Special: Ranking Disney+ Original MCU shows

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season thus far but we are not quite done yet. I've usually taken this time of year to talk about the baseball hall of fame ballot or to start off my year end lists. I'm not prepared to do the latter and I have a podcast that covers baseball, specifically the Toronto Blue Jays but we do lots over there MLB wide (www.anchor.fm/insidethedome) so baseball thoughts will likely stay there. But what we did get recently is a new Disney+ Marvel show in Hawkeye, the 5th that takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, all of which that were released this year so I thought it would be fun to rank them based on how much I enjoyed them.

5. What If?

I'll be honest, I haven't finished What If? Maybe it's because it's a series of one offs instead of cohesive story telling? I'm not sure. When I watch it I do enjoy it it just hasn't been must see tv like the other 4 shows on this list have been despite being the only animated show, and animated expertly might I add at that.

4. Loki

I feel like Loki might have suffered most from the pandemic as there were several episodes that seems to just have Loki by himself or with one or two other people simply talking. I enjoyed the time authority reason for existing and the villain shown at the end but despite being excited to see Loki go solo, his storyline was pretty stale overall.

3. The Falcon & The Winter Soldier

This was a fantastic show and very nearly took the #2 spot but it just came up a little short. Doing a lot in only 6 episodes, this show not only deals with the financial toll of being a Superhero (Falcon) but also the mental toll it takes on your psyche, especially if you were brainwashed and did some regrettable things in the past (Winter Soldier). Oh also race in America is a big thing still in 2021, who knew?

2. Wandavision

Like I said, Wandavision and Falcon & Winter Soldier were very close. Ultimately it'd be easy enough to say Wandavision got an extra three episodes so that was the difference maker but the first three Wandavision episodes overall didn't do much for me, what it did do was keep me coming back for more to try to unravel the mystery at hand and once we got into normal MCU mode I was invested in following Wanda's journey of grief over Vision.

1. Hawkeye

I'm probably going to get a lot of hate here but I absolutely love this Hawkeye series. I will not speak specific spoilers but the way they combined another Marvel show into this one was brilliantly done and we still get the emotion from other series with Hawkeye and Yelena dealing with Natasha not being around anymore in their own ways. But overall this is based on the Fraction/Aja run of Hawkeye which has been my favourite Marvel Comics book of the last I dunno, 20 years? So yeah. Hawkeye definitely deserves this placement. Oh and I will also be watching this series every Christmas from here on out as this is essential viewing now.

Special: Ranking New Found Glory's "December's Here"

It's been over a year since I've last ranked an album and the last time I did was when NFG's self-titled album turned 20 in September 2020. Now they just recently released their first full length holiday album and since it is the season for Christmas specials on the blog thought this was a wonderful time to rank this. Normally I like to sit with an album longer before doing something like this but hey maybe it'll be a fun thing to go back on next year.

11. Santa Forgive Me

Although most of the tracks on this album are lyrically simple, harkening back to Christmas classics of the past with the guitars taking a back seat to the bass and drums, Santa Forgive Me is arguably the most simple and the least likely to come back to.

10. Christmas Card

Christmas Card just missed the bottom spot as instantly it was one of my least liked tracks on this album with it's repetitive lyrics but ultimately I gave it a nudge up for at least singing about something (finding the perfect Christmas card) that hasn't been done a million times before.

9. For Christmas Sake

The nostalgia is real on the closing track of this album. Harkening back to toys wanted as children of the 80's (He-Man and G.I. Joe among others) shows us the innocence Christmas brings out of people even as adults just simply looking back.

8. Snow

Lyrically Snow is likely one of, if not the strongest track on this record but this slow paced ballad doesn't do enough instrumentally to stand out among the other similar tracks here. It also has not been a favourite of mine being released back in 2014 but still not making it onto a volume of "What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree?" my annual Christmas comp. (shameless plug)

7. Nothing For Christmas

Speaking of my Christmas CD, Nothing For Christmas was featured way back on volume 6 and although it has been mixed slightly different on this album it's still basically the same song so it lands here in the middle of the tracklist ranking.

6. It Never Snows In Florida (Holiday Version)

The oldest song released on this album, the original version was featured on NFG's full length debut back in 1999 as a high octane pop-punk song. For the holidays it's an acoustic jam with jingle bells replacing the drum sounds. Never a big fan of the original this now works as a holiday jam with the new instrumentals.

5. Our First Christmas 

Okay so I may be a bit biased here. Our First Christmas has some of the tropes I complained about near the beginning of this list but my wife and I started dating around Christmas (December 2012) so it's just a bit sentimental to me and ultimately we want songs to make us feel something so that's why it cracks the top 5.

