By Daniel Cohen

 S
T
A
F
F
Editor Kevin Winnie
Layout & Design Rashid Epps
Annalee Holmdahl
Cover Art & Design Rebecca Tom
Writers Anthony Arias
Daniel Cohen
Allyson Feitler
Martin Gschwentner
Caleb Haddad
Harry Rafferty
Noah Sellman
Max Shafer-Landau
Peter Stratis
Alexa Wheeler
Is Weilheim the New Seattle? 4
The Notwist’s ascent to the Mt.
Olympus of Pop Music
The Hip Hop - Basketball: How It 6
Became
Lake Street Dive Has a Breakout 10
Month
The Odd Couple: 12
Eminem & Elton John
Rock and Roll Christmas:
A Window Into Changing Pop 16
Music Sensibilities
Forging The Sword 19
Lou Reed:
More Than Just A Punk Rocker 22
The Eclectic Kanye West 26
Inside Jackson the Funky Bunch 28
Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish 30
Gambino. One of the most
versatile talents of the decade
CO
NT
EN
TS
album was licensed in the United States by Zero Hour. When
the experimental contributor joined the band as a regular
two years later, the boys from Weilheim underwent their
most significant musical metamorphosis in the band’s history
at the end of which stands 1998’s Shrink, the first record of
the new Notwist, which received widespread critical acclaim.
“Is Weilheim the new Seattle?”
The Notwist’s ascent to the Mt.
Olympus of Pop Music
by Martin Gschwentner
what was to come. “Nothing Like You” guides the band’s
rough riffs into more accessible channels while maintaining
the skewed, melancholy characteristic of their Weilheim
t is a typically bleak day in Weilheim, where, once again,
cloudy weather obstructs the majestic view of the nearby inspired songwriting. This development would continue on
Alps, one of the few highlights the city’s tourist guide can their follow-up, Nook, which exploded the rating scale of the
popular German music magazine Visions, earning them 6 out
pride itself on. Three men walk the placid streets of the
Bavarian dullsville, wearing glasses, baggy pullovers, and di- of 5. More often, the harsh guitar sounds retreated in favor
sheveled beards. What looks like a group of high school phys- of increasingly accessible melodies. At their core, however,
The Notwist remained a guitar rock band with hardcore roots,
ics teachers out for a Sunday stroll is in fact Germany’s biggest small band and one of the country’s few internationally seeking superb riffs and a headbanging crowd. It was not
until they met another Weilheim-based tinkerer struggling to
acclaimed contributors to modern pop music: The Notwist.
channel rural Bavarian deprivation into wistful tones that the
Called by some the first relevant German pop band since
band would create the sound that found them international
Kraftwerk, The Notwist created their trademark niche more
success.
than fifteen years ago by combining crackling and clattering electronic sounds with rhythmic guitar pop. The band’s
On the surface, all that connects electronic experhistory, however, dates back even further: they formed as a
imentalist
Martin Gretschmann, also known as the Mad
hardcore-punk-outfit in 1989, a classification that continues
Professor
from
his music project Console, with the raw
to surprise those who discover the band through their newer
guitar
sound
of
the early 90s The Notwist is their common
releases.
Bavarian home. It is all the more astonishing how well the
combination of both spheres has played out over the years.
Following difficult months of poorly attended
youth-center gigs and less than favorable live reviews, then- It all began in 1995 when the band released their third LP, 12,
adding new ingredients to their reliable spectrum of sound.
trio Markus Acher (voals, guitar), Michael Acher (bass) and
Gretschmann’s
electronic tinkering added new layers, chalMecki Messerschmidt (drums) found success with their
lenging
the
supremacy
of guitars, despite, at this point, being
self-titled 1990 debut, an album that would send them on
just supplementary, the little extra something. The fan base
tour with Bad Religion and Jesus Lizard later that year. The
Notwist, a raw blend of punk rock, hardcore and metal, con- was constantly growing and The Notwist, for the very first
time, played live shows in front of American crowds after the
cludes with a track that, in retrospect, sets the agenda for
I
4
ed?
It couldn’t. For six years, with the exception of a few
soundtrack pieces, the band that had just unleashed a storm
of enthusiasm and rose to international fame released no
new material. Instead, undeterred by The Notwist’s success,
the band members focused on their side projects, founding
Gretschmann’s influence was all-embracing: abrasive their own Weilheim-based label Alien Transistor and touring
occasionally. They didn’t return to the studio to start reguitar riffs made way for hypnotic percussion samples, and
cording Neon Golden’s successor until 2006, and it took two
his trademark electronic blips and beeps fit in seamlessly
more years-- and the departure of original drummer Messwith the Acher brothers’ passion for more traditional pop
erschmidt—before The Devil, You And Me was finally out in
song structures and jazz influences, which they had formerrecord stores, which demanded a trial of patience from fans
ly relegated to side projects. The Notwist had found their
trademark niche, two years before Radiohead popularized a all over the globe. And during the band’s absence from the
international pop parquet, the music industry did not stand
similar signature sound in their 2000 masterpiece Kid A. “Is
Weilheim the new Seattle?” British magazine The Wire asked still: indietronic bands now abounded, and all of a sudden
The Notwist, founding fathers of a blossoming genre, were
after the release of Shrink, referring to a growing unique
music scene blossoming in the Bavarian province, led by The but one band among many. Despite standing in the shadow
Notwist. Once again, the band attracted new fans around the of its predecessor, their sixth studio album, basically a conglobe, touring England with Stereolab and the United States tinuation of their sound on Shrink and Neon Golden, received
critical acclaim and furthered the band’s fame. It was, howwith Cornelius.
ever, always just that: the successor to Neon
All the while, the band members
Golden.
found time to minister to their countless
Back in the bleak loneliness of Weilheim,
side projects, the Acher brothers’ chamanother six years have passed. The trio that
ber jazz band Tied & Tickled Trio, Gretessentially creatively constitutes The Notwist
schmann’s Console and the dream-pop
now – the Acher brothers and Gretschmann
ensemble Lali Puna, as well theater com– is promoting their new album Close To The
positions and film scores. What might have
Glass, released under their new label Sub Pop
estranged other bands from a common
Records, home of The Postal Service, Fleet Foxsound and vision gives the collaborators
es and The Shins. They seem ready to conquer
of The Notwist just the leeway they need
the American market for good. The contrast
to produce their very own distinct style:
between international fame and provincial
“If each of us could put everything that is
deprivation has seldom been starker, the nexus
important to him, individually, into The
between inspiration and reality seldom more
Notwist, it would become an insufferable
obvious: this place is what made this band,
jumble,” Michael Acher explained in a
their return only logical. The reviews are in,
recent interview with German magazine
and– once again– they are great, while– once
Die Welt. Indeed, what makes the band’s
output since Shrink unique is the mosaic-like artistic synthe- again– they continue to be pervaded with Neon Golden
comparisons. Close To The Glass is bulky at times, catchy at
sis of various preferences and influences merging into an
inherently consistent whole. In these terms, Shrink was but a others. Shoegaze guitars start off one song, jazz and krauforetaste of a signature sound that would find its perfection trock influences infuse the next. It’s truly a piece of work,
albeit an astonishing one, revealing itself piece by piece until
four years later.
