slightly stoopid - The Cut Magazine

SLIGHTLY STOOPID
MISTERWIVES
AIR TRAFFIC
CONTROLLER
volume8.issuE1.oct2014
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LETTER FROM THE ED
THRIVAL MUSIC FES
AIR TRAFFIC CONTR
MISTERWIVES
METRONOMY
SLIGHTLY STOOPID
CONCERT REVIEWS
ALBUM REVIEWS
ESSAY
DITOR
STIVAL
TROLLER
S
PHOTO BY LINDSAY CORRY
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MASTHEAD
Editor-in-Chief
Samantha Ward
Assistant Editor
Arun Marsten
Design/Layout Director
Kathy Lee
Photo Editor
Lindsay Corry
Copy Director
Max Harlynking
Marketing and Publicity Chief
Katherine Martinez
Public Relations Chief
Nicole Marrow
Web Editor
Danielle Maly
Writing Staff
Ben Alderoty, Rachel Asbel, Sid
Bhaeuria, Jake Cohen, Lindsay Corry,
Drevin Gallentine, Kyle Henson, Charles
Hutchinson, Dhruva Krishna, Will Lush,
Nicole Marrow, Katherine Martinez,
Donovan Powers, Chris Skaggs,
Naomi Sternstein, Stephen Yamalis
Photo Staff
Rachel Asbel, Will Lush, Katherine
Martinez, Lindsay McClary, Sam
Suter, Samantha Ward
Editing Staff
Rachel Asbel, Jill Bellovin, Drevin
Gallentine, Geneva Jacson, Bronwyn
Kuehler, Danielle Maly, Lindsey
McClary, Donovan Powers
Design Staff
Kathy Lee, Imogen Todd,
Anqi Wan, Sharon Yu
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
I’m pleased to present you with the first fall issue of The Cut. Bringing music to you
guys makes my life a little better, and I am so excited to be working with The Cut
staff this year as Editor. Whether you are a new or long-time reader, I’m sure you’ll
find something you haven’t seen before in this issue. We’ve already had a packed
month of shows and events in the area that challenged what I thought I knew about
the Pittsburgh music scene. It’s always changing. It’s always growing. That’s why it’s
so exciting here, and we’re doing all we can to keep up.
In this issue you’ll get your regular favorites, like Music News, provided this month
by Chris Skaggs, as well as our staff’s eccentric/awesome recommendations in our
Top Songs/ Albums of the Month and the Mixtape. We are lucky to have Nicole
Marrows’ witty column, “In Defense Of…” back this year; this month defending
artists who change their image for better or for worse. We’ve added a new column,
written by Vanessa Frank, that will feature industry professionals all around
Pittsburgh, starting with Lauren Goshinski, who works with the VIA Music & New
Media Festival. We’ve explored Thrival, a new innovation and music festival that
came back to PGH for its second year, and we have concert reviews from Carnegie
Music Hall, Altar Bar, and the Consol Energy Center.
This month we’re bringing you interviews with Air Traffic Controller, an indierock group from Boston; MisterWives, an up-and-coming Brooklyn-based band;
and Metronomy, a funky electronic group all the way from England. And of course,
we have Slightly Stoopid: industry veterans that have been around for decades,
sharing a little wisdom about longevity and… well… Keeping it real.
We listened, we took pictures, and we thought about what you need to and want
to know about PGH music this month. I hope you like it.
Samantha Ward
Editor-in-Chief
The Cut Magazine
5
rECOMMENDEDALBUMS
10songsyouneedtohear
(1) Sonsick - San Fermin
(2) Someone New - Hozier
(3) Coffee- Sylvan Esso
(4) Pass the Pain Only Real
(5) Love LettersMetronomy
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(6) Waited 4 U - Slow Magic
(7) Water Me - FKA Twigs
(8) Basement - All Dogs
(9) Just One of the Guys Jenny Lewis
(10) Its all in your head Macintosh plus
THE CUT
MAGAZINE
MUSICNEWS
BY CHRIS SKAGGS
✂
✂
David Bowie Day! September 23
has been designated as David
Bowie Day by the city of Chicago.
There will be annual festivities
in honor of the musician.
Kanye responded to the incident
about the fan in a wheelchair,
saying, “I’m a married Christian
man with a family. At my
concerts, I make sure everybody
has as good of a time as
possible...Pick a new target,
because I’m not one of those
dumb ass artists you’re used to.”
✂
Ed Sheeran and Hillary Duff
have successfully completed
their first musical recording
together.
✂
Gwen Stefani is working on a
solo album and a new No Doubt
performed a secret show in
a converted railway tunnel in
London. The show was played
as a part of the buildup to their
eighth studio album.
album in the studio with Pharrell
Williams.
✂
Will Ferrell, Chad Smith of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Mike
McCready of Pearl Jam team
up to do a Rolling Stones cover.
The group performed under the
name “I Pissed my Pants” as part
of Ferrell’s charity Cancer for
College.
✂
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
preview part of their new
soundtrack for the movie Gone
Girl. The two have previously
collaborated on soundtracks
for The Social Network and
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
winning an Academy Award and
a Golden Globe, respectively.
✂
September 13 the Foo Fighters
✂
The six Iranians who were
arrested in May for making
a video covering the Pharell
Williams song “Happy” have
received their punishment.
They were sentenced to six
months and 91 lashes apiece.
The sentence was suspended
provided they do not commit
a similar offense for the next
three years. Shout out to defying
adversity for the sake of musical
expression!
7
IN DEFENSE OF:
MUSICAL REINVENTIONS
BY NICOLE MARROW
Musicians have the unique privilege of becoming part
of our lives in meaningful and sometimes overwhelming
ways. They’re like family, which is why we get so
unreasonably upset when they don’t give us what we
want. It’s only natural for artists to grow throughout their
careers, and we can usually make the leap with them
from album to album because our tastes are changing
too.
However, some alterations are so jarring and
unexpected that we might be hesitant to embrace
something new. For example, Ke$ha rebranding herself
as Kesha Rose was one of the most difficult transitions
I’ve had to come to terms with in a very long time. Ke$ha
was the soundtrack to my college years, and the fact that
her autotuned, synthesized masterpieces might morph
into indie slow jams to accompany her new boho-chic
persona is really taking a toll on me. Reinvention in pop
music has almost necessarily become the norm, so I
should be used to it by now. From Bowie to Madonna,
the most iconic entertainers are the ones who built a
career around surprise; never keeping one sound for
long. That doesn’t mean that every change they make
is a good one (see: Snoop Lion). It’s scary to think that
something that used to mean so much to you will never
be the same.
