My Shout-Outs: Last Semester/Graduation

Well, I did it y'all!

4.5 years after I left high school, I have officially graduated college!! And though it's been a very rewarding last semester, I still have to thank everyone who has gotten me to this point. But before I do that...

When I first left for college on that hot August day in 2012--my first day in the Blugold Marching Band--I did think that I was going to blossom into the person I always wanted to be. I thought that I was going to find my "people" in the music students at Haas Fine Arts Center. If you've already been reading this blog, you don't need to guess that I indeed found wonderful human beings at my university...just not in the places I expected. I have spent much time obsessing over how differently I wanted my experience in the music program to be, but once and for all, I think that I need to just lay out my one true regret about my time there. I know that my communication skills are still being perfected, but there is one part of me that wishes that I could've been more myself in HFA. I wish that they would've given me a real chance to show that I definitely was there with the best intentions. I could've shown them more character, and they could've shown me more patience. I don't know if I ever will see any of them past this point, but I do think that everyone I've met (and myself) will achieve what they were meant to achieve. This isn't necessarily an apology to them, but I am recognizing that there was a lot that didn't come out. And as much as I've been misunderstood, I wish that I could've understood more about where they were coming from--mentally and emotionally. Maybe it was a lost opportunity, but I know that this was an experience for me to learn from. 

Regardless of what I didn't accomplish, I've grown to appreciate the fact that I've made it this far. This one door has been closed for good, but now I can knock on 100 more until someone finally says yes. 

And, with all of that said, I will take the rest of this time to list every one of those special people that made my journey worthwhile. 

Lauren Hintz, Zack Bartsch, Lacey Kroll, Lucas Brawdy, Logan Kaduce, Alex 'Plato' Plaetzer,
Alycia Crowe, Alex Herrera, Sam Zimmerman, Rosie Evans, Becky Olson, Andrew Nicholson,
Haley Reichardt, Kelsie Hines, Paul Soulier, Angie Coyle, Autumn Schacherl, Bobbi Freagon,
Sam Olson, Gage Donkers, Chad Mantey, Trent Spatenka, Deidra Gibson, Mariah Kewin,
Marie Kaczmarek, Lexy Henkleman, Emily Spence, Bryan Kujawa, Makayla Chandler,
Sarah McAlveen (I hope I spelled that right), Sarah DiPiazza, Karlie Korish, Christi Ladwig,
Ashley Sukhu, Alex Exworthy, Mitchell Marten, Josie Peterson, Anne Sandell, Courtney Mensink, Hunter Jeske, Summer Underwood, Amanda Koval, Quinn Reinhard, Gaby Calawerts, Siri Stensberg, Alex Knoepker, Heather Jones, Karlie Hansen, Kristine Mienke, Michael Lindau, Brielle Cummings, Garrett Aalfs, Nathalie Burmeister, Courtney Walin, Matt Strom, Forrest & Clarissa Cleven-Peterson, Adam Accola, Nalika Nom, Rachel Burtman, Madeline Reilly, McKenna Heintz, Britany Chartier (now Turinske!), Joe Poncelet, Cody Norling, Grace Luebben, Molly Jones, Mackenzie Palmer, Rachel Battles, Rachel Eckwright, Anika Reinighaus, Nicole Karlove, Christine Lasee, Jasmine Hanson, Michael Dellutri, Megan Skrbec, Carlee Schneider, Sara Rieke, Leslie Hoffman, Jordan Jenkins, Matt Halverson, Hannah Steig, Heather Colwell, Abby Schultz, Brady Scafe, Shelby Moore, Anastasia Rauland, Tyler Tolan, Annie Jackson, Emilie Zamarripa, Elizabeth Brunner, Hannah Nennig, Alyse Weber, Melissa Ruhbusch, Alli Wilmes, Brandon Hoege, Andy Michor, Sierra Joswick, Brianne Ackley, Bronte Stewart, Sam Kelley, Eli & Spencer Webb, Kristen Heller, Nathan Cicero, Shalaine Buehl, Jake Sabel, Jess & Emily Ecker, Sarah Leppert, Peter Beckwith, Maggie Donovan, Briar Swann, Rosie Moua, Kirsten Miller, Shannon Durley (now Schield!), Jenn Peterson, Tyler Stromquist-Levoir, Judi Johnson, Courtney Yeager, Allison Litke, Melissa Erath, Joel Paltzer, Kara Metzger, Sarah Faste, Grant Sachs, Marc Cain, Adam Wysocki, Mariah Sands, Heather Jordan, Dominic Meinke, Jenni Nueske, Jacob Brunnquell, Alyssa Gorell, Amanda Nieman, Emily Bacon, Lara Bockenstedt, Kelli Gasparka, Amy Whiteman, Hannah Hodgett (now Holman!), Rose Mish, Hayley Kubler, Lexi Meier, Megan Schuknecht, Meredith Enjaian

