As an often-opinionated electronic music listener, I have been asked by several people what my thoughts were on the album that just about everyone is talking about (more on this phenomenon later) – Daft Punk’s apparent Magnum Opus, Random Access Memories. And when I try to tell them, I find myself with more things to say about it than I can organize in my head, and it’s always different. There’s just a lot to say about it. So in a way, writing this is to find out my own opinion.

It’s a good album. There is so much brain power, production, thought and rethought behind this album, there is really no chance it could have been a bad album. So trying to answer the question of “Is it good? or is it bad?” is pointless. Beyond that, it’s a compelling landmark for both Daft Punk and popular music in general.

What is perhaps most striking about this album has nothing to do with the way it sounds. It is the product in a marketing strategy that people will be studying for years. In fact, the marketing of the album is so strong, it has become critical component of what the album means to the listener. At this point, it’s sound is inseparable from the expectations it held. It’s a strange primer, for sure. They performed a magic trick, they convinced the people that had heard One More Time and Harder Better Faster Stronger (with or without Kanye) and made them truly believe they have loved Daft Punk from the beginning. This happens often and is pretty formulaic for the business (“hey remember SINGLE? check out NEW ALBUM”) But this one is on a different level. I have never seen it work so well. Collectively, the whole world decided that Daft Punk was gonna be as big of a deal as just about anyone else. Was it always like this? Have I been so blind?

This wasn’t the only magic trick they performed though. They managed to change their sound, and for that matter, their entire artistic angle completely and they did it right under everyone’s noses. Because while it still has all of the most immediate identifiers of Daft Punk, all the vocoders and easy four-on-the-flour thumps, this is way different than anything else they have ever put out, in sound and approach.

If the start of the concert in their Alive 2007 release is any indication (a few minutes of “ROBOT…HUMAN….ROBOT…”) Daft Punk has always taken the Robot Vs. Human theme very seriously. And had based their entire platform for dance music delivery on “We are robots, here is our robot music. Dance humans”. Previously, Daft Punk was the go to music if you wanted to scare your poor older relatives into thinking these damn kids have aligned with the e-mail machines and are gonna run this poor old world right into the digital end-game. The song Human After All, from the album of the same name is tongue-in-cheek (“Whatever, robot man, you’re sure a human, uh-huh”)  Not a single person went “Why?” when they learned they would be writing the soundtrack for the Tron reboot. It was obvious. Daft Punk are robots. It’s what they do.

So it’s strange now that the defining feature of this album is them eschewing the robot aesthetic, hiring studio musicians to play for years to find the perfect sound, and resubmitting disco into the pop music ecosystem by force. Bit crushed guitars no longer seek to knock crowds over with their power, they have been replaced by the bounce and pop of clean funk. They claimed in interviews that the human element is an essential ingredient in music. Which is a perfectly fine statement to make, but just about the last thing I would expect to hear from Daft Punk. What’s even more twisted about this album is that it’s named after a computer component, also fine for Daft Punk, but shouldn’t this one be ‘Human After All’? Daft Punk is clearly just fucking with us.

One of these things is not like the others.

It seems that Daft Punk has switched their platform to perhaps an even grander mission. They have gone from “Hey, check it out, we’re robots” to “We are saviors of pop music.” They have repurposed their anonymous robot personas to being vehicles from which to make a stab at perfection (Which, I guess if you think about it, is kind of a robotic idea). It is just strange to me that to do this, they seem to have chosen disco and the early electronic experimentations of the 70’s as their jumping-off point. Do they think that’s the closest we have gotten to ultimate sonic pleasure?

Now, if you tried to scare grandma with RAM-era Daft Punk you might get a hint of recognition. Crazy, right?

Not to mention, I think it was the anonymity that brought the hype to fever-pitch levels. That trick has worked before. (Dammit, Burial, you’ll always be my favorite)

There are times in this album where cheesiness seems to be the point. Like the borderline show-tune-closer Touch. This is clearly a manufactured effect. Like them saying “We know you’ll listen to this, so we can do what we want.” At first glance, it may look like irony (especially in an age where irony sells so well), but I think it’s a bit more genuine than reference. By making music they know people are predisposed to want to dance to (“cause thats what you DO to DAFT PUNK, we’re you born under a rock?!”) they have transcended the boundaries of a need to be edgy or cool and can fill the same holes as a band like Abba. Yep, I said it. Daft Punk has made themselves the Abba of our age. Deal with it.

My thoughts on the album are still a work in progress. Probably because of the all the weight that has been installed in it, and the deeply confusing direction it has taken, the end opinion I have of the album will be different from what I have just written in a few months. I will just have to see how this one settles on me.

I guess we should consider the alternative. Say they didn’t change at all. What would we have? A clone of Human After All? A half-baked ‘revisiting’ of Discovery? I would say “Bigger bands have done it”, but now I’m not so sure there are bigger bands. I would definitely rather they come out of nowhere with a left turn than retread old stomping grounds. Besides, they already have plenty of imitators to beat their dead horses for them.

