THE STAFF
Paco Alvarez Dan Bollinger Bilinda Butcher Gisell Calderón Francisco Castro Cyrus Deloye Lily Eisenthal Claire Ferguson Andy Flory Madeline Garcia Sylvie Graubard Dan Groll A Noah Harrison Cisco Hayward Jackson Hudgins
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Urmila Kutikkad Gracie McNeely Ian Mercer Josie Naron Lexi Norvet Bob Otsuka Julian Palmer David Pickart Gerrit Postema Lucas Rossi Henry Southwick Bobby Volpendesta Sam Watson Ben Wedin Katie Williams
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THE TABLE OF CONTENTS Illustrated Thoughts................................Harrison.............................2 It’s Good to Play an Instrument Badly....Watson...............................3 New Music Reviews................................Staff....................................4 Make Your Own Björk Review................Graubard & Naron.............7 Where’s the Music @?.............................Harrison.............................9 Chillwave is Post-Chillwave.....................Mercer.............................10 Misogyny is Not Unqiue to Rap Music...Norvet..............................14 WTF is a “Dvořák?”................................Postema...........................16 LOVE IS DEAD.......................................Graubard..........................17 Valentine’s Day Special Feature.............Staff..................................18 Library Playlists.......................................Naron & Garcia................24 Hummingbird: Part VI.............................Southwick & Ferguson....26 Music Documentary Gems.....................Eisenthal...........................28 Head to Head: TV on the Radio.............Mercer & Pickart..............29 Anticipated 2015 Hip-Hop Albums........Castro...............................30 Bonus Tracks...........................................Rossi.................................31 Self-Affirmation Anthems of 2014..........Wedin...............................32 Crazy Strokes Fans on Twitter................Palmer..............................34 Upcoming Shows.............................................................................35 Messages from Our Sponsors..........................................................36 Friends, Welcome to our Valentine’s Day Special! We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor throughout (and well beyond) this most romantic of days. We’ve got our usual new music reviews and essays, but you should be sure to note our Valentine’s Day special feature. It’s an exploration, by our entire staff, of the relationships that exist between music and emotion. We’ve even managed to track down Professors Andy Flory and Dan Groll in order to hear their comments on the subject! Remember, if you are interested in writing for No Fidelity, feel free to shoot me an email. We’d love to have you on the team. Best, Ian Mercer 1
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u r t s n I lay an
P o t d o It’s Go
on s t a W y Sam
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It’s good to play an instrument badly. A lot of people don’t learn how to play an instrument because they think it will be hard. It’s only hard to play with skill. It’s easy and good to just play badly. If you’re a person with a lot of feelings, playing an instrument might help you process those.
If you have a favorite song that gives you a very strong feeling, you could learn to play your instrument along with it and maybe get closer to that feeling. If you turn the song up very loud, then it will be almost impossible to hear your lack of talent. You will still feel like you are part of the moment. Maybe this could help you.
Another good thing to do is to get some friends and play your instruments together. You will probably sound like shit, but that’s OK. Friends do not judge each other. You might try consuming a lot of drugs or alcohol. This will help you be more creative, and it will be harder to hear your mistakes. You and your friends can play very loud, dissonant sounds. Perhaps you can find meaning, together, in this experience.
You can buy a very cheap, poor quality instrument. It will still make music. If you are a bad musician, you don’t need an expensive one anyway. Think of what a memorable experience it would be to go to a pawn shop and purchase a dusty, broken instrument that has sat in a stranger’s basement for a long time. Maybe it has mysterious secrets. If you haggle with the merchant, he will give you a deal.
I hope you buy an instrument. I hope you see that it will help you and that it can make you a better person. You can say things with your instrument about the way you feel and think that you could not say otherwise.
No one has to hear those things if you don’t want them to. You can play an instrument badly all alone, and no one will ever know.
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New Music Reviews
Pond - Man It Feels Like Space Again by Cyrus Deloye
Whenever I recommend Pond to my friends, I invariably find myself with the slippery task of explaining how this group is different from Tame Impala. In every practical sense, Pond = Live Tame Impala - Kevin Parker. So what does Pond leave us with? Let’s talk about their latest release, Man It Feels Like Space Again. The first track begins with a minute-long introduction featuring synths that sound like violins being played in the radioactive light of a UFO’s tractor beam and vocals that were left out in the sun to bake, desperate and thirsty. This melodramatic beginning sets a goofy tone that the rest of the album actually embraces. With track titles like “Heroic Shart” and “Medicine Hat,” it takes quite a stretch of the imagination to guess what these songs might sound like before listening. Unfortunately, these might be the two weakest songs on the album. In “Heroic Shart,” the endless fuzz is overbearing, and it obscures anything interesting about the structure of the song. To be sure, there isn’t much going on structurally in the first place. My mind conjures images of stomping through a decrepit graveyard on mind-numbing painkillers, haunted by mutant killer squirrels and stifled by filthy air. I might also suggest that “Shart” is a lazy knock-off of Halcyon Digest-era Deerhunter. “Medicine Hat” itself isn’t so bad, but it’s slow and they throw it at the end of the album, leaving the listener in a more subdued state than a Pond album should. I will admit, however, that arguably the best two minutes of music appears in the final song on the album, between 3:15 and 5:30 minutes. If you listen to this section of the title track and stare at the album cover, you will gather a sense of cohesion that might not have been apparent before. In much the same way Tame Impala does, Pond recalls a 1960s consciousness of the corporate-industrial complex taking over, and they are just trying to add a bit of color to your end-of-the-world get-together. Fortunately, the over-the-topness of this record seems to temper the balance between form and message. Perhaps Pond has discovered what is fundamentally goofy about psychedelic rock, and they are now working to perfect it. In any case, they seem to be very self-aware of how they go about their business. Don’t bother sending them your complaints.
Jessica Pratt - On Your Own Love Again
by Jackson Hudgins Jessica Pratt writes nimble, circular songs that are probably as good as any that will ever be released in this vein. Not to be unrealistically hyperbolic, but she is Karen Dalton good and writes her own songs. It is music for the windows and fire escapes of brick buildings that look onto alleyways. It’s also winter music in general. The recordings are intimate. Tape hiss pervades. Comparisons to late ‘60s female folk singers are unavoidable. Slight turns of phrase and little idiosyncratic pronunciations writhe around in your head until you’re saying can’t like “ke-ynt” in a hushed, high pitched voice over and over while you eat dinner alone. Pratt possesses the melodic experimentalism of Joanna Newsom (which is to say the melodic experimentalism of Van Dyke Parks) but shuns theatricality in favor of a soulful naturalism that invokes Karen Dalton and Joan Baez, among the others. Her vocal range is astounding and almost comical if deployed all at once. The truth is that she has access to a very special American something; something you only hear in the music of someone like John Fahey or Randy Newman (although Robert Wyatt has it?). It’s a synthesis, a refraction of history, and it’s also a very specific feeling. Listen to “Poor Boy A Long Way From Home” by Fahey and then “I’ve Got A Feeling” off of this album and you will know what I mean. Anyway, if that seems insular, what I mean to say is that people will be listening to this album for the next 50 years and it will always sound like what it sounds like right now: inevitable, timeless, peculiar.
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Mount Eerie - Sauna
by Lucas Rossi A few days ago, I went over to Central Park, dropped facedown in the snow, and listened to the entirety of the album Sauna by the band Mount Eerie. I didn’t have my headphones with me or any sort of digital music player or any sort of analog music player, but that didn’t really matter. The warmth in my throat hummed up like an organ; the roughness of the snow on my face made my blood pound like drums; the alternating whisper and roar of the wind brushed by my ears like nylon strings or distorted noise. The world outside was cold, but there was music in the hot, safe, damp room of my brain. Sauna is the latest collection of musical utterances by Anacortes, Washington-based artist Phil Elverum, a folk-based composer operating in the experimental, lo-fi, and DIY modes. Sauna touches on almost all of the important Elverum sonic modes, fleshing out an impressive array of styles that matches and at times even exceeds the diversity on Elverum’s most celebrated releases (namely The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones from 2001). It’s got soothing, acoustic folk tracks (“Dragon”), super-distorted lo-fi rock jams (“Boat”), emotive, atmospheric drone epics (“Sauna”), in addition to some deft blending of these styles and a number of new touches and expected doses of experimentation that keep the record from simply treading old ground. It is one of Elverum’s most complete collections of sounds since those earlier releases and remains compelling throughout, though it certainly does take its time in building mood. The other half of the Sauna equation is Elverum’s lyrical contribution. Elverum is possibly at his best here, funneling simple and, at times, mundane observations of the natural and manmade world through a thoughtful, philosophical filter. This is one of those rare music releases where the lyrics hold up all by themselves as legitimately good pieces of writing. Most importantly, Sauna stays faithful to that pervasive Phil Elverum mystique and aesthetic that defines all of his creative projects, from music to visual art to writing. It treasures the daily walks down the road to the gas station, coldness and electric heat. It stops to think about the whimper of wind, the smashed pumpkin shell on the rocks by the water. It sees the mind as a warm, steam-filled room huddled in the snow drifts. It is meant to be carried around like a small fire.
