The Useless Critic 2.0

Foo Fighters have never been one of my favorite bands. Actually, I think there were when I was like 7 0r 8. That's because of the UFO connections with their name. You don't know what I'm talking about?!?!? WIKIPEDIA IT. Although, let's concede, early-era Foo Fighters have some crazy good tracks: I bought the Foo Fighters album with the neck tattoo on the cover when I was 14. I didn't listen to it much and gave it to my brother. Kind of how I felt when I sold my copy of Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American" and the record store clerk was like OMG I LOVE JIMMY EAT WORLD. Anyway, Dave Grohl broke his LEG earlier this summer and because he's a badass, troopered through the show he was playing. It cost him a leading spot at Glastonbury, which was inherited by Florence and the Machine. She did a really kickass cover of the ubiquitous-in-2000s "Times Like These," which Grohl recently admitted moved him to tears. D'awwww. ...

Hello ?! Today is the 20th anniversary of one of the most important, iconic, and quotable movies ever! So, OK, I'm, like, totally buggin'!! Not to sound like some pretentious hipster or anything, but I've been a fan of Clueless waaay before Tumblr began revisiting it some 3 years ago. I was 5 when the movie was released, but it wasn't until I was probably 8 or 9 that I became totally obsessed with it. Back then, Cher Horowitz was my ultimate role model. I kept hoping someone would refer to me as the most beautiful girl in Beverly Hills—even though I didn't live in Beverly Hills. I would often try to incorporate quotes from the movie into everyday conversations (so that's where my pop-culture obsession began). Oh, I just loved to describe people as "full-on Monets." Long before wanting a friendship like that of Gossip Girl 's Blair and Serena , I aspired to have a friendship like Cher and Dionne's, so we could be the most popular gir...

There is a new LDR track in town. A ballad, that is. And many people are claiming it is her best - absolute best, creme de la creme - to date. It's fantastically noir-ish, fantastically melodramatic, fantastically wistful - the qualities I have come to adore the most about today's most off-kilter pop star. It's easy to imagine Bette Davis - pre-"Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Bette Davis, because let's not kid ourselves here - driving around the Californian shore at sunset and smoking a long cigarette (probably one in a holder, a la Cruella DeVille) and mourning over losing Gary Cooper. I don't even know if they were an item, but let's pretend they were. And keep in mind, in this mental image, Bette Davis still has it all. NO "BABY JANE." I wouldn't say this ballad is as good as "Born to Die" or "Young and Beautiful," but it's still haunting and it's still exquisite. Probably would put it on her top ...

I heard him perform this on NPR weeks ago; quite the catchy tune.  He is reportedly known for his song 'On the Regular' , which is allegedly featured on a car commercial or some such.  Of interest, the interview mentioned that Shamir ascribes to no particular gender.

Today the gorgeous and incredibly talented Sky Ferreira turns 23. Happy birthday, gurl! You deserve nothing but the absolute best. I can't tell you enough how much I relate to her music and what it means to me. Her debut album, Night Time, My Time (AKA one of the best albums of 2013), is truly a masterpiece that everyone should be listening to, like, right now. So many amazing songs to choose from—" 24 Hours ," " Boys ," " You're Not the One ," " I Blame Myself ," " Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay) "... While we're at it, Sky's second album, titled Masochism , is currently in the works! No release date has been announced yet, but a while ago, she posted on Instagram that Fever Ray was a major influence on the album. Ugh, I can't fucking wait. Below is the song that made me a fan back in 2012. Enjoy!

I was originally going to do protest songs but only one made it through the final cut. Tracklist: 1. Paranoid (originally by Black Sabbath) by The Dickies, 1978. 2. Sixteen Saltines by Jack White, 2012. 3. Threshold  by Beck Hansen (as 'Sex Bob-omb"), 2010. 4. Bonzo Goes to Bitburg by The Ramones, 1985. 5. Caboose  by Snapcase, 1997

Do you know that feeling when a band you completely adore and would marry if you could marry a band puts out a song that feels like a brutal slap to the face? Where you're left wondering "What is this weird CHVRCHES-like thing? Whaaaaaatttttt happened?" It's like if you were driving a car at the time the single came on the radio, YOU'D DRIVE INTO A DITCH SCREAMING? Those are my feelings on this song. I still love you, Metric.  In all seriousness, one feature I have admired about Metric is their ability to shapeshift from album to album. They went from dance pop to more anthemic rock in just a few albums. Compare "Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?" to "Synthetica." There are some common areas, but there's a lot of change and change is good (NOTE: I hate change, haha, well except in music and my restaurant choices). Metric went from a kind-of-okay band to a great band in a very short period of time (even though their first albu...