4. December's Here

The last of the pre-released songs is here at #4. December's Here was released last year to advertise the then upcoming NFG Christmas livestream. Again nostalgia plays an import role in talking about watching Home Alone and Elf many times and reciting all the quotes to fully get into the holiday season.

3. Somber Christmas

This track was used to announce the album and they couldn't have picked a better song to do so. The duality handled in the lyrics is equal parts sad (a devastating break-up) and happy (looking back on happy memories) makes you feel all at once.

2. Don't Fight It's Christmas

Don't Fight It's Christmas has the best hooks on this album, likely because it's sonically the closest to a straight up pop song on the record and I simply can not get enough of it. 

1. Holiday Records

Vinyl is all the rage so it's natural to flip through your loved ones vinyl collection to pull out any Christmas records you can wear out to get yourself in the holiday mood. Holiday Records is easily the standout on this album thus far. You can expect to see it on this year "What's A Partridge? What's A Pear Tree?" compilation.

Special: Ranking New Found Glory's "New Found Glory"

By the time this blog goes live New Found Glory's Self-Titled album will have officially turned 20 years old on September 26, 2020. This wasn't the album I discovered them on as I like most my age found them on the Sticks & Stones cycle but this album quickly became not just my favourite NFG album but among my favourite albums of all time.

12. Vegas

I'm not sure why Vegas is at the bottom of the list. Maybe it's the lack of instrumentation that sets it apart from the middle of the pack tracks or the lack of lyrics especially the three line chorus that doesn't amount to much.

11. Black And Blue

I've said before I'm a fan of the double chorus and New Found Glory pulls it off here and it's also one of the punkier tracks on the album so it seems like a recipe for success right? Eh not really. The execution isn't as great as it could be.

10. Eyesore

New Found Glory has a history of doing ballads on their records, however on their major label debut this is as close as they get with this mid tempo banger of a track. What holds it back though is it's unoriginality in the chorus.

9. Second To Last

Second To Last is yet another bop that gets held back as a result of following Hit Or Miss in the tracklist especially given the similarities in the opening riff. So although it doesn't hold a candle to the hit track it's still worthy of a place on this great album in the middle section of this list.

8. All About Her

The math might not work out here but I'm considering this the end of the back half of the record. If this was a tier list that's how it would work out so I'm doing it here. All About Her is a catchy hook filled song that is below top tier but still pretty damn good.

7. Boy Crazy

"Some girls are crazy" preach NFG. This was one of the first songs I fell in love with from this album and although it's fallen to the bottom of this tier in years that passed mostly due to the juvenile lyrics and the soft opening.

6. Dressed To Kill

One of only two singles released from this album back in the days when single pushes took months instead of a days or weeks push we see now. Dressed To Kill is a solid tune that gets pushed down the list due to the many gems buried on this list which are all fan favourites to this day. 

5. Sucker

This chorus is so so good. Maybe even the best on this record. It's a bouncy fun tune about young romance which as a 31 year old... I can't relate to but it's fun to think back on which is how the band feels I'm sure playing this song 20 years after it was written.

4. Sincerely Me

Ah! From a song about young love to a song about young love breaking up. Sincerely Me is a letter to an ex-lover about the heartbreak of them leaving while still being angry enough to not name them and signing it with a sincerely me.

3. Ballad For The Lost Romantics

Truer words have never been spoken as the opening salvo of this closing track on the self-titled album. "I've grown sick, I've gotten older" screams 2020 even though it was penned in the year 2020. This is also sadly the only song from the top 7 on this list that I haven't seen live.

2. Hit Or Miss

As soon as the circus-like opening riff hits you know you're in for a good time. Hit Or Miss was NFG's breakthrough that got them a fan base, it's also a re-recorded version from their first album and this version nearly makes the original impossible to listen to in comparison.

1. Better Off Dead

This is a thrashy banger of a track with a thumping guitar and bombastic drums leading the song through the punchy verses and the high energy chorus to boot. Track one not only kicks off this album but it also is the best track on this album.

Special: Ranking Grayscale's "Adornment"

As of Today's writing (July 15th), Grayscale just announced a new EP of reworked tunes coming at the end of the month so I figured now is as good of time as any to look back at Grayscale's Fearless Records debut album "Adornment".

11. Slept

Slept is the penultimate track off of Adornment but it ranks at the bottom of my ranking. This is the 2nd time the 2nd to last track ends up at the bottom of one of my rankings but unlike the previous time (Waterparks - Crybaby) this is not a bad song, just the worst on Adornment.

