No Fidelity Winter 2015 Issue 1

STAFF

Dan Bollinger Gisell Calderón Fracisco Castro Victoria Dan Madeline Garcia A Noah Harrison Cisco Hayward Ayana Lance Gracie McNeely Ian Mercer

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Roberto NievesBob OtsukaJulian PalmerDavid PickartLucas RossiHenry SouthwickBobby VolpendestaSam WatsonBen WedinJake Yanoviak-

CONTENTS

“Pushing to the Front of Concerts”...........Harrison...................2 “Why Bandcamp is Hot Shit”....................Rossi........................3 New Music Reviews...................................Staff.........................4 “Head to Head: James Blake”...................Mercer & Pickart......7 “Sleater-Kinney Returns”...........................Calderón..................8 “1DAF”......................................................McNeely................10 “Hummingbird: Part V”.............................Southwick..............13 “How to Make Electronic Music”...............Hayward................14 “Terror in Texture”.....................................Mercer...................16 “Portraits”.................................................Dan........................20 An Interview with Viper.............................Hayward................22 Black Metal................................................Rossi......................26 Illustrated Genres......................................Lance.....................31 Campus Band Interview............................Bollinger.................32 “Dope! Drum! Fills!”..................................Palmer....................34 “Ten More Songs Over Ten Minutes”........Harrison.................35 Ten Good Albums from 2014....................Yanoviak.................36 A Message from Our Sponsors................................................37 Dear Readers, It seems like just yesterday we were sitting around a table trying to figure out how we were going to make a music zine. Wait a minute…that was yesterday. NO FIDELITY is still a young buck: adventurous and fancy free. We’re a constantly growing and changing organization, always looking to improve. We believe that everyone with ears is an authority on something musical, whatever it may be. We know all about your quirky musical leanings on this here campus, and we want you to take part We’re proud to say we have more involvement and competence than ever before, but we’re never satisfied. Come write for us. Or maybe design if that’s your cup of tea. Whatever your musical leanings, we’d love to have you on board.

Love always, A Noah Harrison

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The internet has been awesome for listening to music. Over the past 20 years, the spread and dissemination of music online has helped scenes and styles explode in popularity and output, and created an outlet for anyone to make and share music. That much is evident. What has become increasingly the question is: How are we gonna listen to music on the internet in a way that makes sense for producers and consumers? In the mid-tolate 2000s, YouTube was, essentially, the holy grail of streaming music online. Throw a song and some album art into a video, bam. Tons of views. Everyone looking for that song could search it, click it, and then hit up the related videos for more. I can’t begin to tell you how much music I discovered just browsing YouTube. Online radio services like last.fm allowed people to feel smug and superior by showing off their tastes to anyone who cared (which was nobody), and things were overall almost completely out there unregulated.

As actual artists, record labels, and corporations began to assert control over the internet and the digital sphere at large, this model became less and less viable as these groups were like, “Hey we should be making money off this.” Lots of Youtube music got taken down. In addition, Youtube has become such a shitty site that even when albums get uploaded in full (which seems to be a bit of a trend these days) using Youttube is far from the ideal music listening experience. After that, you’re left with other uploading/streaming services like Soundcloud (which has obnoxious policies and is just generally a clusterfuck of a site) and larger streaming platforms. Services like Spotify have become super popular but have also been coming under fire a bit lately for hardly giving artists any actual money which is fucking true and pretty shitty. (Spotify themselves don’t really make money off the service so it’s kind of a shitfest all around.) I’m also personally not a fan of just booting up another (often clunky) program/app to listen to music, and ads can really get in the way of a cohesive album experience.

Enter Bandcamp. Bandcamp is .

“a clean, simple site without a dumb interface getting in the way”

Pretty much any artist can get a Bandcamp page and put their music on there with a convenient and productive option to buy their releases in addition to having free unlimited streaming without ads. Every time a reviewer includes a Bandcamp link to an album at the bottom of the page, I’m pretty sure they increase the likelihood of people actually listening to the album by like 50% (actual real statistics that I totally researched). Every time I search for an album and a Bandcamp link pops up, I breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that there’s any easy way for me to hear the release, either track-by-track or in full album form on a clean, simple site, without a dumb interface getting in the way. You can download stuff in FLAC if you’re into that shit and they even make it easy to do name-yourprice downloads. (There is some awesome free music on the site.) Artist pages look cool- they can link to merch, put their entire discographies up, and you can find great stuff just by browsing Bandcamp genre pages. Oh yeah and artists actually get paid decently for their work.

In essence, Bandcamp maintains the openness and ease of use essential to a healthy internet music culture while still giving artists their due.

It’s not perfect (make sure to buy when you can and go see artists live, that’s where the $$$ is at), and it makes a lot of sense to still be wary of the impact that free streaming has on artists and on music as a whole. But if Bandcamp can be successful doing what it does and we keep progressing in the direction that sites like this are pointing, I have a lot of faith that music can still survive and thrive on the internet.

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New Music, Reviewed Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper - Panda Bear

by A Noah Harrison

Panda Bear, aka Noah Lennox, one quarter of legendary freak pop group Animal Collective, returns with his fifth solo album, Panda Bear Meets the Grip Reaper.

Given the YouTube adverts and the fact that Pitchfork publishes an article every time Lennox scratches his nose, the internet was definitely ready for this one. Last October saw the release of the single, “Mr. Noah,” which appears on the album. With its descending vocal line and squirming rhythm section, paired with a photographically impressive music video, “Mr. Noah” gave us high hopes for the upcoming album. A month later came the release of another album single, “Boys Latin,” along with its pleasurable animated trip accompaniment. While even more reductive than the previous single, the song works because of its compelling melody. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the bulk of this album.

Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper is packed with repetitive synthpop tunes with forgettable hooks and several purposeless interludes. One high-ish point of the album, the seven-minute “Come to Your Senses,” could easily be streamlined into a three-and-a-half minute song. And many of the three-and-a-half minute songs could be streamlined into zero minute songs. As the more organic component of AC, Lennox doesn’t set course for worlds as distant as Avey Tare’s, and maybe this is his problem. While his electronic flourishes generally add to the music, much of the material still comes across as soft and ineffectual, not unlike parts of Merriweather Post Pavilion.

Let me be clear: This is not a bad album, and it certainly rewards repeated listens. While it’s hard to dismiss Panda Bear’s production abilities, one should expect far more from this seasoned psychedelic soldier child. Between this record and Tare’s 2014 one-off, Enter the Slasher House, the Collective’s members have proven their capabilities as solo artists but have reminded us of the true necessity of their collaboration.

RATING: 3 ACID HITS AND 1 OF 25I

No Cities to Love - Sleater-Kinney

by Gisell Calderón

Sleater-Kinney’s No Cities to Love is up against a tidal wave of high expectations, as with every so-called “reunion album.” I have to admit, however, as someone who grew up listening to the band, I approached the album with tentative excitement. The title of the album is very telling of the position the band is in: technically concrete, but threatened by obscurity in its vastness.

The album opens up with an explosion of sound. “Price Tag” is coaxed out by a Carrie Brownstein’s funky fuzz of a guitar riff, accompanied by Corin Tucker’s battle-cry of a voice and Janet Weiss’ powerful drums. The song introduces the tone of the album, reminiscent of Call The Doctor. However, the energy is more comparable to their debut: raw, chunky and filled with energy at prospect of something promising. Songs like “Fangless” and “No Anthems” are restless as Brownstein chomps away on guitar. The closest thing to the poignant power ballad a la Sleater-Kinney is “Hey Darling,” as Brownstein sings “sometimes the shout of the room / makes me feel so alone” followed by a melodic babbling. In “New Wave,” Tucker wails, “It’s not a new wave / It’s just you and me.”

The message is clear: the band is looking to please no one, nor are they looking to start any sort of a movement - they merely corner the listener and demand attention. There are definitely more exciting sounds in their previous repertoire. Although No Cities to Love does not present anything particularly radical in terms of music, the album is as raw and energetic as ever, presenting a strong argument that Sleater-Kinney is here to stay. The album is certainly worth a listen.

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Mr. Face - Ty Segall

by Sam Watson

The prolific Mr. Segall’s latest release is brief, but its four tracks manage to encapsulate everything that makes him such a unique artist. Segall effortlessly blends blues, garage rock, and 60’s psychedelic riffs to create a sound that’s eclectic yet completely natural sounding. It’s obvious that Segall is steeped in classic rock genres, but his real talent lies in seamlessly combining them to create something decidedly contemporary. The opening track starts out with a bluesy, laid-back rhythm, before suddenly kicking into gear around the two minute mark and ramping up into a punk rock blowout. Really, that’s probably the most satisfying aspect of Segall’s work: he completely eschews traditional song structure, so you never know which direction a track will take you. Captain Beefheart-style, he summons order out of disorder, always at the edge of sonic breakdown.

Mr. Face also strikes a nice balance between signal and noise. Segall’s work has always incorporated lo-fi and noise rock elements, lending that distinctive ‘fuzzy’ sound. This EP is no exception, but the sound is clearer and less dissonant than many of his earlier recordings. Overall, the low fidelity complements Segall’s classic rock aesthetic and makes tracks like “The Picture” sound like they could be straight out of the 60s. That said, part of me wishes that Segall would record a totally clear, un-fuzzed album. He has the guitar chops to produce some really gorgeous sounds, but the low fidelity can make that hard to appreciate.

Overall, Mr. Face is a solid entry into 2015. Ty Segall packs a lot into four tracks, but it still leaves me wanting more. Here’s hoping for a full LP on the horizon.

Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole

by Cisco Castro

After the successful 2013 Born Sinner release, J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive offers a work worth talking about. The North Carolina-born rapper attempts to give an honest narrative of his youth and college days with the title alone implying a trip to the past. Indeed, songs like “Wet Dreamz”, and “A Tale of Two Citiez” speak to his past experiences of keeping it in the pants and fantasizing the drug trade. I think the production was well executed with nice samplings that spark interest. However, the album lacked the sort of cohesiveness that makes albums like GKMC shine. Cole offers strong political statements in songs like “January 28th” and if you listen to “GOMD” while walking to class, you can’t help but swagger your way through campus. Forest Hills Drive feels very conversational, which I actually love. I’ve felt that good hip-hop should sound just as good if someone took out the beats and spoke the lyrics to you like you were both talking in a coffee shop. But the tracks are good only on their own as the entire album doesn’t leave you with a clear message. I also did not appreciate Cole placing himself above Slick Rick on the second track. Just...no. Forest Hills Drive further confirms my suspicion that Cole is close to Drake-level SadBoys status, which is not a diss whatsover. All in all, it’s worth a listen and I genuinely enjoyed it, but his best is still yet to come. 3.5 / 5 STARZ

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American Beauty/American Psycho - Fall Out Boy

by Bob Otsuka

Chances are, if you’re the kind of person reading No Fidelity, you’ve known what you thought about the new Fall Out Boy album before Pete Wentz even started writing its first words. And that’s really a shame, since American Beauty/American Psycho is probably the first Fall Out Boy album worth listening to in six years. I’m not trying to say that the album is an artsy experience, but it is good at being what it is—and what it is is some of the hypest pop music of their entire career.

