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Articles by Courtney Allessio

From Dalton in Western Mass and currently studying Communications and Spanish at Boston College. I like music, I like art, I like culture... so all in all, this blogging gig is nice.

The National Hosts XMU on Sirius
By Courtney Allessio — July 13, 2010 — No Comments Yet
The National Hosts XMU on Sirius

After another dreadfully monotonous day of assembling glasses for 8 hours, I routinely flipped on XMU channel 26 on Sirius Satellite Radio to hear the groggy and pleasingly apathetic voices of Matt Berninger and Aaron Dessner of The National.
For this week only, these guys will be hosting an hour-long show at 5 p.m. with replays [...]

Bonnaroo Buzz: Ben & Jerry’s new ice cream flavor
By Courtney Allessio — April 21, 2010 — No Comments Yet
Bonnaroo Buzz: Ben & Jerry’s new ice cream flavor

Ben & Jerry’s has yet again succeeded in combining two of my most favorite things: ice-cream and music.
Bonnaroo Buzz is, and I quote, “Light coffee and malt ice creams with whiskey caramel swirls and english toffee pieces.”
Seriously? This is beyond delicious.
This collaboration allows more cash flow to the Bonnaroo Works Fund, in which they promote, [...]

Two tracks from MGMT’s Second Album Congratulations Surface
By Courtney Allessio — March 10, 2010 — No Comments Yet
Two tracks from MGMT’s Second Album Congratulations Surface

Look what the cat dragged in.
I was delighted to see an unfamiliar track by MGMT on the front page of The Hype Machine today only to find out it was one of TWO leaked tracks from MGMT’s newest creation Congratulations.
Congratulations drops April 8th, but these tracks make for a satisfactory preview. Now that everyone in [...]

Mystery Solved – Finding André Obin and Feeding My Techno Binge
By Courtney Allessio — January 27, 2010 — No Comments Yet
Mystery Solved – Finding André Obin and Feeding My Techno Binge

A few months ago, I did a concert review of Stars and Track of Field when they played at Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA. I really dug the opening act, who I referred to as “mystery noise man.” Well, good news, we tracked him down to see what he’s all about.
His real name is [...]

The 24 Best Songs of 2009…According to Courtney
By Courtney Allessio — December 30, 2009 — 5 Comments
The 24 Best Songs of 2009…According to Courtney

I’m no expert here. I’m simply and honestly telling you the songs that I loved this past year – polls, charts, blogs, magazines aside. I avoided adding/removing songs just to reach some practical number, so there are only 24.
Here we go with the very subjective and biased Top 24 Songs of 2009!

Animal Collective’s Fall Be Kind EP Leaks, and I’m a Happy Person
By Courtney Allessio — November 24, 2009 — No Comments Yet
Animal Collective’s Fall Be Kind EP Leaks, and I’m a Happy Person

I’ve been hearing a wide range of opinions about Animal Collective’s Fall Be Kind EP, which leaked last week before its December 15th debut.
For me, I give it an instant thumbs up.
It’s like a little treat, getting a five-song bundle from a these three crazies less than a year before their release of Merriweather Post [...]

Cheeming Boey Makes Art on Styrofoam Cups
By Courtney Allessio — November 4, 2009 — 1 Comment
Cheeming Boey Makes Art on Styrofoam Cups

All Cheeming Boey needs is a Sharpie and your standard styrofoam cup to make absolutely spectacular pieces of art. Talk about using your resources.
According to the Metro‘s blog The Ridiculant, Boey started drawing on cups in 2006, and they’ve gained increasing popularity ever since. It seems like a simple concept, but the designs are nothing short of complex [...]

A Sit Down with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor & His New Label Terrible Records
By Courtney Allessio — October 13, 2009 — 2 Comments
A Sit Down with Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor & His New Label Terrible Records

You do a lot of questionable things with a few beers in you walking down Boston’s Commonwealth Ave. at 3 a.m. Sometimes you think it’s good idea to down a giant 5-dollar sausage from Che-Chi’s or piss in a public alleyway… I don’t know, sometimes it just makes sense.
It was one of those nights, and my [...]

Stars of Track and Field at the Middle East Upstairs
By Courtney Allessio — October 10, 2009 — 1 Comment
Stars of Track and Field at the Middle East Upstairs

If you’ve never been to the Middle East in Cambridge, MA, it’s an absolute must. I had the privilege of squeezing into the Middle East Upstairs, which was about the size of my apartment’s living room, to see Stars of Track and Field open for Lights.
There was also an opening one-man act before Stars of [...]

Atlas Sound and Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox team up for ‘Walkabout’
By Courtney Allessio — September 28, 2009 — No Comments Yet
Atlas Sound and Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox team up for ‘Walkabout’

Keeping it short and sweet here.
I just really like this track off of Atlas Sound’s Logos released earlier this month. Atlas Sound is the name of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox’s solo project.
Spin magazine described ‘Walkabout’ as the following:
Bradford Cox’s blissed-out fantasy of an Animal Collective song playing on a merry-go-round at Panama City Bead [...]