A Love Letter to my Infinite Playlist
Scrolling through my playlists is an all–consuming experience.
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Scrolling through my playlists is an all–consuming experience.
Weezer’s music is known for being saturated in satirical nuances. Rivers Cuomo, lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the infamous rock band, has the incredible ability to intertwine desolate emotion with an exuberant backbeat and catchy melody. We’ve seen it in the popular hit “Island in the Sun,” a song about running away from the bleakness of reality into an exultant paradise. Again, throughout their 1996 album Pinkerton, Weezer weaves a depressing tale in songs like “Long Time Sunshine” and “Across the Sea” against an electrifying rock beat. OK Human, released on Jan. 29, does just the same; the album is starkly realistic, providing insight into the emotion of isolation during COVID–19, while maintaining an unforgettable instrumental structure.
Valentine's Day is here, so what better way to celebrate it than with some love songs? Here you will find a hand–selected assortment of songs that cover all shades of romance—from heartbreak to a new crush to friendship and back.
If one productive thing has come out of the angst and isolation of the pandemic, it’s good music. Our favorite artists are going just as stir–crazy as us, and the result is surprise albums, quarantine live stream concerts and, of course, amazing covers. The value of the cover in the past year has been the comfort they provide—the familiar balm of favorite songs, reimagined as a distraction from our otherwise uncertain reality.
We've all heard "drivers license," Olivia Rodrigo's record–shattering single, and we've all probably heard at least a little bit about its accompanying love triangle. After its release earlier this year, fans became detectives, trying to decipher all the clues Rodrigo included regarding her former relationship with co–star Joshua Bassett and his new girlfriend, actress and singer Sabrina Carpenter. Written about the end of Rodrigo's relationship, "drivers license" features a dramatic bridge and an even more alluring backstory.
A decade after her debut with The Family Jewels, Marina Diamandis has officially become a feminist.
The world lost a revolutionary last Saturday morning.
Imagine it: the thrashing of the speakers, incandescent lights reflecting against the glazed eyes of fans, sweat saturating the air between the stage and the audience, and a euphoric aura pervading the stadium. That transcendent sensation of being in the presence of live music and exultant people. It all seems completely foreign now.
Earlier this month, Street featured Arlo Parks' debut album as one of our most anticipated new releases of 2021. Slated to open for Paramore artist Hayley Williams before COVID–19 restrictions canceled the tour, Parks had garnered buzz for the handful of singles she released over the last few years as she worked on her first LP. Showcasing poignant lyricism and dreamy vocals in tracks like “Cola,” Parks’ singles inflated expectations for her first full–length project, Collapsed in Sunbeams—and she’s somehow surpassed them.
History and music are indisputably interconnected. Specific decades celebrate distinctive artists and genres. Through the bright and the dark days, music provides us with one thing: a universal language that unites us all. This past decade was categorized by wild ups and downs that propelled our sense of ‘normalcy’ into disarray. However, music temporarily erased the blemishes of our imperfect country by spreading awareness and bonding citizens towards a united cause.
It would be difficult to explore Zayn Malik and his new album, Nobody is Listening, without mentioning One Direction—which is perhaps the reason all five former members have tried to establish, and even prove, their individuality. With an outpouring of disappointing solo tracks and well–intentioned but poorly executed albums, some of the former boyband stars have begun growing into their own skin while others falter. Nobody is Listening lands Malik in the former category, marking a clear step in his personal journey and improving upon his past work.
One of the best ways to escape reality and cure boredom during this tumultuous quarantine is binging K– dramas. From whirlwind romances to dreadful horrors, you could plunge into a high school Cinderella story or breathe a sigh of relief that at least our world isn’t filled with supernatural monsters. You may have heard of them even if you are not familiar with Korean culture—some of them have gained international fame, especially in Asia, but also in the United States. Although K–dramas may be a challenge to watch for some viewers who don’t know the Korean language, the universal language of music that these dramas feature has helped push them to further international fame.
Taylor Swift immersed us in a fairytale that felt truly isolated from the reality of lockdown during the pandemic with the intricate and passionate tales of folklore. The love, defeat, and beauty she conveyed through the album’s forested trail settled a new front for Swift’s music: woodsy, poetic, and mournful. evermore, the sister album to folklore, came as a sigh of relief as it enveloped you in the sylvan picks of guitar strings and flute spells underlining Swift’s raw vocals in the album’s first track, "willow." She has created yet another masterpiece.
As the holiday season wraps up and 2021 barrels on, a new slate of albums are set to be released. While several of our favorite artists—like Lorde, Adele, and St. Vincent—have yet to announce specific release plans, there's still plenty of great music to be excited for over the next month. Currently, Street's got our eyes on Arlo Parks' highly anticipated debut record, the follow–up to slowthai's Mercury Prize-nominated Nothing Great About Britain (2019), and Julien Baker's first solo project since 2017.
After two years of legal battles, Nicki Minaj agreed to a $450,000 offer of judgment to Tracy Chapman for sampling her 1988 hit “Baby Can I Hold You" in Minaj's leaked song “Sorry.” Following their mutual agreement, Chapman released a statement explaining that “as a songwriter and an independent publisher, I have been known to be protective of my work. I have never authorized the use of my songs for samples or requested a sample.” Chapman’s suit against Minaj is hardly the first time two artists have sought legal action over copyright infringement or similarities in music, but the lawsuit over “Sorry” raised eyebrows for one reason: Minaj never officially included it on her album, Queen (2018). While Minaj didn't formally release the song, it leaked to a popular radio station DJ, Funkmaster Flex, who then played it on his station.
The Weeknd stands out from his fellow male pop stars in his self–presentation. No other cisgender heterosexual male pop star in the current mainstream puts as much effort into their aesthetic as Abel Tesfaye does. With the notable exceptions of Harry Styles and Bad Bunny, Tesfaye stands in blaring contrast to his colleagues—especially during the campaign for his most recent album and era, After Hours. The multifaceted personality he brings to the looks of this era are exemplary, too, of the double standard in the music industry between men and women when it comes to self–presentation.
Despite Trump’s crusade to ban TikTok, the social media app continues to rise in popularity. It seems like all of TikTok’s “sides” grow stronger: “straight” TikTok, “alt” TikTok, WitchTok—you name it. Music TikTok, however, has had a unique impact, influencing the music industry by dominating radio and streaming charts. Mia Giovina can be found in that side of TikTok—and she’s changing the game.
Hopefully, by now, you've checked out Street's Favorite Albums of 2020. This list is a little different: It's a collection of my favorite albums of the year that either went unnoticed or were underappreciated in some way. This list skews pretty heavily toward dream pop–type bands, but there's some post–rock, some synthpop, and some country mixed in as well. Each entry is also accompanied by some similar bands that you've probably heard of (or listened to) before, so hopefully one of these entries aligns with an artist you know and love.
It’s a chilly Wednesday evening in November of 2009. My idol, Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana, is literally in the same room as me, breathing the same air. Ohmygod. It’s my first concert, and although my seven–year–old ego spends much of it being embarrassed by my mom and grandma dancing, it also happens to be the best night of my life thus far.
Around this time every year, 320 million people around the world receive a love letter.
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