Anhedonia


Band: Chelsea Wolfe and Emma Ruth Rundle
Album:Anhedonia
Best song:It’s one song.
Worst song:N/A

Childhood memories are weird things. I’ve noted a lot that my earliest memories are of Chicago Stadium, at ‘Hawks games. If I’m being honest, they’re more vignettes and sense memories. The smell of stale beer and piss in the bathrooms or the deafening organ and “De-troit sucks!” chants emanating from the rafters. But, those are the ones that are most vivid because they fit a narrative of hockey-as-family with my dad and I. I have other memories fro that period involving my sister or mom or friends, but those hockey games are both the most vivid and the best to fit my own life’s narrative of my relationship with my dad. Continue reading

May Our Chambers Be Full


Band: Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou
Album: May Our Chambers Be Full
Best song: “The Valley” is one of the best songs in recent memory.
Worst song:”Monolith” is the only track without Rundle.

One of my worst impulses that I continuously follow – even though I know it’s bad – is to know as much information about a record that I can. I want to know about the people in the band, I want to know how the record came together and I even want to know the intention behind everything about the album. Continue reading

Electric Guitar One


Band: Emma Ruth Rundle
Album: Electric Guitar One
Best song: “For Paul”
Worst song: “Dialogue Preceding”

One of the self-evident parts of fandom is the strange reality of coming near the subject of said fandom. I suspect it’s not a real thing for super duper mainstream artists.

Let me back up.

I’ve interviewed a bunch of musicians in my life and have, generally, taken to the idea that they’re just people. Name-dropping isn’t going to do me any good, but meeting people like Chris Walla or Ike Brock or Wayne Coyne or Doug Martsch didn’t bother me; ultimately, they were just some dudes.  Continue reading

Some Heavy Ocean


Band: Emma Ruth Rundle
Album: Some Heavy Ocean
Best song: “Run Forever” is the most-played song on Spotify and is a great song. Really, I like every song on the album a ton. “We ARe All Ghosts” is my current favorite, but that changes weekly.
Worst song: I’ll cop out and say “You Card the Sun” is the worst, because it’s an interstitial.

I meet a lot of people who say they “love live music” and I’m not totally sure what it means. I imagine some of it is because they want to support local and touring bands, but mostly I think it’s because it speaks to an idea of being hip and “in the scene.” And people like to go out or whatever. I guess. Continue reading