“Scorpio” by Emma Charles Embodies Sonic Mysticism
I’m an Aries, evidently. I was born on April 3rd, which means, if the seers and soothsayers over at astrology.com are correct, that I’m a “leader of the pack”, impulsive and blunt. Aries is a fire sign, like Leo and Sagittarius, and it’s ruled by Mars, the red planet named after the Roman god of […]
“Conspiracy of Silence” and the Puzzle of Alternative Pop
At the risk of sounding like a fake-deep music major, it’s worth talking about how to define pop, and by extension alternative pop. Pop is, broadly, whatever music is popular at a given moment, but in terms of genre, it defines catchy, mainstream-courting music with hooks and choruses and everything you’d read in a How […]
A Closer Look at “Beyond the View” by Rising Songwriter, Chance Pena
The career of a contestant on a televised singing competition isn’t quite what it used to be, mostly because the pop landscape has changed so drastically since the rise of American Idol. An Idol win used to guarantee at least one number-one hit, thanks to the mass-promoting machinations of the music industry. But in this […]
Jordan Mackampa Shows Us Where Soul Counts – “What Am I”
I don’t need to tell you about the state of the world. You know all about it already. You know about the bloated pig carcass running America, the smiling iron fist running China, the KGB thug running Russia. You know about the climate crisis, worsening by the day, to the point where even the most […]
Discussing the Aimless Angst of “Emiko” by Tom West
Emiko by Tom West The voice is perhaps the most important tool a folk singer has. If it’s particularly beautiful, it can be the main attraction, as with Bon Iver’s gossamer falsetto or Vashti Bunyan’s break-of-dawn coo. An unusual voice can become part of the artist’s identity; Bob Dylan is an obvious example, but […]
Remembering Songwriting Pioneer, Daniel Johnston
It’s tempting to follow easy narratives when you talk about Daniel Johnston. The underground singer-songwriter, who passed away at the age of 58 on September 10th, was a brilliant but troubled musician whose work was unorthodox and sometimes primitive, a familiar archetype to anyone who knows about Brian Wilson or Syd Barrett. He rose to […]
Dark, Contemplative, and Outside the Lines – “Teach Me” by Citizens
Some of the greatest music, not just of the past century but of all time, is derived from Christianity. Hymns written hundreds of years ago still have the power to bring a tear to a listener’s eye. Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, one of the most famous pieces of music in history, is an exaltation […]
Split Screens Drops “Back Again” from Upcoming EP
There’s always been something fundamentally dreamy about the sound of a steel guitar; the silvery gleam of its tone, the graceful swoon as it slides from one note to the next. It’s that dreaminess that makes it such a useful and versatile instrument for the skilled songwriter, able to evoke all sorts of emotions […]
