Best Heartwarming Moment: Adele at the VMAs Best Tear–jerking Moment: Adele at the VMAs Only a performance from the ineffable Adele could win both of these categories. Her stunning rendition of “Someone Like You” — an inescapable song that we’ve all heard a zillion times in line at CVS — is inspiring in how emotionally debilitating it is. It wrecks you. Watching it feels like your heart is simultaneously swelling and breaking and nothing is right but everything is OKAY because, holy shit. Someone somewhere had the foresight to bless that girl with mad pipes and the world is a better, more tearful place for it.
Best Concert on Campus: Tiësto Some were skeptical, but all of those who were there last Friday at Franklin Field (floor or stands) will tell you: it was a hell of a show. Hundreds of us raged, reveling in the impressive set graphics, well–chosen remixes and boundless energy of the set. It was a classic Penn moment — hope you remembered it.
Front–runners for Best Album of 2012: Visions — Grimes Reign of Terror — Sleigh Bells Something — Chairlift Port of Morrow — The Shins Tramp — Sharon Van Etten
Best “Well, this is awkward” Moment: Lana Del Rey’s quick descent from fame Remember her? Street does. Lana Del Rey appeared no fewer than five times in the magazine this semester. What was it about the brunette bombshell that fixated listeners? Let’s review: “Videos Games” blew up in the summer of 2011, launching Lana into a worldwide tour and a record deal. As her songs leaked into the blogosphere, critics labeled Lana as “inauthentic.” The masses divided: you were either vehemently pro– or anti–Lana and there was no switching sides. The world quivered in anticipation of her debut album to definitively conclude the debate. But Born to Die proved to be just that: dead on arrival and completely mediocre. Fans got bored and haters stood validated. The world grew quiet in its disappointment. In a week’s time, no one cared enough to even write scathing blog posts about her SNL performance. Lana’s infamy quickly fizzled out and now the biggest buzz about her is the rumor she’s dating Axl Rose (wut?).
Best Mash–Up We Heard at Fling: Tyga’s “Rack City” x The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” If you know what song this is, you should email music@34st.com immediately. We’ve searched high and low on YouTube to no avail. But this mash–up is out there, we promise. And it’s awesome.
Best secrets we didn’t let you in on: 12 issues weren’t enough. Here are some musical gems (and general life advice) we wish we could have shared with you this semester. • Bringing a six–pack to First Unitarian for a show • Taking SEPTA to Union Transfer — make it BYO • Dance remixes of “Someone That I Used to Know” • Bluegrass music at Fiume on Thursdays • Bobby in the Lobby at Smokes • Raging to LCD Soundsystem • ANTWON • Best of Cousin Skeeter on YouTube
Best eclectic Campus Playlist: Chipotle Walk into Chipotle and you’ll be greeted by obscure 90s rap. Dig into your burrito as you dig a jazz cover of a Radiohead hit. Clear your table while you groove to some Jamaican dub. Quite simply, no place on campus can boast a playlist as diverse and quality as Chipotle. Now that’s tasty.
Best Low–Key Music Store: Penn Bookstore Kids, piracy is bad and you should really pay for your music. We know it’s a dying trend. But if you’re looking for a good place to buy CDs, the music section of the Penn Bookstore is nostalgia heaven. Their selection of CDs is pretty decent and we hear they have sweet BOGO deals. Plus, you can bursar that shit (and that’s almost like downloading for free, right?).
Best Tweet from Tyler the Creator: “Not All Youth Is Like Them Little Fuckers On Disney Channel And Listen To The Positive Pop Shit, Most Are Fucking And Doing Drugs, Dude.”
Best Jam of the Semester: “Call Me Maybe” Does everyone love it? No. Are there plenty of reasons to love it? Between the catchy lyrics, sweet flourishes and yes, that brilliant, brilliant chorus, we’d give an emphatic yes. Whether you like it or not, you'd have to be quite the scrooge to not appreciate the pure joy this song brought to campus on St. Patty's Day and during Fling.
Best Music Website You Might Not Know About: PrettyMuchAmazing.com Tired of Pitchfork’s hipster sass? PrettyMuchAmazing.com gives you indie music in layman’s terms and without the heap pretentiousness. With tens of new posts every day (and awesome video footage of Coachella in the past week), PMA presents a new way to get your BNM.
