60s

Two U.K. televisual musical moments from the turn of the century, both involving stripped-down young rock ‘n’ roll bands: First up, the White Stripes on long-standing U.K. pop showcase Top Of The Pops, in February 2002. “Fell In Love With A Girl” began its chart-shaking international climb, and Jack and Meg White entered English living […]

Among all the music that the ‘90s brought us, there’s one common denominator—kick-ass women vocalists. From the emergence of grunge to the golden age of hip-hop settling in its place, the ‘90s proved to be a decade where artists expressed the exasperations of womanhood with all of their might. As women lead singers began to […]

If you’re yearning for a soundtrack to discovering the unknown, traveling to distant, sunny lands, reinventing your perceptions or embracing new experiences, look no further than rising artist Jelani Aryeh. The 21-year-old SoCal native is the genre-bender who will satisfy your desires.  His personality is perfectly encapsulated in his bright, optimistic and mature discography. By […]

If you haven’t heard of Vashtie Kola, let’s just say that there’s no way she hasn’t influenced your life. She’s served as the music video mastermind behind the likes of Justin Bieber’s “One Time,” Kendrick Lamar’s “A.D.H.D.,” Gym Class Heroes’ “Martyrial Girl$” and many more. Va$htie is also well known for her DJing work in New […]

This year, H.E.R. has earned her first-ever nomination at the Academy Awards for “Fight For You.” The powerful song was written for Judas And The Black Messiah, a film based on the real-life story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) who was the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. […]

There are three types when it comes to songs in feature films: The first is the song that you just know isn’t only going to be nominated for an Academy Award but in all likelihood will win it; the second is the song that’s snubbed by the Academy in a year jam-packed with standard Oscar […]

When it initially blasted into the world from New York’s Lower East Side almost concurrently with punk in 1977, it was dubbed no wave. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau referred to it as “skronk,” an onomatopoeia based around the general guitar sound. He uncharitably dubbed its ’80s practitioners “pigfucker” bands. This writer’s personal name for […]

Daniel Kaluuya has taken home the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role at the SAG Awards for his performance in Judas And The Black Messiah. This year, Kaluuya was nominated in the category alongside Chadwick Boseman for Da 5 Bloods, Sacha Baron Cohen for The Trial Of The Chicago 7, Jared […]

At this point, Dr. Martens—Docs, DMs, whatever you want to call them—have been around for 74 years. And, for almost all of that time, in one way or another, they’ve been inextricably entwined with alternative music—and, of course, the subcultures which that music has spawned. Transcending their origins as factory-safe work boots, over the course […]

Foo Fighters fans—and fans of Dave Grohl in general—know that he’s a big fan of the cover song. Fact is, Nirvana had a thing for covers, too, especially ones that their raucous audience wouldn’t, and couldn’t, see coming from a second stage away, never mind a mile. Hell, once Nirvana even dug deep into the […]

Punk has a million precedents—musical, spiritual. The basic sound and attitude can be traced back to the wildest, most primitive rockabilly records of the ’50s and the most fuzzed-out garage bands of the ’60s, plus the racket the New York Dolls and Iggy and the Stooges raised in the early ’70s. You see it in […]

In the ’70s, England had two great punk cities. Most across the planet thought London was the world’s only punk capital, completely ignoring the music and culture’s beginnings in New York City, mostly due to the Sex Pistols’ outsized reputation and influence. But if London was English Punk City No. 1, Manchester definitely came in […]