American Beauty/American Psycho walks in the same electronic-influenced pop rock footsteps of its predecessor, Save Rock and Roll, but as a whole the album feels much more cohesive. If Save Rock and Roll was the band trying to rediscover their sound after a five-year hiatus, American Beauty/American Psycho is them completely nailing their new direction. Perhaps in some ways the new album is even more etrenched in its pure-pop roots than the latter, making extensive use of sampling all over it. Even more impressive is the intelligence, discretion, and unlikely sources of these samples: “Fourth of July” might owe its backbone to Son Lux’s “Lost It To Trying,” but the end result is something that’s uniquely Fall Out Boy, not at all coming across as a ripoff. Elton John piano stomp meets surf rock track “Uma Thurman” integrates the theme from The Munsters amongst references to cult movie classic Pulp Fiction.

Admittedly, the only thing keeping me coming back to Fall Out Boy long after I left middle school is Patrick Stump’s musicianship—and I’m happy to say that American Beauty/American Psycho is an excellent showcase of his composition skills and perhaps the best vocal performance he’s ever offered. If you’re only going to listen to one song from this album, it should be its title track, an absolutely bangin’, clearly Elvis-inspired electronic rock jam complete with disco drums, punk guitar, and growly, R&B-esque vocal delivery from Patrick. High-energy-marching-bandgang vocals like “I’m an American,” arranged in such a way to conveniently sound a little like “I’m un-American,” show that Pete’s witty lyrics also haven’t quite been exhausted yet, though it’s clear he’s getting a bit tired.

This isn’t to say that the album is without its faults, of course. It’s hard to ignore that some of the songs, like the closer, “Twin Skeleton’s (Hotel In NYC),” are a bit forgettable. But all in all, the good, like the anthemic, boxing movie horns on “Irresistible” and power-pop ballad “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” outweigh the bad. For anyone still interested in modern pop music, to dismiss American Beauty/American Psycho without listening to it just “because it’s Fall Out Boy” is entirely your loss.

Fashion Week - Death Grips

by Ben Wedin The existence of Death Grips is something like a performance art piece. With constant attempts to subvert norms concerning genre and what it means to be a musical artist in the 21st century (dick pic album covers, cancelling shows, etc.), the only consistency of the project is that they like to try and keep you guessing. Fashion Week is an extension of this, an “instrumental” album from a group that is so closely connected to the menacing percussion of MC Ride’s voice. Zach Hill is probably smirking to himself about his anti-hype hyping, naming each track “Runway [letter]” to spell out “JENNYDEATHWHEN,” raising additional questions about the upcoming jenny death. The music itself is definitely in the same vein as the Björk-sampled niggas on the moon, where the dank concrete basement of Exmilitary has been replaced by glitched out neon adrenaline. All of the tracks knock hard, but the organ and synths are often bright and playful, turning the first “Runway N” into some amazing version of a Final Fantasy soundtrack that could probably be played on a runway. These moments are stacked together with the familiar low frequency dub in “Runway W,” or screeching techno in “Runway D.” The result is something that is energizing and entertaining but not particularly compelling. Without MC Ride at the wheel, or any other kind of emotional arc, the album becomes nothing more than a set of really awesome instrumentals. That’s probably totally fine for Death Grips, who will take any criticism with a smile and middle finger (and will retweet it too). With the final, maybe not final, Death Grips album soon to be released, Fashion Week is aware of its existence as extra material. But hey, it’s free and fun as hell, so why are you complaining?

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Head to Head: Round 7

James Blake Ian Mercer

James Blake David Pickart

Illustration by Sam Watson Due to James Blake’s reputation as a highly exI feel a strange brand of respect for James Blake that is much like my opinion of the show Twin Peaks. Both perimental artist, I started listening to his debut album pieces of art never make any compositional or structural with the expectation of having my musical sensibilities sense, but the sheer creativity of their absurdity is enough challenged. This turned out to be a fair judgment - in terms of instrumentation and structure, the album is into keep me from turning away.

Take, for example, “The Wilhelm Scream” and deed full of curveballs. What I didn’t expect, however, “I Never Learnt to Share.” Throughout these tracks, the was that an album as experimental as James Blake could smallest kernels of R&B melody are ceaselessly repeat- also be so mind-numbingly boring.

The album’s tedium stems from two main sources: ed while James slowly builds straight-up strange beats underneath. The former becomes a reverb-soaked echo Blake’s repetitive songwriting style and his unwillingness chamber while the latter becomes a deformed fist-pump- to depart from his signature sleepy production aesthetic. ing techno banger, but the completely-at-odds gospel In terms of songwriting, to quote Buster Bluth, it seems vocals from the start are never abandoned. This struc- like James Blake “gets off on being withholding.” He has turing (coupled with utterly unpredictable percussion) a beautiful voice, but he chops and re-pitches it beyond shouldn’t work in theory, but its underlying creativity in recognition. He’s a talented musician, but he sticks mostly to stabbing out dissonant chords on an electric piano. execution keeps the project sincerely enjoyable.

On the vocal side, the album employs some of Likewise, he could probably write a full verse melody, but the best auto-tune that I can think of. This praise isn’t he usually just writes a few bars and repeats them for sevexactly difficult to earn, but it should still be recognized eral minutes.

Blake’s production style also wears out its welbecause of the fact that Blake is one of the few to have found the secret to its use: moderation. He’ll layer many come quite quickly on the album. The atmosphere of vocal tracks on top of one another, but only auto-tune hazy synths and glitched-out drum machines works well one or two. It’s an effective tactic that gives his voice res- for the first few tracks, but the rest of the album is just more of the same. I wouldn’t mind it as much if the music onance without descending into T-Pain territory.

Sadly, the album doesn’t have much of an arc to was a little bit more lively, but each track drags along at it. The best tracks are the first three; there are four weak the same sluggish pace. This patient rhythm is integral interludes, and by the end, it’s lost quite a bit of steam. to Blake’s sound, but it makes it hard for me to enjoy his Luckily, the singles are capable of standing alone, so music for more than a few songs at a time. don’t be afraid to cherry-pick.

My Verdict: Pacing aside, James Blake is a strong R&B? Electronic? Gospel? album that is worth a listen, if only because of the ineffability of its genre and originality of its style. Labeling it is pointless, so just let James’ croon wash over you.

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My Verdict: Although James Blake’s style is undoubtedly unique, it’s not one that can sustain my interest for the duration of a full album. As one of the slowest-moving records I know, I’m tempted to try listening to James Blake when I need help falling asleep. I’d just be worried about what sort of dreams I’d have.

By Gisell Calderón

By the time you read this, Sleater-Kinney will have already released their much anticipated album, No Cities to Love. On hiatus since 2006, the band’s quiet announcement (paired with the release of a deluxe-box set of the trio’s discography) have caused the biggest geek-out in the punk rock world. With the lightning-speed release of their energetic repertoire in the ‘90s and early 2000s, the band’s new album is long overdue. Of course, as with every instance of The Big Comeback, there are those who will question the efficacy of the album. However, fans and music critics are not the only ones questioning the band’s long-term intentions - the band members have admitted to treading equally uncertain grounds.

For those unfamiliar with the band, let me acquaint you with these tell-tale furies: Sleater-Kinney formed in 1994 in the fertile Olympia, Washington music scene as the brainchild of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. With their foot already in the door from their riot grrl band, Heavens to Betsy, and Brownstein’s queercore project, Excuse 17, the duo refocused their energies into the promising Sleater-Kinney. Their first self-titled EP, released with then-drummer Lora McFarlane, acted as an echo of the final days of the riot grrl movement, with thrashing guitar riffs and monotone vocals angstily juxtaposed with Tucker’s wailing howls. The album displayed a raw energy punctuated by strange guitar riffs allowed by the set up of the band: both Tucker and Brownstein on conversing guitars, complemented by McFarlane’s drumming. This was continued and honed in 1996’s Call the Doctor.

Their song “I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone” challenged the male-dominated mindset of the music world.

The toned and iron-willed Janet Weiss later joined the band as their final and permanent drummer. Having finally found someone to match their energy, Weiss acted as the solid backbone of the band, a nuance reflected in their fast-paced 1997 album Dig Me Out: “I definitely try to bridge a gap between them,” she said. “Look at their personalities — they play like that. Corin is so solid and steady, and she does have pretty good timing, and Carrie is all over the place, chomping at the bit. It’s not one of them by themselves, it’s the two of them together that’s making the spark. And I have to somehow find out how to accentuate that spark and make it a fire, to ignite it.”

The trio churned out albums with incredible speed. The Hot Rock (1999), All Hands on the Bad One (2000), and One Beat (2002) witnessed an evolving frantic sound. In addition, their repertoire soon became peppered with more pensive meditations that interrogated sexism, politics and life as a punk rock dame (re: “Ballad of a Ladyman” and “Hot Rock”). Weiss says, “It’s hard to be a woman. You will see it’s very male-dominated, still. I mean, there’s just still not a lot of women in those top slots, even though they have earned it completely. It’s not like things are really that different, even though some of the best work is being made by women.”

Sleater-Kinney’s willpower and desire for independence, rather than fame and money, elevated the three as iconic women in punk rock. After a few years of playing arena concerts, the group took to the woods and recorded their most commercially successful album (unsurprisingly), The Woods. Despite this success, the band suddenly announced an indefinite hiatus in 2006.

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2015 and, as fast as their fiery disappearance in 2006, Sleater-Kinney returns. “It felt like we had a story to tell,” says Weiss in a Reddit AMA interview. “We felt compelled to explore how to tell that story.” It is clear that these three take their storytelling very seriously, as evident in their first move as a reunited band - the release of a remastered discography, appropriately titled Starting Together. As the songwriting process for No Cities to Love began, the three found themselves wanting to create something “that had a life force to it, and had blood and guts in it, and wasn’t enervated in any way, and didn’t feel dragging, and didn’t feel like a victory lap.”

Brownstein says, “I didn’t want it to feel casual, I

Illustrations by Madeline Garcia

The years saw various individual projects from Tucker, Brownstein and Weiss. The demure Brownstein surprised the world with her sense of humor as she wrote and starred in the IFC hit sketch show, Portlandia. Weiss became a go-to session drummer, working with Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, The Shins, Elliot Smith and many more. And Tucker went on to front The Corin Tucker Band as well as working with husband-filmmaker Lance Bangs. However, there was a screaming absence punctuated by a Sleater-Kinney-sized hole in the musical realm.

Brownstein commented that, “after we stopped playing, I was more aware that we did not have clear predecessors or successors… there was

really no one like this band. It’s like a language that was going extinct.”

And it’s true. There is no one really like Sleater-Kinney. The knotty interplay of wailing vocals and slicing guitar riffs cemented by Weiss’ energetic punk drumming were unmatched and more than well-received. Their confrontational sound, filled with Corin Tucker’s beautifully abrasive bellows, demands to be heard. This band is important. According to Ms. Brownstein, “it always sounds like you’re fighting against something. But if we’re doing it right, we’re fighting together against the same thing.”

And thus, dear reader, here we are. It is 9

didn’t want it to feel like a weekend expedition.

The stakes had to feel high.” With such a large fanbase (one which includes Brownstein’s co-star Fred Armisen), the stakes are certainly high.

