Anita Baker is a soulful jazz, gospel, and R&B songstress from Ohio. Growing up in a household with musically inclined individuals, there was always a song being played. The most frequent artist I heard on a daily basis was Ms. Anita Baker. Her smooth and rich contralto voice eluded love and romance. She has had many classic love songs, but one of my favorites is “Giving You the Best That I Got” from her 1988 album of the same name. The song is about two people who have unconditional love for one another. It is sung in a rhythmic way and as you listen closely you can find different contextual expressions she adds to this piece. She paints one vivid picture of what love should really be not only in this song, but in all of her albums. Anita Baker has inspired my own original music and the way I structure my songs. Listening to her music soothes my soul and makes me reminisce on childhood memories.
When one listens to any firmly cemented genre for any recognizable period of time, one starts to notice how entrenched many genre conventions are. Perhaps the most accessible (if not clichéd) example is modern Top 40, where conventions such as the infamous “millennial whoop” are near inescapable. While it can be frustrating when artists (of any genre) trudge down well-worn paths, it allows us to, by comparison, truly appreciate the artists who embrace traditions and conventions across boundaries of genre.
The Goat Rodeo Sessions is a breathtaking crossover effort between two genres which, at first glance, are incongruous: classical and bluegrass. As a product of “bluegrasscountry” who has since pursued a study of classical music, I view this album as a unique opportunity to both indulge in nostalgia and embrace a marvel of musical progressivism. By drawing from two genres which are firmly rooted in tradition, these musicians push forward by pulling from the past and seemingly have a blast doing so. I wish I could put into words just how impressive this project is, both technically and intellectually, but I am not confident in my ability to adequately do so. For that reason, all I can do is vehemently recommend this incomparable piece of art. Enjoy.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student worker, Aly (class of 2018) and features Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album released in 1968, Bookends. Thanks, Aly!
I was re-shelving CDs recently while working a slow evening shift at the music library when I came across a Simon and Garfunkel CD. It immediately brought me back to a few years ago, when I went through a “phase” of folk rock, listening to the iconic duo, as well as a few other legends such as Cat Stevens. I then browsed our collection of Simon and Garfunkel selections, and soon discovered that the library offers almost their entire discography.
My all-time favorite album of theirs is Bookends. In my opinion, the 1968 album was released right in the “sweet spot” of Simon and Garfunkel’s musical career. It featured the quirky, iconic single we all know love, “Mrs. Robinson“, from the 1967 movieThe Graduate. Some more of the duo’s greatest hits would come later, such as “Bridge Over Troubled Water“, arguably their best-known song. (Fun fact: “The Boxer” would also come in their following album, and Mumford and Sons has a great modern cover of this piece.)
My personal favorite off the album is “Old Friends“, which sounds the best when listened to immediately before the closing theme of the album, “Bookends“, since the two songs seamlessly flow into each other. Appropriately, the album starts and ends with this theme, featuring simple harmonies and rich major-7 acoustic runs that could lull you into a peaceful relaxation.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student worker, Cole (class of 2021) and features a 2003 album of the American indie rock supergroup The Postal Service. Thanks, Cole!
The only album ever released by early 2000’s indie pop/electronica supergroup The Postal Service, Give Up remains a staple of indie music and a testament to musical collaboration. The Postal Service consisted of electronic artist Jimmy Tamborello (also known as Dntel) and Death Cab for Cutie front man Ben Gibbard, featuring additional vocals provided by Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis and Seattle-based indie rocker Jen Wood. Work on the album began in late 2001, and was accomplished by Tamborello and Gibbard sending CDs of the project back and forth through the mail (hence the band’s name) for just under a year. The Postal Service was always considered to be a side project by its members – during production Gibbard was also working on Death Cab for Cutie’s greatest album to date: Transatlanticism – which is why the collaboration’s quality and subsequent success are so profound. Give Up was released on February 19, 2003 through Sub Pop records, receiving near-universal praise and peaking at 45 on the US Billboard 200. The group toured in support of the album from April to August of the same year.
Gibbard and Tamborella circa 2003
While Give Up enjoyed moderate success in and around the year of 2003, it truly took on a second life once the group’s members returned to their primary acts. The album received platinum certification (signifying 1,000,000 units sold) in 2012, nearly a decade after its release. It was the second-ever release by Sub Pop (and currently is still their second-best selling effort) to achieve the status, coming after Nirvana’s 1989 album Bleach.
Many people believe Give Up to be Ben Gibbard’s greatest work, which only further salts the wound of The Postal Service being an entirely temporary and long gone affair. The Death Cab for Cutie front man’s voice arguably fits Tamborella’s 80’s inspired synths better than the four piece rock instrumentation of his main band. Lyrically too, Gibbard seems to have peaked with the intensely autobiographical songs featured on this album. One of my personal favorite excerpts from the first track, “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” follows:
It seems so out of context
In this gaudy apartment complex.
A stranger with your door key
Explaining that “I’m just visiting”.
I am finally seeing
That I was the one worth leaving.
