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(09/17/09 2:41am)
With 168 performers spread around 24 different stages this Sunday, Carrboro will be filled with music. Sweet, free music.Organized by the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department, the Carrboro Music Festival will celebrate its 12th year on Sept. 20. Each year the festival has grown to include a large community of music and music lovers.“The goal of the festival is to provide a wide variety of music, for free, to the community,” said Kim Andrews, festival coordinator and Carrboro Recreation and Parks supervisor. “We’ll have some craft vendors set up near town hall as well that we haven’t had in the past, but the main focus is music.”And organizers go out of their way to make it so. With the merriment beginning at 1 p.m. and lasting late into the evening, concert-goers are encouraged to take in more than one stage and mingle among the venues.Artists are also not booked by the festival; artists book themselves. All 168 groups applied to perform and with an expected turnout of 8,000 to 10,000 people, the festival offers these musicians an amount of exposure many would never have otherwise.“All of the bands apply and all the bands play for free, which is part of what makes our event so unique” Andrews said, also attributing the size of the festival to the unorthodox approach. “It’s one of the biggest types of music festivals of its kind in the Southeast.”Durham Americana outfit Midtown Dickens performed at the festival in 2007 and 2008 but is sitting out this year. Co-founder Catherine Edgerton recalls the charm of the festival.“It was more of a shout-out to the Carrboro community than any kind of profit-making type of situation,” Edgerton said. “There’s sort of a circuit of people who go from show to show that don’t necessarily know what they’re getting into, which is really good for exposing people to new music.”Aminal, a Chapel Hill rock band that will be performing this year, is looking to take advantage of what the festival has to offer.“I have the whole day off from work and I’m definitely going to check out what’s going on at the Station,” Aminal keyboardist Mark Reidy said. “The whole process of applying and getting ready has taken a couple months and really built some excitement for the whole thing.”Andrews said that while she’ll probably be behind the scenes most of the day, she’s looking forward to hearing as many bands play as she can. Edgerton echoed the sentiment.“It was good to wander around before and after we played to hear some groups we hadn’t heard before,” Edgerton said, recalling the festival. “The whole thing was a cool learning experience.” Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(09/10/09 5:41pm)
MusicReview
(09/10/09 2:33am)
Jay-Z should have known better than to once again follow up 2001’s magnum opus The Blueprint. Trying to duplicate the tour de force is like George Lucas returning to the Star Wars franchise. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.But as much as I initially admonished Jay-Z for making The Blueprint 3, there is reason for his rhymes. This is not the haphazard Blueprint 2. Rather, this is Jay forging a new chapter in hip-hop. Where The Blueprint hit a crescendo, reflecting on Jay’s ascent to the throne of hip-hop, BP3 is a swelling beast. Aiming not just for hip-hop preeminence, Jay-Z looks to transcend music and dominate our cultural landscape.Because of this, Hov is more self-aware than ever before. Blatant reaffirmations to his existing reign of hip-hop riddle the album, especially in the opening two tracks, but Jay takes it beyond boasting to goading his hip-hop foils to catch up.And thanks to Kanye West, he has the innovative beats to back it up. West, the architect of the original, returns with avant-garde production, pushing the boundaries of where hip-hop is headed as he mans the boards for seven songs.Opener “What We’re Talking About” features Jay and Empire of the Sun’s Luke Steele oozing charisma in a hip-hop siren song that blend’s Hov’s laid back style with Empire’s kinetic electro pop.And it only gets better. “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)” and “Run This Town,” both of which feature West beats, are the most powerful radio singles you’re likely to hear this year. But it wouldn’t be a Jay-Z album without off-the-radar producers manning a few monster jams.Producer Shux and Alicia Keys join Jay to create the album’s first triumph, “Empire State of Mind.” Over an expansive backdrop of simple piano chords and skittery rhythms, Jay rhymes, “I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can,” in an ode and a challenge to his New York home.Moving from its apex to its epilogue, BP3 ends by borrowing Alphaville’s synth-powered update of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.” As guest Mr. Hudson croons the chorus, distorted keys build around some of Hov’s most reflective verse, an introspective look at his legacy.“I’m forever young, my name shall survive,” Hov preaches over the grandiose music. “My name shall be passed down to generations while debating up in barbershops.”And with a canon that includes such landmarks as Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and now The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z has built a legacy that’s not only the most storied in hip-hop, but one that should allow his music to live on long after he’s left the game behind.From this point on, it is Young Hov forever.Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(09/03/09 3:09am)