After months of quiet songwriting and recording sessions, appearances on television shows, interviews, and general media build-up, No Cities To Love was released on Tuesday, Jan. 20 (you can read my review of it on page 4). Fans are sure to expect a reiteration of Sleater-Kinney in its days of glory. However, in the classic SK style, the three have absolutely no desire to blaze forward in familiar territory and I certainly look forward to hear what they have to say.

By Gracie McNeely

This article does not exalt or support One Direction’s music style or form in any shape whatsoever. I want to get that out there so you don’t flip the page while rolling your eyes. I don’t think One Direction is the best band in the world—far from it, actually. Yes, I have all four deluxe albums, have watched This Is Us (their documentary) multiple times, own the autobiography and its audiobook and yes, ok, yeah I bought a shirt. Whatever. I like them a lot. But instead of talking about their music, I’m going to talk about their popularity.

Even if you’ve never heard one of their songs, even if you’ve never seen a picture of any of them, you have probably heard of the band One Direction.

They have become so popular in just four years, and I keep wondering why. If you haven’t heard of them, let me give you the backstory.

of their looks, charm, and potential. Eventually, they were all cut after the second round of performances in the “Boys” category (solo male contestants).

Simon Cowell, allegedly then made a decision “in about 10 minutes. Why don’t we put these five boys into a group?” Soon after, One Direction formed, performing only covers on the show, such as “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay and “Forever Young” by Alphaville. When they reached the finals, they were defeated by Rebecca Ferguson, which, supposedly, meant the end for the band.

Let’s rewind a little bit. While the boys journeyed on The X Factor, their fan base kept increasing. Thanks to social media, boyband-crazed fans would tweet pictures and videos, they’d update their blogs and made it their obsession. After their very first performance on The X Factor, crowds of girls swarmed outside of the studio, waiting to catch a glimpse of the five boys. Cowell states in their documentary, This Is Us, “I thought at the time, ‘This is unusual. This just doesn’t happen after one performance.’” With the help of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and every other social media platform, the group of devoted One Direction fans then spread throughout Europe, bringing the United States along with them, and eventually infected the entire world.

By mid-2011, people around globe were obsessed with One Direction, and they had yet to release a record.

X-FACTOR

In 2010, all five members of One Direction— Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson—auditioned for The X Factor (Britain’s version of American Idol, essentially). At the time, they were between the ages of 16 and 18, all dreaming of becoming successful artists. In my opinion, all of their auditions sucked (except for Liam’s).

They were put through regardless, probably because

One Direction lose to Rebecca Ferguson on the finale of The X Factor (2010). From left to right: Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Simon Cowell, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles.

ALBUM SUCCESSES

Ok, I’m getting off track.

In September 2011, they released “What Makes You Beautiful” and shit hit the fan. In November 2011, they released their debut album titled Up All Night and began their global tour in December. The album became number one in ten countries in just a week after its release, including the US, making One Direction the first UK group in US chart history to become number one with their debut album. Keep in mind, this is quantity, not quality. I’m not saying their album was amazing London’s O2 Arena during One Direction’s Take Me Home Tour in 2013, (in fact, Up All Night is pretty which drew crowds of about 20,000 people. awful compared to their other three albums), but it sold really deny that these boys are at least a little bit cute. well.

But as I fell deeper and deeper into the black hole In November 2012, they released their secthat is 1DAF , I realized that I’m simply impressed ond album, Take Me Home. It topped the charts in by not only the five members of One Direction, but 35 countries. The original dates for their Take Me also their marketing team. With their actual talent, Home Arena Tour sold out in hours—around 1,000 involvement in the songwriting process, hard work, tickets a minute—so they added more dates, totaland how they market the band, I can’t help but reing 129 shows spanning from February to November spect One Direction, their producers, and marketers 2013. Three weeks later, they released their third for doing their jobs well. album, Midnight Memories—surprise!—topping When I first discovered the band, I thought, the charts once again and becoming the first group “Yes, they’re charming and pretty, but it’s probably to debut at number one with its first three albums, all mixed really well or altered so they sound better making Billboard 200 history. In April 2014, they than they actually are.” I hadn’t known they were on commenced their third tour, the Where We Are StaThe X Factor until I googled them. As it turns out, dium Tour, and became the first artists to sell out the they can actually sing live—and decently, I should Rose Bowl Stadium, and did so three times in a row. say. This is something that boy bands in the 1990s In November 2014, they released their fourth album, and early 2000s had some trouble with. The five cleverly titled FOUR (yes, including the underline), members didn’t begin breathtakingly, but after some jumping to number one on iTunes in 67 countries. vocal coaching, most critics agree that the boys have They will be going on their fourth tour, also brilliantly talent (we can discuss Louis’ timbre another day). titled On the Road Again Tour starting this February. What’s also interesting is that the five members are taking more initiative in the songwriting process, now. Boybands are notoriously known for being very WHAT’S YOUR POINT? produced and controlled—their looks, their songs, If you’re still with me, thank you! I know One their interviews, etc. One Direction has vowed to be Direction is labeled as a “boy band” which a lot of more genuine, and Liam has even stated that the people disapprove of because it’s considered mainguys played a larger part in the songwriting process stream or childish. for their newest album, FOUR. This type of persoAfter falling in love with each of the boys, I na—“we’re down-to-Earth,” “we’re normal guys,” wondered why I was so obsessed with them (per“we have quirky characteristics” — is the band’s way sonally, I’m a sucker for Niall—that Irish accent). For starters it was their looks and charm. Even if you are of diverging from the typical boyband narrative and is more than likely encouraged, if not started, by so absolutely repulsed by the male sex, you can’t

their marketing team. Zayn smartest decisions, however, puts it so eloquently in was the group’s most recent their documentary: “When music video, “Night Changes.” people say, ‘You’re in a The entire video depicted what boyband,’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I it would be like to go on a date am, but I’m in a cool boywith each member of the band. band.’ So I’m like, okay, For Zayn, it’s a nice dinner at whatevs.” an elegant restaurant, for Liam, They are also churnit’s a fun night at a carnival, ing out albums ridiculously for Louis, a drive in a classic fast, while balancing tours, convertible, for Niall, a sweet promotions, and time for serenade in a log cabin, and themselves. Four albums finally, for Harry, a charming esand four tours in four capade to the ice rink. Someyears? You don’t have to thing comical goes wrong on like their music to admit each of these dates, emphasizthat’s pretty impressive, if ing the song’s lyric that, “Even not, exhausting. You may when the night changes / It will have heard some critics or never change me and you.” media sources compare Every Directioner has a favorite them to The Beatles. member, and through Zayn Malik and Niall Horan in the “Night Changes” video this video, they can Obviously, and even One Direction knows personally experience this, they are not talking about their musical style. boys’ looks and charm, even if it’s for a small amount The Beatles are exponentially better musically than of time. That’s a pretty brilliant move on the mar1D, in many people’s opinions (including my own). keting team’s part. They certainly know what they’re What they are comparing is the trans-atlantic success doing. both bands underwent in just four years.

I don’t expect you to like One Direction now.

I also believe the marketing team deserves I don’t expect you to respect them now or suddenly more recognition than they receive. They aren’t want to listen to their music. If there is one thing I’d just some boy band that became popular randomlike you to take away from this article it’s the group’s ly—they’re the underdogs. They all got cut. They impressive achievements. They may not have the formed a band. The band got cut. But they pursued best albums out there, but they work hard, respect their dreams! And the fans were with them the entire and appreciate their fans wholeheartedly, and absotime. Cue hopeful music. They’re not even just the lutely love what they’re doing. While I’m thoroughly underdogs. They are underdogs that came from impressed with what they have accomplished in such working-class families, so they actually have some a short amount of time and at such a young age, I knowledge about the also love their music beworld outside of fame, and cause it’s really fucking fun it gives their fans someto dance to and they’re thing else to relate to, super duper cute. That’s highlighting their down-towhy I’m 1D AF. earth persona.

The marketing team also knows how to manipulate their main demographic: females ages 16-68.

Their merchandise ranges from One Direction duvet covers to One Direction bikes to One Direction After successfully taking over the Earth, the boys Formatting and Graphics soda cans. One of their are blasting off.

by Roberto Nieves

December 9, 2013 Subject: Fuckin hell mate

“Hummingbird” A Serialized Short Story Part V

Cruz,

Mate can you explain to me why the last time I heard from ya was nearly three fucking months ago? Are we not partners, man? Do we not have a deal? Cause lately I been sitting on my hands a lot waiting for you to come around again and be brilliant, and I’m losin feelin in my fingers mate. So, let me in. Let me know what’s going on.

Don’t pull this tortured artist isolation crap on me. Let’s fuckin work together mate, like we used to.

Your fucking producer, Derrick “Why the fuck am I in the dark” Avery

December 13, 2013 Subject: Re: Fuckin hell mate Dear Derrick, Please calm your tits.

December 13, 2013 Subject: Re: Re: Fuckin hell mate

The one who makes you money, Hummingbird

Cruz,

Mate here’s the fucking thing of it. I’m back and forth London to LA to that freezing fucking shithole they call Chicago looking for somebody to fucking make an album that the studio wants to sell. And let me be clear, I can’t find shit. With all the other tone deaf producers out there looking for their own fucking T-Swift to make them bajillions, it’s difficult to sort through all the shit and find some quality music. That’s all I’m sayin mate, just like, fucking make something brilliant or whatever, you know? And we can meet back here in LA and put it on, get the market thirsty again. Put together a fucking tour and we can all fucking get on with our lives eh?

That’s all I’m sayin really. The last few were excellent. We got 10 years of good partnership beside us and you are primed to fucking make it big like One Fucking Republic or whatever. Just bring some quality shit in here and lets get back out there doing what we all love. That’s the thing of it.

That’s all I’m sayin really.

-DA December 23, 2013 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Fuckin hell mate Dear Derrick, The songs are written. Will bring a demo to LA in January. Would also like you to meet Curtis. The boy’s got real talent. I think you will like him.

Piss off, Cruz December 24, 2013 Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Fuckin hell mate

by Henry Southwick

Merry fucking Christmas.

-DA

How to Make Electronic Music:

By Cisco Hayward

So, you’ve been on Beatport and you have decided that you want some of that sweet EDM $$$$$. Who doesn’t? In this article, I’ll teach you the basic tools of the EDM trade, and then you too will become like Skrillex, or Deadmau5, or Avicii, or Bauuer, or whichever EDM idol you aspire to copy.

STEP 1: GET FL STUDIO FL Studio is the premiere live electronic music production software. Now, as of writing, thepiratebay.se is down, so what you are gonna want to do is go to google, type in “the pirate bay”, and then hit enter. Click the link that says “oldpiratebay.org”, and type in “FL Studio 11” in the search bar. Make sure to arrange the list by seeders (by clicking the “S”), so that your download will be quickest. In my experience, the [ChingLiu] version is the best.

Figure 1: a quick search for “fl studio” on oldpiratebay.org should reveal this!

STEP 2: SELECT TEMPO Now that you have got your DAW installed, the next step is to select the tempo. This is very important and not at all arbitrary. You are gonna want to make your tempo a familiar and accessible number so that it is easy for people who are more talented than you to remix it.

