The Useless Critic 2.0

Another song I enjoyed from 2023 was the throwback banger "Blame Brett" by the Canadian band The Beaches. How this song didn't get ANY bigger, I don't know. (Apparently, it was quite big on TikTok but for me I didn't get that full effect.) The garage rock and even faint "Riot GRRL" vibes are strong in this one.  This song is so much blissful fun and a considerable hit from The Beaches, who followed up with a great album: "Blame My Ex." There are some other standout tracks on their second album, like "Edge of the Earth." But also isn't it great that Brett is a REAL guy who dated the lead singer and is in the band The Glorious Sons? (Actually, it's really not that bad. One time I texted a girl I liked who I got into it with - and she was very environmentally conscious - that I really loved straws, so. Um. We all have our moments.) Happy listening! I hope to share a few more songs before 2024 arrives.

So if you know me at all even an iota you'll know how much I enjoyed "Barbie" this year. I knew I would because I love Greta Gerwig stuff, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. And become totally enamored with Margot Robbie. Feels weird to be in my mid-30s and crushing on a celeb so hard but here we are.  ANYWAY, there's nothing I can say about this film that hasn't already been said. I loved every aspect of it and will likely watch it during my holiday downtime. But I wanted to share the "Ken" EP news from this past week and my personal favorite cut from that "I'm Just Ken"-centric collection. In it Ryan Gosling really gets to shine once again with the help of Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt. I'm sure you can write off this whole effort as a cash grab but IDC. It's a very bleak end of year so a little frivolous joy and Ryan Gosling being as unserious as ever - but also somehow very serious and leaning into his power bal...

Hi! So to write more and share music that I've kept to myself all year, I'm going to sort through some of my favorite songs from the haze that was 2023. I have a few other things I need to write about... but I will sprinkle that in with everything else.  I'm starting with M83, who is not a huge favorite of mine, but I've been a fan of their music for years (peaking in the early 2010s, with what I guess is the rest of the world.)  M83 released "Fantasy" earlier this year and went on tour to support their ninth album, which was relatively well-received. I finally got to see M83 this year and it was well worth the wait at the Van Buren in Phoenix this April. To be transparent, I haven't listened to this album in-depth, but there are some tracks I've really enjoyed. And one being the dreamy, lovesick "Laura." If this hasn't been used on a soundtrack YET it absolutely NEEDS TO BE.  Although it sounds like a love song, based off the internet...

Kind of forcing myself to post a little more due to a long absence! Life and work were/are busy, but not writing for long periods of time makes me feel incredibly unwell, so here I am. Do you remember when I did this a lot in like 2009? To be young again lol. First up, The Beatles have a new-ish song out, "Now and Then," which is apparently The Beatles' final song. I did not know The Beatles were releasing new music, but AI is a very interesting (if not quite scary) thing. If you haven't listened to it yet, I recommend checking it out. It does not sound out of place in 2023 while managing to sound straight out of a time capsule.  Other music tidbits to share: I saw the "Eras" movie over this last weekend. Pretty good, considering I did not want to dish out an arm and a leg for the concert itself. Taylor Swift has gone very impressively far since I interviewed her in 2011 . "1989" Taylor's version is continuing to shatter records, arguably as it...

My favorite band I've really gotten into this past year is the LA-based synthpop act Cannons. Fronted by lead singer Michelle Joy and rounded out with the likes of drummer Paul Davis and guitarist Ryan Clapham, I've been pretty obsessed since I heard "Fire for You" this past spring. I believe that song gained some virality on social media due to its pretty irresistible and kind of seductive vibe - like a Lana Del Rey on acid. The band has been around for more than a decade, but it seems like they've been picking up interest in the past few years (and especially this one). I seriously hope this band sells out stadiums someday; they are arguably one of my favorite acts I've heard in ages. (In Arizona? You can catch Cannons in Mesa alongside Lovejoy and Little Image on December 13th.) A few years ago, they even covered Harry Styles' hit "Golden," and did a wistful stripped-down version of it (listen below). Their new album "Heartbeat Highway...

I have not really paid a ton of attention to Conan Gray, but I think he's talented, and I have observed from a distance his output for the past few years. Happy to say he's stepped into what I think is top-tier pop star mode with his 1980s-inflected single, "Never-Ending Song." Check him channeling MJ in the video below! I seriously think he is going to enter the big leagues (although he kind of already is there in a way). Excited to see what is in store for him next! Now i feel like I need to watch "The Never-Ending Story" finally.

