Top Stories
Stories in Beat that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
Hard rain fall
Couple of weeks ago, I talked to some young people about Bob Dylan and the new Searchlight Pictures movie A Complete Unknown. It was clear from the way they spoke that, even if they had heard of Dylan, they were not familiar with any of his music. Unlike (say) The Beatles, Bob Dylan was very much of his generation. Beatles songs continue because they have a sort of timelessness to them and have been widely emulated by the likes of Britpop band Oasis, among others. Dylan's music lived, and kinda died, with the hippy era of free love, peace and anti-war protest. Those young people who have never heard songs such as Like a Rolling Stone are going to hear a lot more of Dylan this year.
By Raymond G. Taylorabout a year ago in Beat
A Bittersweet Symphony
Counting down from December (right now, as at the time of writing) to the beginning of 2024. The beginning of the year that is about to end (2024) is way different and significant than the ending. This may be true to form for some people, where the next holiday season leaves off from the last one somehow. In other words, you are revisiting any unfinished business from the previous holiday season in the current one, whatever shape or form that comes across for yourself.
By Justine Crowleyabout a year ago in Beat
Folk, Love and Hope
The soundtrack of my year started off with the song Alaska by Caiola , an indie-folk singer. I had a new relationship starting to grow, but my fear of commitment to something more was creeping in. One of the lyrics is about resisting the urge to add another affirmation to the list on his lover's wall. Because that meant adding to their life and he asks if they were leaving or just coming home. I resonated with that greatly since I was always asking myself if I was coming or going. Whether I was going to finally stay this time, and had I found my home. He sings about being terrified to let the relationship mature, and wonders if they even should. That became a reoccurring line in my life, and in everything I did. I used to tell myself I was doing the right thing by leaving by hoping to spare them the pain of staying. I wondered if I was worthy of adding another line to their life. Always afraid that I might want to stay for once so I resisted.
By Matthew Mccaheyabout a year ago in Beat
My 2024 Playlist
The year is wrapped in a cloudy layer of memory fog. Where the beginning of the year seems like a distant reality. If anything I see the future a lot more clearly. That being said, I find that I struggle to remember a lot of things because I am shifting; I am transforming. A few months ago, I had the realization that I was not who I wanted to be and I was falling into repetitive cycles of trauma and depression. Ultimately, I was sick of it. I had to make it feel better. And If I was going to grow then I needed to look at what I had been doing, accept that the past served me, but no longer does and move on to what I wanted to become. And even with the year coming to a close, I am not done this change. In fact it is only the beginning. However, I understand that the past plays a significant role in who we become, and since I believe this to be true, than perhaps we can live through it again in the songs I listened too over and over again.
By Lane Burnsabout a year ago in Beat
Shake it Out
I have made so much progress in my eating disorder recovery that it is SCREAMING for control again. With this progress comes WAY more fighting. I thought it was bad a month ago and now I cry when meals are placed in front of me. I'm breaking but I need to stay strong... For myself. I'm doing that through music that helps me. One of those songs is Shake it Out. Almost every line has a deep meaning to what I'm going through.
By Rene Petersabout a year ago in Beat
Boundaries Festival, Sunderland, 2024
Sometimes, it’s the provincial towns where the fascinating stuff happens. Take Sunderland’s Boundaries Festival. In theory, assembling an international array of experimental music gurus in a northeastern city better known for footballing struggles and industrial heritage should be a non-starter. Easy to assume there’s no local audience, and nobody willing to travel to an unfashionable outpost regardless of who is on the bill.
By Andy Pottsabout a year ago in Beat
