ties that bind

Protomartyr and the Paradise Papers of a Developing Nation
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Protomartyr and the Paradise Papers of a Developing Nation

By
 / 14 November 2017

Protomartyr's story of the USA is the "Paradise Papers" of a country that officially considers itself a developed nation but in fact is developing in the wrong direction -- and everyone knows it.

The Next Hot Music Scene Can Be Found at Twin Peaks’ Bang Bang Bar
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The Next Hot Music Scene Can Be Found at Twin Peaks’ Bang Bang Bar

By
 / 12 September 2017
One of the most heartening and compelling aspects of David Lynch's approach to this new season of Twin Peaks is his widened musical palette.
Being Human: Rag’n’Bone Man and the Authenticities of Voice
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Being Human: Rag’n’Bone Man and the Authenticities of Voice

By
 / 21 August 2017
Human fits alongside the works of Alabama Shakes and Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, but can Rag'n'Bone Man's distinctive gospel-blues voice find a place on the American charts?
Algiers and the Political Structures of Noise
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Algiers and the Political Structures of Noise

By
 / 17 July 2017
How can there be a political movement if we're unwilling to move? Algiers connects past and present for the sake of the future.
Chastity Belt’s ‘I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone’ and the Power of Termite Art
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Chastity Belt’s ‘I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone’ and the Power of Termite Art

By
 / 12 June 2017
Chastity Belt's latest is a killer album, laid back but upbeat, honest and laser sharp, a highly unified piece of work by four people who know exactly what they want to say and how to say it.
Power Play: Brian Williams, Leonard Cohen, and “First We Take Manhattan”
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Power Play: Brian Williams, Leonard Cohen, and “First We Take Manhattan”

By
 / 15 May 2017
In "First We Take Manhattan", Leonard Cohen recognized the shared appeal of extremism in politics and art as the allure of power.
Lana Del Rey’s “Love” in the Era of Trump
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Lana Del Rey’s “Love” in the Era of Trump

By
 / 3 April 2017
"Love" makes me wonder if we've misheard Del Rey's use of nostalgia, mistaking it for the rose-colored (and heart-shaped) variety when instead it produces a fog.
Privilege Corrupts: Donald Trump and “The Devil in His Youth”
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Privilege Corrupts: Donald Trump and “The Devil in His Youth”

By
 / 8 August 2016
How a song by Protomartyr keeps taking on new meaning in the age of Donald Trump.
Fantastic Negrito’s “Working Poor” Is the Soundtrack to Summer of 2016
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Fantastic Negrito’s “Working Poor” Is the Soundtrack to Summer of 2016

By
 / 13 July 2016

America’s working poor exist in a shadow cast by the harsh light of prosperity. Fantastic Negrito’s “Working Poor” speaks from those shadows, creates light within that space, and insists on being heard.

Flea-Market Music: On the Glorious Cacophony of The Felice Brothers
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Flea-Market Music: On the Glorious Cacophony of The Felice Brothers

By
 / 15 June 2016
Their style is loose, but not without form; cluttered, though sometimes spare; common, but not ordinary; discounted, but not cheap; public, but out-of-the-way; historical, but liable to disappear at any moment.
Prince: Never Stop Arguing
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Prince: Never Stop Arguing

By
 / 16 May 2016
Prince's life is over but his music is not, and that music was never just about him, and it was never just about me, and it was never just about you.
Time of Absence: Documenting Kanye West’s ‘Life of Pablo’
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Time of Absence: Documenting Kanye West’s ‘Life of Pablo’

By
 / 4 April 2016
The Life of Pablo is an ideological attack against the pop institutions that continually try to mystify art and control the artist's identity for profit.