Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Opus Remains Powerful and Prescient
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor reminds us that sometimes the most powerful protest is (nearly) wordless.
All Things Reconsidered
If You Love Her, Let Her Know: How Olivia Newton-John Became a Country Star
Olivia Newton-John’s chart-topping 1974 album remains a touchstone for 1970s culture, bringing the best of country music into mainstream pop.
Pretty When She Cries: Lana Del Rey’s ‘Ultraviolence’ at 10
Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence used rock to kickstart a new career direction that culminated in autobiographical work without spoiling the mystery of her persona.
Songs: Ohia’s ‘Magnolia Electric Co.’ Remains a Dark Triumph
Songs: Ohia’s Magnolia Electric Co. remains a dark triumph in the face of adversity. It was the turning point and apex of Jason Molina’s brief life and career.
The Dark Beauty of Alice In Chains’ ‘Jar of Flies’
Unplanned and unprepared, when Alice in Chains recorded Jar of Flies‘ catchy songs on the fly, they created some of their career’s darkest yet warmest music of their career.
A Dreamer of Pictures: Neil Young’s ‘Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere’ at 55
Alternating brooding rock anthems with ragged country-rock, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere set Neil Young on a musical quest that continues 55 years later.
The Killers’ ‘Hot Fuss’ 20 Years On: A Layered Hit That Still Slays
The Killers’ Hot Fuss is made for the hips and heart, not the brains. Their best tunes are eminently digestible, meant to have you vibrating from the first few bars.
Exiting the Comma: On Liminality and Redemption in Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas
In Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas, Travis is adrift, caught in the comma between the liminal ‘Paris’ and the redemptive ‘Texas’, between lost futures and the impermeable present.
Wilco’s ‘A Ghost Is Born’ Marked an End to Their Greatest Era
A Ghost Is Born was Wilco’s fearless attempt to surpass ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ and move beyond the narrative that could have defined the band.
Phish Loaded Up on Guest Stars for ‘Hoist’ 30 Years Ago
Phish’s Hoist was their fifth LP and they were in the mood to try new things. Consequently, it felt like their version of a big commercial swing.
A Reflective Hauntology: On the 2024 Reissue of Manic Street Preachers’ ‘Lifeblood’
Manic Street Preachers’ oeuvre indicates that one can only keep preaching manically if one lets oneself be haunted by the past to show the cracks in capitalist realism.
“Bee” Here Now: Guided By Voices and 1994’s ‘Bee Thousand’
Guided By Voices emerged from their Dayton, Ohio basement and launched into indie rock on their own terms with the endlessly weird and inspiring Bee Thousand.