Yeah! Oh Yeah!

1. “California Girls,” The Magnetic Fields

Singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt loved the concept of distortion (and Jesus And Mary Chain – see No. 3)  so much he named his band’s last album after it. And one of the best tracks off said album is this  symphony of distortion, “California Girls.” Here, our friends from the Hills seem to get their just deserts, as in the song’s coda: “They will hear me say, as the pavement whirls, ‘I hate california girls.’”

2. “So What’cha Want,” Beastie Boys

Where would we be without the Boys’ 1992’s opus “Check Your Head”? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t want to be there. Raucous and fun, if this tune doesn’t make you want to pogo, then you’re no friend of mine.

3. “Just Like Honey,” The Jesus And Mary Chain

That which birthed The Magnetic FIelds. This alternative staple is so sweet, it might actually make you forget any image of Bill Murray getting cuddly with Scarlet Johanson.

4. “The Wretched,” Nine Inch Nails

Trent Reznor ushered in a new era of distortion-as-music with 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine and its signature tune “Head Like A Hole.” He upped the ante, though, with 1994’s The Downward Spiral, and continued with this track off

The Fragile (1999), “The Wretched.”

5. “Apple Option Fire,” Hot Lava

Indie band Hot Lava takes  bit of a fun approach to distortion, finally giving the musical twist that gaming on a Mac deserves.

Distortion

Runners Up: “Closer,” “Head Like A Hole,” et al., Nine Inch Nails; “She’s Your Cocaine,” Tori Amos; “Wild Honey Pie,” The Beatles; “Slip Inside This House” (Thirteenth Floor Elevators cover), Primal Scream. So what bends your antennae?