The Ithacan

Slope Day vs. IC Kicks Back

By Jared Dionne • March 31, 2011

The end of the semester is right around the corner and that generally means that people are getting excited for either Slope Day or IC Kicks Back. So what do the shows have in store for us? Slope Day will feature rapper Nelly, indie rock group Ra Ra Riot and rap duo The Cool Kids.…

Let’s Get Physical

By Jared Dionne • March 26, 2011

This week, the UK division of Mercury Records announced that they would no longer be releasing physical singles for their artists. These artists include Arcade Fire, U2, The Killers and Sir Elton John among others. The label recently lost money on physical single releases and has decided to commit exclusively to download. The reps went…

Rock For Japan

By Jared Dionne • March 26, 2011

This July will mark the 26th Anniversary of Live Aid, the blowout musical event held at both Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia that helped raise money to combat the Ethiopian famine. Now, the spirit of charity and assistance continues to make itself known. It seems as though whenever a…

The State of Rock v. “Glee”

By Jared Dionne • March 21, 2011

This court will now come to order. Yet another rock band has a beef with “Gleek” in Chief Ryan Murphy. This is just the latest in a series of tell-offs by rock bands who refuse to license their music to the teenage musical juggernaut that is “Glee.” A couple months ago, rockers Kings of Leon…

Theory of Evolution

By Jared Dionne • March 20, 2011

We’ve finally found someone that can successfully combine rap and rock into something impressive. I speak of Lupe Fiasco. With the rapper coming to Cornell next month, I’ve been brushing up on his stuff and discovered that he actually has a rock band for a side project. The name is Japanese Cartoon, and they’re awesome.…

The Deep End

By Jared Dionne • March 19, 2011

If you’ve ever spent more than five minutes with me, you know that my favorite band in the entire world is The Killers. To me, their music is perfection and not just lyrics with instruments, but a spiritual awakening. It’s a truly magical experience when an artist can transcend their own wants and needs to…

Firing Squad: Rebecca Black – “Friday”

By Jared Dionne • March 14, 2011

The Mayans were wrong, my friends. The Apocalypse is now! Unfortunately, their calendar did not take into account the release of Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” Get some cotton balls; your ears are going to bleed. Let’s begin with the title of the song: “Friday.” These songs tend to be dangerous because once that day of the…

“Spiderman” Still in the Dark

By Jared Dionne • March 12, 2011

I’ve been waiting to see the U2-scored “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark” for a while now. Besides it featuring music by U2, it just sounds like it would be unbelievably awesome…if they could just get the show off the ground. The show has been in previews since November and this week the creative powers announced…

Gloves Are Off: Miike Snow vs. The Antlers

By Jared Dionne • March 10, 2011

Two indie bands. Two songs named Silvia/Sylvia. Who has the best track? In this corner: Swedish outfit Miike Snow is proof that no one messes with a Swede and his synthesizer. You can’t touch them: the boys from Carolina Liar, the new member of Shiny Toy Guns…there’s something in the Baltic. Before forming in 2007,…

West Coast Best Coast?

By Jared Dionne • March 8, 2011

While I’m an East Coast boy at heart, I can’t deny that the West Coast must be pretty legit for a band to name themselves after it. And here we have Best Coast, the definition of fun and freedom. The group consists of Bethany Consentino (vocals), Bobb Bruno (guitars) and Ali Koehler (drums). Consentino writes…

There ARE Strings in Manchester Orchestra

By Jared Dionne • March 5, 2011

A few weeks ago, rock band Manchester Orchestra announced the release of their next album will be coming in May. The band blew up after the release of their album “Mean Everything to Nothing.” The increased popularity led to opening slots on tour with Kings of Leon and Silversun Pickups, to name a few. “Mean…

Firing Squad: Kim Kardashian – “Jam (Turn It Up)”

By Jared Dionne • March 3, 2011

I mean, should we really be surprised that Kim Kardashian came out with a song? I don’t think so. Actually, I’m surprised this hasn’t come out sooner. Welcome to America, our reality stars can do anything. We have “Hills”-girl-turned-mannequin Heidi Montag with her meaningless musings and Paris Hilton with her beach-lover music video. Yes, Paris,…