As I’m sure many of you know, Hopscotch–Raleigh’s annual music festival–is happening this weekend! As a Raleigh resident of the last 15 years, I have grown up hearing about Hopscotch and the many artists that have performed. However, I have never actually been (I know…shocking).
Since this is my first ever music festival, I have been in full on prep mode. I’ve planning my schedule around shows, trying to get all of my assignments done before-hand, and most importantly familiarizing myself with the artist that are performing.
In doing so, I’ve complied a quick list of the acts I am most excited to see.
Caroline Polachek: Ever since I saw the “So Hot Your Hurting My Feelings” music video Caoline Polachek has occupied a space in my subconscious. From her voice to the production of her songs everything is perfectly in-sync. The tracks I am most excited for are “Hit Me Where It Hurts,” “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings,” and “Ocean of Tears.”
Flying Lotus: Having worked as the Underground Music Director for WKNC this Summer, Flying Lotus is one of the acts I am most looking forward to seeing. The album Yasuke, which was produced to go along with the anime, is chock-full of crazy features and insane beats. My most anticipated tracks are “Between Memories” and “Black Gold.”
Colin Stetson: In all honesty, before I began my Hopscotch research, I had absolutely no clue who Colin Stetson was. However, he quickly made it to the top of my most anticipated acts. The best way to describe his work is invigorating and primarily instrumental. He’s the brains behind the Hereditary soundtrack. The tracks I am looking forward to hearing most are “The righteous wrath of an honorable man” and “Welcome To The New World.”
Bandcamp can be hit or miss, but boy do I have a hit for you today. As part of their ‘Album of the Day’ series, Bandcamp has released a long-since out of print record from the disco era. “Doing Our Thing with Pride,” is the 1977 sole studio album from Greenville SC soul outfit The Al-Dos Band. Until literally last week, you could not listen to any of these songs without dropping literally thousands of dollars on Discogs. You can check the Bandcamp page for more information on the reissue, but today, we’re just going to give this thing the straightforward review it deserved 45 years ago.
The Al-Dos band skirt the lines of many retro styles. This was very common the 70s, when black music hit the mainstream and interesting experiments were, at least briefly, rewarded. The sound is clearly influenced by the contemporary trends in dance like funk and disco, but the core sound is more traditional. The best term is probably ‘country soul’ as the Al-Dos band have the most southern of soul aesthetics, at times bordering on gospel influence. It’s a fusion that was surprisingly rare in the decade following Sly and the Family Stone. The music is clearly steeped in the tradition of the black church, while remaining light, danceable, and sensual.
The lyrical themes are probably easy to infer from the album title: “Doing Our Thing with Pride.” The songwriter clearly wanted to continue in the tradition of “Say it Loud I’m Black and Proud,” or “What’s Going On,” writing songs that aren’t so much pollical theses as they are statements of intent and empowerment. Accordingly, much of the album isn’t political at all, instead taking themes of heartbreak and loss that transcend the era. The result is an album that is about as quintessentially 1977 as it gets, without ever becoming dated.
Music nerds like to think the best music will always eventually rise to the top, but the long-term obscurity of small-label wonders like the Al-Dos, screwed over by industry, geography, and happenstance, challenge that narrative. So much wonderful music remains out of print in our modern era. So, if you’re tired of buying blockbuster albums on vinyl for extortionate prices, take this album as your lesson to buy something for $5 from a band no one remembers. You might just find the next big discovering in record collecting.
Photo originally by David Lee (davidjlee on Flickr), used under the Creative Commons license.
On September 3, 2021, Phoebe Bridgers’ “Reunion Tour” is scheduled to kick off. The name of the tour is a joke/followup after her first tour was titled “Farewell Tour.” She announced the tour on July 12 of this year, not exactly a last minute announcement but certainly cutting it close. Bridgers is doing some of the shows with openers MUNA, an indie-pop band signed to her record label “Dead Oceans,” and Bartees Strange, an alternative musician from England. The tour has recently undergone some changes in light of COVID-19, including some indoor venues being changed to outdoor venues. On August 23, Bridgers posted on Instagram with updated information regarding the alterations.
