Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff will be highlighting a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Dan McCahon will review The Immaculate Collection by Madonna. 

Madonna, the Queen of Pop, released her single “Medellín” for her upcoming album Madame X. Her musical career has spanned decades, with her start in the 80s and her second album Like A Virgin selling over 21 million copies worldwide. Madonna has solidifed herself as an icon in the pop music genre and given the release of this single it would make sense to reminisce and track how Madonna has grown as an artist.

The immaculate collection is an anthology released in 1990 of Madonna’s greatest hits as well as two new songs. This collection features hits like Material Girl, Like A Virgin, Like A Prayer, and Vogue. It opens with Holiday, a bubbly pop classic that sets the tone for the album, a tone which is carried and built upon by Lucky Star and Borderline the second and third songs in the album. However, the bubbliness and pop fanfare does not eliminate Madonna’s songs from having deeper meaning. Madonna’s lyrics and the focus of her songs are not fluff, and I find Borderline to be indicative of the issues she had with her life of stardom and finding love amidst those challenges. Some lyrics include “I don’t want to be your prisoner, so baby, won’t you set me free/ Stop playing with my heart/ Feels like I’m losing my mind/ You just keep on pushing my love/ Over the borderline.” Her frustrations and rebellion against how love is being expressed and the emotional toll this carries are compelling. Set against the poppy backtrack of synth, piano, and percussion this song is strong in both message and execution.

This collection of Madonna’s works is fantastic for its breadth of subject matter and style, showcasing Madonna’s versatility and chamelonic ability to reinvent herself and be successful with each new iteration. With an appreciation of Madonna’s past we can better understand how her upcoming album will fit into her ouvre. Already, with the release of the single “Medellín” Madonna has spoken out against sexist standards for female artists in pop, specifically the age at which pop artists are “allowed” to make music. To get a greater understanding of Madonna’s talents and the sheer volume of her work, check out The Immaculate Collection at the Music Library, along with our other Madonna CDs!

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff highlights a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Dan McCahon reviews Kid A, an album of works by Radiohead.

Atmospheric and eerie are the two words that spring to mind when thinking of Radiohead’s album Kid A (2000). The album opens with “Everything in its Right Place” an electronic song that released in complete opposition to the rock-n-roll identity that Radiohead had established itself as with their prior works. A melody descends in electronic hums and the song murmurs into being, building itself up scrambled voices as it progresses. Thom Yorke’s voice then lifts itself above the murmurs, finding the right place for himself. This juxtaposition is intriguing, as the electric sounds swirl and crescendo along with his voice, at times appearing to blend into his vocals.

The lyrics are a mix of phrases and questions that seem nonsensical: “Yesterday I woke up sucking on a lemon” to “There are two colors in my head”. Yorke has explained them as his feelings on his depression following a Birmingham performance. This uncertainty atop the atmosphere sets the shifting and ever-changing tone that the album carries.

The title track “Kid A” continues that theme of introducing a melody through instrumentation, building upon itself with distorted vocals buzzing as percussion makes its way into the space. The percussion and tempo build up and then dissipate, folding into itself, blending and transforming as the voices still distorted sit amidst a sustained electronic hum. These constant changes and electronic nature of the songs is a foundation for the remainder of the album. However, as change is its nature Kid A does not remain static and will continue to surprise listeners with new instrumentation, dissonant melodies, and unconventional rhythmic structures as they make their way through the fog of sounds that Radiohead has created.

The Music Library has other Radiohead albums: OK Computer (1997) and The Bends (1995).

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff highlights a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Cal Salant reviews Blue by Joni Mitchell.