When artists reinvent themselves, it’s not likely that
they’ve done so lightly: Making millions of dollars is a
good sign that what you’re doing is working. But if the
artist isn’t fulfilled by what they’re creating, change is
sometimes necessary. I’ve really appreciated Ke$ha’s
contribution to my life, and the fact that her rebirth as
a normal person is the result of a cleansing little trip to
rehab is enough to convince me that this new beginning
is a good thing. Change is probably just as scary for
them as it is for you, so at least give their new work a
listen. It might be terrible, in which case you can grieve
for as long as you need, but it might be something that
you become obsessed with.
Pittsburgh profiles:
lauren goshinski
via & new media fest
BY VANESSA FRANK
Lauren Goshinski, a Pittsburgh
native and CMU School of Art
faculty member, saw a disparity
between the cutting edge art and
music happening on campus and
the cultural scene being cultivated in
the Pittsburgh community, she and
her co-director, Quinn Leonowicz,
decided to organize a multimedia
festival unlike anything the Steel City
has seen before. Using partnerships
with local institutions like the Warhol
Museum, the Carnegie Museum of
Art, and Pittsburgh Filmmakers,
the team has designed the festival
to be a platform for showcasing
international, as well as local, artists.
“We’re a breaking point,” Goshinski
explains. “You can break down into
8
something and be like, alright this is
something that is hot everywhere
else, and Pittsburgh needs it, and
this is how you get to dive into it.
Because as great as we are, we
don’t get a high turnover of this kind
of activity.”
VIA has used the Pittsburgh
landscape as a backdrop for the
art, using unconventional spaces
as pop-up venues every year. “In
2012 we took over the bank in East
Liberty on the corner of Highland
and Penn. Last year, we were in a
school across from Whole Foods,”
said Goshinski. This year they’ve
locked down the Union Trust
Building downtown as its main
venue. If you’ve never seen the
building before, it’s massive - and
VIA has big plans for transforming
the space. The team is working to
adapt the recently renovated but
abandoned parking garage in the
lower level: “When they took us
down there we were like, ‘Oh my
god, we can build an entire club
down here!’ So we specced it out
and that’s where all the main artists
are playing.”
Since its beginnings in 2010, the
festival has received international
attention. VIA has now reached
Chicago, where similar multimedia
events will be happening within the
same weekend. Learn more about
the festival at via2014.com.
TH R I V AL M USIC F E ST IVA L
Writing by Samantha Ward
Photo by Samantha Ward
and Lindsay Corry
Thrival, the innovation conference/
music festival that took over Bakery
Square on September 13th and 14th, is
only in its second year of existence. The
carefully crafted event serves as a thinktank for technical and creative innovators,
and features a killer line-up to boot. It’s
currently a well-kept secret that its creators
are desperately trying to leak, and here
at The Cut, we’re doing everything in our
power to spread the good word.
The first day of the festival was
notably indie-rock flavored, while Day 2
featured a line-up of DJs culminating in a
stellar performance by Moby. Our favorite
acts included MisterWives (See pg. 12),
Phosphorescent, Z-Trip, and of course,
Moby. Other notable attendees included
Portugal. The Man, headliner of Day 1,
who mesmerized the crowd with an amazing
light show and energetic performance, and
Green Velvet, who provided a bass-heavy
set right before Moby.
The lay of the land was simple.
The entire festival was set up on a large
rectangular plot located across from the
familiar Bakery Square. Lining the plot
were various Pittsburgh clothing vendors
(Pro tip: check out Daily Bread) and a
satisfying selection of food trucks. At the far
end stood the massive stage. We’ve got our
hopes up for two in the future in order to
avoid wait-time between sets.
This festival is all about fostering
community and acting as an incubator
for technology and art. Dan Law, VP of
Finance at Thrill Mill and coordinator
of the festival described to us that, as a
city, we should not see art or technology
in a vacuum. He stated, “These are all
intricately linked. It’s an intersection. And
some of the greatest artists that ever lived
have been some of the greatest innovators.
And some of the greatest innovators in
the entrepreneurial space have truly been
artists in their own craft.” They hope to
grow Thrival into a festival as large as
Firefly and take over the city of Pittsburgh.
It’s something big and it’s something new.
So pay attention, people.
Read more in-depth coverage on our website, www.thecutmagazine.com
9
Air Traffic Controller is an indie-rock band hailing
from Boston. The band fuses pop sensibilities,
large orchestras, and autobiographical lyrics to
create its unique sound. The Cut sat down with
band members Dave Munroe, Steve Scott, and
Casey Sullivan to talk about the band’s music and
background.
AIR TRAFFIC C
INTERVIEW BY DHRUVA KRISHNA
PHOTOS BY SAM SUTER
The Cut: What inspired you to record your first demo
during your deployment?
The Cut: When did your fellow bandmates join what
started as a solo project?
Dave Munroe: Just a great deal of loneliness. I was in a long
distance relationship, which was a huge part of it, and had a lot of
stuff to sing and write about. I was listening to a lot of music and
my surroundings really inspired me, like the barracks with other
sailors and recording demos while living in Navy housing.
DM: Steve was playing with me on the first album, and Casey had
the same deal. They were both friends of ours, and we wanted
to bring it to the stage. I had written a duet called “Anyway,” which
had ended up being on NORDO, and Casey was always being
invited up onstage to sing the duet with me. We had been singing
that since we had met, and we were always trying to shoehorn
her into singing with us.
The Cut: How did your demos get into the hands of one
of your heroes, and now producer, Bleu?
DM: Well it did almost happen out of the blue, and was a huge
surprise. A friend of mine had a demo and sent it over to Bleu,
a great singer-songwriter, who had just started producing. I was
doing Air Traffic Controller training over in Oklahoma and I got a
call from Bleu saying he wanted to make a record. He initially said
he wanted to record the two songs he had heard on the demo,
but once we got into the studio he really just wanted to record
everything- old and new. It was a dream come true. Every idea
he had was great.
10
The Cut: Steve, what was your musical background
before joining ATC?
Steve Scott: I have always had gone to music school, but
really had these two sides to me musically. One side was this
“real” music side–– things like studying music, arranging, and
orchestration. But I always had this other side that played guitar in
rock bands, and these two lives always seemed secret to each
other. ATC was the band that was really cathartic for me and
combined both my orchestrated and rock side in a very organic
CONTROLLER
and challenging way. On our record some really big orchestral
things happen, but we want that. Bleu and everyone else in the
band really want me to use those skills.
The Cut: What about you, Casey?
Casey Sullivan: I started really playing music when I was thirteen.
