Issue 43 November 2016 Website www.thecutmagazine.com Facebook www.facebook.com/TheCutMagazine Address The Cut Magazine 5000 Forbes Avenue UC Box 122 Pittsburgh, PA 15238 Cover Photo Lucius at Mr. Smalls Photo by Mark Egge Issue 43 November 2016 Editor-in-Chief Imogen Todd Assistant Editor David Dwyer Creative Director Sharon Yu Photo Editor Lucy Denegre Copy Editor Izzy McCarthy Public Relations Evi Bernitsas Chief Web Editor Daniel DeLuca Writing Staff Izzy McCarthy, Mark Egge, Justin Kelly, Brooke Ley, Bradley Puskar, Joe Swee- ney, Paige O'Riordan, Cassandra Howard, David Dwyer, Kate Apostolou, Isabelle Sio Photo Staff David Perry, Lucy Denegre, Mark Egge Editing Staff Justin Kelly, Josh Brown, Julie Heming, Isabelle Sio, Design Staff Anna Gross, Serina Liu, Yoonyoung Kim, Anqi Wan Letter From The Editor 3 Masthead Letter From The Editor Oh, November. A month tackles the idea of cheap mixtape, and album of changes: the weather, girl-power anthems in pop reviews. Highlights include as fall finally gives way to music, and Mark Egge David Dwyer’s rave review winter, and gloves, hats, and gives us an insider’s view of Solange’s newest effort scarves start making regular of James Street Gastropub’s and Kate Apostolou’s appearances on campus; tumultuous history and takedown of the new the country, as we prepare future. Phantogram album. to say good-bye to one leader and to inaugurate Flip ahead a few pages and Last, but not least, be sure a new one. Whatever immerse yourself in Justin to give our interview with your seasonal or political Kelly’s scathing critique Lucius a read. Mark Egge preferences, I hope we can of Ringo Starr (whether and co-frontwoman Holly agree that what this month or not you’re a fan of The Laessig sat down for a chat needs, now more than ever, Beatles, this piece is worth about live performances, is a good dose of distraction. a read) or explore Brooke temperament, stage And that’s exactly what we Ley’s ideas about religion personas, and more. Letter have for you in this issue of in music. The Cut. Now I’ll let you get to the More in the mood to read actual issue. I hope that Dive into this month’s issue about our takes on new you find something here From with two new pieces by our music? Check out our to help you weather the columnists: Izzy McCarthy staff’s monthly suggestions, storms of November. The Imogen Todd Editor Letter From The Editor 4 Animal Collective at Mr. Smalls Photo by David Perry What We’re 7 Listening To Essays My Precious Son: 10 The Omnichord Concert 13 Reviews Main Interview 17 Crying with Crying 350-Word 22 Articles Table of Contents 6 Shut Up Kiss Me Fancy Shoes Angel Olsen The Walters Sherlock Holmes Wngs Sparks NxWorries Geeks For The Rest Hailey Knox Of Your Life Hope Sandoval and the Heads Up Warm Inventions Warpaint Incurable Devil Like Me Piano Magic Rainbow Kitten Surprise Just Like You Bosley Warpaint Ivory Hours The Visualz Siah and Yeshua Quick Musical DapoED Doodles Two Feet What We’re Listening To What We’re Listening To Izzy McCarthy Pop Culture's Garbage Girl Power Perhaps you’ve heard the girl power is sold as an not “sit still.” In this way, only do so by tearing each beauty that is “Independent afterthought.The girl the song certainly has its other down. Women Pt. 1,” a Destiny’s power anthem often positive moments and we Child and girl power classic. becomes a throwaway should be happy to have In contrast to this type of In it, Beyoncè, Kelly, and song, marketed to women young fans relating to cheap girl power anthem, Michelle sing proudly about as pitiful compensation Daya’s lyrics that champion Beyoncè’s musical feminism their financial independence. for all that objectification. independence. remains ahead of the The hit was first featured As a result, the girl power game. “Independent Women on the 2000 soundtrack anthem has almost always But the young singer Pt. 1” preached financial from the Charlie’s Angels been the “chick flick” of falls into a trap. The independence before many film and has been inspiring the music industry; it’s foundational meaning other artists even preached hoards of independent corny, it’s low quality, of Daya’s song is that in cheap girl power. Most women ever since. Likewise, and it fits all too well into her quest for independence, recently, Beyoncè’s “For- Beyoncè’s solo work the stereotype of what our she is different from “other mation” offered an account arguably produces more society wants women to be. girls.” “Other girlies wanna of the feminine experience girl power hit singles wear expensive things,” she the media rarely portrays, than any other artist. But Perhaps the best recent sings, implying that it’s also that of the black feminine between Beyoncè’s