Super Sweet 16 Performer List
Britney Spears
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Britney Spears
Some artists choose to write the same type of songs over and over again, but some, like Manchester Orchestra, choose to rebuild their songs from scratch. The band put out a fully acoustic version of their fourth album “Cope,” renamed “Hope.” The project found its way online back in September, but it finall gets a physical release this week. The songs take on a calmer approach, drawing listeners in with melancholy lyrics. The title track “Cope” delivers a dark melody perfect for late night listening, and songs like “Top Notch” and “Trees” showcase the band’s newfound melodic touch. However, lines such as “I used to feel some thrill, now I just feel thrifty” but sound a little too sappy, and not in a “Dashboard Confessional”–throwback–to–middle–school kind of way. Although lead singer Andy Hull delivers smooth vocals throughout the album, at times it’s hard to discern between the sad themes of one song and the next. “Hope” is a few steps above “Cope,” but Manchester Orchestra needs to man up; happier lyrics would be a nice change of pace.
Hand a 9–year–old a guitar and he will become a star. This might not be reality for many individuals, but for the Brooklyn–born, Pennsylvania–raised freshman Ben Gendelman, it hits home. Since his father first gave him a guitar and inspired him with Russian folk songs he grew up hearing, Ben has learned to master the instrument as well as pick up the bass, piano, drums and alto saxophone. As of late, he has also been producing EDM, with the hopes of getting his music played at Penn parties and festivals. This has led him to establish an extensive fanbase—over 109,000 followers on Facebook, for example.
“Mykki Blanco Presents Gay Dog Food”—Mykki Blanco
Dillon Francis has a sound that transcends the club, which is tailor–made for the average college student. “Money Sucks, Friends Rule” exemplifies this perfectly. Francis collaborates with a variety of artists on this album, ranging from Twista to Major Lazer and The Presets, allowing him to cover a wide stretch of genres. “All That” featuring Twista and The Rejectz opens the album with Twista rapping at insane speed; this trap song leads into “Get Low,” which adds hints of Middle Eastern sound samples to a steady beat to the song. While the electro–reggae in “We Make it Bounce” emphasizes that most of the songs are fun to dance to, “Not Butter” is one of his weaker songs, with a buildup that drags on for over a minute. With everything from the usual club banger to something that will just motivate you at the gym, Francis makes sure your listening time is anything but boring.
Creepy Lyric:
Street: Where did the idea come from?
Some gems are artfully hidden. However, fortunately for the people of Philadelphia, Abe Fisher is not one of them. With bold, white font that reads down the side of its entrance, Abe Fisher adds a modern twist to the cuisine of the Jewish diaspora. Located at 1623 Sansom Street, this restaurant is a byproduct of the renowned partnership between Steven Cook and Michael Solomonov, who are also behind Philadelphian favorites such as Zahav, Federal Donuts, and Dizengoff.
“CATHEDRALS EP” – Cathedrals
(Pop) JoJo - Leave (Get Out) – Hopefully this will get the message across, and your unwanted company will leave you faster than JoJo’s career left her.
“TRXYE”—TROYE SIVAN
“Old Fears” by School of Language Big nostalgic twist Duran Duran meets Herbie Pop gains some meaning Grade: B+ Download: “Between the Suburbs” Sounds best when: Grooving while writing a cinema paper “So It Goes” by Ratking YES. You had me at Kurt Vonnegut and you got to feature King Krule. Grade: A Download: “So Sick Stories” Sounds best when: Morning shower before your first class
BEST
“IMAGINARY ENEMY”
Street: How long have you been making music? Matthew Barnes: This year probably about four years. I started making music when I lost my job, I got made redundant, got laid off from my design job and had quite a lot of time to spend on my own, just trying things out. I got some music software and started just playing around with sounds and textures and bits of melodies, and all of a sudden it just gradually formed into full tracks, so it’s just kind of been this slow process for me. Street: Did you grow up in a musical environment? MB: Not really. My parents like music but it’s not really, I guess what you would call “cool music.” Not stuff to name–drop in an interview. Actually my first concert was Michael Jackson, which was pretty nice, but they [also] took me to the Eagles. They always encouraged me to enjoy music, but it wasn’t a musical household in terms of creating music. Street: Pitchfork has compared you to artists such as Mount Kimbie and even Bon Iver; how would you say your music stands out among those names? MB: It’s really difficult to be objective about the type of music that you’re making. I guess what I just try to do is my own thing and not really pay attention to people that I’m compared to because I think it kind of clouds your