Comparisons to The White Stripes may be fair, but The Black Keys are their own act. To be entirely honest, hearing “Strange Times” by The Black Keys made “Conquest” by The White Stripes sound gimmicky. The burn of Dan Auerback’s guitar made Jack White sound like a sellout who gave up on garage rock.

Without a doubt, The Black Keys commanded the Carnival stage and caused a one-night Carnegie Mellon campus frenzy. Heavy on the attack and somber on the release, Auerback played his guitar with a slow and unrelenting burn that exchanged heavy rock riffs for solemn blues melodies. All the while, Patrick Carney beat his heart out on the drums. The two-man act gave a performance that could only be described as absolutely enthralling.

Of course, the show started low on energy; Carnegie Mellon tends to bring the most lethargic crowds. But 15 minutes into their set, The Black Keys had people jumping and kicking with excitement. The energy was amorphous and ecstatic; it came out of nowhere. The Black Keys might have given Carnegie Mellon its first genuine mosh pit.

Last year, the crowd didn’t chant for The New Pornographers to give an encore, but this year the crowd didn’t give The Black Keys an option. With the words “One more song!” echoing through Wiegand Gym, leaving the stage must have seemed impossible for Auerback and Carney. Personally, I wished the night could have lasted three days longer.

-Stephen Epple

Folk artists are migrating to Portland, and hip-hop artists are finding their scene in Baltimore. Popular music is no longer about dominating the charts; it’s about commanding a region.
While the Internet has helped musicians find audiences beyond borders, artists are always looking for a place to call home. They want friends to collaborate with and live audiences to play in front of.
With that in mind, some cities are becoming musical safe havens, while other cities are becoming musical dry spots. Places like Toronto, Canada have brought together super groups like Broken Social Scene. Sometimes borrowing members from bands all across Canada, Broken Social Scene plays with as few as six members to as many as 19 members. The band even has popular artists like Leslie Feist in its mix.
As of yet, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly dry, but most good musicians don’t stay in the city long. Oftentimes it feels like artists only stop by Pittsburgh on their way to New York.
This is all so unfortunate because Pittsburgh has the potential to explode on the music scene. Few cities support their artists as much as we do, and even fewer can match our affordable housing. Our city is the perfect place for emerging artists to collaborate and call home, so make a point to support local talent. Go see a show!
-Stephen Epple

What is music criticism? What has it been? What is it now? Music criticism is tied into social class, race, and politics as much as it is tied into novelty and modernity. So, in one word, music criticism is, has been and always will be convoluted.

Case in point: I once criticized the song “Mr. November” by The National as being “bad.” I didn’t give any reason. The next thing I knew, I was being called a right-leaning moderate who was criticizing a song that was, among many, an anthem of change for the Obama/Biden elections. It was an honest mistake; in truth, I just disapproved of the excessive screaming and profanity.

At this point, no one cares about my opinions on “Mr. November.” In fact, I would guess that most would agree with me in saying that the song is not one of The National’s best — I should know; I’m one of their biggest fans. The funniest part of this entire episode: I am a moderate who often leans right on economic policy, and The National is a band that leans hard left. Classifying me based on the music I like and dislike is not entirely inappropriate.

Now, I don’t know how I feel about being so easily labeled by genre. I really hate being labeled a hipster for liking indie music, but I am pretty hip.

I would like to blame this all on an opportunistic and exploitative music industry, but that excuse has run its course with the meteoric rise in independent labels. What we accomplish now by criticizing music is anybody’s guess.

What is music criticism? What has it been? What is it now?

-Stephen Epple