Go to content, skip over navigation

Sections

More Pages

Go to content, skip over visible header bar
Home News Features Arts & Entertainment Sports OpinionAbout Contact Advertise

Note about Unsupported Devices:

You seem to be browsing on a screen size, browser, or device that this website cannot support. Some things might look and act a little weird.

Chris Ritter

Number of articles: 22

First Article: September 8, 2017

Latest Article: May 3, 2019

The Aux Cord

2019 release radar: the good, the bad and the average

Chris Ritter ’21 picks:  Zacari – “Don’t Trip” You might not know Zacari’s name, but you’ve definitely heard his voice. It probably caught you on Kendrick Lamar’s “LOVE,” where it soars in a falsetto riff adapted from his own song, “Lovely.” Or maybe you heard him on “Redemption,” a dancey afrobeat highlight from the star-studded “Black Panther” album.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Maggie Rogers triumphs on ‘Heard It In A Past Life’

I should leave out the story about Maggie Rogers’ rise to fame through a viral video with Pharrell because it is clear by now that she deserves it. It is true that the Maryland singer/songwriter was a student at NYU just two years ago, making eclectic songs that fused her folky roots with Eurohouse influences acquired from a semester abroad, and that one day Pharrell showed up to class, instantly raved about Rogers’ work, and abruptly sent Rogers and her song “Alaska” into a firestorm of attention via YouTube.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Noname finds her own space

Noname doesn’t need your labels. In the years since her breakout mixtape Telefone, she’s been called “the anti-Cardi B” and “the female Kendrick” by fans eagerly awaiting a second project. While her soft spokenness suggests the former and her lyricial knack the latter, she detests both of these backhanded compliments, telling the Fader, “I’m just Fatimah.” Some already know Fatimah (better known by her stage name Noname) from her stand out features on Chance the Rapper’s early material, or her solo work as Noname on Telefone, a brilliantly warm tape about love, loss and joy in her home Chicago.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Four songs to celebrate the lasting legacy of Mac Miller

To read more about Mac Miller’s personal journey, click here.  We’ve grown up with Mac Miller. From his first mixtapes in 2009 until just last week, late teens and 20-somethings have watched Mac grow from a middle school frat rap sensation into a dedicated connoisseur of hip-hop with a passion for experimentation, jazz and introspection.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Coming soon to Ivies: D.R.A.M.

Ah, yes. It is finally spring, when flowers begin to rise from the frozen earth and the temperature reaches a mildly comfortable 55 degrees at least once a week. But even more exciting than the return of life to the region is the arrival of Ivies weekend, when solo cups litter the quad and the music world’s best grace the stage of Farley Field House.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Sylvan Esso: a duo of unlikely grace and brilliant balance

Amelia Meath opened Sylvan Esso’s set at the Portland State Theater with a song about songs. “Sound,” the stripped-back opener of the duo’s 2017 album “What Now,” hears Meath at a near whisper, “All you’ll hear is sound, and / All you’ll feel is sound, and / All you’ll be is sound.” The lines aim to unify the natural and the artificial, as Meath sings note for note beside a lone synthesizer.

Read more

The Aux Cord

Hippo Campus to bring ‘college rock’ to Portland

In an industry where artists are usually discovered on a streaming platform rather than onstage, building a live show or even having stage presence seems no longer necessary to “make it.” But for this series showcasing artists with upcoming concerts in the Portland area, we are lucky to have Hippo Campus, a Minnesota indie band that rose to fame mainly due to a knack for electrifying live performances.

Read more

The Aux Cord

On ‘DAMN.,’ Lamar sidesteps expectations, spews self-doubt

Kendrick Lamar’s first mistake was releasing “DAMN.” on Good Friday. Fan theories blew up. The first about Easter Sunday, predicting a “second coming” and a second album on Easter Sunday. Then Lamar’s producer Sounwave tweeted “But what if I told you … that’s not the official version …” with a picture of Morpheus from “The Matrix.” A new theory, this one involving red pills and blue pills emerged, again predicting a second album.

Read more