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Sophie Chen

137 articles

Showing 101120 of 137 articles

How Floating Points Made the Best Jazz Album of the Decade
Culture

How Floating Points Made the Best Jazz Album of the Decade

Promises, the 2021 collaboration between electronic producer Floating Points, legendary jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra, is one of those rare recordings that defies every genre category while achieving something genuinely transcendent.

2024-10-10

The 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums You Missed in 2024
Culture

The 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums You Missed in 2024

The hip-hop mainstream in 2024 was dominated by the Kendrick and Drake feud, but the genre's most interesting work happened below the headlines.

2024-10-05

The 12 Best Indie Games of the Last Two Years
Culture

The 12 Best Indie Games of the Last Two Years

The indie game scene continues to produce work that embarrasses major studios in creativity, emotional depth, and pure gameplay innovation.

2024-09-20

Why You Should Be Reading Substacks Instead of News Sites
Culture

Why You Should Be Reading Substacks Instead of News Sites

Legacy news sites are caught in a death spiral of declining ad revenue, clickbait headlines, and content designed for engagement metrics rather than understanding.

2024-09-18

Why Mechanical Keyboards Became a Whole Subculture
Culture

Why Mechanical Keyboards Became a Whole Subculture

It started with gamers wanting faster response times and typists wanting better tactile feedback.

2024-09-14

Why the Criterion Channel Is Worth Every Penny
Culture

Why the Criterion Channel Is Worth Every Penny

At $10.

2024-09-12

The Best Manga Series to Start in 2025 If You've Never Read Manga
Culture

The Best Manga Series to Start in 2025 If You've Never Read Manga

Manga intimidates newcomers for understandable reasons.

2024-09-11

How Pedro Pascal Became Hollywood's Most Likeable Leading Man
Culture

How Pedro Pascal Became Hollywood's Most Likeable Leading Man

Pedro Pascal's path to stardom was anything but conventional.

2024-09-11

Why Baldur's Gate 3 Raised the Bar for RPGs Forever
Culture

Why Baldur's Gate 3 Raised the Bar for RPGs Forever

Larian Studios Baldur Gate 3, released in August 2023, is the most significant role-playing game since The Witcher 3.

2024-09-06

The Video Game You're Sleeping On
Culture

The Video Game You're Sleeping On

Outer Wilds, released in 2019 by Mobius Digital, is a space exploration game that gives you a solar system trapped in a 22-minute time loop and asks you to figure out why.

2024-09-04

The DJ Set You're Sleeping On
Culture

The DJ Set You're Sleeping On

Jayda G Boiler Room set from 2019 is still one of the most electrifying pieces of recorded live music on the internet.

2024-09-01

Why Reacher Is the Best Thing Streaming Right Now
Culture

Why Reacher Is the Best Thing Streaming Right Now

Amazon Reacher succeeds because it understands exactly what it is: a show about an impossibly large man who arrives in small towns, solves crimes, and beats people up.

2024-08-30

Why Industry Is the Best Thing Streaming Right Now
Culture

Why Industry Is the Best Thing Streaming Right Now

HBO Industry follows a group of young graduates at Pierpoint, a fictional London investment bank, as they navigate the intersection of money, sex, class, and ambition.

2024-08-29

Why Rowing Blazers Made Prep Fun Again
Style

Why Rowing Blazers Made Prep Fun Again

Jack Carlson, a former Olympic rower and Oxford-educated archaeologist, launched Rowing Blazers in 2017 with a simple thesis: preppy clothing had been sterilized by the very brands that popularized it.

2024-08-18

The Guide to Men's Hats That Aren't Baseball Caps
Style

The Guide to Men's Hats That Aren't Baseball Caps

The baseball cap is the default headwear for American men, and while a good one has its place, defaulting to it every time is a missed opportunity.

2024-08-12

The Best Graphic Tees That Aren't Cringe
Style

The Best Graphic Tees That Aren't Cringe

Graphic tees exist on a spectrum from genuine self-expression to walking billboard for a brand you have no connection to.

2024-08-11

Why Noah Clothing Is the Coolest Brand You're Not Wearing
Style

Why Noah Clothing Is the Coolest Brand You're Not Wearing

Noah was founded in 2015 by Brendon Babenzien, who spent years as Supreme head designer.

2024-08-09

Why Jil Sander's Simplicity Hits Harder Than Loud Logos
Style

Why Jil Sander's Simplicity Hits Harder Than Loud Logos

In a market saturated with logo tees, monogram prints, and all-over branding, Jil Sander radical commitment to simplicity stands as the strongest counterargument to hype culture.

2024-08-05

How to Actually Wear a Beret Without Being Ironic
Style

How to Actually Wear a Beret Without Being Ironic

The beret has a perception problem.

2024-07-28

The Best Affordable Watches That Look Expensive
Style

The Best Affordable Watches That Look Expensive

Casio proved decades ago that a great watch doesn't need a four-figure price tag, and in 2025 the options have only gotten better.

2024-07-21