It is 2016 and I am discovering a wealth of island funk through a compilation put out by a boutique German record label. That’s not a fact that is useful from a critical perspective, but on a personal level I can’t stop thinking about it. Had you told me when I was a child living […]
Hella Personal Film Festival is a Standout Work in Both Open Mike Eagle and Paul White’s Careers
The biggest complaint about the weird, abstract California indie hip hop scene is that it’s way too fucking obtuse and heady, forfeiting swagger in favor of a constant pursuit of higher word counts and more jarring cadences. I never really agreed with the assessment of the scene as difficult and unwieldy but I could understand […]
Martis Unruly’s Distant is Queasy Music for Subterraneans
Early on in Distant, Martis Unruly sleepily declares “I look like I’m pissed off/Yet I feel so positive,” the removed tone of the statement jutting up against both the words and the poppy, dystopic “Hollaback Girl” beat. The question posed by that juxtaposition is a classic unreliable narrator dilemma: do we believe Martis’ words? do we believe […]
Sound Chasers: The Persistence of Progressive Rock
Just a couple of weeks ago we lost David Bowie, one of the last iconic rock stars and a tireless musical innovator. Throughout dozens of albums, Bowie melted and bent pop music into sometimes unrecognizable but mostly delightful and always interesting shapes. His was a high-profile death, and he leaves a glowering void in his […]
In Memory of David Bowie: 7 Artists Who Made Great Art in Their Final Days
Just over a week ago, we were celebrating the arrival of new David Bowie album Blackstar (on his birthday no less) and its accompanying music videos. Now, Bowie is no longer with us, having passed away on January 10, 2015. To the public, his death came as a devastating shock, as Bowie and those close […]
The Best K-Pop of 2015
Another year, another thousand K-Pop videos for Western viewers to sift through and oggle at. I’d like to apologize in advance if your fav isn’t on this (totally subjective and probably arbitrary) list, but check out this playlist with other songs and videos I liked this year including some excellent album tracks (I restricted this […]
B-Sides the Point: Mclusky “No Covers”
B-Sides the Point is a space for Loser City writers to pontificate on some of their favorite B-sides, tracks that frequently go unnoticed in band’s ouevres but nonetheless sometimes say more about them than their A-side. Up first is “No Covers,” the closing track on Mclusky’s “To Hell with Good Intentions” single, released by Too […]
Wimps’ Suitcase is an Album of Adult Problems Punk
We generally think of punk as a youthful genre, its politics and frustrations so frequently rooted in a young person’s black and white view of the world. Punk bands that don’t burn out pretty quickly lose their rep and become jokes, sad has-beens never maturing, rolled out for tragic Warped Tour appearances. That’s not how […]
Uninvited Guest: An Interview with Michete
At a time when a new crop of queer rappers and producers are beginning to threaten hip-hop’s heteronormative, queerphobic status quo, Washington-based rapper Michete seems to stand apart. Her debut EP Cool Tricks discards the avant-garde, high-art signifiers of her peer’s music in favor of intentionally chintzy beats and rhymes that seethe with rage and […]
Dare to Be Stupid: Michete’s Cool Tricks Embraces Qrappy Rap
At first glance, 22 year old transfeminine rapper Michete (who has no particular preference re: pronouns) reads as a novelty act. From the chintzy beats to the low-production value videos to the litany of pop culture references, whether or not Michete means business isn’t entirely clear. But that all gets cleared up toward the end […]
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