Soil Compilation

Music
Gin Blossoms Live at Hy-Vee Ampitheater

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On a cool night, somewhere in between the last days of summer and first days of fall, the finale to the Hy-Vee Ampitheater’s inaugural season took place. Starring Arizona’s Gin Blossoms, hundreds turned out on their feet for the band in North Liberty’s newest venue.

Sports
Around the Big Ten – Week Three

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Week two of college football gave us a pair of early Game of the Year candidates. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, those games came at their expense. This week, we’ll take a look at Iowa’s cathartic win over Iowa State, Oregon’s early-season struggles, and Ohio State’s meltdown against Texas.

Sports
Around the Big Ten – Week Two

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Week one of college football is in the rearview, but it feels like we’ve somehow already experienced a full season’s worth of drama. This week, we’ll dive into the (lack of) updates about Iowa’s quarterback battle, the “Bail Mary” in Ann Arbor, and the stakes of this weekend’s Ohio State-Texas game.

Music
Jaden Amjadi

Music Staff Picks: The Best Releases of April

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billy woods – Aethiopes On Aethiopes, billy woods reestablishes his strengths as a storyteller, with help from producer Preservation’s experimentally jazzy beats. By now, woods has cemented himself as one of hip hop’s greatest writers, and his brooding yet clever introspection sounds especially powerful over Preservation’s musical backdropping. Samples of pianos will twinkle across some tracks, and pound discordantly on others, while electric guitars ring and horns blow. By the time the harmonica enters the equation, the beats here are unparalleled. It is an enveloping atmosphere completed by excellent percussion, which moves between hand drums, full kits, and shuffling jangles … Continued

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Mission Creek Preview: Corridor

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Like much of the band’s music its vocals are sung in French, but the guitar melodies and laidback vocals are so infectious that an English-speaking listenership won’t find the language barrier much of an issue. (image via Bonsound)

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The Best Releases of January: Music Staff Picks

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Earl Sweatshirt – SICK! On the newest album from Earl Sweatshirt, the rapper continues his streak of thoughtful and melancholic bars–this time with a slightly more approachable selection of beats, supplied by the likes of The Alchemist and Black Noi$e. Avant jazz is still a key piece of the production, though some of the pianos here have a midi sheen to them, and some of the trap-influenced drum tracks will be familiar to fans of contemporary hip hop. One such track featuring this style of production is “2010”, with a bright, yet off-kilter synth loop. Here, as with many spots … Continued

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