street scene is san diego’s best music festival and its only 13 days away (august 28th and 29th)!

i’ve taken the liberty of making a list of ten bands that i recommend everyone check out

feel free to comment

10) Girl Talk- the king of the mash-up, he screwed me by canceling a show at USD, but I’m really into electronic/dance/dj/electronic music lately

9) The Faint- keeping with the dance theme

8 ) Cake- so many great songs (“The Distance”, “Short Shirt/ Long Jacket”), I’ve been wanting to see them for a really long time

7) Busta Rhymes- unbelievable energy, I like his new CD “Back on my B.S”, this set will get crazy

6) The Dead Weather- Jack White’s (of the White Stripes and Raconteurs) new project should add some bluesy grit to the weekend

5) Thievery Corporation- my favorite band at Coachella ’09, very impressive “trip hop” sound

4) Black Eyed Peas- I gotta get that Bow Bow Bow, Mazel tov!

3) Silversun Pickups- my favorite indie rock band of the year, new album “Swoon” sounds gorgeous

2) Ozomatli- latin hip hop rock fusion, easily one of my favorite bands

1) Chromeo- RAGE!

Del was a good performer… I only knew a few of this songs but the sound great. I only wish I knew more about him before I checked out the show. I saw him at Street Scene last year too and really liked it. Too bad there is no smoking in the venue.

Concerts at Canes are awesome. I’ll probably check out Immortal Technique next week.

Since 2005, I have been a member of the Associated Students at the University of San Diego. This makes me the most experienced and senior AS rep at USD. As I reflect on my time on AS, I realize that I’ve gained a tremendous amount of insight about leadership and organizational structures during the last four years. The time has come for USD students to vote for a new President of AS. The choice is between Chris Liepman and Alex Plumb. I’ve known both of these guys for quite a bit of time. Chris is currently my supervisor on AS, and I believe he is the best candidate for the position. I’ve never worked with Alex, so I can’t testify to his strengthens or weaknesses. Alex is a great guy and would do a great job repping USD.  However, I have worked very closely with Chris over the past year and I’d like to share with everyone why he is a great candidate candidate.

Here is my list of reasons:

1) Experience

The biggest weakness of AS at USD is high turnover. The majority of students who step into the AS Leadership role have little idea of what ideas and programs have previously existed for their positions. Students are always coming and going every year, and little progress is made.  They also don’t know what trends are going on. Some don’t care, some are poorly trained and not well advised. AS needs experienced leaders, and Chris Liepman’s service this past year as VP of Programming makes him the most experienced candidate. Chris knows exactly how to execute his goals, while Alex will have a difficult time learning how to pull off any plans he might have. Chris Liepman is the pragmatic choice because he knows the right people and processes to make progress for USD students. This takes years to develop fully, but Chris has a huge leg-up on Alex.

Finally, if Alex is interested in being AS President, why hasn’t he ever signed up for an AS position in the last three years? There are always positions vacant. Alex has never stepped up before to join AS, and running for President may prove to be too grand of a leap.

2) Demeanor

Chris Liepman is one of the most professional people that I have had the pleasure of calling friend. I can be extremely stressed and upset about a crisis, and he has a certain presence about him that is very productive. I’ve never seen him rattled or shaken by a stressful issue. However, he is also very passionate about USD. He loves USD in a completely sincere way. Torero Pride isn’t a joke for Chris, but rather a commitment he brings to life through effective leadership. Still, Chris is one the most fun people I’ve worked with in my 4 years on AS. He is friendly, never fake. Alex is a very funny guy, but Chris’ sense of humor just strikes me as more friendly and honest. Administration already respects Chris, which will be helpful in achieving his goals.

3) Ideas

Chris Liepman has progressive ideas about improving USD. During my time working with Chris, he has supported bringing Beer Gardens to campus, and allowing for more freedom of expression on campus. Chris knows the new Student Life Pavillion will dramatically change the USD experience. He also is an advocate for the alcohol serving lounge on campus. Yeah for drinking on campus! He respects diversity and wants to reach out to the United Front Multicultural Center. He knows about problems regarding strict and un-hip administrators. He has always supported me when I’ve had issues with the administration. He always puts students first, and never “sucks up” to administration. Chris works with passion and integrity, you can just tell that he cares. Chris will support any student who has a good idea, even if it isn’t popular with administration. Chris wants a more active campus, and I believe he has the skills to bring this to life.

