The Useless Critic 2.0

Every so often - not that often - I listen to my Spotify Discover playlist. Usually, it's kind of boring and full of songs I may have liked several years ago (like The Avalanches, for example). Spotify, DISAPPOINT. :/ Anyway, on Tuesday, I checked out the list as I usually do, absentmindedly and with 2000 other things on my mind. I saw "Bogan Via" on the list, which is a Phoenix band I have probably seen live at some point that I do not recall. I mean, I hang out at a lot of local music venues, so I'm sure we've crossed paths. Kinda like "Sliding Doors" sans Gwyneth Paltrow and filled with hipsters. The song that caught my attention was "Kanye," which I listened to on repeat and sent to many people with the enthusiasm I once reserved for mixed CDs I made Wenli. I cannot find "Kanye" on blogger's YouTube feature, so I present you with "Wait Up," which is just as good!   I look forward to hearing more from t

I went to see Mr. Little Jeans last night. She was fantastic, in case you were wondering (duh). So awesome and such a sweetheart, too. I have video of her covering "Hotline Bling," which was like, the HIGHLIGHT. I mean, who doesn't love a good Drake cover, right? Well, before the awesome Norwegian took the stage, I was introduced to Soren Bryce. I didn't even know there was an opener. I expected it, but I didn't expect to actually like the opener. Case in point: I saw Grimes open for Lykke Li several years ago and was like, pssssh. Whatever. And now everybody adores her. But the moment she opened her mouth, I was like :O. Who is this?!?!?!   The passion she pours into her performance is - mind-blowing, to say the least. Sometimes you go to concerts and the performer basically phones it in, but this girl did the opposite of that. She was shaking, vibrating, screaming, completely absorbed in her music. It was like a religious experience, and it's the

Los Angeles siren BANKS has dropped the highly artistic and incredibly sensual video for her eerie, smoldering new track "Better." It is the first single from her upcoming second album, which, according to an interview with Beats 1 's Zane Lowe earlier today, is supposed to come out "early, early next year," though further details have yet to surface. In the meantime, BANKS is currently opening for The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness tour in North America. Can you imagine if these two collaborated on a song? That would seriously scream SEX. Ugh, my body is so ready for a second BANKS album! If there's a recent album that has had a profound impact on me, it's her eargasmic debut album Goddess . If you haven't checked it out yet, you're a damn fool, because it was easily one of the best albums of 2014. I might even write a retrospective review of it sometime.

Last Thursday, October 29, Sky Ferreira's debut album, Night Time, My Time , turned two years old. I've been hella busy lately, but I just couldn't miss out on the opportunity to celebrate this masterful record. If you're not some uptight prude who is offended by nipples, y ou can view the original uncensored cover here As I've probably said a gazillion times before, this is an album that truly resonates with me. I just love the aesthetics and how the songs discuss universal themes—excitement, angst, frustration, heartbreak, hedonism, empowerment—in such a unique, raw, complex manner. Named after a line said by murdered homecoming queen Laura Palmer in the 1992 movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me , Night Time, My Time eschews Ferreira's shimmering synthpop roots in favor of distorted, murky rock textures that draw heavily from grunge and new wave, with occasional nods to noise pop, shoegaze, and punk. Since I didn't get to write a proper review b