Thursday, April 29, 2010

Get Ready For Collection!


On May 8th, Culver City will be host to an underground festival. That’s when the Mystikal Misfits, a hardy tribe of LA-based Burning Man fanatics, are throwing COLLECTION! – a dance party that promises such high levels of giddy debauchery, anyone who hopes to someday have a political career should avoid getting photographed there.

There will be mysterious cocktails. There will be fire-dancing. There will be adorable, scantily-clad boys and girls running around in “Mad Max” gear and neon fur. There will be a giant Twister board, for those of you who need a socially acceptable reason to get in compromising positions with aforementioned adorables. There will be amazing house and electro DJ’s, headlined by the always-on-point DivaDanielle, spinning the kind of beats that will later have your doctor admonishing you to include less funkiness in your diet. There will be an aromatherapy booth, and classy dames selling cigarettes (not in the aromatherapy booth.) It’s being held at Mission Control, adjacent to Sepulveda Blvd and the 405, the exact building address of which is being kept under wraps until the night of the party — RSVP on the Facebook page to get all the details.

Culver City will never know what hit it.

___________________________________________

WHAT: Underground Burning Man dance party
WHEN: Saturday, May 8th, 9PM – 4 AM
WHERE: Mission Control
$$$: $15

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Snack Night Success!

Students Get Together to Buckle Down For Finals


Hi folks! So snack night at the Occidental Music Library went fabulously!! Check out some of the pictures, and check back for more snack nights in the future.

Your friendly neighborhood music library

Annette, Our head librarian, helps with research! Nate, Music Library Assistant, shows students the music lib guide!

Hungry Anyone? :)

For more pictures, check out our flickr site!


Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Shows this Week!

Rogue Wave, one of my favorites!
SHOWS TO LOOK OUT FOR:
4/26: Waking Sleep w/Radar Bros//Obi Best//The Henry Clay People at the echo. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (The last night of Waking Sleep’s residency. They’re going out with a bang with some big names. It’ll be tough getting in, but it’ll be well worth it.)
4/26: Helen Stellar w/Repeater//Robotanists//Fictionist at Spaceland. 8:30PM. Free. 21+. (Last of Helen Stellar’s residency.)
4/26: So Many Wizards w/Tomorrow Tulips//The Fling//Hotel St. George at Silverlake Lounge. 9:00PM. Free. 21+. (Another residency coming to an end.)
4/27: Dr. Dog w/Deer Tick//Pepi Ginsberg at The Music Box. 8:00PM. $20. All. (You can’t really go wrong with Dr. Dog.)
4/27: Juliette Lewis w/Tahiti Boy and Palmtree Family//22-20s at the echo. 8:30PM. $10. 18+. (This could be interesting..)
4/27: Whispertown w/Chasing Kings//All Wrong and the Plans Change//Tod Wisenbaker at Silverlake Lounge. 9:00PM. $8. 21+.
4/28: Aquaserge w/Sister Crayon//Corridor//Casper and the Cookies at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $8. 21+. (Aquaserge features members of Stereolab and Acid Mothers Temple.)
4/29: Lemon Sun w/Leopold and his Fiction//Red Arrow Messenger at the echo. 8:30PM. $10. 18+. (Solid indie rock.)
4/29: Dante Vs. Zombies w/Woah Hunx//Apes of Wrath at Spaceland. 8:30PM. $5. 21+. (They dress up, put on a fun show, and make good garagy/catchy music. Good enough for me.)

Monday, April 26, 2010

A Choir As Big As The World: The Connectivity of Technology

My friend just posted this on my facebook, and I was so stoked about it that I had to repost. Plus, Eric Whitacre has always been on of my all-time favorite contemporary composers, so it's an added bonus! Enjoy!

About this talk

185 voices from 12 countries join a choir that spans the globe: "Lux Aurumque," composed and conducted by Eric Whitacre, merges hundreds of tracks individually recorded and posted to YouTube. It's an astonishing illustration of how technology can connect us.

About Eric Whitacre

Despite receiving no formal training until age 18, Eric Whitacre is one of the most performed composers of his generation.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Snack Night at the Library This Monday, 5-10 pm



Need a quiet place to stop procrastinating and get some actual studying done? Need some awesome and delicious snacks to help you power through those papers?

Come to the Herklotz Music Library this Monday, April 26th from 5-10 pm for a delicious, snack filled study night.

Research help will be available.

See you there!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

Music on a Friday Afternoon

This is the last MOFA of the semester. Come out and support the Oxy music community. Also, fellow music library employees, Doug Rosenberg and Brian Flynn will be performing!!!!!!!!!!!

