Diet Cig - “Scene Sick” (Official Video)

If you’ve spent even an iota of time in the music industry, then the sentiments of Diet Cig’s “Scene Sick” will hit home. The New Paltz duo made up of Alex Luciano and Noah Bowman were a Band To Watch earlier this year, and a huge part of that is due to Luciano’s zero-fucks-given skewering of the sexism inherent in most music scenes. “I’m sick of hearing about your band/ I don’t want to hear about who you think I am,” she sings in a crystal-clear alto, busting dorky dance moves beside a frozen Noah. But the next line, “I don’t want to hear about your scene/ I’d rather talk about something more exciting,” was already some of the best deadpan shade I’d ever heard, and pairing it with goofy, blatantly uncool dancing only increases the sting. By the time you get to the end of the track, it’s clear why Luciano doesn’t want to hear about some dude’s band — because hers is better. Watch the video, which was directed by Christopher Daly.