Friday, January 25, 2008 Top 5 Favorite Live Performances 5. Nirvana- ."Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (Unplugged, in New York) - Nirvana and grunge's deity Kurt Cobain lose the electric sound and trade in for acoustic instruments for the Nov. 1994 live album. In the song, Cobain does his rendition of Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie's "In the Pines." 4. Wilco- "Impossible Germany" (Austin City Limits) - Many people enjoy listening to lead singer Jeff Tweedy's sandpaper voice and poetic song writing. The highlight of this 2007 performance was recently-added Nels Cline's guitar solo. 3. The Beatles- "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (The Ed Sullivan Show) - Making their way across the pond from Liverpool, England, The Beatles begin the o l American version of Beatlemania with their live televised performance, While sound technologi wasn't as advanced as it is today, the Fab-Four had to compete with hundred of teenage girls f , volume. 2. Bob Dylan- "Forever Young" (The Last Waltz 1978) - Dylan reunites with The Band for their fmale performance, the star-studded "Last Waltz." Dylan had performed with The Band in 1968 during the Basement Tapes, which would yield The Band's most popular album "Music From Big Pink." 1. Neil Young- "Heart of Gold" (Live at Massey Hall) • -One of the most celebrated Canuck musicians of all time, Young took the stage in Toronto in 1971 to deliver one of his most memorable live performances of all time. The concert, which was release last year on CD and DVD, saw Young doing what he did best, strumming his acoustic guitar and screeching in his harmonica. All. PHOTOS COMMUTED rtist releases solo work: Christopher Walla, guitarist of the group Death Cab for Cutie, finally releases an ing primarily of his solo work that has been in the works for over ten years.. To the left: Photo of Chris Walla- avid musician, song writer, producer, and band mate of Death Cah for Cutie. By Ryan P. Gallagher music editor rpgslo4(‘ , p‘u edu Walla's debut album: Field Manual The man is most notable for innovative song writing. excellent producing. and being a crucial guitarist for the hand Death Cab for Cutie. but on Jan. 29. all of this will be for gotten for a while as Chris Walla releases his first solo album titled, "Field Manual" through Barsuk Records. Known by many for his exquisite contri butions in the indie-rock hand Death Cab for Cutie. Walla has actually been in works on this solo project for over 10 years ago. Frequently appearing under the stage name, Martin Youth Auxiliary. he has made his music available via the Internet in the past years. however. the work has never been By Chris LaFurls editor-in-chief cslsoos@psu.edu album consist- commercially acclaimed simply because an insufficient amount of independent music listeners are even aware of the project. If you have familiarities with the early works of DCFC, you will easily recognize these online recordings of Walla as pieces that are very similar to the songs released on "You can play these songs with chords" by DCFC. The style of the writing, the warm vocal melodies complementing the harsh music recordings in a grunge-good way, all adds to the unique tunes that prove pop artists don't have a chance at writing the best modern music anymore. Walla has been writing with front man for DCFC, Ben Gibbard, for years upon years, and a good amount of DCFC's tracks were co-written between Walla and Gibbard, if not by Walla himself, so it is not surprising as to why Walla's work resembles DCFC. However, his latest solo work (which is still the first of his work to be released) slightly strays from his original work accord ing to some fans that have heard the album prior to the release date, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29. I personally was only granted access to the 3rd track on the album titled "Sing Again", which apparently was a B-side on DCFC's latest album "Plans", along with a few others. But from some of the feedback I have heard towards the rest of the tracks, it simply just does not exist at the same level as the music of DCFC. If you listen to the album completely oblivious to the fact that this man writes a lot of the band's music, you may be able to have more of an appreciation for what you hear, hut it's always going to he t\lrrrr 1' _j__ JUJJ nearly impossible to take notice to the most obvious controversy in the music. The vocals The music is on the same level, and so are the words. But the singing just isn't there for only one reason, and it's not Walla's fault. It's Gibbard's. Gibbard has the purest voice that is easy on virtually every listener's ears. Walla's voice is acceptable, but it's difficult not to directly compare it to Gibbard's because the music is just way too similar. I am still going to condone the listening of his early works that can be found on the website www.hallofjusticerecording.com especially if you're an avid fan of DCFC ori gins. If