"You are a human being and you deserve this." So intones saxophonist Justin Comer before kicking off a performance...a live performance...a live jazz performance...a live experimental jazz performance...a live experimental jazz performance in Iowa City this past spring, as part of ensemble BCJsPs. “Thanks,
While visiting the Frogtown Flea Market recently, I found myself sitting outside at Zebulon, sipping a delicious Diet Coke and scrolling through Zebulon's upcoming show calendar to see if anything looked groovy. One promo photo stopped me in my tracks: it was of The Side Eyes, a band
Going to the beach is one of the best things in life. My ideal beach strategy in NYC involved packing snacks (some combination of healthy [hummus/vegetables, or simply some fruits] and unhealthy [sea salt kettle chips for a meta flavour experience]) and a flask of vodka, going to Coney
I moved to Los Angeles five weeks ago, and I still kind of can't believe it. I am a New York City garbage weed that has been transplanted into the California chapparal, every day is all smiley-faced sun and taco trucks and cacti on every street corner. I
When I saw Macon, Georgia rapper jak the act sharing his new album in the Alternative's Discord, I was intrigued. I pressed play on the opening track "Have A Seat" and after a twinkling, tour guide intro, he went in: "Named one of my cats
Yesterday I blogged about Sheffield band ABC, today I blog about Sheffield band Forum Friends! I interviewed them for The Alternative and their self-titled album is out today and I really dig it. Forum Friends are named Forum Friends because they are friends who met on a forum. Literally, they
Last week I went to see Asteroid City with some buds. It was a great movie. I was going to go home and tweet "if you don't like Wes Anderson, fuck you" and then I decided not to do that (so I'm blogging it
Friends, it's been a short and strange trip, watching The Idol. This show, despite being only five episodes in length in its first season, has revealed so much to me about The Way We All Watch Television Now. We have the moral panic zone, where if you depict
Fall Out Boy released a new rendition of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start The Fire" today. Is this a tongue-in-cheek joke band ploy a la Weezer's cover of "Africa"? A cheap grab at social media watercooler chatter status that will
I was texting with my friend Matthew recently about Harry Styles. I was saying it was hard to imagine Harry putting out a song as horny in lyrical content and as aggressive in musical composition as "My Sharona" — our friend Sean's tweets about "My Sharona&
Well it wouldn't be a Monday morning if I didn't wake up early to write my stray thoughts on The Idol. The more I think about it, the more I feel like this might be the most perfect television show out there. A mere five episodes,
I've been a big fan of the artist formerly known as Juiceboxxx for years now. He publishes one of the sickest music blogs out there (John's Music Blog, literally located at musicblog.substack.com), and he's been putting out bright, sincere, super-catchy "underdog