Author page: Jordan Bickham

New Dr. Dog singles hint to Most Experimental Album yet

Despite starting out back in 2003 with the album Toothbrush, most music fans know Dr. Dog for its funky fresh 2016 album The Psychedelic Swamp or its mellow, slightly folkly 2017 album Abandoned Mansion.  And if you aren’t a music listener at all, there’s still a 99% chance you’ve heard Dr. Dog’s version of “Heart It Races” from 2007, the band’s most played song that features one of the recognizable, catchiest bass lines.

Rites of Spring 2018 Preview

Rites of Spring began in the 1960’s with the goal to connect students to the greater Nashville community.  The festival is put on by Music Group, a branch of Vanderbilt Programming Board.  While many universities hold on-campus music festivals, Rites of Spring is unique due to the major acts that have graced the stage as well as the festival being open to the Nashville community.  Some of these acts include Red Hot Chili Peppers (1989), Phoenix (2005), Spoon (2008), Drake (2010), and many more you can see here.  This year Rites will be held April 20th and 21st and tickets are available at Sarratt Cinema or online.  While there is still one more act to be announced (hopefully an alternative act since that genre is still lacking), the line-up already features a variety of acts from all different corners of the music scene.  

Andrew Bird brings Dutch sentiment of gezelligheid to Nashville

This past Saturday, Andrew Bird gave Nashville a taste of Dutch culture by performing a concert at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in the spirit of gezelligheid.  For those who have studied abroad in Copenhagen, you are probably familiar with the Danish sentiment of “hygge.”  While the term has no truly accurate English translation, it is defined by feelings of warmth and coziness.  Hygge is different for everyone, but it can be experienced through appreciating life’s simple pleasures, joining in community, and finding contentment.  The Dutch term “gezelligheid” is similar and can be used to describe a bright, cozy atmosphere or more specific experiences such as spending time with loved ones (you can read more here).  Even during the frigid dark months of winter, the Danish and Dutch continue to meet with friends and find well-being in the name of hygge and gezelligheid respectively.

Despite releasing “Teenage Fantasy,” Jorja Smith showcases Old Soul Sound

Courtesy of Atwood Magazine (http://atwoodmagazine.com/jorja-smith-project-11/)

At only 20-years-old, Jorja Smith has gone from a high school student and part-time Starbucks barista to releasing tracks on Spotify that garner millions of listens in only a couple of days.  Smith hails from Walsall, West Midlands, UK where she met her manager at the age of 15.   Despite her youth, she has already worked with some of the most prominent names in the R&B/Hip-Hop such as producer Black Coffee.  She was even featured on two tracks (“Get it Together” and “Jorja Interlude”) off Drake’s recent mixtape, More Life. Let’s take a look at her past and present.

The National transitions with Sleep Well Beast

(courtesy of AmericanMary)

The National’s most recent album, Sleep Well Beast, released September 8, 2017, is characterized by a tracklist that can be compared to a morning commute. “Guilty Party” resembles the melancholy of waking before the sun has risen, a sheet of morning dew still covering the hood of your car.  But the sun does rise and the gloom quickly turns into anger and frustration. “Turtleneck” embodies the morning drive itself — the agonizing slow burn of exit after exit, when you begin to tailgate cars just to feel like you’re making progress. Unlike previous albums, where each track transitions from one to the next like the tranquil flow and ebb of a stream, Sleep Well Beast is a complete mishmash.