Auxiliary Cable

The Music of Today for the People of Tomorrow

This is Natalie

11:15 AM 1 comments


Photo Essay

10:52 AM 0 comments

For my photo essay, I wanted to see if people can express their thoughts and emotions about music through their facial expressions. I took my group members out into the hallway and asked them to think of different genres/artists and express those emotions through their face. I asked them to think about Taylor Swift, Hardcore Metal, Hip Hop/Rap, Country, and Classical.

-Fly on the Wall

This is our podcast! In this video, we teach you how to exercise to music! Share with your friends! (:


<3 Nat, Juumbie, Fly on the Wall, and Quaver
First things first, we overcame Vinyl in page views! However, they're 5 views behind us and quickly gaining, so if your finger just happens to slip and press F5, we won't blame you (;

Secondly, Taylor Swift is fantastic. Over the weekend, I realized just how little people know about her songs, so I'll dissect one of her songs for you (:

Fifteen

Fifteen has got to be Taylor Swift's most misinterpreted songs. When I turned 15, I had at least 8 people run up to me and say, "Happy 15th birthday! Taylor Swift wrote a song about this year, so it's gonna be awesome"

And I just smile and nod my head as if they're right.

Guess what? Fifteen is actually one of her most depressing songs. Here are a few quotes:

"but in your life you'll do greater things than dating the boy on the football team, I didn't know it at fifteen"
"wish you could go back and tell yourself what you know now"
"all you wanted was to be wanted"
"Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind, we both cried"

Yep. Fifteen is a song about Taylor being a freshman and meeting her new friend Abigail. And then Abigail loses her virginity to a guy who changes his mind, and doesn't love her anymore.

So please, if you have a friend who's a Taylor Swift fan, and it's his/her 15th birthday, DO NOT tell them it'll be a good year because of "Fifteen". They will understand the song, and not understand your comment xD

<3 Nat

**alsooooo: should I do more of her songs? :D
I have had a fever since Monday. That's four straight days of 103 degree fever. I have been coughing out my heart, I've lost 8 pounds, and I can't walk anywhere without getting lightheaded and dizzy. Then here comes Thursday, where I'm stuck in a house with flickering electricity, I don't know how to cook, so I don't have any food, and it's thundering and hailing. And my wonderful groupmates decide to "pretend" to delete all my work. I hate them. I hate them all so much.

I also hate Daniel and Ishaan. And everyone else who had a part in this.

OWFJALNAMW,
NAT

Check out this pretty cool quiz yo yo.

-Fly on the Wall

Survey

10:58 AM 0 comments

What's up you guys? Just checking in on y'all.

I made a survey just to make and I have to post it on here. So, if you will, please take my survey here!


...Yeah, that's right. I linked it. U mad?

Quaver's Survey

10:55 AM 0 comments

Hate mainstream music?

I know all you indie alternative-ers too well.

Well this is TOTALLY original. It's a freshmen at McCallum, Damon Meredith, who beatboxes.

He actually came in 2nd place at Mac's talent show, check it out here.

Check out this site to find another one of his beatboxes, and for new ones to come out!

One of Damon's friends at Mac also has a site remixing dubstep songs, check it out here.

Support the peeeeps!

Hope yall like!



-Fly on the Wall


♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

 Our (real) page views have been increasing, filling up the gap between us a Vinyl! Right now, we're about 650 page views under them, but seeing our recent activity, I think we can do it :D
(part two)


Comment or shoot as an email that says, "Enter {magazine/blog name/website} into the contest please!" After four of five groups do that, we'll set up a poll with the best entries. Then it's up to YOUR readers to nab you a sweet advertising space!

Notes:
-You will make the advertisement(200x200 px). If it looks bad or doesn't go with our color scheme, we might change it.
- To be entered into the poll, your blog must be clean, and active. We do not want to promote a dead blog!
- This DOES NOT have to be a class ezine blog. You can choose to promote a personal blog, a store, even Taylor Swift!

(:

<3 Nat
TUESDAY

2:00 am.
I taught my sister how to get into the Taylor Swift Fan Club Presale. My sister, Noreen, is a senior and stayed home during TAKS week. She would be able to purchase the tickets for me.

9:59 am.
I was nervous.

12:30 am.
I finally got my phone back. I turned it on. I had a text from Noreen: "i got tickets"

12:31 am.
"WWWOOOOOOOOAHAHAWLFLQWJKNHQWIPHWINHDQIPWHNI"

12:32 am.
I reply: "Where are the seats?"
She replies: "Arena. Section 40. Row 20"

12:33 am.
This is when I started to run around screaming, "I GOT TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETS, SUCKERRZZZ"




So~~

Anyone else get tickets? Today is the general sale, so everyone can purchase tickets. They went on sale at 10 am though, so you might want to hurry! (:

If you got tickets, post where your  seat is! We can like.. hang... and shtuff.....

...or not..? xD



<3<3<3 naaaaaat
Meet my future husband, Callan McAuliffe

He's an Australian actor, recently seen in "I Am Number Four" and "Flipped".
He's sort of.... amazing (:

Anyways, for those of you who are fans of the "Hunger Games" book series, it's set to come out on the big screen March 23, 2012. When I heard this, I freaked out.

