STAFF: Mary Begley, Ian Mercer, Ben Wedin, Cisco Hayward, Sam Watson, A. Noah Harrison, Lucas Rossi, Bob Otsuka, and Jonathan Chow CONTRIBUTORS: Sophie Kissin, David Demark, Tessa Whalen-Wagner, Steph Lee, Henry Southwick, David Pickart, Dylan Payne, Lydia Ding, and Andy Nelson We’re always looking to expand our project. Join in if you like words about noises.
No Fidelity would like to offer a retraction and a full apology to Kishi Bishi for spelling the stupid title of his new album even more stupid in our previous issue.
Table of Contents EDITORIALS Opening Question by Readers.....................................................................................2 MBV as Mythology by Ian Mercer.................................................................................3 Babes in Toyland by mdb..............................................................................................4 The Holy (Vacant) Trinity by Lucas Rossi........................................................................5 Visionist Interview by Steph Lee...................................................................................8 NEW MUSIC REVIEWS Reviews by Bob Otsuka, Sam Watson, Henry Southwick, Lucas Rossi, A. Noah Harrison...............................................................................................................................9 COLUMNS Summer Hip-Hop Releases by Ben Wedin.................................................................12 Head to Head by Pickart/Mercer...............................................................................14 Something About Beck by Bob Otsuka.......................................................................15 Hold Steady Manifesto by David Demark/Tessa Whalen-Wagner.............................16 The Glory Days by Henry Southwick...........................................................................20 Surrealist Exercise by Staff...........................................................................................21 OWSLA by Dylan Payne...............................................................................................23 In Defense of Distortion by Cisco Hayward................................................................24 CONCERT REVIEWS Slinting to Slint by A. Noah We at Harrison..........................................................................25 No Fidelity are a simple bunch. We like our soundscapes textured our fidelity low to nonexistent. We’re a community Connan Mockasin by Jonathanand Chow/Lydia Ding......................................................26
at Carleton dedicated to getting people together through music. What? We already have The Cave and KRLX for that very purOTHER STUFF pose? Not enough! We’re here for a fierce climate for brazenly asserting our mostly erroneous opinions about music. Maybe the Upcoming Shows........................................................................................................27 only thing unites us as a group is our passion for pretty sounds Classifieds....................................................................................................................28 and our ability to work with Mary. We’re only three issues deep, but we’ve already produced over a hundred pages of content. If you’re still reading this, you’re probably just the kind of person FUN we want on our staff to help our classmates feel and even appear FRANKEN-ARTICLE by Staff........................................................................................29 cooler in the eyes of their peers. JOIN US.
Wuzzle by mdb...........................................................................................................30 Rotblatt Maze by Andy Nelson....................................................................................31 Top 10 Songs Over 10 Minutes by Sam Watson........................................................32 10 Ways to Get Creative by Cisco Hayward...............................................................33 10 Summer Songs by Sophie Kissin.............................................................................34
The Big Question: If you could swap bodies with any musician, who would it be and what would you do?
I would swap bodies with Snoop Lion and eat grapefruit in Jamaica. -Sam Cattau
I would be Sun Ra and go to space. Mick Jagger. I would -Curtis Vamarasi dance like Jagger. -Dan Bollinger
I would swap with Miguel. Jay-Z. I couldn’t care less about his music, but you Cause I aspire to be a male know why I chose him! -Cyrus Deloye r&b singer and he is singTiny children scare me so I ing sex all the time. I would would switch bodies with Till probably stare at myself in the mirror a lot, gyrate my Lindemann from Rammstein hips a little bit, and do a ton to scare the little devils back. of serenading the ladies. -Briannon Carlsen -Brit Fryer
John legend, so I could serenade at will. -Alex Trautman
Kanye West and I would have sex with Kanye West. 2 -Ted Retzloff
My Bloody Valentine as
Mythology A Dicursive Lecture by: Ian Mercer MBV is the only band that I would describe as mythical. Let me illustrate this for you: The group has released only three albums and four extended plays over the past twenty-seven years. The duration of these releases totals no more than 210 minutes. The band’s output is limited and infrequent (the gap between the second and third album totaled 22 years alone), meaning that every second of every track feels valuable. They operate on a truly separate timeline within musical culture; seemingly floating along at their own pace while the world is borne ceaselessly into the future. On top of that, the band very rarely interacts with the public. They’ve performed a total of 49 concerts in America throughout their entire history as a band. At these concerts they barely speak, and outside these concerts they rarely offer interviews. Thus, their words are comparable in value to their music. This is especially true for guitarist Bilinda Butcher, who has probably spoken
no more than 10 words in her trademark impossibly soft voice throughout the past three decades. The live show exceeds a volume of 130 decibels, rendering all attempts at recording it impossible. Additionally, the ceaseless strobe lights and blurry projections cause all video footage to descend into an incomprehensible haze. The concert truly exists only within its temporal and geographic boundaries because of its visceral volume and irrecordable nature. With all this evidence at hand, the mythology of the band comes into focus. Their music is of the highest value because of it is both elusively rare and wholly ephemeral. When My Bloody Valentine chooses to release an album, and chooses to accompany that album with a tour, and chooses to tour through your city, and you are able to get tickets, rent a car, make it in time, and actually find a parking space in the madness of downtown Minneapolis, there is no greater music moment than the first note of their set. MBV’s 2013 show in the Roy
Wilkins Auditorium is without any doubt the best live display that I have ever witnessed because I have never spent any other chunk of ninety minutes in my life so thoroughly in the moment. The rarity of the music and the difficulty of the journey made me truly treasure the experience. It was even observable in other members of the crowd. We stood like statues in a cathedral, absolutely overwhelmed by the tsunamis of sound crashing down upon our eardrums. The atmosphere was reverent and the band was awesome in the truest sense of the word. I’m sure they had a green room with chips, bottled water, and other evidence of humanity, and I’m sure Bilinda called home to her husband to check on the kids afterwards. Despite this, I’ll reject that reality and instead believe that they evaporated into a mist after exiting the stage, only to return to this earth once the roadies had set up backline for the next set.
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Babes in Toyland Babes in Toyland were a female trio from Minneapolis formed in 1987. They stuck around until 1997 and released three albums, the most successful of which was Fontanelle in 1992, produced by Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth and released on Reprise Records, a division of Warner Music. The Babes’ albums sold pretty well (200k in the US), but Babes are only referenced a few times in the canon of girl rock books in the ML300s section on third libe. Even on jstor, the references to Babes are few and far between. I recently got The Making & Selling of a Rock & Roll Band by Neal Karlen from interlibrary loan. A few key quotes from the women in the band: “We’re not a girl band, we’re just a band!” “We’re all babes in the universe, babies, not babes.” Their insistence to be understood as one of many rock bands is not so dissimilar from my own
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view towards Prom Queef. The Babes wanted to be viewed on the merit of their music, not on the merit of their gender. Revolutionary? At the time and in the Midwest, definitely. This view was not a mistake for the Babes. Tim Carr, the wily A&R rep for Warner who “discovered” the Babes, cleverly marketed this angle by playing on both the femininity of the musicians and their insistence to be separate from their gender identity. Their songs contained many of the themes of Riot GRRRL: anger at men, fighting with women, jealousy, anger, anger… Their sound was clearly influenced by the grunge explosion of the time. Side note: Courtney Love was the original bassist for the Babes until best friend/rival/lead singer Kat Bjelland kicked her out. Babe’s hit single “Bruise Violet” is an ode to Courtney’s alleged crime of friendship: stealing Kat’s signature baby-doll dress and subsequent
mdb “kinderwhore” style. So what happened? The Babes had a hardworking label rep, underground and touring cred, music and style, and (perhaps most significantly) star power from Lee Renaldo, Cindy Sherman (the artist who did their cover art), and famous DJ John Peel (who said Fontenelle was the best album of 1992). Why is it that their critical acclaim and moderate-to-high album sales did not leave them with a lasting legacy in the minds of humans like me? Or maybe just me? I have an idea here, I think that the Babes moved too quickly from the underground touring circuit to the big leagues. Their forays into the big leagues, while high profile (a tour with Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and on the second Lollapolooza tour, commentary from Beevis and Butt-head), didn’t bolster their underground cred. Their underground and hip cred, (Lori Barbero, the drummer, was a scene mother in the metro area, and Cindy Sherman album art and music video cameo), did not translate into commercial sales. Tim Carr is not to be blamed for plucking the Babes from obscurity and elevating them to the big leagues; it was the grunge explosion, and everyone wanted to sign the next Nirvana. But were the Babes ready to be plucked? I do not think they were fully ripe, unlike their contemporaries, Lunachicks and L7 or even the famed Bratmobile, who released countless cassettes and EPs before finally releasing an LP or signing to a label. Babes in Toyland may have made a crucial mistake with their disassociation from Riot GRRRL. They were contemporary, but the Babes were vocal in their assertion that they were not associated with the movement. Riot GRRRL, whatever you may think of it, was influential. The Babes were certainly influential, especially in Minneapolis, but perhaps their legacy would have been cemented had they been plucked when ripe, or aligned themselves with the Riot GRRRL powerhouse. The video for “Bruise Violet,” starring Cindy Sherman as Courtney Love, is a good place to start getting acquainted with these Babes.
