Most people are familiar that Johnny Cash’s famous “Hurt” is actually a Nine Inch Nails song, that Led Zeppelin took much of their catalog from early blues recording, or that all of the various recordings of “Hallelujah” owe themselves to Leonard Cohen’s original. But what about those song’s that we associate with one artist entirely when they are actually the creative genesis of another artist entirely? These five songs fall in that category; that a listen to the original versions.
It’s safe to say that regardless of whether or not you think Kendrick Lamar got robbed at the Grammys, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis accounted for a significant shift in the scope of issues dealt with in mainstream rap music. Into a culture dominated by the elegant hedonism of Kanye West and Jay-Z was infused a dose of reality–“fifty dollars for a t-shirt” (or, as famously offered by Yeezy, $120) is beyond the fiscal considerations of most Americans and shouldn’t be a standard to which ordinary folks are held. The challenges that The Heist issued to the industry’s status quo opened up lines of dialogue that had been confined to the independent outskirts for much of the past decade, particularly regarding the materialistic, misogynistic, and heteronormative culture that has dominated mainstream rap.
In this rapidly changing paradigm, any social issue can be captured and crystallized into a song with the potential to move millions of affected listeners and inspire the unaffected to take corrective action. With his new single “Bully Me,” Nashville hip-hop artist Shadower attempts to take the serious issue of childhood and adolescent bullying and preach empathy as the cure.
Many of us associate movies with their leading stars, dramatic plot lines, or box office success. However, one area that is often overlooked is a movie’s soundtrack. Mostly drawing from music of the 60s and 70s, but also more recent tracks, several movies have created new meaning for songs that have become crucial to pop culture.
On the Friday before spring break, I had the pleasure of seeing the Vanderbilt Core Choir perform their home concert that began their week long tour to Florida. The front end of the program was a typical classical repertoire, featuring works from Bach, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. Via short sets focusing on international pieces and original compositions by choir members and friends, there was a gradual transition into what I found to be an absolutely stunning performance of Americana songs at the tail end of the program. There was a complete change in atmosphere of the concert, and it was in no way related to the quality of the music going up for some strange reason. The performance level was stunning throughout; in the roots set, it was just like the music stopped being a performance and began to be a warm and welcoming conversation. It focused strongly on spirituals, arrangements of songs by The Wailin’ Jennys to highlight some of the ensemble’s remarkable sopranos and altos, and a selection for the male vocalists to shine on that happens to be one of my current favorite songs. This was an adapted arrangement of Marcus Mumford and Oscar Isaac’s recording of “Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)” for the 2013 Coen Brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis (you can listen to a recording of the choir’s men performing the selection above). The film follows a week in the life of Llewyn Davis, a fictional folk artist in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s struggling to make it by, providing a dreary reminder to the audience that for every Bob Dylan or Joan Baez success that came from this vibrant folk movement there were countless careers that failed to start. Again and again in this dismal setting, the film’s music shines through, punctuated by performances from Oscar Isaac in his titular role. The man that put that soundtrack together was T-Bone Burnett.
WRVU is going to Bonnaroo this year, and you can too! Read on to find out how you can win a pair of tickets to one of the nation’s biggest music festivals.
It has been on my bucket list since the beginning of my first semester – watch an awesome show at the Exit/In. That may be redundant, considering the bands that come to the venue are more likely than not, extremely talented. Some of them have been lucky enough to have their names written on a large wall behind the bar or on the grand mural outside the front door. Well, I would argue that the show I went to, Kodaline with the fantastic opener LP, should be put up next on that wall of fame.
Combining elements of jazz, electronica, rock, and everything in between, Snarky Puppy had a little something for everyone Sunday night at the Mercy Lounge.
The other day, as I stumbled upon some old photos of myself deep in the crevices of my computer files, I started reflecting on my middle school self. I was, of course, rocking the typical emo/pop punk kid uniform of as much pink and black as possible and sporting thick, black etnies in most of the photos. In a few pictures, I’m seen with a metallic blue iPod mini on hand. So, the other day, I started thinking about the bands I was listening to back in 2006 and thought I’d give you all a recap of my ultimate favorites at the time. Hopefully some of you can relate.