Before the time of “sadgirl”* greats Mitski and Waxahatchee, there was Joni Mitchell. Born in Canada in 1943, Joni’s guitar playing and vocals have captivated audiences all over the world. Her music is primarily focused on social issues, her feelings, and events from her life. She has won nine Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Quite possibly her most iconic album, Blue, was released in 1971. It is, I believe rightfully, considered one of the greatest albums of all time. It portrays a wide range of emotions and experiences, from the introspective “A Case of You” to the whimsical love song “Carey.” Mitchell herself considers it her most vulnerable work yet, having said "The Blue album, there's hardly a dishonest note in the vocals. At that period of my life, I had no personal defenses…I felt like I had absolutely no secrets from the world and I couldn't pretend in my life to be strong. Or to be happy. But the advantage of it in the music was that there were no defenses there either." (full Rolling Stone interview here)

The album is primarily centered on Joni as a singer-guitarist but includes some piano and world percussion such as the tabla drum. The tonality and musical mood ranges as widely as the subject matter of the songs themselves. Despite this wide range, there is a commonality: Joni hides the title word “blue” or a variation thereof in the lyrics of many of the album tracks, such as “My Old Man:”

But when he's gone

Me and them lonesome blues collide

The bed's too bigThe frying pan's too wide…

And again in “Little Green":

He went to California

Hearing that everything's warmer there

So you write him a letter, say, "her eyes are blue"

He sends you a poem and she's lost to you…

If you’re looking for a masterful album by a powerful singer that’s sure to put you deep in your feelings, take Blue for a spin. It is a timeless treasure that has influenced countless contemporary musicians.

If you like this album, you may like other Joni Mitchell albums in our collection: Hits and Court and Spark.

*”Sadgirl” is a term used to describe woman-created music that is emotionally intimate and vulnerable.

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff highlights a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Matthew Francisco reviews Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective.

Animal Collective, the experimental pop four-piece from Baltimore, is widely known for their radical soundscapes and probing vocal layers. Formed in 2003, the band had a highly influential sound that shaped both the pop and alternative scenes following their inception.

Their most popular album, Merriweather Post Pavilion (named after Maryland’s popular forest amphitheater) combines all of their previous exploratory elements and combines them to create an accessible middle ground with a refined sound. As a result, the record has proven to be their most defining work yet.

There are two songs on the record that have come to stand out from the rest. The first official single from the album “My Girls” is a grand, arpeggio-filled soundscape featuring elegant vocals. On the other hand, “Brother Sport” is a psychedelic hit with touches of Afro-Brazilian elements. Apart from these two major hits, the full album is truly a work of art from start to finish. Each track feels similar yet sounds completely different and flows perfectly between each song.

All in all, Merriweather Post Pavilion is definitely worth a listen. Drop by the Music Library to check it out!

If you like this album, you may also like Funeral from Canadian band Arcade Fire and Kid A, OK Computer or The Bends by Radiohead.

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff highlights a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Cameron Betchey reviews La Boheme, an opera by composer Giacomo Puccini.

La Boheme is one of the most influential and famous operas composed by Giacomo Puccini at the turn of the century. The 20^th century was a time of artistic revolution and social movement, which are both themes of La Boheme. Art is an important reflection of society and communicates to the audience the struggles of people who are typically silenced for various reasons; in this case the lower classes of society. Maria Callas sings the lead, Mimi a young seamstress living in the Latin Quarter of Paris.

La Boheme was incredibly successful and it has had a lasting impact on popular culture, most notably the musical Rent, which borrows heavily in both character and plot from La Boheme. The theme of the struggling artists and impoverished workers who long for a better life or recognition from the aristocracy has been reinterpreted time and time again because it is always culturally relevant. Although it was written over 100 years ago, this opera is still emotionally and socially impactful today because of these themes.

At the height of her career, Callas is the most successful opera singer in the world, known for her uniquely powerful and emotionally expressive voice. Her ability to convey emotion through the power of her voice pairs well with the romantic nature of Puccini’s composing style. The CD I have chosen is the EMI Classics full recording of La Boheme with performances by Maria Callas, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and Rolando Panerai. This CD is part of a wide collection of opera recordings that star Callas, many of them composed by Puccini. Callas’s ability to sing lyrical, coloratura, and dramatic roles made her a rare and dynamic performer. Yet, somehow she always sounded like herself, her voice never altered in sound or quality but it was flexible enough to sing in a wide variety of styles. She is an excellent singer to listen to if you want to get a taste of a larger variety of operatic music rather than just listening to a singer who sings in one composer or era.