I recommend 136 BPM, which is the tempo of the song “Darude – Sandstorm” by the band “Darude – Sandstorm.”

STEP 3: MAKE THE SONG Just like, put some kicks in there, its fine, don’t worry about it.

Figure 2: The completed song.

This is sure to get the club pumpin’!

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STEP 4: MASTERING Once your song is done, you can start mastering. Mastering is a complicated process that can’t really be boiled down into a single list of actions. Each song is unique, and what you do in the mastering process is heavily tied to what has happened during the mixing and recording phase. However, since we are working within EDM, there are a couple of general rules that we can follow.

The first rule is to remember your audience. Who is going to be listening to your tracks? EDM is a genre known for its emphasis on bass. Thus, we are going to want to make the low end really *pop*. In FL Studio, go to your Master Channel, and put a “Parametric EQ 2” on the first FX insert.

Next you are gonna want to go to band 4, and slowly drag it all of the way to the bottom. Do this for bands 5, 6, and 7 as well. This will take away some of the harshness in the high frequencies, and really allow the low end to ~pop~.

Figure 4: This is what your multiband compressor should like!

Figure 3: This is what your Parametric EQ 2 should look like!

The second rule is to remember the feeling.

What is the most important part of the song? What do you really want audiences to feel? You want the audience to really hear the thump of the kick and hiss of the snare and the pulse of the synths. On the second effects insert, place a “Multiband Compressor.” In each section, find the knob that says “ratio” and turn it all the way full, to the “20:1” setting. This will really allow each instrument to punch its way through the mix, and really take the spotlight.

Now you might be saying “why did my mix get so quiet?” Don’t worry, that’s all part of the plan. But before we fix that, let’s introduce the third rule. The third rule is to think about the sonic space. The master channel is a canvas, and you want to fill it with all sorts of colorful sonic textures and colors. You want to create a world for the listener to envelope themselves in. In the industry, there is an effect called “Reverb.” Place a “Fruity Reverb 2” on effects inserts 3-7, and turn the decay time up on each one. This will give the music a real sense of sonic depth and sonic space, and really allow the mix to breathe.

Finally, we arrive at the Limiter. Limiters are the most important part of music, because they prevent clipping (and we certainly wouldn’t want that!) If you don’t already have a “Fruity Limiter” on the 8th effects insert, please place one there now. Make sure the “ceiling” parameter is set to 0dB. Then, take the gain parameter and max it out. Now we have regained all the volume we originally lost during the compression, and our mix is loud, phat, and really in your face.

STEP 5: UPLOAD!

Figure 5: This is what your effects chain on the master channel should be.

Congratulations! You have now become Deadmaymay5! If this guide wasn’t enough to get you started, you should probably just give up. Happy producing!

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The range of music explored here at NF falls pretty neatly into any basic indie music website’s year-end list. Even at our most esoteric, we’re still only capable of reaching /mu/core levels of eccentricity. We are pretty damn rudimentary, but what are we supposed to do about it? It isn’t our fault that we like our rock to be alternative, our pop to be indie, and our shoes to be gazed!

This essay is the product of two factors: first, a request from my mother (a professional cellist) that this publication include at least one article concerning orchestral music this year. Second, a desire emerging from within myself to write about at least one piece of music that hasn’t received BNM from Pitchfork. The fact that my taste seems to be that of a basic bitch is corroding the very root of my soul, and I’ve got to prove to our readers that their Managing Editor isn’t as boring as he has seemed throughout the last two volumes. Let’s get on with it: “Become Ocean” by John Luther Adams (no, not the second president “John Adams” or the sixth president “John Quincy Adams” or the other orchestral composer, “John Coolidge Adams”) is the most refreshingly new piece of orchestral music to be produced in the current century. This isn’t another forgettable entry into the canon of modern atonality that has reigned supreme over the last 70 years. It also isn’t an excessively experimental piece of “art music” that can only be appreciated by intellectuals in dark Berlin coffee houses.

The brilliance of the piece arises from the fact that there is a diverse array of per16

spectives from which to approach the piece, as well as a multitude of ways in which it can be interpreted. To demonstrate, and to get my mandatory once-per-issue citation of My Bloody Valentine out of the way, I liken “Become Ocean” to their classic song “Sometimes.” Both tracks consist of warring musical factions (amorphous vs. structured, diatonic vs. dissonant, et cetera). For example, “Sometimes” has no percussion, but its guitars are so insistently propulsive that it’s impossible to describe the song as shapeless. The same trick is used in the piece’s texture, where the harmonies are presented by two guitars: one impossibly slow and reverb-drenched, and the other choppy and bright. MBV mixes the disparate elements together in such a way that the song is fast, slow, distorted, and clear all at once.

“Become Ocean” is able to achieve this same effect via deeply creative instrumentation and structure. It is scored for a relatively standard orchestra, with the only notable additions being four harps, two marimbas, piano, celesta, and a percussionist that handles bass drum, tam-tam, and suspended cymbal responsibilities. On stage, the brass, woodwinds, and strings are

separated into distinct ensembles, and each is assigned a different percussionist. The piano and timpani are placed in the center, as their action is perpetual and their lines move separately from the rest of the action. The music is 630 bars long, with each ensemble playing a different repeating motion. The brass motion is 70 bars long and is repeated 9 times.

The woodwind motion is 42 bars long and is repeated 15 times. The strings motion is 30 bars long and is repeated 21 times.

The dynamic contour of each motion follows a “< >” shape, meaning that each segment crescendos to a climax in volume before returning to near nothingness in a palindromic fashion. The brass motion is by far the longest, the string motion the shortest, and the woodwinds falling somewhere in between. John Luther Adams has arranged the position and length of each swell in such a way that they periodically align with one another.

The strings sometimes align with the brass, the brass sometimes aligns with the woodwinds, and the woodwinds sometimes align with the strings. There is only one point in the piece’s 42-minute duration where all three ensembles climax at the same exact moment.

If your stereo is up to the task, the torrential downpour of mighty brass, searing strings, and unflinching woodwinds (when heard at a high enough volume) will overwhelm your body with shivers and frisson.

The piece is a perfect palindrome, and so after this central climax, the waters all slowly recede back the way they came until all three ensembles converge on the abyss. Be sure to refer to my diagram on the next page if my words were not satisfying in describing the structure of the piece.

The brilliance of the music isn’t just a result of its perfectly paced structure. The careful ratios of JLA’s swells wouldn’t be effective if each individual swell weren’t musically stimulating. The composer mixes wide, rich, and slow pedal chords with rapid, consistent, and intertwining harp and marimba arpeggios, all to great effect. The shimmer of four harps and two marimbas cascading over one another is an example of the variety of ways in which the piece can be absorbed. You can sit back and let it wash over you or lean forward and try to unfold the intricate lines as they dance around and through one another.

The intellectual pleasure of these technical details isn’t important compared to the way that the piece actually makes me feel.

Music journalists are notorious for writing way too many sentences in the “[adjective] yet [adjective], [adjective] yet [adjective]” style.

Unfortunately, this really is the best format for expressing what I’m trying to say. Never has a piece of music made me feel real fear while also instilling awe and respect for the infinite power of nature. I love how the waves grow 17

and grow, and just when you think the sound will crest, it grows even further until you feel like you can actually see the gargantuan tidal wave extending far above you. People who have watched the water world scene in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar will know what I’m talking about. The central climax of “Become Ocean” would’ve been perfect musical accompaniment for the scene.

This sense of terror is unique in the world of orchestral music, but not in the way you’d expect. Composers have written scary music for centuries. The pieces range from the “2spooky4me” tactics of Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op. 70, No.1 (more commonly known as “The Ghost”) to the actually terrifying strings in Penderecki’s “Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima.” While pieces like these can effectively execute their intentions in stimulating frightened emotions, they all rely on dissonance and “creepy” chords as the source of their emotional effects. “Become Ocean” transcends this long tradition by creating its terror with unique orchestral tools while avoiding the traditional means of invoking terror by using dissonance. There aren’t any Jaws references or other antics: just crushing, overwhelming instrumentation and smart pacing. The sense of dread inherent to this music was certainly a goal of the composer from the outset; just read the following inscription, written by JLA, that ap-

pears inside a CD copy of the piece: “Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. Today, as the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans face the prospect that we may once again, quite literally, become ocean.”

John Luther Adams has miraculously written a piece that conjures images of the apocalypse without using a single minor chord or dissonant interval. That is the true beauty of “Become Ocean.”

But this is all just talk. In the end, you just need to hear it. Open a Spotify, iTunes, or even a Youtube (yep, it’s legally on there) browser and search the title. The piece is best when it is as loud as possible, so if you are using speakers, make sure that your next door neighbor isn’t one of those heinous “bang-on-the-walls” types that are so prevalent here at Carleton. The Seattle Symphony’s interpretation of the piece, conducted by Ludovic Morlot, is the only recording available at this time, but luckily it’s quite high fidelity and features a faithful, dynamically perfect performance from the ensemble. The piece has since won a Pulitzer Prize and the Seattle recording went on to receive numerous awards. Hopefully this newfound hype will encourage orchestras to program it into their next seasons, as I imagine that experiencing this piece live could be the highest summit that orchestral music has ascended to this side of the year 2000.

Portraits by Victoria Dan

J-Kwon Ying Yang Twins

20

Down AKA Kilo

Nelly Furtado

Lil’ Jon

Flo Rida

Snoop Dogg

MF DOOM Usher

21

You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Get Interviewed aN interviwe with da man, da legend, da rapper.....VIPER

by Cisco “da beez kneez” Haywire and David “where am i” DeMark No Fidelity: I’ve noticed you have hundreds of thousands of albums on Spotify. How do you do it?

Viper: Man just hard work you know, working in the studio! I’m working on an album right now with a dude named Cali Cash Flow. He’s doing five and I’m doing five: we doing five together. And I’m working on an album right now, The Jaminiest Album You Ever Heard.

I’m doing two versions of it, a regular version and a chopped and screwed version, so that’s two albums right there. All my music is original music, I just work hard. I’m blessed because I have my own studio at home, so it’s very cost effective for me. I can do 10 or 20 songs in one day. Because of the way that I rap, and I’ve got so much material. When I was in jail I wrote like 500 songs, man, lyrics for 500 hundred songs, and I dip into those when I am doing stuff. A lot of product, and you know I make my own beats, I can make a beat in ten minutes and flow on it in five, and then before you know it you got a song in fifteen minutes, and then I go to the next one. If I set a goal to get two albums in one day I’ll do it. If you got three hundred and sixty five days in year and I’m making two albums a day, all new material, it shows how I’m doing it.

NF: That’s…That’s intense as fuck.

V: I set the Guinness Book of World Records, for the most albums released by an artist in a year, 2013.

NF: Wait, is that documented?

V: It’s not documented, but, if anybody out there wanna get it written let ‘em know.

NF: You said that when you were in the pen, you wrote a lot of lyrics. So that’s obviously influenced your work, but are there any other life experiences that you draw on to craft your sound or lyrics?