Trophy Scars and the Holy (Vacant) Trinity ***LISTS***
Top 10 Songs Over 10 Minutes Long by Sam Watson
1.
9. The Only Moment We Were Alone – Explosions in the Sky (10:14)
by Lucas Rossi. Illustrations by Bob and Lucas Rossi Explosions in theOtsuka Sky is one of the few successful
In a Gadda da Vida – Iron Butterfly (17:03)
bands brave enough to produce totally radio-unMost people discount In a Gadda da Vida as a novelty of the friendly music. I’m going to level with you and Have you found yourself over60s, or worse, onlyever know the four minute radio edit. This is say that I haven’t really listened to this song, but the opening songs awhelmingly tragedy. Doattached yourself to a favor and listen to all 20 glorious I respect these dudes and think they should be of one of favorite albums? The firstEspecially few minutes ofyour this psychedelic masterpiece. the drum here. tracks of in anthe album frequently occupy a special solo part middle. I defy you to find a better drum solo, place for fans anywhere, ever.of the work, largely by virtue of 10. Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull (43:54) their familiarity. Often the best way to gauge This notoriously long song (nearly 45 minutes, or your interest newCrazy albumDiamond is simply – toPink put Floyd (13:31) 2. Shine in onaYou both sides of a record) is on here because it is on theOn first track, and to listenclassic on if something Shine is the quintessential rock song of epic length. bombastic enough to earn a spot, not because catches If you wereappreciate to do this itwith But whatyour mostear. people don’t for what it really is: it’s a good or enjoyable thing. Although I’m pretan album called Vacants (released absolutely perfectHoly baby-making music. in ty sure Jethro Tull basically admitted that themApril of this year after months of struggle with selves. financial and label support), by a band called 3. Maggot Brain – Funkadelic (10:21) Trophy Scars, is what you would “Mother Earth this is pregnant for the thirdhear: time- for y’all have If anyone listens to all 3 hours of this playlist in Echoing guitar strings plucked within the mind of the knocked her up. I have tasted the maggots one sitting I will make out with you. the emphasis universe. I was of notintermittently offended, forfalling I knewrain, I hada to rise above it muscular whisper above them with all… or drown in myentering own shit.” the rest of the subdued instrumentals. Our reflective but almost 4. Trucker’s Atlasbreathless – Modestspeaker Mouserecalls (10:57) the disturbing and perplexing image of his or you’re only If you’ve never given Modest Mouse a chance, lover “feasting onrecent the body of anthis angel a give you a samfamiliar with their albums, trackinwill taxi cab.” The quiettheir ending ofwork the first pling of everything older has track to offer: Solid guitar then explodes into a raw, aggro-blues guitar hooks and manic vocals, interspersed with moments of quiet riff soon joined by drums pushed up high, beauty. beating at your skull, a rising horn section, and a hauntingly soulful chorus of female voices. 5. The Battle of Hampton Roads – Titus Andronicus These sounds are the fiery nightmare that is (14:02) the “Qeres,” a song named after a mythical Probably the only punk song that lasts a full ten minutes withsubstance rumored to be the only method of out becoming insufferably grating. Listen to this one until the killing an angel. The horror movie violence end- it has an unironic bagpipe solo that’ll blow your mind.most accurately be described as a post-hardcore would is more than just symbolic, then; the apparband. The eclectic Alphabet. Alphabets, released in 2006, ent lovers in these songs actually eat angels. 6. Broken Chairs – Built to Spill (19:05) was arguably the height of their use of the style and reflect“Archangel” follows, evidently sticking to the This track epitomizes Built to Spill’s ability to deliver edlong, some of the best qualities of the genre in its simultanetheme, yet what emerges is strikingly distinct meandering jams that are anything but boring. Plus, it features cult yet relatable appeals to youthful anger and love. from what preceded: a sickly-sweet love song, ously some damn good whistling. Three years later, the band released a full-length follow-up: with crystalline piano accompaniment to Bad Luck. Something very strange, however, had happened sappy lines like “Every little kiss that I give to 7. Murray Ostril: “…They Don’t Sleep Anymore on you, is cause you’re beautiful,” but a love song in the interim. Trophy Scars had become an experimental the - Godspeed Black Emperorblues-rock (23:17) band. The angsty punk shouts of frontman and thatBeach…” bares its gnashing teethYou! as our lamenting GSY!BE’s slow builds and intense climaxes can be profoundly conceptual architect Jerry Jones metamorphosed into a narrator howls “The only thing that haunts moving, if you’re Although really, the best Tom Waits-esque growl. This also wasn’t the teenthroaty, me is your quiet patient sobbingenough. and time.” With that part of this song comes at the beginning, where the sad old adult experience of Alphabet. Alphabets, and age/young the opening suite of Holy Vacants ends and Murray Ostril laments his lost childhood. it remained to be seen whether the band could find similar this monstrosity of an album kicks into its full success in a new approach. Fans didn’t have to wait for a stride. Noisy, jarring, intrusive, and above all new full-length to find the answer to that question; it came 8. Bright BlacktoMountain confusing; all Lights suitable– ways describe (16:41) these a year in later on an EP entitled Darkness, Oh Hell. Darkness is Man, these guys are so rockin’. There’s like four climaxes sounds in isolation. where the story of Holy Vacants begins in earnest, and this song and then, all of them great. I can’t Here, is the are monstrosity in itseven think of anything elsecontext. to say about this one,began just toke bowl and freak out humble Trophy Scars as aawhat on the power of this jam. 33
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where this portrait will begin to zoom in. Darkness is the first entry in what Jerry Jones would ultimately describe as a loose trilogy culminating in Holy Vacants. Darkness burst mature into the caustic blues that was only nascent in Bad Luck, at times brazenly confident and full of machismo and at others entirely terrified and crippled in its use of haunting vocal samples and depictions of absolute personal loss and despair. “Qeres” is a refinement and distillation of all the unholy anger on Darkness, even echoing in its eerie imagery of possessed human mouths of Darkness’ drug-induced freakout highlight, “Trazodone.” Never Born, Never Dead, another six track EP released the next year and the second in the collection, was a stunning and poignant repudiation of that darkness. Though it mirrored the structure of Darkness, it embraced the infinity of love over the infinity of suffering. It steps the furthest from punk anger of any Trophy Scars release, and is the most immediately pleasing and at times the most heavy-handed and drippingly sentimental. “Archangel” undoubtedly blossoms out of perhaps the loveliest of Trophy Scars love songs, NB, ND’s “Angels,” ascending to a higher plane in the angelic hierarchy of desire and longing. These two releases, in conjunction with Holy Vacants, operate roughly as concept albums individually and on a larger scale constructed by the aforementioned wizard Jerry Jones. Darkness arises out of the purportedly real events of a drug and heartbreak-riddled summer. NB, ND is an exploration of reincarnation and love beyond death. Holy Vacants is, as stated, a winding tale of two lovers feasting on and subsisting off of angel blood, finding eternal youth but losing passion, born out of fringe superstition and an unused movie script, an admittedly ridiculous yet endearing blending of the themes that preceded it. Unsurprisingly, the inspiration behind each of these is the simple romantic love. Perhaps more surprisingly, Jerry attributes that inspiration to a single person (an ex-girlfriend) who he considers a muse. The concept of the muse has been admired and practiced in the past but in the present day, just the idea of three albums worth of equally tortured and transcendent ramblings on everything from getting ice cream to murder directly arising out of one fleeting relationship comes across as more creepy and troubling than inspiring. It needs further justification. Jones’ style and half-found-half-invented mythology are strikingly unique (and certainly
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off-putting if you lean towards an appreciation of the subtle), yet their lineage extends far deeper than one might expect of a band of Trophy Scars’ meager stature. A New Jersey group making blues-influenced music and titling albums ‘Darkness’ cannot help but bring to mind Bruce Springsteen, his 1978 release Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the ease and artistry with which he envisioned the passion and lingering darkness of the everyday, an artistry and vision blown up to bombastic and absurd proportions by this distant successor decades later. Reaching far beyond easier comparisons like Springsteen and out of music entirely, the Irish poet W.B. Yeats comes to mind, for years equally obsessed with his muse in a woman named Maud Gonne. Out of this obsession came not only your conventional love poetry but also the expression of the morbid and the occult that fascinated Yeats’ imagination, much as cannibalism and angel blood fascinates Jerry Jones. Yeats, in doubtlessly charming fashion, fantasized about his love’s death and wrote her a poem about it. Jerry, in even more horrifying fashion, imagines the act of killing itself. Neither can untangle death and love, though they have a much different sensibility of the grotesque. Yeats writes, “Were you but lying cold and dead / And lights were paling out of the West / You would come hither, and bend your head / And I would lay my head on your breast.” Jerry screams, “I slam my foot on the brakes going eighty, every vacant behind exploding. I lift your face off the dash, you gurgle and spit then you ask.” Though the music in Yeats’ language is self-evident, and Jerry’s needs the fury of his growl and the rhythm and
