https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/public/ recent bookmarks from matthewmcvickar 2018-09-29T23:47:11+00:00 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/02/toned-down-for-what-how-chill-turned-toxic matthewmcvickarLike its ancestor cool, chill does double duty as a prestige marker. On the one hand, in the post-#MeToo era, chill masculinity seems infinitely preferable to so-called “toxic masculinity”, which is predatory and self-destructive. But even though Sheeran’s tame romanticism may feel less toxic than the slightly skeevy masculinity of bro-step, chill is less a step towards equality and more an update on gender and race stereotypes.]]> music gender pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:7d1ab78e4adb/ 2014-06-08T07:15:04+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/315-its-not-what-you-like-but-how-you-like-it-some-thoughts-on-pop/ matthewmcvickarSo: Do you make room for transient joy? Does it impede your deep thoughts, or does it inspire them, like a spark to wick?]]> music pop writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:e9bb6c74c8a4/ 2013-07-02T19:59:04+00:00 http://www.spin.com/articles/yeezus-female-roundtable-kanye-west-sheezus-talks-a-critical-roundtable/ matthewmcvickarOn the occasion of Kanye West's sixth album, released the day before Juneteenth, 2013, Anno Domini, we are gathered here due to the dearth of Yeezus pieces written by women, which is a significant oversight since a) much of this album, and West's catalog, is about us; and b) it's 2013, call the freaking doctor. So we've amassed an all-star panel that includes frequent SPIN contributors Puja Patel, Jessica Hopper, and Maura Johnston, Stereogum's Claire Lobenfeld, Toronto-based uber-freelancer Anupa Mistry, and SiriusXM's Sway in the Morning on-air personality and pop-culture writer Tracy Garraud.]]> music criticism pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f4f41adb02f4/ 2013-03-08T20:04:19+00:00 http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9016745/the-20th-anniversary-beck-loser matthewmcvickarTaking stock of Beck’s career 20 years after “Loser.”]]> music pop https://instapaper.com/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f4d3b43bb603/ 2013-02-28T18:32:53+00:00 http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/02/21/_harlem_shake_is_no_1_after_billboard_begins_counting_youtube_views_what.html matthewmcvickarYouTube crushing everything does seem like a concern. I love novelty songs, I ride hard for novelty songs—but if, suddenly, all our big hits are goofy YouTube-incubated one-offs, the novelty song will cease to be novel.]]> music pop statistics youtube internet culture https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:da0cbee1a9fb/ 2013-01-30T22:53:13+00:00 http://www.buzzfeed.com/ericharvey/how-frank-ocean-transcended-the-hype matthewmcvickarOcean is a storyteller at heart, and Orange is so compelling in large part because it’s never entirely clear from what perspective his stories are coming, or where they’re leading. Like all great writers, Ocean’s narratives are wholly fictional and half-true — autobiographies on their way to becoming lies]]> music writing rnb pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:f1e495bf8586/ 2012-12-31T03:15:54+00:00 http://labs.echonest.com/Uploader/index.html matthewmcvickarFor when your favorite song just isn't long enough]]> music internet pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:121ae3fccdb7/ 2012-06-24T23:03:30+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/features/underscore/8822-quiet-storm/ matthewmcvickarA musical and social history of the effortlessly smooth, radio-bred style typified by the likes of Smokey Robinson, Luther Vandross, Anita Baker, and Sade.]]> music history soul pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:28994ea00471/ 2012-06-10T21:27:33+00:00 http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/03/26/120326fa_fact_seabrook?currentPage=all matthewmcvickar music pop writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6df0cdbd39bc/ 2012-05-28T08:06:26+00:00 http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/culture/2012/04/5618033/its-2012-and-its-nicki-minajs-world-make-album-not-going-make-it matthewmcvickarHer flow, including the corny hashtag raps and the growls and all the other forms of play that make her simultaneously so old school and so fresh, have already shifted the zeitgeist and inspired a new generation of pop lovers in one short year. Now it's time for her to figure out how to step up to sound like she what she says on the album’s third track: “I Am Your Leader.”]]> music writing pop hiphop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:24bc13b970b4/ 2012-03-29T04:54:02+00:00 http://www.spin.com/blogs/listen-nicki-minaj-and-2-chainzs-beez-trap matthewmcvickarNicki employs street hardness as a signifier of how great she is at rapping, not as an attempt to actually convince anybody that she's "hood" or any of that authenticity nonsense. She's successfully occupying the trap, ground zero for hardness, and calling its inhabitants "bitches," all to prove that she is the consummate rhyming bad-ass.]]> music pop hiphop rap criticism writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:a75993e317da/ 2012-03-29T04:48:54+00:00 http://modernserf.tumblr.com/post/19962141620 matthewmcvickar pop music theory https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:28087e8b6113/ 2012-03-29T02:47:59+00:00 http://timeoutchicago.com/music-nightlife/15199701/madonna-mdna-album-review matthewmcvickarIt didn’t have to be this bad. She didn’t even need to dig that deep on the iTunes “Electronic” page to find a producer to craft intriguing electro. Instead of Solveig, she could have emailed SBTRKT. Or Anthonly Gonzalez. Or Scuba. Anyone else. She’s clearly learning about dance music from television ads, not nights out.]]> music review criticism dance pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:e317087e1cfc/ 2012-03-05T20:44:44+00:00 http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/the-association/renaissanceinsight-outbirthdaythe-associationlivestop-your-motor.htm matthewmcvickar music history pop 60s writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:54a45ffc1419/ 2012-02-17T23:36:27+00:00 http://nymag.com/fashion/12/spring/nicki-minaj-2012-2/ matthewmcvickar celebrity fame music writing pop https://instapaper.com/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:1336521784ca/ 2012-02-06T00:46:07+00:00 http://www.villagevoice.com/content/printVersion/3307788/ matthewmcvickar body culture music writing pop https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:5c6412c55000/ 2011-01-29T20:42:47+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/features/why-we-fight/7923-why-we-fight-10/ matthewmcvickar pop music writing apps culture america https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:1609f3f66ac0/ 2011-01-07T01:29:39+00:00 http://www.lanaturnerjournal.com/online/51-music/133-vomiting-up-tequila-a-glitter-pop-2010 matthewmcvickarpop music musicbusiness 2010 economy history https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:0713abd93598/ 2010-05-27T09:06:47+00:00 http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article7129672.ece matthewmcvickar ladygaga music interview writing fame pop musicindustry https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:588482b26bd5/