Wassup everyone? It's ya boy, MiamiBuckeye here. I've got some great tunes for your earholes coming up.

To start us off, we'll listen to some old-school, foundational death metal from ur-death metal band: Death. This song comes from one of their later albums, when they were transitioning away from their older sound to a more progressive one, as can be seen by the opening riff with its groove rock sensibilities. This is my favorite song from the late, great Chuck Schuldinger: Lack of Comprehension.

Here's a song from one of my favorite bands, Interpol, a sound straight out of 2005. It takes me back to my youth, before I could drive, when my older brother would drive us both to our high school and he'd be playing this song. Just listening to the driving riff and Paul Banks' baritone transports me to those times.

Despot. Now there's a name. Haven't heard of him? Well let me correct that. Despot is one of the most underrated rappers out there, primarily because he has yet to release an album in more than ten years of professional rapping. Despot is a perfectionist with a debilitating form of OCD that means he has great difficulty releasing anything unless he's sure it's perfect--and it doesn't help that he's also a complete stoner. His lyrical style is distinct--clever wordplay where he turns cliches and stock language into profound puns and double entendres. Paired with a champion beat by the ever-estimable Blockhead (producer of Aesop Rock's magnum opus, Labor Days), and we have a wonderful song in "Get Rich or Try Dying." Also worth noting that he's probably the best live rapper I've ever seen--and I've seen Aesop Rock, Run the Jewels, and Danny Brown.

In about one month I'm going to see Zucchero in concert again, and I'm beyond excited. If you want a formal introduction to Zucchero, you can check out my writeup in the international edition of this series:  http://www.elevenwarriors.com/forum/anything-else/2017/01/79531/miamibuc...

This is probably his most successful and popular song (and arguably his best), a hit that topped the charts in Europe when it came out. It showcases Zucchero's vocal charisma and pairs it with an irresistible guitar riff to great success. Sotto questa luna piena indeed. Here's "Baila Morena"

And last up, I think it's half past time for a little Country Western. No one says Country Western quite like Conway Twitty. This song, a cover of a Bette Midler song originally, first came to my attention in the greatest scene of True Detective's second season. This is "The Rose."