What Is Selling Out? A History of Sell Outs, How Turnstile is Expanding Hardcore, and Why Community Matters

This week we’re starting our interview series with El Paso, Texas indie-rock band Late Night Drive Home who just put out their debut record, as i watch my life online, a concept record about, you guessed it, growing up in the first real era where using the internet wasn’t an option. Our discussion takes us through the band’s journey growing up as the internet expanded in ways those who remember a childhood without it never really imagined. Now, the internet is a necessity, especially for artists who are trying to get their name out there. The guys of Late Night Drive Home have been making music together since high school, and quickly learned to utilize TikTok in the early COVID era of the app to help put their music in the ears of hundreds of thousands of new listeners. We spoke with singer Andre Portillo, drummer Brian Dolan, bassist Freddy Baca, and founding member and guitarist Juan “Ockz” Vargas about their ever-changing relationships with the internet and how and why they wanted to use their record to depict what it was like truly growing up on the internet. From dating apps and social media, to AI music and online porn addictions, the band shared all their positive and negative feelings and connections to the online world they’ve become accustomed to being a part of. Enjoy this episode? Join our community on Substack (http://name3songs.substack.com) to get all the news straight to your inbox! If you like what we do, you can also support us by becoming a paid subscriber or leave us a tip on PayPal (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/name3songs)! Want to talk more? Find us: http://instagram.com/name3songs | http://instagram.com/sara_feigin | http://instagram.com/jenna_million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bands throughout history have been labeled as “sellouts,” from Bob Dylan and Metallica to Black Flag and Nirvana. We’re taking a closer look at what selling out even is.  “Selling out” has meant different things to different eras of music – adopting a new audience, going outside the bounds of your genre, giving up your artistic voice for a paycheck, or playing bigger stages with higher ticket prices, are all things that can mark you as a “sellout.” In the year 2025, we’re still having this conversation – the latest victim of sellout allegations is Turnstile. Since their inception in the Baltimore hardcore scene more than a decade ago, the band has always pushed the boundaries of what hardcore is – sonically, lyrically, and visually. Turnstile’s 2021 studio album, Glow On, shot them to new heights and new audiences, garnering conversation about the band getting “too big.” And in this situation, “too big” kind of means, “more accessible to your not-so-average hardcore” listener, AKA girlies… and after a 4-year break and much anticipation, Turnstile returned with the release of Never Enough this June, and boy did the people have opinions; Internet critics are running wild, saying the album is full of skip tracks and that they’ve sold out. But why does a band expanding their sound = selling out? Enjoy this episode? Join our community on Substack to get all the news straight to your inbox! If you like what we do, you can also support us by becoming a paid subscriber or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Name 3 Songs Fangirl Nonsense is taking us to Glastonbury festival, looking at The 1975's incredible headline set, Paul Mescal making out with Gracie Abrams, Louis Tomlinson allegedly liking a Larry Stylinson Reel, and multiple acts speaking out for the people of Palestine. We're also having a brief discussion on Benson Boone's surprising Billboard number 2 debut for his weird sophomore album. Then we're talkg to Atlantic writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert who wrote an incredible book called GIRL ON GIRL: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves, the book pulls back the curtain on the ways in which pop culture let our girls down, and points us toward a new way forward, one in which girls can re-envision what they are capable of, how they view each other, and possess the tools and media literacy with which to question the messages they’re bombarded with. Please let me know if you would like to receive a galley, and I very much hope you will keep this book in mind for your spring coverage. Enjoy this episode? Join our community on Substack to get all the news straight to your inbox! If you like what we do, you can also support us by becoming a paid subscriber or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Name 3 Songs… ⚡WE’RE BACK BABY! We’re filling you in on everything that’s been happening and all the ways we’ll be back in your podcast feels and socials once again.  ⚡Sabrina Carpenter announced her new album Man’s Best Friend to be released just 359 days after Short and Sweet, but the bigger issue is the artwork itself for Man’s Best Friend which has stirred much conversation about whether it’s part of feminism or if it perpetuates the male gaze. ⚡Taylor Swift now owns all of her masters! We were expecting drama, we were expecting intrigue, but really, she just did something only one of the richest women in the world can do, and that’s all there is to it. Paul McCartney doesn’t even own his masters; fully owning your masters is a pretty abnormal feat, as song ownership is the main way labels recoup their money. ⚡   We’re experiencing what the internet hivemind is referring to as a fascism indicator, with how many girlies who are known to exist under the LGBTQ+ umbrella are debuting boyfriends (and at the start of Pride Month!) Let’s talk about Billie Elish being photographed with Nat Wolff, JoJo Siwa confirming her relationship with Big Brother co-star Chris Hughes, and Fletcher releasing her “sorry I kissed a boy but I had to do it” anthem.  