Music Musings Category

Writtalin recently brought you 5 Rock Bands Who Peaked Way Too Early. Today, we bring you five bands Rivers Cuomo could take a few lessons from. These are bands that might have started out with an awesome sound, but still found a way to get better with age. This is rare, because fame, money, and drugs eat rock bands for breakfast. Led Zeppelin ended their reign with Presence, In Through the Out Door and Coda. Great current bands like Queens of the Stone Age can’t find an extra gear to eclipseRead More

As an artist, when people ask me about my influence and I say “Radiohead” they’ll either leave it at that – for fear of ensuing snobbery – or launch into a full on debate over the use of row boats in “Pyramid Song.” Appreciation surrounding the band is complex, but Radiohead’s my favorite band simply because no other group has made me appreciate music in such a meaningful way. It’s peculiar being a Radiohead fan, because we’re a marginal step away from a cult, and love to bicker at one anotherRead More

Some music groups evolve and get better with every single album they put out. However, other groups start out hot…and then regress for the rest of their musical careers. Here are five bands who started out with all sorts of promise, only to get mired in mediocrity.   #5 – The Killers Sometimes a band tries SO hard to evolve and experiment and grow that they find themselves instead regressing and devolving. Such is the case with the Killers. After breaking into the mainstream with 2004’s multi-platinum Hot Fuss, theRead More

Wanting something that isn’t real. Reaching for someone as they walk away. Looking for something you can never find. These are the dire themes of Lost in the Dream, arguably the best album released thus far in 2014. In the most concrete sense, Lost in the Dream is about The War on Drugs bandleader Adam Granduciel cruising Philadelphia’s midnight streets while mourning a relationship. He’s broken up, but he hasn’t moved on. He can’t figure out why things went wrong, because the more he searches for truth the further awayRead More

Lana Del Rey, even with her melancholy vocals and brooding melodies, is far from epitomizing what being sad really is. If for whatever reason you’re having a rough start to your summer, here are ten of the saddest songs ever written to send you deeper into your dark place.     #10: Modest Mouse – “Little Motel” Whether you interpret “Little Motel” as referring to a divorce, a disintegrating relationship, or even the loss of a loved one, there is nothing happy about this track. Isaac Brock’s subtle vocals overRead More

Ahhh summer, the time of year when new music blossoms just as the flowers do. Here are my Top 5 Artists to look out for this summer:   Sia   Sia isn’t exactly an unknown artist. She has written hit songs for artists such as Katy Perry, Rihanna and Beyonce. However, after the success of her featured vocals on hits such as Titanium and Wild Ones it is no surprise that she would attempt mainstream success herself. Recently, Sia released the lead single off her new album “Chandelier” which has alreadyRead More

Streetz 94.5: You’ve been spendin’ all your life livin’ in a gangsta’s paradise. You’re a hoodrat with a dark past and you’ve done some things you’re not proud of, like listen to a T-Pain song every once in a while. You’re the slightly more underground version of Hot 107.9, meaning you’re the underdog but you’re on the come up. I respect your hustle. V-103: You’re smoother than a baby’s bottom stuffed in a tiny velour track suit. You’ve got the moves that make all the ladies swoon, and the fact thatRead More

“Harmoneeeee and Meeeeee, we’re pretty good companeeeeee” might have been Elton John’s best rhyme. Honestly, if you listen to a lot of Elton John, you might realize that not many of his songs rhyme. When you try to sing one of his hit songs for yourself, it comes out with none of the angelic strut that Sir Elton just belted. And you wonder why this is.  Well, it might be because Sir Elton is one of the greatest masters of vocal range of all time. An you’re not. Years agoRead More

Does it seem like there’s been more and more commercial encroachment on your life?  It should.  The average American consumes about 11 hours and 52 minutes of media every day – a number that includes digital formats, radio, and print, as well as TV – up a staggering 66 minutes since 2010.  All that time gives advertisers more opportunities to take a stab at you, whether you’re relaxing in front of the boob tube, catching up on Hulu or reading articles on your favorite site (see: Writtalin).  We live underRead More

No working musician today seems less concerned about the changing landscape of rock and roll than Jack White.  On June 10th the eclectic singer-songwriter will drop his sophomore solo album Lazaretto, yet another collection of fuck-you rock and Southern sensibility that we’ve come to expect since he and Meg burst onto the scene thirteen years ago with White Blood Cells.  We’ve already gotten a taste of what’s to come with the ferociously gritty title track and the Icky Thump-esque instrumental “High Ball Stepper.”  Bent on teasing us further, White justRead More

I’ve honestly been thinking about writing this list for a while because I love rappers, and while most of my friends and probably a good chunk of the internet think I’m just some big groupie, I don’t want to hook up with every black guy with a mixtape or a Soundcloud profile, I swear! And in order to prove that to you, I’ve come up with a list of my top 5 rappers I’d love to kick it with in a totally platonic and not at all sexual way.  Read More

When it comes to your favorite musical artist, or I guess just any celebrity in general, there’s a fine line between being a fan and being a Stan. Between fandom and Standom, between fanaticism and Stan-aticism, between…you get the idea. In case you don’t know what a Stan is, I will kindly direct you to this Eminem song: Um, so yeah. I am kind of a Stan for one music artist in particular. Although I’m not gonna tell you who it is so as to protect my integrity, I willRead More

The first time I saw Odesza, it was completely by accident. I stood in line at the coat check at Mezzanine, a smallish venue tucked away in the SOMA district of San Francisco, as they opened for Emancipator. I had no idea that this was their first-ever show in this city, as my friend and I remarked, “Wait…I really like this!” It was the kind of upbeat, laid-back electronic sound that perfectly emulates how you want to feel 24/7. Walking out of the venue later that night, we happened toRead More

I started listening to rap when I started going out in college, and that was what they played at frat parties. (Never mind that at the time I thought “Lazers” and “I’m on a Boat” counted as real rap, but I’ve come a long way since then…I hope). Sometimes, as an extremely naive white girl, it’s hard to be into rap. I try to identify as much as I can, but once ScHoolboy Q starts talking about things like “selling crack” and “having a daughter,” he loses me. Cue theRead More

However, for those of you purists out there, great rock n’ roll music is still out there for those of us who are willing to seek it out. In fact, in my humble opinion, there are several contemporary bands that are churning out some of the best rock music ever produced. The improvements in technology over the last few decades has led to lots of watered-down, autotuned nonsense, but it has also improved the sound of rock music. Without further ado, here are five bands that can still rock outRead More