smash cuts: bopscotch

By Nathan Smith

Just because school’s in session doesn’t mean festival season has ended; in fact, one of the year’s best lineups is just around the corner. Hopscotch Music Festival takes flight in Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend, and I’m beyond excited to have the opportunity to cover the festival this year. Spread across three days and located at a number of venues in downtown Raleigh, Hopscotch tackles numerous genres, from the experimental hip-hop of Clipping, Ka, and Smash Cut favorite Open Mike Eagle to the garage rock stylings of White Lung, Diarrhea Planet, and Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. Although not quite as out-there as Knoxville’s own Big Ears, Hopscotch embraces music’s full spectrum, blending experimentation and accessibility. In addition to big-name headliners like Spoon, St. Vincent, Thurston Moore, and De La Soul, you’ll also find Hopscotch’s line-up heavy with local North Carolina acts like Tow3rs, Well$, blursome, and Deniro Farrar. Whether you want to play like you’re spending the weekend at Hopscotch or if you’re just looking to familiarize yourself with the line-up before you go, our weekly playlist has got your back. Few festivals seem as devoted to good music of all genres as Hopscotch does, and I can’t explain how excited I am to cover it this year. Maybe we’ll see you there?

Track of the Week: Iceage’s “The Lord’s Favorite”

By Nathan Smith

In 2013, I got burned out on rock and roll. If you’d seen the ballot for my Best Albums list, it would’ve been clear- the kid who got into music by using too much whammy bar on Guitar Hero had decided to leave the button-mashing to someone else. While I’m not one to claim that an entire genre could ever die, straight-up rock just didn’t interest me. I was tired of the beer hats, tired of the same three chords, but mostly I was tired of the elitism that sometimes insinuates and sometimes loudly proclaims that the genres I love most (rap and electronic) aren’t “real music.”

A Bonnaroo Pilgrim’s Progress: My First Bonnaroo, In 2,700 Words

By Nathan Smith

In the beginning there was a word, and the word was Bonnaroo…

Depending on your view, the word “Bonnaroo” can mean a lot of different things. For some, it’s a magical place filled with music and memories. For many parents, it’s a “drunken brawl” filled with drugs and an exaggerated number of deaths from heat exhaustion. For others still it might just be the name of a Dr. John album. But as my friends and I pull into the music festival outside Manchester, TN, all those differing definitions start to erode. Somewhere between the first security checkpoint and our campsite, “The Farm” devolved into a reverse tower of Babel, where every language disappears and one word remains in its place: “Bonnaroo.” As we approach our final destination, strangers yell out “Bonnaroo!!!” to our car. Like some Pavlovian dog yet unaware of his programmed response, we yell “Bonnaroo!!!” back. The cynical part of me doesn’t want to embrace the whole thing so readily, and the prick inside can’t help screaming “Gathering of the Juggalos!!!” a few times, but it’s hard to resist. It quickly becomes apparent that the festival’s philosophy of “Radiate Positivity” isn’t just an advertising slogan; the mantra shines off almost every face with the warmth of Tatooine’s twin sun.

Smash Cuts: Real Cute

We talk a lot about the things we like here, but sometimes I don’t think we share them enough. To help remedy that, I’ve decided to start posting a monthly (or perhaps weekly) series of playlists called “Smash Cuts.” A compilation of cool tunes old and new, each Smash Cuts playlist will have some sort of theme to go along with it. This month’s is “Real Cute.” To add a nice personal touch, I wrote up the track listing in my own handwriting. Just in case you don’t feel like deciphering my scrawl, the playlist is embedded below. I suppose we should at some point make a Smash Cut Magazine Spotify account, but until then, I’ll use my personal one. Feel free to follow me for more music playlists and updates.