Author: michaelpuni
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On “art Pop * pop Art,” ZayALLCAPS croons alongside the Los Angeles breeze with a LogicPro trial and a Crunchwrap Supreme on his lap
Sun dressed in an off-white skirt, orange tarnish a patina. With scooters scanning the cul-de-sac, where parents walk with their phones like a pair of gloves. Where chalk marks stretch their limbs on the concrete, and the bedrock sandpapered into a sandbox. Where boys come from the hood and under…
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808 Hot Cues Mark 2: Mr. Celestic – godfather of DOWN., underground music nerd with a mission towards global club pluralism and never-ending socials
We slouch our bodies in the back of a red Toyota Tacoma outside Miki’s, where late-night cruisers and construction workers share the same curb for Filipino-local plate lunches. Motorcyclists burn so much rubber I’ve to bring the recorder up to our ears. An AriZona iced tea can lounges in his…
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808 Hot Cues Mark 1: Nasty Nate, from NCAA champ to Hawai’i’s rising day-party curator
“Nasty” Nate, coined during his high school football laurels, traveled with Nathan Taylor to the University of Auburn in 2010, where he was part of the sixth-year NCAA National Championship reign under the Auburn Tigers, #49. When deciding on a stage name years later, he contemplated “DJ Seoul,” a quip…
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“Brat” flashes Charli XCX’s entire night out to the world until the very last eyelash’s pulled out, and it’s fucking astounding
Half-full vodka handles, Funyun bags, and oversized jorts clogged the backseat. Every weekend, the items shuffled. Candy wrappers replaced 7-Eleven hot dog foil. A left Twix that melted to fudge on the floor; not one person noticed. Our friends piled their limbs over one another, like mannequins taken down from display.…
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On the unexpected “Girl, So Confusing” remix, Charli XCX and Lorde declare friendship over a decade of pop culture speculations with unhinged frustrations and apprehensions
(6/21: I’m writing amidst both drafting my Brat review and moving out, the latter making it incredibly difficult to set aside time to research, write, and edit. Many times during this year, I doubted my ability to consistently draft and post my work because of everything that life has thrown…
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Erika de Casier, “Still,” and the Reappropriation of Self-Identity
Erika de Casier has long established her brand of quiet love songs. The ones that evoke glasses of Prosecco on the nightstand, the comforter showered in petals. Or a bouquet sent to the office, with a letter detailing their next date. Essentials and Sensational define these intimate spaces, a luxury…
Michael's Cut 