humanity
Humanity topics include pieces on the real lives of music professionals, amateurs, inspiring students, celebrities, lifestyle influencers, and general feel good human stories in the music sphere.
14 Songs I Found on a Burned CD from 2007
Before streaming took over, you had a few options for listening to your favorite songs: waiting for the song to play on the radio, trying to catch the music video on TV or paying $15 for a CD that might have only one good track. As a child, I fantasized about owning a CD that magically played all my favorite songs. Unfortunately, this seemed like a fairy tale until Napster and Limewire disrupted the music industry, allowing users to download virtually any song for free--albeit illegally.
By Kaitlin Shanks3 days ago in Beat
My Exclusive Interview With Killy Myne
With over 3,000 Spotify streams on "Burn in Hell" alone, Killy Myne is a rising star in the dream pop genre. Her current discography is small, but she's already crafted a dark image and a haunting sound that mark her as an artist to watch. I reached out to her for an email interview, and if you're a fan of modern slowcore and dreamy bedroom pop, her responses provide an intriguing look at the process behind these soon-to-be-viral singles.
By Kaitlin Shanks4 days ago in Beat
A review of "Diana/No Encores in a Swan Song" by Blind Channel
Blind Channel is one of my favourite bands. I discovered them during Eurovision 2021, and the rest was history. At the time, I was falling a bit out of love with the whole rock/metal scene, so discovering them was a breath of fresh air for me and reignited my interest in these genres.
By Simona Rosso17 days ago in Beat
My Tribute to Honor Dolly Parton
When Richmond’s local news stations invited Virginians to share photos and memories in honor of Dolly Parton, I was inspired to do so. It wasn’t just nostalgia I felt. It was recognition — the kind that rose from deep places within me. Dolly touched the lives of millions, including mine. That's why I offer a tribute stitched together with the very threads she gave us: her songs, her stories, and her unmistakable spirit.
By Margaret Minnicks20 days ago in Beat
The Songs We Loved…and the Harm We Ignored
“You all know it's wrong, but you're singing along.” Comedian Dustin Nickerson has a bit where he looks at the Looney Tunes from today's point of view. As good comedy does, he gets his laughs by making the audience uncomfortable. Children now are learning empathy from Bluey; what were we getting out of the hijinks of Bugs Bunny and his famously chaotic co-stars?
By Carl J. Petersen27 days ago in Beat
Aaron Lee Tasjan:
By Brian D'Ambrosio The title of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s new album, Get Over It, Underdog (due out July 17th), lands with a wink. It sounds like something muttered after a hard knock, equal parts encouragement and resignation. That mix of humor, resilience, and self-awareness runs throughout one of the most rewarding records of Tasjan’s career, a collection that explores the many meanings of being an underdog while celebrating the oddballs, originals, and unlikely heroes who keep finding reasons to carry on.
By Brian D'Ambrosio about a month ago in Beat
10 Eccentric Tracks from Obscure Shoegaze Bands. Top Story - August 2026.
In a lot of ways, making money as a musician is more challenging than ever. And yet, these obscure shoegaze bands are still at it. They might not have top-ten hits or millions of Spotify listeners, but they're still making music because they love writing songs and sharing their efforts with the world. Here's your chance to give back by streaming their tracks, following them on social media and, if you live in the area, checking out one of their live shows.
By Kaitlin Shanksabout a month ago in Beat
A Letter to Mom from Ukraine's Front Lines
War songs often aim for grandeur. They celebrate victories, recount battles, or rally listeners around a cause. Flickering Flame by Thorne Empire does something far more difficult: it strips war of its spectacle and replaces it with a quiet, deeply personal conversation between a son and his mother. The result is not a song about military strategy or politics, but about the ordinary people forced to carry the extraordinary burden of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
By Thorne Empire2 months ago in Beat
The Soundtrack of Becoming
Songs are an interesting thing. They can make you smile, laugh, cry, get angry, strike inspiration, etc. However, one of the most amazing aspects of songs is that they can evoke forgotten memories with a few notes. There are a lot of songs that take me down memory lane, which I would like to share with all of you.
By J. Davis Mallory2 months ago in Beat
The Album I Love But Rarely Want to Hear
So, it's spring 1994. I'm 14 and have a very busy, questioning mind. Ever since I moved on from Kylie Minogue and whatever random pop music happened to be on the radio, I started developing my own musical taste. I gravitated towards indie, rock, metal and dance music, which naturally led me to industrial music. The bands that resonated with me most were Ministry, Front Line Assembly and Nine Inch Nails.
By Paul Stewart2 months ago in Beat