10. Atlantic

Bring on the hate! Atlantic is Grayscale's most popular song and was the lead single on this album and it also introduced me to the band, unfortunately it has not aged well and I'm thankful I bought the album on a whim as some deep cuts ended up being my favourites.

9. Fever Dream

Yet another single and fan favourite ends up near the bottom as this is their 2nd most played song off Adornment (after Atlantic) it's dark tones are fine but other songs on the album do it better although the creepy music video that accompanied this song was stellar.


8. Slipping Away

Despite being at #3 in the tracklisting, joined by singles and fan faves within the first 5 tracks, Slipping Away is often forgotten which is sad cause it really is a good song but much like Fever Dream above, other songs channel the pop punk darkness better.

7. Come Undone

I'll be the first to admit the juxtaposition of Patty Walters (As It Is) vocals with lead singer Collin Walsh seem like an odd fit but it works well together. Fearless Records had both of their bands on their roster so it made sense at the time however Grayscale's popularity has since soared.

6. Echoes (Carry On)

We've made it to the midpoint of our list with a song the band loves but seldom plays (only Come Undone and Slept have been played less according to Setlist.fm. However they did play it on their last run of shows so maybe it'll end up in the mix some more going forward.

5. If I Ever See You Again

The last song on the record, the last of 5 music videos to be made for the album, If I Ever See You Again deserves a spot in the front half of this ranking. It's loud chorus and gang vocals make you want to scream along in celebration of getting over a bad relationship.

4. Forever Yours

A romantic sounding song that is anything but, Forever Yours was the 3rd single released and ranks the highest out of the 5 on this ranking. It has recently passed Atlantic as their most streamed song on Spotify and it's just a matter of time before it supplants Atlantic as the set closer.

3. Mum

The most punk sounding song lands in the top 3 though ironically this is also one of the most polished sounding songs on the record. Mum deals with a difficult subject, a parent's fight with drug abuse which hits close to home for myself.

2. Beautiful Things

Speaking of songs dealing with difficult subject matter, Beautiful Things deals with mental health issues such as depression and the suicidal thoughts that come with it. I have no idea if this song was written about Collin's cousin Tommy who tragically took his own life but one would think he'd like the opportunity to play this to his cousin once more regardless.

1. Let It Rain

Track One: Let It Rain. You'll be hard pressed to find a better album opener than this, though Grayscale has a tendency for starting off albums with straight up heat so if this is bested it might be by their own hand. It's about wanting a fresh start and encompasses the album's tone in one bop.

Special: Ranking Neck Deep's "Life's Not Out To Get You"

We are about a month away from the release of Neck Deep's fourth full length album "All Distortions Are Intentional" so in honour of that I figured now would be a great time to look back at their best album: Life's Not Out To Get You. This was also the album I discovered Neck Deep as I checked out the single Can't Kick Up The Roots as soon as it popped up and I fell in love. On with the ranking!

12. Serpents

Back when I did the Waterparks "Entertainment" ranking I mentioned that Crybaby is the only skippable song, and although I don't "need" to skip Serpents like I do Crybaby it is far and away the worst song on the album. Maybe it's the darker tones on an otherwise summery album? Maybe it's the lack of a hook? Whatever it is, Serpents deserves the bottom of the list.

11. Rock Bottom

You'd think with a title like this it'd find itself in the previous spot but alas Rock Bottom despite being at the bottom of the tracklist isn't quite at the bottom here. It closes off the album reminding listeners to that despite being in a rough spot you gotta let go of the negativity. It's also not a bad song at all as I could regularly jam it, it just speaks to the depth of this album being all the way down here.

10. December

The mandatory slow jam on LNOTGY is actually lyrically beautiful. The acoustic guitar takes center stage and sounds wonderful however what ruins this track is the fact that they recorded a faster version later on and it's much better and the band agrees since it's the version they now play live. This is probably the most popular track off of the album.

9. Threat Level Midnight

The best part of listening to this album is the fade out of track one into track two, otherwise known as Threat Level Midnight. The chunky baseline of former bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans leads us into an anthemic sing along chorus that probably deserves to be up higher but something's gotta fall to the #9 spot and I decided it should be Threat Level Midnight oh and the title was based on The Office.

8. The Beach Is For Lovers (Not Lonely Losers)

With a title like that you just know this track is gonna be good right? Prior to this album, Neck Deep's biggest song was A Part Of Me which this song is along the same vein so it's a popular deep cut for the band. Unlike the rest of the album the vocals sound less hopeful and more suffering. Also fun fact: This is track eight and it's in the eighth spot. Lolz!

