University of San Diego Radio

Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond

Eclectic songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden gave us an interview this afternoon. Shara is known for her work as My Brightest Diamond. Our conversation covered her first song at age three (written on a cash register), working with Sufjan Stevens, Blogotheque adventures, Radiohead Covers, working with the rap group Jedi Mind Tricks and more. MBD’s 2008 gem A Thousand Shark’s Teeth was remixed and released this week on Asthmatic Kitty. You can download a sampler of the four volume remixes or purchase the full download here.
Full Interview:

“Lucky” [Radiohead Cover]

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“Razorblade Salvation” Jedi Mind Tricks ft. Shara Worden 01 Razorblade Salvation

My Brightest Diamond Official Site
My Brightest Diamond MySpace

Ezra Koenig and the boys of Vampire Weekend are back with their sophomore release, Contra, and the next step is to decide whether or not this new release is a “sophomore slump” or another great record from the New York group. Vampire Weekend’s first album, Vampire Weekend, was huge. It was mind bogglingly awesome in so many ways, you didn’t know how but they created the musical equivalent to Jesus eating cheeseburgers with Dog the Bounty Hunter (close your eyes and imagine it). With many younger bands who’s first release has them hitting the ground running, it seems to be hard to keep up the pace. With this record, Vampire Weekend definitely experiments with their sound, letting Ezra wiggle around in his comfort zone while the guitars, bass and drums all flail around somehow keeping time.

Now, don’t get me wrong here, Contra is not a bad album…at least its not all bad. Standout tracks like Horchata, Cousins, Run and White Sky are tracks that would’ve been well accepted on their first album. Wonderful songwriting and musical arrangement in these keeps them in your head and on you iPod for quite a while. Any song with lyrics that include drinking horchata in december while wearing a balaclava is something to get excited about, trust me. Then, there are songs like Diplomat’s Son, Holiday and Taxi Cab. These songs…well…they’re like getting hit in the face with a flavored snow ball that disintegrates and leaves trace amounts of yummyness for you to lick away. At first you are upset with these tracks…they just don’t seem right, but then you realize there is a little bit of good in them. Mediocre to say most of these, nothing horrible but not anything that will end up on your most played list. And then there were 3. These three tracks surprised me…in a bad way. I was forced to skip them before I could even finish playing them, not something I like to do but it just wasn’t right, these songs didn’t belong here. California English, I Think UR A Contra and Giving Up The Gun. Scattered, slow and blippy they bring the album down to a level below that of their first release. The album is not as spectacularly refreshing as Vampire Weekend but thats not to say its not worth a listen. If you held a gun to my head and demanded I rate it out of 10…i’d give it a 6. Not a complete disaster, on the contrary it provided a few very impressive tracks, it just wasn’t what I had hoped it would be.

Don’t be afraid of it, I’ll let you feast on these and decide for yourself if its worth a buy.

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Late Night Trance.  Sorry for the long break, but I promise the shows this semester will make up for it.  Tons of new and old trance and progressive house for you guys to enjoy.  Right now it is looking like Late Night Trance will be live this semester on Wednesday nights 10pm-12am, so make sure to tune in!

More importantly, make sure to come out to CLUB CROSSROADS, TOMORROW Jan 28 9-11pm in the downstairs of missions crossroads.  I have a pretty sweet set up and should be an amazing event, but I need all of you to come out to make it amazing.  Free food/drinks and plenty of dancing.  Bring all your friends, and look for more Club Crossroads events this semester!

This Time Next Year

Winter Break is over and its time to get back to the grind of school. What better way to start your semester than with a show at SOMA? This Friday, January 29 at 7:00PM, This Time Next Year, Strike Anywhere, Title Fight, and Four Year Strong are playing at SOMA sidestage.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to interview Brad Wiseman of This Time Next Year and we talked about their new album and touring experiences. TTNY (as they are commonly known by their fans) is a classic pop-punk band looking to avoid the clichés of the scene in effort to make genuine music. With hints of New Found Glory and Saves the Day recognizable in their sound, it’s evident that they are looking to go back to the roots of the scene in order to make music that comes from the heart. They take an interesting approach by using duals vocals, often complementing each other to show drive and passion within the song. When listening to them, you can feel the emotion behind their music and lyrics, bringing an incredible freshness into what is becoming an all too bland genre. If you’re interested in checking them out, Brad suggested you first explore their song “Alex in Wonderland” of their new album Road Maps & Heart Attacks. Critics and record labels recognized the potential of this band and their label, Equal Vision Records, made sure that their first full-length release received the production that it deserved. For this reason, the band was able to work with producer Brian McTernan on Road Maps & Heart Attacks. McTernan is notable producer in the genre, having worked with bands such as Thrice, Senses Fail, & Circa Survive. The overall partnership between McTernan and This Time Next Year has produced a strong album reminiscent of pop-punk from the past. I would suggest that everyone who enjoys Blink-182 or New Found Glory go out and give This Time Next Year a listen.

Update: Concert Review added.

Last Friday I had the privilege to attend the aforementioned Enemy of the World tour when it made its stop down at SOMA. I had a fantastic time and all of the bands put on a great show. I was especially impressed when This Time Next Year took the stage. They sounded great live and every member of the band had an awesome stage presence and brought a lot of energy in their performance. After their set, I had the opportunity to just chat with vocalist Pete Dowdalls who was really down to earth and had the right mindset about music. The success that is coming to This Time Next Year is well deserve and it couldn’t happen to a better group of guys.

Come help start a new tradition on campus!

One week from today will be the first “Club Crossroads” event.  Make sure to come out for good music and free food/drinks.

Join the “Club Crossroads” group on Facebook or contact Ryan Brennan ([email protected]) for more information!