rev of a distorted guitar behind it, there is a harmony between them that reaches through an entire century and touches Holy Vacants with the intimacy of an ancient grave next to one freshly dug. These are the observations, on my part, of an admirer. In the estimation of unmoved, unconvinced, or otherwise unimpressed individuals monitoring taste in the opinion-vortex that is the internet, Trophy Scars are simply one among a endless ocean of post-hardcore-turned-something-else bands, each project a passing wave of gimmickry that sweeps up a few impressionable minds who happen to be particularly susceptible to their charms at the given time. In light of such criticism (which I honestly cannot dismiss), my comparison between an underground rock band and monumental cultural figures looks juvenile and pretentious. Yeats is a timeless poet, firmly entrenched in the imagination of artistic canon. A volume like The Tower is a ‘classic’ text. Bruce Springsteen is an enduring American icon, and an album like Born to Run a ‘classic’ American recording. In comparison, Trophy Scars’ work, with the shaky grandeur of an album Holy Vacants, is one big B-movie, an undignified and cheap production with hardly enough of a following to ensure that it will last out the decade. The past is filled with works of art embraced in consensus and canon. As music especially continues to expand and diffuse rapidly through new channels of expression, to grow away from monolithic cultural trends, it gets harder and harder to come to a consensus on what constitutes a classic and timeless album. It seems that that limits all that Holy Vacants, and countless other albums, can ever be at this point: a small part of too great a whole to amount to anything more than eventual pointlessness. To unapologetic fans, however, Trophy Scars is that one thing that most people like to believe their treasured artists to be. They are “something more,” a delectably frustrating, vague, and empty expression. But that emptiness deserves savoring. What is the “something” here? Loud and gaudy blues garage rock. Some guy yelling and crooning about his angel-eating girlfriend. Predictable climaxes accented with easy platitudes. Nothing at all. What is the “more?” History and legacy, funneled down from past giants into a violent, vibrant microcosm of experience. All the little tensions and pitfalls of mainstream and marginal expression condensed into the reckless energy of pounding drums, wailing organs, growled and sung appeals of unshakeable weight. Timeless ideas and feelings that explode in a mo-
ment of the intensely personal, and then disappear. Nothing, that is all. Each release in Trophy Scars’ holy trinity ends centered on a singular refrain, a mantric chant delivering the album’s emotional climax. Darkness echoes with the despair of being trapped forever in a restless hell: “These pills don’t help me fall asleep, these pills won’t make me fall asleep.” NB, ND affirms the opposite, being secure forever in a restful love: “If I told you that I remember, would you ever believe? I love you so much more than forever, but now it’s time for sleep.” In Holy Vacants’ “Everything Disappearing,” those two infinities join and erase each other, leaving a weighty nothingness, a meaningful silence, a holy vacancy. The refrain is the simplest of all: “You’re not alone, you’re just lonely sometimes.” The character’s voice rattles, in death, that the feeling of loss and emptiness in the beloved is only a temporary illusion, not truly being alone. That realization may be key to the value of all of our most personal albums, precious songs doomed to flicker out largely unnoticed, leaving only the weight of their silence as a reminder that the void need not be lonely, that there is meaning in the space they held, however brief.
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NEW MUSIC MUSIC REVIEWS REVIEWS NEW Jerry Paper Feels Emotions - Jerry Paper by Bob Otsuka
When I first encountered the music of Jerry Paper on Chicago tape label Patient Sounds, I couldn’t help but fall in love—and how could I not? Cheesy, low-fi synthesizers; painfully honest, almost trite lyrics; a lighthearted, fun persona… clearly this Jerry guy was a man after my own heart. Which is why I’m happy to say that everything that makes Jerry Paper who he is returns on Jerry Paper Feels Emotions, the fourth full-length album by the 11th dimension pop (read: really hip indie synthpop) artist. It’s certainly his strongest, most cohesive effort to date, but paradoxically, it is this very focus that makes the album fall a bit short. It’s almost a bit too homogenized—the wonderfully retro-sounding synths and R&B-inspired riffs that initially attracted me to the album quickly become stale and boring within a few tracks. One might be able to chalk this up to “being thematic” or “working in a style,” but after two or three times hearing the same synth playing the same rhythm but with a different melody on top of it, you’ll see why I was so disappointed at first listen. This isn’t to say that Feels Emotions should be completely dismissed, however—like any good pop album, it’s loaded with singles that encapsulate the most perfect execution of its formula. And Feels Emotions’s formula is a damn good one, most effectively showcased in the titular “I Feel Emotions,” in which Jerry packs an impressively diverse emotional rollercoaster into just two minutes, the awkwardly relatable love song, “Holy Shit,”
and the ironically happy “I’m Jerry, Right?” It might take a few listens to get used to Jerry’s unique vocal delivery (something I initially hated about the album), but in true David Byrne fashion, it’s Jerry’s unexpectedly deep voice and almost deadpan delivery that saves his lyrics from drifting too far into “trite” and planted firmly in “charmingly simple.” If you can get past Jerry’s overt, trying-way-too-hard quirkiness (Jerry Paper is actually “an 11th dimension entity inhabiting Lucas W. Nathan’s body” and likes to intersperse heavily effected vocal samples between every track), Feels Emotions is a surprisingly solid, deep listening experience.
3 Smartinis™ out of 5
balance between the sophomoric-bordering-on-twee style of 2012’s Turning On and the darker, more experimental Attack on Memory. Overall, the work comes off as substantially more mature and developed than Cloud Nothing’s previous records. Although they retain their trademark fuzzy aesthetic, their sound is tighter and more musically developed. The vocals, too, are rawer, complimenting more serious lyrical content. These lines from “I’m Not a Part of Me” have been echoing through my head for the past few days: I’m learning how to be here and nowhere else How to focus on what I can do myself I’m not telling you all I’m going through I feel fine Anyway, buy the damn album; it’s easily one of the best punk releases this year. And if you’ve never given the Cloud Nothings a chance before, there’s never been a better time.
Here and Nowhere Else -Cloud Nothings by Sam Watson
I was disappointed by the Cloud Nothings previous release, Attack on Memory (2012). It was discordant and heavy- not necessarily bad, but a radical departure from the lo-fi, pop-punk leaning style of their early work. So I had some early trepidation about Here and Nowhere Else. Thankfully, my worries were misguided: Here and Nowhere Else strikes a perfect
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The Quantum Enigma -Epica
by Henry Southwick
Quantum mechanics may be enigmatic to the average human being, but however particulate matter actually moves about the universe, I want more of the particles that provide Epica sound waves going into my ears. Terrible plays on the album title aside, this album is extremely well done. For starters, the sheer quality of the sound was better mastered than their previous album. The blend between the electric instruments, orchestra, choir, and Simone’s vocals allowed for each part to have equal share in sexing your eardrums. Seriously, it just sounds sexy, especially when you have the privilege of listening on high quality headphones. I can hear every little detail of this extraordinary effort. This is Epica’s sixth studio album and it comes after one that was good but not great. The previous effort was more monotone and dull, whereas this album swells and pulses with dynamic and tempo. It starts with an epic orchestral introduction and feeds into a fast paced and intense first track that heavily features Simone. She carries much of the first two tracks while the middle of the album focuses more on choral parts and orchestral pieces. Overall the guitar work is more rhythmic, which I would argue is the only disappointing aspect of it. I was hoping for a few more epic guitar solos and riffs reminiscent of Dream Theater. Still, the album carries you on a musical journey the entire way through. This journey culminates in 10
an 11-minute track that is the second piece in the “Kingdom of Heaven” sequence, started two albums prior to this one. It features monastic chanting alongside the orchestra and carries the overall theme of the album, transcending one’s physical mind to gain a better understanding of the world around you. It particularly rages against institutions that try to chain your metaphysical understanding of existence. Overall, I think the album is one of their best, certainly one of their most complicated, well thought out and interesting, and was clearly more of a group effort than past albums. There seemed to be much more collaboration on this one and it shows in the balance of all the instrumental and vocal aspects. Epica seems to become one giant, well, epic orchestra in this production. Extraordinary piece.