Damn that's a lot of people! (146 to be exact), but I still have a few more! 

Daniel Steiner-my first roommate, who I still love to this day
Crystine Adams-the person who got me through orchestra, and took me to DQ for smoothies!
Kelly Noltner-my first friend from music theory, who is always nice to me and is forever on my side
Hannah Zirbes-my world music buddy who is also a BAMF at flute
Teresa Wolfe-my music history study partner and soul-mate
Jesse Kozak, Trevor Kent, and Katie Lane-my lit squad fam from Haas, who always made me laugh and happy that I got out of bed that morning
Shane O'Neil-my best guy friend who provided me with plenty of moral support and life advice
Katelyn Klevgard-my lunch buddy, MacDons buddy, and horn studio friend that is hilarious

And now, some love letters:
Nathan Gilger, Jake Kavinsky, and Dom Faraglia-The best roommates in the entire world
Andrea Ranzau-My soul survivor sista, continue to fight
Briana Buchholtz-The first friend I ever made in college, and still kicking ass today
Emily Watkins-Probably my bestest friend in the entire universe, I honestly can't thank you enough

Everyone I've mentioned here is special to me, and I'm glad to have known every single one of you. Goodbye for now; I know I'll see you around when we've reached the top of the world that is opening up to us with each passing day.

Peace out.

Albums and Songs I Liked in 2016

Now that I got the worst songs out of my system, I'll move on to the music I actually liked in 2016. 

Rachel Platten-"Wildfire"
Track Picks-"Astronauts" **Favorite Song of 2016**, "Better Place"

Sia-"This Is Acting"
Track Picks-"Bird Set Free", "Alive", "Cheap Thrills", "Broken Glass", "One Million Bullets", "Move Your Body"

Foxes-"All I Need" **Best Pop Album of 2016**
Track Picks-"Better Love", "Body Talk", "Cruel", "Shoot Me Down", "Amazing", "Money", "Wicked Love", "Feet Don't Fail Me Now"

Shura-"Nothing's Real"
Track Picks-"What's It Gonna Be?", "Indecision", "Make It Up"

Pet Shop Boys-"Super"
Track Picks-"The Pop Kids", "Groovy", "Undertow", "Burn" 

Rihanna-"Anti"
Track Picks-"Kiss It Better", "Never-Ending", "Desperado"

Empire of the Sun-"Two Vines"
Track Picks-"High and Low", "Friends", "There's No Need", "First Crush", "Ride"

Tove Lo-"Lady Wood"
Track Picks-"Influence", "Lady Wood", "True Disaster", "Cool Girl"

Kristin Kontrol-"X Communicate"
Track Picks-"White Street", "(Don't) Wannabe", "X-Communicate", "Skin Shed", "Going Thru The Motions"

Ariana Grande-"Dangerous Woman"
Track Picks-"Into You", "Side to Side", "Thinking Bout You", "Be Alright", "Greedy"

Tegan & Sara-"Love You To Death"
Track Picks-"That Girl", "Faint of Heart", "Dying To Know", "Stop Desire", "U-Turn", "Boyfriend"

JoJo-"Mad Love"
Track Picks-"FAB", "Honest"

Melanie C-"Version Of Me"
Track Picks-"Anymore", "Numb", "Blame"

Gwen Stefani-"Make Me Like You", "Used To Love You", "Rare", "Splash"

Britney Spears-"Glory"
Track Picks-"Better", "Clumsy", "Invitation", "Coupure Electrique", "Man on the Moon"