The caption reads: “Let’s try this again… In the interest of safety, I’ve decided to only play outdoors for the upcoming tour. We are moving all previously scheduled indoor shows to outdoor venues and we’ve needed to postpone shows in a couple cities so please check the updated schedule. At my request, there are updated health and safety requirements. Entry will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Where that’s not permissible by law, we’ll agree to proof of vaccination OR proof of negative test result (PCR preferred/Antigen accepted) within 48 hours prior to entering those venues. And please wear a mask. I love you. See you soon.”
She stated, on “Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast” that “I am slightly terrified [for tour], to be real, because I did it for three years straight really before the pandemic, and I got really good at it.”
Phoebe Bridgers is making her way to the Carolinas about halfway through her stops, coming to Charlotte and Raleigh, on September 19 and 21 respectively. Both of the venues were changed: the Charlotte concert was once going to be at The Fillmore and will now be held at Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheater, and the Raleigh show was going to be at The Ritz and will now be held at Red Hat Amphitheater. Both shows will have MUNA as an opener.
I love movies. Who doesn’t? That being said, I took it so far that I’m now a film major, and I’m convinced I will make movies for the rest of my life. There’s an unbelievable amount of components and sheer work that go into creating a film, much less a good one, and one of those aspects is the soundtrack. Some films have songs made just for them and some curate from outside sources. Regardless, it’s usually very clear when soundtracks are good. Here are some of my favorites:
Good Will Hunting (1997)
1. “Between the Bars (Orchestral)” by Elliott Smith
2. “As the Rain” by Jeb Loy Nichols
3. “Angeles” by Elliott Smith
4. “No Name #3” by Elliott Smith
5. “Fisherman’s Blues” by The Waterboys
6. “Why Do I Lie?” by Luscious Jackson
7. “Will Hunting” (Main Titles)” by Danny Elfman
8. “Between the Bars” by Elliott Smith
9. “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith
10. “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty
11. “Somebody’s Baby by Andru Donalds
12. “Boys Better” by The Dandy Warhols
13. “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” by Al Green
14. “Miss Misery” by Elliott Smith
15. “Weepy Donuts” by Danny Elfman
Pride & Prejudice (2005) ***Composed by Dario Marianelli and performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet (piano) and the English Chamber Orchestra.***
“Dawn”
“Stars and Butterflies”
“The Living Sculptures of Pemberley”
“Meryton Townhall”
“The Militia Marches In”
“Georgiana”
“Arrival At Netherfield”
“A Postcard to Henry Purcell”
“Liz on Top of the World”
“Leaving Netherfield”
“Another Dance”
“The Secret Life of Daydreams”
“Darcy’s Letter”
“Can’t Slow Down”
“Your Hands Are Cold”
“Mrs. Darcy”
“Credits”
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) ***Composed by Tom Holkenborg a.k.a. Junkie XL.***
“Survive”
“Escape”
“Immortan’s Citadel”
“Blood Bag”
“Spikey Cars”
“Storm Is Coming”
“We Are Not Things”
“Water”
“The Rig”
“Brothers in Arms”
“The Bog”
“Redemption”
“Many Mothers”
“Claw Trucks”
“Chapter Doof” (Extended Version)
“My Name Is Max” (Extended Version)
“Let Them Up”
Trainspotting (1996)
“Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop
“Deep Blue Day” by Brian Eno
“Trainspotting” by Primal Scream
“Atomic” by Sleeper
“Temptation” by New Order
“Nightclubbing” by Iggy Pop
“Sing” by Blur
“Perfect Day” by Lou Reed
“Mile End” by Pulp
“For What You Dream Of” (Full On Renaissance Mix) by Bedrock featuring KYO
“2:1” by Elastica
“A Final Hit” by Leftfield
“Born Slippy .NUXX” by Underworld
“Closet Romantic” by Damon Albarn
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) ***All tracks performed by Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.***
“Also Sprach Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss
“Spartacus-Main Title” by Alex North
“Ode to Joy” by Ludwig van Beethoven
“Women of Ireland” by Traditional
“Sarabande”
“Full Metal Jacket-Themes” by Abigail Mead
“Surfin’ Bird” by Bob Harris (Performance feat. The Trashmen”
“Main Title/The Robbery” by Gerald Fried
“Murder ‘Mongst the Mannikins” by Gerald Fried
