Editorials

Nelly – “Hot in Herre”
Jenny Owen Youngs covers “Hot in Herre”

Who could forget Nelly’s 2002 hit “Hot in Herre?” It inspired many covers even by non-rap groups (looking at you, Coldplay), including one by miss Jenny Owen Youngs. Youngs adds some fun gender role reversal and cute folk-rock strumming to the otherwise hot and heavy [...]

As it was explored last time, there are certain songs that are forever fresh because they are powerfully covered in every era. These are the songs that wriggle their way into the minds of listeners, and moreso into other creators. They’re inescapable and beg to be reborn in new, interesting and revealing ways. One of [...]

Final exams have barely wrapped. That was rough, right? Even a couple years removed, I still accurately remember the endless weariness, the desperate futility, and the all nighters that concluded not when you finally nailed down the material, but when you had given up and made peace with whatever grade would come your way.
Sometimes it’s [...]

After catching wind that Jack White of the White Stripes is set to release a solo album, headline Hangout Music Festival and perform at Sasquatch in Washington, we must say, the man has us all in a bit of a tizzy. So why the long faces? Mr. White was recently quoted in an interview with [...]

It was almost exactly two years ago that the music world lost Mark Linkous, better known as  Sparklehorse. Under this name, he worked with everyone from Danger Mouse to Thom Yorke and even filmmaker David Lynch. It’s not so simple to describe what he sounded like, but it was easy to describe how his music [...]

If you’re a fan of Tenacious D, you probably heard recently that they’re finally coming out with their 3rd album this year. It’s a great time to come out with new material, as the success of Flight of the Conchords and Lonely Island have propelled the world of parody music to new heights. It’s the [...]

As winter comes to an end, a new season rears its head: music festival season. From here on out, it’s just a straight shot through the big multi-day festivals, whether it be Coachella or Bonnaroo or Sasquatch. That’s not even thinking about the smaller festivals happening everywhere on college campuses or in major cities. If [...]

Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,  while others in the music industry call it “plagiarism.” Laws must be set in place to protect the creative properties of musicians, but sometimes artists (or their business managers) take lawsuits to a whole other level – even children’s show dinosaur Barney was sued over the [...]

Fiona Apple’s resurgence under the music world’s radar has arrived, at long last.
The singer-songwriter premiered a handful of new songs from her upcoming album (that employs an impressive 23-word title) at SXSW this week. Slated for a summer release, the LP will be Apple’s first in 7 years. Since we still have [...]

Singer-songwriters must have a strange relationship with their listeners. Because their genre requires that they write about themselves, mining their lives for emotional diamonds; their songs build an intimate, confessional relationship with their fans. For every secret divulged, the listener is let in a little closer. Hence, it’s easy for us as listeners to make [...]