it clicks, and what sounds like an incoherent mess suddenly
Neon Golden is, without a doubt, The Notwist’s
makes perfect sense. Despite remaining loyal to their signamagnum opus. Released in 2002 under City Slang, the band’s ture sound, The Notwist is not trying to repeat Neon Golden.
new label, the album received international critical acclaim, They just keep doing what they do best: “mixing things that
attracting favorable reviews and praise worldwide: “A decade might not seem to fit together into a beautiful, seamless
into their career, the Notwist have created a masterpiece by whole” without paying much attention to reviews, fans or
pulling the same trick they pulled on Shrink: mixing things
competitors. Mostly, because in placid Weilheim, all of this
that might not seem to fit together into a beautiful, seamless doesn’t really matter.
whole,” concludes Luke Buckman for Pitchfork magazine. Celebrating their biggest commercial success to date, the band
toured sold out venues both in Europe and in North America, equipped with an album that continues to leave a mark
on best of lists and is largely responsible for the band’s cult
status. Neon Golden comes across as the pinnacle of a sonic
metamorphosis: how could this achievement ever be repeat-
“If each of
us could put everything that
is important to
him, individually,
into The Notwist,
it would become
an insufferable
jumble,”
5
to world celebrities who often represent our youth’s
musical taste and cultural flair, no matter how vulgar it
may be. While the growth of the hip-hop culture has
taken place, a similar cultural revolution has also arisen
within the basketball culture. The shift from clean cut
players like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to urbanized
culture rebels like Allen Iverson and Kevin Garnett was
one that changed the National Basketball Association’s
(NBA) image forever and immediately forged the sport
into the growing hip-hop culture to the point where the
two cultures were and still are undeniably intertwined.
For better or for worse is truly an opinion, but the overall shift in culture is something that is unquestionable,
demands our attention, and is crucial to understanding
our youth’s identity today.
6
The HipHop and
Basketball
Connection:
How it
Became
M
usic and Sport often go hand-in-hand.
Whether it is Super Bowl halftime shows,
theme songs being played during player
introductions, or music provoking athletic contests or at the very least physical
movement, the two seem to intertwine with each other on a
very regular basis, and greatly affect each other’s industries.
No music-sport relationship has grown stronger though in
the current age than the one shared between hip-hop and
basketball. The two are inseparable in today society, and
has now drawn a somewhat cult following that has a great
number of the youth associating with both. So how did the
relationship become so strong?
The growth of hip-hop culture has been one of
the biggest influences of pop culture and the way our
cultural society has functioned in the last twenty-five
years. From N.W.A to Notorious B.I.G. to 50 Cent and
By: Harry Rafferty so on, these figures within hip-hop culture have grown
However, to understand this cultural shift in
its entirety we must first go back to where the birth of
this new culture took place. In the early 1990’s hip-hop
music was continuously gaining popularity amongst
the youth in America. More and more rappers were
beginning to separate themselves with new and unique
styles that had never been heard
before. Because of this, the hip
hop & rap industry was constantly changing and expanding. As
these new styles of music gained
interest, the game of basketball
was also in the beginning stages
of a change of its own. In the
1990’s, the players in the NBA
were beginning to take on a new
mold. Hip-hop was establishing
itself as a major form of popular
culture; therefore it slowly began
to make its mark on the NBA.
Players in the NBA often associated with hip-hop through what
they wore, both on and off the
court, as well as what music they
listened to. This common culture
is undoubtedly the connection between young black
males and their journey’s from poverty to success.
In 1997, the hip-hop industry was filled with
iconic rappers. One of the most well known was Notorious B.I.G. who was famous for his rise from hustling
the streets to living a lavish lifestyle. Notorious B.I.G.
in many ways represented what many believed to be
the idealistic “gangster.” He came from an environment
where he was “dead broke,”1 and didn’t have enough
money for heat, nor to celebrate birthdays or Christmases. So he felt his only answer to this was to start
selling drugs at the age of fifteen to provide before he
would eventually break out as a rapper. Narratives like
this that involved a ‘from nothing to something’ tale became much of the basis of what hip-hop culture is centered around. Although B.I.G. was popular in 1996, he
reached iconic status following his death when he was
murdered in March of 19972. This rise from poverty that
was greatly influencing hip-hop culture was a concept
that many basketball players could not only relate to as
well, but began to take pride in. For example, Stephon
Marbury was in his second year in the NBA when Notorious B.I.G. released his second album Life After Death.
Marbury grew up in Cony Island, New York and was one
of seven children who were raised by their single mother. Marbury could relate to B.I.G.’s lyrics because they
told a story that was similar to his own.
Once Marbury began to assert himself as one of
the league’s top players, he began to gain recognition
both on and off the court. In October of 1997, Marbury and Kevin
Garnett, another young NBA star
who came from a poverty and murder infested background, were featured on the cover of SLAM Magazine. The two young NBA stars
were being labeled as the future of
the NBA. Along with their new and
exciting skills on the court, they
both personified the new, young
flare to the NBA off the court that
was taking over the league. In
their magazine cover the two were
featured wearing diamond chains,
earrings and watches as well as
backwards hats and baggy jerseys.
Above the picture a caption read
“Natural Born Killers,” which was a
direct reference to Dr. Dre and Ice Cube’s 90’s hit song
that represented being a gangster in its entirety. It was
the official start of a new public image for the NBA that
many NBA administrators did not foresee or want coming. As famous NBA columnist Michael Wilbon put it,
“league and club executives decided to marry the NBA
to hip-hop, and clearly didn’t know what they were getting into. As my friend Brian Burwell wrote in Tuesday’s
7
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, NBA marketing people ‘thought
they were getting Will Smith and LL Cool J. But now
they’ve discovered the dark side hip-hop has.’”3
This idea of modern day rebellion through hiphop really began with the creation of West Coast hiphop culture in the 1990’s. The creation of “gangster rap”
came from West coast rappers who used their lyrics to
form an uprising against society and civil right issues.
