As many students would agree, finding a way to balance time between academics and playing music is no easy task. Members of indie-funk band Avenue Eight are no different. The group is comprised of ten college students from five different universities in the Northeastern United States.
“Scheduling is probably the toughest thing we face on a regular basis just because we all come from different places and different schools,” bassist and lead singer Franco Giacomarra said. “It’s very hard to get the [schedules] to align. It just requires a lot of communication.”
Despite having such difficulty finding time for rehearsal, the band released their debut record Get Up On The Get Down last November. The eight song EP was recorded at the Drexel University Studios, where Keyboardist Matt Coakley goes to school.
From slapping bass solos to catchy rock choruses, Get Up On The Get Down is filled with a variety of musical styles that have become a cornerstone of the band. “We all draw from a few different places in terms of music,” Giacomarra said.
Throughout the EP Giacomarra’sclean vocals are complemented by a strong horn section and complex polyrhythms from the percussion section. Although it features a variety of musical styles, the EP flows quite nicely.
Watch Avenue Eight perform “At Your Door” below:
Finding time to practice isn’t the only obstacle that Avenue Eight faces. Sometimes even getting to concerts can prove to be quite the challenge. Last year, the band ran into severe weather conditions when they traveled to New York City.
“The night before it snowed and since most of us are from the Philly area, we had to go drive an hour or two down to Franco’s school,” said auxiliary percussionist Felipe Ranjo. “Then we had to stay overnight then get up early to drive back and drop everything off. It was pretty much just a hectic trip.”
They still made it to the city in time to open for indie-pop artist BØRNS at Fordham University’s Winterfest music festival.
Although getting to venues can sometimes prove to be a difficult task, Giacomarra believes their live performances have become a staple of their band.
“You’ll see us on stage smiling and dancing because that’s the kind of show we like to put on,” Giacomarra said. “We like a lot of good vibes and good times.”
While they are always excited to play in front of a live audience, the band prefers to play at college-style basement parties over the local bars and smaller scale music venues that they often frequent.
According to Ranjo, the atmosphere of a college party fits the band’s performance style better than any other venue. “The house shows have a really intimate atmosphere and an opportunity to connect ourselves to the audience and make the music much more lively.”
“People are just there to enjoy each other and have fun… I think we excel in that environment and our music is good for that,” adds Coakley.
As they celebrate the release of their debut record, the members of the band are also gearing up for what should make to be a busy summer.
Over the next ten weeks the band is set to record a three song EP and play shows across New York and Pennsylvania, all while they continue to stay fully enrolled in five different universities spread out across the Northeast. Giacomarra suggested that the EP sticks to the variety of the last release, but has, “more of a sharper focus on the grooves and the dancey, infectious beats.”
Following the release, the band hopes to do a small tour on the East Coast, possibly even making down to North Carolina and out to Ohio. While they don’t currently have the means to make it out to the Northwest to perform, they hope to do so one day.
The band hopes to continue to play in front of new audiences in order to widen the reach of the band. Giacomarra adds that, “A personal goal of mine is to get out there as much as possible in terms of playing in different locations… Once we get an actual captive audience in front of us we really kind of capture that and make fans that way.”
The band will announce the official release date of their EP along with their summer tour dates in early spring.
On Friday, Jan. 13, author, musician and “professional traveler” Franz Nicolay will speak with fellow author Cari Luna at Powell’s City of Books in Portland. Nicolay is best known as the sharply-dressed multi-instrumentalist for bands such as The Hold Steady, The World/Inferno Friendship Society and Against Me!, but he recently released his first book The Humorless Ladies of Border Control: Touring the Punk Underground from Belgrade to Ulaanbaatar. Armed with an accordion, a banjo, a guitar and a suitcase of merchandise, Nicolay and his wife Maria played for audiences across the former Communist world that often did not speak the same language as him.
The Emerald spoke to Nicolay about his experience traveling, rejoining the Hold Steady, and Nicolay’s future plans ahead of Friday’s book talk.
Emerald: Has traveling always been something that interests you?
Nicolay: Absolutely. I mean, I grew up in a really small rural town in northern New Hampshire, and we didn’t get out much. So basically I moved to New York when I was 17, which at that point was about as far away as I could get psychologically without getting too far physically, just in case something went terribly wrong.
E: A lot of The Humorless Ladies seems to talk about how you see the world differently after traveling. Do you think travel is something that makes us rethink how we view the world?
N: Oh absolutely. I mean any time you can get outside, especially when you’re talking about the way in which you see your own country, any time you can get outside, perspective is absolutely invaluable. That’s the biggest thing I think about some of the reactionary voices we hear in American politics now is that there’s no sense of what America looks like from the outside.
E: So obviously a few years ago you left the Hold Steady, which has an incredibly passionate fan base. In the book you said you wanted to go play for people who might not even speak the same language as you. That seems like the ultimate musical challenge, so what made you want to do that?
N: I needed another challenge as a performer … If you’re playing for people who already know and love the band, the fix is this: Even if you play a shitty show, they’re probably going to love it. So in a way you’re not just stripping away the rest of the band, you’re stripping away the volume and the noise, but also stripping away having fans in a lot of cases…
It seemed like the next logical step to push myself was to strip away all that stuff that was artificially propping up my idea of myself as a performer, so strip away all the volume, strip away the pomp and circumstance of a rock show, even strip away an audience that had any idea of who I was or why I was there.
E: So then how did that compare to when you rejoined the Hold Steady in December for the 10th anniversary of Boy and Girls In America? What did it feel like to go back into that band where the fans know every word to every song?
N: Well it’s a lot of fun, of course. It didn’t seem as weird as I thought it would. It felt like slipping into comfortable shoes. It didn’t feel entirely like just rehashing all the old stuff because Steve Selvidge [guitar] was there. And so there was all this new stuff that we could figure out how to play. It wasn’t exactly everything that I did 10 years ago. It’s music that I’m proud of, and it’s super fun, and I was glad to have a chance to roll it out again and have that feeling again.
E: Does the Hold Steady have any future plans that you might be a part of?
N: I mean at this point we were just focusing on enjoying that weekend, that’s all I can say. There’s literally nothing else on the calendar. We’ll see where it goes. Nothing on the calendar, but nothing ruled out either. There haven’t been any conversations of any sort.
E: Do you have any projects you’re currently working on?
N: I’m writing a novel. I have two more book projects in the works. So those are the action items right now. New projects always present themselves. I can never let a project just go by the wayside once I’ve thought of it.
E: What’s the novel about?
N: I’d prefer not to say, lest I jinx its completion
With a dirty white cinder block exterior and a blue awning over the modest front entrance, Eugene’s nationally renowned guitar and instrument shop, Mckenzie River Music, boasts a large selection of vintage and high-end guitars, basses and various string instruments.
Due to the recent snow and ice storm, two humidifiers run in the main room to maintain a humidity level appropriate for the storage of guitars. The main room is lined by four walls of floor-to-ceiling guitar racks. The glass counters on the right side of the store hold a selection of new and used effects pedals, electronics and various other gear and accessories.
Mckenzie River Music is a guitar shop that has been in business for over 30 years in Eugene, Oregon. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)
McKenzie River Music was founded in 1981 by Bob November, a Southern California transplant. The shop was located across from Max’s Tavern, but has since moved to 11th Ave. Prior to coming to Eugene, he was a musical instrument dealer at Bob’s House Of Guitars, where he had developed a keen sense of knowledge regarding vintage guitars, especially Martins, one of the most valuable guitar brands available.
His knowledge of Martin guitars put him into contact with Charlie Longstreth, a luthier, or a stringed instrument care and repair specialist, who still works at the shop doing custom set-ups for patrons who are looking for that perfect-sounding instrument.
Longstreth met November through the sale of a Martin guitar that a family was fighting over. The owner wanted to sell his guitar rather than give it to either family member that demanded the instrument.
“He was an older guy, and he couldn’t pick someone to give it to and said he was just gonna sell it,” said Longstreth. “I was sorta the broker to put those two together and that’s how I met Bob.”
Longstreth and November’s introduction led to Longstreth eventually being offered a part-time job. Between 1982 and 1990, Longstreth split his time between Light’s Music in Springfield and McKenzie River Music, where he has worked full time since 1990.
“Everything I do is just like what a mechanic does, it’s just a different machine,” Longstreth said. “It doesn’t matter how good a car it is, sooner or later you have to throw some money at it.”
Mckenzie River Music is a guitar shop that has been in business for over 30 years in Eugene, Oregon. Charlie Longstreth works on a guitar at Mckenzie River Music on Jan. 11, 2017 in Eugene, Ore. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)
Longstreth rents the upstairs office at McKenzie River Music for his repair shop, but the two businesses have always complemented one another.
“Our customers are sort of the same people, there’s kind of a symbiosis,” said Longstreth. “It has to work that way. I couldn’t have the shop be in a store if we were butting heads … We’d kind of have to see eye-to-eye and be able to work things out if stuff comes up.”
