You hear the first strike of the drum and instantly know this is not a history lesson. Folk music often gets treated with too much reverence, placed carefully on a pedestal where no one can touch it. Remon Nakanishi takes a completely different approach. He grabs these centuries old communal songs, drags them into the studio, and surrounds them with some of the most infectious...

Katie Noir drops a wildly entertaining dose of affectionate satire on her new single, "I Prefer Jason". The 21-year-old student, songwriter, and producer constructs an excessively glamorous, fictionalized celebrity wedding here. Our narrator ignores the glossy, high-profile mega-star groom completely. Her attention drifts sideways instead, locking onto the best man: the groom’s relaxed, beautifully unpretentious brother, Jason. https://open.spotify.com/track/4UT6n18SpY9I0e1xPFprVY?si=b879f9126c574414 The sheer absurdity of this misdirected crush dictates...