V: My music is constantly changing. When I first started in the rap game in the mid 90s, I was a freshman in college. And basically, you know, I was a lot younger, and I was in a situation where I was just trying to figure everything out, as far as the industry. I was enrolled in business school as well as real estate school, and I had all these different things going on. So, if you look at my music then, you’ll see that it’s changed from now. Now I am a lot more financially stable. So I don’t wanna say that my music back then was erratic, that’s a strong term, but it was more all over the place. And I think that relates to a lot of the younger people. I think that a lot of the

younger people can grab some of my older music and really relate to it. And they can relate to my new stuff, because it’s pertinent to what’s going on today. I address a lot of issues, that you see going on in the media, but I address it on a broad scale. No real specifics, I kind of just address it from my stand point and where I’m seeing things.

NF: You mentioned how you spent some time in college trying to figure out the music industry. What conclusions did you come to?

V: Well, I was very fortunate man. I came across a lot of luck. And in the industry, it takes a lot of persistence, and it takes a little luck too. You see these guys, with major labels with major deals, that’s like the handful out of the millions. The odds are extremely against you. It takes a constant work ethic. I was constantly just making music man, just all the time. Regardless of what I had going on, I would come to house and make a song. Come to the house and make a song. I tried to get at least one song a day. When I did that man, it kind of made it to where I was learning as I was going. I was fortunate because I learned Pro-Tools when I was real young. I played for my dad’s church, I was a pianist, an organist from age 7 to 17. I already had the playing ability to make music, but at the time in the early 2000s, there was not as much technology as there is now, so my music sounds a little different. Cuz back then, I was using a lot more keyboards, kind of had an R&B-ish swag. Now, it still has an R&B swag, but its going more to an R&B-Trap swag cuz I’m using fruity loops, and I’m using different things, a motif keyboard, bunch of different things. But it’s good to be a one-band-man so to speak, everything goes through me, I do my own tracks, I create my own tracks, I write my own lyrics, everything. Everything is Viper. So when you hear a Viper product, it’s good because you know that it was 100% me, and you know that there was no other outside influence, and you agree or not agree with what I’m saying based solely on me.

NF: What are you using now to produce? Have you been doing any sequencing inside FL or have you been configuring the Motif to drum things in via MIDI? V: Basically, what I’ll do is, I’ll play a patch on the motif, you know, keyboard. Then I’ll slide in through MIDI, as a line, and then sync in the fruity loops, because fruity loops is good for the beat part of it, your hihats, your

kicks, your snares. I got a MIDI keyboard, but it has a limited amount of sounds unless you buy a bunch of patches. So I just use the Motif, because it has a variety of sounds. But I still try to keep my sound basic man. In certain situations I’ll give a full fledged R&B swag rap track something that will really touch the heart as far as the depth of the chords and music. It all depends on the message I wanna bring on the song. On some songs, I won’t do that, because the human ears can hear certain things. If the track is really really good, it’s gonna hear the track. If the lyrics are really really good, it’s gonna hear the lyrics, so depending on what I got going on for that particular idea, I balance those two.

ten bucks at the beginning.

And also I wanna put something out there. We never talked about YCDESC (You’ll Cowards Don’t Even Smoke Crack), that’s kind of the album that put me out in the limelight. The whole purpose of the album was really to show the gritty side of hip-hop and the gritty side of rap, and actually I respect the fact now that people are seeing me as an artist and not a drug user or anything like that, because the whole purpose of the song, if you listen to it, it was about addressing anything that you have that you may be afraid of. Growing up as a kid I vowed to myself that I would never be afraid of anything. It was really kind of a slap at the industry to say “a lot of rappers are scared to say certain things, and I’m NF: You mentioned earlier that there were gonna be gonna say it because I can.” But at the same time, I’m a two versions of your new album. Is that something musician. So of course, and a lot of people don’t know you do often? about this, we underground artists have probably done V: It’s a new concept. The chopped and screwed move- about every drug there is to do, so it’s not about doing ment is really hot right now. I’m really tapping into that. drugs, it’s about sending a message: don’t be afraid of A lot of people will download a chopped and screwed anything out there man, because if you are, it’s gonna album just because it’s chopped and screwed and not make you a judgmental person. And sometime down even care about who the artist is. So when I heard that your life, you gonna have to deal with whatever it is you was happening with this particular genre, with these two afraid of. It’s best to deal with it while you are young and albums I really wanted to make that available. And that’s get through that, get past it, and move on in life, than the new one, The Jaminiest Album You Ever Heard, and to be afraid of it and not deal with it until later on in life then my new album that I’m dropping with Cali Cash when you late. You might not be mentally prepared to Flow is called Haters Make you Famous. Those two al- deal with it. bums, I’m working on right now. Actually, I’m gonna be Another reason I did that song was, when I was shooting 15 videos for The Jaminiest Album You Ever younger man, I was selling dope. That was part of my Heard and five with Cali Cash Flow, for the five tracks thing in college, to make extra money. And when we on our album that we putting out. I’m really trying to used to cook with my gang, the Five-Nine Boys, when we make myself a household name now. I’m at the point used to cook dope, we used to always check our batches where my royalties and the money I make from my other you know, you’d have to take a blow of it. Because if you businesses are getting big enough to where I can make were selling some BS on the street to a customer they some substantial moves. It’s really just a matter of time, will rat you out quick. So you have to check your batch to I really think my tipping point is gonna be the end of make sure you sellin’ a good batch. And I just made the 2015 to the middle of 2016. I think that’s when you’ll start song because, letting the people know, you know, don’t seeing me on MTV. be scared of it, you know what I’m saying? Do it and let it go. That’s why I never got a dope case. I always sell NF: Yeah, I saw that you had a little thing on MTV good dope. Good powder, good work, everything was Artists! It’s got videos for some of your tracks. How always good. So I never got a dope case. All these other did you get that? clowns out here, sitting in jail now, can’t get nothing, V: I’m gonna post all my videos on there, all fifteen can’t get assistance, cuz assistance has been taken from of them. Actually it’s 20. I’m gonna post all my videos them cuz they got a dope case. In Texas, once you get a there and on my Youtube channel, which is called “Rap- dope case, you can’t get any kind of assistance from the per Viper.” I’m gonna try to get atleast one or two on government. So, you know, I still got all of my stuff man.

WorldStar HipHop, but they’re really expensive. They Cuz I never caught a dope case, you feel me? are charging like 700 bucks to upload one video into their database for just that one day. It’s a decent investment because once your video is in the database, it’s NF: I feel you. in their search engine. But I’ve got an alternate website V: I’m a college graduate, I’ve got a business degree that I want everyone to know about, if you are an artist. from U of A, I’m a real estate agent, I’ve got a website It’s called “World Rap Star.” I’m trying to compete with called FreeMovers.com.

WorldStar HipHop. The website is not fully functional.

I’m gonna be letting artists upload their videos for under 23

NF: I was about to ask you about that: how’s that going? That’s the website where I actually got your number.

V: Yeah. FreeMovers.com, that’s my baby man. I started that concept back in the late 90s, and I had one competitor here in Texas, but he never decided to take his company public. I’m taking mine public.

NF: You mean like, publically traded stock?

V: Publically traded, yes, I’m going on the pink sheets. I should be trading by late March or early June. The goal is just to get the concept out there. FreeMovers.com, basically what we do is we are a full service real estate company, I am a real estate broker licensed in Texas. Basicallly, whenever you move from one place to another, if you let us, your realty company, move you, we will give a free or discounted move as part of the service. And that’s why I am gonna kill ‘em across the board. Because when they see a house that says “Free Movers Realty” in front of it, they see they are saving 2000 dollars by letting us move them for free, instead of letting another realty do it, like Remax or Century 21 do it.

That’s why I am going public, so I can really get it out there, nationwide, and do it like that. That’s my one company. I’ve got two other companies also. I’ve got a products company called “National Products Wholesome.” We deal all sorts of products, nationwide, to all sorts of entities, private and public. I also have the “National Services Corporation” where we deal in services across the board. So these three companies I’m taking public man, and the amount of money I’m gonna see from these businesses will dwarf this rap money. But I’m just doing everything to show that business is all combined man, it all works together.

NF: So once these three businesses get off the ground, how are you gonna balance that with making a song every day, and how have you balanced that in the past?

V: In the past it was pretty easy to make a song a day because it only takes me 15-20 minutes to make a song.

And now, as a CEO, time is kind of opening up for me.

Now, I’m getting royalty checks from rap money, nonstop every day while I sleep, I’m getting paid. Same thing with the real estate business. I got people that work for me, so I don’t have to do any of that. So really, I have more time to work on music than I did before. Now, when the point comes when I do go public, there’s gonna be some time, I gotta make some executive orders and discussions and meetings. That’s when the time will probably be a lot less. But I’m still gonna try to stick to that commitment, and depending on what I’m trying to do, the focus is still gonna be there for rap music, but I’ll just have more finances, to really put myself out there.

24

NF: Well, that quite frankly sounds awesome. Going back to YCDESC, why did you choose to use the word “You’ll” in the title?

V: “You’ll”…

NF: Cuz I think that one of the reasons that people passed that album around was because they were expecting it to be “Ya’ll cowards.” On the cover, though, you have it spelled “You’ll.” Was that an artistic choice?

V: Oh yeah, because the other “Ya’ll” would’ve been spelled with an “A.” NF: Yeah.

V: Yeah that was an artistic choice, I’m glad you caught that, not too many people do. Yeah man, it was just an attempt to say, “I’m not really trying to talk to a group of people, I’m trying to talk to the individual,” you know?

Even though they are collectively a part of that group, I’m really talking to the individual.

NF: I was looking through your discography, and I was listening to Cloudy Grinna, and the track “The Next Thang I New” sounds eerily similar to the track “Flawless” off another one of your albums from 2014, “Yo Main Luv Handcuffin Me.” Is that a remix? What’s up with that?

V: Yeah, I did some changes in the song, and the key is, I’m trying to get the listener to really listen to the different music because you are gonna get some songs that are similar but not identical. And so if you really listen to em, there’s gonna be something in the song that’s been changed. It’s gonna be something there that’s gonna flip your mind, you’re gonna be like “Oh Snap!” It’s kind of like reading the bible, man, every time you read it, you could’ve sworn that it said something totally different the last time you read it, and when you get back to the same part, it’s different. That’s how my music is. I’m making it to where it changes up. Every time you hear it, its gonna be something different.

NF: So have you been taking songs, tweaking them, and then releasing them on different albums all throughout your career?

V: For the most part it’s all new stuff. Every now and then, I’ll make a remix album, but for the most part its always new stuff.

NF: That’s a new decision that you’ve been making.

V: Yeah. Exactly.

NF: Did you ever expect to gain as much notoriety as you have, and what is it about your music that gave you that notoriety? Why do you think people wanna share Viper with their friends? Why do you think people like your music?

V: I think what they see is the grit and the hardcore-ness that has kind of been lost in the industry. The industry has become diluted in the sense that it’s not what it used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to a lot of the younger guys, and really that’s most of what I listen to. But at the same time, as far as the market, I think people are still hungry for that one element that you miss, that’s not quite there. I don’t actually call anybody out by name, because a lot of artists that had that element are still around. At the same time, there are a few that I can’t compare myself to because some of them have passed away and I wouldn’t be able to fill those shoes. In the end, people like artists that can make their own music.

