Centre Georges Pompidou/ Pompidou Centre:

It is a complex building which has an outlook of circuit water pipes, located on the 4^th arrondissement of Paris in the old Marais. Our CIEE center, where we met for classes, was four metro stops away from the Pompidou. Once I even went to the Pompidou to do my reading for class. The Pompidou center consists of multiple functions—the public information library and the modern art museum. In 1969, the president Pompidou approved the project of the largest museum- Pompidou center. The design by Italian architect Renzo Piano, Gianfranco Franchini and British architect Richard Rogers stood out among others in the architectural design competition. The New York Times said the Pompidou center was “love at second sight.”

The first time I came to the Pompidou was part of the tour led by our instructors. We got off at the Les Halles metro and came out. The building was attractive because of the color and the structural outlook. Giant elevators, pipelines are in harmony. I did not expect the space in front of the Pompidou center becoming the place for artists, people who want to find a quiet space for reading and gathering.

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Entering the Pompidou center, the second floor is where the public library is located; the modern art pieces from the post second world war period is on the fourth and fifth floor. The exhibition had a similar feeling as the Guggenheim Museum. It has masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Pierre Bonnard and etc. Except for the static art, the museum features a lot of moving pictures, experimental films. Even though the art pieces are abstract, the setting and the inner structure of the building is awesome. The street next to the Pompidou center is also full of art activities.

Musée d’Orsay/ Orsay Museum

Musée d’Orsay is located on the left bank of the Seine and it was transformed from a railway station Gare d’Orsay. It has largest collections of the Impressionism painting. The station’s platforms were not suitable for the train, so it was used as a train running in the suburban area and later as a film set. Until 1974, the director of the museums of France suggested building a museum out of the station to bridge the gap between the Louvre and the Centre Pompidou. The Orsay has paintings, sculptures, photography from 1848-1914. I really favor the impressionism paintings from Monet and Cézannee, apparently, this is the museum for it.

There are many Museums to visit in LA but this museum’s interior design makes is the same as it still keeps the look from the railway station. On the first floor, the numeral gates were covered by glazed windows and artwork side by side, with sculptures in the middle. Most of the permanent collections are located at the fifth floor including work from Monet, Miller, Vincent van Gogh, etc. There is a transparent clock shows time from the outside; you could see the overview of the north bank of the Seine river including the Grand Palais, Place de la Concorde and Arc de Triomphe.

Unlike the Louvre or the Versailles, where there will always be people waiting in lines, you can see a capacious museum, coming to the Orsay around noon time. The Orsay shows mainly the French artists’ work and is more concentrated. I like the Orsay since I got to see a lot of impressionist paintings showing different landscapes of France in the early 20’s. The station’s clock and station’s platforms seems to take you travel across the times.

Château de Versailles/Palace of Versailles

Château de Versailles is the only chateau that gives me a shock of how grandeur and exquisite it is compared to other smaller chateaus. It is the palace built by the Louis 14^th as the hunting lodge. The Louis live here until the breaking out of the French revolution. Versailles consists of two part, the castle, and the garden. When you peak the golden palace from far away, you will see the statue of Louis 14, around 100” tall. It was unfortunate we went there on a rainy day; we had to wait in line for over an hour. I was worried if the long wait can’t pay off with the view, but the castle is really way beyond my imagination. Like the other museum, you have the audio guide covering all the different rooms and furnishings.

Crystal lamps, huge portraits and paintings all over the celling—you can imagine how lavish the kings’ life are. There are paintings of the greek stories, to highlight the divine right of kings, and the historical events happened among the Louis.

Before moving on to the garden, we went to the Angelina—famous and exquisite pastry store. I ordered an entrée with Tuna and the Mont-Blanc.

The pastry definitely won my heart with the smooth combination of chestnut and chocolate. The garden of Versailles is the highlight of the chateau.  It is gigantic that I cannot see the whole garden at once.

The back garden contains neat cutting of glass that is in line and embrioder parterre-a formal flower bed garden and a music fountain. I felt I ran into Alice’s wonderland since some trees are taller than me. The water show/music fountain is breathtaking, though some people say it is not like any of the animated fountains in Vegas(I haven’t been there yet). It is amazing because it is on a large scale with water coming on artistic status. The fountains did not run at the same time but come from here and there with the music.

I’ve been to a few other museums in Paris, which I will mention in the Museum Guide II. The overall impression of the museums to me are iconic and specific, compared to museums in the states. Paris has more focused and spread-out collections, and the places themselves have a longer history and artistic value than those in the U.S.

