It’s been only a week since the annual Coachella Music & Arts Festival from April 17-19, and I’m sure UCLA students currently enduring midterms are feeling the same longing as I am to return to that blazing Indio sun. This was my first experience camping for the weekend, and besides the monumental torture of being slowly herded like cattle to the campground after the headliners, the three days were a blur of one incredible moment after another. Shouting “SLACK MOTHERFUCKER” alongside hundreds of jumping fans, surviving the all-encompassing noise wall of MBV’s ‘holocaust’ (with ringing ears days later), the entire Ida Maria set, the explosive rendition of Live and Let Die, etc etc etc…all dozens of unforgettable memories that help me to trudge through stressful academic nights like these.

Coachella marks the beginning of the 2009 music festival season, and with the recent Lollapalooza line-up being revealed, those of you who’ve missed Coachella still have a chance to catch many of these same artists live.

Here are a few pictures of the weekend that happened to turn out decently:

–Ricky Irwin

M. Ward

Within the Encyclopedia Psychedelica there are few experiences as unique as Black Moth Super Rainbow.  BMSR is a verb, a state of mind akin to maybe a drug induced LEN that doesn’t SUCK, or a Sebastian Schuller on rollerblades.  Each song drips with nostalgiac tones, reminding the auditory sense of play ground songs with hints of a dark underbelly, or seventies roller discos packed with more poofy hair than a tree filled with marmosets.

After two albums of solo work by front-man Tobacco, BMSR has returned with their latest album “Eating Us”.  This work cruises through their usual avenues of DIY electronics,  psychedelics, somber acoustics, all sung like a weepy love ballad from Io.  And after five and a half (album with The Octopus Project) albums I can fully say that I have tasted this rainbow, and all of the “bubble gum animals” and “caterpillar houses” therein.  So call me a hopeless romantic for expecting a new direction, but I’m not even sure what direction this music is taking me in the first place.  Nevertheless, I would say “Eating Us” is an ubertacular effort; Its biggest problem is that it contains the tried but true BMSR psychedelic method, except maybe this one feels like an easy listening version of 2007’s “Dandelion Gum”.  It does indeed deserve my reccomendation, but noobs that have not “[Jumped] into my mouth and [breathed]” the rainbow should get “sticky” with the older stuff first.

4 out of 5 stars

BeeTeeDubs, Black Moth Super Rainbow is playing in LA at the Troubadour on May 29th, be thar!

http://www.troubadour.com/eventdetail.php?id=1177

–Kwame

By all accounts, the song’s popularity should not be possible. Playing on tired metaphors that circle around a fad of three years’ past, it’s amazing that in today’s flavor of the week society such a sonnet could attain such relevance and resonate as it does with our peers. But there it is, at the top of the billboard charts. And there it is, playing at countless apartment parties every Thursday night. And there it is, calling to me from the window of a passing beamer. I am of course, talking about Lady GaGa’s “Poker Face.”

Upon my first listen, I’ll admit that I shed a tear for the woman. “Texas hold ‘em?” I wondered aloud to myself, recalling those innocent nights of high school angst and five dollar buy-ins, “Really?” It seemed like such a joke, and though the beat did indeed get my feet a tappin’ and my head a bobbin’, I was more embarrassed by the poor choice of subject-matter than anything else. I felt as if I was listening to the musical incarnation of Bridgette Jones’ infamous costume-party blunder, only this time the ill-advised decision came not in the form of a rather endearing Playboy Bunny costume, but a worn and decrepit game of our youth, whose flame had long burnt out.

Given all of this, the question becomes, “Why?” Why has this song found such a following amidst our contemporaries and why has it not suffered the awkward embarrassment akin to showing up at the Oscar’s in last year’s fashions? One could conceivably make the case for excellent production values, heavy beats, and the addictively delightful opening that is “Mum mum mum mah,” but I would have to disagree with all three seemingly foregone conclusions. Rather, I propose it is something deeper within all of us, something more symptomatic of the era in which we’ve come of age that has led us to revel in such a senseless indulgence as “Poker Face.” I am of course speaking of our generation’s complete and absolute addiction to nostalgia. To be honest, VH1 fucked us all. Right when we were most impressionable, they released their highly popular “I Love the 80s” series, and things have never been the same since. We’ve grown accustomed to adoring the past and to recreating it in our present. We no longer find ourselves content with the natural order and progression of things, but instead seek to perpetuate a sense of youth and belonging through a constant revisiting to what once was.

