What kind of guy writes a song about how he tries to get people to call him "Freddie Mercury," but everybody keeps calling him "Right Said Fred"? Only one man: Craig Finn of the Hold Steady. While the band bashes out friendly trash-rock riffs, Finn goes off the deep end in surreal rants such as "Killer Parties," "Sketchy Metal" and "Positive Jam." He spins hilarious, hyperactive tales about America ("In the Nineties we were wired and well-connected/Put it all down on technology and lost everything we invested") and romance ("She tasted like those pickle chips"). "Certain Songs" pays tribute to a jukebox with the perfect ratio of Meat Loaf to Billy Joel. Like the rest of Almost Killed Me, it's bizarrely touching and insanely original.

“Youth Knows No Pain”

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”