AlunaGeorge-"I Remember"
Track Picks-"Mean What I Mean", "I'm In Control", "Hold Your Head High", "Jealous"

Banks-"The Altar"
Track Picks-"Gemini Feed", "Trainwreck", "Poltergeist", "To The Hilt"

Carly Rae Jepsen-"Emotion: Side B"
Track Picks-"Higher", "Fever", "Body Language", "Cry", "Roses"

Deadmau5-"4ware", "Let Go"

Katy B-"I Wanna Be"

Miranda Lambert-"The Weight of These Wings"
Track Picks-"Runnin Just In Case", "Highway Vagabond", "Ugly Lights", "Use My Heart", "For The Birds", "I've Got Wheels"

Swimming With Dolphins-"Let You Love"

The Veronicas-"On Your Side", "In My Blood"

So, what were your favorites of 2016?

Lady Gaga-"Joanne" Review

Never the one to do things half-assed, Lady Gaga's greatest strength is also her greatest weakness. Her success has always hinged on whether this ambition ignited her imagination--"The Fame" and "The Fame Monster" remain kaleidoscopic and thrilling listens--or stifled it. "Born This Way" started the trend of Gaga's determination undermining itself, but her excessiveness reached a fever pitch in 2013's "ARTPOP". It tried so hard to marry pop and the avant-garde, that it rarely satisfied both audiences at once. But despite feeling claustrophobic, it was still something only Lady Gaga could make. That's more than what you can say for "Joanne", her 2016 sequel to the affair. Her ferocious work ethic is the weakest link in this frustratingly ordinary album. Lady Gaga finds one rock groove--accented with twang and folk sensibility--and stays relentlessly stays there. She throws in some  R&B/Soul--most explicitly and predictably on the Florence Welch assistsed "Hey Girl"--but the entirety of "Joanne" is one track repeated ad nauseam. Even if there are slight changes in the particulars, the overall impression is the same languid beats accompanying the most unimaginative songs Lady Gaga has ever wrote. It's as if she thinks that adding country and adult contemporary alone makes an album great (which of course it doesn't), and she makes glaring errors in her execution because of it.


She has already proven herself to be a gifted vocalist, in range and force, but she, for some reason, feels the need to deliver these songs with the most neck-cringing enunciation she could manage. This is mostly prevalent in the lead single "Perfect Illusion", where 'illusion' is E-LOO-SION and 'love' is LAHVE, but these moments come fast and furious throughout the rest of the album as well. Gaga still has plenty of on-record personality, but she's lost her charisma to the faceless-ness of 90s/modern country. She isn't, nor has she ever been, a honky-tonk woman like Shania Twain or Faith Hill, and even if she truly values Americana and roots-rock, on "Joanne" it feels like she's dressing up in Sheryl Crow and Jewel hand-me-downs. Unsurprisingly, though, Lady Gaga's biggest enemy here, is herself. Her past work haunts "Joanne" like 80s Madonna did in "The Fame". She has done country and rock very well before--"You and I", "Speechless", "The Edge of Glory", "Bad Kids"--but it's actually to "Joanne"'s detriment that it bears so many retreads to "Born This Way". There's nothing fresh here; even if Gaga is still trying so hard to make this record work, the productions, songs, and performances don't have much life to them. They're self-conscious and flat, as is the pretense that she's being more 'personal' and 'honest' than her previous work. Of course she isn't: she's always been a character, someone who's life is fueled by the creative and the artistic. There's nothing creative or artistic about "Joanne": the protest songs "Angel Down" and "Come to Mama" are weak at best, ballads like "Million Reasons" are dull, and any attempt at rock-n-roll ("John Wayne", "Diamond Heart") kicks up dust and grinding guitars but little fun.


There's absolutely nothing wrong with a change of pace, but when the results are as startlingly mediocre as this, you start to wonder why an artist would abandon all of the things that made them a star in the first place. Lady Gaga's detractors may have been right in saying that she could put too much emphasis on garish over-eccentricity for its own sake, but it was her signature, that special quality that allowed her to rise head and shoulders above her peers. But "Joanne" isn't quirky or daring, it's safe and obvious. It shoots so far beneath Gaga's abilities as a writer and performer--as well as Mark Ronson's knack for monster hooks and funky rhythms--that it doesn't really have a reason to exist. At one point, it was endearing to see Lady Gaga trying so hard to prove herself, either visually, artistically, vocally, or musically, but now it's not only tiring, it's embarrassing. What she does next can only come as a pleasant surprise.