Even more disturbing is the way in which, as the years have passed since that first show, we have come to pine for those things nearer and nearer to our present moment. What those decades past were to our parents, those months of yore are to us. Nostalgia is the bastion by which we maintain a sense of stability in this world that appears to be progressing at such lightening speed. In such a light, the popularity of Poker Face makes perfect sense. It is our rock and our anchor to another time, when things were “simpler” and when our worries seemed inconsequential. Tomorrow is only a day away, but in our minds that day is all too close – especially as potential college grads coming into a job market altogether hostile to our hopes and dreams. Poker Face however, is anything but hostile. Rather, it’s comforting. As I dip my hips to the grooves it lays down, my mind is allowed to wander back to those dimly lit garages, with their cigarillos and cheap beer, and all those fantastic promises of our seemingly lost youth. Maybe Lady GaGa knows the game better than I previously thought. Combine her premature nostalgia with our generation’s seething insecurity, and you’ve got quite the pair. What a deliciously devious creature she would be if such a thing were so. But, of course, despite all of this psychoanalytical bullshit, maybe it’s just her neckline that has me so royally flushed.

–J. Wedell

For those not universally music-literate conversation can sometimes reveal embarrassing gaps in one’s genre knowledge. Thankfully there are resources for such pitiful souls. As with most things a Google search will take you far but here are a couple suggestions to get on on the path to knowing your New Wave from your No Wave.
For a complete list one can call on the font of all knowledge that is Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_genre

For an easier to navigate site check out Allmusic.com:
http://www.allmusic.com/

–John Rieman

As a music geek in LA, I’m often haunted by the urge to seek out and enjoy the wondrous live music available in this fine, expansive city. Too often, however, I missed out on potential mind shattering shows, leaving me pained and exhausted by my failure. After becoming tired of ripping out advertisements from LA Weekly, I stumbled upon my savior, Losanjealous.com
Losanjealous releases a weekly listing of almost all concerts in the LA area, including three to four “editor picks” of fine acts that might go unseen. Not only does Losanjealous perform this fine service for free, it also provides high quality photos of various shows, and reviews great food finds for under $10. A must for any cultured Los Angeles city dweller, Losanjealous should make its way to your firefox toolbar in no time.

–Tahl, Intern for I’m In a Band

California offers a wide range of music festivals that occur throughout the year, throughout the state, offering people a chance to see a number of popular bands on the same day for a relatively low price. However over the past few the quality of these festivals has been diminished. The major artists a fewer and further between than they were even two years ago, but prices are staying about the same. Maybe it’s the economy, or music pirating costing the industry too much money, or maybe it’s a conspiracy by the government to cut down on drug use. But the result is that festivals are losing the aspects that were once most important part: the value. Consider all the artists you really want to see, estimate ticket price for an individual show of each and add, and a few years ago it probably would have been about twice the ticket price. But modern festivals offering less major artists and charging the same makes that value much more rare among the festivals.