Bird Studio
4:30 pm
Friday, April 23

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Free Art For the People Rock Musical!


What happens when a group of young musicians/entrepreneurs rally together with with several companies downtown and gets the mayor’s stamp of approval? NEW, a darkly comedic experimental rock opera set in a post apocalyptic time where synthetic decadence battles mother nature’s drive for us to be better people. Heavy. Featuring artists Adriana Delawari, the LA Ladies Choir, members of The Moonrats, Pleasure Circus Band, and He’s My Brother She’s My Sister, and so many more.

Showing in an extremely limited engagement this Thursday and Friday at the 2500 seat Million Dollar Theater, be sure to rsvp as soon as possible! Also, on Friday night one of the sponsors, The Standard Hotel, will be having an official launch party of “Free Art For The People!” innovative after the show’s close. (No word for an rsvp for that however…)

For more information of this project and others from this group, check out Post Fact Productions.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Support Oxy Arts! Come See King Richard II

Contrary to popular belief, Occidental Arts is more than just the fabulous Herklotz Music Library. Other artists around campus need just as much support as we do, including the theater department. So please head on over to Keck Theater at the tip-top of beautiful Occidental College to see an incredible retelling of William Shakespeare's King Richard II.


King Ricahrd II recounts the story of the dissoultion of the reign of King Richard
and the rise of his cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, to the English throne. Following the play, Professor of Theater and director John Bouchard will lead a discussion and Q & A session.

Where: Keck Theater

Cost: $9.00 general
$5.00 Student tickets (with i.d.)

When: April 23rd & 24th- 7:30 pm
April 25th- 2:00 pm
With a special Graduation Performance on May 15th at 8:30 pm


Click here to see more pictures of the show

Now Available in The Music Library..

...Sony MDR-V250V headphones for check-out!



"Feel the music with the MDR-V250V Studio Monitor Series headphones. They feature supra-aural design for excellent listening comfort, 30mm diameter drivers for deep bass and high-energy ferrite magnets."

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Coachella vs. ComiCon, Are They Really That Different?

I didn't go to Coachella, because I do not have $300 to throw at a single weekend, but the LA Weekly does! Check out their review of Coachella, compared to their past experiences at ComiCon.

The similarities between music festivals and fandom conventions are remarkable. Both center around a need for community. You go to hang out with your friends and meet new people who have similar interests. Both have scenes surrounding them. Just as there are people who hop from one convention to the next, there are people who spend the bulk of the year traveling from festival to festival. Occasionally, even the artists will overlap, like Coheed and Cambria frontman Claudio Sanchez, who we've seen at both.

CoachellaDay1TN012.jpg
Timothy Norris
Coachella

Jazz at LACMA

http://www.iexaminer.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/jazz.jpg
The ninteenth season of jazz the LACMA is currently underway. Every year, prominent jazz musicians from the Los Angeles area partake in a series of jazz performances hosted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Each Friday, lasting until May 28th, will feature a different jazz musician or group of musicians. All events in this series are free with no reservation required. To get a sense of what can be expected at these events, here is a what's happening this coming Friday:

Alan Pasqua Quartet
Friday, April 23 | 6:00 pm
Pianist and recording artist Alan Pasqua started with the New Tony Williams Lifetime along with guitarist Allan Holdsworth, and went on to perform with such diverse musicians as Eddie Money, Bob Dylan, Santana. Aretha Franklin, Sammy Hagar, Al Jarreau, Queen Latifa, and Burt Bacharach. In addition to his busy recording and touring schedule, Pasqua was recently named chairman of the Jazz Studies Department at USC.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Rocking in Place



To help everyone take a break from studying and working hard, I thought I'd dig up one of my all-time favorite music videos. It's really got everything. A great song, a great haircut on David Byrne, a lot of running in place. It may not be technically possible for me to miss the 80's, but I really miss the 80's. So, for everyone out there stressing themselves out over getting ready for finals lean back, take a deep breath, and relax with the Talking Heads.

Macbeth! Tonight! Music Library! Be There!

Tonight the Heklotz Music Library will be showing a very special screening of Giuseppe Verdi's Macbeth. Recorded live from the Zürich Opera House, this "hard-edged, postmodern production of Giuseppe Verid's haunting masterpiece brings the story of Shakespeare's bloody tragedy to vivid life..." (Back of Movie Box). Starring American baritone Thomas Hampson, with conducting by Franz Welser- Møst.

Here's a preview of the opera, brought to you by the one and only youtube.

Screening starts at 5pm. Free admission, including snacks! Come early, seating is limited. See you there!!!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Music Events this Weekend.