Charli XCX - SUCKER
by Bobby Volpendesta I’m going to make this review as simple, totally vague, and easy to digest as possible. Charli XCX is hip. Charli XCX is cool. Charli XCX does not fuck around. Like True Romance except improved in every way, Sucker (stylized as SUCKER, you FUCKER), the latest in XCX’s postmodern juice-box pop repertoire, is just fucking epic. Predictably enough, Charli is joined by a literal greatest hits collection of producers, with familiar faces such as Rostam Batmanglij (because of course they’re best friends) and Rivers Cuomo (because WHY THE FUCK NOT) “taking the reins on this one,” to invoke a lame fucking cliché that I’m not even sure exists. I hate to say it, but there’s something to be said about this weird fucking musical “all-but-era” we live in right now. Even as most genres sort of die and become shitty off-brand satirical caricatures of themselves without possessing the self-awareness to notice, pop (pure fucking patriarchal tittie-twisting load-blowing top-40-ass pop) is thriving AS FUCK right now for whatever reason. It might be the irony - the classic “I don’t even notice I’m being ironic” mentality that is usually loathe-worthy unless done by people who are smart (whom, while I admittedly still hate, I also immensely envy and respect) - that makes this otherwise “sheeplike” music so damn musical. Look at the way Charli responds to accusations of “selling out” via Twitter. I don’t remember what she said, but it was something along the lines of “FUCKKKKK YOU” or some other cool bullshit. Call it kitschy or even camp if you will. But honestly, it’s not ironic. It’s P0NX. And being p0nx in spirit will never be lame. My only gripe? Where the fuck is Ariel Rechtshaid? That’s literally it. Charli, I love you. Marry me, Charli. 5
Juan Wauters & Carmelle - Wearing Leather, Wearing Fur
by Gisell Calderón Wearing Leather, Wearing Fur is a 13-minute EP featuring Uruguayan-born musician Juan Wauters and long-time collaborator Carmelle. A departure from Wauters’ insanely cool garage-folk band, The Beets, this collaboration is a quieter musical project, where a series of duets seamlessly flow together to create one composition on sincerity and insecurity. In this internal monologue of an EP, the two clamber through themes of honesty and external identity, creating one of the most honest works I’ve heard in a while. The EP begins confrontationally (“Hey what’s all that powder on your face? / Did you think that it would slow down the pace of your age? / Here’s some soap and water - wash it off!) but melts into a defeated introspection (“Don’t want to slowly give in / And lonely living, a world that is not mine”). The two prod notions of growing up but conclude that they would “rather go down / Keep on bound to lose.” Their clumsy voices are endearingly inelegant, a trait that elevates the candor of the piece, but may turn some people away. Their simplicity, however, is poignant, frank, and conjures a feeling of loneliness: something Wauters is not unfamiliar with. Just over a decade ago, Wauters left Uruguay to join his father in Queens, New York, where the two worked in factories and pooled money in hopes of bringing over the rest of their family. An outsider wishing for distraction, Wauters turned to music and quickly made a name for himself with a fusion of gritty garage rock and folk stylings. In WLWF, these international musicians ironically utilize simple folk melodies tinged with rock & roll tendencies - two of the most iconic American musical styles - to illuminate the world of the outsider. It is hard to say whether or not the EP is a musical feat for the two; however, it is definitely a journey worth listening to.
Viet Cong - Viet Cong
by A Noah Harrison Last month, Calgary-based Viet Cong submitted their second, self-titled album to the growing throng of more imaginative projects we might describe as punk. Think Thee Oh Sees or Ought. The album takes distinct cues from early-’80s No Wave, unapologetically harsh, but also from drone music of the last decades. While at times Viet Cong may come across as derivative, the band is undoubtedly considerate of the diverse influence it draws. Bands that may come to mind include The Velvet Underground, This Heat, The Cure, or Echo and the Bunnymen for their gothic touch. But fuck the comparisons. The record kicks off with “Newspaper Spoons,” a track that includes thunderous percussion and off-to-war chanting. Eventually, the clouds part to reveal a delicate, repeated synth line that subsumes the incessant pounding. The highlight, “March of Progress,” begins with a post-y, GY!BE-like atmosphere, but halfway through the six-minute track, the vocals arrive, turning the whole thing into a baroque pop number. Viet Cong is a lean album: 7 songs, 38 minutes. Its tone is one of desolation and suffocation, an acceptance of gravity and inertia. The lyrics do not present a call to action or a challenge to the status quo; they add to the bleakness, intent on keeping the listener close. Often uttered in second person, they resolve to send us on a distinctly personal trek through the marsh. That said, the vocals have a tendency to become oppressive (in a bad way), compounded by singer Matt Flegel’s limited use of vocal range. And the frequency of double-tracking feels more like a crutch than a textural choice. The production style is noteworthy - its lo-fi aesthetic enshrouded in technical precision of timbre and timing. Cong’s stereophonic trickery - constant panning across channels, abrupt instrument entrances and exits - is meant to crush your pristine body and compact it into a cube of twisted metal. The album closes with the eleven-minute “Death,” a reflection on the passing of Christopher Reimer, guitarist of Flegel’s and drummer Mike Wallace’s former band, Women. With ostensible aspirations to be Viet Cong’s “Sister Ray,” the picaresque song ultimately lacks the sense of climax I would expect from such a heavy (in all senses) album. Despite its colossal peaks, the whole structure feels off and could use some rearranging for maximum impact. Ultimately, Viet Cong demonstrates a great knack for building tension and layering sonic elements, and they’ve got great riffs to boot. These musicians possess the uncanny power to jam out, space out, and pulverize the living shit out of you. Rating: Four Whole John Cales
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Sylvie Graubard
Make Your Own Josie Björk Review! Naron
1. verb that makes u feel uncomfortable 2. preposition mayb? 3. really sad -ing verb 4. nouns that makes u sad 5. ugly animal species 6. inanimate object 7. noun unrelated 2 music 8. not a sexual verb 9. worst bday present you’ve ever gotten 10. horrible personal secret 11. verb - something u have done 12. quirky adjective 13. even quirkier adjective 14. word u would not expect to come before the word “weight”
15. german sounding name 16. equally as german sounding name 17. something good 18. something serious 19. icky feeling 20. something yr mom tells you to do 21. list as many sad adjectives as u can think of 22. a period of time 23. the most generic and broad idea u can think of 24. make this idea even more generic and broad
On Vulnicura, Björk invites you to (1)________ as a ghost (2)_______ her sadness. You can haunt her for an hour, (3)________ disembodied through ruins too raw to describe with pretty words. There are no more emotional (4)________ in this world, no sweeping cliffs or northern lights. There is only a woman, her (5)_______, and the (6)_______ who one day stopped loving her. The singer explained that the (7)_____ was largely influenced by her separation with her (8)______ partner, artist Matthew Barney — with whom she has a (9)________ — and that the album’s first six songs are a chronological account of the breakup. “Usually, I don’t really talk about my (10)_________, but with this album there’s no two ways about what it is,” she said. “I (11)_______ during this album, ended a 13-year relationship, and it’s probably the (12)________ thing I’ve done.” Vulnicura doesn’t have the reach-out-and-grab-your-attention quality of Björk’s more (13)________ works, but it possesses a (14)________weight in its own right, moving along a (15)_______ - (16)_______ model as Björk examines the death of her (17)________ and the end of her (18)_________, from early denial on “Lionsong” to anger and (19)________ to, if not hope, at least (20)________ on “Mouth Mantra”. All the while the backing tracks shift from (21)_______________ to... less mournful and defeated. After a (22)________ of diving deep into the abstract, Björk’s now more grounded and human than ever, thanks to the two most unfathomable ideas of them all: (23)_______ and (24)___________. 7
Where’s the Music @? A Guide to Honing your Sweet, Sweet Music Taste by A Noah Harrison You’re stymied, to say the least. You’ve read every NoFi issue cover to cover, listened to every album reviewed, every tune referenced, every sonic element vaguely alluded to… and you’re still thinking to yourself, “Where can I find more? Better? Different?” The answers are out there, and as your ferryman, it is my humble duty to guide your soul to personal musical discovery. If you started now - equipped with your pair of Sony noise cancelling headphones - you could listen continuously to good music until your timely demise - with no pauses at all except those artfully inserted into the music in question. (We would, of course, have to take into account music created during this ludicrous and inhumane experiment.) Point being, the music is out there; you are presumably also out there. Time to bridge the two.
COLLEGE RADIO
Surprised??? College students, especially those with big enough egos to occupy precious airtime with their incoherent drivel, generally have some good tunes to share with the world. Unlike any commercial radio station, these individuals do not obsess over accessibility, stardom, or sometimes even musicality. In this age of massive media proliferation, it’s easy to become impatient with any sort of media experience when you’re not at the controls. Radio is a dying medium, replaced by your fancy YouTubes and SoundClouds. But with just a sprinkle of trust and a squirt of effort, you can uncover some remarkable ditties. Almost every major university has a reputable radio station, and almost all of them are streamable online. Even crapholes like Carleton occasionally squeak out decent content. And if you’re really invested, get to know your favorite DJs and their time slots, and you can tune in every now and then. You’ll inevitably have to do some sifting, but you’ll reveal a wider range of styles than you ever imagined. You probably didn’t even realize you had a thing for free improvisation or ambient techno.
SOCIAL MEDIA
This one will make you cringe. And these cringes are justifiable. After all, music is your only true respite from the gaping life-suck that is social media… which is exactly why you must integrate them. As you find yourself meticulously comparing the number likes on your profile picture with those of your archenemy’s, you may notice a link… a link from one of your favorite bands! Oh, man! They have an album coming out in April! And one of the singles has a music video with Mike Tyson riding a tiny motorcycle! And they just posted the bloopers! Thanks Facebook! Perhaps your favorite band is going through a sort of shit-streak. No matter. Chances are, their side projects, label-mates, or friends are doing something at least remotely interesting. Or perhaps they’ve released a podcast apologizing for their shit-streak. Whatever it may be, it’ll probably show up on your timeline. Case in point, I’d recommend liking all of your favorite artists’ Facebook pages. Or follow them on Twitter if that’s your scene. I’ve discovered countless works this way that otherwise would have fallen under the radar. 8
background from: http://www.anhsmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/spore-musical-notes-2019.jpg
YR FRIENDS
Duh! But is it though? Too often, we forget that our peers’ iPods and souls are chock full of good music. It’s rare, though, that we sit down with them with the explicit purpose of sharing music, and that sickens me. Sure, every so often, you find yourself saying, “What is this? I like this,” provoking a nice discussion about what happens to be playing at that moment. But less often do you say, “You know, I notice you’ve been yapping it up about modern classical music recently. Can you, like, show me the one song that won’t make me writhe in horror?” These are the kinds of conversations that spur true musical growth. As I have been known to say, everyone’s a musical authority on something. As a dutiful listener, you must always look to broaden your scope, to bring into the equation music you previously dismissed as boring, noisy, or “is this even… music?” Each of your friends listens to the music they do for a reason. Even if the reason is that their parents raised them exclusively on ’80s thrash metal, their preferences are still worth your time.
RATEYOURMUSIC.COM
I cannot stress how seminal this site is in the development of music tastes worldwide. I could spend this time discussing other such sites with similar aims, but there would be no point. This one is the crème de la crème. With its simple and unassuming design, RYM is truly the everyman’s music site. It is a comprehensive catalog of all artist discographies under the sun, featuring all release types since the dawn of recorded music. On top of that, it allows for reviews/ratings, genre tags (crucial if not controversial), list-making, and has an active forum for any type of musical discussion. A few tips I would recommend for navigating the site: Think about what genres you’d like to explore, or browse their massive list of genres to find one. Click on that genre, and before your very eyes is the entire collection of releases tagged with that genre, which you may browse by rating (highest, lowest, or “esoteric”). If you ever wondered what the hundred most acclaimed vaporwave records are, now’s your time to find out. (Hint: don’t find out.) Another goody is to click “Charts” and browse releases by year, decade, or the entirety of music history. Viewing this list may inspire within you a potent mixture of wonder and contempt. Use it! Learn and grow from it!
TRUSTED MUSICAL AUTHORITIES
While certain friends may fall under this umbrella — e.g. the NoFi and KRLX staff — this category covers the likes of record store clerks, prolific RYM reviewers, your friend’s cool dad, or popular music bloggers — the gurus, if you will. Individuals of this kind are your best and most direct route for connecting you with the sicknasty jams you so desperately crave. These men and women have taken it upon themselves to bring to you, their readers and admirers, the best there is, and they’ve put in the thousands of hours of attentive listening to back it up. With gurus, it’s best to fully extend your trust with the knowledge that, even though you may not like what you’re about to hear, you’ll still learn something in the process. You know, maybe it’s in 13/8, contains a six-minute clarinet solo, and features sound bytes from a nursing home orgy, but how the fuck do you know these guys aren’t the next Beatles, huh? While it may take some time to locate your personal gurus, your efforts will always be rewarded. Well, there you have it: a small selection of resources to expand your realm of music-listening. As a word of caution, be wary of developing acute hysterical torrent syndrome (HTS), leaving you with hundreds of gigs of music never to be heard. It is always best to listen to what you got before moving on to the next thing. Be mindful, too, of the converse condition. Then again, if you feel complacent with the music you already know, why the hell are you reading this magazine? 9
Chillwave is Post-Chillwave
By Ian Mercer Illustrations by A Noah Harrison
Don’t go writing a two-page CLAP article about me being an asshole for writing this title. I promise: this isn’t about chillwave being shitty; it’s just a few observations on the unique space that the genre occupied in contemporary music history. Since nobody can agree on what this genre actually is, I’ll refer to wikipedia: “chillwave is a genre of music whose artists are often characterized by their heavy use of effects processing, synthesizers, looping, sampling, and heavily filtered vocals with simple melodic lines.” The term itself was coined by the editor-in-chief (known only as “Carles”) of the music blog Hipster Runoff. This essay will outline the three standard-bearers of the movement before entering into a brief discourse on the state of chillwave today. The deepest roots of the movement were modest. Near the end of 2008, 19-year-old Texan Alan Palomo (AKA Neon Indian) skipped out on an invitation to drop acid with his ex-girlfriend. After this fateful decision, his immense waves of regret compelled him to express his complex emoting via song, resulting in his magnum opus: “Should Have Taken Acid With You” (the poetic lyrics include: “Should have taken acid with you / Touch the stars and the planets too / Should have taken acid with you / Melt our tongues and become unglued”). This demo (somehow) resulted in Alan catching a record deal with Lefse Records and, eventually, the Fader Label which was responsible for putting out his debut: Psychic Chasms in October 2009. I feel that the album is better as a snapshot in 10
time than as a musical statement. If you heard it in high school, I’m sure you loved it like I did, but if you check it out again now… well I’ll let you decide for yourself. In this author’s opinion, only the zeitgeist-bearing “Deadbeat Summer” and (painfully titled) “Terminally Chill” have held up well since ’09. Entries like “Laughing Gas” and “Local Joke” make me feel like I’ve eaten too much candy corn. Ernest Greene, a native of Georgia, released the second installment of The Holy Chilfecta under the name Washed Out. Life of Leisure EP dropped almost simultaneously with Psychic Chasms, and it contains the biggest hit that will be mentioned in this entire essay: “Feel It All Around.” Every single scratched-up “Summer Mix ‘09” CD in the world had this track on it (alongside “My Girls” and “Two Weeks”) and it soon became his “Creep.” Mr. Greene couldn’t escape it, and I believe that every composition that he’s made since has been a reaction against it. Anyways, the EP is good enough. It’s great as “ey-braj-toke-some-mad-dank-andcheck-out-this-siq-track” music (but, in the end, I suppose all the music I’m talking about here could fit that description). “FIAA” is indeed a great track, and is certainly the best on the EP, but other than that the short project, at only 17 minutes, somehow still manages to drag on for too long. Only three months later, the final champion of chillwave, Toro y Moi, made his debut with Causers of This. TyM is the pseudonym of Chazwick Bundick (yes, that’s his real name), a native of South Carolina. He released this album
at the ripe old age of 24, and his five years of maturation over Palomo resulted in an album exponentially superior to Psychic Chasms. It sounds far cleaner and it thankfully doesn’t rely on drug puns and paraphernalia. The record displays TyM’s serious harmonic and melodic skill, along with in-depth production ability. Seriously, just listen to “Imprint After,” which is certainly one of the greatest compositions to emerge from the age of chillwave. TyM is a musician’s musician, and I think he’s leagues ahead of any of his peers. In February 2011, just a year after his debut, Toro released another great project, Underneath the Pine. The record is the culmination of everything good about the movement, and nobody has ever come close to matching it. It’s got Portishead-style samples, lush vocal harmonies, and a dynamic range that can satisfy both audiophiles and chill bros. It flows perfectly as a whole piece of art, but each individual track is good enough to stand alone. “Divina” is probably the prettiest track that he’s ever written, and “Before I’m Done” features some of his best chord progressions and post-production skill. It’s strange, then, that the release date of this album directly coincides with the formal end of the genre. Nobody thinks that chillwave artists quit simply because UtP was too good, but other than that I really couldn’t tell you exactly what happened. Either way, this release somehow caused a subconscious and seismic shift in the musical cosmos, as if a pause button had been pressed on all of the actors in the chillwave matrix. All three members of the central council of the chill went on to create follow up albums (Neon Indian’s Era Extraña, Toro y Moi’s Anything in Return, and Washed Out’s Within and Without), but everything felt like an attempt to distance the writers from their chill titles. Toro’s follow-up usurped reverb and funk and replaced it with everything from sensual jazz (“Rose Quartz”) to outright party bangers (“Cake”). Neon Indian ended up making a superior album as well via swapping his analog 11
Moogs and keytars for strict, cold, modern keyboards and drum machines. The sound is much, much tighter, and it features two superb tracks: the hit single “Polish Girl” and the endlessly replayable “Heart: Release.” Sadly, Washed Out’s Within and Without was a forgettable compilation of disjointed tracks that served as the final, gasping breath of chillwave-as-chillwave. A few years later he submitted his marginally superior Paracosm, but its distance from the previous material marks it as a dramatic departure and further proof that the genre, as we knew it, had come to an end. If it sounds like I’m being overly simplistic by reducing an entire genre to three artists, and if you have doubts over how convincing my words are, just take a look at the sad husk of reddit.com/r/chillwave and sort by “top posts of all time.” 13 of the top 25 posts are submissions concerning TyM, WO, or NI. The other 12 posts are all memes (“One does not simply
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listen to only one Neon Indian track”), discussion questions (“Which Toro y Moi album is your favorite”), or listening guides (the charts are simple enough to describe here in words: listen to Psychic Chasms, Life of Leisure EP, Causers of This, and Underneath the Pine). The only truly interesting post resides at #1: a link to the Beach Boy’s track “All I Wanna Do,” which the submitter rightly titles as “First Chillwave Song Ever.” I do believe that the state of this subreddit does accurately mirror the state of chillwave. After all, if the genre’s primary audience (young internet dwellers) are having this hard a time in finding any truly chill music released after February 2011, then the genre must really have come to a standstill. Anyways, to get at the meaning of the title of this article, one must realize that even the four central releases that are firmly within the chillwave genre were already moving past the constraints of the form.
Chillwave didn’t just die a quick death; it was dying from the moment it was born. What I mean is that all chillwave albums (even the four main releases that I described before as being firmly within the genre) are attempts to escape the label. In this way, I think that there aren’t even four chillwave albums, but only three actual chillwave songs: “Deadbeat Summer,” “Blessa/Minors,” and “Feel It All Around.” All of the other tracks on the albums that are home to these tracks were already attempts to break away from The Chill Wave and become something new. In this way, chillwave was post-chillwave as soon as “Deadbeat Summer” came to a close for the first time. That being said, there is a silver lining to the atrophy of this genre: the live show. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Neon Indian a number of times, and anything that they lack in recording quality and songwriting ability is much more than made up for by the rows of synthesizers that the 6-person band brings along for the live show. Likewise, Toro y Moi’s show was the su-
perlative best dance party that I have ever been to, with a crowd that became absolutely intoxicated with Chazwick’s funky-ass bass lines (and notably funky afro). The live show for these artists really is the perfect antidote to the intrinsic sleepiness of their genre. In the end, what’s the point? Why am I being such a complete dick about what songs are within a genre and what songs lay outside its bounds? The answer is that I am completely fascinated with the temporal nature of this era. Just try to think of any other genre that is as ephemeral and difficult to describe as this one. I think the fact that Neon Indian has disappeared off the face of the earth since late 2012 speaks for itself: chillwave-as-chillwave has no future, and Palomo has accepted his fate. Remember, I’m not insulting any of these bands (they really do put out some great tracks); I’m just trying to figure out their slippery place in music history. And seriously, don’t write an angry CLAP article. We accept letters-to-the-editor in mailbox 1159.
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MISOGYNY IS NOT UNIQUE TO RAP MUSIC An Essay by Lexi Norvet What I wish to discuss today is not whether or not sexism exists and is rampant in contemporary hip-hop and rap lyrics. This is inarguable. Women are most commonly discussed in terms of their (hetero)sexuality and relationships with the men rapping about them. A woman is as (if not more) likely to be referred to as a “bitch” or “hoe” before, you know, as a person. I am not interested in arguing about that. What I am interested in discussing (as a woman who listens to music, including rap) is how our hyper-focus on the misogyny in rap music - and hiphop culture more generally - both reveals how racist we all are and simultaneously blinds us to the misogyny spouted by artists in other genres, and (not so) incidentally of other races. How is paying particular attention to misogyny in rap music racist? Well, my handy-dandy straw man, I’ll tell you. Like most genres of music, rap and hip-hop were created and developed by black people and black culture in the United States. Unlike rock and roll, R&B, jazz, and punk, though, white people have yet to infiltrate and completely dominate rap music (Macklemore, Eminem, and Itchy Australia notwithstanding). Because rap music remains a dominantly black medium, it is up to the white supremacist hegemony to do what it can to devalue it as an art form. That is what pointing out sexism in the lyrics of Kanye or 50 Cent or Waka Flocka is about – devaluing black art forms and asserting white supremacy. It has absolutely nothing to do with promoting the rights of women or denouncing violence against women. By always focusing on rappers’ liberal usage of perjorative terms for women, white culture is able to reassert its superiority and also dismiss everything else rappers are saying. We do not have to take it seriously when they discuss the evils of the prison-industrial complex or the inescapablility and racialization of poverty, all because they used the b-word. This pattern falls right in line with how America and white Americans have framed black Americans since our country’s founding. While black women have been summarily ignored and utterly dehumanized by dominant white society, black men have al14
Content Warning: Sexual Violence & Misogyny ways always always been villains and sexual fiends. Black men – as a tool of white supremacy – have been framed in the popular consciousness as hypersexual beings who cannot help but degrade women. This worry, of course, did not usually extend to black women but was concerned mostly with the relations between black men and white women. One of the many things that Jim Crow laws prohibited was interactions between the two groups. And while Jim Crow may be gone, the ways of thinking about black people that it promoted are not. So, as a fan of Kanye, when I listen to him say “Fuck you and your Hampton house / I fuck your Hampton spouse / Came on her Hampton blouse / and in her Hampton mouth” on his seminal track “New Slaves,” I read it as less about degrading this one particular wealthy white woman because she is a woman and more as a statement of rejecting, outright, the restrictions that have historically limited the actions of black men, and more importantly as a declaration of war on white supremacy and its vestiges. (Yes women’s bodies are routinely viewed as the battlegrounds upon which wars are fought and won by men but that is a conversation for another article in a not music zine.)
“Because rap music remains a dominantly black medium, it is up to the white supremacist hegemony to do what it can to devalue it as an art form”
Another clue that criticizing the misogyny in rap has fuck all to do with helping women is that our society has very little to say about the misogyny prevalent in other places in the music industry. Other male music legends like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Bob Dylan get little to no accusa-
tions of sexism in the mainstream discourse despite songs like “Under My Thumb,” “Run for your Life,” and “Just like a Woman” respectively (you can look up the lyrics for yourself). Robin Thicke and “Blurred Lines” enjoyed immense success last year (yes, criticisms of that song are rampant but no one is questioning the worth of the entire genre of boring pop music because of it (seriously that song does not go anywhere)). Particularly annoying to me, our collect-
“Sexism is not exlusive to black, male rappers” ive culture did not band together to let Megan Trainor know that “boys like a little more booty to hold at night” is not a good reason to feel good about yourself. All of these songs are harmful to women and women’s wellbeing and society at large does not care because society does not have anything to gain by being critical of these artists. The large-scale scrutiny of these people and their music would be detrimental to white supremacy and force people to start thinking more critically and self-reflexively about matters like internalized misogyny, rape culture, and false and unhelpful body positivity. Our white supremacist, patriarchal culture is only interested in pointing out the mistreatment of women in already marginalized communities because it justifies the marginalization of those communities.
I am not suggesting that Brown and Cosby do not deserve everything they have gotten recently; I am simply pointing out that our unquestioning rejection of them was only made possible by their blackness. Such allegations are usually the end for you if you are black. But, if you are proven to have enacted violence against women and are white – you will most likely come out all right in the end. You better run for your life if you can, little girl Hide your head in the sand little girl Catch you with another man That’s the end ah little girl Well I know that I’m a wicked guy And I was born with a jealous mind And I can’t spend my whole life Trying just to make you toe the line Let this be a sermon I mean everything I’ve said Baby, I’m determined And I’d rather see you dead
“Run for your Life” by the Beatles
Mainstream feminism (that is, white and liberal feminism) along with the hegemonic society it aligns itself with is really interested in talking about what I like to call The Easy Issues. To me, only talking about misogyny in rap music is Easy. It is Easy like decrying the homophobia of the Westboro Baptist Church is Easy. It is Easy like calling the racism that was prevalent in the Jim Crow-era south bad is Easy. And this rampant hypocrisy is not limited to While all of these things are true, only talking about the world of music either. Think of how quickly Bill misogyny, homophobia and racism as problems that Cosby became an industry leper, think of how the other communities have prevents us from discussmodern symbol for despicable abusers of women is ing and seeing how those problems are intrinsic to Chris Brown (yes, I know Chris Brown is still popular, our communities as well. Sexism is not a problem at invited to award shows etc. but he has been accept- the margins; it is not exclusive to black, male rappers ed as scum in the white hegemonic discourse). Now that scare your grandparents, and it is not always as think about Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin and Eminem Easy to spot as it is to count how many times Wiz (again). Think about Roman Polanski, who still man- Khalifa uses the term “bitch” versus “young lady ages to get standing ovations at the Oscars, and who I would like to know better.” Misogyny in our Woody Allen, who got a lifetime achievement award patriarchal, cis-sexist, heteronormative, capitalistic, last year at the Golden Globes, (again I do not wish white supremacist society surrounds and affects us to go into detail on these people’s specific crimes all. No one is exempt from that; not Childish Gamas they are awful, and No Fidelity is not the place bino, not Mumford and Sons, not you, not me, not – but please look into these individuals for your- anybody. selves and come to your own conclusions). These men are guilty of similar crimes to Brown and Cosby and have not faced anywhere near the level of repercussions that the former two have faced. Again, 15
WTF is a “Dvořák” by Gerrit Postema
I’m going to preface this by saying that although I have a small amount of knowledge of “classical” music, I by no means know enough to debate the finer points. This is a sort of layman’s introduction to another layman’s favorite symphony. I played in orchestra in middle and high school, and I was decent enough at playing string bass that I was able to play in my city’s youth symphony and all state orchestra. That being said, after spending a shit-ton of time practicing and playing “classical” music, I still knew nothing about it. There’s this weird dichotomy between a) being a part of a large orchestra, focusing on your part, constantly checking for audio clues from the other sections, frantically trying to make it look like you know what you’re doing and b) actually listening to an orchestra concert. Despite all my time spent playing classical music, I could never make it through an orchestra concert without dozing off, and I sure as hell didn’t listen to classical music in my spare time. I was mainly into electronic music, often the experimental and ambient kind, with artists like Burial, Tim Hecker, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Crystal Castles being some of my favorites. I thought that electronic music was merely the continuation of classical music and that electronic was simply free of the physical constraints that fettered the aspirations of classical music. And then I seriously sat down and listened to Dvořák’s 9th Symphony (subtitled “From the New World”) for the first real time, even though I’d played various movements of that symphony and seen it performed live. While there is something to be said for the stark reality of a concert-hall performance, listening to a piece of music in your headphones on your own terms is something special and completely different. I expected to be bored by it despite my nostalgia for the times when I performed it. I was not. It sounded like an entirely different piece. The recording that I listened to, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, was as lush and lavishly recorded and rendered as any Hyperdub release. I also realized that it was beautiful. I had spent such a long time away in the equally interesting land of bleak soundscapes and post-modernist explorations of Daniel Lopatin that I had forgotten the way 16
some music made me feel. I felt captured in the first movement. I cried at the beauty of the second movement, followed eagerly along with the third, and felt the triumphal climax of the final movement. I remembered how beautiful music and the abstract emotions that it elicits can be. And Dvořák’s music is just that: pure emotion. This is not looking at it from a classical perspective, this is looking at it from a modern perspective. I’m not using its own set of classical standards to judge it; I’m comparing it to artists like Kanye, Animal Collective, Burial, and Kendrick Lamar. Dvořák still holds his own. Dvořák’s music is almost shockingly accessible to the ears of someone who listens to current experimental music. It’s not harsh, but it’s not canned chord progressions and lowest-common-denominator, four-on-the-floor beats either. It’s beautifully complex but also beautifully sweet and resonant and resolving when it needs to be. This isn’t an article meant to push the classical genre onto a “modern” audience; this is merely an article extolling the virtues of a piece of music that I sincerely love.
