Weekly Music Roundup

Here to give some fine LPs, EPs, and singles I’ve stumbled upon! These choices are ones that I find not well known of and should really have some light on them. I’ll be doing these weekly, along with a classics spotlight! 

LET’S BEGIN:
Marshall Jefferson’s The House Music Anthem

Marshall Jefferson is one of the starters of house; in the origin point of it all, Chicago. This really bopping 12” has some spectacular piano jamming (I.E. the song “Move Your Body”), smooth vocals, Old School Underground House-Styled Synths, and a true understanding of how to make someone start tapping their foot! A great set of songs for any party or if you just need something to drive to.

The King Khan & BBQ Show’s Self TitledKK&BBQ are a cool Canadian Doo-Wop and Punk fused Garage Rock group, creating a Surf Rock kind of sound. In this are noisy-yet-fun instrumentals that sound like you just tuned into a beach montage with pleasant lyrics that have fun themes you would hear in a classic Doo-Wop album!

Cornelius - PointThis Shibuya-kei set truly combines ambience with pop with some very fun instrumentals accompanied by strange sounds and rhythms. It also has finely tuned vocoders that add a complete style to it all. A great listen if working on something!

And now for a true classic: Steve Hillage - Green

OH. MY. GOD.
If you haven’t heard of this, PLEASE check this out right now. This UK Progressive Rock ((although calling it Prog is an insult to this)) fun has interesting lyrics, badass vocoding, funky drums/bass, synth-guitar grandness, and amazing spiritual identity. All of the songs connect well together, even the album art represents how great this album is! Sit down, lean back, get some soda, and close your eyes to this profound LP!

-Alek Michael

Hong Kong Against Tyranny

    In the 21st century, its safe to say American society has further learned to speak out against oppression. Technology makes it easy to spread information and were protected by the amendments in the U.S. Constitution (also known as the Bill of Rights), which permits us to legally protest and publish opinions against what we think is wrong. Even though there are limitations to exactly what we can say or do, its definitely an advantage. Recently in Hong Kong, China, the residents have not been allowed these rights. *China runs under the "one country, two systems" principle where Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau are cities part of China but hold independent political and economic systems from the rest of the nation. China is communist (economic/political action controlled by state) and the other three cities are capitalist (individuals/corporations own and sell as much as they want).

    Back in early July, in Hong Kong, China, thousands of residents gathered in the streets to promote a more democratic system. Democracy is the belief that power should be given to the people, we either vote for change directly or have representatives from each state to speak for us in government. Beijing is the Capital of the People's Republic of China (political decisions are made there) and it was in charge of organizing elections for 2017. On August 31st it was basically decided that the people will only be given hand-picked candidates from the communist government and expected to choose one of them as their next chief executive. This means democrats can't elect a leader themselves, instead they must vote for someone they didn't even pick in the first place. China had promised more freedom but the people ended up stuck in the same cycle once again. Since then there's been peaceful protests in busy business centers meant to make Beijing take back their unfair decision. University students,common working class citizens, and activists stand together. All they've really done is hold signs or sit in the streets for hours, no violence. How did their government decide to respond? Officials assault them with tear gas and pepper spray. Still they continue, wearing masks and holding umbrellas simply trying to represent their cause.

THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE AND THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was designed to raise awareness and money for people who are suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. This is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Anyone with any moral empathy wants to do something to contribute to the cause. In which this challenge has raised $100 million, on the latest recorded date. This sounds like a dream come true for those with ALS; the understanding and the treatment of this disease, right? However, most people had no clue what they were doing this for, how serious this disease is and how critical actual support is. Most people did this for social media acceptance and a short minute of fame and appear supportive.

