REVIEW: Crafted Sounds Special 2/20 @ Cousin Danny’s
Posted inMusic Photography Reviews

REVIEW: Crafted Sounds Special 2/20 @ Cousin Danny’s

The portal to the Crafted Sounds Special was the scariest door of all time. A cigarette smoking musician had to point it out to us. It was snowing and the gray graffitied door with a lock didn’t seem right, for a second we thought the gig was gonna be in the side yard of the house because of the huge “COUSIN DANNY’S” poster hanging outside. 
HONEST AND MERCIFUL: Scene journalist Taylor Ruckle talks DMV music
Posted inStudent Life

HONEST AND MERCIFUL: Scene journalist Taylor Ruckle talks DMV music

We’ve said it before, D.C. music is in a weird place. Often the scene can feel aimless and lacking in community, not nearly as together as cities like Philly, Pittsburgh, or New York with their strong emo, shoegaze, and punk pockets, respectively. Maybe you think it’s been slowly dying since harDCore fizzled out in the 80s. Maybe you think it’s on the precipice of taking off again. Maybe you think it’s mediocre and unremarkable but either way, you’re thinking about it. Or at least we’re thinking about it.
An ode to strawberry tea, snakes, and running 
Posted inEssay Featured

An ode to strawberry tea, snakes, and running 

It’s the small things that help you survive. Sometimes, life has to become a silly little game. Maybe you can’t imagine enduring a study-abroad semester with the man who assaulted you—but maybe you don’t have to. Maybe all you need is to hold out for your next cup of strawberry tea. 
We made blackout poetry with your college essays
Posted inCulture Featured Poetry

We made blackout poetry with your college essays

Since high schoolers nation wide are making their customary announcement Instagram posts, we thought it'd be a good time to revisit application essays from GW students. We wanted to turn our pain into art, to honor the parts of ourselves we cut out just to get in. WARNING: Shit gets deep.
Local bands have a ball at Mosh Madness
Posted inFeatured Local Music

Local bands have a ball at Mosh Madness

I spent the Saturday before starting my last semester of college watching a bunch of out of shape local musicians play basketball in a church gym in Takoma, MD. It was the first ever Mosh Madness, a half-court single elimination tournament organized by Ian Donaldson and Reid Williams of Dorinda. Fourteen bands competed while five bands (three of who also balled) – Flowerbomb, Pretty Bitter, Massie, Pinky Lemon and Spring Silver – played sets during the matches. The event raised over $2,600 for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. Flooded in stale lighting, the smell of sweat growing exponentially worse each hour, you could barely hear conversation because the acoustics of the room weren’t prepared to host some of the DMV’s best and loudest. After whining through a semester abroad with no real live music, this was the perfect scene homecoming.