The Dr. Dres, the Warren Gs, the Soulja Boys, people who actually make their own tracks. People like that. But then you take that same element, and you throw a shirtoff thug along in with that, and then you’re thinking: “well how can this guy do that, how does he have time to be able to do that?”

So that’s what I’m trying to bring in the whole package. People are gonna be like, amazed, because people are gonna be like “Well he’s got a nice body, he’s doing all that other stuff, where does he have time to do all this?” But the main thing is: I wanna bring back that take-your-shirt-off / bandana / sweating / lifting weights, you know, Thug aspect, with chicks in the background, just gritty, you know, swag that’s gone. I’m bringing that back. That’s my goal, to bring that back. And right now, I don’t think the public is gonna see it till 2016 because right now the media is really tied up in that new sound; with that younger group of guys. It’s a wave right now of that. It’s a little bubble right now, just like the internet bubble. But that bubble is about to burst. It’s not gonna burst this year, it’s gonna burst probably the end of 2016, maybe 2017. But when that bubble bursts, that’s when there is gonna be thirst and a hunger for people like me. So that’s why I gotta just keep grinding and pushing my stuff and pushing and pushing until I can get on MTV, get on the radio, and then I’ll be seen. What I’ve been doing is just making sure I’m mentally ready. My time isn’t quite yet. Like I said, I really think it’s gonna be around 2016 or 2017. A lot of the younger guys right now, that wave, it’s runnin, and its runnin’ hot. But it’s gonna die out in about a year or two, and when it does, that’s when they gonna reach out for people like me.

NF: What do you have to say to all of the cowards who don’t even smoke crack?

V: [Laughs]. Man, this is my third interview in as many days, and that’s the question I knew was gonna come

up, and so I’m prepared to answer. Well, half-way prepared. I got family members that have never touched the stuff. Me myself, my daddy’s a preacher, my mom is a retired school principal, so she never drank or did drugs, he never did drank, and back to my granddaddy, great granddaddy, they were all preachers, and my mother’s mother was like a saint, so they never drank or did drugs.

So the whole thing about the drug-ism, or drug-addictism is that it’s not in my genes to be a drug addict. So I can try a drug and just do it, and then do it again and do it again, and its nothing to me, I can just drop it. Some people don’t do that. Some people, they try something, they gonna be really hooked, because hereditarily it’s in their blood, it’s in them to have addictive personalities.

So, my suggestion is, if you are gonna do that type of drug, make sure that you can mentally and financially handle it. When I was doin it, it was just testing stuff, and every now and then, you know, I’ll do anything with my boys. If I’m with a chick, and you know, she smokes, hell, I’ll toot with it just to make her happy.

But I don’t go out looking for stuff. It’s like that with any drug. I’ll blow a little bit of meth with my boys, or one of my homegirls because she has some, or a new chick I just met, but I don’t go out looking for it. Right now, I’m grinding. So whatever you doin’, in my opinion, if you gonna do crack, coke, whatever, just do it like a leisure thing as fun. Once a month, once every few months with friends, nothing that you going out looking for.

NF: That’s good advice. Certainly some of the folks at college could use that advice. See a lot of people headed down the wrong track.

V: Word.

NF: Thank you so much for the interview! That’s all the questions I have prepared. Any last words?

V: That’s about it. I wanna tell everybody my cell phone number is 281-690-9705, that’s my business number until I get a 1-800 number when we go public. Don’t call me on it, just text me. Fans are free to text me. Any album you see on the internet, you want it autographed, I can get it to you, just PayPal me $19 bucks. Imma send it to you autographed, package and everything. Check out my WorldRapStar, check out my FreeMovers.com. Like I said, I got that open door policy, 281-690-9705. Feel free to text me whenever you want. Any kind of problems anybody having with drugs or anything, feel free to send me a text. Imma send you some good advice. I had a lady the other day, she had a family member that passed away. I gave them some words and it kept them from doing something seriously bad to themselves. So anything or any way I can help the people out there, hit me up!

25

Norway, 1992: A Black Metal Odyssey

by Lucas Rossi artwork by Bob Otsuka I. PRELUDE Snow drifts piled up around the dirt trail in the center, framed by the white outline of the window.

Empty apartment buildings hung in the background while the street below sat in a chilled darkness, the kind of darkness characteristic of December nights past a 40 degree latitude. Inside, another window opened up on the computer screen in front of me.

In that was another landscape, poorly drawn in black and white, skeletal body sitting by a snowy roadside while a black bird flies over. Curious, I hit play.

First, some generic “ambient” keyboard notes that could have been played by a five-year old. Guitar drone that sounded like it was coming through a flip

phone speaker. The pounding drums came in, over another poorly-produced riff, drowning out much of the other sound. Then, the vocals. I would have called them screaming if they weren’t so pathetically out-ofrhythm, so unbearably shrieky, and so flat-out unmusical. I couldn’t help but laugh; who in the world would actually subject themselves to this? I closed the window after a few minutes and typed back to the person who told me to give the track a listen: “Dude, this sucks.”

Fast-forward five years: December 20th, 2014.

Snow is building up again, this time around abandoned pieces of construction on the way to venue while wisps of paper drift on the empty windows.

Inside the dingy room, longhaired guitarists play furiously distorted riffs, the drums pound at inhuman 26

speeds, and vocalists howl their throats out. I take in the sound, survey the room, and smile, hunkering down for one of the best shows I’ve been to all year.

Legitimately enjoying this is but one of the symptoms of a predilection for black metal.

this, one of the aims of the early black metal scene was to have production that was intentionally terrible (by conventional standards). It’s lo-fi in a way that would make most lo-fi indie artists squeamish (one could even go so far as to call it... no-fi). In the most extreme cases this meant replacing guitar amps with stereo amps and old fuzz pedals, and using early 90s computer headsets as microphones. Basically, the goal was to sound as inaccessible and as ‘bad’ as possible.

Black metal also has an extremely interesting (and simultaneously extremely problematic) history as “Extreme metal” is the kind of stuff that is most a movement and an ideology. In its formative years likely to prompt the question “Is this even music?” black metal really was defined more by that ideology from those unacquainted with the style. The term than its musical qualities; Norwegian black metal de“extreme metal” doesn’t have any strict definitions, veloped itself as the antithesis to trends like Swedish but it’s usually applied to the genres thrash, doom, death metal, which was derided as too polished and death and black metal—all of which entail a ‘radical’ ‘mainstream.’ Artists frequently attached themselves approach to sound that distances them from more to pagan or Satanist spiritual views, and sometimes accessible, listenable forms of music, metal or oth- fascist or communist ideologies. What united them erwise. Of these “extreme” was a general disdain for Justyles, black metal is far and deo-Christian culture, a reA TIMELINE OF away the most extreme. jection of the perceived vices The genre takes its of the mainstream, modern EXCELLENT BM: name from the 1982 release world, and an extreme emBlack Metal by British band phasis on nonconformity 1994 Venom, whose extreme take and individualism. PerformBurzum - Hvis lyset tar oss on thrash metal and dark, ers wore ‘corpse paint’ to 1995 ‘Satanic’ aesthetic inspired make themselves look dead Ulver Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler many of the musicians who on stage and adopted other would go on to found back unique visual adornments.

2004 metal proper--a young circle At times this resulted in a Drudkh - Autumn Aurora of artists working in Norway hateful, misanthropic, and in the early 1990s. In terms of violent underground cul2006 the actual sound, inspiration ture, though I would not go Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain largely came from proto-exso far as to say these things treme metal group Celtic defined the early scene.

2007 Frost and Viking/ black metI won’t recount all this Wolves in the Throne Room – Two Hunters al pioneer Bathory. What rehistory in its entirety be2010 sulted from these influences cause it’s a very long and Alcest - Écailles de Lune was an incredibly harsh and complex tale. It is also reabrasive sound, one driven markably interesting from 2011 by tremolo-picked, repetso many perspectives (soDopamine - Dying Away in the Deep Fall itive guitar riffs and a conciology, religious studies, Ash Borer - Ash Borer stant use of blast beats in the media studies, philosophy Fell Voices - Untitled drumming to create a grim of art, etc) and I heavily recand despairing atmosphere. comend looking exploring 2013 Most iconic is the vocal the topic. Even when I hated Gris - À l’âme enflammée, l’âme constellée... style, which deviated from the music, I was drawn into the already-established punk yelling and death metal many late-night Wikipedia marathons on black metal growling. Black metal vocalists usually employ a high- and the sampling of countless amateur documentapitched shriek, screech, or wail, which often sounds ries on YouTube. In the end, anyway, this early scene quite literally like somebody dying. On top of all of ended up completely self-destructing, a fate that it

II.

27

WHAT IS BLACK METAL?

Above all, Burzum’s Hvis lyset tar oss is usually held up as the absolute pinnacle not just of early Norwegian black metal, but of black metal period. The first track, “Det som en gang var,” is the one described in the first portion of this piece, and something I was so, so wrong about on first impression. The synths are gorgeous and melancholic, blending perfectly with the sorrowful texture of the guitar. When the riffs come in they are aggressive but not mindlessly so, rising and falling with the flow of the piece. The drumming is soul-crushing. The riffs repeat, but never get boring, creating a trance-like atmosphere. Though the shrieking is off-putting at first, I can think of almost no vocal performance more emotive. There is a deathly beauty to it; though a modern production, it all sounds primal, If you were to read the preceding section of this somehow ancient, and remarkably compelling. It gives piece alone you would probably resceive a portrait of atmosphere and ambience to heavy metal, drenches black metal as an extremely unpleasant cacophony it in sadness, and creates something generally movof intentionally bad-sounding noise over which some ing. This is what all great black metal aspires to be. basement-dwelling Scandinavian teenagers, psychoAlso of note: the sole member of Burzum, paths, and white supremVarg Vikernes, commitacists shrieked unintelted one of the aforeligibly. Fortunately, not mentioned murders and everyone was actually a burned down several psychopath; some were of those churches. He just guys hearing a new, spent 15 years in prisinteresting sound and goon and also happens ing with it. And even the to harbor far-right and ones who were were psyarguably racist ideologichopaths were actually cal views. Is it wrong to taking this aesthetic and praise music made by a writing good music with it. fascist murderer? I don’t Not everything know. I know we still liswas good, but there was ten to and praise Richa remarkable amount ard Wagner’s operas. I of experimentation and know that it is possible genuinely new ideas beto look past the views of ing thrown around during the artist to appreciate that early period. Sevthe art. And what I really eral releases stand out, know is that this album including Darkthrone’s is the foundation of evgroundbreaking A Blaze erything nuanced and in the Northern Sky, intelligent in black metwhich really established al music, and is one hell black metal as a unique of a musical landmark. sound: dark, aggressive The other work I (and good) riffs, cold, imwould point to in terms pactful howls—pretty much the sound of pure evil. of ‘enlightened’ black metal has to be Ulver’s Bergtatt Later on, Emperor’s In the Nightside Eclipse intro- – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler. Fortunately, Ulver had pracduced progressive and symphonic elements to lend tically no involvement with any of the previously menan atmosphere and grandiosity to this rough, raw style. tioned artists or the black metal scene at all. Garm, the seemed doomed to suffer from the very beginning.

