Author Archives: Sarah A. McCarty
My favorite songs of 2013
Here is a list of some of my favorite songs from 2013. Spotify links are included, and for a link to all the songs in one playlist click here. I’ll be publishing my favorite albums soon. 15. “Pink Rabbits” – The National 14. “Pusher Love Girl” – Justin Timberlake 13. “Help” – Xenia Rubinos 12. […]
Remembering Lou Reed through his relationship with Lester Bangs
“Lou, as you were courageous enough to be our mirror, so in turn we’ll be your family.” – Lester Bangs, The Bells Review, Rolling Stone I don’t think I knew what good music was until I heard the Velvet Underground for the first time. As a graduate student at Syracuse University I discovered Lou Reed […]
How Spotify helped me rediscover my love for sharing mixtapes
Buried somewhere inside a red trunk filled with old cards, letters, drawings, journals and other sentimental keepsakes is my first ever mixtape. I made it in 1995 when I was 11 years old. It’s filled with a bunch of songs I recorded off the radio when visiting my cousin in Atlanta, Ga. because the stations […]
Is popularity dead?
A few years ago I finally took the plunge into Twitter. I fought it for a long time, until I finally realized all the benefits it offered me as a journalist and pop-culture enthusiast. But at some point last year I started to wonder if I had curated myself into a closed-off bubble. I wondered […]
Haim in Paradise
At this point, Haim is one of the buzz-iest bands around, but they deserve the hype. I’ve been listening to these three sisters and their drummer friend for more than one year now, and I was super stoked to finally get the chance to see them live when my vacation to Boston coincided with the […]
Sharing musical tastes online to construct identity
“. . . kickstarter users can create profile pages that list all the campaigns they’ve contributed to. isn’t it weird that no other web platforms that allow you to pay real world money for music allow you to do this? people voluntarily spend so much of their time trying to broadcast their taste in music […]
Music by Chance: Edie Brickell, Windows 95, and Music Discovery
In 1995 I was 11 years old. I was just beginning to realize the power of music in my life. I had never heard the phrase “music discovery.” My musical landscape consisted of radio stations and cassette tapes my mother chose to play. I never knew what it was like to discover a song for […]
Richie Havens
A lot of talented and influential people have passed away recently, but I think Richie Havens death affects me most. I wish I had been able to see him live. My two favorite songs of his are the inspirational Woodstock performance in 1969 and the collaboration he did 31 years later with Groove Armada. According […]
At the Movies
“So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.” – Roger Ebert No, thank you Roger Ebert for taking us on a journey with every word you wrote. I’ll see you at the movies. RIP.
Paul Williams: The Godfather of Rock Criticism
Rock criticism has been around since before I was born. I thank Paul Williams for that. Rock criticism splices together my two passions, writing and music. Throughout the years, what I want to do with those passions has evolved and opened new doors. I occasionally critique albums or songs (and sometimes write reviews), but I […]
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