2011:

Top 10 Albums:

1. Father, Son, Holy Ghost- Girls

’60s rock’n'roll, San Franciscan style; earnest, melodic and beautiful. Girls brings the sun and the shade on their amazing second full-length record.

2. Portamento- The Drums

New-new wave pop, inspired by heartbreak, ’80s goth synths and the art of making catchy melodies. Its honesty is exposed through melancholy lyrics and vivid imagery.

3. Yuck- Yuck

If Sonic Youth decided not to suck and make pure noise, they would sound like Yuck. Grungy, angsty, pretty. Yuck does not suck, and they’re far from it.

4. The Year of Hibernation- Youth Lagoon (note: will be at The Jackpot on March 12)

Echoic, climactic, Boise’s Youth Lagoon seems to approach songs as if each one were a three-minute composition, and the results is sheer beauty; echoic, climactic, awesome.

5.What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?- The Vaccines

Loud, boisterous, surf-tinged, reverb-drenched indie rock from Britain’s most popular new rock act since the Arctic Monkeys. The Vaccines uses punk rock simplicity with soaring vocals to produce a marvelous result.

6. Suck It And See- Arctic Monkeys

Britain’s golden boys follow up ’09′s dark, drudging, romantic LP with their sunniest, rocking album yet, sticking the landing.  From their provocative album title to their beautifully distorted Fenders, the Arctics craft their best record since their debut.

7. Cults- Cults (note: will be at Granada on April 14)

World, meet Cults. Immaculately modernizing ’60s girl-group doo-wop, their debut album is flawless in its ability to make listeners dance, bop, jump around and sing along to. “Cults” is the best sparkling, shimmering doo-wop-sounding record since, well, the ’60s.

8. Days- Real Estate

Leading listeners on a journey through shady lanes, lush meadows and childhood memories, Real Estate creates music gold, striking a vein rich with nostalgic lyrics, swooping guitars, smooth-sailing rhythms and lovely melodies.

9. Go With Me- Seapony

Jangly, arpeggiated guitars blanketed over soft, crooning vocals creates Seapony’s dreamy, wavy debut album, dishing out song after song of pure, Morrissey-influenced joy.

10. Idle Labor- Craft Spells

’80s goth/new wave revivalists Craft Spells channel their inner Cure on their lavishly dark and angsty record, complete with Smiths guitar twang and haunting drums and synths.

Favorite Video:

Montana-Youth Lagoon

Best Up-and-Comng Artists of 2011:

The Apache Relay- “American Nomad”

King Krule- “King Krule EP”

French Films- “Imaginary Future”

S.C.U.M.- “Again Into Eyes”

Top 20 Songs:

1. Santa Fe- Beirut (pictured)

2. Weekend- Smith Westerns

3. L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.- Noah and the Whale

4. Money- The Drums

5. M83- Midnight City (note: will be at Granada on May 1; pictured)

6. You Know What I Mean- Cults

7. The Wall- Yuck

8. After the Moment- Craft Spells

9. Honey Bunny- Girls

10. It’s Real- Real Estate

11. If You Wanna- The Vaccines (pictured)

12. I’m Not Ready- Surfer Blood

13. The Wilhelm Scream- James Blake

14. Lonely Boy- The Black Keys

15. Shuffle- Bombay Bicycle Club

16. Bigger Than Us- White Lies

17. Me And You- The Strange Boys (pictured)

18. Taken For A Fool- The Strokes

19. Helplessness Blues- Fleet Foxes

20. Time Spent In Los Angeles- Dawes

Top 10 Radio Songs:

1. Rolling in the Deep- Adele (Surprisingly, this song is very hard to find and link due to copyright issues)

2. F**k You- Cee-Lo Green

3. Pumped Up Kicks- Foster The People (pictured)

4. Party Rock Anthem- LMFAO

5. Yonkers- Tyler, the Creator

6. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)- Katy Perry

7. N****s in Paris- Jay-z and Kanye (pictured)

8. Super Bass- Nikki Minaj

9. Countdown- Beyonce

10. Headlines- Drake (will be at the Sprint Center on March 1)

Best Concert:

