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(09/28/09 6:00am)
More than any other entertainment medium, music displays raw
personality and emotion. At its best, it's a connection to the soul
of a songwriter and a view into the personal depths too complex to
express through plain speech.
(09/21/09 6:00am)
The biggest news the music world experienced in the past few
weeks revolves around a band whose best album took 15 years to sell
150,000 copies. The early '90s saw Nirvana unleash grunge, the Red
Hot Chili Peppers maintain edgy alternative and Boyz II Men top the
charts for months at a time. But instead, it is the reunion of
Pavement, indie-rock icons from the same period, shaking up music
fans around the world as much as the death of the King of
Pop.
(09/18/09 6:00am)
Jay-Z's rollercoaster of a post-retirement recording career
flips back and forth with each release, coming up short and
surpassing expectations when least expected. On 2006's Kingdom
Come, everybody expected The Black Album plus one. Instead we found
an overproduced, under-rhymed pop/rap album. Then the subtly
released, unofficial soundtrack American Gangster contends for
defining gangster rap album of the last five years, while he
ironically declared, ""It's only entertainment."" A modest
statement coming from his realist release since The Blueprint, but
on The Blueprint 3, it comes to fruition.
(09/15/09 6:00am)
For how many restaurants are located on
or around State Street, Fat Sandwich has managed to find an
near-vacant role in the campus community: novelty food.
(09/15/09 6:00am)
After a summer of uber-expensive re-releases, the Beatles'
ultimate reissue of their collection of studio albums makes it
official: Every label is out to squeeze as much money out of the
music industry as possible while they still can.
(09/07/09 6:00am)
Jay-Z is a hustler. I could cite dozens of his lyrics
self-proclaiming such (especially pertinent to this column's topic,
""I'm more Frank Lucas than Ludacris""), but the more music that
comes and goes, the more the evidence supports his claims.
(07/20/09 6:00am)
Jack White appears to be on his way to becoming something of a
nomadic rock star along the lines of Eric Clapton by lining up jam
sessions and collaborative albums with peers of similar taste. This
technique thrives on the natural playing and ability of each member
to feel comfortable in an atmosphere of organic, free-flowing
writing. This is an inconsistent style, but when lightning strikes,
special albums can be created, like Layla and Other Assorted
Love Songs or even The Basement Tapes. Dipping his
own toes in this water, White successfully teamed up with Brendan
Benson to create the Raconteurs for his first venture, before
moving on to his second project: the Dead Weather.
(07/20/09 6:00am)
Jack White appears to be on his way to becoming
something of a nomadic rock star along the lines of Eric Clapton by
lining up jam sessions and collaborative albums with peers of
similar taste. This technique thrives on the natural playing and
ability of each member to feel comfortable in an atmosphere of
organic, free-flowing writing. This is an inconsistent style, but
when lightning strikes, special albums can be created, like
Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs or even The
Basement Tapes. Dipping his own toes in this water, White
successfully teamed up with Brendan Benson to create the Raconteurs
for his first venture, before moving on to his second project: the
Dead Weather.
(06/05/09 6:00am)
Having released three full-length albums in five years, Grizzly
Bear have taken plenty of time to develop as songwriters between
releases, and their progression is fascinating. They have
maintained a signature sound and achieved consistent, reliable
results while managing to grow sonically from album to album. On
their latest release, Veckatimest, they've reached a point where
they are now appealing to all brands of indie listeners.
(05/29/09 6:00am)
Wilco does not need to prove anything anymore. Even though Sky
Blue Sky received mixed responses, they are at a point in their
career when their work has finally been circulated to anyone
interested in hearing the best contemporary music, and everyone
seems to agree they belong—at the very least—around the top.
Audiences now have their first chance to hear the self-confidence
that comes from that type of recognition on Wilco (the
album).
(04/28/09 6:00am)
Jokes about whales using cell phones, songs performed in
cardboard robot costumes and minute-long theatric fades to end
songs are what make the Flight of the Conchords more than just a
musical act.
(04/17/09 6:00am)
This Saturday, music stores everywhere will be participating in
Record Store Day, a celebration of independent music stores and
music lovers.
(04/14/09 6:00am)
Lemonwilde released their debut EP Red Room from Los Angeles,
but the band is rooted right here in singer Joe Murray's hometown
of Madison. As their debut spreads through the Internet's wide
world of music, listeners will find something eerily reminiscent of
Radiohead but with a twist of hard rock. The result is something
hard to listen to if you're leisurely walking down the street, yet
gripping enough to force its way onto your playlist with
regularity.
(03/06/09 6:00am)
Jesse Harris is a Grammy award-winning, New York City
singer-songwriter who has written songs recorded by Willie Nelson,
Feist and Bright Eyes, but his solo career has consistently failed
to gain momentum. Yet Harris does anything but beg for attention on
Watching the Sky as he simply exercises his
strength—writing traditional pop songs with various flavors
displaying a breadth of ability.
(02/09/09 6:00am)
It is common stereotypical behavior to blow off local, college
bands and label them as wannabe musicians trying to grasp at the
life of a rock star while still feeling young and invincible. Not
included in this stereotype are the members of Fermata; classically
trained musicians (including UW-Madison students) extending their
knowledge of music to encompass the more pop-structured songs that
make up their recently released debut, Only Ghosts Remain.
(02/03/09 6:00am)
On a Sunday rich in the ritualistic tradition of sport, it is
the Puppy Bowl that reminds us all of the American ideal accounted
for on a day-to-day basis: appearance. So it is no surprise that
the undeniable joy pouring from a room full of puppies playing has
slowly been softening more and more hearts of even the most
tenacious football fans.
(01/29/09 6:00am)
(12/02/08 6:00am)
On Kanye West's latest release, 808's & Heartbreak,
the album's title says it all. It is a complete break from the
student motif on all of his previous album titles. 808's
references the influential technology used throughout the new
album, a voice box auto-tuner and 808 beat machine. Lastly, the
recent drama (heartbreak) in West's life, including a breakup with
his fiancée and his mother's death, seeps into every corner of
this album, from the often heart-aching lyrics to the wide-open,
longing spaces that have not crossed West's music before.
(11/13/08 6:00am)
Denison Witmer is a singer/songwriter from Lancaster, Penn., who
has attracted attention for his acoustically focused, neo-folk
songwriting ability, which has garnered lofty comparisons to Nick
Drake, Sufjan Stevens and even Elliott Smith. Although there is no
way Witmer can live up to any of those folk icons on his
ironically-named release Carry the Weight, he is still
refining his songwriting ability and is nearly ready to establish a
distinct sound and name for himself in the folk world, just not
yet.
(10/27/08 6:00am)
The past few tumultuous years for Of Montreal's do-everything
frontman Kevin Barnes have been well-documented through his music,
a trend that continues on his band's new release, Skeletal
Lamping. On the group's past two albums, Barnes shared the
problems of his marriage, as well as his liberal ideas on using
multiple personalities, resulting from his off-stage troubles and
newfound freedom. These personalities notably include a
forty-something, African-American transgender named Georgie
Fruit.