Who are the greatest musical acts of all-time? It’s a tough question with a lot of potential options (and metrics) to choose from, and if you ask 100 different people, you’ll probably get 100 different answers. Our musical preferences also tend to form early in our lives, so our lists often reflect the era that we grew up in, and thus discussions like this are limited by our lack or perspective. (This applies to both older and newer works: I have no idea what it was like living through the Elvis or Beatles era, I’ve never heard an Olivia Rodrigo song, and the closest I’ve come to hearing Billi ..read more

All right folks, I guess we’d better do one more for the road. I’m actually pretty well caught up on the Mediabase Top 50 right now, but if we’re not going to be doing any song reviews for the foreseeable future, we’d better cover as much ground as we can before we turn the lights out. So who are the lucky acts that get to face my cynical judgement one final time? Keith Urban, “Messed Up As Me” There are some artists that I’m going to miss talking about…and Urban is not one of them. This one doesn’t have the anger of a standard Ex-Boyfriend track, but it concocts the same sort of delusional f ..read more

The white flag is in the air, and it’s not sponsored by Credit One Bank. It’s officially last call here at Kyle’s Korner. After March 15th, I will be stepping away from my regular posting schedule. I’ve been thinking and talking about this moment for years now, so what’s different about today than before? In truth, there were a number of factors that went into this decision: I mentioned in my last state of the blog address that despite a more-purposeful foray onto YouTube, the blog seemed to have found a good balance between the written and visual formats. There was one line in the post, how ..read more

Grids? We don’t need no stinkin’ grids! I’ve gained notoriety on the Interwebz for other genres and franchises (Splatoon, Mario, etc.), but as longtime blog-watchers can attest, my true gaming love is RPGs, and lately it’s been tactical RPGs that have caught my eye (see: Triangle Strategy, Mario + Rabbids). As someone who is not a terribly fast thinker, however, I generally prefer turn-based combat, so I can take my time strategizing and know that nothing happens until I say it does. However, a franchise that caught my eye back in the day was Ogre Battle, a real-time strategy game where units ..read more

If only Nashville had listened to me for a change… Hailey Whitters was first introduced to the airwaves in 2022 via the sleazy-sounding “Everything She Ain’t,” a Bro-Country callback that endeared her to absolutely no one. The song limped to a #17 peak after spending over a year on the charts, and she and her label ended up canning her major-label debut Raised after one single and moving on to a new EP late in 2023. If I’m honest, reviewing this thing feels like a pointless exercise, as it was officially released back in October and is only now washing up onto the fringes of the Mediabase Top ..read more

It’s nice to see cover songs making a bit of a comeback. I just wish people would pick better songs to cover. “American Girl” first appeared on the debut album of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers back in 1976, and despite not making much noise on the charts either at the time or during later re-releases, the track has become one of Petty’s most well-known and well-regarded hits. By itself this wouldn’t be enough to warrant the attention of this blog, but the song has suddenly reappeared on Mediabase’s airplay chart thanks to Dierks Bentley’s performance as part of a Petty tribute album slated ..read more

Well, this is a review I never expected to write. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, known professionally by her first name only, has been part of the mainstream music conversation for over twenty-five years and has long been recognized as a titan of the industry, but up until now she’s only dabbled in country music, such as with her 2016 song “Daddy Lessons.” That changed this year, with her upcoming Act II album reportedly being a full-fledged country album and her latest single “Texas Hold ‘Em” already getting airplay on country radio (despite some initial resistance). Artists from other genres cross ..read more

Is it endlessly replayable? Not really. Is it replayable enough for the price? I think so. Over a year after Nintendo announced its Expansion Pass for Splatoon 3, the second and final wave has arrived in the form of Side Order, a roguelite single-player campaign to climb the Spire of Order and free Inkopolis Square from the clutches of some order-loving bad guys. Given that Wave 1 of the DLC was nothing but a return of Inkopolis Plaza from Splatoon, a lot was riding on Side Order to justify the $25 purchase price of the entire package. After a couple of successful campaigns through the tower ..read more

I’ll admit that I’ve always had an affinity for sad, slow songs over the years, and the contents of my old iPad reflect that preference. Even I enjoy an uptempo barnburner once in a while, however, and on some nights when the moon is full and the feeling’s right, the old tablet decides that it’s in a mood to groove, and the energy levels get cranked up a few notches. That appears to be the case tonight: As I embarked on another unexpected round of travel, the iPad decided to kick things into high gear and deliver some good-time energy through the speakers. The question now: Was it any good? Th ..read more

Wait, didn’t I just review one of these? The latest update to Splatoon 3 is coming a bit early to accommodate the new Side Order DLC, and to say it’s getting released at a fraught time during the game’s history is an understatement. The Fresh Season hit the fan just last week, and what initially hit as a wave of disappointment quickly curdled into frustration and anger with every underwhelming weapon kit reveal (the Custom Explosher was initially pilloried for its kit, and it might have wound up as one of the better options we got this season). In the wake of this outcry, perhaps the Splatoon ..read more