Recommended Tracks:
"Joanne"
"Sinner's Prayer"

Britney Spears-"Glory" Review



For all its criticism and commercial non-performance, 2013's "Britney Jean" wasn't THAT bad. It was too short, had its fair share of filler, and even a turgid ballad ("Perfume"), but we're still talking about it, aren't we? It was memorable enough to remain in the public consciousness when Brit Brit announced her ninth album, "Glory", in the summer of 2016. The resounding worry of this record being worse than "Britney Jean" was palpable. What was also heavily felt was the doubt of  "Glory" returning Spears to the pinnacle of pop. Despite a hugely successful Las Vegas residency (and two number one hits), the 2010s have not been kind to Britney. None of her albums have cracked one million in sales, she ceased to have top ten hits after 2011, and when she tried to shake things up with the Iggy Azalea-assisted "Pretty Girls" in 2015, it flopped. Big time. Such embarrassments are detrimental to pop stars in their early careers, let alone veterans of the industry well into their 30s. Indeed, the pressure for "Glory" to live up to its name was high.

It's interesting, then, to see "Make Me..." chosen as the lead single; a spacey, relaxed almost-ballad featuring a verse from G-Eazy. It was produced by Burns, an electronic producer already prominent in the UK. This is the closest "Glory" gets to high-thread producers, other than Mattman & Robin, who helm thee tracks overall ("Do You Wanna Come Over?", "Slumber Party", and "Change Your Mind (No Seas Cortes)". Cashmere Cat, Mischke, Nick Monson, and Tramaine "Young Fyre" Winfrey pick up most of the production duties (with cameos from Bloodpop and Andrew Goldstein). Based on these credits, it certainly appears like Britney is genuinely trying to expand her sound, while retaining enough pop appeal to please her longtime fans. On occasion this works--the deliriously fun "Clumsy", dreamy "Invitation", upbeat "Man on the Moon"--but "Glory" most often stumbles over its modernity. Witness the utter disaster that is "Private Show", a top contender for the worst song Spears, or anyone else, has ever performed. Other tracks like "Love Me Down", "Liar", and "Just Like Me" rely too much on their heavy-handed Hip-Hop, and not enough on Britney's still intact on-record charisma. The Las Vegas influence comes out on "What You Need", but its organs and bombast are too much for Spears to handle. Her signature thin vocal doesn't protrude through thick pop gloss that is drizzled through most of "Glory", and it unfortunately can't muster up enough memorable or even hooky melodies to keep a listener in its orbit. Of course it's admirable to hear Britney trying on different styles and moods, and the absence of will.i.am and Max Martin isn't felt (or missed). There's also a real sense of effort here--writing and singing a song all in French ("Coupure Electrique")?! You go Brit Brit--which is a relief considering how rushed and unfulfilled "Britney Jean" seemed to be. Overall, though, "Glory" more or less provides the same amount of strong songs as its predecessor, while still playing to Spears'  lingering bad habits. This is not a "comeback" record for sure, but at this point in her career, it might be too much to ask for anything more.

Recommended Tracks:

"Invitation"

"Clumsy"

"Better"

"Coupure Electrique"

Carly Rae Jepsen-"Emotion: Side B" Review

Since Carly Rae Jepsen's third album, "Emotion", was so ridiculously overpraised, expectations for its commercial performance were set far too high. It only reached the top ten in three countries, spawned no big hits, and sold less than 500,000 copies. This underwhelm shocked the legions of critics who deemed "Emotion" the best pop album of 2015. Of course, those same critics also deemed Carly Rae Jepsen a disposable pop-tart when "Call Me Maybe" swept the globe in 2012. And, of course, it was due to these low expectations that caused them to think of "Emotion" as a masterpiece of sorts. Any objective listener, such as yours truly, would've gawked at the 80s cheese--no more prevalent than in the boring "All That" or the clanging, cluttered "When I Needed You"--and the album's overall flaw of taking itself too seriously. There were fun songs ("Run A way With Me", "Making The Most of the Night"), but the majority of the album set its sights on critical acclaim, winding up over-calculated and chintzy. Nothing really explains why Carly Rae would release a companion EP of unused material a year after "Emotion" flopped, but it's interesting to hear songs that were excised from the original product. Perhaps they could provide a glimpse into the creative process; to put the songs that made the cut into a larger context.