“A Meditation on War” by Gerald Fried
“Madness” by Gerald Fried
“The Patrol” by Gerald Fried
“March of the Gloved Gladiators” by Gerald Fried
“The Shinning-Theme” by Wendy Carlos / Rachel Elkind
“Midnight, the Stars and You (The Shining Blue Star)” (Performance feat. Al Bowlly
“Lolita-Love Theme” Bob Harris
“On the Beautiful Blue Danube”
“The Bomb Run” by Laurie Johnson
“We’ll Meet Again” by Hughie Charles / Ross Parker (Performance feat. Vera Lynn)
It was 94 degrees with 85% humidity at the City of Raleigh’s Moore Square Park right downtown. But that did not stop the artists and patrons from leaving it all on the stage and celebrating their existence. “Summer in the Carolinas” was a music festival that took place July 17th, 2021 and was from 12pm-10pm with over 36 NC native artists performing, organized by The Lo$t Generation.
This was the inaugural year of the festival and after the outcome, it seems this is a start to a great thing. What I saw was a community of music lovers come together to celebrate the brilliance and pure existence of the up-and-coming Hip Hop scene we have here in North Carolina. The stage appeared very professional. It was set up in the middle of the field with good enough elevation that the whole crowd was able to see. There was plenty of space for artists and their homies to turn up and entertain the crowd. I was genuinely surprised to see how well all of the artists performed, especially in that heat. These local artists came prepared with their outfits, stage presence, and energy. What they brought the crowd is something any local music enthusiast would be proud of.
Community
As I mentioned, this event brought the community together and not just with music. There were at least 5 food trucks, over 15 different local vendors, and photographers all taking advantage of the opportunities provided by this event. Many of the vendors were selling locally designed wares such as shirts and accessories. There were also several visual artists selling their paintings as well as facilitating live paintings for anyone to participate in. This event had a tremendous impact on the local creative community in many different ways by providing a platform and safe space for artists and their fans to freely express themselves.
One of the greatest things about this festival for me is that I left with a bunch of new artists to explore and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one taking notes.
Performances
Now I want to share with you some of my favorite performances of the night:
Zack Cokas(Raleigh)- Zack had some fire merch out there but his performance was even more so. This was right after he cut all of his hair off and had a sort of pink cheetah print dyed into his hair so it was shocking for a lot of people(including me). Him and his twin brother Cam Cokas(who is also very talented) took the main stage and they sure did do their thing. He’s one of the only artists who worked the entire stage and even jumped down to the ground level to make his performance a bit more intimate causing his fans to go even more wild.
Maasho(Raleigh)- This was actually his first performance and as someone who knew nothing about him before this, I was shocked. His performance was top tier, the energy that he brings alone sets him apart from other artists. I’m excited to see how he carries this momentum going forward.
Sonny Miles(Raleigh)- He really took control of the audience with his smooth and mellow bars representative of a new era in R&B. Even with the sets before his having much higher energy, this was not a detriment to his performance whatsoever. It was amazing seeing and feeling the vibe change with such soothing notes to bounce to.
Marco Luka(Durham)- He actually first performed with a band called Weston Estate first before he took the stage by storm for his solo performance. This guy really sounds like money, his music is just so melodic and easy to listen to.
Belis(Charlotte)- She has one of the most unique flows I have ever heard and I’m not just comparing her to the local artists at the venue. Again, I shamefully knew nothing of her before that day but I could already tell there was a buzz surrounding her from the way she presented herself to how wild her fans were going for her. Her outfit was one of the most fly out of the performers and her presence was felt even from the farthest corner of the park.
