Independent United States senator Angus King spoke at a rally with Democratic 2nd Congressional District candidate Emily Cain in front of Fogler Library at the University of Maine on Wednesday afternoon, announcing his endorsement of her.

Cain has served in the Maine Senate since 2012, representing the 30th district. She was previously a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 2004 to 2012, and began serving as Minority Leader in 2010.

“Here’s what we need in Washington [D.C.]: we need people who listen, who will talk, who will stay at the table, who will collaborate, who will reach across the aisle and who will solve problems, and that’s what Emily has a record of doing over the past ten years in the Maine legislature,” King said.

Cain worked with Republican Maine Governor Paul LePage on a domestic violence bill that increased access to batterer intervention programs in the state, which was signed into law by LePage in April 2013.

“That’s the kind of bi-partisan, non-partisan problem-solving that we need in Washington,” King said of the collaboration.

Cain, an alumna of UMaine who works on campus as Coordinator of Advancement in the Honors College, said she is a “very proud Black Bear” and that it was a treat to be on campus. She appealed to the primarily student crowd by saying that she aims to alleviate student debt. The average debt of UMaine graduates in 2012 was over $32,000, according to The Project on Student Debt.

“Drowning in student debt is no way to start a career, is no way to get into or stay in the middle class,” Cain said. “The way we fund higher education now, the way we help students afford college, it’s not sustainable.”

Cain spoke also about her commitment to bipartisanship, saying that Congress is “divided.”

“Mainers know the importance of electing leaders like Senator King who work together,” Cain said. “Like him, I know the problems facing our country are too big for a one-party platform to solve.”

The Maine General Election will take place on Nov. 4.

Rating: 7.5/10

Unconventional album releases are a strange beast for Thom Yorke to grapple with. On one hand, they are nontraditional by their name and nature, but on the flip side, they are becoming increasingly paradigmatic and have lost shock value, the very point of an unusual method of delivery.

So how does Yorke, an always-experimenting musician whose capriciousness has come to define him, respond? That question assumes Yorke is a reactionary hipster practicing antiestablishmentism for its own sake, but based on the consistent quality of his output throughout the last quarter century, whether that be his own or his more noted work as the face of Radiohead, there is some sort of drive, something more than wanting to be different.

The ’90s version of Radiohead, the alternative rock juggernauts best known for “Creep,” wasn’t something Yorke wanted to be a part of, having made it clear on multiple occasions that he was a reluctant celebrity. Perhaps as an attempt to escape from the grips of prestige, Yorke led Radiohead into a new electronic frontier, unrelenting in his desire for experimentation. That resulted in the group’s longevity and their reputation as all-time great musical innovators.

As tends to happen with frontmen, Yorke needed another creative outlet for ideas that didn’t work as well in the context of his band as they would as their own enterprise. That lead to 2006’s “The Eraser,” Yorke’s debut solo effort that he described as “more beats and electronics,” taking the relatively new elements of Radiohead, expanding upon them and giving them greater stature.

Since then, Radiohead has released two albums and Yorke had essentially been silent about his bandmate-less work until he took to his Tumblr about a week ago and posted an unlabeled and unexplained photo of a blank, white vinyl record. Then came the announcement of the BitTorrent release, and just like that, Yorke’s second solo album was birthed.

Yorke’s solo work is a space away from but adjacent to Radiohead for exploring less accessible ideas, which is a wild thought, considering how deep in left field the group positions itself, especially on their most recent album, 2011’s “The King of Limbs,” a rhythmically complicated space for deep sonic layering.

To call “Boxes” a natural progression from “Limbs” is fair, but maybe slightly misrepresentative as well. It doesn’t necessarily sound like the next Radiohead album, but as part of Yorke’s mentality throughout his career as a whole, it makes perfect sense.

Yorke has been credited as playing the computer on previous albums more as an afterthought to vocals, lyrics and guitar, but the instrument deserves prominent billing here. “Boxes” is as electronic as Yorke has gotten, or to be more specific, as electronica as ever.

An issue that can crop up in any electronica album is accessibility. To be a successful work in an ambient-leaning genre, it must be able to work well under conditions of active and passive listening. Toeing the line between being in-your-face and being able to chill out in the background, often trying to do both at once, is a challenge, and Yorke accomplishes it most of the time.

There must be a central atmospheric theme that runs throughout to capture the mood, but within moods, there are more distinct feelings. Within happiness, there is satisfaction, glee, bliss, euphoria and others. In anger: rage, displeasure, irritability, aggravation. The low moments of “Boxes” serve the purpose of keeping the mood afloat and ultimately do not impedingly detract from the product, while the highlights establish identity and leave an impression.

