Select Frequency #9
Rock Band classics, Vocaloid metal, and a grab bag track or two
A week passes, the world turns and burns, but Select Frequency must arrive all the same. For the unfamiliar, this is Gatekeep’s weekly series where our wonderful writers take you through 10 tracks of their choice, sometimes following a theme, sometimes random and scattershot, and, like this entry, sometimes a mix of both! Nostalgia for old Rock Band games drive the first 5 tracks of this list, with some of my favorite songs to play across the various Rock Band games, before we shift into some metalcore that just so happens to feature virtual anime synthesizer girls screaming their hearts out, and we close the list out with a couple grab bag tracks that have released this year! Enjoy or recoil in horror, your choice!
The Clash - “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
blink-182 - “Feeling This”
Ghost Hounds - “Ashes to Fire”
Styx - “Renegade”
The Beatles - “Good Morning Good Morning”
Utsu-P - “Harakiri”
Utsu-P - “Fools are Attracted to Anomaly”
Tallah - “A Primeval Detachment”
NAQT VANE - “VISIONS”
The Armed - “Purity Drag”
The Clash - “Should I Stay or Should I Go”
From Combat Rock // 1982 // punk rock
Everyone remembers their first Rock Band or Guitar Hero song. For Rock Band, I have vivid memories of banging on those wonderful plastic drums while “Should I Stay or Should I Go” blared out of my grandpa’s TV. All these years later, it’s still just as much fun to play and listen to, with an iconic guitar riff that is infectiously catchy as it is simplistic, and an equally iconic vocal performance from Mick Jones. And, be honest, you can’t resist the gratuitous Spanish that comes in on verse 2. I sure know I can’t. It’s nowhere near The Clash’s finest hour (“London Calling” exists, after all), but it’s the one I look on the most fondly without a doubt. Nostalgia’s a hell of a drug.
blink-182 - “Feeling This”
From blink-182 // 2003 // pop-punk/emo
I think it’s incredibly easy to look back on albums that are labelled as “classics” or “career-defining” or “the best thing they ever made” and question if it truly was that good, or if we were blinded by the new, or if it was only good for the time. blink-182’s self-titled/untitled album is most certainly not one of those albums. Granted, it came out in a relatively modern age compared to older classics, but it’s still so amazing how well it holds up all these years later when pop-punk’s peak has largely come and gone. “Feeling This” is a whirlwind opener, with some of Travis Barker’s best drum work, and a remarkably coherent structure considering Mark Hoppus and Tom Delonge would write their parts separately. Of course, the true star of “Feeling This” are those vocalists, who deliver a truly career-defining performance. And no, I’m not exaggerating. The final chorus alone is the best thing that blink have ever written, with Mark and Tom’s voice coming together in perfect harmony. If you can track down the isolated vocals for the song, it’s absolutely worth it just to hear every layer of that final minute or so.
Ghost Hounds - “Ashes to Fire”
From Ghost Hounds // 2009 // blues rock
Regrettably, this song has been delisted from all streaming services, and can now only be found through YouTube and old Rock Band playthroughs (and playable charts if you know where to look, Clone Hero fans). It’s a damn shame too, because this incarnation of Ghost Hounds knew how to put on a hell of a show. I’m a sucker for a good blues riff, and “Ashes to Fire” features one of the most earwormy blues riffs I’ve heard in a hot minute, underscored by some deceptively complicated drumming, and an almost hymn-like chorus. But then the key change hits at the song’s latter half, and you ascend straight to the heavens. Ghost Hounds have since reformed, and thank goodness. Now we just need this song back on streaming so we can listen to it in high quality.
Styx - “Renegade”
From Pieces of Eight // 1978 // progressive rock
“Renegade” is Styx’s best song and it’s not even close. Or, at least, it’s my favorite out of all of the Styx songs I’ve heard. The issue with a lot of the Rock Band tracks I’ve selected here is that so many of them are so popular that they run into the “what can I say that hasn’t been said?” problem, and you damn well better believe that the same applies to “Renegade”. What am I supposed to say about that iconic guitar riff, that absurdly catchy chorus, the crazy guitar solo, or the surprisingly intricate drum work? The song leaps into action and never slows down, moving at a beat that feels more like the gallop of a horse, all while Tommy Shaw belts his heart out. Perfection from start to finish.
The Beatles - “Good Morning Good Morning”
From Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band // 1967 // rock
In an album full of some of The Beatles’ all-time best work, it can be easy to lose some of the more underrated tracks in the shuffle. What is “Good Morning Good Morning” compared to “With a Little Help from My Friends”, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” or “A Day in the Life”? The answer is the most entertainingly chaotic track that The Beatles have ever produced. A rooster cry leads into pounding brass, bass, and guitar, and then the track never quite slows down. In fact, it’s one of The Beatles’ most progressive tracks, fooling around with odd time signatures, a total beat switch for the bridge, and whatever the fuck that chaotic outro is supposed to be. I mean, what do you make of devolving into German “guten morgen”s while animals cry out in the background? Another track that I need to say very little about, it is nothing short of iconic, and should not be overlooked if you listen to Sgt. Pepper.