UNC graduate student Adam Rogers has turned one of America’s new ways of killing time into a competition. Allowing competitors to pick a video to duke it out, he constructed a tournament in which YouTube videos vie for the applause and laughter of an audience.Riding the success of his first attempt in April, Rogers is presenting his second YouTube Tournament at Nightlight tonight with hopes of doing more than just watching clips of dramatic rodents and shoe shopping.Rogers and three of his classmates in Human Information Interactions (INLS 500) have turned YouTube video watching into a communal gathering where videos compete for audience approval.“We’re trying to do something different that is based in new media but attempts to bring people together in person,” said Rogers, a graduate student in the Department of Information and Library Science. “It’s a unique event that is different than most things people will be doing on a Thursday night.”At the initial tournament in April, competitors battled one-on-one with hand-picked online videos attempting to win both the vote of judges and the audience in order to move on to the next round. There they chose a new video to compete until one person prevailed as champion and was presented with a prize befitting such a competition: a Snuggie.“Basically, the event is an incredible opportunity to view YouTube videos on a big screen,” said Nightlight owner Alexis Mastromichalis, explaining why she enjoyed the last tournament. “I don’t get the chance to watch YouTube much. Plus, someone entered the Susan Boyle video, which had just premiered the night before.”This time Rogers took video submissions for entry via the tournament’s Twitter, Facebook and Gmail accounts and is hoping to bring the number of participants up from 12 to 16. Also, the judges have been eliminated, and winners will be chosen solely on the level of audience applause according to a decibel meter.Due to time restraints, the only guideline for picking videos is it must be somewhere near or below three minutes in length. Other than that, one could pick a video along several lines to try to swing the impressionable electorate.“You can play something that is verifiably funny because 50 million people have watched it, or you can play something that no one has seen to play that card,” said Rogers, who has never competed due to organizational duties. “I also like the idea of professional content competing with amateur created content. YouTube is indicative of the shift from corporately produced content to do-it-yourself.” Even with the amount of time it takes to put together each YouTube Tournament, Rogers thinks the events have garnered enough interest that they can catch on and maybe even spread to more cities.“Ideally I’d like to see people come out with a list of, like, 12 videos,” Rogers said. “That way, if someone plays ‘David goes to the dentist,’ then the other person can come back with a remix video that turns ‘David goes to the dentist’ into a Baltimore club jam.”Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
(04/10/08 4:00am)
This weekend, in a town known for indie rock, thousands of lovers of a different genre will descend upon Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
In its third year, Signal: The Southeast Electronic Music Festival - Signal Fest for short - will bring prominent DJs and electronic-based acts from around the electronic music world to the area.
The festival, which begins tonight at Tallulas and runs through Saturday, has, in the past, brought in techno pioneers Derrick May and Stacey Pullen and held workshops for aspiring DJs and those hoping to learn more about the music community.
(04/10/08 4:00am)
It has come to my attention the previously dominant Guerilla Unit - less formally G-Unit - has fallen from its once haughty pedestal atop the rap world.
I'm going to outright say that if Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson initiated me into his group in place of the recently evicted Young Buck, I could revitalize the crew and restore G-Unit to a level of respectability.
I will not pretend to be an obstinate disciple of the Unit's gospel, but within the confines of this article, I will outline the rationale Fiddy should consider, which ultimately will lead him to deem me worthy enough to become the next official member of G-Unit.
First and foremost: I don't think anybody can say G-Unit is the greatest representation of talent to surround a celebrity such as Curtis. Whether through jail terms, failed attempts to compete with rival rap groups' mixtapes or erratic behaviors that leave associates off video games, G-Unit affiliates don't seem to be the most reliable of sorts.