“A Brain in a Bottle” draws from bass-led trip-hop. “There Is No Ice (For My Drink)” is head-bobbingly house-like. Album highlight “Truth Ray” is a mashing of high and low frequencies that refuse to meet in the middle but still work harmoniously together atop apprehensively hip-hop percussion.

These high points provide contrast to the cerebral and intendedly out-of-focus aura that is the bedrock of “Boxes,” which, at its worst is a fine example of percussive ambient music, and at its best, a faint taste of Radiohead’s most bewitching explorations.

On the eve of Maine Day, renowned pop duo Capital Cities and opening act Scavenger Hunt performed at the Collins Center for the Arts as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour.

Capital Cities, along with their touring band, opened with a fiery performance of “Kangaroo Court,” the second single from their 2013 debut album, “In A Tidal Wave of Mystery.” Along with the rest of the set, the tune was punctuated by the trumpet-playing of Spencer Ludwig, who received a warm reception every time the spotlight was on him.

The high energy indie rock kept going from there until they closed with their biggest hit, “Safe and Sound.” They started by playing the song similarly to the studio version, then continued with a remixed version of the song, during which members of the band danced on stage, explored the crowd and even posed for a selfie with fans. The band also instructed audience members to take their shirts off and wave them in the air as their performance concluded.

Capital Cities also performed two cover songs they had previously released studio versions of: “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Stayin’ Alive,” originally by Sinead O’Connor and The Bee Gees, respectively. During the latter song, the band also incorporated lyrics from Weezer’s “Sweater Song.”

Other songs performed include “Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast,” “I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo” and “Origami.”

Opening the event was Scavenger Hunt, an electro-pop band from Los Angeles who is similar in sound to Capital Cities, and thanks to lead singer Jill Lamoureux, also sounded like Scottish indie pop group Chvrches. Their set got the crowd on its feet and warmed up for Capital Cities.

“I’m gonna get you standing up eventually. You don’t have to be scared now, but it’s gonna happen” Lamoureux said before calling the audience “small but mighty.”

Although information about ticket sales was not available at press time, the seats in the orchestra section of the 1,500-seat CCA were about half full, while no seats in the balcony were occupied. In Oct. 2011, R&B singer Janelle Monae and rock band Fun performed in the CCA, also as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour, to a similarly sized crowd.

According to its website, the Campus Consciousness Tour is “half rock tour, half environmental campaign” and “aims to inspire and activate students in an electric atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community the tour visits.”

Vice President of Student Entertainment Patrick Fortier-Brown was pleased with the show and said it was a positive experience for all parties involved.

“The band really enjoyed the crowd,” Fortier-Brown said. “The band seemed to have a good time playing, everybody in the crowd seemed to really like the band.”

Fortier-Brown added that as far as security and Student Entertainment’s role in the production, the show “couldn’t really have gone much better.”

Looking forward, Fortier-Brown said that Student Entertainment has a new budget and will have fewer obstacles to overcome when planning shows for the upcoming semesters.

“Limitations aren’t as high as they were this semester, so expect to have some fun [at upcoming shows],” Fortier-Brown said.

Every year, the battle for the song of the summer rages. Last year, the winner was Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” and/or Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” depending on who you ask. This summer’s anthem may not have even made itself known yet, unless Pharrell’s “Happy” uninhibited joy gives it enough staying power.

This isn’t the only unanswered music-related question about this summer. This is my last column of the semester, so what are you, the reader, going to do without it for the next four months? Who will you go to read about meals based on certain albums or why country and hardcore music isn’t as bad as you may think?

I understand how central a part of your life How I Hear It is, so I won’t leave you hanging. In fact, I’m going to give you some summer homework. Listed below are a few albums that, for various benefits and reasons, you should listen to.

You should listen to Swim Deep’s “Where The Heaven Are We” because…

…it can be the album of your summer. There is an undeniable airiness to it. It is Grade-A pop music that represents the carefree vibe of ’90s Britpop at its finest, but with modern influences. Swim Deep has much of the spirit of Oasis and The Verve in their primes, which is nothing but a huge compliment. Most every track on this well–rounded album is instantly catchy and forever summer–y. There are plenty of highlights, but if you’re not compelled to listen to “Honey” 40 times in a row — especially after watching the nostalgia-inducing video — there is no helping you.

