We can tell by the way tickets are selling (read: really fast) that you all are as excited about Janelle Monae performing live at the Homecoming Dance as we are. Or maybe you are just going because it is a dance, and don’t know anything about Janelle Monae. Well then…

We’ve been excited for Janelle Monae for weeks now for several reasons: her excellent stage presence, sweet dance moves, killer vocals. Because we look for artists that both communicate truth and are artistically excellent, SAB invited Janelle Monae because we believe she has skillfully incorporated thought provoking lyrics and concepts into her first major label debut, Metropolis. She challenges convention by introducing a socially conscious body of work disguised as a dancy cybertronic concept album. The idea of a concept album is lost on so many recent artists, and it is refreshing to see a new artist pull it off so well, especially with such a positive message.

Monday night at Popanonymous, we listened to Metropolis (26 minutes) in its entirety. This was a great exercise for those of us present. We recommend to anyone who hasn’t yet done this: listen to the songs with the words in front of you. Listen to them with your roommate.

Here’s a sample, from Sincerely, Jane:

“Teacher, teacher please reach those girls in them videos
The little girls just broken Queen, confusing bling for soul
Danger, there’s danger when you take off your clothes, all your dreams go down the drain girl

Are we really living or just walking dead now?
Or dreaming of a hope riding the wings of angels
The way we live
The way we die
What a tragedy, I’m so terrified
Day dreamers please wake up, we can’t sleep no more”

Be sure to check out Janelle Monae’s short film “Many Moons” playing now on Messiah Channel 13 (sorry about the sound issues). Bonus points to anyone who can name the reference from the beginning of the song (the “Boo-do-do doo-do…” part). Let us know in the comments section if you can name that where that comes from.

For those that don’t know, Popanonymous is a weekly gathering of people who discuss all things pop culture. We meet every Monday night at 9pm at the Loft. This semester we’ll be talking about Mad Men, country music and politics, Stephen Colbert and Inglorious Basterds. Next week we’re talking about the band Passion Pit. Hope to see you at the Loft, Monday at 9pm.

Paste Magazine’s cover story on Iron and Wine from their October 2007 issue is worth checking out as we prepare to have Sam Beam’s gentle voice lift our souls on Saturday in Brubaker Auditorium. Reading an interview with an artist like Beam helps us hear their music better, giving us some context about who the artist is and what motivates them. So go ahead and read it.

For those not taking the time to read it, or who need a little taste before deciding:

It turns out that religion is not merely a cultural shorthand or creative prop for Beam but, like Johnny Cash before him, it constitutes one of the only three topics he’s genuinely interested in as a writer. “You have your three big things that you can talk about, basically, if you’re going to write something that actually means something to you as a human being, which is Love, God and Death. That’s basically the thing. Love, which occupies a lot of our time, because we don’t like being lonely. God, because everyone wants to know that there’s a reason behind what they’re doing and what the hell is going on. And death is just the reality of your finite time here.

Here is Sam Beam performing “Upward over the Mountain” at Messiah a few years ago. Check it out for a glimpse of what Saturday is going to be like.

And finally, don’t wait to buy your tickets. There are less than 400 tickets left, and we are selling at a pace of more than 100 tickets a day. This show will sell out. Don’t miss it because you were waiting to buy a ticket on the day of the show.

Feist: A Gem among Rocks and Stones
I think I speak for most people when I say, “It’s comforting to see that not every pretty voice that makes it to stardom, lets their rising popularity intrude on their talent and lifestyle.” In a world that demands entertainment 24/7, it’s no wonder that popular music artists end up in “rehab”, burnt-out from the tempting lifestyle popularity offers. And then there are musicians like Feist. She’s that pretty voice on the Verizon Chocolate commercial, the new iPod Nano commercial, and that person on the radio counting 1 through 10 (with the exception of 7 and 8 ) in her single “1 2 3 4″. I guess you could say she is still capable of making those popular mistakes, since she has only in the past few months begun to gain popularity. I think we can have confidence in this one though. She’s been playing music professionally for a little under a decade now, and it’s clear in her lyrics that she is interested in singing about the more positive things in life, like love and relationships; rather then sex, drugs and debauchery.

Anyway, she performed here two weeks ago for a crowd of about 800 (1600=sold out). Every person I have talked to since then about the concert has given me positive feedback on the show. I loved it, I thought her voice was great, her band was cool, and everybody there looked like they were having a great time. So the question I have been struggling with since then has been, “Where was Messiah?”

The responses I received were: “never heard of her,” “the posters don’t explain her music,” “I had other obligations,” etc. I am not satisfied with these answers and I think it goes much deeper then the response “never heard of her”. I think the attendance of the concerts by Messiah students depends extensively upon the genre of music being performed. While there is a population of students here at Messiah that will show up to most any of SAB’s concerts regardless of the genre, they are few in number. I can understand a person’s preference towards a certain genre of music, but does that mean that all other music is bad? Of course not, but it does have an effect on whether we decide to spend $5-10 to experience it in a concert. If understanding how to live in community is something you are serious about leaving here with, I would encourage you to not let your personal preference get in the way of experiencing culture for all that it is.

Last night I went over to Dickinson College with some members of my Concert Committee to see Talib Kweli. Talib is a rap artist. Except he’s more then most rap artists you will hear on the radio. A way of describing him that most people at Messiah could understand is, he raps about things similar to what U2 sings about. I started listening to rap music more intentionally this past summer because I realized how un-diverse my music library was. Among the artists I listened to were the Roots, Common, Lupe Fiasco, and Talib Kweli. It’s hard for me and I am sure many for many others to understand where these artists are coming from when they use words that most people would find unacceptable and vulgar. I found myself asking, “Is this good music?” I don’t think it’s bad music, but I find it very hard to reconcile such vulgar lyrics that are degrading to peoples’ races and sex. These elements are present in a lot of today’s rap music, which is not to say that it’s not present in a lot of rock music today, but to say, “what then are we left to sample of rap music that is popular, attainable, and not offensive?” Thus the predicament that Messiah’s Student Activities Board is left with.

mewithoutYou is playing in Brubaker Auditorium this Friday, October 5th. Do yourself a favor and buy a ticket. SAB doesn’t book their concerts blindly, we book bands that we believe are significant, relevant, and appreciated by a population of students on campus. Our hope is that the rest of Messiah attends our events and recognizes this too.

Sincerely,
John Eskate your SAB Concert Executive

I will not officially announce anything just yet for this Fall 2007, BUT! I will offer some musical direction towards our fall’s SAB concert series. Here goes it (crack the knuckles):

1. Mewithoutyou- Brother, Sister; I have to admit, I have not listened to this album enough to say something clever or breath-taking, so feel free to comment on this post with one of your own.
2. Feist- The Reminder; just released this past spring, a wonderful follow-up to her previous album “Let it Die”. !WARNING! Do not operate heavy machinery while listening.
3. Andrew Bird- Armchair Apocrypha; also a nice follow-up to his previous album “…& The Mysterious Production of Eggs”, some favorites of mine on this album are “Scythian Empire”, “Imitosis”, and “Simple X”
4. Guster- Ganging up on the Sun; Their fifth album together, and personally one of their best, if not their best (but thats just my opinion). Currently touring with Ben Kweller this summer, but is also said to tour this fall too.

Other mucho gusto albums you should give a listen:
Ryan Adams- Easy Tiger
Paul McCartney- Memory Almost Full
The White Stripes- Icky Thump
Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
WILCO- Sky Blue Sky