I would recommend this CD to anyone who is trying to listen to operatic music for the first time. The plot is intriguing and easy to follow, and the romantic era style in which Puccini writes is beautiful and musically interesting. Puccini unlike many other composers began to learn music by playing the violin not the piano. This influence is easy to hear in his music. The melodic lines are dramatic, long, and sweeping and the music is harmonically complex yet never feels too dissonant. The music is drenched in drama and emotion, made clearer to the listener through the power and expressiveness of Callas’s voice. In this way I think that La Boheme can be interesting even to people who do not listen to classical music often. Overall it is a beautiful masterpiece brought to life by one of the most talented opera singers of the 20^th century with societal messages that are still resonant today.

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff highlights a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Matt Francisco reviews Radio Rewrite, an album of works by composer Steve Reich.

After hearing Radiohead’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood play his 1987 piece Electric Counterpoint, minimalist pioneer Steve Reich was inspired and decided to center his newest work around the sound of Radiohead’s rich music. The result is Radio Rewrite, a work that features re-hashed versions of Electric Counterpoint and Piano Counterpoint played by Jonny Greenwood and Vicky Chow.

Greenwood’s performance of Electric Counterpoint is quite interesting; his guitar is a bit more mellow sounding than the original, yet the tempo is greatly increased. The first two movements sound similar to the original, but by the third movement of the piece the meter and energy seem to match that of a modern rock song. The result is an exciting performance that shines Reich’s classic piece in a new light.

The final piece, Radio Rewrite, features five movements performed by Alarm Will Sound, a New York-based contemporary chamber ensemble. The work sounds like classic Reich material, but mixes in numerous Radiohead-style moments. In an interview with his publisher, Reich notes: "The piece is a mixture of moments where you will hear Radiohead, but most moments where you won't." In effect, the piece—just like Greenwood’s interpretation of Electric Counterpoint—once again blends Reich minimalism with the energy of modern alt-rock music.

Stop by the Music Library to hear this great album, and many other works by Steve Reich!

Welcome to Feature Fridays! Every week, the AU music library staff will be highlighting a different CD or artist from our collection. This week, Student Assistant Cami Betchey will review The Pianist, the soundtrack from the 2002 film.

The Pianist is a film made in 2002 by Roman Polanski about a Jewish Polish pianist during World War II. It is a devastating film about loss and the bittersweet gift of survival in the midst of death and losing everything. The pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, is one of the most well known and accomplished pianists to perform Chopin in Poland at the time of the occupation. The soundtrack is therefore composed of Chopin works, each of which is meant to break the heart more than the last. Sprinkled throughout the movie the sound track serves to illuminate the viewer to the complex and somber depths of Szpilman’s emotions.

The majority of the soundtrack is made up on Chopin’s work, mainly his Nocturnes and Ballades. Each of the nocturnes selected are composed in minor keys, in fact only one song on the soundtrack is written in a major key. The whole score has a melancholic tone, yet it is not depressive or difficult to listen to. Like many of Chopin’s works, there are moments are happiness that peak through keeping the listener intrigued. The sheer complexity of Chopin’s work is also one of the main highlights of this soundtrack. Each of his pieces is so technically complex even the most unskilled of listener can appreciate the difficulty and rigor in just one of these songs, yet it does not feel like a task. Each piece is intricately woven to create fluid melodies that are harmonically challenged. The right hand carries long withheld notes while the left plays complex chords and patterns, just one of the ways that Chopin was so innovative as a composer for piano.

I would recommend this CD for people who enjoy romantic era music or for people who are looking to get into classical music. You would never be bored listening to the work of Chopin, or his romantic contemporaries. The work of Chopin although complex still has a feeling of romance and whimsy about it that makes it enjoyable to listen to. Even if you don’t listen to classical music often, anyone would be moved by this soundtrack. It also makes great study music for people who are interested in finding classical music to study with.

The Music Library has over 2000 albums of Chopin’s works on CD and streaming, including one with Wladislaw Szpilman at the piano.