Burial is quietly one of this century’s best musicians.
You’d be forgiven for any misgivings about dubstep as a genre. Tacked as a label onto bombastic (annoying) electronic music that prioritizes loud, energetic beats and the beloved “drop,” it’s hard not to have mixed to mostly negative feelings about the subject.
Without a doubt, the most commercially successful body of work in dubstep history (perhaps one of the most commercially successful electronic works ever) is Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites EP, released in 2011 by Skrillex. But dubstep has much deeper roots than this.
Continuing the strain of DNA from UK jungle and garage, Burial entered the scene. Both…
The Velvet Underground killed the guitar solo over 50 years ago.
My friend and I constantly get into the same argument. It’s a bit of a joke at this point, but not to me- because I believe wholeheartedly what I’m saying. I say “obviously The Velvet Underground are better than The Beatles.” This has nothing to do with downplaying the massive influence of The Beatles on pop music as we know it, and everything with heralding the Velvets as the kings of the underground music scene.
It’s been said to death again and again, but truly no one was doing it like The Velvet Underground were, at that time, in that…
Mindful Traveling
Losing your ego and opening your eyes.
I think my favorite part of “Parts Unknown” is when Anthony Bourdain visits Shanghai. A massive city, he still travels around like a local. While meeting with a local hacker, the two end up at a bar drinking Moscow Mules. It seems like a setup from a Bond movie, but the premise is way more lighthearted. The two are going to sneak into an event. What event? A Chinese wedding between two working-class families. Anthony explains the plan, and the two enter the wedding. …
A beautiful confusion.
Part-time philosopher and one-time actor, Jaden Smith has been, for while now, a full-time musician.
He records under the name Jaden, now. With his own music label, MSFTS, under Roc Nation Entertainment(!) is home to a host of friends following his style. They frame themselves as rebels, operating outside of the popular music industry. His family aside, take that image as you will.
I’ve been casually following Jaden since he dropped SYRE in 2017. I’ve tried to understand why I follow him to this day. I remember my roommate telling me that it wasn’t actually half bad, but I know…
A poem about fire
A brief retrospective on their career.
Early this morning, February 22nd, Daft Punk called it quits. Daft Punk, the legendary French electronic music duo, responsible for some of the most enjoyable, danceable house music feels like a true loss. From soundtracking a TRON film to creating one of the most legendary live tours of all time in ALIVE 2007, it was hard not to love this group.
And people did! James Murphy in LCD Soundsystem proudly stating “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House.” It’s unable to even quantify the influence they had on the industry. They even helped Kanye produce tracks off Yeezus and linked…
Lee Isaac Chung’s Stunning Autobiographical Film.
“Minari” is at its’ core a remarkably humble movie with strikingly brave concepts. Sure, the movie is about race in America, but also about the perception of an ideal family, the American Dream, culture clash, and just being a child. First debuting at Sundance, the movie can now be screened virtually. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie through A24’s virtual screening- not as early as critics and not the early release but still much earlier than I was willing to wait.
“Minari” is the story of a family moving from California to…
Joining the hype train.
I wasn’t one of Frank Ocean’s first fans, but you can be sure I’m one of his most dedicated.
Back in the ancient history of 2016 (probably the last good year we’ve had) there was a small corner of the internet heating up. The subreddit for Frank Ocean, r/frankocean was abuzz with news of an upcoming album. After months upon years of teases, missed release dates, and rumors, something was in the air that made it seem that this would be the year we finally get a follow up to Channel Orange.
I’m not sure what made me finally listen…
Revisiting Frank Ocean’s transcendent mixtape.
The amazing thing about Nostalgia, ULTRA to me is that I haven’t even heard all of it. The download I have, likely off the Odd Future website or something, cuts off in the middle of the last song, a riff on MGMT’s “Electric Feel” called “Nature Feels.” Listening to the mixtape now, it’s incredible seeing now how direct some of Frank Ocean’s ideas were even this early in his career. Barely into his twenties, it’s hard to think of artists that sound this confident on their debut mixtape other than the brightest stars of today…
