"The Kids Aren't Alright" - The Offspring

How can one little street swallow so many lives?

Perhaps the most underrated band on the whole tape. Just quality skate punk. The skate punk scene that came into the mainstream around the same time as grunge had a ton of good music. Social Distortion almost made the list over The Offspring but just missed out.

"The Kids Aren't Alright" is about the joy and optimism of youth being completely obliterated by real life. Doesn't get much more punk than that. Whether crushed by capitalism, drugs or depression we all know someone who just couldn't overcome their demons. Hell we all know someone who just plain invited them in. It sucks. It sucked to watch happen and it sucks to think about it now.

"Overkill" Men At Work

At least there's pretty lights and though there's little variation

My toxic trait is that I am 1000% convinced that not only could I do this song at karaoke but that I would absolutely kill it! No doubt. I could do the studio version or the absolutely tremendous all acoustic solo version that Colin Hay did on "Scrubs". Like this would be my American Idol audition song and I would get a ticket to Hollywood.

Growing up we had HBO and one of my favorite things about it was the concert movies they would have. Billy Joel live from Russia was the big one, but there was a hour long Men At Work live from San Francisco show that was always on too. "Land Down Under" is obviously the big song everyone remembers but I always love "Overkill" and "Dr. Heckyll and Mr. Jive" Another great band from the 80s that is still getting the appreciation they deserve.

"Welcome Home" - Coheed and Cambria

You could've been all i wanted, but you weren't honest. Now get in the ground

@claudiopsanchez78 Lending some help… #rock #guitar #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound - claudiopsanchez78

Any progressive rock song with "Home" in the title kicks ass. It's just science don't question it. A gentle guitar intro leads into a killer riff and drums that, as all good prog rock does, last for a solid 62 seconds before we get to the opening lyrics. From there the relentless guitar drives us for 5 solid minutes of angst and drums.

Coheed is the Millennials answer to Dream Theater which was the Gen X answer to Traffic, etc. etc. I love the TikTok above because not only did her request for the song find the right audience, Claudio Sanchez actually duets her and helps her play along. She learned to play this song at 13 showing that great prog rock is timeless.

"You Oughta Know" - Alanis Morissette

It was a smack in the face, how quickly I was replaced

Oof, been dreading this one. Lets just say breaking up with your future wife for a short period of time while this song was in heavy rotation wasn't the best idea. So as promised we get to the second greatest breakup song of all time, #1 to come later. This whole album was a revalation. It has no skips.

If ytou ever have the chance to go see the musical "Jagged Little Pill", GOOO! It deals with all the heavy issues but man the use of the music is amazing, and you might not come out of it feeling good about life, but you will feel everything for a solid two hours. I cannot reccomend enough.

"Umbrella" - Rihanna

When the sun shine, we shine together

Released in 2007 and played at countless outdoor sporting events in inclement weather "Umbrella" has over 2 billion streams and topped the radio charts in 19 different countries, "Umbrella" from Rihanna is the perfect pop song. Built from pieces of rhythm lifted from other tracks and a hi hat sound straight from Apple's Garage Band app Rihanna with a little help from Jay-Z built an anthem. I absolutely love this song. You cannot be in a bad mood while this song is playing, it is impossible.

"Whipping Post" - Allman Brothers Band

But nothin' seems to change the bad times stay the same and I can't run

My Mom and Dad went to an Allman Brothers concert once when I was older. They told me the concert was over 2 hours long and they did 5 songs. That checks out. I think the version of "Whipping Post" they heard that night was 30 minutes long. I assume this story to be true but I imagine the crowd was probably so stoned the show could of only been 35 minutes.

Later in the tape we get to what I consider to be the greatest breakup song ever (The second greatest breakup song comes in 3 songs) Make no mistake this isn't a breakup song. Gregg hasn't left this woman, he could no sooner leave her then he could stop breathing. I mean she took all of his money, wrecked his new car and is drinking with one of his buddies. She has him and she knows it. My head cannon is that the daughter of the woman Gregg sings about here is the woman Billy Joel writes about in "Stiletto".

"Cherub Rock" - The Smashing Pumpkins

'Cause they know who is righteous, what is bold, so I'm told

I would never describe myself as a Smashing Pumpkins fan. With that said I owned most of thier CDs and know all the lyrics. "Cherub Rock" is far from the best or most popular Pumpkins song. But when I listen to grunge, what I want the most is the raw angst filled energy, and "Cherub Rock" delivers that.

