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Matthew Kellenberg | Friday, January 17, 2020
Music critics tend to disagree. However, when they do so, they tend to agree on why: Music taste is subjective. That is, when it comes to judging music, we are individual subjects making independent judgments. I disagree. To a certain extent, our judgments of music are determined by the cultures in which we live and
Ryan Israel, Charlie Kenney, Matthew Kellenberg, Dessi Gomez, Hanna Kennedy, Jake Winningham, Ethan Utley, Mike Donovan, Sarah Kikel, Elizabeth Gregory, Willoughby Thom and Sara Schlecht | Thursday, December 12, 2019
It’s the grand finale: Scene’s official list of the top 20 albums of the year. Our writers have spent 2019 listening to countless hours of music, as our Spotify Wrappeds can confirm, and have taken this time before finals begin to reflect on the year in music by ranking our top albums. Each writer’s rankings
Matthew Kellenberg | Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Kanye West’s latest album, “Jesus Is King,” is a deeply spiritual, if equally controversial, project. Religion is a common theme in West’s music, from his 2004 song “Jesus Walks,” to his controversial “I Am a God,” to his gospel-infused “Ultralight Beam.” But never has West’s focus been so defined as on his latest album, “Jesus
Matthew Kellenberg | Monday, November 18, 2019
Liam Dacey, a Notre Dame alumnus (’04), gave a talk about the past, present and future of LGBTQ+ acceptance at Notre Dame on Friday in DeBartolo Hall. As an undergraduate, Dacey co-founded the University’s Queer Film Festival. Today, he is a board member of Gay & Lesbian Alumni of Notre Dame & St. Mary’s (GALA-ND/SMC),
Matthew Kellenberg | Thursday, November 7, 2019
Three albums, two collaborations with Tyler, the Creator and one record deal in, Rex Orange County has hit his stride in the music industry. But the 21-year-old is in no hurry to grow up. “Pony,” Rex’s third and latest album, sees the singer-songwriter reining himself in as he rounds the corner on adulthood, yearning for
Matthew Kellenberg | Thursday, October 17, 2019
Fans of indie rock band Big Thief were surprised last July to receive unmarked, unannounced packages at their doors. Those fans had purchased vinyl copies of the group’s third album, “U.F.O.F.,” back in May, but these new packages contained something different: a two-song record, etched only with the date 10/11/19. The first song on the
Matthew Kellenberg | Thursday, September 19, 2019
In its early heyday, Scottish pop band Belle & Sebastian established its image by telling the stories of others. The group was named not for its members, but rather for the couple in a short story by frontman Stuart Murdoch — characters who were, correspondingly, named for a boy and a dog from a French
Matthew Kellenberg | Monday, September 2, 2019
To some, Clairo is the lip-syncing teen in that viral “Pretty Girl” video, a serendipitous beneficiary of the mysterious YouTube algorithm. To others, she is a music industry plant, a young woman whose father’s connections paved the way for her swift rise. But through a string of dazzling hits, Claire Cottrill has proven herself to
Matthew Kellenberg | Thursday, April 25, 2019
On the topic of predicting a film’s critical or commercial success, screenwriter William Goldman famously declared: “Nobody knows anything.” Goldman’s Law seems to apply to the music world as well. Rivers Cuomo of Weezer once called “Pinkerton,” the band’s second album, “a hideous record … a hugely painful mistake,” though it matured into one of
Matthew Kellenberg | Thursday, March 21, 2019
“Take Me to Church” is one of the great pop songs of our time. The anthemic blues-gospel track tugs expertly at strings of devotion and disillusionment. Earnest “amens” juxtapose biting premonitions: “I’ll tell you my sins, and you can sharpen your knife.” The song’s key fluctuates between major and minor, evoking visceral agitation. Yet, Hozier’s