Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Beat.
Most Underrated Bands of the 90s
One thing that I'm thankful for, as a Millennial, was my ability to be alive during the 1990s. It was a glorious age —, especially for the arts. The 90s was a time when music was really at its pinnacle. You had amazing subcultures blossoming thanks to the creativity that the overall social climate encouraged.
By Skunk Uzeki9 years ago in Beat
Despise You/Coke Bust Split 7" Review
For those so far uninitiated, "powerviolence" is a hyper aggressive style of music taking its main cues from 80s hardcore punk, grindcore, and, oddly enough, certain styles of progressive rock. This means short songs at blinding speeds, blast beats, sludgy breakdowns and tempos that can shift on a dime. Half the fun of powerviolence, coming from an admitted superfan of the genre, is the twists and turns you get while listening to each 30 second burst of high-speed noise; you might think that you may be only getting two or three riffs per song with those kinds of lengths but in 30 seconds it's easy to get blindsided by a half a dozen different riffs that don't even share a similar tempo.
By Charles Spitzner9 years ago in Beat
Circle—Making Rounds Around The Square
Screaming is a national art in Finland. They even have a men's choir (30 members strong) that shouts everything from pop hits to national anthems. But then Finland is also the country with the strongest Tango musical line after Argentina. You also have everything in between. So it might be no wonder that the newest Circle album, Terminal (one of the 52 they made, although some accounts say it is over 60!) includes almost any modern rock style imaginable (screams included, of course). No tango though, a shame, I think they could have fitted it in!
By Ljubinko Zivkovic9 years ago in Beat
Small Music Blogs Charging for Music Reviews
In the world of music lovers and 6,000 new aspiring artists every 30 minutes, it seems as though there are becoming less and less music blogs who are actually willing to post an unsigned artists music without CHARGING THEM (or if you don't have a relationship with them). And of course, the ones who don't charge either:
By Tay Steward9 years ago in Beat
Why Study Music?
As a six-year-old boy growing up in a working-class area of London, I watched my parents deliver a massive object into the house which was called a piano. I wondered what my parents were going to do with this "thing." The questions that came into my mind were "are they going to take lessons themselves?"
By Gregory Eze9 years ago in Beat
The Carousels—The Boat To West Coast
Let’s start with a simple introduction this time around. The Carousels are a band from Scotland and Sail Me Home St. Clair is their second album. Looking at the album cover, you’d expect a ton of whiskey flowing around and a bunch of sea shanties. The whiskey might have been flowing around in jugs but sea shanties are nowhere to be found. You see, The Carousels sound like one of the better 70s style country rock bands from the West Coast with all these gentle strumming guitars, pedal steels, and ever-expanding harmonies. Scottish weather is not exactly known for too many sunny, balmy days but you wouldn’t guess it by listening to this album.
By Ljubinko Zivkovic9 years ago in Beat
Into the Slipstream: The Internet's Undiscovered Talent
With the popularity of platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud it's now literally easier than ever to throw your artistic talents out into the wolfish world of picky consumers and bask in the due adulation (or sulk in the corner if you suck or something and everybody calls you names). Combing through these sites opens up whole worlds of creativity previously inaccessible from your home a decade ago and, you know what, some of them definitely aren't getting the celebration that they deserve for putting themselves out there in the world. It's not easy wading through the creating process in the hopes of releasing something you can be truly proud of, but I bet a few worthy souls deserve more listens than they get.
By Charles Spitzner9 years ago in Beat
The Day I Found Nirvana - A Tribute to Kurt Cobain's Enduring Legacy
(This tribute was originally written on what would have been Kurt Cobain's 50th birthday). I originally wasn't going to wish Kurt Cobain a happy 50th birthday today, because I've grown out of Nirvana a little bit after being a fan since I first heard Nevermind when I was around 14. But I still remember the first time I listened to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and I remember what that all lead to.
By Declan Powers9 years ago in Beat
Hip Hop Is Still Dope, Calm Down
It’s 2017, and I’ve just listened to a 12-year-old white Philadelphian by the name of Matt Ox bang out an autotune studded jam and I’ve heard it a handful of times. 5 Million plus YouTube views later, Hip Hop done changed, B. After another Soundcloud crawl I'm onto Global Dan (who looks like a million strung out emo kids from Jersey at a VFW hall show circa 2008). He loves lean, women, and being cool. I’m not going to go further, but if you’re interested in seeing what’s been up in young hip-hop recently, Gothboi Clique, $uicideboys, and the highly influential Astari YouTube Channel might like to have a word with you when they sober up.
By Triple Decker Sandwich9 years ago in Beat
Kanye West Discography Ranked
808s and Heartbreak - 80 This is the oddball in his discography. I always liked this album even if it took some getting used to. He abuses auto-tune here. I think it works, for the most part, like on songs like “Paranoid” and “Heartless.” Kanye sings a LOT on this album. The lyrics aren’t up to K’s standards (Old Kanye or New). The songs are pretty catchy, however. This album kind of changed the game so if it were which Kanye album was most important, this would be higher on the list. Top Tracks: "Heartless," "Love Lockdown," "Coldest Winter," "Amazing."
By Matthew Sullivan9 years ago in Beat
Asaad aka Young27 Solidifies Legacy in Hip-Hop with Hard Work. Top Story - July 2017.
North Philadelphia hip-hop artist, Sayyid Asaad or simply called Asaad, named 2016 the White Light Year—accompanying its own social media hashtag of #WHITELIGHTYEAR. He released a song every day for the Leap Year totaling 366 songs along with multiple projects.
By Intelligent Movement9 years ago in Beat
'The College Dropout' Review
Before I was put on to this album by my friend Jay (Jimmy), R.I.P.; I had heard very little from Kanye (Like most everyone else at the time). After hearing the album for the first time I had concluded that Mr. West wasn’t just a good rapper and a great producer, but he was going to be in the game for a long time.
By Matthew Sullivan9 years ago in Beat
