What were the best albums of the year? As time goes by, it only gets harder and harder to answer that question. With an audience of listeners with shorter attention spans and a seemingly infinite amount of music released to compete for that attention, finding a favorite album that you can truly sink your teeth […]
In the chaotic and confusing world that was 2025, I couldn’t help but find solace in music. While the world was burning around us (quite literally for us Southern Californians), it became a necessary escape from what felt like the apocalypse that was happening at that moment. As I’m writing this in 2026, it doesn’t […]
Star 99 is a band of friends. If there’s anything that’s been clear about their newest album Gaman and watching them perform at Growing Up is Dumb 2025, it’s that their energy comes from their chemistry. In the span of three months, I have had a unique proximity to their work, so much so that […]
I put the term Gaman (我慢) into a translator just to be sure what it meant. The first thing I got was “fun” and I thought that made total sense as a title for Star 99’s second album. It’s bright, colorful, and perfect for the skatepark during the summer. It’s fun. Then I realized the […]