Post-metal, or very heavy shoegaze, are perhaps the most apt genre descriptors for the music, though neither quite capture its heavy, textured softness and the warmth emerging out of a variety of dark or aggressive guitar tones. “Melting Sun II: Cherry Quartz” swells with epic and almost uplifting doom, and I, III, and IV are doubtless indebted
to qualities of 90s alternative rock with hints of jazz and industrial music strewn about. This constantly shifting sonic experimentation largely works outside of a few overly drawn-out passages, and meshes seamlessly with the simple but gripping visual imagery of the lyrics. This is the first time in the project’s history that Herbst, primary songwriter, actually performs lead vocals. It isn’t a perfect Melting Sun a performance, nor does Herbst’s -Lantlôs by Lucas Rossi tone mesh perfectly with his instrumentals. In spite of this, the vocal hooks are heartfelt, and genuinely Lantlôs is a German project (now turned full-fledged band) with a catchy. The riffs, as brooding as they can be, are also infectious lot of stylistic and scene-related baggage, baggage I would urge listeners and rock pretty darn hard. This accessibility completes the concepto ignore when exploring their most tual and sonic coolness, a remarkrecent release. A concept album, ably successful marriage of fringe Melting Sun is a suite of six tracks and mainstream aesthetics. These all exploring the concept of a ‘melttwo dimensions come together ing sun’ and human consciousness. best in the album’s final track,
NEW MUSIC MUSIC REVIEWS REVIEWS NEW Melting Sun
-Lantlôs continued “Melting Sun VI: Golden Mind,” a ghostly electro-acoustic lullaby whose droning chants build and coax the ear into a fever-dream of aching nostalgia and bliss. Pleasing, simple melodies and chaotic, shimmering noise blend into one entrancing expression. If you’ve ever thought of wading through a summer evening to the pulse of dreamy rock or atmospheric heaviness, consider opening your own golden mind to Lantlôs’ sounds. 4 OUT OF 5
Someday World
-Brian Eno * Karl Hyde by A. Noah Harrison So if you were paying any attention, you’d remember that in our very first issue, I warned readers to keep their fingers crossed for this one. It came. Brian Eno’s musical contributions cannot be overstated. “Eno is God,” they scrawled on Subway walls circa 1979. Was he? Damn straight. Eno championed simple melodies and massive sonic textures. He was abuser of chance and conformist to rules he didn’t even understand mad scientist Serious Composer. His new collaboration is one of over a dozen collaborative works with respected electronic musicians. Today’s guest: Karl Hyde, frontman of progressive house group Underworld and not someone you’d necessarly expect Eno to necessarily collaborate with. And how did they end up with a synth pop record? It wouldn’t be too far out for Eno to produce Hyde’s explorations into
synth pop, as he did with with recent albums by Coldplay, U2, and James Black. Something, my friends, is amiss in Eno’s world. His craft may still be intact, but has of late misplaced his originality, which is after all what made him God. It seems that with every album, Daft Punk and Brian Eno grow closer to consolidating into a single sound, which leaves this critic scratching his head. I kid, but in a word, Someday World is predictable. It has its moments: cool noises, fancy transitions, and genuinely awesome hooks. But hearing Eno croon, “Faster than your daddy’s car” feels like a cruel joke. Not bad, just kind of sad. In a strange way, the album harkens to his 1990 collaboration with John Cale. Both geniuses, but there’s nothing particularly genius about the album. Definitely check this one out, even if you don’t care about Eno for some stupid reason, for some quality artsy pop. Certain tunes hit the mark, others pure cheese. It might be best to just pretend Brian Eno isn’t totally responsible for it.
other releases of note
curated by mdb
Sharon Van Etten Are We There
Dopey song titles (“I Love You but I’m Lost”) but pretty songs
Conor Oberst Upside Down Mountain
Personal hometown hero pleases his fans; displeases anyone who wants to be happy.
Herzog Boys
Do we need another Weezer/ FIDLAR sound-alike? Yes, of course! Exuberant.
La Sera Hour of the Dawn
More aggressive than previous La Sera boring girl pop, but still not hard. Dece.
Guided by Voices Cool Planet
Old people making music make me sad, regardless of the music. UPCOMING AND ANTICIPATED:
Parquet Courts Sunbathing Animal June 3 Bob Mould Beauty and Ruin June 3 Lana Del Ray Ultraviolence June 17 Rating: 3 Oblique Strategies out of 5
How To Dress Well What is this Heart? June 24
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Drums Please: Summer, Summer, Summer Time– Hip Hop Releases to Look Out For This Summer By Ben Wedin Summer is always a great season for not only listening to hip hop, but also releases. Last year, Yeezus and a few others dominated the stage. What is there to look forward to this summer? Here’s what I’m most excited for. It’s always hard to know nowadays when record labels delay releases or people try to Beyonce the whole thing, but here are some expected summer releases. For those unfamiliar with these artists, I also included some recommended listening and some sample lyrics. Ab-Soul: These Days Soul! This album is slated for a June 24 release, so you shouldn’t have to wait long. He’s frequently described as the ‘paranoid hippy’ of TDE, which doesn’t do him justice. Soul is thoughtful, eloquent, nerdy, but also a gifted rapper. The man is not out to write bangers, but the tracks bump all the same. I mean, the man talks about “pineal gland” in a song with Danny Brown. Who else but Soul? LISTEN: “Stigmata”, TDE 2013 BET Cypher, “Illuminate” BARS: ‘Wish I could see out of Selassie’ eye / Maybe my sovereignty would still be mine / If all the gangs in the world unified / We’d stand a chance against the military tonight’
A$AP Mob: L.O.R.D. At first, the association with A$AP was only the woozy Clams Casino-style beats and altered vocals from A$AP Rocky. Then there was Lord$ Never Worry, and A$AP
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Ferg became widely known. The debut album from the crew may propel another member up the ranks, and this time around, the beats don’t sound like Rocky or the trap-style of A$AP Ferg. The flow and beats are reminiscent of old school Nas, so it will be exciting to hear the final project of the whole Mob together. LISTEN: “Trillmatic”, “Xscape”, Lord$ Never Worry (Mixtape) BARS: ‘I got a funky-funky style with a funky swag / I bought the funky-funky Nikes got the hat to match’
Azealia Banks: Broke With Expensive Taste Before Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, there was Azealia Banks’ “212.” You can argue the lyrics and beef if you want, but Azealia’s take on all of the crudely sexual and misogynist tendencies of rap is something I’m ready to hear more of. The album’s been in the works for ages now, so hopefully we’ll see a release soon. LISTEN: “212”, Fantasea (Mixtape) BARS: ‘Reefer and cabanas / All my vehicles handsome / The Mullers with the bezels / I bought ‘em to spoil the fellas’
the gods of underground. Expect archaic samples, insane loops, and sick flow. Also watch for an EP from Bishop Nehru before this album drops. LISTEN: “You Stressin”, Nehruvia (Mixtape) BARS: ‘I ain’t afraid cause my intelligence is relevant / To my heaven-sent flows and everything embedded in it’
Common: Nobody Smiling Rap game Obama. After a 2011 release and visiting the White House much to the chagrin of Fox News, Common is ready to bring more conscious-rap to the public. The concept-driven album is going to be about violence in Chicago and will be produced by longtime collaborator No I.D., so there’s a lot to look forward to. LISTEN: “Open Letter (Remix)”, Be BARS: ‘The same way they said she was the shooter /Assata Shakur, they tried to execute her / I went to Cuba to see her / We should free her, like we should Mumia’
The Cool Kids: Shark Week
Rap can get so serious: drugs, gang life, constantly talking about trying to make it to the top. That’s what made The Bake Sale so great: it was two really cool rappers talking about riding bikes and kicking it. The duo has ended their
Bishop Nehru / MF DOOM: NehruvianDOOM When MF DOOM wants to collaborate with you, you’re doing something right. The 17 yearold wordsmith Nehru who’s already rapped for Disclosure is now teaming up with one of
brief hiatus and are ready to tell you about their trips to the grocery store in the coolest way possible. LISTEN: “What Up Man”, “computer school”, The Bake Sale, When Fish Ride Bicycles BARS: ‘Just a F.Y.I, I’m F-L-Y / And for
Mac Miller: Pink Slime
those that can’t spell, I’m a pretty swell guy / I caught a lot of fish I think I’ll have a fish fry’
De La Soul: You’re Welcome The last time De La Soul had a proper release was 2004. Then, a couple months ago, they made their discography free. They put out a mixtape with new J Dilla beats (which was good!). And now they’re putting out a new mixtape with Pete Rock and DJ Premiere as well as a new album. The quirky but accessible group has been around for a quarter of a century now, so pay homage and listen. LISTEN: “Stakes is High”, Smell the Da.I.S.Y (Mixtape), “Ego Trippin’ (Part 2)” BARS: ‘Well I’m a better brand cause I’m a superman / I run the block with my circle cause I’m nubian /I got the platinum rust, so don’t even fuss / Cause DJ Paul, he’s down wit us’
Jay Electronica: Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn) The world is watching, waiting. Jay Electronica put out his first project, Act I: The Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge), in 2007, a 15 minute composition without drums, built from the soundtrack to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and snippets from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There has been only a few singles since, but they have all been fantastic. Roc Nation says the album will be out before 2015, so let’s hope that’s soon. LISTEN: “Exhibit C”, “Dear Moleskine”, “Exhibit A”, Act I: The Eternal Sunshine BARS: ‘When you cried all your tears out / And one page of your diary can tell you what your year ‘bout / That’s a lonely place / My mama said “Son, why such a lonely face?” / Because the pressure’s on me / Plus I feel like Bill Murray trapped in Punxsutawney’
Kanye West: ??? Assume nothing. Trust no one. Close sources have called the thing a mix of “soul samples and tamed ‘Yeezus’ – nothing abrasive” while Kanye’s DJ has said they’ve moved past “beats like the Yeezus album.” Also Kanye asked for a mix between Otis Redding and Mobb Deep from Evian Christ, so imagine that for a second. How would you have described or expected Yeezus before hearing anything? All that I personally know is that when it comes out, Ian Mercer will tell me of its genius.