Regardless, everyone else seems at least satisfied, so maybe I should just go with “It’s good.” and nod my head to the beat.

from marc schroeder

 Mudhoney takes the top spot 

1 MUDHONEY Vanishing Point

By: Brennan Keller

Perhaps one of the most shocking statistics from last year’s 1-11 season was the fact that the wide receivers accounted for zero combined receiving touchdowns.  Yup, you heard it right.  Zero touchdowns.  With the lack of talent at the receiver position last season, head coach Charlie Weis knew that he needed to hit the recruiting trail hard in pursuit of some players that could bring excitement and talent to the offensive side of the ball.

One of those players is wide receiver Justin McCay.  McCay, who had to sit out last  season due to NCAA transfer rules, brings that competitive edge the Kansas receivers lacked last season.  McCay finished off the 2013 annual spring scrimmage with 8 receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown.  McCay did much more than catch some passes though.  When he was not running routes, he was out blocking the cornerbacks and cheering on his team.  McCay also had the highlight of the afternoon when he caught a 47 yard pass from quarterback Jake Heaps.  McCay streaked down the sideline and snagged the long pass with one hand in a play that got all the fans in attendance pumped up.  This is the kind of playmaker the Jayhawks have greatly missed since Dezmon Briscoe donned a Kansas uniform along with Todd Reesing back in 2008.

Junior quarterback Jake Heaps left the scrimmaged impressed with what he saw from McCay.  Heaps asserted, “as a quarterback, when you have a guy who can make plays like that, it makes you have more confidence in him. We had to keep running plays, but when I got to the sideline, I said, ‘Hey, making plays like that, that’s gonna make me come your way even more.’”  There is no question that McCay and the rest of the receivers look much improved from last season.  They run crisper routes, seem a half step quicker, and they also appear motivated to prove that their lack of success last season will not carry over to 2013.  Along with a much-improved group of wide receivers, running backs Tony Pierson and James Sims (last season’s leading rusher in conference play) also return for the Jayhawks.  With all this in place, the Kansas football team appears eager to prove their doubters wrong and earn an invitation to a bowl game for the first time since a 42-21 victory against Minnesota in the 2008 Insight Bowl.

The “longest-running” sports talk show officially comes to a close with this final episode.

Kansas athletics

NBA playoffs

Firestarters

Phog Nation memories

Daughter’s first full-length album perfectly encapsulates the burgeoning band’s sound and emotion.  Capitalizing on their earlier success the album largely sticks to the same formula as their EPs, simple but symphonic songs that highlight Elena Tonra’s haunting and expressive voice.  Songs like Smother and Lifeforms start very basic, with just an acoustic guitar and vocals, before swelling into a crescendo of drums, swirling background vocals, grungy electric guitars, and eerie synth.  In contrast Human provides an upbeat tempo and a break from the slower, heavier sound throughout the album.  Its lyrics are just as meaningful and melancholic as the rest though.  And while their sound is easily compared to The xx, Daughter tends toward the acoustic with some electronic accents.  Their sound though is uniquely their own, and Daughter’s first album wonderfully showcases the group’s talent.

Think: A mix of Bon Iver and The xx

REC: 1, 4, 7, 9

FCC: None

Label: Glassnote Records

Released: April 30, 2013

Sean Turner reviewed this album on May 5, 2013

The Community Mercantile in the classroom
By Evan Gottstine

Driving around Lawrence, you see many gardens in backyards, out in the country and also on the grounds of elementary and middle schools. The Community Mercantile developed a program that puts gardens on the property of local schools to teach students about locally grown food and healthy eating.

The Art of Butchering at 715
By Wil Kenney

715′s rustic, Italian menu is full of meat dishes, but at this restaurant the process to get meat to the kitchen is considered an artform. The owner and head butcher at 715 explains why this is such an important part of preparing a meal.

From Easy Mac to Four Courses
By Cuee Wright

When reporter Cuee Wright moved out of the dorms and into an apartment, the kitchen seemed like a foreign world. She shares her journey from heating things up in the microwave to researching and exploring what cooking for herself could be like.

Food Utopia
By Scott Ross

What is a food utopia? A recent conference at KU between the science fiction department, sociologists and enthusiasts about the future of food discussed what the ideal food production system would be.

Radio 200 Charts

Radio 200 Adds

Jazz Charts

Deerhunter – “Monomania”

Check out more in-studios from Live @ KJHK by subscribing to our YouTube Channel: KJHKLive

from michael engelken

originally aired tuesday april 3rd , 2013

from marc schroeder

originally aired thursday april 25th , 2013

Set List
1. Oh Love
2. Scarlet
3. Dear Life

Check out more in-studios from Live @ KJHK by subscribing to our YouTube Channel: KJHKLive

from michael engelken

originally aired tuesday march 26th , 2013