There’s something about the music venue at 2208 Elliston Place. I’m not sure what it is, but when you walk through the door into that dimly lit music den to see a show, the world ceases to exist and you become a part of something greater. With its lax security policies and blackwashed interior, it’s a rather unassuming joint; however, when your gaze falls upon the list of names on the dark wall behind the bar, it dawns on you that you’re on sacred turf.
Stories for Monday is known as The Summer Set album that almost didn’t happen. It had been three years since the band released anything, though the band tried to remain active with the occasional tour during that time. Still, there were a lot of questions about whether or not the band had met its end.
Parquet Courts released Human Performance April 8th, and admittedly, after their last album, I can’t say my expectations were very high. Perhaps that is why Human Performance was so easily lovable—or, perhaps, it was because it was the band’s most innovative album yet, exploring new territory and playing with sounds they hadn’t ever touched before.
Last summer, a friend and I somewhat spontaneously decided to go to Shaky Knees music festival in Atlanta, partially to avoid the mess of Vanderbilt graduation and partially because of the killer 2015 lineup. We each had our own personal ideas of bands we wanted to see, but as with any music festival (especially a smaller one like Shaky Knees, where there were only at most two bands playing at the same time), we often had a bit of unscheduled time to casually listen to bands that we weren’t familiar with or didn’t know at all. One such band was Dr. Dog.
Per recommendation from a friend, I recently decided to check out Black Mountain and, more specifically, the band’s fourth studio album, aptly titled IV. Released on Jagjaguwar, the Canadian band’s fourth album truly reminds me why I fell in love with space rock back in high school. The album is jam-filled, spaced-out, and altogether trippy at times, but it also has some really great in-your-face guitar riffs worth mentioning.
“I’m twenty, washed up already,” Frankie Cosmos proclaims in the aptly-named “I’m 20,” the eighth track off her newest release, Next Thing. With poignantly simple lyrics that paint her persona as one fearful of being a corporate sellout, “I’m 20” most notably marks a transition point in both Greta Kline’s latest album and in her career as Frankie Cosmos—marking a kind of profound recognition as she fears it’s happening, rather than after the fact. With words that touch on the flirtatiousness of being playfully young and also scared of not being young, Frankie Cosmos’ Next Thing is a monument of youth and its fading, and adds tremendously to her body of work, showcasing both consistency and novelty.
Rap’s vitality has always been a condition of it being dynamic; rappers come up, styles are birthed, stolen, recycled and then tossed aside. The new stuff rises to the top while remaining indebted to the old at the same time. The resultant mixture is perfect, in a sense, as both listeners and rappers are constantly kept on their toes, and new sounds are abundant. If only someone would come around ever once in awhile and offer some perspective and observation on rap’s current sounds, lyrical trends, and subject matter though.
Last Tuesday marked Yo La Tengo’s triumphant return to Nashville at Exit/In with a concert that was likely one of the biggest genre-rollercoasters of a set I’ve ever seen. Through the band’s decades of genre-bending with their largely varied discography, I couldn’t expect the show to be any different, and it didn’t disappoint.
Omar Moctar, aka Bombino and his band are men of action. No introduction. No witty banter. The band just played, brilliantly.
By Sammy Spencer and Bo Kennedy
This year’s Okeechobee Music Festival, held on Lake Okeechobee in Southern Florida, exceeded all of my expectations for a first year music festival. I arrived late on Friday night due to exams, and set up camp that night already feeling a strong positive energy throughout the site. The next day was a whirlwind of amazing experiences, enhanced by the unbelievable art and music that Okeechobee had to offer.
British indie singer Birdy released her third album last week. Beautiful Lies features her January single “Keeping Your Head Up,” and follows The Fire Within and her self-titled debut album Birdy.
April Fools’ Day is only two days off now. Most people I know think it’s a pretty underwhelming holiday, really, unless you’re my parents, who decided to get married on April Fools’ Day. For a holiday that’s at least 800 years old and was mentioned in The Canterbury Tales, the day is typically only a series of annoyances — failed pranks, jokes that are simply mean, and friends who tell you horrifically tragic news before undercutting it with an exuberant “April fools!”
