MaestroBlog Update/Mid Year 'Best of' Lists!

Hi.

So, June was a hectic month for me: a new job, a wedding, and the passing of my grandmother, I'm surprised I was able to blog at all! But I did, and I guess it's time to give you your monthly update.

Alright, first off, MaestroBlog has reached 5000 views! The month of June really treated me well, as only 14 posts drew in 834 views, way up from the 502 views from last month, and my view-per-post average is now 26.6, up 2.5 from last month. My "Behind the Music' segments attracted the most attention, and I think ya'll for that. It warms my heart that so many of you were interested in my story! So now that my end of year goal has been reached mid-year, how about I aim for 10,000 pageviews? Think I can do it?

Well, I'll have to start varying things a bit! I realize I've done way too many album reviews, but I just love doing them! In July, I promise I'll change things up a bit!

Anyway, with 2013 half over, it's now time to give my mid-year 'best of' lists! Basically, I put down (in no particular order) the best (and worst) songs/artists/albums etc. of 2013 so far. And before I begin, I need to say that 2013 has been an extremely slow year for music, so you will see alot of overlap between the best and worst of a particular category because there really is so little to choose from. Also, the songs/albums/artists that end up on this list may not be on my end of year lists, we'll just have to see how the second half of 2013 goes!

So here goes!

Best Songs
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz-"Thrift Shop"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton-"Can't Hold Us"
Bruno Mars-"Locked out of Heaven"
Bruno Mars-"When I Was Your Man"
Bruno Mars-"Treasure"
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams-"Get Lucky"
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell and T.I.-"Blurred Lines"
Florida-Georgia Line feat. Nelly-"Cruise"
Miley Cyrus-"We Can't Stop"
Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller-"The Way"
Demi Lovato-"Heart Attack"
Selena Gomez-"Come and Get It"
Icona Pop feat. Charlie XCX-"I Love It"
Imagine Dragons-"Radioactive"
The Lumineers-"Ho Hey"
Justin Timberlake feat. Jay Z-"Suit and Tie"
Justin Timberlake-"Mirrors"
P!nk-"Try"
P!nk feat. Nate Ruess-"Just Give Me a Reason"
Fall Out Boy-"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark"
Mariah Carey feat. Miguel-"#Beautiful"
Will. I. Am feat. Britney Spears-"Scream and Shout"
Kelly Clarkson-"Catch My Breath"
Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko-"Stay"
Taylor Swift-"I Knew You Were Trouble"
Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch-"Sweet Nothing"

Worst Songs
Bruno Mars-"Locked out of Heaven"
Florida-Georgia Line feat. Nelly-"Cruise"
Serena Ryder-"Stompa"
Drake-"Started from the Bottom"
Maroon 5-"Daylight"

Best Albums
Daft Punk-"Random Access Memories"
Paramore-"Paramore"
Dido-"Girl Who Got Away"
Pistol Annies-"Annie Up"
Kacey Musgraves-"Same Trailer Different Park"
Michael Buble-"To Be Loved"
Josh Groban-"All That Echoes"
Fall Out Boy-"Save Rock and Roll"
David Bowie-"The Next Day"
Jimi Hendrix-"People, Hell, and Angels"

Artists of the Year
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Calvin Harris
Daft Punk
Pharrell
Pistol Annies
Justin Timerblake

Worst Artists of the Year (duh)
Lil Wayne
Drake
Justin Bieber
Kanye West
Florida-Georgia Line

Most Cringe-Worthy Event
Billboard Music Awards

Best Musical Event(s)
Super Bowl Half Time 2013
2013 Grammys

Best Breakthrough Artists
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Ariana Grande
Imagine Dragons
Icona Pop
Daft Punk (they have not been super-popular until this year)

If there are any suggestions to any of these lists, please don't hesistate to comment! I'm excited to see what the rest of 2013 will bring, are you?!

Fiona Apple-"The Idler Wheel..." Review

Glancing at the album cover, you wonder what goes on in Fiona Apple’s brain. Don’t worry; she has absolutely no problem letting you know. Actually, that’s her trademark quality, her ability to document the struggles in her own head while at once de-personalizing it. She sure does a great job, as her most explicit attacks are not on her ex-lovers (of which there are many), but the jabs at herself. However, this isn’t introspection the vein of Adele, who clearly articulates what she did wrong and what she intends to fix. Instead, Fiona is urgent; never fully admitting what caused the problem, only admitting that she has some issues to work out. Fortunately for us, we are the biggest beneficiaries of her inner turmoil, as her fourth album (big breath) “The Idler Wheel is Wiser than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More than Ropes Will Ever Do” makes all too clear. Arriving seven years after her excellent “Extraordinary Machine”, “The Idler Wheel” has all of the characteristics of a Fiona Apple album. It’s equally appealing and appalling, because as meticulously crafted and as beautifully written as her music is, Fiona Apple is a weird, acquired taste. Her concept of “singing” and “pitch” never sounds pleasing nor does it make any sense. Also, how she is able to inflate ten tracks into 42 minutes, and make it seem like double that length is indefinitely frustrating.

So, why is “The Idler Wheel…” such a good record? Because for the first time, Fiona Apple has made an album that actually embraces all of her flaws: her vocals are now strained and throaty, her music is now bare and relies only on her piano and Charlie Drayton’s percussion, and while there are no melodic or lyrical hooks, there’s an abundance of rhythmic hooks. That’s a first for Fiona Apple, as her best material has always relied on her delivery of the melody, not what’s going on underneath. “The Idler Wheel” is less about the surface –something that “Extraordinary Machine” could sometimes be all about— and listeners will have to work harder than ever to decipher the intent behind each of its ten tracks. But that’s actually a good thing, as most artists in 2012 would have structured an album for immediate mass consumption. Then again, Fiona Apple never intended to make music for a wide audience, it’s just that her awkwardly charming songs hit a sweet spot back in 1996. And while it’s true that “The Idler Wheel” doesn’t unfold as quickly as its predecessors, it’s also all the better for it. As difficult as it can be, it’s never too tedious. So, the opener “Every Single Night”, “Daredevil” and “Valentine” open the album and already built a solid, sturdy foundation, the rest of the songs constantly shift between sounds and moods. “Hot Knife” is a deliriously fun neo-Jazz number, “Jonathan” is an intricate piano ballad that is long yet enjoyable, and “Werewolf” is an intriguing, percussive song that intermittently shifts between being mysterious and being funny. Song for song, hook for hook, and note for note, “The Idler Wheel…” is Fiona’s best album to date. Even more impressive, is that this her fourth album in a row that confounds expectations, is a lot easier to consume that it leads on, and is once again some of the best music (of any genre) in its given year. “The Idler Wheel” doesn’t demand your attention, but rather, it every slowly digs its way into your mind, and it proves that Fiona Apple just gets better with age. Even if all of her ideas don’t gel, she’s gloriously messy, gleefully introspective, and delivers each note and lyric with an understated confidence. This is music that proves that less is more; music that Fiona hinted at but never quite made.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Every Single Night      2. Daredevil            3. Valentine

4. Jonathan                            5. Left Alone              6. Werewolf

7. Periphery                        8. Regret                    9. Anything We Want

10. Hot Knife

Owl City-"All Things Bright and Beautiful" Review

In “The Real World”, Owl City (aka Adam Young) claims that “Reality is a beautiful place, but I wouldn’t want to live there”. That’s putting it mildly; through all the warm synthesizers, ethereal backdrops, and wispy vocals, Adam Young tries really frickin hard to distance himself from reality as much as possible. “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is definitely a bright album, as each track bubbles with electronics and the glassy sheen is ever shifting, never staying in one place for more than five seconds. Lyrically, his visual aesthetic is pushed to the limit, as he creates a world where the sky looks like an alligator, plants can grow on command, and where rivers taste like fruit. So much effort is used because so much effort is needed, because despite a platinum selling album (2009’s “Ocean Eyes”), Adam Young isn’t any different than he was two years ago. Here, he tailors “All Things Bright and Beautiful” to prove that “Ocean Eyes” wasn’t a fluke, he can pull the same trick twice. It’s pretty ironic, actually, as “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is essentially the same album as “Ocean Eyes”, only shorter, with less focus, and less memorable songs. Dance-pop numbers like “Kamikaze” aren’t nearly as thrilling as “Umbrella Beach”, and the mid-tempo cuts “Hospital Flowers” aren’t palatable like “The Saltwater Room” or “On the Wing”. Now, that doesn’t mean “All Things” is harder to consumer than its predecessor (it’s easier, actually), but with the same repetitive loops and vibrant backgrounds, it’s still hard to sit through for 41 minutes. You often have to work your way through too many dull beats, breathy bleats, and Adam’s straining vocals. He knows he can’t hit the high notes in “Angels”, but he goes for it whole-heartedly. There’s nothing wrong with having ambition, but it’s a problem when you get consumed by it. He tries so hard to work with 80s backbeats in “Kamikaze”, to make room for a guest rap in “Alligator Sky”, but his unreal, other-worldly productions don’t mesh with this 80s dance-pop revival, and sound downright awkward coming from a disc so built with his signature, glitchy sound at its center. It does have some good moments, the ones found in “Deer in the Headlights” and “Galaxies”, and Adam retains his sweet presence, but there’s none of the natural charm that made “Ocean Eyes” a sleeper hit at the end of the 2000s. Frankly, after the first five tracks of nothing but pastoral imagery and overly ambitious production, “All Things” becomes quite maddening. And it’s such a letdown, because Adam Young can make a good record; his production skills aren’t suited for everyone’s taste, but he can shape his songs from the ground up without them every being flimsy. However, “All Things” doesn’t show his potential, and it just straddles the line between excellence and laziness. Since this is his third album, there’s no excuse for that at this point in his career.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. The Real World                2. Deer in the Headlights          3. Angels

4. Dreams Don’t Turn to Dust      5. Honey and the Bee          6. Kamikaze

7. January 28, 1986             8. Galaxies                          9. Hospital Flowers

10. Alligator Sky                  11. The Yacht Club               12. Plant Life

Pistol Annies-"Annie Up" Review

There are many types of girl groups: those built on equality with each member having limited talents (TLC, Spice Girls), those who are buoyed by the strength of a superstar (The Supremes, Destiny’s Child), and then there are groups like the Pistol Annies. They’re a rare type of girl group: to be sure, their mainstream breakthrough never would have happened without Miranda Lambert’s shining star, but she’s not the focus. Other members Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley have an equal part in their craft, but their gifts are certainly not limited. Ashley’s songwriting skills are rather detailed and sharp for a 26 year old, and Angaleena has a rich, nuanced voice that can carry ballads like “Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty” very nicely. And as well all know, Miranda can sure get the hoedown going with the strength of her guitar and flare. The Pistol Annies are a unified, thoroughly integrated trio, much in the vein of the Dixie Chicks. However, that’s not to say that the Annies are the next coming of the Chicks. Unlike Natalie, Martie, and Emily, the Pistol Annies are fully invested in sharing the spotlight, not giving one lead singer the duty of bringing the group to superstardom the way Natalie Maines was drafted back in 1995. “Annie Up” reflects that, as each song is meticulously woven with each personality of its creators in mind. You can definitely tell when Ashley, Angaleena, and Miranda trade verses, but the transitions are smooth, not jarring like Destiny’s Child could sometimes be.  Same goes for the music, which is usually mid-tempo, built on neo-Traditionalist styles and is soft, yet assured. This, however, presents the only problem with “Annie Up”: while the girls on the cover look like hell-raisers, the music is never as thrilling or as varied as the album lead to believe. Each song, minus a few exceptions, is basically the same. Then again, it’s still a pleasant feeling to hear the lyrics, as witty and as wise as they are, to be backed up by music that isn’t garish. “Annie Up” definitely could have benefited from more of Miranda’s tough-girl exterior, but maybe that’s the point. Miranda may have founded the group, but this isn’t her group. Ashley and Angaleena have just as much to say as Miranda, so their bond runs deep. This makes songs like the bluesy opener “I Feel A Sin Comin On” sassier, the rock number “Hush Hush” catchier, and the slow-burning ballads “Blues, You’re a Buzzkill” and “I Hope You’re the End of My Story” richer. While there may be one too many ballads here, absolutely nothing goes to waste, making every song essential, every harmony crucial, and every emotion hums along on the understated charisma of the Annies. “Annie Up” may not be as perfected as the Dixie Chicks’ material, but the Pistol Annies do have their career defining record here, and it’s arguably the best country album released yet in the 2010s (rivaled only by, well, Miranda’s 2011 album “Four the Record”). All things considered, “Annie Up” is a lush, contoured album that really just gets better with repeated listens.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. I Feel A Sin Comin On2. Hush Hush        3. Being Pretty Ain’t Pretty

4. Unhappily Married    5. Loved by a Workin Man 6. Blues, You’re a Buzzkill

7. Don’t Talk About Him, Tina           8. Trading One Heartbreak for Another

9. Dear Sobriety                   10. Damn Thing    11. Girls Like Us

12. I Hope You’re the End of My Story

The Top 40 Best Singers

What makes a good singer? Is it range, technique, versatility? Maybe a combination of all three? If you were to poll any random person on who they think the best singer in mainstream music is, the results would be completely mixed, as everyone has their own idea of what makes a good singer. Me? Well, when making this list I took into consideration range, technique, and versatility, yes, but I also wondered who was able to make an impact with their voice. Who defined an era? Who was able to set the standard for pop music with just the sheer power of their voice? My opinion may surprise you, but none the less, it is my opinion. I realize you may strongly disagree with where I place my artists, but I am sticking with my opinion, and I truly believe I have picked 40 singers who were the best of their time:

40. Barbra Streisand
39. Michael Buble
38. Dido
37. Judy Garland
36. Sia
35. Annie Lennox
34. Ellie Goulding
33. Usher
32. Stevie Nicks
31. Enya
30. Bonnie Raitt
29. Lady Gaga
28. Kurt Cobain
27. P!nk
26. Rod Stewart
25. Christina Aguilera
24. Luther Vandross
23. Dean Martin
22. Bono
21. David Bowie
20. Michael Jackson
19. Ella Fitzgerald
18. Elton John
17. Prince
16. Bob Dylan
15. Stevie Wonder
14. Whitney Houston
13. Etta James
12. Paul McCartney
11. Florence Welch
10. Josh Groban
9. Adele
8. Marvin Gaye
7. John Lennon
6. Kelly Clarkson
5. Freddie Mercury
4. Elvis Presley
3. Ray Charles
2. Mariah Carey
1. Aretha Franklin

Fiona Apple-"Extraordinary Machine" Review

Listening to a Fiona Apple album can be exhausting; her lyrics are oddly phrased, her music is too quirky to be consumed and can be over-long, and her voice is a distinctive, yet maddening low moan. Perhaps Fiona herself realized this, so she decided to change things, only a little, with her third album "Extraordinary Machine". However, this only came after she heard the first draft of the album, produced entirely by Jon Brion (he also produced her second album, 1999's "When the Pawn..."). It was bootlegged upon its 2003 completion, since her fans were starved for new music. Her fan base may have taken a liking to it, but Fiona decided that it could've used more wiggle room, so she decided to re-work the bulk of the songs, and chose Mike Elizondo as her main collaborator. There was a perfectly good reason for her decision, since the original recordings sounded too stuffy for their own good. With two more years, they were able to make the album that Fiona wanted. Now the songs were open, they were easier to digest and were more rounded than the leaked versions. That doesn't mean "Extraordinary Machine" sinks to the 80s fetish so omnipresent in the 2000s; rather, it's an album that can finally appeal to a large amount of people, as it consciously works pop-py melodies with layered, organic arrangements. It's not as lush as "When the Pawn...", and it's not as widely accessible as "Tidal", but it's arguably Fiona Apple's strongest album yet. Her songwriting, although heavy and condensed, is in prime form, and so is her voice, as it works its way through both alto and soprano registers (sometimes in the same song, see "Not About Love"). Musically, its structured with equal emphasis on rhythm and melody, so "Get Him Back" can hum along on its pulsating piano line, while the chamber-pop of the title track works both words and its harmonies into something rather special indeed. Best of all, while "Extraordinary Machine" is often thwarted by its length (it's two tracks and ten minutes longer than usual), it also gives a listener more to explore. There really is no reason to release albums more frequently than Fiona does, because each one is packed with several melodic changes and rhythmic shifts that aren't apparent on the first listen. If it takes her another six years to make an album as agreeable and as hooky as this, so be it. Fiona Apple has already built an incredible track record as a songwriter and a musician. At 28 years old, she can still blend her emotions and music together, creating an album that's even more rounded, more lovelorn, and more formidable than the last one. "Extraordinary Machine" is still too quirky for the masses, but that's the point, it wasn't meant for a mass audience, nor did Fiona re-record the album for this reason. She wanted to further her ambition and aim for more, instead of settling for less. That's impressive for any singer, but especially a mainstream artist in 2005, where the norm was to create hits, not songs. With Mike Elizondo's guidance, "Extraordinary Machine" is nothing short of extraordinary.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Extraordinary Machine        2. Get Him Back   3. O’ Sailor

4. Better Version of Me              5. Tymps                    6. Parting Gift

7. Window                                         8. Oh Well                 9. Please Please Please

10. Red Red Red                               11. Not About Love  12. Waltz (Better than Fine)

The Dixie Chicks-"Wide Open Spaces" Review

There’s a perfectly good reason why the Dixie Chicks’ major label debut is called “Wide Open Spaces”. The Chicks spent the bulk of the 90s toying with the bluegrass circuit to only a minor success. They had a nice little niche audience, but sisters Martie Seidel and Emily Robison must have decided that it was time to go bigger. So, they hired Natalie Maines to be their lead singer, and after signing with Monument Records, completely revamped their sound, and finally let their songs breathe. Instead of strict bluegrass, the girls build “Wide Open Spaces” on many different sources, such as soft 70s rock and the Chicks’ Americana roots. They take full advantage of their new found freedom and explore the new open pastures that have been laid out for them. Unifying all these different textures is Natalie Maines herself, as her powerful and emotive voice gives each song a compelling center. She doesn’t hog the spotlight –Martie is given several fiddle solos and Emily keeps things moving with her guitar—but it’s hard to deny that the true star here is Natalie. This might cause some friction down the road, but it also appears that Martie and Emily have also realized that she is exactly the right person to propel them to superstardom. That ambition is prevalent on “Wide Open Spaces”, each song is built around Natalie’s voice more than the other girls’, but their camaraderie is still there, which makes this album a very successful one. Notice how they work in pop melodies in “I Can Love You Better” and “You Were Mine”, but without ever sounding like 90s country-pop. Watch how honky-tonk songs like “There’s Your Trouble” and “Let Er’ Rip” can appeal to a country audience as well as a mainstream one. Now, this isn’t country-pop in the style of Shania Twain that was intentionally built on glitz and glamour. Instead, the Dixie Chicks just sharpen their melodies, strengthen their hooks, and blend sweetness with sassiness to create one of the best country releases of the 90s. It sure does hit a sweet spot, it may not be easy to swallow at first, but it’s very rewarding for anybody willing to spend time with it. Best of all, these sturdy and melodically sound tracks go by in a breezy 43 minutes, making this album well worth a listen. You completely forget that this is a debut, and only the Dixie Chicks could have made a country album so widely accessible the first time out.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. I Can Love You Better           2. Wide Open Spaces      3. Loving Arms

4. There’s Your Trouble            5. You Were Mine            6. Never Say Die

7. Tonight the Heartache’s On Me 8. Let Er' Rip                             

9. Once You’ve Loved Somebody  10. I’ll Take Care of You

11. Am I the Only One (Who’s Ever Felt this Way?)                 

12. Give It Up or Let Me Go

The Dixie Chicks-"Taking the Long Way" Review

The road leading away from 2002 was not just long; it was very, very hard for the Dixie Chicks. After lead singer Natalie Maines made her anti-war comments against George W. Bush in 2003, the honky-tonk south exploded. Through all the feuds (most notably with Toby Keith) and the constant scrutiny from news stations and radios from across the country, the very first casualty was the music, as the Chicks’ album “Home” and its current single “Traveling Soldier” immediately departed from the Billboard charts. However, what was not consumed was the spirit contained in the Dixie Chicks, as they posed naked for magazine covers and did multiple interviews along the way. Especially Natalie Maines, this group was not going to back down, even when faced with such adversity that would’ve made any other star run back to their secret homes in the countryside. So come 2006, with the debacle well behind them, the Chicks had to rethink their next musical move, as the country scene was no longer in their favor. “Taking the Long Way” comes after four years of drama and turmoil, two subjects that the girls don’t avoid. Instead, they confront those issues head on, albeit with a subtle attack. From the starting guitar riff that opens the album, it’s instantly clear that “Taking the Long Way” is decidedly not a return to their country-pop roots. They chose Rick Rubin as the producer, Dan Wilson as their main songwriter; both collaborators are renowned for their understated (and often flat) productions, and the Dixie Chicks are no exception. Remember, they are in the recovering stages from 2003/04, not even a group as strong and as confident as these girls would not have made music as boldly as they did before. But that doesn’t mean that this album is a retreat, either. In actuality, it’s their most pop-based album to date, meant to cater to anyone who’s willing to listen. And the girls offer some straightforward statements, as the title track and lead single “Not Ready to Make Nice” clearly depict. No, the Dixie Chicks have not run away from their humor or their spunk, they’ve simply tamed their attack, choosing stylish adult contemporary over bluegrass and gritty country-rock. In the end, this results in a record that’s not that varied and as riveting as their previous releases, but the songs are still melodic. When choosing Rick Rubin as a main producer, you have to expect him to repeat himself, as the first and second half off this album are almost identical in every way. The album never recovers after the enthralling “Lubbock or Leave it”, but it still gets the message across. That message is: only the Dixie Chicks, three women with nothing to prove and are as unified as ever, could have made this album rise above its own staidness. You can’t blame Natalie, Martie, and Emily for not choosing country, because as the enormous backlash from Natalie’s comment clearly indicates, they’re not just an all American country trio anymore, they’re bona-fide superstars. This is their first album that embraces that, as they continue to hum along on Martie’s violin and Emily’s guitar, and are carried along with Natalie’s versatile, powerful vocals, but even more so than they did in 2002. They’ve dug deeper than they ever have, which gives “Taking the Long Way” a bruised and beautiful color. It’s not as layered and as interesting as “Wide Open Spaces” or “Home”, but its still an essential part of who the Dixie Chicks are as a group. They still have refused to back down, and again have asserted their identity in this lush and moving crossover success.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. The Long Way Around2. Easy Silence    3. Not Ready to Make Nice

4. Everybody Knows            5. Bitter End              6. Lullaby

7. Lubbock or Leave It        8. Silent House          9. Favorite Year

10. Voice Inside My Head   11. I Like It               12. Baby Hold On

13. So Hard                            14. I Hope

Lindsay Lohan-"Speak" Review

2004 was a significant year in the 2000s teen-pop culture. The Disney network was now the main distributor of glossy, unabashed teen pop, so a solo album for Lindsay Lohan, who is arguably one of its biggest stars, was inevitable. After all, she turned 18 in July 2004, a date in which every Disney star must have a recording contract under her belt. However, Lindsay has arrived pretty late in the game, as her rival Hilary Duff and other contemporaries Avril and Ashlee have already secured their debuts (Avril and Hilary have even made their sophomore albums already). So, to successfully turn Lindsay into a pop star, she was basically required to go where the mood of the times went. This year, the sound of teen-pop had drastically shifted towards a gaudy rock ambience, driven home by Avril’s terrific “Under My Skin”. However, Lindsay is not Avril. Remember, she’s an actress, not a singer, so she hired pop makers Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks to pen and produce the bulk of her debut, simply titled “Speak”.

The reasoning for this title is anyone’s guess, because apart from the closing track “Rumors”, “Speak” doesn’t really say much, at least, as far as personality goes. But maybe this was Lindsay’s intention: to produce a record not as controversial as her party girl persona. She definitely delivers on that promise, as none of the songs here are autobiographical in nature; they’re proud and loud pop products meant for her core audience of tweens and teens. That means that “Speak” wasn’t built to be a cohesive set of tracks, since teen-pop rarely is. Instead, it’s a sound collection of songs; some good, some not, but often times, DioGuardi and Shanks are allowed to steer Lindsay in the right direction. Indeed, this album doesn’t escape the pitfalls of a debut (especially one coming from an 18-year old actress), but it’s not just a throwaway record, either. In fact, it could be one of the best teen-pop releases that Disney has produced in the 2000s. It’s not groundbreaking or original, but Lindsay’s execution is confident enough to push the hooks into your subconscious. While many won’t warm up to her growl of a singing voice, it’s more powerful than Ashlee’s whining and especially Hilary’s mouse-squeaks. And in fact, Lindsay sings just how she should for a pop/rock album produced in 2004: her voice soars above the roaring guitars and cold synths in “First” and “Nobody Til You”, and she strains her range in “The Very Last Moment in Time”, but the production more than makes up for it. And that’s what makes “Speak” a strangely addictive album, while Lindsay is not an accomplished vocalist, she’s given the material her voice deserves, and she has enough swagger to make the songs palatable. Best of all, while “Speak” is decidedly a teen-pop record, it doesn’t exactly play as one, mostly due to the fact that it doesn’t play like any other pop/rock record of 2004. Lindsay chose Casablanca records as her label, not Hollywood or Buena Vista (Disney’s labels), so she’s not dragged down by Disney’s cheese and hollow confectionery. Also, she also includes some very catchy dance-pop, like the heavy groove of “To Know Your Name”, or “Rumors” again, with its blend of hip-hop beats and pop atmospheres. These tracks are actually what shine the brightest on this otherwise dark album, they offer more hooks and cater to Lindsay’s underdeveloped voice better than the noisy rockers do. Is “Speak” sometimes overblown? Yes. Can it be nerve-grating and desperate? Of course. Is it unfocused and sometimes tedious? Absolutely. Even though it packs more hooks and a bigger punch than most teen-pop releases of 2004, “Speak” is not an artistic statement. However, for what it is, it gets the job done, and that’s what makes it the best Disney release so far in the 2000s.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. First                                    2. Nobody Til You            3. Symptoms of You

4. Speak                                 5. Over                                   6. Something I Never Had

7. Anything but Me          8. Disconnected                     9. To Know Your Name

10. Very Last Moment in Time                                   11. Rumors

Ariana, Demi, Miley, and Selena-Whose Single is Best?

Well hello there!

So 2013 has been a breakout year for alot of artists: Daft Punk, Icona Pop, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis etc. However, there are four singles that I've been meaning to discuss, and they all come from our former Disney starlets and the co-star of the new show "Sam & Cat" (if you wanna know how good it is: it's decent, like "Victorious", some laughs stick and some don't). Demi Lovato was the first one to arrive with a new single, "Heart Attack", which premiered in February 2013, then Selena Gomez was quick to follow with her first single as a "solo artist" (I mean, did she really need "The Scene" backing her up, even though they never sang or made any significant contribution?), "Come and Get It", which premiered in March 2013. Then Ariana Grande decided to release her second single of original material, featuring Mac Miller, called "The Way", which premiered in April 2013, and then lastly at the tail end of May 2013, Miley Cyrus broke her long silence from music with "We Can't Stop". Also another fun fact: Demi left Disney in 2010, Miley left in 2011, and Selena left in 2012, Ariana is the only non-Disney actress here, but they're all the same age (believe it or not), so that's why I'm including her in this post.

So, between these four young divas, whose single reigns supreme? Well from a commercial standpoint, Selena's "Come and Get It" has been the mainstream favorite, reaching number 6 on the Hot 100 ("The Way" has reached number 9, "Heart Attack" peaked at number 10, and "We Can't Stop" just debuted at number 11). But I'm not the mainstream, am I? Nope, after listening to all the songs, I've decided to share my opionions on them, and rank them from what I think is the best single, to the one that's not the best. I'll go through the songs in no particular order.

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Miley Cyrus-"We Can't Stop"

I should hate this song. It's about partying and doing stupid stuff, the lyrics are gramatically atrocious, Miley's obviously trying to show the world that she's not Hannah Montana anymore, and it's such a slow jam, it's more of a bad Rihanna song than a song to get the people moving. However, I don't hate this song, on the contrary, I actually really like it. The carnality and debauchery that Miley is singing about doesn't feel alienating as it did on "Can't Be Tamed", because now that she's 20, she's had quite a bit of time to settle into her sexual and adult persona. She also is expanding her musical herizons, as the slurred singing and high notes are by far Miley's most daring vocals to date. She's actually building on her new found persona now, and that celebration turns "We Can't Stop" into a very interesting track. Topically, it's just about having fun, no drama or anything, we should all just party up and not worry about our differences. She doesn't necessarily execute that well (as proved in the lines "To my home girls here with the big butt/Shaking it like we at a strip club/Remember only God can judge ya/forget the haters, cause somebody loves ya), and while she's fully in control of her music now, Miley still sounds like she's trying to making Hannah Montana seem like a distant memory. However, she's not Christina Aguilera (who released "Dirrty" in 2002 as a way to show people her true, sexual self). "We Can't Stop" feels like she was drunk or hungover when she sang it, true that's what gives it character and a nice flow, but perhaps Miley's over-exertion is what has led legions of her fans astray. This is a good song, it might be slow, but the hook is very catchy, Miley's vocals cover more range, it's more grown up and experimental than anything she has recorded, and all in all, it's a good follow-up to her biggest party song "Party in the USA".

Selena Gomez-"Come and Get It"

Hmmm, did Selena spy on Miley as she made "We Can't Stop"? Because upon the first listen of "Come and Get It", I automatically thought it was another song meant for Rihanna. Leftovers are never that appealing, but Selena was smart in adding something distinctive to the track. Right away you hear a woman doing a chant of some sort, and you also hear the bongos and the congas supplying the beats. The rest of the music is pretty much synth-driven as it was in Miley's song, but "Come and Get It" is obviously faster and more innocent. Instead of people "Lining up to get a line in the bathroom", Selena's take on the adult party song is much more tween-friendly ("This love will be the death of me/But I know I'll die happily"). This is a very contradicting factor, but Selena's lyrics have always been disconnected from her music, which is often times layered and hook-y. However, the biggest problem with "Come and Get It" is that it doesn't sound that much different than Selena did 2 years ago on her album "When the Sun Goes Down". Yeah it's tricked out with Indian influences and more confident vocals, but there's still an undercurrent of boredom and Selena sings the lyrics, but she's still not feeling what she's singing. This is what makes this song less appealing than "We Can't Stop", because Miley owned that song and she felt every lyrics and melodic line, Selena is still walking through the motions. That doesn't mean the underlying music is bad, this time around it's not a knock-out punch, but as I said before, the beats are insistent, the synths don't drive too hard and the song grows and dies when necessary. All in all, I have to say "Come and Get It" is kind of mediocre, Selena is still working on finding an on-record charisma (even if this song doesn't show that), but with enough spins the hook finally sinks in and you'll definitely make room for it on your iPod or other music playing device.

Ariana Grande featuring Mac Miller-"The Way"

There are several problems I have with this song. First, a guest appearance? Did Ariana really need a rapper on this song to sell the track? Well obviously she did, since her debut single "Put Your Hearts Up" didn't even go Gold upon its 2011 release. Now Mac Miller isn't a bad rapper, but since Ariana is still a Nickelodeon star, his raps have been so kiddy-fied it's laughable ("Singing in the shower/Picking petals off the flowers"??). Plus, it's pretty obviously Mac has only been put here to sell the track and give Ariana some street cred with the people who don't know what "Victorious" or "Sam & Cat" is. The second problem I have is the genre: R&B? I mean, it's not flimsy teen-pop, I'll give her that, but releasing an R&B song in a world dominated by EDM and R&B? This sounds like another sell-out move, but here's the zinger: it's not 2013 R&B, its sound and Ariana's random use of the whistle tones remind me of another teen star who made the exact same type of songs back in 2004. Remember JoJo? She sang "Leave (Get Out)" and "Too Little Too Late"? "The Way" is identical to miss JoJo Levesque in every possible regard, right down to Mac Miller's appearance. It's all tween-R&B, something that would have been acceptable back in 2004 when JoJo made it popular, but this is 2013, it's old and we've literally heard it all before. I mean, Ariana would make a great JoJo, but we already have one of those. Who is Ariana Grande really? This ties into the third problem, "The Way" is not original. Let me explain, it interpolates not one, but two melodies from other songs: Brenda Russell's 1979 song "A Little Bit of Love", and Big Pun's 1998 song "Still Not a Player". Now, those songs weren't really hits, so nobody would know that, but still, considering Ariana's debut single "Put Your Hearts Up" was a clean rip-off of 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up?", it's very disappointing to hear that Ariana still has not been given the credibility she deserves. She has an amazing voice and a sweet charisma, but "The Way" kind of stifles that, and she's just as listless as her Nickelodeon characters. While "Come and Get It" was bordering on mediocre, "The Way" is basically straight-up mediocrity. I'm not saying it's bad, it has another infectious hook and vocal leaps that slowly dig their way into your mind, but it's not nearly as good as it should have been.

Demi Lovato-"Heart Attack"

 

I fricken LOVE this song!!! I didn't know that Demi had songs like this in her, but she proved me wrong! For starters, her voice is in prime form. She can now hit all of those G5s and belt them, do you know how hard that is? She even reaches an Ab5 at one point, and the rest of the song her vocal acrobatics are powerful and consistent, two qualities lacking in her previous singles. Unlike Miley who's still working on her range and finding her best sound, Demi has done it with this song. Sonically it combines both synths and guitars, two instruments that typically don't sound good together, but in "Heart Attack", they're intertwined to the point that they do. It has a thumping bass and also a nice string arrangement, which also supports Demi's strong singing. The best part about this song is that it's not Disney-fied or geared towards only kids, and it contains some pretty strange lyrics ("When I don't care/I can play em like a Ken doll/Won't wash my hair/Then make them bounce like a basketball"). And while Demi has finally took some liberty with her lyrics, the only thing that pushes this song above the rest is that she is the star, not the producers. Her voice demands attention and keeps it, then at the end you'll want to play it all again. Now, the only thing that keeps "Heart Attack" from perfection is that once again, the over-exertion can wear on you after a few plays. The song doesn't lose its luster, but the bright, glossy sheen peels away. Still, it retains a high quality in both the music and the words, and with Demi's new, powerful on-record presence, this song is one of 2013's most essential.

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So, as you can already tell, this is how I would rank the songs:

1. Demi Lovato-"Heart Attack"

2. Miley Cyrus-"We Can't Stop"

3. Selena Gomez-"Come and Get It"

4. Ariana Grande and Mac Miller-"The Way"

Now oddly enough, even though "Come and Get It" doesn't sound any different than Selena's previous work, it has beat out all four songs in sales and airplay. Maybe it's because of the Indian-flavors, but I think it's because it's mediocrity helps sell it. Sorry to piss you off, but mediocrity sells. Songs that are really high in quality are seen as too sophisticated, and songs that come from Rebecca Black, the "Friday" songs of the world are seen as too awful. But staying in the middle, where the song is neither good or bad, just so-so, now that is your next top ten hit. This also explains why "The Way" is now climbing the charts, it's not a great song, but it gets the job done, it's satisfactory for the mainstream. Of course "Heart Attack" would only peak at number 10, because it might be too much for the least demanding listeners. As far as "We Can't Stop", well it just debuted, so it might reach the top ten, but it's not a mediocre song, as a party song it's mediocre, but as a song in general it's actually pretty good. We'll just have to see :)

Maestro-Behind The Music Part 5

You made it! The final chapter of my life so far...freshman year of college! This was one task I was very nervous for, being away from home for the first time was freaking me out, I already had a major panic attack with my audition into the music program, so I was very panicky about college all throughout senior year. Although, I was soon to find out that it was time for me to move on. But of course, there had to be one last Facebook fight before I left. It was the last day of the high school band camp, and the first football game. After the game, my friend Dan, who's usually pretty explicit on Facebook, said that the game didn't go as well as the football games last year (he was pretty right on that note). Plenty of the class of 2012 loved that status, but the rest of the high school footballers didn't, and they proceeded to call him names and bully him for it. Me, being the friend I am, once again decided to stick up for Dan, and my plan both worked and didn't. I took the attention off Dan pretty quickly, but soon I had the whole football team down my throat, and it escalated pretty quickly. But I have to say, I really should have known when to stop, because arguing with people from Tomah is like arguing with a brick wall, they don't listen to anything you're saying and they just say things that don't have any meaning or merit. I became very frustrated, I was 18 and I was being bullied by 16 year olds. Like I said, I should've known to just not rebut and let them be immature, but I was just easy prey, and they pounced on it like a pack of hungry wolves. Although, if that wasn't bad enough, I had to keep up with two personal messages, one was my friend Josh telling me how much he hated Tomah as well, and the other was my friend Heather who basically said it was all my fault and that I should be apologizing to them. I really didn't take that well, because honestly, in that whole Facebook fight, I was not the problem there, but I had to remember, it was always my fault, nobody else said anything incredibly nasty to me or anything, they were all perfect angels and I wasn't. I argued with her for a while and then I just gave up, I was so tired, but then someone else messaged me. It wasn't Josh or Heather, it was a girl that I hadn't met yet: Amy Greathead. She saw what was going on and wondered why I was so upset, I told her the sitch and she did her best to console me, I was only two days away from college band camp so I'd be moving on to better things soon enough. That really made my night because she didn't even know the whole deal and she supported me. She'll be more important in a few seconds. So, the next day, I took to my Facebook profile and posted five statuses, each explaining why Tomah was so bad for me and how I wished I could have gotten my underclassmen friends out of there, because I wasn't the only one suffering. I don't think I had much influence during my time there, but I tried, and you can't blame someone for trying. Anyway, I was packed up, and the next morning I left Tomah to start my freshman year at Eau Claire.

I got to move in a week early because of the Blugold Marching Band's (BMB) band camp, which takes place 1 week prior to classes. I'll let you know right now, moving into a dorm for the first time is not pleasant...at all. It was hot, my parents were tired, and soon after they just left hurriedly and left me on my own for the next few hours. I was soooo nervous, but once I got to the first BMB rehearsal I felt better. However, there was one problem: my 'big' Andy was supposed to tell me where to get an instrument for practice...and he didn't. I showed up to the first rehearsal without an instrument, but I wasn't all that phased because bad luck is so typically me, so I just rolled with the punches on that one. More importantly, I got to meet my fellow mellos. Remember Amy? How about Meredith and Nicole from part 4? Well guess what? They were all mellophones too! After rehearsal we had a bonfire at one of the section leaders' houses. There I got to know the rest of the section: the section leaders Megan and Plato (yes, he called himself after the philosopher), were the bom diggity, really fun and helpful people! I also met my pep band buddy Alex, my future chauffeur Shane, a really friendly junior Christi, and my Starbucks buddy Shelby. They all became good friends of mine as the year went on. But anyway, college marching was the shit, I had so much fun meeting new people. Amy was really helpful in this regard because she introduced me to all her friends: Alycia (another chauffeur and a master driver at that), Sam, Trent, and Becky. I also loved my new RA Tyler, who was also a music education major! Life actually went really well for the first few weeks, my roommate was Daniel (or Dizzle), and he brought a microwave, a fridge, and a TV! I mean, I was making friends all over the place, but my bestestest friend in the entire wide world came to me when I was taking the music theory placement exam (I placed into second year theory...just sayin). Her name: Briana Buchholtz. I LOOOVVVEEE this girl, we have so much in common: our music tastes, our friends, our majors, it was just a perfect fit! Then when school started, after my first written theory class, I chatted with another best friend of mine: Kelly Noltner. She never got mad at me, like ever...if you know me, you'd know that that's extremely hard to do, but she did it, she just understood me. Now there's another fellow mello, Elizabeth, who I very well could have been good friends with, if she hadn't introduced me to Rosie. Rosie Evans, a french horn player who is one of the coolest people you'll ever meet, she didn't mind any of the stupid things I'd sometimes say. Pretty soon I hung out with Rosie alot more than Elizabeth, mostly because I saw Rosie alot more. Oh, before I forget, remember Adam from part 4? He was also in the BMB :) I did meet many more awesome peeps throughout the marching season, like Hayley Kubler, Haley Reichardt, Nathan Cicero, Andrea Ranzau, Kyle Launderville, Dani Schmalz, Brielle Cummings, Bryan Kujawa (KUJ!!), and alot more, but those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Anyway, life was going up, and it was such a relief, I needed some nice people to talk to for a change, people that didn't go right for the jugular, who gave me a smidgen of a chance (for the most part anyway, I'll get to that in a few minutes).

So classes started, and I liked most of my professors. But, Orchestra was the class I was most excited for. The conductor is Nobu Yasuda, who has lived in America for about 30 years but still has a thick, Japanese accent (it's really awesome!). Anyway, I had already completed an audition to get into the music program, but now I had to do another audition for seating placement. Well, as typical me would do, I walked into Nobu's office, and I completely sucked, like for real, it was so, so bad. However, Nobu must have saw something in me, because I was placed in the first violins! 10th chair, but still, I was already in the 1st violins as a freshman, do you know how good that feels? Especially for someone as shy and as un-confident as me, I was ecstatic! And yeah, orchestra was pretty eventful all year, through our orchestra tour, holiday concerts, the Viennese Ball, it was such a great experience playing with people who actually cared about music! BMB was kind of a different story, because after band camp, the cracks started to show. Drama began to rise in the mello section fairly quickly (you don't get the term "mello-drama" for nothin), as my friend Amy had her disputes with a couple others, and I was at ends with a few girls in the section. Actually, by the end of the season, I could tell they were all extremely annoyed with me. I was used to the feeling, but it still didn't feel that good being an outcast in college as well.

Now, I'll say this before I go on: Tomah was so fricken bad, that after high school, there was nowhere else to go but up. For real, Eau Claire was a MAJOR improvement from where I was, but as I progressed through 1st semester I realized something: since Tomah was such a hostile environment for me, in order to survive, you have to start thinking and talking like your peers, and that's exactly what I did. It wasn't my intention at all, but after a good 8 years of living there, I had inadvertently become one of them. That was the biggest problem I faced last year: I wasn't in Tomah anymore, the things I said to get by in high school were actually going to offend many people in college, because no one screws around there, you're treated as an adult and nothing less. That's what got me in trouble with many people that could have been good friends of mine. So anyway, 1st semester I kinda dug myself into a hole, and 2nd semester I had to find a way to get out of it, but that wasn't going to be easy. 2nd semester came with some changes: a new RA, a new orchestra seating (8th chair!!), new classes, and an entirely new schedule. But the changes weren't all that bad, I still made some new friends and I started to work out some issues in my life. However, that wasn't going to be easy, especially once I butted heads with the BMB director, who we'll call Dickerson. He was pretty weary of me from the get go, as I completely botched my BMB application and I almost didn't make the cut, but he reconsidered once he met me in person. Throughout the year my absent-mindedness was kind of putting a rift between us, and I didn't completely know the extent until February. He called a meeting with me and told me that I was going to be kicked out of the music program if I didn't work on my communication skills. Turns out, there were alot of people unhappy with me, more than I ever realized, and you better believe it was such a hard pill to swallow. Thankfully, he decided to give me another chance that day, and from then on I knew I was going to have to make some pretty big changes. Especially with this blog. As you know, I started MaestroBlog in November 2012, not as a professional column or anything, but just a way for me to communicate my love of music and music-related interests with others. I never meant for it to be taken so seriously or treated like a professional blog, but others didn't feel that way, especially Dickerson, who periodically reads this blog. My life soon started to tumble downwards once again, as I felt disconnected from everyone around me, even my closest friends.

You see, there were really only two problems I had with my freshman year. The first, was that is was so, God-fricken political. Between the election, the Sandy Hook massacre, the bombing in Boston, and the drama in America in general, I was constantly in a fight with somebody over politics. It was mostly Tomah people, but still, my life turned into one political debate after another. The other problem I had was another shared problem from Tomah, regarding fitting the mold. I felt that alot of people wanted to shove me into their own little box of what I should and shouldn't be, and when they realized that I wasn't going to fit in said box, that's when they started to get frustrated with me. I've said this many times throughout my life: I can't be someone else, I can't be what others want me to be, I am me and I can't change. It's a sad thought, but I'm pretty sure most people want you to be what they want you to be, instead of you just being yourself. I mean really, think of all the things we do just to impress the people in our lives, is it really worth it when they still don't like you? That was something I eventually learned: you can't get every single person to like you, all you can do is be your true self, and those who follow you are the people you should care about. Everybody else who hates you for no reason at all, or any good reason, shouldn't run your life like I let them run mine. It's all about confidence, remember?

Anyway, as my freshman year came to a close, I took the time to think about what I needed to work on. I'll dive into the specifics in a later blog post (it will also be a multi-parter), but basically I came to the conclusion that I need to do what I didn't do after I graduated high school. I was free from Tomah's petty problems, what I need to do now is actually start the healing process. I obviously need to work on my confidence and my focus, I'll become better at communicating once I believe in myself. Most people say that I'm very conceited, and I honestly don't think I am. I realize a 5-part life history doesn't do anything to dispel that argument, but I know who I am, I've never lost sight of that, and I know that I'm not full of myself, I just can't properly express confidence without it seeming like arrogance. Really, I have like, zero self-esteem, and it might take the rest of my life to get to a place where I'm completely fulfilled and genuinely happy (I will also discuss this in another post later this month). That's for the future, though, meanwhile in the present: I just started a new job at Fort McCoy here in Tomah, and I will head off to my sophomore year of college in August! I am truly grateful for what college has given me, and I really can't wait to go back!

Before I go, I want to lastly express what music means to me. Through all this, I focused alot on my personal turmoil, but not much about the music. Why do I love it so much? Why has it become an integral part of who I am? Well I'll put it to you this way: we all have a purpose for living, we all live for something, and for me, that something is music. I can't describe my pure affection for the greatest form of entertainment and art in full context, but I do know that I don't just simply love it, I have a greater need for it than most people do. I'm not sporty, or good with words, or super-intelligent or good looking, but one thing that I always excel at is music. I have alot more to learn, but that's the fun part, there's still so much left to explore, and I can't even wait. One day I hope you too will realize how much I care for music. So, with that, you've reached the end of my life story (so far!!!). Hopefully there will be many, many more chapters to be lived, but I'm not going to take my life for granted, everybody I have the chance to perform, compose, or listen to the music around us, is a good day, a very good day indeed. I realize that my life hasn't brought much happiness, but every single thing that has happened to me has been an essential part of who I am, and one day, it will all make sense.

This is my story, this is what my life is all about, and don't worry, I'll keep sending you post cards ;)

Maestro-Behind The Music Part 4

High School! Those 4 years that are supposedly the best of our lives...safe to say that wasn't the case in my regard. But I was just happy to get out of middle school, 8th grade was so terrible that there was nowhere else to go but up, but that doesn't mean I didn't deal with alot of crap along the way. It's Tomah, Wisconsin, bullshit is now par for the course.

Freshman Year. The fun actually started before, when I had to go to band camp. All the students were delivered with the news that the high school band director, Mr. Waldhart, was leaving THS and moving to West Salem. We were also told that Mrs. Smith, the totally awesome middle school director, was also leaving for Idaho. That was a sad moment for all involved, those two were very integral to the strength of the band programs, so their fate was now uncertain. They did replace them, with two guys called Mr. Tubbs and Mr. Zweig. Mr. Tubbs will be the most important figure in my high school career, for reasons I will get to in a moment. So band camp, that week when everyone is required to show up for the whole day and learn/re-learn our marching skills, show music, and all of the other stuff like fitting for uniforms and taking band pictures. Since I was a freshman, I had to go to a 4 hour freshman camp, and then go to a 6 hour all-class camp in the afternoon. The first day was brutal, I was about 215 pounds at that time and the extreme heat and humidity instantly took its toll on me. I just couldn't handle it, and I'm sorry to say that I almost quit band after that day, I didn't feel like I was cut out for it. My parents didn't like that, though, and they told me to take a shower and go to bed, I was going to band camp the next day. The rest of the week was better, but still very hot. After band camp, I then had to go to this thing called link crew, which basically told the freshman class the common aspects of high school that anybody could figure out in the first day. It really was a waste of time. Lastly, I auditioned once again for the LaCrosse Youth Symphony Orchestras, and three days later I got an e-mail saying that I had graduated from the Phillharmonic and was placed in the Youth Symphony! That was a good day, a good day indeed.

Anyway, during band camp I would meet some people that would make my life awful through the rest of their time at high school. There was Kyle Farrand, a senior with a big ego and a nasty demeanor to match. He hit me and shit-talked me, he was just not a nice guy. Then there was Ben and Garth, two juniors who were secret lovers (ok the secret lovers is a stretch, but they hung out so much it made me question...). They were very full of themselves, they both continued the sexual harassment and they were really just immature, about everything. Then there was a sophomore who was named, big shocker, Nick. He was a tall guy who walked funny and talked in a way where you couldn't understand him half the time, and he was also full of himself. Remember Lakeisha from fifth grade? Nick was my modern day Lakeisha, everybody was inferior to him, especially freshmen, especially me, and he would always put me down and try to make me feel worthless. But, I also met some very awesome people too, like this one girl, Jessica Retzlaff. We became friends real fast, she was a blonde with a cute, nasally voice and she was just funny. She opened up to me fairly quickly, and I in turn let my guard down, and she's also the reason why I adopted the nickname 'Maestro'. That's what I was to her, through my playing and composing she started calling me maestro and I loved it. When freshman year began, she was there ready to help, and I was going to need it. Remember Nick, Sandra, and Kayla from 8th grade? Well they were all in band and in my high school, so their abuse continued, in more ways than one. When Nick and Sandra weren't picking on me, they began to really pick on my other friend Miranda. Actually, I think Kayla started it, and Nick and Sandra hopped on and just began to really bully her. Me being the friend I am, started to stick up for Miranda, and then Nick called me a bitch and a slut for doing so and went on to say that nobody likes me and I should just quit. Now, I should say that, that statement had no meaning coming from him, because his endless drama had alienated him from my class and the band in general. He said nobody liked me, when in actuality he was the most hated person in the band room. Anyway, pretty soon everyone I knew started to say really nasty things about Miranda, and I continued to stand my ground and I stood up for her whenever I could, the backlash was completely unnecessary. So yeah, between Kyle, Ben, Garth, Nick (both of them), Sandra, Kayla, and the people constantly picking on Miranda, I completed the task in becoming one of the most unpopular kids in the school. And that high school was 1000 people, that's not easy to deal with. But I never backed down, I was always myself and I just concentrated on my music. I also had a really great group of friends: Jessica, Tiffany, Cole, Brooks, Swany, and Nikki. We all had our own drama but it was always resolved, and we helped each other through the year. Also, when marching season was over, the band was split into two groups: concert band and wind ensemble. Wind ensemble was where it was at my freshman year, and most people auditioned to get into it. The day the bands were revealed was a very good day, I remember walking to the doors, seeing both sheets and I went straight to the wind ensemble horn section: 1st name, not mine, 2nd name, not mine, 3rd name, not mine, 4th name...was...MINE! One semester of band and I was already in wind ensemble! I was extremely happy, but then sad when I found out that both Nicks were also in it, and Jessica was in concert band :( In the end, though, the people in the band didn't matter, the music we played was amazing! Needless to say, that was the best part of freshman year, and I really started to enjoy band more than, well, anyone I think, I just loved it, I was always in the band room, Mr. Tubbs was just an awesome band director. Before I knew it, freshman year was over, and I was now a sophomore!

Sophomore Year. A year of many beginnings. But something serious happened before, on July 4, 2009. There was this really awesome guy called Jesse Parker, who was nice to everyone and was always just happy and was very helpful. His family was coming back from Georgia on July 4, and their car was hit on the highway. His sister Bria was critically injured. Jesse didn't make it. A couple hours later I received the news. His death was devastating, to everyone really, and that was a precursor to my sophomore year. About 30 kids quit band from the previous year, so our band was at already a low point, and our drum major, Elizabeth, tried her best to get us to do what Mr. Tubbs wanted, but we were all uninterested. Actually, there was this one day where the percussion section was playing the cadence for the first time in front of us, and people started making fun of them, including me, I'm afraid. The percussionists weren't blind or deaf, they knew we were making fun of them so Mr. Tubbs and Elizabeth were promptly noted, and they both told us straight up to stop or else we were in for a hard marching season. Now remember, since this is Tomah, nobody took responsibility, and instead just shit-talked Elizabeth and even the most mature upperclassmen were all being really childish about it. That's when I realized a glaring problem about Tomah: respect. Nobody there knows the meaning of that word, my school-mates didn't respect the percussion, Mr. Tubbs or Elizabeth, they didn't respect each other, and as far as the rest of the school goes, they didn't respect the teachers or staff either. For real, the way they talked to them was vile, I have never been surrounded by such a rude bunch of people in my life. Anyway, in LYSO I was promoted to a 1st violin (!!!) and the wind ensemble, as small as it was, continued to play really great music. Then there was biology class with Mrs. Jackson, who was married to vice principal Mr. Jackson. This is important to know because one day in biology, after years of constant abuse, Nick (from 8th grade) once again brought up the four-square ball hitting me in the face incident, Sandra soon joined in the taunting, and they kept it up for 10 minutes or so. Class ended and I was crying, I couldn't take it anymore, and I told Mrs. Jackson that I was done. Mr. Jackson intervened and after I demanded that something be done, and Nick soon had a meeting with him, and since that day, hasn't bullied me at all :) Then near the end of the year, something amazing happened. During the annual German class event Spaßabend, my group went on to perform, and I had a solo in many parts, not singing, but dancing. I came up with all these BS dance moves and I just did my thing, and that struck a chord with the audience, because after that, I kinda became a mini celebrity. Really, people started to like me, and I was hitting strides in all sorts of areas. My grades, my music, my friends, all of those things culminated in what was actually my best year of high school. That year had not as much drama, and by the end of the year, I looked to upperclassmen-ship with great expectation. Before I forget, I should also say that this was the year I got a Facebook. It would soon take over my life.

Junior Year. Preceded by my best year of high school, this turned out to be my worst. True, Ben and Garth graduated, Kayla moved to another school (!!!), Sandra was barely around, I was finally an upperclassmen and in LYSO, I received the great news that Jessica was in it as 1st chair trumpet, and I was 1st chair, 1st violin! I was concertmaster!!! I jumped up and down and did a happy dance, I just couldn't believe it. But that was the only good part of junior year, the rest of it through and through just sucked big donkey balls. The seniors were tired and over it, my class was, well, my class, the freshmen were your stereotypical immature, hard to deal with freshmen, and the sophomores...oh my God, they were so arrogant, they were 15 and 16 and already acted like they owned the joint, it was real bad. Marching season was bad, the seniors and juniors did all the work, the sophomores tried to skate by, and the freshmen had the rehearsal maturity of a newborn. Now I will say that there were some good apples in that class, but they were so buried by the rest of the rotten ones. But anyway, a girl named Kyra started to really get on my nerves at the start of the year. Now, let me tell you this, even though everybody in the school kissed her feet and worshipped her, she was EVIL. Okay, she was E.V.I.L, she was Every Villain Is Lemons evil, that's Spongebob level evil, okay? That's the shit I don't like, like, forreal. She was so high maintenance and was very, very rude. I actually dared to call her out on her bullshit, she didn't take it well, but I didn't care, someone needed to say that she was not a saint and she is just not a good person. However, with her endless cattiness, she wasn't my biggest problem that year. No, that honor went to a different girl...Jeanette. Now, she's an interesting subject because she started out really nice, then someone flipped a switch or something and she just started lashing out at people. I got the brunt of her frustration and soon THS was World War 3: we HATED each other. We argued over every single thing, however insignificant it was, and she bit my head off whenever she got the chance. I don't know what I was doing to warrant all of that treatment, but it came on like a rash, there was nothing I could do to stop it, she just became impossible to deal with. And soon everyone else started catching on, even though the seniors still loved her to death, the rest of the school was over it. I had many conversations with people, coming up to me and telling me they couldn't stand all of her bad moods. Junior year was pretty much consumed by my constant fighting with her, even on our best days it was just awkward. Now, I know that a man is not supposed to hit a woman, but I really just wanted to punch her. To make matters worse, I also started to fight with my other friend Jenny, who was EJ's older sister. She was just done with me, and she too started to say things that were not in any way warranted, and I just didn't really know how to deal with it, she just didn't like me that year. Before I go any further, I will lighten things up once again and inform you that this was the year I met Ms. Bridges. She replaced Mr. Zweig (he moved to Oshkosh), and she was sooo nice! And funny too, an all around great person. And junior year was the year I went to honor bands! At the all-state honor band, I met these two kids, Adam Wysocki and Sarah Kramer, who were the best people ever! I also met Meredith Enjaian, but she'll be important later. Oh, if you were wondering how LYSO and Wind Ensemble went: LYSO was great, just fantastic, I loved being concertmaster and we played great music too! Wind ensemble...Kyra was in it and her bad habits soon started to show up everywhere else, the passion for band was gone and we could've been a lot better if more people would have put more effort into it. All in all, though, junior year was the final straw, I was over the drama, the immaturity, the blatant disrespect for everything, nobody cared about anything either, really, it's like they had no soul and their hearts were made of stone or something. I was done, that was the year I just started coasting by and I didn't go to any big social event like prom, I didn't go to the pool or any club, I didn't want to deal with them anymore. My friends tried to help me the best they could, but even they couldn't save me from the turmoil I was in. I thought it couldn't get any worse, though, that everything would be up from there because the next year I was going to be a senior, and that's always the best year of high school, right?

Senior Year. It was both good and bad. I'll get the good parts out of the way first. I was concertmaster at LYSO again! I got accepted into the University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire! I completed the daunting task of auditioning for the music program there (really, I was so utterly and completely terrified), I turned 18! I went to all three possible honor bands (I was the only one to do so) and I saw Adam and Sarah again, and I met another cool kid, Paul! I met Nicole Densmore at another honor band (she'll be important later, too), I finally got a 1st rating at state solo/ensemble! And I also started to branch out, it was my last year so I thought that I would go out with a bang. I joined interact club, I started to go to more parties and hung out with my friends alot more, and there's one more thing I'll get to at the end. Now the bad stuff, and sorry, but there's alot of it. Before senior year started, I tried out for drum major a second time, I really had high hopes since I practiced and learned everything I needed to. The audition day was a mess, I was overpowered by the other auditioners David and, guess who? Jeanette. Yeah, when she was drum major and I wasn't, that didn't go over well, I think that actually made things worse, I mean we didn't get into as many fights, but the tension was still there. But in the end, it didn't really matter who was a leader and who wasn't because the sophomores and juniors (the bulk of the band) never listened to her, or any of the seniors, anyway. They and their infinite wisdom, completely overstepped their boundaries and made it well known that they thought they not only knew more than the seniors, but that they just knew it all, period. They didn't listen to us, and the poor freshmen, who were actually well behaved, were just kind of there, trying to make it work but the drama between the upperclassmen definitely started to wear on us after awhile. That marching season was easily the worst one I ever had, everyone just checked out and didn't put a smidgen of effort into it. Concert season was only slightly better, but I was still fed up with all the wrong notes, everyone talking while playing, no respect for Mr. Tubbs was given what-so-ever, the maturity and passion was not there at all.

But during all the drama in marching season, my parents' marriage began to crumble once again. My dad was contacted by his ex-girlfriend, and when he wrote back, my mom was infuriated and demanded that he stop. He didn't, though, and she soon started to threaten divorce. By the start of the year everything was sorted out there, but then mom met McKenzie, the daughter of my sister's best friend Eden. My mom loved that baby, she adored it and worshipped it. Soon McKenzie was at my house every weekend, and kept me up all night, when I had a parade to go to the next day. I became very pissed off, and I told her this, but she did not care at all, she actually started to say that my dad and I didn't care about her and that McKenzie loved her more than we did. Ironically, my mom left me on my own at that point, I could tell she cared more about that baby than she did about me, and we soon butted heads everyday because of it. She completely left my dad and I to fend for ourselves and she just fondled over that baby instead. I really needed my mom at that point, though, because my senior year was already down the drain. Remember in 8th grade, when I said German class was going to be important? Well much of my senior year revolved around my German V class, which was the same class as in 8th grade only 9 people instead of 20. About three weeks into it I was tired of it, not because it was hard, but because my classmates just picked on me, every single day, it was like a chore to go to class because I would have to sit through all of them arguing with me and biting my head off over every single little thing. I soon became the butt of every joke and even when I didn't say anything they still attacked me like a pack of hyenas. It got so bad to the point where I just started asking Mr. Tubbs for a pass to the band room, I made some excuse, and I didn't have to go to German when I didn't want to, even worse, my German teacher who at once was really nice and very supportive, didn't do anything at all, he just let them tear me apart and that really did not sit well with me, even now. Then add Psychology class, if you remember my "In Defense of Lady Gaga Part 2" rant, my teacher, who I'll now reveal to be Mr. Briggs, was also a source of frustration. Everybody I knew talked him up like he was some sort of God or something, and I thought I would like him too, but I really didn't, at all. He was rude, he cut people off, his opinion was the only one that mattered, and all he did was hate on Lady Gaga, and quite frankly, I didn't find him to be all that funny, and he says "real quick" WAY too much. Between German V and Psychol...I mean, the "I Hate Lady Gaga" fan club, 1st semester of senior year was just dreadful.

2nd semester was slightly better. I was finally free of Mr. Briggs, but I was still forced to endure German V. Also, this is when I just started falling apart all over again. Remember when I said that EJ would be really important? Now he is. By senior year all of my friends had graduated, so he was the only one I had left, and I started clinging to him. It reached a point where he started pulling away, but I only clung to him more, and we started fighting more and more. I did have other friends, but I have to say, they weren't that supportive, and at lunch they just made me feel worthless, especially my friend Megan. I was very tired, of everything really, and I really struggled to make it through the last months of the year. It all came to a head two times: the first one is when we had an assembly where they gave out student of the year awards, and music was one of them. I actually thought I had a fair shot at receiving it, but alas, the other Nick, 8th grade Nick, won it instead. School was over after it and I was kind of numb at that point, I drove around in the pouring rain for awhile, and when I got home I was sobbing. Yeah it seems so silly, but back then, it really hit me hard, and I then decided to call out Mr. Tubbs on every single problem I had with him and the band in general over the year and his blatant favoritism towards Jeanette and Nick (among other students). The next day he was more than prepared to talk to me about it and we worked everything out for the moment. However, the next week is when I completely lost my mind. There was one day when I was having a really bad day in general: German class sucked as usual, Jeanette and I got into yet another fight, and even Mr. Tubbs snapped at me. That's actually what set me off, when Mr. Tubbs is mad at me, something is very wrong, let me tell you that. I was once again just feeling lonely and sad, and I once again just drove around trying to calm down, but it was pretty pointless, I had reached my end for a fourth time. I got home completely hysterical, and before my mom could catch me, I went off on this huge Facebook rant, basically saying that hell is a better place than Tomah, I really would have chosen to be with Satan than all of the mini-devils I was forced to interact with every single day. Once I was done my mom finally caught me and finally gave me the support I needed. We talked over everything and she explained to me that I was beyond the point of "reaching my limit", after 11 years of non-stop bullying, I had reached my limit for the billionth time, and that's not easy for anyone to endure. She and my dad told me that I'm stronger than I thought I was, and to live my life takes an incredible amoount of tenacity. After that I took down the FB rant, and the next day I once again sorted everything out with Mr. Tubbs, and then he explained something to me, he said: "Nick, we make fun of what we don't understand, it's easy". Yes, I am pulling the "I was just missunderstood" card because I was, I mean, I'm a little weird, and I don't fit into Tomah's little mold, so everyone just decided to pick on me instead of taking the time to really get to know me. That was the problem, they thought they knew everything there was to know about me, when in reality they didn't know that much at all.

That was an eye opening day, and about two weeks later, all of my hard work paid off. At my senior band concert, I received the John Philip Sousa Award for excellence in band. My name was going to be on a plaque in the band room! And then eight days later, on a Saturday morning (ew), I finally graduated. I finally made it through all of the bullshit, and I was ecstatic to see where my life would take me next. I still have my freshman year of college to go over, but I'll end part 4 here, because the summer would bring a whole new battle to begin. You're almost done, but thank you for still reading my story, part 5 will be the happiest part of all, I promise!