What "Emotion: Side B" does, then, is prove that Carly Rae Jepsen has great instincts when writing pop songs and choosing producers to give them infectious beats and sounds. However, her state-of-the-art does not cross over into constructing a proper album. Even though this EP is billed as a collection of b-side leftovers, the best cuts here should've been included on "Emotion", instead of the twee that took their place. Lead-off track "First Time" is definitely rooted in 80s synthpop, but its balanced by enough modern techniques to give it a contemporary feel. Same goes for the infectious "Higher", the most obvious choice for a single here. Back-half highlights include the shimmery electro-pop of "Cry", and the EP's best dance track, "Body Language". Other than these highlights, the other songs are just OK ("Roses", "The One"), and some songs--particularly "Store"--sound like snippets of other bad songs meshed together. Carly Rae was right to leave the weaker cuts off "Emotion", but it's maddening to see that the better ones were overlooked. "Emotion: Side B" doesn't necessarily holds it own has a cohesive EP, but it ultimately shows that Jepsen can make some kick-ass pop songs when she's up for it. Her biggest challenge now is to translate her considerable skills as a song craftsmen into albums that fulfill her ludicrously large potential.

Recommended Tracks:
"First Time"
"Higher"
"Body Language"
"Cry"

Meghan Trainor: "Thank You" Review

Well, this is awkward. After facing down backlash for "All About That Bass", Meghan Trainor's attention was then diverted to the enormous slander of her single "Dear Future Husband". Many insults were thrown--non-feminist! sexist! to start--and then she saw her stardom crumble further when Charlie Puth dragged her along for the abomination that was "Marvin Gaye". Less than a year after her debut became a smash, it looked like Meghan Trainor was on her way to be the next Robin Thicke: disgraced from the mainstream after one scandal too many. She was able to release the John Legend-assisted snoozer "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" just in time to score another hit, but the damage was done: Trainor no longer had the leverage to make any political or social statements like she did in "Title". Really, the only way for her career to continue was to wash away any sort of identity marker, blending in with the rest of radio and peacefully exist as an anonymous pop star. She introduced this image overhaul with "NO", a Destiny's Child hand-me-down that transparently appropriated Y2K for a modern audience. The song was catchy enough to become a top three hit, and would've made a pretty good base for Trainor's speedily released sophomore album "Thank You". Only one problem: the time she would've spent making a statement about feminism, body image, or independence, she has condensed into half an album's worth of shameless narcissism. It's clear that the only person she's thanking here is herself, and she doesn't even try to hide her inflated ego with the opening salvo of "Watch Me Do", "Me Too", and "NO". In this context, "NO" seems to be a kiss-off to men simply because they're not the greatness that is Meghan Trainor. Not one of the so-called "self-esteem" songs are catchy enough to be good ("I Won't Let You Down" being the least profane), and all of the 2000s hip-hop references get really old before the drums kick-in for the reggae-driven "Better". True, "Title" suffered for the same reason--50s and 60s doo-whop was good for a one song novelty, but certainly not an entire album--however, what "Thank You" severely lacks in freshness could've been made up in keeping the same level of hooks. But this isn't the Meghan Trainor we used to know, that's why she dyed her hair brown after all, and in order to preserve her as an agreeable pop-tart, she's done everything she can to make her new music as bland and unoriginal as her peers. This, in fact, is what makes this record inferior to her debut. Maybe it's some consolation that she's not as offensive as she used to be, but she's equated correctness for safeness, and has ended up with one of 2016's least enjoyable pop albums.