"CALLAN FOR PEETA! CALLAN FOR PEETA! CALLAN FOR PEETA!"
Those were the only words I could say for the following weeks. Imagine my distraught when I found out Josh Hutcherson was playing Peeta. Yes, the boy from "Bridge to Teribithia". Here's a nice picture of him.


Oh... wait a second.. WHY IS HE PLAYING PEETA?! HE LOOKS NOTHING LIKE PEETA. PEETA IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE THIS:


Blonde hair, pointed face, the whole shebang. The world went crazy. Fan pages, comment sections of news articles, etc were filled with "OH MY GOODNESS WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE CASTING DIRECTOR."

Moving on.
They also cast Gale (Katniss's other love interest). Who did they choose for the brown haired, brown eyed hunter that supported his large family since age 12? LIAM FREAKING HENSWORTH FROM "The Last Song" WITH MILEY CYRUS. Am I the only one confused here?!



And Katniss, the main character. Described as "olive skinned", "dark haired", and small/petite. Here's the lovely actor:

Sighh.... I give up. Katniss is a young hunter as well, not one of the more "sexy" tributes from District 2. She's a little girl! And here's what Katniss is supposed to look like:


Just one more thing....
Peeta and Katniss are supposed to be sixteen. SIXTEEN. I have no idea how they're going to pull that off (especially the girl actress, Jennifer). Gale is supposed to be eighteen.

I'm in a little bit of an outrage, though its a tad calmer now (:
The rest of the castings were good: age-appropriate, with correct skin/hair color, and with the acting chops (:

Sorry for the excessive use of images. I felt it'd put a better picture across if you could actually see the actors and the people they are playing.

So-- how do you feel about the casting? Are you as outraged as me? Think the actors can pull it off? Comment! (To comment, click the "** comments" under the title and scroll down).

Thanks guys, and talk to y'all later!
<3 Nat


4/20 in music

11:39 AM 1 comments

A few days ago, 4/20 passed - the marijuana day.

Lots of artists talk about marijuana in our music today.

Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, Kid Cudi, Birdman, Snoop Dogg and many other artists have songs including it, or songs all about it.

What are your thoughts about all the talk of it? 

-Fly on the Wall


Explosions in the Sky, a local Austin band, has released its sixth and final album, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. Gigging since 1999, the band has evolved their instrumental music since their first album How Strange, Innocence.


With international tours, and the exclusive rights to the Friday Night Lights soundtrack, Take Care, Take Care, Take Care is a great representation of the band. The three electric guitars create beautiful melodies, and Chris Hrasky's drumming brings the solid album together.

--
Quaver
Happy Easter! Jesus defeated death and rose from the grave, giving us a chance to have a relationship with him and spend eternity in heaven (:

Enjoy this skit! It's called the "Everything" skit. It's super powerful.



Happy Day by Tim Hughes

The greatest day in history // Death is beaten, you have rescued me // Sing it out, Jesus is alive

Empty cross and empty grave // Life eternal, you have won the day // Shout it out, Jesus is alive // He's alive

Oh happy day, happy day // You wash my sin away // Oh happy day, happy day // I'll never be the same // Forever I am changed

When I stand in that place// Free at last, meeting face to face // I am Yours, Jesus you are mine

Endless joy and perfect peace // Earthly pain finally will cease // Celebrate, Jesus is alive // Yeah, He's alive



<3 Nat

Music Videos

5:46 PM 2 comments

What is going on with everyone? How's life?

Everything at Aux Cable is going good, we're up and runnin' with our magazine. We're almost done with our feature stories, so, expect those soon. Anyway, I was walking around my neighborhood thinking about stuff; school, friends, family, how the second tissue comes up after you pull the first, and it then occurred to me that I needed a blog for today. I wasn't too sure of what I wanted to write about so I kept walking, and that's when the thought hit me. I saw some kids dancing and it reminded me of my favorite dancers (I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT those DANCERS, I mean legit dancers who dance in competitions) and they're music videos and how awesome they look. That's when I was like "You know what? Those dances are cool and they totally go with the song so I'm gonna go home and watch them cool vids (that's right, I said them, you mad???) and admire them. " But you know what you guys, a lot of American songs don't contain legit dancing, because artists don't do that here in America. Instead they run through glitter and/or wave their arms around in front of cameras, so I admired some of my favorie Korean videos with their complicated dancing and what not. 

First off, there's Mirotic by DBSK. 

Now, these guys might look weird from a Westerner's perspective, but this sells in Korea. So, onto the dance. THIS DANCE WRECKS. There's everything, foot work, hand motions, in sync moves. What's even greater is that even through these strenuous moves, they can still hit those notes live, which is amazing in comparison to the artists today that can't even hold the same pitch while walking on stage.


Second, there's Replay by SHINee (that's right, double 'e')

Never in my life have I been so jealous of people who can dance than when I watched this video. Honestly, the way they move across that floor, it's like they are gliding you guys. Gliding. It's interesting though, the way they portray the words (I'm talking about the English ones) in their dance. Especially the 'Replay~' part and they do the hand moves as if they were record players. The song is just a bonus too. Amazing.

