Sufjan Stevens’s newest album demonstrates the artist’s artistic freedom in its meandering themes and sounds. The way the art “industry” tends to go, everyone starts out releasing only their best and greatest stuff in an effort to make their bread and make a name. Only when they’re a successful household name can they begin releasing […]
Author: Ethan Veenker
Playback: Explosions in the Sky – “The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place”
You hear lots of lyrics these days. Our modern perception of music is nearly inseparable from vocalists — the dashing young person clenching a microphone at the front of the stage, reaching down to return high-fives and share in selfies — and given how the modern musical zeitgeist leans heavily toward rap, words and music […]
Kanye West’s “JESUS IS KING” lacks self-awareness
The rapper and newly declared gospel artist’s latest album features hackneyed sounds and lyrics. This article was lightly updated on Nov. 25, 3:45 p.m. Following a tumultuous series of failed release dates and a scrapped record (“Yandhi”), Kanye West’s ninth studio album, “JESUS IS KING,” finally dropped last month. Clocking in at a solid 27 […]
Playback: Jeff Rosenstock – “WORRY.”
Jeff Rosenstock’s punk opus “WORRY.” is three years old as of Oct. 14. I can see the question forming on your lips right now: who writes a retrospective on a three-year-old record? We do. Ethan’s take: Love. This is the ultimate punk album for people who know nothing about punk, because so much of it […]
Animal Collective previews new album at Cain’s Ballroom
Prior to announcing an upcoming album, the experimental band performed an almost entirely new set of music during their tour. Animal Collective (probably) played practically the entirety of their upcoming record at the Cain’s Ballroom last week. This is exciting news mostly in the fact that they haven’t properly announced a new record yet. This […]
Playback: The Glow Pt. 2
I felt some sort of buzzing in my left foot while trying to sleep the other night. It was the sort of thing one could imagine traveling through the springs of their mattress. At first I thought it was my girlfriend’s phone — I conjured up disastrous thoughts of some tragedy or sudden illness in […]
Playback
How does one begin a discussion on one of music’s most prominent creations? Well, the easiest way to start it off is to comment on the topic’s unapproachability. That way, the critic can gently remind the readers that the topic they’re writing on is, indeed, expansive, and that the critic is in a unique position […]
I’ve been writing for The Collegian since the second week of my freshman year, and the greatest portion of the dozens of stories I’ve written for this wonderful rag have been album reviews. I toyed with the idea of a column from my first time in the office but decided on just writing one — […]
Fast food companies profiteering off “Sandwich War”
The conversation surrounding the social media feud has rarely been substantive. One of the general ideas behind the free market is that competition is good for the consumer, and this is arguably true when competition drives prices down and makes products more affordable and accessible. Price-matching, for example, is a recent extension of this phenomenon, […]
Animal Collective’s “Sung Tongs” turns 15
“Sung Tongs” combines psychedelic acoustics and experimental sound, which still resonates after 15 years. This article was lightly updated on Nov. 26 at 12:30 p.m. At the beginning of this summer — May 3, to be exact — experimental pop band Animal Collective’s fifth studio album, “Sung Tongs,” turned 15. If that record were a […]