The eclectic collective 2012 Bid Adieu finds itself in ‘our digital purgatory’

Posted on July 25, 2019 | Leave a comment

A few years ago, doomsdayers predicted that the apocalypse would occur in 2012, based on some creative readings of astrology and Mayan history. There was even a bloated disaster film about it. But 2012 came and went, and life went on.

Or did it?

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For singer Harriet Brown, moving to L.A. spurred ‘super-painful’ self-reflection

Posted on July 18, 2019 | Leave a comment

For many of us, bouts of anxiety or depression can be treated by window-shopping or Amazon trawling to reach a better state of mind. But no matter how good a salve, such retail therapy can’t cure underlying issues — a truth hinted at by Harriet Brown as he sings, “I’m just one choice away from purchasing away this pain” on his song “Retail Therapy.”

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Nobody on stage seemed to be having fun at Lil Wayne and Blink-182’s nostalgia show

Posted on July 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

“When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life doing something else, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. That might explain what happened to Lil Wayne on Thursday night at Jiffy Lube Live, where a man once considered the greatest rapper alive asked the crowd for forgiveness, played about a fifth of the songs he played the night before, finished his blunt and left the stage.”

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For OG Lullabies, the influence for her dreamy music came early in life

Posted on July 4, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Familial legend has it that Taylor Brooke taught herself to play the piano by the age of 2. By 6, she picked up the violin, and as a teen, she learned how to use production software to turn her loose ideas into fully formed songs.”

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A definitively D.C. musical experience for a young Dayon Greene

Posted on June 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

“‘Out in LA,” a song by rapper-singer-songwriter the Experience, is destined for dance parties, with its four-on-the-floor groove and a chic bass line reminiscent of dance floors past. The song sounds timeless, but its genesis is of our shared economy, socially networked times.”

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Jamila Woods brings a legacy, and her muses, to Union Stage

Posted on June 6, 2019 | Leave a comment

“To make sense of life, Jamila Woods studied the wisdom of her ancestors, synthesized it into poetry, and scored it with music. The result is “Legacy! Legacy!,” an astounding, soul-nurturing album that became even more fulfilling when she performed it at a sold-out Union Stage on Tuesday night.”

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The ecology at the root of Marian McLaughlin’s music

Posted on May 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Every day seems to bring a new dispatch about the dire state of a world in climate crisis: Species extinction. Rising temperatures. Melting ice sheets. The reports are depressing to the point of despondency: What can individuals do when our fellow citizens, corporations and governments seem content to push the pedal to the floor and accelerate toward an uninhabitable planet?”

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At the Fillmore, Smino’s many gifts were on full display

Posted on May 9, 2019 | Leave a comment

“Smino had been performing at the Fillmore Silver Spring for about an hour on Tuesday night, and it was time for what he called his “favorite part of the show.” As his band played the “Jeopardy!” theme, he asked a fan in the middle of the crowd to choose between the “ratchet right side” or the “legendary left side.”

The fan picked the “ratchet right side,” and the crowd went wild, but the decision seemed irrelevant. Smino had used that kind of tried-and-true crowd work all night, even getting the audience to throw their hands in the air and wave them like they just don’t care. His ability to do it all without feeling corny was just one of his many gifts on display.”

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Kodak Black, mired in controversy, is a tough act to reckon with

Posted on April 26, 2019 | Leave a comment

“In his lyrics, Kodak Black vows to let his “soul bleed on the track,” and it’s a promise the 21-year-old rapper always keeps. When Kodak raps about his struggles, the pain is palpable. “You know death right around the corner and prison my next-door neighbor,” he intones on his latest album, “Dying to Live.”

It’s Kodak’s preternatural ability to paint pictures about his come-up in rap and extravagant, law-straddling, post-fame life that makes him one of the genre’s brightest stars.”

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The beautiful community of Near Northeast, the band

Posted on March 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

“A half-hour before the band’s first show, D.C. foursome Near Northeast settled on their moniker, after the neighborhood that housed their first practice space. Later, they found out that the area was historically known as “Swampoodle,” a name befitting a more twee, playful or whimsical band.”

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