Author: Luca Rojas

Rating: **** (out of 5) Standout Tracks: “Pharaohs & Pyramids,” “Take Me Over” Nowadays, the type of music that Australia’s Cut Copy makes—glitzy, 80s-flavored electronic dance pop—seems to motivate an entire generation of contemporary bands intent on trading their guitars for synthesizers, all in some nostalgic quest to revive the

Best changes: Blackened Mahi Mahi Salad Expo, Italian Ices at snack, Cinnamon-Maple Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Flavored Mashed Potatoes, Real Avocados Worst Changes: Sushi-less Tuesdays, Israeli Couscous and Stuffed Tomato Everydays, and “Meatless Mondays,” for those of us omnivores. As freshmen, we first encountered Frary dining hall with a sense of

Rating: ***** (out of 5) Standout Tracks: “Blame Game,” “All of the Lights,” “Monster” Over the last decade, no musical personality has dominated headlines more than Kanye West, whose ambitious artistic output throughout the years has only shaped a small part of his complicated dynamic with the public. Whether condemning

As we seclude ourselves in the toasty warm work caves we call our dorm rooms to cram for finals, our one glimpse of hope—winter break—seems at times unattainable, given the sheer volume of studying and writing necessary to reach it. Yet the holidays are fast approaching, and there’s nothing better

For any mid-range, indie-credible artist nowadays, cutting a live album seems particularly bold. Bands such as Wilco and My Morning Jacket—who imbue their more concise studio compositions with an extended-jam aesthetic in the live setting—rely on their respective cult followings and extensive touring schedules to support recorded live efforts. It

“Monster” – Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver & Nicki Minaj Take a bare-bones electro pump beat, filter out the higher frequencies so it sounds sedated, throw in a bizarre, Coen brothers-esque cast of hip-hop buzz-names, and what do you get? The fall’s best track: a six-and-a-half-minute exploration

This November, the CCLA and Scripps Live Arts Committees, along with KSPC, are sponsoring “Music Month on the 5Cs,” a series of concerts across the Claremont Colleges occurring weekly until Thanksgiving Break. Along with free admission and a fairly awesome lineup of both independent and student musicians, promises of free

Talk about hipsters has become more and more common in recent years. This doesn’t mean that we didn’t know who they were before—we understood what they looked like and how they carried themselves. Something always itched at the back of our minds whenever we spoke to the owner of the

Belle and Sebastian inhabits a particular niche in the canon of popular music, situated perfectly between mainstream accessibility and artistic independence. Hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, Belle and Sebastian is the brainchild of Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David, whose variety of lulled, nostalgic smile-pop almost instantly established the band as the

Rating: ****/5 Los Angeles foursome Warpaint embraces musical collaboration with a charming sense of playfulness that feels refreshing given the indie world’s overt knack for pretension. While bands like the National and Grizzly Bear produce prim, bowtie n’ cardigan pop intended for only the most dedicated listeners, Warpaint eschews “integrity”