Music columnist Ella Boyd SC ’21 talks musician Griff Washburn’s project Goth Babe and how Washburn’s relaxed lifestyle reflects in his music. “Goth Babe proves music can be meaningful and fun, but most of all, that life can be fun, and music can be the way to that reality,” she writes.
Music
The bassline: The evolution of secret codes embedded in vinyls
Kyla Walker PO ’21 explores the popularity and theory behind backmasking, the act of embedding secret codes in vinyls.
The downbeat: Wilco released ‘Ode to Joy,’ so here’s an ode to Wilco
Music columnist Ella Boyd SC ’21 pens an ode to the Chicago alternative rock band Wilco and their new release, “Ode to Joy.” “Filled with their signature stripped down songs, soft vocals and haunting lyrics, Wilco continues to create meaningful music that’s sure to stand the test of time,” she writes.
The bassline: Garage bands versus bedroom pop stars
Kyla Walker PO ’22 contrasts the introspective, intimate quality of bedroom pop to the collaborative spirit of garage band music.
The downbeat: Could the return of TNGHT save a dying genre?
Music columnist Ella Boyd SC ’22 explores the fluidity of TNIGHT’s sound in their latest releases and what it means for EDM.
The bassline: The roots and revival of rock and roll
Music columnist Kyla Walker PO ’22 investigates if rock and roll has gotten lost in the waves of the new music of the twenty-first century.
The downbeat: Sick of hearing about love? Jenny Hval’s latest album offers a new spin on an old cliché
In this week’s music column, Ella Boyd SC ’22 reviews Jenny Hval’s album “The Practice of Love,” praising it for its soulful lyrics and multi-faceted portrayal of love. “Hval reminds us that love does not always need to be an extravagant, ring-on-the-finger, mind-blowing, orgasmic, romantic experience. Love can be mundane, and still be beautiful and just as worthwhile.”
The bassline: Is music theory essential or antiquated?
In this week’s music column, Kyla Walker PO ’22 discusses the relevance of formal education in music composition. She writes, “The absence of music theory should not invalidate [modern] artists’ work.”
The downbeat: Experimental music back in the mainstream with boundary-pushing artist JPEGMAFIA
JPEGMAFIA’s boundary-pushing music channels humor and poeticism, earning him the label of “genre-defying noisemaker.”
The bassline: Rewinding, recrossing Abbey Road
The bassline recaps the musicality and origins of Abbey Road, The Beatles’ last group album, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.