Utsu-P - “Harakiri”
From UNIQUE // 2021 // j-metal
This song features Kagamine Rin, a blonde-haired Vocaloid who is anthropomorphized as a girl aged 14 years old, metal screaming in a harsh critique of Japanese societal standards, taking the form of declaring that those who screw up must commit suicide via seppuku. So just another day at the office for Utsu-P. Yeah, describing Utsu-P succinctly is difficult, and it’s even more difficult to properly sell people on the concept, as it takes the naturally transgressive nature of Vocaloid (which fellow Gatekeep! writer Hugh Puddles touched on in this excellent review of Inabakumori’s Anticyclone) and cranks it up to 11 by throwing them straight into the world of metalcore. And yet, it somehow all works. Part of it is due to Utsu-P being a monster fucking songwriter, opening “Harakiri” with blistering double bass drums and a blaring alarm, before slowing things down to let Rin’s voice shine, all before surging back into a quick-moving groove that perfectly underscores the growing intensity of the vocals. And that’s all before we hit the song’s earth-shattering final breakdown, or the subdued pace of the second verse. As an album opener, it’s a throat-tearing impression that leaves listeners hungry for more (even if the album proper doesn’t exactly keep that same momentum).
Utsu-P - “Fools are Attracted to Anomaly”
From MOKSHA // 2012 // j-metal
If “Harakiri” is a flamethrower, “Fools are Attracted to Anomaly” is a fucking gatling gun. Lifted off of Utsu-P’s finest hour, MOKSHA, “Fools” opens with an almost thrash-like, riff-tastic intro, before segueing into this borderline schizophrenic blend of riffs and electronic whoops and wails. Kagamine Rin once again stars on vocals, although with lyrics that are far less openly transgressive. Instead, this track focuses on a different sort of societal critique, focusing on the desire to be different and the alienation it can bring. And all of that frustration leads to one hell of an electronic-tinged breakdown that keeps in line with this absurdly chaotic track.
Tallah - “A primeval detachment”
From Primeval: Obsession // Detachment // 2025 // nu-metalcore
There is no band in the metalcore scene that are doing it like Tallah. The Pennsylvania nu-metalcore band broke new ground with a more melodic shift on their latest album, but that sure as hell didn’t mean they were willing to completely abandon their balls-to-the-wall heavy sound that had been such a staple of their previous two full-lengths. Behold “A primeval detachment”, which heralds the second half of the album, and comes out swinging with the most chaotic drum and guitar work on the entire LP, and that’s before you get into Justin Bonitz’s signature manic delivery, cranked up to absolute 11 on this song. It honestly sounds like he’s losing his mind at certain points, all anchored with catchy repetitions, and even a reprise of his classic “Umm” tic right before “Detachment” enters its pseudo-rap section. This is what Tallah is all about, insane heaviness contrasted with incredible catchy sections that will keep you coming back and following along.
NAQT VANE - “VISIONS”
single // 2025 // j-pop
Yeah, can you tell that this album cover is advertising a TV show? “VISIONS” is the opening for Kamen Rider Zeztz, the latest entry in Japan’s long-running superhero show Kamen Rider, and the first of the series to have a simultaneous broadcast worldwide. Naturally, for such a big step in a franchise that has been historically shafted in the international release department (Western fans know my pain all too well), it needs a hell of an impression, and there’s no better impression than a theme song! NAQT VANE (a girl group duo with composing and J-pop legend Hiroyuki Sawano on producer duty) lead the way with a more subdued, almost mysterious electronic backing, complete with lyrics that feature probably the most English ever inserted in a Kamen Rider theme, with motor-mouth pre-choruses and an energetic chorus that’s sure to get anyone hyped for some dream-weaving action. Also, the fact that the TV sized version unironically ends with “Be the GOAT” might be the most simultaneously hilarious, cringy, and awesome thing ever.
The Armed - “Purity Drag”
From THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED // 2025 // hardcore
Y’know, there are times where I find a band, and proceed to wonder how in the ever-loving fuck it took me so long to finally check them out. I’d heard buzz about the anonymous/formerly anonymous hardcore punk collective The Armed in the past, but never fully found it in myself to give them a spin. Until I gave THE FUTURE a proper chance. By track 2, I was entirely hooked, and am now planning a run-through of their 5 previous albums. “Purity Drag” had the unenviable task of following the absurd intro “Well Made Play”, and it more than lives up to the task by presenting the caricature of a do-no-wrong moral angel, and playing it completely straight in a biting satire as Tony Wolksi half-screams half-whines “I’m a gift unto your world”. Electronics screech in the background as The Armed go fuckin’ nuts, slamming drums and pounding riffs directly into your eardrums. The momentum rarely slows down, and the track refuses to outstay its welcome, its 3-and-a-half minutes surging by in no time at all.
And with that, this week’s installment of Select Frequency comes to a close! Any tracks here catch your attention? Do any of them already have a frequent rotation in your playlist? Am I a gatekeeping moron with no taste? Let us know, and we’ll see all you beautiful people next week!
Still pissed I couldn't include Ashes to Fire on the Spotify playlist. Check out the Rock Band Pro Drum chart, it's honestly awesome