Modern Rock Monday

Modern Rock Archive

Queens Of The Stone Age - Sick, Sick, Sick - A+
Finally a welcome return to the airwaves for a change. This song is more than just the clever play on words that the title implies. Singer Josh Homme with special guest Julian Casablancas of the Strokes tear through this song at a lightning pace that still manages to be light and smooth. An early contender for song of the year.

Placebo - Meds - A
One of the best bands that get almost no airplay in America, Placebo has yet another classic on their hands with this brilliant build-up and explode song.

Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks - A-
Whistling and a drum machine are a weird way to start out a song, but this light piece of indie pop makes it work.

Rise Against - Prayer Of The Refugee - A-
Another excellent political punk anthem from one of the best of the genre. The chorus is a bit long, but other than that, one of their best.

Placebo - Running Up That Hill - A-
Another outstanding song from Placebo, though not quite as well-paced as "Meds".

Rise Against - The Good Left Undone - B+
A solid release from Rise Against that doesn't rise to the level of their recent output.

Saliva - Ladies And Gentlemen - B
Basically a re-make of "Karn-evil #9" by Emerson, Lake And Palmer re-mixed as an 80s metal song. That being said, it's actually alright.

Razorlight - America - B
A decent emo pop song from an up and coming band, but they've still got a long ways to go.

Rush - Far Cry - B
Yes, it's the same Rush from the 70s. They're still around and despite recent efforts, they're actually pretty good in this song.

Rob Thomas - Little Wonders - B-
How Rob Thomas snuck onto a modern rock playlist is beyond me, but here he is. Like all of his career, the song certainly isn't bad, but it is dull and far south of the genre he's squatting in.

Saliva - Broken Sunday - C+
An entirely ordinary but yet still not completely pointless metal song from Saliva.

The Riverboat Gamblers - Don't Bury Me, I'm Still Not Dead - C
A dull pop punk song that tries hard to be Blink 182 or maybe even Green Day, but fails entirely. Here's a hint: Write a catchy hook and you're most of the way there. Try it and see if that doesn't work for you.

Red - Breathe Into Me - C
More sludgy Breaking Benjamin / Disturbed style metal. Hand to God, this must be about the 300th of the past 2 years.

Puddle Of Mudd - Famous - D+
Another revolting Nirvana-lite song from the least of the Nirvana knock-offs to come about in the past 15 years. On a side note, this is the return to the radio of Puddle of Mudd, a band I had hoped to be gone for good. So basically, Santa didn't get my list this year. Bastard.

Robbie Williams - Rude Box - D
Umm, what the fuck is this? Some sort of techno dance crap, I guess, but who would listen to it on the radio?