The backstage pass to your favorite music
When you think about the most earnest and emotional voices on the alt-rock and indie scene, it’s hard not to think of Death Cab For Cutie, and distinctive frontman Ben Gibbard. The band has built an improbable, lucrative career, largely out of songs of sadness, loss, longing, love, and growth. In an interview at Billboard, in…
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Nearly 20 years since the last episode aired, Friends remains a very popular show. To this day, fans of the show continue to seek out new content related to their favorite romantic sitcom. In fact, despite being continuously cancelled, confirmed, and rescheduled, people are still hoping that the upcoming Friends reunion will materialize sooner rather…
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We're entering a new year - and a new decade! - so you know what that means: new music to look forward to! As we launch into the new century's roaring 20s, let's look at all the great albums we're most excited to hear. Here are 15 albums that we expect (or at least hope)…
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One month ago yesterday, Fall Out Boy released their second greatest hits album, aptly titled Greatest Hits: Believers Never Die - Volume Two. (Their first hits album was Believers Never Die, released a decade ago in 2009; zero points for creativity.) Volume Two features ten of Fall Out Boy’s biggest hits from their last three…
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There are several instruments that anyone can learn over time. However, choosing the best instrument, especially in the string family, can be quite a task. One of the most famous instruments studied by beginners is the cello. Here are some of the factors why you should also consider cello as your first or next instrument:…
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One month ago today, Editors released their first greatest hits compilation, Black Gold: Best Of Editors, including 13 tracks spanning their first 6 albums, plus 3 brand-new songs. Most of the obvious choices are there: We have "Munich" and "Bullets" from The Back Room, "Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors," "The Racing Rats," and "An End…
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In case you haven't noticed, Kelly Clarkson is the queen of tours. Why is this? It goes behind the fact that she always sounds amazing when she sings. Kelly takes touring a step further, making sure each show is special and offers something new. Kelly isn't afraid of live innovation, and in fact, has been…
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As we embark on a new year, let's look back on where we were a decade ago. In 2009, we heard a ton of amazing songs, singles, and albums. But which records have stood the test of time? These are my favorite 2009 albums: the ones that defined my life 10 years ago and continue…
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Another year has come and passed, and as we reflect on all our favorite moments of 2018, let's look back on some of the best new music that came out this year. Our reviewers picked out their favorite albums of 2018, spanning all 12 months and a range of styles under the pop rock umbrella.…
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Another year has come and passed, and as we reflect on all our favorite moments of 2018, let's look back on some of the best new music that came out this year. We made a playlist of over 100 of the best singles of 2018, spanning all 12 months and a range of styles under…
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Early this morning, news broke that Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had died. He was only 52 years old, and apparently committed suicide by hanging. It is shocking and devastating news, and already many musicians and fans have spoken about the sorrow of such a loss. RIP, Chris Cornell. This is, sadly, not the first grunge…
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For some years now, I have felt a growing dissatisfaction with the songs that dominate radio stations and the artists that take up most entertainment news stories. This must make me sound like an out-of-touch old grouch who just doesn't get kids these days, but I'm only in my mid-20s. I love music, and yet lately I…
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Lately there's been a lot of talk about Garbage, and with good reason. Last year they celebrated the 20th anniversary of their 1995 debut album, Garbage, with a re-release of the record and a 20 Years Queer tour. Next week, the band will release their sixth studio album, Strange Little Birds. Their new songs "Empty"…
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Four years ago, Green Day announced their most ambitious release yet: A trilogy of albums. Following the huge success of 2004's rock opera, American Idiot, the band crafted another concept album, this time divided into three acts, with 2009's 21st Century Breakdown. Green Day knew they couldn't keep doing politically-oriented rock operas, so they decided to take it…
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Some months ago I listed my 20 favorite unreleased Kelly Clarkson songs. She has so many amazing hidden gems that deserved to be on albums, and though it was hard to narrow down my list, I'm glad that we can at least hear these unreleased tracks. Now it's time to pick out some of Kelly's…
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For nearly as long as the music industry has existed, a certain partnership has played a vital part in keeping the business running smoothly. The first side is obviously the creative souls - songwriters, musicians, performers, singers. These are the people who make the music and the reason there is a music industry at all.…
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Bonus tracks are a magical thing for most music fans. We love getting a new album from our favorite artist, and most of us are eager for as much music as we can get our hands on. I myself have already expressed my love for songs, and in my opinion, the more the merrier. I can never…
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When Amanda asked me to write a guest blog for this week, my first thought was, “what do I know about music?” As I wrote in a previous post, Amanda is the one between us that has the real passion for music. I jokingly proposed “I Depend on My Sister for Literally Everything Music-Related” as…
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Most music fans I know are always excited to hear more music from their favorite singers and bands. Anticipation builds into a giddy frenzy as a new album's release date approaches. When an artist performs a new song, half the audience films a video of it so fans can search it out on YouTube a…
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Everyone loves music. And most people can never get enough of it. But how do you discover new music to add to your collection? In a world as filled with endless musical options as ours is today, it can be difficult to sift through the sounds and find what really speaks to you. Most articles…
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This article originally appeared on rachelwhitbeck.wordpress.com. My sister runs a super cool blog called Hidden Jams. Her latest post discusses bands that she discovered in 2015. At 25, she is not ready to stop finding new music. Amanda has always been the one more excited about the music scene between the two of us.…
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A year and a half ago, I was excited about all the new bands and singers I had discovered and loved. I shared a brief list of just 6 new artists I was passionate about and wanted more people to discover, too. Well, now that it's been so long, I thought I'd give you an…
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Do you prefer long albums or short albums? What is the ideal number of tracks or running time? Do you even still listen to albums? This might not apply to you, but of all the people I know that do still listen to albums, it seems that everyone has an opinion about how long an…
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Welcome to the new year! 2015 was a great year for music, but it looks like 2016 is gearing up to be even better. Some long-awaited albums may finally reach our ears this year, and some artists are set to make drastic musical change for their next records. There's plenty to look forward to, but here’s what…
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While most entertainment publications rushed to release their year-end lists by the first of December, we decided to wait until all the year's albums had actually been released before making our final ranking. It's good that we did, too, because one of our favorite records was released right around the time kids were getting out of…
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Now that 2015 is coming to a close, it feels right to reflect on all the great music we've gotten to enjoy for the last 12 months. This year was packed full of amazing new singles across the genres, from progressive metal to old school funk pop and everything in between. We picked out 30…
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You may be familiar with Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time." They first published their list in 2004, but updated it in 2010 to include more songs from the 21st century. The top 100 songs alone feature a wide variety of musical instruments beyond the standard guitar, bass, and drums. Berklee…
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This article was originally published by Skynet & Ebert - see their original post here. After sixty years of research, it’s conventional wisdom: as people get older, they stop keeping up with popular music. Whether the demands of parenthood and careers mean devoting less time to pop culture, or just because they’ve succumbed to good old-fashioned taste freeze, music…
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Avril Lavigne has a big year planned. She sneakily hinted that she had some "projects lined up" around the new year, but she likes things to be a surprise. First up was the much-wanted music video for "Give You What You Like," one of the best tracks from Avril's self-titled fifth album (and her whole career). The song didn't…
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2014 was a great year filled with stunning new music. There were plenty of stellar albums, not to mention dozens of singles we had on repeat the whole year. But now we're ready for 2015 and all the new music it will bring! There are lots of new albums coming out in 2015. Here's what…
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