Abandon all notions of sonic clarity, ye who enter here. Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Lo-Fi

Gaze long into a shoe, and the shoe also gazes into you. May be embed-heavy, for mobile browsers. Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Shoegaze (Part 3)

WARNING: Embed-heavy. Mobile browsers proceed with caution. And don’t you want good headphones or speakers anyway? Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Shoegaze (Part 2)

WARNING: EMBED-HEAVY. May drag a mobile browser down.

Also, just plain HEAVY, man. Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Shoegaze (Part 1)

Y’all know I have a soft spot for electro. What IS electro? Well, let’s just sample wikipedia and find out: Classic (1980s) electro drum patterns tend to be electronic emulations of breakbeats, with a syncopated kick drum, and usually a … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Electro

Let’s get this over with: And now that I’ve posted that, let’s have some fun: Because steampunk is at its best when it embraces the ridiculousness of its own concept. Steampunk is most sublime/ a lot of punks won’t like … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Steampunk Music Scene

In the context of music, the word “pop” is short for “popular”, and is often used to encompass both anything that actually achieved widespread success, or seems like it could or should have. In this post, we’ll focus on a … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Power-Pop

In 1974, a pair of historical wargaming enthusiasts from Lake Geneva, Wisconsin published what they termed “rules for Fantastic medieval wargames campaigns, playable with pencil, paper, and miniature figures.” Their initial print run was a thousand copies. They expected this … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: The Dungeons and Dragons Old-School R(something), or: D&D goes Punk Rock

Sometimes a band comes along at just the right moment. Sometimes it’s a great band with a deep catalog. Sometimes it’s a not-as-great band cashing in on – or even creating – a fad. Sometimes a band briefly punches way … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: ’90s One Hit Wonders

This might not be a scene per se, but it’s more than just a coincidence. Musicians across the pop music spectrum chose to play 17th and 18th Century compositions on modern instruments in the 1970s, and did so with growing … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: ’70s Pop Classical Covers

Dig that awkward announcer! I’ll try my best to do better. In the 50’s and 60’s, Jamaica was getting an influx of American music, notably jazz and rhythm & blues via radio broadcasts from New Orleans; crossbreeding these sounds with … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: First-Wave Ska

part one: https://disqus.com/home/dis… yesterday, we watched Contemporary Christian Music rise out of a marriage of religious and protest folk music and slowly transform from rebel prophet to establishment priest. Despite having outlasted most of its critics, the industry was more careful … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) 1982-1997 Part Two

  (DISCLAIMER: I’m focusing on groups that have been primarily marketed to religious audiences and are generally considered part of the CCM “scene.” This excludes groups like U2 and Johnny Cash, who sing about god and religion and who have … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) 1982-1997 (Part One)

Evening all. Welcome to a discussion of a scene that was dear to my heart. The scene that convinced me dance music was a viable art form, not just a drug accompaniment. The ‘second summer of love’ in 1988 had … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Big Beat

Artist Spotlight courtesy of Callipygian Pigeon Twee pop was ostensibly a response to the hyper-masculinity of early punk and the strictures it placed on scene signifiers. Belle & Sebastian and Beat Happening are probably the most famous twee pop bands, … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: Cuddlecore

Greetings Avocadoans! Today for my first Scene Spotlight, I will be focusing on that most reviled of genres, the 80s Glam/”Hair” Metal scene, an article which I expect will be embraced by few and ignored by many. But that is … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: ’80s Hair Metal

Anybody remember MTV’s Amp? It was a mid-nineties late-night program with no VJ’s, focused on electronic music. They would “mix” or blend the videos in a fashion similar to a DJ mixing tracks. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately, there appear … Continue reading Scene Spotlight: ’90s Electronic