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(10/31/22 11:21pm)
A decade ago, Carly Rae Jepsen asked us to call her, maybe. And since then, we’ve left her on read, sent her to voicemail, and effectively ghosted her from the cultural consciousness. Now, ten years later, Jepsen’s new album, The Loneliest Time, is here, and it’s time for all of us to pick up the phone and give her a call.
(11/07/22 5:00am)
Eno Williams dances around the stage, her sleeves whirling as her arms reach with steadfast determination toward the disco ball on the ceiling, her feet stepping to the demanding beat. An audience member beckons her closer, and gives her a present in the form of a Philadelphia Phillies jersey. She puts it around her shoulders, signaling the love she’s expressed for her Philadelphia audience all night long. The party on stage is almost rivaled by the absolute riot of a time people are having in the crowd. “I’m gonna show it to my mum!” she proclaims. Williams locks eyes with individuals in the World Cafe Live audience, and dedicates a song to the City of Philadelphia, just one stop of Ibibio Sound Machine's (ISM) Electricity Live Tour on Oct. 20.
(01/19/23 6:36pm)
On a crisp fall afternoon at the Kelly Writers House, Penn students and faculty joined in the Locust Walk–facing seminar room to meet renowned music journalist Alan Light. Light sat across from Anthony DeCurtis, a fellow music writer and 20–year–long faculty member of Penn’s English Department. The two men spoke for an hour, sipping on watered–down iced coffee. Light discussed his fascination with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” the digitization of music consumption, and his experiences in the ever–changing world of music journalism.
(10/28/22 1:33am)
“I know that I have a habit of dropping cryptic clues and easter eggs when giving you information about new music … I am here to defy that,” Taylor Swift announced through her TikTok series, “Midnights Mayhem.” Indeed, with nine prior albums and her re–recordings project, the pop veteran sure has surprised the public with her sporadic ways of teasing new music.
(10/31/22 1:57am)
Autumn's Grey Solace is the dream pop duo of your Twilight fantasies. The band effortlessly combines shoegaze’s characteristic lush instrumentals with ethereal wave’s airy vocals, but its mystical imagery sets them apart from other bands in those genres. They released their first album, Within the Depths of a Darkened Forest, in October 2002. On its 20th anniversary, the debut album proves its longevity, making for a perfect background track for your next afternoon stroll.
(11/01/22 4:00pm)
Since her earliest Bandcamp recordings, Sophie Allison has been painting her songs in increasingly vibrant colors. As the songwriter and lead singer of her band Soccer Mommy, Allison produced the autumn–hued Clean, and released Color Theory, with its sickly tones of yellow, blue, and grey, weeks before the COVID–19 pandemic hit. The palette for her new album, Sometimes, Forever, has the most depth and shade of any Soccer Mommy record to date—thanks in part to a team–up with producer Oneohtrix Point Never—but it hasn’t been an easy road to get there.
(11/03/22 1:00pm)
After 12 years of producing his own music, Alex G had high expectations to meet for his first album made in the studio. Alex Giannascoli, who records music under the stage name Alex G, started his music career in his bedroom, uploading songs on Bandcamp. Today, he's amassed a sizable following among the indie community and has enjoyed his 15 (or so) minutes of fame on TikTok for his 2011 single “Treehouse.”
(11/01/22 1:15pm)
Tove Lo has been a silent force in pop music for years. The Swedish star expresses her candor through her self–reflective lyrics and her escapism through club–ready beats, giving pop music the breath of fresh air it sorely needs.
(10/21/22 4:00am)
Over the past few weeks, a certain orchestral tune may have crossed your TikTok For You page. Typically accompanied by either pleased or horrified reactions to the Face Zoom filter, the sound has nearly 300,000 videos on TikTok, yet many remain unaware of its origins. If you grew up in a Hispanic household, though, you may recognize the hymn as an orchestral version of "Hijo de la Luna," or "Son of the Moon," a song by the Spanish '80s pop group Mecano.
(10/12/22 12:40am)
When I was 16, I burned my first CD. Rapt to undergo this rite of passage that my fangirl predecessors all experienced, I impatiently sat on the cold wooden floor of my room while Billy Corgan and Mitski smiled down on me with encouragement from my wall. I had no doubt in my mind what would be my first CD: the unattainable self–titled EP by boygenius. I longed to possess that part of “Me and My Dog,” where Phoebe belts accompanied by Lucy's perfect harmony while Julien shreds the guitar: “I dream about it.” Admittedly, I account for half the streams of boygenius’ performance at Brooklyn Steel Pitchfork Live on Nov. 7, 2018. Since then, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus have earned stardom in their own right as individual artists. Critically acclaimed and adored by cult followings, boygenius is the definition of the famed supergroups of the 20th century.
