Jakob McWhinney

There was a period in the 2000s when the DIY moniker meant something. Musicians were recording on whatever damn thing they had lying around, and though for some recording purists the sometimes-ramshackle result was a turnoff, to me it was inspiring. Unchained from high recording costs and expectations, artists experimented with new sounds and approaches. It felt democratizing. Anyone with an idea and drive could produce something amazing – and many did.

Incumbent may squeak through in what looked like an upset in the making.

For years now, local label Egg Records has acted as a sort of incubator for local talent. Many of the artists fall somewhere in the sprawling “indie rock,” sphere, but […]

Julie Tucker, 51, pushes her dog in a stroller in East Village in November 2022. / Photo by Ariana Drehsler

For years now, local label Egg Records has acted as a sort of incubator for local talent. Many of the artists fall somewhere in the sprawling “indie rock,” sphere, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. In fact, one of my favorite Egg artists is Oliver Slime, the musical moniker of rapper Kieran Miles.

While numbers haven’t snapped back to pre-pandemic levels, rates of chronic absenteeism continue to drop.

New musical movements don’t pop out of nowhere. The rise of punk, for example, was a reaction, in part, to the optimism of the hippy era. The simple, fast and loud tunes often eschewed the flowery virtuosity of music from the decade before. There was also a nihilistic streak to the lyrics. Instead of psychedelic exploration and free love, the lyrical fare of many early punk was a snarling unwillingness to adhere to the status quo.

County Supervisor Chair Nora Vargas at Voice of San Diego's Politifest at the University of San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Photo by Vito di Stefano

An old argument about shrinking San Diego Unified pops up once again, Trump’s education priorities and the return of California’s schools dashboard.

Spurred by state efforts to prioritize dual enrollment courses, San Diego Unified has significantly increased the number of courses its students are taking.