Mazzy Star is a drug for me. Simple things, like “Into Dust” playing on an episode of The O.C., or an overcast day, or a particularly dark depressive episode send me reeling into the arms of Hope Sandoval’s spell-binding near-whisper: a narcotic, a salve. Years ago, after miraculously discovering that…

Recently I gave notice at the job I’ve had for over two years. When I finished my master’s program in 2017, I knew I couldn’t go on to a PhD right away, but I was sure I’d be working on campus in some sort of administrative/student support role. …

What even is this song about? Who gives a shit*! I have no idea why I love Spoon’s “Don’t You Evah.” I know every word but I have never bothered to wonder what the song is about. …

Who among us hasn’t emerged from a terrible relationship with nothing but some wounds and some songs you’ll love forever? I have a terrible relationship from many years ago to thank for some of the songs and artists I still love, including Concrete Blonde. I vividly remember the day I…

In early January, my grandmother was given “days to weeks” to live. I’d been over to visit her — she lived on the other side of the state — in December, some primal intuition nagging at me, telling me she might not have long, despite having beaten cancer and numerous…

Here’s the gist. It starts out kinda pop-y. Almost upbeat. It doesn’t stay that way. When I was a kid I was afraid to die But I growed up now The first minute bleeds nostalgia. The guitar gently weeps along. Lyrics hint at death. If I’m caught in the hour…

I’m a time bomb inside. My husband and I both cut our teeth on punk rock. Our shared music tastes was one of the first things we bonded over — our music collections had so much overlap that we argued about whose copy of the same CD was whose (answer…