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin @ The Wonder Fair; Lawrence, KS Nov. 29

2012:

Artists to Look Out For:

Dog Is Dead (single “Hands Down” out now)

Supporting acts like OK Go, Cajun Dance Party and Bombay Bicycle Club, this jangly indie-pop five-piece has developed ample buzz and created a dedicated fan base, even earning them a musical appearance on the highly-popular British television “Skins.” The fun, danceable, teen-angsty English band makes high-quality pop music that sonically soothes the ears, creating a groovy dance party inside listeners’ heads — which is actually what causes people to bop their heads around. Their sound resembles the likes of The Wombats, Bombay Bicycle Club, and The Maccabees, yet hints at ska and jazz with syncopated beats and saxophone serenades. Dog Is Dead stands on the brink of becoming big in the indie-music world; picture them as the next Wombats or Arctic Monkeys.

Howler (debut album “American Give Up” is due on Jan. 17)

Ambitious, taunting, daring and ever-so cool, Howler’s debut album is one for the record books — that is, if record books measured how awesomely wicked indie guitar bands sound. For all intensive purposes, let’s assume that’s how record books work: Howler would own every single page in said book. The Minneapolis natives have garnished incredibly high praise from British music sources like BBC, NME, and The Guardian, and the acclaim is bound to keep coming. With every song being three minutes or less, Howler holds a healthy musical prowess for loud, lovely, well-crafted pop/racket. (Or maybe it should be called ROCKet). Bands of the early ‘00s such as The Strokes and The Libertines would be proud to see the torch of dirty garage-rock still burning strong and being passed on, especially since Howler sounds so similar to the aforementioned groups. “America Give Up” is gritty, fuzzy, vintage and everything one looks for in a rocking indie album.

Dry the River (debut album “Shallow Bed” out on Feb. 27)

After Mumford and Sons took America (and the entire world) by storm, it was clear that similar folky, down-to-earth, Americana roots bands would rise above the fog of the indie underground.  Although Dry the River is still ranked at a hipster-level indie, expect them to become much bigger, especially in Britain. Dry the River’s tunes carry themselves with a delicate grace–apparent in the fragile lyrics– but also with a gritty, no-holds-barred, powerful instrumentation–presented with tightly-distorted guitars and unabashed drumming. Although they have obvious influences– Fleet Foxes being one– Dry the River stands on their own with their more percussive sound and broader, louder choruses.  Dry the River is the next big folk group.

Albums to Look Out For:

Port of Morrow- The Shins (March 20)

Be the Void- Dr. Dog (Feb. 7) (note: will be at Granada on Feb. 2)

Given to the Wild- The Maccabees (released on Jan. 6)

Visions- Grimes (Feb. 21)

From rompers to Sperrys to feathers on earrings and fringe boots, 2011 was a year of change and experimentation in fashion. Students have mixed opinions as far as to what they specifically liked and disliked.

“Sperrys were overpriced and everywhere,” senior Holly Johnston said. “They are ugly and look like safari shoes.”

Sperrys are usually tan, sturdy shoes, popularly worn by college and high school students, despite being pricey-usually around $70.

“I didn’t dig the girls who wore leggings as pants,” sophomore Eva Upman said.

“Either the lace or the feather [trends] were the best,” senior Evelyn Mandell said. “Maxi dresses were in too. Rompers don’t work on everybody.”

As “Vogue Magazine” puts it, minimalism and the vintage look were especially popular this year.

“Vintage sweaters and light cardigans were popular [among guys] this year,” junior Liam Inbody said. “I love flannels. They’re very comfortable and warm. I can wear them with whatever. There isn’t just one pair of jeans you have to wear them with.”

