8. Titus Andronicus "The Battle Of Hampton Roads"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZYignZ2HfE "I've destroyed everything that wouldn't make me more like Bruce Springsteen," snarls Patrick Stickles, the frontman of New Jersey punk rockers Titus Andronicus, in the middle of this clashing, thrashing, wildly ambitious epic. Taken alone, as a 14-minute shot of adrenaline and fury, "The Battle of Hampton Roads" is enough to make just about anyone want to go set fire to a few cars and riot in the streets. Heard at the end of Titus Andronicus' sophomore album "The Monitor" a record that among other things parallels the crushing defeats of the American Civil War with the frustrations of living in a shattered economy "The Battle of Hampton Roads" is simply the loudest battle cry on an album full of them. Moving from a Replacements-esque barnstormer to a funereal bagpipe procession, and taking us from the actual naval battle of the song's title to a mid-section where Stickles spews vitriol at drunk asshole frat boys and fakers who only repeat what they're told, "The Battle of Hampton Roads" earns a spot on this list because it's impossible to imagine it having the same invigorating impact with a shorter runtime. When Stickles realises at the end of the song that his punk image would be nothing without the people he so hatefully rebels against, it completes the song and album's status as something that should be studied in literature classes.
Craig Manning
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Craig is a Chicago-based freelance writer who like to talk incessantly about music on AbsolutePunk.net. He also does writing for marketing companies to "pay the bills," but his true passion lies with the pop culture sphere.
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