Latest

The End of Julia - Sunday Driver

Here's about what we know for sure: The End of Julia were a four piece emo band from Tyler, Texas. Tyler is named for former president John Tyler, and is colloquially known as the "Rose Capital of America" for boasting the largest rose garden in the

Flotsam and Jetsam: John Mulaney

I turned 30 a few weekends back. The new decade started with a hangover (as did the previous decade). But by sheer happenstance, the preeminent comedian of our time delivered yours truly a little birthday gift. John Mulaney posted a Spotify playlist of the music he plays in his office

Flotsam and Jetsam: Feb 25, 2025

First off, as you can probably imagine from the domain name, I bought Liz Pelly's excellent book Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist and I absolutely devoured it. It's been extremely heartening to see the discourse and public perception

Restoring the Feeling

In 1960 Nico Jacobellis was managing a movie theater in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, when he decided to program a showing of Louis Malle's second feature Les Amants, or "The Lovers." The film featured a sex scene that, while quite tame by modern standards, ruffled enough feathers

Mark Baldwin of Lovecup

I suppose it's only proper to start with Hum. That's how I got here, after all, and how I imagine many others did, too. Before the proliferation (and, let's be honest, current oversaturation) of bands calling themselves "grungegaze," Hum were one of

Dave Hofer of DuPage County Hardcore

Dave Hofer has lived a few lives. A suburban punk turned product buyer at Chicago’s esteemed Reckless Records, he spent a brief stint as a music journalist and currently works as an archivist at the city’s Art Institute. In his spare time Hofer runs DuPage County Hardcore, a

Presents for Sally "And Then It Was Gone"

There's beauty in transience. It's old hat at this point, the idea that life has meaning because it eventually ends. I didn't rewatch all six seasons of Lost in a depressive spiral to not carry forth a renewed appreciation for the fragility of existence.

Cindy Lee - Diamond Jubilee

I'm pretty sure Meaghan Garvey was the first person I saw post the link. You know the one: cartoon woman superimposed over a grain elevator, two hours and change, no demarcations. If you've made it here you probably even clicked it yourself--if not, take a minute:

Heavy Drifting

You could walk the town I grew up in from end to end in roughly 45 minutes. I rarely had to go that far--most of my friends lived within 20. The building that housed both the middle and high school was closer to 17 minutes away; I walked there and

Juicy J "Name It After Me / Outro (feat. Frayser Boy)"

The thing you have to understand is that the Oscar wasn't guaranteed. The first rap song to win the award was "Lose Yourself" in 2002, in the midst of Eminem's imperial phase, written by the best-selling rapper of all time for a loosely adapted

Memphis Halloween Mix

In the waning weeks of 2019, right around the time I forgot to cancel a free week-long trial of Shudder after I’d signed up to watch One Cut of the Dead, I started poking around the strange world of 90s Memphis rap. This dovetailed rather nicely with a newfound

Uncle Rich (1963 - 2023)

Some of my first memories with my Uncle Rich are of his car. When I was growing up on Long Island he would drive down from Philadelphia in a mustard-yellow sedan–outfitted with more stereo equipment than most people ever put in a home in their lifetime–to “crank tunes.

Steve Hiett "Never Find a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)"

In the early 1960s, Steve Hiett was studying at the Royal College of Art in London when his friend Dave called him up. Dave knew a band called The Pretty Things who had a gig that night and whose guitar player had fallen ill; he also knew Hiett played the

Textasy "Hot '94 Summer Megamix"

For roughly three weeks now in New York City, the temperature has hovered around 87 degrees Fahrenheit. You wouldn't say it's unseasonably humid--this is plenty seasonable--but it's unbearable nevertheless. The city's denizens crank the A/C, break out the fans, and glumly