Parsons Playlists: Street Chronicles

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Nikoloz (class of 2026) and features some hip hop selections.

Street Chronicles

N.W.A. – “Straight Outta Compton”

Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg – “Still D.R.E.”

Jay-Z – “99 Problems”

Schoolboy Q – “Man of the Year”

Migos – “Stir Fry”

Drake – “Started From the Bottom”

Kendrick Lamar – “Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe”

A$AP Rocky – “Goldie”

Big Sean ft. E-40 – “I Don’t Fk With You”

Post Malone ft. Quavo – “Congratulations”

Migos ft. Drake – “Walk It Talk It”

J. Cole – “No Role Modelz”

Kanye West – “Power”

Wiz Khalifa & 2 Chainz – “We Own It”

50 Cent & The Game – “Hate It or Love It”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZeyhERppY4Jo5kabS8KqpBAU&si=jYDfyVZSYdLA9Hzj

Arachnophonia: Kanye West “Graduation”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Deisy (class of 2024) and features Kanye West’s 2007 studio album Graduation. Thanks, Deisy!

Kanye West

Graduation

Kanye West - Graduation album cover (2007)

Kanye West has been one of the most talented and controversial men in the current music industry. Apart from the many social and political statements he has made throughout the years, West is one of the best producers and lyricists in music.

From his debut album The College Dropout to my favorite album Graduation, West has found ways to express himself and others through his music. You can find a number of West’s albums in our collection at Parsons Music Library including Graduation. This 2007 album has many memorable songs such as “Stronger,” “I Wonder,” “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” and my favorite, “Flashing Lights.”

Additionally, those interested in finding out more about this artist and where he has come from, there is an amazing documentary on Netflix called jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy. It’s a very interesting documentary that shows the process of his first album and how he came up in the musical scene.

Parsons Playlists: Walks Around The Lake

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Isaac (class of 2025) and features songs he listened to on walks around Westhampton Lake.

Walks Around The Lake

Like most, my first semester of college was a lot rougher than I imagined. I was confused, lonely, stressed, and honestly, I just missed my mom’s cooking. I would take walks around the lake to help ease my mind. Cold or hot, wet or dry, these walks were a necessary part of my routine, and I allowed the music I heard take me where they pleased. A few more semesters in, I’m loving college in a way that shocks me considering how miserable it was at times in the past, but I still take these walks occasionally. Here are some of the songs I listened to on these walks:

Westhampton Lake - University of Richmond

Frank Ocean – “White Ferrari”

Kanye West – “Lowlights”

Billie Eilish – “listen before i go”

Frank Ocean – “Moon River”

James Blake – “Are You Even Real?”

92914 – “Okinawa”

Daniel Caesar – “Japanese Denim

The Killers – “Read My Mind”

G-DRAGON – “Untitled, 2014”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZexMxCFtnIPGoHXvLCgdKVyw

Parsons Playlists: I Must Be Dreaming

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Danny (class of 2023) and is called “I Must Be Dreaming.”

I Must Be Dreaming

clouds

The Technicolors – “Neon Roses”

Aidan Bissett – “All That I’m Craving”

CODY JON – “Becky’s Plan”

Joshua Bassett – “Set Me Free”

Harry Styles – “Love Of My Life”

Dan + Shay – “Speechless”

Boy Pablo – “Be Mine”

Wasia Project – “Impossible”

Mt. Desolation – “Valentine”

Broadside – “Friday I’m In Love”

Warren Hue – “Boy of the Year”

The Lemon Twigs – “I Wanna Prove to You”

Justin Anda – “ROSÉ”

Couch – “Poems”

Stephen Sanchez – “Evangeline”

The Japanese House – “Saw You In A Dream”

Vulfpeck – “Love Is A Beautiful Thing”

Clinton Kane – “I Guess I’m In Love”

Bruno Mars – “Calling All My Lovelies”

Office Hours – “Sunday”

Surfaces – “Keep It Gold”

The Killers – “Joy Ride”

khai dreams – “Sunkissed”

Various Cruelties – “If It Wasn’t For You”

Pink Sweat$ – “I Feel Good”

Jacob Sigman – “Think About You”

Laundry Day – “Jane”

Coin – “I Think I Met You In A Dream”

Peach Tree Rascals – “Mariposa”

Noah Kahan – “She Calls Me Back”

The Paper Kites – “Steal My Heart Away”

Joji – “Die For You”

Reality Club – “A Sorrowful Reunion”

Frank Ocean – “Godspeed”

The Strokes – “Last Nite”

Luke Hemmings – “Saigon”

The Struts – “Only Just A Call Away”

Lorde – “Green Light”

Brandon Flowers – “Dreams Come True”

Kanye West – “Ghost Town”

The 1975 – “This Must Be My Dream”

Matt Maltese – “Jupiter”

candid! – “Sarah”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZewmHnbgYKnibK0D3W6xW-Ig

And here it is on Spotify:

New CDs added: April 2021

New CDs for April 2021

Orchestral, Concertos and Chamber Music

Imani Winds – Imani Winds
Nikolai Kapustin – Piano Music Marc-Andre Hamelin

Nikolai Kapustin - Piano Music

Felix Mendelsson – Mendelssohn – Piano Works Vol. 5 Benjamin Frith
Robert Schumann – Kinderszenen : op. 15 ; Davidsbündlertänze : op. 6 ; Piano sonata no. 2 in G minor, op. 22 Angela Hewitt

Mendelssohn - Piano Works, Vol. 5

Musical Theatre Cast Recordings

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss – SIX The Musical: Studio Cast Recording
Anaïs Mitchell – Hadestown: Original Broadway Cast Recording

SIX: The Musical

Alanis Morrisette and Glen Ballard – Jagged Little Pill: Original Broadway Cast Recording
Stephen Sondheim – Company – 2018 London Cast Recording

Jagged Little Pill - Cast Recording

Popular Music

Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Fantastic Negrito – Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?
Miranda Lambert – Wildcard

Miranda Lambert - Wildcard

John Legend – Bigger Love
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Fito Paez – La Conquista del Espacio
Bobby Rush – Rawer Than Raw
Billy Strings – Home

Fantastic Negrito - Have You Lost Your Mind Yet?

