October 2014

october

EMILY D’EMICPresident and Publisher

JEREMY ISABELLAEditor-in-Chief

MELISSA NEIRAPhoto Editor

REGINA BELLCopy Editor

JEREMY ISABELLALayout Design

2. Letter From The Editor THE EDITORAL BOARD

3. Concert Review: Iron and WineALLIE YOung, STAFF WRITER

4. Album Review: King Tuff - Black Moon SpellASHLEY LIEBERmAn, STAFF WRITER

5. Unearthing the Past: A Musical RetrospectiveHARRISOn TEIcH, STAFF WRITER

7. I Stay On: Lil Herb & the Emergence of Drill MusicBEn BRAnDWEIn, STAFF WRITER

8. Film Review: BoyhoodALLIE YOung, STAFF WRITER

10. Music You Should Be Listening ToALLISOn DREXLER, STAFF WRITER

12. Fashion Page

front and back cover photos by melissa neira, photo editorread all of our publications online: issuu.com/binghamtonmediagroup

octoberletter from the editor

This semester marks a changing of the guard. This spring, we had to say goodbye to many of the Binghamton media group’s executive board as they graduated and moved onto new chapters in their lives. many of them were mentors to us and we are grateful to them for entrusting us with the future of this organization. While it’s sad to see them go, we will always be looking for-ward. We will always strive to stay ahead of the curve and bring you the best, most relevant opinions concerning independent and underground culture.

This issue, we have much to look forward to. Ashley Lieberman shows us why King Tuff ’s latest album is the perfect entry point into his glammy rock ‘n’ roll. Allie Young recounts a truly special night with Iron and Wine in Ithaca, and Harrison Teich is taking us back in time to revisit some of the music that shaped the world near the turn of the 21st century. Party like it’s 1999!

Thank you for reading, The Editorial Board Binghamton media group

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A haze of blue light flooded the seats of Cornell University’s Bailey Hall, illuminating the stage’s contents of a single bar stool, two guitars, and a bottle of water. From the moment Sam Beam of Iron and Wine appeared wearing a flannel shirt and a col-lared cardigan, I could tell this concert was going to be something truly exceptional. He grinned through that massive prize of a beard and picked up a guitar, thanking the audience for a warm welcome. As he squinted and shaded his eyes, looking out at the rows of students, he said the eight words every fan only dreams of hearing: “So, what do you guys want to hear?” An inaudible wave of requests erupted from the crowd, as if every person in atten-dance suddenly realized they wanted noth-ing more than to be acknowledged by this man on stage. Beam chuckled in an almost fatherly way, thanking us in his South Carolinian drawl and taking the time to comment on every plea that he could hear. He must have heard a distinct request, be-cause with a strum of his guitar, the crowd fell silent. He informed us, “That’s how this night is gonna go,” and began to play.

That really was how the night went, with the luxury of on-going requests and occa-sional moments of what Beam called “me-time,” during which he played new songs. Beam made the entire evening feel less like a concert and more like an after-dinner jam session in a family room that conve-niently seated 1,300 people. The crowd cheered with pride when he spoke of taking the day to walk around the city of Ithaca

and get dinner at an Ithacan-favorite res-taurant, Agava. He even took the time to thank a woman in the audience who had spotted him out to dinner and stealthily arranged to pay for his meal. He stated that he couldn’t go on with the gig without properly thanking her and personally ask-ing what she wanted him to play; “It’s the least I can do,” he said, as he started into a serenade of “Jesus the Mexican Boy.”

The music ranged from sweet, simple chords and gentle lyrics, to almost percus-sive finger work running the full length of the guitar in tunes like “Moneys Uptown.” It’s hard to decide whether his strength lies in his vocals, guitar work, or lyricism, but I suppose his near-perfect ability in all three categories is what makes him the remark-able artist that he is. His music tells stories that echo the talent of James Taylor, with allusions to God and his upbringing in the Bible Belt of the United States. He per-formed with an aura of complete relaxation

CONCERT REVIEW: IROn AnD WInE AT cORnELL unIVERSITY’S BAILEY HALL

by ALLIE YOung

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that radiated to the audience, laughing at his own mistakes and making small talk as he tuned his guitars to complicated chords.

