The Best Music Of March and April
April 28, 2025 by Elias Prodger (‘26)
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Prodger’s Playlist
I Am Music: Analyzing Playboi Carti’s Highly Anticipated Album
March 17, 2025 by Elias Prodger (‘26) and Max Vogel (’26) Well everybody, it’s finally here. After over four years of self-indulgent, frustrating teases of snippets on a dormant Instagram account along with a handful of new singles, influential and cult favorite rapper Playboi Carti has given us a new album. We can dive into
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The Best Songs of January and February 2025
March 3, 2025 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Music in 2025 has gotten off to a hot start. From major hip hop and R&B releases from Mac Miller and The Weeknd, to a plethora of underground indie gems, here are the most compelling songs I’ve heard to start this year. Check out this list and other reccomendations
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At the Top of the Charts? Time to Experiment: Ethel Cain’s new Style Change and Album
January 27, 2025 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Nothing excites me in the music industry as much as when an artist does something unbelievably strange. There’s something so intrinsically special about an artist that finds the courage to subvert expectations and create something so left-field and experimental to a listener’s ear. 2025 has started with an
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Best Albums of 2024
December 16, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Looking back, 2024 was truly an incredible year for music. With timeless rap beef, exciting indie releases and a banner year for pop music, the music industry made releases this year that have proven to be some of the most exciting we have seen in a long time.
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Robert Smith and The Cure’s Songs for A Lost World
November 25, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Robert Smith’s disintegrating world view, The Cure’s Songs for A Lost World and The Art of their Late Era Album The Cure’s Songs for a Lost World may go down as possibly one of the most timely and relevant album titles of all time. In a time of
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Tyler, The Creator’s Chromokopia
November 11, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Tyler, the Creator has never been afraid to reinvent himself. From his early days as an Odd Future edgelord, to his expansive and conceptual album Igor, Tyler appears to be fearless. He portrays such confidence to each one of his records and I feel as though every move
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The Lightning Rod’s Thrilling Hallo-week Playlist
October 28, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) It’s Halloween season! Of course with a holiday so focused on its vibes and unique energy, it’s only fitting that I create a playlist to fit the dark, spooky, and best parts of late October! And, let’s be real: making a Halloween Playlist is hard. But you’re in
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They Are Trying To Break Your Heart: Exploring Alternative Country
October 15, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) MJ Lenderman and Why Alt Country is Producing Modern Indie’s Best Songwriters Walking into an MJ Lenderman show, it’s almost guaranteed you will see two things. Flannel shirts and 70% of the audience wearing various shades of blue jeans. For a traditionally insular genre like Country where plenty
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2024 MTV Music Awards: VMA OR VM-NAY
September 30, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Another year means another round of the MTV Video and Music awards. Since 1984, MTV has been hosting their annual award ceremony. As a response to other mainstream award shows such as the Grammys, the MTV Video and Music awards were originally focused on the art of the
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The 2024 Lightning Rod Summer Playlist
June 13, 2024 by Elias Prodger(‘26) The summertime is truly some of the best time to listen to music. The crystal blue skies and sunny energy can make a kick drum punchier and the energy of any song more potent. We assume over here at the lightning rod you love music just like us, and
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Three 2024 Albums to Check Out Now
April 30, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) 2024 has been a fairly fruitful year in the world of mainstream and underground music. In the mainstream, new records from Ariana Grande and Justin Timberlake represent the return of pop royalty along with a genre shift into country influences from Beyoncé. On the more experimental and underground
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Tortured Poets Department Review
April 30, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) I have to be honest. I was not super excited to write this review. It’s neither because I am some devoted Taylor Swift hater, nor because I am filled with fear of angry mobs of Swiftes trying to track down my home address. My problem with the majority
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Kanye Vultures: Can You Separate the Art from the Artist?
March 13, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Kanye West. Just saying his name recently has caused visceral reactions from anyone you talk to. Kanye’s discography and evolving public image is fascinating, and, simultaneously, horrifying to look at. But this divisive persona is captivating to his growing cult-like fan base that divides music nerds and casual
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2024 Grammy’s Roundup
February 14, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) Oh, Grammys season. The Grammys seem to mean everything, yet simultaneously nothing at all to the average music fan. No matter who the Grammys decide to nominate, it seems like every decision made is a misstep, every action plagued by controversy and scandal. But does it all even
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My 9 Favorite Albums of 2023
January 18, 2024 by Elias Prodger (‘26) 2023 was a weird year of music. It acted as some sort of a transition year. 2022 felt like the most solid and consistently well-done year we have seen in music all decade. But as we moved into 2024, mainstream music seemed to be confused. No rap albums
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