Five Cent Sound Vol. 5: Fall 2016

FIVE Cent Sound Fall 2016

Fall 2016 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Lindsey Gonzalez & Isabella Dionne

PHOTOGRAPHY

Photo Editor: Jacob Cutler Photographers: Sabrina Combs, Robert Weider, Kathryn Garelli, Cody Kenner, Liana Genound, Erin Swauger, Shiheng Xu, Nick Burress, Shafaq Patel, Miranda Hicks

DESIGN

Creative Director: Samantha Harton Designers: Mary Duhon, Suchita Chadha, Caitlin Muchow, Kaylee Johnston

AROUND THE WORLD

Editor: Suchita Chadha Writers: Viviana Bonomie, Rodjyna Beauvile, Shafaq Patel

FEATURES

Editor: Sophie Schoenfeld Writers: Elizabeth Hartel, Andrew McGlynn, Brad Trumpfheller

ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE

Editor: Meaghan McDonough Writer: Nick Lavesque, Alex Rich, Gisele Barbeau, Noreen Plabutong

REVIEWS

Editor: Dylan Pearl Writer: Cameron Fetter, Will Nichols, Rodjyna Beauvile

LIVE & LOCAL

Editor: Michelle Krigsfield Writers: Graham Crolley, Caitlin Smith, Rebecca Gonzalez Abrego

COPYEDITING

Head Copyeditor: Lauren Lopez Copyeditors: Danielle Landowski, Noreen Plabutong, Lindsey Buttel

BLOG

Editors: Emily Kinzer and Nicole Cooper Writers: Anna Newton, Janii Yazon, Carissa Dunlap, Lindsey Buttel

Letter From The Editors

Hey! What’s up? Hello.

Because this is my last issue, Isabella made the foolish mistake of letting me write this letter. So sit tight; things are about to get weird.

Since 2014, Five Cent Sound has been a constant in my life. As though I’d been waiting through two hours of opening acts to watch Fetty Wap perform, I was always anxious to see what each semester would bring—the new recruits, the color-coded spreadsheets, the meetings filled with fun-sized candy bars.

But the time has come for me to say goodbye and let others enjoy these simple traditions. (Note: We’re still seeking applicants for “Person Who Will Bring Candy To Every Meeting, No Exceptions.”)

As I stare down the black hole that is graduation, I feel so blessed to have been a part of this incredible community of music-lovers. We’ve completed some pretty amazing projects together! And through it all, you’ve challenged me to be a better writer, editor, and leader, and I cannot thank you enough for that.

More than anything, Isabella, love of my life, I want you to know that running this organization with you was the best part of my college career. You’re a beautiful friend and roommate, and I wish you the best in your upcoming final semester. I’m counting down the days until we’re the editors-in-chief of our own magazine, living in a fancy apartment with at least ten cats.

For now, readers, I hope you enjoy my last issue of Five Cent as much as I did while making it.

Much love, Lindsey Gonzalez

IN THIS ISSUE LIVE & LOCAL Fantastic Music from Fantastic Negrito 4 Generations of Indie-Heads Rock Out with Built to Spill 6 Catfish and the Bottlemen Don’t Need Innovation to Impress 7 Chit Chatting at the Red Room: Beach Weather Play EP Release Show 9

ENTERTAINMENT & CULTURE Miley’s Revolution: How a Disney Star took a Wrecking Ball to the Industry 10 Queerness in the MTV Era 12 A Closer Look at Music Documentaries 14 Shut Up an Write the Hits: A Group of Scandinavian Men Dominate the Pop Scene 16

FEATURES Opening the Door: Rappers Talk Mental Illness 18 Resisting the Lizard Brain 20 For Want of: Washington, D.C. and the Birth of Emo 22 Battle of the Bands 24

AROUND THE WORLD A Journey through Genres with Kaleo 28 The Return of Reggaetone 29 Coke Studio Helps Mend Pakistan Through Music 30 A Small World with Mehmet Sanlikol 32

REVIEWS Atrocity Exhibition / Danny Brown 34 Splendor & Misery / Clipping 35 Remember Us to Life / Regina Spektor 36 Prima Donna / Vince Staples 37

MORE FUN STUFF Winter Playlists 38 December Concerts 39

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Live AND Local Fantastic Music from Fantastic Negrito

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antastic Negrito is a heaping dish of soulful blues with a side of comedy served up on a bed of life lessons. Brought up with traditional Muslim values and Caribbean music in an open and liberal society, Fantastic Negrito has fused together the two inspirations to create music that is uniquely and completely his own.

With blues undertones, open-minded lyrics, and a character to fill the stage, Fantastic Negrito is a music genre for everyone.

“I’ve been through a lot in my life, and I’ve discovered that once you’ve started creating and giving back, you become a lot happier,” Fantastic Negrito shares. As a young adult, Fantastic Negrito got mixed up with some illegal activities that resulted in a neardeath experience, one that he would later refer to as his first rebirth. Trying to straighten out his life and work towards becoming a famous musician, Fantastic Negrito suffered from a music contract of creative limitations.

This experience, he would later refer to as his second rebirth. A couple of months later, after a failing record deal with a major record company, Fantastic Negrito experienced a car accident that left him comatose for approximately four weeks and mangled him so severely that he would require years of physical therapy to regain motion in his legs and dominant hand. Grateful for life, he took up family life in California. Feeling mostly fulfilled with his family and pot farm, Fantastic Negrito sold most of his instruments and stopped trying

By Caitlin Smith Photos by Caitlin Smith to write. Until he spotted his last guitar sandwiched under his couch and his child started applauding the chords he played, marking his third rebirth, the transition that would result in the musician, Fantastic Negrito.

“I chose Fantastic Negrito out of respect, out of wanting to be a contributor,” he explains. Fantastic Negrito is the title for the years of suffering people have been through, for the incredible accomplishments people have made, and for the future history to be made.

Now, he sees himself as an artist only if he “contributes” to society. “What am I doing if I’m not contributing?” he said. “I think that artists have a responsibility to contribute, especially in an era when our leadership, or so called leadership, is so sickening and full of shit. I think artists have a responsibility to be the voice of the people.” This belief motivates him to produce music that comments on society, politics, history, family, and anything else that strikes a chord in him.

As a contributor, Fantastic Negrito calls on different forms of inspiration. “I’m kind of a recovering narcissist,” he explains, using his efforts to stay grounded and self-aware as a muse for some of his songs. “I don’t really like to look back,” he continued. “What I do is, I look around.”

“I think that artists have a responsibility to contribute, especially in an era when our leadership, or so called leadership, is so sickening and full of shit.”

On October 10, Fantastic Negrito performed at the Red Room @ Cafe 939 in Boston. For an hour and a half, Fantastic Negrito sang, shouted, and roughly bellowed his voice on social issues, for comedic gain, or simply to share a moment with the pianist. Not for five minutes or even a moment did Fantastic Negrito take a break. Between songs, he would inform the crowd of the brainwashing techniques America was employing to create a society of worker-bees, leading into his next track, which was on the same subject. While taking a breather, he would regale the audience with his story, how it felt to wake up after being in a coma for four weeks, the impressive beard he had grown during that time, how mangled he was, and all of the negative perspectives he was given from the nurses and doctors. He would only take a sip of

water while walking back and forth on the stage, pushing chords or preparing the musicians for his next great idea.

On and on, Fantastic Negrito performed, and whether it was actual tracks or a thought that spurred his sudden interest, he ensured fans got more than their ticket’s worth.

Fantastic Negrito can be classified as his own music genre, one of beautiful catharsis. During times when one is annoyed with reality, angered by history, or needs something to sway away their troubles, Fantastic Negrito is there. A highly recommended hybrid of blues, funk, and comedy, Fantastic Negrito’s star is ever climbing. If you have the chance, check him out in concert.

Take a break from being a working bee for some soulful Fantastic Negrito blues, it’s just what the doctor has prescribed.

Generations of Indie-Heads Rock Out with Built to Spill By: Graham Crolley Photo courtesy of nightout.com

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uilt to Spill is considered one of the most influential indie rock bands of their era, shaping their own contemporary generation of indie-heads and influencing the generation of artists to follow, like Death Cab for Cutie, Band of Horses, The Strokes, and Modest Mouse. A large part of their claim to fame in the indie canon comes from their skill in accessing that “out of place” feeling with their sound and lyrics. The first song I heard by them was “Car,” the version from their 1996 album The Normal Years. The lyrics that grabbed me then are still very important to me: “I want specifics on the general idea / I wanna think what I should know.” Frontman Doug Martsch’s guitar riffs and solos satisfy the listener’s hankering for a catchy, precise hook while capturing a jam-band-esque feel for grandiose arrangements.

On October 3, I felt a little out of place waiting for Built to Spill to take the stage at Paradise Rock Club. I stood with x’s on my hands in the middle of a floor filled with middle-aged men drinking PBRs. But this audience, filled with both longtime fans and new listeners, is a result of the band’s mass appeal. They understand what makes a song catchy and youthful while maintaining their more avant-garde, Dinosaur Jr.-esque weirdness.

Opening act Alex Giannascoli, or Alex G, hit the stage with a captivating set of morose indie rock influenced by Built to Spill and similar ‘90s rock bands like Pavement and Pixies.

His track “Bug”

was a clear standout with an infectious lead guitar riff and somber falsetto vocals.

Philadelphia alt-rockers Hop Along were the next to take the stage with their unique brand of colorful, indiegrunge rock. Frances Quinlan’s soft, snarling vocals stood in chaotic, yet thrilling contrast to lead guitarist Joe Reinhart’s detailed riffs on tracks like “The Knock,” “Waitress,” and “Tibetan Pop Stars.”

Then, Built to Spill opened with “All Our Songs,” the first track off their 2015 album Untethered Moon, which encompassed everything the show had in store for the audience—catchy riffs, Martsch’s sweet, sincere vocals, and extended guitar solos. Early on, it was apparent that Martsch’s mind-bending melodies were the standout of the show. But that is not to say his guitar solos weren’t also on point. He would calmly drop from the microphone and slide into soaring guitar licks, often holding a single note with one hand while using the other to flip knobs up and down on his amp, creating a heady distortion truly reminiscent of the ‘90s.

