The Angry Mixtape
It beats shooting someone. Well, we think.
There are days when you just want to throw a chair through a plate glass window while screaming "I can't take it anymore!" Maybe you are fed up with a crappy job, stuck in a rut in life, or falling apart in a failing relationship. Whatever the case is, music is another great form of therapy (and cheaper than an hour on a couch talking to someone about your feelings). The electric guitar was made to be loud and aggressive, and if it weren't for angry white suburban kids pissed off about matters they can't fix, we'd sadly be lacking a few huge demographics in music. There maybe a lot of happy songs out there, but there is something to be said about music that makes you want to punch someone else in the face.
At The Drive In - Pattern Against User - From the scream at the start to the explosion of guitars, this song makes you want to drop kick babies and slam someone into a wall much more than anything the Mars Volta or Sparta ever released.
The Blood Brothers - Set Fire To The Face On Fire - The Blood Brothers don't sing - they just scream. And the word "Fire" is in the title twice. Clearly there is a lot of anger here.
Rages Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire - Rage Against the Machine are the quintessential angry white kid band. They are pissed off about politics and issues they can barely touch, but if they can't fix things directly, they'll make a riot with their music instead. I have yet to see a Rage show where someone wasn't severely hurt in a mosh pit.
Minor Threat - Guilty of Being White - Hardcore music isn't happy songs about love. It's music about being excluded from society, about feeling alienated and about being pissed off. It walked the thin line of anarchy and being socially acceptable. If you can't find a circle pit to mosh in, just jump around your room instead.
Beastie Boys- Sabatoge - One of the best-frustrated screams in the world, and one of the only rap songs white kids don't sound stupid rapping. The Beastie Boys early on were kids making music about being in trouble, getting in trouble and general mayhem.
Blur - Song 2 - Blur had a lot of great pop gems, but this track always made me want to throw things out of windows and smash my car into a wall. And I don't see that as a bad thing.
The Faint - Dropkick the Punks - The Faint stick to their best with danceable new wave and electo tinged tracks. But they cranked this angry song out and satisfied the desire to punch people that are annoying you at a Faint show. It’s very therapeutic.
Incubus - Make Yourself - Do you have pent up sexual frustration and identity issues? Pop on this gem and scream along with Brandon Boyd at the bridge. It’s one of the sexiest angry songs around.
Sleater-Kinney – Entertain - Riot Grrl music is mostly about women being angered at men and social issues that only affect women. There is a lot of screaming and shrieking involved. This makes for the perfect template for music to be angry to.
Alanis Morissette – You Oughta Know - After gruesomely getting her heart ripped out, Alanis got even with this 90's gem of disgust and aggression. For many, this is the ultimate break-up song. And when you feel dragged down and heartbroken, the best solution is to get mad and get even.
Posted by Lisa White on Feb 19, 2009 @ 7:00 am
