After a week full of 60+ degree weather in New York, I'm officially ready to slam the laptop shut and enter the weekend. I'm bathing suit shopping online, I'm spending time basking in the short-lived early spring weather, and I'm gearing up to make another playlist to get through the weekend.

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Frontpage Popular News

A New Era Of Olivia O'Brien

Olivia On Going Independent And Her New Single "Born With A Broken Heart"

By now, the music industry is no stranger to Olivia O’Brien’s crooning voice. Her relatable lyrics and pop-alternative sound have given us hit chart-dominating tracks like “R.I.P.”, “Josslyn”, and “hate u love u”. She has a way of putting precise emotions into lyrics that every fan can relate to.
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Music Reviews

Lana Del Rey Releases New Single

Our review of the new melancholy ballad.

Lana Del Rey proves once again that she is the queen of spooky lo-fi piano ballads. Her new single,"Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it" is as lyrically dense as the long-winded title suggests, beautifully following Del Rey through a consideration of fame, family, and womanhood. But what sets the song apart is the juxtaposition of the timeless ballad style sung in Del Rey's lilting voice, and the modern violence of her words.

It's an objectively pretty song, but more importantly, it commits to its own theatricality whole heartedly. It's perfectly stylized teenage angst forcing every listener to feel something of the pubescent-glory of a 15-year-old girl weeping into her pink bed spread, mourning everything and nothing. Its absurdly melodramatic, and yet somehow earnest and hopeful too.

Among the best lines are:

"I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown/24/7 Sylvia Plath"

"Shaking my ass is the only thing that's/Got this black narcissist off my back/She couldn't care less, and I never cared more/So there's no more to say about that"

"Servin' up God in a burnt coffee pot for the triad/Hello, it's the most famous woman you know on the iPad/Calling from beyond the grave, I just wanna say, 'Hi, Dad.'"

Each line is written so informally they sound like viral tweets, but what the song lacks in grandiose language, it more than makes up for in concentration of feeling. Paired with the spooky, airy soundscape and perfectly minimal production, the poetry of the single creates an inescapable swell of nostalgia.

"Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have - but I have it" clads you in a silk, victorian-style nightgown, places you in a candle lit room with a baby grand piano...but then it covers the baby grand in lines of coke, hangs Taylor Lautner posters and cosmo clippings on the walls, and adds a strobe light. It's the perfect absurd teen anthem for this particular moment in time, and leaves us in anticipation of Lana Del Rey's upcoming album, Norman Fucking Rockwell, expected out sometime this year.


Brooke Ivey Johnson is a Brooklyn based writer, playwright, and human woman. To read more of her work visit her blog or follow her twitter @BrookeIJohnson.



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New Releases

Billie Eilish Throws a Summer Shindig in Self-Directed "Lost Cause" Video

The new track precedes Eilish's upcoming sophomore record, "Happier Than Ever."

By: Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Billie Eilish has shared a new song called "Lost Cause."

The laid-back track marks the fourth single from Eilish's upcoming sophomore album, Happier Than Ever. "Lost Cause" also arrives with a self-directed music video that depicts Eilish having a house party with a small group of friends. Watch it below.

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Emily Wolfe

Emily Wolfe just released "Something Better," the first single off her upcoming album, Outlier, out June 25.

A virtuosic musician who has already made a real name for herself in the guitar community, Wolfe is the kind of artist whom you can just tell was born to play.

Wolfe has been playing the guitar since the age of five, and her playing has a kind of agelessness to it. She released her first album in 2014 and has been steadily touring since then. Recently, she designed a guitar in partnership with the company Epiphone, an opportunity that is extremely rare for an emerging artist but that's a testament to Wolfe's talent and magnetism.

Emily Wolfe at Paste Studio NYC live from The Manhattan Centerwww.youtube.com


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Ryan Montbleau releases new EP "Wood"

Ryan Montbleau is recognized for being a mesmerizing folk singer with an organic, gritty sound.

Now, he has released the first of four upcoming EPs. Entitled Wood, this four-song body of work features striking acoustic tracks layered with gentle grace and bold heart. The reflective offering explores topics such as perfectionism, the expectations placed upon men and women, and finding appreciation in the little things.

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