The wealthy, the celebrities, and real donators of this challenge are what cause it to be a success, to an extent. For celebrities to use their sway over people is great for the awareness aspect of things, and creates a "community" of people talking about it and hopefully learning about it. What isn't acceptable is how all people (celebrities included)  living in California are wasting water. California is going through a horrible drought. It's fucking retarded for anyone to waste water, especially now. Instead of recording you dumping yourself with ice water, DONATE. Californians are fucking idiots: contributing to a drought willingly is part of the destruction of nature. If it was up to me, everyone who did the Ice Bucket Challenge in California deserves to get beat unconscious. That may or may not sound radical, depending on your view of this calamitous drought.

There’s no doubt that this challenge is contributing to the drought. The Long Beach Post states, between 5 and 6 million gallons of water have been wasted thus far. The drought and the use of this challenge have gotten so out of hand that Governor Jerry Brown has set a $500 fine to wasteful water usages. Commercials about conserving energy and water have been circulating lately, which is amazing. We need people to be aware of how our repugnant actions have affected our state, in such a short amount of time. We need to be scared, with what little water we have can be gone; from our actions and climate change. We are shit out of luck. If we can’t save ourselves, who can?

For a clearer understanding of how serious this drought is head to LA Times, to see how it's escalated from 2011 to present.


Written by: Adam Sanchez
Follow him on twitter: @adamxes 

Semester At Sea

Before you know it, it’s going to be 3 pm on a June afternoon when the whole class erupts into cheers. Your final day as a high school student has come to an end, making you free... right? Wrong. In a blink of an eye you will be in college bombarded with essays, project, exams, and teachers who should consider a career change. You’ll begin to realize that you escaped one hell and traded for another. Furthermore you will begin to view this beautiful world as repetitive and boring. Each night you will lay in bed thinking, “I want more out of life, I deserve more out of life.” That is why I am here to share with you a path that can change I’m certain everyone is familiar with the old Disney show Sweet Life on Deck. I remember wanting so badly to attend school on a cruise ship after having watched the show, thinking how amazing it would be to travel while learning. I quickly dismissed my dreams because after all, they were just dreams. I mean, school on a cruise ship? That’s a joke right? Well, apparently not. After doing some research on studying abroad, I came across a program called Semester at Sea. Basically, it’s a semester long school at sea educational program that you can either attend during the spring or fall semester, and can also be taken during the summer. There are 550 students aboard one MV Explorer, this ship will be their home for the next 100 or so days. In association with the University of Virginia, the nation’s second ranked public institution, participants attend classes on ship and complete in-country assignments for a full semester’s credit. In addition students will be traveling from 7 to 15 different countries, including, France, South Africa, China, Japan, Vietnam, Germany, Turkey, India, and much more. Imagine waking up at 6:00 AM and not feeling miserable. Imagine arriving at Istanbul for dinner. What would it mean to you to be able to walk to into class and realize that a 4 hour lecture cannot possibly ruin your day when you have 

another 20 to experience things that some people can only dream of. This is what a Semester At Sea will bring you. I’m not saying that it’s all fun and games, after all you are still a student getting an education. All I am implying is that having something to look forward to like arriving in France the next day makes all those painful student tasks significantly more bearable.
For more information on Semester at Sea: http://www.semesteratsea.org/
-Sarvineh Chiniforoushan