Rappers like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube were well known for
their controversial and revolting lyrics that tarnished
the names of California officials, policemen, and administrators. In songs like “Straight Outta Compton”4 and
“Fuck Tha Police,”5 they made it very clear that they felt
the country and society was unjust and corrupt, and
that they were not going to stand to discrimination. So
when NBA players like Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett began to associate themselves with this new counterculture, a new relationship was born.
Along with Marbury and Garnett, many other
NBA players were fully immersing themselves in the
hip-hop culture as well. Allen Iverson, who was raised
by his sixteen year old mother in Bethel, Virginia, began to separate himself as one of the NBA’s top players
in 1999. Iverson had gained a reputation as one of the
league’s most exciting players because of his ability
to score the basketball paired with his under-sized
physique (6’0” and 160 pounds when he entered the
league). However, while maybe lacking some physical
attributes, Iverson made up for it with his overwhelming ego. This ego was on full display when the public
saw him on the cover of SLAM Magazine in March of
1999. Similar to Garnett and Marbury, Iverson wore
chains, earrings, necklaces and a gold watch to tie it all
together. But what was most noticeable about the cover was his hair. Iverson had always been known for his
signature braids, but this time he had let them out. The
undone braids resulted in an afro that took up much
of the cover. SLAM Magazine editor Tony Gervino was
quoted saying “he is the epitome of rebellion.”
8
cultural connection between the two? It is simple really: the connection is extremely marketable and is a
financially positive venture for both parties. It attracts
both the poor youth in urban environments who can
relate to the rappers and basketball players background
stories, but also appeals to the suburban upper and
middle class youth because it signifies our generation
and is the “cool culture” now. Just like the youth in the
1950’s and 1960’s went crazy for Elvis Presley and The
Beatles during the counterculture, today’s youth uses
the hip-hop culture to rebel against their parents as
well. This is crucial to why the hip-hop culture has been
Following the installation of the new dress code so prominent in the last twenty years, and why it has
policy, many players were unhappy. Iverson spoke out
been able to build such a strong relationship with basagainst the policy that was put in place by the commis- ketball culture. The scary thing for the people that don’t
sioner. Iverson said, “the dress code is not who I am and like hip-hop culture influencing the game of basketball
doesn’t allow me to express myself.”7 By implementing is that it only looks like the cultural connection is getting
a dress code, Stern was trying to erase all the negative
stronger with each passing year.
connotations that come with hip-hop cultured clothing
and accessories. The two sides were clearly not seeing
eye-to-eye, and continue to argue about
the issue of attire to
this day with the NBA
holding firm to its policies.
“Players will be expected to wear business casual attire
whenever they participate in team or league activities,
including arriving at games, leaving games, conducting
interviews and making promotional or other appearances. Also no chains, pendants or medallions over the
player’s clothes.”6 Stern implemented this rule in an
attempt to clean up the league’s image. Stern did not
want the league to be associated with hip-hop culture
any longer. He believed that with hip-hop culture comes
crime, and there is no place for the representation of
crime in professional basketball.
icans are still facing today. Hip-Hop and Rap music is
the new generation’s way of rebelling against the discrimination and social injustice that is so deeply rooted
in American society, even if it is not as blatant as it was
50 or 60 years ago. Allen Iverson had this rebel mindset,
and became one of the faces for both the NBA and hiphop culture. This became a very powerful combination
for the hip-hop movement itself.
As hip-hop continued to grow in popularity
throughout the late 1990’s and into the early 2000’s, it,
as could be expected, also became more prevalent in
the NBA. The majority of NBA players portrayed hip-hop
culture whether it was on or off the court. The introduction of headbands, shooting sleeves, black socks, and
leg sleeves allowed players to express themselves on
the court in a unique style. As for off the court, players
In many ways, the idea of rebellion is what hip- would be seen upon arrival to games wearing jeans,
hop music is based off of as well. Blues music, led by
timberland boots and plenty of expensive jewelry. Reicons like Bessie Smith and Charlie Patton, developed
gardless of where you looked, either on or off the court,
through the oppressive times that African-Americans
NBA
players were expressing themselves and their
faced during the early 20th century. The blues were the connection with hip-hop culture. However, in the 2005subtle way to rebel before the full out rebellion of the
2006 NBA season, this would all change. NBA commisCivil Rights Movement. Hip-hop was similarly developed sioner David Stern implemented a new dress code polthrough the segregation and poverty that African-Amer- icy for all players and coaches in the league. It stated:
However,
even after the dress
code was installed in
2006, hip-hop culture
is still leaving its mark on the game today largely because the connection is a good business model to combine the two industries. While it may not pertain to only
attire, the new age of social media and unprecedented
exposure into celebrities’ personal lives, the connection
between hip-hop and the NBA is more visible than ever
before. Whether it is basketball players and rappers
tweeting at each other or photos of them interacting on
TMZ, we see the constant interactions everywhere. It is
such a strong connection now that we have even seen
hip-hop culture icons becoming a part of NBA team’s
administration and ownership. Jay-Z owned a small
part of the Brooklyn Nets organization and had a lot
to do with the team image for a number of years, and
now Drake has partnered with his hometown Toronto
Raptors to help the team’s image and product expand.
So why does the media make such a big deal out of the
relationships of basketball players and hip-hop artists,
and why is the NBA becoming more acclimated to the
9
Lake Street Dive
has a Breakout Month
By Peter Stratis
A
deserves.
fter ten years of hard work, Lake
Street Dive released its new album
on February 18th and is finally
experiencing the recognition it
The band – comprised of Rachel Price (vocals), Mike Olsen (guitar, trumpet), Mike
Calabrese (drums), and Bridget Kearney
(bass) – originally met at The New England
Conservatory of Music in Boston. After initially trying their hand at a brand of country played with free jazz sensibilities, the
group has now settled on a broader fusion of
genres and a soulful pop sound. Since their
inception, they have released a self-titled
album, a live album, an album of covers, and
their newest effort “Bad Self Portraits.”
chills!” is how actor @kevinbacon described
his introduction to the band in a tweet on
October 6, 2012. He included a link to the
band’s video on YouTube, thus spreading
the word to his 380,000 followers. The
since gone-viral video, filmed street-side in
Allston, MA, showcases the band’s cohesive
sound and infectious live energy. I came to
know the band myself through this video
during the band’s rising popularity.