Only two tracks in, the band broke into one of their most well-known songs, “The Plan.” The tune was absolutely euphoric in its rising and had everyone engaged.

Throughout the show, the band continued to drop iconic cuts like “Big Dipper,” “Living Zoo,” and “I Would Hurt a Fly.” They rounded out the set with two more songs from Keep It Like a Secret—the soothing yet escalating “Else,” and the heart-wrenching “Carry the Zero.”

The encore featured Built to Spill’s most dizzying solos of the night, concluding with one of their more jam-band-leaning long tracks, “Untrustable/Part 2 (About Someone Else),” which drenched the audience in popping, folksy guitars, faithful bass lines, and steady drums before abruptly dropping off.

As I left the venue, I was proud to be part of such a diverse group of fans, feeling anything but out of place.

Catfish and The Bottlemen Don’t Need Innovation to Impress H

By Rebecca Gonzalez Abrego

Photos courtesy of wjserocks.com, turtletempomusic

ere’s something incredibly familiar about Catfish and The Bottlemen. They ooze with flavors of indie rock from the ‘90s and early 2000s. Their music is loud and unabashed. Their guitar hooks are gritty. Their lyrics are energetic and unpretentious.

Frontman and guitarist Van McCann’s vocals are ragged.

Altogether, they have the perfect formula for anthems that demand song and dance.

Hailing from the United Kingdom, the four piece includes McCann, lead guitarist Johnny Bond, bass player Benji Blakeway, and drummer Bob Hall.

After much rejection by music critics for being “a couple years too late to the scene,” Catfish is now exhibiting great confidence in their skills and genre without ever being ostentatious.

While their albums are well curated, they couldn’t capture the energy of their show at the House of Blues on October 16. Unlike their idols, Oasis, Catfish’s audience is mostly made up of young, stylish, and loud girls, the odd group of guys here and there, and quiet pockets of loners. But this obvious dichotomy immediately disappears once the

lights go down and the first guitar strings start playing.

No one’s uncomfortable; no one’s out of place.

The Worn Flints, ‘60s inspired blues and psychedelic rock band from Columbus, Ohio, opened the show.

Frontman Kenny Stiegele sang about everything from heartache to economic hardship. But such somber lyrics

were made palatable by upbeat tunes and the band’s stage presence—Stiegele and bass player Steve Trabulsi danced and jumped around all night. Toward the end of their set, they played “If I Stay (Awake),” which began with a repetitive chord progression that sounded almost Western. Halfway through, the bridge completely altered the sound into modern rock, making their skill as composers undeniable. They commanded your attention without ever asking for it.

Catfish opened their sixteen-song set with “Homesick” from their debut album, The Balcony. The audience was immediately elated. Songs such as “Kathleen,” “7,” “Rango,” and “Red,” heightened this energy with catchy lyrics and feel-good tunes. The band repeatedly switched between songs from The Balcony and their sophomore album The Ride. Songs from The Ride like “Postpone,” “Outside,” and “Anything,” share a nostalgic ‘90s sound with repetitively clanking background noises that create suspense and foreshadow the coming of their anthems.

Throughout the show, the band members were jumping around the stage, enjoying themselves just as much as the audience. Toward the end of the set, Hall, Blakeway, and Bond left the stage, and McCann slowed things down with an acoustic rendition of “Hourglass.”

Until then, McCann’s interactions with the audience had been a bit limited and shy, but his observed nervousness dissolved when everyone was singling along with him.

While McCann played, a fan threw flowers on stage and was immediately reprimanded by security, but McCann laughed it off, saying, “It’s alright mate; it’s only flowers.”

“Tyrants” wrapped up Catfish’s set in the best way possible. McCann wrote the song when he was fourteen, and ever since, the band has used it as the closing song.

The first half of the song plays like the rest of their material—loud repetitive chords during the bridge and catchy lyrics. But a surprise ending differentiates “Tyrants” from the rest of their music. More than three minutes in, Blakeway, Bond, and Hall slow down their tempo, and McCann screams the song’s lyrics for a final time. Seconds later, bright flashing lights and an extremely loud hook sinks into every audience member. It’s not over yet.

The musical interlude has every band member focused.

Then, the song ends without a warning, and shouts ring out throughout the House of Blues.

As fans left the venue, there was an intense buzz in the air. Musically, Catfish wants “to stay inside the box” and it definitely seems to be working for them.

Chit Chatting at the Red Room: Beach Weather Play EP Release Show

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By Isabella Dionne Photos by Robert Wieder

he Red Room at Café 939 was brimming with Beach Weather fans on October 13. Just over a year after forming, the three-piece indie band was ready to play their first headlining show.

Carter Hulsey, acoustic singer-songwriter and longtime friend of Beach Weather’s Nick Santino, was the first to take the stage. He played a number of songs from his 2014 album Drive Out, including the album’s namesake, “Drive Out with the Lights Out.” Second to perform was Berklee alt-rock band Self Portraits, who brought an impressive set and a huge sound to the Red Room. The five-piece, powered by lead singer Jackie Foster’s electrifying voice (think Mariah Carey meets Lzzy Hale), played a number of original songs and closed with a roaring cover of Ariana Grande’s “Dangerous Woman.”

Fans closest to the stage were packed in tight by the time Beach Weather came on to play. The group, formed last August by frontman Santino, hails from all over the United States—bassist Reeve Powers from Nashville, drummer Austin Scates from Phoenix, and Santino from nearby Braintree. The band had one EP under their belt (2015’s What a Drag) and were just about to add a second, Chit Chat (released November 4). The concert served as somewhat of an EP release show, as Chit Chat was originally meant to hit the shelves on October 14. The choice to add to the track listing ultimately pushed back the original release date.

Beach Weather kicked off their set with “New Skin,” a fan favorite from What a Drag. While they

did play all five tracks from the 2015 debut EP, the group mixed in all six songs from their newest EP, giving fans a taste of the music to come. After only a year since What a Drag, it was already obvious that their sound was evolving.

Songs from Chit Chat, like the ‘80s electropop-inspired “Goddess” and the more sultry “Home Movies,” showed a progression from their light indie pop sound. The band also threw in an energetic and rambunctious unreleased live favorite titled “Body Don’t Quit.” Toward the end of the set, Carter Hulsey once again took the stage to join the band for a somber cover of Ryan Adams’ “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” Beach Weather finished the night with one last What a Drag track, “Swoon.”Beach Weather will continue to tour this winter, opening up for Against the Current throughout December and playing at the 8123 Fest in January.

Entertainment & Culture

MILEY CYRUs How a Disney Star took a Wrecking Ball to the Industry

By Nick Lavesque Photos courtesy of terrysdiary.com, thehunt.com

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iley Cyrus is waging a war on the music industry. Her career began a decade ago, as the made-for-TV pop star, Hannah Montana.

Hannah Montana’s timeless power pop stood out on the country- and R&B- dominated pop charts of 2006, but Cyrus was destined to self-destruct.

As Hannah Montana, Cyrus faced a fundamental challenge. The television series’ gimmick was that Hannah Montana was the alter ego of normal teenager Miley Stewart. As a result, the real Cyrus was branded simultaneously as “Fabricated Aspirational Figure” and “Relatable Everygirl.” Her second album was a two-disc affair—Hannah Montana 2 and Meet Miley Cyrus— again forcing Cyrus to play two roles. While Hannah Montana basks in the love of her fans, Cyrus grieves the loss of her grandfather.

The Hannah Montana phenomenon peaked in 2008 with the Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in 3D and Hannah Montana: The Movie. These movies signaled a change in Cyrus’ career.

As her tween demographic was approaching high school, Hannah Montana’s “girl power” message needed to compete with the Jonas Brothers’ chaste sexual temptations. These boys could moan, breathe deeply, and “burn up” for listeners, but Cyrus’ first proper solo album, Breakout, was limited to a bland, hybrid “Aspirational Everygirl.”

Cyrus spent the next several years trying to rework her branding crisis. The Time of Our Lives EP in 2009 was released as a nod to Cyrus’ collaboration with fashion designer, Max Azria, asserting her place as a cultural force. Her next proper album, Can’t Be Tamed, is neither aspirational nor relatable. For Cyrus, the most “honest and real” song on the album was a cover of Poison’s “Every Rose Must Have Its Thorn.” Other songs ape the seedy disco of Lady Gaga and Ke$ha. To the public, Cyrus was at once too edgy and not edgy enough.

In 2013, Bangerz was released as an improved draft of Can’t Be Tamed. Country, hip-hop, and synthpop— Cyrus’ classic obsessions—blended effortlessly. For the first time in years, Cyrus dominated the cultural conversation as a legitimate player.

On August 25, 2013, she performed at MTV’s Video Music Awards. Cyrus opened her set by descending from a giant robotic teddy bear and combing her fingers through her new chopped ‘do. Her movements across the stage were jerky and exaggerated, a burlesque of pop star choreography. Though the act was brazenly sexual,

there was no way anyone in Cyrus’ team could have, at any point, imagined the VMA performance to be sexy.

On that stage, war was declared. Women in the public sphere are expected to be immaculate and mannered at all times. Cyrus’ presentation was, decidedly, neither.

After the show, she told Capital FM, “I really got to break out and do really what I wanted to do...people aren’t used to girls that are just like, ‘I genuinely don’t care what people think.’ And that’s what guys have always gotten to be, and especially in like a rock industry or whatever.”

Miley continued her subversion in 2015, when she came out as pansexual and gender-fluid. “I don’t relate to being boy or girl,” she said in an interview with Paper Magazine. “And I don’t have to have my partner relate to boy or girl.” In concerts for her Milky Milky Milk Tour, she wore false breasts and a stylized penis. The gender-challenging costume was used as a “shocking” example of out-of-control sexuality by the media.

Though pundits branded the new Miley a “Hot Mess,” she defines herself by her autonomy. In 2015, she created a charity called the Happy Hippie Foundation that works to reduce homelessness and suicide in LGBTQ+ youth.

