https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/public/ recent bookmarks from matthewmcvickar 2020-03-10T03:55:17+00:00 https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bjork-post/ matthewmcvickar“Everything’s geared toward self-sufficiency. Fuck that,” Björk told punk historian Jon Savage in Interview. “For me, the target is to learn how to communicate with other people, which is the hardest thing, after all. What you should be doing is learning how to live with other human beings.” Car parts, bottles, cutlery, technology, and political superpowers are no match against this outreaching feeling, this ethos of interconnectedness that lives inside “Hyperballad,” inside of Björk in general, and it is an instinct inherent, ever crucially, in the survival of humanity.]]> review musicwriting https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:88073603e00b/ 2013-08-02T01:52:13+00:00 http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cure-neil-blaisdell-in-honolulu-honolulu#hrid:MY7FNlL71DZjkOeZ580YCA matthewmcvickarAlso, I was under the false impression before they  began that it was going to be a Queen cover band, so I was super disappointed with that.]]> self cotq honolulu hawaii band music review https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:42074748aabb/ 2012-12-31T06:21:31+00:00 http://www.markrichardson.org/post/392693049/plux-quba matthewmcvickarStill, it would be dishonest to deny that the mystery of Plux Quba adds to its appeal. The fact is I’m particularly curious about Nuno Canavarro because this record seems so personal; I listen and feel like I know him. Plux Quba is a disjointed, unpredictable work that sounds like the aural representation one sensitive and intelligent individual’s subconscious thoughts. Like a mind, Plux Quba veers from one fragment to the next, leapfrogs over an idea and lands on another, recalls a forgotten memory for an instant only to have it vanish before it can be examined in detail. ]]> music writing review criticism anonymity https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:967eacd447d8/ 2012-11-26T06:35:34+00:00 http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8650019/lena-dunham-lana-del-rey-lcd-soundsystem-end-indie-exceptionalism-comedy matthewmcvickar…the notion of indie exceptionalism (and its white, urban, and upper-class trappings) was repeatedly questioned this year, almost always by the very people who benefit from it. Indie-ness in 2012's pop culture has been depicted as an outmoded cliché, an indulgence for the rich and deluded, a jokey lyrical reference, a house of cards, and/or a pile of cool clothes for pop stars and corporations to try on and discard.]]> indie hipster culture youth youngadult adolescence music film review https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:b17ad5d6875b/ 2012-05-24T22:43:53+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16522-the-flaming-lips/ matthewmcvickarThis piecemeal patchwork of tracks hangs together amazingly well as a front-to-back album.]]> music criticism review writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:c7f2503f86d5/ 2012-05-24T22:42:28+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16532-bright-eyes-fevers-mirrors-there-is-no-beginning-to-the-story-ep/ matthewmcvickarmusic writing criticism review https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:c820ea3016c7/ 2012-03-29T03:01:48+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16426-mdna/ matthewmcvickarIt's almost impossible to approach MDNA without some degree of cynicism, but it's equally difficult to imagine anyone being more cynical about this music than Madonna herself. Unlike previous late-period records in which she had the luxury to indulge in creative tangents and not get too hung up on scoring several hits, MDNA is a record that comes with major commercial expectations. The "this has to work" factor is high, and it's hard to shake the impression that she has some measure of contempt for the contemporary pop audience.]]> music review criticism https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6cbb315bac8e/ 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/ 2012-03-23T03:52:58+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16420-foreign-body/ matthewmcvickarThere is a tendency among music critics to create sub-stories with records and impose narratives. We might identify with a hardcore punk group this year because we are a restless generation, or with a work of hyperactive pop because the internet has made us incapable of concentrating, and so on. But sometimes we take a record for what it is: a resistant piece of art, existing as a singular entity. In a world that is newly full of "content" at every turn, it can be refreshing to find an uncompromising record that exists so honestly on its own.]]> music writing criticism review grouper tinyvipers https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6e1c3cedb49d/ 2012-03-20T23:38:49+00:00 http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-shins-port-of-morrow,71032/ matthewmcvickarThat’s the realm that Mercer is working in now, and when he has the confidence on Morrow to follow through on his glossy pop ambitions, his music manages to be as likeable as it always has been. It’s when Mercer tries to update the old Shins playbook with big-budget production that Morrow sounds awkward and dangerously sleepy.]]> music review criticism writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6216faad77c3/ 2012-02-23T12:55:40+00:00 http://www.spin.com/reviews/grimes-visions-4ad matthewmcvickar music writing review criticism https://instapaper.com/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:4436c7b510b0/ 2012-02-19T00:43:23+00:00 http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16223-lana-del-rey/ matthewmcvickar ldr music review criticism writing culture america sex gender https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:635e3dbabdc8/ 2010-04-18T07:22:04+00:00 http://blog.instapaper.com/post/523234995 matthewmcvickar instapaper software review productivity https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:caf942e61a65/ 2009-02-15T06:47:34+00:00 http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/m83/dead-cities-red-seas-and-lost-ghosts.htm matthewmcvickar m83 music review writing relationships love https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:7389afa5484c/