On May, 21, 2012, Bob November lost a battle with cancer. The first guitar he owned still hangs above the shop’s case of trophy guitars, memorializing the way McKenzie River Music is meant to operate.
“He [November] was well-respected and well-known across the country as a knowledge base,” said Mark Schneider, shop employee. “People called him about vintage Martins, Gibsons or Fenders because he was one of the go-to guys and had experience and bought and sold enough of them to really know what he was talking about.”
Schneider was a McKenzie River Music customer when the store opened in 1981, and he has worked at the vintage music store for the last two years. He specializes in accessories and bass guitars.
Although Schneider never worked with November directly, he said the store continues to provide customers with carefully selected instruments and a high level of knowledge.
“A very important part of the store’s philosophy is finding the right guitar for a person — a good fit,” Schneider said. “And Artie [Leider] is the king of the hill when it comes to that sort of stuff.”
As the resident guitar matchmaker and current owner of McKenzie River Music, Artie Leider has had ample practice finding the right guitar tailored to each individual’s needs.
“When you get a guitar you love, you play it until your hands bleed,” Leider said. “It feels right and it plays right. That’s what you want to do: play it.”
Mckenzie River Music is a guitar shop that has been in business for over 30 years in Eugene, Oregon. Artie Leider, Mark Schneider play guitars in their shop on Jan. 11, 2017 in Eugene, Ore. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)
When Leider was 11, his older brother brought home a Fender Stratocaster. It was the first instrument that caught his attention and he quickly became fascinated with taking apart and rebuilding the guitar. Leider began scouring New York pawn shops for guitars that he could collect or sell to his friends.
At 18, Leider moved to Berkeley, California, and started working full time at a guitar repair shop. During this time, he would occasionally embark upon cross-country road trips buying and selling guitars across the country.
In the early 1980s, Leider said the vintage guitar business hit a lull, so he took a break to go to culinary school. He paid for school by selling a 1952 Fender Telecaster.
“I had a bit of a dichotomy going on between the two things because I was a better chef than a guitar player,” Leider said. But even while in culinary school, he never stopped buying and selling guitars.
In 2004, Leider moved to Eugene and met Bob November through mutual friends. Their shared interests of guitar and golf spawned a friendship, and in 2006 Leider began working at McKenzie River Music as a guitar buyer and seller.
“Bob built this from the ground up and became a very well-known vintage guitar dealer and specialized in vintage Martin guitars and Fender and Gibsons — really classic vintage guitars,” Leider said.
Next month, a stage will be constructed in the corner of the store where Leider plans to regularly host bands to perform. Likely, many University of Oregon jazz combos will be invited.
“McKenzie River Music has been a part of the musical community of Eugene since 1981, and I believe it has really contributed and supported, and I’d like to see it contribute and support more for a long time to come,” Leider said.
Part of the reason Leider feels music is important is because he views guitars as more than an instrument, but rather, a communication tool.
Mckenzie River Music is a guitar shop that has been in business for over 30 years in Eugene, Oregon. Artie Leider, Mark Schneider pose for a photo on Jan. 11, 2017 in Eugene, Ore. (Samuel Marshall/Emerald)
“If you put two people who are supposed to be mortal enemies in a room with instruments, they wouldn’t be mortal enemies anymore,” Leider said.” They wouldn’t fight. They would communicate.”
Leider said that although many of the guitars in the store are high-priced vintage items, he is always on the lookout for affordable, well-made guitars. But once he has them in stock, they tend to be purchased in a matter of days. Still, he and the McKenzie River Music staff say it’s important to offer an affordable instrument selection alongside the vintage collector’s guitars that the store is recognized for.
“I’m way more interested in helping somebody to go find their first instrument so they can play their first chord than selling somebody their tenth fantastic, expensive guitar that’s just another one in their collection,” Leider said. “That part of nurturing people starting out, especially kids, is super important. That’s what we’re here for.”
It is highly likely that 2016 will be remembered as the year that proved no one is safe as David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen and so many legends passed away. But as strange of a year as it may have been, there were many great releases that powered us through. Emerald writers have selected their favorites.
Emerson Malone’s top albums
5. ★ — David Bowie
On Blackstar, Bowie did it: He fulfilled his lifelong dream of working with a jazz band. Inspired by the dissimilar styles of Kendrick Lamar and Death Grips, Bowie uses an eclectic palate to shade in this transcendent, existential, seven-song/forty-minute production. On the titular opener, Bowie’s voice is quivering and inhuman as he introduces us to a mystical scene: “In the villa of Ormen / stands a solitary candle / in the center of it all.”
On “Lazarus,” he explicitly tells us he’s dialing in from heaven, a lyric that amplified with subtext as Bowie passed two days after the album’s release. The final track “I Can’t Give Everything Away” shows Bowie — someone who’s adopted various colorful alien personalities over the years — admitting that there’s more that could be shared with the world, but it’s unreachable, either by the constraints of time or simply by human capacity. Even in death, Bowie — nothing if not a curator of his public persona — couldn’t help but turn it into a narrative.
4. A Moon Shaped Pool — Radiohead
Look: 2016 felt like the world as we know it was unspooling at every seam, even without a new Radiohead record. But this year felt a little darker with the icicle record that is A Moon Shaped Pool. Each cut from Moon is uniquely captivating, from opener “Burn the Witch,” with its knotty, taut percussion of violin bow sticks clacking against the instrument’s strings (a technique called “col legno”). This tumbling clamor hurtles forward into a swollen, panicked climax.
The unrest never lets up on A Moon Shaped Pool: Listen to the immaculate coda of “Decks Dark,” the buoyant six-minute ambient techno of “Ful Stop,” the gurgling orchestra in “Glass Eyes,” the submerged instrumental work in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief,” and the glacial closer “True Love Waits,” an inebriating piano ballad that has Yorke crying: “I’m not living; I’m just killing time.” I mean, seriously, 2016 was sullen enough.
Human Performance — Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts built its reputation on a streak of silliness and haphazardness on their first two releases, the Tally Up All The Things You Broke EP and full-length debut Light Up Gold. In Human Performance, however, the Brooklyn-based punk band has taken a sharp left turn on this third full-length album past the two-chord punk tracks and articulate stoner-poet lyricisms. When I first heard opening track “Dust,” in which singer-songwriter Andrew Savage taunts, “Dust is everywhere / Sweep!” I misheard: “Dust is everywhere / Sweet!” But I didn’t question it. The group has always been pretty sarcastic and lazy, so reveling in grime is not implausible. But here, Savage is narrating a nightmarish, germaphobe’s account of “oh-my-god-my-house-is-trying-to-kill-me.” But on a more symbolic level, the song posits that the group’s decided to clean up its act with the new album. The array of instruments at the band’s disposal is another notable advancement on Human; what previously was a guitar-bass-drums-screaming outfit now finds room for flute, keyboards, marimba and bongos. There’s no conceptual narrative on Performance to swallow, nor a hyper-literate social commentary like on past records, but Parquet Courts having fun on a new level of musicianship here, highly evolved and entirely human.
Absolute Loser — Fruit Bats
It’s like signing your own divorce papers to put your wife on the cover of your band’s album and slapping the words “Absolute Loser” over it. But in an interview earlier this year, singer-songwriter Eric D. Johnson told the Emeraldthat not only did his wife pick the photo, but the title is not a jab, it’s a philosophy: “The words don’t really mean an ‘absolute loser,’ it means someone experiencing an absolute loss. If you listen to [the title track], there’s an extreme silver lining in there that means you’ve lost everything and you’re about to rebuild.”
The Portland-based indie-rock band has always found inspiration in the emotional elasticity of life: the nakedness of “Baby Bluebird,” which recalls John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band; the chugging guitar and locomotive momentum of “My Sweet Midwest” and its allusion to homesickness; and processing feelings of malaise and solitude (“Soon-to-Be-Ghost-Town.”) Fruit Bats have made an album that is, frankly, excellent to drink alone to. Absolute Loser is an excellent soundtrack to the fraught year that was 2016. And still, despite its woe, Johnson makes you want to dance.
A Seat at the Table — Solange
Solange has always been perceived as the indie counterweight to her older sister. Since 2016 brought albums from the two Knowles sisters, this contrast may begin to erode because their dispatches are respectively steeped in a bruising political climate. Lemonade is a loud, blockbuster parable of adultery, while A Seat At the Table is a quieter, more intimate affair. In his review of the album, former Emerald writer Daniel Bromfield wrote that the succinct lyrical thesis “some shit you can’t touch” from “F.U.B.U.” sums up the album’s vital self-declaration and serves as a “rebuke to appropriation, white-splaining, the defensive of egregious racism in the name of ‘humor’ and the festishization of black bodies.”
At times reminiscent of Sam Cooke’s protest-soul or Haim’s bubbly synths, or the melodic anguish of James Blake, A Seat At the Table is transposed with testimony from Solange’s family members about the black experience in America. Paradoxically, A Seat at the Table feels effortless and exhaustively produced in equal measure. It’s an inimitable, exemplary album that far outpaces any comparison.