In support of the foundation, queer icon, Joan Jett, and trans punk musician, Laura Jane Grace, joined Miley for a series of recording sessions in her backyard with a focus on songs that skewer gender roles.

Feminist rock icon, Kathleen Hanna, also approached Cyrus via Twitter to pitch an album “only you are daring enough to make.” The project became her fifth album, Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. It was recorded without label interference and released independently in order to be free for all listeners. If RCA tried to stop her vision, Cyrus was prepared to buy out of her contract. Through twenty-three tracks, Cyrus explores grief, social justice, adult relationships, and her past personae.

But reviews of Dead Petz praised producer Wayne Coyne and his band The Flaming Lips. The charity has received less press than Cyrus’ latest hairdo. Time and again, Miley has been shoved to the periphery in the discussion of her own work.

Cyrus is not a “Hot Mess.” After a decade in the industry, she has finally defined herself.

Sadly, the pop world is still uncomfortable with femme-of-center individuals. Cyrus’ threat to the music industry’s status quo is not because she is “out of control.” Rather, she is in too much control of herself, and that is destabilizing.

Queerness IN THE MTV ERA Sexuality has always been a vital factor in American popular music.

In the years following the Stonewall Riots, queer voices gained a newfound prominence, but the conservatism of the Reagan era forced many artists back into the closet. MTV stars had to be loud, flamboyant...and, at the height of AIDS, strictly heterosexual. Gay artists on MTV in the '80s developed a much more conventional, masculine image than their preening straight counterparts. By the 1990s. representations of gender and sexuality were reevaluated.

The music industry is still impermeable to many queer artists, but boundaries continue to thin since the age of video.

By Nick Lavesque Photos courtesy of ultimateclassicrock.com, AXS.com, methodsunsound. com, popmatters.com, keyword-suggestions.com, thetelegrapg.co.uk, slicingupeyeballs.com, fmschenkercantantes.blogspot.com, crossfadr.com, feelnumb.com

1968-1980 Led Zeppelin was the musical equivalent of the heterosexual male Id. The denim-clad rockers were infamous for their creativity with groupies, launching a thousand sordid legends.

Lead singer Robert Plant was particularly fond of using his microphones and guitars as phallic symbols onstage.

1971

"I'm gay," David Bowie cooed to Melody Maker. "I always have been, even when I was David Jones." Drawing on the gender rebellion of the psychedelic era and Andy Warhol's Superstars, Bowie soared to the forefront of glam rock. The mostly-British genre added a pop art reflexiveness to performances of rock and roll and gender.

19751978 Fleetwood Mac was a band of heterosexual couples performing songs about the dissolutions of those relationships. Their iconic album Rumours refracted breakups through the prisms of gender—macho guitarist Lindsay Buckingham begged his ex, singer Stevie Nicks, to "let [him] do [his] stuff," while Nicks herself turns to "crystal visions" and her internal sense of loss and regret.

Photo shoots emphasized the gender roles, with suits for the men and elegant dresses for Nicks and keyboardist Christine MacVie.

Disco was created in the apartments of queer people of color, and welcomed all. Androgynous “Queen of Disco” Sylvester was awarded the key to the city of San Francisco at the peak of his mainstream success, while each member of the New York-based Village had an exaggerated camp persona based on a gay fantasy.

19771981

Hard Rock and Heavy Metal found mainstream success in the often sexist and homophobic backlash to Disco. Mötley Crüe may have evoked gay and transgender communities with their fondness for makeup and fishnets, but with songs like “Girls Girls Girls,” they were never subtle in asserting their heterosexuality. Meanwhile, Rob Halford of Judas Priest based his band’s aesthetic on the men he way in gay leather bars.

1981-1991 Bronkski Beat was an openly gay synthpop band, founded in south London. Frontman Jimmy Somerville adopted a workingclass look, with cropped hair and flannel shirts, and their videos were bleak depictions of homophobic violence. Similarly, Frankie Goes to Hollywood courted controversy with a penchant for suits and leathers and allusions of Jean Genet.

1984 With the end of the Reagan era, ‘70s camp began to shed its social stigma. Disco-influenced House bands like Deee-Lite scored crossover hits with bright colors and queer sensibilities. At the same time, “Queen of Pop” Madonna thanked her queer fans by hiring openly gay dancers and choreographers, and her Sex book presented a variety of sexual orientations and gender expressions.

1990-1992

1983

“David Bowie Straight!” proclaimed the cover of Rolling Stone on May 12. At the peak of the AIDS epidemic, Bowie denied his bisexual identity and rebranded himself as a tanned, sober pop star. Fellow glam rocker Elton John married a woman in 1984, before coming out as gay at the end of the decade.

David Lee Roth had made his name as the energetic frontman of Van Halen. The video for Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher” heaped abuse on a small, shy nerd and leered at a teacher in a bikini, while “Just a Gigolo,” from Roth’s debut solo EP, reached its climax with Roth knocking out Boy George’s effeminate, gay hairdresser.

1985 Grunge’s breakthrough made “Alternative Rock” and “Alternative Lifestyles” mainstream. Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain discussed his difficulty in exploring his sexual identity, while the Riot Grrrls and women like Courtney Love forged a place for defiant, strong-willed women in mainstream Rock music.

1991-1994

A CLOSER LOOK at music documentaries

By Noreen Plabutong Photos courtesy of theculturetrip.com, billboard.com

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our young men in well-tailored, matching outfits stand before an audience of screaming girls. The force of the energy reverberates across the main stage. Smiling and playing their instruments, the quartet sings a melodious tune. The performance, littered with soaring harmonies and the occasional shake of mop-like hair, is an experience unlike any other. The year is 1963.

And this is The Beatles.

More than fifty years later, generations of fans line up to witness this very performance alongside a collection of

others in Ron Howard’s The Beatles: Eight Days a Week.

Released September 16, the documentary delves into the history of popular music by examining The Beatles.

While music documentaries may seem superficial in their undertaking, many stretch far beyond simply unearthing a specific period in an artist’s career or showcasing their discography. As with any documentary, there is a story to be unraveled. In music documentaries, however, the story is revealed in the context of lyrical verses and chord progressions. There is an honest effort

by the filmmaker to reveal the inner workings of an artist and their music. In many ways, it’s an intimate exchange between an artist and their listeners, a fitting opportunity to change the way music is heard and interpreted.

D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 film Don’t Look Back— re-released as part of the Dylan on Film archive series— and Eight Days a Week both pay special attention to the backdrop of the 1960s, delivering a unique perspective on a period of extreme chaos and creation in the lives of each subject.

When Pennebaker’s documentary was filmed and released, Bob Dylan stood at the peak of his musical career. The film offers a rare glimpse into Dylan’s tumultuous solo tour of England, but it also speaks generally to the lives of most popular musicians at the time. As chronicled in Howard’s film, The Beatles were simultaneously enduring a similar kind of mayhem.

Even so, it was a remarkable time for both of these innovative forces. Amidst a whirlwind of never-ending press junkets and wild fans, cameras documented their many landmark concert performances, crucial interviews, and behind-the-scenes affairs. For all the pandemonium, it almost seemed like neither party was quite ready to call it quits. But shortly after their respective 1966 tours, both The Beatles and Dylan did just that.

Dylan didn’t officially tour again until 1974, and The Beatles never again hit the road as a group.

In Eight Days a Week, the band took off as four cheerful boys touching down on American soil for the first time in 1964, and answering silly questions from reporters with all the dumbfounding wit and charm in the world. Before long, they lost that sense of wonder, and it was replaced with a guarded reluctance expressed in press conferences where they had to defend themselves against criticism, and even explain why they weren’t “horrid-snobby.”

“By the end, it became quite complicated,” said Paul McCartney in Eight Days a Week, “but at the beginning things were really simple.”

Perhaps the most important takeaway from this film is the sheer sense of love and camaraderie between four friends. It’s palpable when Paul and George smile mischievously at each other while sharing a microphone, or in the way the boys seem to walk so close together that when one halts, they bump together like bowling pins.

Unlike The Beatles, the lone Dylan in Don’t Look Back presents a young troubadour of immeasurably sharp sarcasm and world-weary sensibilities. In 1965, he appeared to be at his most passionate and callous.

Dylan wreaked havoc wherever he went. In one scene, partygoers looked on with quiet shock as he engaged in a heated argument with another individual in his hotel room—shouting, pacing back and forth, and demanding to know the culprit behind the shattered glass bottle thrown from one of the hotel windows. This is a sharp contrast to the withdrawn boy leaning against the window of a train car smoking a cigarette at the beginning of the film.

Like Howard, Pennebaker challenges his viewers to look beyond the performance, recognizing that the origins of music are important to our appreciation of the art. The intrinsic connection we feel while listening to The Beatles or to Bob Dylan is not solely because of the quality of the music. Music documentaries tell us that it’s because the songs come from four cheerful lads from Liverpool and a tired boy on a train.

As he’s pulling away from the venue at the end of a successful concert, Dylan sits perched on the side of his seat by the window. “Man, I feel like I’ve been through some kind of a thing,” he smirks. “There was something special about that.”

Shut Up and Write the Hits: A Group of Scandinavian Men Dominate the Pop Scene

By Alex Rich Photos courtesy of noentiendotupelo.com

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ou wake up in the morning and choose a Spotify playlist at random before you step in the shower. You turn up the radio on your drive to work. Later, in the grocery store, you hum along to a faint melody. By the time you’re back home, you’ve probably encountered many different pop songs, all of which were written by one man.

Swedish producer Karl Martin Sandberg, better known as Max Martin, is responsible for much of Taylor Swift’s 1989. He played a pivotal role in The Weeknd’s ascent into fame with “Can’t Feel My Face”. He even had a hand in N*SYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Critically acclaimed pop is no exception. Carly Rae Jepsen’s most recent album, Emotion, which garnered many positive reviews from indie music publications like Pitchfork and earned her spots performing in smaller festivals, was produced by Max Martin and co-written by many notable Swedish and Scandinavian writers.

