grandson (Deep Dive)

From what I gathered from Spotify, wading through the different "singles" and such to determine which ones are actually EPs, and which of the singles can also be found on one of the EPs or albums, here's an overview:

He has two full-length albums, Death Of An Optimist (2020) and I Love You, I'm Trying (2023), and three EPs, a modern tragedy vol. 1, 2 and 3 (2018, 2019 and 2019, respectively). On top of those, he has ~11-16 non-album singles (depending on how you count them) and several remixes, acoustic versions, live versions, songs he's featuring in, etc. I'm gonna go through his discography somewhat chronically, with a few exceptions.

Before doing the Deep Dive, I had heard seven songs by him: Blood // Water, Identity, Drones, Eulogy, Murderer, Stuck Here With Me & Something To Hide. -- Later it turned out I had heard more, probably on YouTube.

Bills (single, 2016)

It's rock, but it has a little bit of punk influence in it. I like how versatile his voice is.

Bury Me Face Down (single, 2016)

Nice! I'd say this is more alternative rock than punk rock (or rock with punk influence). This has more of a new wave vibe than punk.

Kiss Bang (single, 2017)

This one has punk, but also hiphop. He doesn't quite rap, but he comes close... And then there's a guitar solo, it's rock music anyway. Alt rock.

Best Friends (single, 2017)

Continuing with the punk-influenced alt rock.

thoughts & prayers (single, 2018)

Then he switches to hiphop. You can still hear the punk rock in the hook. From alt rock to alt hiphop. Great lyrics - if I interpret them right on the first listen, it's about school shootings in America.

War (single, 2018)

Oh gosh, that single cover! 

Hook/chorus is a bit boring, lyrically.

Sonically, he's starting to have EDM influence on top of the previous genres. This just "alt" at this point, or "post genre".

Running From My Shadow (single, 2018)

Mike Shinoda feat. grandson.

Works well together, the hiphop of Shinoda and alt music of grandson.

a modern tragedy vol. 1 (EP, 2018)

- Blood // Water

Heard before, I think this was the first song I heard from him. It's very good, 9/10. A bit too repetitive. But the grit in the voice is so good, tho! He can repeat that and I don't mind at all!

- Stick Up

I like the rap, reminds me of Twenty One Pilots.

- Despicable

The Vibe. 

- 6:00

Oh yeah, more screams! Even though his roots seem to be more in punk than metal, I still really really like his screams! Hard-hitting lyrics as well. He was watching 6 o'clock news or sth and saw a man get killed. Morning or night, 6 o'clock is too early. You can't show adults' tv shows at 6, why can you show a real person dying?

- Overdose

👍🏻

Despicable (NIN9 Remix)

Just as good as the original, but different enough.

broken down vol. 1 (acoustic release, 2018)

- Blood // Water (acoustic)

Wow. It's still very much recognizable but still at the same time completely different from the original. Sing-a-long vibes, I bet this works very well live!

- Despicable (acoustic)

Lyrics hit harder acoustic. He or whoever's playing the guitar is talented with it!

BLOOD // EDITS (remixes of the song Blood // Water, 2018)

- Blood // Water - AWOLNATION Remix

So weird when the lyrics don't go as expected and when his voice is higher than the original. The summery, maybe even a bit child-like instrumentals create an interesting juxtaposition with the scream vocals.

- Blood // Water - Tom Morello Remix

He's a metal guitarist, so I wasn't surprised to hear metal guitar. I wish the chorus would have gone even harder. It has potential to sound like proper metal. Now it's a bit washed out and old-school. But maybe Tom is a bit old school as well, so 😂

- Blood // Water - Krupa Remix

Effect on the vocals in the beginning reminds me of SKYND. But then it went Skrillex breakbeat-or-whatever-this-is-called.

- Blood // Water - King Kavalier Remix

Funny sounding instruments. They're clearly produced electronically, but sound like a wooden xylophone.

