J Mascis has nothing better to do
J Mascis has nothing better to do

Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis is known as something of a slacker guitar god. He stands stoically onstage, barely moving, as he seemingly effortlessly works through deft guitar solos and lopsided riffs. Unfortunately, Mascis has developed a similar reputation as an interview subject, quietly sitting and offering deft nonanswers. That’s not to say that Mascis […]

Jad Abumrad loves a butterfly knife and a good springy pillow
Jad Abumrad loves a butterfly knife and a good springy pillow

It’s hard to overstate Jad Abumrad’s impact on the podcasting world. He created and hosted Dolly Parton’s America and Fela Kuti: Fear No Man, two Peabody Award-winning shows that offered unprecedented looks at the lives of two of the most important music icons of the last century. Before that, though, he created Radiolab, an experimental […]

Why Apple is finally making its own smart home devices
Why Apple is finally making its own smart home devices

For more than a decade, Apple has told other companies to build smart home devices for its platform. This week, Apple launched its own. The Apple Home Collection is a lineup of cameras, thermostats, sensors, a smart door lock, and a video doorbell, all codeveloped with LG Electronics and Schneider Electric. They arrive alongside HomeView, […]

Vurt wants you to look at vertical videos as a genre of their own
Vurt wants you to look at vertical videos as a genre of their own

From Disney Plus to HBO Max, almost every major established streaming service is experimenting with ways to get into vertical content. It’s clear that these companies see video-focused social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram as existential threats. In this arms race for viewers’ attention, it has often felt like everyone is trying to find […]

K-pop star Sunmi loves Notion and ear cleaning videos
K-pop star Sunmi loves Notion and ear cleaning videos

Sunmi is an undeniable force in K-pop. She first made her debut as a member of the Wonder Girls back in 2007, one of the first K-pop acts to really break through in the West. The English version of their single “Nobody” was the first K-pop song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in October […]

The director of Fjord takes the ‘risky position’ of moderator
The director of Fjord takes the ‘risky position’ of moderator

Cristian Mungiu’s sixth feature, Fjord, concerns a family on trial. The parents seem like good people, God-fearing. They would never be accused of gentle parenting. They’ve just moved from Romania to a small hamlet nestled in the fjords of rural Norway. There is Mamma (Renate Reinsve), Tata (a bald and bespectacled Sebastian Stan), and their […]

Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava thinks AI emails are killing conversations
Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava thinks AI emails are killing conversations

Kakul Srivastava is the CEO of Splice, the sample platform countless producers rely on for one-shots and melodic loops. Samples pulled from the service have found their way into massive hits like Lisa’s “Money” and “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. (The original samples are here and here, for the curious.) Before that, Kakul held executive roles […]

Decap is the man behind the drums behind your favorite song
Decap is the man behind the drums behind your favorite song

I don’t think I’m going to hurt anyone’s feelings by pointing out that Decap doesn’t have the name recognition of Kendrick Lamar, Olivia Rodrigo, or Charli XCX. But his fingerprints are all over tracks from them, as well as many other artists, including Freddie Gibbs, Bad Bunny, Mac Miller, BTS, and even Ludwig Göransson’s score […]

No Dogs in Space is back to feed your need for obsessive music history
No Dogs in Space is back to feed your need for obsessive music history

In August, I wrote about my love of the music history podcast No Dogs in Space, but mourned the fact that there hadn’t been a new episode in over two years. Little did I know that hosts Carolina Hidalgo and Marcus Parks were gearing up to announce the show’s return with season four, Punk 2.0. […]

Anamanaguchi has ‘too goddamn many’ browser tabs open right now
Anamanaguchi has ‘too goddamn many’ browser tabs open right now

Anamanaguchi, the band consisting of Peter Berkman, James DeVito, Luke Silas, and Ary Warnaar, are most known for their chiptune music. Like me, you might have first heard them in game soundtracks like 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game or know of their collaboration with Hatsune Miku (which even made its way into […]