What makes for a good (indie) pop song?

Pop hooks are the musical equivalent of tweeting.

Jarvis Cocker image courtesy of: the Guardian

They're short and catchy and as the name suggests, they can reel you in to listen to a more substantial piece. Particularly in the dense forest of indie music, it could spell the difference for an obscure talent to gain hits.

As the year comes to a close, many review sites and critics have compiled their top tracks and albums for 2013. It has become a tired old ritual, but is universally practised by curator sites because lists are a good way to generate internet traffic.

People read lists. They've stopped reading in-depth articles. And listing tracks involves the least amount of effort. Films take longer. A pop song requires a tiny snippet of one's time, and it only requires 10 seconds for a listener to become engaged.

So what makes for a good pop song?

A-stigmatics, pare!

“Here’s a song, baby, and I sing it to you” goes the opening line of the opening track from Straight Down the Bitter End the freshman album of the concept band Stigmatics under Terno Recordings the indie outfit of Toti Dalmacion which is based in the Philippines (hence the flag in the photo).

The duo is comprised of Grandi0s0, musical alchemist who manages the instruments and vocalist funb0y. With a name like theirs, you truly wonder what sort of scars both psychological and spiritual they intend to expose. No wonder these evil geniuses prefer to use stagenames in lieu of their true identities.