Since 1997, Martin has written twenty-two Billboard No.1 songs, trailing only Paul McCartney and John

Lennon for most No. 1 hits ever. Expand this to include Billboard Hot 100’s and he has written fifty-eight Top 10 songs. Still, he is relatively unknown.

Martin is not the only Northern European to top the charts––Norwegians, Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen, under the pseudonym Stargate, have cracked the Billboard Top 10. Lukasz Gottwald, more commonly known as Dr. Luke, is another Norwegian who ranks second next to Martin, with thirty-nine Top 10s in the last twenty years. So how exactly did this handful of Scandinavian men come to control America’s pop charts?

It began in the late 90s when Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, owned by Martin’s mentor Denniz PoP, created the modern hit formula. In the book, The Song Machine, journalist John Seabrook from The New Yorker, describes the sound as a combination of PoP’s structure and “80s arena rock’s big choruses, and early 90s American R&B grooves.” Another notable difference is that this new pop sound is manufactured for

the wider soundscape of venues like malls, rather than personal listening.

There’s also a typical format for pop songs that the Swedes in particular seem to nail. For example, Nick Jonas’ “Close” and DNCE’s hit “Cake by the Ocean” feature a similar structure: verse, pre-chorus, and chorus.

This is repeated three times with three stable chord progressions based on one repeating riff. Though these songs have completely different tones, these features are consistent in both. Notably, the two are products of the Swedish songwriting duo Mattman & Robin.

According to Seabrook, these Swedish producers are so successful in America due to the abundance and quality of music education in their native country. With their technological knowledge, it gives them a leg up on American or British songwriters. A report from Pacific Standard in 2014 states that music or “culture schools,” have existed in Sweden since the 1950s. A third of the population of Swedish children are eligible to receive this education for free, while the rest need only pay fees of roughly a hundred dollars per semester.

Clearly, the Swedish musicians’ education system is far superior to that of American students, but their

language may also help place them ahead of the competition. In “Cake by the Ocean” for instance, there are a number of confusing phrases in the song, such as the following: “Don’t waste time with a masterpiece / You should be rolling with me.” Even the title originated from Mattman & Robin’s inability to remember the English phrase “sex on the beach.” Though such nonsense phrases would usually tarnish a song, in pop music they help make lyrics simple and memorable.

In 2011, an fMRI study showed the emotional centers in the brain are more active when people hear songs they’ve heard before. Therefore, it’s more practical to find an alignment of lyrics and melody instead of focusing on wit or understandability. Perhaps this is why the lyrics to “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys, another song written by Martin, don’t make sense at all. Yet, it’s one of the most recognizable and well-loved pop songs of all time.

The United States has a lot to thank Sweden for, as they are now responsible for most of the songs on pop radio. The next time you hum along to an innocuous pop melody that caught your ear, remember that it’s more than likely the work of one man.

FEATURES Opening the Door RAPPERS TALK MENTAL ILLNESS

By Elizabeth Hartel Photos courtesy of thehundreds.com

“I

take a lot of naps.”

That was the beginning of Chattanooga-based, Top Dawg Entertainment-signed rapper Isaiah Rashad’s response to Complex Music’s question: “You talk about anxiety and depression on the album. How have you been able to overcome that throughout your life?”

Complex sat down with Rashad following the September 2, 2016 release of his debut studio album The Sun’s Tirade. The Complex interview goes in-depth about Rashad’s struggle with depression, which he says began when he was in college and was unsure of his desired life path. The interview was published on September 18, 2016 coincidentally approximately two weeks before rapper Kid Cudi opened up about his own intense battle with depression.

On October 4, 2016 Cudi—a veteran of the modern pop culture scene—came forward on Facebook to talk about his mental health struggles. Cudi said that he planned to go to rehab to overcome his depression and suicidal urges.

On October 9, 2016 Rashad readdressed his struggles with mental illness via Twitter. One tweet in particular stood out: “Don’t go through the problems in your head alone. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.The worst thing to do is think ur alone in it.”

Rashad’s mental health problems are objectively

relatable. Taking naps and living in isolation as a result of depression are things that many people do—whether they’re in the media spotlight or not. Rashad and Cudi are paving the way for an open mental health discussion in hip-hop.

The History of Mental Health in Rap Prior to the advancements made by Rashad and Cudi in 2016, mental illness was not something that was discussed in rap music. Society generally looks down upon those who struggle with mental illness—especially those in the black community. Because rap is so strongly rooted in the black community, the intensified stigma directly affects many rap artists.

Fat Tony, a Houston-based rapper, said in a 2016 VICE article titled “Rappers Talk About Their Struggles with Depression,” that while artists like Future and Earl Sweatshirt are praised for the vulnerability they present in their music — Future speaks constantly of the correlation between his drug usage and his sadness, and Earl Sweatshirt’s most recent album is titled I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside — mental health still generally isn’t a common topic of discussion in the black community.

“I think as a whole, depression really isn’t spoken about too openly in rap music—but it’s also not spoken about too openly in the black community period. Mental health in general is kind of shied away from,” said Tony, who has experienced depression himself.

In addition to the stigma against mental health in the rap community, there is also a stigma against weakness.

This is due to a commonly circulated conception: Rap is a masculine genre. It is historically male-dominated. In that light, rappers need to be manly, which essentially means they can’t show emotion. Rappers must be strong, which really means they can’t be weak; that means any possibility of mental illness must be out of the question.

Rappers are supposed to be rich, they’re supposed to party, and they’re supposed to be carefree. They aren’t supposed to deal with their mental health—that’s not on their to-do list.

Mental Illness’ Presence in Old-School Rap Mental illness has still always been a part of rap, even if its discussion hasn’t been constant or prominent.

Certain old-school rappers began to pave the way in the 90’s for discussion about mental illness in the rap genre.

“‘I feel like depression has always been something that’s been in hip-hop; different artists go about discussing it in different ways. You have artists like the Geto Boys and Scarface who always spoke on depression,’” said Brooklyn-based rapper Little Pain in the same 2016 VICE article.

According to a 2015 HuffPost Live interview with Scarface, the rapper’s struggles with depression began when he was around twelve or thirteen—long before his rise to fame. In the interview, Scarface revealed that during his struggle with depression, he wanted to die and felt worthless. Scarface’s mental health struggles are further detailed in his memoir, Diary of a Madman: The Geto Boys, Life, Death, and the Roots of Southern Rap. Some of Scarface’s mental health issues show through in Geto Boys’ 1991 single “Mind Playing Tricks On Me.” The Scarface-produced track helped create an emotional dialogue in the hip-hop genre about paranoia and its effects on mental health. The song talks about the stresses of the old-school hip-hop lifestyle as opposed to boasting about its pros. Living in the hood, being surrounded by violence, and committing crimes to make money are all things that caused stress for Scarface and his rap counterparts. Today, the rap genre isn’t always as surrounded by those stresses, but the pressure of being in the spotlight and making music are still heavy on artists’ shoulders.

Discussion of suicide has also been present within the rap genre. The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1994 song “Suicidal Thoughts” details the rapper’s contemplation of suicide through a phone conversation with rapper Sean Combs, also known as Puff Daddy or P. Diddy. It’s a very personal track; it’s haunting, yet cinematic, and incredibly revealing. “Suicidal Thoughts” helped create an open dialogue for mental health struggles in rap around the time of its release, but that was over twenty years ago.

Rap Music Today These days, the discussion about mental illness in the rap genre often takes place over social media. Artists like Rashad and Cudi let listeners into their personal lives through Facebook posts and tweets. Other rappers and fans show support through comments. Not only have Rashad’s and Cudi’s social media discussions opened meaningful conversations in an unforgiving genre, but they also let listeners know that in their struggles with mental health, they are not alone.

The mental health discussion in hip-hop is growing prevalent, and thanks to several trailblazers, it will continue to be more common and open.

Resisting The Lizard Brain

By Andrew McGlynn Photos courtesy of theheavychronicles.com

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he entire genre of heavy metal is built on overt theatricality. There’s something inherently silly about dudes in leather jackets singing about Satan, and the first wave of metal bands were fully aware of this. Black Sabbath combined a sense of totalitarian fatalism with an intentionally over-the-top fascination with the occult. Iron Maiden used Bruce Dickinson’s operatic voice to deliver their hyper-literate, allegorical tales. Even Metallica framed their otherwise harrowing addiction narratives with a healthy dose of Lovecraftian horror. These early metal bands used the theatrical aspects of their music to give their gothic song topics a larger-than-life sense of drama.

In 2016, the metal world is completely different. In the Stereogum essay “Beast Mode: Metal’s Evolution from Caveman to Cobalt,” Michael Nelson writes: “Metal taps directly into our lizard brain. The limbic cortex. The ancient, urgent thing beneath consciousness and emotion and rational, reasoned thought. The instinct that kicks in when someone taps us on the shoulder from behind. That awful sensation that overloads our senses when we think maybe we’re being followed on a dark street or sized up in a subway car. Fight or flight. Fear or aggression. Kill or be killed.”

Nelson presents metal as an inherently intimidating, aggressive genre. He’s correct, as far as today’s metal scene goes. Metal is almost oppressively bleak; most of the bands given critical acclaim can be traced back to either the punishingly aggressive grindcore movement, or the genuinely evil nihilism of black metal’s second wave. The modern metal scene fixates on the lizard brain aspect of the genre to an often overwhelming extent.

In contrast to the general lizard brain-oriented trends, 2016 has brought a few bands brave enough to break the mold and have a little fun with the genre. Kvelertak’s blackened take on beer-chugging party rock and Babymetal’s death metal and J-pop fusion have injected a much needed dose of playfulness to the metal world, reviving the theatrical spirit of classic metal.

Kvelertak is a six-piece band hailing from Norway.

It comprises of vocalist Erlend Hjelvik; guitarists Vidar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland, and Maciek Ofstad; bassist Marvin Nygaard; and drummer Kjetil Gjermundrød.

Despite being part of the oppressively dark black metal subgenre, Kvelertak’s music is joyous above all else.

