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Brown Eyed Man
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 dubbed (and for good reason), sings at most…
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Squirrelly Flow
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 music video though—nay, this is Bieber’s…
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“Marry Me” St. Vincent
When Pitchfork asked Annie Clark, better known by her stage name St. Vincent, how she celebrated winning a Grammy for her self-titled album St. Vincent, she responded, “I just took a shower. [Laughs.] I’m having a coffee with cocoa.”
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“Well, Daring, I Can’t Go—”
Joanna Newsom must be the most enigmatically fascinating figure in indie music today. Though she’s shrouded in a barely-tangible sense of cultured innocence—her closeness with her astrophysicist and musician siblings, her compositions and lyricism refined by academia yet bejeweled with joy—she’s ended up working with some of the most formidably famous people in the business…
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Z A C H C O H E N & HIS DEAD PETZ
Imagining life in college through Miley’s wild career changes.
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Remembering Dre
Brian introduced me to rap music on bus #177 in what I think was fourth grade. I know it was 177 and not 181 or 161 because this memory is accompanied by a host of other unique sensory inputs: the distinct smoky smell of the beloved driver Larry that wafted throughout the bus; the smooth…
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Cosmic Vibes & Forgotten Lives
“What is a memory? What launched the study of memory? How can our knowledge of memory serve us in the future?”
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Epileptic Unicorns
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.
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Mixed Feelings, to Music
Bombay bicycle club is one of scores of bands with a slightly ridiculous name that falls loosely into the category of “alternative,” and can be counted on to release albums frequently with subdued critical approval. This group, like its Pitchfork-friendly peers, has a healthy fan-base, instrumental competency, and a distinctive lead vocalist, but falls through…