Third, there's Neorego by Super Junior

Now, I'm not a big fan of Super Junior, but I really do like their choreography and their ability to stay in sync with each other even though they are a big group.

Then there's Wrong Number by DBSK

This dance is really good and the choreography fits the tone and feel of the song really well. Look at that fancy footwork! 
  
Lastly, Breathe by Miss A

A lot of the female dance groups do dances that aren't straining, but are sensual to match their image, but Miss A somehow do both at the same time. Their moves might not seem difficult, but when you actually try it, they can be pretty hard to match.

Now you guys, I'm not saying that these are the top dances, because I'm sure better ones (if only a few) can be found that top these, but these are some of the best. No harm done, right?

For those of you that i didn't entertain well enough...I'm not sure of what to say, so here's Andy Warhol Banana by Andy Warhol. Admire it.

Photo provided by Maniasmias at Blogspot.com


LAWL @ VINYL

8:00 PM 1 comments


HEY VINYL.


I didn't realize how pissed upset y'all were over our fake counter. Sorry :3
Anyways. I kept the fake counter up because I'm too emotionally attached to it to delete it (SEPARATION ANXIETY FTW), but I put the real counter back on the blog. It's under the fake one xD

SO PLEASE STOP BEING MAD AT ME :o
It's not a contest, tahahahh. Just for daa lulzzz.

Anyways, what y'all did HERE was pretty cool. Mhmmm.

Yeah, so I WE LOVE Y'ALL <3 <3 <3

<3 The AuxCable Team
//Natalie :D

P.S. YOU WON THE ADVERTISING SPACE BY DEFAULT.
kay, byee (:

Quaver's Leads

11:04 AM 11 comments

Hey guys!

For my feature story, we have to post some possible leads. My feature story is about chiptunes. Chiptunes are songs that are made that are primarily composed through video game console soundboards.

Compare and Contrast:
Just over 50 years ago, a computer was first used in the production of music. Since then, computers have become better and better at creating sounds that cannot be replicated by traditional instruments. Now, artists are busting out their Gameboys and creating rave songs with the same chips that have created the famous Mario and Zelda themes.

Descriptive:
An amazing party has begun. Bodies are pressing up against each other on the dance floor as hordes of people jump to the techno beats of the DJ. That DJ doesn't have any fancy equipment though. Alex Luna stands there with nothing but two Gameboys, and the crowd loves it.

Twist:
Music creation has always been expensive. Instruments cost upwards of several hundred dollars and it takes time and dedication to master one. However, people like Alex Luna are making catchy techno music - for as little as $25 - with nothing but a single Gameboy.


--
Quaver
Leads:

Daniel Chen had a wife and two small children. But he still felt empty. Every night after work, he would come home and get a beer from the fridge as his family sadly watched. He was depressed, and he was desperate to find a way out.

Description:
Thousands of eyes are closing. Hands are raised as if pushing through the ceiling. People laugh, cry, and dance. Tonight, nobody cares about how they’re thought of. For them, it’s all about God.

Direct Quote:
“Worship is more about the heart more than the music itself,” said high school sophomore Emily Wong. 


Which lead do you like best? Tell me how to fix and improve them, please! :3


<3 Nat
4:00 PM. The designated time of the meeting. My heart pounds. The interviewee is still offline. The clock slowly ticks, and Father Time grows older. at 4:15, I break out into a cold sweat and quickly prepare to ask an inquisitive email. I close my eyes, composing the message in my head. Not too sad and disappointed, not to angry. I settle on just the right arrangement of words, impossible to draw any tone out.

Oh hey, there's a new email.


"Hey Arnav,
I'm running a tad late and was wondering if you could push this back until five. Prior engagements are preventing me from doing the interview on time, but I will be ready in about an hour. Hope that's okay.
Alex"

I breathe out a huge sigh of relief and go get some food.


IAYD or Alex Luna's new album "Like a Phoenix!"

The first fifteen minutes of waiting for popular Chiptune artist IAYD was terrifying. I was terrified that I had entered the wrong username, or possibly made a type when sending Alex my username.

In the end, we had our interview, and it worked out really well. Alex Luna was incredibly nice and fun to interview.

--
Quaver

1) Descriptive:

The clock was close to tick three in the morning, the deepest hour of the night, but Jessica Martinez didn’t care. She was fatigued after completing hours of homework, but she knew it was the perfect time to spill a few words of pure freestyle and compose a new ear-catching rap.

“They’re honest. I am too tired to put effort into anything. So they are just completely feelings.” She explains as she gives off a chuckle and looks down at her fingers. Jessica began writing her own raps since she was in middle school, and now a junior at LASA high school, she continues to do so.

Every couple of days or weeks a new pack of rhymes and words would hit her at any time of day and Jessica would infatuate herself with them until the wee hours of the morning.