Bacon tweeted the link amidst the band’s
recording of “Bad Self Portraits.” The
members of Lake Street Drive exited the
recording studio in Maine, which had no
Internet access or phone service, unaware of
their new following. By now their video has
amassed 1.5 million views, and their other
videos are full of comments from people just
discovering the band.
In 2012, the band received attention for its
soulful, acoustic cover of “I Want You Back”
by the Jackson 5. “This is amazing! Gives me With a newly recorded album and a growing
10
fan base, it is likely the band would have
experienced this breakout month earlier if
Price’s former label had not interfered. The
band’s development was halted by contract
negotiations with Claire Vision Productions,
an independent record company owned by
Tom Price, her father and a songwriter, and
Robert Cuillo, a producer. From her teenage
years, Price worked as a professional jazz
singer under the direction and contract of
the company. While Tom Price supported
his daughter’s endeavor with Lake Street
Drive, once Rachel expressed a desire to
sing exclusively with the band, she breached
the terms of the contract. According to Tom,
Robert Cuillo had “years of time and money
invested in [Rachel’s] development,” and
it was a matter of “compensation.” While
awaiting the outcome of the negotiations,
the band kept busy by touring incessantly in
2013.
Their first appearance on network television
occurred on February 5th the band performed two songs from their new album on
Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report. Later
in the month, they also played on the Late
Show with David Letterman. The buzz of
the “Colbert bump” has prompted coverage
from major national news outlets like the
Huffington Post and NPR.
In their earlier years, the band played at
many local bars and clubs, including Toad
in Cambridge and the Lizard Lounge, where
they recorded their live album in 2011.
Price is quoted by the Huffington Post commenting on their sudden rise to fame: “we
spent eight years playing in rooms where
we were trying to get people’s attention,
and now we’re walking into sold-out rooms
and we just have everyone’s attention at the
beginning of the show.” Though the band
has since relocated to Brooklyn, they still
consider Boston to be the band’s hometown.
On February 23rd they played to a sold out
crowd at the Sinclair in Cambridge. Tickets
to their next return to the city, to play the
Royale Boston, went on sale January 20th
and have already sold out.
11
The
By Odd
Noah Sellman
12
Elton
John
and a
Eminem
Couple:
E
minem has always been the
center of controversy when
it comes to his songs. He can
piss almost anybody off, from
women’s rights group pointing out
the violence he shows towards women
in “Kim” – a song which is a murder
fantasy of Slim killing his wife – to
the renewed anger from the LGBTQ
community for lyrics in “Rap God” – a
newer single where he talks about gay
bashing. He has battled drug addiction
and mental instability. Stardom had
not always been easy on him.
Elton John is none of that. His lyrics
have always been much more family friendly, including the soundtrack
to The Lion King, “Crocodile Rock”
and “Your Song”. While he did struggle with drug addiction in the 80’s,
he has since gotten sober and helped
others with their problem. John is
also openly gay, in a civil partnership
13
and has two sons. Controversy has never
stemmed from his music.
So what if I told you that these two men
were friends? And not just an acquaintance or someone you say “hi” to when
you pass them in the hall. They are good
friends.
They first met and worked together at
the 2001 Grammy Awards. Eminem was
getting a lot of attention for the homophobic lyrics contained within many
of his songs. While talking about whether to go through with the performance
he declared, “The only way I’ll perform
at the Grammys is with Elton John.”
The smart ass that he is, Em was joking,
14
not realizing John was openly gay. But
what started as a joke soon turned into a
statement. John was brought in. The performance was epic ending with John and
Eminem embracing in solidarity. (Pictured
below) It was all anyone could talk about.
The two only got closer after this. When
Eminem realized he was struggling with
a prescription drug problem, he turned to
John for help. John fought with his own
addictions over the years and was in a
unique position to help the rapper. “I’m
there if people want my help,” says John.
When Em needed him he helped and they
both became closer because of
Recently, Eminem has gotten criticism for
“I’m there if anyone
needs my help”
-Elton John
one of his newer releases, “Rap God”.
In it he raps about breaking a table over
“the back of a couple faggots”. John
has stood by him, telling the Associated
Press he does not see Eminem as hateful.
Eminem has even come out in support
of gay marriage, and defended his lyrics
by saying he never really equated those
words with gay people. Again, controversial, but you can see John’s influence
on these actions. Hopefully with all this
renewed controversy, we may end up
seeing an encore of the 2001 Grammys
performance.
Apparently opposites do attract. Even
with their difference in stage persona,
audience and amount of controversial
lyrics, Elton John and Eminem have become fast friends. It is a relationship that
has benefited them both.
15
W
rock ‘n’ roll does not usually come
the 1960s. A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector was
to mind. You probably think of stan-
released in 1963 featuring Darlene Love, The Ronettes, The
Crystals, and Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans performing
ligious carols. However, rockers are not immune to the allure
Christmas standards. Phil Spector’s Christmas album was
of Christmas music. Many a rock musician has covered those
not loved immediately upon release—it came out the day
old classics, beginning with The Drifters and Elvis Presley in
of John F. Kennedy’s assassination—but has since been re-
the 1950s and continuing to the present day. But rock artists
garded as one of the best Christmas albums of all time. Even
also write their own Christmas songs. Some of these have
though most songs were covers, there was an original Ellie
become perennial favorites, while others remain more ob-
Greenwich/Jeff Barry composition: “Christmas (Baby Please
scure tunes. Regardless of popularity, rock Christmas music
Come Home)” performed by Darlene Love, which showed
provides a glance into the rock of its era.
the then-popular Brill Building approach to songwriting. This
Beginning in the 1950s,
rock Christmas classics were
born. Elvis Presley’s “Blue
Christmas” from Elvis’ Christmas Album (itself a cover of an
earlier country hit) has turned
into a modern-day classic.
Some songs on the record were
covers, but there were original
rock Christmas songs as well.
was done in Spector’s signature “wall of sound” style. Like
most of his other girl group
songs of the era, it was about
romantic problems. These early
Christmas rock tunes reflected
most of the rock music of the
time. They were about romance and did not carry too heavy
of a message beyond the surface.
Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller
The easy-going early ‘60s
(who wrote Elvis hit “Jailhouse
rock Christmas tune was not
Rock” as well as many other songs for Elvis and others) wrote limited to Phil Spector’s girl groups. The Beach Boys got
“Santa Claus is Back in Town” for the album. That song was
16
Christmas songs about romance would continue into
dards like “White Christmas” or “The Christmas Song” or re-
Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas: A
Window into Changing Pop
Music Sensibilities By: Alexa Wheeler
hen you think of Christmas songs,
into the Christmas song game as well, releasing their own
sprinkled with innuendo: “Hang up your pretty stockings,
Christmas album in 1964. Like Spector’s, it was mostly covers
turn off the light/Santa Claus is coming, down your chimney
of standards, but included the Beach Boys original “Little
tonight.” Elvis’ Christmas Album is the top-selling holiday
Saint Nick,” which has since become a holiday favorite. Even
release of all time, so these songs have lasted for decades;
though this is not a love song, it retains the Beach Boys’
they helped usher in a new age of popular holiday music.
surfer style—it’s about a car or, in this case, a sleigh. The in-
Like much other contemporary rock, the innuendo was subt-
nocence of early rock ‘n’ roll is reflected in this lighthearted
le and couched in seemingly-innocuous, romantic lyrics.
tune. As rock became more topical and deeper, so would the
17
Christmas melodies it produced.
One important Christmas song with a message is
John Lennon, Yoko Ono, the Plastic Ono Band, and the Harlem Community Choir’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” from
1971, which, incidentally, Phil Spector produced. Like many
of John Lennon’s post-Beatles songs, this one is about peace
and ending the war in Vietnam. “And so happy Christmas/
a group of children singing about ending the war and the
winter holidays—so often associated with innocence and
childhood—is extra powerful. Lennon got his message about
a loss of innocence and naïveté across, using Christmas as a
forum similar to the way rock music was often used as a political platform.
In the early ‘70s, rockers were protesting Vietnam
For black and for white/For yellow and red ones/Let’s stop all through their Christmas music, but by the time The Kinks
the fight.” While not explicitly religious, this song discusses
released “Father Christmas” in 1978 (on Misfits), punk had
peace, which is a more religious message than other Christ-
taken hold and a certain cynicism was mounting. “But the
mas rock tunes. It also reflects the increasing politicization of last time I played Father Christmas/I stood outside a departrock music and the rise of protest songs. The holidays were
ment store/A gang of kids came over and mugged me/And
not immune to rockers trying to get their viewpoints across.
knocked my reindeer to the floor.” Kids mugging Santa Claus?
Part of why Lennon achieved his message of peace was by
A far cry from the lighthearted Christmas romances of the
bringing in the Harlem Community Choir in addition to his
‘50s and ‘60s. A less well-known, but just as cynical Christmas
anti-war lyrics. By this point in time, rock was able to bring
song is Was (Not Was)’s 1981 “Christmas Time in the Motor
in such disparate elements as a children’s choir. Listening to
City,” which takes Christmas as a time of widespread unemployment and poverty. These two songs
demonstrate the changing tide in rock. It was
not pure fun anymore, but was much rawer
with a deeper message. The joy you’re supposed to feel at Christmas is in stark contrast
to social problems, which rockers pick up on
and exploit to make their commentary.
A parallel can be drawn between rock ‘n’
roll Christmas music and general rock ‘n’
roll. Every era of rock has its own associated
Christmas songs and its own associated genres. As rock has changed, its holiday melodies reflect those changes. Christmas music
may seem like fluff, but it can provide an
interesting look into the more general rock ‘n’
18
roll context of every era.
Forging
the
Sword
By: Max Shafer-Landau
D
escribed as a “Black Sabbath inspired
doom-retro-stoner-whatever-metal” band, The
Sword has become prominent in the metal
genre over the past decade.1 Hailing from Austin, Texas, The Sword comprises vocalist and guitarist
John Cronise, guitarist Kyle Shutt, bassist Bryan Richie,
and Jimmy Vela on drums, a 2011 replacement for
the original drummer, Trivett Wingo. They have a rich,
swaggering, full sound that washes over the listener in
waves, immersing them in its intensity. The Sword has
clearly matured over the course of their four albums,
evolving from the appearance of a highly talented garage band to a unique and professional force ready to
become a heavy metal mainstay.
The Sword’s first album, Age of Winters (2006),
typified the musical style that has come to be associat-
1
Monger, James Christopher. The Sword. Google
19 Play; accessed 2.23.2014. www.play.google.com
ed with the band. Opening with the loud droning chords
of Celestial Crown, The Sword establishes its intentions immediately. The underlying bass and thumping
drums plunge the listener into a deep swamp of powerful, thrumming riffs. Typical of the band, the album’s
single Freya energetically plows through thick walls of
bass, led by a dark lead guitar. Forthrightly presenting
their firmly aggressive sound, The Sword marches
relentlessly through the album. Indeed, the trek can be
exhausting. By the seventh song, the 7:59 behemoth
Lament for Aurochs, the music has been ceaselessly
pouring over your ears for twenty minutes. While each
song admittedly kicks ass, eventually the momentum
devolves into trudgery.
The lyrics take up this march as well. John
Cronise sings excitedly, fleshing out classically martial
landscapes and stories. Embodying a Gothic or Feudal
character, the singing portrays settings that are almost
universally bleak, forlorn, and mysterious. Occasionally
bordering on ridiculous, it’s easy to see in these verses
a descendant of Led Zeppelin’s lyrical homage to J.R.R. Tolkien. Similar
in their content, the lyrics of Age of
Winters and the subsequent Gods
of the Earth incorporate the new
generation of fantasy into their tales.
George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice
and Fire series comes up repeatedly.
From direct recitations of Game of
Thrones plot, in To Take the Black, to
odes about three Westerosi deities
(Maiden, Mother, Crone), there’s a
beautiful confluence of contemporary media in this music.
To trace the origins of The
Sword is a clear path, all the way
back to the hard rock and early
metal of the mid to late-70’s. We’ve
already seen their similarity to Led
Zeppelin’s lyrical inspiration, but the
70’s rock band assuredly helped
pave the way for The Sword’s powerful hard rock sound with songs
like The Ocean and When the Levee
Breaks. Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi’s ground shaking guitar also has
a clear influence on the band, as do
fellow Texans ZZ Top. Indeed, the
main criticism of the band’s first two
albums is their lack of innovation
from their progenitors. With their first
forays into Doom, Blues, and Stoner
Metal, The Sword created songs
exemplary of the genre, but stayed
safely within the limits set by previous bands such as Sleep and Kyuss.
