The Useless Critic 2.0

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...

You guys, Viva Phoenix this year. Let's talk about it. There was honestly too much for me to do to hone in on the several bands I wanted to see (Bogan Via, Pure Bathing Culture, Temples among other). So I concentrated on the crown jewels for me - GIRL TALK and UFFIE. If you have been reading the UC for many years, you will know I was obsessed with Uffie in 2010 - 2011. You will realize the circle has then become full.  I saw the Mowglis and Mystikal, too. I've seen the former before, and they are fun, but the audio quality was terrible. So terrible I ended up wandering out halfway through. Weirdly enough as well, I saw The Maine? Not my cup of tea, but they played a good show. I will give them an A for keeping their audience engaged.  GIRL TALK was on another level. I don't know where he has been for the past several years, but he hasn't changed at all. Even now that the DJ has become a mainstream staple of pop music; Greg Gillis was everything I've heard and ...

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...