I probably would’ve avoided this Pharrell-Mac Miller thing a year ago. Since then, Mac Miller has been collabing with greats, his voice has become more dynamic, and even the subject matter has become less vapid. His mixtape Faces shows that he’s still developing, so I’m excited to see what a team up with Pharrell can do for him. LISTEN: “New Faces v2”, “Insomniak”, “S.D.S.”, Faces (Mixtape) BARS: ‘Slave to the W, I don’t hang with losers / I’m in the suburbs doing driveby’s on Razor scooters’
LISTEN: “Otis”, “Devil in a New Dress” BONUS: Otis Redding - “Respect”, Mobb Deep - “Shook Ones Part II” BARS: ‘And wash my sins in the blood of Jesus / People sayin’, “Ye we need another Yeezus” …. God sent me a message, said I’m too aggressive / Really!? Me!? Too aggressive!?’
Lil Wayne: Tha Carter V Remember the Best Rapper Alive? After Rebirth (Does anyone else remember him playing guitar and “Prom Queen”?), Lil Wayne never regained his god-status even after Tha Carter IV. Lil Wayne says Tha Carter V is his last album, which is probably not true, but hopefully this iteration matches the caliber of Carter III-era Weezy. LISTEN: “Dr. Carter”, “A Milli”, Tha Carter III, Da Drought 3 (Mixtape) BARS: ‘But the kids do watch, gotta watch what we say /Gotta work everyday gotta not be cliched / Gotta stand out like Andre 3K / Gotta kick it, kick it like a sensei’
Shabazz Palaces: Lese Majesty The beat will always save us. 2011’s Black Up could be released today and it would still sound incredibly fresh and modern. Lese Majesty’s 18 tracks and 7 “astral suites” should only continue that, bringing the avant-garde of hip-hop to the next level. This is my top pick. Get excited. LISTEN: “Gunbeat Falls”, “Swerve... The Reeping of All That Is Worthwhile”, Black Up BARS: ‘Facts stated to enhance what is pre-born / And dance with the white whale on the Pequod / And find your way fast when the road curve / It’s a 13 sea saw / Shall I go, shall I go’
Head-to-Head Round 3
Flying Lotus: Cosmogramma David Pickart vs. Ian Mercer
I’ll cut to the chase: Cosmogramma is already As an ethereal voice floats over the sound a classic album. The word “essential” comes to mind. of ricocheting ping pong balls, a throbbing kick drum intermingles with the sound of a backmasked If you’ve already heard the album, feel free to read guitar and a noise that can best be described as a this column in order to remind yourself of its greatness robot gasping for air. No, it’s not a bad acid trip- it’s before you promptly revisit it. If you’ve never heard it just “Table Tennis”, one track off of Flying Lotus’s before, it goes without saying: you know what to do. The album is dense: dozens of instruments third album effort, Cosmogramma. The hypnotic, controlled sloppiness of this track typifies the pro- pile upon one another in oceans of sound (check out duction aesthetic of Flying Lotus, who uses Cosmo- “Galaxy in Janaki. It’s probably the densest piece of gramma to deliver a series of tracks as nuanced and music ever written that refrains from descending into outright madness). interesting as they are downright weird. The album is diverse: it features 8-Bit EDM, The music of Flying Lotus isn’t about strucMiddle Eastern strings, Thom Yorke’s wails, and Ravi ture or melody, but rather about memorable texColtrane’s free saxophone. tures and grooves that develop and intertwine The album is an album’s album: it may be in unpredictable ways. In terms of sheer musical activity, Flying Lotus truly delivers; there’s enough divided into separate tracks, but the borders are going on in each track that repeated listens are sure seamless and often unnoticeable. It is an effectively to reveal new details. Throughout the album, FlyLo through-composed piece of art. Of course the album is not without fault: the achieves a careful balance of live instruments and samples that can get overwhelming, but only when density and diversity could be a little bit excessive at it’s intended to. Although some of the synth sounds times, amounting to pieces of music that are almost are rather unpleasant, and the off-kilter rhythms fur- nonsensical. Additionally, and in my opinion most imther stretch the limits of accessibility, the resulting portantly, the sound quality isn’t exactly flawless (and I swear I bought a high quality copy). Grain and fuzz spaced-out vibe is truly unique. Although there’s undoubtedly some filler on permeate through several key moments that would be the album (I’m looking at you, “German Haircut”), far more effective if delivered via clean tone. Finally, the aforementioned strength of comost of these tracks comprise a dynamic and cohesion may not work well for all audience members. hesive whole. Individual songs are ever-changing and filled with fleeting moments that counteract the Those who are inclined to only listen to the “singles” stereotype of the cut-and-paste laptop musician. By will find that the tracks do not work especially well avoiding the pitfall of static repetition present in so when consumed separately. much electronic music, Flying Lotus guarantees an engaging listening experience with Cosmogramma, My Verdict: Humanity has yet to settle upon a single no matter how grating or strange each individual definition of unadulterated dopeness, but Steven Ellisection may be. My Verdict: I’m not sure exactly what genre this al- son may have achieved our closest approximation yet. bum is, but it certainly lies on the outer limits of my Cosmogramma is almost too maximalist, but there music taste. Nonetheless, Cosmogramma’s intricate really is no other album that can combine this many production and surprisingly varied sound make it styles and instruments together while maintaining 14 fascinating, if not entirely pleasant, listen. such a cohesive identity.
Sea Change 2:
A Retrospective Review of Morning Phase Bob Otsuka
I’ll never forget the first time I encountered Beck’s emotive and ridiculously catchy electronic single, “Defriended” last summer, just before I headed out to catch 4th of July fireworks with my parents. I could barely contain myself as I soaked in its bombastic production, almost Age of Adz-y synths and atmosphere, and tried to figure out its groovy 5/4 time signature. “This is it,” I thought to myself, “I never thought he’d ever top Odelay, but he did it, and here it is.” I was thoroughly convinced I was listening to the best Beck song—maybe even the greatest song ever lived until later that summer he did the impossible and released the even groovier “Gimme”—a two-and-ahalf long single—on double LP, accompanied by a 10-minute “Georgic mix” and an incredibly strong, constantly interesting 25-minute long extended mix of the song spanning across both sides of the second disc. These singles weren’t the first time Beck’s dabbled in this extended-form, experimental electronica style, either. Earlier in the year, he curated the (admittedly mildly disappointing) REWORK_Philip Glass Remixed album featuring his gorgeous, 21-minute piece “NYC: 73-78” as the obvious centerpiece. Which is why I couldn’t help but feel incredibly disappointed and even a bit let down when the first true single from February’s Morning Phase, “Blue Moon” dropped—it was clearly a Sea Change throwback, an album whose hype I’ve admittedly never fully understood. I was willing to remain open-minded about one of my musical idols’ upcoming release, though. The premiere of the pensive and string-laden “Wave” with the LA Philharmonic helped with that—it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, but at least it was the ever-changing and diverse Beck I’d come to know and love again. Imagine my dismay to hear every single one of the first reviews of Morning Phase comparing it to 2002’s Sea Change, and how could they not? The album’s first full track, “Morning,” is such a throwback to “The Golden Age,” right down to
the chord progression, strumming pattern, and pensive electric piano line, if it didn’t have Beck’s name on it, I would have been worried about a potential lawsuit. I hated it. “I already own Sea Change, why do I need to own it again?” was my conclusion, frustrated by the constant barrage of cries of “It’s Sea Change 2!” As if that was a good thing. The few fellow die-hard Beck fans I spoke to shared my opinions. It seemed to us that Beck had, despite my disdain for the phrase, “sold out” to appeal to those who didn’t get Beck like we did. As you might be able to guess, though, looking back on the album almost three months later I can’t believe I ever felt that way. Morning Phase exhibits an incredible sense of maturity and growth not only from Sea Change, but spanning across Beck’s entire career. Morning Phase is slow and mellow, even painful at times, much like Sea Change, yes, but rather than wallow in those emotions, Morning Phase instead encourages the listener to take up truth, beauty, and resolve as the best weapons against an overwhelming feeling that the world is totally fucked. This album comes after a back injury so severe that Beck couldn’t pick up a guitar in years, and it certainly shows—it’s just as much about recovery as it is about pain, heard most clearly in songs like “Blue Moon” and “Morning.” Beck definitely wants us to think about Sea Change with Morning Phase, but it isn’t to appeal to the legions of Sea Change fans—instead, Beck wants the listener to remember Sea Change and see how far he’s come since then. This shines through in the album’s lyrical content, sure, but now I realize that its parallels to Sea Change are intentional, the musical growth and improvement presented in it an analog to his own emotions and condition. I’m still eagerly awaiting the so-called “proper album to follow up Modern Guilt” and further exploration of those singles he put out over the summer, but for now, I’m quite content with Morning Phase. This album is Sea Change 2, and that’s beautiful. Beck is back, 15 baby.
