Rating: ★★★1/2
Tyga writes checks that his rapping skill can’t quite cash. At least not yet. On his major label debut, Careless World: The Rise of the Last King, the Young Money rapper chronicles his supposed rise to power in the rap game. However, a flurry of mixtapes and one stripclub anthem(“Rack City”) do not a hip hop legend make, and Tyga certainly is not a king of hip hop.
Love knows no boundaries and Kathleen Edwards’ third album is a perfect testament to this. Once compared with Americana singer-songwriter, Lucinda Williams, the Canadian girlfriend of Bon Iver front-man Justin Vernon could now be seen as a Dido-esque prodigy. I don’t take issue with Dido or identity changes whatsoever. But since I had never known of Kathleen Edwards prior to the release of her latest, Voyageur, I was a bit taken aback when I realized her style had once verged more on a country rather than wispy-pop persuasion.
I was fully expecting the new of Montreal album – Paralytic Stalks – to be weird. After all, that has come to be the band’s claim to fame in recent years; starting off with a naïve Indie vibe (they even had a song on a soundtrack for The OC at one point), the group has gradually embraced a more techno-pop persona, fond of extremely dark lyrics and electronic sounds.
When the Hold Steady covered the Minutemen’s “History Lesson Part II,” lead singer Craig Finn tweaked the lyrics to fit his own experience better. This resulted in the line, “Me and Tad Kubler we’ve played for years; punk rock changed our lives.” This reflects how their collaboration has shaped his musical career since Kubler joined Lifter Puller for their final album, Fiestas and Fiascos. Throughout the Hold Steady’s five albums, Kubler’s written the melodies, with Finn contributing lyrics. One would expect the main question to be – musically, how does Finn’s solo debut, Clear Heart, Full Eyes sound? Read More »
As I sit curled up under two blankets on my couch telling my friends for the second and third times that yes, I am already on spring break, I can’t help but think that Georgetown gets it wrong. I understand. Really, I do. Any later into March and spring break would be too close to Easter, but come on — 40 degree highs and knitwear? This isn’t what spring break is about. It’s about enjoying rising temperatures or surf-side destinations, breaking out the cutoffs and bathing suits, soaking up the rays and sipping on tropical-flavored beverages. But if we can’t have that, we can at least have the soundtrack that goes with it: driving beats, jangly riffs, breezy lo-fi melodies. So grab your NSO shades, turn on the heat lamp and dig into these 16 cuts ranging from 1966 to 2012 and from The Beach Boys to Georgetown’s very own Text Message after the jump! Read More »
