Grab your swimsuit because this album seriously drips.
The Pinheads first gained some traction in the surf punk scene back in 2015 with their single I Wanna Be A Girl, which is still their most popular song to date, though their sound was still very course and scratching. Since then, the pinheads have continuously re-calibrated and tightened up their sound, moving in a more guitar-heavy direction and leaning away from thin, clattery percussion in favor of fuller drums. Is This Real, released in May of this year, is their smoothest album yet.
Is This Real has a very independent feel to it, which makes sense considering that this album was entirely created and recorded in a shed (lovingly called the Pin-shed Laboratory) belonging to the mother of one of the band members.
This album has a lot variation that will keep you on your toes, ranging from bluesy tracks like Is this real? to full out surf punk like track number two Feel it Now. Despite the mosaic of styles, the entire album is drawn together beautifully with familiar drawled vocals and fuzzy guitar. Similar sounding artists are Wax Witches and Shannon and the Clams.
As you listen, you might be wondering, with a guitar sound this drippin, what large body of water were The Pinheads adjacent to when they recorded this album? Answer: the Indian Ocean. Growing up in the suburbs of Wollongong, Australia, on the Leisure Coast, The Pinheads were always surrounded by surf rock, the influence of which shines through on this album in its wet, energetic riffs.
My favorite song on the album is definitely the title track Is This Real?. One of the slower songs on this album, Is This Real? sounds like the end of a perfect summer day. Especially when that harmonica comes in, you’ll remember one of those days where you hung out with your friends all day doing dumb shenanigans and now that the sun is setting you’re tired but happy and satisfied.
Happy and satisfied is also something you’ll feel after listening to this album.
Artist Record Label 1 TORO Y MOI Outer Peace Carpark 2 LONE “Abraxas” [Single] Ancient Astronauts 3 KAYTRANADA Nothin Like U/Chances [EP] RCA 4 TOURIST Everyday Monday 5 GEORGE CLANTON Slide 100% Electronica 6 DORIAN CONCEPT The Nature Of Imitation Brainfeeder 7 KEDR LIVANSKIY Your Need 2MR 8 CHANNEL TRES Black Moses [EP] Godmode 9 LAURENCE GUY Making Music Is Bad For Your Self Esteeem [EP] Studio Barnhus 10 HOUSE OF FEELINGS New Lows Joyful Noise
Artist Record Label 1 DENZEL CURRY Zuu Loma Vista/Concord 2 EARL SWEATSHIRT Some Rap Songs Tan Cressida 3 LITTLE SIMZ GREY Area AGE 101/AWAL 4 BONES LivingSucks Self-Released 5 MIKE War in my Pen Self-Released 6 TIERRA WHACK “Wasteland” [Single] Self-Released 7 BROCKHAMPTON Ginger Question Everything/RCA 8 SKI MASK THE SLUMP GOD Stokeley Republic 9 C. SHREVE THE PROFESSOR Daddy Love to Rap FTO 10 NONAME Room 25 Self-Released
It’s the year 2039. Where’s your podcast? (A Preserve This Podcast workshop)
Bring your hard drives. Bring your laptops. Bring your Dropbox password. We’re going to preserve your podcast. Zines will be provided.
If you’ve listened to our podcast or read our zine, you know that podcasts are disappearing. So how can podcasters protect themselves against loss? By attending our Preserve This Podcast workshop. This interactive workshop will tackle this issue head-on by walking audio-creators through the history of podcast technology, the basics of archival preservation, and simple steps you can take to preserve your audio. We will review through the tools and techniques to prevent data loss before it’s too late, as well as “bake” these concepts into podcasters’ existing production workflows.
Co-organized with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University.
About our instructors:
Dana Gerber-Margie (@theaudiosignal) listens to podcasts while living in Madison, Wisconsin. She earned her Master’s in Library & Information Studies at UW-Madison, and has worked as an A/V Archivist for WiLS and the Wisconsin Historical Society. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the Bello Collective, a publication about podcasts and storytelling.
