The Washington-based artist and producer fish narc’s career has been one of constant subcultural exploration, from rock to rap to rave and beyond. Not many people have both produced for Lil Peep and released an album on K Records. So we had a pretty good feeling that if we asked him to do an edition of Best Songs, he would give us a great, eclectic list. And he did not let us down. fish narc delivered! Give the piece a read and be sure to check out his newest album, Frog Song, which is full of contemporary Pacific Northwest rock and roll anthems.

Best song for driving in the morning on tour?

“El Herrante” by Chalino Sanchez

This classic song sends the spirit soaring … It describes an amorous trek across the state of Sinaloa to various cities looking for love. A traveling vagabond banger … The music slaps and the tempo is perfect for getting into the groove of a long drive. 

Runner up: “One Hundred Punks” by Generation X

Best song by a 2000s Atlanta rapper?

“Ain’t I” by Yung LA 

This is a hard one for me ‘cuz I hold 2000s Atlanta rap in the highest regard and have a bunch of favorites that stay in heavy rotation. I had to pick Yung LA ‘cuz he’s so underrated and his influence was largely written out of the canon. The futuristic movement was the cultural precedent for commercial trap music coming out of Atlanta, and LA had one of the most inventive takes on it. I can’t imagine Young Thug going as crazy as he did on 1017 Thug without LA before him. 

Runners up: “Posted At The Store” by Yung Joc (Feat. Gucci Mane and Yung Ralph) and “Gucci Bandanna” by Soulja Boy (Feat. Gucci Mane & Shawty Lo)

Best song to listen to when you are really sleepy but want to stay awake?

“Speed Freak” by Motörhead 

Besides the lyrical theme matching the prompt, this song feels like an embodiment of stayin’ up, cranked on speed, driving, shredding, whatever. If you fall asleep to Motörhead, you really need the rest. Autocorrect has me adding the umlaut to the band name, which is amusing.

Runner up: “Tutti Frutti” by Little Richard

Best song by a UK twee band?

“Comin’ Through” by The Pastels 

Twee is kind of a fraught term in my mind … I think I know what it is, then I realize maybe it’s just post-punk or indie pop? Some may balk at my selection and have valid reason to argue, but I think I just have to go with my gut here. There’s a degree of skillfulness to this song that is perhaps the best argument against it being considered twee, but either way, it’s a banger.

Runner up: “Holiday Hymn” by Orange Juice

Best song by an American twee band?

“Godsend” by Beat Happening 

Again, I think there are plenty of other ways to describe this band and song, but the canon agrees with my designation, and I bow to canon. Beat Happening cannot be beat, so to speak, and “Godsend” is a heart-stirring 9 minute track that seems to be over in seconds. I don’t know how they did it, it just bangs so hard. Sweet as can be.

Runner up: “Young Adult Friction” by The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

Best song that makes you think about 2016?

“I See You as a Dove” by Wicca Phase Springs Eternal 

2016 was the year that the music that would come to be marketed as “emo trap” found its most natural swing and the stylistic conventions were mostly established. I think the genre peaked the following year, but as a music fan and nerd, I find myself most drawn to the pre-commercial iterations that one finds scattered throughout the discographies of underground rappers of the time. Yung Bruh, Horse Head, Cold Hart, and Wicca Phase Springs Eternal were definitely the most coherent and consistent at this point, and I will never get over how beautiful some of these songs were. I chose “See you As a Dove” because he mentions me by name in the lyrics LOL.

Runner up: “I’m Used To That” by Horse Head

Best song to freak out to?

“Blonde Redhead” by DNA

When I was in high school, I was in a band that rehearsed in Olympia, where I currently live, but 60 miles south of my parents’ house in Seattle. We’d drive down for practice or shows on the weekends, and sometimes have no wave dance parties with the lights off, slapping DNA, James Chance, and other freaky records of that particular milieu. I love the bluesiness of this track … It feels deeply connected to rock ‘n’ roll in spite of how abstract the song seems at first.

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Runner up: “Throw Me Away” by James Chance and the Contortions

Best song that feels like it could only come from the bowels of the internet?

“deaf && dumb” by Valentina Bludgeoned 

Ironically, this band is hella situated IRL, in a scene with members in various other bands, and plays live with a shifting lineup. That said, it sounds like it could have only occurred in the hyper-online context of today. Various shades of emo, mixed with highly contemporary electronic/post-SoundCloud rap production styles, and the songwriting to back it and tie it all together. Their new record, from which this song is pulled, was mixed by Ava Smith, who also mixed and produced my most recent album. Disclaimer, fish narc band shares a member with VB.

Runner up: “GERM” by David Shawty (Feat. Bby Goyard)

Best song to listen to on a cassette tape?

“Only if We Must” by The Replacements 

This is an outtake from the All Shook Down sessions. It didn’t make the tracklist, although it should have. I read a Slim Dunlap quote mentioning how many incredible demos Paul Westerberg would make and discard that are probably just lost to the ether. I’m hella glad this one made it; it has a warbled, tape-y feeling to it, and being bootleg, belongs on a cassette. 

Runner up: “Corridor of Dreams” by The Cleaners From Venus

Best song for staring at the stars at night?

“Just Lay Down and Forget It” by Kevin Drumm 

Barely a song, this is my all-time favorite from the normally harsh experimental musician. It clocks just over one hour, and its duration helps me settle into whatever other activity I may be doing. It is an active enough progression that you don’t get distracted, but spare enough also that it doesn’t completely dominate your focus. I wrote a lot of papers in school listening to this track, and have also actually stargazed with it in my headphones. 

Runner up: “4’33” by John Cage (What do you hear?)