Members of the scene were involved in a number of violent events, including a suicide, two murders, and the burning-down of several churches. The ‘inner circle’ of musicians disbanded, people went to jail, and the culture of the movement became the butt of jokes among metal fans for years to come.

III. WHY BLACK METAL IS ACTUALLY GOOD

28

creative anchor behind Ulver, seemed to recognize the embraced post-rock and ambient influence to make affinity that black metal had with Northern European music than even non-metal fans can enjoy as delifolk music, given that both were pretty much unique cately beautiful, if still at times harsh and sorrowful. cultural creations out of those regions. The black metMeanwhile, back in Europe, black metal expeal on this album, amazingly, rienced a wide array of imisn’t even aggressive. It is pressive innovations. One BEST BM OF 2014: pure melancholy, employing of the most interesting and clean, chanted vocals alonginfluential developments 1.

Falls of Rauros Believe in No Coming Shore side harsh wails, as well as in black metal occurred in acoustic interludes that work France, where former raw 2.

Panopticon Roads to the North flawlessly with the heavierblack metal project Alcest moments. The melodies are took the black metal aesthet3. Black Monolith - Passenger hauntingly beautiful, and ic and used it to write music Ulver’s early work advanced that featured major chords, 4. Woods of Desolation - As the Stars Burzum’s atmospheric apuplifting melodies, and a proach even further, moving strange sense of positivity.

5. Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith beyond harshness and anger Starting on the Le Secret EP, into something else entirely. sole member Neige used 6. Saor - Aura These albums laid black metal lo-fi production 7. Spectral Lore - III the groundwork for what to create a dreamy, nostalwould eventually become gic atmosphere, layering 8. Fen - Carrion Skies a multitude of trends and clean crooning on top. He styles that evolved out of took blast beats and shrieks 9. Woman Is The Earth - Depths the black metal aesthetic, and backed them with postaking it to amazing and ofitive riffs to transform them 10. The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li ten unpredictable heights. into, for lack of better words, Artists heard the acoussomething ‘transcendental’ tic folk elements in Ulver and recognized a similari- or ‘euphoric.’ Listeners realized that what was going ty with neofolk music; they looked at the extended on here sounded a lot like shoegaze (think My Bloody structure of Burzum’s songs and connected it with the Valentine and Slowdive), of all things. Upon further dark, brooding post-rock of projects like Godspeed examination, however, the similarities between these You! Black Emperor. American band Agalloch, work- two disparate styles became more apparent. Thick, ating mostly in the 2000s, updated Ulver’s folk formula mospheric walls of guitar sound, vocals were used as a with some post-rock flavor in their song structures on texturing element rather than to deliver lyrics or hooks, Pale Folklore, an essential release in bringing quali- and an emphasis on ‘radical’ forms of production all ty black metal to North America and inspiring count- made black metal and shoegaze unlikely friends. less American acts for years after. Agalloch would Neige invented what would come to be go on to drop a lot of the metal from their sound known as post-black metal, or blackgaze. Several on their follow-up The Mantle, a blackened neofolk ‘Neige-cluster’ groups including Amesouers, Les Disand post-rock opus. They tied it all together with crets, and Lantlôs introduced things like post-punk Ashes Against the Grain, a post-metal epic pushing and urban despair to the black metal sound. A ton the melancholy and heaviness of black metal to per- of artists followed in their wake, resulting in a lot of haps their furthest extents, transcending the bounds amateur work but also some incredibly successful of the genre in the process. This is a body of work projects like Pitchfork darlings Deafheaven. Incredithat really sparked the development of styles like folk bly, black metal kind of hit the mainstream, or at least black metal, atmospheric black metal, and Cascadi- the alternative currents of mainstream culture. The an black metal, all generally styles of ‘nature-loving’ term ‘hipster black metal’ began to see use among black metal that above all celebrate the beauty of the black metal purists turned off by the accessibility and natural world, at times in contrast with the perceived pleasantness of certain post-black metal styles. Reugliness of humanity. The Cascadian style, kickstarted gardless of personal opinions on the integrity of those

by Americans Wolves in the Throne Room, especially trends, this exposure turned out to be an incredible 29

way to let more people into the world of black metal.

(An aside: if you are to listen to any black metal or black metal-related projects, I wholeheartedly suggest ‘Écailles de lune’ Parts 1 and 2 by Alcest. Part 1 is one of the most gorgeous shoegazey post-rock tracks ever made, and Part 2, in my opinion, showcases the highest potential for black metal to reach something higher, something purely emotive. It’s real good.)

Black metal’s ambient and atmospheric influence has gone so far as to touch artists completely removed from anything resembling metal like Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, formerly of The Microphones) who initially styled his 2009 release Wind’s Poem as a black metal album. Off the top of my head, the genres that have been fused with black metal over the past decade include post-rock, shoegaze, alt rock, folk, neofolk, lo-fi, bluegrass, Americana, math rock, post-punk, hardcore, crust punk, doom metal, death metal, sludge metal, post-metal, power metal, folk metal, ambient, drone, and noise rock.

A pretty solid selection, and a testament to the creative potential inherent that music that first came to light in those dark Norwegian basements of the 90s.

IV. HVA ER FORMÅLET?

and spiritual experience. It’s a little heavy-handed, a little self-important, and a little cliché. But trust me when I say that the music itself is for real.

I would never begrudge anyone for not liking black metal. Not too long ago, those harsh sounds simply did not sound good to me, and I can’t fault anyone for holding the same opinions now. At the same time, I think black metal is one of the most compelling arguments for the necessity of radical experimentation in culture, and the importance of making art that is challenging (whether or not you think the ultimate result is ‘good’). I know I feel enriched by having experienced that challenge in black metal. If I could get over those deathly wails and choked production, I thought, I should be willing to give pretty much any kind of music a shot, an attitude that I’m sure has led me to discover music I never would have otherwise.

And black metal artists continue to keep that openness and inventiveness alive; this year alone was one of the best for black metal releases in a long time, evidence that this one-of-a-kind style has true artistic vitality.

Turning away, looking out the window again, it seems that in those freakish, dark, frozen sounds, those riffs, beats, and shrieks, there was always potential for something really beautiful. With snowdrifts outside, wind howling, and blackened sky; when hearing those roaring, reaching, soaring sounds... it isn’t so hard to see why.

In an interesting twist of fate, black metal, the harshest, most abrasive, and most extreme manifestation of metal actually ended up converting me from a metalhead to someone more inclined towards the alt and indie side of music. Not long after getting into black metal, I ended up dropping most metal from my listening all together (mostly the super cheesy stuff like folk metal and power metal, though there are still records in those genres that I return to frequently). I discovered post-rock, shoegaze, and folk, and through them learned to appreciate the emotionally earnest and nuanced in music. The power to balance the overbearing and the delicate is one of the greatest qualities of black metal.

In pushing the sound of metal to its extremes, I think that the early, foundational black metallers actually ended up discovering something about the essence of metal that artists sticking to the mold could never have found. In doing so they created a way to mobilize that essence in the pursuit of greater and greater ends, from the celebration of natural beauty to the affirmation of the human soul 30

Made Up Genres, Real Bands

by Ayana Lance

31

A Conversation with the Karate Squids

By Dan Bollinger

Sophomores Cyrus Deloye, Eli Ruffer, Sanders McMillan, and Nate Grein make up the Karate Squids, a prominent alt-rock band on campus. I was lucky enough to sit down with Cyrus, Eli, and Sanders to discuss their newfound fame and rock star lifestyle.

So how did you guys first meet?

Sanders McMillan: So there are many different strings in the formation of the band, but basically me and Nate had been talking before summer about jamming and then Nate and Cyrus were jamming together, right?

Cyrus Deloye: We were like two rooms apart on 4th Myers.

SM: And Nate and Eli were jamming and then one day we all just came together and started playing.

CD: Yeah Nate was cheating on all of us at the same time. But there were even preliminary talks since before that. Eli and I met at the band room orientation two falls ago.

Can you talk about what it was like to play at Spring Concert last year?

CD: Terrifying... no, it was a lot of fun too.

Eli Ruffer: The best moment was probably during the second chorus of “Shoreline Blues,” and I’m not playing anything so I just looked at the crowd, and it was like a really big crowd, and so I just start clapping. And the whole crowd just starts clapping too and that was the most power tripping I’ve ever felt.

SM: Abuse of power.

Can you tell me about your song making process?

CD: It’s all original. It depends on who’s bringing the song to practices. So, there’s kind of a distinction between myself and Eli and Nate. They have lyrics and parts and chord changes all worked out before they even come to practice, so we all just kind of learn the song right then and there. And then with me I just kind of work with part ideas and then we try to fit them all together.

ER: But if Nate or I come in with a song, we play around with the chords a lot too.

Who writes the lyrics to the songs?

SM & ER: Nate.

ER: Sanders has one coming out.

SM: I haven’t decided on a name for it yet. “Undecided.”

ER: I’ve written the lyrics for the ones that I sing.

What is your favorite song to play?

CD: I kind of get enjoyment from playing the newest songs. The older the song the more tired I am of hearing it. So right now we have three new kickass songs that I’m really excited to play. And then our most recent songs that we unveiled last term are probably my most recent favorites. I don’t know, how do you guys feel?

SM: Yeah, I feel the same.

Eli: I have some bass lines that I like to play. “Shoreline Blues” is probably my favorite to play.

Do you have any shows coming up?

ER: Yes, but we haven’t scheduled anything.

CD: It’s a soft yes.

ER: But see us this term because Nate and I won’t be on campus next term.

How did you guys decide on your sound? I think it’s very distinct.

ER: Oh really? Thank you!

SM: I don’t know... the parts were written the way they were, the riffs were the way they were, the chord progressions, and as a result of our own different playing styles put together that’s kind of how it came about.

CD: I would say there’s a difference. You know it’s a Nate song when you hear it, you know it’s an Eli song when you hear it, and I feel like it’s a Cyrus song when you hear it. But I feel like our sound is sort of understood from the viewpoint of Nate’s songs because he wrote most of them, and he came to Carleton with a lot of prior band experience and material. So, I think I’ve learned from Nate in terms of part-writing because he 32 has a really good ear for that.

So Sanders, did you know Nate before you came to Carleton?

SM: I didn’t really know him, but we found each other on the Facebook group and we were like “we play instruments, blah blah blah” and started talking about jamming.

ER: Nate also messaged me.

CD: I was staunchly against any Facebook interaction with anybody before going to college because I felt like that was just going to make me hate everybody before I got a chance to meet them (laughs).

So after Nate pulled everyone together, how long did it take to sound good together?

ER: Well we’ve got a recording of our first concert, and I can just barely listen to it.

SM: Yeah my drumming is pretty horrible, and the guitar sound is a little off. In terms of our playing it was not very good in the beginning, but in terms of our songwriting, we still have 3 or 4 songs that are still in our repertoire today.

CD: I get nervous when I listen to our old material; like my heart rate picks up because I can anticipate every spot where it sounds horrible (laughs). You’re just like, “I want this to not exist anymore.”

SM: And you’re like holy shit the crowd doesn’t notice?

CD: Yeah, I think we’re all a little self-critical to a degree after a show.

