Love them or hate them, during the holiday season certain songs are unavoidable. You hear them on the radio, while out shopping for presents, and all over town. You’ve probably heard these songs so many times that you think you know their lyrics by heart… but do you? Holiday songs have some unusual vocabulary that we don’t often use in everyday life. This can lead …
If you’ve been a music fan any time between now and the 1970s, you have probably heard of the terms mixtape and album and have likely listened to quite a few of each. Are those two things the same, or do they march to the beat of different drum machines? In this article, we’ll drop the beat and break down the differences between an album …
On August 11, 1973, Clive Campbell—aka DJ Kool Herc—and his sister Cindy organized a back-to-school party for mostly high-schoolers in the Bronx, bringing together the elements that would form the foundation of an art form, a culture, and a phenomenon: hip-hop. On the occasion of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary, we set out to capture its trajectory from cultural mashup to source of global influence by highlighting …
On August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc hosted a back-to-school party in the Bronx. At that time, different like-minded communities came together to party, and in doing so, they created a new cultural movement that would dramatically shape popular culture forever. That movement would be called hip-hop. The name hip-hop wasn’t used yet in 1973, and no one at the time interpreted the gathering, or …
Thirty years ago, in his 1993 song “Hip Hop vs. Rap,” hip-hop legend KRS-One summarized his view of the difference between the two: “Rap is something you do. Hip hop is something you live.” Today, 50 years after the date in 1973 that is considered the birth of hip-hop, the terms rap and hip-hop are still often used interchangeably and in distinct ways. Join us …
The words cord and chord are pronounced exactly the same and only differ by a single letter. However, they have completely different meanings. In this article, we will break down the most common meanings of cord and chord, briefly explain how they have a shared history, provide a quick tip to remember the difference between them, and provide examples that show how we typically use …
So, you’re wondering why Beyoncé’s Renaissance album has proved to be so irresistible and has now inspired a record-breaking tour—declared the highest grossing for a female artist—in 2023. Well, we’ve got 15 words that help tell that story. The album, released in 2022, samples and incorporates elements of a highly danceable musical genre known as house. Renaissance in particular references and pays homage to the Black …
The words viola and violin sound very similar, but do the instruments sound the same? In this article, we’ll note the difference between a viola and a violin, including in size and tone, and also list the other members of the violin family of instruments. The difference between viola and violin First, the similarities: both the violin and viola are members of the violin family …
If your cello sounds a little fishy, it might be a bass. Terrible puns aside, it can be easy to confuse the two lowest and largest members of the violin family. But are the cello and bass really all that different? In this article, we’ll break down the difference between a cello and a bass and explain why the bass that’s a member of the …
by Claire Evans K-pop is the name of a pop music sensation that originated in South Korea and is sweeping the globe. From its energetic choreography and music to the beauty of its idols, K-pop (or K for Korea combined with pop) has entranced international and Korean fans alike—and chances are you’ve heard it, hummed it, or danced to it. (Did you catch BTS’ “Friends” …
Puerto Rican songwriter Bad Bunny loves to meld genres—reggaetón blended with a little pop here, punk and rock there, and also soul. In a way, his music perfectly encapsulates Caribbean and Latin American music and its history of weaving and fusing together different musical styles that come together for a highly danceable mix. From reggaetón to the cha-cha-cha to the “singing newspapers” known as plena, Caribbean and …
New Year’s Eve is full of traditions that are easy to understand. Counting down the seconds until the day the calendar changes, for example. Others are a little less straightforward. Case in point: singing “Auld Lang Syne”—or at least humming along while it plays on TV in the background. Don’t blame yourself if you don’t know the lyrics despite the song making the rounds every …