LOVE IS DEAD: WHAT TO LISTEN TO WHEN YOU’RE ALONE ON VALENTINE’S DAY By Sylvie Graubard
There are all kinds of reasons to be sad on Valentine’s Day! Maybe you just went through a terrible breakup, or you’re secretly pining away over an unrequited crush, or you’re involved with someone but kind of think they suck. Don’t try to put on a brave face - instead, take advantage of this opportunity to use up as much of your self-pity as possible. My personal favorite way to feel bad for myself is to listen to people who are more articulate/talented than me sing about their own heartbreak. Luckily for us, sad people love to make music about their sadness! These eight songs cover all the bases in the saddest game of lonely baseball. They will make you feel worse, and then maybe better. “Love Will Fuck Us Apart” by Andrew Jackson Jihad Andrew Jackson Jihad are really good at making really sad songs sound deceptively upbeat. “Girls Don’t Like Me” by Boy Crush Do girls just not like you? You’re not alone! “Tablecloth” by Paul Baribeau The best way to do this song justice is to scream along, lying on your bed, drumming on the walls. “Algae Bloom” by Told Slant If listening to the scratchiest-nasaliest-scrawniest sad boy sing, “We used to walk around / Now I walk without you around / That’s hard to talk about” doesn’t make you want to cry then I don’t know what to say to you. Honestly, this entire album is incredible (and free on Bandcamp!) and eerily earnest. “No Children” by The Mountain Goats This is a real bummer of a song! There is nothing about this song that is not a bummer! “I Almost Do” by Taylor Swift I don’t care what anyone says: Taylor Swift is a brilliant songwriter. Her songs are generic enough that they are universally relatable. Do you have an ex who you are tempted to call literally all the time (specifically late at night, sitting alone in the Zen Garden, smoking a solo cig, not that this is about me) but know that you shouldn’t? So does Taylor, because she may be famous, but in reality she is Just Like Us! “Sometimes” by My Bloody Valentine Maybe you have heard this song before and thought it was incredible but couldn’t tell what they were saying. Well, look up the lyrics, because it’s fucking depressing. “Precipice” by Bad Cello This is my favorite song right now. Have a sad solo dance party!
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Our Bloody Valentine’s Day
NO FIDELITY Speaks Out about Music and Emotion In order to celebrate the most romantic day of the year, we’ve compiled short musical memories from our staff members. The assignment was “write, at most, 200 words that recount a memory of yours that has something to do with both music and love.” The results are as follows:
Julian Palmer
Top 5 Love Songs “I Could’ve Lied” - Red Hot Chili Peppers It’s a sad love song about the only girl that ever rejected Anthony Kiedis ever. He couldn’t get the girl and is “fucked up now.” Love is tough. “Not On Drugs” - Tove Lo “Baby listen please / I’m not on drugs / I’m not on drugs / I’m just in love!” Man, poor Tove Lo. I mean, how much would that suck if you confessed your love for someone and he’s just like, “Nah girl, you tripping.” “Glass” - Julian Casablancas Jules wrote this song specifically and solely for his girlfriend which is weird because it really reveals a dark side of love: “Pretty baby / Please just get out of the way / We’re insane.” Whoa. “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” - Death Cab for Cutie The lyrics pretty much describe the strongest, deepest, truest love I think anyone is capable of describing. Ben Gibbard will literally follow his girl into Purgatory. “Suck It and See” - Arctic Monkeys Alex Turner’s lyrics are pretty metaphorical, but you get the point: “That’s not a skirt, girl, that’s a sawn-off shotgun / And I can only hope you’ve got it aimed at me.” ;)
Madeline Garcia “Bill for the Use of a Body” by Chain and the Gang I first heard this when I was about fourteen. I didn’t have any heartbreak then but knew that it was undeniably and dishearteningly truthful. It might just be the saddest break up song I know, even with its candid and simple lyrics. Take a listen this Valentine’s Day if need be; if not, save it. 18
Cisco Hayward I don’t really like having sex to music. Yeah, sure, I break out Merriweather Post Pavilion every once in awhile, but I don’t really see the appeal of it. It overcomplicates things. When there is music playing, you have to keep time, and you have to change pace with the album and hold off orgasm until the crescendo, and sometimes I don’t want to have to think about that. I mean, if you’re gonna go so far as to have music playing, you gotta follow its arc; otherwise why the fuck else do you have it on? Do you have music playing while fucking because you want to truly intergrate the oral and aural experience, or because you want to jack yourself off and the person right in front of or behind you isn’t enough? Admit it, the only reason people have sex to music is because of movies, and you put music on so that your sex looks more like movie sex and therefore you can convince yourself it was better. Furthermore, I don’t really feel comfortable with Brian Wilson or Skrillex watching me fuck. It’s too weird.
Urmilla Kutikkad
10 Mope Songs
“Knife” - Grizzly Bear “Nobody Loves Me Like You” - Low Roar “Love Is All” - The Tallest Man On Earth “I Know It’s Over” - Jeff Buckley (Smiths Cover) “La Chute (The Fall)” - Yann Tiersen “Pink Rabbits” - The National “Phantom Other” - Department of Eagles “Codex” - Radiohead “Sea of Love” - Cat Power “Fade Into You” - Mazzy Star 5 sexxxy cool love songs “When You Sleep” - My Bloody Valentine “Toxic” - Britney Spears “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” - Neutral Milk Hotel “You Belong With Me” - Taylor Swift “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” - Carole King
Bob Otsuka Sometimes, when I am alone with idle thoughts, I remember a time in high school when one of my friends was feeling really sad about a breakup, and one of my friends decided it would be a good idea to post a link to “Someday You Will Be Loved” by Death Cab For Cutie on their Facebook wall. This was precisely the moment I learned just how important it is to not judge a song’s message by its title. If you plan on making a playlist for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day, I urge you to please take care with your selections! 19
Francisco Castro In middle school I had a massive crush on your typical pop-punk-angsty-eighthgrade girl. Fresh off the boat from the Caribbean motherland, I was doing anything in my power to fit in. Naturally, I started to listen to My Chemical Romance because my crush was head over heels for Gerard Way. To be honest, I pretended to like MCR while I could not stand any of their music and would rather jam to Bachata in my room. Years later, however, after the release of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, I gave it a listen and instantly fell in love with the whole concept. Consequently, I binge-listened to their entire discography one hot Houston summer day and ever since then, I’ve been a fan. We were really good friends for a while even though we don’t talk much, but I think it’s super cool that someone can have that kind of influence on you even years after. So yeah, shout out to A.M. Thank You.
