Listening Habits

CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Books

Defector At The Movies

Music

Arts And Culture

David Roth

Steve Albini performs with his band Shellac at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles in 2016.

Everyone Has A Steve Albini Album

Israel Daramola

Kendrick Lamar performing on stage at the Glastonbury music festival in England in June 2022.

Kendrick Lamar And Drake Battle For The Lowest Blow

Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.

Nicholas Russell

Cindy Lee’s ‘Diamond Jubilee’ Is A Gift Worth Savoring

Soraya Roberts

Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor sitting on a bed in a scene from Challengers

You Can’t Not Surrender To The ‘Challengers’ Soundtrack

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 02: Drake appears via video during the Recording Academy Honors presented by The Black Music Collective during the 65th GRAMMY Awards on February 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (

Everybody Hates Drake: A Guide To Millennial Rap’s Midlife Beef Crisis

Patrick Redford

Lauren Theisen

Defector Music Club

Chet Baker Sings, And Defector Music Club Chats

Organized Noize members, Raymond Murray (L), Rico Wade (C), and Sleepy Brown (R)

Rico Wade And Organized Noize Were The Architects Of Southern Rap

Kevin Koczwara is a writer, reporter and dad in beautiful Worcester, Mass.

Kevin Koczwara

Pianist Vikingur Olafsson performs at a concert in 2018.

Víkingur Ólafsson Plays The Familiar And Makes It His Own

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 13: Beyonce leaves the Luar fashion show at 154 Scott in Brooklyn during New York Fashion Week on February 13, 2024 in New York City.

Beyoncé’s New Album Is Just Fine And That’s OK

Singer Kim Gordon performing a song on stage at a concert at the Astra in Berlin, Germany in 2002

Kim Gordon Rides The Thin Line Between Hip And Gimmick With ‘The Collective’

Giri Nathan

Radiohead performing onstage in support of their 2007 album "In Rainbows," with the Defector Music Club logo right in the middle.

Defector Music Club Reviews The People’s Radiohead Album

Diddy attends The After hosted by Diddy &amp; Doja Cat powered by Ciroc Premium Vodka and DeLeon Tequila at Club Love on May 01, 2023 in New York City.

Journalismism

What To Take From The Latest Suit Against Diddy

Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.

Dan McQuade

A screenshot of a guy playing Mario 64 on the drums

Video Games

This Guy Beats Video Games Using A Drum Kit As A Controller

Dave McKenna

(Original Caption) Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff as The Monster. Scene in the laboratory.

Life Lessons

I Have Become The Dr. Frankenstein Of Amps

Usher, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri and will.i.am perform onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium

The Usher Super Bowl Halftime Moments, Ranked

Usher performs onstage during his residency at La Seine Musicale on September 25, 2023 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

Can Usher Escape The Nostalgia Trap?

San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton and Sam Shepherd's Mere Mortals // © Chris Hardy. Dancers flank Prometheus as he gears up to steal fire from the gods.

Maybe It’s Not So Bad Being ‘Mere Mortals’

Barry Petchesky

05 February 2024, Saxony-Anhalt, Halberstadt: A sheet of music from the piece "ORGAN2/ASLSP" by John Cage lies in front of the organ in the Burchardi Church before the start of the sound change. After two years, the sound of the slowest piece of music in the world, performed in Halberstadt in the Harz Mountains, has changed for the 16th time. On Monday, the 639-year organ piece ORGAN²/ASLSP ("As SLow aS Possible") by artist John Cage (1912-1992) underwent a sound change. This means that the six-sound piece that has been played in the Burchardi Church since February 2022 has become a seven-sound piece. Photo: Matthias Bein/dpa (Photo by Matthias Bein/picture alliance via Getty Images)

The Song Goes On Even If We Don’t

Ana da Silva, lead singer of The Raincoats, on stage with the band in 1995.

Defector Music Club Knows Who The Raincoats Are

Moby performs on stage at a concert in 2002. He is in front of a mic in a black t-shirt with a weird eyeball design on it. He's sort of pushing forward with his torso as his arms go backward.

A Notorious Pitchfork Reviewer Was My Biggest Musical Influence

The Five New Playboi Carti Songs, Ranked

Music Journalism Can’t Afford A Hollowed-Out Pitchfork

Harvey Weinstein and James Dolan at House of Elyx on December 13, 2015 in New York City. Dolan has a drink in his hand.

Lawsuit Accuses James Dolan And Harvey Weinstein Of Sexual Assault

Kelsey McKinney

There’s So Little To Say About Taylor Swift Being Person Of The Year

artist's rendering of Caravaggio's painting of Narcissus with a spotify logo for a head