27 year old Hudson Mohawke (HudMo), real name Ross Birchard, has become quite the DJ and producer over the last several years. Most people probably know his name because he makes up one half of the duo TNGHT, or because he helped produced Kanye West’s most recent album, Yeezus (him and Lunice, the other half of TNGHT, had the most influence over Kanye’s track Blood on the Leaves which is my favorite track!). Over winter break I was most fortunate and spent nearly a month in Glasgow, Scotland, where HudMo is from, and (almost!!) ran into him several times in the small but vibrant city. Call me ignorant but I hadn’t heard his name before winter break although I knew and listened to TNGHT’s music, and as he’s a “local celebrity” in Glasgow, I had to catch up on all the gossip and news going around town concerning HudMo.
I’m a Chicago kid. Born in the city and raised on the Southside. It’s what I know, it’s what I rep, it’s the place I love and call home. We get a bad rap on the national media for the violence, the public schools and the corruption (at least, in part, rightfully so) but all in all, I’m proud of where I’m from. So when something good comes out of where I’m from, I have to bump it.
Everybody loves MovieStarPlanet, mainly your kids. Well, who would not? It’s an enjoyable game and it is very good to boost our imagination. In this game everyone can pick their…
Are now there completely free hack bits and pieces on the part of completely free gems only to passes? Wouldnt that it end up being extreme whether you could moving…
2013 is coming to a close, and that means it’s time to select our station’s top album of the year. Our DJs have nominated the 16 albums in the image…
The Man:
Bilal is a son of the funk. Though born in ’79, he rolls with the swagger of a proper 70’s child drawing influence from Blaxploitation films and funkmasters Sly Stone, George Clinton, and Curtis Mayfield among many others.
I go on a lot of road trips. I have to drive between Albuquerque, NM and Nashville, TN twice per year so I can have access to my car in my two homes. I drive to retreats and district events for Tau Beta Sigma, the band service organization I am a part of. I drive to various music festivals. I’m going to be driving to Mardi Gras this spring. And while some people may not understand it, I love all of these long drives, and one of the main reasons for that is having a good road trip playlist. Having been fortunate enough to be travelling to festivals for two of the past three weekends, I’ve decided to share a few of my current favorite road trip albums.
Hey everybody,
One of the benefits of hosting The VU Backstage for a year is that you develop friendships and solid connections with the artists you invite on the show. This is especially nice when you are scrambling for a guest for the show on the day of. You call up a friend–in this case Lockwood Barr–and you do the show. And the interview is easy because there’s already an established rapport there, making conversation a delight and bringing more personality out of both you and the guest.
That was what happened last night. Lockwood and I had fun discussing everything from her new band and extensive tour plans to The Catcher in the Rye and gourmet cooking. It was fittingly awkward when I whiffed on two straight Napoleon Dynamite references, but there was also substantive insight into Lockwood’s songwriting and attitude towards music. Of course, there was also the music itself, which was fantastic. You can catch the full show here.
In other news, I discovered a new band (for me, at least; you’ve probably heard of them for a few years). Generally, I look to the past for my music; Rush, the Beatles, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante are my three favorite bands. Any current music I consume has to be introduced to me by someone else, either because a recommendation is a sure sign that a band is worth my time or because I am too lazy to seek out the music myself. Luckily, I work at WRVU and cannot avoid being introduced to new and unfamiliar music.
The Band:
Jip Jop formed sometime between 2006 and 2008 (depending on which online bio you trust) when front man Ben Gershman- Benny Nice behind the boards and on the mic- noticed a few standout students in Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs school of music. They each had jazz training, they all liked hip-hop and so naturally they melded the two.
The LP:
On a seemingly random day in 2010, California MC Blu drops the theGODleeBarnes(lp) via his twitter account. It comes as a single, large mp3 and is totally unmixed. Fans aren’t pleased and Blu doesn’t seem to care. And why would he? The man had produced a lo-fi masterpiece .
This album is incredible. Spoken Nerd has made an incredible catchy rap album that has pop undertones, frank lyrics, and a bouncing, dark humor throughout it. Be sure to check…
So Kate Nash is basically the best thing ever. Seriously. Now, this album is a little bit different from her previous two – she went sort of 90s Riot Grrl…
Same ole same ole from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Their fourth album is alright but a little too much on the ‘Meh Meh Mehs’.