Daily Discussion

My government teacher said something interesting the other day. Our class was talking about the upcoming presidential elections and how Hillary Clinton would be running. This then led to my teacher saying how he voted for Hillary Clinton instead of Barack Obama back in 2008. His reason, upon others, for this was because he believes having a woman as a president would have been a more historical event compared to having our first African-American president. He says people still see women in most cases as second class citizens, no matter the race or culture. Do I agree with this statement? I took a minute to form an opinion on this and I am here to share my thought process with you. First, I thought about the recent cases of racial profiling within the police force and how these sort of things are still problems. I also thought about the racial profiling people make when just driving around town or walking across the street. I thought about rivalries between races and I thought about the fact that some still look down on black people as being less educated and incapable of achieving much. I thought about the guy who says he isn’t racist but then “The black guy probably stole it!” comes out of his mouth. Then I thought about the same situations but with women, I thought about the cases of African American, Hispanic, Caucasian, women constantly abused and talked down on by their significant other. I thought about the assumptions people, even women themselves make about their own gender. I thought about the guy who whistled at me the other day while just walking down the street with my friend. I thought about the expectations as women as a whole and the fact that in some workplaces women aren’t even paid the same a their male employees. Yes, of course I know feminism (oh yes that word! It’s not a disease!) is not just needed in America,  think about places like Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, etc. these are just a few of the most unfair countries for women in the world, but although these places are of course very far behind America regarding equality for women, we assume America would be one of the best right? But in a 2013 study it is shown that we aren’t even in the top 10! The gender gap is the widest in the world of politics, and America ranks as the 60th most equal country in that area, which isn’t as terrible compared to others, but still why must we be so far behind! I thought about all of these facts and realized it doesn’t matter if the woman is African American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, she is still a woman and so often I see myself and so many other women be put down because of the simple fact; that we were born female. So where does this leave my opinion? Putting away their political views, though Obama and Clinton are both democrats, I do clearly agree with my government teacher to an extent. What do you think?

Would like to point out that in no way am I saying that racism is not a problem any less than sexism today, just mere observations and opinions about the subject at hand. If anyone would like to contribute to this subject please do! -Alexis Carbajal

Take Advantage of The Internet Now

Imagine this.

You’re currently sitting in front of a brightly lit screen, wasting away your retinas to the ass shaking of Nicki Minaj, while in the back of your head a small whisper repeats the words “what are you doing with your life”. Slowly you examine the top right corner of your desktop to see it is now three twenty four in the morning. Things go south once you acknowledge the Youtube suggestions are the worst possible combinations entertainment could offer. It is at this specific moment that the remainder of the brain cells you once owned have now completely vanished, never to replenish your mind again.

If you’ve never questioned your actions on the internet you are either nonexistent or you have never once used the internet in your life. The internet is arguably one of the greatest inventions ever created. Mainly for it’s ability to contain an intensely vast amount of information at your fingertips. In that case, then why do I continue to only have the Soundcloud, Twitter, and Youtube tabs open daily? The problem is with all these distractions you can barely stay focused enough to search the productive side of it all. If a self-centered asshole can waste your time writing a crummy article pretending as if he knows how the internet works, then essentially we have reached a point where there is just too much of everything. It’s up to each individual to examine through the mass amounts of bullshit and decide what’s significant to them in this internet age. Below I tried my best to categorize some of my favorite websites from my previous experiences in order to promote internet productivity. So stop jacking off to the new iOS 8 for a couple seconds because who knows maybe you might actually learn something new today. The links below range between a wide variety of subjects such as education, podcasts, inspirations, music, and volunteering. Please enjoy!


Educational:

https://www.coursera.org/.

https://www.collegeboard.org/

https://www.khanacademy.org/

http://www.ted.com/

http://www.lumosity.com/

http://www.codecademy.com/

Volunteer/Help Out:

https://www.volunteermatch.org/

http://www.treepeople.org/

http://www.healthebay.org/

http://support.angelfood.org/

http://freerice.com/

http://www.wfp.org/

http://www.dwcweb.org/volunteer.htm

http://www.pablove.org/

Podcasts/News:

http://kindaneat.net/

http://www.wtfpod.com/

http://www.npr.org/

http://www.whizzpast.com/

Music:

http://www.musictheory.net/

http://musicroamer.com/

http://www.tastekid.com/

Inspiration/Miscellaneous :

http://artistsinspireartists.com/

http://unplugthetv.com/

https://www.stumbleupon.com/

Written by: Giovanni Rodriguez
Twitter: @mtromstr

September Music Reviews Part 1

In this article, we touch on releases from two new LA r&b singers, who are making their mark on the industry. Also, about how the latest release from rapper, BONES, will make you become a die hard.


