Blogs

If you haven’t heard of Boyish, you’re missing out. Enormously.    My first associations with Boyish are of sitting on the jade green rug of my bedroom floor, stir-crazy from the pandemic, just dipping my toes into the extraordinary realm of queer music. I was...

Nepo Baby? Nope.   If you were an early 2000s baby, there’s a pretty low chance that you haven’t heard the name Ross Lynch. He was the king of the Disney Channel from 2010 to 2015, starring in Austin and Ally for its four season run and in both of the Teen Beach...

In 1984, one of the greatest concert films ever put to screen was released. Talking Head’s Stop Making Sense was shot over the course of three nights in December 1983. Directed by Johnathan Demme, this film would captivate audiences, bringing major acclaim to every...

Unearthed from the catacombs of the 90s lo-fi movement comes Fan Modine’s Slow Road to Tiny Empire–an art pop, chamber folk fusion that is every bit as fun as it is peculiar. I encountered this hidden gem when I was assigned to review it on WVAU’s music staff my...

There is no more misunderstood or unfairly dismissed art form today than hip-hop, or more specifically, rap music. In a 2020 video made by conservative outlet Daily Wire, the infamous right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro had this to say about the genre: “It is basically...

This week, my friends and I whipped up an eighteen-hour long collaborative playlist to perfectly curate the vibe of our week in Florida. Here are some of my personal favorites and observations about songs on the playlist.    “Summerboy” by Lady Gaga is an...

2023 has been an eventful year for the Korean pop music industry: young girl groups strive to break streaming records, world stars pause group activities as they begin their mandatory military enlistment, and a corporate battle for control of a major entertainment...

Mar. 2, 2023. My 19th birthday. I’m scrolling through Instagram, and I see the most life-changing post of all time: Z Berg, the quintessential musician of my high school years, announces that an album she worked on is number one on iTunes.   This album is...

If you’re a Spotify user like myself that makes playlists to express anything from the most niche, fleeting emotions to the soundtracks of major life changing events, you likely have one enduring collection of songs - the legendary sad playlist. Through breakups,...

If you saw Grammy nominated musician Andrew Bird on the street, you might mistake him for a quirky academic, photographed in large wrap-around scarves and vests. The Chicago-based musician attended Northwestern University, though not as a scholar of philosophy, as his...

This is going to amble along a little bit, but bear with me. My Mom did not grow up watching basketball. But during the years when my beloved Brooklyn Nets were home to NBA superstar Kevin Durant, I convinced her to watch the games with me. Despite having no prior...

When I sat down to write this week’s article, I had no intention of putting together another syllabus playlist, but then I had a realization. Now that we are slowly moving into spring and warmer temperatures here in DC, I find it to be the perfect time to talk about...

Hello readers! Welcome to the very first edition of EARWORM, a column in which I will be (almost) exclusively breaking down the songs that are stuck in my head each week. I came up with the idea for this theme based solely on my month-long fixation with Led Zeppelin's...

Hey guys! Welcome back to On the DL Vol.2! I’m super excited to write my second piece for WVAU. Today, I chose to write about Montell Fish’s 2022 album “Her Love Still Haunts Me Like a Ghost”, specifically the song “Pretend Lovers”. Montell Fish is a producer, writer,...

The wonder of art is that it comes in many different forms, and anyone can create something beautiful. I find music to be a fusion of art; the instrumentals, lyrics, music videos, and performances require an artistic process that results in a piece of art. Music is...

Dad-certified classics—alas, this is an elusive, genre-bending notion, comprehensively described  as the songs of our youth forced onto us by our weirdly grungy, angsty fathers. Personally, my  experience began in the backseat of my dad’s 2006 Toyota Tundra. In the...

Over ten years after the release of “Friday,” Rebecca Black reentered the music scene with the announcement of her debut album Let Her Burn in January 2023. The debut single, “Crumbs” set the tone of the album and the songs that followed worked together to solidify...

In 2015 I met one of my favorite pop punk bands at Vans Warped Tour, a traveling music festival for alternative acts. I was only 12 at the time, so I honestly do not remember much of the interaction. I do remember that I was so excited to meet artists I admired, and I...

The band Wednesday released their latest single, “Bath County,” on Feb. 23, 2023, and it promises an emotion-packed album that blends together diverse sounds. Their upcoming album “Rat Saw God” is set to release April 7 of this year. “Bull Believer” and “Chosen To...

When you think of sound, what comes to mind? Really: take a moment to think of the concept of sound and see what associations you make. Now that you’ve done that, I would be willing to bet that many of you had some imagery come to mind, some sort of mental image of...

Last month, Justin Bieber announced that he was selling the rights to his music for a staggering $200 million. Merck Mercuriadis, the founder and CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Capital (which bought Bieber’s music catalog), explained that, “This acquisition ranks among the...

The ultimate guide to making a playlist for your boyfriend (girlfriend, partner, or loved one).  This history of curating a playlist as an act of love has been a time-honored tradition. And while the format may have changed throughout the yeast. Going from a mixed...

Music Moments in TV & Movies   A good soundtrack has the power to decide the tone of any scene and elevate the quality of a TV show or movie. Here are some great songs that I found through great shows.    Brothers in Arms - The West Wing   Aaron...