My dad always had an acoustic guitar lying around the house,
and one day I felt compelled to pick it up and teach myself. I was
a big fan of the folk singer-songwriters, so songwriting started to
come naturally to me. I wrote my first song when I was fourteen,
and was looking for a place to play at an open mic. Most of the
places were 21+, so I ended up walking into a bar with my father,
and it was Dave’s brother’s open mic. They let me play a song,
and after that I kept getting invited to come back and perform, and
eventually I ended up working together with Dave.
The Cut: What does your songwriting process look like
now, especially with it becoming more of a band effort
rather than a solo project?
DM: You basically just described it- before it was just my demos,
just handed into the studio, and Bleu would come into the picture
and collaborate in that way. Now it’s much more of a team
project- you can really hear it on NORDO: Steve’s whole musical
background and his work arranging with a forty-piece orchestra,
as well as Casey’s songwriting and singing on the tracks. We are
really much more of a band now than we were in the past.
The Cut: How did it feel to be so successful on Kickstarter
for your second album and securing $12,000 for what
started as a $5,000 project?
SS: It never really was a $5,000 project. We set a modest goal,
because if we didn’t reach our goal on Kickstarter we don’t get
any money. So we set that amount because it was just enough
to get us into the studio and get started on the record. We ended
up with enough to basically get us through the whole process,
and we are so grateful for the money. It really helped us check
in and validated our music because of the fan support we had,
especially because we broke the $5,000 mark within the first
day. It was incredible going into the studio knowing that all these
people believed in us, and it helped make our album so great.
11
MISTER
WIVES
The Cut: So how did this all start?
Mandy Lee: We met really randomly. Etienne Bowler, the
drummer, and I worked at two different restaurants a block
away from each other. We would always run into each other
and talk about music and bands that we were in at the time. We
realized that we really liked each other’s style, so we decided to
jam just for fun. At the time, I was living with Will Hehir, the
bassist, and we were just best friends who would play music,
drunk, till five in the morning. But, we didn’t have a drummer,
so we were just playing because we were friends who liked
making music. When Etienne came over, the three of us really
clicked and we thought, “We should actually do this as a band.”
Subsequently, Etienne convinced two of his old bandmates,
Jesse Blum and Marc Campbell, to come play keys and guitar
with us. We all had a great chemistry and clicked musically the
first rehearsal, so we decided to keep doing it.
The Cut: Wow, that sounds really “spur of the moment.” How
did you end up recording your first EP?
ML: We did it all ourselves. Etienne produced the whole thing
and taught me a lot about production. We used our closet as
the vocal booth, recorded everything in our apartment, and got
tons of noise complaints. Our neighbors hated us. We were just
doing it to put demos on Soundcloud. However, when we got
signed the label said, “Let’s just put this out as the EP,” because
they thought it was good enough, which was really surprising
to us.
The Cut: As a new band, how has your experience with labels
and the music industry been?
ML: Pretty amazing. We lucked out and signed with Photofinish,
a small boutique-y label partnered with Island Records. We
were getting a ton of different offers at the time and they were
all giant corporations, but we wanted to be able to go into an
office and know everyone there and have a good relationship
with them. So, we signed with Photofinish and they merged
with Republic which means we get the experience of belonging
to both a small label and a giant one. Thankfully they’re all
very behind us, love what we do, and aren’t trying to change us,
which is pretty rare.
12
The Cut: How has touring affected the way you play and feel
about the album?
ML: We like that there’s a live element to our music. The album
and EP are one thing, but then you should come to the shows
and it should be better and higher energy, with the solos and
crowd participation and rearranging of things. I always loved
going to shows and seeing a band do something slightly different
than the album. Whether it’s a different beat, half-time, doubletime, whatever. We’ve definitely experimented a lot. It’s been
almost a full year that we’ve been on tour, so our live show has
come a long way.
The Cut: What are your most important influences, and do you
find yourself actively trying to emulate any sort of sound or style?
ML: No, our sound touches on a lot of different things because
we all have a lot of influences. For example, I grew up on Motown
and loved Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, all these
badass chicks. But those are all really different sounds and I
think we subconsciously try to reflect that with our music. You
don’t want to get pigeonholed, so it’s fun to try to figure out how
to balance all the things you love. No Doubt and Walk the Moon
are probably our two biggest influences. If No Doubt and Walk
the Moon had a baby we hope that it would be MisterWives.
The Cut: According to a CMU alumnus, you guys have a
treehouse practice space. Care to explain?
ML: It’s true. We have recorded things in the treehouse. I actually
wrote a lot of the album in the treehouse. Etienne built it when
he was a kid and it’s just really magical. I had writers block for a
long time and so I went in there. While I was in there it started
raining really hard and then the sun came out immediately after.
I felt like the treehouse had transported me to another world.
The treehouse has definitely played a large part in our music.
The Cut: How would you describe your songwriting process?
MisterWives is a brand new pop-rock group from New
York . Their sound is everything you love about modern
pop-rock with unique instrumentation and mind-blowing
vocals mixed in. They recently played at Pittsburgh’s
second Thrival Music Festival in Bakery Square and we
got to to sit down with frontwoman Mandy Lee to talk
about her music, her band, and everything in between.
ML: Usually very late at night, or in the morning I suppose,
around 3 AM. I just sit at a keyboard or piano and either I hear
a melody or there’s something I need to get off my chest. It’s
free therapy. There’s no formula. It’s just however I feel in that
moment. Once I write the skeleton of the song I bring it to
rehearsal and everyone comes up with their parts and we make it
a full song. It’s tricky writing songs now because we got off tour
and the label told us we need the album to be done this month.
I didn’t have enough songs, so I had to learn how to balance
writing and still being passionate about it, but also being a able
to say, “Okay, I need to wake up today and write a song,” versus
back when I first started and was just thinking, “I need to let out
my feelings!” Now it’s a job, which is a crazy balance.
interview by Arun Marsten
photos by Lindsay Corry
13
Photos by Kathy Lee
PHOTOS BY SAMANTHA WARD
WRITING BY JAKE COHEN
MET
Very often, especially within experimental genres, a band’s evolution from album to album is either too
little, driving the music to become stale, or so extreme that previous fans have no interest. However,
Metronomy, an indie pop/electronic act hailing from England, is an outstanding example of musical
growth. What started as frontman Joseph Mount’s solo project when he was a teen in the 90s slowly
morphed into a full band whose 3rd album, 2011’s The English Riviera, was nominated for the Mercury
Prize, one of the UK’s most prestigious music awards.