2) Narrative:

A petite girl bobbed her head as the words spilled out of her mouth in complete harmony and style. Jessica Martinez was practicing the verses to the new rap she would be performing at her school’s musical event. As she swayed her hands around in swift motions you could feel the dedication she felt for rapping radiating off of her.

“When you get the rush man, especially with hip hop it’s just this adrenaline. A really empowering feeling.” Jessica says as a smile plays on her lips. Although it would be one of her first times performing her own rap lyrics, Jessica couldn't help but feel secure with herself and her song.

3) Twist?

It was a typical day in the class of physics for Jessica Martinez, a junior at LASA high school. She was writing vigorously in her notebook as the teacher continued to lecture. “And so the ball would move because...”

She had done this millions of times, it was like a craving that couldn’t be ignored. She swiftly moves her pencil across the page as a new verse for her latest rap forms in her head.

“[When I get an idea for a song] I act on it immediately,” Jessica says. “ If I’m flowing then I’m flowing.”

Jessica then re-reads the lyrics she wrote and edits her work until it is seen as perfection in her eyes.
HEY GUYZ. TAYLOR SWIFT IS COMING TO AUSTIN (as you know...) AND TICKETS GO ON SALE APRIL 29TH AT 10 AM. Which happens to be during school...... o.e;;


Anyways. I'm supposed to talk about how my feature story interviews went! Basically, I go to church on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So I pulled my phone out and interviewed people. Most of the people I interviewed was great, but interviewing some of the older people was awkward. Transcribing was pretty easy for me, I'm used to it.

Overall, the interviewing experience was good, except for the awkward people (:

LOVE,
NATATTACK.


Lady Freeze

10:37 AM 1 comments

What is going on kiddos?

All right, as part of the magazine the Aux Cable Staff is making this year, we are interviewing some pretty legit people. Awesome, right? That's what I thought. Anyway, I decided to interview a really amazing chick who happens to rap some pretty amazing lyrics. Now, I'm not gonna tell you guys this girl's whole story (you're going to be able to read it when the official magazine comes out) but I am going to tell you how it all went down.

Now this chick is pretty awesome, and I was pretty excited to interview her, but you know what I wasn't excited about? Actually doing the work.

You have to come up with questions to ask the person. Then you have to ask them. Then you have to write it down, including everything they said and if you didn't record the interview, you had to hand write it as they spoke. But if you did record it, you had to listen to it and type it up.

Now, this wasn't too bad you guys. It was actually pretty fun. Except for the part where I had to transcribe a forty-something minute interview onto paper.

It's all good though, I got my interview done, met a female rapper, and am one story closer to being able to release the official Aux Cable magazine.

So that is all for now my ducklings.

-Juumbie

Descriptive - By day, Jay Robillard works as an electrician in Austin. As he flips switches and replaces fuses, music runs through his head - from exotic lounge music, to 80’s punk alternative, to pop orchetra.

Descriptive -  Jay Robillard does not know exactly how many records he has in his collection -- but he thinks its around 20,000.

Narrative - KOOP radio was born out of a bet between friends.

Direct Quote - “This is what I want to do for a living,” Jay Robillard said to himself when his parents took them to their radio station as a child and let him watch the DJs. 

-Fly on the Wall
Feature stories take a lot of time.....

You have to come up with an idea relevant to your magazine....

Find someone to interview....

Interview them.....

And BAM! You aren't even 1/16th of the way done!

Transcribing notes from your interview is a tedious task.

Writing the story is a whole other thang (thing).

Have fun.

-Fly on the Wall
The Flaming Lips, a rock band from Norman, Oklahoma announced that they are planning a musical. The musical which will be called Yoshimi and will be loosely based off of their 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Wayne Coyne, the leader of The Flaming Lips said that the band is planning the musical with the co-director of The Who’s Tommy, to create something “"hokey and wonderful and poignant and powerful."

The Musical will include songs mainly from their album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, which I thought was a great album. I am really looking forward to this musical. I think that Wayne Coyne and the rest of the band will come out with an amazing musical due to the band’s immense creativity in their music. Unfortunately there is not a set date for the debut of this musical.

This is the first experience The Flaming Lip’s have had in musical theatre, although in 2008 they came out with the movie, Christmas on Mars, which was about the band members and their friends.

So excited! :D


-Fly on the Wall
What?! What's that?! Look's like Aux Cable got a makeover! We're proud to show off our new clean layout which gives a nice fresh feeling. We're still tweaking a few things, but it should be completely up and running by the end of this week.

Also....
WE HAVE ADVERTISING SPACE!
Do you want it? I bet you do. Here are the rules:
  • Make a little graphic, 200x200, advertising your blog.
  • You must be following our blog
  • The graphic must be sent to our staff email: auxiliary.cable@gmail.com by APRIL 15.
  • Finalists will be chosen by our staff. We will be looking at the quality of the graphic and the content you post on your blog.
  • The winner will be chosen by a majority vote from our readers (and yours too if you send them this way *wink wink*)
Have fun!
-Nat Attack and the rest of the Aux Cable Team








Hey guys, round three of album reviews! This time we'll be reviewing Rilo Kiley's fourth album, Under the Blacklight.



