Tag: music

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On Orientalism and Exoticism in Videogame Music

By William Dowell • August 18th, 2021

The insidious way that Orientalism exists in videogame music.

portrayal of guilt’s Anthems Against False Hope

By Levi Rubeck • April 5th, 2021

Anthems for sinking ships, as if the tide itself was a choleric spirit drawing you down to a lightless ocean floor.

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Car Rides and Crooning: Bridging the Gap with A Woman’s Heart

By Christine M. Estel • March 18th, 2021

Music has a certain power to bridge the general divide.

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Talkin’ ‘Bout Bugsnax

By Melissa King • August 28th, 2020

A look at how Kero Kero Bonito came up with gaming’s happiest bop of the summer.

Truth Cult’s Sermon of Swagger

By Levi Rubeck • June 18th, 2020

If the first song from Off Fire doesn’t sway you, well, there ain’t much else to bring you aboard. But for those open to receive their chained melodies and swirling dialogues, Truth Cult stands and delivers.

The Sound of Protest (And What Happens if TikTok Disables it)

By Amanda Hudgins • June 4th, 2020

We lose a lot in silence. TikTok’s preferred method of dealing with copyright violations is to simply remove the offending audio altogether, leaving the video behind as a kind of digital tombstone.

Let Jawbreaker Live

By Levi Rubeck • April 4th, 2019

They were young, money and booze and tour life made things shitty, then it all fell apart, it’s nothing really new or altogether special.

The Slither and the Bop

By Levi Rubeck • February 28th, 2019

While there are many bands I love that I feel don’t get their due, I’m particularly chapped that I can hardly find mention of Just a Fire online

Restorative Hardcore

By Levi Rubeck • November 23rd, 2018

Hardcore has always struggled with this idea of restoration. As a sound it implodes buildings, razes the ground, acts as a cleansing flame.

Aretha Franklin and the Price of Excellence

By Malindy Hetfeld • September 10th, 2018

I was punished for telling my high school music teacher to take Aretha Franklin’s name out of his undeserving mouth.

Mixed CDs, Stolen

By Amanda Hudgins • July 13th, 2018

14 disks in their slimline cases, carefully handwritten descriptions of each song — no more than 2 per artist. 100 songs.

We Hate Everyone: How Type O Negative Changed Music

By Diego Nicolás Argüello • April 13th, 2018

Type O Negative didn’t care for anyone, something they were always implying in every song. Crying babies, torture machinery sounds, more moanings that I’ve ever heard in my entire life.

Cascading through the Mud with Coalesce and Meatwound

By Levi Rubeck • February 28th, 2018

It was orchestrated chaos that kept even the die-hard karate kids in the pit at bay, which is no small feat.

Eat the Rich and Dance

By Levi Rubeck • January 9th, 2018

What better way to roll out 2018 than immediately accounting for what one may have missed in 2017.

California Gothic

By Levi Rubeck • November 7th, 2017

Nearly twenty years later, I’m afforded the chance to correct the failings of my youth and catch The Black Heart Procession on tour again

Symbiosis of the Troubadour and the Crowd

By Levi Rubeck • October 5th, 2017

But Nick Cave and Touché Amoré have earned their fans through honest expressions, powerful storytelling, a willingness to embrace the stains of humanity in order to shine light on our virtues.

Choir of the Mind, ASMR of the Soul

By Levi Rubeck • September 19th, 2017

Playlists, mixes, links IM’d by friends, auto-plays based on cookies, and radio, each a tributary spiraling out in serpentines towards and through the larger rivers of our shared musical canon.

Helping Ted Leo Help Himself

By Levi Rubeck • September 5th, 2017

Perhaps I took Ted for granted, assuming he’d always tear through town again either on the festival footpath or in an Allston living room.

Come Sail Away, Mr. Roboto: future of the left and the Passion of the Medley

By Levi Rubeck • August 29th, 2017

future of the left have constructed this one around a song by their former band not simply out of obligation to their frothing followers, but because it’s fun to play.

A Simmering Hum

By Levi Rubeck • July 25th, 2017

Momodara: Reverie Under the Moonlight is a constrained exploratory game with a singularity of purpose, in narrative presentation and the majority of its score.

Chester Bennington: The Voice I Grew Up With

By Khee Hoon Chan • July 25th, 2017

Then the internet happened. She was told that there are tons of better rock and metal acts out there. She discovered new bands. She learned about hardcore punk, post-hardcore, emo, grunge, post-grunge and many other genres. But she always came back to Linkin Park.

Music Matters, Use it Wisely

By David Shimomura • November 14th, 2016

Music can make or break a game.

Keep Your Things in a Place Meant to Hide

By David Wolinsky • November 8th, 2016

Kevin Moyer on posthumously releasing Elliott Smith’s music & why you should care about the death of radio.

Viva Belgrado

By Mitchell Bowman • October 13th, 2016

“For as long as I can remember, it’s been a running joke that every good screamo band has to break up after a single album.”

Haters Gonna Hate

By Amanda Hudgins • September 1st, 2016

What is a hater anymore? What is an alpha hater? How does Ke$ha factor into it?

Rap Artists for People Who Don’t Like Rap

By Amanda Hudgins • July 28th, 2016

It started as an informational photo set on imgur and turned into questions of culture, mission, voice and race.

List-o-Mania – May 2016

By Team Unwinnable • June 23rd, 2016

Recommendations! Get your red hot book, music and game recommendations right here!

You’re the Worst: The Show that’s Nearly as Good as its Theme Tune

By Declan Taggart • November 18th, 2015

Slothrust are like some old creepy person with a knife, but the knife’s for the cake you didn’t see before and it tastes really good. You’re the Worst doesn’t have any cake but I don’t see a knife anywhere either.

Rookie of the Year

Rookie of the Year: Jesus Stalks

By Matt Marrone • October 5th, 2015

“When I go to church, it’s not to worship. It’s to stalk musicians.” Matt Marrone finds a way to enjoy his favorite off-tour band live.

Cassilda’s Songs

By Bill Coberly • September 17th, 2015

“…the keys of the piano, now transformed from their pedestrian black-and-white into a dozen nameless colors, spinning and dancing and laughing with me…”

Story Does Matter

By Gus Mastrapa • February 17th, 2012

Gus Mastrapa wants his videogames to have stories – otherwise, they’d be like movies without a soundtrack.

Unmixable: Featuring Bee Tee Dee

By Bee Tee Dee • June 29th, 2011

Unwinnable’s second all music broadcast features Bee Tee Dee DJing Uncle Floyd, Robyn Hitchcock, Man or Astro Man? and many more. He digs deep into the mush inside your head.