7. I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You

Speaking of popular deep cuts, the penultimate track on the album is another. I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You starts off slow before turning into one of the loudest. The band have stated on multiple occasions that they love this song but it doesn't translate well live. Hopefully they do an anniversary tour so we can all hear it at least once.

6. Citizens Of Earth

We're kicking off the best 50% of the album with track one. If you never heard Neck Deep before and you start here you probably are going to be fooled as to what you're going to hear going forward. It's super angsty and the guitars of Matt West and Lloyd Roberts are super loud. It feels like a lead hammer hitting you in the face.

5. Smooth Seas Don't Make Good Sailors

Who doesn't love a solid dual chorus? I know I do. This is the track that leads you to know Jeremy McKinnon produced this record as it reminds you of the pop punk oriented A Day To Remember tracks. The vocals are in your face and the melody is fast paced which surprises you since this follows December on the tracklist.

4. Kali Ma

Yet another song with Jeremy McKinnon influence as he provides vocals on the outro to the song. Also this is track four at number four! Another happy coincidence. Dani Washington's drumming stands out here as it takes the lead along with the vocals for a trip that keeps the anthemic nature of the album going.

3. Lime Street

On the tracklist Lime Street closes off the first half of the album and it's probably one of the better 6 song runs on an album I can think of off the top of my head. The bouncy riffs and pop punk vocals are reminiscent of blink-182. This is simply a track that I would've listened to in my youth screaming at the top of my lungs while reading the lyrics booklet.

2. Gold Steps

This is probably the track where Ben Barlow does the most vocally. The 2nd verse he essentially raps before falling back into a snotty punk vocal style before going back to normal for the chorus. The album's title comes from this positive jam about how no matter how dire things look it'll get better so keep moving forward.

1. Can't Kick Up The Roots

As mentioned above this was the first Neck Deep song I heard and it's undeniably a bop. Maybe it's the fact that it introduced them to me that it claims first or maybe the band and label just knew what I did when I first heard it. This was the best pop punk song that had come out in 5 years and it needed to be released ASAP with a push behind it to get to as many ears as possible. The big chorus, the pop punk trope of leaving your hometown getting turned on it's head? Brilliant.

Special: Ranking Simple Plan "Still Not Getting Any..."

I had the pleasure of seeing Simple Plan on their tour with State Champs and We The Kings yesterday so I thought what better time than to release this ranking since it also just celebrated it's 15th birthday. This was Simple Plan's sophomore release after their rousing debut "No Pads, No Helmets... Just Balls"

11. Everytime

One of two love songs on this record. There is just nothing memorable about this track. Sure I sing along to it when it comes on since I grew up on this record and know all the words but apart from that I don't give this song a thought.

10. One

It's a great message but "One" doesn't offer us too much else as they tried to set this track apart from the others but it just sounds like a messy, lite version of Welcome To My Life.

9. Perfect World

When this album first came this was one of my favourite tracks, so I'm not sure why it no longer holds up as well. The lyrics still have a lot of meaning 15 years later and it was the only song to get a music video after the 4 actual singles, it just doesn't. It's weird.

8. Me Against The World

This album is full of bangers and as much ad I'd like to put them all at the top this is called "Ranking" so that simply won't do so the lowest of the bangers is this one. It's fun it's bouncy. It's about doing whatever you want to... This description can apply to two other songs on this record but they're better.

7. Thank You

This track is extremely resentful and with that it makes it the most like their previous album which is obviously not a bad thing since I love that record but at the same time you don't wanna be caught going back to the same well over and over again which is why this ends up in the middle.

6. Untitled

How could this happen to meeeeeeeeeeeee. Just like Perfect an album earlier, Simple Plan set out to pull at everyone's heartstrings with this little ditty and guess what? It worked. With a music video to match this emotional song was a Top 50 song for the band acting as their third single.

5. Promise

A love song that is also a banger? Simple Plan has done this before as well but Promise is likely the most underrated song on this album given how hard it goes musically and the lyrics are beautiful without being corny.

4. Crazy

The fourth and final single released from the album, Crazy is another gem on the ablum. It plays at mid-tempo and if it weren't for the #1 spot on this list it would likely be their best mid-tempo song they ever released.

3. Shut Up

Ooooo so angsty. Haha. Shut Up sounds like a big "fuck you" song but it really is about believing in yourself and doing what you need to do regardless of what other people, especially the nay-sayers tell you to do.

2. Jump

Like Shut Up and Me Against The World before it, this bouncy track is about doing what's best for you and making yourself happy. It's also the only song in the top 4 to not be a single but given that in recent years it's passed Shut Up and became the staple bouncy track from this album to get played live it's clear that it's a fan favourite.

