I, like Kanye West, take great pleasure in talking about Kanye West. The brilliantly talented, ubiquitous egomaniac is a dual force of unbelievable music and even less believable controversy. Ye’s lyrics are witty, provocative, and complex, sometimes even bordering on academic (perhaps appropriate for an artist whose early career ...

In 1998 the hip-hop community was reeling from the mysterious and tragic murders of two of its biggest, and most beloved, stars: Tupac and Biggie. Questions swirled around their deaths, the role of rap in their killings, and the future of hip-hop itself. It was into this chaotic uncertainty that ...

Every self-respecting college student music snob wants to be that guy who listens to the really cool, trendy music. From the obscure, underground bands from your hometown to any hipster-ish band with the word “Crystal” in its title, there is a sense of self worth that comes with finding that ...

Since J. Cole already has two signature songs entitled “Dollar and a Dream,” on one level it makes sense that the first real song on his debut album is called “Dollar and a Dream III.” On another, it introduces an immediate existential crisis for any mathematically inclined listener: by this ...

If you have never heard Van Morrison’s yearning, keening voice—its blues and jazzy swag , the way it stretches words into birds that fly you to heaven, its worn beauty—well, then, you’ve never heard it. But I bet you have; Van the Man, as he is often ...

Lady Gaga’s new music video tries really, really hard to jump on the current 1980s revival but it’s the worst kind of awkward sci-fi. The whole thing feels clunky, overdone, and manages to make orgies seem lame. Three strikes and you’re out.

In classic Radiohead fashion, the quirky quartet have kept quite mum in the face of an absolute tsunami of questions about The King and his Limbs. To sort out the shit from shinola, I’m gonna get right into it and do my honest best to clear up some of the main questions surrounding the release.

Advertisers described it as “an Aquarian Exposition.” The New York Daily News’ early coverage headlined it “Hippies Mired in a Sea of Mud.” Today, Wikipedia calls it “one of the greatest and most pivotal moments in popular music history.” Conservapedia (in the interest of fair and balanced reporting) describes the ...

I am not entirely sure that Kanye West knows how a phoenix works. He does, however, know how to make a gorgeous, self-indulgent, gorgeously self-indulgent piece of art.

Justin Bieber “is white,” and boy does he wants us to know. In case we weren’t already aware of the demographic categories he falls under (Caucasian, pubescent), he is kind enough to remind us at the very end of his new video, “Speaking in Tongues.” This is no ordinary ...

Examining Die Antwoord’s new video “Evil Boy,” it seems more meaningful and efficient to list all the non-phallic imagery:

Bradford Cox has always reminded me of Bean, that tiny, brainy kid from Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game book series. For the non-nerds among you, Bean is the smartest, and smallest, of a group of preadolescents who are trying to take over a futuristic version of our universe ...

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