The Echoplex is having a "chill wave" kind of evening in which Gottenberg, Sweden's latest sweethearts, jj and Basque Country synthpop duo, Delorean, will take the stage. Doors open at 8 on Sunset. Stop by Origami's Celebration of Record Store Day while your down there (see post below), it is virtually right next door to the Echo on Sunset. Tomorrow, across the street from those locales, will be a DUM DUM Girls show at the small gallery, Echo Curio, the other other other venue with "Echo" in its namesake. Creative, I know.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Record Store Day April 17th!

Saturday, April 17th is Record Store Day. It’s an event started a few years ago to celebrate independent record stores around the world. Stores all over are going to have live music and events lined up for the celebration, along with many limited vinyl releases made exclusively for the day. There are a few different records stores in the city, but head over to Origami Vinyl in Echo Park to see some bands, buy some music, and have an all around good time.
Picture 1

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Ariel Pink's New Album: Preview


For those of you that don't know Ariel Pink, I would suggest you get with the program. He's been putting out underground, dungeon pop bangers for years. He calls it hauntology. His first 10 albums or so were all recorded in his parents' basement in west LA. Using his mouth as a drum machine, and an array of instruments he plays all by himself, Ariel creates music with a 8 track that people with million dollar studios wish they could make...Which brings me to me next point. Many critics of Ariel Pink, those with no ears for lo-fi fuzz and hissing of old equipment, have said they refuse to listen to the seemingly distant, underwater pop jams. To somewhat change all that, Ariel and his band of misfits, known as Haunted Graffiti, took the studio to record some of Ariel' best songs and a grip of new songs. It is candy on wax ladies and gentleman. Our generation's Neil Diamond in a dungeon.

Why Music Matters to Me

Hi friends!

So I know the Oxy Music Library Blog is constantly blowing your mind with amazing music knowledge, but today I've decided to do something a little more personal. I believe that every single person has a unique connection to music, so today I'm going to tell you a little bit about how I fell in love with music, and what it means to me. Please feel free to comment and share your own stories, inspirations, or favorite memories about music!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

KOXY Presents: Warpaint, Dunes, and Animal Style

For KOXY's last concert of the year, they're bringing out three rad local bands destined to stardom: Warpaint, Dunes, and Animal Style. Warpaint garnered (rightly deserved) huge media buzz from their hypnotic live shows at CMJ and SXSW with only one release to their name. Dunes formed out of the remnants of Talbot Tagora, Mika Miko, and Finally Punk and are due to release a 12" soon on Mexican Summer. Animal Style operate in the same circle of Los Angeles garage-rocking as Dunes, Pearl Harbor, and the Soft Pack and RULE.

Check out this trippy video Warpaint made for "Stars."

Friday: ECHO & CLUB UNDERGROUND present MICACHU (DJ Set) @ echo

micachu
[From the Echo] Micachu is the moniker of major new talent, 21 year old songwriter and producer Mica Levi.

Despite her relative youth, Mica arrives as something of a Midas touched, Renaissance artist: equally at home writing and producing stunning, experimental pop with the likes of Matthew Herbert, as MCing with friends in various grime collectives and balancing this with her day time tutorage at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she’s studying composition.

Perhaps the real beauty of Mica’s talent is despite her prodigious musical ability she without fail keeps things rough around the edges: no polished beats when bit fat dirty ones will do, obvious choruses eschewed for intricate yet subtle melodies that grow and grow…

9pm / $8 advance, $10 day of show / 18+

Monday, April 12, 2010

Your Brain on Music


(Or: Why I should never be a science major.)

For my Blog post today, I decided to try to research why it is that Music has such a strong pull on us as people, why a string of notes can conjure so many disparate emotions, from joy to the depths of sorrow. After reading through a number of overly complicated journals and underly complicated websites, I’ve been forced to draw one conclusion. I don’t know why Music does this. And, further, no one seems to know why music has this power. On a very simple level, listening music seems to, unlike almost any other activity, cause both halves of your brain to flare up, causing increased activity everywhere in your brain. And good music seems to cause a release of dopamine, the same chemical the brain releases when you shoot heroin or have sex. Music you don’t like, conversely, can go so far as to trigger the part of your medulla which controls the fight-or-flight reflex, and can seriously harm your mental faculties. After all, the CIA drove General Noriega out of his base by playing almost 36 hours of nonstop AC/DC. In summary, then? The research for this blog may have been a failure. But yet, I think there’s some value in this failure. Music has an amazing and miraculous effect on the human mind. And why it does this? Maybe it’s better that we never know.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Red White and Bluezz Awesome Jazz Bar!