The first two albums consist of
songs all from this same channel
of composition. After a short little
twiddle diddle on a mandolin at the
beginning of Gods of the Earth’s’ lead track, The Sundering, The Sword trips off a cliff into an obliterative
morass of heavy metal and dragons. Several critics
complained about the monotony between albums. By
the end of album two, The Sword held at the bottom of
a much-traveled rut. Within their well-established sound,
The Sword performed at a consistently high level,
putting out some of the best examples of the music in
their field. However, they remained stuck behind those
who had gotten famous by creating and expanding the
genre.
Because of The Sword’s precocity, they gained
traction before they had fully matured past the stage of
imitatively thrashing about in a suburban garage. The
minor publicity and success their first albums generated was more than a similarly experienced band would
“warrant.” However, The Sword performed their chosen
genre with terrifically entertaining skill and so climbed
fast. Matt Bayles, producer of such defining bands as
Pearl Jam, Isis, and Mastodon, entered the stage of
their next album Warp Riders by kicking over the familiar tropes The Sword was used to and forcing them into
new territory.
From Warp Riders’ first tingles of static, you
can tell the air has changed. The first guitar you hear
is not the expected heavy apocalyptic bass, but a lead
guitar’s gleaming lightning bolt finally unchained from
acting simply as an augmentation to its deeper accompanying instruments. There’s an industrial metallic
underpinning to the opening, you can almost taste the
iron in your throat. Warp Riders’ instrumentation animates the album with a greater excitement than we’ve
thus far experienced with The Sword. The lead guitar
has transformed into an individual entity marshaling the
song forward. The rest of the instruments sound uplifted prepared for the adventure, which unfolds over the
course of the album.
The doom and gloom of depressed and wartorn medieval towns, wicked Horned Goddesses, and
heroes destined for horrible demises or legendary
victories fall away in this album. Instead, the songs take
you on the fantastical sci-fi adventure of our star-traversing protagonist, Archer. It reads similarly to a Greek
myth in space, with classical allusions to the likes of
Perseus and Macbeth long with direct exhortations to
Hermes. Warp Riders includes an arch-nemesis, the
Chronomancer, and epic journeying across the heavens
in its saga. Oh, and because the main guy just happens
to have the coolest job title in the world, it’s also about
Space Pirates. The Night City and Lawless Lands of the
album’s backdrop conjure images of the Old West on a
terraformed martian world. The new directions in both
instrumentation and lyrical content refreshingly reinforce
each other in a frenetic, yet controlled explosion of The
Sword’s new sound.
In Warp Riders, Matt Bayles and The Sword
forced their music out of its customary doom metal (emphasis on the doom), and in so doing, discovered their
own style. Retaining the quasi-oppressive slamming
waves of their earlier albums, they heated their music
to red-hot tones, blasting off into more vivacious strata.
The Sword then took the experience of Warp Riders
and infused it into the deeper, darker riffs of their origins,
releasing Apocryphon in 2012.
The Gothic medievalism is back, but it’s driven
by a more juicily, exuberant melody galloping atop the
firm and solid bass support. While terrors and evil still
riddle the Apocryphon universe, there is a brightness in
these songs that stems from the array of gorgeous and
glorious heroes fighting the Good fight. Though having
previously included numerous explicit references to existing fantasy literature, in this album The Sword mirrors
their newfound instrumentality by creating a totally original world populated by their own denizens and plotlines.
The band has also learned to break up its pummeling music, cycling between tempos and intensity.
20
After a powerful first three songs, The Hidden Masters’
introduction of the antagonists sails atop a lazy deluge
of heavy, funky blues metal. After that casual making of
acquaintances, we’re off again in Dying Earth, a song
that while pulsing with hard rock is still somewhat subdued by the gravity of the subject. The Sword’s potent
gushes of music propel the listener along a meandering
and compelling river of heavy groove beginning in the
second third of the album. The adjusting pace helps
keep you sensitive to the music, keeping you from a
desensitization to the continuous exertion of their metal.
The eponymous last song, Apocryphon, begins
with an alien computerized beeping before diving into
a hard rock show finale. This is the song most similar
to Warp Riders in execution, feel, and lyrics. The words
draw the album to a close with a vague foretelling of a
mythological afterlife while intertwining the universes
of Apocryphon and Warp Riders. The Sword imbued
the skill and personal flair they had developed in their
last album into this revisitation of their initial interests
and motifs. Apocryphon was how The Sword had been
trying to sound all along. It took the genre they had
so deftly embodied, and forged from it an impressive
album of their greatest contribution to metal yet.
21
“Lou Reed is one of the
most talented and
influential musicians of all
time.”
22
Lou Reed:
More Than
Just A Punk
Rocker
By Allyson Feitler
W
ith passing away of Lou
Reed in May 2013, a rush
of memories streamed
the public as many remember the musical accomplishments
of this once brilliant rocker. Lou Reed is
one of the most talented and influential
musicians of all time, although he never
experienced the extensive commercial
success of artists like David Bowie or
Eric Clapton. Reed is most commonly
known as the grandfather of punk; however, his musical talents stretch much
further than that. He began his professional career in the 1960s as a singer
and guitarist for the rock band The Velvet Underground. After the band broke
up, he continued his career as a solo
artist. He is known for his observational lyrics about the unglamorous, tough
and grungy New York City where he
grew up. His songs covered a range of
controversial topics from sex and drugs
to drag queens and hustlers.
Musicians typically cite other musicians
who influenced their work. Reed is
unusual in that his sources of inspiration were often not musical artists. He
worked closely with the poet Delmore
Schwartz and artist Andy Warhol. Reed
studied poetry with Schwartz and was
influenced by his writing style. Warhol actually produced Lou Reed’s album and had a significant impact on
his music, ensuring that Reed’s lyrics
remained in their raw state. His lyrics
were not sanitized for the purpose of
appealing to conventional audiences.
On the contrary, his songs, which tended to embrace the rejection of social
norms, were often so harsh that they
were shocking to mainstream audiences. In Lou Reed’s song “Heroin” he
writes “Away from the big city/ Where
a man cannot be free/ Of all the evils
in this town. ” These lyrics embody the
23
rejection of society and draw upon both
the philosophies of Allen Ginsburg and
French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Reed was able to transform the
messages of artists like the Beat poets
and Andy Warhol into rock
songs. Reed’s provocative lyrics often
spotlighted and humanized people living on the fringes of society.
24
However, not all of Reed’s songs were
filled with negative images of society. Some of his songs were sweet and
simple and focused on more traditional
subject matters.