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together, choirs, hip-hop, jazz, screams, sopranos, growls, grunts, cowbells, double bass, single bass, and the list could go on! This diversification in music as well as the increase in internet based listening mediNow, I’m not a single-minded ums (Pandora, Spotify, illegal downloading) have completely metalhead who thinks this is inherently a bad thing. On the changed the face of the music The single greatest day in my life hapindustry. contrary, there has been an pened when I found out that Def Leppard’s I’m not miffed that amazing diversification in mualbum Hysteria sold better than Madonna’s Like a Virgin in the 1980’s. I found that out about 3 sic that has occurred over the metal isn’t selling like it used minutes ago, making this day the greatest day last 20 years that, I personally to. It makes my genre more special and unique to me. But think, reflects the diversificaof my life. Nice! What a good day! I’ve got a tion of the country and groups I do hope that the changes cold beer, some grunge on the radio, and I’ve going on in the music industry discovered there was once a time in the world that became enfranchised in the music industry. Styles from don’t result in a disgusting pop where metal sold better than pop. all previous eras of music have monopoly where there are only Let me tell you why I am so happy that been amalgamated and altered 7 different songs that ever get Hysteria was better selling than Like a Virgin. It’s because Def Leppard, despite being one of to create some really neat and played on the radio because of interesting things. I think this is the select few backed by the those classic bands, was certainly no Led Zep. They were no AC/DC or Metallica. The quality particularly visible in the metal big businesses in the industry. (Seriously, why is Bastille world. Artists have taken our of their music just isn’t as high as those aforeshared medium of intense, fast getting played every half hour, mentioned bands. They aren’t metal enough paced guitar work and blend- I know there is better music for the purists and aren’t pop enough for the ed all sorts of sounds over the than that out there). It will be Bon Jovi lovers. And yet they still sold better interesting to see if our busitop of it. Folk instruments, than the Queen of Pop. Where the hell did ness structure accidentally kills keyboards, female vocalists, those days go? quality creativity Let’s take a look at our history of metal male and female vocalists sales. As one would expect, Led Zeppelin lead the 70’s, no question. AC/DC dominated the entire 80’s with Back in Black. It was the best selling album overall of the 80’s behind only Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Additionally, Gun’s N Roses Appetite for Destruction was a chart topper that finished 8th overall for the 80’s and is the single highest selling album for metal of all time. In the 1990s, the best selling Metal Album was Metallica’s self-titled Metallica, which sold over 15 million copies. But this marks the start of the great decline in metal sales. Metallica’s album was the only genuinely metal album to make the top 50 list for the 90s. The closest competitors were hard rock and grunge. Pearl Jam’s 10 was 19th for the decade and Nirvana’s Nevermind was 39th. The 1990’s were the last time a true metal sound grossed in the top 50. Limp Bizkit and Evanescence both did pretty well on a couple albums in the 2000’s, but the days of Metallica type thrash metal, Guns n Roses and AC/DC hard rock being popular were over.
by Henry Southwick
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OWSLA: THE NEW UNDERGROUND
BY DYLAN PAYNE Fresh off the release of his “More Monsters and Sprites EP” in June 2011, Los Angeles producer Sonny Moore, AKA Skrillex, started his own record label. He named it Owsla after an “elite rabbit army” from the book Watership Down. The first acts to sign were some of dance music’s biggest, including Porter Robinson, Zedd and Kill the Noise. “Wait a minute,” you say “didn’t EDM start getting old, like, two years ago? My dubstep phase is way over, why should I care?” It’s a justified complaint. Though the industry continues to grow, a large portion of dance music has become formulaic to the point of monotony, and the novelty of “dropping the bass” has long since worn off. Yet some artists have continued to push the creative envelope in
exciting ways, and Owsla, like an distinctive brand of EDM features oasis in the desert of modern EDM, polyrhythms and huge orchestral has supported many of them. breakdowns, and Blood Diamonds, At its most contemplative, the Ows- who creates tropical soundscapes la roster includes artists like the folk with “chopped and screwed” vocal electronica group Hundred Waters, samples and marimbas. whose album “The Moon Rang Like These are not the names at the top a Bell” was recently featured on of the Beatport charts, but they are NPR. At the opposite end of the the names that other producers spectrum are acts like HEARTSREV- revere, the artists who are challengOLUTION, a group with a brand ing the standard forms and moving of distortion filled dance music so their genres ahead. Because of the punk that it might make Mary Beg- constant experimentation at Owsla, ley blush. Closer to Skrillex’s roots, some of the material is hit or miss. we find the unique jazz infused Occasionally the pursuit of new glitch hop of “Koan Sound,” a UK sounds seems to get in the way of duo that popularized the 100 bpm good songwriting and many times, groove in bass the music is just plain weird. Nevmusic. Another dubstep artist, ertheless, Owsla has a very good “Seven Lions,” took the genre in track record in my opinion, so if you an entirely new direction with his need fresh beats or mind expanding own blend of trance and melodic sound worlds, then visit the Owsla dubstep that bears little resemwebsite and get a taste of the future blance to the wubs and womps of of music. its predecessors. Other trailblazers include the M Machine, whose
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What even is distortion? A short and somewhat technical answer is that distortion is any undesired alteration of a waveform (this is in contrast to “noise”, which is unwanted frequencies). This definition doesn’t work in a musical context, however, because Distortion is almost certainly desired by the artists that use it (unless they are really terrible). Why would someone want to “distort” something? What do they get out of it? Some might say it’s to create a “harsh” sound, a “mean-ish” sound if you will. This certainly seems to be possible. Look at Black Flag, the Kinks, George Thorogood, and Black Sabbath, for instance. For many artists, distortion is a way to capitalize on a certain type of edge that no other sound could provide. It sounds aggressive and heavy, a perfect “FUCK YOU” that will scare away the PMRC. Perhaps that’s why it’s used. But that suggests that distortion isn’t capable of beauty, which is false. What about Deerhunter? What about My Bloody Valentine? Loveless certainly uses distortion, no one will disagree there. But it doesn’t sound edgy or angry, it sounds beautiful. It sounds passionate and poetic. It still sounds “harsh”, but it has a different meaning. It’s a whole new animal. If we return to the technical side of things, we can understand what the appeal of distortion is. When one looks at an undistorted guitar signal, they might notice that it has a lot of varia24
tion in amplitude. However, a distorted signal has much less variation. It becomes a wall of sound, if you will, retaining a near constant amplitude right until the decay. This “wall of sound” completely envelopes the listener and surrounds them. It can be loud, serene, or fucking brutal, but it is a world unto itself. That is why distortion is so widely used. It creates a whole new world of sound for the listener to lose themselves in. And what is music, if not a world to get lost in? Distortion is just another tool that helps an artist craft the experiences which make music so powerful.
