The Useless Critic 2.0

Kate Nash is a peculiar and wonderful kind of artist. When she debuted around 2007, she drew some unfair comparisons to Lily Allen, largely because their voices sounded similar (can’t imagine Allen belting out songs quite the way Nash does, though) and they were both MySpace sensations (ah, those were the days), and their songs dealt primarily with relationships. But where Allen’s songs were in a similar vein musically, Nash has always had the more vulnerable voice. Her songs echo private journal entries, and on Girl Talk , she takes that confessional aspect of her art and runs with it. (Not that I’m saying Allen isn’t a decent artist; she certainly is when she puts her mind to it. But give me Kate any damn day.) Where Nash’s Made of Bricks was exuberant and not a little bit naughty, and My Best Friend is You was more cathartic, a soul-baring brand of retro girl group punk rock, Girl Talk is an energetic middle-finger to failed relationships, fake friends, misogy...

There are so many reasons why I shouldn't love this song. The title. La Roux. That's pretty much it. But this song is amazing and I almost hate myself for that but then I realize it's Jay-Z and Kanye West and I don't.

I love the Faroe Islands, and I love their music. In 2008, I was absolutely obsessed with Faroese and the Faroe Islands. I was trying to do a conference paper on Faroese Feminism, but that didn’t really take off. GASP! These are my favorite Islands specifically located between Scotland and Iceland, and once I discovered the metal of the Faroe Islands, life was flying rather high. I came across the band TYR, and their name comes from the Norse god of war. They do not like to classify their music in a genre, but I guess I did just call it metal. What is the best part of the music from the Faroe Islands? Since they are positioned between the British Isles and the Far West Corner of the Nordic World, their music has a strong mix of the two sounds and cultures crafted into one. I picked this song from TYR because more so than anything else I heard from them, it really captured the blend of folklores in the music. You can hear the powerful notes of the Nordic heritage, and you can also hear ...