Blogs

I may be biased because I grew up outside of the city, but I‰'m super excited to be focusing on Boston this week for “Homemade.‰” To me Boston has such an interesting and rich history, especially in terms of alt-rock and punk. Boston‰'s music scene began emerging in...

Courtesy of Brookings.After a tough-fought victory at the polls, DC residents decided to take a leap forward for human rights and consumption everywhere: legalized Mary J, baby! You‰'ve dawdled down Adams Morgan and bought your essential “tobacco only‰” bong...

Courtesy of Pigeons and Planes. A tweet from DIY Magazine announced the release of Nao‰'s latest song “Good Girl‰” on Nov. 5 off her debut EP So Good. I‰'ve been following this 24-year-old singer since she collaborated with fellow London musician...

Louie Diller and Liz Nistico of HOLYCHILD hanging out in Washington, D.C. / PHOTOS BY NATE COVER After entering the 9:30 Club hours before doors, Liz Nistico can be seen sitting on the wooden floor in a vibrant pink, patterned Lazy Oaf dress. In front of her is an...

Courtesy of Handsome Tours. What kind of AU columnist would I be if I didn't write an article that somehow directly involved politics and different viewpoints? I mean, this is the most politically active campus in the nation, so surely you‰'ll find people who like...

Courtesy of Threadless. “I really wish you had pushed Portugal. The Man harder on me.‰” A dear friend of mine recently remarked. I should have told him I was working hard on ending my long tenure as a music pusher. I have worked on and off for WVAU writing columns and...

Courtesy of TSOAM. Groups with one hit wonders are a puzzle. They arrive in the music scene with a chart hit, fade into obscurity, and leave you wondering, where the heck did they disappear to? Have they become irrelevant, or are they just not making music anymore?...

Like any two people born four decades apart, my dad and I have very different music tastes. He not-so-affectionately nicknamed my favorite band (Modest Mouse) “Mighty Mousey‰” and claims they sound like dying cats. However, we definitely agree that the Beatles are...

Courtesy of Cool Spotters. There are many different aspects of a film that contribute to its greatness. A solid script, strong actors and good direction are the usual recipe for a movie people will respond to. However, people often overlook the importance of music....

I can‰'t stop scrolling through Google images of Devendra Banhart. I can‰'t stop listening to his music or wishing I could stroke his beautiful beard and locks. The Venezuelan-born musician not only makes beautiful songs, but creates captivating art that is featured...

AP Image As the process of globalization trudges on day after day, its primary means of oppression must strengthen, broaden, and perhaps most sinister, appear more attractive. The wolf in sheep‰'s clothing now nestles into the sheep‰'s skin. Mile after mile, new...

Courtesy of the Associated Press. When I was 10-years-old, I didn‰'t think I was like “other girls‰Û. I liked sports and wrestling boys and I wore those cut-off pants, you know, those long pants with the zips at the knees that you could zip off into shorts? I hated...

I‰'m going to be doing something slightly different for this week‰'s column. No, don‰'t worry, I‰'m not completely changing my column or anything, but this week, instead of looking for the meanings behind the lyrics as you would in an English class, but instead as you...

AU is all about politics. WVAU is all about music. This week's The Tough Crowd interview combines both, plus it includes my personal love of punk. Everyone knows punk and politics go hand in hand but how does one get involved with the political side of punk? Kristen...

Courtesy of Last.fm. One could think that the only things that would come out of Versailles are Rococo paintings, bourgeois aspirations and gruesome French Revolution memories. Nevertheless, by some chance in life, two tr̬s tr̬s beau hommes have embodied the royal...

Courtesy of Clash Music. The Great Gatsby is a lurid story, one read over and over in English classes in the USA, but despite its repute it belongs to a different time. The movie version tries to modernize the story by changing up some details, but also through music....

I‰'m choosing to write about “Check It Out‰” because it is such a Pop song; a co-writing feature from Pop Legend will.i.am., focus on a sugary beat, heavy on the auto-tune, light on the rapping (though the rapping that‰'s still on the track is as aggressive as ever)....

Courtesy of The Urban Daily. Congratulations, everyone. Midterms are finally over! In keeping with the excitement of this time of the semester, I thought I would give you all some music to help you celebrate. In the 1970s, the American music television show, Soul...

If you‰'re reading this column, then you‰'re most likely aware of the current Ebola crisis. This virus has seemingly created a virus of its own in its spread over all outlets of media, from the tweets of overdramatic teens claiming their common cold is a new strain of...

When I say talking, I also mean writing, sharing, seeing shows, really anything you can do in the company of others with music. Don‰'t get me wrong, I still enjoy the art as much as ever, but the culture surrounding it is largely counterproductive bullshit. I‰'m sick...

It is a common trope in music, especially in music popular with many Millennials, to include lyrics about wishing to get away from home, and those lyrics seem to resonate very well with many people who live in towns like where I grew up: Johnstown, Pennsylvania (Where...

Moving to a new place is hard. Moving to a new music scene is even harder. This is especially so in punk. Punk kids like to hide, keep things DIY and typically lurk in the underbelly of big cities. Finding your first few shows with no connections can certainly be a...

Courtesy of Tumblr. Iceage‰'s new Plowing Into the Field of Love is sure to distance many fans, angered by a discontinuity of the gothic aggression and nihilist ambitions of earlier You‰'re Nothing and New Brigade. Idle spectators will, wrongly, reject Plowing for...