Music
One Track Mind: Beyonce, “Girls (Who Run The World)”
So, Beyonce is back. And, apparently, still channeling her alter ego Sasha Fierce.
Musicologists Sound Off
Sometimes a superficial listen to today's pop music isn't enough. For a more comprehensive take, we turned to Penn's Music Department.
Not-Quite-Fantastic Mr. Fox
Flannely folk group falls somewhat short of past greatness.
Top 5 Things We Learned from the Fling Concert
1. Dosage Was a Surprise, And a Pleasant One, Too When the DP published a cover story on SPEC’s inability to peg down a fourth artist for Spring Fling, it was hard not to feel a bit disappointed. Many, including your friendly music editors, were searching for a performer with more artistic pedigree. Probably a larger contingent was hoping for a headliner with a bigger headlining name. Dosage—the Philadelphia rapper of little fame who has toured with Lupe Fiasco in the past—filled neither of these needs. But what he did do is arguably more important: he added a degree of serendipity and randomness to the most regimented brand of live music. Stepping on stage before Ratatat (and before most concertgoers had even arrived) Dosage’s set was a high-energy affair, masking his somewhat mediocre lyricism with a basic knack for performance. Most students had no idea who this rapper was (trust us, we asked around), but this shouldn’t matter. Everyone knows what to expect at a Spring Fling concert: Two or three artists will play, at least two will give a ra-ra shout-out to Penn, at least one will get the name of the school wrong (we’re looking at you, Snoop Dogg), at least a dozen kids will get carted off in ambulances and at least everyone will make a drunken, stoned mess of themselves. What Dosage brought was something different—an unannounced opener, he took the audience off-guard. And at a concert as predictable as Spring Fling, it’s probably the coolest thing he could have done. 2.
What Musical Acts to Pull Your Self Together For In The Quad
There are 23 hours worth of performances in the Quad on Friday and Saturday.
Deep Cuts: What Tracks to Know for the Fling Concert
Tracks to prepare for the concert.
Review: Tomboy by Panda Bear
Animal Collective main man keeps things different.
One Track Mind: "Circuital" by My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is one of the few major label rock bands that still makes albums.
BEST OF PENN: MUSIC EDITION
Best Introduction to a Feature in the Music Section In the spirit of this issue, we've compiled a list of the memorable music happenings so far this year, from Penn to the the wider world. Read on for our picks: Best Acoustic Song So Far This Year “Pictures” by Benjamin Francis Leftwich “Pictures” has it all — soothing, multi–tracked vocals, a dreamlike aesthetic and calming guitar work.
Musical Notes: Fuck Censorship
It can be heard blasting at frat parties, blaring at bars and pumping from dorm room windows.
Dispatches from LCD Soundsystem's MSG Finale
To tell the truth, this is the last time.
Not Just In The Background
The release of Submarine, a teen angst dramedy, and its soundtrack (written by the Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner) got us thinking about how soundtracks can interact with movies, and how some soundtracks can even stand alone, outlasting the films themselves.
Concert Preview: RJD2, Gold Panda and Sam Mantle
Aside from the mild hysteria surrounding the Spring Fling artist announcement (and the inevitable disappointment), most Penn students remain unaware of a generally brilliant crop of indie and hip–hop shows put on by SPEC each year. The latest in this series comes to The ARCH tonight, courtesy of SPEC Jazz + Grooves and IMG.
Review: Generationals
In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about a phenomenon that worried Coca–Cola execs: Coke was losing to Pepsi in blind sip tests.