Slinting to Slint
prowess equal to their recorded counterparts, and the power of the live performance was stunning. Special props to guitarist David Pajo, aka Aerial M, Papa M, and a member of Tortoise, for a riveting and truly scary by A. Noah Harrison performance. Certain elements of the concert were less satisfactory. The main problem here was choice of venue. Mill City Nights has an artificial When fellow critic David Demark aura, a self-conscious nightclub vibe, which no doubt attracted a subset of people who were there to have been there. The band was pedestaled and I embarked for Mill City Nights, we on a stage sitting at eye level; not exactly the intimate experience one harbored a question that should naturally pop into the mind of any classic Slint fan on seeks with an independent act like Slint, regardless of their legendary cult status. And the audience just felt off. Few members swayed and their way to a Slint concert: Can we make it to the Slint concert? The answer was yes, jittered—I’m not sure the proper way to dance to Slint, but still—and the crowd was too sparse. Amidst the silence and occasional jeer, David but barely. turned me and mused, “Is this a crowd of people who hate Slint?” On Slint, for those who don’t know, fall among top of that, the band had an awkward, lifeless presence. Singer Brian the pantheon of bands that invent genres McMahan appeared aloof, at times even annoyed, but in hindsight, I like post-rock and math rock, known for think this was just Slint being Slint. After all, they’re a band whose princitheir unsettling metric and stylistic transipal desire is to make listeners to brew in their angsty slime. And twenty tions. Slint is the granddaddy of a certain, years after the fact, they can still pull this off, though Post-concert, I was hard to pin down brand of rock but really dismayed that after a good bit of waiting, the band did not emerge to belong to a class all their own. Not to get greet fans, but frankly, who could expect more from Slint or Mill City all mathematical here, but RateYourMuNights? We did get to chat with the touring bassist who was humble and appreciative of our praise. sic.com ranks their second and final LP, He warned David that he didn’t actually play on Spiderland, so signing his Spiderland, 80th best album in recorded history. And that’s according to the people, copy of the record would feel wrong. Instead, he sketched a skull over Panot the critics. So Slint’s the real deal. Their jo’s face, a far more suitable gesture. Slint has already given us all we can ask for, and we’ve immortalized them for it. Even if Slint won’t produce sound is dark, colossal, and jarring. They create chain-link soundscapes and tack on another new note, they can replay their monolithic sonatas until they’re dissonant and angular guitar riffs, churning no more than skeletal remains.
drum patterns, and vocals comprised of either schizophrenic muttering or hardcore screams, both unintelligible, though pure poetry nonetheless. Slint never established a their legacy during their career but benefitted greatly from an era of internet-based music discovery. They’re on their third reunion of the millennium but haven’t produced anything as a group since the early ’90s. And that’s what made this tour especially significant. On the one hand, Slint had nothing to prove; “Spiderland” speaks for itself. On the other, Slint took on the rare and difficult task of recreating their seminal pieces twenty years after the fact, and this presents great risk for disappointment as anyone over forty will tell you. So how was the goddamn concert? It was mind-blowing. I should note that we prepared in a way that made the concert more memorable rather than easily forgotten, but one cannot overstate their quality of musicianship and presentation. They played their original works with
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CONNAN MOCKASIN// KIRIN J CALLINAN SHOW REVIEW by Jonathan Chow and Lydia Ding
On May 8, Psych pop troubadour Connan Mockasin brought his talents to the 7th street entry, along with Australian sensation Kirin J Callinan. We had gotten there just in time to catch the last remaining bits of a DJ set by Andrew Broder, formerly of Fog. His drone infused set proved to be an interesting opener in what was to come for the remainder of the night. After what seemed like an eternity of moving equipment around by disgruntled 7th street employees, Kirin J Callinan’s drummer, Hannes, decided to do an impromptu standup comedy set, with both touring bands joining in with the audience for support. Hannes assumed the persona of an unfunny German man, a feat he achieved with jokes pertaining to urination, uninspired wordplay, and anti-jokes. Following the standup routine, Kirin’s band promptly proceeded to get on stage for a sound check. Clad in round spectacles, a white silk robe adorned with Japanese cherry blossoms, and holding a cane, Kirin carried himself with a manner of slight concern and slight detachment. At times he would recklessly spin his guitar in the air or haphazardly switch from pedal to pedal in an indecisive way. Drums, synths, and a wall of lush guitar sounds spread throughout the tiny space. Callinan’s remarkable vocal range directs his industrial samples, quick beats and brash guitar reverb. Each twisted pop song was delivered in Callinan’s signature crooning vocals, all whist he operated his effect pedals with relative ease and held the audience’s attention with his zany on-stage banter. Kirin ended his set with a curt bow, and quickly exited the stage, limping along with his cane and intentionally crooked stature. Another 30 minutes or so passed before Connan Mockasin
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and his band finally sauntered out. The audience burst into applause as the opening bars of “Do I Make You Feel Shy?” rang out. All the lights were relatively dimmed, before fully brightening to display the group in their grandeur– all who were impeccably dressed. One facet that certainly stood out during the show was the band’s ability to experiment with and manipulate their songs to sound more ethereal and fascinating live than on the album. Crowd pleasers “Caramel” and “I’m The Man, That Will Find You” were greeted with enthusiasm, as the band beckoned for random audience members to come on stage and play accompanying percussion instruments. The night came to a close as Connan churned out an extended rendition of his single “Forever Dolphin Love” from his self-titled album released in 2011. Connan seemingly took on the position of an orchestral conductor, juxtaposing slow and fast tempos within the song to his likening. At one point during the song’s performance, he ditched his guitar in favor of the dance floor, urging everyone in the audience to find a partner and become “Lost in the music”. By this time, Kirin’s full band had joined Connan’s on stage to provide some sort of sonic fusion, with each band’s respective sound proving to be complementary. The tempo
gradually accelerated and the dancing gradually quickened, putting the audience into a frenzied state, until deceleration followed, with Connan’s soft voice echoing over the speakers as the final seconds of the song drifted into space. BONUS: Required Listening: Connan Mockasin – She Lives In My Lap (Outkast cover)
UPCOMING SHOWS FIRST AVE
WALKER ART CENTER
June 4 and June 5 : Chvrches with Summer Cannibals June 25: Cut Copy with Classixx July 8: Bonobo with Odesza July 15: The Flaming Lips with Morgan Delt July 16: Sharon Van Etten with Jana Hunter July 17: Tune-Yards July 26: Camera Obscura August 3: Jenny Lewis
June 21-22: Rock The Garden Festival w/ Jeremy Messersmith, Best Coast, Matt and Kim, and De La Soul (21); Valerie June, Dessa, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Guided by Voices, and Spoon (22)
7th STREET June 9: Eagulls with Cheatahs June 17: King Khan and the Shrines with Red Mass and the Sueves June 18: Diarrhea Planet with Danger Ron and the Spins, Gabe Douglas June 23: Mac DeMarco (SOLD OUT) July 28: Woods August 2: Wooden Shjips
VARSITY July 16: Sun Kil Moon
CEDAR CULTURAL CENTER June 22: Oneohtrix Point Never
TARGET CENTER July 17: Foreigner and Styx
DAKOTA JAZZ CLUB July 22:Jorma Kaukonen
WEESNER FAMILY AMPITHEATER June 17: moe. July 3: Bela Fleck July 5: The Hold Steady
near/far/whereever you are/i believe/that my heart will/go on
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SOMERSET THEATER June 21: Widespread Panic
STATE THEATER MILI CITY June 21: Nick Cave and the Bad NIGHTS Seeds
THE O’SHAUGHNESSY June 9: Elvis Costello
July 2: Moon Taxi
TRIPLE ROCK
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MUSIC TODAY by staff.
Today, the internet is not only the propagator but also the source of 99.97% of the sounds we hear in our daily lives. These shimmering textures, hollow soundscapes, and angular momentum, not only engage not only our eardrums but also our ear canals and arm/leg hair, if the bass drops correctly. We cannot comprehend greatly enough the implications of digital sounds upon our analogue bodies and as any true music fan would admit. our spirits. Despite the proliferation of mainly America and British musician-computers who distribute their material online, we humans, other biological creatures, and perhaps even extraterrestrials are still the main consumers of the so-called sounds that create music, today. The implication of this statement is of course, that the very idea of what we have come to know as music today is incorrect and inherently flawed. So if what we know as “music” isn’t— what then, is it? The answer to this question lies billions of years in the past, all the way back to the apes in the Africas but also simultaneously into the distant future (like 2069, like that far). This may seem paradoxical, but upon closer inspection we will find that the explanation is really quite simple. The problem with today’s kids is that they spend all their time on drugs. Thanks to drugs like “MDMA” and other honky tonk, the kids think that all these bleeps bloops count as sound. These bleeps bloops will never be a suitable replacement for our beloved guitar music. I remember being 16 years old and listen-
Fig 1. This graph shows the decline of GOOD MUSIC over time.
