Blogs
Getting Fraternal #2
In honor of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) being released, I thought it would be extremely fitting and appropriate to explore Taylor Swift’s impact on party music on this edition of “Getting Fraternal.” “The boys” might be rolling their eyes at this one, but let’s be real,...
Across the Universe: A Halloween Celebration of Gothic Country, Americana, and Ethel Cain
If anyone reading this has had the pleasure of viewing my Spotify (or AirBuds) listening activity over the past year, you’ve probably seen me borderline obsessively listening to Ethel Cain’s discography. Nothing else quite satisfies the mood of a late night drive...
Ben’s Classic Reviews: Diving into grunge season: a review of “In Utero”
Get your flannels ready.
My Halloween-ish Soundtrack
What’s scarier than emotional devastation?
Emily’s Earbuds: Music Review: Mon Rovîa’s latest EP continues his soft folk pop sound
Folk pop artist Mon Rovia remains gentle in his latest EP, with two brand new songs.
Lesbian Jesus: A Brief Background On Our Lord and Savior, Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko is a 32 year old American singer, songwriter, and actress. While she first became widely known for her roles as a child actress in popular TV shows and movies like “Wizards of Waverly Place” and “Lemonade Mouth,” she is most commonly known within the...
Concert Preview: Julie at the Songbyrd Music House on October 31
Howdy one and all! Looking for a spectacularly spooky and rockin’ concert this All Hallows Eve? Well, hold on to your witch hats and pumpkins, because the art collective and shoegaze band Julie is coming to Songbyrd on Oct. 31, with doors opening at 7 p.m. and the...
Sea.Hear.Now 2023 Music Festival Review
Part two of Summer’s experience at Sea.Hear.Now on September 19, 2023.
I Went to a Music Festival Alone: Here’s What I Learned. Sea.Hear.Now Review
Part one of Summer’s adventure at Sea.Hear.Now on September 18, 2023.
tunes a million vol 2
Welcome back to Tunes-A-Million! In case you missed it, this is a virtual book club where I share songs for books I (and hopefully you) read every two weeks. Our first book was Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan's The Royal We, a personal all-time favorite of...
Sir Chloe: Acoustic Concert Review & Interview
Out of the handful of band members that comprise Sir Chloe, it’s just Dana Foote and her guitar tonight.
All Things Go 2023 Festival Review
On Saturday, Sept. 30, and Sunday, Oct. 1, All Things Go (ATG) held its most attended festival, with 40,000 people attending over both days. What started as a 5,000-person event at Union Market in 2014 has grown yearly. Headliners over the years have included Billie...
Sneaker Head: Montclair: Pinegrove and Blundstones
Once upon a time, in a small town in New Jersey, everyone wore the same shoe when October hit: the Blundstone. Montclair, New Jersey (French for “clear mountain”) is not quite mountainous. Rather, it’s a small city-like town with an emerging nightlife, great...
A Walk Down Memory Lane’s Bargain Bin: A Love Letter to Yazoo
Time for another look back on some music, this time going all the way back to 1981 with a band that would start the career of a couple prolific artists and release phenomenal music!
Getting Fraternal: Party Like It’s 2010
Saturdays don’t have to just be for the boys. Have you ever been dragged to a party that you REALLY don’t want to go to, but obliged anyway just because your friend was excited about it? We’ve all been there. Your experience at these parties is purely dependent upon...
Exploring Japanoise and “Anti-Music”
A few years ago, my dad and I drove to Morgantown, West Virginia in search of Assumption Records, a record shop famous for being in a repurposed church. The last thing I was expecting to walk out with was a copy of There’s No Heaven Like Hell by Les Rallizes Dénudés +...
A Lad Insane
To switch up from my last column about 90s Alternative, I’ve decided to do a 180 and review a classic from the classic rock era (fittingly). Who better to encapsulate this era than the iconic David Bowie, a global rockstar of massive proportions. If you couldn’t tell...
Music Discovery: Queer Country Folk Music on a Tuesday Night
Months ago, my cousin Grace (who lives here in DC) reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in joining her at a concert. She and her husband, Austin, would be going to DC9 to watch a friend of a friend open for another artist. So, on the first Tuesday of...
On the DL Volume 1
On the DL is back for another semester! It’s been a hot minute since I last wrote. In that time I have been spending my Sundays watching Formula One which also means unwillingly listening to the Dutch national anthem. While that has been a constant in my life, this...
Field Medic Concert Review
Just as expected, Field Medic’s show felt like a meeting with an old friend. What was unexpected was the insane power and sheer raw talent that could not be captured through his albums. Even his live albums did not do the complexity of his voice and composition...
EARWORM RETURNS!
EARWORM IS BACK! Welcome to another semester of your favorite musical opinion column. It’s been a while since we last spoke. And reader, much is new! The air is getting colder, so I’ve begun my annual rediscovery of the wonder that is Jeff Buckley’s discography. The...
Rebbeca’s Rewind Vol. 1: October Overtures
Greetings and a warm welcome to the debut edition of "Rebbeca's Rewind!" I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to indulge in some music and share my thoughts with you. This week we are focusing on some of the solemn and eerie tracks released in the first two...
Concert Review: Hozier’s Unreal Unearth
On September 26, 2023, I found myself at Hozier’s Unreal Unearth Tour at the Anthem. This was one of two shows in DC, both of which were entirely sold out. The energy of the fans who had been awaiting the artist's return since his Wasteland Baby! Tour in 2019 was...
Welcome to Tunes-A-Million! How Can I Help You?
Did anyone else have a childhood where the most exciting thing you could possibly do on a weekend or summer day was go to the library? I still remember vividly the feeling of my mom passing a tote bag to me in the back seat of her Honda Pilot and sending me up to the...
George Clanton, Master of all of Music CONCERT PREVIEW
Renowned electronica artist George Clanton is arriving in D.C. just around the corner… if you have a free Wednesday night, you might want to make it to his show at the 9:30 Club that evening at 7:00 p.m. Joined by his label contemporaries Frost Children and Death’s...
The All Stars of Music: The Beatles
The Chuck Taylor All Star Converse, first introduced to the public in 1949, is arguably the epitome of the “classic” shoe. This sneaker set the foundation of the shoe as versatile. It could be dressed up, dressed down and overworn without others batting an eye. What...
The Gatekept Culture of Live Music
For many people, there is nothing quite as freeing or cathartic as seeing their favorite artist live. And yet, concerts are disappointingly inaccessible.
Do You Think She Listens to Girl In Red?
The pandemic brought about a new sense of normalcy and forced all of us to find new ways to communicate with one another from inside our homes. We all became familiar with new terms and phrases like “super-spreader” and “remote learning.” Another popular phrase...
Not Another Nepo Baby: Jason Schwartzman and Phantom Planet
Nepo Baby? Yup. Let’s set the scene: Winter 1998. Los Angeles, California. The weather is uncharacteristically dreary, with constant rain and freezing temperatures. Alex Greenwald, Sam Farrar, Darren Robinson, Jacques Brautbar and Jason Schwartzman are meeting in one...
Ben’s Classic Reviews: “Last Splash” by the Breeders—After 30 years
Aug. 30, 2023 marks the 30th anniversary of an album that I would today consider a classic: The Breeders’ iconic sophomore album “Last Splash.” This album is their best selling work to date and is most well known for the breakout single “Cannonball,” a strange but...