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Northern Star

Northern Illinois University’s student media since 1899

 

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The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

The Student News Site of Northern Illinois University

Northern Star

2012 offered opportunity to discover older music

By Sarah Contreras | December 5, 2012

I always look forward to December. Is it because of Christmas? Presents? Snow days? The fact that December is part of The Decemberists and they are my favorite band? Is it because I can finally justifiably utter the words “Winter is coming”? Nope....

Giving thanks for good music

By Sarah Contreras | November 19, 2012

On Thanksgiving, I will be curled up on my sofa, watching Elf and The National Parks: America’s Best Idea (me plus Ken Burns equals homies for life). I’ll be reading for fun and drinking coffee spiked with Bailey’s. I’ll be eating the leftovers...

Songs to cheer you up in gloomy weather

By Sarah Contreras | November 7, 2012

This weird transitional weather has me down. It’s gray, it’s drizzly and it gets dark at 5 p.m. I’m a big fan of breaking out my scarves and hats, but I need a little sun to counter the frost. We’ve been handed some considerably dark and dreary...

New album wows with personal touches, intense emotion

New album wows with personal touches, intense emotion

By Sarah Contreras | October 15, 2012

Benjamin Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie fame, released his first solo album today. That’s right: his first ever. Though he has released numerous works outside of Death Cab for Cutie, the most recognizable being with The Postal Service, Gibbard has...

A tug at the heartstrings: The thing about bands and orchestral accompanyment

By Sarah Contreras | April 18, 2012

Unlike most things, Death Cab for Cutie is better with strings attached. Let me explain. After collaborating with the Magik*Magik Orchestra — a string octet from San Francisco — on 2011’s Codes and Keys, Death Cab decided that some of their older...

Anyone feeling hungry right now?

By Sarah Contreras | March 20, 2012

“You’ve gotta hear this one song; it will change your life, I swear.” It was with that line that the soundtrack to 2004’s Garden State became bigger than the film itself. The soundtrack earned itself an Oscar, while the film garnered barely any...

Winterize your playlists to get ready for the snowy season

By Sarah Contreras | December 1, 2011

Winter Playlist! Because every season needs a playlist, and now that school is over you will actually have time to listen to music again. 1. "O Tannenbaum" - Vince Guaraldi Trio: Nothing signals the beginning of the holiday season like the Charlie Brown...

The Breakup Breakdown: Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel

The Breakup Breakdown: Ben Gibbard and Zooey Deschanel

By Sarah Contreras | November 3, 2011

News broke Wednesday that indie music's most adorable couple, Zooey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard, have opted for a divorce. Upon hearing this, you may have been shocked. You may have shed a tear. You may have decided you are never going to believe in love...

Incoming band can make a mess like nobody’s business

By Troy Doetch | May 3, 2011

DeKALB | There is an idealism in the artistic restart. Whether it's the clichéd acoustic wanderings of a rock ‘n' roll vocalist who wants to un-sell-out or the avant-garde who feels suffocated by just one name, the restart is a documentable phenomenon...

Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s invade Otto’s

By Jerene-Elise Nall | April 5, 2011

Indie group Margot & the Nuclear So and So's will headline Thursday night at Otto's, 118 E. Lincoln Highway. With their most recent release, Happy Hour at Sprigg's Volume 1: Live and Acoustic, Margot proves that it is ready to let its subtle maturation...