Remove

The Songs That Bind

Headphones
Jason Tate

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, writing for The New York Times:

I was beginning to get frustrated by how much of our lives are spent arguing about music. So I decided to do something about it the only way I know how: I analyzed data.

I couldn’t think of a way to use data to prove how great “Born to Run” is. But I thought data might give me clarity on why my brother and I never seem to agree on music.

In particular, I wanted to see to what extent the year we were born influences the music we listen to, the extent to which different generations are bound to disagree on music.

I always find these kinds of studies fascinating. For the most part I’ve found this to be pretty true in my life (I’m sitting here spinning My Chemical Romance right now), but I also think my musical tastes have changed quite a bit in the past few years. I listen to more straight up pop music and hip-hop than I ever did as a teenager.

Remove
Remove

There Is a Competition to Avoid Learning Who Won the Super Bowl

Jason Tate

Scott Detrow, at NPR, looks at this year’s Last Man competition:

We’re going to tell you who won the Super Bowl. Yes, the game happened last week, but there’s an important warning for the eight people still in the running in a contest called Last Man. Competition’s pretty straightforward but a near impossible goal – go as long as you can without finding out who won the Super Bowl.

I first heard about this game in a New Yorker article a few years back:

The game runs on the honor system—pride is the only prize—and deaths are self-reported on Twitter. Those who play refer to themselves as “runners,” and the thing they are running from—the fact that New England beat Seattle—is known as “the Knowledge.” The only real rule is to stay in the country.

Alkaline Trio Reflect on Biggest Moments of Their Career

Alkaline Trio
Jason Tate

Alkaline Trio talked with Alternative Press about the ten biggest moments in their career:

There was a movement going on with the Vagrant America tour and the label signing new bands. “Saves The Day, the Get Up Kids and bands like that. We were all on the same label; we were doing it at the same time, from different parts of the country but exploring different sounds,” he says. “Something cool was definitely happening.”

Jeff Rosenstock Talks With MTV

Jeff Rosenstock
Jason Tate

Jeff Rosenstock sat down with MTV to talk about his new album:

“So many people I know and people I love [are] just stressed out by everything, and I just wanted to write a song like, yeah, me too, bud, and it’s OK,” Rosenstock said. “That one was just kinda like, it’s OK to feel shitty. Everybody tells somebody that, ‘Yeah, I’m busy tonight’ when you’re not busy.”

The Smashing Pumpkins Reunion Is a Clusterfuck

Smashing Pumpkins
Jason Tate

Brett Buchanan, writing for Alternative Nation:

Original Smashing Pumpkins bassist D’arcy has sent Alternative Nation the following text message conversations she had with Billy Corgan in January, including his pitch to involve her as a guest like Steven Adler on Guns N’ Roses’ Not In This Lifetime tour.

They haven’t even officially announced their reunion yet and it’s already a drama filled mess.

Remove
Remove