Going viral is a strange thing. For Wet Leg, they blew up overnight after a performance of their song Chaise Longue started being passed around social media. Responses were mixed, ranging from people enjoying the zany track to people accusing the band of being industry plants and writing them off completely as “NPC music” or […]
Not Every Breakup Needs an Album: A Letter to Joji & 88rising
Joji expresses his heartbreak on his new album Smithereens but fails to draw a tear from the listener.
Kendrick Lamar’s Therapeutic Double Album May Be His Last
Lamar tells us that he “ain’t taking no prisoners” which could only mean that Lamar was coming in hot on his return to music.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins and the Genesis of the Scariest Song of All Time
Have you ever heard the song I Put a Spell On You? Classic rock fans are probably familiar with the song from its appearance on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s eponymous debut album as well as from their setlist at the famous Woodstock Festival. Numerous artists from the likes of soul legend Nina Simone to rock pariah […]
Rosalía’s MOTOMAMI is Fun, Yet Underachieves
Rosalía exhibits massive potential which is reached on some tracks, but leaves much to be desired on others. As a reviewer of music, it’d be silly of me to think that the only worthwhile music being made these days is in English. Admittedly, my exposure to music in other languages has been lacking, but I’d […]
When Can You Separate The Art From The Artist?
“Cancel Culture” is the magic phrase which appears whenever I stop listening to an artist for doing something heinous. Personally, I think that’s more of a reflection on you than me. On October 10th, news broke that musician Rex Orange County had appeared in court charged with six counts of sexual assault. The news broke […]
Machine Gun Kelly’s mainstream sellout is Too Boring To Hate
Music publications are heralding mainstream sellout as one of the worst albums of the year. That’s probably true, but how can it be bad when it’s so boring? The last time I wrote a column, it was my thoughts on the modern interpretation of the “Deluxe album”. In writing that article, I found myself struggling […]
Why Are You Dropping a Deluxe Album Already?
Oftentimes, artists will release an extended version of their new album shortly after the release of the original album. Why they bother doing this, though, is beyond me. Recently, I reviewed Charli XCX’s album Crash. I really enjoyed the project and I had plenty of positive things to say. After finishing my review, I found […]
JID’s Story Takes Forever…
JID’s latest album The Forever Story throws out an album’s worth of great music… and a full album’s worth of just okay music. JID is an artist who I haven’t listened to much despite being aware of him for a long time. My main exposure to him before his latest album was through features on […]
Performing Arts at Cortland: Is One Program Enough? (Absolutely)
The musical theatre program is the only performing arts major at SUNY Cortland. This might confuse some incoming students, but after an illuminating conversation with some of the staff, it makes a whole lot of sense. When I was in high school, I performed in a theatre arts program. It was an experience I really […]