Mexican Psych, Ragged Rock, Boom-Bap Soul
Y'all ever lost a dog? It is exhausting. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Our 12-year-old pup Cocoa Bean slipped out a gate on Saturday, confirmed by a...
Spectral Black Metal, Dance-Punk Revival, Rapturous Free-Jazz
Never thought I'd become a tea cocktail guy, but I have recently taken to putting cereal milk in black tea and, y'all, it's glorious. Cheerios milk in my own...
Japanese Emo, Spanish Street Punk, Blackend Top 40
It's been a minute, but I wanted to say thanks for subscribing to the Viking's Choice newsletter! It's a constant work in progress! And it's going to look a...
Why Do Memories Glow the Way Real Moments Don't? 2021 in Music, Part 2
I have measured my life with bootleg tees purchased online. Didn't read many books, but predictably cried to Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Didn't...
But You Were My Mirrored Sky. 2021 in Music, Part 1
If I could, I would write a 300-album year-end list. Music consumes my every day: from checking my Bandcamp feed in the morning to emails from...
Screamed from Pits and Office Chairs! 2021 in Metal
Metal is life's blood... ... drunk from horns and tallboys, screamed from pits and home office chairs – well, more of the latter than the former these days....
You Can Fingerpick Anything! 2021 in Guitar Music
In the spring of 2021, I had a revelation. Fingerstyle guitar dared itself to transform. To grow beyond its presumed roots and sprout beautiful, perhaps even...
Today, let's make the yuletide weird
"We Three Kings" played on sitar? King Diamond? Amy Grant? Yup, I'm hosting a holiday music marathon dubbed the Viking's Choice Holiday Special from 12-8...
Viking's Choice Guide To Bandcamp Friday (Nov. 2021)
Welcome the last (?) Viking’s Choice Guide to Bandcamp Friday!I absolutely reserve the right to bring back this monthly-ish list of new albums dropping on...
Viking's Choice Guide To Bandcamp Friday (Nov. 2021)
Welcome the last (?) Viking's Choice Guide to Bandcamp Friday! I absolutely reserve the right to bring back this monthly-ish list of new albums dropping on...
Viking's Choice Guide To Bandcamp Friday (Oct. 2021)
Every day is Bandcamp Friday if you toss in a couple extra bucks. I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Anyway, if you're new here, hi! Bandcamp...
Burger Emo, Salty Post-Punk, Power Metal Storytime
I don't believe in guilty pleasures… … but there are some songs that I only share with close friends. Songs that demonstrate certain qualities intrinsic to...
This Beautiful Mess
This is not the actual artwork for Sixpence None the Richer’s This Beautiful Mess. But since the test presses only came in paper sleeves, I let my two-year-...
A Good Cup Of Tea Takes Patience And Practice
An oolong brews differently than a white peony than a pu-erh than a jasmine. And even within those varietals, soil and air give them distinct personalities...
Viking's Choice Guide To Bandcamp Friday (Aug. 2021)
Buying trash snacks with your partner is romantic as heck. We scanned the chip aisle of our corner store, recently under new management (they now sell shisha...
Avant-Pop, Fuzz Improv, Bilingual D-Beat
The first time I told a girl that I (platonically) loved her, she kicked me out. This was my mid-20s, which I have come to call the second coming of my...
Sacred Riffs, Blown-Out Cumbia, Space Opera Noise
Summer’s usually got me in three modes: chooglin’ rosé-sippin’ tallboy riffin’ These ways of being heed no creed, genre or person — a country song can...
Sci-Fi Thrash, Heartland Punk, Skronk Groove
“Children love the meat tank.” I remember Heathcliff‘s daily strip as kinda corny. As a kid who was forever waiting for adulthood (cue wells for boys),...
Teen Improv, Brazilian Dub, Blown-Out Power-Pop
“It’s been a wild ride, motherfuckers!” Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother) opened Irreversible Entanglements’ set with an exclamation. Over a sprawling...
Ethio-Jazz, Cambodian Collage, Korean Pop-Punk
It’s 6:39 a.m. And I still haven’t written a pithy or emotional or silly intro to this thing, yet, so here’s an assortment of links: A deleted review of...
