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Consumer Goods and Bads
In product design, as in nature, evolutionary forces sometimes spin out of control and push certain features to surreal extremes. Look at cars from the '50s with soaring tail fins and dashboards packed...
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The Misunderstanding of Faith No More
Photo by Dustin RabinIn December of 1989, the French-Canadian thrash metal band Voivod—a cult favorite influenced equally by Discharge, Die Kreuzen, and early Genesis records played backwards—toured...
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Ageism, Lou Reed's Lulu, Madonna's Tongue and Jazz Fest
Image via InstagramLou Reed and Metallica’s ill-fated collaboration Lulu is a record we’d all like to forget exists. Critics panned it like crazy when it came out, smacking it around like...
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The Fight for All-Ages Shows
Photo by Erez AvissarLive music is, by nature, impermanent and ephemeral, but the places that show are staged can be either transitory or stable. All that’s needed is a power supply, a space for...
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MP3 Blogs Are Still a Thing (And They Are Awesome)
In the pre-Spotify era, one of the main ways to discover music was through MP3 blogs. In fact, some of us spent a lot of time burrowing through these obscure blogs, hoping to find and obtain rare vinyl...
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When Jamie xx Dropped Tame Impala at Coachella: Why Are We Still Worried...
One of the things that makes Jamie xx such an impressive DJ is the depth of his crates. Not only do his sets dart seamlessly from grime to house to techno to his own bewitching, impossible-to-genrify...
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Drake, Kanye, 1D and The Rise of Emotional Men
Photo by Pooneh GhanaDrake is not a man in charge of his feelings.At Raptors’ games, on Instagram, and in his lyrics, as he’s being (maybe) frenched by Madonna, Aubrey can’t keep it together....
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Rich Homie Quan Ready to Stay Going In Another Summer
Photo by David SampsonRap is driving music. It blares from open car windows, beats on concrete streets and announces one’s arrival before stepping out of a vehicle. While there is much hand-wringing...
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Shake Appeal: Timmy's Organism, Gary Wrong, Angie, Useless Eaters, Terry &...
Hey, how's it going? Here's another installment of Shake Appeal, Evan Minsker's garage/punk/psychedelic/etc. music round-up. There's a live review, and then there are a lot of new records to talk...
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Consumer Goods and Bads: Musical Microbrew
One of the primary inspirations for Consumer Goods (And Bads) was a package that my editor Jessica received in the mail that contained a bottle of beer, a vinyl LP with the same name and label art as...
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Quiz: Is This A Real Genre
In dance music circles, PR email blasts, and Beatport charts, "tropical house" has been trending hard in the first half of 2015, even though it’s an idea—mostly white guys who don’t live in the tropics...
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Reasonable Doubt: Is Jay Z All About the Money or the Fans?
Jay Z’s successes both as an artist and businessman are bound to his ability to read audiences and interpret what they want. It’s how he’s transitioned from kicking staccato rhymes in his early...
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Bill Fay, 70's Jesus-Freak Folk, and the Secular World
When British folk singer Bill Fay released Time of the Last Persecution in 1971, the world was littered with religious music whose artistic worth was perhaps incidental (at best). While some wigged out...
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Invisible Hits: These Are The Driving Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators!
Perhaps inevitably, the headliner of this year's Levitation festival (formerly Austin Psych Fest) is the original Texas psychedelic band, the 13th Floor Elevators. The performance, taking place May 10,...
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What Trina Taught Me
Trina’s "Look Back at Me" is the sonic equivalent of a mid-blunt, post-cunnilingus orgasm, a series of pleasures that unravels itself in hazy, hypnotizing succession. "Look back at you for what," she...
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Death Cab for Cutie, Seth Cohen and the Indie Influence of the Teen TV...
This year Death Cab for Cutie released their eighth studio album Kintsugi, but for many they were cast in amber back in the mid-2000s, reaching millions of listeners via their recurring storyline in...
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Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No...
This is an excerpt from Your Band Sucks: What I Saw at Indie Rock's Failed Revolution (But Can No Longer Hear) by Jon Fine, which is available in stores and online May 19 through Viking.Somewhere in...
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Letterman's Musical Legacy
Over David Letterman’s 33-year career hosting talk shows, a pivotal part of the show for Letterman has been the musical guests, often booked with ravenous variety. A week of diverse musical guests...
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Consumer Goods and Bads: Wearing Kendrick's Shoes, Eating Kendrick's Salad
The best music video of the year so far is Kendrick Lamar’s "King Kunta", which pairs the song’s mellow fuck-you bonhomie with a celebratory portrait of the people of Compton that exalts the elements...
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"Nashville" Season 3's Highs and Lows
The third season of ABC's "Nashville" ended last night. We have some hyper-devoted fans of the show on staff at Pitchfork, and a few of them gathered their thoughts on this season and predictions for...
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