  I don't know how I missed "On a Beach" by Canadian singer-songwriter Hayden when it came out earlier this year, but damn! This is a nice upbeat track by a musician whose career has veered more melancholic. featuring Canadian chanteusese Feist. Coupled with a fun music video featuring a cameo from The National's Matt Berninger, don't be like me and sleep on this song. (Plus, Steve Buscemi!) My introduction to Hayden came in the early 2000s when I first heard "Dynamite Walls" which I swear I found via the pre-loaded music on my Windows computer. But I've not been able to find any internet proof of this so I'm not sure if I'm hallucinating. Anyway, it's a more subdued track, but really beautiful. If you like indie or anything slightly more on the pensive side, you need to give this somewhat older (but still so gorgeous!) song a listen.

A quick glimpse into some of my favorite more mainstream songs of 2023 so far! The National's new album "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" dropped this past Friday, and features guest spots from the likes of Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers. Although I haven't really been into the last few National albums (I enjoyed "Sleep Well Beast" but could take or leave "I Am Easy to Find") I'm relieved to hear that "First Two Pages" is a return to form, and the collabs work wonderfully. "Alcott" with Taylor Swift is my favorite track off the album by far. I am almost surprised by how well Matt and Taylor's voices mesh well together. The National is touring this summer, and you KNOW Taylor Swift is currently on tour. Listen below: And I really haven't written much about the overall album "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard" by Lana Del Rey, but it's another stunning achievement by one of th...

That's quite the title, isn't it? But much truth to it - and definitely a very pertinent, urgent topic that is top of mind for a lot of Americans right now. This is a short and to-the-point acoustic song from Nashville-based singer-songwriter Benjamin Stranger, a new discovery for me personally. His music has a stripped-down indie feel to it, and calls to mind to me the work of Nick Cave, a little Josh Ritter, and maybe a hint of Tom Waits, too. You can listen to the track below and take a moment to reflect on this increasingly disturbing facet of the culture wars our country is enveloped in.  Here's another more Waits-esque song from Benjamin Stranger, appropriately titled "Strange Things."

Hi! Sorry for the long hiatus between posts - something something John Lennon "life happens when you're making other plans" blah blah blah. TL;DR I've been busy with not a lot of time for hobbies, except for today when I'm consciously carving out a little bit of time to do some light music writing (and if I'm feeling esp. daring, creative writing, but let's not get CRAZY). And what perfect timing, as two of my favorite singers - Annie and Lana Del Rey - have new projects bubbling. I try to highlight lesser-known artists when I can on this blog (I have tried for years) but sometimes you must feature well-known artists that you nonetheless love. So here we are.  First up, the new Annie single is actually a collaboration with Alan Braxe. I honestly had no clue who Alan Braxe was until "Never Coming Back" dropped about a week ago. He is a French electronic musician responsible for plenty of remixes over the years, such as one for Annie's arguab...

  Liela Moss - a singer-songwriter well known for her work with the garage rock band The Duke Spirit - is set to put forth her most recent solo effort, "Internal Working Model," on January 13th. The album features collaborations with the legendary Gary Numan as well as musician Jenny Beth (probably best recognized as the lead singer of Savages). The track "Come and Find Me" - the most recent single off the album - is gritty, dark, hypnotic, and sexy (which is a word I cringe to use, but it works here.) It has a distinct swagger that plays off the vibe of "Internal Working Model." Says Moss about the album's ethos, "We see the beneficiaries of the status quo suppress realness and well-being by selling you a banal alternative that upholds their agenda. I want to add to the firepower to burn that old house down." You can read an interview I did with Liela Moss a few years ago here . 

Step into another world with dream pop duo Portland's "Sensational" (despite their name, Portland is NOT from Portland, and actually Belgian!) The single is off their sophomore album "Departures," slated for a March 2023 release.  And although Portland is primarily a dreampop act, I definitely hear twee snippets come across, at least in "Sensational." The band themselves acknowledged the song can sound melancholic, but as member Sarah Pepels explained, "If you listen to the lyrics, they're quite hopeful. It's the ideal combination of a modern song. It's about not giving up." The song is reminscient a bit of bands like Kisses and In Coma, with maybe a touch of Wild Nothing thrown in for good measure.  As for the band's name, that comes from the duo Pepels and Jente Pironet's love of Portland-based singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Their debum album, "Your Colours Will Stain," was released in 2019 to much critical a...