Mary Kidd (@kiddarchivist) is an archivist and illustrator. By day, she works for New York Public Library’s Special Collections Division. She has worked on audio/visual preservation projects for New York Public Radio, the Magic Shop Recording Studio, and the XFR Collective, a non-profit organization that transfers at-risk media off magnetic tapes to digital format for individuals and groups with limited means. She enjoys creating drawings, zines, gifs, and other artful tidbits to make archiving, and the technology that supports it, accessible, approachable and fun for everyone.
Date And Time Sat, September 14, 2019 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM EDT
Location Center for Documentary Studies 1317 W. Pettigrew Street Auditorium – 7 Bridges Building Durham, NC 27705
Artist Record Label 1 INVOKE Invoking Chaos [EP] Arduous Path 2 KNOCKED LOOSE A Different Shade Of Blue Pure Noise 3 FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY “The Sea of Tragic Beasts” [Single] Nuclear Blast 4 WAGE WAR Pressure Fearless 5 DEVOURMENT Obscene Majesty Relapse 6 INFANT ANNIHILATOR “Swinaecologist” [Single] Self-Released 7 ASCENDING FROM ASHES Glory Darkscale Media 8 CHAMBER Ripping / Pulling / Tearing Pure Noise 9 RITUALIZER “Speed Of Sound” [Single] Self-Released 10 INCLINATION When Fear Turns to Confidence [EP] Pure Noise
In short, sampling is the practice (an art form some may say) of taking a portion of another sound recording, music or not, and reusing it in another sound recording. Samples come in many shapes and sizes. They can be speech sounds, instrument sounds, ambient sounds, beats and even lyrics. Musique concrète, which originated in the 1940s, was a way of making music out of previously recorded sounds. Artists who indulged in this kind of music composition would literally take tapes, cut the audio out that they wanted and then proceed to manipulate them via music technology. The point of musique concrète was to find “music” in everyday sounds by looping them, slowing them down or speeding them up. Now, thanks to some French dudes, sampling was (sort of) born. Of course, artists were borrowing from each other since the beginning of music; sampling is an inherent element in music-making.
In the 1960s, Jamaican dub reggae artists would take previously recorded reggae tracks to create faster songs to dance to and then they would DJ over them, these songs were called riddim (not EDM, though they share the same name). Jamaican immigrants who moved to America shared their practice of sampling and so began its roots in hip hop in the 70s. Sampling is the foundation of hip-hop itself, which is why it’s so widely used in the genre today. DJs would use turntables and loop breaks in soul records from artists like James Brown and use them to rap over for their audiences.
So why do some people despise sampling? Is it because they don’t know about its history and thus make blind assumptions of stealing (yes.)? Or is it because they do know what sampling is and they still don’t exactly agree with the “taking” of intellectual property even if it is manipulated to create another work? I’m not the one to say, but I can say that there is plenty of controversy surrounding sampling in the music world. I mean sure, it is very wrong to literally take someone’s work, copy it, paste it and then call it your own. To me, that’s not what sampling is. Sampling is about paying homage or shouting out something you really like as a music artist and it gives artists even MORE creative room to work with. It gives artists the chance to share something new with their audiences and it sometimes propels the original to new stardom. Sampling also creates a unique space for music to be made of other music which is pretty meta if you ask me. However, running into copyright issues is where it can get tricky and controversial. Of course, nowadays, you hear a lot about artists having trouble getting samples cleared because of how expensive and difficult it is to get through copyright rules. Imagine all of the good, juicy sampled music we could have if these samples had been cleared. Personally, I love sampling. For me, it’s like finding hidden treasure because the original song is ALWAYS better than the song with the sample. It also broadens my musical horizons greatly and gives a song another layer of history. Hip hop and electronic music are my most favorite genres and sampling is at the base of their creation so I am all for it.