1. Welcome To My Life

We hit #1 on our list and let's be honest, you all seen this coming. Welcome To My Life was their first single from this album and their only single to ever hit #1 anywhere (it did it here in Canada). It's among their biggest and probably their most memorable among casual and non-fans alike given the relatable nature of the song.

Special: Ranking Waterparks "Entertainment"

What's good everybody. Today we're going to do something new as I'm going to look at an album and rank the tracks from worst to best, today's album is the last release from the Houston band Waterparks in honour of their new album Fandom dropping in October but before we look ahead, let's look into the past at Entertainment...

10. Crybaby

Track 9 on Entertainment is the obvious worst. It's the only track I actively skip on this album and for good reason. Although I can appreciate that the band was trying to experiment a bit with new sounds in ends up not being great, worst of all they crammed it in with Not Warriors on the music video. I must say the shorter version of Crybaby in the video is better since it only amounts to less than a minute with most of that instrumentation. But the crime there was cutting out half of Not Warriors.

9. Lucky People

Track 6 on Entertainment lands at #9 on my countdown, this was also the 2nd single released from the album and it's a fine tune still as the drop off from Crybaby to this is big but still something had to clock in here and after much thought it had to be this slow jam about Awsten's then girlfriend, who their previous album Double Dare was mostly dedicated to, before breaking up halfway through writing Entertainment.

8. Sleep Alone

The closing track to Entertainment is once again not a bad song at all, it's very upbeat and fun despite the lyrics being mostly dark until the chorus pops in with Awsten singing he'll come to this person so they won't ever have to sleep alone. The reason this is so low is mostly due to placement on the album, by the time this song plays you've already been singing and dancing to tons of other upbeat songs that this one can't measure up to.

7. We Need To Talk

Track 4 on Entertainment survives the bottom third of the album but doesn't get any higher. We Need To Talk was not technically released as a single during Entertainment's life cycle but it did get a music video after the 3 actual singles did which featured Awsten in Zombie makeup. The song is one of a few that was written after Awsten's breakup. It's a mid-tempo jam which I normally love but this one just couldn't hit that next level for me.

6. TANTRUM

Track 8 on Entertainment hits hard. This is probably the loudest Waterparks has ever been and will ever be. As you can guess by the songs name and the all caps stylelization this song is very angry and Awsten names the person this song is mostly about (Cam) and then states he'll keep the others nameless before adding a fuck it and naming Richard, Clayton, John and Will as well. Angry Awsten is great but this song is very hard to sing along to since Awsten can sing it all very fast.

5. 11:11

The opening track on Entertainment, 11:11 sets the tone for the entire album. It's fast, it's upbeat it deals with the main theme (luck). The lyrics are infectious, the pre-chorus especially as I can not stop singing it after even just one listen. It officially cracks the top 5, but that really doesn't do it justice. This album is just that strong that an awesome track like this can only barely squeeze into the top 50%.

4. Peach (Lobotomy)

Peach is the 3rd track on Entertainment and also got an unofficial single release as the final music video off the album seen a release about a year ago now as it was a live video the band filmed while on the final cross country Warped Tour. The song is a love song about the struggles of a long distance relationship and the lobotomy context is because the girl is all Awsten thinks about. It's a mid-tempo jam that just misses the top 3.

3. Rare

The highest ranking non single on Entertainment is track 7, Rare, which gets into the top 3 on the strength of it's overall catchiness. Another love song, Rare once again touches on the subject of the difficulty of long distance relationships and lyrically it is probably the strongest on the album which you discover right from the first line, "I save my metaphors for rainy days" which in itself is a metaphor. Awsten Knight you clever bastard...

2. Blonde

Well it took this long but finally at #2 we have the first instance where the song ranking mirrors it's tracklisting number on the album. Blonde was the lead single for the album as it most mirrored their previous albums even referencing their earlier EP Crave in the song. Awsten has gone on record saying Blonde is about a number of things but mostly it's about the difficulty of being in a touring band. Awsten also stated this song was being written when him and his girlfriend broke up which is why, tonally, the song is everywhere.

1. Not Warriors

The third and final official single from Entertainment was track 5, Not Warriors. This should not surprise anyone as this song got into #2 on my top songs of 2018 despite the aforementioned Crybaby bit in the video which may just have held it back from getting the #1 spot. This song also is a love song (shocking right?) that has nods to both Lucky People and Sleep Alone in it which makes it lyrically interesting. The musicianship is perfect making this an absolute bop being too punk for the pop kids but too pop for the punk kids which is right in my wheelhouse.