Retrospective Review: On “Deep Six Textbook”, Let’s Eat Grandma Toss The Rulebook Overboard
It’s October 18, 2016. Later…with Jools Holland is set to air its weekly mix of live performances by both iconic and up-and-comers on the international music scene. Tonight, squeezed between KT Tunstall and The Temptations (of “My Girl” and “Papa was a Rolling Stone” fame,) it seems that somebody left the back door open and […]
Retrospective Review: Ben Howard’s “The End of the Affair”
It’s 2013 and Ben Howard is bathing in light. Not necessarily the sunlight that falls like a warm blanket over his seaside town of Devon, England, but in light nonetheless. His first full-length offering, Every Kingdom (Island Records, 2011), has exceeded expectations across the industry, delighting critics, his label, awards panels, and most importantly, Howard […]
Retrospective Review: Tool’s “Not All Therapists Wear Suits”
20th-century psychoanalyst Carl Jung was the first to explore the ‘inner child’ theory and its impact on the development of the adult psyche. While some of his work remains controversial, there exists almost a century of support of his inner child theory within the world of psychoanalysis. According to Jung, every thought, action, and reaction […]
Retrospective Review: Perfume Genius’ “Run Me Through” is an Exercise in Embracing Your Shadow
What does an artist do when they find themselves instinctively and primally attracted to the same toxic masculinity that their culture is so passionately rallying against? Well, if you’re Mike Hadreas, aka. Perfume Genius, you embrace it and write a song about it. Carl Jung pioneered the theory of the ‘shadow self’, claiming that no […]
“Pressure Point” by Jordana : An Anti-Anxiety Anthem
In “Pressure Point,” Jordana embodies the pep talk that every anxious thinker has to give themselves when they start to lose control. It’s a song I can listen to in the middle of a panic attack and feel like I’m going to be okay. From start to finish, Jordana creates a grounding listening experience that […]
Banshee Beat: The Ten Best Songs by Animal Collective
In 2000, a curious little album picked up modest acclaim: a psychedelic oddity with faded storybook album art and an aura of childhood innocence, eerily distorted. It was called Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished, and it was released by two stoners from Maryland named Dave Portner and Noah Lennox, also known as Avey Tare […]
Retrospective Review: “I Trawl the Megahertz” by Paddy McAloon
Before we begin, I want you to keep this song’s title in the back of your mind. “I Trawl the Megahertz.” It’s the kind of odd, striking title that rolls around in your mind for a while before you even listen to the song itself. Maybe you’ve heard the words “trawl” (dragging nets through water […]
Two Story Melody’s Favorite Songs of 2021
2021 was better than 2020. There were, of course, a litany of disappointments. For a moment, the pandemic seemed like it might have been vaccinated into submission, but it struck back with two absurdly contagious variants. This was made possible by an ecosystem of far-right misinformation, which encouraged millions to offer a hearty “let’s go […]
Shaken-Up: The Top Ten Songs by The Knife
On the tour for Shaking the Habitual, their fourth and apparently final album, The Knife were not The Knife. Rather, The Knife were not just The Knife. There were about a dozen performers on stage at any given time, and while Karin and Olof Dreijer were two of those performers, it was unclear which two. […]
Contrary to its Name, “Ridicule” by An Triangles Deserves Praise
Boston-based indie rocker Doug Poppe, going by the moniker An Triangles, is prepping to release his debut album Triangular Life in 2022. The first single off the album, the pop/punk track “Ridicule” arrives on December 3rd. “Ridicule” is a unique beast. In one sense, it is a back-to-basics rock song. There’s lots of raw distortion […]
