Deluxe albums: Commerce before art?

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

On 'TWOPOINTFIVE,' Aminé experiments in fun

By Brooks Finby | November 15, 2021

“TWOPOINTFIVE” is an explosion of color — the cover art depicts Aminé’s head, warped and distorted, bursting into a splatter of neon colors. The project shows Aminé having fun and refusing to be boxed in creatively.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

JPEGMAFIA's "LP!" proves he is an artist like no other

By Rhys Banerjee | November 15, 2021

Whether you love the album or you can’t stand it, it’s unique to JPEGMafia.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Authenticity and sadness: Perspectives on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Blue Banisters’

By Lily Zhu and Anna Rebello | November 8, 2021

Recess writers weigh in on Lana Del Ray's "most personal album to date"

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Broadway's 'Jagged Little Pill' makes you fall in love with Alanis Morissette's album all over again

By Skyler Graham | November 8, 2021

It’s not the first story about being bisexual or a Gen Z activist or questioning your role as a woman and a person in the world. But it is the first time I’ve seen all these stories share the same stage at the same time.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Sounds of the future: Q&A with Orlando-based collective seeyousoon

By Brooks Finby | November 5, 2021

Explosive. Colorful. Textured. Different. The sound of seeyousoon, a nine-member genre-defying collective out of Orlando, Florida, can be difficult to describe. Their music colors outside sonic lines, shattering the traditional norms of hip-hop with avant-garde production. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

With its recent re-release, now is a great time to revisit Mac Miller's “Faces”

By Rhys Banerjee | October 25, 2021

Miller was 22 when he released “Faces.” The mixtape, released for free online in 2014, is dense: 24 songs and over 85 minute. Many fans of Miller’s music consider it to be his magnum opus, but until this year, it remained largely inaccessible to many.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

How Oh Wonder broke apart to come together in '22 Break'

By Devinne Moses | October 11, 2021

Breakup albums usually tell one side of the story, but “22 Break” is Oh Wonder’s way of telling us what it’s like to break up and share both perspectives.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Selena Gomez's ‘Revelación’

By Jonathan Pertile | October 11, 2021

Gomez’s return to her heritage is important to me because like her, I have long been trying to reconnect with my own heritage, especially through language.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Column: UNC's Taylor Swift discography ranking is depressing. Ours is better.

By Jonathan Pertile | October 4, 2021

Though we might have lost in football, we certainly win when it comes to taste in Taylor Swift songs. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Lessons about art from Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

By Cody Schmidt | October 4, 2021

Perhaps the only list where Robyn’s “Dancing on my Own” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” will ever be ranked side by side, specifically at number 20 and number 19, it includes a variety of genres and representation from every decade since the 1930s. While many of the songs are instantly recognizable, whether they be pop favorites or timeless ballads, it wouldn’t be the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” without controversy and the plague of rockism. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Lil Nas X's 'Montero' proves he is much more than a one-hit wonder

By Brooks Finby | October 1, 2021

With the release of his debut album “Montero,” Lil Nas X proves that he is an unstoppable force in the music industry—and he knows it well. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

The Black Eyed Peas' 'The E.N.D' and the power of nostalgia

By Rhys Banerjee | September 27, 2021

In a time when things seem so complex and difficult, sometimes it’s just easier to channel the innocence we once had and crank up “I Gotta Feeling” one more time.

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Sagun and Carl Storm’s newest EP 'solitude' chronicles the challenges of artistry during a pandemic

By Kerry Rork | September 27, 2021

The EP offers an expressive examination into a year in which artistry and creation were transformed through new mediums and restricted opportunities. Sagun and Carl Storm clearly conquer such distance with beautiful atmospheric songs and an intimate video experience that unite the psychological states of a pandemic-ridden world. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Lorde’s Māori-language EP, ‘Te Ao Mārama,’ is for Everyone

By Sasha Provost | September 20, 2021

Fresh off the release of her third studio album, “Solar Power,” Lorde surprised fans by dropping a surprise EP, “Te Ao Mārama” Sept. 9. The EP features five songs from “Solar Power” recorded entirely in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of the Māori people of New Zealand. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

On 'Certified Lover Boy,' Drake loses friends and we lose interest

By Brooks Finby | September 13, 2021

Do you need to reinvent the wheel if you've mastered making it spin?

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

Still Woozy's debut album is an alt-pop catharsis

By Kerry Rork | September 6, 2021

In a recent interview discussing the release of his newest album, Still Woozy commented, "This album is me figuring out what an album could be. Each song is expressing a different part of my palette, something I couldn't do if I was just putting out single after single." And figure it out he did. 

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CULTURE  |  MUSIC

How 16-year-old Glaive is taking over the hyperpop world

By Brooks Finby | August 30, 2021

The lanky 6’4 teen hails from Hendersonville, a small town in western North Carolina right outside of Asheville. It’s certainly not the first place you’d expect to find the next big pop star. But that’s exactly what Glaive, named after a weapon from "Dark Souls III", will be.