From the ages of 16 to 22, Mount wrote and recorded the songs making up Metronomy’s first album,
Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe), which was distributed on a very small scale. The sparse, lyrically
lacking style was influenced by the instrumental music he listened to during his youth. This led into their
second release, 2008’s Nights Out, a relatable concept album written about unfulfilling nights on the
town with questionable friends. “The thing that’s sort of unusual,” Mount said, “is that songs were always
one person’s ideas. It’s just me and my interests changing, which changes the sound of the music on
every album.” Rather than being forced by trends or whims of the musicians, Metronomy’s sound grows
like a person.
14
TRONOMY
On the most recent album, Love Letters,
Metronomy made two musical leaps, one
backward and one forward. Regarding the pure
sound of the record, it was recorded fully analog, which
is somewhat ironic considering the band’s electronic
leanings. “I’m somewhat of a veteran recorder, and I feel like
it takes more skill to record like this. It presents the music in
a more rough-and-ready way and not many people do that
anymore. It’s just nice to reveal that aspect of the music,”
Mount explained. This album was also the most collaborative
effort in Metronomy's discography so far. While Mount is
still writing the music, having a consistent band to play both
live and on the recordings alters the entire sound. “I always
dreamed of being in a band and being able to work with other
musicians,” he said. “It’s as simple as someone else adding
their personality to the songs, and that’s something you can’t
replicate on your own.”
One of the few constant defining aspects of Metronomy’s
music is that there is no one sound that can define it over
time. As Mount ages, there is no doubt that the style of
Metronomy’s music will advance as always. But until their
next release this year, there is no telling how.
15
OCTO
monday
tuesday
1
6
7
thurs
wednesday
2
8
9
15
16
Cherub
Club Cafe
Porter Robinson,
Giraffage
Stage AE
13
OK Go
Mr. Smalls
Minus the Bear
Club Cafe
Bassnectar
Stage AE
20
21
22
Skrillex
Stage AE
Lettuce
Mr. Smalls
The Stray Birds
Club Cafe
Method Man
Stage AE
27
16
14
28
29
23
The Glitch M
Stage AE
30
OBER
sday
friday
3
sunday
saturday
4
5
Puss n Boots
Mr. Smalls
The Redline
Howlers Coyote Cafe
10
11
12
Gardens and Villa
Club Cafe
17
18
19
tUnE-yArDs
Mr. Smalls
24
Mob
25
26
Chuck Ragan
Club Cafe
31
Fifth Harmony
Stage AE
17
INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY LINDSAY CORRY
18
The Cut interviewed Oguer (OG) Ocon from the band
Slightly Stoopid. He described the band as, “A happy
band. Our style is more like ‘come to the beach, get
burnt, wear some suntan, lets get some waves.’” And
that was the exact impression I got interviewing them:
A cool, relaxed, all about the music
and the fans type of band.
together, but we talk and we’re very open with each other.
We’re not just band members. We’re brothers; we’re friends.
The Cut: Do you think it’s the members that bring different
genres? Or is it a general interest of all the members to
incorporate all different types of music?
OO: Yeah, both. We tour with so many different styles of
musicians. That influences us too: Don Carlos, The Marleys,
G. Love, Expendables. Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill... Being
influenced by people like that who are on tours all over the
world and to see how they perform, how they do it. You go
back to the studio and try to do what they do. Same thing, they
tell us, “Wow, you influence us.” And fans as well, getting back
to us about what they want to hear in the next album. Some of
them bring up some old tunes that we haven’t played in a long
time, so we have to power ourselves up. A lot of the musicians
play two or three instruments so you get so many albums.
We’re like little kids when we get into the studio. Who knows
what we will come up with.
The Cut: What is it about being on tour and playing live that
keeps the band wanting to continue touring?
OO: We’re all just performers. We love doing this, every
single one of us, but for everybody who is on tour it’s just in
their blood, it’s what they want to do. The fans have such an
influence on us. It’s you guys that make the music world go
round and round. Even when there is a recession, you guys
still come out to shows to enjoy a good time, buy music on the
internet, and if it wasn’t for the fans us artists wouldn’t have the
drive that we get. We harness that, and if it isn’t for the fans out
there paying attention to our craft then we really wouldn’t be
anything. Could you imagine that?
The Cut: What are the band’s favorite songs to perform and
why?
OO: Every tour... Actually, every show kinda changes. We try
to stick to our new music because we have a lot of new music
that we love to play. Fans start requesting songs, and you can’t
say no. After we’re done with the setlist we do the requests
and all the people start screaming oldschool songs and we
deliver. I love the slow tempos, the fast tempos. I love to be up
on stage performing. Every song is a good song, as long as it
comes out good and how it’s supposed to.
The Cut: It has been 18 years since Slightly Stoopid’s first album
came out, Slightly $toopid. What is the drive that keeps the band
going and how have you grown as a band since then?
Oguer Ocon: The music speaks for itself. Every band out there
will mature. If you stay together you will mature. I think what really
drives us is that we’re very open minded. We don’t really stick
to one kind of music- we listen to all kinds of music. And, being
family oriented, we’re very close. We bring in new members too...
Everybody brings a good piece of music to the table. I think that
makes the fellas create more music and at the end of the day we
have a really good time on stage and that’s what it’s about. When
we get time off we’ll come back and crush it on stage because you
have a good time up there, and miss playing on stage together.
It’s difficult. A lot of bands know that it’s not easy keeping a band
The Cut: What is your recording process like?
OO: You don’t want everybody there at the same time. It’ll
become a big mess. You have to coordinate and make it as
organized as possible and try to have the proper musicians
there at the time. For us it’s different because we do a lot of
the engineering ourselves, so as soon as we’re done layering
our tracks, the other musicians will be there, but we’ll be in
the back overseeing the engineering process. And once
that’s done the next person comes in. It’s a lot of layering
and you’ve got to be patient. You can’t just go in there and
throw everything together. You go in and layer it down like
you would a house: drum, bass, then you get your guitars,
horns, vocals, and get your tracks mixed and mastered, and
then package that up, get your art done, print your art on your
19
product, and bam! You send it out.
The Cut: How has your longevity as a group changed the
band’s sound over time?
OO: We started exercising a lot more, taking care of our
bodies, looking more at the future. If we’re not a healthy
band we’re not going to make it. Whether our skills are
good, if we can play the instruments or not... If we’re
unhealthy then that’s too bad, you’re not going on tour.
And of course the music’s there. If you’re not happy from
the inside then you’re not going to show it from the outside.
