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Music

In Search of Christian Music That Doesn’t Suck

By Tom Hawking on

We surely can’t be the only ones who suppressed a shudder when we saw the title of My Morning Jacket songwriter Jim James’ new solo album: Regions of Light and Sound of God. As it turns out, the title doesn’t necessarily mean that James has gone born-again on our hellbound asses, but either way, we have to admit that our reaction did rather have us reassessing our own prejudices: would James going all Christian necessarily mean that the resultant album would suck massively? We have to say that the answer is probably no — some of our favorite songwriters have addressed matters of faith over the years, after all. And so in payment for our, ahem, sins, we’ve put together a collection of Christian music that doesn’t suck. (Spoiler: sorry Creed and Christian hardcore fans, our charity only goes so far.) … Read More

Music

10 Crazy-Good Covers You've Probably Never Heard

By Emily Temple on

Everyone loves a good cover. There’s something so fascinating about the medium — at once nostalgic and new-seeking, it may be the ultimate hipster form. Or maybe it’s just really fun. Since we can’t get enough, we’ve collected ten awesome covers you may or may not have heard before for all your exploration/nostalgia needs. Of course, there may be some among you who have heard every last one of these, and more power to you. But hopefully even the most storied music warriors will find something new to like on our list. Click through to listen, and let us know your own favorite undiscovered covers in the comments! … Read More

Books

Literary Mixtape: Jay Gatsby

By Emily Temple on

If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s ink and paper representation of the quintessential American dream — with a dark side. … Read More