Beam demonstrated superior vocal con-trol when he burst into his closing number “Flightless Bird, American Mouth”—com-pletely a capella. His tone resonated with purity through Bailey Hall as his fingers mimed the ghost of the song’s chords. Never in my life had I witnessed one man control a thousand people simply by sing-ing. Many stood with closed eyes, smil-ing or shaking their heads in admiration. Though the song concluded, the audience’s hunger for more did not. Beam gracefully returned for an encore with his famous

cover of “Such Great Heights,” once again capturing the attention of every single per-son in the room.

It is rare to be in the presence of one who is not only a great musician, but also a great human being. He focused on having a connection with his audience, breaking the separation between performer and at-tendee. The show didn’t rely on extrava-gant lights or complicated showmanship. Don’t get me wrong—I love a fantastical concert and believe it’s an art form in its own right—but there’s something refresh-ing about a man and his guitar, simply playing for the love of the song.

CONCERT REVIEW: IROn AnD WInE AT cORnELL unIVERSITY’S BAILEY HALL

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ALBUM REVIEW: KIng TuFF - BLAcK mOOn SPELL

by ASHLEY LIEBERmAn

Black Moon Spell, released on Sub Pop Records, is the third full-length album from King Tuff (AKA Kyle Thomas). King Tuff’s two previous albums are loud, playful, and almost deceptively simple. Both of these records have a youthful and slightly rebel-lious tone to them, creating a sound which I can only equate to something I would lis-ten to while driving at 80MPH in my mom’s car. It seems that Black Moon Spell is Thomas’ response to having to grow up and face the real world. It takes itself much more seriously than his earlier albums by trad-ing happy-go-lucky melodies about smok-ing weed for a more distorted and slightly angrier sound. This new dirtier aesthetic is not necessarily a bad thing for Thomas; in

fact, it works great in the title track opener, a fast-paced rock song with a groovy cho-rus. Yet, it feels as though Thomas almost gets bored of this new sound by the time he gets to later tracks such as “Sick Mind” and “Magic Mirror.” Both tracks are fine, but nothing really sticks like the way the title track does.

Although Thomas may appear as less of a goofball than he was in previous albums, his grungy glam-rock persona still remains. Thomas continues to sing about the same old things one would expect from a glam artist: girls, drugs, and being a rockstar; only now the girls are ugly and the drugs are apparently a lot harder. “I Love You Ugly,” with lines like “Face like a boy oh boo, you’re the opposite of cute/You look like shit and I’m telling you the truth”

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might have been Thomas’ attempt at add-ing an edge to his previous love songs but only really ending up showing his true im-maturity and vapidness as a songwriter.

It is slightly unfortunate that this album’s real downfall is the fact that it tries too hard to be Thomas’ previous albums. Songs like “Beautiful Thing” and “Black Hole Stereo” instantly recall older tracks “Bad Thing” and “Keep On Movin’” off Thomas’ second album, King Tuff. While the songs on King Tuff are fun, bubbly, and fresh, they certainly lose that energy when repeated and distorted as they are on Black Moon Spell.

Black Moon Spell isn’t necessarily a bad album -- in fact it’s actually pretty good on its own. There are several catchy tracks and it is admirable that Thomas is at least trying to move in a new direction with his sound, even if it doesn’t totally work out for him. I definitely think people who haven’t listened to King Tuff before would

enjoy this album since a majority of the problems I have with it only stem from comparisons to his previous work.

UNEARTHINg THE PAST: A muSIcAL RETROSPEcTIVEby HARRISOn TEIcH

My mom recently cleared out this hutch we’ve had in our kitchen since as long as I can remember. The cupboard—brown, weathered, and inexcusably difficult to open—was the home to my parents’ CD col-lection, which served as the de-facto birth-place of my musical neurosis . Upon being told to “see what we should keep”, I’ve revis-ited some highlights (and lowlights) from my primal days of listening.

