catherine degennaro

When frontmen go on solo tours as rumors of new albums swirl, there is a good chance they’ll road-test some possible material on you. These performances used to be intimate moments: an artist sharing something that was, at that point in time, reserved only for those lucky enough to be in the audience. But now that anyone can whip out their phone, press record, and have it uploaded to YouTube by the time the next song begins, these moments have become a little less confidential. And now we’re in on it, too.

Many of us had given up hope on The Shins. Sure, they’ve been known to take their time getting around to releasing new records. Sure, Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats dispelled some of our worries by confirming that The Shins were still a band and explaining that everyone was just a little too busy to focus on the follow-up to 2007′s Wincing the Night Away when we spoke to him last year. But this reassurance came even as James Mercer joined forces with producer Danger Mouse and began charting new musical territory as Broken Bells. Last year’s self-titled album was recently followed by the Meyrin Fields EP, and the collaboration began to feel a bit more like a band than a side project. And so we accepted that maybe this time The Shins were gone for good. Read More »

Don’t let the name fool you: the music of Oregon Bike Trails’ Zach Yudin is more at home communing with warm breezes and soaking in the SoCal sunshine on the beaches of his native Santa Monica than it is getting tucked away on some backwoods bike trail in the Pacific Northwest gathering moss. Even among the scores of bands riding the beach wave, Oregon Bike Trails manages to stand out, forgoing fuzzed-out guitar riffs and instead getting toes tapping with rumbling waves of percussion and bounding bass. Drawing inspiration from ’60s surf pop groups, he layers on twinkling toy pianos and tambourines and pulls it all together with some tight Brian Wilson-tinged melodies. And, of course, no beachside bedroom project would be complete without a touch of reverb. While hitting the ‘verb too hard is often a means of masking sub-par vocal chops, Yudin’s use is just right. Airy echos complement his light, sunny harmonies without compromising the listeners’ understanding of his candid but clever narratives of lost high school love and lost days in the sand. Watch the video for “High School Lover” and more after the jump! Read More »

When frontmen go on solo tours as rumors of new albums swirl, there is a good chance they’ll road-test some possible material on you. These performances used to be intimate moments: an artist sharing something that was, at that point in time, reserved only for those lucky enough to be in the audience. But now that anyone can whip out their phone, press record, and have it uploaded to YouTube by the time the next song begins, these moments have become a little less confidential. And now we’re in on it, too.

Wilco tours almost constantly, and it feels like when they aren’t on the road, frontman Jeff Tweedy is. While the Chicago-based band takes some time out to record its eighth studio album to be released later this summer on its own label, dBpm, Tweedy took a short tour around the Great White North and surrounding states with two new cuts in tow that may or may not give us any sense of the shape LP8 will take. Read More »

I’m sure you all woke up this morning ready to brush up on a few dance moves courtesy of Thayer and Sunshine, but due to technical difficulties, have been disappointed once again. We’re very sorry. Luckily, Thayer and Sunshine will be on Copley Lawn tomorrow from 2:30 to 6pm showing off their moves live at WGTB’s Block Party. Join them for free moves, free music, free burgers and free water raining down from the sky. While you wait in anticipation, check out our lineup and master the moves from earlier in the week — they’re so fresh, they’ll never get old.

WGTB’S Block Party FEATURING: Reptar, RA the MC, Mercies and Get A Tan.

For more moves: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday

I’ve never been very good at April Fools jokes. I fretted over that a lot in middle school, back when it seemed like a bona fide holiday that one was obligated to observe. I’d try to come up with the perfect prank to pull on my friends, only to ruin them all at the start with guilty faces and giggles. Safe to say, I’ve spent more of the April Firsts of my life playing the fool than wreaking havoc. So I emphathize with the fool — pity him, even. In celebration of April Fools Day, instead of causing mayhem, here’s to being the butt of the joke. Read More »

For the past couple of weeks, the sun has been our enemy. When speed-reading through a half-semester’s worth of articles, valiantly stretching out every sentence to reach that ten-page mark in your paper, and holding your eyes open while downing your fifth cup of coffee, there is nothing more disheartening than watching the sunrise from the prime midterm real-estate of the fourth floor of Lau. Nothing. Except perhaps being stirred awake by the sun’s rays to find yourself face-down in a text book in the Pierce Reading Room hours before your exam. But if you survived midterms, it’s time to make nice with the sunshine. So here are some tunes in honor of this next week of Spring Break: to natural light, to balmy beach getaways, to surfside sojourns, to (if nothing else) sitting at home amongst the snow banks daydreaming of tropical destinations with the heat turned up and a cool drink in hand. Click through to listen!

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On February 5th, WGTB threw an iPod Battle for the books. Sure, Georgetown’s most talented DJs got the crowd dancing with their carefully crafted playlist of jams as usual, but this time, we took it a step further: glow sticks, moms breaking it down on stage, dancing cat speakers — it had it all. After several rounds of tough calls for the crowd, the night ended with a showdown between DJ Sean Chillday and the notorious Ben Wormald, who came dressed for success and left victorious. Click through for photos from the evening and the prize-winning playlist courtesy of this year’s champ. Read More »