journalist, photographer, dj
Posts tagged Music
Laser Daft Punk blinds Pacific Science Center
Apr 8th
Daft Punk's huge pyramid from the "Alive 2007" tour. Image courtesy Andreas Herten.
Throughout their career, Daft Punk has become famous for not only their music but also for its accompanying art. “Interstella 5555” was a modern day animated rock-opera set to the music of their sophomore record “Discovery,” and their recent world tour is best remembered for its extravagant light display and gigantic flashing pyramid.
Wreckin’ Decks N’ Gettin’ Sex
Feb 9th
DJ Toaster is back! I’ve been focusing on my live sets more heavily in the last year, so I took a bit of a break from making albums. My newest mix, “Wreckin’ Decks N’ Gettin’ Sex” is full of filthy electro house smashes as well as 1 a.m. dance floor anthems strung together at a feverous pace. Santogold, LCD Soundsystem, Smashing Pumpklins, Usher, Basshunter, and tons more.
As for the name, it’s a reference to a “Law & Order – SVU” episode. It’s DJ Dizzer’s life motto! I’d say it’s a pretty good motto to follow 
Revelators win on campus “Band Wars”
Feb 6th
This article originally appeared in the February 27, 2008 issue of The Spectator
The force was with The Revelators in this Band War.
Amidst light-sabers and Darth Vader masks, The Revelators rocked its way to a first place finish Friday night against a very competitive lineup of musicians.
This year’s Battle of the Bands, themed after the “Star Wars” movies, had eight student bands battling for a good crowd reaction and a high score from the judges who would later determine who got the grand prize: a $500 Guitar Center gift card. No two bands sounded alike, and the diversity of the battle’s acts–electronic, country, and surf among others, kept the crowd interested and the energy high for the entire show.
Grammy awards suprisingly good-looking
Jan 29th
After years of mediocrity, it seems that the Grammy Awards are finally getting their act together. Long abandoned by most serious music listeners as a legitimate source for the best music of the year, they had become more of an awards show for your parents’ favorite music of the year. “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” the craptastic latest U2 disc won best album in 2005, and “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” a mediocre Green Day track won best record. The Dixie Chicks had the best album honor in 2006–get where I’m coming from?
The top 10 albums of 2008
Jan 7th
10. Tha Carter 3 – Lil’ Wayne
“Tha Carter 3″ gave Lil’ Wayne his first #1 with the sugar sweet “Lollipop,” and the success of that song led this album to garner the strongest first-week sales of any other 2008 LP. The cleanest-produced Wayne album yet, he teams up with world-class producers, vocalists, and rappers like Kanye West, Babyface, and Jay-Z to create a perfect piece of urban pop. Chopped up raw rap tracks like “A Milli” fit right in with more R&B fare like “Comfortable” with ease, and downright weird tracks like “Phone Home” give the album even more character. Despite the fact that it suffers from a common hip-hop flaw (the album is too long, with unnecessary filler), the standout tracks by themselves would make an entire album, and a pretty damn good one at that.