Hjelvik’s vocals alternate between banshee screams and triumphant chants that demand vocal participation despite the lyrics being in Norwegian. The guitar riffs have a contagiously playful energy that could inspire a fist pump from even the most jaded metalhead. Their newest album, Nattesferd, puts their party-loving classic rock influences front and center. The instrumental for “1985” could pass for a Van Halen song, while “Svartmesse”

cleverly samples its opening riff straight from Stevie Knicks’ “Edge of Seventeen.” Black metal is a famously elitist subgenre, yet Kvelertak’s mastery of the black metal blueprint allows them to bring in these otherwise “blasphemous” influences without inviting the “poser” label.

Kvelertak’s music incorporates the theatrical sensibility that modern metal so sorely lacks, but more importantly their music is genuinely great metal. Kvelertak bring a sorely missed whimsical sensibility to the metal scene, and they back it up with masterful songwriting.

While Kvelertak has established a nice little niche for themselves in the genre, Japan’s Babymetal exists in a different world entirely. They are despised by metalheads who decry them as posers and seen as a curio by mainstream Western audiences who sell out their North American tour stops and come to shows in cosplay.

Babymetal has reached the point where controversial opinions hold more sway than the band’s music. Despite the free publicity for the band, these arguments perform a disservice to Babymetal’s genuinely inventive music.

Their core concept is the fusion of standard girl group J-pop songwriting with death metal instrumentals. It sounds horrific on paper, but works like magic in practice. Almost all of Babymetal’s success hinges on how they handle the metal aspect of their sound. The band hits an absolutely perfect balance between heavy and pop-friendly. Babymetal’s three vocalists––nicknamed Su-metal, Yuimetal, and Moametal, to add another glorious layer of theatricality––navigate the instrumentals masterfully, making the strange mix of styles seem perfectly natural. They sing their hearts out as if they are completely unaware of the chaos accompanying them. Their vocals are just over-the-top enough to be sweeping and cinematic, without dipping into pastiche territory. The end result is astounding––metal as goofy as it is pummeling. Babymetal truly embodies the theatrical spirit of classic bands like Iron Maiden, while expertly mixing metal and pop in a way that has never been done before. The band draws on the traditions of classic metal to bring the genre into completely new territory.

With all due respect to Michael Nelson, metal doesn’t have to target the lizard brain. Metal’s potential for theatricality is part of what makes it one of the most diverse and interesting genres in music. Bands like Kvelertak are essential because they represent an alternative to an otherwise overwhelmingly dominant aesthetic. However, there’s nothing wrong with dark and nihilistic metal bands. There is the potential for a heavy metal utopia wherein the bleak and the whimsical can coexist without one suffocating the other; and it’s bands like Kvelertak and Babymetal who are willing to go against the dominant style that will help us get there.

21

For Want of Washington DC and the Birth of Emo

A

By Brad Trumpfheller Photos by Robert Wieder

ll art is political, and perhaps no other strain of art in the later parts of the twentieth century better encapsulates this idea more than emo music. Emo, or emotive hardcore, is a subsection of hardcore punk music—which is itself a subset of punk rock—that arose in Washington DC in the mid 1980s.

Punk rock and its hardcore cousins were born out of a youthful anxiety in the world they lived in: from the political tumult of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, into the post-Vietnam era and the height of the Cold War, the latter half of the twentieth century was turning out to be just as violent and disquieting as the previous five decades. Coming out of the Iran hostage situation and a global energy crisis, Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency of the United States on the coattails of a pledge to return America to its rightful place as the greatest country in the world, making America great again. As this new conservatism was spearheaded into action in the 1980s, youth culture reacted as it always does and created a new counterculture. In Washington, DC the hardcore scene flourished. Bands like the Rastafarian punk quartet Bad Brains reached a level of notoriety based on the skillful energy of their performances, as well as the violence that ensued at said performances. Many clubs did not want this riot-esque ferocity to cause any lasting damage to their spaces, and a result, Bad Brains was banned from playing shows in many of the major venues in DC. The outcome of this can be found in the single that Bad Brains released afterwards, titled “Banned in DC” – which would later appear on their self-titled first album. This wasn’t a novelty either; many expressed the same sentiment: the hardcore scene’s violence and its ties to heavy drug and alcohol usage were not representative of the type of rebellion that young punks wanted to have. There was another way.

Many, if not most, of the hardcore bands that populated the DC scene in the early ‘80s were signed to the independent label Dischord Records. Dischord, run by

Ian MacKaye, signed the bands that would shape the hardcore scene: Government Issue, Faith, MacKaye’s own Minor Threat, and many others. What made these bands differ from the hardcore scenes of New York and Los Angeles was their “straight edge” label, turning away from drugs and violence as a life force of the music. This turn was accompanied by a newfound political activism as well. No longer was it enough for hardcore musicians to just say “fuck the system,” they needed to be forces of civic engagement.

During this time, Apartheid was in full motion in South Africa: state-sanctioned racism leading to the military murders of thousands. Lack of pressure placed on the South African government on the part of the Reagan administration infuriated many Americans, including the members of the Dischord band, Beefeater.

In June 1985, DC punks gathered at the South African embassy to stage a protest, as many had done, but with a spin. Beefeater had wanted to play their song, “Apartheid No,” at full blast but were denied the proper permits to set up amplifiers that close to the embassy. Instead, they organized a massive gathering of around one hundred scruffy-looking teens and young adults, who were asked to “Bring any sorts of drums, cans, and noise makers, etc.” on flyers announcing “Fuck Apartheid.” Together, they sat in an anything-but-silent protest, banging their various noise apparatus in a combined din to combat the lack of action being taken against such brazen crimes against humanity.

It was from this tide pool of political engagement and societal alienation, these shifts in the sense of community that being a hardcore punk musician offered, that the band Rites of Spring emerged from.

Sweat-charged and passionately vulnerable, the group took their name from the early 20th century Igor Stravinsky ballet, The Rite of Spring, whose 1911 performance led to radical changes in classical music for the remaining years of the 20th century. On the same

night as the Beefeater-led Apartheid protests took place, the Rites of Spring took the stage for the first time, and the future of a music was again about to be irrevocably altered.

Though the forerunners of emotive hardcore only lasted from February to June of 1985, Rites of Spring sent waves that would radiate out from the district to the rest of the country. Their debut self titled album negates the hardcore aesthetics that came before it, choosing to alternate the fury with moments of quiet, some songs using both a breathy whisper and an emotional howl. The guitar parts are moodily arranged over quick-changing tempos, with some instrumental passages such as that on the closing track that last longer than the rest of the song. Lyrically, Rites of Spring was doing the most radical changes. Gone were the days of machismo and violence, replaced with introspection and existential angst: “I bled, I tried to hide the heart from the head / I bled in the arms of a girl I’d barely met,” lead singer, Guy Picciotto, bellows out on the album’s third track.

The political nature of Rites of Spring’s debut album existed in parameters beyond the counterculture of the time—while bands like Beefeater led protests in the streets, Picciotto and the band turned inwards, towards the political nature of the self. Both in the conservative bastions of the 1980s and even now, it is a stereotype of the masculine figure to neglect their inner emotions, instead favoring outward manifestations of violence, cruelty, and rage. To be emotionally vulnerable as a masculine person is to be overly feminine, which in such a patriarchal society is equated with weakness. By instead channeling these emotions and this vulnerability through that auspice of hardcore, Rites of Spring and the bands that followed were creating a political space where the sensitive and the masculine could coexist and be celebrated.

Rites of Spring’s influence thundered outward following the events of the summer of 1985. Bands like Dag Nasty, the aptly named Embrace, and all-female band Fire Party blossomed in the wake of Rites’ emotional odes. It was in this time period that the term “emotional hardcore,” or “emocore” was coined to describe the new movement. Emocore was no longer confined to DC, and soon bands across the country were aping the style of bands like the Rites and Fugazi—a post-hardcore supergroup consisting of MacKaye, Guy Picciotto, and the Rites’ drummer, Brendan Canty—further combining the raw energy of the DC scene with the histrionics and despondency of bands like Joy Division and The Smiths.

These bands, ranging from Bay Area’s Jawbreaker, Oregon’s Heatmiser—which would go on to spawn the career of their lyricist, Elliott Smith—and the breakout success of Weezer, whose pop-infused emotional anthems helped situate emo in the mainstream while

paving the way for latter-day punk outfits like Green Day and Jimmy Eat World, were loose in their interpretations of the doctrine Rites of Spring had put forth five years prior. But it wasn’t until the Seattlebased Sunny Day Real Estate released their first album Diary in 1994 that emocore began to come into its own artistically as well as emotionally. With songs like “Seven” and “Grendel,” the band developed a compositionally intricate answer to the genre’s sloppier roots.

Jeremy Engik, Sunny Day Real Estate’s songwriter and vocalist, developed a poetic lyrical style as well as a unique manner of singing that would become the quintessential anguished voice of emo. On “The Blankets Were the Stairs” he sings “Late again, my breathing is leaving after yours / Stay, one time holding things I know you’re asking for” over dreamy chords reminiscent of the hazy pop of the Cocteau Twins. As the ‘90s progressed, emocore began to fracture even more. In New York City, short lived emocore group Texas Is the Reason took the romantic poetry of Sunny Day Real Estate and welded it back to hardcore’s harsher tones and faster rhythms.

In the Midwest, American Football and Cap’n Jazz took a more direct and confessional approach to their lyrics, singing longingly over complex guitar riffs and chord progressions, even adding segments of lone brass instrumentation in the background to compliment the mourning.

However, even as emo fractured and became entirely new genres in their own right, that political birthright it had has never fully vanished. While the lyrics themselves are purely personal, they reflect a sense of anxiety and confusion that was typical of the average American youth throughout the ‘90s and into the 2000s. Emo’s peaks and valleys correspond with periods of great national bewilderment.

The “midwestern revival” of emo that came about in the late 2000s was a direct byproduct of the economic turmoil and domestic strife the country faced at the time.

The core beliefs of emo still ring true today across all of the various genres that emo has affected and splintered into.

