N!)e*$M+,i-$M!.a/0n# S12f% T!"l#$o%$C&'t#'t( Dylan Polcyn - Editor-In-Chief Braeden Rodriguez - Head of Editing F34T56E7 Alex Townsend - Page Editor 14 Rachel Dranoff - Head of Writing Naked Playlist Danielle Nobbe - Head of Design Timeline Stefanie Roudebush - Designer 11 Gwendolyn Balogh - Writer Food Column 11 Mimi Strauss - Writer Van Forsman - Writer Jay Grenda - Wrier Erin Bensinger - Writer Rachel Lifton - Writer Mireya Gúzman-Ortiz - Designer E>?T@6IABS Erica Vanneste - Writer Viola Brown - Designer (Don’t) pirate these 2 *ULIÀQ6PDOOH\'HVLJQHU 13 Naked Person albums Joel Bryson - Writer of the Issue Jon Jerow - Writer Cleome Bernick-Roehr - Writer New leaders page 3 Naked Music Magazine Kalamazoo College 1200 Academy Street Kalamazoo, MI 49006 D&D Printing E:;N<= 2531 Azo Drive Kalamazoo, MI 49048 Double Phelix 7-8 Like what we do? Have Homecoming concert 11 comments? Suggestions? An article you want to write? Contact 9 That Freak Quincy us! Find us on Facebook, Tumblr Alex’s Big Show 5 and Twitter. Naked Music & Culture Magazine mkdmagazine.tumblr.com @NakedMCMagazine Cover Art by Paris Weisman R38I39S 4 21st Cent. Arctic Monkeys 4 6 Earl Sweatshirt Pretty Lights 10 2 Cage the Elephant Danny Brown 12 Page 1 Pirate these Cage the Elephant: (Don't)Albums Melophobia age the Elephant- Melophobia dry up and wither away”. Compared to C In the age of electronic music, the “Black Widow” the brass section’s tone VHDUFKIRUTXDOLW\URFNFDQEHUDWKHUGLIÀ- is slow and sloppy, as if they’re mocking $UWLVW:LOG&XE cult. Despite this lack of mainstream rock, the placidness of The Beatles in their later $OEXP<RXWK there are still bands that are able to break work. *HQUH,QGLH3RS through and Cage the Elephant is one of “Teeth” is my personal favorite off the them. Formed in 2006, the Kentucky rock album for so many reasons. It’s every- $UWLVW6FDUVRQ band gained momentum when the video thing great about Cage thrown onto the $OEXP+HDUWRQ)LUH game developer, 2K Games, used their hit table and beaten into a raw piece of rock *HQUH,QGLH5RFN single “Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked” to ‘n roll. Tremolo bass opens with screech- promote their newest game, Borderlands. ing guitars and high speed drum beats. $UWLVW'DQD%XR\ They released their self titled debut album $OEXP6XPPHU%RGLHV in 2008, and their sophomore album, *HQUH,QGLH5RFN Thank You, Happy Birthday in 2011. mel-o-pho-bi-a After two years of endless touring, noun $UWLVW&UDVK.LQJV Cage the Elephant returned to the studio $OEXP&UDVK.LQJV to record Melophobia, which was released 1. fear of music *HQUH5RFN on Oct. 8, 2013. Melophobia, meaning fear of music, mixes the best of Cage’s During the climax the horns are in pande- $UWLVW0DUJRW WKH1XFOHDU6RDQG6R·V ÀUVWWZRDOEXPVDQGH[SORUHVQHZDUHDV monium and fuzzy guitar solos make the $OEXP1RW$QLPDO and genres. Many songs implement song whole. Suddenly, everything breaks *HQUH,QGLH5RFN sounds from early 60’s rock and beautiful down and a contorted marching band harmonies, while other songs blend brass takes over. Schultz continues his vocals, $UWLVW/RWWLHDQGWKH0DQDWHH instruments and keyboards with Cage’s but instead of singing, he recites an elo- $OEXP,QWKH0RUQLQJ signature rock sound. quent piece of poetry. *HQUH0HOORZ3RS “Come a Little Closer” is the lead Cage the Elephant has taken their best single from the album and it contains work and expanded upon it to create the $UWLVW%ODFNELUG%ODFNELUG smooth, subtle verses that grab one’s latest and greatest rock album, Melopho- $OEXP%RUDFD\3ODQHW attention, which lead into cascading, yet bia. This album is dynamic and gives *HQUH'UHDP\)RONWURQLFD powerful choruses. “It’s Just Forever” fea- everyone something to listen to. A melting turing Alison Mosshart is one of Melopho- pot of old and new makes Melophobia $UWLVW5HG6WRUH%XPV bia’s best. Mosshart sang with Jack White their best so far and I strongly recommend $OEXP5HG6WRUH%XPV in his side project, The Dead Weather it to anyone whoJay enjoysGrenda rock. *HQUH6ND and her raw, bluesy voice complements $UWLVW5DVNDKXHOH Schultz’s chilling fal- $OEXP1HZ%HJLQQLQJ setto in the sweetest *HQUH0H[LFDQ6ND way possible. I say this because the song $UWLVW.DW]HQMDPPHU is about twisted love $OEXP$.LVV%HIRUH<RX*R spiraling into addic- *HQUH%DONDQ3RS5RFN tion and insanity. “Black Widow” $UWLVW$HVWKHV\V introduces the use of $OEXP/DFXV+LHPDOLV brass instruments, *HQUH5XVVLDQ3RVW5RFN which provide extra force when needed. $UWLVW7HQQLV When combined $OEXP<RXQJ 2OG with the melody, the *HQUH,QGLH3RS horns easily make “Black Widow” one of the powerhouses of Melophobia. “Hypocrite” follows as a sobering piece, which references The Beatles with lyrics such as “I watched WKHVWUDZEHUU\ÀHOGV Page 2 W3$HA8ECDEE$L34D36SF Braeden Rodriguez - Head of Editing Danielle Nobbe - Head of