Archives - Jeffrey Howard

“Super Bowl are you ready to ROAR!” shouted Katy Perry as she stood atop a gargantuan mechanical lion at the 49th annual Super Bowl. Glowing in a glitter-flame dress and whipping a golden rope, the pop superstar emanated command, intrigue and a little bit of whimsy. From her opening number, “Roar,” Perry's performance elevated pop […]

On Friday, Jan. 30th, the Lower RA Staff of Susan B. Anthony Halls held its annual talent show, “UR’s Got Talent!” The show featured several student music performances, all of which received input from UR faculty and staff judges. This year, the judges were Dean of Students Matthew Burns, UR Brass Choir Director Josef Hanson […]

“Xen” is the major-label debut album from Venezuelan producer Alejandro Ghersi, or “Arca.” As an artist, Arca has collaborated with some pretty high-profile indie acts like FKA Twigs and even Kanye West on last year’s “Yeezus.” On “Xen,” Arca lays down some seriously experimental, patient, and sonically intriguing material. However, “Xen”’s tracks could use more […]

The words “balance, focus, control” repeat like a mantra on Donovan Hikaru and Corp’s track “Outdoor Seminar”, a tune whose sound palette of MIDI slap bass and gated snare drum is as sterile as the corporate rhetoric it samples. That’s the point. Enjoying “Corporate Mixtape” means giving yourself up to its squeaky clean, office-complex vibes. […]

Reid Zuckerman is a sophomore at UR, but he plays guitar beyond his years. Zuckerman’s guitar playing is heavily rooted in “shred” sensibilities – last school year he ripped through a rendition of guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert’s “Curse of the Castle Dragon,” a song that not only demands technical mastery of the guitar but showmanship […]

“This is the twerk of my time!” senior Enrique Reyes proclaimed onstage, putting on his best Ray Charles and burning through the American icon’s tune “Mess Around.” Reyes’ performance was just one of many highlights from No Jackets Required’s “Soul Train”-themed show, which took place on Saturday Oct. 18 in the May Room. For three […]

“Bowl cuts was the craze / I was crazy,” spat Asher Roth in Douglass Dining Hall on Friday, Sep. 27. The lyric adequately sums up the MC’s current stage in his career: Roth, best known for his 2009 suburban-bubblegum-rap single “I Love College,” wants you to know he’s playing the rap game for real this […]

"And you can function as someone besides who you are," John Frusciante sings on his 2004 solo album, "Shadows Collide With People." Lyrics like this are what make "Shadows" so brilliant. Frusciante subtly shifts conventional binaries and clichés and delivers them with such quiet confidence that his unconventional views almost pass you by. Unlike many […]

Dopapod, a Brooklyn-based jam-rock quartet, does it right. Between the band’s slick songwriting, future-forward sound, and top-notch musicianship, it offers something for everyone.  Later this year, Dopapod will be releasing its third LP, “Never Odd or Even”. Aside from maintaining the band’s tradition of using palindromes as album titles, “Never Odd or Even” showcases Dopapod […]

For a group that's dominated the charts for ten years, Maroon 5 has always been confused about its identity. In 2002, the band released its debut, “Songs About Jane”, an earnest and accessible rock-and-R&B album which showcased Maroon 5's high-caliber musicianship and knack for smart, catchy songwriting. The band followed up its debut with the […]