If you’ve ever heard any of A Tribe Called Quest, Anderson .Paak, Digable Planets, Quasimoto or Noname then you’ve heard of Jazz Rap. Jazz Rap emerged in the 80s and 90s, right along with the rap genre’s own beginnings. Jazz had been used to sample and reconstruct new soundscapes for lyricists to rap over. It was mellow, it was jazzy and it was paying homage to black music. While the music itself was historically aware, the artists who participated seemed to be as well by adopting lyrics about the intricacies of black people in America and throughout. Gang Starr was among the very first to popularize the genre with songs like “Talkin’ All That Jazz” which sampled famous jazz musician, Lonnie Liston Smith.
In 1993, Digable Planets released a hit jazz rap record called “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)” which sampled many a jazz artist including Herbie Hancock. After a time, jazz rap’s popularity began to dwindle in the mainstream sphere, but jazz still holds strong roots in the back beats of any rap song then and today. Jazz rap gave room for other experimental and unconventional forms of rap and hip hop as can be seen with MF Doom and Noname.
Jazz Rap: a playlist
Award Tour: A Tribe Called Quest
Where I’m From: Digable Planets
Self: Noname
Blah Loops: Like ft. Kali Uchis
Running Shoes: Ivan Ave
Bluffin: Quasimoto
Me of the Papes: Jeru The Damaja
Dancing in the Rain: Blu and Exile
Mass Appeal: Gang Starr
They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y): Pete Rock & CL Smooth
93 ‘Til Infinity: Souls of Mischief
Poe Man’s Dreams (His Vice): Kendrick Lamar ft. GLC
I never knew just how many ways there were to experience music until I came to college. It honestly blew my mind to see just how many different ways one could listen to music and how much that changes the experience, so I wanted to share some of my favorites
DJing – Of course the best way to experience music differently is by listening to WKNC 88.1 (the best in college radio) 🙂 but actually, it really does change the experience when you’re in charge of the music selection on the radio. Hearing your favorite tracks over the monitor and knowing that you’re able to force however many people are tuned in to enjoy it too is a feeling like no other. DJing also definitely changed how I experienced music on a first listen and how I think of playlists (I’m kind of addicted to making playlists now and have far more than necessary)
Live – Anyone who’s ever been to a concert for a band they love will testify to this, seeing the music performed live is such an intimate and mesmerizing experience and you feel the music in a way that only comes from a live show. Like most people I keep a list of all the shows I go to, but I know that even if I didn’t have it I would still remember. You never forget a good show and for a good while after you’ll feel different about that music/ artists.
Knowing/meeting the Artist – This is one of my favorite ways to experience music. Much like a live concert it just feels way more intimate but it also brings in this ‘aw i’m so proud of you’ feeling, almost makes you feel like a proud parent at your kids talent show. You get excited to show off your friends work and how talented they are, and when you listen you think ‘yeah definitely feels like them’. I listen to my friends music all the time because it’s the most inspiring and exciting thing to experience.
Making the music – This one is fun as long as you’re not too critical of yourself. Sitting back and listening to something YOU created, thought of, put into existence, etc. is an exciting and inspiring experience. You might stop and think ‘hmm I should’ve done this differently’, but it’s a learning experience and it just makes you want to do it again. Sharing your music with other people who make music can also be a scary thing, but hearing good feedback and being able to enjoy each other’s work is by far my favorite way to experience music.
Focus on Different Elements – Now this is something that studying music as a minor has added to my musical life. Structure, instruments, tempo, lyrics, etc. there’s just so much to hear when listening to a song and if you focus on a different part each time you almost feel like your experiencing it for the first time every time. This can also apply to where you are in your life and what your experiencing too. Like how a love song feels different depending on relationship status and how you feel about someone.
Car, Biking, Skateboarding, Flying etc. – Last but not least, I do think listening to music during any kind of travel changes the experience. Freshman year my absolute favorite thing to do when I was stressed was get on my skateboard and jam out while riding around campus. Now that I live off campus I find listening to music while biking has its own spark too. There’s something about that breeze and flow of travel that really puts people in a mellow and bop mood. And I can’t forget to mention that ‘movie-like’ (and EXTREMELY satisfying) feeling when you pull up to your destination right as the song is ending.
