Music
Puntal / Contrapuntal: Whippin' It With Willow
Willow Smith, progeny of Will and Jada Pinkett, has arrived on the music scene faster than we can say “heart–shaped weave.” The neon–hued video for her single “Whip My Hair” has been making the requisite rounds on the blogosphere, dividing music fans along the way.
Defibrillator: Ice Cube, "Down For Whatever," (1993)
To a 16–year–old, a pair of car keys is probably the most profound symbol of autonomy and freedom in the known world.
Review: Die Antwoord, $O$
In Die Antwoord, a South African rap group, pixie–voiced Yo–Landi Vi$$er sings like a perverse fairy while her co–conspirator Ninja curses like a pirate.
Venues N' Shit: The Tower Theater
The Tower Theatre, located at the corner of 69th and Ludlow streets, was constructed in 1927 as a movie house and vaudeville theater.
One Track Mind: My Chemical Romance, The Only Hope For Me Is You
Even if they vehemently deny it, the oft–costumed, mascara–wearing lads of My Chemical Romance have become the essence of all things “emo.” Their 2006 mega–hit concept album, The Black Parade, gave voice to a disgruntled sect of disaffected teenage suburbanites.
Venues N' Shit: First Unitarian Church
Release your inner awkward teen in First Unitarian Church’s basement. There’s nothing like the basement of First Unitarian Church to send you back to the days of awkward school dances.
Review: Belle And Sebastien
Belle & Sebastian forgo the lyricism, focus on the instrumentation on their latest. There was a time, back in 1996 or 1997, when the hi–fi grandiosity of Belle & Sebastian’s Write About Love would have seemed ridiculous to the band’s growing fan base.
Review: Kings Of Leon, Come Around Sundown
Southern rockers pursue a chiller state on their fifth record. It was hard to imagine what Kings of Leon would produce as a follow up to 2008’s Only by the Night. The album was a vastly successful yet drastic break from their former Southern Rock aesthetic that garnered them multitudes of awards and new fans.
Interview: Local Natives
We couldn’t be more excited for Local Natives to hit Penn’s campus. Hailing from Silver Lake, CA, the band made waves last year for their globally-inspired indie–folk sound on Gorilla Manor.
Deja Vu: Addams' Hands And Labyrinth
Labyrinth may be the scariest children’s movie ever made — what better inspiration to draw from when designing your gates, Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall? Prepare to be transported back to the film that gave you nightmares when you were six as you pass through the gates of Penn’s most smoker–friendly facility. As you no doubt fondly remember, our heroine Jennifer Connelly finds herself in quite the pickle in the 1986 flick when she falls through a trap door and is greeted by the “Helping Hands” — disembodied digits who “save” her from plummeting to her death. “Up or down?” they innocently ask, feeling poor Connelly up under the guise of rescuing her. Fears of molestation may grip one as they enter Addams.
For Your Ears Only
We know how confusing music tech can be — it mostly consists of terms that only a handful of people could possibly understand.
One Track Mind: "Rocketeer," Far*East Movement ft. Ryan Tedder
“Like A G6” is one of those songs that crept up on us. Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the Auto–tune–soaked track shot up the Billboard charts, and is currently sitting pretty at number two.
Venues N' Shit: The Trocadero
The key to the Trocadero is in the details: the way the parquet floor seems to wobble slightly as the crowd jumps up and down, the intricate red design on the decorative curtain, the Christmas lights that hang from the side balconies.
Review: Age Of Adz, Sufjan Stevens
Stevens’s goes bigger on his latest LP, with less interesting results. It is undoubtedly a statement to release a one–hour–and–fifteen–minute–long record — it implies a burning need to be heard, or at the very least an abundance of musical ideas.
One Track Mind: Kings Of Leon, Radioactive
“Radioactive,” the newest effort from the reigning Top 40 champs Kings of Leon, isn’t a radical departure from their tried-and-true musical style, but it does reflect the aspirations of a band clearly energized by their status.
Review: Neil Young, Le Noise
On Neil Young’s latest studio album, appropriately entitled Le Noise, he reminds us of where he’s been and where he can go.
Our American Idols
Last week, super-diva Jennifer Lopez, wacky rocker Steven Tyler and music industry vet Jimmy Iovine were announced as the new American Idol judges, joining longtime Idol kingpin Randy Jackson.
One Track Mind: "White Moon," Beach House
It was easy to miss the release of “White Moon,” even for discerning indie fans: the track was snuck in the middle of an iTunes Session EP that came out a month ago.
Venues N' Shit: TLA
Stemming from the off-brand glamour of South Street, the TLA has come into its own as one of the city’s most venerable music venues.