I did bounce around between this song and "Disarm". "Disarm" is Billy Corgan's favorite thing he wrote. When the brand went into the studio to work on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the studio explicitly asked for more anger. So he wrote "Zero" and "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" for them and "1979" for himself. Worked out great all around for us.

"Penny on the Floor" - The Clarks

A stronger man might do it with more grace

The 90s scene for Pittsburgh music was pretty cool. The Clarks, Brownie Mary, Gathering Field and earlier the Affordable Floors. I guess when i really think about it, I have seen The Clarks more than any other band. At Nick's Fat City, IC Light Amphitheater, Westminster, while my wife and her college roommate stalked Scott Blasey at Ross Park Mall.

When I hear The Clarks I am reminded of all those good times with friends at that point in my life. Meeting my future wife, changing childhood friendships into grown up friendships which have lasted a lifetime and being young and very irresponsible. But that isn't to say this is a nostalgia pick. "Penny on the Floor" is a solid song about regret and sadness from a relationship that is over. The lyrics are simply, but they are sad and moving. It may be a local hit with a little over a million streams but it's place on the tape is well deserved.

"Instant Karma" - John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Well, we all shine on

Yeah the Gen Xer invoked the Holy Quaternity. Everyone has a favorite Beatle. Mine is John Lennon, though I am not sure if that is my opinion or just predestination from my mother. Going to be honest, not sure John has the deepest solo catalogue. Really think that goes to George but John is the last white boy to drop the N-word in a song and get away with it. Actually that might be Axl.

"Instant Karma" is the anthem of the wronged. John assures us that we are where we need to be, when we need to be there. Anyone that goes out of their way to wrong or hurt you, let it slide, karma got your back. We are to use our short time on this planet to shine and bring joy to those around us, damn the haters.

"Vienna" - Billy Joel

But you know when the truth is told that you can get what you want or you can just get old

I hate on millennials a lot. I mean a lot. But about 2 years ago on social media I started to see photo slideshows to "Vienna". There was some online discourse around whether this was the best song Billy did. It blew my mind that of all the songs, this gem made it on to Gen Y and Gen Z. Don't believe me, only "Piano Man" and "Uptown Girl" have more streams. "Vienna" will break one billion streams in 6 months.

My first concert was Billy Joel. The Innocent Man tour, my mom took me to the Civic Arena, it was amazing. I have a Billy Joel playlist on Spotify call, "No Scrubs". It is all album cuts, no singles. My favorite Billy album is Songs in the Attic. I blame that album for my weird obsession with concert albums. The fifth song off of Billy's 1977 album, The Stranger, Vienna is the perfect Billy Joel song. His piano and his voice the only instruments needed. Billy is the second artist with 2 songs on the mix tape, and here is a spoiler; the other song comes from this album too.

"Touch Me" - The Doors

'Till the stars fall from the sky for you and I

Junior year of high school was kind of rough. I was still working through not being a complete asshole to people, and while things were getting better, I still had work to do. I was making new friends, solidifying existing friendships and really trying to land a girlfriend. I had a lot of friends who were in the band and for that year the show theme was The Doors. "Touch Me" is always the song that brings back the more pleasant memories I have of that year.

Junior year was also the year I discovered my vocation. I learned how to program computers.  I took a college level programming course and finished the entire years worth of work before Christmas.  It was something I was good at and continue being good at.  Heck; I even try to keep up with things still, not just to stay employed but because I still find joy in solving problems with code. With that said my top 3 programming languages are:

1. C
2. Java
3. C++

"Down Boys" - Warrant

Whoa, can we rewind to where we've been

In eighth grade, it took me a little longer than most to really get into Hair Metal. Originally Guns and Roses didn't really do it for me. What hooked me was Warrant. I should probably be ashamed to admit it, but it is true. Harmless, yet catchy, rock and always a few power ballads thrown in, No one did it better than Jani Lane and the boys.

Unfortunately my love of Warrant and grunge have a tragic intersection. Jani Lane told a story about walking into the record company office and seeing a giant poster for Cherry Pie above the receptionist desk. He knew he had made it, he knew that they were on top. A year later he goes back in to discuss press for the next album and above the receptionist desk is a poster for Alice in Chains album Dirt. His time on top was over, and he and the band never recovered. Looking over my mixtape I see far too many artists who died long before their time. Some in the bottom of a bottle of pills, some, like Jani, in a bottle of booze. Why tortured souls are the ones who make the best artists I will never know.