Blogs
Now Playing: That’s a Wrap!
It’s the time of year where you just can’t escape Spotify Wrapped—the app itself is bombarding us with their own Wrapped propaganda, Instagram and Snapchat stories are flooded with everyone posting their stats, and Twitter is rotating mockeries and memes on its...
Sharing some of my favorite Pittsburgh-based artists that are helping me quell my homesickness this finals season
Coming off of Thanksgiving break, all I want to do is go back home at the end of the semester. For me, coming off of a nice visit with my family only makes it harder to come back to AU. Feeling the warm nostalgia of the area I grew up in and having friends and family...
PRE PLEASURE: Julia Jacklin’s Strong and Emotional Third Album
Combining rock and singer-songwriter elements, Julia Jacklin’s album PRE PLEASURE invites listeners to examine their own lives as Jacklin gives a voice to deeply personal yet common experiences and thoughts. PRE PLEASURE, released in August of this year, is Australian...
Dermot Kennedy’s Sonder Street Sessions and More
Three years ago, I received tickets to see Dermot Kennedy at the Upstate Concert Hall, a tiny, whole-in-the-wall venue outside of Albany, New York that prides itself in featuring artists on their way up or on their way down. In the case of Dermot Kennedy, he was on...
Rifts and Information Processing in a Digital Age: An Unrelated Analysis
Before he was Cannes festival award winner, before he was a critically acclaimed producer, and before he worked with pop juggernauts like The Weeknd and Rosalia, Daniel Lopatin was just some guy in a New York basement apartment playing with a synthesizer. During the...
5 Songs For A Week In November
Nomenclature: 5 Songs For A Week In November Hey folks. Welcome back to another edition of Nomenclature. For this edition, we’re gonna be doing something a bit different. So if you came to read up on a heart wrenching indie track, I suggest checking one of my previous...
Ethel Cain: The Dark Spirit of Southern America
Singer-songwriter Ethel Cain, legally known as Hayden Silas Anhedönia, describes the birth of Ethel Cain as a spiritual possession. She put on a handmade white vintage-inspired dress, and Ethel Cain took over her body—commanding her to create dark, eerily beautiful...
An Ode to Church Bells in Modern Music
A few days ago I was, as many of us have been, listening to the 1975’s “About You” from their most recent album Being Funny In A Foreign Language. There are many reasons to love this song, and I agree with a lot of them: the nostalgia, just the overall sound, and...
Interview: Liv Wood
I was fortunate enough to interview the one and only Liv Wood, an up-and-coming AU Pop Star. Here is the background, the future, and the reasoning behind this great voice. Liv, a broadcast journalism major here at AU, has always been a part of the music world....
Capitol Boogie Preview: Kate Bollinger at American University
The time is finally here: the end of midterms, Thanksgiving break, and CAPITOL BOOGIE! WVAU returns this year with Capitol Boogie on Friday, November 18th. This year's headliner is indie-folk singer-songwriter Kate Bollinger. For the low, low price of free, you and...
Concert Preview: Omar Apollo at The Anthem
When budding singer Omar Apollo first released his song “Ugotme” on Spotify in 2017, nobody could have predicted his subsequent rise to stardom as one of the most original and inventive new voices in the world of alternative R&B. It would not be until five years...
The Artificial Encore
Allow me to paint a familiar picture for you: The end of the concert you’re at looms across the horizon. The band/artist/whatever onstage has played a myriad of fun tunes for the past hour or so and is starting to wind down. One of the members waltzes up to the...
Soccer Mommy Comes to Town: Fans demand more
What show could be so coveted, so highly awaited that it would deserve an added night of performance? The answer is no other than the one and only Soccer Mommy. After a rapid sell out of a first performance, it would have been an injustice to DMV indie fans to not...
Now Playing: The Many Faces of Rock
Fifty new songs, five categories, and all devoted to the umbrella of rock. Daylight savings time has thrown me for a loop, and I’m positive I’m not the only one. It just doesn’t seem natural for the sun to be dead and gone by the premature time of 5:30 PM. This week,...
Color Theory: Pale Blue
Hello! It’s that time of week again—welcome to Color Theory! Today, I’m talking about the idea of ‘pale blue’. When thinking about the color and songs I wanted to look at this week, what really struck me is a lyric from “This Love” by Taylor Swift. “This Love” is one...
