Bonus Tracks...........................................Rossi

TRACK 11 12 13 14 15 NAME 5 Bonus Songs Which Should Have Been On ALBUM The Album The Album The Album The Album The Album ARTIST Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi

1. Taylor Swift - “New Romantics”

Bonus tracks are tricky. Sometimes they’re cash-grabs, sometimes they’re fan service. Sometimes they even undermine the actual album material by being better than other selected songs. “New Romantics” is definitely one of the latter. This track sees Taylor’s “I’m doing pop” attitude being taken to its furthest extremes, and what results is pretty much a perfect piece of electro/synth/dance pop. The verses are super slinky, the lyrics are fun, and the chorus just goes fucking hard. There are tons of good songs on this record, so I’m not going to say this is better than all of them, but it’s definitely up there, and it’s a pretty mystifying omission from the main tracklist (also check out “Wonderland”).

2. Kishi Bashi - “Brandenberg Stomp”

Though last year’s Lighght was an excellent pop album, it was at least a little inconsistent (something that Kishi Bashi’s albums tend to struggle with) and was definitely brought down in places by some weaker songs. This is where “Brandenberg Stomp” should have come in, a kind of bizarre but insanely catchy indiefied Shakira-esque/dancehall foot-stomping/Brueghelian peasant-romping mess with indecipherable lyrics and a ton of energy. Fun for days.

3. Alcest - “Into the Waves”

Shelter, marking Alcest’s departure from metal and transition to full-on dream pop and shoegaze, was disappointing in a lot of ways. It probably wouldn’t have been if every song had sounded like “Into the Waves.” This track has everything an Alcest shoegaze song should have: an infectious but effective guitar lead, solid riffing, and a great sense of momentum. The ethereal female vocal harmonies and soothing second part are just the icing on the cake, and as a result this song pretty much outdoes everything on the actual album.

4. Florence and the Machine - “Strangeness and Charm”

Florence Welch tends to put out a lot of awesome bonus material, and the second disc of 2011’s Ceremonials was no exception. A live staple for years, fans finally got a studio version of “Strangeness and Charm,” a classic piece of Florence indie pop. I still don’t think this version is quite as good as the heavier and more rock-oriented live version (which was actually a bonus track on Florence’s first fulllength, Lungs), but after years of waiting for a studio recording, I think this one deserved more than being relegated to the bonus section.

5. The National - “Santa Clara”

It’s probably unwise to question the artistic decision-making of a band as good as The National, especially when you’re dealing with a tracklist as immaculate as the one on Boxer. I’m not going to say that “Santa Clara” should’ve been on the album proper, but I will say that you just really need to hear this shit if you haven’t. I’ve listened to this song about 50 times in the last two days, so I might be a little out of my mind, but I’m about 99% sure this is the best song ever. Gorgeous chords, gorgeous vocal melodies, gorgeous lyrics, gorgeous everything. Shoutouts to all the cool happy genius heroes.