Honorable mentions: Lemonade by Beyoncé; Beyond the Bloodhounds by Adia Victoria; New View by Eleanor Friedberger; My Woman by Angel Olsen; The Ridge by Sarah Neufeld; Blonde by Frank Ocean; Congrats by Holy Fuck; Visions of Us on the Land by Damien Jurado; Big Fugitive Life by Ezra Furman; Day of the Dead (compilation, various artists)
Craig Wright’s top albums:
5. Wild Stab — The I Don’t Cares
After the recent Replacements reunion, frontman Paul Westerberg teamed with longtime friend Juliana Hatfield to record songs he had stashed in his basement recording studio. As The I Don’t Cares, Hatfield selected the best of Westerberg’s material and found a few diamonds in the rough. “Hands Together” finds Westerberg opening up about his personal life, and it is as funny as it is devastatingly sad: “The dreams I had before are now too bored to even show up / And the blankets are embarrassed / It’s only me that they cover up.” Luckily, the heavy hitters are balanced by the levity of “½ 2 Pee” and rockers like “Need The Guys.” Ultimately it’s a reminder that music doesn’t always need to be an overproduced tour-de-force; sometimes a crappy microphone and a few old ideas are all you need to make something fresh.
4. Lemonade — Beyonce
From the opening bars of “Pray You Catch Me,” it’s clear that Beyonce is on a mission with Lemonade. Every word in this album is a pointed attack at Jay-Z’s infidelity, but none are more powerful than when she poses the question “Hey baby, who the fuck do you think I am?” on “Don’t Hurt Yourself (feat. Jack White).” This does not feel like a pop album, rather it is a statement album that Beyonce can conquer any musical style she wants, and probably the world if she so desires. Beyonce flexes all of her muscles musically, emotionally and physically with this record — it’s a not-so-gentle reminder of why we call her Queen Bey.
3. ★ — David Bowie
David Bowie was a tireless innovator. From Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, Bowie changed personas and styles like no other. For his final album, he used Kendrick Lamar inspired hard jazz to create his best album in years. Blackstar was released days before he died from a private battle with cancer which adds a haunting quality to the album. It’s difficult to hear Bowie sing “Look up here, I’m in heaven / I’ve got scars that can’t be seen,” on “Lazarus,” but the music is so good that it’s impossible to turn off. Bowie went out on top, leaving us with a final album that’s destined to be remembered as a classic.
2. Human Performance — Parquet Courts
Parquet Courts have been called slackers more times than any band since Pavement, but that hasn’t stopped them from releasing an endless stream of great albums. After the oddly entertaining and instrumental Monastic Living EP, Parquet Courts returned to what it does best: guitar-driven rock with stoner-poet ideologies. On this album, Parquet Courts displays its range in styles while also managing to continue its tradition of punk inspired instrumentation and offbeat storytelling; it sounds like nothing the band has recorded before, but its style is instantly recognizable as Parquet Courts.
1. Teens Of Denial — Car Seat Headrest
Will Toledo is a special talent. Not only is he arguably the best lyricist of his generation, but his ability to transform a song’s sonic path is unmatched. Toledo accomplishes more in “The Ballad of the Costa Concordia,” than many artists can hope to achieve in their careers — and that’s not even the best song on the album. The 11-and-a-half minute epic about the Italian cruise ship that capsized in 2012 is part slow acoustic ballad, part Adele style minor chord piano lament, and part fiery grunge over some poetic wisdom about the uncertainty of how to become a proper adult.
Much of the album uses funnier-than-it-should-be humor to battle his depression: “What happened to that chubby little kid who smiled so much and loved the Beach Boys? What happened is I killed that fucker and I took his name and I got new glasses,” Toledo barks on “Destroyed By Hippie Powers.” No matter how long the songs are, they’re never uninteresting. It’s an album that grows more interesting with each listen due to the depth of the lyrics.
Honorable Mentions:
The White Album — Weezer; “Awaken, My Love!” — Childish Gambino; Schmilco — Wilco; Babes Never Die — Honeyblood; 22, A Million — Bon Iver
Sararosa Davies’ top albums
Emotions and Math — Margaret Glaspy
Margaret Glaspy’s debut album Emotions and Math feels like waking up from a short night’s sleep. Glaspy writes bleary-eyed, weary lyrics and plays her guitar in a start/stop manner. No song feels quite complete, but that’s the magic of this album. It always feels like there’s more for Glaspy to say, especially in songs like “Memory Street” where she repeats the phrase “times I” like a broken record. In that repetition, Glaspy leaves you wanting more.
Shmilco — Wilco
Wilco’s Shmilco opens with “Normal American Kids,” a winding song about childhood. Jeff Tweedy sings, “I was too high to change my bid/always afraid to be a normal american kid.” Compared to 2015’s Star Wars (with use of of synthesizer in songs like “Magnetized”), this album feels simple like youth. In a Portlandia sketch, Tweedy has a cameo where he sings about fire alarms going off in his childhood home. Shmilco could be a legitimate response to that sketch, but in the best way possible.
22, A Million — Bon Iver
22, A Million is Bon Iver’s first album in five years and it’s a valuable departure from Justin Vernon’s previous work. With autotune over Vernon’s voice and heavy electronic sounds, 22, A Million has a darker tinge than albums like For Emma, Forever Ago. It’s striking and though the electronic sounds may sound superfluous at times, it all ties together in the haunting last track “00000 Million.” It’s an album for soul searching in every way.
2. Teens of Denial — Car Seat Headrest
Teens of Denial, an amazing feat of an album by Car Seat Headrest,came very close to being the top of my list. Founding member Will Toledo manages to cram all the catharsis that comes with mental health issues like depression and anxiety into every track. Teens of Denial is not meek or shaky, though. It bursts at the seams with great lyrics and brash instrumentation. Toledo opens up the album with “Fill in the Blank,” a song that tears past the listener with brazen guitar riffs and shouts of “You have no right to be depressed!” The album continues on like this, alternating between songs like the grinding “Destroyed by Hippy Powers” and the beautifully layered “Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales,” until it ends. And then, you listen again. For an artist with 11 previous albums (all of which are on Bandcamp), Toledo put his all into Teens of Denial. There’s no denying that this album was worth the effort.
Cardinal — Pinegrove
“Every outcome’s such a comedown,” vocalist and guitar player Evan Stephens Hall sings in “Old Friends,” the opening track for Pinegrove’s Run for Cover Records debut Cardinal. Hall’s sometimes country twang and knack for introspective, intellectual lyrics make Pinegrove a band that’s hard to classify. No matter what their influence is Cardinal’s tracks unravel from quiet introspection to outright eureka moments like this one from “Then Again:” “It’s so illogical / It’s nothing you can see /there’s no retreating/Try it one more time with feeling/help me.”
There’s a deeply emotional, almost emo quality to Cardinal, but where emo gets too dramatic, Pinegrove brings the truth. With drooping, slow guitar riffs and Hall’s voice melting into them, tracks like “Aphasia” and “Cadmium” stand out as moments where emotion reigns without being overbearing. Cardinal’s last track, “New Friends,” brings the album full circle. As Hall sings, “I resolve to make new friends,” all those tiny eureka moments come together in one big moment of catharsis.
Hall noted in an interview with Pitchfork that he was happy that a writer described the band as “Wilco by way of Taylor Swift.” It’s a true and right comparison, but Hall is also being modest. Pinegrove’s Cardinal stands on its own perfectly. No Taylor Swift or Wilco is truly needed when Pinegrove has their own internal lives to look to for inspiration.
Honorable mentions: Communist Daughter The Cracks That Built The Wall, Lizzo Coconut Oil, Seth Bogart Seth Bogart, Whitney Light Upon the Lake, Weezer The White Album
Dana Alston’s top albums
22, A Million — Bon Iver
Bon Iver brainchild Justin Vernon entered modern folk canon when he recorded the band’s first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, while isolated in a wintery woodland cabin. Their third release abandons all pretenses of folk music, opting instead for experimental sonic palettes based on electronics and sampling. The result is a gorgeous, forward-thinking project as opaque as it is surprising.
We Got it From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service — A Tribe Called Quest
When Phife Dawg, one of the five original members of legendary East Coast rap enclave A Tribe Called Quest, passed away in March, rumors of the group’s forthcoming final album all but evaporated. Against all odds, Tribe managed to release We Got It From Here, an introspective showcase of lyrical brilliance. The record’s subtle production, coupled with guest appearances from contemporary “gatekeepers of flow” like Kendrick Lamar, ensured that no other rap album said so much at once in 2016.
Run The Jewels 3 — Run the Jewels
Surprise-released a month ahead of schedule on Christmas, El-P and Killer Mike’s third project continues their tradition of unfiltered, breathless riot rap. This time, El’s production maintains its aggressively primal tendencies (“Call Tinkerton” is a highlight), and the pair continues to tear each beat to shreds in vicious lyrical bursts. The result is a continuation of a spectacular run of albums. No other recent hip-hop duo has produced music this good so consistently.