I recently went to Red White and Bluezz for my Jazz History class, and it was so great I thought I'd share a review of it on the blog. Let me start with the awesome, incredibly easy online-reservation system they have going. From their website http://www.redwhitebluezz.com/wine_bar/ (note the snazzy jazz soundtrack) you can place your registration through a service that asks you to make an account, but it's something you'll be grateful for because you'll want to make so many more reservations in the future.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Music Library's Very Own Brain Flynn Presents His Comps!

Our very own Brian Flynn is presenting his senior comps. Brian is a music major, so his comps consist of some very awesome pieces that he has written himself. It's going to be great, good luck Brian!

From the studios of Jennifer Logan and Andre Myers
BRIAN FLYNN
, composer

Saturday, April 10th, 2010 2:30 p.m.



From the vocal studio of Diane Thomas
REBA BUHR, mezzo-soprano
Sunday, April 11th, 2010 2:00 p.m.


From the studios of Jennifer Logan and Andre Myers
DIEGO ALCANTARA, composer

Sunday, April 11th, 2010 7:00 p.m.

The Music Library's Very Own Jon Wheeler Presents His Comps!

Check out our very own Jon Wheeler's presentation of his senior philosophy composition! Jon has been working extremely hard to complete his comps, which is sure to be really really great. Come out to support him, and learn all about the philosophy of science.
Good luck Jon!



The Philosophy Department is proud to present the 2009-2010 senior comprehensives.
Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
, 5:30-9:00 p.m., Fowler 202
Matthew Williams, "The Ethics and Efficiency of Affirmative Action"
Lauren Barker
, "Justification and The Internalism v. Externalism Debate"

Ellis Raskin
, "The Ethics of Climate Change"

Jon Wheeler, "Mathematics and the Physical World"
Scott Hill, "Alvin Plantinga and the Free Will Defense: A Critique"
Jake Nelson, "On Evolution, Religion, and Teleological Belief Sets"

Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Springfest 2010...at Oxy....One NASty Lineup


Springfest 2010 at Occidental will be taking place on April 24th, nearby and inside of Sycamore Glen. The festival includes a whole day of food, fun, and music. The lineup, particularly the headliner, is amazing. From Noon to 4PM there will be some of LA's finest food available: Kogi Truck! Wurtkuche! Coolhaus Ice Cream Sandwiches. The opening acts during this time will be Oxy's own Ugly Sweaters along with indie bands Suzi Analogue, Fol Chen and Javelin. Between 4:30 and 5:30, iLLiteracy Spoken Word Collective will take the stage followed by Street Performers and Dancers until 7. After that, those of you who are 21+ may come enjoy a beer garden and a BBQ (all ages of course for food). The act opening before the headliner will be representing LA's own Stone's Throw Records, Meyer Hawthorne & the County. After a whole day of good times, the best will be yet to come. Occidental will have the rare experience of an intimate set with the Illmatic, Stillmatic, Nasty Nas Escobar from Queensbridge himself....with a live band! You will be sorely disappointed if you miss this show!!!!

Occidental Glee Club and Occidental Chorus Spring Concert!

The Occidental College Glee Club & The College Chorus
present
A Spring Concert

Featuring the Fauré Requiem
Herrick Chapel
Located on the Occidental College campus

Saturday, April 10th, 2010
7:30 p.m.
&
Sunday, April 11th , 2010
3:30 p.m.

Students free with Oxy I.D.
$10 General Admission

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Oxy Mobile!

This week, Occidental released an app that you can add to your phone. Why would you want this? I had the same question, so I did some deep investigation to find out what Oxy Mobile has to offer, and how it can be useful to you!

Upon accessing the Oxy Mobile application, you are presented with a list of prompts that can send you in various directions, depending on what you need. The list is: People, Library, ITS Helpdesk, Campus Locator, Oxy Facebook(s), Oxy Twitter, Oxy Flickr, Oxy Youtube, and Upcoming. Allow me to explain what each one does.

Now Available in The Music Library...

Skullcandy HESH headphones!



"With 50mm High Explosive power drivers the Skullcandy HESH will pump sound into your skull with an intensity found in no other headphone. The HESH features the biggest power driver you can get coupled with sound-boosting parabolic ear-cups to produce studio quality sound..."