you are, head to this website imme diately if you haven't already. The album is scheduled to arrive in stores on Tuesday, and could possibly be a gamble of a purchase, however if you've always been a fan of this type of music, I wouldn't label it as a terrible thing to do. Local Artist Review Eli Stradler brings a modern folk sound to Behrend students, leaving them very appreciative of the unique sound Folk music has become some what of a lost art. As people sub scribe their musical tastes to the top 10 hits on the radio, they lose touch with the music that really matters: music with artistic integrity. Eli Stradler. a folk musician that performed at Brunos Café on Jan. 19. makes music that doesn't neglect the styles of the past, but embraces them. Eli Stradler is the stage name of Dan LaFuria, a native of the Erie area who currently attends University Park. Usually when performing as Eli Stradler. LaFuria has an accompanying band, but on Friday he performed alone. LaFuria has been making music for the past five years. starting out by playing in local bands. Now, he is focused on his solo project under the name of Eli Stradler, while also playing in a band called "The Lost Dog Experiment." The name Eli Stradler comes from the charac ters "Eli" and "Stradlater" from the book "Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger, whose names LaFuria modified and put togeth er. Eli Stradler is best described as folk, rock and roll, soul and blues all thrown into one. LaFuria played a very somber, harmoni ca-laden set mixing originals and covers. When performing as Eli Stradler, LaFuria usually uses an acoustic guitar, but on Friday he was accompanied by an electric guitar. When asked why he was using the electric instead of an acoustic, LaFuria replied, "Just because I had it." LaFuria played a number of covers during the night, including Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land," and ending the night with "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" by The Attention Beacon Readers: This is a brand new page that is a bit of an experiment for the Behrend Beacon. L lead of .( ___ ____ _nsteau a second student life page, we have decided to devote 1 a page purely to music, as we, writers of the Behrend Beacon, obviously possess a high interest in the music community. I want to make a point, ~,.. that while everyone's music taste is different from'g ;the next person, we will try and do our best at high- 'ightiiitthe true musicians of our generation, while i •,pii tri to the legends that have made music $ Ying * butes what iris today. Any student is free to contribute to , tilils page at any point i n the semester, and has the pag e ottriailMiity to have their work published depending Son the amount of free space available on the page. ,s, iNew ideas are encouraged as well; considering that g gob is a brand new page there are so many different: 5 things to try and I simply cannot take each and s expectationsinto•./.. every individuals ipleaseepmail me any ideas you may come across. I sChtnk you for the time you put into reading the arti _ * cues and I hope . you enjoy this semester's music ii SPIV. 7 . . s x N`A`AUVAXXxxxxxxxxxx`e.` , :xwe. , Voxe....,xxxxxxwone.e4xxxx'...:*.xxxx'xxxxxxxxxo.xxxxxxxx x , , : l. The Behrend Beacon I 8 By Matthew Schwabenbauer assistant news edit°, mjss3B7o4'psu.edu Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Students were impressed with LaFuria's performance. "It was really cool to have Eli Stradler play in Brunos." said freshman Dan Doolittle. "It was nice to hear someone who has a style that is actually different than music you normally hear, and at the same time he very good at that style." LaFuria has an old-school heart for music. Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt. Johnny Cash and John Prine arc all influences on LaFuria's work as Eli Stradler. When asked about what new music interests him. LaFuria said he doesn't run into much because he "still spins the wax." That aside. LaFuria pointed to the Jayhawks and the Avett brothers as current interests of his. He also still has a strong interest in Punk Rock. naming the Bouncing Souls as a group he has an affini ty for. Most of the songs LaFuria per formed were off the latest Eli Stradler album, "For What It's Worth. - Although no CDs were on sale at the performance, those interested in getting their hands on "For What It's Worth" can purchase the CD at the next Eli Stradler performance at Starhucks on Feb. 10. If you're interested in listening to Eli Stradler. you can go to www.rockerie.com/elistradler to find some songs. or on the Eli Stradler Purevolume page at www.purevolume.com/elistradler Also, you can add Eli Stradler as a friend on myspace at www.myspace.com/elistradler. Those that wish to catch the next Eli Stradler performance can do so on Sunday. Feb. 10 at Starhucks on State Street in Erie. Your Music Editor, Ryan P. Gallagher
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