I could continue to write about Chris Liepman’s outstanding qualifications, but I’d like to end this blog by saying that I’ll feel comfortable leaving AS after 4 years with Chris Liepman in charge. Alex Plumb is a great guy, but I believe he is biting off a little more than he can chew. AS President is a huge job and my experience with Chris has leads me to give him my full endorsement!

This year’s lineup doesn’t really impress me, but still has some value. I don’t know Yung Joc outside of his hit “It’s goin down”. Cartel will surely please  the suburbanites, but is this really the best ConcertIdeas can come up with? Still, I can see this being a popular draw crosscountry, as the girls will want to get their collective grinds on to Yung Joc. Cartel will get the jocks movin’. Fun!

Where is the art? Where is the raw expression?

All this talk regarding the end of recorded music as a valuable commodity seems to be gaining credibility. However, I am wondering if Bob Pittman understands the value that is prepackaged music. Would anyone argue that there will always be a market for great art? Some artists need to charge for their music for credibility purposes alone.

Still, I agree that many artists would be better off using promotional giveaways to build their brand. However, would not some of the “top-shelf” artists be harming their brand by giving away their music for free? I believe Bob Pittman’s comment to be shortsighted. However, it is true to say that all artists need to use whatever distributional methods they choose as a vehicle to build their sonic brand.

For me, Make Yourself is a classic piece of alternative music. Hearing this album not only inspired me to learn to play guitar, but also to explore some of the philosophical concepts rooted in the lyrics. Make Yourself sounds assessible to just about any music fan, but provides a great depth of meaning and instrumentation coupled with a glossy, sci-fi production sound. Incubus continues to put out great music, but Make Yourself will forever be their masterpiece. This is one of my favorite albums.

The format of the festival was different this year. Last year, Rimac Arena (a large outdoor field on campus) had side to side stages to allow for concert goers to stay in one place and see both stages. What a great way to play on our low attention spans, I love it! This format, which I prefer, was flushed for the 2008 edition of Sun God. This year the festival played more like a traditional music festival, with one main-stage and a smaller side stage off in the distance. There was also an additional stage for comedians, which really was a great touch.

Matt Costa provided a sun-soaked, chill out session complete with slide guitar and a non-existent rhythm section. Matt Costa’s music is perfect for standing and socializing, which much of the crowd was doing.

After Costa’s set, I checked out the side stage. Unfortunately, there were only about 10 other people rocking to to Modlins with me. The Modlins are a local, throwback rock group with Beatles haircuts and (if memory serves right) the classic Hofner bass. They were very appropriate for the sidestage, but lacked a catchyness to their melodies. I’m not saying all songs need a giddy chorus, but I felt that the Modlins sound was a hit and miss without it.

The Living Legends are my new favorite hip-hop troop. Murs (a member of the group) is a star in his own right, with a real buzz. Eligh’s speed rhymes made me wish I could slow down time and analyze each of his cadenced lines, nevertheless very crowd pleasing.

And then there was Say Anything. Poor choice UCSD. These guys sounded like a prepackaged, preteen combination of Simple Plan and the Jonas Brothers. Their brightly colored shirts and boring powerchords seemed appropriate for anyone who doesn’t like rock and roll, or fashion, or guitar.

Sean Kingston was an improvement over Say Anything, but that doesn’t say much for either artist. My favorite part of Kingston’s set is when he yells “jump!, jump!” instead of singing his lyrics. Not bad for a kid from the ghettos of Jamaica. I think he “sang” one of his song’s (Me Love) three times. Wait, how to do spell repertoire?

Coheed and Cambria headlined this year’s show. These guys have more talent than they know what to do with. Compare this to Sean Kingston, and you see the bipolarity of the Sun God Festival. Anyone who would find Sean Kingston entertaining probably wouldn’t understand the complexities of Chris Pennie’s drumming, formerly of the Dillinger Escape Plan. Call it diversity in taste, but Sean Kingston’s set completely lacked any music subtleties while Coheed’s set provided a musical trip to another planet. Too bad the crowd dwindled during their set.

During Coheed’s set, I noticed a group of students dancing near one of the food booth’s. Upon investigation, they were bouncing to Lil Wayne’s smash Lollipop being blasted over someone’s PA. This proves Dane Cook right, sometimes you just gotta dance.

While Sun God had a diverse lineup, it lacked any sense of cohesion. Perhaps a reflection of what life might be like at UCSD, culturally diverse but not culturally powerful. Fun (or $30) !