#Playlist

That Brunette Celebrates New Single "Capricorn Moon" with a Song for Every Star Sign

"The sign of Capricorn is known...

Lindsey Rhoades

PLAYING CHICAGO15 Songs to Usher in Spring

Spring is just around the corner - but this is Chicago. Anything can happen. It has snowed in April here (cue Prince). Luckily, neither the lingering chill in the air nor the ongoing pandemic can stop the city’s creative pulse. There are dozens of releases from exciting, rising musicians set to...

Jessi Roti

How I Fell in Love With 7-inch Singles and Why They Still Matter

ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we're shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Beth Winegarner flips through an old collection and finds it relevant even today. When I was a teenager, I had a ritual every Saturday afternoon. My mom and I would...

Beth Winegarner

HIGH NOTESAn Acid Trip on a Third Date, in Music

J and I met on Tinder and developed a relationship equal parts unconventional and beautiful. Our first date was vegan food and a late night beach walk, our second was mushrooms, and our third, perhaps the richest with meaning, was acid. J had a few hits left over from a prior trip, which he was...

Annie White

Seven Songs Celebrating the Female Orgasm

Female sexual pleasure doesn't get the attention it deserves, in the bedroom or in music. It's traditionally been more common for male artists to sing about what turns them on, but that's changing. With more and more female artists unabashedly singing about sex — and more male artists unashamed to...

Annie White

ONLY NOISEPlaylist for a Schoolgirl Crush

ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Erin Lyndal Martin shares a selection of songs that bring back the rush of a schoolgirl crush. No matter how old you get, there’s something that stays dreamy about...

Erin Lyndal Martin

ONLY NOISEReal(istic) Love

ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Erin Lyndal Martin shares a selection of songs that jar her out of a sardonic mindset when it comes to romance. There’s nothing wrong with sugary love songs. But I...

Erin Lyndal Martin

ONLY NOISESeven Songs That Help Me Navigate Depression and Anxiety

Soccer Mommy's "Your Dog" reminds the author that everyone deserves respect, even on their darkest days. Photo by Daniel Topete ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Lauren Rearick compiles a playlist...

Lauren Rearick

HIGH NOTESHow to Return to Your Life After a Wild Festival Weekend

A weekend of partying at a music festival may leave you feeling like the human equivalent of these overflowing Glastonbury trash cans. Most people don’t spend music festivals worrying about how they’ll feel after all the shouting, head-banging, and (if you're into that sort of thing) drug use is...

Annie White

ONLY NOISEMy New Year's Resolution to Listen to More Women Empowered Me

ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Tamara Mesko details the resolution that led to revolution when she decided to bring more music made by women into her rotation. Check out her playlist here. New...

Tamara Mesko

ONLY NOISEMy Parents' Tapes Taught Me How to Love 'Uncool' Music

Kiri Oliver dyes Easter eggs at her grandparents' house in the Car Tapes era. ONLY NOISE explores music fandom with poignant personal essays that examine the ways we’re shaped by our chosen soundtrack. This week, Kiri Oliver takes us on a trip with the soundtrack to her childhood - before...

Kiri Oliver

AF 2018 IN REVIEWHow A Wave of Queer Hitmakers Helped Me Assert My Identity

illustration and words by Ysabella Monton Drunk on $2 strawberry margaritas during my very first visit to Cubbyhole, my 19-year-old self and a friend struck up a conversation with two women who led with, “Aww, how cute, two straight girls at the gay bar!” We looked at each other, confused. She was...

Ysabella Monton