Reed’s “Pale Blue Eyes” is a beautiful
song about yearning for love. Lou Reed
has proven himself a very talented
songwriter, with an extensive artistic
span. Although most of the attention
Lou Reed receives is due to his writing,
his musical talent should not be overlooked. Lou Reed was always experimenting with different combinations
of instruments and amplifiers. On the
album sleeve of New York, Reed wrote
about the different instruments he used
to let people know how he got his sound.
Lou Reed experimented with a wide variety of music. In Velvet Underground,
Reed’s raw and energetic music paired
well with their lyrics. Post Velvet Underground, Lou Reed’s solo career began
with very straight rock n roll music.
Then, Reed worked with David Bowie
on his album, Transformer. The album
is appropriately named as it marks Lou
Reed’s transformation to a glam rock
musician. Transformer took the pop
undertone that was present in his older
songs and used it as the focus of newer
songs. Another turning point for Reed
was his album Sally Can’t Dance. It was
the beginning of punk rock. The lyrics
in the album were very cynical as Reed
flaunts his famous singsong voice. Reed
used the guitar in a revolutionary way
on Sally Can’t Dance, it was characteristic of a ringing electric guitar. This
was Reed’s most successful commercial
album. Lou Reed’s album Street Hassle
marked the end of Reed’s punk rock
days. Street Hassle became the first
pop album to use binaural recording
technology where two microphones
are placed in the studio in an effort to
capture the stereo sound of being in the
room with the musicians. Throughout
the rest of his life, Reed continued to
experiment with many different musical
genres.
Lou Reed was an inspiration to a wide
variety of musicians including Patti
Smith, R.EM., The Sex Pistols, and Sonic Youth. He is considered to be influential to many different genres including
glam rock, indie, new wave, and, of
course, punk. He was a highly diverse
and talented musician whose music and
memory will endure lifetimes from now.
25
W
ith the 10-year anniversary of his debut album,
The College Dropout, occurring on February 10th,
let’s take a look at one of the greatest
hip hop artists of all time and how he
revolutionized the hip hop genre.
Kanye West was born on June 8, 1977
in Atlanta, Georgia. At the age of 3, his
parents divorced and he moved to Chicago, Illinois with his mother. Growing
up in Chicago, Kanye became deeply
involved in its hip hop scene where his
dream was to become a famous rapper.
By
Daniel Cohen
The
Eclectic
Kanye
West
26
He started rapping in the 3rd grade, writing music in 7th, and learning how to produce music at
the age of 15. After high school, West attended
Chicago State University. However, after only one
year there, he decided to drop out in order to focus on a career in music. West began his musical
career as a producer for primarily local artists. As
his reputation began to grow, he eventually landed a job producing for Roc-A-Fella Records. Here,
West produced songs for many artists and eventually was asked by Jay Z to help produce songs for
his 2001 album, The Blueprint, where he achieved
recognition and praise for his contributions. This
recognition led him to produce songs for a handful of stars including rapper Ludacris and singer
Beyoncé.
album? To put it simply, Kanye West changed hip
hop. In a time where many of the mainstream artists who had achieved success rapped about gangsters, the streets, and violence, Kanye chose a different path. He chose a path that was insightful and
socially conscious. His songs included topics such
as religion (“Jesus Walks”), family (“Family Business”), sexuality, prejudices and civil rights (“All
Falls Down”), and personal struggles (“School
Spirit” and “Spaceship”). As Rolling Stone put
it, he “expanded the musical and emotional language of hip-hop…challenged all the rules, [and
danced] across boundaries others were too afraid
to even acknowledge.” He added a new dimension
to hip hop by writing about personal experiences and observations. No longer
“[he] expanded the were gun-holding gangsters the
Despite his success as a producmusical and emo- only face of rap music, instead
er, Kanye’s ultimate dream was
offered music that spoke
tional
language Kanye
to be a rapper. For some time,
to the masses. People could still
West had been shopping around of
hip-hop…chal- have their hip hop music, but
his own demo. Although he was
lenged all the rules” now they were listening to songs
denied by multiple record comto which they could relate. The
-Rolling Stone
panies, Kanye persevered. UlCollege Dropout was a defining
moment for Kanye in the music industry.
timately, Roc-A-Fella Records signed West to a
deal in 2002. However, it was during the same
Now on the 10th anniversary of the album’s reyear that West was faced with an unfortunate setlease, Kanye’s tweets are those of appreciation for
back. On the way home from a late session at a
the success of his album: “Ten years ago today we
recording studio in Los Angeles, West fell asleep
at the wheel and was involved in a near fatal car finally released what had been my life’s work up
to that point: The College Dropout. I say ‘finally’
accident that left him with a shattered jaw. After
because it was a long road, a constant struggle
reconstructive surgery, which included his jaw
and a true labor of love to not only convince my
being wired shut, West returned to the recording
peers and the public that I could be an artist, but
studio to complete his debut album. In 2004, The
to actually get that art out for the world to hear.”
College Dropout was released and became a huge
success. It debuted at number 2 on the Billboard
200 and sold nearly half a million copies its first And now that the world has not only heard his
music, but embraced it as well, Kanye’s strugweek on the shelves. Two months after its release,
gles are long gone. More than 10 years after The
West’s album was awarded a platinum plaque
College Dropout debut, West has made 5 more
by the Recording Industry Association of Ameralbums and is not only one of the most influenica (RIAA) for selling more than a million coptial and celebrated entertainers of our generation,
ies. Kanye went on to receive 10 Grammy Nombut he is also considered one of the greatest, if not
inations at the 2005 Grammy Awards where The
the greatest, hip hop artist of all time. At the age
College Dropout was nominated for Album of the
of 36, West is the most awarded musician for his
Year and won Best Rap Album. In addition, it was
age and is one of the most winningest artists of
voted Best Album of the year by Rolling Stone.
all time with 21 Grammy awards. Although he has
had some controversial moments over the years,
But what really made The College Dropout so sucit is impossible to deny Kanye’s contributions to
cessful? How could a debut album become such
the music industry.
a hit? What separated it from any other hip hop
27
Inside:
Jackson and
The Funky Bunch
T
o try and get a sense of what
types of songs members of
the class would be performing, I sat down with Jackson Ulrich to ask him some questions
about what influenced his group.
The answers were insightful and,
at times, surprising.
AA: What is your groups name?
JU: We’re Jackson and the Funky Bunch.
AA: What is everyone’s role within
the group?
JU: Nate Howell, Alex Nunez, Dylan
Keegan and I all function as singer/songwriters. Russell Madison does a lot of the
behind-the-scenes creative stuff and some
songwriting too
AA: So what’s this new single coming
out going to be called?
