You joined in, and told Danielle that she should only serve us drinks in diamond pimp glasses.

Some songs sound best under the sun. Some are night-blooming. These you hear clear in dark-dark; maybe there are stars.

“I Go To... more

I’ll obsess over Hozier all summer.

Two years later, I fell in love with a boy whose devotion to The Smiths matched my own.

Picture this: It’s 2004. I’m living in Berkeley, California. I swear I am a cool girl. I’m dating a rapper who has had some success. He’s got massive dreadlocks that differentiate him from everyone.

I lost track of Ben while I was married. Seven years. I hadn’t seen Ben in 7 years. Ben refers to those years as my... more

I turn the knob to the right, bang my hands against the steering wheel, and deafeningly inform the world that I’m out of my cage and doing just fine.

Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
February 13th, 2001
Matador Records
12 songs, 42 Minutes

I ripped this CD onto my... more

Cave In
Album: Jupiter
Released: August 8, 2000
Hydra Head
Length: 44:10

My friend Beth was blamed for everything I ever... more

The Record
Fear
Label: Slash
Released: May 16, 1982
Length: 14 songs, 27 minutes

This is about a dead guy. But it’s... more

On this poorly planned excursion I had a bucket of coffee and exactly one CD – my brother’s copy of Death Cab’s then brand new Narrow Stairs.

You’ll wake up on Labor Day and argue with the people you’re carpooling with over when to leave. 

But while I am nervous for what’s to come, I’ve always found comfort in Paramore—whether I was: 15 and head banging to “Misery Business” during anime club; crushing it on my Rock Band drum set to “That’s What You Get”; fucking up at my first publishing internship with an earful of “Ain’t It Fun”; or lip-syncing to “Still Into You” in my junior year dorm room, at 4 a.m., when I was in denial about how in love I was with a best friend.

If this album were a place, it would be a penny candy store: high fructose and courting an overdose. 

This album feels like rain; like those moments when you are half asleep in bed reviewing the day.

New Miserable Experience
Gin Blossoms
Label: A&M
Released: August 4th, 1992
Length: 45:02

When I... more

I was still in diapers when American Fool was released, so by the time I made my way to Indiana for college, it was already a classic. And it’s not until you live in Indiana—in small-town Indiana—that you feel Johnny Cougar Mellencamp in your veins.

And so even though my flight was the next morning and my phone was dying and I had neither a charger nor anyone else’s phone number written down, I went to the show, alone.

We were there to see Belgian metal band Oathbreaker. And I bought a Khemmis shirt, in part because theirs was one of the best, most metal, riffiest sets I’ve ever seen and in part because their shirts were the kinds of all wizards and skulls that you want in a metal shirt. But it was Jaye Jayle I found most hypnotic.

I don’t know if I ever actually listened to Blink-182, but I told people that I did.

Preparation:

- In pint glass, pour Rumchata over ice. 

- Top with Dr. Pepper or Root Beer, whichever he is feeling.

- Drink through a straw.

And I had to wonder while I watched the mosh-pits if these kids were even listening.

From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah
Nirvana
Label: DGC
Released: October 1st, 1996
Length: 17 songs, 54... more

This was the “Year of the Whopper”:          
I ate a Whopper.
I ate a Whopper.
You dumped me.

A Tribe Called Quest
We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
Released: November 11,... more