“X-OffendersÛ: Blondie’s Musical Bombshell
Shannon Durazo
April 19, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
On April 19, 1976, post-punk/new wave band Blondie, a group formed by the recycling of several members of the early 70's rock group the Stilletos and the vocals of a local waitress, broke into the mainstream with their leading single “X OffenderÛ. The new-wave foursome was led into the fire...
"Sometimes I Feel Very Sad:" Why Pet Sounds is the Best Album Ever Made
Jonathan Skufca
April 19, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
It's hard to believe that this is the last column I'll ever write for WVAU. As my graduation approaches and I reflect on all I've written about, I found it hard to believe I've never written about my favorite album ever made. I kinda spoiled it with the title, and it is kind of a hot take given...
Over/Under 3: On the Origin of the Acoustic Cover
Daniel Sohn
April 17, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
(In which we take a look at the overrated acoustic cover and the underrated literally anything else) For reasons I will never understand, Taylor Swift continues to dig herself into a deeper hole. She just released a cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's “SeptemberÛ in which she ditches the original's taut groove in favor of loosely strummed banjo and forgettable, airy vocals. Gone are the horns and backup singers; ...
Flowers and Fury: Mitski, Lorde, and the Melodrama Tour
VerÌ_nica Del Valle
April 16, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
Mitski Miyawaki is a twenty seven-year-old New York City-based musician who, since 2012, has been a giant of the Brooklyn DIY community. Her first two albums were products of her music education at SUNY Purchase. Her third and fourth albums were widely praised by music critics. Ella Yelich-O'Connor,...
Concert Review: Lorde
Giliann Karon
April 12, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
DISCLAIMER: Lorde doesn't have a Bandcamp, but I couldn't resist writing about her. I thanked my Uber driver and followed groups of teenage girls wearing crop tops and bearded men in zip up hoodies. We collectively booked it down 7th St. and darted past purple flags that bore “The Anthem.”...
Appointment or Disappointment, Whatever I’ll Be Fine
Rosa Pyo
April 11, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
Time is a peculiar thing. My thoughts are not thinking straight, therefore I am writing this in bullets because that's how I'm thinking. I'm feeling hazy. Like smoke. Whatever, here is a list of my thoughts on Pinegroves' Old Friends. The name of the album is “Cardinal,” like the fou...
Mirror in the Sky
Johanna Zenn
April 10, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
While writing “Landslide,” Stevie Nicks most likely did not anticipate the impact that it would have upon endless generations of young people who were desperate to understand the endless changes in the transition into adulthood. At 25, she was going through these growing pains, having to decide...
An Interview with Acid Dad
Milo Paul
April 10, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
I went to the Acid Dad show for Teen Mortgage, not going to lie. I knew the latter band way better than the former, and I felt like free tickets to interview some relatively unknown group would just mean a free Teen Mortgage show. This isn't wrong, but it also isn't completely right. Nah., the...
To Hurt or Not To HurtÛ_
Morgan Bluma
April 9, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
We are going to go a little mainstream with the music this week. But this album was just released so it seems appropriate. I am looking at one specific song from the album but you should definitely listen to the entire album as it is fairly well done. I wanted to discuss The Weeknd because most of his...
Keasbey Nights 20 Years and Two Recordings Later
Jonathan Skufca
April 5, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
A few weeks ago, on March 24, third-wave ska classic Keasbey Nights celebrated its 20th birthday. It initially served as Catch 22's debut record, as well as only with Tomas Kalnoky as the lead singer. He later went on to become the lead singer and primary songwriter of Streetlight Manifesto, a band...
24 years post-mortem: My five favorite Nirvana songs
Shannon Durazo
April 5, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
Kurt Cobain has been dead for a while now. 24 years to the day to be exact, and since his highly-publicized suicide in 1994 there have been just as many conspiracies as obituaries. Underneath all the loose ends surrounding his death though, one thing is clear in his contribution to the music world as...
How the Voices of the Past Carry Me Forward
Nora Turner
April 4, 2018
Filed under Current Columns
This past month in DC, thousands of young people descended on the Mall for the March for our Lives. Howard University students stormed their financial aid office after half a million dollars was stolen from their student aid funds. In Sacramento, California, hundreds of folk risked their own liv...
