“These days, if you catch a DJ set by Juana at a secret warehouse rave or subterranean nightclub party, you’re likely to be inundated by techno, that pulsating and pneumatic attack girded by nonstop industrial grooves and synthesizer squelches. But it wasn’t always that way for the Chicago-born, D.C.-based selector.”
“At one point at the 9:30 Club, Noname promised: “I’m going to be transparent with you.” All tour long, she confessed, she had been having trouble getting through the entirety of her just-released track, “Song 31.” Her Wednesday night show was no different, but after a break for water and encouragement from the crowd, she tiptoed her way through her latest lyrical minefield to cheers.”
“Music for teenagers lives in dualities and extremes — songs about love so intense, it curdles into hate; songs about pain so deep, only destruction and drugs offer amelioration. Rapper-singer Juice WRLD, who just turned 20, is the latest in a long line of musicians who alchemize these emotional EKGs into pop songs.”
“Father was run-down on Sunday night, eschewing his usual cup of booze for honey and hot water, but that didn’t stop the Songbyrd audience from making strange, off-putting requests.”
“As the mastermind behind Nine Inch Nails for three decades, Trent Reznor has made rage his default: at himself, at others, at God, at the political system. That’s how it remained Tuesday night at the Anthem.”
“Before the Internet, Jim Thomson used to scan the newspaper for musical performances. Years ago, he came across a listing for Ahmed Abdul-Malik, a name he recognized as playing oud (a Middle Eastern lute) on an obscure John Coltrane live album. He wound up seeing Abdul-Malik perform at the Richmond public library for about 10 people.”
“It was about 9 p.m. Saturday night, and the basement of Songbyrd was already sticky with sweat. The low, fairy-light-festooned ceiling and the sold-out, couple-hundred-deep crowd made the venue feel claustrophobic — and that was before everyone took two giant steps forward in an attempt to get as close as possible to JPEGMAFIA as he took the stage.”
