Awesome Concerts Within Our Reach

When you’re not enjoying one of our amazingly free LIVE events, you should be hitting up the legendary venues within your reach right off of the Charles River Campus.  Here are some of the shows I’m looking forward to this semester with a few tracks by some of the artists below. There are tons of venues in the Boston area (BU Central included), so check ‘em out and explore the local scene.

Solange Knowles at Paradise Rock Club – February 19th

Passion Pit at Agganis Arena – February 9th

Alt-J at Paradise Rock Club – March 2nd & 3rd (*both shows are sold out #sadface)

The Rocket Summer at Brighton Music Hall – March 27th

Local Natives at House of Blues – March 30th

Andrew McMahon (from Jack’s Mannequin) at Paradise Rock Club – April 8th

Wavves & FIDLAR at Brighton Music Hall – April 8th

Cold War Kids at Paradise Rick Club – April 10th

Alicia Keys & Miguel at Agganis Arena – April 10th

James Blake at House of Blues – May 8th

Alex Clare at Paradise Rock Club – May 9th

Vampire Weekend at Agganis Arena – May 15th

Paramore at House of Blues – May 15th

Losing You – Solange Knowles

Matilda (Acoustic) – Alt-J

Do You – Miguel

Oxford Comma – Vampire Weekend

Don’t Worry, Be Happy: 15 Sunshine-filled, Feel-good Songs to Boost Your Pre-Finals Spirits

I know, I know; you’re stressed. You had four papers due this week and eleven midterms and sixty-two chemistry problem sets and then your car caught on fire and you broke your leg after you tripped over your shoelaces (even though you were wearing flip-flops), and life just sucks.

But given the option, which would you prefer: to wallow in pre-finals self pity, or to feel as happy, relaxed, and without-worry as a cat anesthetized with ketamine? I think the answer is pretty obvious.

With finals just around the corner, it can be extremely easy to get yourself caught up in the hype and forget that no matter what, you’re still going to be well and breathing in about two  weeks from now. Get those teeth away from the bloody little nubs that used to be your fingernails and just try to remember that everything will be alright!

In order to try to calm some of those poor suffering nerves of yours, here is a playlist of 15 songs meant to soothe the soul with sunshine. These tunes always boost my mood, and hopefully they can give you some relief, as well!

Spread happiness,

Allison

Don’t Worry, Be Happy: 15 Sunshine-filled, Feel-good Songs to Boost Your Pre-Finals Spirits (Opens in Spotify)

1. Givers // Noche Nada

2. Buck O Nine // My Town

3. The Beatles // Twist and Shout

4. The Clash // Revolution Rock

5. Corinne Bailey Rae // Put Your Records On

6. Givers // Up Up Up

7. Jackson 5 // I Want You Back

8. Noah And The Whale // 5 Years Time

9. Mungo Jerry // In The Summertime

10. Matt and Kim // Daylight

11. The Avett Brothers // Kick Drum Heart

12. Sugar Ray // Every Morning

13. Vampire Weekend // A-Punk

14. Talking Heads // This Must Be the Place

15. Zac Brown Band // Toes

Study breaks are best spent discovering new music

We’re only a week into the spring semester and already the classwork is piling up. Am I right or am I right? Times like these require frequent study breaks, and a perfectly acceptable use of that time is to scope out the Internet in search of new music…or you could just continue to read this blog. Today I introduce to you indie pop’s next big act, Yellow Ostrich.

Composed of Wisconsin-born Alex Schaaf and recently added drummer Michael Tapper, Yellow Ostrich has exactly what it takes to break through in 2011. This is fun, energetic, youthful music that begs for a listen and can most easily be compared to Vampire Weekend. Up first, the song receiving the most attention in the blogosphere, “Whale.”

Yellow Ostrich has also covered an impressive collection of indie gems by artists varying from Joanna Newsom to Yeasayer to The Tallest Man on Earth. My favorite of the bunch that have been floating around notable music blogs is “Androgynous,” a mellow version of a powerful song from 80s rock band, The Replacements.

If you like what you hear, the band offers all their music for download at
http://yellowostrich.bandcamp.com/
. There you can Name Your Price for the music, including free!

A few days ago they announced they would be touring as an opening act to Say Hi, so there’s always the option of seeing them play locally on March 6^th at Middle East (Downstairs) in Cambridge. I certainly intend to. Tickets run for $12 here.

Good luck with everyone’s second week of classes!

- Josh Crampsey, one of several new additions to the BU Central team this semester. Feel free to read more about me by clicking here