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A music buyer’s dilemma

Last Saturday was national Record Store Day. I'm only moderately ashamed to admit that I didn't patronize any of the local record stores. Although I am in love with some romantic ideal of what record stores are like (probably due to repeated viewings of ""High Fidelity""), I couldn't tell you the last time I bought an album from a record store. It's simple, really. I don't have money to buy music. And while that might stop me from getting music at record stores, it doesn't stop me from getting music. 

Recipe for perfect rap album

If you're like me, by this point in the semester, you have completely checked out of all your classes. Perhaps you are ignoring homework, skipping entirely too much class, or maybe you have just stopped pretending you aren't facebooking during lecture. Whatever the case, you're probably looking for something to distract you from your responsibilities and make the rest of the semester go faster. Let me suggest recording a rap album.  

Music blogs serve no purpose

I recently stumbled across a music blog called ""The In Sound from Way Out."" While, at first blush, it doesn't appear to be radically different from any other music blog, the ""About"" section got me thinking. ""The In Sound"" is ""EMI Australia's official music and mp3 blog."" The ""About"" section continues, ""As far as we can tell, we are the only major label with this level of openness.""  

Football replaced by baseball, gymnastics

After years of outcry, the UW Athletic Department is finally giving the students what they want by announcing the return of Division I baseball to Madison. To both provide sufficient funding to the baseball program and satisfy Title IX regulations, the Department of Athletics will drop Wisconsin's FBS football program, effective immediately. 

Forum analyzes preliminary results of Athletic Department’s self-study

The UW Athletics Recertification Forum Tuesday began the discussion of results from the university's NCAA athletics certification self-study. 

New lyrics lack meaning

Perhaps pop music has never been a hotbed of careful, deep lyrics. But the recent glut of ridiculous, shallow bullshit being passed off for lyrics cannot go unmentioned.  

Doyle names federal funds oversight team

Gov. Jim Doyle assembled a team headed by Dale Cattanach to oversee the distribution of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Tuesday.  

Concerts should emphasize musicality, not atmosphere

Like everyone else who stayed in Wisconsin over spring break, I wished I could be somewhere else. But instead of dreaming of suntan lotion, piña coladas and beaches, I was fantasizing about jackass bartenders, malfunctioning amps and hearing damage. That's right—the South by Southwest music festival. As I enviously scrolled through a prominent music blogger's rundown of the festival, however, I saw the pictures of the ""surprise"" guest performance at Stubb's on Friday night. Underneath a giant ""Guitar Hero: Metallica"" logo, James Hetfield announced, ""We're a young band from Norway, and we want to get signed."" 

Use of old 'Hallejullah' in movie a sacreligious mistake

This past weekend, along with countless other nerds, lemmings and unwilling significant others, I watched ""Watchmen."" Although most of my thoughts about the movie are uninteresting and vague, one particular gripe stands out: the song selection for the sex scene. I am not alone in this complaint, either. Many reviewers, including The Daily Cardinal's own Danny Gottlieb, agree that Zach Snyder & Co. would be hard pressed to find a more cliché, awkward or disappointing choice than Leonard Cohen's original recording of ""Hallelujah.""  

Bono needs help ‘on the horizon’

Sunday's New York Times featured an interview with U2. On the eve of the release of their twelfth studio album, No Line On The Horizon, the article focused on the band's struggle to maintain legitimacy in the face of their own 30-plus year history, the political associations of their lead singer and the commercial culture of the music today. Unsurprisingly, U2 turns out to be the hero of this story, valiantly making great music in the face of insurmountable cultural odds, all while staying true to their roots.  

From douche-core to popera, when do the sub-genres end?

David Reed, in a February 11 review of Trouble Andrew's self-titled debut album, tags the album with the genre label ""douche-core."" This may be the greatest genre delineation I have ever read.  

'M.I.A.' at 2009 Grammys

I didn't watch the Grammys. I turned the TV on during the pre-show festivities, and after about twenty minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I was just plain bored. I had no desire to watch the rest.  

Film incentive deal has calls for reform

The state spent $4.6 million in tax incentives for Public Enemies,"" the film shot in Wisconsin last year starring Johnny Depp, and some officials are calling for reform of the state's film incentive program. 

Wordless songs hav their own distinct language for listeners

Don't let Super Bowl advertisements ruin every classic song

We all know that the Super Bowl has turned into more than just a game. Between the orgy of media hype and Las Vegas oddsmakers, the merchandizing and the halftime spectacle, you don't need to like football to find a reason to watch The Game. The commercials may be one of the biggest parts of the extracurricular draw. But how do commercials, and especially commercials featured on such an overblown stage, relate to the songs and the artists that lend them music?  

To all single ladies who like 'Single Ladies': Put your hands down

The semester break brings spare time, and with it the opportunity to contemplate the great questions of life. I spent virtually the entire break trying to decide which of the great mysteries to ponder. With only a few days of break left, I finally hit on the question I wanted to devote my life to understanding: What the fuck were Beyoncé and her producers thinking when they released Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)""?  

Do you hear what Dale hears? Holiday radio offers few options

Over the past few weeks, I have been listening, in small doses, to the Christmas radio station, 94.9 FM. I'm curious as to how this awful phenomenon not only survives, but begins at an earlier date each November. While I don't have a definitive answer to that question, I have noticed that there are really only five types of songs played on the holiday station.  

It's the most wonderful time of the year... to release a bad cover

The holiday season is a time compulsive shoppers relish, indulging in great bargains, teeming shopping malls and the excuse to buy mountains of meaningless crap. But, for the music fan, the holidays represent a minefield of problematic traditions.  

Badgers squeak by Mustangs in overtime

No picture better exemplifies the Wisconsin football team's season than that of senior tight end Travis Beckum. Beckum, who missed the first two games of the season with a hamstring injury and later fractured his fibula against Illinois, had to be carted onto the field during Senior Day introductions. 

Scrobbling spells order, OCD for Dale's musical scrabble

Dal: Do you stress out just counting the number times you've played Feist's ,One, Two, Three, Four"" this month? You may be a victim of scrobbling.