It’s not about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It’s about really
being out there paying the bills, getting your debt out of
the way, and being able to support your loved ones and
your family, and still doing it when you’re crushing it as an
artist. When we’re in the studio we concentrate and bring
it, and bring all our artists in and focus. We look like we’re
playing around out there but we take it seriously when
we’re in the office. That’s why I think we’ve lasted as long
as we have.
The Cut: Is there anything else you want The Cut to
know?
OO: Stay in school, kids. Don’t do drugs. Its not what it
seems, everything that you look at, what you think. It’s not
what it seems. There is more to what you’re looking at.
And a lot of people look at our life like it’s easy. I’m talking
about any musician out there touring, doing it. It’s not easy,
man.
20
Photos by Kathy Lee
21
ON THE
DECLINE OF
POP
MUSIC
Written by Sid Bhaeauria
“So pop music sucks nowadays,” you
say, my hypothetical audience, dressed
in a Where’s Waldo sweatshirt, a
blazer, and impractically large hornrimmed glasses. “Back in the old days
they had Jimi Hendrix! The Doors!
The Beatles! Pink Floyd! Real music!
Now look at the stuff they play on the
radio: Justin Bieber! Miley Cyrus! One
Direction! Katy Perry! Lady Gaga!
[Insert Top 40 Country Artist Here]!” you
exclaim, shaking in indignant rage and
foaming at the mouth as I would expect
you to. And, by a lot of counts, these
are valid complaints. A lot of music
topping the charts right now is bland,
derivative, and thoughtless, among
other things. What people don’t realize
is that they often look at pop music of
the past in a vacuum. Yes, The Beatles,
Pink Floyd, and Nas were popular. So
were the Beach Boys, Guns N’ Roses,
AC/DC, Bon Jovi, and ZZ Top. Every
possible decade you can cite has
had its charts topped by sappy love
songs and derivative, simple pop-rock
songs, as well as genuinely unique
W H E N
and interesting music. Even artists like
The Beatles had pop-sounding singles
shoot up the charts as opposed to the
nuanced, psychedelic rock of Revolver.
The Doors had far more success with
songs like “Hello, I Love You” than
something like “This is The End.” Heck,
Chuck Berry’s only number-one single
was about his ding-a-ling. When it
comes to discussing the increasing
homogeneity of pop music, we have
to realize that for every “Hey Joe” by
Jimi Hendrix or “Like a Rolling Stone”
by Bob Dylan that shoots up the charts,
there’s an Archies (“Sugar Sugar”) or
Ohio Express single (“yummy, yummy,
yummy, I got love in my tummy”) that
does just as well. Besides, if we take
a look at today’s popular music, we
have artists like Kanye West, Kendrick
Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, The Strokes, and
Arcade Fire. So, if I were you, I would
stop worrying about the dumbing down
of mass-consumed music. We’re doing
just fine.
A R T I S T S
BECOME
THE ART
Written by Donovan Powers
Earlier this summer the experimental
(for lack of a better term) hip-hop group,
Death Grips, released a picture of a
napkin, upon which they had written a
note announcing an unforeseen and
quite shocking breakup. Everything
the group released was unannounced,
which brought polarizing reactions from
critics, coinciding with sporadic and often
canceled live shows.
A majority of the members of the band
seemed to have come out of nowhere, and
anytime they were seen in public it was
under the sinister and chaotic branding of
their group. While many agreed that their
sound was very different and inventive,
people began to follow them as much for
their image as their music.
22
Increasingly over the last ten years,
the idea of musical groups who double
as what can only be described as
performance artists has skyrocketed in
popularity. From the ironic Zef Side idols
Die Antwoord, to Captain Murphy, for
many artists their brand has become their
product, even more so than their music.
With Captain Murphy releasing a series
of shorts on adult swim telling his origin
story, the character created by Flying
Lotus is in some ways more real than his
creator Steven Ellison. While some argue
that these elaborate facades take away
from the authenticity of the music, I feel
it gives it an element of truth that would
otherwise be impossible to achieve.
Music is meant to speak to people; to
convey an idea or emotion. Die Antwoord
could write politically charged rap about
the how backwards zef culture is, and
their message would be lost alongside
all the other artists trying to make political
statements. Instead, by portraying an
unflinchingly committed parody of Zef,
they have opened the eyes of thousands
as to how ridiculous this subculture is.
Steven Ellison could write an album about
religion, but instead by donning the mask
of captain murphy, a feeling of evil and
uncertainty exists in the music that would
be lost otherwise. These characters don’t
take away from the music, but instead give
an element of truth that was previously
impossible by removing the humanity of
the person behind it.
PHOTO BY LINDSAY CORRY
PORTUGAL.
the
MAN
23
long songs:artistry or
drawn-out garbage?
By Charles Hutchinson
If you were to consult an artist on the merits of long form artistry compared to short form, they would almost
certainly respond that long form is superior. But why? The form of popular music, with the advent of
the single, has shrunk into more and more accessible bite-sized chunks. Though the agendas of the
populist and the artist have historically been at odds, a reconciliation seems necessary.
The short song offers many artistic benefits. Being concise is valuable – the haiku is a well
known parallel, where brevity speaks more of the poet’s talent than any long form poetry can.
Effectively conveying an idea in a short period of time takes skill. Furthermore, in an age
of incredibly accessible media, having a short song may almost be necessary to capture
any interest. Who wants to listen to a twenty minute piece when the alternative is six
shorter (and probably catchier) songs?
On the other hand, some ideas in music can’t be expressed in such a short
form. Classical sonatas can express a motif over the course of half an hour.
Objectively, more effort is required to create such a piece. Speaking from
a personal perspective, it is difficult to create engaging music that lasts
for a long period of time. From that regard, creating a piece that could
hold interest for twenty or thirty minutes is undoubtedly impressive.
By Drevin Galentine
It takes a sizable artistic output to create a long form song.
However, if you approach this from a different perspective –
Cartesian dualism seems to be the
best way to describe the modern listening
maybe long songs dilute artistic output. The quality of any
experience. In the age of vinyl, the music
long song is not uniform – perhaps it would be better
you
owned was inseparable from the format
if the weak parts were cut out, and only the strong
and
subject
to its limitations. This physicality
points remained. But maybe the weak points make
meant that there was an understood flow to an
the strong points strong?
album: each side opened and closed deliberately, with
Long songs require more effort, and thus,
song arrangements carefully considered to create this
on average, they reflect more artistic effort.
natural flow. As formats changed, so did the way an album
This model does not reflect the many,
was arranged, and with the advent of the digital marketplace,
many outliers that music contains.
the album became limitless. Now able to create their own
Many short songs are valuable
natural lifts and breaks, the artist was truly free. Unfortunately,
for their concise qualities.
the albums they made were free by another definition, and now the
artists would need to fly coach in their private jets to make ends meet.
