A thousand lifetimes ago, back in September, Rolling Stone released an updated version of its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Reactions rolled in, mostly in the vein of "huh?" and "mm, I don't know" and "no, 'Fine Line' is not better than 'Funeral.'" Among all this #discourse, I tweeted out something … Continue reading The Top 50 Greatest Gay Pining Albums of All Time, As Voted by You, Our Readers
I have cried frequently to the music of Phoebe Bridgers. Whether silently weeping to “Demi Moore,” or scream-sobbing along to “Motion Sickness,” Phoebe Bridgers makes me deliriously emotional. Needless to say, I loved Bridgers’ transcendent new album, Punisher, which seamlessly balances lyrical authenticity with extraordinary guitar work. I’ve listened to it all the way through … Continue reading Phoebe Bridgers Wrote “Moon Song” About Jed Bartlet and Leo McGarry from The West Wing
The year was 1956. Europe, torn up and traumatized by war, needed something that might help it heal. In came the Switzerland-based European Broadcasting Union with an at-the-time highly ambitious idea: broadcast a song contest between European countries, each represented by a performer, to the whole of Europe simultaneously. Ever since then, with the exception … Continue reading Did Susan Sontag Write “Notes on Camp” Specifically About Eurovision? Who’s to Say?
If you are a reader of The Niche, a repressed small-town Midwesterner, a gay Christian, the sort of person who collects novelty stamps, or, really, a gay person in any capacity, chances are that you have a sense of Sufjan Stevens’ immense impact on our cultural landscape. But did you know that he’s become enough … Continue reading Every Song That Namedrops Sufjan Stevens Without Actually Being By Sufjan Stevens, Ranked
In the basement of a home in suburban Winnipeg, Bradford How and his high school chums would spend their Friday nights partying while watching Electric Circus, longing to be a part of Toronto’s vibrant nightlife. A television show that aired on MuchMusic and various Chum television networks from 1988 to 2003, Electric Circus offered a … Continue reading An Ode to “Electric Circus,” The Original Tiktok
A muddy cobblestone path weaves its way through half-dead wildflowers, leading you to the lip of a forest. You take your first steps onto the damp earth, listen to the soft crunch of leaves and twigs beneath your feet. The forest seems to inhale and exhale with every step you take. Robins perched in the … Continue reading What Is It With Lesbians and Hozier?
1. I take Eglinton to 401 East And exit at Markham Road in the East End 2. And back in the city I was on a tear High-fiving every shithead on Queen Street 3. Queen Street visions that nobody believed in 4. I'm on Bloor where you can't shop 5. I'm driving fast to get … Continue reading Drake or PUP: Can You Guess Who Wrote Each Lyric About Being A Sad Man on a Toronto Motorway?
11. Brandi Carlile (with Kris Kristofferson)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQx8ELjB-Sw This has “I am going to make the best of it but it is going to be very, very hard” written all over it. You have been looking forward to this holiday for months, curating a playlist that hits all the right songs at certain bends in the road … Continue reading Covers of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” Ranked By How Well They Would Fare as Companions on a Cross-Canada Road Trip
I want to preface this by saying that my Bachelor’s degree is in Classical Studies and Ancient History, and I’ve dedicated months of my life to the Aeneid at this point. I’ve loved Dido, hated Aeneas, studied the epic again, still loved Dido, felt bad for Aeneas, and spent the rest of my time also … Continue reading Listen, Hear Me Out, Taylor Swift Wrote ‘The Archer’ About Aeneas and Dido
The subterranean dungeon of Taylor Swift's Rhode Island mansion is painted a folksy, endearing robin's-egg blue, a delicate contrast to the exposed copper piping which runs the length of the cavernous room, and to which I am presently shackled. As forced captivities go, this has been an eminently pleasant one. And it was my fault, … Continue reading An Exclusive Interview with Taylor Swift While Shackled to A Copper Pipe In Her Basement
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