The Smiths — “Please Please Please Let me Get What I Want”
Three “pleases” and not even one “pretty” from Morrissey, a grown man whose unabashed “Dear Diary”-style poetry would make any 14-year old girl “so jealz.”
The Mountain Goats — “Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod”
John Darnielle’s as passionate as they come, so most any Mountain Goats song would qualify. This song in particular is heartbreaking, autobiographical and so raw it’s practically feral.
Daniel Johnston — “True Love Will Find You in the End”
Daniel Johnston feels feelings way harder than you could ever hope to. Here, he’s so breathlessly earnest about “love” that he actually makes it sound like a good thing. Weird.
The Magnetic Fields — “I Don’t Want to Get Over You”
In which the singer considers moving on from his love but decides against it. He chooses to wallow and write a song about it instead.
Young Jeezy — “I’m The Realest”
Jeezy needs only a couple of minutes to assure us upwards of four million times that he is, indeed, “the motherfuckin’ realest.” We believe him.
Neutral Milk Hotel — “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”
A youthful love song that’s really sweet without being saccharine. What are these, tears of joy or sadness? Who can tell?
