For the first time in five years, seasoned dance-punk veterans The Rapture have returned to the musical sphere with a new album and an evolved sound.
Author Archives: Niran Somasundaram
Film, theater students prepare for tough job market despite earning their college degrees
University graduation is traditionally a time to celebrate, to look back on the fond memories of the undergraduate experience and look forward with anticipation and excitement for what is to come.
The JazzReggae Festival will celebrate 25 years with an array of musical and visual artists
Jesse Sachs had never heard of the JazzReggae Festival until his first year at UCLA, when he went to see The Roots headline.
A cappella groups may need to outsing wind after Spring Sing switches to outdoor venue
After months of preparation, the success of this year’s Spring Sing a cappella acts could come down to the weather.
Midvale Magic
Six days out of the week, Taylor Fugit’s apartment at 447 1/2 Midvale looks like any other.
But come Friday night, black lights will reveal the words “Midvale Sessions” painted on the wall, while more than 100 people, most of them UCLA students, pack into the apartment to experience one of the area’s newest concert series.
Midvale Sessions, which takes place on Friday night of every other week beginning Week 2 of the quarter, is the brainchild of four Bruins: Fugit, a third-year ethnomusicology student, Matthew Flesock, a third-year history and geography/environmental studies student, Aaron Rabkin, a third-year history student, and David Chong, an alumnus.
Midvale Sessions originated from an idea for a campus talent showcase for Fugit and Rabkin’s show on UCLAradio.com.
But the idea remained a distant fantasy until the fall of 2010, when Flesock, Rabkin and Fugit moved into an apartment together, which they thought would provide the perfect venue for their proposed shows.
“I was just sitting at home over winter break thinking, “˜We really have to do this,'” Fugit said.
Sound Bite: "Hot Sauce Committee Part Two"
The Beastie Boys has officially become “old school.” Its brand of funky, heavy, guitar-tinged hip-hop faded off the radio airwaves years ago, relegated to the same cultural graveyard as boom boxes, Lollapalooza and other facets of the ’90s.
However, nostalgia can be a band’s best friend.
Sound Bite: _Explosions In the Sky_
Releasing a critically acclaimed album can be both a blessing and a curse for a band.