Melissa Kacar

10 years ago, The 1975 released their debut self-titled album and became one of the most influential alternative rock bands of this generation. So much of The 1975's debut album still feels so fresh, as if it was made just this year. It truly is a testament to how ahead of the time they were in 2013. Aesthetically and sonically, they shaped so much of the culture for both pop and rock music in the years to come and defined the sound for all alternative music artists of the 2010's and beyond.  Although they didn't release a full-length album until 2013, they actually formed the band in 2002 when Matty Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann, and Ross MacDonald were in school together. They continued playing together in the years that followed, under a variety of different names like "Me and You Versus Them", "Talkhouse", "Slowdown" and "Bigsleep", to name a few. "Drive Like I Do", was another one of the many early iterations of the

it's time to let go of this endless summer afternoon is a playlist curated around the end of summer as we enter into the transitional period of the seasons. These are some of my favorite songs to listen to this time of year when it isn't quite fall yet, but not summer anymore either. It is named after a lyric from a song called "Hard Feelings/Loveless" by Lorde . Melodrama is one of my favorite albums ever, which I have written about many times  over the years. To me, it perfectly captures the end of summer feeling. So much of this playlist is also comprised of some of my other favorite artists, like The 1975 , Arctic Monkeys , Haim and more.  I am also working on reviews for the tenth anniversaries of The 1975 's debut album and   Pure Heroine  by Lorde , so I have been listening to those albums in particular a lot lately and felt like they fit the theme of   its time to let go of this endless summer afternoon   so perfectly.  Songs like "The Good Side&quo

10 years ago, Ariana Grande released her debut album, Yours Truly , which really signified the birth of one of the greatest popstars of this generation. It's an album that mixes so many different sounds and sonic influences from a wide range of musical eras.  Yours Truly was made over a span of three years while Ariana was simultaneously starring on Nickelodeon's Victorious and later, Sam and Cat . It is so rare for someone like her, with the background of being an actress on a kid's show, to be able to make a debut album like this in the first place, but also to subsequently have built the career she has in the years since. It is so evident that they all really took their time over those three years while making this album to create something really special and timeless, which is a testament to how well this album held up over the last ten years.  The majority of  Yours Truly  still sounds so fresh a decade later, which honestly is rare to achieve with much of the music r