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Here and Now

         Artist of the Week:

                  Jens Lekman

Jens Lekman is witty and unassuming, and his melodic pop tunes reflect the products of a lonely poet, retaining both a sense of deep melencholy as well as the charm of fresh observations. In one song a girl tells him it's all "make believe," but with just enough simplicity to make listeners smile, he sings that he thought she said "maple leaves." He has been compared to such talents as Nick Drake, Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), and Morrissey. Lekman has yet to see a level of popularity here to match that in his Swedish homeland -- there his album reached #6 on the national charts and he was up for three Swedish Grammies -- but his fanbase here is devoted and convinced that they have stumbled upon something marvelous. Check out his newest compilation, Oh You're So Silent, Jens.

Upcoming Concerts and Events:

Date	Day	Event
3/9/07	Fri	The Blow w/ Mirah (she's from Philly!) at the First Unitarian Church
3/13/07	Tue	The Shins at the Electric Factory
3/27/07	Tue	The Decemberists at The Tower Theatre
3/27/07	Tue	Owen featuring Rocky Votolato at the First Unitarian Church
3/28/07	Wed	Ted Leo + Pharmacists at the TLA
3/30/07	Fri	The Roots at The Tower Theatre
4/4/07	Wed	Sondre Lerche at the TLA
4/9/07	Mon	Low w/ Loney, Dear at the First Unitarian Church
4/10/07	Tue	Lily Allen at the Electric Factory

Album Critique

For Dance Music Week: The Rapture's album Pieces of the People We Love gets reviewed by Rob Mitchum of Pitchfork.

General Reviews

Isobel Campbell (from Belle & Sebastian) with Milkwhite Sheets

The Shins' 3rd album Wincing the Night Away

This Week in Music Club

TBA

In the Past
Topics/artists that we have covered in past meetings:

Dance Music -We looked at the evolution of dance music, from Disco Fever in the 70s to techno and club music today. We discussed how dance music is not about the lyrics, but rather about feeling the music with your body, and we looked at historical context and reasons for young people to need an escape in dancing. We also looked at the differences between American and European club music today.

Hip Hop Music -We discussed the rise of hip hop, both underground and mainstream. We talked about the different purposes of hip hop music (political views? dance music? what kind of message does it carry?) as well as its ties to politics as a genre.

Holiday Music -Before winter break, we listened to a range of our favorite holiday songs from cynical modern tunes to classic carols done by contemporary artists.

Soundtracks - We looked specifically at the soundtrack from The Royal Tenenbaums. (What made it a good soundtrack? How were songs used at certain points of the movie and why? What tone did the music create/enhance? How was silence used as well?)

Covers -We discussed a wide variety of covers, ranging from songs that were very similar to the original to ones that were almost unrecognizable. (What makes a cover good? How can a cover change the mood/meaning of a song?) It was agreed upon that a cover must be able to stand on its own as a good song while still doing justice to the original song.

Dar Williams (The Honesty Room) - We looked in particular at her ability to sing songs from various points of view ("Alleluia" and "The Babysitter's Here") while still retaining a highly personal album ("When I Was a Boy" etc).

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