Elvea – The Story of “Breathing Underwater”
Elvea is one of those musicians who’s definitely an artist, in the fullest sense of the word. I mean that she’s a creator to the core. But I also mean it in the first, more literal sense, too – like, she’s a painter. With music. Something in the sounds she chooses evokes painting to me. There’s […]
The Beauty of “Praying”
There are some people in this world who I really don’t care for. It’s natural. When I was in 7th grade, I had the door of a locker room bathroom stall kicked open on me (I was using it, obviously). It was an honest mistake (the guy explained he’d been TRYING to bully a kid who […]
Tyson Motsenbocker – The Story of “Memphis”
I’m not good with change. I think that’s why I like Tyson Motsenbocker’s music. Tyson, by proof of his songs and his own admission, is also a person who struggles with change. He’s had to deal with it in profound ways; he lost his mom to cancer, and a lot of his available material is centered around that experience, on […]
The Genius of “Castle on the Hill” Is in the Details
If you read the articles I write for this website, or if you’re going to start reading these articles religiously after being blown away by the inescapable genius (and occasional delusions of grandeur) contained here within, then it’s going to become pretty apparent to you that I love Ed Sheeran. It’s just a fact. I […]
Simeon Ross – The Story of “Arise”
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a moody rock song. For all of the feel-good music I listen to (and as I try to hurry spring into existence, there’s a lot of it), so many of the songs that actually make me feel the best are the ones that make commiseration easy. Commiserative songs are the ones that invite you […]
Valley – The Story of “Swim”
There are a lot of indie bands out there. When I’m bored, I’ll go through a million layers of “related artists” on Spotify, hoping to find one that sticks out in a long, often unfruitful search. I found Valley during one of these searches. Anytime I find a small indie act with a few hundred […]
“Like I’m Gonna Lose You” and the Magic of 12/8 Time
Meghan Trainor got old fast, didn’t she? Not like “gosh, all her teeth fell out” old, I mean like “okay, it was cute for a while, but I’m just honestly pretty tired of your music” old. “All About That Bass” went from endearing to annoying pretty quick (sometime around the 341st time you heard it). […]
Garden City – The Story of “Where You Are”
Garden City makes one-take videos that are packed with honesty and heart. Full disclosure: I met Dan and Joel (the pair behind Garden City) in college. And, like literally everyone else who was on our small Grove City campus during that time, I’ve been waiting for them to finally make more music together. They’ve been living 2,000 miles […]
With “Body Like a Back Road,” Sam Hunt Gives Us a Road Everyone Wants to Drive Down
Sometimes, things are just too popular to like. There’s no mystique in having Bud Light be your favorite beer, or in rooting for Lebron James. It’s easy to dismiss truly great things (talking about Lebron here, no Bud Light) simply because they are popular, which is just as stupid as only liking something because it’s […]
*repeat repeat – The Story of “Girlfriend”
I can’t surf. *repeat repeat makes me wish I could. It’s that kind of music. This band is groovy. And smartly self-aware. From what I’ve seen, those qualities seem to be essential to writing super catchy “dumb little love songs,” which is the term Jared (lead vocalist and main writer) uses to describe the band’s single “Girlfriend” […]