feminist example is Daya’s “Sit Still, “other girls” who “wake experience. masterpieces, the girl power Look Pretty.” Sure, lyrics up/In make up,/And play anthem has fallen short. like “I don’t want to be the dumb.” Ultimately, this is So when you hear the puppet that you’re playing where Daya’s girl power words “girl power anthem,” As a genre, girl power hits on a string/ This queen anthem becomes cheap. remember to differentiate have been a pop staple for don’t need a king” are It’s no longer presenting between fake and feminist. decades. They go as far perfectly admirable goals. a nuanced and valuable It’s important that we sift back as Aretha Franklin’s Similar to “Independent account of the feminine through cheap feminism to “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” for example, Women Pt. 1,” Daya’s song experience because it find girl power gold like from 1967. Girl power has preaches autonomy and is simply adhering to Beyoncè’s, which reminds always been a selling point. pride in individual work; society’s expectations of us the kind of feminine But while the saying “sex the singer is evidently girls in the first place; if empowerment that is sells” has pervaded every determined to pursue the girls want to rebel against genuinely valuable. corner of the business, career she wants and will gender norms, they can What We’re Thinking About 8 Pittsburgh Venues: Mark Egge James Street Gastropub This is the second jazz today at James Street raise the money needed ID. In additional to jazz of three columns Gastropub in Deutschtown. for soundproofing and air music, the venue hosts profiling Pittsburgh A cultural meeting place conditioning. Through its many local and regional music venues, with since its construction in crowdfunding campaign bands of all genres, as hopes of better 1890, James Street’s premises and events, the venue well as many alternative have been the haunts of completed its ballroom lifestyle events, including connecting CMU successive generations of renovations and has a drag brunch the first students to our union bosses, sports celebrities, returned to hosting live and third Sunday of every awesome local and now Pittsburgh jazz music—sans complaints month. music scene. aficionados. —since. The generous financial support from For upcoming events, find Before the days of Along with hosting hundreds community members and the venue on Facebook or tour buses and Interstate of concerts and events a musicians reflects the at www.jamesstreetgastro highways, jazz musicians year, James Street also plays venue’s cherished place in pub.com. Unless otherwise would tour by boat, center-stage to the annual Pittsburgh’s music scene. stated, shows are open to following the rivers Deutschtown Music Festival Every Thursday, famed all ages. A $5 cover charge north from New Orleans. in July. This year’s free, all- jazz percussionist Roger applies to most events. Located at the source of ages music festival featured Humphries hosts a jazz jam the Ohio River, Pittsburgh over 200 bands and attracted session. For a more casual was the ending point for over 18,000 participants. introduction to jazz, James many tours. The musicians Despite its successes, the Street hosts a collegiate who lingered in Pittsburgh venue’s future was uncertain night the first Tuesday of at the end of their tours last spring. A spate of noise every month, showcasing (some eventually staying for complaints from its upstairs local university-affiliated life) gave rise to Pittsburgh’s ballroom threatened the musicians (including long and storied jazz history. owners with the loss of their CMU’s own Grammy liquor license and possible winner Eric DeFade in Modern Pittsburghers can jail time. The venue reached October). Collegiate night experience the city’s great out to the community to is free with a valid university 9 What We’re Thinking About Pittsburgh Venues: James Street Gastropub My Precious Son: The Omnichord Illustration by Cindy Hsu Cindy by Illustration and Ley Brooke Article by Essays 10 The very first article I wrote for The Cut was titled “Kids’ music. The song “Clint Eastwood” by The Gorillaz takes Music is Surprisingly Good.” In it, I talked about the its drum part and bass line from the Omnichord’s “rock interesting use of instrumentation in the popular cartoon 1” option. Adventure Time. While researching its soundtrack, I learned that the show uses a type of synthesizer from the 80s Lastly, I was surprised with how versatile the instrument called an Omnichord. The instrument has buttons to select is. It can play many chords, 84 to be exact, but I didn’t different chords and a sort of “strum bar” that one uses realize how this allows for most chord progressions.