Blonde – Frank Ocean
The most heartbreaking, personal album of the year drifted into the world amid seemingly insurmountable hype, but Blonde made Frank Ocean’s four-year disappearance from the public eye well worth it. A clear-eyed portrait of masculinity, memory and love, the album represents Ocean at his most artful. The gentle instrumentation flows spectacularly over the album’s 60 minutes. But it’s Ocean’s ability to conjure nostalgia, regret and empathy that is most remarkable. Music this understanding is rare, and a much-needed gift to a world in which empathy appears more rare and fragile with each passing day.
Twenty-sixteen was a depressing year for many, but Chance the Rapper was having none of it. The Chicago native dropped his third mixtape like an exuberant atom bomb designed to extinguish uncertainty and fear forever. Few albums are this confident, well meaning, and happy. Buoyed by horns and the sounds of the gospel, Coloring Book feels like the epitome of Chance’s musical style, and a continuation of his previous release, Acid Rap. The Social Experiment, Chance’s backup band and frequent collaborator, leads the production. The rapper takes on record labels on “No Problem,” muses about his early days on 79th street with “Summer Friends,” and leads a gospel choir with T-Pain on “Finish Line.” But the mixtape primarily acts as Chance’s vote of confidence to the world, and a reassurance that things will always get better, even if sometimes, “music is all we got.”
The Emerald Recommends the best movies released in 2016. From low-brow comedies to hard hitting dramas, 2016 provided a wide-array of films. We have selected our favorites of the year — one list of solely superhero films included.
A&C film critic Dana Alston’s top movies:
5. Hell Or High Water
Chris Pine and Ben Foster play brothers embarking on a crime spree through the dying lands of West Texas, with a Texas Ranger played by Jeff Bridges hot on their trail in this neo-western from screenwriter Taylor Sheridan and director David Mackenzie. Beautifully shot and written with engaging depth and pace, Hell or High Water is at its best when it showcases the themes of older Westerns within a 21st century context
4. Arrival
Denis Villenueve’s cerebral sci-fi epic combines high-concept action with a grounded visual style to create one of the year’s best films. Amy Adams’ electrifying performance is an obvious highlight. But the film truly shines when the narrative (in which the governments of the world struggle to communicate with alien visitors — and each other) resonates with today’s political climate.
3. The Witch
Has there ever been a debut feature as striking as Richard Egger’s The Witch? Not this year. Egger’s story, which follows a 17th century Puritan family haunted by an evil presence in the woods, is terrifying. But it’s the way the family breaks down and begins to accuse one another that truly makes the film special. After a certain point, it’s hard to tell whether the titular witch or their paranoia is more dangerous. Either way, it’s the stuff of nightmares.
2. The Edge of Seventeen
Every movie about teenagers is inevitably compared to John Hughes’ films, but it’s refreshing to see a movie that simultaneously embraces and evolves past that comparison. Kelly Freemon Craig’s portrait of Nadine, a 17-year-old struggling to contend with her young life’s challenges, sits comfortably between clichés and unique moments of emotional clarity. Hailee Steinfeld is absolutely dynamite as Nadine, and the rest of the cast (including Woody Harrelson as Nadine’s history teacher and verbal sparring partner) all work together masterfully. The result is a portrait of youth that feels fresh and genuinely itself.
1. La La Land
There are very few films that feel genuinely perfect. Not “perfect” in the sense that they have absolutely no flaws, rather, they communicate what they intend so well that their “mistakes” seem more a part of what makes these movies great. La La Land is one of those films. It is a musical made with imagination, grace and an infectiously joyous energy at its core. Watching it is like listening to a truly passionate person tell you about what they love. The story, which focuses on a pair of young artists (Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone) struggling to make it big in Hollywood acts as a tribute to the cinematic musicals of eras long past including Singing in the Rain and An American in Paris. What writer-director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) pulls off is nothing short of miraculous.
A&C editor Craig Wright’s top movies
5. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
The Lonely Island is best known for its Digital Shorts on Saturday Night Live, but the group proved it is capable of a full-length comedy with Pop Star. Andy Samberg’s portrayal is of the self-centered Conner 4 Real, a world-famous pop star loosely based on Justin Bieber, as his relevance plummets. It is equal parts eye-rolling spoof of the idiocy of fame and an A-list roll-call exercise of who’s who in the music world. The results are startlingly funny and it’s the funniest music film since Tenacious D: The Pick Of Destiny.
4. The Witch
Modern horror films tend to rely on jump scares and special effects to scare viewers, but The Witch uses a 17th Century New England Folktale about an exiled Puritan family surviving in the woods. It is not a fast paced film, but it slowly chips away at the family’s mental well-being as it is stalked by a witch in the forest. The horror comes from the family’s desperation as each member questions their religious devotion. Plus, the twins are every bit as creepy as the girls from The Shining.
3. Hunt For The Wilderpeople
Ricky Baker, played by Julian Dennison, is a hell-raising orphaned child sent to the last foster home that will take him. He and his Hec, played by Sam Neill, are forced to survive in the wilderness as a national manhunt is called to track down the bickering pair who realize that to live as outlaws, they need each other. The plot has been committed to film thousands of times before, but The Hunt For The Wilderpeople’s offbeat New Zealand comedic style perfectly captures the dynamics between characters, creating relationships as strong as the one-liners the actors rattle off at lightning speed.
2. Certain Women
Director Kelly Reichardt works with quiet and subtlety in film the way most directors use special effects in an action movie: It’s overly abundant, but when it’s done well, it leaves a lasting impact. Certain Women stars Kristen Stewart in her most convincing role to date, Michelle Williams, Laura Dern and Lily Gladstone in three short stories from Maile Meloy. The selling point is the acting, but Reichardt’s directing is striking; each shot of rural Montana comes to life along with the characters. Reichardt captures the isolation of the area and uses it to emphasize the emotions of each actor struggling to find her way in life.
1. Don’t Think Twice
Director and lead actor Mike Birbiglia assembled a comedic dream team for Don’t Think Twice, a film about what happens to a New York improv comedy troupe when one member is chosen for the Weekend Live TV show. It’s a startling examination of childhood dreams withering before a character’s eyes and of losing hope that you might be special. Gilian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key, Birbiglia and Kate Micucci have undeniable chemistry in a film that is as heartbreaking as it is endearing. Much like his standup specials, Birbiglia quickly carves his way into your heart before gently crushing it. Even though the film is about a dream being deferred, it’s impossible to not leave with a smile.
A&C writer Zach Price’s top [superhero] movies
5. Suicide Squad
This film is quite possibly the most disappointing release of 2016. With far too many characters and not enough time to build backgrounds for all of them, the plot moves far too quickly. Going from, “Hi my name’s Harley Quinn and I’m evil” to, “Alright we’re heroes now so let’s save the day” in a matter of minutes. A transformation like that requires either more time or a significant event that alters the perceptions of the characters, and the movie provides neither. Margot Robbie and Jared Leto are the silver lining in this movie. Their terrific acting makes the audience view characters they thought they knew in a much different light. Their relationship dynamic is the most interesting storyline in the film, and their interactions give the audience an indication of just how insane they really are.
4. Batman vs Superman
Viewing Man of Steel is a required prerequisite for this film because it makes Superman’s transformation from worldwide hero to homeland threat more drastic. Ben Affleck’s underwhelming performance as Batman isn’t all his fault. Although it’s unfair to compare his performance to Christian Bale’s in The Dark Knight trilogy, Affleck just can’t pull off the genius billionaire playboy like Bale did so seamlessly. Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Lex Luthor is excellent. The mad genius’ plan to pin Batman against Superman is a great way to avoid the stereotypical plot that many superhero movies carry. It also adds an ignorance to Batman and a fault in his character that we never got from Bale. While Bale’s portrayal made Batman seem as if he had an impenetrable moral code, Affleck gives Batman a previously unseen humanity by being more strongly motivated by hate and anger.
3. Dr. Strange
If you can get over the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch abandons his British swagger for an American accent, then this film is quite enjoyable. His portrayal of Dr. Stephen Strange, a cocky world-class, know-it-all surgeon is right up Cumberbatch’s acting alley. Once Strange is humbled by a mysterious dimension-traveler who is only referred to as “the ancient one,” he dedicates himself to learning her secret powers. The two biggest flaws of this movie are the premature character development and an uninteresting villain, Kaecilius, who follows the archetypal “teacher’s prodigy gone evil” story that is seen in almost every superhero movie. Along with Cumberbatch, this film’s poor storytelling is covered up by it’s amazing visuals. The spectacle of CGI technology that director Scott Derrickson was able to accomplish will set the standard for action movies for years to come.
