There’s no easy way to tell you this: We’ve entered the disco era. I know, I know. These are trying times. I’ve managed to keep 1976’s list disco-free, though I had to break my “try not to repeat the same bands over and over” rule. It’s either that or…

Things are getting sparse, you guys. Oh I found some good songs, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t easy. This is Gordon Lightfoot‘s prime and Bowie and Queen had hits, after all. But a novelty disco hit made the honorable mentions so the drop-off is steep. Music shouldn’t have used…

After last week’s expansion to 10 songs from 1970, we’re back to the traditional five. Not because there aren’t as many choices–the shortlist was 19 songs–but because I don’t trust myself to have any future restraint if I don’t. So you’re welcome, because otherwise you’re staring down the barrel of…

Photos courtesy: Paul Rae, Projections: Cloaking.US SANTA CRUZ — Looking back, it’s often easy to spot the turning points in our lives, the doors we stepped through that changed the course of our journey. At 15, I was living in a small, affluent suburb in Southern California, a nice vanilla…

President Donald Trump has been hard at work in the past two weeks shouting at world leaders and saving America from Syrian children. As his approval rating sinks, the tension in the country is heating up. We wanted to capture the mood, so we asked some of our staff…

L to R: Buckwheat Zydeco, Prince Buster, Phife Dawg, Jean Shepard, Don Buchla. Art: Roman Gokhman It’s safe to say that 2016 has been something of an all-around dumpster fire, especially when it comes to the sheer volume of iconic artists we’ve lost. The list of familiar and life-changing…

Let’s admit that 2016 was a rough year. But one of the bright spots was great music. Here’s our top 5 music moments of 2016. 1. Hip-hop artists dropped surprise albums The year was full of surprise, especially politically, socially and globally. Music, on the other hand, had some of the best surprises, particularly in…

I simultaneously dread and eagerly anticipate the end of each year and its obligatory best-of selections. This year more than any other I tried to force myself beyond my comfort zone of indie rock and indie pop, with surprisingly pleasant results. My Top 5, listed below in no particular…

The year may only be halfway through, but it’s already had a number of quality albums worth a spin. RIFF Magazine‘s Nick DeCicco counts down 10 of his favorite of the year to date: Beyoncé Lemonade April 23 | Columbia 10. The Queen’s sixth studio album stands as her most powerful…

David Bowie. Courtesy. Editor’s note: I never had any David Bowie memories. By the time I moved to the Bay Area in 2005 and learned to appreciate all that he influences, he was one year away from playing his final show in New York. I had patiently been waiting…