Minimalism in fashion means plain colored dresses and tops; sleek clothing, but simple. Pair a simple outfit with a long necklace or a belt, and this was considered “in.” For others, bright neon colors, animal prints, floral patterns and lace were more their 2011 style.

“As long as you don’t overdo [the lace], I really like it,” Johnston said.

A simple plaid or flannel shirt was the safe way to be fashionably “in” this year. But with experimenting through fashion comes self-expression. Dyed hair, and the edgy “punk” look of studs on accessories, clothing and combat boots raged.

“It is really exciting that the shorts, tights and boots combo that was popular in the ‘80s is coming back into fashion,” senior Hannah Stevens said. “If you go on Look Book, at least one girl will have a picture like that.”

“[Overall], I felt a rejection of pants this year,” Johnston said. “I started wearing more dresses and rompers.”

With a new year will come new fashion and trends. What will become of the patterned tights, feathers and lace will only be able to be told in time.

The new year has made its entrance, and the fashion reports are in.  Neon colors and animal prints have been booted away, replaced by hats, neutral colors and flower prints.

According to the January 2012 issue of “Real Simple,” slippers are destined to be in this year. They aren’t the old house slippers that people wear around the house and the occasional trip to the grocery store, but more of a leather slipper that resembles some kind of dress shoe.

Accessories might be the highlight to a neutral-colored outfit, and there are many different options to decide between. One of these might be a decorated hair elastic, to replace the plain black elastic on girls’ wrists used for occasional hair emergencies.

Hair salons might be busy this year giving haircuts because short fringe hair and bangs are making a comeback. According to the 2012 hairstyles on fashionising.com, there are plenty of different styles for those with short hair.

But if short hair is not an option for some, then the style for those long locks is curls. Not necessarily the perfect, symmetrical curls that one might spend hours creating. These curls would be more like the soft, bouncy curls that are more laid-back.

This year, the guys will be experimenting with a new color. Rust is predicted to be a popular color: rust-colored shoes and jeans according to “Esquire.”

Along with rust, guys will also have the same earthy, neutral tones in their clothing that girls will be incorporating this year. The average pair of jeans will still be in, but there will be more colors to choose from.

The new year has begun and these new fashions will come and go. Only time will show what becomes of them.

FAVORITE ALBUM:
Drake – Take Care (note: Drake is performing at the Sprint Center on March 1)
Honorable mention:
1. Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
2. Jay-Z / Kanye West – Watch the Throne
3. Panda Bear – Tomboy
4. Oneohtrix Point Never – Replica
5. Shabazz Palaces – Black Up

FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO:
Destroyer – Kaputt

TOP 5 NEW ARTISTS:
1. James Blake
2. The Weeknd
3. Frank Ocean
4. AraabMuzik
5. Elite Gymnastics

FAVORITE SONGS:
1. Drake – Marvin’s Room
2. M83 – Midnight City (note: M83 is performing at the Granada on May 1)
3. Tyler, the Creator – Yonkers
4. Azealia Banks – 212
5. The Weeknd – Initiation
6. Frank Ocean – Novacane
7. Jay-Z & Kanye West – N***az in Paris
8. A$AP Rocky – Peso (note: A$AP Rocky is performing with Drake at the Sprint Center on March 1)
9. Lana Del Rey – Video Games
10. Oneohtrix Point Never – Sleep Dealer

TOP 10 MIXTAPES:
1. The Weeknd – Echoes of Silence
2. A$AP Rocky – LiveLoveA$ap
3. Danny Brown – XXX (note: Danny Brown is performing at the Beaumont in Kansas City on April 3)
4. The Weeknd – Thursday
5. Clams Casino – Instrumentals
6. Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra
7. Main Attrakionz – 808s & Dark Grapes II
8. The Weeknd – House of Balloons
9. Pusha T – Fear of God Part II
10. SpaceghostPurrp – Blackland Radio 66.6