ing to revolver and going “WOW THE BEALTLES” and all the stuff. Then me and Sherry would go to make-out point and do the naughty in the back of my Dad’s Chevy 69 Stingray. The point is, that if kids weren’t getting all potted up behind the wheel, then we wouldn’t have all this skrillex hootenanny. What the fuck even is a skrillex? It’s so clear to me that the only reason kids like this stuff is because they are so doped up on crack all the time that they have forgotten that all music needs to be sung by respectable British men. That and all the cybering. But through all the bullshit and griping, the wonderful folks over at billboard are the last vestige of good music taste in America. When one is feeling 29
down, they can simply go to www.billboard.com and check out the hot 100, impeccably curated by the geniuses over at Billboard. Fuck Robert Christgau, fuck stereogum, billboard leads the nation in burgeoning musical tastes, and will dictate everyone’s music tastes in the future. Billboard employs a flawless algorithm in which they scour malls and department stores and scan CD racks, surmising that if department stores would sell them, they are generally suitable to auditory consumption. But the setting and mindset of each listener that consumes these songs is always different. Just as much as a certain beep of an airplane can mean something different to each person, so too does this dynamic of our own connec-
tion to dancing, singing, and talking about all of these things. The world is a dancefloor, but everyone is hearing different songs. We imagine that the whole world is listening to the same song and reacting to it differently, but when does our attachment to the song change the song itself? All these bleeps and the bloops and the warps and the woops of the aeroplanes over the seas, nonetheless and despite all reservations and shortcomings, function with the planes as massive death cruisers of obliterations, modern-day Hindenbergs that blow themselves up and destroy everyone. As we come to love a song it flies the softly sensual sweet sexness of the patter of its wings past our ears like a gosh darn mosqweeto hummin through the air in a summer night. Instead of biting us it shoots a death ray into our ear canal and explodes our heads into millions of little pieces that then fly around the world themselves like spores bursting fresh and wet from the bosom of the migrating seagull. This orgiastic, orgastic, and orgasmic experience of horny exploding is, in all its fury and magloriousness, is music to-day. We love it and it kills us. We like to die.
FIG. TWO (2) As you can see, after the 90’s happened, all music stopped happening. This is because Kurt Cobain’s subatomic structure altered the ozone layer when he was killed by Courtney Love. This of course was the ultimate cause of global warming (that an the annunaki). So really, unless you are not very smart, you can clearly see the graph and understand what is happenning here. 30
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***LISTS*** Top 10 Songs Over 10 Minutes Long by Sam Watson
1.
In a Gadda da Vida – Iron Butterfly (17:03)
Most people discount In a Gadda da Vida as a novelty of the 60s, or worse, only know the four minute radio edit. This is a tragedy. Do yourself a favor and listen to all 20 glorious minutes of this psychedelic masterpiece. Especially the drum solo part in the middle. I defy you to find a better drum solo, anywhere, ever.
2.
Shine on You Crazy Diamond – Pink Floyd (13:31)
3.
Maggot Brain – Funkadelic (10:21)
Shine On is the quintessential classic rock song of epic length. But what most people don’t appreciate it for what it really is: absolutely perfect baby-making music. “Mother Earth is pregnant for the third time- for y’all have knocked her up. I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe. I was not offended, for I knew I had to rise above it all… or drown in my own shit.”
4.
9. The Only Moment We Were Alone – Explosions in the Sky (10:14)
Explosions in the Sky is one of the few successful bands brave enough to produce totally radio-unfriendly music. I’m going to level with you and say that I haven’t really listened to this song, but I respect these dudes and think they should be here.
10.
Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull (43:54)
This notoriously long song (nearly 45 minutes, or both sides of a record) is on here because it is bombastic enough to earn a spot, not because it’s a good or enjoyable thing. Although I’m pretty sure Jethro Tull basically admitted that themselves. If anyone listens to all 3 hours of this playlist in one sitting I will make out with you.
Trucker’s Atlas – Modest Mouse (10:57)
If you’ve never given Modest Mouse a chance, or you’re only familiar with their recent albums, this track will give you a sampling of everything their older work has to offer: Solid guitar hooks and manic vocals, interspersed with moments of quiet beauty.
5. The Battle of Hampton Roads – Titus Andronicus (14:02)
Probably the only punk song that lasts a full ten minutes without becoming insufferably grating. Listen to this one until the end- it has an unironic bagpipe solo that’ll blow your mind.
6.
Broken Chairs – Built to Spill (19:05)
This track epitomizes Built to Spill’s ability to deliver long, meandering jams that are anything but boring. Plus, it features some damn good whistling.
7. Murray Ostril: “…They Don’t Sleep Anymore on the Beach…” - Godspeed You! Black Emperor (23:17)
GSY!BE’s slow builds and intense climaxes can be profoundly moving, if you’re patient enough. Although really, the best part of this song comes at the beginning, where the sad old Murray Ostril laments his lost childhood.
8.
Bright Lights – Black Mountain (16:41)
Man, these guys are so rockin’. There’s like four climaxes in this song and all of them are great. I can’t even think of anything else to say about this one, just toke a bowl and freak out on the power of this jam.
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10 WAYS TO GET
C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E Creation is hard. There’s a lot of different things that need to be in place for a piece of work to feel “right”. As someone who’s been dicking around with FL Studio since he was 13, I’m no expert, but I have picked up a few tricks on how to make something come from nothing. So here are ten things to try that might help you make your music less of an idea and more of a reality. By Cisco Hayward
1~ Altered States! Humans have been getting fucked up since the dawn of time, and there’s a reason for that. Your brain is just a balance of chemicals, and altering that balance (naturally or otherwise) can create some pretty intense experiences. So take your drug of choice and shoot for the moon. You’ll have something to sing about when you come down.
3 ~ Isolation! Having to put up with everyday life can distract you from yourself, and that’s no good, because that’s where your ideas are, right? So take the day off and just ask yourself, how are you doing? Do some real hard introspection and figure out what really makes your subconscious tick. Then make an album about it.
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2 ~ Other People! Believe it or not, you are not the only person on the planet. There are other fully functioning humans who go through some of the same shit that you do every day. Interacting with some of these “other humans” might be the spark which starts the fire in your heart, and what’s even better is that you might do the same for them.
4 ~ Breadth! You can’t be a good writer if you don’t read, and you can’t be a good musician if you don’t listen. Put on the record that’s been collecting dust, or google some random genre and see what you find. Just listen to anything you can. If you really look at every hay in the stack, you’ll have to find the needle at some point.
5 ~ Depth! Take a song you really like, chop out three seconds of it, and listen to that one loop over and over again. Really focus and zone in, pick it apart, and leave no stone unturned. The brain never gets the whole picture on the first listen, so listening to something a billion times can often yield things you hadn’t heard before. If you really dive into a sound, you’ll have a brand new understanding when you resurface.
6 ~ FUCK RULES! It’s spring term, right? Seriously, take every piece of musical knowledge you’ve ever had and completely disregard it. Don’t try to appease someone else, just make shit happen. Get weird and don’t let anyone tell you what to do. This is YOUR art. Fuck music theory, fuck audio quality, fuck rules. You don’t need none o’ dat shit.
7 ~ Make Rules! Diamonds are made under pressure, and necessity is the mother of invention. Force some arbitrary standard on yourself, and see if you can make it work. Maybe every lyric has to have “balls” in it, or maybe you’re only allowed to use four notes of a scale. Knock out a pillar and see if you can prevent the structure from collapsing. If nothing else, it’ll probs be entertaining.
9 ~ Subversion! You know what’s really mainstream? Using things for their intended purpose! Fuck that. Try to do something the wrong way. Use shoes instead of drumsticks, plug the cord into the wrong jack, use the shitty guitar instead of the good one. Do something wrong, and maybe it’ll feel right.
8 ~ Plagarism! Good artists imitate, but great artists steal. Try to recreate someone else’s work, or just blatantly rip it off. Everyone’s unique, and once somebody else’s idea gets filtered through you, it probably won’t look the same. Furthermore, reverse engineering a track is a great way to learn some of the artist’s techniques. If nothing else, you’ll at least get a cover.
10 ~ JUST DO IT! Practice makes perfect, but no one is asking for that. Just put something on the page, because if there’s nothing there, then there’s nothing to improve, so there’s no way it can get better. It might seem scary, but you’ve just gotta fucking go for it. Take the leap, and make it happen. As I learned from the After Earth trailer, “Danger is real, but fear is in your mind.” As long as you’re prepared, why be scared? DO IT DO IT GO GO GO! 35
***LISTS***
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We at No Fidelity are a simple bunch. We like our soundscapes textured and our fidelity low to nonexistent. We’re a community at Carleton dedicated to getting people together through music. What? We already have The Cave and KRLX for that very purpose? Not enough! We’re here for a fierce climate for brazenly asserting our mostly erroneous opinions about music. Maybe the only thing unites us as a group is our passion for pretty sounds and our ability to work with Mary. We’re only three issues deep, but we’ve already produced over a hundred pages of content. If you’re still reading this, you’re probably just the kind of person we want on our staff to help our classmates feel and even appear cooler in the eyes of their peers. JOIN US.
