Search Results
Below are your search results. You can also try a Basic Search.
(03/18/19 5:07am)
On September 4th, 2002, nearly 23 million people tuned in to watch a twenty–year–old girl from Fort Worth, Texas be crowned the first American Idol. Now, seventeen years after Kelly Clarkson first sang "A Moment Like This," her career has come full–circle as a host on The Voice, and she boasts eight studio albums, three Grammys, and 25 million album sales. Clarkson's development from Idol to pop culture icon shows that, while singing competitions can launch a career, it takes true talent to keep one.
(04/01/19 6:17am)
Covers are universal—since the dawn of music records, artists have recorded and rerecorded over others’ work, adding their own twists to create something new. From “I Can’t Stop Lovin’ You” by Ray Charles, to “Killing Me Softly” by The Fugees, to “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, these reinventions have occasionally popped up on the charts over the years. But why do artists feel a need to make covers? What is the value of making one when the song already exists?
(03/14/19 2:57am)
As described perfectly on Spotify, the music streaming platform's playlist "Pollen" is "a playlist beyond genre. Quality first always." Updated a few times a week, "Pollen" presents a mix of genre–bending songs and artists that would be hard to discover otherwise. Here are ten artists who deserve more recognition that Street found by listening to "Pollen" over the last few months.
(03/08/19 2:00pm)
Anybody who’s had a dog can tell you, they’re a lot of work. They take up your time and energy and demand all your attention. In Stella Donnelly’s Beware of the Dogs, she takes care of all the dogs that follow her with grace and style, without even breaking a sweat. The Australian singer–songwriter is known for her abrasive lyrics and airy, effervescent voice. Her 2017 EP, Thrush Metal, was centered around her words and her guitar. However, on Beware of the Dogs, she brings in a full band to expand her sound, but never loses sight of her message.
(03/12/19 11:01pm)
Madlib, a producer from Oxnard, California, wields a discography that is highly diverse, prolific, and accomplished. Between working with Kanye West on The Life of Pablo to producing one of the greatest hip–hop albums of the 2010s with Piñata, Madlib has worked within some of the most exclusive and talented circles of the music industry. He rarely produces sub–par work and manages to create sounds that perfectly complement the artists he works with. Well–versed hip–hop critics have consistently ranked Madlib’s albums extremely highly and have showered the producer with praise. Why, then, has he been consistently overshadowed in popular discourse by his peers in hip–hop production?
(03/11/19 1:26am)
There are two types of people in the world: those who publicly worshipped the Jonas Brothers during their 2008 peak and those who buried their appreciation deep. The point is, if you had a pulse and access to Disney Channel, it was hard to avoid this trio of brothers, and even harder to dislike them. With a sound echoing the softer edges of late–90s and early–2000s radio rock, the Jonas Brothers infused the airwaves of Radio Disney with a pop–punk sensibility. “Year 3000,” a cover of a song by iconoclast pop punk group Busted, has all the beginnings of a pseudo–emo classic: jabs at boy bands, a pleasantly heavy guitar melody, and just enough social commentary to anger parents. Even their bigger hits, like “Burnin’ Up” and “SOS,” were reminiscent of a prior era, where boys in bands actually played instruments. In short, the Jonas Brothers used to rock—but their comeback single, “Sucker,” doesn’t.
(02/28/19 10:31pm)
My first mistake was interviewing all of the band at once.
(03/05/19 9:50pm)
In Aristotle's tragic plot structure, the first half of a tragedy shows the protagonist on the rise, before the unfolding events of the first act culminate in a sudden change of fortune. The second act, then, is beset by pity and fear before an ultimately tragic and cathartic ending. Understanding this classical plot structure helps when making sense of the new EP a modern tragedy vol. 2, released on Feb. 22 by Canadian hip–hop artist Jordan Edward Benjamin, better known as grandson.
(03/04/19 9:20pm)
For rockers like Mike Krol, leaving the safety of the garage can be a dangerous game. Beyond those thin aluminum walls is a world full of heartbreak and despair. On his latest record, Power Chords, Krol ventures outside, barking and biting his way through lost love with his signature fuzz, fists up the whole time.
(02/26/19 6:52am)
As Adrianne Lenker meticulously tuned her guitar in the middle of her set at the First Unitarian Church on Feb. 15, the full audience silently stood by, waiting for her next song. Unassumingly, Lenker softly spoke into the microphone, “Does anyone want to hear anything in particular?” The room suddenly burst with an outcry of song names from her dedicated fans. Clearly surprised by the audience’s outburst, Lenker dismissed the flurry of suggestions with a chuckle to herself. “Okay, this is impossible,” she smiled. “I take it back.”
(02/26/19 2:00am)
The lights dim at the Fillmore, and the packed crowd cheers, “Blake!” as a tall, looming figure appears from foggy smoke on stage. Idly, he sits on the piano bench with no introduction, not even a wave or a smile. The running of piano notes that open the song “Assume Form” seem to be conjured out of thin air. The crowd goes silent, letting Blake’s melodies fill the space.