BEST CONCERTS:
1. Jay-Z & Kanye West @ Sprint Center
2. James Blake @ Pitchfork Music Festival
3. St. Vincent @ Liberty Hall
4. Animal Collective @ Pitchfork Music Festival
5. CANT / Blood Orange @ The Bottleneck

2012:
ARTISTS TO LOOK OUT FOR:

1. Azealia Banks (debut album due early 2012)
Although she has already complained about being called the next Nicki Minaj, that would be the best way to describe Azealia Banks. The Harlem native made her rap debut after giving up her unsuccessful acting career. Banks appeared on numerous year-end lists (including my own) after the release of her breakthrough single “212.” Currently living in London, Banks is working on her debut album, due sometime early this year. This album is highly anticipated as Banks currently has only a few songs to her name. Even Kanye West has high hopes for this young rapper as she is one of only five people he follows on Twitter.

2. Lana Del Rey (debut album “Born to Die” due Jan. 31)
It appears that all it takes to make it these days is around five minutes of YouTube fame. Well, 4:49 to be exact. That is the length of Lana Del Rey’s breakthrough single “Video Games” which currently has over 20 million views after being uploaded five months ago. Although that number may seem very standard in comparison with the likes of Weezy or Gaga, Del Rey deserves credit for this one as she literally came out of nowhere. The hype surrounding Lana Del Rey started in August and hasn’t ended yet. First there was confusion, then obsession, now anticipation for her debut album which will be released at the end of this month. For those who haven’t seen the “Video Games” video, or missed her SNL performance, ignore the fact that Brian Williams dissed her and give her a listen.

3. Kendrick Lamar (note: Kendrick Lamar is performing with Drake at the Sprint Center on March 1)
There are those who argue that Kendrick Lamar was one of the best new rappers from 2011. I am one of those people. If I knew how to classify Lamar’s album/mixtape/whatever-it-is “Section.80” it would definitely be somewhere on my list. Lamar is just one of those artists that you can tell is bound for big things. Along with being asked to open for Drake on his “Club Paradise” tour, Lamar also grabbed the attention of rap legend Dr. Dre. He released a promotional song and video for Dre’s highly anticipated album “Detox” early last year. Lamar is set to release what he calls his debut album “Good Kid in a Bad City” sometime this year.

Men’s fashion. When I was first asked to write about this, I honestly did not know where to begin. How do I write an article about a pair of jeans and a t-shirt?

I decided the best way to find out about men’s clothing was to head to the manliest place I could go without being thrown out: the barbershop. From my own observations and a few conversations with guys waiting for their haircuts, I have theorized that there are three categories of men’s style- hipsters, jocks and the guys who wear whatever looks or smells decently clean.

I know that the men reading this probably resent that type of categorization but in the back of your masculine minds you are probably wondering how we women know that the shirt you are wearing was picked up off of the bedroom floor this morning.

Trust me when I say that it isn’t that hard to tell, especially when you walk in wearing your wrinkled white t-shirt from a Hanes three-pack and tattered jeans. Another giveaway is that bedhead hairdo, when you look like you slept late; it’s obvious that you grabbed the first thing you could lay your hands on.

I must exempt hipsters from this sort of behavior. While most men are struggling to find a decent shirt to wear, you have already prepared a fashion forward outfit complete with cashmere sweater, scarf and gorgeous watch.

For a while, we females were amazed and shocked. You gave away the big secret: Men can wear tailored clothes without coercion or blackmail. But sometime after you started wearing t-shirts with bands that no one knows about, you lost us.

Let’s be honest: no woman wants to be seen with a guy who looks more fashionable or intelligent than her, so hold off on the corduroys and cardigans and kick back in that pair of sweats and that wrinkled white Hanes t-shirt every once in a while.

While the hipsters need to relax a little, you athletic guys need to dress up more often. It is an unfortunate truth that the only time you do not wear an Under Amour, Nike or Adidas product is when you are actually required to be well dressed in honor of game day.

