Melissa Kacar

"Add Up My Love" and "Slow Dance" beautifully encapsulates the overall narrative arc of Clairo 's third album Charm . Released as a part of Urban Outfitters' 2026 Valentine's Day vinyl collection, these two songs pair so beautifully on this exclusive 7" single . It is pressed on a baby pink vinyl, with an embossed front cover that features a line drawing of cupid and gorgeous typography. The attention to detail is evident with this release. It looks almost like a Valentine itself, which captures the aesthetic of the overall theme of the release so well. It was limited to just 3000 copies. I love collecting Clairo's music on vinyl and am always so captured by the way the warmth and beauty of her music is translated into the physical releases. So much of  Charm  is rooted in beautiful, sincere love songs that are simply written, but also incredibly evocative emotionally at the same time. The track list sequencing of this record overall really doe...

Hayley Williams ' "True Believer" is a powerfully  deeply poetic and painfully relevant to the moment in history we are currently living through. She tackles many heavy and personal topics, especially her complicated feelings toward the South, the place she has lived for most of her life, but has also seen transform into something she wishes it wasn't.  Beneath the disillusionment, though, is still a very distinct hope and belief that the people who remain good and believe in the merits of what it means to be an American will prevail. It is such a brutally honest and chilling song, with a message that is more American than the owner of the racist country singer's bar could ever dream of writing. Especially in this period of political history, for her to lay out all of her beliefs and advocate for the future of this country is so powerful, inspiring and serves as a reminder of what it looks like when an artist uses her voice with intention. Hayley vividly paints a ...

Greetings from The Crux Hotel! 🐭🗝️☆  Back in August 2025 when I visited Los Angeles , one of the biggest highlights of the trip was getting to take a tour of Paramount Studios. Of course tons of iconic movies and TV shows were filmed there, but one of my personal favorite parts of the tour was seeing the building facade used on the cover of one of my favorite albums ever - The Crux by Djo !! I absolutely love Djo 's music and this was so cool to see in person. Not to mention, this is also one of my favorite album covers of all time too! The cover was shot on Paramount's outdoor cityscape backlot. It's a part of a massive set that's been used in countless projects, meant to mimic the look of New York or Chicago. The tour guide drove through this part of the lot really quickly because they were actually filming something there that day, but I'm so glad I got to get a few pictures of it. Hopefully one day I get to go back and take pictures in front of it!  The Cru...

 "Night Shift" is a song made up of Lucy Dacus ' signature raw and emotive songwriting, fully realized through its six and a half minute run time. Lucy said at the time of its release that it is the only breakup song she's ever written. The song is deeply intimate and specific, building to an explosive ending. It is overall a testament to the love and memories they shared, but it also feels very much like a final word. "Night Shift" is one that wants the distance and the space to never see them again, while still recognizing the positive experiences that shaped the music born from that relationship. Its placement as the opening track of her 2018 album Historian especially interesting because by all other measures, it feels like a conclusionary song, but maybe that's the point. It opens the album because it closes the chapter on the relationship that inspired it. In an interview with  NPR , Lucy said, "For a long time I didn't believe expressing...

My favorite rock star forever!  So much of my love for music, fashion, and pop culture as a whole stems from Hannah Montana , and that spark has only grown into a lifelong passion for all of those things. That fact truly cannot be overstated, as Miley Cyrus ' music has been such a big part of my life since I was six years old. She has lived so many lives as an artist since the show premiered in 2006, it has been so special to witness every single one and have her music continue to be such a constant through all of those years. To celebrate two decades since the show premiered feels like honoring the younger versions of ourselves who first fell in love with this world and all of the magic, music, and fantasy within it. This Hannah‑versary is also a reclamation of what has always belonged to her and is a true full‑circle moment amplified by the recent Disney+ special. No one else could have portrayed this character the way she did. Miley didn't just play a fictional pop star; sh...