Kenny Loggins - Return to Pooh CornerThis is the first CD I remember playing after figuring out how to operate the CD player. Why? I’m not sure, but it probably had all to do with the artwork, as I distinctly remem-ber my early conceptions of God looking a lot like Loggins in those purple shepherd robes he’s donning on the cover. Its a soft mix of songs by the guy who penned “Footloose”,

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My mom recently cleared out this hutch we’ve had in our kitchen since as long as I can remember. The cupboard—brown, weathered, and inexcusably difficult to open—was the home to my parents’ CD col-lection, which served as the de-facto birth-place of my musical neurosis . Upon being told to “see what we should keep”, I’ve revis-ited some highlights (and lowlights) from my primal days of listening.

Kenny Loggins - Return to Pooh CornerThis is the first CD I remember playing after figuring out how to operate the CD player. Why? I’m not sure, but it probably had all to do with the artwork, as I distinctly remem-ber my early conceptions of God looking a lot like Loggins in those purple shepherd robes he’s donning on the cover. Its a soft mix of songs by the guy who penned “Footloose”,

with some interesting covers (John Lennon, Paul Simon) and songs about Unicorns, Rainbows, and, yeah, Pooh. This album has sold over 500,000 copies, and I’m not sure if my parents used it to put me to sleep or for their own enjoyment. My guess is on both.

*NSYNC - No Strings AttachedYou’d be lying if you said you were born between 1992-1997 and didn’t know every word to “Bye Bye Bye”. And there was that cool music video with them losing their previously attached strings? Turns out its all some symbolism for breaking free from their manager, but the real kick was Timberlake’s spaghetti hairdo and Lance’s frosted tips (which I would later borrow for my first day of kindergarten). The songs stand up, and paved the way for pop ra-dio’s R&B-fixation throughout the early/mid 2000’s. And while the Backstreet Boys might have pushed more albums, when was the last time you heard the name “Howie Dorough”?

Various Artists - Now Thats What I call Music 3AKA the “Naughties’ Sgt. Pepper”, this CD was unbelievably good. Any time you start an album off with Smash Mouth, Lenny Kravitz, and blink-182, you know it’s go-ing down in history as one of the big ones.

But really—you know how confusing “The Rockafeller Skank” was to a 5 year old? I have vivid memories of my dad singing “funk soul rubbah” while doing his own take of the twist in the living room. There might be a more 90’s song compilation out there, and the only track that feels dated is Fastball’s “Out of My Head”. They actually still release music, but their website’s “Up-coming Shows” sadly reveals they haven’t booked any since 2008.

Creed - Human ClayI was terrified of the artwork, but look-ing at it now it seems just dumb. You’ve got this man who bears semblance to the Silver Surfer slowly dissolving into the earth, and he’s holding up a stopwatch in his hand, because he’s run out of time, ya know? Even the font looks awful. The summer my dad made me go to golf camp I’d listen to this over and over on the ride there, but I don’t think I can listen to it now. However, there’s one exception: Please, please watch the video for “With Arms Wide Open”. There are asteroids, the eye of Sauron, and, of course, lead singer Scott Stapp embracing the world with arms wide open. Enjoy.

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I STAY ON: LIL HERB & THE EmERgEncE OF DRILL muSIc

by BEn BRAnDWEIn

An immoral relationship has turned Chi-cago into 2014’s Hip Hop powerhouse. The higher the murder rate is in Chicago the more we as listeners are infatuated with its music. But who can blame us? Listeners are thirsty for gangster rap in an age where Macklemore just won a Grammy, and Chance the Rapper showed up to the XXL Freshmen Cypher in over-alls.

New York rap just isn’t gritty as it once was. While newcomers such as the Un-derachievers are rapping over Lex Lugar beats, they’re far from gangsters; they just want to take drugs and talk about their third eye. And while Bobby Shmurda created the most bloggable track of the summer he’s too ridiculous to be the face of New York gangster rap. Traditionalists such as Papoose or Saigon, seeking to pre-serve New York 90s boom-bap rap are left by the way side in the age of the internet. While traditionalists may lack the charisma to be on New York’s rap radar, revivalists such as Joey Bada$$ and Action Bronson have been successful in paying homage to the distinct New York sound while still re-maining relevant. That doesn’t change the fact that these rappers aren’t thugs. There just isn’t the same cynicism that New York rappers such as Mobb Deep or Big L pro-vided in the mid-90s. I want to feel threat-ened when I listen to gangster rap. Drill Music, Chicago’s lethal strain of gang-ster rap would be unknown to the masses if it weren’t for a 17 year old who recorded

