Rock at the Rock, Chaos and Clatter, Amazing Times.

Hey All!

Sorry it's been a little while since I've updated my personal blog. Between writing for Collegedj, working at WNUR as outreach chair, getting the freshmen revved up by planning events for Niteskool, and fitting in class somewhere it's been a pretty hectic few weeks back in Chicago.

Despite the chaos, I've managed to write a bunch of new songs that I can't wait to play with The Cables during our first reunited band practice this coming Monday! Bass major and a great friend of mine, Andy Henley will be filling in for Nic Park while he's abroad in New Zealand (lucky duck!)

The Cables will be playing along with Brandon Daley, The Aurelia Trio, and Fuzzy Moon at Niteskool's first event of the year, Rock at the Rock! If you haven't checked out Daley's mixtape yet, I sincerely recommend it. Come check us all out on October 6th on the Northwestern Campus at Rock at the Rock!

For now, I won't reveal the new songs I've written (mostly because they haven't been recorded yet--even in a lo-fi environment.

For now, enjoy this crazy little cover of Radiohead's "Creep" that I did over the summer:

Oh, and a crazy experimental electronic project I did called, "Playing By Ear":

Playing By Ear by karaalimusic

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali

...and, we're back! What better way than with Wilco?

Well Folks, after a summer interning at Nettwerk Music Group this past summer and putting Kara's Headphones on hiatus to keep a separate blog devoted to my time there, I'm happy to say that I'm back.

Keeping my Summerphones blog, reading up on Billboard, NME, Pitchfork, and various other blogs and music sites taught me a ton. From Spotify to Summer Tours to Warehouse Fires to Amy Winehouse's death so much has happened over the past few months in the world of music, as it always does and I got a taste for just how much news there is to report on. Plus, interning at Nettwerk taught me a ton from pitching songs for music licensing, to creating press kits to social media management for touring artists...

...All the while, I was writing songs for my own band, The Cables and even gigging a bit as Kara Ali along with Ursula Ellis and my good friend Rachel Naar around the Lower East Side. Fat Baby, Rockwood Music Hall---some fun stuff for sure.

In a few weeks I will be going back to Chicago for my final year at Northwestern, and my first year as president of Niteskool Productions, the student music group on campus. Along with being Outreach Chair for WNUR, rehearsing with The Cables again, and sound designing a few shows and movies, I will be planning a bunch of awesome events to promote student music. The first, being Rock at the Rock, which will have artists playing around NU's famed "Rock" in early October. Never thought I'd be ready to leave NYC, but I'm actually looking forward to all that's in store this year!

What better way to celebrate my return to Chicago than with a listen to Wilco's new album--The Whole Love--due to be released September, 27th.

But wait, their 8th full length album comes out the 27th? How could I possibly be listening now? Well, thanks to Pitchfork, I found out the album would be stream-able for 24 hours, today only and completely free on the band's website. (Still a few hours left, one more if you're in the Midwest so get on it people!) I am loving what I hear so far with a variety of sonically fulfilling sounds, highs and lows, with a mix of soothing down tempo folk melodies and catchy upbeat repetitions. The page features a spinning vinyl, with track names to the left as the album is played from start to finish. There is no skip option, no button but pause, and a simple thumbnail of the album artwork in the upper left hand corner. Not only does this give listeners a chance to listen the way the album was intended--from start to finish--but I would venture to say that it's an awesome promotional tool for the upcoming September release. Just as Radiohead released In Rainbows as a free download, and then decided to release King of Limbs days before its intended release date, the free streaming from Wilco only makes fans more excited. In the digital age, why not? 12 tracks and a bonus of pure bliss. Enjoy!

Expect even more intriguing sounds to be playing through Kara's Headphones.

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali

Post-Grammy's Reflections, New Music for Valentines Day and "Sons of the West"

Hey All! Hope your weekends went swimmingly and you were able to tune into the 53rd annual Grammy Awards.

If you haven't heard by now, Arcade Fire's Groundbreaking

album, The Suburbs, won Album of the Year, beating out Eminem, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Lady Antebellum. Is this perhaps a sign of the switch in overall musical trends to further incorporate indie rock into the mainstream? Will Arcade Fire's victory lead to further

indie music winners over pop artists? On this valentines day, Lady Gaga's Friday release, "Born This Way", remains at number one on the iTunes download charts, followed closely by pop/hip-hop/rap artists like Justin Beiber, Dr. Dre, Rihanna and the like. It's obviously impossible to compare genres and both do have their merits within the realm of music. However, it's very refreshing to see some of my favorite rock bands clean up so well commercially for a change. The Black Key's recent release "Tighten Up", won Best Rock Performance and the album, Brothers came away with Best Alternative Rock Album. Perhaps these were a little more predictable because the categories were not as broad. Nonetheless, I'm excited about the changing music landscape. (Frankly, I wasn't too thrilled with Lady Gaga's new single despite its decent message even though I do respect her as an artist and definitely loved The Fame Monster.)

In other news, Radiohead announced the upcoming release of their 8th studio album, The King of Limbs. Who's excited? It will be released digitally this coming Saturday in varying formats for download. The "Newspaper Album" as it is being called, will include two records, a CD, sheets of high quality album artwork, and digital versions (wav or mp3) and will be mailed out on May 9th to those who pre-order. This format is pretty different than the "pay what you want" format that In Rainbows took and aims to give fans a full, comprehensive package. What an awesome Valentine's Day gift!

Finally, onto something completely different and exciting! This past Saturday I had the awesome opportunity to meet Sons of the West, a three piece band originally from Ohio and now residing in Chicago.

I had the chance to engineer their live set at WNUR on Airplay as they jammed out, plugged their first full-length, self-titled studio album, and played in preparation for their journey to South By Southwest this year. With stunning vocals and guitar riffs by Anthony DeSanto, resembling those by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, embellishments on harmonica and keys by Nick Harris, and tight drum beats by Gregg Midon, it's hard to believe that these guys are only half way through college. Having been together since High School has given them the opportunity to really develop their sound and musical style, and I think they will be a band to watch out for this year in Austin.

Stay tuned for more!

Peace.Love.Music

Kara Ali