This album is very different from the previous albums I have reviewed because there really isn't a set genre that I can classify this under. Rilo Kiley is a four-member outfit that features vocalist Jenny Lewis. Lewis is much more authentic than most modern female artists, as she doesn't use auto tune. Her vocals are pure and sweet, but can become grating after a short period of time.

The backing instruments are great. They have this fantastic jazz/country sound to them,  and the melodies are simple and nice, but easily forgotten.

Overall, I'm not such a huge fan of this genre, but I think it's very interesting and fresh.

Please leave some comments on what albums you'd like to see discussed next week. Also please check out our sister blog vinylezine.blogspot.com for some hilarious footage of the Aux Cable team singing "Friday" by Rebecca Black.

--
Quaver
During my hourly Taylor Swift Google news searches, I came across an article, you can find it here.   Taylor Swift has just added sixteen locations to her already massive tour. One of these happens to be in the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. Tickets are rumored to be around 135 dollars, slightly more expensive than Selene Gomez's 120 dollar tickets to her tour. Tickets don't go on sale until early May, but several enthusiastic fans have already taken to social networking sites to express their excitement. Obviously, the second I heard the news, I ran to China and back in 12 seconds. I'M SO EXCITED :3


-Nat Attack <3

Cameron Thomaz, AKA Wiz Khalifa, was born September 8th, 1987, in Pittsburgh.  At the young age of 19, Wiz Khalifa came out with Show and Prove, his album debut. Since then, he has produced two more albums, including Deal or No Deal, which came out in 2009, a big success. More recently Wiz Khalifa came out with Rolling Papers, a highly anticipated album that hit stores March 29th, 2011.

I have been listening to Rolling Papers since it has come out, and I have really enjoyed it. The album includes  the very popular “Black and Yellow” single released in September, talking about how great the Steelers (Football team) are. The album also includes about 12 new songs, which are interesting and unique. Wiz Khalifa uses different beats and instruments to create different moods in each of the songs. For example, the first song on the new album, “When I’m Gone” begins with a prelude of piano. The first minute of the song is just a simple piano. But as the song continues, it goes into an intense rap and beat. If you like Rap, I suggest listening to a few of these songs on youtube, such as “When I’m Gone”, or “Black and Yellow”, or “No sleep”.

-Fly on the Wall
What's up you guys?

This week has been...unconsciously long, so to bring my mood up I've been listening to songs. A lot of you probably don't know, but I love Korean music. Like, I LOVE Korean Music, it is awesome,  poppy and, in my opinion, a lot more entertaining than American music. Just saying. Anyways, as I was saying, I was listening to "Knock Out" by G-D and T.O.P. , two popular Korean rappers, when I realized that I've never seen this duo perform the song on popular music shows like they did their other songs. This struck me as strange because the song had received a lot of positive feedback and quickly gained popularity, so as I did with Rebecca Black, I did some research. Apparently, the song was banned because of the inappropriate lyrics the song displayed, but when you really look into it, the lyrics, or word, that was found 'inappropriate' was "bbeokigayo." Bbeokigayo is a slang word that literally means "Knock Out." The word was deemed inappropriate because of the lack of 'real meaning' behind it. This seemed like such a a dumb reason to me that I had to go into the way songs are 'censored' in Korea.

When a song is deemed inappropriate by the media, such as live music shows, they are banned from being performed. This then leads the artists or their label company to change those specific aspects of the song until it is allowed to be performed. A lot of the times a song is labeled as inappropriate because lyrics either hint or promote sex, drugs, or any ideas that are seen as morally wrong by society. This, to me, is ridiculous in comparison to the songs played on the radio in America today. Korean lyrics seem to be nothing in comparison to the American songs today that promote sex, drugs, partying, and straight up inappropriate behavior. Personally, I think the Koreans take it too far in deciding whether a song is appropriate or inappropriate. There are also times in which a song is considered inappropriate because the music video to the song contains 'unneeded' material that promotes unlawful activities.

Here is a list of popular songs that were originally banned from being performed on music shows. These songs have either had their lyrics changed to fit the criteria of an appropriate song, or they have not and are continued to be banned for it.


  1. GD & TOP- Knock Out This song was banned due to the slang word bbeokigayo
  2. DBSK- Mirotic The lyrics in the song were deemed too sexual
  3. Rain- Love Song In the MV of this song, Rain is seen running on the street, an illegal act in Korea
  4. GD & TOP- Don't Go Home The rap in this song was deemed to have inappropriate lyrics
  5. Taeyang- Move This song's lyrics were said to be dirty
  6. Taeyang- Take It Slow The lyrics were said to be dirty
  7. Taeyang- After You Fall Asleep the lyrics are said to be dirty
  8. Se7en- Drips  The song was also said to have inappropriate lyrics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

    Well that's it you guys. Let me know what y'all think and I'll see y'all soon. 


    ~ Juumbie
    It's time for Quaver's Quick Review, Take 2!

    Do Make Say Think’s album, Other Truths may seem like a ripoff at first. For full album price, you get only 4 songs! However, the shortest song on the album is only 8:03, and the album has nearly 45 minutes of beautiful music.

