Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I like the uptempo re-imagining of the original song, and the simple trick of pushing the chorus melody back by three 8th notes creates something that feels emotionally completely different from the original. That's not something that can work for every song, so props to Skrillex and the gang for finding it here.

The power of the original song was always in how minimal it presented itself, and while this take isn't exactly maximalist, it ... read more

Praying the people who make TikTok music never hear the last 15 seconds of this because they will use it to make the most annoying sound imaginable.

I first heard "Watch Me" as part of the the eight bonus tracks from the 2006 reissue of Crying Laughing Loving Lying, and while nearly all the bonus tracks meet or even surpass the caliber of the original record, this song grabbed my attention for how it stuck out not just in Siffre's catalog, but also in the mainstream musical ... read more

A therapist once told me the snake bite analogy while I was venting about a nasty breakup. The idea is to imagine you're wandering through a forest when suddenly a venomous snake bites you and slithers away. The first thing you'd want to do is treat the wound and prioritize healing; you wouldn't go after the snake to ask why it bit you or explain why you shouldn't have been bit, right? Right?

To me, "I'll Change For You" is the embodiment of running after the ... read more

A few weeks ago I was at Syracuse University and saw on a big screen in their student union that their spring show headliner was going to be Big Time Rush. Looking around the room, I wondered how many of the undergraduates would even remember who that band was. To appreciate Big Time Rush in their prime, you would probably need to be born somewhere in that zillennial gray area from the late 1990s or early 2000s, so even current college seniors probably have, at best, only a faint recollection ... read more

~~~preamble ahead of the single review~~~

It's disappointing but not surprising to see how many people came to the comments of this single and its related news article not to talk about the music, but rather to re-litigate Noname's past behavior for the 300th time. Yes, she let Jay Electronica put an antisemitic verse on her 2023 song "Balloons," then tried to distance herself from it in a pretty callous and disingenuous way. Yes, she also had some bad tweets in 2019 ... read more

It’s amazing to think how eight years ago the phrase “Lemonade for British white women” would have seemed pejorative, but now feels like high praise. It’s also the easiest descriptor of Lily Allen’s new record, West End Girl, an unexpected artistic statement on infidelity, loneliness and addiction from an artist who has seen and done all three in spades. It’s a stunning concept record that draws heavily on the crumbling of Allen’s relationship with ... read more

Ok, so the circuit gay aesthetic pivot was a little predictable for our newly out of the closet Khalid, but it's hard to be mad about it when it comes with a much-needed artistic elevation for the singer.

Partnering with Darkchild (whose earlier production work with Whitney Houston and Brandy clearly influenced this song's vocal arrangement), Khalid delivers his most enjoyable single in years. The understated but sexually charged atmosphere of the beat plays to his vocal strengths, ... read more

Andrew Barret Cox produces some of the better original songs contestants bring to the talent show challenge on RuPaul's Drag Race, but I'm already noticing some economical melody writing at play with this song's verse melody being nearly identical to the song Cox produced for Crystal Envy this year (which itself already sounds like a knockoff of Jessie J's "Bang Bang").

I actually quite like Jantasy, but a few production and performance aspects are bogging it ... read more

writing an artsy little song about your husband being sexually abusive does not take the place of picking up the phone when the police call you about him doing it to a different woman

The only problem with this song is that there is a finite number of times that I can listen to it in my lifetime!!!!!!!!!!

Truly I don't think any other song has captured that feeling of finally pulling the plug on someone who has been draining your energy with no reciprocity. The way it begins with sunny R&B only for the storm clouds to gradually peak into the mix is so good.

Do intend to write a full review but my immediate thoughts are that she is back in full swing, baby. Her ear for melodicism is still really strong amidst all the chaos and the even heavier reliance on vocal polyphony and harmony on songs like "Earth Eater" and "Believing is Seeing" sound really great. She was my all-time favorite artist in college (and still my most-listened to artist of all time, according to Last.fm), so I will obviously have a bias in her favor, but truly ... read more

"If you come from Germany or you come from France, the meaning of soca is ‘get up and dance,’ baby!"

I’ve actually been part of a steelpan ensemble for the past year and have just been having a really good time exploring the music of Trinidad and Tobago. Of the classic calypsonians, Shadow (aka Mighty Shadow, real name Winston Bailey) was an immediate favorite to me for his over-the-top vocal deliveries and exuberant energy. I wanted to highlight this record ... read more

I like that in the video we see plenty of Maluma checking out women, grinding up on women, whispering seductively into the ears of women, but Ricky is kinda just rendered an asexual partygoer. The director won't give him the hetero treatment because they know it would be contrived, but they also won't **go there** and show him dancing with some chiseled man. Classic 2016 behavior.

Love the song!!

Coming to this song (which she wrote following the Pulse nightclub shooting) in the wake of Colorado Springs, and the message still rings sadly true. "Run away with me in July, to the same place and be ourselves In the ashes of the aftermath, pray" she sings at the beginning. "Being yourself" seems to still be such a tall order for queer people, and one that invites violence upon them. Six years on, the bigotry and violence continues; the importance of singing these songs ... read more

I think what she's doing for this record is starting to click for me. The lyrics here definitely lean on the esoteric and I don't blame anyone who misses the snark of her Beware of the Dogs writing, but I do appreciate her going in this more emotional, sensitive direction, especially with a hook as beautiful as this one. This feels like having a dream of walking around your hometown as it's been submerged. Keep it up!

Since you all spent all of 2021 dragging my girl Olivia for sounding like Misery Business you better drag this for sounding like Celebrity Skin!!!

The chorus and bridge are both pretty good and somewhat redeem the song but it's still fairly middle of the road to me. Demi has said this album will be heavier sonically too, but so far I'm feeling like that will happen on other songs because instrumentally this pretty much sounds like it could be on Don't Forget.

Hoping they find the words of ... read more

She was one of the first artists I really stanned, and her first four albums really do still hold up (I felt so vindicated when all of you came around to acknowledging that /\/\ /\ Y /\ is good actually), but since 2016 it just feels like she's completely lost the ability to make a good song. Every track is so short, so uninspired, and her lyrics (which were always wonky in places) have just completely gone off the deep end. As a lead single (or even just a teaser) this is a huge ... read more

Decent return - a more euphoric take on the atmosphere of "I Blame Myself." While 2019's "Downhill Lullaby" presented a much more despondent, brooding Sky, this single seems to pick up right where Night Time My Time left off with bright synthesizers and guitars (including a pretty gnarly riff on the verses). Lyrically, she sings of reclaiming her autonomy and narrative in shark-infested waters ("No one here's a friend of mine"), and I think many of us can identify. ... read more

The AUDACITY to end this with 3 minutes of ambient noise when this album is already so short.

Unfortunately, this is another underwhelming record from Lykke. There are a few moments that I really love, like the beautiful wild synthesizer progressions of "Carousel" or the chugging of "Over," but the lack of development that plagues her previous two albums continues to be the biggest fault here. Sonically, this is the album I thought I Never Learn was going to be based on ... read more

Track by Track Review:

1. Cannonball - Admittedly sick opener. I stand by that I immediately got transported to 2000s myspace when she suddenly goes MSI on the verse. I saw a review calling that hyperpop but tbh these kinds of genre fusions existed back in the 00s. Put a guitar and electronic percussion on the same track and people lose their marbles I guess. Only flaws of the track are the corny "are you ready are you ready" parts and there seems to be an extra beat right at 2:11 ... read more