The 10 Best R.E.M. Albums
R.E.M.’s career falls into three periods: the underground I.R.S. Records years, the Warner Bros. “wonder years”, and the post-Bill Berry output.
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The 100 Best Alternative Singles of the 1980s: 80 – 61
Just imagine songs this extreme making the American Top 40, let alone the Top 10… unthinkable.
The 20 Essential Pavement Songs
This stroll down memory lane’s shady lane only underscores how a collection of Stephen Malkmus’ sharpest turns-of-phrase comes off like a veritable Bartlett’s Famous Quotations for the Gen X indie set.
The Annotated Guide to the Music Videos of Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’
With The Bends Radiohead left an impressive music video legacy, one that would extend to later masterpieces such as OK Computer.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ Mirrors Another Kind of American Civil War
In the Russo Brothers' Captain America: Civil War, friend turns on friend, and no easy resolution is reached. It's rather like the toxic online fan culture that followed the film's release.
The 20 Best Episodes of ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’
This is a timeless list of 20 thrilling Star Trek episodes that delight, excite, and entertain, all the while exploring the deepest aspects of the human condition and questioning our place in the universe.
20 Hits of the ’80s You Might Not Have Known Are Covers
There were many hit cover versions in the '80s, some of well-known originals, and some that fans may be surprised are covers.
The 2020 Grammy Awards Didn’t Chase the Dark Clouds Away
In 2019, a spotlight on queer musicians and fast-paced broadcast made the Grammys have some real cultural relevance. Its 2020 edition, clouded by tragedy, scandal, and bloat, only served to remind us why award shows are so problematic.
Music As Control: Phase Fatale on ‘Scanning Backwards’
Berlin-based techno producer, Phase Fatale discusses how music can operate as a means of control and how technology has entered the most intimate of human affairs.
Tipping the Swear Jar: How mewithoutYou Used the F-Bomb to Say More Than the F-Word
Lyricist Aaron Weiss of post-punk Christian band mewithoutyou used the F-word in a song and it got banned from radio and the album got pulled from record stores. Meanwhile, his fans ponder his parodying of cultural mores.
‘Switched on Pop’ Schools the Academy
The first book from Switched on Pop hosts Charlie Harding and Nate Sloan leans into the podcast's academic tendencies, as it makes the case for music fans to take all music a bit more seriously.