I am nothing but dependable. If 50 ever needed someone to pick up his royalty check for "From Pieces to Weight," I'd be his guy. And there would be no spontaneous trips to da club on the way home to blow his boatload of buku.
Second: as I just explained, I know how to manage money. Well enough to the tune that I can't go through a fortune of around $10 million as Mr. Jackson has claimed some others have. Benzos and Enzos ain't my style.
If I get money, I'll invest in a promising mutual fund for the better good of the group. Talk about street.
Third: I can promote myself better than Mike Jones. Fiddy obviously knows how to market himself.
With all the Vitamin Water, Magic Stick Condoms, Reebok, G-Unit Books and movie deals, he is truly the epitome of new money.
What more could I do, you inquire?
Peep that tagline. You think that's a NaS lyric?
Hell nah, that's my blog (bringing88back.wordpress.com). That's just the beginning. I got myself copyrighted years ago in anticipation of my imminent fame. In fact, if I'm made a part of G-Unit I'll already have a name: Okie, because I would have blown up "sooner" than later.
Fourth: I am a G, of the "O." variety. I know you saw me use "da" earlier.
Lastly: Turn G-Unit Clothing Company under my direction, and I'll turn a profit.
Aside from a flat-bill cap I found washed up on a beach, I've never had any experience with G-Unit clothes, but the company still stands as maybe Fiddy's only failed business venture.
I'll reinvent the product line to increase the market. My first order of business: Start pitching women's jeans to hipsters who need a little more denim in the tushes region. We'll call it, G-Uni(sex).
There you have it, my five-point plan that so clearly states that with the simple addition of a young, suburban white boy from North Carolina, the G-Unit band of brothers truly can run New York - and quite possibly the free world.
And even if it doesn't work out, I'd never be able to mount a campaign against them.
The Game already stole "G-Unot," so I'm left with nothing.
Contact Benn Wineka at wgbennet@email.unc.edu
(03/20/08 4:00am)
Geographically speaking, North Carolina is firmly positioned on the East Coast.
Ask anybody who's ever lived in, or even heard of, the state and they will undoubtedly also categorize North Carolina as being in the South.
Both the East Coast and South have respectfully solidified themselves in the hip hop community and marketplace.
But North Carolina has failed to make a dent in either of the two sectors of hip hop.
If it were up to Triangle product Kaze (Kah-Zee), North Carolina would be mentioned with the likes of New York City's finest. On his second full-length release Block 2the Basement, Kaze attacks the mic like a vandal with lyricism wholly influenced by the Big Apple.
You don't have to know that his first album was entitled Spirit of 94, in reference to the industry-rattling debuts from Nas and Big Poppa, to realize the signature East Coast attention to wordplay in Kaze's records.
Songs are focused on the lyrical content and a storytelling approach.
"Real Life" is a chorus-less track dedicated to all those "in the hustle" that deals with exactly what the name suggests. Kaze deserves credit on the cut for shouting out teachers who are "underpaid with no supplies" and hitting on the as-prevalent-as-ever topic of underage single mothers.
Another lyrical standout, "The Darkside," centers on the underbelly of the hip-hop community: "Nowadays I gotta walk with a swagger/'Cause this game of hip-hop is dangerous just like a house of flying daggers/Duck for the bucks or face decapitation/The next man thriving on your humiliation/Gay rumors, tabloid soap operas/Gotta keep underworld ties just like Sinatra."
B2B also is blessed with cameos by some of underground hip hop's premier players, like Royce Da 5'9 and Supastition, that put numerous other tracks at, if not above, any bar set by popular rap music.
If anything holds Kaze back it is the lack of standout singles. Even if the current state of radio is laughable, it's hard to imagine anything on B2B receiving much airplay that could give Kaze the popularity he deserves.
In no way does this mean that production on the album is lacking. Excellent mixing by Jazz B, Analogic and Erv Ford are all over the LP. JahFree even gives B2B a reggae touch on "Genuine." It might not be an star-studded cast, but it's better than what you're treated to on a daily basis.
Kaze has made his rounds and paid his dues for several years getting him to the point where he signed to Rawkus Records. But Kaze remains as unknown to the general public as the viable N.C. hip hop community he emerged from.
That needs to change.
Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.