We all have them. I just have the courage to admit them.
It's impossible to escape elitism when it concerns musical taste. The world is full of hotheads and loyal stans: nothing will rile a self-proclaimed music connoisseur more than trashing their favorite artist. Music is a substantial part of self-identity for many, and while each person may have a distinct definition of who they are, I find that there are two types of responses when asked about prized albums: pleasers and debate seekers.
The pleasers will do everything in their power to appeal to the widest possible margin of listeners when describing their music taste. They heavily rely on cherished albums and classics that everyone can get behind. It does not matter if they appreciate the albums or not: they just want to avoid conflict. Meanwhile, debate seekers will do their best to upset others by degrading any albums that don't fit their narrow perspective of acceptable music. These two groups are constantly at odds with each other since the debate seekers will hate the majority and the pleasers will hate anything that isn't.
I don't endorse either, but everyone is guilty of acting like a child when it comes to a topic as personal as music taste. As a pleaser myself, I rely heavily on others' opinions to validate my own. Many can relate to the shame of being caught listening to an unpopular artist and being publicly ridiculed: especially knowing that if the roles were reversed you would do the same.
As much as I would like you all to believe by my previous article, Music and Pain, I do not listen to the musical equivalent of a slaughterhouse during my free time. I can count on my hands the number of times I've made it through the first three tracks of Filth. In fact, many of the albums I frequent the most I would never admit to enjoying. This is a tiring approach to music, so I made the decision that instead of hiding behind a mask of sophistication I needed to embrace transparency, hence the 'guilty pleasures'.
The following albums rarely leave my rotation, and I have listened to each dozens of times... except I've never recommended any of these albums out of fear of humiliation; I now realize that I did this out of pretentiousness. I hope that this article can be liberating for how I perceive my music taste, and inspiring to those who are reluctant to give truthful answers about their own.
Zillakami - Dogboy
There's little I can do to redeem myself after claiming to unironically enjoy trap-metal, which is exactly why Zillakami's Dogboy made for an ideal introduction to this shameful branch of my music taste. Dogboy represents the capstone of trap-metal's progression through the past decades, particularly the direction that pop-culture has shaped trap towards angry, visceral, and concentrated explosions of angst.
Zillakami's and Sosmula's 2018 duo City Morgue Vol 1 is the largest mainstream breakthrough the genre of trap-metal has achieved, welcoming thousands of supporters along with an equal portion of skeptics. However, the biggest complication that this has caused for Zillakami is the stylistic swap that he adopted on Dogboy, advancing a softer back half filled with various pop-rap tracks: an equally testy sub-genre. Zillakami is not a tactful lyricist, which few would disagree with: there are many times when I have laughed out loud at his 'bars'. Zillakami makes this evident from the first 30 seconds of the first track Chewing Gum with the line, "Stab him in his (ruff, ruff), now he cannot pee (yeah)". Poetic, which is why a slower Zillkami song isn't going to sit well with an audience who just wants the music to go hard like City Morgue... which I agree with, but I don't call Dogboy a guilty pleasure because it's well-written.
There's not a single track during Dogboy's fleeting runtime that is longer than three minutes, which is probably for the better since Zillakami made the baffling decision to not include any beat switches, instead relying completely on straightforward sample flips of grungy guitar segments that are reminiscent of nu-metal superstars such as Korn and Limp Bizkit. The tainted legacy of these nu-metal acts should have been enough to discourage Zillakami from evoking their musical styles, but I believe that Zillakami has successfully appropriated their sound into the 21st century with the ingenuity of its nu-metal and rage/trap fusion.
This is where the contention behind Dogboy becomes obvious, as for many it can be hard to separate the image of a fanbase full of chauvinistic frat boys synonymous with trap and nu-metal from the music itself. I don't blame people for not wanting to associate with such a problematic community, and I can't prove that Zillakami's fanbase is entirely wholesome, but the stigma behind rage and nu-metal can be damaging to innovation within the genre. It's not helpful that many prominent trap-metal artists have also been exposed for domestic and sexual violence, even if I believe they have received an unwarranted amount of public scrutiny compared to more 'family-friendly' artists that tend to have their wrongdoing swept under the rug. That being said, it's one thing to not separate the artist from the music, which I think is fair. What's not fair is equating the artist to the fanbase: this is the problem that trap-metal faces, and is exacerbated by the notoriety that hovers over the genre.
