This is the last column I’ll ever write for the Pilot, so I’ve decided to dedicate it to ME! (My apologies to the practitioner and others to whom I promised a whole quarter of this column.) In the three years I’ve written for the Pilot, people have approached me wondering what music I really like. Since every column is about a new album, song, or topic in pop music, do I have favorite bands? Favorite albums? Favorite songs? I distinctly remember the horror on the face of a friend when I told him my honest opinion of his favorite band, the Decemberists, and their latest album, The Hazards of Love. “Their music seems to be getting a bit gimmicky,” I said. “Too predictable. Too heavy on the pretentious folk narratives. After all, a band has to earn my respect before it drifts into that whole rock opera territory. And I feel like the Decemberists have always come close to crossing that line.” My friend blinked at me, then finally declared, “You hate music!” Then he refused to sit with me at dinner.
Archive for the ‘Music’ Category
Music column for a Christian Science practitioner
Friday, May 14th, 2010Since this is the penultimate column I will ever write for The Pilot, I wanted to dedicate some words to discovering new music. In past issues I’ve written about “the blogosphere” and the Internet’s heavy influence on the music industry. The Internet can be a highly educational and efficient way to explore new and old music, along with the cultures connected with that music. With the grand escapades of online multimedia, it can also be a fun resource for daily entertainment. But how does one even begin to navigate the extensive resources that include hyper-subjective blogs and watered-down websites dominated by advertising twaddle? As my last installment of this column will be an editorial of music that will always remind me of my experiences at Principia, I leave you with a few resources to help guide your musical exploration. I’ve often referred to these as sources or tools for my columns, and I’m sure you’ll find at least one of them to be useful to you. Happy listening!
Kenjams: Hip-hop and community
Friday, April 30th, 2010I have been impressed with shows on TV like America’s Best Dance Crew, but when he informed me that the competition would be held at the community center in my small suburb town of Monterey – Marina – I couldn’t help but think of a handful of spiky-haired teens doing flimsy cartwheels to the Black Eyed Peas.
PIR shows expand audience, scope
Friday, April 30th, 2010Principia Internet Radio (PIR) has a variety of radio shows, all with the purpose of informing and entertaining the Principia community while providing a learning experience for students.
Music for a CS practitioner
Friday, April 16th, 2010Recently, I was informed by one of Principia’s practitioners that he was a reader of my column. “That’s great,” I thought, counting the people in my head I knew that frequently read my column: “Mom, Dad (?), girlfriend, and now, a bona fide Christian Science practitioner!” This practitioner – who shall remain anonymous in case his inclusion in my column gets him booted from the Journal listings – stated that he enjoyed my writing, but didn’t necessarily know what I was talking about. So I asked myself – what do I have to say about pop music that would be informative and perhaps relevant to a Christian Science practitioner, without offending or disappointing him and the practice?
Should we care if our favorite pop artists are copycats?
Friday, March 5th, 2010This week I wanted to address a topic that has recently been popping up on blogs and in my conversations with other music journalists. The other day someone was singing the chorus to “Tik Tok,” the breakthrough song from new party pop princess, Ke$ha. I cringed as I thought of the first time I heard it – I was in a friend’s room doing homework when I heard the eerie Gameboy synth that opens the song, with a bratty teenage girl imitating a hip-hop vocal delivery.
Kenjams: Yeasayer
Friday, February 19th, 2010When the Brooklyn art-rock trio Yeasayer emerged in 2007, their debut album All Hours Cymbals was peculiar even for people with the most abnormal music tastes. Fast forward to 2010 when fellow East Coast experimental acts like Animal Collective and TV on the Radio are the front-runners in indie music, and Yeasayer’s brand of trippy pop music isn’t as arduous a listen as it is enjoyable.
Kenjams: Vampire Weekend
Friday, February 5th, 2010Can you believe it was just two years ago that East Coast troubadours Vampire Weekend redefined the parameters of the Internet as a tool for independent success? Paired with a genteel collection of African-pop influenced songs, the band has scampered to unprecedented top 20 spots on the U.S. and U.K. charts. It was incredible how influential a role blog buzz played in the band’s success, helping them rapidly nab a performance on Saturday Night Live. Credit our skyrocketing consumption of music for letting us forget how young a career the indie four-piece has had.
10 artists that shaped the decade of music
Friday, January 22nd, 2010It isn’t easy to look back on the 2000s without feeling like you were asked to recall every George W. Bush joke you heard in the last ten years. As we move into the 2010s, the Internet stands as a gold mine for discovering, discussing, and (illegally?) sharing music. But look past all the YouTube [...]
Revenge of the pop-rock nerds and a lukewarm solo effort
Friday, November 13th, 2009Weezer
Raditude
movethatjukebox.com / photo
With the release of Weezer’s seventh album, fans and critics alike are wondering what the heck is going on with the pop-rock nerds. Some audiences believe frontman Rivers Cuomo is ruining Weezer’s glory days of the 90s, when they made their most cherished works – 1994’s self-titled, fan-stamped Blue Album and 1996’s Pinkerton. [...]