- Blood // Water - 22 Bullets & Ghost Remix

Nooo, don't remove the scream, the scream's the best part!

a modern tragedy vol. 2 (EP, 2019)

- Apologize

Such cool internal rhyming! And there's rock as well.

- Stigmata

Pretty good! Chorus ain't that great, tho. Like Blood//Water, but not as catchy.

- Is This What You Wanted

Lyrics 9.5/10, otherwise 7/10.

- Fallin (Temptation)

Verses 10/10, chorus 7/10. 

- Darkside

This beat and flow are pretty awesome together! Best song on the EP. Apologize is pretty awesome as well and seems like that one was the single release from this EP since there's a remix and an acoustic version of that one.

Apologize (Hidden Citizens Remix)

They seem to have emphasized the rock elements more than Grandson did originally.

Apologize Broken Down (Acoustic) - I'm assuming this is just an acoustic version of Apologize, since in the past he has had an acoustic EP called broken down vol. 1.

Yup, it's acoustic.

Again, lyrics hit more when the song's acoustic. He's good anyway, but acoustic is when he really shines.

Maria (single, 2019)

<3

a modern tragedy vol. 3 (EP, 2019)

- Rock Bottom

A banger! Even the chorus is pretty good (it's me, not him, I'm very picky about hooks/choruses). 

- Oh No!!!

On another day I'd probably bump this, now it's just ok. (Context: I just got off work, I'm on the bus, it's hot as hell, teenagers are loud and my head hurts. And complaining about teenagers makes me feel old.)

- Put Me Under

I like how simple the beginning of this song is. I warmed up to the chorus the second time around.

- Destroy Me

The chorus, omg <3 Chills!! I loooove reverb/echo! 

- Die Young

So heavy <3 

Oh No!!! (from Suicide Squad, 2021, ft. VIC MENSA & Masked Wolf)

This is so dope! I think I've heard it before, though. -- Edit: Well, duh! :D Just a few songs before this. But I think I wrote this on a different day. I work on Deep Dives traveling to and from work, in the middle of the week (when I'm done with my Discover Weekly, but it's not yet Friday, when Release Radar is out).

Die Young (Saint Punk Remix)

It's ok.

Happy Pill (single, ft. Mob Rich, 2019)

It grew on me. At first the chorus felt too repetitive, but the 3rd verse changed things.

no apologies live EP (2019)

- Stigmata - Live in Los Angeles

Wow, the energy! I bet his live shows are dope!

- 6:00 - Live in Toronto

I get hyped and I wasn't even there! Man he's good!

- Overdose - Live in Toronto 

I went ahead and liked all the songs and put them on The Vibe playlist. It's rare that I put live music there.

- Despicable - Live in Toronto

Even the slow song works like this. He's so dope!

- Apologize - Live in Toronto 

<3

- Blood // Water - Live in Los Angeles

N0ice.

(Text Voter XX to 40649) (single, 2020)

- Again (ft. Zero 9:36)

An acoustic pop rock song. A little bit of rap thrown in there. It's ok, not my style.

- How Bout Now (ft. phem)

Another acoustic song. To me, the album title sounds like electronic music. 

- Whole Lotta (ft. DREAMERS)

Another acoustic ballad.

- Peaches (ft. K.Flay)

Lyrics are sad and sympathetic. Makes sense, since K.Flay is featuring in it. Her music ain't the cheeriest :'D

One Step Closer (single, 2020)

Linkin Park cover. I'm picky about covers. They need to be as good as the original, but different enough that there's a sense in making them in the first place. When he reached the screams, I felt like he was doing enough.

Death Of An Optimist (album, 2020)

- Death Of An Optimist // Intro

A gloomy acoustic guitar song. It's ok, the chorus is a bit dull. I know that's kind of the point of a song like this, but anyway.

- In Over My Head

Starts off cutesy, like a children's song, and he's talking about his childhood hopes and dreams. Then is grows into a pop punk / rock song.

- Identity

Heard before. Very much my style - a sad, relatable lyric matter, but more on the angry side of sad than the lost-all-hope side. And the rap! <3 

- Left Behind

Not a fan of the nasal sound, he overuses it here. I love the instrumental.

