project
My very own music column in the University of Oregon’s student-run publication, Oregon Voice Magazine, a uniquely quirky and artistic publication. Features ran in print and on the web.
Z Album Review
From the newest member of hip-hop power group TDE comes a vivaciously soulful album simply titled Z.
After independently releasing two albums in 2012 and 2013, Solana Rowe’s debut album under Top Dawg Entertainment carries the weight of her stage name SZA’s supremely spiritual alphabetic allusions1. In listening to Z, Rowe soulfully croons like Lana Del Rey but with a depth and class that trashes Lana’s fake paradise. This album is a collaborative goldmine, with songs produced by an eclectic mix of talents including Mac Miller, XXYYXX, and Toro y Moi as well as dominating features with Chance the Rapper, Isaiah Rashad, and Kendrick Lamar. This young woman has got fucking cred.
This album fluctuates from soulful PBR&B to electro-pop-anthems (Julia) I can’t help but dance in my car to. I might be biased when I say that I love this album. It speaks to my soul as a 20something woman and somehow SZA seems to have captured that essence of palm trees, blue skies, and warm winds (most literally, Warm Winds ft. Isaiah Rashad) that reminds me of Los Angeles and endless warm days. Each song on this album stands on its own as a fluid and impressive feat. Taking beats directly from XXYXX for "Child’s Play" ft. Chance the Rapper was a collaborative stroke of genius. She also got some phenomenal producing by Emile for "Shattered Ring," “Omega," and "Green Mile" (an obvious nod to Eminem, whom Emile also produces), and Marvin Gaye’s “Mandota” providing the sultry backdrop for "Sweet November". On that note, this album is what Lana Del Rey and most artists evolving R&B wish they could achieve. With vocals that rival Ms. Grant’s and a justified talent for writing songs that are more than superficial allusions to religion, SZA has created an album that embodies the meaning of Z (see footnote)— she sins, she repents, and she finds self worth and spirituality by the final track "Omega" and it is all one beautifully orchestrated journey from knowledge to wisdom to understanding. This is the best PBR&B album to emerge since The Weeknd’s Trilogy. Give it a spin (or watch some of these radical videos).
footnotes:
1. SZA gets her name from the same Islamic spiritual alphabet that members of Wu-Tang RZA and GZA took their inspiration from. Each letter holds a specific meaning. Breakdown: S = self or savior; Z = zig-zag-zig from knowledge, to wisdom, to understanding; A = the universe (thanks Wikipedia).
guide to Sasquatch festival 2014
Memorial Day Weekend: a time for drinking, memorializing, and generally ruining your body for the ultimate cause — a fucking good time. After an overambitious attempt to expand the Sasquatch Music Festival experience across two weekends with two separate lineups, separated by an absurd amount of time and unfairly stacked line-up for Memorial Day Weekend 1, the event higher-ups have cancelled Weekend 2 (set for 4th of July Weekend). Whether you've already purchased your Weekend 1 pass, planned your carpool, outfits, alcohol intake, and drug schedule, or you haven’t fully comprehended what Sasquatch Festival entails, here’s some highlights to tantalize your sensory organs:
EARS
One of the best aspects of Sasquatch is its emphasis on musical variety. The headliners include Outkast, The National, and Queens of the Stone Age, just to give your buds a taste of all the different flavors of jam you’ll be savoring. In addition to a stacked selection of hip-hop hustlas including Kid Cudi, Chance the Rapper, Tyler, the Creator, and Outkast, the staggering amount of amazing electronic artists will give you afterglow for months. Prepare to enter the Chupacabra tent (appropriately dangerous and mythical) to damage your hearing and serotonin levels with upbeat electronic jams by Classixx, fiery female Tokimonsta, Ryan Hemsworth, Chet Faker, Gesaffelstein, Major Lazer, Yelle, and Big Freedia. For a more mellow technological fix, be sure to see Phantogram, Tourist, and Aluna George. Sasquatch’s five-stage expanse ensures you can get a fix of anything you desire to rock out to. Check out Bigfoot Stage, the Main Stage, and Yeti Stage for a solid mix of alternative, folk, and rock troupes including Haim, Foals, Foster the People, Band of Skulls, Deap Vally, and Rodriguez. For a better taste of the tunes you’ll be frolicking intoxicatedly to, check out our extensive online guide to Sasquatch 2014 at the Oregon Voice website.
EYES
Easily one of the most sensory-overload-causing venues, the Gorge offers your rods and cones a view that combines the sublimity of the Grand Canyon with the greenery of the Pacific north-west. Situated on the cliffs formed by the Columbia River, the stage itself takes advantage of the natural acoustic qualities of the ravine behind it, and whether you’re on a higher level or still on earth, I guarantee seeing your favorite artists perform at the Gorge will be nirvana. The natural grassy amphitheater is ideal for lounging all day picnic-style and affords you comfortability and an awesome view. Don’t even get me started on the sunsets.
ALL THAT OTHER PERCEPTION BIZ
All in all, Sasquatch is an experience which despite rain, porta-potties, lack of showering, and spending egregious amounts of dough for, is definitely worth the lack of hygiene and spending money for June. Why? Because, whether you know only a handful of bands or fainted when you saw the line-up (like I did), spending a weekend with your best buds in the middle of Washington, day drinking until you trek the endless rocky path, to finally behold the Gorge and listen to artists play their souls out is priceless. Although the event organizers failed to follow through on their efforts to expand Sasquatch Festival, it attests to the massive success of previous years. Weekend 1 lives on. Be there or be pissed off by all your friends' Instragrams of Gorge sunsets and be subjected to extreme FOMO.