If you have any other favorite ways to experience music please let me know
How did I discover Travis Scott you ask? I didn’t find his music first, but I saw a picture of him wearing a Pantera shirt and I was like, “I like him.”
Scott formed a duo with his friend Chris Holloway in 2008 known as The Graduates and released their untitled EP on Myspace. That following year, Scott created a group called The Classmates and they released 2 projects. Over the next few years, Scott moved around between Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.
Scott’s first solo full-length project is a mixtape called Old Pharaoh(2012). His first full-length studio album, Days Before Rodeo, was released on September 4, 2015. The album featured musical acts from Quavo, Kanye West, Chief Keef, Young Thug, and many more. He then released Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight, in late 2016. Then in 2017, Quvao from Migos and Travis Scott created Huncho Jack where they have dropped a collaboration album called, Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho.They just released a single in 2019 called Houdini.
And now we get to arguably one of the best releases ever. On August 3, 2018 Scott released Astroworld, which is one of my favorite records of all time. The inspiration behind the title of his third album comes from a theme park of the same name in Houston that Scott used to go to; it has since closed down. Scott put on a show near where the theme park used to be, which I think was god damn brilliant.
When looking at Scott’s musical influences, he has stated that he was influenced by Bon Iver, Kid Cudi, M.I.A., and Kanye West. Scott uses autotune heavily in his songs but he uses it in a way that is actually good and aesthetically pleasing. He also uses some of the most fire beats in his songs. Some people describe Scott’s style as a mix between traditional hip-hop and lo-fi. But Scott himself has said that he is not hip-hop.
bkmag.com
When talking about Scott’s music and live show, he has been compared to Kurt Cobain and Nirvana. Some have argued that Travis Scott is the Kurt Cobain of our generation. This is because there is a pivot in the hip-hop/rap scene that is going in the same trajectory that rock music went through when Nirvana hit the scene. What is this “pivot” you ask? When looking back at the punk rock scene, it was rebellion, anger, and aggression. But when Nirvana came out, the music was softer, and paired with easy to sing-along lyrics (that still had an emotional impact on the listener). And then next thing you know, Grunge music hit the scene. Now, there are grunge bands that are heavier than Nirvana but that is besides the point. With Hip-Hop/Rap, the traditional sound and way of doing things has been thrown out the window. New age rappers do not care about the traditions of the genre. Hence, a paradigm shift. Like any other genre, the music has to evolve into something else. These new artists want to bring something new to the table and try things that no one else has tried before. Cross overs into other genres is a great way to add new elements to your music.
Taking influence from other genres have been done for years. Especially when talking about metal and rap. These two have been influenced by each other for years. For example, Aerosmith and RUN DMC did a remake of Walk This Way in 1986. Anthrax and Public Enemy created a song called Bring the Noise in 1991. Korn has been heavily influenced by rap and even the band Attila has some roots in rap. When looking at XXXTEENTACION, he samples the intro of Slipknot’s Spit It Out in his song Off the Wall.
Travis Scott’s stage show has been heavily influenced by the metal scene. The intensity in which he performs is insane. He is always in the faces of the audience and he is always paying attention. He wants people to go crazy and be free. He wants the listeners and attendees to be 100% themselves and rage at his shows. If you look up live performances of Travis Scott, you will see people stage diving from the stage and jumping into the crowd from the nose bleeds. The mosh pits at his shows are absolutely insane. I get goose bumps every time I watch him perform live.
There are a lot of similarities between metal and rap genres and I am happy that artists are incorporating other types of styles into their music. Genres aren’t black and white. Trying to keep music in a particular genre does not benefit the listeners or the creator of the music. Music is something that should be experimented with because as listeners, we are waiting for the next big thing. So why keep music in a box when it was meant to roam?
