Cat Power - Wanderer (2018) Genre: Folk, blues, indie rock Verdict: An album as personal as a whisper. In 2006, when Atlanta-based singer/songwriter Chan Marshall aka Cat Power released her album “The Greatest,” she wasn’t lying by calling herself that. I find it hard...
SXSW is several things rolled into one: music festival, large networking event, tech-forward conference and, as some might say, a “shit-show”. This year’s SXSW, held in Austin, TX from Mar. 8-17, featured new artists on...
When I was in elementary school I decided to do band along with chorus. This was a big step for a kid who only had started practicing karate for literally no reason other than to share some something with Sandy Cheeks from SpongeBob. Band was different though. I...
Music scholars often describe "punk" as more of a feeling or attitude than a music genre, yet critics often have strict guidelines for what can be defined as “punk” and “not punk.” The Japanese band CHAI, technically speaking, is far outside these "punk" guidelines...
Genre is dead, and I say “good riddance!” Or at least that’s the popular opinion. In music journalism today, it’s regarded as an absolutely white-hot take to say that genre is a goner. Look at Medium, The Guardian, Pitchfork, even the New York Times, and you’ll find...
Last Tuesday night, legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac took the stage at the Capital One Arena for a sold-out show. Decent seats were selling for $200+ apiece, but that did nothing to deter people from coming out in droves, many of whom drove several hours into D.C. to...
The most cliché answer to the question “what kind of music do you like?” that a person can think of is probably, “anything except rap or country.” The former is ridiculous of a multitude of reasons, and may be rooted into some sort of implicit, unexamined racism while...
If you haven’t seen the numerous posts, shares, and likes from your Facebook friends just yet, let me be the first to tell you that your favorite teenage heartthrobs are getting back together. That’s right! After six long painful years, the Jonas Brothers are finally...
I would consider myself fairly well versed in jazz and rock, both as a listener and as a musician. Using my knowledge and experience I can analyze a performance from each of these styles and talk about the achievements and shortcomings of that performance. I’ve also...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsZjIKHdlW0 Sorry for the delay, but I’m back and here to pull some more in-depth thoughts out of music, and this week it’s none other than One Direction. You may be thinking, “there is no way you could pull some meaningful messages out...