You should listen to Lady GaGa’s “ARTPOP” because…

…there is good in pop music if you give it a chance. Sure, most pop records are singles you can’t escape surrounded by time-killers, but “ARTPOP” is legitimately a fantastic album. The problem it faced was that mainstream publications like Rolling Stone and NME didn’t particularly care for it, while GaGa is too prominent a figure for indie sites like Pitchfork to seriously consider — Pitchfork actually ignored the album completely and did not review it. “Aura,” “Venus” and “Mary Jane Holland” are superior to the record’s singles, save for “Applause,” which disproves my theory that an album’s lead single is never its actual best song.

You should listen to Capsule’s “CAPS LOCK” because…

…you miss out on a lot of great stuff by only listening domestically. America is the pop culture capital of the world, but like how Washington, D.C. is only part of the United States, American and other English-language music represents a fraction of what is out there. Capsule is a Japanese electronic duo that has been at it for a while and, from what I gather, is held in decently high esteem at home. I’ve always thought of “CAPS LOCK” as a spiritual sibling to Alt-J’s “An Awesome Wave”: They don’t sound that similar, but their structure and the impression they leave is similar in a way I’m not adequately able to explain.

You should listen to Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s “Dazzle Ships” because…

…it’s from before you were born, it’s one of the weirder album’s you’ll ever hear and it’s fantastic. OMD followed up a largely successful record with this bizarre half hour set that really put people off. The problem was that it was ahead of its time, as it has been retroactively hailed as an overlooked masterpiece. Listen to single “Telegraph” and you can see how it might not have been appreciated then, but the delicate synths and growling, wailing and catchy vocals make the tune an oddball earworm anybody with a penchant for the charmingly unusual will appreciate.

Those are your assignments, now get studying.

Social get-togethers in our neck of the woods primarily bump modern kick-clap-kick-clap hits or nostalgia tunes from pre-college years, but Todd Terje’s debut LP would do just as well at ushering in an upbeat spring while bringing indie cred that most party playlists are sorely lacking.

The Norwegian Terje has been active for a good part of the last decade or so, but has yet to produce a full-length release. His singles and live performances have served him well enough, but as Terje seems to realize, it really is album time.

Terje’s well-received 2012 jam “Inspector Norse” brings up the rear of his first album, which is an interesting move because it would have served just as well as an opener. It would have been an easy: Indie followers would have been able to walk in and hang their hat on something they already know and trust the quality of.

The near-7-minute track is thumping and whimsical, a sturdy rhythmic skeleton with strong muscles that contract, expand and let it move forward. It is what good dance music should be: the rhythm is constant and propelling so you can move and work your backside without worrying about keeping up, but if you’re resting your posterior, it sounds just as good, if not better, with a pair of worthwhile audio equipment and an attentive ear.

Based on that description and what has already been said, putting this gem as the first item on the bill would have been a supremely effective move. It seems, however, that Terje didn’t want to cruise by on what he accomplished two years ago.

What ends up happening on “It’s Album Time” is that instead of it being the main feature, “Inspector Norse” is something of an afterthought. If “It’s Album Time” is your closet, “Inspector Norse” is the pair of pants you haven’t worn in a while that has a forgotten $20 bill in the pocket. The primary product is so satisfying that by the time you near the end, you forgot all about what might be the best part.

That says something about the strength of the cuts preceding “Inspector Norse.”

“Swing Star, Pt. 1” and “[…] Pt. 2” also appear on “It’s the Arps,” the 2012 EP that’s the original home of “Inspector Norse,” which are also highlights that were placed near the end to avoid imposing upon the newer material. If treated as one composition, “Swing Star” is a longer and less immediate but equally satisfying counterpart to its shorter comrades, something akin to what Phoenix did on their most recent two albums with “Love Like a Sunset” and “Bankrupt!”

To carry on with making it all about the “It’s the Arps” tracks, it would seem an interesting — perhaps bizarre — move to include two 2-year-old, previously released tracks on a new album. But after getting used to them as part of the tracklist and actually listening, it’s clear they are contemporaries to the newer songs, cast from the same mold.

That’s not to say the new tracks show Terje stuck in a creative rut where he is unable to do anything new. If anything, “It’s the Arps” was a tease that left more to be wanted and “It’s Album Time” is the fulfillment of that desire. Cuts like “Delorean Dynamite” and “Strandbar” are fresh and exciting, exploring new ground while not straying too far away from their forefathers.

There is an important difference between “It’s Album Time” and contemporary dance music. Today’s get-up-and-move hits are great at making listeners… well, get up and move. But when less kinetic energy is in play, there is far less life in the songs. They thrive when scoring physical activity. That’s not a terrible thing: they serve a single purpose and serve it well.

Terje’s latest batch of sounds, however, is versatile. It can work perfectly in that setting, but can also be enjoyed by the less coordinated and rhythmically inclined.