    The four tracks on the album are titled after the four words in the band’s title. The Canadian Band wrote these songs in the two year span between their critically acclaimed album You, You’re a History in Rust. The songs typically repeat their unique riff over and over again in different ways throughout each song, resulting in a jazzy feel. The only vocals in the song are moans from Akron/Family, another experimental rock band from Oregon. 



    The album cover for Other Truths. Good luck finding the title of the album, or the band's name.

    The first track, Do, is hands down the best track of the album. The song starts off with a slow guitar riff, and you can hear the guitarist’s hands slide up and down the neck. Once the drums and bass kick in though, you feel more motivated. This is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I’m trying to get things done, as it gets me motivated. The stereo effects in this song are also pretty fantastic. With good headphones, when I close my eyes, I can tell approximately where all the sounds are coming from. The drummer is right in front of me, the bassist on the left, and the guitarist on the right. Do is a beautiful track, and is definitely worth a listen. Every time I hear it, something new pops out.

    Unfortunately, the next three tracks aren’t nearly as epic as Do is, but still hold their own as fantastic songs. Make starts off with a slow jazzy bit, but doesn’t quite pick up or capture the imagination quite like Do does. It has some cool drum beats and some interesting harmonies, but the song lacks the appeal that Do has. It isn’t as driving. Some of those rum beats that come in about about 5 minutes in the song are beautiful to listen to though.

    Say is the longest track on the album, starts out with nothing but some quiet, screechy guitar feedback. However, then a lonely bass line breaks the near silence, and opens up the slow, mournful ballad quite well. About three minutes into the song, the song builds up to a melancholy climax. A fun thing to do with this song when you’re feeling sad is to play it simultaneously with rainymood.com. The rain really brings out the slow, mournful jazz songs. Say is really quite beautiful.

    Think is, in my opinion, the runt of the album. It is the shortest song, at only 8 minutes. It is the jazziest feeling song, and doesn’t quite build up to the same climactic choruses that the other songs do. The main riff is a slow jazzy guitar riff that is inquisitive in nature. As the ringing of the strings subsides, it feels like the guitar is asking a very open-ended question.

    Overall, this album is a must-buy. All four of the songs are fantastic in many situations, and are calming and pleasing to listen to. As the average attention span of a human shortens, and songs feel the need to be as imposing as possible to gain popularity. Do Make Say Think has hit it out of the park with this one, and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

    --
    Quaver
    Tuesday, March 22nd, Chris Brown angrily stormed out of the Good Morning America TV studio after smashing a window in his dressing room and tearing off his shirt.

    In 2009, Brown assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna. In his GMA interview, host Robin Roberts asked him questions about his Rihanna situation, though he was expecting questions about his new album "F.A.M.E". During the interview, Brown was obviously uncomfortable with the questions, but Roberts persisted. Brown later said, "I really kind of kept my composure throughout the whole interview, although you can see me upset. When I got back I just let off steam. I didn't physically hurt anyone, I didn't try to hurt anyone, I just wanted to release the anger that I had inside me because I felt that I worked so hard for this music and I felt like people kept just trying to take it away from me. I got very emotional, and I wanna apologize for acting like that."
     
    However, it seems the publicity has done Brown good. According to an Apple spokesman, Brown's album, "F.A.M.E", on the Jive record label, was the top downloaded album on Apples' iTunes store the first day it was released.

    Fans seem to be split on Brown's actions. On a MTV message board, an enthusiastic fan writes, "We love you Chris!! There's no reason for anyone to even ask him about Rihanna anymore, ABC should have had something better to talk about as that is old".

    Brown is also scheduled to preform on ABC's "Dancing with the Stars". Thousands of fans of the show are expressing their outrage. "His freak out on GMA proves how scary and unpredictable he is. If ABC does not do the right thing and ban him, I will have no choice but to not watch that episode," wrote chadcronin on the official "Dancing" message boards.

    Personally, I believe Brown's Outburst was unprofessional and uncalled for, especially since he's already swimming in deep water. He should have handled it in a more professional manner.

    You can go here, here, or here to learn more about this issue.

    <3 NatAttack

    All right you guys, I know many of you have already heard about "Friday" by Rebecca Black and I know a lot of you either groan or laugh when it is mentioned, but we still have to remember guys, she's only human. 

    Rebecca Black, the notorious artist who came out with "Friday" and hit 44 million views on Youtube as of  March 24, 2011, has been the constant talk on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook since her video became popular. Many of you are probably thinking "How could she not be, have you heard her song? It's horrible," and you know what you guys? I have and I have never felt more let down by society than when I heard this song and read the comments under the video. When I heard "Friday" I thought 'Wow, this is uh...This is something' which was then followed by a frown. I mean, how can someone come out with a song like this one and have it produced and made into a music video? The lyrics were so poor I couldn't help but think 'This girl cannot be that bad.' That's when I decided to do some research. Apparently Black did not even write the song "Friday," her music company , ARK Music Company, wrote the song for her as they do with the rest of the young artists signed to their label. Black was only signed to sing and perform the highly rated iTunes single as part of a $2,000 deal her mother paid for. Knowing this information, I felt horrible for the 13 year-old artist who received countless of hurtful comments by people world-wide. I thought 'Oh my goodness, so many people are bashing her for a song she never even wrote and all she can do is stand there and take it.' It was honestly upsetting to see all the comments that consisted of "You should kill youself" and "You are the biggest fail of all time." Although I do agree the song is terrible, I do not agree that it is okay to bully someone with comments so negative that their mental health could be damaged. Black wanted to be the well known singer her company promised her to be, but all she can be recognized for now is as the "dumb girl who sang Friday." This is pretty sad you guys, tear. 