BANKS – Goddess

LA songstress, BANKS, highly anticipated LP Goddess released on Harvest Records September 9^th.  Going into this project you notice that most of these songs have been released as singles, or on other EPs. Songs such as: “This Is What It Feels Like”, “Change” and “Waiting Game” were on the London EP released a year ago. This album is great for the new r&b scene, but it feels a bit boring.

Nonetheless, BANKS offers a great album aesthetic and quality that “drowns” you in her tears. She comes off as anyone who has had their heartbroken: spiteful, sad and reflective. In every song you blatantly hear regret and feel sorry for her. No, this isn’t as intense, melancholy and not a front of sadness that Lana Del Rey came to be. This is more refined, relatable and real. You can’t listen to this album and not think about someone you let go, or someone that let you go. This debut has stamped her into the field of creating catchy pop-r&b tunes; that don’t feel watered down.

Possibly the best song on the album that you’ve probably heard is “Begging For Thread.” It’s eerie bass line, crunchy drums, and her vibrant voice creates the perfect record. This song is what we know BANKS to do; build a character of confidence that hurts, but is conscious enough to take control and flaunt. Straying away from her usual mold of production choice, she sings a beautiful acoustic song “, Someone New,” that can be played at any moment and you’ll feel every lyric she harmonizes. “Someone New” sounds like what the feeling of getting your heartbroken is. It sounds like the end of a relationship that wants to survive, but cant.

Since there are so many songs that were previously released, it doesn’t feel like a new album. Goddess is what you want to hear from BANKS, but not what you expected. The LP goes on in this theme and tone of desolation that you get tired of it, but the songs are very well produced and her voice is hypnotic on every track that it’s almost forgiven.



Jhene Aiko – Souled Out

Entering this project as a person on the edge about whether or not she’s a great singer, has proven me right. Not to say she sounds like a teenager going through puberty singing an Adele song, but she stays in her comfort zone on this debut. From her production choice, harmonies, to song choice; it’s relatively all the same. Souled Out didn’t sell out nor is this her selling out her sound, more not less owning it. An hour of love songs, where the instrumentals are lusher than her voice is what I expected from this record, but didn’t want.

As an artist with high acclaim, up to this point, due to collaborations and co-signs from big industry names has made the music bigger than what it actually is. Her lyricisms on most of these tracks are basic and make you wonder why she’s praised so much. Her ability to make simple words and phrases sound some-what interesting brings you in enough to say, “This isn’t that bad, but nothing worth purchasing.” The “wonderer,” depends on great production to conceal that she isn’t that great of a vocalist or songwriter, on most occasions.

Where she really finds her niche is when she delves into the writing about her daughter and brother. “Promises” actually provides vocals from her daughter as an intro to an almost apologetic, yet reassuring ode of a mother to her daughter. This is one of the strongest moments on the album, and most vulnerable we’ve heard Jhene. “W.A.Y.S” is a track where she’s empowering the listener to keep going, just as she, because there’s always a positive to a negative.

This laid back record is what this type of r&b LA is known to enjoy. However, not the look so much- if you like this LP you also like her aesthetic. The music tries desperately to be psychedelic and euphoric, but doesn’t come close to breaking barriers.

Souled Out is out now on Def Jam/Artium.


BONES – Skinny  

If you’ve been alive for the last 2 years you know that BONES, has been releasing free albums every month since forever. With this release, he’s harder, hungrier, and egotistical than ever. With rhymes like “back with another style to take/ these rappers runnin outta ideas…” you see how insane this new album is. This is the hardest we’ve ever seen BONES; attacking each track with diligence. Mostly over trap style beats he delivers is southern tailored flow that we all know him by.

A standout song like “TheNoiseInsideMyHead” is him going in on his competition and who he thinks is as popular as him in this underground scene. Keeping a tight flow, he strikes you with bars about him denying deals; staying true to the roots he built. If you have ever doubted BONES, this album will change your mind and turn you into a fan-boy.