It’s a dance album. It’s more than that, too.

Grade: B+

Ignoring expenses, actual profit margins and other money-related numbers that musicians are often complaining about, if you want to make $5 million from an album that sells for $10 per copy, you would have to sell 500,000 copies of that album. That’s a big feat that’s not achieved every day.

Legendary rap group Wu-Tang Clan plans to manufacture only one copy of their upcoming record, “The Wu — Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” That sounds like commercial suicide, considering all the money that goes into the recording and production of an album, but there’s more to it than that. Once it is up for sale, it is expected to sell for at least $5 million.

Again, there’s more to it than that.

Music is commonly referred to as art, and the goal of this project is to see it treated as such. Art is special because it is one of a kind. There’s only one authentic Mona Lisa, and it is worth a lot of money. The same will be true of “The Wu.” There will be only one copy, and it will sell for a large sum since it will be the only one.

The 31-track album was recorded over six years in complete secrecy with the original Wu-Tang Clan members. Before it is sold, likely to the highest bidder in an auction, it is expected to tour museums worldwide for exclusive listening parties. There will be no MP3 downloads and no CDs or vinyl at the record store.

Wu-Tang Clan member RZA told Billboard that he has heard offers ranging from $2 million to $5 million for the album.

“[It] gives us an idea that what we’re doing is being understood by some,” he told Billboard.

There are two ways to look at this bizarre release method — or lack thereof:

1. You can be upset about it.

Why would they do this? Don’t they want people to hear their music? They worked on it for six years and nobody’s going to know what it sounds like? At most, a few thousand people, a number that could be completely off, will hear it and that’s all. For a band whose cultural immediacy has dwindled since the ’90s, releasing a record that nobody knows anything about is a dangerous move.

2. You can be excited by it.

Is it pretentious that they’re treating the album this way? Sure, absolutely. It’s being treated like it’s a gift to mankind from The Creator himself. Here’s the thing: it could be. Most of us will never know. Very few people will ever get to experience this thing. It’s exclusive. The exclusivity creates mystique. People will debate what they think it might sound like. Your friend will know somebody who knows a guy who knows a guy who heard about somebody who got to hear it, and they said it was the greatest collection of sound in the history of hip-hop. Wow, imagine what it would be like to hear that?

Replications of Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” can be seen online, while the actual thing is only in one place. “The Wu” can only be seen in one place and for an extremely limited time. It’s the Haley’s Comet of music releases. It only comes around so often and the conditions have to be just right to be able to experience it. Without the ability to repeatedly listen, your memory of it, if you were fortunate enough to have heard it and formed one at all, will be tainted by nostalgia, which will make it even more mythic. It’s a big deal, a one-night-only ordeal that will never be replicated.

As much as many people want to hear this thing, its exclusivity is both a bold statement and great promotional tool, but then again, there’s no point in promoting something that isn’t distributed. Even if the album ends up being no good, the release method itself is art, a thoughtful and deep idea that stirs up reactions. Also, the album might be the greatest thing we’ll never hear.

The last release from The Antlers was the 2012 EP “Undersea,” which was fantastic, but short and it left fans wanting more. Fans have remained in that state ever since, but brighter skies seem like they’re ahead: On March 28, the group uploaded a YouTube video, titled “…,” that features ethereal instrumentals scoring footage of lights and music gear. The video ends with “soon.” appearing on the screen, so hopefully we’ll have something new from them… soon.

Not only do we have new The Antlers to look forward to, but a slew of other quality acts have anticipated releases coming out this spring. For example:

The Black Keys – “Turn Blue” (May 12)

The Ohio-duo took an interesting path in announcing the release of their next record: on March 21, former boxer Mike Tyson tweeted “Turn Bluehttp://youtu.be/Zq40vTdaa2w,” which links to a video of a creepy, record-based hypnotism that ends with an infomercial order screen that read, “SPECIAL NEW ALBUM TURN BLUE BY ROCK MUSICIANS THE BLACK KEYS.”

Then, on March 24, they released “Fever,” the first single from the new album that combines influences from ’60s psychedelia with the band’s tried-and-true garage-blues. It’s hard to say that the group has ever released a bad album, so something new from them is always a good time.

Todd Terje – “It’s Album Time” (April 8)

It certainly is album time: Terje’s been active since the mid-2000s but the Scandinavian dance wizard has yet to release a proper LP. Aside from producing and writing for other artists and releasing singles, his most recent release of note is the 2012 EP “It’s The Arps,” which is 20 minutes of fantastic Euro-dance that draws from modern electronic music. His rhythms and melodies are infectious, so without a proper album under his belt, it’ll be interesting to see how well he does in that environment, although his currently available material suggests he’ll be fine.