    If y'all want to read more on the background of Rebecca Black's Friday, here is an article by MTV and here is an article by The Daily Beast.


    Here it is you guys, "Friday" by Rebecca Black. Courtesy by Youtube.

    Guess what tomorrow is you guys. It's Friday. You know what's significant about Friday? It's Friday, Friday. Gotta get down on Friday.~

    I'm sorry, I just had to do it.

    -Juumbie

    Top 5 Rapperz

    8:10 PM 5 comments



    1. Kid Cudi
    Although Kid Cudi is only 26, and has not been around that long, he is still one of the best rappers ever, and in my opinion, the best. His songs are eclectic in sound, he has songs varying from many beats, to songs with guitar and base. His music is more than just music. Kid Cudi AKA Scott Mescudi puts his heart into all of his songs. Each song, each lyric, each word, means something. His songs make you feel good, it brings confidence in uncertain times, it brings happiness in depressing times, it is nice. 
    2. Eminem
    Eminem has been around for over 15 years, and some say he is currently more popular than ever. Eminem, Marshall Mathers is almost 40 years old. His music tells of interesting stories of his life, for example ‘When I’m Gone’ talks about losing his family, his two children and his ex-wife, Kim. It seems as if lots of his songs talk about his family, and how hard it was as a kid, or how hard it is as an adult. Eminem is one of the greatest rappers ever. 
    3. Lil Wayne
    Lil Wayne and his signature, “Huhah” laugh may be the most memorable thing about him. Lil Wayne has been around for almost as long as Eminem. Eminem’s music is not different from others, but his voice is. He has a harsh, rough voice. It seems as if one of his themes is talking about illegal activities, and degrading women. Lil Wayne is still a prolific, great artist.
    4. Wiz Khalifa
    Although Wiz Khalifa is only 24, and hasn’t produced as much work as these other rappers, he has a lot of talent and that can’t be denied. His music is interesting, and catchy. It makes one want to sing along, for example, “Black and yellow,” or “Say Yeah,” are very catchy songs that make one want to sing and dance. Look for this artist to be coming out with many more popular and good songs. (Along with Kid Cudi).
    5. Tupac
    Tupac’s tale is actually quite sad. He was a new artist, who was gaining lots of popularity. He was shot in a drive by at age 25, right before he hit his peak. If Tupac had not been involved with gangs, thus leading to his death, he would still be alive today and producing songs. Although the reason he is on this list is because of the songs he did produce when he was alive. He brought a new style to music, he rhymed great rhymes, and was just a beast. 

    -Fly on the Wall
    Hey guys, it's time for Quaver's Quick Reviews! Every Friday, I will review some artist that hopefully few of you have never heard of.

    Chiptunes is a underground form of music which is made by a Gameboy and a modified cartridge Rainbowdragoneyes, a self-proclaimed “one-man killing machine” meshes poppy 8-bit instruments with slightly disturbing auto-tuned lyrics. Rainbowdragoneyes first gained notoriety when a song from this album, “Creatures ov Deception” was put on Rock Band. Rainbowdragoneyes then gained popularity for authoring one of the fastest and hardest charts in the game, and doing it with one of the poppier tunes in the franchise. However, the lyrics are a far cry from the pop hits of today, as Rainbowdragoneyes screams about twisted forms of torture and death as he alternates between an autotuned voice and deep metal growling. All songs from this album can be found on the artist's website

    The bottom half of the album had to be censored for your viewing pleasure.


    Released on March 3rd, Rainbowdragoneyes' second album opens with a song named after that date. The album opens with some simple synthesized sounds that are uncharacteristic of the rest of the album. 3.3.11 isn’t particularly catchy, and it has no lyrics. It feels like the red-headed-step song of this album.

    The next song, Creatures ov Deception shows off Rainbowdragoneyes’ characteristic’s style (and hatred of the letter ‘f’). The 8-bit intro is simple and cheerful, and feels great. Soon after the poppy synthesizers, the man behind the music begins to sing. With a slightly Slavic timber, Rainbowdragoneyes belts out lyrics about disguised alien creatures who burn down a village. The singer’s perspective switches between from a hero who attempts to fight off the disguised aliens, and the monsters themselves. This all occurs while the the happy, poppy, catchy Gameboy chiptune music plays in the background.

    After Creatures of Deception, the album’s titular song sounds similar, but the synthesizers take on a more mellow tone, and Rainbowdragoneyes begins to growl more and more. The quest for an elixir of truth is diagrammed. There is one particularly nasty verse that is growled in the satanic language Enochian. The vocal pattern to this song however, sounds exactly like Creatures ov Deception. I hoped that there would be more variety.

