Music
Shock Me Like An Electric Car
Last weekend, the Kia Soul Collective concert series rolled into Philadelphia. The premise was simple, if a bit odd: test-drive a Kia Soul, see free kickass concerts.
One Track Mind: 10.1.09
An American Chinese “Chasing Rabbit” With a title like “Chasing Rabbit,” this track from An American Chinese’s pending debut LP, Utopian Tree, promises something like a melodic acid trip — and thankfully it delivers.
So Nice They X-ed It Twice
Sometimes pushing the envelope means pulling it back a little. When crafting the newest of new, alternative music is all about innovation and experimentation.
Back in Business
In a blur of breakups, overdoses and suicides, grunge died in the late '90s. What followed was a wave of aural garbage in the form of bands fronted by Eddie Vedder wannabes who just couldn’t cut it — Creed, Nickelback, 3 Doors Down and (unfortunately) the list goes on and on.
One Track Mind
Jay-Z featuring Drake and Timbaland “Off That” Call it recession rap: in his stellar single “Off That,” Jay-Z is so over “Cris, rims, and Tims.” This is not to say that Jay isn’t flourishing.
Defibrillator: Toots & the Maytals, "Funky Kingston" (1973)
From the opening four-on-the-floor groove of “Time Tough” all the way to the final notes of the warm Caribbean breeze that is “Sailin’ On,” Toots & the Maytals’ Funky Kingston astounds.
Mixing it Up
Brett Copell brettcopell@gmail.com www.trippingfranklins.com Spins electro, house The sound: Crunchy.
Well-Informed
Sure, The Informant! boasts an Oscar-winning director, lauded writers and a top-notch supporting cast, but its success lies squarely on the shoulders of its star, Matt Damon.
Your Month in Music
ALBUMS: Sept. 15: Beastie Boys, Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 1; Drake, So Far Gone; Megadeth, Endgame; Muse, The Resistance; Nelly Furtado, Mi Plan; Porcupine Tree, The Incident. Sept.
Defibrillator: Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation (1988)
In the world of sellable indie rock, there is a thin line between chaos and bliss. With 1988's Daydream Nation, it was as if Sonic Youth had perfected the art of balancing between the two and, to show the world, plunged headfirst into their own amps. Like a fine bottle of wine, the album should be ingested whole, but “Teenage Riot,” “Eric’s Trip” and “Trilogy” stand out as the standard bearers of Sonic Youth’s attempted aural uprising.
Music 101
You’ve been at Penn for a few weeks now, and you're finally back in the school-time groove. Unfortunately, you’re most likely grooving to the same old songs.
Un-fork-ettable!
As part of a never-ending quest to deliver new music into the waiting hands of our readers, Street followed the noise all the way to Chicago last weekend for the first two days of the Pitchfork Music Festival.
June Sound Bites
The Mars Volta Octahedron Released June 23 After releasing last year’s thrashing, Ouija-inspired The Bedlam in Goliath, singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala vowed The Mars Volta’s next album would be its long-awaited acoustic record.
Pop, Lock and Drop It
It’s been a tough road for this year’s Popped! Festival, which brought big names like Vampire Weekend and The Ting Tings to Drexel last June.
May-be You Missed It This Month
Here’s everything you need to know about May music (but were afraid to ask while we were on hiatus this month): By the time the incoming freshmen graduate, Green Day’s Billy Joe Armstrong will be 40.
Defibrillator: Weezer, "Weezer" (1994)
In first grade my favorite song was “Buddy Holly.” I memorized the lyrics proudly, ready to show them off to the only willing audience I had: my older, cooler siblings.
Your Summer in Music: 2009
Which concert attendee are you? Let’s face it, working the drive-thru window at Taco Bell this summer is going to leave you with more dollar bills than you know what to do with.
‘Tric: a Treat
Despite stadium-ready hooks, polished vocals and slick guitars, Fantasies isn’t a selling out moment for Metric so much as the next step in a logical progression.
Speak of the Devil
With lead vocals (Eddie Argos) reminiscent of Bobby “BORIS” Pickett’s hit tune “Monster Mash,” and Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, rhymes like “satisfaction” and “can’t stop scratchin’” and subject matter ranging from using a cell phone as an alarm clock while riding public transportation to looking for missing socks, it might be hard to for anyone to believe that Frank Black produced Art Brut vs.
