Tag Archives: music writer

The Chainsmokers’ Throw a Deadly Party

The New York Health Commissioner said that the Chainsmoker’s Hampton’s party “Mocks New Yorkers’ attempt to flatten the curve.” 

On Saturday, The Chainsmokers threw a $25,000 per ticket, promotional party to support FuckJerry’s tequila release. The CEO of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, performed as a DJ, opening the show.

How, you may ask, did we get here? Why would so many people think that partying during a pandemic, as a deadly infection virus sweeps the nation, is a good idea? How could nobody have stopped this?

It’s beacause everything is terrible.

But we’re not the only ones who are pissed about the party. New York’s Health Commissioner, Howard A. Zucker, who has worked tirelessly for almost 6 months to flatten the curve of infections in New York, and did so to an impressive extent, expressed his anger in a letter he released.

“This is not just a lack of common sense, but an illegal and reckless endangerment of public health…

I think what struck our collective nerve was seeing so many with so much to their advantage — concert attendees were generally young, healthy, and, as indicated by the $850 ticket prices, able to afford health care if they should need it — be so cavalier about taking a risk that could have dire consequences for many.

You don’t have to be the commissioner of health to realize that when it comes to contracting and transmitting a contagious and dangerous disease, every one of us is a card-carrying member of the rank-and-file. COVID-19 is an equal-opportunity infector: It doesn’t recognize skin color or the thickness of stock portfolios.”

Look, we love a party. We all want to party. But we’re not partying because it could possibly harm people. Nobody likes a party that hurts people.

But it’s one thing to throw a bad party, it’s another if your party could potentially murder people.

Rap Battles in the Age of Covid

Imagine, if you will, you’re inside of a dank basement or an underground warehouse full of sparks and sweat, so humid you can see the moisture and fear in the air. Two men stand toe-to-toe, locked at the eyes, with nothing but fire and tension between them. The moment builds, the crowd of anxious hyenas wait silently, patiently. One man grabs the mic:

“2 CHAAAINZ”  

He declares proudly as the room explodes with deafening cheers.

M-M-M-Maybach Music”

The tension hangs so thick in the air, you can taste it on your tongue. It tastes of pride, aggression, and the will to survive. Who wants it more?

Welcome to the World of Battle Rapping, and during the times of Covid and social distancing, they don’t happen in fiery warehouses, there are no musty basements. It’s happening right inside your house. 

On Thursday, August 6 at 8 p.m. EST, Rick Ross and 2 Chainz will go head to head in a Verzuz virtual rap battle. Hosted by Ciroc and Apple Music, the two rap giants will compete in the most primal of rap activities, a battle.

Verzuz pairs up rappers for a virtual rap battle, because that is what happens when there are no concerts or music festivals. We need new content, and it has to be virtual.

To watch the battle, head to Verzuz’s Instagram, or watch on Apple Music.

Phoebe Bridgers Invites the Apocalypse in Her Epic “I Know The End” Video

One of the joys in music is how brutally it can strip away all ego. I’ve seen grown men cry at Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” I’ve seen a band of young Japanese girls play the hardest metal you’ll ever hear. 

When it comes to music, the feeling you get when that song starts, or how you lose yourself in the lyrics, is all that matters. 

Phoebe Bridgers makes impossibly pretty, yet emotionally carving indie rock. Her music has this ability to cut you to the core, yet keep you coming back for more. 

This is her gift as a songwriter, to craft something so approachable, and making it deadly. She’s the human embodiment of a butterfly knife- floating delicately along, until it cuts you.

On her latest album, Punisher, she cuts deeper than ever before. “I Know the End,” the climatic album-closer, is one of the best songs of the year. 

What starts as a strumming guitar grows into an erupting volcano. Bridgers’ voice is light as a feather, almost like a whisper in the breeze, until it comes crashing down around us. The song builds and builds into an all out apocalypse of guitars, drums, and shouts to anyone who’ll listen.

The result is nothing short of stunning, and the video is no different. Director Alissa Torvinen finds Bridgers in a bleak, world, gone past the brink of extinction. As the song builds to its crescendo, the fire and flames do too.  

It’s a victory lap for an artist at the top of her game, and exactly what a world currently in shambles needs to see right now. 

Two Unknown Artists Collaborate

Two young, up and coming musicians, still pretty new to the game, but with kind of unique and somewhat interesting sounds and styles are collaborating together this week.

