At the end of 2022, I sent a questionnaire out to my remote workforce. These annual surveys offer an opportunity for everyone to provide anonymous, honest feedback. The answers I got back shocked me. No, they didn’t say I was the “boss from hell,” nor was anyone complaining about their …
Read More »Afrobeats, Música Mexicana, and a Canadian Hologram Take Austin
Would you believe us if we said a hologram sponsored by the government of Ontario was one of the best things we saw on the second full day of SXSW 2023? There were plenty of flesh-and-blood performances that knocked our socks off, too, as the festival hit its stride with …
Read More »A Pro-Trump Social Network Wants to Corner the Anti-Vax 'Jizz Market'
Fighting to survive in the crowded ecosystem of far-right social media companies, the pro-Trump platform Gettr has in recent weeks held high-level deliberations on the oddest of business pivots: remaking the site to add an online clearinghouse for human sperm. But it’s not just any sperm. The proposal would see …
Read More »Halsey Isn't Fazed By Sydney Sweeney's Gun or Nervous Threats in First 'Americana' Teaser
Halsey makes her official big-screen debut in the Tony Tost film Americana, which will premiere at SXSW on Friday (though she previously starred in the film If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power, accompanying her album of the same name). On “Girl Is a Gun,” a deep cut from …
Read More »U2's The Edge on Why He 'Needs' Bono: 'We Shine Brighter Working Together'
U2‘s the Edge explained the chemistry behind his and Bono‘s songwriting process in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “It’s not like Lennon and McCartney where there’s two guys [and] the rivalry probably made them better,” he told Lowe while sitting beside Bono. “They’re also basically doing the …
Read More »Indigo De Souza Doesn't Have All the Answers, and That's OK
“I don’t have answers — no one does/I’ve been finding comfort in that,” Indigo De Souza sings on the title track of her third album, All of This Will End. “There’s only love/There’s only moving through and trying your best.” It’s a welcome revelation for the North Carolina-based artist, whose …
Read More »Bandcamp Workers Form Union: 'It's Not Enough to Get Small Wins Alone'
When Epic Games acquired Bandcamp in March 2022, fans of the Oakland, CA music streaming and distribution platform reacted with alarm. Since its founding in 2007, Bandcamp has become an artist-friendly alternative to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music that caters to independent artists and labels by giving them control …
Read More »'Shadow And Bone' Gets Older But Not Wiser in Amusing Season 2
Have you ever wanted to watch Game of Thrones but thought the actors were just a bit too well-known? Wished the live-action Avatar: The Airbender was made by the CW? Thought The Great and The Witcher could have a bang-up crossover episode? It doesn’t matter if those thoughts have never …
Read More »Trevante Rhodes' Fight for Hollywood Autonomy
While it’s unclear whether or not Trevante Rhodes is into astrology, it’s hard not to notice the ways in which he embodies the archetype of his zodiac sign, Aquarius: unconventional, independent, progressive, nonconforming, and most of all, a free spirit. When browsing Rhodes’ Instagram, one learns he has a thing …
Read More »Lil Yachty's Psychedelic Relaunch: 'I Don't Have To Be High To Make It Sound High'
I n 2016, a 19-year-old Lil Yachty emerged as a fresh-faced, red-haired maverick eagerly planting Generation Z’s flag in hip-hop. Songs like “Minnesota” intrigued many, but rap traditionalists denigrated him as a “mumble rapper” — an upstart who, they claimed, was insulting the essence of hip-hop one warbled vocal run …
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