Berated

Emitting a wide range of emotions is one of the most complex maneuvers in music. Not only because it requires sophistication and a little bit of selfishness, but also due to the varying perceptions of certain feelings among listeners. Some audiences tend to relate to screaming and discordant guitars the best, while others seek solace [...]

It was always interesting to me how varying generations perceive music differently. A well-written thesis or book has likely dissected this to pretentious hell already, so bear with me on this. There are too many intricacies involved to tackle this in a mere post, so I will touch upon it as concisely as I can. [...]

An artist who sports a scruffy beard, sings about “indie queens” and kings, and names their album after a Kurt Vonnegut quote is bound to create a memorable first impression. It may sound like the definitive stereotype for all these independent artists I write about, so smug with their tastes and beliefs that their own [...]

An all-or-nothing mentality is often applied toward the music industry, disregarding any possibility of a middle status whatsoever. An artist achieves success from an album or project that will be forever associated with their name, or they falter entirely and begin to pursue a more menial occupation. It would be simpler if this was the [...]

Nathan Pemberton refuses to abide by the DIY stereotype. He records in his Florida garage with an economical home studio, which supplies just enough firepower for him to make his innovations come alive. But despite the allure of lo-fi minimalism that comes attached with these modest circumstances, Pemberton is pursuing the most majestic sound possible [...]

In one room sits a huddled group of professionals, ranging from for-pay songwriters to conniving promoters. Their eyes are all on a whiteboard that lists several opportunities for their fledging client on this starry Friday night. Should he show up at a star’s birthday party, present at an awards show, or attend a charity dinner? [...]

First off, I want to apologize for the server difficulties this site has experienced the past week or so. Obscure Sound was apparently taking up too many resources to be situated on my host’s server, so they temporarily disabled it until I fixed the issue. To do so, I was forced to delete hundreds of [...]