Music

Matt On Music: Phantogram and Planningtorock

By Matt Rice · Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014

I’ve been excited for Phantogram’s album since I heard their beautiful single, “Nothing But Trouble,” last month. The song, which sounded like an electronic remake of Arcade Fire’s “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains),” made me excited to hear the band’s other work. The album didn’t disappoint.

Matt On Music: Eric Church and Eric Paslay

By Matt Rice · Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014

I didn’t mean to review two albums by EMI Nashville. Maybe they just have a monopoly on country musicians named Eric.

Matt on Music: Dream pop acts drop disappointing albums

By Matt Rice · Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014

A lot of music fans put atmosphere at the same level as songwriting. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that, but I find this impossible to do.

Matt on Music: Top 10 of 2013

By Matt Rice · Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014

As far as the consensus goes, 2013’s album of the year seems to be a toss-up between Kanye West’s “Yeezus” and Vampire Weekend’s “Modern Vampires of the City.” A college dropout against a group of Ivy Leaguers.

Matt On Music: Burial

By Matt Rice · Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013

Releasing an album in December nowadays almost guarantees an artist from being excluded from year-end lists, since the majority of publications publish their lists at the beginning of the month. This year was especially hectic, with several notable albums coming out during the final month of the year, hopefully making publications question the logic of revealing their lists so early.

Birds of Chicago play The Ark in Ann Arbor

By Anna Hinkley · Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013

The Ark in Ann Arbor has a long-standing tradition of hosting excellent acoustic music shows, and the Birds of Chicago on Thursday night was no exception.

Matt on Music: Most anticipated albums

By Matt Rice · Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013

Over the last couple days, three of my most anticipated albums of the year were released. Here are my thoughts on them.

‘That’s My Work 2’ is lazy and uninspired

By Joe Israel · Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013

It’s still easy to see that the world loves Snoop Dogg, but for how much longer?

Writer examines top 10 Halloween hip-hop songs

By Joe Israel · Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013

I love Halloween. Not so much for the costumes, but for the candy, the Devil’s Night pranks and in anticipation of what the girls’ costumes will look like. Who doesn’t love curling up with some apple cider with a splash of vodka, and watching “Friday the 13th”? The energy is really dope though and it has me thinking of some great horror themed hip-hip songs. So here we go, without further ado, my top 10 hip-hop songs for Halloween.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: Matt on Music tackles 10 albums

By Matt Rice · Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013

I’ve been so busy listening to new albums and preparing for list season that I haven’t put any articles up recently.

Detroit rapper Rizzy fails to impress

By Joe Israel · Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013

Rizzy is an upstart, an enterprising rapper who hails from Detroit. He writes, sings, raps and produces. I won’t lie – he has skills, but if he’s looking to get a deal based off of the strength of these particular songs, it might be time to find another line of work.

Hip-hop moved north

By Joe Israel · Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013

When the culture of hip-hop music was birthed 35 years ago, many individuals had mixed emotions about this new trend. Let’s be honest – the DJs plugging their Technic 1200s and their mixers into the lamp post for power was incepted just to become a hobby. It was meant to diverge from the harsh realities of urban decay that were impossible to ignore in New York City in the late 1970s.

Local band Truman releases ‘Ever Changing’ album

By Jannell Whitted · Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013

Four friends came together, drank beer and made good music. That band, Ypsilanti-based Truman, released its second album, “Ever Changing,” in September, and are giving it away for free on truman3.bandcamp.com

Teng’s new album carries a different style

By Anna Hinkley · Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2013

Vienna Teng’s recording career has been on hiatus for four long years. Her new album, “Aims,” is her first studio album since Inland Territory, released in 2009. Less piano-focused than past albums, it is effervescent in its execution, drawing from an incredible array of inspirations.

Matt On Music: Is There Still Hope For Eminem?

By Matt Rice · Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013

When did Eminem just lose it? Music critics mostly said that 2004’s “Encore,” which I personally loved, had a significant drop in quality that has continued well into his comeback.

Matt on Music: Janelle Monáe

By Matt Rice · Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013

Jody Rosen, pop music critic of New York Magazine, recently wrote, “The only people who like a black bohemian more than fellow black bohemians are white rock critics.” This was from his article about Janelle Monáe, whose new release, “The Electric Lady,” has been one of the most anticipated albums of 2013.