However, from an artistic
Thankfully for the Bee Gees’ knees, vinyl resurfaced as a popular format,
perspective,
the
long
and
artists had a way to sell their music and fly first class again.
song is the undeniable
It
would
be easy to criticize new bands for realizing their work on vinyl since
champion.
they can now sell it twice and overpriced. However, they should be criticized for
making “dualist records,” or physical LPs that contain music written with a digital
mindset somewhere within it. I say “somewhere” because it is quite common for
dualist records to contain three sides worth of music inanely distributed across four.
One double LP pressing was so bold as to not only merely put two average length songs
per side on the second LP, but also to set the playing speed at 45rpm to better distribute
the grooves. Critics of Descartes would say that a nonphysical mind in a physical body divides
a unified whole into incohesive pieces, and the same could be said for these sloppily created
records. If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. If the audiophiles must win, give them something different.
Perhaps rearrange the track order with some B-sides expertly filling the space. Porcupine Tree’s vinyl
issue of Fear of a Blank Planet did just that in order to make a real double LP experience, allowing the
music to be the format.
descartes
edition
24
mixtape
$%w
e i r d*#
collaborations
“The Lady is a Tramp”
by Tony Bennett
and Lady Gaga
Why do I only listen to
music my dad likes…
Chris Skaggs
“Benz Friendz” by
Future and Andre 3000
Separately, dirty South
autotuner Future and Three
Stacks have starkly different
styles. Together, the two
Atlanta natives created
an anthem-like, righteous
song that both casual
radio listeners and rap
aficionados can appreciate.
Sanjay Narayanan
“Roll Me Up” by Willie
Nelson Snoop Dogg
Can’t handle how smoky
that recording studio
must have been.
Dhruva Krishna
“Lucy in the Sky With
Diamonds” cover by Miley
Cyrus and The Flaming Lips
How did Miley and Wayne
Coyne meet? Where do
they hang out? What are
they talking about? Why
is this happening to us?
And why do we like it…?
Samantha Ward
“Step” by Vampire
Weekend, Danny Brown,
Heems, Despot
Ever been like, “Wow, I feel
the need to listen to Vampire
Weekend but I also want to
be straight thuggin?” Me too.
Now there is a song for that.
Donovan Powers
“Toxic” by Childish
Gambino and Danny Brown
(Also Britney Spears)
Who ever thought so
many things rhyme with
pneumonia, and on a Britney
Spears sample no less.
Kyle Henson
“FRKWYS Vol. 9: Icon
Give Thank” by Sun Araw,
M. Geddes Gengres,
and The Congos
A gold standard of reggae
collaborates with Sun
Araw and his drugged out
electronic psych-rock.
Chris Williamson
“Don’t Charge Me For
the Crime” by the Jonas
Brothers and Common
Kevin, Joe, and Nick team
up with Common to rob
a bank and narrate their
moral struggle as they get
caught up in the pursuit of
the American Dream. I swear
I’m not making this up.
Nicole Marrow
“I’m Not the Only One” by
Sam Smith and A$AP Rocky
A$AP Rocky takes a break
from rapping about money,
girls, and drugs to bless us
with two insightful verses
over none other than the
breakout soul-singer of
the year Sam Smith.
Ben Alderoty
“Standing on the Corner
(Blue Yodel #9)” by
Jimmie Rodgers and
Louis Armstrong
The father of country music
and a young Satchmo
blur the lines between
country, blues, and jazz.
Jake Naviasky
“Common People” by Will
Shatner and Ben Folds
Play Pulp’s version of
“Common People” for the
wannabe proletariat in
your global histories class
and they’ll just bob along
and keep talking to you.
Play the infinitely more
aggressive cover by this
dynamic duo and they’ll
hopefully shut up forever.
Arun Marsten
25
Cncrt
Rvws
Tokyo
Police
Club
By Kyle Henson
Watching Tokyo Police Club perform,
I couldn’t help but imagine frontman
David Monks as a tall, gangly preteen
listening to a cassette tape of the
Ramones on repeat for hours on end.
Since then, not much has changed
for Tokyo Police Club. They’re still
a bunch of endearingly awkward
Canadians, using punk rock to
express their unique experiences.
They opened with “Argentina”
(Parts I, II, III), the first track off
of March’s Forcefield. The almost
nine minute ballad seemed like a
laborious choice to open the show
with, but the band was able to use
the song’s natural ebb and flow to
engage an audience looking for the
punk-rock sensibilities of the band’s
first releases in a track from their
more tame latest album.
They followed up their opener
with two tracks from their earlier
albums, both greeted with immense
enthusiasm from a mostly under 21
audience whose preteen years may
have been impacted by Tokyo Police
Club’s music the same way Monks’s
may have been impacted by The
Ramones.
Surprisingly, the audience reacted
just as positively to the band’s new
tracks as they did to old favorites
despite the progression from brash
punkiness to tame pop music.
Overheard were comments like, “You
know what, their new stuff is actually
pretty good,” from members of the
audience.
For the encore, Monks came
out alone and said, “I think if we’re
all really quiet, we don’t need
microphones.” Immediately the
audience became silent. He played
an unplugged, acoustic version
of “Tesselate,” one of the band’s
biggest hits. As the song wore on,
the audience started singing quietly
along so as not to overpower Monks’
voice. The resulting effect was an
angelic echo around Monks’ voice
that felt too appropriate for a show
at Altar Bar.
Tokyo Police Club wasn’t a lifechanging concert. Nothing terribly
groundbreaking happened onstage.
That said, it was still an absolutely
worthwhile experience. The ease
with which they connect with their
audience paired with their catchy
melodies create an atmosphere of
nostalgia. The venue becomes a
place where childhood ambitions of
forming a rock band become reality.
Spoon
Writing and photo by Samantha Ward
I go to a lot of shows, but to me
there is nothing more exciting
than seeing Spoon live. On
September 11th, the Carnegie
Music Hall in Homestead was
packed by 8 p.m. for the opener
Operators, who provided a poprock sound similar to the Shins.
The lay of the land was odd.
Though the entire venue was
seated, purchasing VIP tickets
allowed about 30 people to
stand at the front of the venue
by the stage, giving them a stellar
view but blocking most of the
spectators in the first few rows.
There was a little animosity in
the crowd, to say the least. After
Operators, Hamilton Leithauser
played a great, upbeat set, which
the audience ate up.