Katie Williams When I was at semester school, I was in a love triangle. I loved him, he loved Creedence Clearwater Revival… I don’t really know what the third part of that triangle was, but regardless, second semester of my junior year in high school was devoted to many late nights playing CCR on repeat in hopes of casually humming one of their songs in our lunch line behind my “novio” to get his attention. It didn’t work, but I’m glad I started listening to CCR anyway. In the spirit of unrequited love, here are 5 quintessential CCR tracks for those of you that are just as angsty as I was/am/probably always will be: “Long As I Can See the Light” “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” “Bad Moon Rising” “Down On The Corner” “Up Around the Bend” Lily Eisenthal All throughout junior high and high school, I had a strange, romantically-charged friendship with a lanky, green-eyed boy. Our birthdays were a day apart in June, and it felt like we were twins. Maybe for that reason, it seemed important that we never do anything beyond flirting and joking around. He introduced me to Silver Jews. This boy was incredibly goofy, but when he started sharing their songs with me, he was dead serious about how much they meant to him. I remember sitting down and listening to “Smith & Jones Forever” punctuated by his echoes of lyrics he found particularly poetic. He showed me a video for “Punks in the Beerlight” and burned me copies of American Water, Starlite Walker, and The Natural Bridge, with their titles scribbled on in his bad handwriting. It was all so rad and so different from anything I had listened to before. One day, he paused whatever else we were doing to read me one of David Berman’s poems and I just about died. Whenever I listen to Silver Jews, it brings me back to that intense platonic love and how happily and unhappily confused I was. 20
Gracie McNeely A couple months ago, I was getting really into late 1990s/2000s rock. blink-182, Yellowcard, Lit, etc. It brought back some great angsty memories of being like 9 years old. Flash forward to last term. I was hooking up with a guy and told him to put some music on. He asked what band I wanted to listen to, and because I was really into listening to 2000s rock, I said blink-182. He put on “First Date.” It was such a mistake. blink-182 is horrible to listen to whilst making out. Imagine feeling very intimate and getting hot and bothered and then all of a sudden you hear, in that awful 2000 solo voice timbre: “LET’S GO. DON’T WAIT. THIS NIGHT’S ALMOST OVER.” Please take this advice: don’t hook up to Blink Dan Bollinger You know how in the movies a couple always has a romantic song that was playing on the radio when they first meet, and then they walk slowly toward each other while the ambient sound fades out and it’s just that song, and that song becomes their song or whatever? Well, my friend from high school and his girlfriend (well mostly his girlfriend) decided that they needed that song and settled on “My Heart Will Go On” by Céline Dion. Her heart might have gone on, but their relationship did not... thank god. Well, I want you all to think back to the summer of 2009. I was a strapping young lad, fresh off my 4th consecutive year with braces and excited about the prospect of finding some summer lovin’ (great pun right). Now, that summer happened to correspond to such groundbreaking performances as 3OH!3’s “DONTTRUSTME” and Shinedown’s “Second Chance,” but one song in particular brings me back. You see, I met a beautiful, wonderful girl who happened to live thousands of miles away (tears). And I still think of her occasionally, whenever I hear that now iconic phrase: “Somebody call 911 / Shawty fire burning on the dancefloor!”
A Noah Harrison Music shouldn’t be about emotion, and certainly not love. Music should be about everything but emotion. I’m not talking about lyrics; I’m talking about what’s really contained within. Music is supposed to make you think through the experience of listening. Only then are you allowed to feel anything. Happy Valentine’s Day, punks.
Henry Southwick There is a song by One Republic (yes yes I’m mainstream) that really captures the way I try to live my life. This has never happened to me before; there has never been a song that captures the entirety of how I feel about getting out of bed to take on the day. Love songs sometimes get it right about love; angry songs understand that sometimes I don’t like people, but I have never come across one that gets better at the heart of what it means to be alive. The song, “I Lived” (appropriately titled), is about getting up and making the most of your life. But despite being written in the first person singular, the song is about wishing completeness on other people too, which I find really touching. I dunno, everybody has a piece of music that makes them feel full, and this is mine. I’ll leave you with my favorite lyric: “I hope you say I did it all / I owned every second that this world could give / I saw so many placesand the things that I did / And with every broken bone I swear I lived.” Nice, yeah? 21
Ben Wedin “Love” songs that don’t have anything to do with romantic love: “California Love” - 2pac “Winter’s Love” - Animal Collective “All is Full of Love (Howie’s Version)” - Björk “Where Is The Love?” - Black Eyed Peas “Love and Caring” - Crystal Castles “Arpeggiated Love” - The Field “Sweet Love For Planet Earth” - Fuck Buttons “One Love” - Nas “Girls Love Beyonce (Remix)” - SBTRKT “You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for it’s your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat” - Death Grips
Professor Dan Groll Here’s the only song you need for this Valentines Day (unless you are alone, and especially if you have recently been dumped by the love of your life (in which case stop reading now)): “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Ewan MacColl and performed by Peggy Seeger. That last bit is very important. This song has been covered many times, but none of them hold a candle to the original performance by Peggy Seeger. Everything about this song is perfect: gorgeous melody, beautiful guitar playing, off-kilter harmonic rhythm, wonderful lyrics and... Peggy Seeger’s voice, which is not perfect but somehow makes the whole song more perfect. Seeger’s voice is plangent. It cuts and kind of makes you screw up your face. But I love it. It’s no surprise, I suppose, that Seeger’s voice works so well with this song: McColl wrote it for her before they got married (and while he was still married to someone else. But we’ll ignore that).
Paco Alvarez We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (But I Will Date Someone Else) Ask anyone who went to high school during the past five years what they remember most about their first relationship, and you’ll probably get a feigned-apathetic bitter chorus of “breaking up” and “Taylor Swift.” After six months of teenage angst disguised as bliss, my girlfriend broke up with me a week before the start of junior year. Naturally, I was devastated but hid my real feelings behind fake hitting on my friends and stealing cigarettes from my ex (we were still friends). I was in the car with two of my good friends, Lindsay and Rebecca, when the now-classic “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” by Taylor Swift came on. Being the great friend and not total asshole that she was, Rebecca turned the volume all the way up, looked back at me, and shouted that this song was about my ex and me. Normally when someone does this, you reevaluate your friendship and never listen to that song again. Instead, we fake flirted the whole night and not two months later, dated for nearly two years. She was pretty right I guess. 22
Sam Watson You can give this romantic playlist to your boyfriend or girlfriend. It is very thoughtful. You can even tell them you made it yourself, especially for them, because they don’t read this zine. 1. “Doo Wop” – Bachelorette 2. “Car” – Built to Spill 3. “Hundreds of Sparrows” – Sparklehorse 4. “The Ballad of the RAA” – The Rural Alberta Advantage 5. “Dark Corners” – Sonny & the Sunsets
Ian Mercer When I think of my high school romantic relationships, only 3 songs come to mind. Animal Collective - “Fireworks” Grizzly Bear - “Foreground” CANT - “Believe” When I hear these songs now, it’s almost like I’m processing them through an Instagram filter that has upped the contrast and softened all the edges. These songs make me feel the way that an American Football song is supposed to make me feel. I wish I could hear them again out of context, because right now they are a little too steeped in the melodrama of 16-year-old romance. I think I can’t really hear how they actually sound anymore, which makes me wonder if it’s possible for any beloved song to exist outside of the context of where it was first heard. Professor Andy Flory I have a great Valentine memory from when I was a young teenager. There was a popular song at the time by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and I wanted to impress a neighborhood girl with my knowledge of it. This was before CDs were popular and centuries before you could download or stream a song or simply pull it up on YouTube. Every night for a week I wolfed down my dinner and ran to my room, locking the door and tuning my portable radio to a cool new radio station called Z-93. This was the time of night that they played the topten countdown, and I had a blank cassette at the ready in my little “ghetto blaster.” The record function was engaged while I held the pause button manually, which was the tested-and-proven method of making the machine react as quickly as possible. As the countdown progressed, I waited, hoping to capture LL&CJ’s “Lost in Emotion” in its entirety so I could study the lyrics and casually sing them on the school bus the next day. In hindsight, it was really ironic. The song was about a guy that had a crush, delivered from the perspective of a girl that knew it. But when you’re a kid, you don’t always catch details like this. 23
BY JOSIE NARON AND MADELINE GARCIA
LIBE FLOOR BY FLOOR PLAYLISTS //
1
flashing lights / badbadnotgood 2/1 / brian eno aisatsana / aphex twin iv / uuuuuu morning talk/supersymmetry / arcade fire it never rains round here / ghost in a sundress fiction / belle and sebastian alone together / chet baker //emc// / thanks, honey comptine d’un autre été / yann tiersen
2
flatlands / chelsea wolfe lately (deuxième) / memoryhouse wonderful sometimes / dream suicides calico / widowspeak put me down / the cranberries parking lots / told slant center / quarterbacks baby blue / zoo kid i was my own favorite tv show the summer my tv broke / julia brown i’ll try anything once / julian casablancas
3
king / bulldog eyes reprogram ourselves / jerry paper change / alex g don’t go away ahumpf acgroomf / free cake for every creature halo (bey) / trace mountains what’s another lipstick mark / adult mom dizzy drumming / dc schneider for the sea creatures / florist no more soda! / whatever, dad how can i be sad at a face like that / cave babies
4
marie (no sleep) / coma cinema white flag / girlpool 666 / cool sounds bein’ alone / porches. shabop shalom / devendra banhart only you / makeout videotape the fear / john maus we can’t afford (your depression anymore) / car seat headrest ay ay ay / juan wauters talent / heavenly beat amelia / cocteau twins
Hummingbird Part VI
A Serialized Short Story by Henry Southwick Illustrations by Claire Ferguson
Music Documentary Gems to Watch Now by Lily Eisenthal
Great documentaries rely on great personalities. There are so many big personalities in music, it’s no wonder that music docs are so watchable and entertaining. They can introduce you to artists you’ve never heard of, give you intimate portraits of superstars, and even make you feel like you are there, experiencing a concert first-hand. These documentaries blend music and reality in magical ways. Here are some favorites that you can find in our very own libe or on the ‘net. DiG! (Ondi Timoner, 2004) - Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols DiG! will always be my #1 favorite music documentary. Funny and heartbreaking with great psych-rock in between, it’s a must-see. This film follows two bands, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, over the course of several years as they navigate the music industry, what it means to “sell out,” and an increasingly bitter rivalry. Anton Newcombe’s (frontman for BJM) egomaniacal personality shines through, producing the doc’s most memorable moments. Strangest scene: Harry Dean Stanton shows up at a BJM house party. Don’t Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967) - Bob Dylan Do you want to watch Bob Dylan be a total dick to everyone he meets? I know I do. This black and white feature follows Dylan and his entourage on his 1965 tour of England. Watch for Joan Baez’s funny faces, a Donovan-versus-Dylan “folk-battle,” and Dylan’s evisceration of a TIME Magazine news correspondent. Includes what could be considered the first lyric-video for “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” Strangest scene: Dylan holds a giant light-bulb during a press conference and says, “Keep a good head and always carry a light-bulb.” Searching for Sugarman (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012) - Rodriguez Probably the most fascinating of them all, Searching for Sugarman follows the story of ‘70s Detroit-based singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who is described as an “American Zero, South African Hero.” He produced two solid albums that never found an audience in the US but somehow made their way into apartheid-era South Africa and turned Rodriguez into a folk-hero. The film follows two South African fans as they go on a quest to find out who the mysterious musician really was. Cold Fact (1970) could qualify as the most slept-on rock album ever in the US - 6 people bought the record when it first came out, and it’s brilliant. 20 Feet From Stardom (Morgan Neville, 2013) - Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer This is like required reading for your popular music education. Backup singers have laid the foundation for so many terrific pop songs, but they rarely get the credit they deserve. 20 Feet explores the strange space that these (mostly) black women inhabit and introduces the unknown voices that round out and enrich those old songs you love. I live for Merry Clayton’s raw vocals on “Gimme Shelter.”