They’re called Draké and Dee Jay Khalid.

Never heard of ’em.

Just kidding, they’re the masters of rap and pop music who have come together to create the house party essential bangers including, but not limited to: “I’m On One,” “To the Max,” “No New Friends,” and more.

Now, it’s been announced via Khaled’s very loud Instagram that he and Drake some two fire tracks that are almost ready to be brought out of the oven.

They will be dropping 2 new tracks this week, and if I was a betting man, I’d say they will be catchy, poppy, and make a trillion dollars.

UGH.

UGH.

UGH UGH UGH.

Kanye, please don’t fuck this up for us. I’ve been a fan for a really long time. It hasn’t always been easy. But if you somehow get Biden in the White House instead of the Racist Tangerine we have now, I will never stop listening to your albums.

Kanye announced on Twitter last week that he wants to run for President in 2020. #2020Vision. Clever!

The only problem with this is:

  • He’s unqualified
  • He’s nuts
  • We have a very bad man in the office right now
  • We have a better man who is trying to get him out
  • Kanye is not either of those people, so he shouldn’t be involved
  • He involved himself
  • And finally
  • If Kanye is a candidate that people vote for, either out of fandom or thinking they’re funny, or just because they hate both choices, Kanye will still not recieve close to enough votes to win. Howver, he may steal valuable votes away from Joe Biden, who, as earlier noted, is trying to kick the racist bad man out of the office that he uses to do bad things to good people.

Kanye’s currently polling at 2%. The data shows that he isn’t affecting Biden’s numbers, but he is taking a point away from Trumpito.

So with any hope, Biden/Kanye is the winning ticket, and we can experience joy and relief again.

But we’ll just have to see what happens in 112 DAYS.

Can’t Wait for LamaPalooza

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has been a symbol for peace, patience, respect, and harmony for many years. He’s been a beacon for so many people for so long. And after enough time, creativity strikes and you just have to make an album. These things just happen.

The Dalai Lama released his debut album last Friday, and what do you know, the thing is a cover-to-cover bangers. For this reason, it has propelled to the top of the charts, claiming the #1 spot on Billboard’s New Age album chart.

The album is composed of melodic and peaceful tones, perfect for a meditation sesh, or some nice ambient studying music. Maybe you’re studying Buddhism to become a more well rounded global citizen. In that case, I would definitely recommend the Dalai Lama’s new album for you.

It’s kind of nice to see another name that’s not Nicki Minaj, Justin Bieber, or Pope Francis at the top of the charts.

Much love to the Dalai Lama!

Benjamin Booker Soulfully Slays Lawrence, KS

The neo-Soul revival, which includes artists such as Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr., Jacob Banks, and more, touched down in Lawrence, KS last night when Benjamin Booker played his guitar at the Bottleneck.

Booker, a young and quickly ascending musician from Virginia Beach, VA played to a semi-packed, dimly lit room and astonished everyone in it with his soulful, dusty voice and unbelievably skilled guitar playing. Together with his tight-knit four piece band, Booker ramshackled through an hour long set.

The vibe Booker puts out is a young soul artist way beyond his years. His voice sounds airy and gravelly, with an inflection of hurt within the words. As any good soul singer will testify to, the backbone of soul is this deep, confounding hurt. The kind of pain that drives you to strum that guitar in such a way that everyone listening can tell, damn this guy’s been through it. 

But Booker’s style isn’t just soul, his sound incorporates a lot of rock and roll as well as the blues. On songs like “Wicked Waters” he rocks out to a fast-paced, riff-driven melody. On tracks like “Witness,” he incorporates the blues into a smooth, gospel-y sound that sounds warm and vintage.

“Have You Seen My Son” is a wild rocking song that stays tight in the pocket before unleashing into a hair-raising chorus. It’s a fiery song that could easily find a home on a work out playlist and sounds superb in a life setting.

Booker’s ability to sound both new and old is what makes him so appealing. His voice and his music sounds like a throwback, but it’s still new enough to be cutting edge and fresh.

His voice is able to capture a mood, a feeling that is truly unique. For someone so young to be able to have such a diverse sound is incredibly impressive. Benjamin Booker is at the beginning of a very long and successful career, and his first impression last night at the Bottleneck is an indication of that.