Blogs

Ash Gutierrez is no stranger to new situations. Starting from his bedroom, while attending high school virtually during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gutierrez, also known by the stage name Glaive, turned to music to distract him. While this isn’t anything...

Happy April 20th. Regardless of whether or not you’re participating in today’s informal holiday, you should still be listening to good music. I wanted to take the opportunity to share my go-to lazy tracks that are sure to make your Wednesday more enjoyable, whether...

Breakup songs: From “You’re So Vain” to “All Too Well” For almost seven decades, the break-up song has remained one of the most ubiquitous and consistent staples of 20th and 21st century pop music. Sometimes they’re angry, meant to be screamed in the car and shouted...

Music matters deeply to the emotive value of a film. The sonic emotion determines the views interpretation and own emotive association to a scene. Recently I happened to watch the films Perks of Being a Wall Flower and Jojo Rabbit within the same week. I realized that...

Lo-fi music is somewhat bewildering at face value. Why, after all, would anyone want to make their music sound worse? With that question, though, comes the assumption that music must be perfect, without any technical flaws to speak of, if it is to be considered...

Welcome back to Musical Personalities, a column where I analyze how my friends’ music tastes match their personalities. This week, I am looking at my friend Q.D’s top three songs. Q.D is one of my closest friends from home and probably the coolest person I know. She...

By the time Troye Sivan released his debut album, Blue Neighborhood, the Australian soon-to-be pop star had already been famous for years. Perhaps best known previously as Influencer/YouTuber sensation, by the time he had announced his transition to music he had...

Music videos. We’ve all seen them before. They provide some form of visual representation of our favorite songs. When they’re done right they can elevate whatever music the video is representing to new heights. I have always really enjoyed watching the music videos to...

Spring is a time of in-between and exploration. The seasons are changing and so should our playlists. In preparation for the last push into warmer weather and summertime, here are a few newly released tracks to add to your rotation.   "Meet Me There" by Lucki...

You know, it takes a lot of energy to have great taste in music like I do. Like, a lot. I have to eat 5000 calories daily— a diet comprised entirely of birds and other small critters I catch with my teeth in the woodlands of the Yukon— and that’s just what I have to...

For my first discussion of environmental texture in music, I’ll be focusing on the ambiance of natural sounds. For this installment, I’ve loosely categorized some common environmental ambient noises into subheadings, but the reality is that many tracks contain...

Hozier has a voice you can’t ignore. Born Andrew John Hozier-Byrne, Hozier is an undoubtedly talented musician and instrumentalist, but the main appeal of his music has always been what he sings and how he sings it. His voice has a kind of booming power that turns...

In my last installment, I discussed the beauty of the human voice in its natural form, and even as an instrument used in digital chops. One interesting aspect of the voice I didn’t touch on, however, is the interplay between vocals and computer – vocal effects. These...

Welcome back to Musical Personalities, a column where I analyze how my friends’ music tastes match their personalities. This week, I am analyzing my friend K.C’s top three songs. I have known K.C for 13 years and she has never once failed to be there for me and the...

Concept albums have a special place in my heart. Something about telling a story through the concepts of music and taking the listener on a journey always resonates, and the commitment to artistry and creativity by the artists can be a joy to watch. A good chunk of my...