Fundamentally, what emo speaks to in these crossgenerational audiences is not commiseration or simple sadness. In all of these bands, the underlying drive of emo is a yearning: for political change, for peace, for companionship, for happiness, or just for someone to hear you. Whether it’s Rites of Spring in a sweaty basement in DC, Sunny Day Real Estate in the midst of a blistering winter, or American Football on the last days of summer, the music will always speak honestly to the innate human quality of restiveness, of perpetual wanting. It is in that honesty that emo has made its noisy home and will continue to live, for want of anything and everything.

battle of the bands On November 1, Emerson’s own Wax on Felt Records held their annual Battle of the Bands in search of three artists to sign to the label. This year’s winners were self-described “monster soul” band ZILLA, funky acid jazz group Maddie Jay and the pH Collective, and hip hop duo Malachi & Yassky. Also competing were Poor Baby, a Riot grrrl-inspired punk band, and One11Twenty, an indie alternative trio.

Photos by Kathryn Garelli, Shafaq Patel, Nicholas Burress, Liana Genoud

Poor Ba

by

y t n e w T 1 One1

ZILLA

MADDIE JAY & the ph collective

MALACHI & YASSKY

AROUND THE WORLD A JOURNEY THROUGH GENRES WITH KALEO By: Viviana Bonomie Photos courtesy of media.cmgdigital.com, i.iheart.com

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he House of Blues played host to an impressive range of genres presented by Icelandic band Kaleo’s Handprint Tour on October 10.

First on the lineup was The Wind + The Wave.

Frontwoman Patty Lynn enchanted the crowd with her powerful voice as she led them through an emotional journey of love and loss with a hint of adventure.

Upbeat tunes, like “Grand Canyon,” sparked visions of road trips and desert camping. But their strict adherence to indie-folk eventually made the songs blend together. If you weren’t paying attention, you might have thought they’d simply placed different lyrics over the same music.

Alternative rock singer Bishop Briggs took the stage next with her hair tied in Harley Quinn-esque pigtails, bouncing around the stage and exuding a contagiously funky energy.

Her songs offered a blend of pop, EDM, and alternative rock, which kept the audience

moving while her powerhouse vocals reinforced the set’s witchy vibes. Briggs was an exciting divergence from the indie rock mood set by W+W and the bluesy folk-rock to come.

Finally, Kaleo’s frontman Jökull Júlíusson walked on stage in a pair ripped jeans and a tattered white shirt to match. He was the embodiment of cool. Júlíusson switched between deep, soulful melodies and high falsettos with effortless grace, leaving the audience slack-jawed.

Behind the stage, four glowing handprints, one for each band member, sparkled as they played. In addition to their usual lineup—Davíò Antonsson, percussion and

vocals; Daníel Ægir Kristjánsson, bass; and Rubin Pollock, guitar and vocals—the band was joined by Berkeley student and fellow Icelandic native The Rooster, whose incredible talent with the harmonica enhanced their sound.

Throughout the set, the band played nine songs off their debut album, A/B, six songs off their self-titled album, and the entirety of their EP, Glasshouse. They slowed things down in the middle with one of their more popular tunes, “All the Pretty Girls.” Then, they quickly brought the energy back up with light-hearted songs, like “Automobile.”

Kaleo commanded the venue by taking the audience on a journey from rock to folk to blues. Júlíusson’s silky voice as he sang a ballad contrasted with the raspy, gritty way he belted their hit single, “Way Down We Go,” made it seem as though there were two completely different people on stage—the man whose love songs bring you to tears and the rock n’ roll badass whose beats demand headbanging. No matter which version of Kaleo is on stage, you will not be disappointed.

Y

ou’re sitting in the backset of an Uber, and the driver turns up the radio volume when “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias starts playing. You sing along without realizing that what you’re listening to is reggaeton.

The mid-to-late ‘80s sparked the beginning of the rap and hip-hop movement in Puerto Rico (then known as “underground”), whose name stemmed from Spanish reggae in Panama. The movement, however, is more widely considered a product of Puerto Rico.

The explicit lyrics of these songs were initially derogatory towards woman, a verse in “La Groupie” by De La Ghetto translates to men having sex with a groupie, stating, “hit you like a dog / like a tramp (or anyone) / pull you by your hair…use you like a broom.” Such lyrics faced harsh criticism from the public; a struggle also played out in the spread of hip-hop throughout the United States. But reggaeton remained realistic in its representation of rough Central America street life.

By the mid ‘90s, reggaeton reached the middle class through mainstream music stores. From then on, it continued to rise in the charts, combining popular styles of reggae, hip-hop, salsa, cambia, and merengue to create a unique sound.

The 2000s saw another boom in the genre with artists like Daddy Yankee and Wisin y Yandel establishing themselves as international acts by touring Europe and the Middle East before landing in the United States. Daddy Yankee has been one of the biggest names in reggaeton since its inception. He is most recognized by younger American audiences for his hit single “Gasolina,” which remains popular more than ten years after its release.

In 2004, reggaeton reached the top of the charts in Europe and the United States, with established artists such as Daddy Yankee and Don Omar paving the way for up-and-coming groups such as Calle 13 and R.K.M y Ken-Y. By 2006, Billboard’s September issue affirmed that reggaeton had been in the Top 10 position of best Latin albums since the beginning of that year.

By Viviana Bonomie Photo courtesy of Spotify “What really made it explode in New York was so much demand in the Latin community…I would be working clubs six and seven nights a week, and seeing how people kept requesting it,” said a New York DJ in an article for USA Today.

“You can go to a club and hear people freaking out to a Daddy Yankee song, and the vast majority have no idea what he’s talking about,” said Jonah Wiener of Blender magazine in an interview with USA Today.

But reggaeton’s fame did not last forever. Rather than showcasing new tunes, radio stations continued playing the same old Daddy Yankee and Don Omar songs, and the repetition eventually turned away many listeners.

Now, the phenomenon is back and bigger than ever. Rocio Guerrero, head of Latin content for Spotify, first noticed the shift when her playlist “Baila Reggaeton” gained nearly two million followers and went on to become Spotify’s third most streamed playlist in the world. According to Guerrero, reggaeton has the most followers out of any Latin genre; this includes supporters that are not Spanish-speakers.

“Two years ago reggaeton shifted to a more melodic sound and the lyrics shifted to seducing women, rather than using women as objects,” Guerrero said in an interview on Fusion’s online publication in 2015.

The collaboration of reggaeton singers with wellknown artists such as Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias, on tracks such as “El Taxi” and “El Perdon,” has created a more “family friendly” sound, and further boosted the genre’s popularity. J Balvin, for instance, is a popular reggaeton artist from Colombia, whose fame was cemented by his Latino remix of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.”

It’s no doubt that reggaeton is back, not only in Spanish-speaking countries, but all over the world, breaking barriers in language and culture by making young people dance to a new beat.

helpS mend

Pakistan THROUGH MUSIC

By Shafaq Patel Photos courtesy of cokestudio.com.pk

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hen most people think of Coca-Cola, they often think of the soft drink. But the company also plays an important role in the music industry through Coke Studio, an aptly named TV series that documents musicians in the studio.

The show, a series of live studio recordings by various artists, first aired in Brazil in 2007, and launched one year later in Pakistan where it became a huge success. Now entering its ninth season, the show continues to attract viewers, as evidenced by its YouTube videos, some of which have over 200 million views. Popular songs also appear on more than forty TV channels and ten radio stations.

In Pakistan, the show features a variety of genres including eastern classical, qawwali, and ghazal as well as contemporary hip-hop, rock, and pop. This eastern classical music is derived from Indian classical music inspired by Middle Eastern music with qawwali flair, which is a style of Sufi Muslim devotional music.

Some songs also incorporate ghazals, which are love poems. This mix of contemporary styles that was once unthinkable now flourishes under the direction of the show’s masterful producers.

The songs are sung in an assortment of languages, including Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, as well

as many others spoken in the country—Punjabi, Hindi, Pashto, Turkish, and English. By using languages like Pashto and Turkish, they reiterate the linguistic diversity inherent in Pakistan, where a majority of people speak Urdu.

The Studio brings in artists from around the globe to perform with other musicians, like their house band Strings, an internationally known Pakistani pop-rock band composed of Faisal Kapadia (lead vocals) and Bilal Maqsood (vocals and guitars). In season six, for instance, they featured musicians from Italy, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Serbia, and Turkey.

While covers are a common theme throughout the show, musicians also fuse their different tastes—Middles Eastern, South Asian, and western tunes, traditional old songs, folk and modern pop music—to create a new type of music that attracts listeners from different generations, socioeconomic classes, and geographic regions. In fact, nearly half of Coke Studio: Pakistan’s viewers reside outside of the country.

As for the artists themselves, the show features a mix of renowned performers and up-and-coming acts.

Atif Aslam is most known for his hit Bollywood songs like “Tere Bin” (“Without You”) and “Pehli Nazar Mein” (“First Looks”) that belong to the pop and rock genres.

Having been featured in Bollywood as well as Hollywood movies, his music transcends borders and is especially popular in South Asia. In Coke Studio’s eighth season, he covered “Tajdar-e-Haram,” (“O, King of the Holy Sanctuary”). Prior to his appearance in season eight, he had a large fanbase, and this song increased his followers with over 40 million views on YouTube. Such covers give the artist’s fans a chance to hear them perform something outside of their respiratoire.

The show recently brought in Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, a well-known qawwali singer, to collaborate on a song with Momina Mustehsan. Together, they blended their voices to recreate a classical tune, “Afreen Afreen” (“O the Most Beautiful One”), which now has over 24 million views on YouTube. Through this rendition, Mustehsan, who had a relatively small fanbase, was heard by millions of viewers and became known as “the latest singing sensation in the country.”

Showcasing of famous singers, such as Bollywood artists Aslam and Ali Khan, really increases Coke Studio’s viewership by bringing in a heavily Bollywood audience.

This is especially important, because Bollywood musicians have notoriously larger appeal worldwide.

At the same time, Coke Studio provides lesser known acts with a much larger stage. Arif Lohar, a Sufi musician, sang “Alif Allah” (“My Master”) in season three. Prior to this episode, he had a very small fanbase, and was mostly catering to those who came out to small, local venues.

