Weekly Track Roundup 10/10/22: Deep Cuts
For those of you out there with favorite artists, you probably know of some songs in their respective discographies that you wish more people would recognize. That will probably never change, sadly (though it’s a weird world out there and you never know), but over here we call those songs deep cuts - overlooked and underappreciated songs in a popular artist’s catalogue. Below are some category favorites from our staff!
Aminé - “Becky”
Aminé is known for his more upbeat works, so it makes sense that “Becky” flew under the radar on Limbo. However, for those who take the time to listen to the full project, “Becky” is undoubtedly the hidden gem. A lament about the racial injustice that Aminé and his friends face—and the necessary inverse prejudice that his Black family members express towards his dating life as a result, the track culminates as a powerful (and danceable) manifesto.
-Nolan Lewis
JID - “Underwear”
According to Spotify, this track is JID’s very first single uploaded to streaming services, and for a first single, it’s pretty damn good. Personally I’m obsessed with the haunting piano and JID’s ability to take fast paced raps and add his signature righteous and ratchet bars. In my opinion, JIDs one of the greatest out right now, and this song goes to show that he’s had the skill since the beginning.
-Emmett Favreau
Juicy J - “Deez Bitches Rollin” (ft. SpaceGhostPurrp & Speakz)
Juicy J had a huge resurgence in the early 2010s due to his work with Wiz Khalifa, he’s even managed to carry that over to big singles on soundtracks and songs with Travis Scott, and has produced for so many people. Even Katy Perry! This mixtape was released right before his biggest album to date, with massive songs like “Bandz A Make Her Dance”. But this mixtape is incredible, this is one of my favorite because it’s underrated on this album, as well as in his entire discography. The sample is great and everyone lays down a solid verse that contributes to the sort-of trippy vibe on the track, check out the rest of the mixtape if you like this for sure.
-Lily Lazar
Radiohead - “Bangers + Mash”
Not nearly the deepest Radiohead cut out there, but still a song most people aren’t aware of. Goes hard. One of my favorite songs by them (don’t kill me for saying that)
-Nathan Hausspiegel
Kero Kero Bonito - “You Know How It Is”
Kero Kero Bonito is known for their cutesy, baby-like pop, but “You Know How It Is” is proof of their ability to keep the pastel shine of the band while adding in some more raw, punk elements. It’s the song that introduced me to the band and is not praised enough for how satisfying it is.
-Alexandra Taylor
Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Pusha T - “Feel The Love”
A beautiful song off of Kanye and Kid Cudi’s collaboration album, that in my opinion is a bit under appreciated. Kid Cudi gives a very emotional vocal performance, which bleeds into a very cold verse by Pusha T. What really makes this song for me are the primal noises throughout the song, that make it truly unique.
-Lukas Shvetsov
Beyoncé - “All Night”
One of my favorite Beyoncé songs and definitely my favorite off Lemonade, I feel like "All Night" really flies under the radar, maybe because it seems to have less personality than other songs on Lemonade. And, yes, it is less flashy than "Formation," less heartbreaking than "Sandcastles," and less fun than a lot of Beyoncé's earlier work -- however, Beyoncé's incredible voice really shines through on it, and its lyrics are a beautiful depiction of hope and love.
-Maisie Wrubel
ERRA - “Ultimata”
ERRA is one of the most well known names in modern metalcore, they're one of the most influential bands of the genre. I knew “Ultimata” before I knew that. “Ultimata” was the first ERRA song I ever heard; Spotify recommended it to me. ERRA is now one of my favorite bands and “Ultimata” continues to be one of my favorite songs by them. Yet no one talks about it. There are no official playthroughs of it, and the band has yet to play it live (to my knowledge). When the band released a track-by-track breakdown of Neon (the album on which “Ultimata” is the closing track), their only description was along the lines of "it's just a sick track." Why no love for this song? Excellent vocal writing, one of the band's few (but awesome) "chilldowns," and killer riffs reminiscent of super famous tracks like Wage War's "Low" and Architects' "Doomsday." To this day, I do not understand why “Ultimata” has not received the attention it deserves.
-Raine Rosenblatt
Selena Gomez & the Scene - “Rock God”
This is Selena Gomez's best song and it only has 4.4 million streams.
-Gloria Martinez
Stevie Wonder - “A Seed’s A Star/Tree Medley”
This is a very obscure track off of Stevie Wonder’s 1979 album, Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants. I haven’t been able to find much information on the track itself, but it seems to be a live performance. The album in its entirety is a soundtrack for a plants documentary called The Secret Life of Plants. It’s an amazingly high energy, catchy song, with vocoder and a random uncredited female singer. The fact that this is such an unknown track is crazy to me, because this was the first record I ever bought, and I just happened to stumble across it.
-Terry Brannigan