Design Dylan Polcyn - Editor-In-Chief Rachel Dranoff - Head of Writing Alex Townsend - Page Editor Page 3 AM by the Seductive FOXYGEN: Arctic Monkeys The Sound of the 60s fter just two years, Arctic Monkeys t seems that I and the members of Foxy- Ahave invited us once again into their IJHQ ERWK KDYH RQH WKLQJ LQ FRPPRQ D mysterious world—a realm of scummy strong desire to have grown up in the 60’s. bars, enigmatic women, and sexy bass riffs. In validation of this fact, I have recently $0LVWKHÀIWKVWXGLRDOEXPE\WKHVH6KHI- joined the herds of many young music ÀHOG (QJODQGQDWLYH LQGLH URFNHUV ZKR fanatics, and bought a record player, on KDYHZRQÀYH%ULW$ZDUGVDQGWZR*UDP- which I obsessively listen to Foxygen’s sec- my nominations. At some point since the ond Album, We are the 21st Century Am- release of their previous album, Suck It and bassadors of Peace & Magic. It only seems See (2011), lead singer and guitarist Alex ÀWWLQJ Turner overhauled his outward appearance Los Angeles based duo Jonathan Rado, DOPRVW FRPSOHWHO\ UHFHQW SLFWXUHV RI KLP lead guitar, and Sam France, vocals, created genre. feature a slick pompadour, leather jacket, Foxygen in high school back in 2005. Famed In this second album, Foxygen’s ironic sunglasses, and a cigarette. This image producer of the Shins, Richard Swift, got and biting lyrics add humor to their mu- embodies the sound of AM. The single R hold of their self released EP Take the Kids sic. They are cynical, and it’s the perfect U Mine? was released about a year ago for 2II%URDGZD\LQ8QGHUWKHLQÁXHQFLDO anecdote to the familiar sounds of the 60’s 5HFRUG6WRUH'D\LQWKH8.DQGKDVÀQDOO\ wing of Swift, Foxygen was signed with in- we all know so well. This contradiction is found a home on an album. This track fea- die label Jagjaguwar, which then released most blatantly noticeable in the lyrics of tures the lyrical mastery that Alex Turner WKHLU ÀUVW VWXGLR DO- bum Take the “San Francisco”. The chorus of the song is is known for, containing gems like “She’s a Kids Off Broadway. a dialogue between two people, “I left my silver lining, lone ranger riding / Through The album was met “Foxygen is takinglove inin San Francisco” and then an open space / In my mind when she’s ZLWK LQVLJQLÀFDQW die Psychedelic rock the response,“that’s not right there beside me”. Perhaps the praise. We are the into a new territory” okay, I was star track on the album is Arabella, a ‘70s- 21st Century Am- - bored anyway.” inspired ode to a woman with 21st century bassadors of Peace Perfectly en- taste. Alex Turner croons “Wraps her lips & Magic was then released in compasses Foxy- ‘round a Mexican Coke / Makes you wish October of 2012. Produced by Swift, it was gen’s struggle that you were the bottle / takes a sip of your been widely hyped, and acclaimed. How- between the 60’s culture and soul, and it sounds like...” and then breaks ever, Foxygen’s SXSW debut ended abrupt- the 21st Century. San Francisco is used as a into a classic Arctic Monkeys-style guitar ly with an on stage meltdown by France. metaphor for the Summer of Love in 1967, riff. Despite that “classic” Arctic Monkeys Other similar instances have recently given counter culture and drugs. Foxygen is tak- VRXQG WKH DOEXP·V YDULRXV LQÁXHQFHV DUH Foxygen a reputation for shows that unrav- ing indie psychedelic rock into new terri- DOVR REYLRXVO\ SUHVHQW WKH KHDY\ JXLWDU el and end in disaster. tory, but luckily, they don’t take themselves riffs echo 70s rock and roll, and the unique The sound of Foxygen is reminiscent of too seriously. bass beats sound like those common in hip 1960’s psychedelic and avant garde groups The more time I spend with this album, hop and R&B, a departure for the band. It such as the Velvet Underground and The WKHPRUHEHDXW\,ÀQG,W·VPHODQFKRO\KX- certainly works out in their favor. It’s true Doors. Their music is whimsical and care- morous and nostalgic. It reminds me of a that the funky beats and fuzzed-out vocals free, but it doesn’t lack meat. The gothic, time that I never lived in, but wish I could on AM make the Arctic Monkeys sound all DOPRVW JRVSHO ´2Q %OXH 0RXQWDLQµ GHÀ- have experienced. Mimi Stauss the more like the Strokes (not to mention nitely jams hard with Hendrix-esque gui- Alex’s new look is very Julian Casablan- tar riffs, loose drum beats and a childrens cas), but they still hold tight to their special, chorus similar to that of Another Brick in seductive Arctic Monkeys charm. Besides, the Wall (Part 2). Foxygen’s lyrics, often de- who doesn’t want more things to sound livered with an air of annoyance and bore- like the Strokes? This album is perfect for dom, modernize this second album, setting a night out in a hip, seedy bar, driving after it apart from other bands mimicking this dark with your would-be lover, or dancing around your bedroom in your underwear.