He faded into obscurity for 27 years, but South Africa brought him back — Rodriguez stood there with his hand pressed in front of his mouth. Thousands of South Africans came to Cape Town in 1998 to see him. Like Rodriguez, the crowd was speechless — this couldn’t be Rodriguez. They thought he was dead and the person on stage was an impersonator. But…

The second offering from San Francisco’s Oxbow — In 1991, rock resurged with grunge. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden dominated the charts. While angry and dynamic rock conquered the charts, other rock subgenres wrote songs for those who liked their rock louder and more frantic. With Oxbow’s second album, King of the Jews, these listeners got their wish…

Not cool, baby — After a long night of wiping surfaces, I can go home. It’s monotonous wiping other people’s shit. I think I saw an employee spitting on a table so I could clean it. At least they make my job entertaining. But my house is more fun than my job. I’ve everything…

It may be crass and raunchy, but it was impactful — This article contains light spoilers. Hollywood was unprepared for a road-trip comedy with two Asian leads. Studio executives told writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg it wouldn’t work. One studio even suggested that the leads be black and white. Of course, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg won’t settle for less. …

Idiosyncrasies reimagined — Caution: This list contains explicit content. There is a day for every occasion. Do you have an idea? It can become a national holiday. So, it’s not surprising my favorite genre, experimental, has a nationwide holiday. August 24th marks Strange Music Day, and to celebrate, let’s list ten weird and…

The unorthodox proto-punk and krautrock band — Every year, music enthusiasts and historians add to the music history lexicon. They discovered bands who began music genres but didn’t get recognition. For example, we learned Bam Bam started the grunge movement, and a Black woman may’ve invented rock’n’roll. The same can be said about today’s entry in the…

Only the strong learn Capoeira — One day when I was four years old, binging my favorite Barney VHS. My father comes home with a mysterious tape. He said it’s a movie about fighting that I knew I’d love. I asked Dad where he got the VHS from. I can’t get a straight answer. …

My Medium page forward — I’ve come a long way in my writing journey. I’ve reached 4,700 followers and 6,000 views a month within two years. This seems minuscule to other writers, but I find it incredible. I spent most of my life disliking reading and writing. I struggled for half of elementary trying to…

A newfound appreciation for sampling — *Note* the rating doesn’t reflect the quality. It describes the album’s experimentation. Coined in 1994, Mixmag journalist Andy Pemberton used trip-hop to define a new hip-hop style played in London Clubs. Chief among them was DJ Shadow. He produced what countless hip-hop fans say is one of the genre’s best albums. Some will say it’s one of the best albums of all…