When Spoon finally came on at
26
10 p.m., the crowd was more than
ready. They played a satisfying
amount of hits from a range of
their discography, focussing
on hits from Kill the Moonlight,
Gimme Fiction, GaGaGaGaGa, and
Transference. Notable moments
included an amazing rendition of
“The Ghost of You Lingers” which
felt like a wind tunnel of noise
and light. Britt Daniels’ vocals
were spot-on throughout the
show and each band member
seemed to have a preferred
method of dancing along to the
music. Rob Pope accompanied
his bass playing with movements
that resembled clog dancing,
stomping his feet to the beat of
the song. This was only shown up
by guitarist Eric Henry’s spastic
dancing, jumping, and spinning
with his instrument, playing
with such intense passion that
the backstage crew was peering
out past the curtain to see him.
Daniels moved back and forth
from the mic, and threw it on the
ground more than once in the
intensity moments before leaving
the stage. The audience cheered
them into a long encore of four
songs, including “Small Stakes.”
It was one of those wonderful
shows where you know that
someone offstage is telling them
that they’ve been playing for way
too long for the venue. Spoon
finally wrapped up around 11:40,
leaving the audience satisfied
and exhausted.
t
s
Metronomy
By Jake Cohen
A line down the block. Excited preteens lurking
around, trying to spot band members. Jaded
hipsters trying hard to hide their excitement.
All were things I expected when I walked up to
the Altar Bar to see Metronomy’s September
15th show. What I found, on the other hand,
was a nearly empty venue with a handful of
twentysomethings standing around the bar
and a few other college students in the gated
under-21 area.
To be fair, I arrived about 10 minutes before
the opener, Dawn Golden, was scheduled to
take the stage. Still, I was surprised to see such
a small turnout for the UK’s favorite Mercury
Prize-nominated electro-pop group. Around
8:30, Dawn Golden, a solo self-described “Sad
Bangers” act, took the stage. To my surprise, a
dreary a capella version of Ave Maria began
to play through the speakers with an echoey
megaphone distortion. What followed was a
similarly strange electronic set that ended with a
dramatic movie clip with whirring static behind it.
With little wait time in between, Metronomy
stormed onto the stage in matching white suits
a little before 9:30. They opened with a light pop
song from their second album, Nights Out, with
lead singer Joseph Mount on bongos, a refreshing
change from the opener’s bass-heavy set. Later,
Mount left the stage for a bit, leaving bassist
Olugbenga Adelekan to take full command of the
band’s stage presence during a more electronic
portion of the show. The glow from the keyboard
and intense beams of red light from behind the
drumset revealed a crowd that had grown from
30-ish to a comfortably full house. At the end
of their set, Metronomy busted out a heavy,
grooving new song that had every person in the
crowd dancing. The band was in their element.
The encore contained a couple more hits, which
were so catchy I found myself singing along to
songs I didn’t know. I walked out of the Altar Bar
thoroughly satisfied, with my expectations blown
apart and my head still bobbing from the closer.
The Black Keys
By Naomi Sternstein
When The Black Keys tour with Cage the Elephant, a band
that could just as easily be the headliner, it’s easy to walk into
Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center with high hopes, ready to
buy a t-shirt while lines are still short. My friend was slightly
more skeptical. As a big Black Keys fan, she wanted the band
to prove themselves first, and prove themselves they did.
Cage the Elephant’s frontman Matt Shultz was just as
energetic as his reputation suggests. He belted out crowd
favorites like “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” while jumping
and twisting around the stage. Even so, when The Black Keys
stepped onto the stage and Patrick Carney’s hard-hitting
drumming was joined by Dan Auerbach’s “na na nas” of
“Dead and Gone,” you could tell whom everyone was there
to see. Auerbach’s guitar skills and unique voice were even
more dynamic in person, and though the venue wasn’t as
intimate as standing–room-only, the sound completely filled
the arena.
The Keys played a two-hour set, giving the band an
opportunity to play songs from a range of their albums.
“Tighten Up” was a burst of electricity– far from a simple rock
song. The band took a typical setup of guitar, bass, drum, and
keyboard and combined them to make many versatile rock
and blues beats. Besides playing their popular hits, “Money
Maker” and “Howlin’ For You,” they covered Edwyn Collins’ “A
Girl Like You,” featuring an extremely powerful guitar solo.
Towards the end of the set, The Black Keys calmed the
crowd down a bit. The touring band left the stage to just
Carney and Auerbach, who gently crooned “Little black
submarine/ Operator, please/ Put me back on the line.” The
first part of the song was the calm before the storm and soon
after the two broke into a full-throttle version. They played
two singles from the new album, “Fever” and “Gotta Get
Away,” which were very catchy and easy to sing along to.
My only wish would be for all of the songs that they played
to have been a little bit longer. Needless to say, my friend and
I each walked off with a Black Keys t-shirt and the bass from
“Next Girl” still playing in our heads.
27
T i n y
M o v i n g
P a r t s
P l e a s a n t
L i v i n g
You might call it math rock, twinklecore, or emo revival. If you
don’t know what I’m talking about, think about bands that like
complex rhythms, complicated guitar riffs, and having a lot of
feelings. The bands you listened to in middle school if they had
been good musicians. If you’re already familiar with this genre,
you’ve probably recognized that there’s a spectrum of energy
levels ranging from bands like American Football at the low end
to bands like This Town Needs Guns at the higher end. Tiny
Moving Parts would definitely fall into the latter group, with a
sound that borders on pop-punk with a little bit of screaming.
I’m personally not a huge fan of that aspect of their sound, which
is unfortunate since their rhythms and guitar work are really
fantastic. Thankfully there are a few tracks, namely “Movies” and
“The Better Days,” which are a bit more relaxed and helped me
get more into the album. Also, if you need a song whose intro is
a great example of the canonical sound of this genre and whose
subject matter is surprisingly specific to college-sadboy-ness,
listen to “Boxcar.” Conversely, the last track, “Van Beers,” has
an unexpected sound in the worst way possible. The track is
very piano-centric and brings in an entirely unnecessary brass
section. Altogether, it’s bad way to end an album that until that
point had hung together pretty well. If you or anyone you know
is really into the pop-punk sound but is looking to expand their
horizons I would suggest this, minus a couple tracks, as a good
stepping stone.
Arun Marsten
3.5 SCISSORS
D e l t a
Into the Wide is the fourth album by Indie-rock group Delta
Spirit, and shows that the band is continuing to experiment
with their sound. The new release displays that the group is
diverting farther from its folk-rock roots. Songs like “From Now
On” and “Take Shelter” feature elaborate soundscapes and
drum-machine laden beats. The album also contains the band’s
first instrumental track, “(Interlude),” which presents the band’s
increasing use of dreamy, reverb-laden backgrounds. Listening
to the band’s earlier efforts, like History from Below or Ode To
Sunshine, it is incredible to see how far they have progressed
sonically.
