It’s a relatively short one this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (April 5th, 2025)”
Today I’m excited to share with everyone the new single from Norwegian singer-songwriter, Marte Eberson, “Start Over Again.” On this heartfelt track, Eberson blends breathtaking cinematic rock with an indie pop twist. Eberson reflected on the writing process of the new single and shared:
Sometimes I look at pictures from when I was younger—whether from my childhood, teenage years, or just a couple of years ago—and feel a sense of longing. A longing for a time when life felt less complicated, less stressful, and when my friends, my family, and I had more time. That time passed so quickly, and I wish I had realized how much I should have appreciated it. Suddenly, I’m ‘grown up,’ and I don’t know how it happened. The days and years blur together, everything moves faster and faster. It would be so nice to start over, to begin again, to savor that time more, to slow down and take it all in.
If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider supporting this artist here.
Read More “Marte Eberson – “Start Over Again” (Song Premiere)”
Today I’m excited to introduce everyone to Common Holly, the artist name of Montreal-based singer-songwriter Brigitte Naggar, who is gearing up for the release of her debut LP, Anything Glass, this June. First up is her new single and video for a vibrant song called “Aegean Blue.” With key influences from artists like Bill Callahan, Mount Eerie, Lomelda, and Leonard Cohen, Common Holly is anything but a common artist who is unafraid to push the boundaries of her creativity. When speaking on the new single/video, she shared:
A reckoning in meaninglessness and unending pursuit. The words came in a moment of change and of reevaluating. This song sits squarely in the album’s theme of orienting toward what matters most, doing things differently when they aren’t feeling right. You can hear some of the vocal doubling here–since the album was recorded live, many (all?) of the songs have doubled vocals, because I would sing live while we were performing the song, and then I would later add more vocals on top of that initial vocal. This came to be a quality we liked in the whole experience of the album.
If you’re enjoying the new video, please consider pre-saving Anything Glass here.
Read More “Common Holly – “Aegean Blue” (Video Premiere)”
One thing to know about the way I consume music is that, by and large, I do not care about the charts. While knowing what songs have gone to number 1 over the years makes for fun trivia, it has little to no bearing on what music I love or find value in. But for one summer when I was 11 years old, I became obsessed with chart-watching, and this song was the reason why.
It’s been long enough since the summer of 2001 that I don’t really recall what initially inspired me to turn on the clock radio in my bedroom on some stray Sunday morning and tune in to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown. As far as I can remember, that show kicked off at 8 in the morning and ran until lunchtime. It was not, in other words, the kind of thing you’d expect a preteen boy to find himself enmeshed in during the summertime, when more interesting engagements like sleeping in or playing video games were options. Plus, AT40 was loaded with commercial breaks and packed with songs that I, as someone who did not have much of a taste for the R&B-flavored pop that was dominant at the turn of the century, actively disliked. Why did I subject myself to four hours of this nonsense when I could have been doing literally anything else?
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 2: “Hanging By A Moment” by Lifehouse”
Just in time for April Fool’s Day, Talulah Paisley has announced her debut LP, called Fool, that will be released everywhere music is sold on June 11th. On top of that, I’m excited to share with everyone her debut single and video for “What’s It Like?” Talulah Paisley shared:
I wrote this song when I was about to graduate from college. I had my entire life ahead of me and I feared I wouldn’t live up to its promise…what if: I did nothing with my life? What if I am a waste? I make no impact, no connection? I played and sung all the instruments on the track except that whistle- that was my bandmate, sweet Athena from the band Awksymoron. This song marks the first time I’ve ever recorded drums! The idea for the music video came from how I always notice little things on the street in NYC, and I pick them up and keep them- playing cards, dice, those plastic neon barrettes you wore when you were a little girl. I feel these objects are magical, and a reminder to play. I hand-painted the bike, helmet and spray painted the roses. I also handmade the costume. It was inspired by the incredibly brave and graceful lady lion tamers of circus’ past, who risked their lives in the name of spectacle.
If you’re enjoying the new video/single, please consider supporting this artist here. I was also able to catch up with Talulah Paisley for a brief interview below.
Read More “Talulah Paisley – “What’s It Like?” (Video Premiere)”
It was nine years ago that I unveiled Chorus.fm. Nine years.
Sometimes it’s hard to wrap my head around the passing of time and other times it feels like it is going by so fast I blink and another three years fly by. I just wanted to take a brief moment to pause, reflect, and say thank you to everyone who continues to read this website, support this website, and participate in our community.
Here’s to many more.
Just some quick hits this week. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
If you’d like this newsletter delivered to your inbox each week (it’s free and available to everyone), you can sign up here.