2. Captain America: Civil War
The most interesting aspect of this movie is it’s plot. It’s refreshingly different that the usual hero’s journey that is featured in most Marvel movies. Relying more heavily on lesser known characters — War Machine, Winter Soldier, Black Panther — adds more depth to the Marvel Universe. These new characters lead the audience to have a more holistic perspective of this universe by understanding there are many mutants with special abilities, not just the Avengers. Unlike most Marvel films, the audience is challenged to think about the moral dilemma that Captain America and Iron Man disagree upon. Typically, it’s easy for the hero to make the right choice, but in this situation, right and wrong isn’t so obvious. Both heroes want to protect the earth, but they disagree on how it should be done.
1. Deadpool
Director Tim Miller finally gave comic book fans what they have been asking for with an R-rated superhero movie. Instead of following the paths of previous Marvel movies, which play it safe by not showing any graphic violence, obscene language or sexual content, Deadpool had all three and then some. Ryan Reynolds played the role of the immortal assassin with a smug arrogance that perfectly captured the character’s attitude exhibited in the comics. This movie didn’t only break the rules of superhero movies with it’s gory violence and explicit sexual references, but it broke the rules of all movies by breaking the third wall in which Reynolds gives light to his character’s somewhat depressing story. Throughout the film, his narration engages the audience with humor and sarcasm. In a world filled with superhero movies as Hollywood blockbusters, Deadpool pushes the limits of what should be a considered “hero” and reaches a niche audience that had been completely ignored up to this point.
Patience Greene’s top movies of 2016
Hail Caesar
The latest Coen Brothers film is an absurdist look at a vintage movie industry, with several plot lines loosely interwoven. Random movie takes throughout feel like the Coen Brothers’ excuse to create an eclectic ensemble of scenes without the need for context. The film relies heavily on its star-studded cast, to balance the slightly hollow plot, but the characters are all very likable and fun. It’s not a Coen Brothers masterpiece, but it’s still worth a watch.
Hell or High Water
In this gritty look at a dying small town in Texas, poverty stricken brothers battle the bank taking their land. Jeff Bridges gives a spectacular performance as a bitter Texas Ranger fighting retirement with one last stand, and audiences are left in the grey on what is right; the ending echoes this sentiment and leaves just enough to the imagination. Estranged love between brothers, partners and sons is balanced by a willingness to do anything for family. Representation of racial tension feels uniquely honest. The dialogue is well written and thought-provoking.
Arrival
In most sci-fi films, aliens are evil invaders stealing resources and planning to enslave the human race, or they hide in the shadows only to be victimized. Arrival takes an entirely different path with blatant UFOs and mysterious intentions. Amy Adams stars as a linguist working on communicating with the aliens. Contrasts are drawn between civilizations when tool is translated to weapon, and China prepares for war while the aliens try to coerce the nations into cooperation. Fans of Billy Pilgrim’s journey with the tralfamadorians will appreciate the film’s direction. The ending comes with an inevitable pressing darkness, but there is an unexplainable light in the dark, breathing hope into the movie. Arrival’s twist inspires a second viewing, but feels natural and completes the film. This is the best sci-fi film released in years, and a must see movie for any fan of philosophy, aliens or cinema.
No matter how strange of a year 2016 may have been, there is no denying the strength of touring musical acts this year. With industry giants touring across the world and up and comers proving their worth in tiny venues, there were great concerts everywhere you looked. The Emerald has enlisted its writers to select the best concerts they saw this year.
Craig Wright’s top concerts of 2016
Tommy Stinson: Barno’s Backyard Ballroom Oct. 21; Bunk Bar, Portland Oct. 22
It’s not everyday you get to see one of your heroes perform — much less in a Eugene living room. Tommy Stinson of the Replacements, Bash & Pop, Perfect and Guns n’ Roses toured with his uncle Chip “Sippy Fly” Roberts for a two-man show at oddball locations across the country. Performing mostly solo and Bash & Pop songs, Stinson proved why he is one of the best entertainers in the business. At the close of the Bunk Bar show in Portland, Stinson’s vocals were shredded from singing, yet during “Friday Night Is Killing Me,” he pushed himself to the breaking point and screamed every last word until he literally couldn’t give anymore. He is the spitting image of rock.
X at the Crystal Ballroom, Portland Dec. 2
You don’t earn the title of “punk rock legends” for no reason. On X’s 40th anniversary tour, the original lineup of John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom and D.J. Bonebrake are still performing at the top of their game. The early punk anthems are as hard-hitting as ever, but many other of their classic songs have been reworked with a rockabilly edge. Few bands are able to put on a clinic onstage like X.
Car Seat Headrest: WOW Hall Nov. 17; Wonder Ballroom, Portland, Nov. 25; Sam Bond’s Garage Jan. 22
Car Seat Headrest is the band of 2016. Frontman Will Toledo has totally blossomed from a shy, awkward singer into a musician capable of conquering any stage. In January, they performed at the tiny Sam Bond’s Garage, but after Teens Of Denial, they performed at both WOW Hall and the Wonder Ballroom in Portland. The WOW Hall show ended with a Talking Heads cover encore of “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)” and “Psycho Killer” with opening band Naked Giants. The rest of the show was dominated by crazed fans shouting every lyric louder than Toledo’s microphone could manage. It was a cathartic celebration of depression, anxiety and awkwardness that left the crowd and band grinning from ear to ear.
Elvis CostelloDetour at McDonald Theater April 16
Armed with an arsenal of acoustic and electric guitars, a loop pedal and a piano, Elvis Costello delivered an intimate solo performance at the McDonald Theater in mid-April that was as dedicated to telling great stories as it was about playing classic songs. Costello is a master storyteller and he had the entire crowd spellbound for the duration of the performance — you could hear shutters on phone cameras followed by a whispered “sorry!” He strayed from only playing his hits, but with these stripped down versions of songs, the most shocking part of the night was that more of his songs aren’t engrained in our culture’s conscience.
Beach Slang at the Analog Theater, Portland, May 1
Beach Slang defined 2016 like no other band. In late April, the band announced it had broken up and missed a handful of shows. Portland was its first performance back. They hit the stage with clear tension and fought through it with guitars turned up to 11 and ear-shattering decibel levels. Shortly after this show, drummer J.P. Flexner quit the band and the band’s second album, A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings was released. Guitarist Ruben Gallego was fired after sexual assault allegations were raised against him, forcing James Alex to tour as Quiet Slang, a solo acoustic tour. Even after all the punches this band took, it is still continuing on. For that one night in Portland though, everything felt right with the world and it reaffirmed the meaning of punk rock: fighting against the negativity in the world with insanely loud instruments packing a positive message. Beach Slang was a ticking atom bomb at this point in time, but unfortunately, it exploded shortly after. Witnessing this perfect storm at close proximity was exactly the “Noisy Heaven” Alex sings about.
James Alex of Beach Slang tumbles on stage while managing to play his guitar at Portland’s Analog Theater on Nov. 11, 2015. (Meerah Powell/Emerald)
Honorable Mentions: Julien Baker at Mississppi Studios, Portland Aug. 8; Father John Misty at Edgefield, Portland, Sept. 1; Courtney Barnett at the Crystal Ballroom, Portland, April 20; Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, Oct. 17; Slayer at the Roseland Theater, Portland, March 20.
Sararosa Davies’ top concerts of 2016
Tommy Stinson’s Cowboys In The Campfire at Barno’s Backyard Ballroom, Oct. 21
A hole in my heart was filled while seeing The Replacements’ bassist Tommy Stinson play in a Eugene living room at the beginning of the school year. Stinson was drunk and his musical partner Uncle Chip Roberts may have drunkenly hit on my roommate, but seeing a hero from my hometown performing in Eugene felt exactly right.
Jeremy Messersmith at John Padelford River Boats, Saint Paul, Minnesota, Sept. 8.
Minnesotan musician Jeremy Messersmith is known among fans for his ‘Supper Club Shows’, but the coolest performance of his in recent months was on the Mississippi River. The concert was sponsored by the National Parks Service in honor of the organization’s centennial. Highlights of the night included coasting down the river that separates Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota while hearing Messersmith sing about those very cities and seeing a pack of deer swim in the water.
Courtney Barnett at First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 26.
Courtney Barnett spent the year touring after the release of 2015’s Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit. Her stop in Minneapolis’ famed First Avenue did not disappoint and provided much needed release for a scene that had just lost Prince. After all, Purple Rain made First Avenue famous. Barnett’s set pulled mostly from 2015’s album, but she played new songs like the ode to ramen, “Three Packs a Day.” There was not a dry eye in the room when she played “Depreston.”
Car Seat Headrest at WOW Hall, Nov. 17
Car Seat Headrest’s Teens of Denial has topped many end of year lists. Will Toledo’s songwriting not only provides for great albums, but a great live experience. The band’s stop in Eugene was high energy and vibrant; it ended with Toledo jumping into the crowd. Opening acts Girls Punch Bears and Naked Giants prepared the crowd for the headlining band’s set while also asserting their individuality. Naked Giants is ready to headline their own concerts at any time. The best shows ignite the crowd consistently, and this one certainly did.