As much as I have preached the virtues of Dogboy, there are too many flaws for me to consider it a success, but I still recommend listening to it even if only to mock my shallow music taste.
Lil Mariko - Self-Titled (EP)
Hyperpop is a revolution. It's a genre that will define the decade, birthed from staple names such as M.I.A and the recently deceased SOPHIE. Fifty years in the future, hyperpop artists such as Lil Mariko could be studied for how effectively they captured the social zeitgeist of the rise of LGBTQI and 4th wave feminism.
Ever since Lil Mariko released her breakout single Simp in 2021, which featured heavily saturated 808s and a merciless feature from Rico Nasty, I was enthusiastic about her debut EP. When it first dropped, I had mixed opinions on its repetitiveness and instrumentation, which tend to follow predictable patterns. Yet, I continued to return to it over and over again, mostly because of how novel it remains in its lyrical content.
Hi, I'm a slut. Yes, that is the title of the first track. Yes, it's ridiculously fun. There's nothing that screams gen-Z more than a song about being a whore. It is difficult to reconcile how influential the song is because it's hard to take it seriously, but the reality is it's a milestone in progressive thinking. Hyperpop acts are infamous for calling out social perversion, such as My Agenda by Dorian Electra with its effective takedown of incel culture. Lil Mariko takes an alternate approach by embracing incels as part of her own identity. While she mostly achieves this through feminine empowerment, later in the album she tackles masculinity as well with the song Catboy, which is as horrifying as it is fascinating. That being said, categorizing this EP as a political statement is misguided, as I do not believe Lil Mariko intended her songs to be critically analyzed as reformist landmarks. What's more important is the genuine celebration of sexuality as electrifying hyperpop tracks, and that's what makes the EP so compelling.
C0ncernn - Dariacore
Dariacore is less of a guilty pleasure than it is a well-executed meme album. If I were asked for one album that can accurately epitomize the current internet landscape, it would be Dariacore. C0ncernn does a flawless job of fluidly transforming famous pop songs, vines, and hilarious one-liners into a digital-hardcore monument. Because of this, there's a strong sense of nostalgia when listening to Dariacore, especially for those who have grown up online. Dariacore can stay musically forward-thinking while sounding like it is from the past: its biggest strength.
Dariacore shines the most when it is turning obnoxious pop songs into immense soundscapes. The best example would be the track Dessert, which reconstructs one of pop culture's greatest sins: Dessert by Dawin. It's hard to believe that C0ncernn can make Dawin's vocals genuinely catchy, but he succeeds by implementing the infamous bed squeak sample along with the verse. Dariacore can take every element of music that has been considered cringe and make it genius, especially with the number of dubstep breakdowns throughout the album: representing a large portion of all dubstep I find listenable. The song Blueeeee is within the top ten of my most played songs of all time, even if the samples used are chopped from Drake/Rihanna tracks. What can I say? It's fantastic.
I can't write about this album without mentioning the production, which is frenzied while being shockingly nuanced as well. The replay value of Dariacore comes from discovering a new gimmick on each listen. The album may be less than thirty minutes long, but the accumulated value is dozens of hours of listening. Tracks like the opener Ricky Bobby, which sets the structure for the rest of the album with its sample from Ricky Bobby's Freestyle, pack over five different beat switches into its two-minute runtime. Louder tracks like Turmoiled hit hard and don't let up, while also showcasing its innovative usage of chopped samples as accents for each synth hit. Dariacore is as exhilarating as it is technically impressive, delivering an explosive dose of anarchy that doesn't have a slow moment.
In fact, Dariacore has become so influential that it has become its own microgenre on SoundCloud, aptly named after the album title. Copyright strikes stop many of these albums from reaching mainstream streaming platforms (Dariacore comes dangerously close with Copyright Strike My Fucking Nuts), but for those who make the effort, it's well worth the journey.
I chose to include Dariacore in this article because I know at least five people who would die listening to this album, but to me it's an experience like no other.
Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror
From the title alone, it's easy to understand why many listeners despise this album. Metal is the most divisive community of listeners I've met, especially given that it easily has the most sub-genres. In general, however, the divide is split amongst "classic" genres like black metal and death metal, and "new-age" genres such as metalcore and djent. Post Human: Survival Horror fits into the latter category, and is sanitized with the mechanical production of Mick Gordon, who is better known for his work on the recent Doom video game series. In a way, this is what the Doom soundtrack would sound like if it was infused with pop-punk and anime. Based on this description, it doesn't seem like an album I would enjoy.
It's true that most of the songs on Post Human: Survival Horror follow a predictable pattern: catchy synth gimmick, followed by soaring choruses and then a metalcore breakdown in the second half. However, front-man Oliver Sykes shows off his impressive vocal variety throughout the album, fit with harsh screams and terrifying death growls. While the rest of the album has clean vocals that sound like Chester Bennington reincarnate, which may put many people off, those that can get past their pre-conceived animosity of anything that sounds remotely 'edgy' will find a lot of quality in the pop tendencies.
By far the most iconic song on the album, Kingslayer is the greatest song Bring Me The Horizon has released. In true fashion of the album, this song gets its own 1.5-minute interlude just to introduce the track before taking off with so much momentum it's impossible to track the instrumentals without falling behind. This is where the computerized production really shines, as the song feels industrial and oppressive from the beginning. Even Sykes' vocals sound as though they are coming from the matrix itself. Babymetal's feature is hilarious and delivered well, and doesn't falter even in the face of the brutal breakdowns that haunt the last minute of the track.
Bring Me The Horizon is far from an underrated artist, and the attention they receive likely pisses off metal purists who find enjoyment in listening to someone bang two trash cans together for over an hour. Not to say I don't love my more avant-garde experiences, but it's not a crime to create music that is specifically meant to spike adrenaline. Post Human: Survival Horror might not be subtle, but it's exactly what you need to feel on top of the world.
Lil Nas X - Montero
A lot of the hostility towards Lil Nas X comes from his coverage by conservative media, who ridicule his 'scandalous' music videos and 'indoctrination' of children. Both The Daily Wire and Fox News have filmed many now viral videos attempting to explain how our society is going to hell because of him. Fortunately, barely-masked homophobia doesn't stop Montero from being an essential pop-rap album.
Lil Nas X is the clearest example of success from social media, particularly TikTok, which has catapulted dozens of musicians into the limelight. While Lil Nas X's initial single was his Old Time Road - Remix, which at this point is historic, Montero is his potential fully realized. The chart-topper Industry Baby garnered skepticism from influential media personalities, who pointed out the stale harmonies and repetitive melodies. However, the peppy horns never fail to raise my blood pressure, and while I largely dislike Jack Harlow, his delivery is self-aware and lyrically decent.
The track Scoop is one of my personal favorites (especially for the satanic music video). Like it or not, the production sounds expansive in headphones and the adlib-filled chorus is refreshing. Doja Cat's delivery could have had more to it, but at least I can forget her disgusting personality for a couple of seconds to enjoy her verse.
The structure and pacing of the album are underrated aspects of Montero's triumph. Many artists tend to forget that the order of the tracks matters. As an album experience, Montero should be considered the standard when it comes to balance. The transitions are natural but at the same time no two consecutive songs sound the same. Montero keeps its sense of cohesion through clever references to itself throughout the album, tying it all together into a neatly wrapped package.
Montero is already a pop-rap icon, and the hostile reaction from older generations only amplify its impact as cutting edge. It's anthemic, and its popularity means that many of the songs are already part of the soundtrack of the decade.
While writing this article, I began to realize something that intrigued me: many of these albums that I considered 'guilty pleasures' simply turned out to be great albums. I believe that some of these albums are the ones I have the most fun listening to: why would I hide them? It's odd that I would equate having fun as a detriment to the album, but it makes sense that the albums that stick with me the most are the musical 'puzzles' rather than the easy listening. I think that the solution is to recognize that good music doesn't have to require being mystifying to be worthwhile. Sometimes, the straight-up approach is just as effective.
Ratings and Links
Zillakami - Dogboy
Lil Mariko - Self-Titled (EP)
C0ncernn - Dariacore
Bring Me The Horizon - Post Human: Survival Horror
Lil Nas X - Montero
Thank you for reading!