Tag Archives: song-to-know

There’s something about the act of headbanging that’s more than just an expression of joy — something that speaks to the way a great riff makes you wish your head was a boxer’s speed ball getting walloped into oblivion. “Skin a Rat,” a new song from L.A.-based artist Sasami, has …

Phoebe Bridgers has a remarkable ability to invest seemingly banal scenes with profound emotion. On this year’s Punisher, she showed she could makea bored visit to an overseas 7/11 or an argument at a Whole Foods feel as deep and meaningful as the funeral on her first album. In moments …

There’s only one cover on British soul singer Lianne La Havas‘ upcoming fourth album, but it kickstarted the entire recording process. On her self-titled album, the singer, whose blend of breathy coos and emotive belts makes her equally at home in a jazz club or rock venue, takes on Radiohead‘s …

When Paul Westerberg first sang “It’s a Wonderful Lie” more than 20 years ago, it sounded like the Man Without Ties’ sad-sack ode to his self-defeat. “Misanthropes,guys like me,” the former Replacements frontman sang, leaving no ambiguity as to exactly who Westerberg was talking about. When Mary Lou Lord covered …

In 2019, it seems almost inconceivable that a book could heavily influence pop culture, but that’s exactly what 1973’s The Secret Life of Plants did. Written by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, the book proposed that not only are plants sentient, but it’s possible they might even enjoy music. Of …

Michael Nesmith‘s catalogue has always been a vast treasure trove for Monkees fans. Take the dreamy “Rio,” a 1977 track that was accompanied by one of the first-ever music videos. Or 1970’s “Joanne,” Nesmith’s first and only hit with his First National Band. The song remains a cult favorite — …

In the midst of President Trump’s impeachment hearings, Neon Indian is out with a new protest song that sounds like anything but a political dirge. Instead, it’s a super-bright, festive piñata — just packed with goodies that no one bargained for. Alan Palomo dropped “Toyota Man” with a dizzying self-directed …

Good — or at least entertaining — R&B often succeeds on how well it embraces the highest of stakes. When it comes to the expansive inner worlds of rhythm and blues, the flirting is Machiavellian, everyone spits game like the Bard, and the subsequent sex is never just sex; it’s …

On her 2018 LP Clean, Soccer Mommy (a.k.a  indie-rock artist Sophie Allison) proved herself a budding master at crafting the kind of casually cutting tunes that might’ve been alt-rock radio hits if there was still alt-rock radio around to have hits on. She called her style “chill but kinda sad,” …

Born in 1951, attending college at Kent State in the early Seventies (where she lost close friends at the 1970 Kent State massacre), clocking time in London at the height of punk (where she wrote rock criticism and worked at Vivienne Westwood’s legendary SEX shop among other adventures), Chrissie Hynde …