It is on these formal dress-up days that we ladies take notice. I have never met a woman who did not appreciate a pair of nice slacks and button down shirt on a guy. In my opinion, that is the most attractive outfit a man can wear. Pair that with a spritz of cologne, as long as it is not Axe, and you will have our attention in no time.

I suppose the best advice I can give to you men is just to find balance in your choices. Wear sweats on lazy days and dress nicely on others; a little variety never hurt anyone. Lastly, just be yourself-as long as you smell nice.

A zine: a small, xeroxed, do-it-yourself magazine, containing a compilation of unconventional subject matter sometimes based on a theme.

Ruby Love, the online-schooled creator of Mojo Hand Zine, shows students that they can get involved with self expression through writing, even while chained to high school English classes.

“I bought a printing press this summer and made a joke about doing a zine on it,” Love said. “Things just went from there.”

Seniors Kainen Spooner, Alden Slote and Jon Fitzgerald write regularly for the zine.

“We’ve had a lot of these ideas in our group where we get a big lofty goal like, ‘Let’s make a zine,’ ‘Let’s start a record label,’ ‘Let’s start a band,’ and it all tends to just not happen,” Spooner said. “I was a little bit hesitant, but … very supportive.”

“It was a mild surprise when it actually worked out,” Fitzgerald agreed. “It’s pretty cool that we can get this out and make a physical something of our efforts.”

Love writes, illustrates and assembles the submissions to create Mojo Hand Zine, which is published every two months. Mojo Hand Zine is currently being sold for a couple dollars depending on the size of the zine at Astro Kitty, Hobbs, and Love Garden, as well as online.

“Ruby, who doesn’t go to public school, has a lot more time on her hands to really put something together like [a zine],” Slote said.

Especially with the pressures of school, having a creative outlet is crucial for many contributors of the zine.

“[Teens] don’t really have an opportunity to get published or express themselves in a public way that is a little more respected than Facebook,” Love said.

“I think [self expression] is totally important,” Slote said. “People don’t get as much self expression as they should, especially in public school which…crush[es] you into a statistic.”

Being able to write for the zine is not only an intellectual outlet, but also a way to sort out unspoken thoughts.

“Under an alias I write poetry for the Zine,” Spooner said. “I write poetry when I feel like it. Sometimes it kills time, sometimes I see something and I really like the image, … sometimes I write [poetry] because there is no other way to deal with it.”

“I can write whatever I want [for the zine],” Fitzgerald said. “But so far [I write] album suggestions. [I] think harder about what I’m listening to. It’s like, okay, these are the things I’m liking right now but why do I like them?”

Love’s goal was that zine contributors would be able to be a part of something while having their voices heard through their writing. According to Mojo Hand writers, Love’s goal has been reached.

“It’s nice to be part of a group of some sort…I’m glad to help out … and contribute to something cool that a bunch of kids are basically doing independently,” Spooner said. “It’s just another form of expression. I enjoy [writing for the zine], so it’s kind of important to me.”

“I think I get to express myself but I think I also do it for fun,” Slote said. “I think [writing] is pretty fun. Throw in your ideas out there for everyone to read and get some feedback.”

Love is happy with the outcome, since Mojo Hand Zine has gotten a fair amount of publicity with the two issues.

“I tried not to have any particular expectations,” Love said. “I just did it because I thought it’d be fun. It’s exciting, definitely encouraging, and I really think I’ll keep doing it.”

“The main thing is really enjoying yourself and not taking on too much [in] the beginning…want[ing] to publish a novel right off the bat,” Love said. “That’s a lot of work. I remember our first issue, we planned it to be 50 pages.”

As Love continues to organize the zine and add people who are interested in writing to the list of writers, teenagers will continue to have their voices heard and words read.

“It’s fun,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a way to show responsibility even if it’s the tiniest responsibility. It’s a way as a group to get our thoughts together and straightened out and published.”

Cults – Oh My God

Marvin’s Room – Drake