Enjoy this episode? Join our community on Substack to get all the news straight to your inbox! If you like what we do, you can also support us by becoming a paid subscriber or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Name 3 Songs… ⚡    Each year when the Grammy Awards roll around, we typically have an episode that critiques the award ceremony for being vastly out of touch with popular culture: Beyonce is snubbed for Album of the Year, BTS is used as a bait tool for viewership, Best New Artist doesn’t represent the talent at the present moment. The list goes on. This year, at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards it was *checks notes* a good time. So good, to the point that there were hardly any critiques for the Recording Academy this year. So how did they do it? We discuss the significance of the expanded voting committee (13,000 voting members) which includes 40% POC, and large numbers of younger voters and female members. We also get into some of our personal highlights, featuring Doechii, Raye, Chappell Roan,and Sabrina Carpenter. And then we get into the big cultural takeaways of the night – Beyonce winning Album of the Year and Best Country Album, Chappell Roan calling out record labels for the way they treat artists, Lady Gaga and others standing for trans rights, and more.  Enjoy this episode? Join our Patreon community or leave us a tip on PayPal!  Want to talk more? Find us: @name3songs | @sara_feigin | @jenna_million Check out all the sources for this episode at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with bby. The members of bby found each other on the internet after cultivating their individual musical abilities playing for revered underground London acts. Post-covid, they upgraded to “real life” meet-ups to develop their own gritty alternative sound. Their HQ in East London quickly became a hot spot for packed house parties that has become a personification of the band’s ethos. We sat down with all five members of bby for our interview – Benji (vocals), Tommy (guitar and bass), Tom (drums), Dion (guitar and bass), Jesse (guitar). We talk about cultivating community through live music, maintaining individual style and musicianship while creating something completely new as a group, and using audience participation to influence the songwriting process. Listen to the full interview with bby on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with mercury. Mercury is an alternative rock band and project led by Nashville-based Maddie Kerr. Now 22, Kerr grew up playing music since she was a kid, and honed in her sound while playing with various friends through her teen years.  We talk to Maddie about having an emotional breakthrough in writing her latest EP “Together We Are One, You And I” with producer Alex Farrar, and how she created a short film to go along with the EP. We also talk to Maddie about the importance of performing live and connecting with young female fans. Listen to the full interview with mercury on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Isabel Dumaa. The rising LA-based artist just released her new EP Just My Nature featuring breakout single “Quarter Life Crisis.” Now 21, Dumaa began singing and songwriting at age 10. At age 12, her moms booked her first ever studio session to record songs she had been filling journals with.  We talked to Isabel Dumaa about how she found her own voice on her debut EP, how she embraces femininity and not being afraid to show emotion in her music, and learning how to stand her ground as a young woman in the music industry. Listen to the full interview with Isabel Dumaa on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Angélica Garcia. Angélica Garcia is a pop experimentalist who pulls from her Mexican and Salvadoran heritage to make art that speaks to the experience of growing up between cultures as a Hispanic-American. Her latest album Gemelo, meaning “twin” in English, represents the two selves, the spirit and body, and tackles how they work together and against one another. We talk to Angélica Garcia about why she embraced singing in Spanish despite things getting lost in translation, the pain of grief that stays with you and how it can be a beautiful tool for transformation, and how she prioritizes your own happiness and personal growth, even if that means letting go of people and things that do not serve you.  Listen to the full interview with Angélica Garcia on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re getting candid in our interview with Emei. Emei built her career from the ground up, performing since she was a child in music theater and even as a star on Chinese reality TV. After receiving notoriety on TikTok for her 2022 single “Late to the Party,” Emei has built a world around her subsequent music, and has already performed at venues as far as Australia. Emei’s 3rd EP Rabbithole (out now) sees the artist personifying her personal life experience in a dark and twisted world after falling down a rabbit hole.  We talk to Emei about how competing in a Chinese reality TV competition prepared her for a singing career, how she advocates for herself in a music industry that tries to put artists in a box, and how she found a new voice on her 3rd EP Rabbithole.  Listen to the full interview with Emei on Name 3 Songs podcast and find a transcribed excerpt at name3songs.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices