The British hip-hop and rock band Gorillaz have recently released the first three songs in their 2020 album “Song Machine”. This album has been different from the others released over the band’s 22 year career in that the songs are being released one at a time, as opposed to releasing the entire album at once. The songs released so far are “Momentary Bliss”, “Désolé”, and “Aries”. Gorillaz have continued their tradition of featuring other artists on their albums by working with slowthai, Fatoumata Diawara, and Peter Hook & Georgia for these songs. The band’s unique style of genre-mixing shines through in “Song Machine” in classic Gorillaz-fashion, making it a contender for the Top Album of 2020.

Jackie Tohn’s performance at the first ISU AfterDark of the Fall 2019 semester made for a night to remember. Tohn’s musical, comedy, and acting skills were put in the spotlight as she sang both her own original songs as well as covers of well known ’90’s throwbacks. Songs such as “Everyone Will Leave You but Depression” and TLC’s “No Scrubs” had the audience laughing and foot tapping at the same time. Tohn would introduce her songs by giving a bit of personal backstory to what inspired her to write them. Each insight to Tohn’s personal life left the audience feeling more connected to Tohn while also bringing the house down with laughter.