X at McMenamin’s Crystal Ballroom, Dec. 2
John Doe plays bass for X on the band’s 40th Anniversary tour. (Christopher Trotchie/Emerald)
L.A. punk band X celebrated its 40th anniversary at the Crystal Ballroom with a musicality and stage presence only found in bands who have been together that long. My only experience with the band prior to the show was the Emerald piece about vocalist Exene Cervenka and listening to the band’s post-Reagan election album More Fun in the New World.
There was a sense of ease in the way the band whipped through its set that made new listeners feel just as at home as those older, balding people in the crowd. There were high schoolers moshing and parents with their young children standing in front of them. Concerts at their simplest are people coming together to watch some people make noise. As X played songs like the hilly, guitar-driven “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts” and the violent “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene,” it became clear that the best shows are the one’s where the music and the people rise above all else.
Patience Greene’s top concerts of 2016
Halloween feat. Alder Street at Campbell Club, Oct. 29
Energy was high, costumes were fabulous and the dance floor was hopping. Punisher, a unique two-piece, loosened up the crowd with drums, keyboard and drag. Megan Johns charmed the stage with her folk-rock group. Sacred Trees, a doomy psychedelic act, rocked the rafters while moshers tore up the floor. The headliner, Alder Street, a lively bluegrass rock ensemble, delivered a fantastic performance the audience couldn’t help but get groovy to.
Editor’s note: Daniel Bromfield of Punisher is a former Emerald writer.
Built to Spill at WOW Hall, Feb. 8
These old-school indie heroes have been stopping by WOW Hall on their tours for years now. Their performances are always a blast. The guys are tons of fun and Doug Martsch, the band’s frontman, is like a lovable teddy bear; unfortunately, the band was stripped to a three-piece for this show, and WOW Hall’s set-up projected the sound past the front, so seeing the band and hearing the vocals at the same time was an impossibility.
Iron Maiden at Tacoma Dome, Washington, April 11
This metal band has a reputation for giving a good show, and they did not disappoint. Fog machines and strobe lights set the mood. Impressive pyrotechnics exploded in abundance. Videos set to the music were projected onto the stage, and the band members gave a high octane performance, clearly enjoying themselves. A giant Eddie puppet came onstage, and an enormous animatronic Satan brought Hell down upon the concert. It was a truly awesome and altogether “metal” show.
Temple of the Dog at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, Nov. 12
Legendary grunge supergroup Temple of the Dog includes members from Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. This was Temple of the Dog’s first ever tour, and seeing the legend live was a dream for many fans who waited in line for hours. Opening act Fantastic Negrito was an electric blues roots band with a smooth and retro-sexy frontman. The show was personal and powerful. Temple of the Dog played every song off its album, along with Mother Love Bone songs and epic covers from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, The Cure and more.
Black Sabbath at Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre, Ridgefield, Washington, Sept. 13
Black Sabbath is the most influential metal band of all time, practically creating heavy metal and inspiring many doom and sludge metal bands in its wake. After decades of tearing up stages and melting faces with the sheer force of rock, Black Sabbath finally announced “The End,” its last ever tour. This show had high expectations and it met every last one. Ozzy was a perfect mess. His only banter throughout the night was repeatedly screaming, “Let me see your fucking hands!” The set was shorter than usual, but they played every song a classic fan would want and not a single more. It was the tightest and sickest setlist played by any band all year. With heavy doom sections that seemed to slow down time, and long jams that shook the crowd into a frenzy, there was no choice but to give into the metal and let it run through your body as arms and legs flailed in time.
Casey Miller’s top concert
The Head and the Heart at McDonald Theater, Oct. 9
My favorite concert of 2016 was tough to decide as a music beat reporter for the arts & culture section, having attended dozens of concerts this year; however, my favorite this year was The Head and the Heart’s performance at the McDonald Theater in October. Never have I felt so connected with both the audience and the band as with The Head and the Heart’s Signs of Light tour performance in Eugene. Prior to the concert, I had never listened to their music. This was definitely a great idea, as I enjoyed them so much live and connected to the songs on a deeper level. This was also the first time I have teared up at a concert (but seriously, listen to Rivers and Roads and tell me you don’t get emotional), and I’ve seen Ed Sheeran twice before, so I know an emotional song when I hear one! The chemistry onstage between band members and off stage with its audience was what made this performance so special. I can’t say I’ve listened to much of The Head and the Heart’s music since, and I think it’s honestly because their raw emotional performance struck such a chord with me that no recording could match. To catch them live anytime in 2017, check their tour dates here.
As college students, it’s tough to find spare time to read for pleasure between homework, midterms and term papers. The Emerald has enlisted its writers to recommend their favorite books they managed to read released in 2016.
But What If We’re Wrong? By Chuck Klosterman
Chuck Klosterman is the type of person who can change your perception of a lifetime of thinking with a single sentence. He’s an intellectual who seemingly can debate any topic for hours with encyclopedic accuracy. Klosterman is a renowned pop culture writer, and for But What If We’re Wrong? he has moved onto bigger topics including physics, how literature and rock ‘n’ roll will be remembered in the future and why being wrong is sometimes more important than being right. This book displays Klosterman’s range as a writer and as a thinker; he can make an argument about the merit of Guns n’ Roses’ album Appetite For Destruction as he can for why the way we think about gravity is likely going to be proven wrong by future generations. Does that mean the world we are living in is a lie? — Craig Wright
Look by Solmaz Sharif
Solmaz Sharif had a busy year. With her reading schedule — which included a stop at the University of Oregon Knight Library — and her first full length book of poetry entitled Look being nominated for a National Book Award, she’s become a poet worth following. Sharif’s poetry is political, jagged and full of sharp line breaks. The poems in Look use words from the Department of Defense Dictionary (which takes normal words and redefines them in a military context) to talk about war and political turmoil. In Look‘s context, seemingly normal words become terrifying and surreal. With the election results and political unease extending into the foreseeable future, Look exemplifies 2016’s political arena in a book. — Sararosa Davies
The Romantics by Leah Konen
This young adult novel is an easy-to-read, quirky tale told through the point of view of an omniscient narrator: love. In a way similar to Cupid, Love is a character able to manipulate things to help Gael, the main character, find the girl he is meant to be with after he goes through a crushing breakup. Things take a twist when Gael starts to fall for the wrong girl and Love must do everything in her power to correct things. This silly, yet heartwarming book is perfect for rom-com lovers or anyone looking for a lighthearted read between textbooks. The concept of Love as a character is incredibly creative and makes for a story unlike any other. — Leanne Harloff
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements by Bob Mehr
Admittedly, I am a bit biased towards this book. The Replacements have been my favorite band since I heard Let It Be in eighth grade, but author Bob Mehr’s in-depth biography of the Replacements, a Minneapolis punk band addicted to chaos, provides an unbiased look at the band’s greatest achievements and their crushing lows. With interviews from founding members Paul Westerberg, Tommy Stinson and manager Peter Jesperson among many others, this is the story of the Replacements. It is equal parts comedy, tragedy and drunken buffoonery, but in the end it leaves you with a newfound love for the people in the band and a sense of frustration about how they continuously managed to shoot themselves in the foot at every turn. For those who have never heard of the band, Trouble Boys shines an unflattering light on the rigors of touring and the dark side of fame like few books before it have accomplished. — Craig Wright
If you’re looking for a great local author, Cat Winters should grab your attention. Winters has written several historical fiction novels, but this story in particular causes readers to step into the past and fully immerse themselves in the time period. In the Steep and Thorny Way, Winters writes about Oregon in the early 1920s and perfectly captures the struggles of a young biracial girl as she deals with her father’s death. She will stop at nothing to find out the truth of whether her father was accidentally killed or horrendously murdered. Winters tells a harsh and captivating story that brings to light the horrors of the Ku Klux Klan, the eugenics movement and the small town racism that was so prominent at this time in Oregon’s history. — Leanne Harloff
Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong reads his work in a quiet whisper, but his poems are bold and unafraid. They are beautiful and brave works of writing that stand against an unkind world. Vuong’s latest release, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, is a book of poetic musings about identity and family, whether in the form of diary entry style poems about pubic hair, or in the vivid Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong, in which he writes,
“Don’t be afraid, the gunfire is only the sound of people trying to live a little longer. Ocean. Ocean, get up. The most beautiful part of your body is where it’s headed. & remember, loneliness is still time spent with the world.”
Night Sky With Exit Wounds reminds us of where we are headed after this unusual year. Vuong’s words echo and remind us that poetry’s relevance should continue to grow into 2017. He’s part of a group of younger poets who are making the art form accessible. Teen Vogue even said that he’s making poetry cool again. — Sararosa Davies
Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
The Boss finally released his autobiography, and it is every bit as interesting as we could have hoped for. Springsteen’s goal in Born To Run isn’t to give a rundown of how he wrote all of his songs; instead, he selects a few and talks more about the events that helped to shape his life as a whole. Most importantly, he said he wanted to show readers how his mind operates. He accomplishes this and tells of sleeping under the Jersey boardwalk to selling out the largest stadiums in the world. This book reveals the man behind some of the greatest songs ever written and is not an ego stroking exercise like many autobiographies. Much like his music, it is about the hard-working people who make the world turn — this time though, he’s telling his own story.
