10 best headphone tracks: great music to listen to as you block out the world (Featured on Stuff.tv, November 2022)

Give your ears the respect they deserve with the best headphone tracks perfectly suited for your can.

Welcome to our guide to the best head headphone tracks we know.
Is it just us, or is the modern world noisier than ever? Whether it’s adverts from all directions screaming for your attention, standup meetings on Teams, or that dreaded TikTok woman’s voice, your ears undergo a punishing amount of aural assault on a daily basis.

That’s why, sometimes, you need to unplug and unwind: it’s time to treat those lobes sandwiching your noggin with some exquisite musical experiences. Songs that take you back, whether back to simpler times, bygone memories, back to an old flame, perhaps.

The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army

Seven Nation Army combines distorted vocals, a thumping bass drum, and one of the most ubiquitous basslines in modern music.
And yet that stinging riff isn’t actually from a bass guitar, trivia fans. To get that effect, Jack White hooked a semi-acoustic guitar to a whammy bar to apply an octave-lowering pitch shift.
And thus, one of the most famous basslines in modern music was born, with a song that’s continually graced movie trailers, sports stadiums and even political events the world over.
With its high dynamic range and throbbing bass, Seven Nation Army is sure to tickle your eardrums. Psst: did you know they’re not actually brother and sister?

​Journey – Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)

First come the haunting synth hooks, followed by the iconic 80s guitar riffs, then the unmistakable sound of Steve Perry, aka “The Voice,” a moniker bestowed by none other than Jon Bon Jovi himself. Separate Ways will push your cans’ mid-range capabilities to their limits with its electric composition of melodic synth and axe solos.
It’s a worthy companion to Kate Bush’s Running up That Hill while battling the forces of the Upside Down in Stranger Things, which reinvigorated both songs in the public consciousness. Just maybe give the music video a miss.

​Billie Eilish – Bad Guy

This dark dance-pop number is a curious mix of toe-tapping synth bass, finger clicks, Billie’s breathless vocals and an Australian stoplight sound, to boot. Brace yourself at about 2 minutes 30 seconds in for the bass drop. While most pop tunes go for that all too familiar key change, Bad Guy slams on the brakes, before Billie herself usurps your chest-puffing self-visualisation and declares, “I am the danger.”
Despite its dearth of instrumentals, don the headphones to experience Billie alternately whispering in your ear with her intimate line delivery. And be sure you’re sat down for that drop.

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