The Longer the Better? Albums and Music in the Age of Streaming
On Jan. 26, Migos released “Culture II,” the sequel to their 2017 hit “Culture.” In many ways, “Culture II” sounded exactly like its predecessor, with its palette of moody trap beats, A-list...
View ArticleMy Dear Melancholy
It’s been almost a year and a half since Toronto pop R&B star Abel Tesfaye, also known as the Weeknd, released his 2016 project “Starboy.” Tesfaye’s newest album, “My Dear Melancholy,” was teased...
View ArticleThank you Cardi B
She was born in the Bronx as Belcalis Almanzar and is Dominican and Trinidadian. She is the first female rapper, since Lauryn Hill in 1998, to reach the number 1 spot on Billboard’s top 100 chart. She...
View ArticleTradition and modernity at the A.A.P.I. Music Festival
On a regular day, the high ceiling, elegant arches, and Gothic windows of Upper Tarble evoke images of western history and civilization. On Saturday however, Upper Tarble became a space for the Asian...
View ArticleDirty Computer – Janelle Monáe’s Emotion Picture Shines
It’s been 5 years since Janelle Monáe released her album “The Electric Lady.” The sequel to her sophomore classic, “The ArchAndroid,” it was met with positive but not overwhelming reviews. Since then,...
View ArticleLunch Hour Concert Series
If you’ve ever walked through Parrish on Monday on the way to lunch, you might have heard a bit of music in the parlors. These performances constitute the lunch hour concert series, an ongoing project...
View ArticleMusic Everywhere – My First Experience of Music at Swat
Needless to say, the Swarthmore’s campus is beautiful. But what’s the most beautiful part of Swarthmore? In my opinion, music is the most beautiful part of Swarthmore. It is found everywhere on campus,...
View ArticleProfiles in Art: Sebastian Dakey
In the United States, most music classes focus on the fundamentals of music theory. Music education involves the practical discipline, namely how composers create music using composition methods,...
View ArticlePrayer Through Performance: a Concert Review of Childish Gambino
“This isn’t a concert. This a m************ church.” On Tuesday, September 18, in the 76ers’ Wells Fargo Center, backlit by an extravagant display of lasers, projectors, and screens, Donald Glover...
View ArticleLenny Seidman’s ARC: A Reconciliation of Diverse Traditions
Lenny Seidman’s latest project “ARC”a full length performance suite that combines tabla and taiko drumming with contemporary dance and Japanese butoh, was presented at Swarthmore College on October...
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Robin Mandel ’97 to Share Multimedia Art and Engage Community
From November 5 to 8, students walking through the Sci Quad between 7 and 8 p.m. will see a strange and exciting sight: projections of their peers singing displayed on the walls of Kohlberg, Beardsley,...
View ArticleOn Thursdays, a New Phonic Phenomenon in WSRN
The resonant hum of a tenor saxophone underlies the fluctuations in rhythm and sound of a chorus of small drums, strings, and vocal expressions. Recited words trade meaning back and forth with a...
View ArticleJames Blake Conquers Demons, Finds Love on “Assume Form”
Electronic music producer-turned-solo-artist James Blake has been a fixture in the pop and alternative R&B scene for a number of years. While his last record, “The Colour in Anything,” was released...
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Ivy Sole, Bathe, and HUEY Attract Year’s Biggest Olde Club Turnout
On Friday, Feb. 8, HUEY, Bathe, and Ivy Sole performed to a packed crowd at the first Olde Club concert of the semester. According to Shayla Smith ’20, who is employed by the Office of Student...
View ArticleBringing the 1920s to 2019: “Radium Girls: In Concert” Glows with...
Last Friday and Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in Olde Club, a packed, standing audience murmured amongst themselves as they waited for a show to begin. A band featuring two guitarists (Bailey Jones ’22 and...
View ArticleBillie Eilish Cuts Through the Noise on Her Debut Album
Teen pop sensation Billie Eilish has been making major waves in the music industry for the last three years. Catapulted to fame off of her multi-platinum hit “Ocean Eyes,” Eilish ascended to stardom...
View ArticleArtist of the Week Fouad Dakwar on The Political Nature of Art
“I have this notebook from fourth grade, my songwriting notebook,” Fouad Dakwar ’22 recalls. “I didn’t know how to notate [songs] or anything, it’s just lyrics, but ever since then I’ve been making...
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Pussy Riot Concert Brings the Riot to Swarthmore
On Thursday, Sept. 26, the wooden floor of Upper Tarble shook so much that it seemed about to collapse at any moment. In the back of Upper Tarble, bright red, and black-and-white strobe lights shone...
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Artist of the Week: Shira Samuels-Shragg on the Dance of Conducting
“I always say conducting is my three favorite things,” Shira Samuels-Shragg ’20 said. “Music, dance, and being in charge.” I am no stranger to Underhill Library, and I found Shira at arguably the...
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Artist of the Week Nya Kuziwa ’22 on her Musical Identities
It’s a Thursday morning. Swarthmore students are waking up, getting coffee from the Science Center, and yawning through their morning classes. In The Poetry Project, a research-based poetry class...
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