    This song changes up the formula used in the past two songs and incorporates more of a jazzy feel. The background synthesizers are more upbeat, but the lyrics detail a horrible, horrible torture. A lot of the lyrics in this album are just unnecessarily cruel and violent. Rape Castle, in particular, uses many inappropriate words and has lewd suggestions. Other songs deal with cannibalism, and he makes many references to his favorite pastime: devouring Christians. According to the the artist, “they are more pleasing to the pallet [sic] and the also scream the loudest”.

    Overall, I really enjoyed the instrumental tracks. All of the tunes were catchy, and the instruments used brought back nostalgic memories of Mario and Link on the old-school Gameboy. However, I am disappointed with the death metal lyrics. I am not a fan of normal death metal, but chiptunes are an undiscovered, underutilized form of geeky music that will hopefully become more commonplace in the future.

    --Quaver

    Hey guys, I’m sure all of you know by now that South by Southwest (SXSW) is staring up again this weekend in Austin, and since our magazine is from Austin, I’ve decided to give you guys a little heads up on the SXSW music scene this year.
    At the moment SXSW is planning on presenting over 100 bands from around the world on 80 stages from March 15 to March 20. Sadly, this means that multiple shows will be going on at the same time so make sure to choose wisely and go to the show you want. Here are the bands scheduled to play and when they are playing. Now, I know a lot of you are thinking, “Yo Juumbie, I only got like, twenty bucks on me. How am I suppose to pay for my pass?” Well, don’t fret my little ducklings, SXSW also has some scheduled free acts at Auditorium Shore  that feature cool bands like Bowling for Soup, The Strokes, and Blue October. For a full schedule of free shows visit here. For those of you who have the money to attend all the shows, one, I am insanely jealous of you, and two, I have the link for the full price ranges of SXSW passes. Just click here. These prices are pretty high but are worth every penny. SXSW is an experience too amazing to miss out on!
    Alright guys, that’s the last of what i wanted to say about that. I hope many of you will be able to attend this year, I highly recommend it. Although this would be my first year attending, I’ve had many friends go and SXSW truly is a scene you don’t want to miss out on, it would be like missing out on the birth of yo’ child! But seriously, this is an event that brings great new music to your ears and gives you new insight to your musical taste.  If you guys have any more questions, please go to the SXSW website, which I made clickable here.

    Motorhead at SXSW 2008
    .


    Have fun and stay safe!

    - Juumbie

    Picture Provided by kk+on Flickr
    The Decemberists, an alternative indie rock band which originated in Portland, Oregon in 2000 just came out with their eighth album, The King is Dead. This album was released on January 14th, 2011. The band is composed of five different musicians, including Colin Meloy, their song-writer and the band’s leader. Colin Meloy was born in Helena, Montana. I am going to listen to The King is Dead and write a review, comparing this album to previous albums, and rating the album as a whole.

    The Decemberists provide an eclectic sound, having a happy, up beat tune to one song, while the next may talk about vicious murders in an eerie beat. Although this album seems to be quite different than their previous albums. In this album, The Decemberists are “returning to their folk-rock roots” says www.billboard.com. This may mean that The Decemberists plan to return to their original sound, or a different sound that they have been trying to make, and possibly a sound they grew up with. Colin Meloy says, “On a lot of songs I wrote for this record, I was trying to free my mind from more academic music interests I had over the last four or five years and trying to reconnect with some of the music that initially got me playing guitar and writing songs in the first place. So I started writing these boldfaced R.E.M. songs, and I thought, 'If we're going to go there, it would be fun to get Peter Buck to get onboard,' and he was totally into it.” This new sound of the album comes from the music that Colin Meloy started playing guitar and writing because of.

    If I had to describe The King is Dead in one word, I would say Country. With a harmonica, fiddle, banjo, and pedal steel guitar, Colin Meloy may have also been integrating his home sound of Montana into this new record. When I listened to every song on The King is Dead they each reminded me of different artists. A lot of the songs reminded me of R.E.M., due to the fact that Colin Meloy intentionally did that, and Peter Buck, R.E.M.’s guitars played in some of the songs. Another song, June Hymn, reminded me of Bob Dylan. The voice sounded the same, and their was the same style of music.

    Colin Meloy is a genius, and he puts his heart into all of his songs. Each song actually meant something, for example, the first song, “Don’t Carry It all” talked about not letting one person carry the whole burden. It talked about letting family or friends help with problems. Coincidentally, this was my favorite song on the album. I liked the positive message it sent out, and I liked the tune and beat.

    When I look at this album and compare it to other albums of The Decemberists, honestly I am disappointed. It may be because I don’t enjoy country, but this album didn’t seem to reach me. Songs sounded the same, and some songs were plain out boring. When I listen to The Hazards of Love or The Crane Wife, or any other album of theirs, I am blown away. Each song sounds very different, sending out a different message and idea, and each song is entertaining. This album just didn’t quite do it for me.

    -Fly on the Wall