Associate Editor Ruby Risch
The Smiths
"How Soon is Now"
The guitar on this track—that pulsing tremolo—would do more for me on my deathbed than a defibrillator ever could. Morrissey’s haunting vocals convey the tension between the desire for connection and the anxiety of never achieving it. An ultimate, disorienting, listen.
Operations Manager Robin Rose
Marvin Gaye
"What's Going On?"
This is a masterpiece for the ages. It was needed then as it is needed today.
Senior Editor Brett Callwood
Napalm Death
"Scum"
The Birmingham, UK grind icons have always had a gift for cutting to the core of matters when it comes to monsters in power. The title track from their classic debut album is a much needed dose of anger-energy today.
Smiths photo by Paul Cox; Distributed by Sire Records.