But the platform provided by Coke Studio allowed him to attract a greater audience with variance in geography.

In addition to attracting a diverse viewership, Coke Studio has helped changed people’s opinions of Pakistan, which has often been synonymous with bad press. Due to media blasts concerning terrorism, the country has become known as “dangerous.” Moreover, their entertainment industry has always taken a backseat to India’s internationally appealing Bollywood scene. But Pakistan finally has a chance to shine through Coke Studio. This show has helped spread positive news about the country and increase the value of its music, giving Pakistan a reputation to be proud of.

The success of Coke Studio in Pakistan has allowed the formation of studios around the globe in places like India, the Middle East, and Africa. These new locations are following Pakistan’s lead in the hopes of also becoming a major success.

a small world

with

mehmet sanlikol

By Rodjyna Beauvile Photos courtesy of sanlikol.com, previews.123rf.com

A

young unmasked man walks on stage. He stretches his hand toward the audience, calling to the citizens of Istanbul and beckoning their attention for the tale of The Tragedy of Sümbül the Black Eunuch. He introduces himself as Hayali. Masked faces stand beside him, singing of love and sorrow. Their voices backed by light strums of varied string instruments, ring deep and full like the voice of Sümbül Ağa, the aged, retired chief black eunuch of the Ottoman court, who bears a striking resemblance to Mehmet Sanlikol.

Apart from his mask, Sanlikol is a music professor, teaching courses like Perspectives in World Music and History of Jazz. He is also a composer, performer, scholar, and CMES Harvard University fellow. He recently published a book, The Musician Mehters, and is currently in the midst of writing another, which will feature original transcriptions of nineteenth century

classical manuscripts that include Ottoman/Turkish and Ottoman/Greek music.

Sanlikol’s music offers an unexpected infusion of Turkish character into generally non-Turkish genres, such as jazz and classic composition. This unique blending has garnered him praise from around the globe, including recognition by trombonist and composer-arranger Bob Brookmeyer, grammy award winning Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov, and NEA Jazz Masters lifetime recipient Dave Liebman.

“When you really internalize a particular tradition, be it music or food, then you know what ingredients are common,” Sanlikol said. “You know how to put things together. If I bring those ancestors from here, and put them in their respective places next to their grandsons and granddaughters, I can make it work.”

His most recent opera, Othello in the Seraglio: The

Tragedy of Sümbül the Black Eunuch, reimagines Shakespeare’s Othello, a classic tale of Othello’s passion, love, and jealousy mixed with the devastating betrayal of those closest to him. Sanlikol’s rendering shifts the origins of the work both musically and culturally with the use of European and Turkish instruments and the performance of his original Turkish poetry.

Sanlikol’s music career began when he was five years old, studying western classical piano under his mother. But when teenage angst set in, he left Mozart in the dust and

Eventually, Sanlikol replaced his full time commitment to Turkish music with jazz and classical composition that is heavily Turkish influenced. In 2014, JAZZIZ, the largest jazz publication in the world, awarded him with a Top 10 Critics’ Choice pick. That same year, an album featuring one of his string orchestra compositions was nominated for a Grammy.

While this achievement is not one to be forgotten, Sanlikol hesitates to

“My biggest fear is not to be able to do what I love the most, which is composing.

“It would really kill me.”

joined a progressive rock band.

“After we put together a rock band, that’s when it clicked,” Sanlikol said.

“It became really clear that I wanted to compose symphonies. Once fellow guitar players started realizing that I was pretty hot on the keys, I thought I’d better go to my mom for lessons on how I can become more hip,” he said with a laugh.

For seven years, Sanlikol immersed himself in jazz, eventually studying jazz composition and film scoring at Berklee College of Music. He knew nothing about Turkish music, even though he grew up in Turkey. It wasn’t until he began pursuing a doctorate at the New England Conservatory that he uncovered his Turkish roots.

“That was the decade where I reconstructed my identity,” Sanlikol said.

Unfortunately, life got ahead of Sanlikol. Before he

knew it, he was teaching at five different colleges.

“As soon as that semester was over, I said, ‘I’m not ever doing that again,’” Sanlikol said.

Since then he’s narrowed his courses to two colleges— Emerson and the New England Conservatory.

call it his proudest moment.

“When I was commissioned by Carnegie Hall and performed there my own piece, that at the moment may have topped it,” he said. “I could have been hired just to go play, but it wasn’t that. They commissioned me to compose something and perform it. That’s a great thing.”

Like most artists, Sanlikol finds himself at the heart of his creation.

“Your special place is who you are; that’s not going to change” he said. “That special thing you talk about, it’s not even you, it’s something above you. I think being in that creative mindset has something to do with being able to transcend your lower self. It’s like meditation.”

It is this feeling that Sanlikol seeks to capture through all of his work. On September 23, he released a new jazz orchestra album with Whatsnext? titled Resolution. The LP reached the top DownBeat magazine's September editor's picks for its uniquely internalized and multilingual contemporary jazz composition. It also features guest artists Anat Cohen, Dave Liebman, Tiger Okoshi, and Antonio Sanchez.

“My biggest fear is not to be able to do what I love the most, which is composing,” Sanlikol said. “It would really kill me.”

REVIEWS

Danny Brown Atrocity Exhibition

By Cameron Fetter Photo courtesy of xdannyxbrownx.com

D

anny Brown has always pushed the boundaries of trap and hardcore hip-hop, and Atrocity Exhibition is probably one of the most experimental releases in the genre. His music commonly features themes of drug use and addiction, shamelessly graphic sex, and his struggle with mental illness. Atrocity Exhibition includes all these classic motifs, but it cranks up the paranoia and mental instability to eleven. In addition to taking on darker subject matter, the production is far more abrasive and industrial. The percussion in particular feels downright apocalyptic, with booming impacts and rhythms that feel like they've been shredded and stitched back together.

Brown’s vocals are as squawky and over-the-top as ever, which tricks the listener into not taking the lyrics seriously. There’s definitely a lot of Brown’s signature ridiculousness, such as when he raps “Suckin' on it like she gettin' vitamins and minerals / I be on the chemicals, she be on my testicles / Poke her with my tentacle then put her out my schedules / Rolling up them vegetables,” on the song “Really Doe,” but a large portion of his lyrics feel genuinely tortured, especially on “Downward Spiral,” the opening track. It sets the mood for the album with cluttered and anxiety-riddled statements like “I'm sweating like I’m in a rave / Been in this room for three days / Think I’m hearing voices / Paranoid and think I’m seeing ghost-es, oh shit.”

Additionally, there are very few guest artists on this album, which makes it feel a lot more personal and emotionally charged than a lot of other trap music, which often feels like party music devoid of actual purpose. The few features that are included are fantastic, though, and fit in perfectly. The track “Rolling Stone” has an incredible hook by Petite Noir, and “Really Doe” has some awesome guest verses,

including one of the best performances by Earl Sweatshirt yet.

Atrocity Exhibition managed to surprise me multiple times throughout my first listen: an impressive feat. The opening track is an unsettling vignette of the deteriorated state of Brown’s mind. It’s not the tired cliché of the narrator’s descent into madness, but more of a snapshot of the depth of insanity that he’s reached. The first and second tracks strongly establish a caustic, avant-garde sound, which makes the third song’s melodic refrain stand out beautifully. After that, though, it’s right back to the nasty, raucous industrial composition that hooks you in the first place. The second to last track, “Get Hi,” is a humongous and sudden transformation from the grating clangs to a mellow, soulful beat with depressive lyrics delivered in a way that’s deceptively gentle. It’s another great example of the main strength of Atrocity Exhibition: juxtaposition. The surface-level feel of the music is totally at odds with the deeper, more paranoid message.

Danny Brown manages to seamlessly blend bragging about reckless partying with brooding about the very real consequences of his actions.

This album is part of a recent trend in mainstream hip-hop that can be tentatively coined “Post-Yeezus.” In 2013, Kanye West dropped the album Yeezus, bringing industrial hip-hop into the mainstream. He combined the hyper-abrasive sound of noise music with his signature pop influences, and brought industrial music into the public eye. The styles of artists like B L A C K I E, Dälek, Death Grips, and NAH have been assimilated into mainstream rap in the past few years, resulting in artists like West; Run the Jewels; Die Antwoord; Tyler, the Creator; Yung Lean; and Zack de la Rocha co-opting the experimental sound to great success. Atrocity Exhibition is clearly a result of the “Post-Yeezus Movement,” and it’s a good one, too.

0 1 / 9 : G N I RAT

S

plendor & Misery is inarguably an ambitious project. If there was anyone who could pull off the incredibly high-concept premise of a hip-hop space opera, it would be Clipping.

On my first listen of this album, the beats stood out to me the most. A majority of the songs don't have traditional beats, instead augmenting Daveed Diggs’s machine-gun rapping with unsettlingly ambient spaceship noises consisting of beeps, clicks, and other atmospheric sound effects.

According to the band, Splendor & Misery “follows the sole survivor of a slave uprising on an interstellar cargo ship, and the onboard computer that falls in love with him.” To be perfectly frank, the narrative is hard to follow. The plot is quite abstract, and I was struggling to process the overarching story even on the third listen. This is a weird hill to die on, because one would expect the storyline of a concept album to be coherent.

However, the technical quality of the music can’t be denied. Clipping’s MC, Daveed Diggs, is well known as an actor in the award-winning hip-hop musical Hamilton; and he brings all his lyrical skill to this album. “The Breach” is a great example of a track where he delivers unbelievably complex rhymes at a breakneck velocity. The music behind his vocals is similarly well composed, consisting of what sounds like spaceship machinery. There are a few refrains that run through the album like low-res melodic fugues.

Interwoven throughout the emotional and technological imagery, there is a significant amount of pop culture anachronisms. The vacuum of space and the darkness of a power outage are both described as “all black everything.” The lyrics refer to the protagonist contemplating Kendrick Lamar’s “Control” verse, and his chances of survival being “(Get low) Pretty low, (Get low) pretty low.” It’s a great way to ground the sci-fi

clipping.