Want more? Check out:
Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1984) A rad Talking Heads concert doc One Plus One/Sympathy For the Devil (Jean-Luc Godard, 1968) The creative process for the Rolling Stones’ song mixed with politically subversive imagery Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap (Ice-T, 2012) Conversations with great rappers about their craft
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HEAD TO HEAD: ROUND 8
Return to Cookie Mountain Ian Mercer
David Pickart
They have cool hair. They’re from Brooklyn. With these 2 traits, TVotR could’ve been my favorite band. The elements were all in place except for just one thing: the music. It’s sad that the first 30 seconds of RTCM are, by far, my favorite out of the album’s entire duration. The syncopated bass drum and the distorted, just-off-kilter-enough sample had me sitting up in my chair… and then the chorus hit. The lead singer sounds like a Reggie Watts knockoff singing through a shitty microphone, but without any of the charm or personality. The bass lines are boring, and the melodies are aimless. The worst offense is the mediocre mix, which brings out the most boring parts (and obscures the details) of each track. On top of all that, the project is easily 20 minutes too long. They could’ve taken out the entire last 6 minutes as well as the tracks “Wolf Like Me” and “Blues From Down Here.” All of these parts are repetitive to the point that I feel morally obligated to skip to the next track. Don’t get me wrong: I think repetition, when used correctly, is a very useful musical tool. The problem is that this album is suffering from an identity crisis: it wants to be pop, but its lyrics are too obscured, ugly, and forgettable; its samples too unpleasant and monotonous. Usually I wouldn’t care about excessive repetition or the fact that it’s impossible to sing along; I only care here because Cookie Mountain seems to have been built to be a pop album!
Don’t be fooled by its whimsical name; Return to Cookie Mountain is a pretty dark album. I don’t mean dark in the conventional sense of chugging guitar riffs or screaming vocals, but rather in the sense of atmospheric gloom that builds over the course of countless moody, psychedelic jams. It’s slow-moving, repetitive, and abstract. It’s also a ton of fun to listen to. RTCM’s strength lies primarily in its genre-defying creativity and unpredictability. On an album where distorted synth and washed-out guitar are as likely to appear as twee vocal harmonies and whistling, it’s hard not to remain intrigued about what direction the music will take next. This experimentation doesn’t come at the cost of cohesion, either - each instrumental addition fits nicely into TVotR’s brooding aesthetic. The aforementioned “twee vocal harmonies” and “brooding aesthetic” might give you pause, but somehow it works. TVotR’s sound isn’t for everyone - it’s intentionally rough around the edges and can be downright grating at times. Several songs on RTCM have an air of controlled chaos, mostly due to a raucous percussion section that barrels along and threatens to run off the rails at any moment. The lead singer’s voice is often weak and uneven, but the band transforms it via multitracking into an amorphous chorus of mumbling voices, an effect that’s somehow both comforting and disconcerting. The lyrics, though often unintelligible, are equally mysterious. As a whole, the band does a good job of balancing accessibility and inscrutability, creating satisfying tunes while encouraging repeated listens.
My Verdict: Definitely try it out for yourself, but RTCM just ain’t for me. Every once in awhile, a nice and shoegazy guitar part appears or a pleasant melody shines through, but the poor mix, lame samples, and useless repetition leave me unsatisfied.
My Verdict: TVotR’s aim isn’t to deliver deft melodies or clever lyrics, but rather to create memorable textures and grooves that engage and challenge the listener. In this regard, RTCM succeeds admirably.
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FIVE HIP-HOP ALBUMS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2015 by Francisco Castro
Kendrick Lamar
Undisputably one of the most important faces of the hip-hop game in the last three years, Kendrick has promised to release new work some time this year. Little is known about the name, date, and overall aspects of the album, but rumors have surfaced that collaboration with the west coast’s DRE and Snoop Dee Oh Double Gee can be expected. In an interview with Pitchfork, Kendrick mentioned that close to 40 songs have been written for the GKMC follow up. Singles like “i” may imply a new, more instrumental vibe from his previous work, but according to TDE affiliates and the recently released “The Blacker the Berry,” we can expect the same uncompromising narrative and social commentary that has come to define him as an artist
Pusha T
After the success of My Name is My Name, Pusha T is set to release King Push sometime in the Spring of 2015. If his latest single “Lunch Money” can serve as evidence for what is to come, it is clear that he is slowly committing his sound to that of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. MUSIC collective. We can definitely expect some Yeezy influenced work. The Virginia-born artist has expressed a more solo approach to his newest release. In a Rolling Stone Magazine interview, Pusha is promising to keep his following, the haters, and everyone in between on the edge of their seats. “Now, I feel like people don’t know where the hell I’m going to go on the next record. And that’s where I want them to be.”
A$AP RVCKY
The Harlem native has not gone anywhere and the rumors of his sophomore album have turned into facts. After A$AP Yams (R.I.P.) declared 2014 as “the worst year for hip-hop,” the Mob is taking it upon themselves to bring back what’s been taken from hip hop. The release of “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2” is a banger, and we can expect a whole lot of purple, a lot of Houston, and a lot of the self-reflective bars that make A$AP what they are. Ferg is rumored to have something in the works as well.
Travi$ Scott
Set to be released sometime in March of this year, it logically follows that Travi$ Scott’s Rodeo will be a sort of continuation of 2014’s Days Before the Rodeo. Scott has not revealed much about the new work, but promises to give a carnival experience not unlike “a Beyoncé concert.” To tease fans about the new album, Scott dropped two tracks (featuring Young Thug and Future) titled “High Fashion” and “Nothing But Net.” Both tracks have a very ambient, almost psychedelic vibe, so it will be interesting to see how they will be incorporated in the record.
Chance the Rapper
The acid-dropping-Chicago-born-chain-smoking rapper has confirmed the release of Surf some time this year. Chance has proven his melodic, lyrical, and narrative talent with Acid Rap, but his recent collaboration with The Social Experiment, his touring band, should bring an interesting perspective to the new work. As it was with his previous album, Surf is meant to be dropped as a free listening experience. Features to be excited about include Donnie Trumpet and Francis Starlite from Francis and the Lights. Seriously, y’all. I expect nothing less than success from this new work.
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TRACK 11 12 13 14 15
NAME 5 Bonus Songs Which Should Have Been On
ALBUM The Album The Album The Album The Album The Album
ARTIST Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi Lucas Rossi
1. Taylor Swift - “New Romantics” Bonus tracks are tricky. Sometimes they’re cash-grabs, sometimes they’re fan service. Sometimes they even undermine the actual album material by being better than other selected songs. “New Romantics” is definitely one of the latter. This track sees Taylor’s “I’m doing pop” attitude being taken to its furthest extremes, and what results is pretty much a perfect piece of electro/synth/dance pop. The verses are super slinky, the lyrics are fun, and the chorus just goes fucking hard. There are tons of good songs on this record, so I’m not going to say this is better than all of them, but it’s definitely up there, and it’s a pretty mystifying omission from the main tracklist (also check out “Wonderland”).
2. Kishi Bashi - “Brandenberg Stomp” Though last year’s Lighght was an excellent pop album, it was at least a little inconsistent (something that Kishi Bashi’s albums tend to struggle with) and was definitely brought down in places by some weaker songs. This is where “Brandenberg Stomp” should have come in, a kind of bizarre but insanely catchy indiefied Shakira-esque/dancehall foot-stomping/Brueghelian peasant-romping mess with indecipherable lyrics and a ton of energy. Fun for days.
3. Alcest - “Into the Waves” Shelter, marking Alcest’s departure from metal and transition to full-on dream pop and shoegaze, was disappointing in a lot of ways. It probably wouldn’t have been if every song had sounded like “Into the Waves.” This track has everything an Alcest shoegaze song should have: an infectious but effective guitar lead, solid riffing, and a great sense of momentum. The ethereal female vocal harmonies and soothing second part are just the icing on the cake, and as a result this song pretty much outdoes everything on the actual album.
