Picture this: MC So-and-so doing 90 in a sky-blue, drop-top BMW, coasting along the Van Wyck, as the leaves falling from the trees coat the concrete with the carnival colors of autumn.
Win Butler had no idea how much the last couple of years would change his life. For him, the 2000's have been microcosmic of a lifetime's worth of ups and downs.
If you're like most Penn students -- make that people in general -- you have no clue who Hem is. The band, however, believes that their debut album, Rabbit Songs, and most recent effort, Eveningland, have what it takes to garner some recognition.
Jim Newell
The Futureheads
The Futureheads
Poser bands are everywhere now. For a while, I tried to give these wannabes the cold shoulder, but there came a time when avoiding them was no longer an option.
There are two qualities every determined writer should have: confidence and sheer ingenuity.
Enter journalist, CNN correspondent and fiction author Toure.
Close your eyes and think of the words "Canadian music." Suddenly, images of Bryan Adams singing that Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves song and Celine Dion running down the hall of a castle to the tune of "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" appear, right?
Unfortunately for the average music fan, the words "Canadian music" are forever linked with the year 1995.
Let's say you happened to have five guys that look like they belong in different bands. Hand them some instruments, let them roam free with their ideas and allow for some serious harmonizing.
What does jazz really mean to people? For the average college student, jazz is the music we all know we should dig but can't quite get our heads around.
Jim Newell
Jeff Mangum
Live at Jittery Joe's
In 1998, Neutral Milk Hotel released, in my opinion, the defining album of the '90s, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. The band's only release our lonely ears have heard since is Jittery Joe's, recorded live by their enigmatic leader, Jeff Mangum, in 1997, and released in 2001.
"I don't hate you at all, really."
Phew! Jason Isbell, guitarist and vocalist of the Drive-By Truckers has just reassured Street that Northern upbringings do not, after all, provoke hate in him.
Charlotte Martin recently finished driving across the country. She also managed to squeeze in a little singing along the way, since the drive was for a spring concert tour.