Quiet, Then Suddenly Very Loud

Every song here does the same trick: it opens hushed — a clean guitar, a whisper, a lone piano — and then detonates. In the quiz that means the 30-second preview often hands you only the quiet half, so you have to name the song before the explosion arrives to confirm it. The playlist is the volume knob's greatest hits, from grunge to post-rock to the loudest chorus in pop.