If you haven’t heard by now, Taylor Swift surprise-dropped her eighth studio album folklore last week. This is not another album review, that’s been masterfully handled by Craig Manning, this is a playlist for after you’ve gone deep with the album and are ready to explore the rest of her catalog.
Read More “A Taylor Swift Playlist: “Lightning in a Bottle””No Rome – “1:45 AM” Video
No Rome has shared a video for the new song “1:45 AM.”
Read More “No Rome – “1:45 AM” Video”Members of MxPx, Rise Against, Sick of It All (And Moby) Cover Black Flag
Tim McIlrath (Rise Against), Mike Herrera (MxPx), Lou Koller (Sick of it All), Moby, and more contributed to cover of Black Flag’s “Rise Above.”
Read More “Members of MxPx, Rise Against, Sick of It All (And Moby) Cover Black Flag”The Killers Respond to Allegations of Misconduct
The Killers have released a statement, via a legal representative, in response to allegations of sexual misconduct against members of the band and crew. Their statement is below, via BBC.
Read More “The Killers Respond to Allegations of Misconduct”Laura Veirs – “Burn Too Bright” Video
Laura Veirs returns with a video for her new song “Burn Too Bright.”
Read More “Laura Veirs – “Burn Too Bright” Video”Wolves in the Throne Room Sign With Relapse Records
Wolves in the Throne Room have signed with Relapse Records and will release a new album next year.
We are proud to announce our collaboration with Relapse records. As fans of the label since the early days, we are excited to be working with such capable folks. We are currently crafting our forthcoming record which will be released in North America by Relapse in alliance with Century Media who will be handling the rest of the world. More news to be announced very soon.
Phoebe Bridgers on New Podcast
Phoebe Bridgers is on the latest episode of the Kyle Meredith With… podcast. (Overcast link.)
Read More “Phoebe Bridgers on New Podcast”Waxahatchee Breaks Down “Fire”
Waxahatchee is on the latest episode of the Song Exploder podcast. (Overcast link.)
Read More “Waxahatchee Breaks Down “Fire””Taylor Swift Releases “Cabin in the Candlelight” Version of “Cardigan”
Taylor Swift has shared a “cabin in the candlelight” version of “Cardigan.”
Read More “Taylor Swift Releases “Cabin in the Candlelight” Version of “Cardigan””Love Again – “The Best I Could” Video
Love Again have released a video for “The Best I Could.”
Read More “Love Again – “The Best I Could” Video”Ela Minus – “Megapunk”
Ela Minus has released the new song “Megapunk.”
Read More “Ela Minus – “Megapunk””NOFX and Frank Turner Stream Cover Album
Frank Turner and NOFX have posted up their new cover album, West Coast Vs. Essex.
Read More “NOFX and Frank Turner Stream Cover Album”Foxes – “Woman” Video
Foxes has shared a video for “Woman.”
Read More “Foxes – “Woman” Video”Back to 2013 (Re-Ranking the Best of Lists)
The early versions of these “back to” articles felt like I was looking at a distant past, a version of myself that was so far removed from who I am today, a version doing things I can only remember around the edges. More the shape of memory, less defined lines. This year we get to 2013, only a couple years from the end of this iteration of this project.1 I look at the staff’s 2013 best of list and the memories around these albums feel fresh in my mind. I remember the buzz around The National. I remember The Wonder Years destroying our web server with the most-streamed song premiere we ever did. To date, that song’s been streamed over a half a million times on Soundcloud. I remember the return of Fall Out Boy, the legal drama of A Day to Remember, the My Chemical Romance hiatus, and my utter obsession with this new band called The 1975.
Read More “Back to 2013 (Re-Ranking the Best of Lists)”I have an idea of what I am going to do once we get to 2015.↩
Review: Taylor Swift – Folklore
Not many songwriters have ever been better than Taylor Swift at opening up a window into their own life. While songwriting is often a deeply personal artform, one of Swift’s greatest strengths has always been her ability to make listeners feel like she was singing to them from the pages of her diary. Some of her greatest songs—“All Too Well,” “Last Kiss,” “Long Live,” “Soon You’ll Get Better,” “Lover”—are snapshots of important moments or milestones of her life that she felt her fans deserved to live along with her: boys who broke her heart; triumphs of her young life; her mom’s battle with cancer; the relationship that might just stand the test of time. She’s always written these stories vividly, with details that make them feel as lived-in to you as your own memories: the places, the dates, the objects, the articles of clothing, the colors, the refrigerator light. Swift got so good so early on at telling her own story that, by the time she got to her most recent albums—2017’s Reputation and last year’s Lover—the songs had begun to feel like her chance to have the last word on all the tabloid bullshit that had built up around her life. The results were thrilling, but they sometimes lacked the lovely, unguarded scene-setting she’d perfected on Speak Now and Red. Instead of feeling like diary pages, the lyrics felt a bit like op-eds—still honest, still written with the strong voice of an obviously skilled scribe, but more clearly meant for public consumption. The thing that had made Swift seem most special at first—that you could picture her writing these songs in her bedroom, with no idea whether anyone would ever hear them—wasn’t as present anymore.
Read More “Taylor Swift – Folklore”