10Cellphones(Charlotte)- He was one of the headliner of the night and he did not disappoint. He performed just after the sun went down and the venue definitely took to a different vibe in the dark. His performance was fearless, making very bold statements about the police right in front of them no less. His set demanded everyone’s attention and the audience had payed their dues as it was a very active crowd at this point.
Tiacorine(Winston-Salem- I can’t lie, ever since I first heard Tiacorine perform I cannot stop listening to her. I was sold before I even saw her perform by the way she pulled up to the festival. She came in with a completely OG punk outfit and to top it off, she had liberty spikes. Later, I realized that she doesn’t usually run that look which made it even more of a special moment to behold. At first, I thought her sound would be a little more “hardcore” but what I realized instead is that she has a completely new flow entirely. I can’t really categorize it but she has hard but melodic lyrics that blend seamlessly with every beat that she was on. I can say with confidence that I am a Tiacorine fan for life.
The Lo$t Generation- These are the guys that put it all together and from what they said, this event took over a year to organize. Their performance closed out the show for the night and it was honestly a brilliant moment to watch them revel in their hard-earned success. One of their member even stage-dived and successfully surfed the crowd during one of their main acts.
For years, Raleigh and North Carolina in general have lacked that essential art & music infrastructure that artists need to help get their foot in the door and build a sustainable career. I believe that this music festival is essential to the culture of the Triangle and the entire state as a whole. In order for us to produce and sustain these phenomenal local artists, it is crucial that we give them our support and keep asking our city/state leaders informed on just how impactful these events can be.
You can view all the artists that were at Summer in the Carolinas here.
Short video I put together from videos I took at the Summer in the Carolinas music festival.
Another week, another book review. This time, it’s for “You Have A Match” by Emma Lord. This YA novel was released in January of 2021, and is a New York Times best-seller as well as a pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. Once again, as I mentioned in my review of “Tweet Cute,” Lord is able to write modern characters and dialogue that rarely feel forced or out of touch. It’s a true gift she possesses, and I cannot wait to read what she releases next, as these are her only two novels out at the moment.
“You Have A Match” centers around a high school girl named Abby who takes a DNA test to support her friend Leo, who is adopted, and taking the test in hopes of finding a family member. What Abby doesn’t expect is to find out that she has a fully-biological Instagram-famous older sister named Savannah (affectionately known as Savvy) living in the same area. Abby, not sure what to do with this secret, decides to not ask her parents about her long-lost sister, and instead (with encouragement from her newfound older sister) signs up for the same summer camp that Savvy is going to be a junior counselor at that summer.
What Abby doesn’t realize is that Leo is also going to be at that summer camp, meaning that she needs to confront her more-than-friends feelings for him all the while trying to figure out what happened to make her parents give up Savvy for adoption.
A tale that confronts themes like low self-esteem, comparing oneself to others, skeletons in the closet, bad timing and being betrayed: Lord grounds her writing in the realities of being a young person in the 21st century.
As I did with my review of “The Unhoneymooners” I have curated a playlist that matches the themes of this wonderful novel, and I would love it if you checked it out. Below is a list of the songs but you can also find the playlist on my Spotify.
“Family Secret” — Bad Moves
“The Parent Trap” — Annette Funicello, Tommy Sands
“I Like (the idea of) You” — Tessa Violet
“Static / Habit” — ADDIE
“So Sorry” — Feist
“Love Is A Lonely Thing” — Kings of Convenience, Feist
“Prom Queen” — Beach Bunny
“Jealous” — Eyedress
“Stay Down” — boygenius
“Spectacular Views” — Rilo Kiley
“Sunset Lover” — Petit Biscuit
“Dear Friend,” — Dayglow
“Tears in the Typing Pool” — Broadcast
“Selfless” — The Strokes
“Just the Two of Us” — Grover Washington Jr., Bill Withers