4. Florence and the Machine - “Strangeness and Charm” Florence Welch tends to put out a lot of awesome bonus material, and the second disc of 2011’s Ceremonials was no exception. A live staple for years, fans finally got a studio version of “Strangeness and Charm,” a classic piece of Florence indie pop. I still don’t think this version is quite as good as the heavier and more rock-oriented live version (which was actually a bonus track on Florence’s first fulllength, Lungs), but after years of waiting for a studio recording, I think this one deserved more than being relegated to the bonus section.
5. The National - “Santa Clara” It’s probably unwise to question the artistic decision-making of a band as good as The National, especially when you’re dealing with a tracklist as immaculate as the one on Boxer. I’m not going to say that “Santa Clara” should’ve been on the album proper, but I will say that you just really need to hear this shit if you haven’t. I’ve listened to this song about 50 times in the last two days, so I might be a little out of my mind, but I’m about 99% sure this is the best song ever. Gorgeous chords, gorgeous vocal melodies, gorgeous lyrics, gorgeous everything. Shoutouts to all the cool happy genius heroes. 31
Self-Affirmation Anthems from 2014 by Ben Wedin
My favorite music to sing along to is music that makes me feel good and not worthless. A lot of music on Valentine’s Day can end up making you feel bad and worthless because it’s often talking about other people in love. So here are some songs from 2014 that work regardless of your relationship state. Because they were resonant, confidence-building, or straight up fun, you can definitely swagger to these ten tracks:
“Feeling Myself” - Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint
The Pinkprint got delayed until December, which is unfortunate because it’s a very respectable album that deserved more recognition on year-end lists. Hit-Boy gets credit for one of the best beats of the year, and Beyoncé and Nicki transform it into the self-feeling anthem that everyone deserves. Beyoncé with the crash cymbals gets me every time, so much good feeling on this one. Lyrics: “Feeling myself / I’m feeling myself”
“Show Me Love” - Hundred Waters, The Moon Rang Like a Bell
The opening for The Moon Rang Like a Bell brings shivers down my spine just thinking about it. Honest and confident, Nicole Miglis invites you into a world that is both mysterious and immediately relatable. Fantastic song from one of my favorite albums of the year. Lyrics: “Don’t let me show cruelty though I may make mistakes”
“How Bout Now” - Drake
Whether it’s “Trophies,” “Started From the Bottom,” or “0 to 100,” Drake loves his victory laps. But “How Bout Now” is celebratory in a different sense: it’s not about his team coming up but is a testament to his own skill and persistence. Perfect for a triumphant exit from any great accomplished feat. Lyrics: “You thought you had it all figured out back then girl how bout now?”
“Fucks Given” / “U Don’t Have to Call (Usher Cover)” - Childish Gambino, STN MTN / Kauai
Hey, if Gambino gets to release a double EP, I get to include two songs. Gambino hits the auto-tune sweet spot in “Fucks Given,” and simply has a lot of fun bravado to commandeer for your own devices. “U Don’t Have To Call” on the other hand gets a slowed down a cappella treatment, turning an upbeat Usher joint into something sentimental and intimate. I don’t know how to write down the sing along part, but you’ll know it when you hear it. Lyrics: “I came here to do my own shit” / “Aaaahaahaah”
“Now Hear In” - Cloud Nothings, Here and Nowhere Else
Here and Nowhere Else is a frenetic album full of shouts and drums, and the opener “Now Hear In” encapsulates that initial liberation for me. The catchy melodies of this song in particular have motivated me on many a run. Lyrics: “And I can’t feel your pain, but I feel alright ‘bout it”
“Hereditary” - Isaiah Rashad, Cilvia Demo
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Hooks centered around drugs/money/women in rap are old hat, but the real parts to sing along in Rashad’s great debut are hidden within the verses: a couple of bars in a separate flow invites you to keep your attention and not just tune the words out. A closer investigation reveals a much more introspective and thoughtful wordsmith, and lines you’ll want to belt out as groovily as Rashad. Lyrics: “One time for the caged bird”
“Digital Witness” - St. Vincent, St. Vincent
St. Vincent’s album art places Annie Clark on top of a throne, and listening to the album may give you an idea why. Songs like “Bring Me Your Loves” and “Digital Witness” place Clark as an empress of sorts, with a smattering of textures that is simply awesome. Though you must cede the throne to Clark, you can sing along feeling a bit more like a ruler. Lyrics: “Digital witnesses, what’s the point of even sleeping? / If I can’t show it / If you can’t see me”
“7/11” - Beyoncé, Beyoncé: More
So many dance songs keep on telling me what to do. Party, drank, etc. But “7/11” is simple: Beyoncé is putting her hands and feet up and in the air, clapping, and occasionally smacking “it” in the air (“it” being hands or a booty, up to interpretation). Sure you have to hold that Coke like alcohol, but Beyoncé is making you feel awesome for it. Be sure to look up “711 Beyonce ReQuest” for killer dancing. Ebony take note, there’s a crawl in it and everythang. Lyrics: “I put up, my hands up / Then I’m spinnin’, all my hands up”
“Never Catch Me (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” - Flying Lotus, You’re Dead!
As far as I’m concerned, Kendrick plus FlyLo is a match made in heaven. Kendrick’s sense of rhythm, combined with the extra dimensional space that FlyLo inhabits, will bring you to a very special place. The chorus (if you can call it that) is a moment of catharsis in You’re Dead!, a confident retort directed towards the Grim Reaper or any challenge in life. “i” may be the more directly happy song from Kendrick last year, but this stuff is equally powerful. Extra kudos to anyone who can follow Kendrick’s flow on the opening verse. Lyrics: “Analyze my demise, I say I’m super anxious”
1989 - Taylor Swift
Yes, this is an album not a song. I keep breaking my own rules. The sheer amount of production that went into this album is staggering, and it totally paid off. Hums, harmonies, echoes, reverb, vocal effects, all of it. This is music that was made for singing along to. A line like “all you had to do was stay” may have absolutely no meaning in your life, yet you compulsively want to sing along and gain strength from it. I was never a huge fan of the country star Taylor, but I can totally get behind this new pop maximalist stuff. Lyrics: “I got this music saying it’s going to be alright”
Crazy Shit that Fans of The Strokes Say on Twitter by Julian Palmer
First of all, allow me to acknowledge that every band/musical artist has their fair share of bat-shit bonkers fans. I don’t think I even need to mention how scary Taylor Swift fans are, but it looks like I just did. Anywho, I myself being a huge Strokes fan took to Twitter to see what other fans have to say about those nifty New York guys, and boy oh boy they have A LOT to say. Here’s the Top 1,283,749,123 Craziest Shit Strokes Fans Say on
@sonicmeth - the “cult” in cult records represent the jujitsu cassandranervo’s worshipping cult. join us 2day @moderngrls - I imagined nick valensi wrapped his long, long arms around me and they went around my body almost seven timeees @julian_ebooks - Hi. this is julindo casajuncas. I am the proud founder of Yes Water Buffalos - an organization advocating equal treatment of water buffalo @AUTOMATICSTOP - i love fabrizio moretti more than i love my ass @dessertbasedgod - julian casablancas: Beautiful Cinnamon Roll Too Good For This World, Too Pure @sonicmeth - julian casablancas: *blinks* me: WHAT A MAJESTIC CTEATUTE ANGEL FROM HEAV EN TOO PRECIOUS TOO PURE BEAUTIFUL BEAUTI FUL BEAN @OHTENNESSE - If Julian won a Grammy and Kanye dissed him you bet your ass I’m gonna start a riot and burn every Kanye record lol #nochill @Casablancas_J Almost forgot to wish you a happy birthday, I cannot believe it’s been so many years since you’ve died for our sins @arzegang - me: *thinks about nick valensi* me: *rips off all limbs* @rileyemmy - Idk if you guys know but I love julian casablancas as if he is my child but also the creator of the universe @moderngrls - Idea: change “grammys” to “casablancas” and give every single award to julian casablancas just for his existence @bbcakezz - I hope when I have kids they tell all their friends about the time I saw The Strokes live and how that makes me the coolest mom ever.
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UPCOMING SHOWS!!!
First Ave.
Sleater-Kinney.............................................................................................2/14 Hozier..................................................................................................2/20 The Flaming Lips.........................................................................................2/24 Punch Brothers.............................................................................................3/1 Tweedy..........................................................................................................3/8 of Montreal................................................................................................3/15 Tycho..........................................................................................................3/22 Father John Misty........................................................................................4/4 Caribou.......................................................................................................4/12 The Mountain Goats....................................................................................4/19 Lord Huron..................................................................................................4/26
7th Street Entry
The Dodos....................................................................................................3/7 Viet Cong...................................................................................................3/12 Lil Dicky......................................................................................................3/19 Twerps..........................................................................................................4/8 The Soft Moon............................................................................................4/18 Young Fathers.............................................................................................. 5/9 Inter Arma..................................................................................................5/13
Turf Club
Dan Mangan + Blacksmith...........................................................................3/4 Swervedriver...............................................................................................3/12 Disappears..................................................................................................4/13 Diarrhea Planet..........................................................................................4/23
Fine Line Music Café
Ariel Pink....................................................................................................2/16 Theophilus London....................................................................................2/24 The Ting Tings..............................................................................................4/3
Triple Rock Social Club
Waxahatchee................................................................................................5/6 35
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