Music
"Gasolina"
Barrio Frio In Israel this summer, I lived with three girls from Bogot‹¨«. They were insane.
Athletic Abilities
Music publications triumphantly announce when they've found "the next big thing" from the U.K. After the tenth time, it becomes hard to tell if they actually listen to some of these bands for any reason other than the fact that they're (gasp) British.
Old man trouble
Any McCartney-branded album is bound to be a "big deal." Sales-wise, the quality of the music is almost trivial.
Anniemal Instinct
In the world of pop music, Scandinavia has always been a source of successful imports. From ABBA to Ace of Base, these acts have remained unapologetically "pop," climbing to the top of the U.S.
Jetting from Brazil
Seu Jorge ignited a samba fury during his sold-out show last Tuesday at the First Unitarian Church. Better known as the minstrel seaman with a penchant for acoustic Portuguese renditions of David Bowie classics in last year's The Life Aquatic, Jorge has emerged from humble beginnings in the slums of Rio de Janeiro to become a hot import in both the film and music worlds. Jorge and his charismatic band commanded the packed audience of urban hipsters, ethno-musicologists, and Brazilian fanatics with their no-frills local samba stylings.
Sophomore Dropout
Kanye West stands as a fascinating figure in music today. The Chicago producer-turned-MC blends bourgeois intellectualism with lower-class sympathy, swagger with insecurity.
Post-apocalyptic pop
It's Thursday afternoon and outside the front entrance to the Theatre of Living Arts are two middle-aged men.
Second chances
Joshua Radin missed out. He missed out big, and he knows it. When Radin's college buddy Zach asked him to contribute a song to his upcoming movie's soundtrack, Radin turned him down; he didn't have the money to record the track.
Editors' Picks
Kevin Lo Norah Jones - "The Long Way Home" Jazz or not jazz, it's hard to deny the simple power of Norah Jones.
The phoenix saga
Phoenix has a problem with sound check, and I don't speak French. Lead singer Thomas Mars turns to the engineer on his right, points at his microphone, then waves his hand in an upward motion.
Fling Bands 101
Sonic Youth Who they are: Velvet Underground torch followers that extended the boundaries of experimental rock.
Cope-ing this fling
When SPEC announced that Sonic Youth and Cat Power were headlining this year's Spring Fling, students across campus felt dejected.
Editor's picks
Kevin Lo The Postal Service "We Will Become Silhouettes" Video If I can't have Jenny Lewis, I suppose Ben Gibbard should.
Listening To Albert
It was Spring Break, and I had just gotten in from college. My parents and I were sipping Coronas, and I was explaining to them why I hadn't gone to the Bahamas.
Summer In The City
Just like the smell of horse shit will always make me think of Penn in the spring, some songs are inextricably tied to our memory banks.
Finding the sexiness
"Christianity has become something I don't think Jesus would recognize, frankly." Forty-one years old, eight albums deep into her career and just recently a mother, singer-songwriter Tori Amos -- a minister's daughter -- is not going to let her child grow up the way she did.
Guilty Pleasure
To this day, just humming "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" in my head makes me want to get up and prance around.
Editors' Picks
The Band, "Up on Cripple Creek" Opening with Robbie Robertson's funky guitar lead, "Up on Cripple Creek" picks up right where Music from Big Pink's "The Weight" left off.
Behind the Music
When the Music's self-titled debut album hit stores, they stirred up a frenzy with critics. It was not the actual album that caused the ruckus but rather just the name of the band.
