Pino Alto Story- Fall Semester

Never Had Nobody Like M. Ward

The February release of M. Ward’s seventh album “Hold Time” leaves very little to be desired by listeners. Ward comes forth once again with a soothing, sentimental and righteously rockin’ sound. California-born Ward has been primarily dominating the Portland music scene, making guest collaborations from production to singing to contributing instrumentals with performers such as Norah Jones, John Fahey, Bright Eyes, Jenny Lewis, The Court & Spark, Cat Power, Beth Orton, and many others.
His melodramatic melodies range from whimsical to deeply introspective. There is a kind of ethereal ache in his voice that resonates throughout “Hold Time.” Whether he is complemented by Zooey Deschanel’s (actress, musician and singer-songwriter) sweet chorus in “Rave On” and “Never Had Nobody Like You,” or the smooth and soulful Lucinda Williams in “Oh Lonesome Me,” Ward effectively calms the nerves and infuses the soul with a sense of peace and self reflection.
“To Save Me” features Jason Lytle from the indie rock group Grandaddy and produces an upbeat rhythm that tastes a little of 1950s rock flavor infused with contemporary musical accents. His sound is incomparable, beautifully unique and seriously playful. “Hold Time” is quite possibly the album I would choose for a personal soundtrack.
Overall this album is worth a free listen if not a purchase and can be appreciated by any musical enthusiast. It delivers an element of spunk and innocence that anyone can enjoy. On May 16th Ward will perform at the Fox Theater in Oakland; tickets are available at ticketmaster.com. For more information visit www.mwardmusic.com or www.myspace.com/mward

From Refugee to Rapstar

From Refugee to Rap Star: K’naan Dives into the Mainstream

“Nothing is perfect man, that's what the world is,
All I know is,
I'm enjoying today.
You know, 'cause it isn't everybody that you get to give.”

Before he felt the warmth of spotlights on his face, he felt the heat of gunfire and grenades. And before he became an internationally recognized celebrity, he narrowly escaped one of the world’s most war-torn countries. Somalia born K’naan returns once again, but this time he’s flooding the airwaves and truly “blowing up the spot.”
K’naan’s first album entitled “The Dusty Foot Philosopher,” slid under the pop culture radar. He opened shows for Damian Marley’s Welcome To Jamrock tour, and kept a small yet diehard following over the past three years. This time around K’naan is being embraced as a hip-hop celebrity and welcomed with open ears by everyone from National Public Radio to MTV. His second album “Troubadour,” released in early 2009, resonates much catchier rhythms and lyrics than his previous tracks and sounds to be catering to a much different crowd. This crowd is the North American popular culture and so far he is having ample success.
Staying true to his poetic roots, K’naan raps as if he’s teaching a course on hip-hop 101. He aims to educate and inform with his clear and clever rhymes. He infuses the mix musically with hints of reggae and authentic African drumbeats.
Recently he has performed and been interviewed on the Jimmy Kimmel show, MTV, NPR, and numerous smaller radio and television networks all over the country.
Some of his new tracks mirror his first album in essence and originality while others ooze with a feeling of exceedingly aged cheese and make the listener long for authentic songs past filled with hand drums and raw riddims. This evidence of smoothing over the raw instrumentals with synthesized sound goo and frequent choral “la la la’s” shows K’naan’s evident migration from raw rootsy goodness to lame ass radio routine.
Although he remains true to the art of rhyme, he falters in successfully trodding through the muck which some of us refer to as “mainstream music,” or “radio rap.” Fame and acclaim will continue to lift this newfound superstar up hopefully without tainting his highly original style any further.
His new album features collaborations with some Hip Hop greats such as Chubb Rock, Mos Def and Chali 2na and also singer Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, the son of reggae legend Bob Marley. Other tracks feature artists such as Adam Levine, the front man for Maroon 5 and Metallica’s lead guitarist and songwriter, Kirk Hammett.
For more information or to hear his interviews and music visit
http://www.npr.org keyword: k’naan, http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/knaan/artist.jhtml, http://www.myspace.com/knaanmusic, or
http://www.knaanmusic.com/

Spring Semester Progess

Not making as many headlines (no pun intended) as I would like. I'm suffering from sever writer's block and lack of inspiration. Heading into the coming weeks I am determined to work harder, find more interesting stories, and always always get them in early.

The End!!!

And so it ends.....until springtime and another fun filled semester of newpaper production class, and music interviews, and shows......
A short reflection to end on:
I learned about the dilapidating effects of procrastinating. I am not perfect. Finding errors in papers is waaaay more fun when you're on the reading end and not responsible for editing. Not only am I not a perfect writer, but I may not want to be a writer at all. Or maybe I do. I think the point was to figure out that I don't know what I want to do and that school is the only way to learn about who we are as learners and participators in lessons and life.
I'm totally looking forward to next semester. Hopefully our department doesn't get the ax.

Last issue done!

Well folks, semester's end nears and we are all done with newspaper production for now. Next spring looks promising after this trial run of production. I think most everyone really stepped up and got the job done. I am so looking forward to winter break and then spring semester!

Nearing Semester's End

I am working on my final article for the Voice's Fall semester. I am going to be writing about the Sm. Scale Metals division of VAPA. Because it is a program I have been involved with over the last year, it is much easier to get involved, photograph and write on topic.
I will definitely be enrolling in this class again for Spring semester because writing for the paper is so dang gratifying, challenging and exciting....all rolled into one!