Available NOW for a 3 hour check-out in The Music Library, Booth 103.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Baseball, America and Apple Pie



In the spirit of the first day of the Baseball Season (for those of you who aren’t from New York or Boston), I decided to do a little bit of digging into the perennial ballpark favorite and eyewateringly hokey piece of Americana “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. It turns out the cracker-jack ridden song was actually written for a Vaudeville routine in 1908, by two men in New York, neither of whom had ever attended a baseball game. The full song is much longer and a good deal less catchy, and includes a few verses about a female fan in the stands, doing such ballpark-friendly activities as fretting, pouting, and knowing the players names. The whole thing gets somewhat less interesting from there. However, when the song started being played at ballparks in the 1920’s, the sale of the generally unknown candy corn “Cracker Jacks” went completely through the roof. Today, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is the third most recognizable song in America, after “Happy Birthday” and “The Star Spangled Banner”. And hey, they turned the song into a movie with Frank Sinatra!

Senior Recitals This Week


Come support the students as they perform their senior recitals for the Occidental College Music Department! Here's the upcoming schedule for Senior Recitals this week!

Saturday, April 10

2:30 p.m., Bird Studio

Music Department Senior Recital

Brian Flynn, composer, from the studios of Andre Myers and Jennifer Logan

Sunday, April 11

2:00 p.m., Bird Studio

Music Department Senior Recital

Rebecca Buhr, mezzo-soprano, from the studio of Diane Thomas

Sunday, April 11

7:00 p.m., Bird Studio

Music Department Senior Recital

Diego Alcantara, composer, from the studios of Andre Myers and Jennifer Logan


Good Luck Guys!!!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Opera Night


To all you opera lovers out there, the Herklotz Music Library is officially hosting its first ever Opera Night. The opening night for this event will be at 5PM on Monday, April 19th in the Music Library . Come enjoy snacks during the special screening of Guiseppe Verdi's classic rendition of Shakespeare's "Macbeth". If you are interested in this event, you must RSVP ASAP. Seating is limited, so email oxymusiclibrary@gmail.com or stop by Booth 103 to reserve your spot!

A Little Traditional Holiday Music

Hey guys! Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Check out these songs traditionally associated with the religious services of Easter and Passover. These songs all have rich history and beautiful melodies, and have the power to move us no matter what religion you feel you are. So enjoy the holidays, and enjoy!

xoxo Oxy Music Library :)


Friday, April 2, 2010

Low End Theory


For anyone looking for a true taste of the L.A. underground electronic music scene, the club Low End Theory features amazing line ups every wednesday night. Regular musicians there include Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer, Nosaj Thing, and other LA scenster musicians. The club boasts an extra 10,000 watts of sub-bass speaker power, the perfect compliment to these musician's works, which increasingly have been including ludicrous amounts of bass tones. (hence, "low end") audience members will receive a glimpse of latent musical ideas bubbling up under the surface of mainstream electronics, and many of the producers who frequent L.E.T. are responding to a vital dance music community which extends far beyond america's borders. In fact, this club is a rare hotspot for musics which have not yet caught on in most American scenes, such as the south-london based genre "dubstep." check this speacial club out next wednesday for a great night of music and dancing.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Warpaint


In her "shows to look out for" section, staff blogger Laura mentioned the Warpaint show coming up, and that they're great. Those of you who go to this show will be in for a special treat. Warpaint is a band in a very exciting position right now. Constituted by three women, Warpaint's intense, brooding post-rock inflected jams are supported by a rock chemistry between the members which makes their live show excellent. Also, they are very well respected and stand to gain some popular success, but they have only released one five song EP, 'Exquisite Corpse" So they are writing and developing more material right now, in the studio and on stage. You never know what you're going to get, except a mouthful of one very intriguing rising band.

MOFA Tomorrow!

The Music Department

presents

Music On a Friday Afternoon

Friday, April 2, 2010
Bird Studio
4:30 p.m.

Free


Performers

Joanne Kang, flute

Sean O'Connor, alto saxaphone



Seth Hansen, percussion

Zach Levinger, percussion

Mike Englander, marimba



Ellen Robertson, cello



Kay Ambriz, voice and percussion

Great Latin Music at Oxy's Semana de la Raza Celebration!


Semana de la Raza means "Week of the People." Next week, Oxy will be celebrating Latin culture and advocating awareness for problems people still face today. This is a really great event, and a wonderful way to experience some cultural music. Check it out!

Monday, April 5th
Semana de la Raza Quad Show Kickoff
12:30 - 1:30pm

Listen With Your Eyes? The McGurk Effect

So here's a short experiment. Watch this five second video with the sound on. Try and determine what he is saying.

Done? Now, close your eyes and just listen to the video. What did you hear? The majority will hear "da da da" when watching the video, and then hear "ba ba ba" when they close their eyes and just listen to the video. The speaker is actually mouthing the syllables "ga ga ga." The appearance of "ga ga ga" in conjunction with the sound "ba ba ba" causes most people to hear "da da da." Apparently speech perception is a multi-modal ability that involves more than just the ears. Fascinating!