“Experience it. Enjoy it. Just don’t fall for it.”
– Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous” (Crowe, 2000)
There are very few words in the English language to express just how important “Almost Famous” is to me; in the immortal words of Bad Company, “it’s all part of my rock and roll fantasy.”
To a little girl who grew up on her dad’s rock albums, there was nothing more whimsical than the idea of being whisked away by a band. But I never wanted to be Penny Lane; I always wanted to be William Miller or, even better, Lester Bangs.
Album cover for Faye Webster’s “Underdressed at the Symphony,”
Relationships are often marked by the music shared with people. There are songs I can’t listen to without remembering certain points in time, points in relationships, or points in states of mind, whether it brings pain or pleasure.
The worst breakup of my life left me turning to the grounding capacity of music. Japanese Breakfast’s new album “Jubilee,” had just come out, and I spent all my free time wallowing and projecting onto the song “Kokomo, IN.”
To this day, I can’t listen to that song, or a myriad of others without thinking about that specific person and stretch of time. I think of “Kokomo, IN,” as a capsule holding all of my emotions towards that relationship. They’re placed there for me to return to whenever I want, or to discard with appreciation for how it helped me process a difficult moment.
It was empowering for me to mark the song as a memorial for my relationship. I never considered that it must be even more empowering to create your own album as a form of remembrance, and Faye Webster’s new album feels just like that.
With her smooth voice and beautiful accompaniments, Atlanta based singer-songwriter Faye Webster quickly became a household name for indie music lovers. While I knew her new album would be good, I didn’t expect it to resonate so hard with my past experiences.
Her highly anticipated new project “Underdressed at the Symphony,” is full of nostalgia and lost love. The album is lush and graceful, featuring Webster’s recognizable crooning and lengthy jam sequences. It is, unmistakably, a breakup album.
”All of My Injuries” zine cover photo (artwork by JAK!)
This Saturday, March 23rd, NC State junior Rory Sullivan will be holding his first solo photography exhibition. The show is titled “All of My Injuries” and will take place from 5:30 to 8:00 P.M. at 1310 Hillsborough Street. Zines and photo prints will be available at the exhibition, as well as free yerba mate for the first group of attendees. The exhibition is a culmination of his present works, with a primary focus on “the ideas of emotional injury represented in physical form as well as the sort of vulnerability that comes along with it” as stated by Sullivan.
Photograph by Rory Sullivan
As well as personal projects, Sullivan has previously photographed and filmed within the North Carolina rap scene, and has worked with artists such as Newman and TiaCorine. He has also previously done work within Platform, NC State’s student-run fashion magazine and has several photoshoots in past editions of the magazine credited to him. Included in this are some photographs included in the exhibit that convey the ideology that the show will be presenting through Sullivan’s artistic works.
Photograph by Rory Sullivan
The growth and emphasis upon student art and exhibitions at NC State has been a wonderful event to witness as a student here myself, and presently I can only hope for this upwards trajectory to continue. Despite our standing as a STEM-focused school, the student body has proven time and again to be incredibly creative and innovative within the arts, and I feel it is important to celebrate this when it often feels like the scientific advancements produced by students and alumni seem to stifle artistic achievements. Creative freedom and the expression of human vulnerability are reflections of the basic desires of adolescence and should be embraced with open arms.
Public Acid's cover art for "Deadly Struggle" by Thomas Sara.
Public Acid’s newest contribution to NC’s hardcore music scene is “Deadly Struggle”. The album was released on February 23, 2024 and has a runtime of fourteen minutes. It has eight tracks; all of them leave you with a desire for a shower after listening.
Public Acid has a few other releases. Most notably is “Condemnation”, an EP released about two years ago, which is just as harsh and thrash-y as “Deadly Struggle”.
To find an album that still makes my skin crawl AND creates a putrid stench of hatred is no easy feat. The more I flounder around in the metal and hardcore scenes, the more unimpressed I become with guttural howls of pain and rage. Public Acid definitely doesn’t re-invent the metal scream or do anything too crazy and new, but “Deadly Struggle” is a pleasantly-sleek, head-whipping release.
Beauty of Horror
My favorite three tracks, “Slow Bleed”, “Ignorance” and “Hang the Leaders” are like Death cradling the dying. They’re a beautiful look at the horrible pains of everyday life. Since beginning my hardcore music fascination, I’ve been able to unlock appreciation for nasty sounds and disgusting imagery.
I can see the beauty that lies in more horrific actions and deeds. That’s because beauty isn’t the same kind of serene natural picture we are always told about. There’s beauty in fear, there’s beauty in blood, there’s beauty in death.
“Deadly Struggle” isn’t glorifying violence (and neither am I, though it sure looks like it). Public Acid captures the nature of corrupt social practices and the fascination with a blood fueled world. They capture and make it beautiful through their destructive music. If you read my other blogs, you can see I’m pretty easily impressed by most musicians and bands I listen to.
To some (and maybe even to me sometimes) Public Acid might be just another one of those hardcore punk bands that sound like every other one, but I get a sense that their ability to capture despair, disgust and destruction will help them prevail the onslaught of current day music industry practices.
The band kicked off their 2024 North American tour back in February, and will perform at Carrboro’s legendary Cat’s Cradle March 26.
If you’re not familiar with Otoboke Beaver (a crime, honestly), there’s still time. This totally rocking band will make for an unforgettable concert experience.
Wild Garage Rock
Self-described as a “Japanese girls ‘knock out or pound cake’ band,” Otoboke Beaver formed in 2009 after the members met at a college music society.
They released their first demo album in 2011 and a live album in 2012, both of which gained traction among Japanese audiences.
Otoboke Beaver began touring internationally in 2016, and have since garnered critical acclaim from numerous sources, including Dave Grohl, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, Tom Moreno, and numerous others.
Cover for “SUPER CHAMPON スーパーチャンポン” by Otoboke Beaver
Otoboke Beaver’s garage punk style regularly flirts with madness. However, amid discordant arrangements of guitar and vocals, there’s a perceptible grand design.
Spontaneity is controlled and masterfully cultivated to create a pervading sense of unity among the band’s members.
The band’s description of “knock out or pound cake” is surprisingly apt; their sound constantly alternates between vicious, unbridled energy and idyllic ebullience.
Cover for “Love Is Short” by Otoboke Beaver
Subject matter comes directly from the band members themselves, drawing from romantic misadventures, grievances with chauvinism, sexual desire and the monotony of the daily grind.
I have no time to spend for you seeking for a one-night stand, old fart has come abso-f–king-lutely you’re out of question so full-of-yourself old dirty fart
shut up shut up shut up and Don’t look down on me!
“Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction” – Otoboke Beaver
Cover for “‘yobantoite mojo’/’don’t call me MOJO'” by Otoboke Beaver
While the band doesn’t consider themselves to be distinctly feminist, a group of Japanese women loudly and irreverently declaring their desires in a white and male-dominated genre is nothing short of groundbreaking.
Otoboke Beaver’s latest album, “Super Champon,” came out in 2022, and all I have to say is this: if the band’s setlist draws at all from this release, audiences are in for a riotous time.