Compared to their previous self-titled album, Into the Wide
is a huge improvement. The last album seemed somewhat
forced, over-produced, and contrived. Despite the an increased
amount of electronic influences, this new release features a
much warmer sound. Lead singer Matthew Vasquez shines on
the track “War Machine,” recapturing the familiar rasp and bite
found on the band’s first two albums.
However, the record is not without its flaws. “Live On” has
many of the same problems found on the band’s last album. The
song is one of the weakest, and shows the band compromising
its unique grit to create something that appeals to an audience
looking for an overly-produced pop song.
The album’s best moments are when the band is able to
combine its past Americana sound with its new electronic
direction. This is best seen in the song “Push it,” a gem from the
album. The powerful vocal delivery, thumping drums, and gritty
acoustic guitar layers perfectly with the glimmering background
of keyboards and piano.
Into the Wide is neither a watershed for the band nor an
album that will be remembered as their best, but it shows that
Delta Spirit is pushing new ground and remains unafraid to
take risks.
3.5 SCISSORS
28
Dhruva Krishna
S p i r i t
I n t o
t h e
W i d e
REVIEWS
N e w
Yo r k
Te l e p h o n e
U n c o m m o n
N A S A
“Nothing is more New York than a New York Telephone.” New York Telephone,
released by progressive hip-hop group Uncommon NASA in August 2014, is
dedicated to the portrayal of life growing up in the Big Apple. Combining
grimy stories in the vein of Nas’ Illmatic with the experimental beats of the
current progressive hip hop scene, the album is personal, yet approachable.
The production is still melodic: it’s not as abrasive as Death Grips or as
abstract as Ka, but interesting enough to warrant multiple listens. The
lyricism here is average, but the content is definitely bar-setting. Far from
being just another album about crime in New York, New York Telephone takes
a more personal look at the city, introducing new concepts such as how the
city’s tough neighborhoods are necessary accelerators of artistic growth in
New York as a whole.
4 SCISSORS
T h e
K o o k s
Sid Bhadauria
L i s t e n
On Listen, The Kooks’ fourth album, lead singer Luke Pritchard sounds
like a formerly shy boy who’s finally realized he has sex-appeal. On the
groovy, bassline-driven “Sweet Emotion” he croons, “Excuse me if I seem
audacious, but you’re just so flirtatious.” The album finds the band steering
away from the melancholic, folky sounds of their previous work and into
more clean-cut, pop/rock territory, replacing the raw emotion of songs like
“Naïve” (from their second album) with the equally addictive but more
sophisticated vibes of “Down” and “Bad Habit.” There are handclaps and
hip-hop beats abound, giving the album a somewhat fuller, more puttogether sound, but the result is that the album comes off as a bit stiff and
over-produced. Nevertheless, Listen still holds some hidden gems, like the
slower ballad “See Me Now” and the catchy “Forgive and Forget.”
3.5 SCISSORS
K e a t o n
H e n s o n
R o m a n t i c
Imogen Todd
Wo r k s
Every once in a while, a song comes along that just stops you in your tracks.
You get goosebumps, and it sticks in your mind. Keaton Henson’s latest
release, <ital>Romantic Works<ital>, accomplishes this with every song.
For those unfamiliar with the artist, Henson usually sings quiet, emotional
songs about loss and failed relationships; however, in this album he does
away with the vocals and teams up with cellist Ren Ford to transcend his
usual role as the emotionally tortured singer-songwriter. Ford and Henson’s
melodies ebb and flow beautifully, giving the music a layer of emotional
depth not often found in music today. The subtlety of the song titles add yet
another layer to each track. For example, one song titled “Petrichor,” means
the pleasant scent in the air following a rainstorm on dry ground.
I would definitely recommend this album to anyone looking for something
beautiful, soft, and a little different.
5 SCISSORS
Will Lush
29
ESSAY
By Charles Hutchinson
This summer, I hiked 700 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The highs and lows of hiking
all day, every day for five weeks were many and multifaceted. Perhaps surprisingly,
music played a large role in my enjoyment of the trip. I had no headphones and no
speakers. Yet, the lack of electronics made the musical experience of my hike all the
more interesting, and ultimately, valuable.
It was the second week of my trip. After three days of hiking through Smoky
Mountain National Park, I stopped for the night at a hostel called Standing Bear
Farm. I arrived later in the day, around 7 p.m. It was getting dark, and it had been my
longest day, at 31 miles hiked. I was ready to go to sleep. My eyes half open, I walked
By Charles
up to the farm and dropped my stuff on a bunk. I went out back, planning
toHutchinson
quickly
cook dinner and go to sleep. I had to get to another town in two days, and needed
all the rest I could get.
I pushed the door open to the back, and heard music. I hadn’t heard music in two
weeks. It sounds melodramatic, but as a music enthusiast, it was slightly jarring. After
years of listening to music on a daily basis (typically for long periods of time), the
two week hiatus changed how I heard the music. Another hiker had simply pulled
out a guitar and started singing. It was not professional - any decent guitar player
could have corrected his technique, and any decent vocalist could have sung much
better than him. But, the lack of music in the last two weeks made his performance
immediately appealing. I sat down and listened until long after the sun went down,
and the makeshift campfire had turned to coals.
That moment was when I made the transition from “hiking” to “hiking the
Appalachian Trail”- two very distinct views. Before, I had only felt fleeting
companionship with the other hikers on the trail. Out of necessity, I had to go faster
than many other people on the trail, and, not being particularly sociable, I rarely
made bonds with other hikers. But, that night dramatically changed my perspective.
The all-encompassing acceptance of the Appalachian Trail was highlighted in
extraordinary detail by the simple musicianship of this hiker. I felt like I belonged,
and his music was the catalyst. This was not my only experience hearing someone
play music on the Appalachian Trail, but it was certainly the most memorable.
So what? Why does this matter? In an era where it’s cool to be skeptical of
anything but the most artistic music, the Appalachian Trail offered me a refreshing
counterpoint. It’s easy to be hypercritical of music when it’s so accessible. But, this
accessibility means it’s easy to forget how important music can be. That night, I made
a friend who I hiked with for two weeks, and hope to stay in touch with for many
years. I became part of a community, and it was enabled by music I would have
originally regarded with disdain. Though it is a great thing to have such accessible
artistry, don’t forget the simple pleasure that music can provide.
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