one of the most memorable rap songs of the year while under house arrest. In the music video for “I Don’t Like” Chief Keef and posse sport handguns, smoke blunts, and compile a list of things they disapprove of. Chief Keef’s raw energy was infectious. Fast forward a couple of months and Young Jeezy’s CTE World and Interscope Records are involved in a bidding war to sign Chief Keef, and Kanye West requests personally that Chief Keef be featured on Kanye’s own remix of “I Don’t Like”.

Enter Lil Herb. As a South Side Native, the emergence of drill music paved the way for his success. Unlike Chief Keef, Lil Herb is precise, he’s not slurring, he’s not glassy eyed. Lil Herb is determined to convince you that the South Side of Chicago is a third world country. His attempts have proved fruitful as he has recently collabo-

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rated with Nicki Minaj, as well as Common on his most recent record, “Nobody’s Smil-ing”. Lil Herb’s debut is adrenaline fueled and hostile, but above all else genuine. He’s not untouchable either, it’s rare that a rapper this cocky is willing to juxtapose his threats with lyrics rife with paranoia and

vulnerability. He has an unparalleled sense of urgency in his demeanor. He sounds like he’s gasping for air.

Download Lil Herb’s Debut mixtape, “Wel-come to Fazoland”, at Datpiff.com

FILM REVIEW: BOYHOOD

by ALLIE YOung

In an industry so often packed with ro-manticized tragedy, sex, and constant stimuli, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood brings a refreshingly raw perspective to the art of filmmaking. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve probably heard of it: the revolutionary piece that took twelve years to make. The film focuses on a boy named Mason Jr, played by Ellar Coltrane, who we watch authentically grow from a six-year-old to an eighteen-year-old. A dedicated cast and crew met every summer for twelve years to film and piece together what would be-come a stunning collage of footage. In an interview with Jon Stewart, director and

writer Richard Linklater described the pro-duction process as a luxury; he was able to capture, edit, and then take a year simply to think between each shooting date. Most filmmakers feel the pressures of deadlines and advertisements, and are forced to crank out the highest grossing film in the cheapest and fastest way possible. Boy-hood felt none of those demands—and it shows.

The charmingly boxy television, the Dragon Ball Z poster, and the soft Spiderman pa-jamas in the early scenes of the film were not props pulled from a shelf labeled “Early

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2000s”; they were genuine characteristics of that time. The beauty of the scenery throughout the film is that it’s totally au-thentic. Boyhood reminds the millennial viewer of what being a kid was like. We see obvious traits of the 2000s, yet they don’t beg for attention. These qualities were filmed when they were the norm, unbeknownst to how different life would be twelve years later. The audience grows with Mason, through moments that range from Harry Potter as a bedtime story, to the birth of the Iraq War plaguing our par-ents’ television screens and packing boxes for college. The film is well-balanced with moments where viewers can simply ob-serve as well as moments of seeing them-selves in many of the characters. However, at some point during the film, we are all Mason Jr.

At last we have a “growing-up” film that focuses not on a singular glorified event, but rather on a realistic collection of expe-riences. We never see Mason’s first kiss, his senior prom, or his first breakup, but we know these events happened. Social pressures set by media forces many young people today to let seemingly momentous occurrences define them rather than focus-ing on their lives as a whole. Through a myriad of haircuts and houses, of drunken stepdads and quizzical teachers, Mason grows into someone we should all strive to be—ourselves. “Fuck everyone else, I care what I think of me”, Mason states in what is perhaps my favorite quote from the film.

