Beats n’ Stuff #14: tour de beats n’ stuff (the end!)
Caty McCarthy
May 11, 2015
Illustration by Caty McCarthy We’re at the end! The end of the semester, the end of my time at Xpress, and the end of Beats n’ Stuff… the real end this time, I swear. Throughout this column I’ve written about everything that fills up my iTunes with joy, from J-Pop, video game music, J-Rock, K-Pop, K-Indi...
Beats n’ Stuff #13: The semester’s almost over, stop stressin’
Caty McCarthy
April 27, 2015
I’m the worst at not being stressed out. At this point in my college career, I think being stressed out is ingrained in my every day life, coupled with sleep depravity and a worrisome caffeine addiction that would make a doctor’s head spin. The one thing that keeps me from not going insane is mu...
High-tech, low-life: Inside the Mission’s secret cyberpunk fanclub
Caty McCarthy
April 23, 2015
An illustration of founder of Cyberpunk Cinema, Tosh Chiang, and founder of Thrillhouse Records, Fred Schrunk, driving the iconic motorcycle from Akira, a featured film at Cyberpunk Cinema. ILLUSTRATION BY JEREMIAH WILLIAMS. ALL PHOTOS BY ANGELICA WILLIAMS. Akira’s opening scenes establish the ...
I Went to Record Store Day 2015 and Left Disappointed and Ashamed in Myself
Caty McCarthy
April 19, 2015
My boyfriend and I's collective Record Store Day 2015 haul. Photo by Caty McCarthy “Who even checks for Brand New anymore?” More than a few people apparently. It was 8 a.m. on April 18th as my boyfriend and I woke up and readied ourselves before heading to Amoeba Music on Haight Street...
Beats n’ Stuff #12: The Throwbacks
Caty McCarthy
April 6, 2015
Positive K accosts a lady in hopes that she'll want him. Not happening. (Screenshot from his music video "I Got A Man") Ah, throwbacks. The songs that make parties come alive with joy, bad dancing, and inaccurate lip-synching. Luckily, new San Francisco radio station Q102.1 has all th...
Beats n’ Stuff #11: I Know What You Scrobbled Last Summer
Caty McCarthy
March 25, 2015
I’ve had a Last.fm account for eight years. Eight. Years. Glancing at that join date is pretty daunting. In those eight years that I’ve had a Last.fm account I’ve gone through puberty, had a Myspace, deleted a Myspace, created a plethora of other social media accounts, graduated high school...
Beats n’ Stuff #10: A Girl’s Guide to J-Rock
Caty McCarthy
March 9, 2015
During this ongoing column, I’ve covered the grounds of both K-Pop, J-Pop, and even C-Pop, as well as electronic artists in those respective countries, to seemingly no end. Unfortunately, I haven’t really featured any foreign rock bands, a problem that I’m going to remedy this week. And thus,...
Beats n’ Stuff #9: Noise Poppin’
Caty McCarthy
February 23, 2015
It’s Noise Pop Festival week, so for this edition of the Beats n’ Stuff playlist I’ll be spotlighting the best artists playing around the Bay Area for the festival, and why they’re worth your due attention. For those not in the know, San Francisco’s Noise Pop Festival is an annual celeb...
Having an Oscars party? Here’s a ballot to follow along!
Caty McCarthy
February 20, 2015
Does the smell of popcorn and the aura of pretentious film snobs encase the air around you? If so, it's probably because it's Oscars season, and in fact, the big awards show is this Sunday night. While winner-prediction posts are tired and overdone, with the same films being picked time and time...
Beats n’ Stuff #8: ♡ heart-shaped box ♡
Caty McCarthy
February 9, 2015
Hey everybody! I’m back, with another ‘round of Beats n’ Stuff playlists for you all to enjoy and uncover your as-of-yet undiscovered new favorite artists. For those unfamiliar, Beats n’ Stuff is a bi-weekly playlist and blog around a central theme, with a typically-five-song-long SoundCloud pl...
Club Nintendo announces new rewards before service closes
Caty McCarthy
February 4, 2015
Mourning the loss of Club Nintendo, with exclusive items from the program on display. Photo/Graphic by Caty McCarthy. Club Nintendo is a U.S.-based rewards program by gaming giant Nintendo, offering digital and physical prizes in exchange for coins earned from registering first-party Nintendo games and ...
Akiba Kei gone local
Caty McCarthy
December 17, 2014
Japan has been known as land of the most hard-working people in the world, home of over two hundred flavors of Kit Kats, the anime utopia, but perhaps most notably: a mecca for quirky, diverse fashion. In the past few years, art, street fashion, and the Internet have become a trifecta in cyberspace....