“Classics”
She & Him
Columbia Records
3.5/5 paws
Never failing to charm with its whimsical retro-pop sound, indie pop duo She & Him released yet another album, “Classics,” on Dec.

The booming sound of trumpets and violins burst through the air in the Schoenberg Music Building every Monday and Wednesday night as members of Mariachi de UCLAtlán rehearse for their Día de los Muertos performance.

About 10 years ago, UCLA English professor and McSweeney’s contributor Mona Simpson went on a mission to bring stimulating discussions on literature to writers and readers, specifically college graduates, who yearn for the same intellectual connection found in the classroom.

It is impossible to put Flying Lotus, Steven Ellison’s electronic musician stage name, and his upcoming album, “You’re Dead!,” under one genre.
Jazz-inspired with elements of hip-hop, “You’re Dead!” is a psychedelic electronic album that could only be described as a spiritual journey reminiscent of the psychedelic rock of the ’60s repackaged for the listeners of today.

Without question, many music producers and artists will edit their audio. UCLA alumnus Steve Malone chose a different approach and distributed his own independent album, unaltered by audio processing technology, and said that raw and organic music is “timeless.”
“There’s something about music to me that isn’t supposed to be perfect,” Malone said.

There are two things that Morrissey, the legendary “Pope of Mope,” never fails to do: stir controversy and put out good music.
As with all of his other work, Morrissey continues to pursue a personal brand of individuality that only he can market.

Nigerian rapper and philosophy graduate student Olufemi Taiwo, who performs under the name Femi, woke up one morning with music chords and a melody in his head.

Sharing a passion for chamber music, Jasmine Lau, Luke Santonastaso, Brita Tastad and Jennifer Wu, graduate students at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, were just a group of friends before forming the Lumia String Quartet.

With three albums and four years of mainstream success, Neon Trees is still stuck in a stage of immaturity and adolescence.
Like the band’s previous albums, “Pop Psychology” is yet another 40-minute long complaint about teenage problems, unrequited love and even more teenage problems.

Tucked away in the corner of Schoenberg Hall, where the stress of rehearsing dynamic orchestral pieces runs high and the zeal for video game music runs even higher, the Video Game Orchestra and Choir at UCLA squeezes about 30 members into the organ room every week.