Damon Albarn – “Everyday Robots” (April 29)

He’s fronted Blur and Gorillaz, two massively successful groups, but one thing he hasn’t done yet is venture out on his own name. That’s going to change at the end of April when he releases his first solo record, of which he’s already given the world a few tastes of. Several songs have already seen the light of day, most of which are slow, brooding pieces.

To contrast that is the infinitely whimsical “Mr. Tembo,” which he wrote for a baby elephant he saw in a zoo. Although the gist of the record thus far seems to lean more Gorillaz than Blur, it doesn’t sound entirely like either. It’ll be nice to see Albarn taking sole possession of the spotlight and seeing how he does with all the focus on him.

Eels – “The Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver Everett” (April 22)

Eels — the project of E, also known by his legal name, Mark Oliver Everett — is known to most primarily from his songs’ inclusions in a bunch of movies, like “Shrek” and “Yes Man.” But more importantly, he is one of the most prolific performers in the indie world: his next record will be his fourth of the decade.

Everett thrives on stripped-down mellow tracks that allow his gravely and tortured voice to prevail, which is exactly what happens on “Mistakes of My Youth.” It seems “Cautionary Tales” won’t break any new ground stylistically, but Everett’s tight songwriting has not waned and does not seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Chromeo – “White Women” (May 12)

Speaking of sticking to what’s comfortable, that seems what Canadian duo Chromeo is set to do with their next album, and like in Eels case, that’s not a bad thing. Album track “Over Your Shoulder” is a pretty slice of the same electro-funk that’s been consistently entertaining throughout their career. It’s great to dance to and as witnessed by KahBang 2011 attendees, it’ll be part of an entertaining live show.

Lil Wayne – “Tha Carter V” (May 5)

Lil Wayne has said that this will be his last album. Good.

On March 24, 1979, disco legends the Bee Gees secured a spot at the top of the U.S. singles chart with “Tragedy,” their eighth song to accomplish the feat. The song is also the opening track of the 1979 album, “Spirits Having Flown,” the trio’s fantastic follow-up to their genre-defining soundtrack for the film “Saturday Night Fever.”

It’s arguable that there is no genre with a more interesting history than disco. The genre began its emergence in the early ’70s, supposedly in opposition to the popularity of rock music. By the middle of the decade, it had essentially taken over the airwaves, but its reign was short-lived: almost officially, disco died on July 12, 1979, during Disco Demolition Night.

What started as a promotion between baseball games at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Ill. where a crate of disco records was blown up quickly devolved into chaos. Many of the game’s attendees were actually disco-haters not even there for the thrills of athletic competition. Thousands snuck into the stadium: an expected crowd of 20,000 grew to about 50,000, with some estimating 90,000 to be more accurate.

During the first game, fans threw their records onto the field and disrupted the game several times, foreshadowing the destruction that was to come next. Security was stretched thin to prevent unauthorized entry into the stadium, so immediately after the explosion, there was an inadequate amount of staff to prevent the 5,000 or so soon-to-be rioters from storming the field.

The field was torn up, equipment was destroyed, bonfires were started. Here’s an interesting bit of trivia: the late actor Michael Clarke Duncan, then a 21-year-old aspiring actor, was on the field and claims to have slid into third base and stolen a bat from one of the dugouts.

After about a half hour of insanity, police in riot gear were able to make the crowd disperse. The baseball fans in attendance applauded, but the field was so badly destroyed that the Chicago White Sox ended up having to forfeit the second game to the Detroit Tigers.

Disco’s troubled history, combined with the cliched image of cartoon-like disco dancers with afros and white disco suits, has turned the genre into a joke for many, which is a shame because it had it moments.

The aforementioned “Spirits Having Flown” is full of them. There’s “Tragedy,” the lead single and obvious pick, but the funky “Living Together” and the smooth “Love You Inside Out,” historical hate of the genre aside, are timeless.

Admittedly, I have an extremely limited knowledge of disco’s deeper cuts, but it seems that for every ABBA and Donna Summer, there is a Sparks and Sylvester waiting to be discovered by a curious music lover. The former’s 1979 album “No. 1 in Heaven” is an experimental, electronic take on the genre, while Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” has an undeniable modernness to it, although it was released almost 40 years ago.

There’s a reason why the song feels almost at home today: disco has slowly been climbing back into the modern musical consciousness for some time. It goes back earlier than this I’m sure, but the first example that comes to mind is LCD Soundsystem. Frontman James Murphy has often described his now-defunct group as “dance-punk” or “disco-punk,” and the influence of the genre on his band and others like it is obvious.

