Thursday, June 26

Second Take: With ‘Old Town Road’ the memes have won, but music quality has lost

Collaborations can do a lot for a track. For some artists, they add credibility; for others, diversity. For Lil Nas X, it created a record-breaking cultural phenomenon. Read more...

Photo: Billy Ray Cyrus collaborated with Lil Nas X on “Old Town Road,” a country rap song that’s become a viral chart topper. However, the increase in such meme-based songs might lead to an overall decline in musical quality, argues Deirdre Klena. (Creative Commons photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mark O’Donald via Wikimedia Commons)


Dan Navarro discusses growth in music career starting with his time at UCLA

Dan Navarro, a UCLA alumnus, returned to campus in 2005 for a guest appearance after kicking off his music career. At the end of the class, students formed a line that stretched to the back door of the lecture hall waiting to talk to him, said Peter Rutenberg, Navarro’s longtime friend. Read more...

Photo: Alumnus Dan Navarro has written songs for Pat Benatar, The Bangles, TKA, Jackson Browne and The Temptations. Outside the music industry, he also voiced various animated characters on television shows including “American Dad!” and “Family Guy.” Navarro performed Saturday at the Fiddlers Crossing in Tehachapi, California. (Emily Ng/Daily Bruin)


Album review: Mac DeMarco refuses to be kept in a box in his latest ‘Here Comes The Cowboy’

Wandering through a lonely plane of self-reflection, Mac DeMarco finds a new satirical voice to share with the indie genre. Mac Demarco’s first release since “This Old Dog” in 2017, the new album lacks narrative flow and a stable tone, but banks on repetition to mercilessly drive home a message meaningless to everyone but DeMarco himself. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Mac’s Record Label)


Concert review: Alec Benjamin lives up to his image with a satisfying amount of angst

Heartbreak, but then make it casual. Though Alec Benjamin is only 24 years old, many of the songs on his debut record deal with the loss of childhood innocence and his discovery of life’s less-than picturesque realities. Read more...

Photo: “Let Me Down Slowly” singer Alec Benjamin performed the penultimate show of his Outrunning Karma Tour at the El Rey Theatre on Thursday. (Ashley Kenney/Daily Bruin)


Global music event to feature Korean percussion, reveals spread across cultures

The sound of drums that originated in South Korea can be heard around the world, said Katherine In-Young Lee. The spread of music genres from one region to others will be explored in “Global Musics and Musical Communities,” a two-day conference and concert hosted by the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Read more...

Photo: Katherine In-Young Lee, an assistant professor of ethnomusicology, organized the event “Global Musics and Musical Communities,” which will take place Friday and Saturday. Lee will explain the spread of samul nori, a South Korean form of percussion music. (Courtesy of Kat Zdan)


Q&A: Composer discusses collaboration, creative process of upcoming three-part concert

Nico Muhly’s performance piece may be in three parts, but it is not fractured. The composer has created works that include classical pieces and film soundtracks, and will deliver a three-part performance, “Archives, Friends, Patterns,” at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on Friday. Read more...

Photo: Composer Nico Muhly will deliver a three-part performance at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on Friday. The concert is hosted by the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. (Courtesy of Heidi Solander)


Concert photography exhibit in Kerckhoff will promote up-and-coming local artists

Photographers, unlike their work, can never have too much exposure. “The Photo Pit,” hosted by the Student Committee for the Arts in Kerckhoff Art Gallery and Kerckhoff Grand Salon on Thursday, aims to showcase UCLA students’ concert photography alongside live music by Los Angeles-based performers. Read more...

Photo: Daniel Leka, a third-year political science student, is an SCA committee member and event chairman for “The Photo Pit,” a showcase that aims to highlight UCLA photographers, as well as local music artists. (Tanmay Shankar/Daily Bruin)



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