- Dirty

I've heard this before. It has a nice summery vibe. ☀️

- The Ballad of  G and X // Interlude

A pretty long interlude, over 2min. And has both lyrics and melody. I'd say that's a song. He's almost rapping.

- We Did It!!!

Quite an alternative sound. I think it's the distortion and the talked bits that give me that impression. And crossing genre boundaries. At times he's almost rapping and in the end it's almost metal. Couldn't imagine this being on the radio.

- WWIII

Rap-rap!! <3 And rock in the chorus.

- Riptide

Heard before. Love it.

- Pain Shopping

I like the verses, not so much the chorus. The chorus is rather boring. Verses are, like, mainstream rap-ish, they're fine.

- Drop Dead

Iconic. I can see this song being very important to someone. A mind-blowing or world-altering piece of art in their lives.

- Welcome to Paradise // Outro

👍

Dirty (Live)

I bet his live shows are great! 

Rain (from Suicide Squad, single, 2021, ft. Jessie Reyez)

Dark, somehow... 🖤 The guitar solo elevates it to another level.

Rain (Idris Elba Edit)

I prefer the original. This is definitely different from the original, though, so good job, Idris Elba! I bet someone else likes this more than I do.

Drop Dead (single, 2021, x Kesha & Travis Barker)

Original doesn't have Kesha and Travis, so this is different. I like Kesha. When it comes to this song, though, I prefer the original. 

I Love You, I'm Trying (album, 2023)

- Two Along Their Way

This exists... Can't put my finger on it, but for some reason not my thing.

- Eulogy

Heard before, one of my favorite songs by him. Great lyricism, nice rap flow.

- Something To Hide

Another one I've heard. Very good video.

- Drones

Heard before. Very nice flow on the verses, chorus is quite boring. The screams and the C part make it a tad better, but it's still quite repetitive and gets old quick.

- I Love You, I'm Trying 

Haven't heard before. I like it, very nice rap and the chorus works.

- Half My Heart

👍

- When The Bomb Goes

A banger! This is great!

- Enough

Chorus sounds too cheery to be The Vibe (lyrically, it's not), I REALLY like the verses. A great song.

- Murderer

Heard before. 10/10. The perfect Grandson song, one to play to people as their first song by him.

- I Will Be Here When You're Ready To Wake Up (ft. Wafia)

1min long piano/guitar song, with some female harmonies.

- Heather

Blended so seamlessly to the previous song I thought it was the same song. A storytelling/tribute song to his first fan. Seems like she died. RIP Heather.

- Stuck Here With Me

Heard before. It's sympathetic and relatable.

As a featuring artist / collaborations

Mike Shinoda ft. grandson - Running From My Shadow (2018)

🔥!!

Whethan ft. grandson - All In My Head (2020)

It's a bop. Probably won't listen to this again, but I enjoyed this one time.

DREAMERS ft. grandson - Heat Seeker (2020)

This is great!

X Ambassadors x K.Flay & grandson - Zen (2020)

Great rap song!

KennyHoopla x grandson - lost cause// (2020)

It's a bop. Again, the lyrics are not happy, but the song makes me happy.

Oliver Tree ft. Dillon Francis & grandson - Cash Machine (Remix) (2020)

N0ice.

Two Feet ft. grandson - Until I Come Home (2021)

I like the production. I like Grandson's flow. It's beautiful, but a bit repetitive as a whole. I do like it, though, it's a solid song. Despite having a rap flow ;) lol

Tom Morello ft. grandson - Hold The Line (2021)

A banger!

Steve Aoki x grandson ft. Jasiah - KULT (2022)

Heard before, liked it. I still do, it's a good song.

DE'WAYNE ft. grandson - GOOD MOOD (2022)

It's punk! I was expecting rap! I like energy! It's putting me on a good mood! Holy shit this is a banger!!

The Warning x grandson & Zero 9:36 - CHOKE (2022)

Have heard before, because I'm also a fan of The Warning and Zero 9:36. Love it.