The evidence of this decline in quality can be seen in almost any festival in California, but for the sake of my argument Ill focus on Rock the Bells in San Francisco and BFD, also in the Bay Area. I was fortunate enough to obtain a ticket for and attend Rock the Bells in ‘07 and can say easily that it was the best day of music I’ve seen. Just look at the lineup. I don’t just mean the headliners, Rage Against the Machine, Wu-Tang, The Roots, Mos Def, etc. What I’m talking about is the rest of the show, the small stages that make the entire day an experience and not just the end of the night. ‘07 featured on these small stages MF Doom, Hieroglyphics, Blackalicious, Immortal Technique, Jedi Mind Tricks, and Public Enemy. The $75 ticket was downright cheap, considering it meant about $9 for every artist I wanted to see. Move forward 2 years to this year’s Rock the Bells and the story is completely different. Damian Marley is the lone headliner, with support coming from The Roots, Common and Tech N9ne. Now I’ve got nothing against Common and Tech, but there’s no way they can stand up to the side stages of 2007. The price per artist rises to about $20, and I’m sorry to say that it’s not worth it for me this year and I won’t be attending. BFD’s is the same story. In 2007 the headlining bands included Bloc Party, Queens of the Stone Age, Interpol, and the Kaiser Chiefs, and side stages featured The Bravery, The Faint, and the Cold War Kids immediately following the Robbers and Cowards album. $60 ticket, about $8.50 for each band that interested me. I will not, however, be attending in 2009. Prices have actually gone up a little for the festival, and the headliners are The Offspring, 311, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Interest on my part: 0. Who is paying $60 for that ticket? My guess is that it will be far less than years past.

–PBJ

Mika Miko will be doing a live set and on-air interview on France this Wednesday, April 29th from 8-10 pm! They are going to tear shit up, so don’t miss it.

Send us any questions/comments/hellos at france.uclaradio@gmail.com or IM us at bruinradio during the show! See you there!

- Ashi and Greg

Clutch – Robot Hive/Exodus

Description: Every time I need to shave, I look in the mirror scrutinizingly.  I stare at the stubble growing above my upper lip and remember Neil Fallon’s wise words of wisdom: “One thing I know for a fact, mustache stays right where it’s at.”  Clutch’s Robot Hive/Exodus gives much more than facial hair grooming advice (that line is from Robot Hive/Exodus’ opening track, “The Incomparable Mr. Flannery”).  Clutch’s hard and heavy garage band vibe is at its finest on their seventh LP, mixed in with a very off-beat sense of humor — “Even the mole people they got to get religion” — and semi-serious social criticisms.  Track list and recommendations after the jump.

–Teeg aka DJ Unibomber
Metal Slug Wednesdays 2-4 PM

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Heartsrevolution – “Switchblade EP” (2008)

Genre: 8-bit

Sounds Like: Crystal Castles, Adventure, nails on a chalkboard

Listen To: 1 – Switchblade -  An oddball track full of a variety of synthesized sounds and rhythms but it be very fatiguing to listen to.

Innovation is cool.  Dance-techno is cool too.  When Polysics threw a recorder, a synthesizer, english gibberish, and poppin’/lockin’ into the tradition J-Rock band, they created a new breed of high energy pop that gave them the fanbase to tour with high profile bands like the Kaiser Chiefs.  When Hellogoodbye crafted a niche of their own with synthesized beats and cutesey lyrics, their first real album debuted at  #13  on the US charts.  When Heartsrevolution mixed harsh synthesized melodies with atonal yelping and a variety of distortion filters, they created noise… and not much more.

I might as well come out and say that I don’t like this EP and if you do, stop reading now because you will be offended.  This CD is actually physically painful to listen to if you’re listening to it on sound system capable of reproducing the piercing treble mixed into this album.  The title track, Switchblade isn’t too bad of a song except that each audio track is subjected to the gauntlet of oddball filters that create a harsh overall tone that actually makes it difficult to concentrate on anything (although music like this will probably be played in dance clubs where you really shouldn’t be thinking about anything but dancing anyways.)  The second track, “Wolves and Libertines” has “Lo” yelping atonally (or maybe just singing offkey) “run baby run baby run baby run” every other line for the length of the 2 minute track.  The third track is an experiment in vocal filters and sci-fi sound effects gone wrong with monotonous melodies, monotonous rhythms, and the nagging feeling that a 6 year old with a delay pedal is just mashing keys on his dad’s synthesizer.  The forth track is perhaps the most mellow and trance-like although my same gripes with the previous tracks apply to this one.  It’s monotonous with the same depressing phrases repeated over and over in a roboticized voice.  The fifth track… just read the previous paragraph over.

This CD was created by two people who spent too much time playing with audio filters and not enough time thinking about the headache it would cause its listeners.

Grade: D-   Reviewer: Andrew Huang

When I first heard about the idea, I thought two things: This is either wholly fabricated, or these people are absolute geniuses. And then I saw the script. And then I heard the singers. And then I knew it was entirely the latter.