I implore you to see what is sure to be one of the most unique works of art to grace

our generation. It isn’t action-packed; it isn’t thrilling; it isn’t life changing. It sim-ply is life. If you choose to see it, then I hope you find time to do so twice. Watch it with a friend, a sibling, a parent—and then watch it alone. It took two viewings for me to soak up all that Linklater pro-vided in those twelve years of creation. I noticed more the second time, such as the relentless dedication to detail in the fam-ily photographs placed around the house from years past, or the return of actors from the film’s beginning attending Ma-son’s graduation party at its end. As indie rock band Family of the Year’s song “Hero” accompanied Mason in his drive to college, I couldn’t help but smile, thinking of my own drive to Binghamton just a couple of months ago. So thank you, Richard Linklat-er, for creating a film that teaches us how to see ourselves in others, and for forcing us to ask this question: do we ever really stop growing up?

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MUSIC YOU SHOULD BE LISTENINg TO (IF YOu AREn’T ALREADY LISTEnIng TO IT)

Twin Peaks – Wild OnionNow I know what you’re thinking: “Isn’t Twin Peaks a TV show?” Yes it is, but as of a couple years ago, it’s also a band. From Chicago. And they are really good. Their soph-omore album, which was released in the beginning of August, is packed with sugary sweet tunes that can surely soundtrack any moment. It’s a really fun, “rock ‘em sock ‘em robots” album. I would totally mosh to this album if I wasn’t so prone to sponta-neously falling. TRACKS TO JAM TO: I Found A New Way, Strawberry Smoothie, Ordinary People

Ty Segall – ManipulatorTy Segall should get a medal for the fre-quency with which he puts out amazing music. His most recent album, which came out in August, is like his 12th album this year. It also has 17 tracks, which means he has probably released 500 new songs this year, and they are all so. good. The man does not slow down and he never puts out anything bad. He is a winner at life. This album is really good. So fun and psych-rock. Feels like flower power in the best way. This album could make bell bottoms trendy again.

TRACKS TO JAM TO: Manipulator, Tall Man Skinny Lady, Susie Thumb

Karen O – Crush SongsI love Karen O. She is so cool. She sound-tracks amazing movies, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Where the Wild Things Are, and contributed “The Moon Song” to Her, a song that makes me emotional. She is also the lady behind the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Her first solo album, Crush Songs, came out this month and is just so lovely. It sounds like new love - pretty and ador-able. It will make you smile. Like, I have a crush on this album.TRACKS TO JAM TO: Ooo, Rapt, NYC Baby

Foxygen - …And Star PowerFoxygen are foxes. They are the oxygen that I breathe because they are so great. Their sound is like if the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed had a baby and then these dudes popped out and it was like BAM. They are like the current-day embodiment of 1960’s

by ALLISOn DREXLER

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California and New York. I LOVE IT. This album has like a million songs (24 over 2 discs) and it’s great. Give it a listen. You’re gonna love the way it sounds, I guarantee it. TRACKS TO JAM TO: How Can You Really, You & I, Hang

FKA Twigs – LP1THIS GIRL IS KILLING IT. I love everything about her: her sound is amazing, her mu-sic videos are so cool, her album art, her style. EVERYTHING. Thumbs up, A+. She is a pop goddess. This is her debut album and it’s just, UGH, so good. Just listen to her album. Seriously.

TRACKS TO JAM TO: Preface, Two Weeks, Pendulum

Perfume Genius – Too BrightThis album is really pretty. It’s golden and sparkly, like the album cover (dude looks like a beautiful statue). Like it’s just right--not too dim or too bright. It shines bright like a diamond, but it won’t blind you. It’s like a nice perfume. Like one of those ex-pensive perfumes that smells nice and isn’t overbearing like my grandpa’s cologne. This is the perfect album for slow dancing under a disco ball. Try it out. TRACKS TO JAM TO: I Decline, Queen, Don’t Let Them In

check out our new Impact Bu Spotify playlist featuring songs from this issue and more: tinyurl.com/impactbu

Name: Ning LiStatus: 5th year PhD student,EconomicsTop: Abercrombie & FitchBottom: Abercrombie & FitchNecklace: Abercrombie & FitchBag: Michael Kors

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Featured Style

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“I sometimes wonder if centaurs are infantry or cavalry!” - Supraja Narra, Computer Science grad student

HUMANS OF BINGHAMTON