Before the Emerald releases its best of 2016 lists of films, books, concerts, songs and albums, we felt it was important to balance praising the year’s best works of art with pointing out which let us down. These are not the worst pieces of the year; these are works that showed great potential and fell short of expectations.
Sausage Party
What could possibly go wrong in an R-rated animated comedy starring Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, James Franco and many more about a group of male sausages and female buns wanting to intimately get to know one another outside of their sealed packages?
Well… Where to begin?
The first few minutes of Sausage Party are downright hilarious. From there, it falls flat on its face in its attempt to be the raunchiest comedy ever created. The R-rating grants Sausage Party a license to say whatever it wants — unfortunately, it dedicates itself to tactlessly using the F word 126 times in a mere 89 minutes in ways that do nothing to further the humor. Instead of being used as a punchline, the ceaseless onslaught of vulgarity becomes nothing more than distracting punctuation.
The villain is a literal (and yes, pun obsessed) douchebag voiced by Nick Kroll. A sausage smokes weed with a bottle of whisky [a red-flag of a plot hole because if the food characters smoke marijuana, a plant, then they are no worse than the human woman who ends the life of the runaway baby carrots in the film’s third most traumatic scene]; there’s a 10-minute food orgy, and after a man smokes bath salts, he is able to magically communicate with food.
Perhaps over-analyzing the plot is missing the point, but Sausage Party’s flaws are impossible to ignore and spoiled what could have potentially been the funniest movie since This Is The End — a near comedic masterpiece.Much like The Purge, this is a film that has a concept that sounds great on paper, but it was poorly executed. Crude does not alway equal funny, and Sausage Party is the definition of going too far without reason.
Reboots are a tricky business. Revitalizing a franchise with any sort of success happens so infrequently that the risk pretty much always outweighs the reward. Someone probably should have told Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass, who teamed up for the first time since 2010’s toothless war thriller Green Zone to try and bring the titular Jason Bourne back to life. Why anyone thought this was a decent idea is a mystery.
The plot, about as barebones as the film’s title, follows Bourne as he discovers yet another secret from his past in a globe-trotting adventure that plays like a parody of past Bourne films. Tommy Lee Jones, one of cinema’s finest actors, appears to have wandered onto the wrong set. His character exists out of necessity; it wouldn’t be a proper Bourne film without an older villain in a suit. Meanwhile, the film’s action sequences are shot in a style so reliant on a shaking, fidgeting camera that they’re nearly impossible to follow. Damon himself gets only 25 lines of dialogue (seriously), leaving Alicia Vikander to carry almost all of the dramatic weight by herself.
By the time the credits roll, and Moby’s “Extreme Ways” graces the audience yet again, it’s easy to bemoan the possibility of this happening another time. The Bourne Eulogy would have been a much better title. — Dana Alston
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Harry Potter is more than a franchise: it is a defining part of childhood for many millennials. When the world found out another movie would be released — one that was supposed to have grown up with the fans — the hype was intense; unfortunately, the film was not.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was missing the grandeur and scope of past Harry Potter films, perhaps because it didn’t take place in a very fantastical setting. More than that, this film fell short of the franchise in almost every area. In the past, stakes were always high and the tension strong, but in Fantastic Beasts the villain felt unimportant, and conflicts were often resolved before they were even felt.
Harry Potter balanced innocent wonder and magic with dark adventures and haunting themes. In an effort to be more mature, Fantastic Beasts tried to rely on more realistic or adult issues like abuse, oppression and war. But these never felt pressing or epic, and the film was left feeling hollow.
Fantastic Beasts was supposed to have grown up with its fans, but instead it grew into the trap that all modern blockbusters do, pandering to the lowest denominator, delivering instant gratification and show-off graphics instead of building real tension — entertaining but not high quality material. — Patience Greene
“Dead Alive” by The Shins
“Dead Alive,” the 2016 single by indie pop group The Shins feels lackluster compared to the band’s previous efforts. It’s a pretty darn boring single for a group that has produced gems like “Know Your Onion” and the quiet, striking “New Slang.” “Dead Alive” has a boppy, carbonated sound in the way every Shins’ song does, but it doesn’t expand past that trait.
While “Simple Song,” the single for 2012’s Port of Morrow, expanded on the sound of past albums with robust instrumentation, “Dead Alive” feels like an off-brand version of that very song. The drum machine and James Mercer’s (the sole original member left in the band) voice make for a cheap high: At first all seems well with The Shins, but this song proves that nothing has changed for this band in the last four years except for its lineup. There’s more to The Shins than this, but right now they feel more dead than they do alive. — Sararosa Davies
To celebrate the home-run stretch before Christmas, Hanukkah and the holiday season as a whole, the Emerald has enlisted every writer on the arts and culture desk to recommend his or her favorite holiday movie. With classic cartoons, comedies and a few oddball selections, these are the films Emerald staffers will be watching during winter break. Let us know in the comments what you will be watching to celebrate the holiday season.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
This 1946 black-and-white film is among the top 100 best films ever made; but it’s more than just a great holiday movie. It also sends a heartwarming message.
On Christmas Eve, George Bailey (James Stewart) is slightly suicidal and begins to wish he was never born. In response, his guardian angel, Clarence (Henry Travers), is summoned, showing George an alternate timeline that reflects life without any trace of George Bailey. As it turns out, the general quality of life of the people he loves dissipates greatly in his absence, and he realizes just how precious life really is — a reminder everyone could use.
It’s a Wonderful Life is dramatic and poignant; it sends the perfect holiday message about the importance of family and loved ones. As Clarence put it, “Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” — Carleigh Oeth
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
It’s hard not to love a story about the triumphs of an underdog. This version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer originally aired as a TV special in 1964 and has captured hearts ever since. Charming young Rudolph is deemed unable to pull Santa’s sleigh, the most desirable task for a reindeer in the North Pole, because of his glowing red nose. After unsuccessfully trying to cover up his problematic nose, Rudolph sets off on an icy journey with a “misfit” named Hermey — an elf who wants to be a dentist instead of a toy maker. When a massive storm on Christmas Eve forces Santa to contemplate cancelling Christmas, Rudolph and Hermey come to Santa’s rescue and save Christmas, but not before singing a few festive songs along the way. With such likable characters, including the misunderstood Abominable Snowman, this classic stop-motion film continues to be one of the best Christmas tales around. — Leanne Harloff
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Charles Shultz’s Peanuts comic strip had become an absolute phenomenon by the mid-1960s, and it didn’t take long for television executives to greenlight a Christmas special. The result was an immediate success, with an unexpectedly quiet, somber tone led by a soundtrack by jazz genius Vince Guaraldi that became a staple in American households during the holidays. Watching Charlie Brown try to direct a school play about the meaning of Christmas is funny, chaotic and meaningful, complete with Snoopy’s dancing antics and Linus’ emotional, now-famous closing monologue. It’s also the best of the Charlie Brown specials, and the most focused. While short, it runs just under 26 minutes, the special’s length doesn’t allow for any distracting or unfunny elements to derail the experience. It’s the definition of a classic, and a must-watch for any family during the holiday season. — Dana Alston
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!(1966)
No Christmas movie night is complete without some serious childhood flashbacks, and what better way is there to kick off these memories than a viewing of the How The Grinch Stole Christmas!? (The original, of course.) Boris Karloff, widely recognized as a classic horror icon and known for his role as Frankenstein, puts an extra creepy edge to the voice of the Grinch himself. He also narrates the story. “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch!” is one of the best songs ever rendered from a Dr. Seuss book, especially during the scene when the Grinch steals Whoville’s Christmas: toys, candy canes, ornaments and all. This scene might be the movie’s highlight, but watching the Grinch’s heart grow out of his chest before he rains down presents on Whoville is as heartwarming as a Dr. Seuss Christmas can be. — Patience Greene
Frosty The Snowman (1969)
First shown in December of 1969 as a TV special on CBS, Frosty the Snowman has become a must-watch, childhood classic during the holiday season. While the popular “Frosty the Snowman” song was written in 1950, the story of Frosty was cemented into Christmas culture with this short film. Both the film and song fall within the top echelon of their respective holiday categories. The film begins with a bumbling magician, Professor Hinkle, performing to a group of school kids, who are unamused by his poorly executed tricks. When the magician’s rabbit (appropriately named Hokus Pokus) runs off with Hinkle’s top hat, the kids use the hat to bring their snowman to life.