Splendor & Misery

By Cameron Fetter Photo by Liana Genound

narrative in the incredibly political mind-

space that it belongs in.

Overall, the album is a look at the cosmic insignificance of the human race, Afrofuturism, and other interesting concepts.

However, it is upsetting that the narrative feels lost among the abstract musings. I am glad Clipping continues to challenge everything hip hop stands for, and hope to see more from them in the near future, but this is not one of my favorite releases of 2016.

RATING: 7/10 REVIEWS

37

By Will Nichols Photo courtesy of reginaspektor.com

R

the rest of the album. Spektor expresses a more aggresegina Spektor has returned from a three-year sive tone, which makes the whole piece gravitate to a hiatus to put out her seventh album Remember more up-tempo and energetic pace that doesn’t quite align Us to Life. Spektor returns after contributing to with the remainder of the album. several different film and television works, including The last four tracks aim to bring the album back to Orange is the New Black and Kubo and the Two Strings. her traditional style, presenting a set of slow songs with Her first full-length record in over four years, the album a leading piano accompaniment and light strings to features eleven tracks all lasting over three minutes, with provide a background harmony. Perhaps most notable is the full album lasting a bit over forty-six minutes. With “Obsolete,” the longest track on the album at almost seven these long tracks comes a blend of traditional piano balminutes, which features a slow piano ballad combined lads with an interesting mix of new styles for Spektor. with several complementary manipulated versions of Remember Us to Life begins remarkably with three Spektor’s voice. The song also features solid tracks, two of which, “Bleeding “Bleeding Heart,” some of Spektor’s most touching Heart” and “Older and Taller,” were which may be the most lyrics, with lines such as “This is how released as singles preceding the memorable song on I feel right now / Obsolete manuscript album. / no one reads and no one needs.” The The catchy, repetitive chorus the record, features album seems to almost lightly settle to “Never never mind bleeding heart, Spektor’s signature a finish with the last song, “The Visit,” bleeding heart” contrasts wonderfully piano backdrop, with a ending with a thirty second string solo with slow, almost lightly spoken verses strong string presence that fades away lightly. that sell her voice perfectly.

As a whole, the album delivers the As the album progresses, Spektor and multiple electronic classic soulful melodies that helped seems to explore a multitude of layers, creating a fresh, Spektor make her name for herself, different uncharacteristic styles. Some more poppy feel while but it also offers several new tracks of these are executed beautifully while still staying true to her that show growth for her as an artist. others seem a bit forced, given the flow As far as whether or not Spektor has of the album as a whole. With “The original sound. delivered her “pop” album, as so many Trapper and the Furrier,” which begins indie musicians have been accused of, it’s difficult to say. with a short spoken word section before developing into The album definitely seems to want to cater to wider a very powerful piece featuring a rather punchy string audiences with its use of electronic instruments, but it accompaniment that still comes off as gentle, Spektor also features songs that will satisfy long-time Spektor shows that she can transition into a faster piece while fans. Given the anticipation for this album, Spektor still mixing well with the rest of the album. On the other delivered an album that will be well received her fans and hand, the song “Small Bill$” seems a bit disjointed from is all around a solid returning album for Spektor.

RATING: 8/10

I

Prima Donna

n opera, a prima donna is the leading female singer in the company to whom the most prominent role is given. Prima donnas have grand personalities and are seen as demanding with a temperamental fashion and inflated view of self. But, they are also respected and tolerated because of their talent. The contemporary meaning of the word has taken on the negative connotation of a vain, egotistical, drama queen who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team, despite being essential to its success. In Vince Staples’ EP Prima Donna, he presents himself as such.

The Long Beach rapper rose to prominence with appearances on albums

by Odd Future members Earl Sweatshirt and Mike G, and his collaborative work with Mac Miller. In 2014, he released the EP, Hell Can Wait, with singles “Hands Up” and "Blue Suede." The following summer, he dropped his debut album, Summertime '06, which received critical acclaim. The same year, Staples was included in XXL’s 2015 Freshman Class.

Now, he comes back with a vengeance to revive and ride his wave of musical success.

In his latest EP, Prima Donna, Staples delivers a sonic experiment in which he delves into his own madness, drawing the listener into the harsh reality of his journey. He incorporates his biting sense of humor and personal tragedies by touching on childhood struggles and his experience with gang culture. The EP contains features from Kilo Kish and A$AP Rocky, with exemplary production from DJ Dahi, James Blake, John Hill, and others.

Staples released Prima Donna on August 26, 2015, accompanied with a ten minute short film.

By Rodjyna Beauvile Photo by Sabrina Combs Infamous for avoiding the spotlight and the ostentatious display many rappers are known for, Staples gains attention with this progressive release. The seven-song EP opens with groggy mumblings of the age-old children’s song “This Little Light of Mine.” To the shock of the listener, the songs ends abruptly with a gunshot. In the following song “War Ready,” Staples skips through the melody, speaking between a sample of Andre 3000’s verse on “ATLiens:” “Put my Glock away, I got a stronger weapon / That never runs out of ammunition so I'm ready for war, okay.” Here, he takes on the world war ready and embarks on his journey to fame and misfortune. The song is the strongest cut from the EP. In “Smile,” Staples throws hiphop a curveball with a rock track behind his raps. He discusses paranoia and doubt in his value as an artist and as member of society, reflecting his inner black rage. He realizes he has lost his way when the taste of money and fame don’t do it for him anymore. “Loco” mirrors his madness, and “Prima Donna” materializes Staples’ star personality.

These songs also reflect Kurt Cobain in a scene shown in Staples’ video premiere. Following the title track “Prima Donna,” Staples visits his old self metaphorically and sonically with sharp lyricism and minimalist instrumentals in “Pimp Hand.” The EP ends with a braggadocious expression of Staples’ success, but this abrupt ending does not seem to be the end of his journey.

RATING: 8.5/10

WINTER 2016 Not a fan of holiday music? Neither are we! (Except for R. Kelly’s 12 Nights of Christmas, which Lindsey has been playing on repeat for months.) If you’re looking for something different this season, Five Cent Sound’s got you covered. Our editors’ hand-picked playlists are perfect for chill nights spent by the fireplace.

Juke Jam

by Lindsey Gonzales

WINTER GROOVIN

By Isabella Dionne

“Am I Wrong” - Anderson .Paak “Wyclef Jean” - Young Thug “Plastic Bag” - Drake “No Problem” - Chance The Rapper “30 Hours” - Kanye West “Poetic Justice” - Kendrick Lamar “Make You Feel Good” - Fetty Wap “So High” - Wiz Khalifa “Shit on Me” - Kodak Black “Cash Machine” - D.R.A.M. “Hollywood Dreams/Come Down” - Post Malone “Switch Up” - R. Kelly “V. 3005” - Childish Gambino

“Tombstone Taillight” - Black Pistol Fire “A 1000 Times” - Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam “Ballroom Bones” - The Ceremonies “Nightcrawler” - The Moxies “Miss Yer Kiss” - SWMRS “Mad Love” - The Pretty Reckless “Stupid Decisions” - FIDLAR “Dogtown” - The Fratellis “Turnin’” - Young Rising Sons “Who You Are” - Stop Light Observations “Nobody’s Child” - IRONTOM “Sour Grapes” - John the Ghost “Muchacho” - Kings of Leon

1 DECEMBER SHOWS

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3

Cam’ron, Middle East Downstairs Candyland, Middle East Upstairs The Districts, Great Scott

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, House of Blues MØ, Paradise Rock Club Viva La Hop, Middle East Downstairs Windhand, ONCE Ballroom Thank You Scientist, Great Scott

Percy Hill, Paradise Rock Club Will Evans, Brighton Music Hall Space Jesus/Yheti, Middle East Downstairs Front Country, The Red Room @ Cafe 939

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Red Fang, The Sinclair Lizzo, Brighton Music Hall

Rainbow Kitten Surprise, The Sinclair Copeland, Middle East Downstairs Taylor Darvis, The Red Room @ Cafe 939

Ultimate Painting, Middle East Upstairs P: KG American Wrestlers, Great Scott

Rainbow Kitten Surprise, The Sinclair Copeland, Middle East Downstairs Taylor Darvis, The Red Room @ Cafe 939

Emancipator, The Sinclair Set Your Goals, Paradise Rock Club Wax, Middle East Downstairs Downtown Boys, Middle East Upstairs matt pond PA, Great Scott

Mike Gordon, The Sinclair (and 12.10-11) Ripe, Paradise Rock Club Peter Murphy, Middle East Downstairs Consider the Source, ONCE Ballroom Ruby Rose Fox, The Red Room @ Cafe 939 The Movement, Great Scott

Norah Jones, Orpheum Theatre Cole Swindell, House of Blues The Main Squeeze, Middle East Downstairs badXchannels, Middle East Upstairs Bombadil/Goodnight, Texas, The Red Room @ Cafe 939

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Mac Miller, House of Blues The Weepies, The Wilbur Todd Carey, ONCE Ballroom

David Crosby, The Wilbur Delta Rae, The Sinclair Turned Out a Punk, Great Scott

Thievery Corporation, House of Blues

Rasputina, Brighton Music Hall Sad13, Middle East Upstairs July Talk, Great Scott

You Won’t, The Sinclair Street Dogs, Brighton Music Hall (and 12.16-18) Caveman, Great Scott

Tall Heights, The Sinclair

Dan + Shay, House of Blues Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Wilbur Adam Ezra Group, The Sinclair The Oh Hellos, Paradise Rock Club

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Kings of Chaos, House of Blues

Tyler Hilton/Kate Voegele, Brighton Music Hall

Slander/NGHTMRE, House of Blues THEREFORE I AM, The Sinclair

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Kristin Hersh, The Sinclair Coach & Sons Olde Time Family Booking, Middle East Upstairs

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Sammy Adams, House of Blues

Kanye West, TD Garden The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, House of Blues (and 12.29-30)

Dub Apocalypse/ Roots of Creation, The Sinclair

Lettuce, House of Blues