Lake Street has deservedly skyrocketed in worldwide fame ever since their live, stripped-down cover of the Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” filmed on a Boston street corner went viral. Mixing old-school pop with jazz, blues, and soul influences, the group caters to the indie pop-rock loving fan who loves a taste of nostalgia in their ears.
Quilt, the band, not the blanket, released their third studio album Plaza last month. Along with their new album, this quirky trio released a commentary album, which you can find on Spotify. Bandmembers Anna Fox Rochinski, Shane Butler and John Andrews talk about the meaning/influences of each song on Plaza, giving a rare insight into their creative processes. So far, “Roller” is my favorite track of the album. The music video (see above), like Quilt’s music, is both fascinating and puzzling.
(Image Credit: BrooklynVegan)
Within a minute of Lost Time’s opener “Dana Katherine Scully,” it’s clear that Seattle-based candy-coated punk/pop/surf feminists Tacocat are doubling down on the most infectious elements of their sound. On their last full-length, 2014’s NVM, Tacocat developed their compelling craft of tackling often-unaddressed and/or feminist topics with sugary pop melodies and distorted surf guitars on cuts like the phenomenally period-positive surf rock party of “Crimson Wave.”
It’s finally spring here at Vanderbilt. The air is brimming with pollen, day parties have commenced, and everyone’s excited for Vanderbilt’s annual spring music festival. This year’s lineup is incredibly diverse: from electronic beat-maker Porter Robinson to comedic rapper Lil Dicky, there’s bound to be an artist for everyone’s tastes this year. With Rites of Spring just around the corner, it’s always a good idea to get to know the artists a bit in advance. So, check out the synopsis of this year’s lineup below.
When Sufjan Stevens sings with raw vulnerability about “Death with Dignity,” or Alex G warbles about “Thorns,” or Frankie Cosmos draws you in with “Sad 2,” or King Krule weeps with deep-voiced, buttery droning through “Bleak Bake,” you are being sold an emotion just as much as a song. Naturally, a degree of sadness can be a fuel for inspiration, pushing artists into more creative realms, donating their hurting to public consumption—offering a source of relatability for the general populace, giving us solace in melancholy solidarity. Sad songs, then, are incredibly important: sobbing in the depths of the saddest song you can find on your Spotify playlist is often an unmatched catharsis. Sadness sells, and often is mutually beneficial for consumer and producer alike.
It would appear that vinyls are not nearly as old fashioned as my grandfather would have me believe. Earlier this week, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) released the statistics from the past year and the sale of vinyls for 2015 was the highest it has been since 1988. The sales brought in a total of $416 million, a small fraction of the $7 billion the entire industry brings in. However, what’s notable is that vinyls, the old men of the music world, surpassed free streaming, which only made $385.1 million last year.
Last year in December, Ratking member Wiki blessed us with Lil Me, a free album that ran 17 tracks deep and featured some glorious rapping over excellent production from the likes of Sporting Life, Black Mack, KAYTRANADA, and more.
I spent a lot of time this past weekend stalking the Instagram accounts of several of my favorite bands that happened to be playing at SXSW. It was a bit of a depressing experience, both because I was at the time stuck in Featheringill trying to study for a test and because I currently do not have the money to spend on a large music festival experience. That being said, there are a ton of music festivals that are driving distance from Nashville that are cheaper and still offer great lineups. So if you’re bummed about missing Coachella or Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza, check out these awesome festivals coming up this summer.
I just got back from a spring break road trip from Nashville to the Grand Canyon, which included way too much sitting in my friend’s car. Whether it was driving for hours and hours on endless country roads or sitting in the passenger seat while traveling across the entirety of Kansas, road trip songs definitely kept me sane. The following playlist was one of the many I made for the 48 hour drive there and back, and I used songs by ODESZA only.