Charli XCX. Image from Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images. I don't listen to Charli XCX, and I think the majority of Substacks are worthless boomerslop. Both of these factors should make it fairly obvious that I am not an ally to the British singer and songwriter. However, I do respect artists who dare to explore … Continue reading On Charli XCX and “The Death of Cool”
Category: Music
See You on the Other Side
Korn at the MTV Asia Awards in Bangkok, Thailand 2006. Image from Wikipedia. "Getting into action generates inspiration. Don't cop out waiting for inspiration to get you back into action. It won't! … I leave you with one thought: It's not a compliment when someone tells you you're a survivor. It's bullshit. We're all survivors … Continue reading See You on the Other Side
The Rising Tied
The Rising Tied album cover. Image from Machine Shop and Warner Bros. Records. "In order to achieve 'flow,' 'magic,' 'the zone,' we start by being common and ordinary and workmanlike." -Steven Pressfield The Rising Tied is the first and only studio album of Fort Minor, the hip-hop project of Linkin Park emcee Mike Shinoda. It … Continue reading The Rising Tied
Believe Me
Mike Shinoda and Tak performing in the music video for "Believe Me." Image from Machine Shop and Warner Bros. Records. "Nothing ends nicely, that's why it ends." -Tom Cruise The second (or third?) single from Fort Minor's The Rising Tied was "Believe Me." The track features not only Ryu and Tak from Styles of Beyond, … Continue reading Believe Me
Goodbye for Now
Katy Perry performing with P.O.D. onstage. Image from YouTube. "Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." -Seneca "Goodbye for Now" was the lead single off P.O.D.'s underrated gem of an album, Testify. Released in late 2005, it received some decent airplay, and was the band's most successful single since "Youth of the Nation." … Continue reading Goodbye for Now
On Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst
Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland. Image from Nielson Barnard, Getty Images. I'm not sure where to start on this, so I'm just going to make it up as I go along. The image of Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst in their heyday didn't really do the band or the man justice, that Durst was just … Continue reading On Limp Bizkit and Fred Durst
On the Deftones
Deftones, from left to right: Abe Cunningham, Fred Sablan, Chino Moreno, Frank Delgado, and Stephen Carpenter. Image from LiveNation. I was probably twelve years old and discovering music on my own when I found the Deftones in 1999. They were featured on the Matrix soundtrack, which I was listening to on CD. The track was … Continue reading On the Deftones
Falling
Staind, from left to right: Mike Mushok, Jon Wysocki, Aaron Lewis, and Johnny April. Image from MusicRadar. "Not to feel exasperated, or defeated or despondent because your days aren't packed with wise and moral actions. But to get back up when you fail, to celebrate behaving like a human -- however imperfectly -- and fully … Continue reading Falling
Remember the Name
Fort Minor logo, image from Machine Shop Recordings. "There are some people who are so focused on becoming famous or becoming rich. And of course a very small percentage succeed at accomplishing that, and if that's the motivation it would seem to me at least that they wouldn't actually enjoy the process of creating the … Continue reading Remember the Name
Twisted Transistor
Korn's Jonathan Davis and rapper Snoop Dogg on the set of "Twisted Transistor." Photo by John Shearer. "I give my mind the liberty to follow the first wise or foolish idea that presents itself." -Robert Greene "Twisted Transistor" was the lead single from Korn's seventh studio album, See You on the Other Side. Produced by … Continue reading Twisted Transistor
Lawrence Deveney 