Pursued by Hinkle, the kids attempt to preserve Frosty by getting on a train to the North Pole. During the adventure, Frosty is trapped by Hinkle in a poinsettia greenhouse and melts, but Santa saves the day, reviving Frosty for a third time and promises the kids that Frosty will return every Christmas Day. He also teaches Hinkle (and the viewer) an important lesson about generosity. — Franklin Lewis
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
The holiday season has also become the Star Wars season over the past two years, with the release of The Force Awakens and the upcoming Rogue One movie taking center stage in every theatre. But did you know there’s a Star Wars: Holiday Special? It came out in 1978, the year after the original movie, back when making a holiday special was akin to printing money. The thing is, it’s a scattered mess that’s considered an embarrassment to nearly everyone involved, including George Lucas and the original cast. It follows the exploits of Chewbacca’s family as they wait for Chewie and Han to return home for Life Day, the Wookie equivalent to Christmas. It is filled with random intermissions, most of which make little sense and vary in tone. As a sample, there’s an animated segment featuring Boba Fett, a musical performance by Jefferson Starship and a comedy skit of Bea Arthur running the Mos Eisley Cantina.
This surely isn’t a good movie, but it’s a rite of passage for any hardcore Star Wars fan. If nothing else, it will settle once and for all which Star Wars movie is the worst. — Mathew Brock
A Christmas Story (1983)
Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) wanted one thing for Christmas: “a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time.” Depsite his desperation to acquire one of Ryder’s air rifles, every adult in his life has the same answer: “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.” With his efforts thwarted by the adult world, Ralphie is blinded by his ambition to convince anyone who will listen that buying him a BB gun is not only a good idea, but the best idea anyone has ever had.
Developed from narrator Jean Shepherd’s novel In God We Trust, All Other’s Pay Cash, A Christmas Story is not only a Christmas classic, but also a damn-near perfect comedy that captures the magic of waking up on Christmas morning as a child like no film before or since — the hunt for the gift, the elation of receiving it and the realization that maybe mom was right. The amount of classic moments in this movie is surpassed by few films: the tongue on the flagpole; the leg lamp; the department store Santa who hates tapioca; the pink bunny pajamas and Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant add up to a truly unforgettable movie.
By the time TBS’ 24-hours of A Christmas Story marathon ends on Christmas Day, the only thing to say will be, oh fudge, we have to wait a year to watch it again.”— Craig Wright
Die Hard (1988)
The 1988 action-thriller Die Hard isn’t your traditional Christmas movie. While visiting his family in Los Angeles for the holidays, New York City detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) gets caught in the middle of a hostage situation at his wife’s company Christmas party. The group of captors, who are led by the villainous Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), claim to be terrorists seeking to punish the company for its excessive greed. With little help from the police officers stationed outside of the skyscraper, McClane must defeat the terrorists in order to save Christmas for his wife and the rest of the hostages.
Although this movie isn’t usually thrown in the same discussion as other Christmas classics, it might be the best Christmas movie ever. Willis’ breakout performance, which features his famous “yippie ki-yay mother f’er” line, as well as Rickman’s perfect portrayal of an international terrorist make this movie an all-time classic.
Die Hard will air at 6:30 on Christmas Eve on IFC. If you don’t have cable, don’t fret. For only $2.99, it is available online at Amazon, Youtube, iTunes and Google Play. — Zach Price
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
There are inordinate adaptations of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol out there in the universe, but there are at least three big reasons why the 1992 Muppets production is the obviously the best use of your time:
Sir Michael Caine plays the geriatric miser and money-grubbing banker at the center of the story, Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge lives in a dirty London barrio, where the local diaspora is evidently 1:12 humans to felt-sewn citizens.
Kermit the Frog plays Bob Cratchit, a family man-frog and Scrooge’s employee at the bank. Fraught with towering financial debt and a mortgage to pay off, the perpetually lime-green Kermit is pressed to care for his family, including his sickly son Tiny Tim, whose skin tone is that of a day-old avocado.
Spoiler alert for this 1843 story: After Scrooge’s journey forces him to see how he’s neglected his community and colleagues, the old capitalist returns to the present. He strolls around on Christmas morning, gives handouts to his penniless neighbors and sings a democratic-socialist anthem about a “promise to share the wealth.”
The Muppet Christmas Carol is playing on HBO2 this Friday, Dec. 16 at the ultra-convenient time of 6:40 a.m. — Emerson Malone
8 Crazy Nights (2002)
The only Hanukkah movie that I can think of besides A Rugrats Chanukah, is Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights. Those are two very different movies for very different times. 8 Crazy Nights follows Davey Stone (voiced by Sandler), a young Jewish man who lost his parents in a car crash as a child and must redeem himself from his alcoholic ways by helping coach a youth basketball league. It’s full of dark, twisted humor and images that invoke the dark undercurrent of the holiday season. It is not Sandler’s best movie in terms of comedy, nor is it a classic that remains as relevant today, but still, Hanukkah deserves its moment in the holiday movie canon, even if this is its greatest hit. — Sararosa Davies
Elf (2003)
Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human raised by elves who discovers that his biological father lives in New York City. After passing through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, the good-natured Buddy must wander through a disenchanting new world whose inhabitants’ hearts are two sizes too small — including Walter’s, Buddy’s Scrooge-like father who is on the naughty list. Though he is working on a children’s book, Walter ironically casts aside the youthful enchantment of the holiday season, as well as his own family. Buddy must work to tie the family back together and ultimately rekindle the spirit of Christmas in a place where it has seemingly vanished. Be prepared to sing loud for all to hear. — Kathryn Martinez
Love Actually (2003)
One true holiday classic that will remain popular for decades is the ultimate Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually. This classic features a massive ensemble cast of all the biggest British movie stars of the early 2000’s including Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson. Ten separate love stories intertwine, with dramatic and comedic tropes played out with smart British humor and relatable plot lines. It’s the classic romantic comedy that the holiday season needs, mixed with animated favorites like A Charlie Brown Christmas, older films like Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street, and beloved laugh-out-loud comedies like Elf. No other rom-com can compare to the drama, wit, and relatability that Love Actually encapsulates. — Casey Miller
It was below freezing when the Roseland Theater opened its doors at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. Although few fans dared to brave the cold to wait in line, the venue slowly filled by the time headliner Jim James took the stage at 9:15.
James is best known as the lead singer and bearded guitarist of My Morning Jacket. He is also a member of Monsters Of Folk and recently worked on The New Basement Tapes, a collection of Bob Dylan songs recorded with Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens and Marcus Mumford, among others. James is touring in support of his new album, Eternally Even, which was released on Nov. 4.
Twin Limb, a three-piece consisting of organ, guitar and drums from Louisville, Kentucky, opened the show to a crowd that filled about a quarter of the venue. Their “dream pop” sound was drowned out by an unbalanced mix that placed Kevin Ratterman’s guitar front and center, relegating Lacey Guthrie’s vocals and accordion to the background.
Twin Limb and an additional drummer and bassist would join James as his backing band. The set began with “Hide In Plain Sight,” the dreamy opening song from Eternally Even. With the sound properly balanced, James, dressed in a green jacket and brown pants, began with his back to the crowd. He squeezed his eyes shut behind a pair of sunglasses until he began singing.
In recent years, James has suffered back injuries that have prevented him from fulfilling his usual stage presence. Once he began singing, he walked the length of the stage, clearly a little more stiff than normal; but a bad back wasn’t enough to prevent James from being an engaging frontman. He made eye contact with every audience member and would occasionally reach out to touch index fingers with the crowd.
(Craig Wright/Emerald)
James played all solo songs, with no My Morning Jacket or Monsters Of Folk songs. Every track from Eternally Even was represented, and about half of Regions Of Light And Sound Of God made it into the show.
James has one of the greatest voices in music. He can scream. He can drill an inhuman falsetto. He can silence a room with a peaceful wail and a shake of his golden locks, which is exactly what he did during the encore.
During a solo acoustic version of “Changing World,” a song he worked on for the Woody Guthrie tribute album New Multitudes, James sang delicate, extended notes. He slowly shook his head side-to-side, creating a spine-tingling vibrato that obliterated all conversation in the venue. It was such a simple sound, but it provided a few seconds of unexpected transcendence that few performers are capable of leading an audience to.
With tears beginning to form in her eyes, one woman in the crowd simply said, “That was so beautiful” as the song concluded. No one said anything back to her; no words were needed.
The final song of the night was “State Of The Art (A.E.I.O.U)” from Regions Of Light And Sound Of God in which James questions the relationship between humans and the ease and accessibility of technology: “I use my state of the art technology/supposed to make for better living/but are we better human beings?”
Midsong, everything except the drums stopped playing. Here, James sang what appeared to be a new song with handwritten lyrics over the solitary drumbeat. He asked people to care for each other, love one another and stop unnecessary fighting.
As a performer, James radiates a sense of love. As he exited the stage, he held up peace signs to the crowd and proceeded to form his hands into the shape of a heart. Fittingly, John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance” played over the loudspeakers as the crowd exited back into the unforgiving cold, far from the comfort of James’ voice.
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