Read More “Liner Notes (March 31st, 2025)”
Recently I was able to connect with singer-songwriter Adam Lytle to discuss everything that went his new single and video for the track “Heaven.” The song comes from Lytle’s sophomore album, Altars, that hits streaming services on May 2nd. If you’re enjoying the video for “Heaven”, please consider pre-saving Altars here.
Read More “Adam Lytle”
Today I’m so excited to introduce everyone to pop-punk band, West Friends, who are releasing their latest single called “You’ll Hate It Here.” On this track that takes it roots from classic pop-punk bands like Sum 41, New Found Glory and Blink-182, West Friends make a memorable single with plenty of substance behind it. West Friends is the duo of songwriters and friends, Jordan Renshaw and Isaiah Dominguez, and they have a great style for the pop-punk 30/40-somethings crowd. The band shared, “‘You’ll Hate It Here’ is a tongue-in-cheek take on the cities we call home (Seattle and San Francisco), which, let’s face it, are some of the news cycle’s favorite punching bags. For locals, the negativity can get overbearing enough to warrant a snarky, ‘Grab a souvenir on your way out.” West Friends collaborated with Tom Iannello (Transit, Driveways) to make an anthem that says, despite their flaws, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” If you’re enjoying the early listen, you can pre-save West Friends new single here.
Read More “West Friends – “You’ll Hate It Here” (Song Premiere)” If your life was a movie, what songs would make the soundtrack?
Earlier this year, I found myself trying to answer that question, all because I was looking for a project to get me excited about music writing again. A decade ago, I couldn’t wait to write up reviews of every new album I liked. Now, the thought of going through that process feels exhausting, and maybe meaningless. Does anyone care about album reviews in 2025? And if not, where does that leave those of us who love trying to articulate what it is about a certain piece of music that makes us think, or makes us weep, or gets our hearts racing a little faster?
I came up with the life soundtrack idea almost on a lark. It would be a fun challenge, I told myself, especially if there were limits and rules by which I had to abide. The first rule I gave myself was to theme this project around my forthcoming 35th birthday. In honor of that milestone, I decided, I’d have the space of just 35 songs to tell my life story.
I didn’t know how maddening this game would prove to be – or, ultimately, how emotionally fulfilling. I’m an old veteran when it comes to making lists, but this version of the music list was so much harder than anything else I’d ever attempted. Picking your all-time favorite albums is easy. Picking your favorite songs is harder, but still somewhat intuitive. Trying to boil down your entire life’s journey into what is essentially a two-CD compilation is an exercise guaranteed to result in constant hand-wringing, excessive second-guessing, and endless revising. There are currently 47,145 songs in my iTunes library. How was I supposed to be satisfied picking such a tiny percentage of that?
Read More “My Life In 35 Songs, Track 1: “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers”
Recently I was able to connect with psychedelic indie composer, guitarist, and record producer Romi Peles, as he gears up for the release of his third studio album, Break Up Album, that hits streaming services on June 13th. Today, Romi Peles is releasing his new single and lyric video for “Demons Back In Town.” If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider supporting this talented artist here.
Read More “Romi Peles”
Recently I was able to catch up with the lead vocalist of Anxious, Grady Allen, on the road to discuss everything that went into the band’s excellent sophomore LP, Bambi. I asked Grady about how the headlining shows have been going for Anxious, if he felt any pressure during the writing process between Little Green House and Bambi, and much more. If you’re looking to support Anxious on the road, check out a show, or visit their merch store here.
Read More “Grady Allen of Anxious”
I got older. The pop-punk universe blessed me. This week’s supporter Q&A post can be found here.
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Read More “Liner Notes (March 23rd, 2025)”
For the last decade, Radiator King has been the moniker of NYC-via-Boston solo artist Adam Silvestri. But since he moved to L.A. in 2021 at the urging of longtime collaborator / drummer / Dresden Dolls co-founder Brian Viglione, the two have teamed up with keyboardist Alexander Burke to form a proper band with each member contributing to the writing process. Today, Radiator King has released the video for “The Second Coming,” their garage rock-heavy single that is a crowd-pleasing anthem. I was able to connect with Silvestri for an interview about the new single and how the band responded to working with veteran producer Ted Hutt. If you’re enjoying the music video, please consider supporting Radiator King here.
Read More “Radiator King”
A couple of days ago, I was able to schedule a Zoom call with Brittany Luna (vocals) and Tim Hildebrand (guitar), of Philadelphia ska band Catbite, to discuss their newly announced EP, Doom Garden. In this interview, I asked the band members about where the EP title came from, the direction they took on Doom Garden, their recent performance doing the Operation Ivy cover set with Laura Jane Grace, and how they were able to get Patrick Stump to sing on one of the songs on the new record. Catbite will be supporting Doom Garden with a headlining tour, and the dates are below.
Read More “Catbite”