The Strokes – The New Abnormal
James Taylor – American Standard
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Toots and the Maytals – Got To Be Tough
Various Artists – Harmony In My Head: UK Power Pop & New Wave 1977-81

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Opera, Opera Excerpts, Choral Music and Art Songs

Metropolitan Opera – The Gershwins’ Porgy And Bess

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Gospel Music

P.J. Morton – Gospel According to PJ: From the Songbook of PJ Morton
Kanye West – Jesus Is King

Gospel According to PJ

Arachnophonia : Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Colin (class of 2021) and features Kanye West’s 2010 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Thanks, Colin!

Kanye West

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (MBDTF) is my favorite Kanye album. Many fans, reviewers and artists in the industry also agree with me that the albumis both technically amazing and culturally significant, with many music publications reporting back in December that MBDTF is their top album of the entire 2010s, such as Rolling Stone and Billboard. Why I believe this album is worthy of this praise is two-fold: first, the album continues the musical genius and masterful production that were present in The College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation; and second, this album marked Kanye’s public apology for his previous wrong-doings and public controversy, while apologizing in the most ‘Kanye’ way possible; self-reflection upon fame and ego.

I would be remiss in writing about MBDTF if I did not first acknowledge the character and artist behind the production of the album. Kanye has had his fair share of headlines throughout the past ten years or so, between his support of Donald Trump and the idea that Democrats have “brainwashed” black Americans, to his laptop being “stolen” by his cousin who leaked private videos of him, to his famous Twitter tirades in which he has attacked figures such as Wiz Khalifa and the company Nike, to his ongoing bouts with Taylor Swift. The list is long and could have been expanded upon further. Kanye is rarely in the news for positivity, but I argue that his albums should be judged separately from the creator. It is actually the last headline, his history with Taylor Swift, which started the production of MBDTF. In 2009 at MTV’s Video Music Awards, Kanye infamously took to the stage to interrupt Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video, proclaiming that Beyoncé should have won the honor. This prompted nationwide outrage against Kanye, which prompted an apology tour soon afterwards. He then took off to Hawaii that same year in the form of a retreat, in which he began working on MBDTF in Honolulu’s Avex Recording Studio.

Kanye West Performing at SWU Music Arts Festival 2011 by Renan Facciolo – Kanye West – SWU Music & Arts, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18137550

MBDTF is a journey. First, many elements of his previous albums can be identified on tracks throughout this album, indicating a feeling that the work in its entirety could be considered Kanye’s magnum opus. It borrows on the soul and experimental hip-hop aspects found in The College Dropout and Late Registration, mixed with the unrestricted emotional and innovative gleam evident in Graduation and 808s & Heartbreak. Second, the album explores themes such as wealth, prominence, decadence, excess, escapism, self-aggrandizement and self-doubt. An interesting understanding I found in my research is from Andrew Martin of Prefix Magazine, in which he notes in his review that this work “derives its intrigue from the shortcomings of its creator” and “it’s a meditation on fame.” Topics from previous, and even future Kanye albums, explore social issues that plague the world, such as abuse of drugs or the ongoing mistreatment of people of color. However, the “apology album” that MBDTF was expected to be allowed Kanye to reflect on the personal characteristics of his life, and to recognize that he is not perfect.

Focusing on specific tracks, the album opens with the aptly titled “Dark Fantasy.” Nicki Minaj introduces the first track through spoken-word, which then transitions into Kanye rapping about his images of grandeur as a child, and how the population perceives the fame, he has experienced incorrectly. Continuing through the album, “All of the Lights” is my personal favorite track. Between the masterful uses of synthesized sound bites to the lyrical story of a convicted man due to physical assault charges, the song is amazing in my eyes and by the public, receiving many accolades such as Best Rap Song at the 54th Grammy Awards. Another noteworthy track is “Runaway,” which appropriately premiered as a live performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, a year after Kanye’s public condemnation for his action against Swift, which prompted the creation of this album. Many reviewers laud “Runaway” as Kanye’s best song, placing emphasis on the ego of himself in a statement of lyrical apology for his public figure, but referring to the flaw of human nature of self-absorption that caused his problems. Some other album highlights include “Monster,” “Devil in a New Dress,” and “Lost in the World.”

Music is a strange dichotomy in which it is explicitly linked with the creators of itself and its performers, while also taking on its own personality completely separate from association with a person. I believe that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy should be viewed through a similar lens. Personally, I have friends who refuse to listen to Kanye West’s music simply because of the nature of himself as a person and the way he has publicized himself throughout the world. However, I believe it to be a great tragedy to close oneself off to the music that he creates as a separate entity of himself, only to experience the idea of the music and what it is trying to portray to us as an audience. No recommendation could ring more true than his album, which should be experienced and loved by all listeners.