The Useless Critic 2.0

You Need to Hear This (This Week)  After a decade since embarking on her solo adventure, Emily Haines (lead singer of Metric, if you didn't know) is back with her long-awaited follow-up album, "Choir of the Mind." Dig the cover art:  Let me pick up where Blogger ate my post yesterday. Sorry about that - been doing this for almost a decade and that has yet to happen. First for everything, I suppose.  Emily Haines has been silent (minus her work with Metric and a surprising reunion with Broken Social Scene) since 2007. I really didn't think we'd hear from her as the Soft Skeleton again, but here we are.  "Knives Don't Have Your Back" was an outstanding work - a body of music dedicated to the passing of her late father. The depth of lyricism on that album - and melancholic melodies - was fantastic. With "Choir of the Mind," we see her take a similar turn. "Statuette" is an immediate standout (and the next big single).  ...

Not my photo! Click the link! So The National have returned with their first album since 2013 and with much (justifiable) fanfare. I feel like some bands/artists have the public's adoration always at their side: Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, The National. I almost wince a little when I tell people they are my favorite band, because I almost feel like I'm clinging to some sort of bandwagon/it cheapens them. Almost.  But there's a reason that The National are so well-respected and so well-loved: They're that good. "Sleep Well Beast" seems to follow at the very point where 2013's "Trouble Will Find Me" left off, albeit into more adventurous territory. This was present in two of the first singles from the album: "The System Only Dreams In Darkness" and "Guilty Party." I have to admit "Guilty Party" was a grower for me, but that's sort of the appeal of The National. They're good, but subtly so. It's ...

A dark room, angst. A lonely computer. An English degree. Delivered wine, possibly avocado toast. Perhaps a poster of Bernie Sanders collecting dust.  I have an opinion, dammit. On many things, but most notably right now ... the current state of Taylor Swift's career. I HAVE AN OPINION, DAMMIT. As I sip coffee that most certainly did not come from a vending machine, I feel we need to have a real conversation about Taylor Swift that no one else has ever had, ever will have, ever could have. Because these people are not me. And I'm important. Yes, I went there. CLAP BACK. A few weeks ago, Taylor Swift introduced her new song to the world, "Look What You Made Me Do." Even the title alone conveys exactly what Taylor's shtick has been in the media for the past several years. Or does it? I personally am not a huge fan of her song - "1989" is one of my favorite pop albums, though, and I entirely think it's going to be impossible to top. She cou...