Kings of Leon is one of the biggest bands of our generation. I’ve been listening to them since 2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak and always wanted to see them make it because they’re exactly what I like about indie music: sound musicianship that fits perfectly between classic rock gods and the strangest modern music. These guys…
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Funk. Most people don’t take the genre seriously. Even America’s most envelope-pushing family favorite television show Glee only explored funk once it had an established audience. And I get that, funk music is kind of dated. Maybe I’m forming this opinion from the pictures I’ve seen, but all I can imagine when I think of…
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When Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds‘ debut album of the same name opens with “Untie My Shoelaces”, the listener is introduced to everything I like about the band: the depths of lead singer Arleigh Kincheloe’s sultry voice backed by a huge, bluesy, rock and reggae instrumental powerhouse. While the production of the debut album…
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Sufjan Stevens is a name synchronous with the music of our generation. He is a bona fide indie superstar, artistic genius, and methodical talent. He’s been around a long time and a lot of people love him but strangely, most diehard fans I know didn’t enjoy his latest album, The Age of Adz. I’ll give…
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On Sunday, November 7, 2010, I met with Eleanor Kleiner and Elie Brangbour, better known as The Whispering Tree for a short interview. The Whispering Tree is a singer-songwriter duo that capitalizes equally on Eleanor’s classically trained, powerful voice and Elie’s instrumental expertise and technical ear. This killer combination results in an organic sound that…
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On the morning of Monday, November 1, 2010, I got an email from one of my friends asking me where we should meet and what time we should get there. “What is she talking about?” I thought, as I continued about my hectic morning. It took me about five minutes to remember that around six…
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Consider yourself warned: my feelings about this album are so strong that I feel like I’m defining a relationship more than I am writing a review. I first got into the Black Keys two years ago, after my town library introduced me to the brilliance of Attack and Release. I had heard a lot about…
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On Thursday, October 21, 2010, I attended the CMJ Mexican Summer Showcase at the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. CMJ (College Music Journal) is an industry resource that features album reviews, gig reviews, ticket information, community events, blogs, and merch from or about generally under-the-radar musicians. For the past ten years, CMJ has silently been…
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When Dunja asked me to review Hanson’s new album Shout It Out, I was honestly a little taken aback. I remember when the band gave a free concert at our (kind of) alma mater the University of Arizona in conjunction with Tom’s Shoes. It was in the middle of the day and I couldn’t make…
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On Monday, September 27, 2010, I attended a “secret show” of sorts that John Legend and the Roots played to benefit their album Wake Up! in conjunction with New York City’s 2010 Ad Week. I got access to the tickets through my sister and the gigantic advertising agency at which she works. I was very…
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What is there to say about Jónsi? If you’re a fan, you’re die-hard. If you have no idea what the name means, you’re in for a history lesson. Instead of offering a typical track-by-track review with which I am becoming quickly too comfortable, I am going to give you faithful readers an (unbiased as I…
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When I started listening to the Upsidedown’s The Town with Bad Wiring for this piece, I immediately thought of shoegazing. I often think that bands who pursue shoegaze music today are ridiculed for trying too hard to be ironic. The other classic criticism is that the music all sounds the same. This is generally true…
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Instead of giving you faithful readers another lovely album review, I decided to write about something that’s been on my mind since Saturday night. It is partly spawned by watching a ridiculous amount of Cee Lo Green’s “Fuck You” video, listening to soul music at work, my roommate buying me Stevie Wonder on vinyl, paying…
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Arcade Fire is one of those bands that you kind of have to like when you start realizing what good music is. In the same brainy rock vein as Radiohead or on a bit of a smaller scale, Death Cab for Cutie, they’re a group that you have to have on your iPod when people…
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