(03/11/19 1:04am)
For years, Meg Duffy made their bones in the music world by working as a studio guitarist and then playing in Kevin Morby’s band. Their move from New York City prompted the beginning of Hand Habits, which began as a solo project and transformed into a fully fledged band. Their debut, Wildly Idle, which was recorded and produced by Duffy in their bedroom, made a name for the group in 2017. Widly Idle showcased a variety of modern folk songs that were pensive and lush with keen observation, placing Duffy alongside contemporaries such as Big Thief and Angel Olson.
(03/10/19 11:39pm)
Each member of Migos—Quavo, Offset, and Takeoff—has each recently gone solo in an effort to individualize themselves from the collective rap trio. Quavo released Quavo Huncho and Takeoff released The Last Rocket, both in 2018, but Offset's Father of 4, released Feb. 22, explores heavy themes and boasts memorable tracks, something that cannot be said for the two previous Migos solo albums.
(02/26/19 3:37am)
For the past four years, Kehlani has consistently been featured as an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone and Complex. But with her new mixtape, While We Wait, Kehlani solidifies her position as one of R&B's current stars. This highly anticipated mixtape has attracted social media buzz from artists like Khalid, Wale, Janelle Monae, and DJ Khaled. It’s no surprise that the album is gaining so much attention, as Kehlani’s artistry has been continuously evolving and improving. Keeping a relatively low profile in 2018, choosing to be featured on just a select few tracks—KYLE’s “Playinwitme”, Charlie Puth’s “Done for Me,” Cardi B’s “Ring”— Kehlani blossoms on this new mixtape, ready to make 2019 hers.
(02/27/19 4:36am)
When four–piece rock band Badflower burst onto the music scene in 2015 with debut single “Soap,” it seemed as if they would make their place in the blues rock revival. Between the heavy guitar riffs and the way Josh Katz yelled "Sometimes I cannot be respectable," the band would fit in just fine among acts like Black Pistol Fire, Greta Van Fleet, and Dorothy. That hard–rocking image was cemented with 2016 EP Temper, which NYLON Magazine declared “Good, old–fashioned rock n’ roll.” Three years later, debut LP OK, I’M SICK, released Feb. 22, takes the band in a new direction—a good one—with the introspective and emotional lyrics telling a much more mature story than the average debut.
(02/26/19 3:14am)
In 2012, American rapper Nas released “Cherry Wine,” a song featuring vocals from Amy Winehouse that went on to be nominated for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 55th Grammy Awards. The single, written by Winehouse, Nas, and Saleem Remi, was one of Winehouse’s last few projects before she died on July 23, 2011. The music video, which premiered October 2, 2012, featured Winehouse’s iconic vocals and ended with a tribute to her. The now–classic rap song is haunted by Winehouse’s soulful croons, especially on the line, “I wanna go through my red and my cherry.” The song as a whole is beautiful, yet painful.
(02/26/19 6:05am)
At four in the afternoon, students stream into the Starbucks below 1920 Commons. Muffled by orders of cold brews creamed with coconut milk and toffee syrup, “Take Five” croons softly through the speakers on this late February Friday. The weekend slips by and soon, teenagers trudge along the second floor of Fisher–Bennett Hall, where the sticky–sweet melody of “In the Mood” playing through an open office door alleviates Monday’s somber atmosphere. Jazz music—especially in settings teeming with life such as a university campus—often does not beg to be listened to. It instead fills the cracks where silence doesn't suffice and other genres do not fit. However, the space it once inhabited was vast.
(03/21/19 8:31pm)
The artists signed to Top Dawg Entertainment are some of the the most talented hip–hop artists out today. Yet, with just a couple of exceptions, TDE’s management of such a strong group of artists has been subpar to say the least. TDE has signed Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Jay Rock, Lance Skiiiwalker, and SiR, all artists who either possess incredible potential or have already displayed their capacity to make consistently great music. So why do they drop music so rarely, and more importantly, why does it seem that so many of these rappers have had issues with their label?
(02/21/19 3:48am)
Avril Lavigne has been around for a while—international hits such as “Complicated” and “Girlfriend” came over a decade ago, and the singer was dubbed the “Pop Punk Queen” for her music and fashion style as she dominated the charts. Until Head Above Water came out on Feb. 15, Lavigne hadn’t released a record since her self–titled album in 2013, an up–tempo, pop–rock collection that was relatively well–received but criticized by some for overusing rebellious tropes. Head Above Water comes a few years after the singer’s diagnosis with Lyme disease, which inspired the album that she described on Twitter as "an emotional journey.” But does the album actually manage to reach that standard and serve as a proper comeback for the now 34–year–old? The answer is a hard, unequivocal no.
(02/25/19 6:34am)
When thinking of cities with songs about them, New York is the first to come to one's "Empire State of Mind," followed of course by the selection of West Coast cities available for "California Dreaming." But the punk, hip hop, and indie rock artists of Philadelphia have embraced their hometown's quirky charm and turned it into songwriting fuel. While outsiders like Elton John ("Philadelphia Freedom") and even North Jersey's Bruce Springsteen ("Streets of Philadelphia") can attempt to catch the spirit, it takes hometown troublemakers like Mischief Brew and the Fresh Prince to guide listeners on a tour of the real Philly.
