The trans muses of classic rock
Plucked her eyebrows on the way,
Shaved her legs and then he was a she
She said “Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side”
Long before stars and models like Hunter Schaffer and La...
Punk’s Unlikely Grandfather: Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, and the legacy of Arthur Rimbaud’s Poetry
An absolute must-read for any French high school student–myself included–Arthur Rimbaud remains one of the most famous French poets, and one of the greatest poets of the Romantic period. When I first studie...
It’s a basement blitz with the Lemon Twigs!
San Francisco’s glitter-faced, mini-skirted, tailor-made crowd is alive and well, and the place to find them is in the Castro, clad in cheeky Beatles buttons and stomping through neon-lit basements in velvet ...
The Homeward Road: Miserable Faith Unites Bay Area Chinese-Speaking Diaspora in One Glorious Chorus
Again and again Gao Hu, lead singer of Miserable Faith (痛仰乐队), addressed the crowd: “Do not stop my music (不要停止我的音乐)”. “不要停止我的音乐,” I silently repeated. After shoo...
Hey, hey we’re the Punk-ees: the unlikely influences of punk
The public’s lasting perception of 60s pop-rock band the Monkees sounds a little like this: a Neil Diamond impersonator screaming out to a group of picnicking families, “How many of you remember a Saturday ...
Sex, drugs, and segregation: the influence of Black artists and the history of rock ‘n’ roll
To an angsty teenager, nothing is more appealing than music that repulses adults, alludes to sex and drugs, and was at one point, banned in the city of Santa Cruz. Rock music, and what it represents, not only d...
“She’s the one” was written about me: first musical crushes
“I’m on Fire” by Bruce Springsteen is quite frankly the sexiest song ever written, and if you don't agree I fundamentally don’t understand you. Bruce Springsteen has, as long as I can remember, remained...
Sheik Yerbouti: forty years old and raunchy as ever, for better or for worse
March 2019 sees the 40th anniversary of one of the most controversial records by the free-thinking guitar virtuoso Frank Zappa, Sheik Yerbouti (1979). The double disc, part-studio, and part-live record was the ...
How-to escape a music rut
A new year is upon us, which means it's time for a fresh start. I'm sure by now you have listened to your Spotify 2018 yearly roundup and re-experienced all the painful emotions that go along with it. If this i...
Anthem of the Peaceful Army is no more than a glorified cover album
When Greta Van Fleet first emerged on the scene I was stoked. I sent their album to my family and friends, “These guys sound just like Zeppelin. You have to check them out.” Maybe this was the band that was...
The Pixies in bloom: An essential band makes its presence heard at the Fox
About two months ago, as I skimmed through a classmate’s short story, I came across a line that read, “Outside there is a boxcar”, and without thinking twice, the small jukebox in my brain began blasting ...
Tennis time travels in San Francisco
If Tennis’s music is good at one thing, it’s traveling back in time to the warm, breezy summers of the early 70’s. Their retro sound features balmy keyboards, pronounced bass lines, and soothing harmonies...
Cue the violins: Trump’s emo boy band to release masochistic debut album Sad!
On February 12, Donald J. Trump, blubbering rocker who is recognized by less than half of the American population as "their president," and his boy band of puppets — together known as the Sad Hombres — drop...