At the beginning of Menomena's new single, Justin Harris sings of his father's scorn as if he's camped out on a therapist's couch. But as Harris scales his "fucked-up family tree," his sorrowful ruminations melt into anger, and the song builds to a tempestuous guitar solo. The result is an emotive outburst of a song that expertly sidesteps melodrama – confessional rock thrills without the cheesy aftertaste.

Listen to "Heavy is as Heavy Does":

“Tonight's the Night”

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."