Category Archives: Music

Concentrate: A Lyrics-Free Finals Playlist

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By Delaney Ross

The time has come. The end is near. The end is here. Oh, the places you’ll go. For me, this is the last week of the hell called finals I will have to endure. It brings on a feeling of weird nostalgia and at the same time, absolute joy. In the midst of the bajillion and one papers I have to write in the next seven days, I have compiled an (almost) lyrics-free playlist to help me stay focused and relaxed for the final push. Play it to remind yourself that YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO THE END. Au revoir!

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She & Him’s Volume Three is Something Sweet to Listen to on a Summer Day

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By Madeline Raynor

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She & Him, the sunny-sounding indie rock duo consisting of singer and actress Zooey Deschanel and singer-songwriter M. Ward, debuted their third album, Volume Three, on May 7, just in time for summer. She & Him is truly the bandleader of its niche genre of retro-sounding rock, taking inspiration from the rock, pop, doo-wop, and country sounds of the 1950s and early 60s. Bands like Best Coast, The Walkmen, and Girls are also influenced by the vintage sounds of this era, but none of them are as firmly centered as a staple of this new retro movement as She & Him. The album consists of eleven songs expertly penned by Zooey Dechanel alongside three era-appropriate covers.

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The Breeders Come to Oberlin

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By Katie Heiserman

I ended up at The Breeders concert at the ‘Sco on Thursday, May 2 mainly because when the tickets went on sale about a month and a half ago my good friend had just started working for the Student Union Programmer Committee (SUPC). Being a good employee, she convinced me and several other friends to buy tickets. I’m not much of a Breeders fan, and my knowledge of ‘90s rock is pretty pathetic, but I did observe a lot about the idiosyncratic crowd and atmosphere, which was much different than the ‘Sco’s usual fare.

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Bankrupt! Misses the Mark by Downplaying What Phoenix Does Best

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By Madeline Raynor

Photo courtesy of RollingStone.com

Photo courtesy of RollingStone.com

By an artist’s fifth album, you expect their sound to have changed. But there is a difference between subtly changing that sound and changing it so much that it is a far cry from the original. Phoenix’s fifth album, Bankrupt!, which was released on April 23, falls into the latter category. This album takes its place as part of a recent trend of some of the biggest talents in indie rock overelectronifying their music so much so that it is more similar to the electronic genre than to rock, and almost unrecognizable from their previous work.

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Playlist: Best of Coachella 2013

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By Rosie Hertzman

800px-Coachella_Sunset_2011_Jamey_M_PhotoCoachella, for those not in the know, is one of the many annual music festivals that takes place all across America. For the past two weekends, thousands have migrated to sunny Indio, California for this star-studded event, where for a brief amount of time, the obscure-band loving hipsters coexisted with the stars from your favorite TV shows and movies. However, the real celebrities are of course the musicians. This year the festival featured headliners like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Phoenix, and Modest Mouse.

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Strong Female Artists Playlist

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By Madeline Raynor

We’re all familiar with the term “strong female character” in literature, theater, film, or TV. A great definition for the strong female character can be found in Carina Chocano’s New York Times piece “A Plague of Strong Female Characters” (which everyone should read here).

According to the article, these three characteristics define a strong female character:

1. Interesting or complex or well written.
2. Figures predominantly in the story, rather than receding decoratively into the background.
3. Embodies qualities usually associated with men.

I believe that strong females can exist in other forms of media as well, namely music. And thus, I present to you the strong female artist.

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Yasiin Bey Comes to Oberlin

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By Katherine Heiserman

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Yasiin Bey’s (a.k.a. Mos Def’s) performance in Hales Gym on Tuesday, April 2 was a blast for everyone, including Mr. Bey himself.  While we all jammed to his catchy beats and melodic voice, Yasiin was also breaking it down.  “I gotta get my cardio in—I’m gettin’ old!” he yelled through his red microphone after whipping out the moves.

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Unconventional Love Songs

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By Madeline Raynor

LOVE[10]

As much as I love classic, well-known love songs, they aren’t the only love songs out there. There are so many songs that are about love in nontraditional or subtle ways, and they still have insightful and sweet messages to give. So if you’re tired of the usual lovey-dovey Valentine’s Day tunes and want a change of pace this February 14, enjoy this playlist of unconventional love songs.

Read on for full annotations.

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Obies Combine Music and Poverty Awareness

By Cate Battey

jan 19 in LA at the Cahuenga General storeLiebeskind (left) and Golding on tour. Photo courtesy of Andrew Follmann

Over Winter Term, while many of us will be recuperating from the sleepless tornado of finals and exploring the passions we put into hibernation for the past semester, several Obies will be going on their first ever cross-country music tour. Sophomores Leo Liebeskind (guitar, harmonica, vocals), Jordan Golding (guitar, vocals, bass guitar), and Andrew Follmann (website designer, band manager) will be driving from Louisville, Kentucky to San Francisco, California, and back to Oberlin, promoting their recently formed duo, The Learning Center. Continue reading →