Madonna wouldn't be doing her job if she weren't getting critics' knickers in a bunch. Fortunately, she did it again when "Give Me All Your Luvin'," the cheerleader-themed lead single from her 12th album, MDMA, drew comparisons to Nicola Roberts's similar 2011 U.K. hit "Beat of My Drum." But as the history of this micro-genre reveals, cheerleader pop is by definition derivative. Its nostalgia aims to recapture adolescence, a time when infatuation with contemporary musical… more »
Whether your tastes skew toward classics by The Smiths and Wilco or current cutting edge tastemakers like Sleigh Bells and Neon Indian, you're sure to discover something you love on Indie Hits, Past & Present. more »
If people join cults to escape adulthood, what Madeline Follin and Brian Oblivion started looks like an exception. A little more than a year ago, the Cults leaders — who met when both lived in San Diego and then, later, moved to New York — were just a couple of 21-year-old film students haphazardly posting a few demos online. Now they're major-label artists promoting a hotly-anticipated album, with all the grown-up demands that entails: constant… more »
