For no particular reason, here’s an in-depth analysis of the 2012 song “Begin Again” by Taylor Swift Taylor Swift’s fourth album, Red, ends with the ballad “Begin Again.” It’s the closest any of her music has sounded to “country” since her Fearless days. Swift and co. released it as Red’s second single – preceding the…
The most important thing to remember when thinking about TLOP and the insane lead up to its release is the one thing that’s remained constant throughout the rapper’s whole career: Kanye West is full of contradictions. It might be infuriating, but it’s true: The moment you think you can generalize something about Kanye, he’ll swerve. How…
10. Jessi J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang” I would call this my “guilty pleasure” selection, but, as Colton and I have repeatedly noted, there should be no guilt in the pleasure of a finely-crafted pop number. The Max Martin-produced “Bang Bang” is probably my favorite pop radio staple this decade, with a sizzling beat,…
Billboard.com currently has a poll running for readers to vote on who they want to play at the next Super Bowl. They’ve selected fifteen potential artists, most of whom would be semi-reasonable selections. I’ve decided to rank them in terms of which ones I think would be the most sensible choices, with the second factor being which ones would put…
The 57th Annual Grammy Awards come to you Sunday, February 8th. Rather than complain about the rigged system or make fun of the losers, this year I thought I’d consider the nominees in the “big four” categories on their own merits and decide how I’d order them and dish out the awards. Record, Album, and…
Since she released her first album in 2006, Taylor Swift has steadily become the most popular musician on the planet. Her most recent album, 1989, was the bestselling (non-Frozen) album of the year, and she continues to roll out #1 singles. And there’s a reason she’s beloved: None of her five albums have been bad, and…
Taylor Swift dropped her much-hyped fifth album, 1989, today, and as one of the millions who professes himself a fan of Tay-Tay, I’ve already made a few listen-throughs. I wanted to share my thoughts here. Let’s start by going back two years. Taylor’s fourth album, Red, put me off a bit when I first heard it. I had…
Sometimes, even our biggest heroes falter. Below is a list of bad songs by our favorite artists. Whether they’re disappointing, dull, or downright disastrous, these twenty tracks remind us of that lesson Billy Wilder taught us so many years ago. As always, we’ve included a Spotify playlist so you can listen as you read. Enjoy! (Or,…
This is an Earn This Mixtape For the sixth entry in the Earn This Mixtape Series, Grant and I came up with twenty songs that give us serious cognitive dissonance. The first half of this mixtape is a list of songs where the chorus overpowers the rest of the song. The second half…
Last night’s awards show rollicked along with inspired live collaborations pushing crossover appeal to new heights, touching moments honoring timeless musical champions, and a whole lot of gold getting handed out. At least, I assume that’s how it continued: low on energy and staring down the barrel of a new week of work, I only…