In the past couple of years, streaming services have overpowered physical CD sales. Many artists are opting to release their music online using music services rather than producing CDs.
From John Legend to Todd Rundgren, Buffalo never fails to surprise with its array of incoming talent. As the much-dreaded finals week approaches, get out of whatever study spot you are currently crying in and give yourself a much-needed reprieve. Get out to one of the many shows in the Queen City this week and let yourself relax and forget about the huge pileup of work you inevitably have been putting off.
Bieber released his fourth studio album Purpose on Nov. 13 as his first project of new music after a two-year break of “bad behavior” and the follow-up to his previous album Believe.
Since her critically acclaimed, breakout album Visions in 2012, Grimes (Claire Boucher) has been relatively low-key. According to the artist’s social media, the self-imposed hermitage has been necessary to work on her artistry.
As per usual, Buffalo’s has a wide-ranging set of concert options this week. If you feel sad and want to get lost in your feelings for a night, Surfan Stevens makes great music to cry to. If you want get funky and dance all night, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad is playing at the Tralf this week. If you are feeling nostalgic for some middle school 2000s pop hits, the Plain White T’s are coming to town. Pick what you want and go for it.
Buffalo always has a few surprising shows from week to week. This week, legendary musician and former-Beatle Paul McCartney is coming to play a sold-out show at First Niagara Center and 2000s pop punk Mayday Parade will play at Town Ballroom. With midterms wrapping up, get out and enjoy the Queen City and all that it has to offer.
Kurt Vile is, undeniably, a rock star. It’s his understated nature that sets him apart from all the other rockers out there; Vile isn’t in it for the fame or the fortunes. His music is an extension of himself – unassuming, self-effacing and above all else, honest. On Sept. 25, he released his newest project b'lieve i'm goin down, his 6th studio album to date.
On Sept. 18, Mac Miller dropped his latest album GO:OD A.M. Miller has seen immense success for such a young artist. His career skyrocketed when he released his LP, Blue Slide Park in 2011and it hit the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top 100 list.
As summer draws its final breaths and fall is ushered in, Buffalo enters a new season for music activity. In this weekly installment of The Grapevine, Buffalo exhibits a large variety of artists and venues, ranging from outdoor Indie rock concerts at Artpark lawn to hard, head-mashing electro in the intimate Waiting Room. Come out and see your favorite artists perform or get out and discover new ones – take your pick.
Check out this week's installation of Buffalo's best concerts.
Students lined up more than three hours before Fall Fest’s scheduled start time and waited for hours in relentless, drenching rain as the line to get into Alumni Arena stretched around the University Police Station.
This week, Buffalo has an odd assortment of bands coming to the Queen City. From legendary ’90s rap groups to small, indie-rock duos from Tel Aviv, the concert choices are endless. Whether you want a gritty hip-hop concert or a huge festival-style show, you have plenty to choose from.
On its fifth studio album, Texas metal outfit The Sword eschews some of the heaviness of its earlier works, but loses none of its power. After four albums of traditional metal since the band’s 2006 debut, High Country sees The Sword successfully reinvent its sound in a broader musical context.
The Student Association spent nearly half of its 2015-16 entertainment budget on the mix of hip-hop and R&B talent for Fall Fest this year. One hundred and sixty-three thousand dollars was spent of SA’s allotted $390,000 for entertainment. The genre of Fall Fest, rap-themed for the fourth year in a row, is a widely- debated topic among the student body.
Awful Records is a collective of beat makers, rappers and singers who all write and produce their own music. From graphic design to directing, to mixing and mastering their own tracks, Awful Records maintains a do-it-yourself mentality that is seen in their approach to music and heard in the songs they make. Slug Christ is one of the more unconventional members of the collective and his music combines the playful spirituality of Lil B with the dark undertones of Tyler, the Creator and Three 6 Mafia.
Spring Fest 2015, hosted by the undergraduate Student Association, featured Young the Giant, Banks, Bear Hands, In the Valley Below and The Royal Tongues. The event was open to the public but free to UB undergraduates who pay the $94.75 semesterly mandatory student activity fee.
Passion Pit has risen from the ashes. The group’s new music has traded sadness for optimism, showing strength and hope through happier lyrical themes such as friends, family, love and good times.
Blur’s first album in 12 years, The Magic Whip, shows the band taking a more sparse and minimalist direction than its late ’90s work. Blur is known for its role in the Britpop scene in the early ’90s alongside bands like Oasis, Placebo and The Spice Girls.
Spring Fest is upon us so get your ID cards ready. Whether you started jamming to these five bands when the lineup was first released or you still have no idea who these hipster bands are, this playlist will get you up-to-date A.S.A.P. Don’t let yourself be “that guy” at the show who only knows the words to the songs on the radio – consider this your Spring Fest crash course.
Young Thug's album Barter 6 was released on April 16 after months of controversy from the album’s original title, which was Carter 6. Young Thug, instead of focusing on lyricism, makes the melodies the focal point of his music.
Solutions by The State News
