The Useless Critic 2.0

I have found where we need to keep Sam Smith, and it is in songs by Calvin Harris and Disclosure.  Not saying he isn't talented - he has a great voice - but he makes the most boring music on his own. Combine him with someone like Calvin Harris?!?! $$$$$$

Beyond excited to listen to "Be the Cowboy" when I work out in a bit. Possibly one of the most anticipated albums of 2018 (duh, that was a really obvious statement, but when am I getting a Pulitzer?)  "Geyser" is way too short to be what it is. Those organs in the beginning! Dear lord!  Mitski is currently on tour and will be here in Phoenix @ Crescent Ballroom on November 8th. I will be there!!!

Today marks an incredibly s ad day for the music community - we lost an icon. The queen of soul herself, Aretha:  I'm not gonna jump on a bandwagon and claim to be a superfan - I've always respected (irony) Aretha, though. And you have to admit she had arguably the best female voice in modern music history. Don't you always feel a little more united with people when someone so beloved dies? You all share kind of a weird similar grief? Like when David Bowie died - I was flying to Tahoe the next day and I wanted to get sleep, but I just couldn't sleep. I laid awake in my bed and read people's outpouring of love for on social media. Michael Jackson - I was at the store with my sister and someone asked us "Did you hear about Michael?!" Aaliyah was right before 9/11, and MTV was dedicated to her coverage for days on end. Elliott Smith got some mentions on the evening news and repeated showings of his Oscars performance. Amy Winehouse?! I was walking...

Brittkemp posted some nice stuff so I hope I can do this as well (!?) This is Christine and the Queens who, as I understand it, is one person and she is from France.  The vocal is subtle and powerful.  I'm not 100 on what is going on in the video but it is captivating.   This is a catchy nice pop song by Tessa Violet.  She has an album coming out and I'm excited.  Everything about this is weird which is nice.  She has yellow hair and is in the supermarket. If you like Depeche Mode and don't understand why we don't listen to them 24/7 you should check out Glitterwølf.  Don't let the art on the clip below dissuade you.  The actual album art is nice.  These are two guys from England and if you write to them on Facebook with an album title suggestion they will respond.  Downside is the goofy ASCII character in the band name.   This is Master Boot Record which is aggressive chiptune music with weird nosta...

So I have despaired in the past year or so that I'm not really in the know about most new music. ANOTHER FEAR OF GETTING OLD, I suppose. But the past few months have flipped that anxiety on its head. Here are the first wave  I've discovered since about February of this year that I'd like to share with y'all. Bear in mind, most of them fall in the "indie" or "synthpop" category. Why? Bcs those my favorite genres, asshole. But there is some diversity in the below. Catch it: Phum Viphurit This kid sounds like summer! He compares his music to the sun for obvious reasons. Phum, who is based out Bangkok, reminds me so much of a Jens Lekman raised on Motown. Hey just listen to Phum and fall in love like I did (it took maybe two listens for me to get hooked on this adorable song/video). Roosevelt An act a friend turned me on to, Roosevelt feel like a derivative of Washed Out - yet a bit more pop-oriented and melodic. It feels like an improvement to...