavy metal band and you want to prove how tough and cool you are by covering a 20 year old song by… Genesis? A mistake in and of itself, this cover choice is made even worse by the fact that Genesis' version is a better song and rocks harder as well. What the hell were you thinking?

Hinder - How Long - D+
If I have to read one more article about Hinder whining that people in the "blue states" don't listen to their music because they're snobs and the real music fans live in the areas where their music is popular, I might throw up. Hinder, I'll level with you. The reason you're not popular in the "blue states" isn't because the "blue states" and urban areas are full of snobs who like the White Stripes and don't appreciated "real" rock n roll, it's because you suck. You REALLY suck. You have no talent. The reason why you're popular in the "red states" is because your music is PLAYED ON AN INFINITE LOOP. Your music is the same old recycled crap that's leftover from the 80s hair metal bands and the trendy people you despise so much gave up on that crap 20 years ago. And now that you're ripping off Nickelback, I can only tell you that you will become more and more popular among the rubes and more and more irrelevant anywhere that good music makes it onto the airwaves.

Nickelback - Side Of A Bullet - D
A sludgy, ugly song throughout which lead singer Chad Kroeger SHOUTS his nasty lyrics about suicide and violence and, you know what, it doesn't matter.

Nickelback - Rockstar - D-
On the plus side, Nickelback is writing better hooks than ever before. Unfortunately, every new single they release gives me a new reason to completely fucking hate the band. This song is the typical "rock star whining about life as a rock star" song. Newsflash, Chad, if it's so bad being a rock star... QUIT. It's not like you have ever done anything to be worthy of the fame you've had handed to you, so just quit if you hate it so much and spare us all the trouble of putting up with your musical abominations in the future.