By the mid-1980s, queer life in North America was collapsing. The AIDS epidemic tore through communities at an unprecedented rate, while the Reagan administration refused to respond in an effective manner due to social stigma. At the same time, this stigma overflowed...
The reaction to the music video for “Stateside” by PinkPantheress, featuring Zara Larsson, had me thinking: are we in a new era for music videos? After its release, I saw a complete wealth of fan edits, commentary, and clips of the video circulating on my TikTok “For...
Few genres are as dependent on their audience as Go-go, which insists community as a central characteristic. In 1970s Washington, D.C., Washingtonians craved community. The city was divided into two economic classes. The first consisted of those affiliated with the...
In the 1970s, Britain was plagued by economic stagnation. High unemployment, mounting inflation, and the introduction of the three-day week (restricted commercial uses of electricity to just three days) pushed many families into financial strain. Punks channeled their...
Over the years, I feel like I’ve noticed people slowly giving up on Joyce Manor. Their early work so perfectly captures what it feels like to be young and angry. As their sound has become increasingly polished, many fans have accused them of shedding the rawness of...
Need to defrost? ALEXSUCKS are bringing their fiery blend of sing-along, dancey garage rock to DC with a show at the Atlantis on March 9th. For fans of 2000s indie rock (The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, etc.), this is one you won’t want to miss. With...
Lux is a wildly ambitious album: Rosalía sings in 13 different languages, weaves together orchestration, and explores spiritual themes by relating them to her own life. She told NPR that she wanted to “fit the entire world in an album”, and I think she managed to do...
During a cold winter in upstate New York, María Zordoya began crafting what she describes as her “alternate reality”. Pulled away from the loud world of the music industry, she set out to create music simply “for the love of experimenting”. That resulting project is...
Earlier this month, an event series launched in Oakland called “Death to Spotify”. The forum sold out in just 24 hours, with interested individuals from Detroit to Bangalore, India inquiring about hosting similar talks in their own cities or receiving recordings of...
Chiptune-pop fusion group Anamanaguchi brings their Buckwild Tour to the 9:30 Club on Friday, Oct. 10! The New York band blends live guitars and drums with digital instrumentation pulled from video game hardware from the 80s, delivering pixelated chaos that is bound...