ER: I got a ride home fall term last year from 4 seniors and they had heard of us from a 15-minute set we did that first day. They asked if I was in a band and I told them the name, and they were like “Oh I heard you guys were rowdy” or something. It was some adjective that wasn’t a compliment but was like making a splash.

What was your favorite show that you’ve played so far?

CD: Mine was playing The Grand.

SM: The porch (of Page East), for me, was very interesting. We’d been playing in The Cave and stuff, which was a lot of fun, but then the porch avenue was very fresh. They did a great job.

ER: I liked that one as well because that was the first time we got to play most of our songs. In the spring we only had 10-minute, 20-minute, and 25-minute sets.

How have you guys been dealing with fandom since you won Battle of the Bands?

ER: There’s very little to deal with. I don’t know, people are really nice to us. We really appreciate people coming out and being nice to us.

Can you talk me through what it’s like to play in front of a big crowd?

CD: I remember one time at The Grand…actually you were in the front row Dan, and during a guitar solo you were going [finger wiggling motion] and I stepped up and got into it, and I felt so stupid doing it. Cause you know it’s like the guitarist takes one step forward and he’s like cool or whatever but yeah that was a great time.

ED: Nate’s in it for the glory and for the ladies. Just kidding.

SM: …I don’t know it like stresses me out (laughs).

CD: I try to look over the crowd. You’ve seen me on stage, I’m just there looking like I’m completely out of it.

In my observations of myself I look horribly unhappy. People are like “you gotta lighten up; look like you’re having a good time,” and I’m like “I’m horrified up there.” I can’t leave my heels if you pay me. I’m stuck to the ground.

ER: I mostly treat myself like a member of the audience.

Eli, how does that work out? Like you wandered on stage, grabbed a bass, and started playing?

ER: Well no, I don’t look at the audience. I’m just dancing.

So, why “Karate Squids?”

SM: I think it’s a fitting name because we don’t like to take ourselves too seriously, and Karate Squids conveys a little of a goofiness to it. Yeah, like we don’t want it to be super pretentious, just like a goofy stupid name seems kind of fitting.

Do you have any messages for your fans?

CD: Thanks for putting up with our shit.

SM: Yeah, thanks for the support. It’s really fun for us on stage, and we hope it’s really fun for you in the crowd.

ER: Thank you. We love you.

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Dope! Drum! Fills!

Compiled By Julian Palmer

Not even sure what technically qualifies as a drum fill so here’s this nifty description I swiped from Wikipedia: “In popular music, a fill is a short musical passage, riff, or rhythmic sound which helps to sustain the listener’s attention during a break between the phrases of a melody.”

Disclaimer: I am not a drummer so perhaps I am not entirely entitled to write an article about such a subject but fuck dat because there’s just something about drum fills that really gets me going. Second disclaimer: These are just some great fills that I have organized based on the music that I listen to so excuse the limited range of genre.

“This Velvet Glove” Red Hot Chili Peppers

“Above and Below” the Bravery

One of my favorite RHCP songs and probably my favorite off of 1999’s Californication. Beautiful electric + acoustic guitar intro, and when this fill comes in at 0:16 it’s just OMG. Chad Smith is honestly a spectacular drummer who shows incredible versatility. Unfortunately he is often not recognized as such because he dwells in the towering shadows of Flea and John Frusciante.

This is a great song off the band’s sophomore album The Sun and the Moon. The fill comes in at 0:30, and gets the groove of the song started after a fairly stripped down, vocal-focused intro.

“Thank You” Led Zeppelin Another nice chill one, especially for John Bonham, this highly technical fill comes in right around 0:10. Actually, there’s an even better one that Bonzo does for us at 0:50. I could probably compile a list of just Led Zep fills, but I have to say this one is my favorite.

“Business Dog” JC + the Voidz Alex Carapetis is actually a sick drummer - he sounds like a whole indigenous tribe pounding away, but actually it’s just him! Wow! This song focuses on percussion in fact, and Carapetis’ talent is undeniable. The drums first come in at 0:12 with some exhilarating smashing, but he displays his true skill at 0:17 with a baller fill.

“Don’t Look Back in Anger” Oasis This is a pretty chill fill but stellar nonetheless. The way it comes in with the vocals circa 0:10 truly tugs at my heartstrings.

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“Venice Queen” Red Hot Chili Peppers Okay I know, another Chili Peppers one, but hear me out: This is a two part song, electric guitar in the first one and badass acoustic strumming in the second, and what’s better to launch the second part of the song but another fantastic display of drummer swag from The Animal himself - Chad Smith. Mentally and spiritually prepare yourself for 2:52.

In Volume I, Issue III, columnist Sam Watson published his article, “Top 10 Songs Over 10 Minutes Long,” where he shared some of the greatest epics to grace pop music—a list we can only assume consciously omitted jazz and classical music for their lack of artistic merit. In this cleverly titled addendum to Sam’s original piece, I add a few of my own choices within the “pop” “music” realm.

10. “Emily” – Joanna Newsom (12:09) Joanna Newsom is a complete anachronism. She crafts a distinct brand of renaissance folk, sung in her dulcimer, bard-like way, with total sincerity. And she still manages to kick ass in the eyes of us millennials. “Emily” is the haunting opener of her opus, Ys. FYI: She’s married to Andy Samberg.

9. “Colouring of Pigeons” – The Knife (11:01) This recently split techno-spirit-duo, The Knife, show great consideration for their audience in raising our blood pressure less rapidly than usual. In collaboration with Mt. Sims and Planningtorock, The Knife scored the soundtrack to an opera on The Origin of Species. Melancholy by way of tender percussion and chilling vocal performance.

8. “The Same Old Rock” – Roy Harper (12:25) Tasked with the responsibility of teaching holy folk music to a generation of sneering rock kids, Roy Harper pours his heart, soul, and larynx into an acoustic whirlpool of feels without stopping to take a breath. The four-track Stormcock is a one-man freak out. FYI: Our hats are still off. Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar.

7. “Snorry Mouth” – Mercury Rev (10:55) Mercury Rev were the weirdest fucking kids at the party, even after they graduated. Psychedelia with a patently ’90s nihilist bend, Mercury Rev couldn’t sit still at any point during their good years. With a just little computer duster, “Snorry Mouth” really starts to take shape as a stand-in for love. Wait. FYI: This house sleeps more than you.

6. “Carry On [live]” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (14:19) Neil Young tried to soothe their wayward souls, but they could. Not. Stop. Rocking. Harmonies. Harmonies abound! And shredding. Lots of shredding—the musical portion of the ’60s’ excuse for all the infidelity, carelessness and promises unfulfilled. “Well hello, 1970! Do come in. But please don’t be the grounding reality to harsh our collective mellow.”

5. “Marquee Moon” – Television (10:47) Television was post-punk before punk was punk. Undoubtedly the pinnacle of first generation punk suites, Television’s Marquee Moon, was a kiss of death to prog rockers everywhere. It’s complexity with a leather jacket and a cigarette. Too cool for the ’70s and every decade since. FYI: Richard Hell had to leave the band ‘cause he couldn’t handle this song.

4. “The Musical Box” – Genesis (10:29) Arguably the embodiment of all that is lambasted in prog rock, Genesis’ heavy metal nursery rhyme is nothing short of compositional and technical prodigy. Even within the pantheon of long-form prog epics, “The Musical Box” stands out, and it gave special purpose to Peter Gabriel multiple personality disorder. FYI: I can feel it coming in the air tonight...

3. “Write Once, Run Melos” – Kashiwa Daisuke (25:57) Let me put it this way: Do you hope survive in the coming decades of robotic dominion? I sure as hell do. And I’m not going to just wait it out some snowy cave at Japan’s highest altitudes. I’m strapping myself to Kashiwa’s goddamn back so we can smash the circuit board skulls of those computerized FREAKS. This glitchy-ass time-traveller is going to save us all.

2. “To See More Light” – Colin Stetson (15:08) Colin Stetson is a god among men. With a single sexy saxophone of flesh and brass, Stetson makes some of the heaviest motherfucking music on God’s green earth. Though the horn-blaster transcends real classification, he can be said to boil a kind of jazz-metal-avant-minimalist stew that engulfs all it touches. FYI: One time I touched Colin 1. “Pigs (Three Different Ones)” – Pink Floyd (11:30) I must praise my predecessor, scholar Samuel Watson, for his inclusion of punkgressive vaporwave group “Pnik Foyld” in his neoconservative essay on long songs. Their popular “pop song,” “Pigs,” serves as a paradigmatic example of what we consider psycho-delic rock ‘n’ roll music. Take it all in, man. Listen. It’s the universe, breathing.

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10 Good Albums From 2014 In No Particular Order

1. Elephant – Sky Swimming The biggest surprise of the year arrived in an inconspicuous card stock sleeve. It covers so much ground, but still remains coherent as an album. It’s not really about anything in particular, and its not abrasive or inaccessible, so everyone should just like it already.

2. PORCHES – Ronald Paris (Mdou Moctar Split) / Ronald Paris House / YAK Sessions I really love PORCHES. The music keeps evolving, getting dancier and poppier, but the melancholy ranchero molasses still seeps through every now and then. Check out his Arthur Russell cover. If you’re like, “who’s Arthur Russell?” listen to his compilation Album Love is Overtaking Me. 3. Makthaverskan – II Swedish Girl Band, really rocking the synth and F-bombs. Angst-y teenage heartbreak in a perfume bottle or Molotov cocktail. The album holds together really nicely.

4. Web of Sunsets – Room of Monsters If you like Mazzy Star / Hope Sandoval check this out, it’s so dreamy and relaxing. mmm zzzz.

5. Dub Thompson - 9 Songs The pop punk reggae of “No Time” is so refreshingly unlike The Police. Good album and even better when you learn they’re only like 19 years old.

6. Strand of Oaks – Heal Take Springsteen vocals and Dinosaur Jr. guitars and combine them to make deeply personal, introspective and critical material, and you have Strand of Oaks. Still incredible poppy and universally satisfying. The cool thing about this album is that I think it can appeal to any type of music listener, from tube amp snobs to people who still think the Grammys mean anything.

7. Babes – Babes EP They only released a 4 song EP but it was pretty damn good, be on the look out for more in the future.

8. Emerald Odyss – The Chaotic Neutral Friend from back home. Really trippy rap album, sample heavy poetic violence. Recommend if you like MF Doom. The one thing that annoys me is that Chinedu (Emerald Odyss) frequently changes his pseudonym (a few times a year on average) thus killing his brand recognition. He currently raps under Rhetoric Wallace.

9. Frankie Cosmos - Zentropy I don’t know if this album was her best, but the recording quality was and it helped to further launch her musical career. Greta Kline is known for being Kevin Kline’s daughter and her 50 some albums on bandcamp.

Her live show was a disappointment because she mumbled and whispered all her songs, but none of her recordings will let you down.

10. Alex G – DSU It’s so great to see an artist you love rise from the underground and still make incredible music even as they slowly sell out (not to dis selling out—if you can, you should). This year Alex G bought a car, toured Europe, and stopped binge drinking before shows so he can be a better person.

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4:30 am? on a tuesday?

MREHH!

the strawberry preserve’s reserve hour of jams 4:30 am to 6:00 am, every tuesday morning KRLX 88.1

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