The world is… Hatsune Miku’s? What to know about Vocaloid Gwen Tam April 21, 2024 Music History, International, Opinion, Pop If you’ve ever lurked in the digital swamp that was the Internet during the 2000s to early 2010s, chances are, you have encountered, in some form, Vocaloids and Vocaloid music. The ever-present, blue-pigtaile...
Top 5 Best Heartbreak Anthems: Sadness Across the Genres Annie Wynner April 8, 2024 indie, Opinion, R&B, Rap, Reviews, Uncategorized After a breakup, any music lover immediately takes to Spotify to begin crafting a flawless playlist that truly encapsulates the pain of heartbreak. Only a master can perfect the ideal mix of lyrics, artists, an...
Love like religion: A Dollface album review Katie Hulse March 18, 2024 Creative Writing, Album Preview, Album Review, Columns and Opinions, folk, indie, indie scene, indie-pop, music, Music Composition, Opinion, Pop, Reviews, women in music, women's music Hana Bryanne released her debut album titled Dollface on September 15, 2023, at twenty years old. It was written entirely by Bryanne and produced by Carter Jahn and Maxwell Bienert. Its namesake deriv...
Freestyles to take to the grave Yara Choeb February 27, 2024 Opinion, Rap If someone asked me what I wanted to eat for my last meal, I would say forget the food. Play these 5 classic freestyles and I'll rest peacefully. Jokes aside, the 5 freestyles listed here merely reflect th...
Chronicles of a Diamond – Black Pumas, an album review Megan Darzynkiewicz December 7, 2023 Album Review, Opinion, R&B, Reviews, Rock The first time I heard the Black Pumas was when their song “Colors” popped up on my Spotify Discover Weekly. Since then, it’s become an absolute star on my playlists, with its building chorus and messag...
The Mystique of Elliott Smith’s Demise Katie Hulse October 23, 2023 Columns and Opinions, Cultural Commentary, folk, indie, indie scene, Music History, Opinion Elliott Smith is one of the most intrinsically devastating and crucial indie-folk musicians to date, known for his lyrics of absolute despair. The only thing more twisted and heartbreaking than his music is the...
There is no music in genocide Anon October 18, 2023 Opinion, Political I don’t want to write about music. What is music when the pulse of a homeland is extinguished by the looming threat of more bombings and more death? Music is the rhythm of a mother rocking her baby to slee...
“Jazz!! is!! back!!:” The release of Laufey’s “Bewitched” and thoughts on the future of the genre Gianna Caudillo October 10, 2023 Album Review, Classical, Columns and Opinions, Cultural Commentary, indie-pop, Jazz, Music Consumption, Opinion, Reviews In early 2021, a friend of mine sent me a link to a TikTok accompanied by an innocuous message somewhere along the lines of, “Thought you’d like this.” Intrigued, I clicked, and a curly-haired girl in a p...
Listen to My Spotify Playlist: How Streaming Affects Music Consumption and Culture Ellie Nguyen August 9, 2023 Columns and Opinions, Cultural Commentary, Music Consumption, Opinion, Political 2 Comments The winter season has become synonymous with Spotify Wrapped season, wreaking havoc upon us trembling listeners, fearful of what our Wrapped will unearth. Maybe you listened to Your Best American Girl by Mitski...
50 Shades of Grey: Pragmatism and Queertopia in Music Culture Ellie Nguyen August 9, 2023 Columns and Opinions, LGBTQ+, Music History, Opinion, Political At last year’s Outside Lands, Moses Sumney gave a cathartic performance. Clad in latex and a leather skirt, his voice pierced the San Francisco fog, entrancing the audience in his siren song. And it was throu...
Love and Rapture: A Cinderella Fairytale of A Night With the SF Ballet Dorothy Eck and Nico Chodor April 12, 2023 Columns and Opinions, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Opinion, Reviews, San Francisco The San Francisco Ballet’s production of Cinderella takes a modern twist on the classic fairytale, where in place of magic, mice, and wands that go bippity-bobbity-boop, there are Four Fates, colorful spirits...
A personal report of the Breeders’ legacy Natalia Girolami April 9, 2023 Opinion The Breeders, a band that rose to fame in the nineties, was formed when Pixies bassist Kim Deal desired more; she wanted to be a frontwoman whose words were at the center of the music she was producing. I stumb...
A song of existence: Mohammed Assaf’s “Dammi Falastini” and rebellion against colonization Anon April 3, 2023 Columns and Opinions, International, Opinion, Political 1 Comment Mohammed Assaf, photo by Ibrahim Alalami A simple song can be integral to a culture, becoming almost second nature to those who value it. Mohammed Assaf’s “Dammi Falastini” is as natural and essential...
Riding the Griselda Wave: Sampling in Rap Yara Choeb March 22, 2023 Opinion, Rap Beginning as a clothing brand but later popularized as an independent record label and rap collective from Buffalo, NY, Griselda is known now for its star-studded lineup of artists who go by the names o...
A Night Out With the San Francisco Ballet: The Colors of Dance Josh Jiwanmall March 17, 2023 Concerts, Festivals, and Live Previews, Concerts, Festivals, and Live Reviews, Music Composition, Opinion, Previews, Reviews, San Francisco Alright. Before I begin, I must preface that I am not an avid ballet or dance observer. However, in the San Francisco Ballet’s opening night performance of their newest show, The Colors of Dance, it honestly ...