(10/09/22 9:02pm)
“BLACKPINK in your area!” goes the group’s mantra. However, for the last two years, the biggest girl group in the world has not, in fact, been in your area. Their last album, aptly titled THE ALBUM, was released in October 2020. In the K–Pop world, it’s unfathomable for a group, assuming they’re not suffering from low popularity or management issues, to wait two years for a comeback.
(10/20/22 8:31pm)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are the alt–rock group that has maintained relevance for nearly 40 years. The RHCP have earned many accolades over the course of their career, including 82 music award nominations and 25 wins, six of which being Grammys. The group currently holds the record for most number one hits on the modern rock chart, with 13 number one singles. In 2012, their place in rock history was cemented when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
(10/04/22 4:00am)
Writ large, East coasters (and West, for that matter) don't seem to know much about my home state of Kansas. Whether you’re picturing endless wheat fields and grazing cows or absentmindedly humming “Over the Rainbow,” it’s safe to say that there’s another lesser—known side to this midwestern state (although the tornadoes are very real). As a Kansas girl now living in the Northeast, I'm legally obligated to defend the better parts of my hometown—and it’s a pleasure to introduce you to The Greeting Committee.
(10/03/22 12:00am)
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) opens with shots of curls, coils, kinks, and fros being glazed by the New York City summer rain. Fresh presses are covered by bright, patterned scarves. Brown hands with fire engine red nails dance in the air. A sea of dark eyes bounce from corner to corner of the stage, and a different kind of light comes from the smiles of dark faces when a 19–year–old Stevie Wonder steps on stage in a cocoa brown suit.
(10/05/22 9:00pm)
B-sides were once a byproduct of mid–to–late 20th century music distribution methods. Now a purely elective format, some modern artists have chosen to use B–side albums as a vehicle for creative exploration.
(10/16/22 9:13pm)
Earlier this year, a debacle among the unlikeliest of foes came about when Neil Young gave Spotify a major ultimatum: him or me. Him being Joe Rogan, the epitome of middle–aged man with a beer belly sitting in a basement making a podcast. Rogan’s wide array of guests on the Joe Rogan Experience have included Elon Musk in the blunt rotation of my nightmares, and Robert Malone, an alleged vaccine scientist turned notorious critic of mRNA vaccines. Young threatened that if Spotify continues to allow Rogan a platform, he would remove his discography from the app.
(10/18/22 3:00pm)
Harry Styles has arguably reached the upper echelons of pop royalty. Starting off in the boy band One Direction, Styles was the perfect teenage heartthrob to multitudes of young girls in his fanbase. When the group went on indefinite hiatus in 2016, Styles’ solo material took off. The singer has since amassed a large following with multiple number–one hits and albums under his belt.
(09/29/22 7:25pm)
Before the release of the album Ctrl in 2017, if you said the name SZA, you’d probably be met with a confused stare and an “excuse me?” Now, she’s a prominent name in female R&B, with a diehard fanbase who's hung onto her every word for the past five years—even though it’s been just as long since she’s put out a full–length project. Her debut release captured the world’s attention, with her lilting yet strong vocals leading Ctrl to five Grammy nominations and widespread critical acclaim. The album’s timelessness has allowed her to maintain relevance without putting out fresh content: it appeals to listeners from ages 13 to 30, with relatable lyrics and comforting tunes that apply to middle school drama just as well as a mid–20s break up.
(09/23/22 2:25am)
Rina Sawayama’s career is all about defying odds. Sawayama, a Japanese immigrant, tried to break through the British music scene with her debut single “Sleeping in Waking” in 2013. She went under the stage name “Rina” for quite a few years, calling her last name “an inconvenience,” up to her debut self–titled EP, RINA, in 2017.
(09/30/22 1:39am)
A few years ago, my mom visited Royal Izakaya, a Japanese bistro in Old City. She described a warm atmosphere, good food, and an overall positive experience, but she was especially excited to hear several of her favorite songs on the restaurant’s playlist: “Can I Kick It?” by A Tribe Called Quest, “Brown Sugar” by D’Angelo, and the entirety of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. She asked the manager for the playlist, he sent her a Spotify link, and she kept listening for months after her meal. My mom’s R&B throwbacks listening spree was the most defining part of her dining experience that night.