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Scene

Scene’s Year in Review 2018: Best albums of the year

Nora McGreevy, Sara Schlecht, Ryan Israel, Mike Donovan, Jake Winningham, Nia Sylva, Kay Bontempo, Lucas Masin-Moyer, Carlos De Loera and Ethan Utley | Thursday, December 6, 2018

In early December, as finals begin to emerge on the horizon, Scene writers take off their headphones, pause the music and look back at what they’ve listened to throughout the year. Each writer picks their personal 20 best albums, and 2018 had no shortage of albums to choose from. Old names returned to the scene,

Scene

Scene Selections: Summer recap

Nora McGreevy, Charlie Kenney, Nicholas Ottone, Ryan Israel and Carlos De Loera | Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Twitter redemption stories, kitschy ‘80s television shows about women wrestlers, folk music in Rhode Island, jazz by the Smithsonian and Drake has a secret kid? Yes, to all of the above. Read on for a glimpse into the arts and culture that Scene’s writers loved this summer. “Brooklyn 99,” resurrected By Nora McGreevy,

Scene

Cure writer’s block with ‘Lotta Sea Lice’

Mike Donovan | Friday, October 27, 2017

Writing sucks. As deadlines approach, I reach into the cavernous vestibules of my idle brain, shine a feeble light onto its damp walls and find nothing. My phone pings, sending up a dopamine flare. For the next 30 minutes, memes captivate my world. The clock ticks. I return to my documents, beat out a few

Scene

Scene’s Selections

Brian Boylen, Mike Donovan, Adrian Mark Lore, Adam Ramos, Charlie Kenney and Owen Lane | Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Looking to impress your friends with a hip new jam? Searching for the in-road to musical nerd-dom? If so, Scene is here to help. Here’s what our staff is listening to right now. King Krule — “Czech One” By Adrian Mark Lore Sometimes, I lament that the potential of rap as poetic art remains underexploited;

Scene

Angel Olsen exposes the underground

Mike Donovan | Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Angel Olsen’s latest release breaks away from the sparse introspection of her earlier records. The album is the 27-year-old songwriter’s attempt to repackage her trademark vulnerability and intimacy with a unique take on pop sensibility. With her first three studio albums, Olsen drew an honest and unadorned map of her headspace. On “Strange Cacti” and

Scene

Best Songs of 2015

Matthew Munhall and Matt McMahon | Thursday, December 10, 2015

1. “Gosh” / “Loud Places” [ft. Romy] — Jamie xx “Gosh” begins as a relatively tame electronic tune with fluttering percussion and vocal drops. Halfway through, the song transforms into an experiment, with the British producer seeing just how high he can take a euphoric synth line. “Loud Places,” on the other hand, is his

Scene

Scene’s Best Albums of 2015

Matthew Munhall, Erin McAuliffe, John Darr, Adam Ramos, Kelly McGarry and Matt McMahon | Tuesday, December 8, 2015

1. Kendrick Lamar — “To Pimp a Butterfly” K.Dot’s follow up to “good kid, m.A.A.d city” maintains the same urgency as that album’s personal narrative, but refocuses its subject on more universal questions of black identity. “To Pimp a Butterfly” uses Lamar’s rise to the top of the rap game to explore the ways in

Multimedia

Scenecast #5: Deathcast

Matthew Munhall, Miko Malabute, Erin McAuliffe, Matt McMahon and Adam Ramos | Sunday, November 22, 2015

This fall, we premiered Scenecast, a new podcast from the Observer Scene staff. Each week, a think tank of Scene writers will discuss a topic from the pop culture zeitgeist. Our writers watch, read and listen to more media than is probably healthy, and this podcast will be another vehicle for sharing that knowledge, often in more

Scene

Music Media and the Vinyl Revival

Erin McAuliffe | Wednesday, November 18, 2015

In this day of aesthetic appraisal, the way you choose to consume music is a decision as consuming as what music to consume. Last week Pitchfork delved into the different mediums. The article, “What Your Music Format Says About You,” had a seemingly Buzzfeed-esque quiz title, but unfortunately I was not met with a conclusive “You Are A Cassette

Scene

April’s music scene

Erin McAuliffe, Jimmy Kemper, Matthew Munhall, Matt McMahon and John Darr | Wednesday, April 8, 2015

It’s spring — sorta — and there is a lot of great new music out. What’s that? You wish you had a great new playlist to strut to class with, relax to in your hammock or just increase your music creds? Well, thankfully Scene’s staff of music connoisseurs are here with an exclusive look —

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