From recording to performing almost constantly to managing herself as a business, you can’t question Whitney Mongé’s commitment to her career and her craft.
Music
Music
The Divine Revelation of Raven Matthews
Raven Matthews. Photo by Ivan Mršić. There’s a lot of bullshit music floating around on the internet. The fact that any kid with a synthesizer and Soundcloud can produce and disseminate their work in an instant is incredible, but for every M. I. A. or Grimes that...
How Could You Possibly Be Disinterested In Tacocat?
Whenever we talk about aesthetic judgment, we’re gonna have to talk about Immanuel Kant. Even here, in an article about a Seattle punk band, there’s no ignoring the big, 18th century, German elephant in the room. In his Third Critique, Critique of Judgment, Kant...
The Question of SOPHIE
Late on Sunday night, stumped on how to begin this concert review, I did what any truly great music critic would do in a time of need–I got on the internet. I found myself on YouTube, watching (for what I believe is the 3000th time) Madonna’s 1990 MTV performance of...
Kacey Musgraves Made Me Love Country
It’s often hard to like country. In the pantheon of American music it’s right up there with metal in the most-likely-to-get-sneered-at category. Truthfully, it’s not hard to understand why. There is a lot of terrible country music. A large chunk of mainstream country...
Local Music In A Global Age
In case you missed the memo, we live in an increasingly globalized world. No realm is safe–least of all music. In a lot of ways, this is a really good thing. The ease with which artists and culture creators can now create and share content, even across thousands of...
Le1f Live: I Could’ve Whirled Away Into Forever
Writing about live music in late 1980s New York, Kim Gordon once offered the observation that, “People pay to see others believe in themselves.” At the risk of disrespecting one of my greatest heroines, I think Ms. Gordon misses the point a bit. The joy of being an...
Three Minutes And Thirty-One Seconds
In music, as in life, beginnings are often the most exciting part. Every song, every album, every concert and performance and dance routine must begin somewhere. It could be the opening guitar riff of Purple Haze, the lazy bass and snare heralding Proud Mary, or...
Make It Stop: The Illegitimacy Of The Grammy Awards
I don’t like the Grammys. I’ve known this for years, and I make no secret of it. When an institution bestows an award on the Baha Men but withholds from Patti Smith, Morrisey, Public Enemy, Bjork, Notorious B. I. G., Tupac, and Katy Perry, I have some doubts about...
DoNormaal. She Will Explode.
DoNormaal. Photo by Stacey Jurss via donormaal.com It was 10pm on Saturday night. I got out of my car, waited for my friend to crush her Four Loko can underfoot, and walked into a house show in Fremont. The house was a nondescript two-story outfit that sometimes...
That Song Is A Drag: Top Ten Drag Songs
We thank you, Mother Ru, in your beneficence, for bestowing upon us another season of the greatest, gayest show on television. In celebration, I’ll be counting down the Top Ten Best Songs released by queens from past seasons of Drag Race.
Who Will Save Queer Hip-Hop?
There is a moment in the video for Wut, by New York rapper Le1f, that I feel we should discuss. In it, Le1f—understated in a jersey, athletic shorts and a gold chain—perches on the lap of a man. The man is muscular and white, his body coated in oil, his face obscured...