Real recession pop is back.  The meat dress. A jump from the top of the stadium during the Super Bowl LI Halftime Show. The iconic “Bad Romance” music video.  Whether listening to a first CD, playing Just Dance on the Wii, or driving home from school with Mom, Lady Gaga was the soundtrack to childhood. […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

SAYA, Album No. 4 from Saya Gray Saya Gray’s latest record, SAYA, is in its own lane. One look at the cover — a wire coil obscuring one eye, hair coiffed in idiosyncratic chignons and strands, editorial makeup and a legion of chunky earrings — is more than enough to see her commitment to standing […]

Drake’s Refusal to Play the Game That Made Him Drake steps onto the RAC Arena stage in Perth, Australia, riddled with bullet holes that do not bleed. Here, his wounds do not ooze, but huff and puff wisps of smoke as if the shots fired left nothing but residual heat—the embers of a hip-hop beef […]

Amidst Vanderbilt University’s sprawling campus, creativity is alive and thriving, fueled by the stories of its student artists. Regardless of differences, these artists—with unique perspectives shaped by cultural heritage, musical inspirations and personal journeys—come together in a shared avenue for collaboration: the Vanderbilt Recording Studio (VRS). I sat down with three such artists from the […]

About a month ago, I was stepping out of the Nashville Symphony Schermerhorn when I caught a flicker of a familiar face. Not one I could match to a specific voice, name, or glance shared in the past few weeks, but important enough to stir a vague sense of recognition. I took a double take […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

The Roster is a series created by Aneesh Batchu. Each week, a tier list of the best, most average, and worst new releases is published alongside blistering hot takes. The best of the best receive a trophy, and the worst of the worst are tossed in the bin. First, Batchu tackles the latest singles. Then, the team comments […]

Vanderbilt’s The Deltamen is the university’s first independent Chinese pop-rock band. Formed in the fall of 2022, they have since released multiple singles, an EP, and a full-length album, all of which showcase their range. Reminiscent of The Smiths and The Beatles, songs “Handan” and “After the Rain” cast a simple melody against a mellow […]

This weekend, Vanderbilt Off Broadway presents (VOB) their mainstage show: Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. This week, The Amp was invited to preview the production. Purchase tickets for the show here. A weighty curtain folds back from the facade of Langford Auditorium’s stage. […]

Circa highschool, some three-odd years ago.  I slid my punch card into the time clock one last time, and the digits read like a cipher: You made it out! In a strange ecdysis, I tore myself out of a hibernation body, limb from limb until I was shiny-new. I shook myself out a premature resignation […]