The return of disco hit its highest point in a long time in 2013. Of all places, it happened in mainstream pop: Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” undoubtedly owes a token of gratitude to disco and even features guitar work from Nile Rodgers, cofounder of elite disco group Chic. Some of the year’s other massively popular songs were also inspired by disco, including Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Bruno Mars’ “Treasure.”

The lyrics of “Tragedy” seem to foreshadow the cruel fate of disco: “Here I lie / in a lost and lonely part of town / Held in time / In a world of tears I slowly drown.” Disco was banished to its own untouched corner of history, truly bound to and not allowed to escape from its era of prominence.

But disco is dance music. Danceable genres like pop and EDM are huge right now. Today’s biggest songs were created in the disco mold. What does this all mean? It’s time to shake the “disco fever” stigma and embrace a wrongfully ignored and crucial part of music history.

Kyle Hanley, a chef at the Detroit Golf Club, has designed a 10-course menu based on the 10 tracks of Radiohead’s 2000 classic “Kid A.”

“Most people put out CDs, and this is an actual album. One song flows into the next, and we kind of want to do the same thing with the courses,” he told the Huffington Post.

If you happen to find yourself in Detroit this Wednesday, you can take part in the one-night-only event, although Hanley said he is considering making this a monthly event, with a different album featured every time. I’d like to help: here are 11 album and food pairings that may or may not go over well.

Ponytail, “Ice Cream Spiritual!” (2008)

To start, a palate cleanser of vanilla sorbet, followed by 15 pounds of Pixy Stix. That’s it. “Ice Cream Spiritual!” is off-the-wall crazy, so frenetically paced that you nearly break a sweat just listening to it. Singer Willy Siegel’s juvenile shouting and energetic vocalizations, accented by breakneck indie rock instrumentals, can only be the result of an intense sugar rush.

Various Artists, “The DFA Remixes: Chapter One” and “Chapter Two” (2006)

This compilation by James Murphy and his mates at DFA Records is a McDouble, but with homemade buns and perhaps barbecue sauce. It’s a Papa John’s pizza with KFC chicken on top. Murphy and company have taken already-great things and made them even better in ways that aren’t immediately obvious while retaining the spirit of the original.

Animal Collective, “Merriweather Post Pavilion” (2009)

The same menu as “The DFA Remixes,” except drop a few acid tabs first and also have an ice cream cake, salmon, three bags of Fritos, a steak, a bag of apples and Go-Gurt. This album explores a lot of different indie pop and rock angles, all through a kaleidoscopic lens of psychedelia and purposeful aimlessness, if that makes sense.

R. Kelly, “Black Panties” (2013)

Turn the lights down low, light some candles and dig into a meal of chocolate-covered strawberries, edible panties and flavored condoms. R. Kelly returned with arguably his most explicitly sexual album of the decade, which featured the actually fantastic single “Genius,” and it was dripping in sweat and God knows what else.

Brian Eno, “The Pearl” (1984)

Like the majority of his albums, ambient king and production wizard Eno’s albums are popcorn: they’re not the center of attention when they’re around, but the room is a bit less comfortable when they’re not around and quiet, mundane moments are better when they’re playing.

Four Tet, “There Is Love In You” (2010)

Raw oysters and anchovies, with side of caviar and salt and vinegar chips. Acquired tastes that are hard to get into if you aren’t already, but those who love it swear by it.

Bob Marley & The Wailers, “Legend” (1984)

Marley’s greatest hits collection is an all-you-can-eat pancake buffet. Plain, with fruit or a chocolate drizzle, whatever. It seems like a great idea in the beginning, and for the first few goes, the going is good. By the end, though, you start to get sick of it. It fills you up and everything starts to taste the same, but that won’t stop you from coming back to it again.

The Everly Brothers, “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us” (1958)

This classic folk record is a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. Only two elements are necessary: harmonized vocals and acoustic guitar — or cereal and milk. Simple, but it’s an extremely effective dish that has stood the test of time and is just as enjoyable today as it was upon its emergence.

Parquet Courts, “Light Up Gold” (2012)

“I’m gonna have that pizza, OK? I don’t care that it’s from yesterday.”

“I was debating Swedish Fish, roasted peanuts or licorice.”

One of those is an actual lyrics from single “Stoned and Starving.” Either way, this lazy-but-effective album is the couple slices that are left over from last night’s order.

