For a band like Radiohead, making a “best of” is almost like a slap in the face. Limiting their consistently impressive catalog to a handful of songs completely out of…
Taylor Long
104 Articles
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Have you ever felt like a song has the answer you’re looking for? That if you could just figure out what the person is really, truly singing about and saying,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The French Kicks have presented the same problem to music journalists for a third time in a row. How do you write about music that’s unremarkable but pleasant in a…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Listening to The In Crowd, the sophomore effort from Chicagoan rap duo Kidz in the Hall, is a lot like putting your R&B and rap collection on shuffle. Showing more…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
As we approach summer, I find myself somewhat unimpressed by 2008 as a new release year. Granted, the second half of the year is almost always stronger than the first,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
When it was announced that Scarlett Johansson was going to release an album, there was actually reason to be hopeful. Her sultry, smooth cover of “Summertime,” the first recording of…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Trent Reznor strikes again. So, Ghosts I-IV didn’t satisfy your hunger, it wasn’t like a “real” Nine Inch Nails album, it was instrumental, it didn’t count? Well, that’s fine. ‘Cause…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It would be a lie to say that listening to M83’s Saturdays=Youth is vaguely reminiscent of being transported back to the ’80s. Listening to M83’s Saturdays=Youth is incredibly reminiscent of…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
When I was in middle school, I had a lot of ideas for music videos. Generally, these ideas were boring and tame — mostly because at the time, I was…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
It’s been a good year for Bon Iver, aka Justin Vernon. Last year, Vernon independently released his album, For Emma, Forever Ago. After a round of accolades from online and…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
When you’re young, the desire to fit in can be a very, very dangerous thing. Sure, this applies to drugs, sex, alcohol, violence and all those things parents worry about…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
If putting money in the hands of artists isn’t charitable enough to compel people to buy music, Green Owl Records is hoping that helping the planet will be. Founded in…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The last time I saw them perform, which was at least two years ago, if not longer, the Gossip put on one of the most exhilarating live shows around. Listening…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
This song is Spring. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Helplessly Hoping” (download) It’s easy enough to point to nearly any Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and say that — “Judy:…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Having moved away from Seattle to the cement pastures of New York City, I feel woefully out of touch with the consistently good music scene of my hometown. To make…
Popdose Staff
1 Min Read
In 2006, the Raconteurs (the pairing of Brendan Benson’s cheery pop sensibilities with Jack White’s rock and roll decadence), released their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers. It was a fun…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The first music, in general, that I remember loving and growing up with was from The Music Man — as in the movie with Robert Preston, which I would watch…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Too many electronic releases fall within two extreme aesthetics: icy cold or super dance party warm. It’s hard to make non-traditional, machine-made notes sound humane, simply because they’re not. With…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Getting a car was a bit of a long process for me. In actuality, it probably wasn’t that long, but when you’re 17 and most of your friends have cars,…
Taylor Long
2 Min Read
Much like John Darnielle himself, the Mountain Goats’ audience at Webster Hall on Tuesday night had a tendency to flaunt its wit. Every time someone called out a song request…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
San Francisco’s Enablers are more an amalgam of music and poetry than the average band. This distinction is forged primarily through the use of speech only loosely set in pattern…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The best thing about St. Patrick’s Day – aside from that whole drinking thing – is that it’s a day to be especially proud about redheadedness. A long time ago,…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
As everyone learned in Freud 101, the oft-controversial psychologist believed there are three egos in each of us: the Id (which focuses on our most basic desires — namely, food…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Whether or not you’re a fan of his music, it’s hard to argue that Trent Reznor, the creative mastermind of Nine Inch Nails, is constantly at the forefront of innovation….
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
Many seem eager to send bands like Vampire Weekend to the firing line for their afro-pop-lite brand of indie rock. For those on the often thankless crusade for authenticity, meet…
Clay Franks
2 Min Read
[Taylor’s note: My friend Clay makes the best mixes of anyone I know. HeÁ¢€â„¢s also one of the best writers I know. His words are fluid and natural, with a…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
One of the most astounding things about art, and especially music, is the way a self-centered thought or experience contained in a medium can ignite a chain reaction of independent…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
In sixth grade, I was very good friends with a guy named Gabe. He came into our private school rather late in the game — most of us had been…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
There’s so much to like about the self-titled debut from Tacoma, Washington’s Mono in VCF, it’s hard to know where to start. As a debut, it’s almost too good. Mono…
Taylor Long
1 Min Read
The Anniversary’s “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” is exactly the kind of song that I began “Lost MP3 of the Week” for. However, itÁ¢€â„¢s a music journalistÁ¢€â„¢s nightmare. The…