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The album was a critical favorite, and after a few tours of Europe and North America it began to pick up some commercial steam, but what exactly was this new kind of music coming from this punk-looking kid from England? Words like “punk jazz” and “trip hop” were used to describe his sound, but none of them seemed to really fit. In reality, King Krule’s music defined most any genre classification; his guitar driven beats and raw vocals (delivered in his signature South London accent) were in a genre all their own.

After his initial successful tours, King Krule suddenly seemed to drop off the map. He embarked on one more smaller European tour, but completely skipped his home country. His open disdain towards journalists didn’t make it any easier to find out what he was up to. For a time, all we were left to chew on was his album, and Willow Smith’s cover of his song “Easy Easy”.

Lucky for us we now have the answer, in the form his newest album A New Place 2 Drown. Released on December 10th of 2015, and under his real name as opposed to his more common stage name, Archy Marshall’s newest release is just as unwieldy and difficult to describe, but in a whole new way.

A New Place 2 Drown came accompanied with a small documentary and book that featured Archy and his older brothers’ poetry and artwork. These auxiliary features help set the tone for the album, especially in relation to his last. A New Place 2 Drown is a little more subtle and a little less raw than what we’ve seen from Marshall in the past. It’s also a lot more electronic. His signature guitar driven sound has been replaced by computerized beats and synthesizers; there’s hardly any guitar work at all throughout the entire album.

The music itself is all about atmosphere here. The beats are bit-crushed and distorted, full of quick mechanical clicks and clanks. They march on continually throughout the album in a steady yet meandering down tempo. The synth work is mostly background focused, there aren’t many strong melodies at work.

Instead of standing out as individuals, the songs blend together to create a dark and dank soundscape. It sounds like trip hop making love to Aphex Twin. Overall, the tone of the album is much more consistent than 6 Feet Beneath the Moon, but you’ll have to decide for yourself if you think that’s a strength or a weakness.

The vocals are also much more understated here. He utilizes a much narrower range of deliverances, mostly content to softly mumble his way through the lyrics. This delivery, along with some of the effects added to it and his thick accent, make it a little difficult to parse out exactly what he is saying. However, this fits with the general vibe of the music, so it feels like a good choice. The lyrics that can be heard don’t offer much hope to an already grey and somewhat dreary album. Lines like “I’ll fly solo”, “I think I’m dying as we speak” and “I might have found a new place to drown my sorrows” all speak to someone who is being swallowed by isolation and an unrelenting feeling of despair. And damn, it makes for some pretty good music.

A New Place 2 Drown is available for download here, but you can click here to get the physical album, which includes the book and short film.

Check out a stream of the album below:

The post Album Review: “A New Place 2 Drown” by Archy Marshall appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Elle King is truly the king of the seamless combination of country, soul, rock, and blues. Her new album, Love Stuff, is gaining friction, but Elle has been around a while. She has toured with Of Monsters and Men, Train, and others artists.

Her most popular song from this album is by far Ex’s and Oh’s, a feel good song that emulates “girl power”. Check out her music video below, with a whooping 16.6 million views, here:

Ex’s and Oh’s

Certain songs like Last Damn Night and Jackson absolutely scream pure rock. With up beat tempo and amazing guitar playing, it could make anyone want to start wearing a leather studded jacket and ride a motorcycle. I would say I Told You I Was Mean would fall into the category as well, but this song also has major elements of the blues. In this track, she definitely gives off Amy Winehouse and Adele vibes.

Elle King in Love Stuff shows her variety of genres she can pull off. Tracks like Kocaine Karolina, America’s Sweetheart, and Make You Smile all embody country music through the western lyrics and instruments used (Was that a banjo I heard Elle?). Song of Sorrow is definitely one of those songs that dance on the fine line between country and folk/indie, and it is absolutely working in her favor.

Ain’t Gonna Drown, the 9th track on Love Stuff, is a mix of all of these genres. I would argue it has a elements of southern gospel as well, because it is quite similar to the church song “Wade In The Water.” This track is earthy, passionate, and has a powerful sound that’ll make you close your eyes in content. Guaranteed.

The last song on the album is appropriately named See You Again and it acts as a beautiful and heartbroken farewell song. I think this is a great way to end a great album: a peaceful and solemn goodbye. The lyrics sound like poetry and the sound makes you want to go for a walk by a lake. Yeah. That good.

In all honesty, my absolute FAVORITE song from this album is her song Under The Influence. It reminds me of a James Bond track and it is never disappoints me as a confidence booster.

All in all, the album is terrific and I recommend it to anyone interested in alternative music. Check it out!

Love Stuff on iTunes

Love Stuff on YouTube

Elle King’s YouTube Channel

The post Album Review: “Love Stuff” by Elle King appeared first on KRUI Radio.