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The 11 Very Best Punk Songs of 2014
Tackling the year in punk is no easy feat, so we gathered some of our most reliable crate-digging, tape-mailordering punk writers and asked them to offer up and discuss their favorite songs, 7"s and...
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The Year In Post-Hardcore: Has the New Wave Crested?
Jordan Dreyer of La Dispute defined his scene for years to come when he declared his band part of “The New Wave of Post-Hardcore”. He was also joking, but then again, post-hardcore isn’t known for its...
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2014: The Year in (Live) Music, According to Concert Promoters
It’s unlikely that even the most dedicated showgoer or obsessives among us consume as much music in a given year as concert promoters do. Their lives are inevitably spent either absorbing it nightly at...
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Q&A: Sonic Boom on Crocodiles, Magnets, and Co-Producing Panda Bear Meets the...
"Noah writes music that, technically, probably shouldn't work," says Pete Kember. He's talking about Noah Lennox, better known as Panda Bear, and he should know: as the co-producer of Lennox's new...
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The Problem With Ed Sheeran And "Nice Guys" Like Him
Every piece you read about Ed Sheeran will make sure to hit two key branding points. 1) He is hugely successful. Like, multiplatinum in an era where people don't go multiplatinum any more successful....
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The Best Show's Top 10 Music Moments
The Best Show, formerly the Best Show on WFMU, is a freeform radio show that has always had tremendous ties to the music world. Host Tom Scharpling formerly ran a small record label, his partner in...
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The Least Anticipated Album Anniversary Think Pieces of 2015
Album anniversary think pieces are butt. (Hell, most think pieces are, regardless of topic.) A collage of hastily-assigned, poorly executed attempts to try and reframe a cultural event for the sake of...
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Shake Appeal: Hierophants, Jack Oblivian, Jack Name, Pampers, Frankie and the...
Shake Appeal, Evan Minsker's weekly garage/punk/psychedelic/etc. music round-up, kicks off 2015 with a stack of new stuff by Australian bands (Hierophants), Memphis icons (Jack Oblivian), West Coast...
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Noblesse Mp3: Why I've Started Buying Music
Photo by Tonje ThilesenI recently purchased music for the first time in years because I had lost control of what I was listening to. For the first time in a decade, I bought the songs I was enjoying....
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New Blackness: Pharrell, Kanye and Jay-Z and the Spectre of White Aspiration
During an interview with Oprah last Spring, producer and rapper Pharrell Williams dubbed himself "New Black". In his words: "The New Black doesn't blame other races for our issues. The New Black dreams...
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Privacy as Protest: Where Leaks Are Leading Us
Photo by David SampsonIn view of last year’s celebrity nude photo scandal, the endless leaking of U.S. government documents, and the infamous Sony hacks, 2015 arrives at a time when the leaking of...
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Pretzel Logic: Understanding Why Your Dad's Favorite Band Is Playing Coachella
I cried when I wrote this songSue me if I play too longThis brother is freeI'll be what I want to be- Steely Dan, "Deacon Blues"Coachella is the post-South by Southwest in-earnest start to...
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Sins of a Loop Da Loop Era: "Flat Beat" and EDM's Embarrassing Lack of...
An Italian EDM duo called Nari and Milani are in hot water over an apparent case of plagiarism. Numerous listeners have pointed out that Nari and Milani's new single "Triangle" sounds suspiciously like...
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I Shall Be Released: The Technologies and Politics Driving Album Leaks and...
Last November, the circulation of a private document—actually, a digital image of a private document—suggested something miraculous was possibly about to happen. Titled "Release Confirmation" and...
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Black Weirdo Rich Kids: Zoë, Willow, Jaden and Pop Nepotism
Image via Instagram"I could stare out your window and fuck you tonight," Zoë Kravitz, the lead singer of Lolawolf, sings in "Drive". Affecting a low, soothing pitch, Kravitz under-sings or simply...
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Down Is Up 25: Reissues From Slant 6, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Poison Girls,...
Down Is Up discusses music that falls slightly under the radar of our usual coverage: demos, self-releases, and output from small or overlooked communities. Today, Jenn Pelly surveys some potentially...
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Courtney Love's Risks in Kansas City Choir Boy Pay Off
Photo by Hedi SlimaneIf a small room contains 60 people and one of them is Courtney Love, then that room, in essence, contains one person. This is what I learned last night watching Kansas City Choir...
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Life After Death (of Your iPod)
Last year was the year music died. Well, my music died. My iPod is dying, a slow and painful digital death, having begun to fritz and refuse to sync early into this New Year. The device was condemned...
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The Essential Wisdom (and Freestyles) of Meek Mill
One of rap’s prodigal sons has finally returned: Meek Mill. Released from jail in December after serving a bid for violating his probation, last week he dropped a couple freestyles, if only to remind...
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What Does N.W.A.'s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nomination Say About Us?
It's fun to picture it: the late rapper, record mogul, N.W.A. founder, and master troll Eazy E salivating over the prospect of middle-American tourists gazing in confusion and awe at his black-capped...
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