ACRN: Fall Faves

[Photo courtesy of Julia Weber] By the ACRN Editorial Team If you ask any member of the ACRN Editorial Team for fall song recommendations, you’ll receive no shortage of suggestions – so much so, in fact, that we had to split our list of fall faves in two to round them all up. If you…

ACRN: Fall Faves

[Photo courtesy of Julia Weber] By the ACRN Editorial Team When it comes to seasonal soundtracks, ACRN’s Editorial Team takes autumn seriously. There are myriad songs that reflect any number of emotions associated with fall and we’ve chosen to round up a few of our personal favorites and discuss what makes them so special to…

ACRN: Favorite Breakup Songs

Night Shift by Lucy Dacus One of my favorite breakup songs is “Night Shift,” the leading track on Historian by indie musician Lucy Dacus. “You got a 9 to 5, so I’ll take the night shift / And I’ll never see you again if I can help it”, is the gut-wrenching feeling of uprooting every…

ACRN’s Top Movies of 2021

Pig, [Neon; 2021] By Ben Lindner, Staff Writer Michael Sarnoski’s “Pig,” a meditative tale of learning to cope with loss, stands as one of the year’s best films. Nicholas Cage stars as Robin, a former chef who has transitioned out of city life and now lives with his truffle pig in the woods. When his…

ACRN’s Most Disappointing Albums of 2021

10. Mastodon – Hushed and Grim, [Reprise; 2021] ACRN Contributor Mastodon’s latest project, Hushed and Grim, brings almost nothing to slake fans’ thirst for innovation. The album isn’t terrible, but it is a 90-minute exercise in patience with close to no payoff. Keeping Mastodon’s trend of memorializing loved ones through their projects, Hushed and Grim…

Group Feature: ACRN’s Live Music Feature

As 2021 comes to a close, it’s starting to look like we’re seeing the resurrection of live music. Here’s ACRN’s list of artists we’ll be rushing out to see as soon as we can.

Group Feature: ACRN’s Top 15 Albums of 2020

15. Rico Nasty – Nightmare Vacation, [Sugar Trap; 2020]By Kwase Lane, Features Editor It’s kind of weird how long Rico Nasty’s been around without dropping a debut album. I mean, I’m not complaining; if anything, this is a bonus. Nightmare Vacation encapsulates all of Rico’s growth as an artist and is a pleasure to listen…

Album Review: Ariana Grande – Positions

By Lauren McCain, Columns Editor [Republic Records; 2020]Rating: 7.5/10  Key tracks: “positions”, “34+35”, “safety net (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)”, “pov”  After the whirlwind of her albums Sweetener and thank u, next less than five months apart in 2019, in 2020, Ariana Grande brings a more intimate, sultry R&B sound to the table with Positions. Positions makes…

Newport Folk Festival limited edition vinyl package sells out within hours

By Ethan Bloomfield, Contributor Attention vinyl fans: another great sale has already come and gone! A pre-order for the limited vinyl release of music-icon collaboration album A Change is Gonna Come sold out within a few hours. The vinyl was released in support of the Newport Festivals Foundation, a charity created in 2010 “to support…

Covers: An Overview of Approaches for Reimagining Pop Music

By Jonah Krueger, News Editor So, you want to cover a song? Wonderful! Let us start by congratulating you for making this tremendous decision and reinforce how excited we are that you chose us™ to help you along this rewarding journey. Legally, we are required to inform you of the potential risks involved with covering…

Records I’m Not Ashamed to Own

By RJ Martin, Music Director  Within the landscape of mid-to-late-2000s butt-rock and post-hardcore, there are few acts that rose above the rest and created music that had staying power.  In fact, as far as I’m concerned, there may only be one that matters: Avenged Sevenfold. After putting out two independent records and rising to major-label…