Or this excerpt from “Nothing Better,” in which Ben Gibbard trades verses with Jen Wood, together playing their role as a feuding couple. This verse arrives just as Gibbard’s character has just pleaded with his lover to stay with him. Wood’s response follows:
I feel I must interject here
You’re getting carried away feeling sorry for yourself
With these revisions and gaps in history
So let me help you remember
I’ve made charts and graphs that should finally make it clear
Prepared a lecture
On why I have to leave
While judging from those two excerpts it may appear that Give Up is entirely ruminations on doomed relationships, thematically a lot of ground is covered, including friendship, memories, and happy relationships. In fact, the most popular song off of the album, “Such Great Heights,” opens with:
I am thinking it’s a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images and when
We kiss they’re perfectly aligned
The album’s impressive persistence post-release prompted The Postal Service to release a 10th anniversary edition of Give Up in 2013, accompanied by a supporting tour. Despite rumors of a second album in the works, Ben Gibbard announced in early August of that year that the group’s performance in Chicago on August 5th would be their last ever, and the group has since formally disbanded. Although saddened by the destruction of all prospect of a sophomore effort from The Postal Service, I can’t help but feel the ‘one-and-done’ nature of Give Up has helped elevate it into a mythical status within indie rock. It will forever be a personal favorite.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student library worker, Diego (class of 2021) and features the 2013 album Random Access Memories by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. Thanks, Diego!
We’re in that “intra-holiday” moment right now. Halloween has passed so it’s a little late to play Halloween themed songs like “Thriller” and “The Monster Mash” (Do people still listen to “The Monster Mash“?), but it is still too early to play Christmas music. Or at least it should be…
So what do you listen to when there isn’t a specific theme to follow? Sometimes people get too bored of the stuff that continuously plays on the radio. I, for one, don’t even listen to the radio anymore, I just stumble into songs I like. Sometimes a newer song will play while I’m at the gym and I really enjoy that artist, such as The Weeknd, sometimes I will listen to older music and wish that certain artists were still active, such as Daft Punk, but sometimes that newer song will throw you back to the older artists, whether it is by having a similar style, or by actually featuring the artists, as seen with The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk in both “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming,” (which is currently my favorite song to listen to). Now granted, Daft Punk is by no means an old band. They debuted in 1994 and have released quite a few popular albums throughout the 2000s. However, they are one of those bands that releases something and then goes back to hide itself in obscurity for a few years.
In the spring of 2013 Daft Punk announced an upcoming album titled Random Access Memories and subsequently released “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams before the album was set to release. The song became one of the year’s biggest hits, enough to the point where you could not avoid it. I remember thinking that it was obnoxious at the time and that Daft Punk was some mediocre band without any true artistic ability. I was wrong. Even if you didn’t really like “Get Lucky,” there is still an entire album that came with the song.
Different from their previous albums, Daft Punk had artists brought in to help with the recording of the songs in Random Access Memories instead of using a large amount of electronic instruments. In fact, the electronics were limited to drum machines, vintage vocoders (like voice synthesizers, but vintage!), and a custom synthesizer. As such the majority of the songs in have other feature artists such as Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas. Throughout the album there is such variety that just because you may not like one song it doesn’t necessarily mean that you will dislike all of them. Do you want a song that sounds sad and gets you in your feels? Listen to “The Game of Love” or “Instant Crush”. Want to listen to a song that sounds like it belongs in a stores that sells both jazz instruments and surfboards? Listen to “Fragments of Time”. Maybe you want a song that just makes you want to dance, then listen to “Doin’ It Right”, “Get Lucky”, or “Lose Yourself to Dance.” Regardless of what you’re looking for, from dancing to relaxing, there is at least one song in this album that is right for you. With rumors of Daft Punk potentially releasing something soon, along with their collaboration with The Weeknd, this may be the perfect time to pick them as your new band to explore.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by Music Library student library worker, Eve (class of 2020) and features a 2012 Bob Dylan biography. Thanks, Eve!
I associate Bob Dylan with family; I grew up hearing my Dad play Dylan recordings and listening to my older brother singing classics such as “Blowin’ in the Wind“. This summer, my love of Bob Dylan was rekindled when I lived in Utah, as songs such as “Tangled up in Blue” and “Shelter from the Storm” were the perfect soundtrack for road trips with friends. In addition to loving Dylan’s music, I am interested in him as a counterculture icon, political figure and individual, and particularly want to learn more about his role in the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War.
Bob Dylan “goes electric” and inspires controversy at the Newport Folk Festival 1965
As such, I am excited to explore The Ballad of Bob Dylan, a biography written by Daniel Mark Epstein. The book uses four formative concerts to examine Dylan’s rise to fame, his shift from folk to rock music, and more personal aspects of his life and character. It includes interviews with those close to the singer-songwriter such as Nora Guthrie and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, as well as lyrics from Dylan songs and poems. While there are many biographies about this “voice of a generation”, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is accessible and comprehensive, allowing it to be the perfect read for a budding Dylan fan.