The Cool Kids, “Bake Sale” (2008)

A burger with lettuce, cheese, tomato, onions, onion rings, coleslaw, french fries, ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce? Nope, I’ll take just cheese and ketchup, please. Sometimes, in a world of overindulgence, complications and high ambitions, stripping down and going simple is the best bet.

Weezer, “The Red Album” (2008)

Pork and beans. That was an easy one.

In an effort to increase the quality and quantity of performances on campus, Student Entertainment has formed a new partnership with Waterfront Concerts, whose list of previous performers brought the Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion and other Bangor venues Jason Mraz and The Band Perry, with acts like Dave Matthews Band and Arcade Fire scheduled for the near future.

“When I came in, one of my biggest goals was to get more of a local approach to what we’re doing,” said Patrick Fortier-Brown, vice president of Student Entertainment. “[We were] basically outsourcing all of our work and all of our planning to people in Boston. I wanted to work with Waterfront Concerts [because] what they run … is amazing.”

Waterfront Concerts owner and president Alex Gray credits Fortier-Brown for seeing the potential in collaboration between the two groups.

“I think it really ultimately was [Fortier-Brown] that — smart kid, smart guy — figured it out and reached out to me,” Gray said. “We discussed [it] and I kind of gave him what my concept was for the partnership and I think he liked what he heard, so we had a meeting with […] faculty advisors and we discussed the opportunity.”

“They’re one of the best … They’re definitely the best planning/booking agency in the entire state,” Fortier-Brown said.

“It seems like it’s a perfect partnership.”

Fortier-Brown said that for several reasons, it will be much more convenient having Student Entertainment’s booking agent in the area instead of in Massachusetts.

“When I wanted to meet with the booking agent just to grab lunch, I’d have to drive down to Boston,” Fortier-Brown said. “It works, but it makes it more convenient to just take a 10-minute drive into Old Town, walk into an office and talk to three or four people who can help me.”

The distance also meant that it was more costly for Student Entertainment to ship production equipment up from Boston, another issue that is resolved with the new partnership.

“We were also shipping all our sound, lights, equipment up from Boston, [but Waterfront Concerts has] every bit of that stuff right at the Waterfront,” Fortier-Brown said. “It’s a difference between 8 miles and however many miles Boston is away from here. It cuts down a huge amount of cost in shipping. We already pay them to do our production anyway, so it just makes sense to work with them directly.”

The relationship with Waterfront Concerts will also give Student Entertainment access to better marketing and booking resources, including Ticketmaster, a premiere ticket sales company, and Live Nation, an international live events and concert promotion company. Both companies are owned by parent company Live Nation Entertainment.

“We can sell our tickets on Ticketmaster [and] we can check a variety of stats that are pertinent to planning a show on Live Nation, such as the gross total they usually take, what prices they usually sell their tickets for, what markets they’ve played in [and] what markets they’re going to be playing in,” Fortier-Brown said. “It’s a huge benefit to us.”

According to Gray, he and “two-thirds” of his company’s staff are alumni of UMaine, so he can sympathize with students because he knows “how really, honestly, boring it can be at times” in terms of on- and near-campus entertainment options.

“I had been talking with administrators and faculty advisors and so on in Student Government about why it was that they were using an out-of-state company when it was very clear that there was a company right here in their backyard that could provide, honestly, I think a better service,” Gray said. “And by better, I don’t mean that the other company was doing a poor job. I just feel like the student body could get a lot more out of this just from a partnership basis.”

Although the partnership is young, it has already had an impact. At the Jan. 31 performance by The Band Perry at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Waterfront concerts was able to sell 134 student tickets for seats that otherwise would likely have gone unoccupied, according to Gray.

“We offered $15 student tickets, which were [discounted] 65 percent,” Fortier-Brown said. “I also offered free transportation for any student who wanted to go. That helped not only make Student Entertainment look good and give students something good to do on a Friday night, but it helped them fill their seats, so it seems like it’s a perfect partnership.

“With their experience, they can bounce off ideas that they used to do when Student Entertainment was really booming,” Fortier-Brown added.

According to Gray, some of his staff at Waterfront Concerts used to be involved in Student Entertainment when they attended UMaine, and all of them were a part of Bumstock, a popular on-campus concert series that took place annually from 1972 to 2006.

“To learn how to deal with this and this, it’s just… it’s huge.”

Aside from the immediate benefit of improving the ease of providing high-caliber entertainment to UMaine students, Fortier-Brown sees several other benefits to the partnership, such as the opportunity to better utilize on-campus venues and bring a greater variety of acts to UMaine than has been seen in the past.

