Western Courier

The mellow sounds of jazz guitar filled the Feb. 28 faculty recital with Matt Warnock and featured guest Roddy Ellias. A small but interested crowd braved the snow-filled evening to hear the two accomplished jazz guitarists perform onstage in a light-hearted, informal affair.… Post the First Comment

Talent level in Western Illinois University's School of Music seems higher than ever. Normally four students would win the department-wide concerto competition, but this year yielded twice as many (and for good reason). … Post the First Comment

Widespread Panic is one of those bands that has been around for quite a while - since the mid-'80s - and has kept a relatively low profile. The band has slid by just under the radar throughout its entire career, even though it has been able to survive and thrive successfully many, many years doing shows, traveling on tours and releasing a slew of albums. … 81 Comments

Late Sunday night, Trent Reznor quietly joined the ranks of Radiohead and Saul Williams as another artist standing up to the music industry by self-releasing his own music. With no advertisement and only a few teases on Nine Inch Nails' official blog, Reznor dropped a whopping 36 brand-new instrumental tracks, with many different purchasing options for fans to choose from. … 1 Comment

Hakuri Murakami's short novel "After Dark" is a dark, compelling story about the lives of three people during the course of one night in Japan. Instead of by any one character, the story is being told from the omniscient point of view, and in this case it seems to show us the story through the lens of a camera. The story is also told in the present tense, thereby giving a sense of immediacy to the book. This really helps the reader get into the story. Because the book is over the course of one night, there are no dull spots, and every scene helps push the story forward.… 4 Comments

A young man relaxing on the shore, staring off into the distance of the never-ending ocean, casually looks at the camera and begins to sing "Girl" by the Beatles.… Post the First Comment