Monday, April 26th, 2010 // Paperhouse
In the hype of new music, it is often too easy to forget the small players that make an album great. People do not stay abreast with the most popular producers or the most revolutionary sound engineers. I doubt anyone can name the new-faced composer who has taken over music in the last year. People should be more aware of the faces behind their favorite albums. People should know about Nico Muhly.
Muhly is a Western composer who has been responsible for some of the most interesting music this decade. The proof is in his album Mothertongue, with its highly experimental work on tracks like “Skip Town.”
Muhly has a wonderful style that cannot be replicated, much less described in words. He is one of this decade’s most important musicians, and unfortunately, no one knows about him.
Many people would point to Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimist as one of this year’s better albums, and looking forward, many people are also anticipating The National’s new album, High Violet, to be the rock album of the decade. Muhly has, predictably enough, a distinct presence on both of these albums.
It would be no small exaggeration to say that Muhly is responsible for the compositional brilliance of Veckatimist. In terms of The National, Muhly produced one of the most innovative arrangements ever heard with his work in the song “So Far Around the Bend” on The National’s Dark Was the Night. Looking at High Violet, we can expect much of the same magnificence with the track “Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks,” thanks to Muhly’s distinct retooling.
People should be more aware of the faceless composers and musicians behind the greatest albums of the last decade. When thinking of The National and Grizzly Bear, people should think of Muhly. Most great bands I know have been helped along by a brilliant composer at some point or another; it’s time that we look at these composers in their own right.
-Stephen Epple
Monday, April 19th, 2010 // Paperhouse
Comparisons to The White Stripes may be fair, but The Black Keys are their own act. To be entirely honest, hearing “Strange Times” by The Black Keys made “Conquest” by The White Stripes sound gimmicky. The burn of Dan Auerback’s guitar made Jack White sound like a sellout who gave up on garage rock.
Without a doubt, The Black Keys commanded the Carnival stage and caused a one-night Carnegie Mellon campus frenzy. Heavy on the attack and somber on the release, Auerback played his guitar with a slow and unrelenting burn that exchanged heavy rock riffs for solemn blues melodies. All the while, Patrick Carney beat his heart out on the drums. The two-man act gave a performance that could only be described as absolutely enthralling.
Of course, the show started low on energy; Carnegie Mellon tends to bring the most lethargic crowds. But 15 minutes into their set, The Black Keys had people jumping and kicking with excitement. The energy was amorphous and ecstatic; it came out of nowhere. The Black Keys might have given Carnegie Mellon its first genuine mosh pit.
Last year, the crowd didn’t chant for The New Pornographers to give an encore, but this year the crowd didn’t give The Black Keys an option. With the words “One more song!” echoing through Wiegand Gym, leaving the stage must have seemed impossible for Auerback and Carney. Personally, I wished the night could have lasted three days longer.
-Stephen Epple
Monday, April 12th, 2010 // Paperhouse
Folk artists are migrating to Portland, and hip-hop artists are finding their scene in Baltimore. Popular music is no longer about dominating the charts; it’s about commanding a region.
While the Internet has helped musicians find audiences beyond borders, artists are always looking for a place to call home. They want friends to collaborate with and live audiences to play in front of.
With that in mind, some cities are becoming musical safe havens, while other cities are becoming musical dry spots. Places like Toronto, Canada have brought together super groups like Broken Social Scene. Sometimes borrowing members from bands all across Canada, Broken Social Scene plays with as few as six members to as many as 19 members. The band even has popular artists like Leslie Feist in its mix.
As of yet, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly dry, but most good musicians don’t stay in the city long. Oftentimes it feels like artists only stop by Pittsburgh on their way to New York.
This is all so unfortunate because Pittsburgh has the potential to explode on the music scene. Few cities support their artists as much as we do, and even fewer can match our affordable housing. Our city is the perfect place for emerging artists to collaborate and call home, so make a point to support local talent. Go see a show!
-Stephen Epple