Based on the 1996 box-office smash and Oscar-nominee for Best Picture, “Jerry Maguire: The Musical,” is the creative brainchild of a young and enterprising group of individuals who found themselves starved for something new. On a cold winter’s eve in early 2009, they collectively struck comic gold in their adaptation of the film into a frenetic, 4 minute, wildly eclectic musical odyssey. With the script and music in place, they then needed only to recruit just the right mix of thespians, singers, and avant-garde artistes to create the perfect performance troupe. The end result was the “Strathmore Players.” A rag-tag composite of UCLA’s most enthusiastic raw talent, they are drawn from all facets of the campus, serving as a multilateral coalition of collegiate society.

Considering precedent, the deck seems stacked against JMTM, but the same could’ve been said about the Arizona Cardinals, and they ended up in the Super Bowl. And the rabbit hole runs deeper: Rod Tidwell, Cuba Gooding Jr’s character in Jerry Maguire, played for the Arizona Cardinals. Of course, we like to foresee a far more celebratory outcome for our production than that of Fitzgerald’s Cards, but still – if that’s not God giving you one hell of a suggestive raise of the eyebrows, then I don’t know what is. Perhaps however, its most appropriate to say, “Help them help you.” Help them help you rediscover what it feels like to laugh again. Help them help you remember why you liked Tom Cruise before Katie Holmes. And help them help you revel in what has become an all too rare commodity: the purity of creative pursuit.

Mr. Webley has done it again. In case you haven’t caught on to the theme, this is his 5th out of 11 proposed collaborative albums being released on his label Eleven Records. Only 1,111 copies will ever be made. So order now folks because Jason says there are only about a 100 left. He’s also just released the music video for Days With You and made an announcement of his “Eleven Year Anniversary Extravaganza!” being held July 3rd at the Seattle Town Hall. Tickets, of course, are $11. If you can only make one Jason Webley concert, make this one. Most of the artists Jason has worked with over the last eleven years will be present, and I’m betting that even Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls will be there. (If you didn’t know, the two of them have worked together under the name Evelyn Evelyn).

And don’t forget to check out the new album. “Gypsy guitar wizard” Sxip Shirey and the accordion-playing vagabond have come up with some surprisingly beautiful numbers, especially a new rendition of Webley’s Almost Time to Go.

Genre: Folk/Experimental
Released: March, 2009
Label: Eleven Records
Sounds like: a circus composer and an accordionist
Alice recommends**

1. Days With You **
2. Leave Me **
3. March Of The Hoohahs
4. Joe’s Phonograph
5. Cardboard Suitcase
6. Drift **
7. Crock
8. Elephant Piano
9. Resophonic Dream
10. Winter Comes
11. Regurgitated Lullaby
12. Almost Time To Go **
13. Reprise

—Alice Merrick

Turn on Auto Stapler this Monday 4-6pm to hear Ben Lee! Send in your questions to automaticstapler@yahoo.com or IM BruinRadio during the show!

ALSO! We will be sneak previewing songs off of Bob Dylan’s new album Together Through Life before it comes out!

Be sure to tune in the week of May 15-22 to hear about our special premiums for donations! Also you can be entered to win a special prize.
And don’t forget, Pledge Week means “get your DJ to do almost anything for moneyz” week.

Van Halen – 1984

Track List
1. 1984
2. Jump
3. Panama
4. Top Jimmy
5. Drop Dead Legs
6. Hot for Teacher
7. I’ll Wait
8. Girl Gone Bad
9. House of Pain

Description
There’s a lot that can be said about Van Halen’s 1984 that’s probably been said, but to sum it up in only four words: “Go ahead and jump.”  Enough said.

–Teeg aka DJ Unibomber
Metal Slug Wednesdays 2-4 PM

Be sure to tune in Sunday, August 19th at 8pm for a live performance from singer-songwriter Arthur Autumn on DJ Octoon’s “I’m in a Band.. – The BEST in Unsigned Music.”

Before you listen, be sure to check out Autumn’s music on Myspace.