UCLA plans to centralize the departments of ethnomusicology, musicology and music and grant autonomy to the Herb Alpert School of Music, the university announced Wednesday. The final proposal, which was initially approved by the UCLA Academic Senate’s Legislative Assembly in June, aims to establish the independent School of Music as the first of its kind in the UC. Read more...

Photo: Chair of Musicology Raymond Knapp (left) and Chair of Ethnomusicology Steven Loza (right) are two of the three co-directors that, along with executive director Judith Smith, are helping the Herb Alpert School of Music transition to an independent music school pending University of California approval. (Kristen Payne/Daily Bruin)

In 2004, Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino emerged from Brooklyn, New York, as Matt and Kim, an indie dance rock duo they formed after a few months of dating. Read more...

Photo: Indie dance rock duo Matt and Kim will be performing at the Santa Monica Pier Saturday as part of radio station ALT 98.7’s Summer Camp concert line-up. (Courtesy of Matt Miller)

The music videos for both Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” both broke the 24-hour Vevo viewing record, but only one was nominated for Video of the Year for August’s MTV Video Music Awards. Read more...

Photo: Nicki Minaj’s music video for her song “Anaconda,” was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, while Taylor Swift’s music video for “Bad Blood” garnered a nomination for Video of the Year and Best Collaboration. (Courtesy of Young Money, Big Machine)

It’s official: Kevin Parker is a mastermind. Now that he’s three blissful studio albums in, the greater indie population that closely follows his kind of psychedelic wanderings can now cement his musical genius status. Read more...

Photo: (Courtesy of Modular Recordings)