JU: Our song is called “Cardinal Blues”
28
AA: What inspired the song? What
artists influenced your song the
most?
JU: Muddy Waters inspired our song
obviously, because it’s a 21st century rendition of “Hoochie Coochie Man.” But we
get a lot of inspiration from other sources
too: Dirt Nasty, 98 Degrees, Marky Mark
and the Funky Bunch. You could even say
Chuck Berry to a certain extent.
AA: What style of music is your
song?
JU: Our song is blues, Chicago blues. Considering our song is based off the music of
Muddy Water, the father of Chicago blues,
we decided to stick with the original roots
of the song. I think we all really enjoy that
style.
AA: What, if any, is the message behind your song?
JU: Our song, Cardinal Blues, is an ironic
take on the blues. Instead of impoverished
African Americans living in the Jim Crow
era within the south, we’re all relatively privileged white guys at an expensive,
prestigious liberal arts college in New
England. Unlike the true blues musicians,
who had real problems and worries, our
lyrics -- and to a certain extent, “our blues”
-- have to do with being hung-over, having
a hard time making a 10 am class, or being
“Our blues’ have to do with being hungover, having a hard time
making 10 am class, or being
scolded by the Pastabilities guy
(Tom) at Usdan.” -Jackson Ulrich
scolded by the Pastabilities guy (Tom) at
Usdan. It is both paying homage to guys
like Muddy Waters as well as mocking
ourselves. We hope that our audience
will really get our message and find the
contrast between our blues and those
of Muddy Waters both humorous and
thought-provoking. I mean our song is
basically something every Wesleyan student can relate to.
AA: If your group could collaborate with any musician who would
it be and why?
JU: We would probably collaborate with
rapper Dirt Nasty. He seems like a funny
guy who could really catch our drift.
AA: Biggie or Tupac?
JU: Biggie. Tupac’s song “I wrote this
song in ‘94” is great, but nothing tops
Biggie. But Snoop Dogg over Nas.
AA: Who would you say the leader
of the group is?
JU: Well our band is called Jackson and
the Funky Bunch. My name is the first
word of our band’s name so I’m basically
the leader.
I’m sure that we’re all looking forward to the song “Cardinal Blues”
when it drops later this week.
By
Anthony Arias
29
Donald Glover, a.k.a. Childish
Gambino
One of the most versatile talents of the decade
with a new album Because the Internet
by Caleb Haddad
I
t would be an understatement to
say that Donald Glover, also known
as Childish Gambino, is a versatile artist. Over the past few years,
Glover has proven himself as not only
an actor, most importantly on the
show Community, but also a rapper,
singer, comedian, and record producer.
It seems as if whenever Glover puts
his mind to something, he makes his
project amazing and works his ass off
to get there.
Glover first came into the
spotlight as part of the sketch comedy
group “Derrick Comedy” at New York
University. Around the same time, he
started writing for the popular television show 30 Rock. In 2009, he gained a
key spot on the television show Community as Troy Barnes. Glover played
this role for five seasons and appeared in about 89 episodes. His musical
career, however, is an entirely different
entity.
Glover released his very first
mixtape in 2005 titled The Younger I
Get, although it is not on the Internet.
Glover released his second mixtape,
titled Sick Boi, in 2008. Although I
wasn’t able to find an official review of
the album, the general consensus of
smaller reviews is that his lyricism and
production are both fair, but nothing
special. Many consider Glover’s next
mixtape Poindexter a step-up from Sick
Boi. Farley Elliott, from laist.com says,
“And for everything that Sick Boi was
- well written, bass heavy, and even a
little hard - it lacked some production
quality and true mic presence. Thankfully on Poindexter, Gambino has kept
the best and discarded the rest, leaving
a fluid 14 tracks that make you want to
stop toting your Tek-9 and pick up your
30
MacBook.”1 Even though Glover signed a two-year contract
with Universal for Community around the time that this mixtape came out, his newfound acting job didn’t interfere with
his music interests.
In early 2010, Glover introduced two mixtapes titled
I Am Just a Rapper, and I Am Just a Rapper 2. I Am Just a
Rapper 1 & 2 got average ratings, but the general consensus
was that they weren’t big step-ups from Sick Boi. Glover’s
third official mixtape Culdesac was released in July of 2010,
and received relatively great reviews in comparison to those of his previous mixtapes. Culdesac also appears to have
received more official reviews, as well. Chris Lee from the
LA Times names Glover the “Renaissance man of comedy
and rap”, and calls Culdesac “an unexpected delight: a sungrapped cri de Coeur that’s as accomplished as any indie hiphop released this year.”2
After Culdesac, Glover released his first studio album Camp that was very successful in the rankings, but only
received fair critic reception. The consensus from various
reviews is that the album is inconsistent, but does include
good lyricism and production.3 Glover’s next mixtape was
introduced in 2012, titled Royalty. Royalty received very
good critic reception, and was considered yet another stepup from his I Am Just a Rapper days. Rose Lilah from Hot
1
http://laist.com/2009/09/14/album_review_
childish_gambinos_poin.php
2
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/19/
entertainment/la-et-glover-20100719
3
http://www.metacritic.com/music/camp/
childish-gambino
New Hip Hop practically worshipped it, and said “Royalty
provides so much content and variety on the songs it’s hard
to condense it all into (what should be a short) review, but
just know this: a lack of subject-matter is not what you’ll find
on Royalty, nor a lack of beats.”4
In late 2013 Glover released his newest album Because the Internet. I consider Because the Internet to be one
of his best albums, however the critic reception wasn’t as
positive as some of his others albums. Metacritic’s “metascore” is a 64, based on the reviews of 26 critics, but its user
score is an 8.4 based on 126 ratings.5 The way that Glover
arranged the songs is interesting, as it is separated into four
very different parts. The first part is angry and gritty, including some notable songs like I. Crawl, and II. Worldstar. The
second part is more upbeat as illustrated in the song I. The
Worst Guys, featuring Chance the Rapper. The next part of
the album is mellower, and includes one of my favorite songs
titled I. Flight of the Navigator, which sounds a bit far-out,
but is a moving song inspired by a death that affected Glover.
The album ends on more of an upbeat note, with some intriguing production.
Glover has been an outstandingly consistent artist
over the past decade, and I have no doubt that whatever
he brews up next will be another step-up from his previous
work.
4
http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/review-childish-gambino-s-royalty-news.2377.html
5
http://www.metacritic.com/music/
because-the-internet/childish-gambino
31