This is why I don’t turn this off: Paramore keeps alternative music alive
At approximately 10:40 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, in the middle of my AUx class, my hand shot to my mouth, barely masking the gasp that jumped from my mouth. I looked around to see if I’d made a scene, but no one was looking my way—in the corner of Anderson Hall’s AUx...
TikTok Tanks Concerts, According to Artists: What’s Next?
“Kids these days just don’t get it” and this time it’s not your out-of-touch Grateful Dead loving parents saying it, it’s all live music loving folk. Concert goers and artists all around the country are in uproar about behavior in our post Covid-lockdown live music...
Concert Preview: Dayglow with Ritt Momney at 9:30 Club 11/14 & 11/15
Dayglow is a solo indie pop band featuring Sloan Struble. A Texas native, Struble had released music under the name Kindred before creating Dayglow in 2017. First hitting the limelight in 2018 with their song “Can I Call You Tonight?” gaining popularity on TikTok and...
Shauna Dean Cokeland Won’t Be Staying In Place For Long
I could go on and on about Taylor Swift’s new album, but we’ve seen that. It was amazing, we all know it (unless you don’t know it, then you should get on to knowing it). But on October 21st, while Taylor Swift was releasing Midnights, Shauna Dean Cokeland was...
Everything You Need to Know About Taylor Swift’s Openers for The Eras Tour
Taylor Swift took to Good Morning America to announce The Eras Tour shortly after earning the top 10 spots on the Billboard Top 100, becoming the first artist to claim the Hot 100’s entire top ten. This is remarkable given that Swift had released the album, Midnights,...
Animal DJs and Digital Musical Instruments: An Unrelated Analysis
The other day I was sent a TikTok of dog behind a DJ controller blasting techno music in a dingy, yellow-tiled area that might as well be the backdrop to the latest backrooms video. With over 1.2 million views, the TikTok is quite popular, and it’s easy to see why;...
Get to know who will be performing with Taylor Swift on her upcoming tour: Paramore Formed in 2004, this alt-rock band quickly rose to fame amassing countless fans and impact on the music industry. Being the opener for the first date of the tour Paramore will most...
Puddle Music: Chappell Roan is Changing Pop Music, and You Should be Paying Attention
Chappell Roan is transforming pop music as we know it. Originally from the small town of Willard, Missouri, Roan was discovered when she was a teenager by Atlantic Records. Under Atlantic, she released a few singles and an EP in 2017 in addition to opening for Declan...
Concert Preview: flipturn at Black Cat 11/12
Flipturn is an indie band from Florida self-described as creating music for “endless summers, sun-streaked days, and introspective nights”. Built out of a Fernandina Beach garage, the band consists of Dillon Basse on lead vocals and guitar, Tristan Duncan on lead...
Buddy Guy – The Blues Don’t Lie (Album Review)
"I left louisiana some 60 years ago, bought me a one way ticket to sweet home chicago...I dont say too much, let my guitar do the talking" sure is a powerful way to start your 34th studio album. In his newest album, The Blues Don't Lie, industry proclaimed godfather...
Interview with Ella Jane: Songwriting, TikTok fame, and her “Party Trick”
20-year-old singer-songwriter ella jane has grown considerably since her Jay Gatsby inspired single. It’s been two years since “nothing else i could do,” a song she wrote for an AP Lit project, blew up on TikTok, and the world’s indie-pop fans fell in love with ella....
Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” and Anti-Fatness
“It’s me/Hi!/I’m the problem, it’s me,” Taylor Swift proudly proclaims on “Anti-Hero”—track three of her new album Midnights. The record celebrates Swift’s return to pop music with 80’s-inspired synths and catchy choruses, but she also delves into deeper and...
Notes with Nicole: Songs to Listen to When Your Therapist Can’t Meet
We all have that one playlist. THE scary playlist with 100+ of the most gut-wrenching sad songs that we try our absolute hardest to avoid. Sometimes, it calls our name and there is just no ignoring it. Well, I have that playlist and then the one I play right after....
Special (Lizzo)
Lizzo’s new album, Special, is the perfect empowerment album. Dripping with positivity, the album is relentless with its uplifting lyrics and themes, intensifying with each song that passes. You may have heard About Damn Time on TikTok and why it went so viral is...
Flood (Stella Donnelly)
The sophomore record from Aussie indie songstress Stella Donnelly is a down-to-earth exploration of self, through her compassionate and nurturing outlook on life’s biggest questions. Her debut had more of a tongue-and-cheek cynicism, while Flood feels like she’s...





