This is part 1 of a 2 part article of the albums that we felt needed commentary. Check back in a few days to read what else caught our ear.

Written by: Adam Sanchez
follow him on twitter: @adamxes

Controller

Comparisons usually project the pros and cons of a subject, but as we take a step back and compare the past ten years to the recent five, we can noticeably see the drastic changes we’ve all come to make. Whether its in our basic routines to the smallest fraction of something, it is definitely within our lives. Its difficult to not be accustomed to something that’s universal, such as technology; but if you are aware then you can state the obvious. I for one am a product of this societal and technological change, with that said I constantly find myself depending and yielding to it. The fact that so many, actually the majority of us, participate in social media goes to show how dependent we are with what it has to offer us. Not much if you think about it; there isn’t always a benefit. Although social media and technology have been used in positive ways, they’ve ultimately become the controller. When you’re bored or out in public feeling uncomfortable, do you tend to grab your phone? As an alternative to occupy yourself? Do you get the urge to simply “check what time it is” but not really for the time? You see as modern day people, we’ve become inclined to having an attachment to our devices. We’ve let them overpower our ability to live in the moment, because while you’re browsing life is still going on. An infatuation for a screen is more common than the need to discover on your own. But after all there will be the next best thing and it’ll also have its ways to pursue control. Like I’ve said I too am a product of such a thing, but keep your conscious active; put your phone down and think.

-Angel Hurtado

The 5 W’s of ISIS

You may have seen this acronym pop up in various places around the Internet or the television, or you may have heard it be used in conversation. You may have noticed that there has been a lot of uproar over American foreign affairs as of late. Maybe you’ve seen a couple Twitter trending topics with ISIS in them, or maybe you may have not noticed any of this. And that’s okay. You’ll know the basics about this infamous little acronym soon enough, if you keep reading.

     ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, but the government officially refers to them as ISIL: the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as the “Levant” encompasses a larger area of the Mediterranean region to include Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon. ISIS is a terrorist group following in the footsteps of the previously-dominant terror organization of Al Qaeda. The members consist of jihadists (Islamic militants) who follow an extreme interpretation of Islamic law, believing that Sunni Islam is the one true religion and that the rest of the world harbors false believers who want to destroy Islam. The word “jihad” in Arabic translates roughly to a “struggle” or a “resistance”. ISIS uses their understanding of Islamic law to justify their cruel attacks in their perceived struggle against humanity. Their brutal tactics are vicious enough for Al Qaeda to denounce them of being too violent. Yes, the same Al Qaeda that’s responsible for sending ships loaded with explosives to American ports and for launching the 9/11 attacks essentially called ISIS out for being “too extreme”.

     Mass killings, beheadings of American citizens, abductions and persecutions of religious and ethnic minorities, and many more barbarous actions have all attributed to ISIS’ growing fame worldwide. ISIS wants to establish a caliphate, or a state ruled by a single political and religious leader, in the region. The state would be set up according to principles and regulations governed by ISIS’ sole interpretation of Islamic law. This radical revolution has attracted a handful of Muslims around the world to pledge their support to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

     However, admiration of ISIS is definitely not in abundance. The majority of the world condemns ISIS and denounces them as a force of benevolence. ISIS is a serious threat, and the US has recognized them as a danger to national security. On September 10th to eradicate the threat of ISIS, drawing America into a military campaign with the support of multiple other countries including Germany, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and more. ISIS is what it is – a terrorist group. They’re an extremist militant terrorist group with ideals that do NOT reflect the foundations of the entire Islamic religion. In no way are they representatives of all Muslims. Every society holds a spectrum of ideologies, and this is important to keep in mind when viewing world relations because it will save you the intellectual embarrassment of generalizing an entire culture based on a single supremacist group.

-Shany Ebadi