judgment. I always try to forge my own path. It’s very important for me not to fall into traps about what’s trendy or what’s cool right now. You just have to go with your gut instinct, I think. Street: Has your taste changed through the years? MB: It has, but it’s been very gradual. You can very clearly map the kind of gateway bands that you’re into and what leads into other stuff. When I was younger I was into metal, rock, punk stuff, then I got into post–punk, dub and electronica. All of those genres have crossover bands that exist in a grey area between two genres, so it’s easy to pinpoint what bands got me into which genres, but it’s just been a gradual process over the years. Street: One thing that strikes us about your music is that there’s a real sense of atmosphere—in songwriting do you focus more on this or on song structure? MB: I guess it’s about 50/50. I like creating songs that people can engage with, so they’re not that crazy structurally—they’re almost like pop songs, with verse, chorus, blah blah blah, but the exciting thing for me is playing around with atmosphere and tweaking sounds and textures to change how people engage with it. I spend a lot of time taking layers away and adding layers on. It’s a really important part of the song–making process for me. Street: You went to art school for graphic design—is your creative process for visual art similar to your musical creative process? MB: I would say it’s pretty similar. When I make music, I work visually. On a laptop, I can see what’s happening; it’s the same as making something in Photoshop or making a painting. You add layers on and you scrub them away. It’s almost like a key turning in a lock and all of a sudden you’re like “oh, actually this kind of works.” They’re pretty similar processes; you just use different tools. Street: What would you say is your favorite song to perform? MB: For me, the live set feels like one piece, so I don’t think of it song by song. You can definitely tell which songs tweak the audience’s energy differently and which ones people engage with a bit more, but I think I’ve structured it so that there’s a narrative to it. Street: Do you have any idols, musical or otherwise? MB: Musically, I’d say someone like Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys. I don’t think it’s good to put all your faith in one person; it’s good to have an array of people you admire so you can take different things from different people, but musically I’d say Brian Wilson. I’ve always been such a big fan of his. Street: What current music have you been listening to lately? MB: We’ve been touring in a van for the last few days so we’ve been hearing the same thing all the time: a lot of Little Jon, Young Thug, Beyoncé, Dean Blunt. I’ve been listening to a lot of Aphex Twin lately, and I’m constantly listening to people like Bjork. Street: Do you have advice for the younger generation that wants to go into the music industry? MB: Don’t follow a trend, don’t look at what’s cool now and think “I wanna make something that sounds exactly like this so I can be just as popular as this other person.” What I’ve learned is that people respond to you when you do something out of the box. Don’t keep it within a genre or a certain sound; just play around with things. I think people can hear honesty in music. You can really connect with something on a deeper level when you know it’s not trying to sound like something else. Street: Last but not least, complete the following sentence: there are two types of musicians... MB: (Laughs) That’s hard...I can’t think... You know, I think [it’s because] I find it difficult to even comprehend being a musician. I can’t say “I’m this type of musician and this guy is someone else.” I only know what I do. It’s part of my identity; I just have kind of looked into it and it’s just something that I’m doing right now. [Laughs] That’s kind of an answer.
“Head or Heart” by Christina Perri
"Light Blue" - Dolce & Gabbana
“THE RITE OF SPRING”
“Morning Phase:” Beck When you need your rest, Beck makes sure you fall asleep. So enjoy your night. DOWNLOAD: “Morning” GRADE: B SOUNDS BEST WHEN: Wishing the Banker’s Club on your shelf was a sweet bottle of Californian wine. “Portico:” The Mary Onettes Swedish indie band What is dream pop anyway? Back to the ‘80s DOWNLOAD: “Naive Dream” GRADE: D SOUNDS BEST WHEN: Reading your paper over one final time. “We Are Scientists:” TV En Francais Never a let down If on a Brooklyn dancefloor; Indie favorite. DOWNLOAD: “Sprinkles” GRADE: C SOUNDS BEST WHEN: Cleaning up the frat house post–party.
“LO–FANTASY” Sam Roberts Band Psychedelic grooves Push outside the comfort zone With focused, fast sound Grade: B Download: “We’re All In This Together” Sounds best when: You’re on your third all–nighter and you can’t figure out whether you’re in space or in Van Pelt. “KING CITY SESSIONS EP” Loners Society An alt–country group Holds a live show and decides To make an EP Grade: C Download: “Jersey Devil” Sounds best when: Driving your pick–up truck to Penn.
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