Song of the Week: “Alexander Hamilton” by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Release Date: Sept. 25

“Alexander Hamilton” is the first track off of the “Hamilton” soundtrack, the highest charting Broadway soundtrack since fucking 1963. And there’s a reason for that: it’s relevant. Like the rest of the soundtrack, “Alexander Hamilton” is about the actual person of the same name and pays a real tribute to rap and hip-hop. It’s unlike so many other Broadway songwriters who use — and more often misuse — rap as another tool when they run out of ideas. The fact that anyone can make a track, and ultimately an entire musical this compelling, based off of what UCSD students learned in high school APUSH, is frankly ridiculous.
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp9HUc9HraQ[/embedyt]

Song of the Week: “Can’t Get Enough” by Santigold
Release Date: Nov. 4

“Can’t Get Enough” is a four-minute tropical getaway. Santigold transforms from singer to muse as she welcomes us into her oasis with nothing more than a sweet croon. A smart sample of “Everybody Rules the World” breezes in right after and establishes the song’s groove. However, the song harbors something underneath its sunny disposition. Santigold delivers lines like “Ain’t a gambler but honey I’d put money on myself /All I wanna do is bottle it to sell” with a smile, and leaves the listener to deal with worries of consumerism and egos. Whether we decide to deal with the issues or not, we’ve got a pocket-sized thesis to quietly hum around our cold campus.