“We discussed acts that we could put in the CCA, not even particularly just music acts, but just anything that would be practical for the CCA,” Fortier-Brown said. “Things that would be practical to put in the North Pod or the Bear’s Den or anywhere in the Union. Anywhere where we have free space.

“Now, instead of having one big show a semester, we can have a couple good-sized shows and just a bunch of stuff on campus throughout the year. Our goal is to really tailor to every student, give everybody an opportunity to enjoy the activity fee that they’re giving to campus every year.”

Gray agrees with Fortier-Brown that there is a need for more entertainment options on campus and is eager to work with his alma mater to help remedy that.

“This is something I set out to do when I started the company,” Gray said. “I wanted to do this and as I said to Patrick, it’s not really a great concern to me to make a whole lot of money from this, because being a student from the university, we understand how [it can be boring] at times.”

Fortier-Brown has been considering various ideas to liven up Orono-area entertainment, including having a bus that travels between Orono and Bangor to allow students to partake in “pub-crawling, just going to a show at the Cross Center, [seeing a] basketball game, anything like that.

“[We’re trying] to eliminate the imaginary barrier between [Orono and Bangor] that just happens to be called Veazie,” Fortier-Brown said.

Gray also believes there is great opportunity for students in applicable fields of study to get valuable experience by working with Waterfront Concerts in an internship role.

“We’re a large company when it comes to consuming media in the market, so I think that a marketing student from UMaine could gain great real-world knowledge,” Gray said. “We manage a large, six-figure budget annually to market our events. I think a new media student at the University of Maine could find great benefit in an internship here … An accounting major or a computer science major could learn a lot through our ticketing division.”

Fortier-Brown has already experienced this benefit first hand and feels others could learn from it as well.

“The ability to learn personally from these people who just see and do everything perfectly, is huge, not only for me, but for the future of Student Entertainment,” he said. “The ability to throw some students into their office to learn some marketing, to learn some booking stuff, to learn how to deal with this and this, it’s just… it’s huge.”

Gray compared the opportunity for UMaine students to learn from Waterfront Concerts to engineering students and their work opportunities.

“One of the reasons why I know, from my experience being in the engineering program there, why engineering students from Maine flourish is because they tend to gain very great practical knowledge through their internships,” Gray said. “They’re not photocopy jockeys: they learn. They do projects. So that’s one of the other things we wanted to make available to the student body.”

Speaking on the partnership as a whole, Fortier-Brown said, “It’s pretty common-sense and I can’t see why people haven’t done it yet.”

“All I can say is we won’t have a hard time selling tickets.”

What the next show from Student Entertainment will be remains to be seen, but Gray pointed out that there are now more options than ever, ones that had not previously been available or considered.

“[There are performers] that want to play specific college campuses,” Gray said. “Every once in a while, I’ll have an agent call me and say, ‘I want a show, but it has to be on a college campus. It’s part of this college tour, part of that college tour.’ So there might be opportunities where we can sell things to the university and I think they’ll find great benefit.”

Fortier-Brown said that during the next few months, Student Entertainment is “going to be pretty busy” planning for the current and upcoming semesters.

“We’re going to be planning out the majority of our fall semester before this semester is even done, and we’re going to have a solid amount of events,” he said. “We’re going to be having lots of acoustic stuff around campus, we’ll be having lots of stuff outside, lots of outside stuff.”

Although he remained tight-lipped about who specifically is being brought to campus, he disclosed that Student Entertainment has “a pretty fun [show] planned for the summer” that will be announced “some time in the near future.”

Aside from that show, another unannounced performance is also in the works, tentatively scheduled for April 30.

“We had an offer accepted just this last week for a band which I won’t announce yet, but which will be coming out pretty soon, barring contract stuff, approval from the dean, and will probably [be] happening […] the night before Maine Day,” Fortier-Brown said. “It will be a musical act and that’s all I’ll say. Everybody knows them. Everybody knows them. All I can say is we won’t have a hard time selling tickets.”

“Student Entertainment is going to be a lot bigger for the campus.”

With the new partnership with Waterfront concerts in place, Fortier-Brown sees a successful next few years for Student Entertainment.

“I know that even if it’s not fully during my term, with the way we’re changing and how we’re running things and with the way we’re going to be doing things now, in the future, Student Entertainment is going to be a lot bigger for the campus,” Fortier-Brown said. “We’re going to get the best bang for our buck.”

With this new set of resources and personnel in early stages of implementation, Fortier-Brown says this spring semester won’t see too many performances. He did say, however, that “it’s going to be more busy than a regular spring, but it’s not going to be as busy as the springs in the future are going to be.

“It’s not going to be a terribly busy spring semester, but expect a very fun fall.”