Recommended Tracks:
"NO"

"Dance Like Yo Daddy"
"Champagne Problems"

Ariana Grande: "Dangerous Woman" Review

When Ariana Grande released her sophomore album "My Everything" in 2014, she was launched from Nickelodeon star with R&B cred to a full-fledged pop phenomenon. She claimed no less than four top ten hits from that album, becoming the only artist to achieve the feat that year. However, 2015 wasn't as kind to Ariana: a slew of scandals threatened to tarnish her sweet and bubbly image and turn her into-gasp-a normal, flawed person! Add to that a single highly reductive of her earlier hits ("Focus") and she had a lot to prove with her third album. Cleverly titled "Dangerous Woman", Grande has put the syrupy ballads and air-thin pop-rap aside for a sleek, sexy collection of songs that are her most consistent and sonically fresh. She's not the wide-eyed ingenue of "Yours Truly" anymore--that was made pretty obvious with her "doughnutgate" incident last year--and she's just fine with that. Now that her teen fanbase have grown into young adults, she seizes her first opportunity to be her raw-unfiltered self and have loads of fun while doing it. But this isn't "Bangerz": Grande is looking to exist on her own terms, whereas Miley Cyrus was doing everything in power to shock. Her pipes are still her best trait, but this time she tries harder to enunciate so the lyrics stand-out just as much as the music itself, which keeps the urban-leanings of her first two records but strips away the flimsy hip-hop for soul and house grooves. Though hiring Max Martin to usher in this new sound was a predictable move, Grande actually defies expectations by being so unapologetically sardonic, playing against the conventions of pop and releasing profanities and innuendo with unabashed glee. Maybe "Dangerous Woman" isn't classy like her earlier records, but since most of these songs are way more fun and catchy, it's a small burden. Unfortunately, Grande couldn't let go of her bad habit to feature way too many artists--Nicki Minaj, Macy Gray, Lil Wayne, and Future all make appearances--and naturally it's these songs that don't work. Ariana is self-sufficient, and delivers her best hooks when it's just her and a mic. She mostly consolidates her strong suits for "Dangerous Woman" though, so even if the middle third is highly repetitive, it's saved by sweaty dance tracks that ride their funky beats and keep the mood going the entire way through. Even if Ariana Grande the person has made some bad decisions lately, it actually ends up empowering her music and taking it to a viable direction. This is an album that she can build a better career upon, now that she's making no excuses (or apologies) for her persona.

Recommended Tracks:
Dangerous Woman
Into You
Greedy

My Shout-Outs: Senior Year

Well this is weird. 22YO and I'm almost done with college and about to do the adulting thing. 

ANYWAY :)

Let's just get right to it. After one of the most emotionally straining years of my life, I wouldn't even be here right now if I didn't have such a great people to lean on. I don't get to see them often, so it sucks that some of them are graduating! But more on that later. 

As per tradition, the BMB Mellophone section of 2015 gets the first call:
Lexy Henkelman
Michael Jablonsky
Andrea Ranzau
Robyn Gehri
Emily Watkins
Jasmine Hanson
Siri Stensberg
Sam Olson
Grant Sachs
Amanda Halek
Ben Mackie
Gage Donkers
Nalika Nom
Less than three, guys <3

Next, the only people I could stand in the UWEC Symphony Orchestra!
Crystine McGinley-Adams: Violin
Amanda Koval: Violin
Hannah Nennig: Violin
Rose Mish: Violin
Alyssa Edmundson: Violin
Nicole Bergquist: Violin
Katarina Theo: Violin
McKenzie Palmer: Violin
Rachel Burtman: Bass
Hunter Jeske: Bass
Sarah DiPiazza: Clarinet
Zach Arthur: Bassoon
Andy Michor: Horn
Kristina Mienke: Horn
My last year in this ensemble really couldn't end fast enough. A really traumatic experience all around. But I have to say goodbye to the graduates! Crystine, Rose, and Andy, I love you all and wish the best for all your futures!!

I took another creative writing course this year (ENGL 310), which involved poetry writing! Not my favorite class, but these are definitely some of my favorite people!
Anne Sanell
Emily Spence
Shannon Carlson
Josie Peterson
Brianne Ackley
Brandon Hoege

The cool kids in my fine arts administration seminar!
Dani Schmalz
Adam Accola
Kaynen Harris
Katelyn Larson
Mitchell Rea
Adam is gradu-macating! A really great guy who I hope has an equally great life beyond college!

And of course I'll shout-out my favorite profs from this year!
Nobu Yasuda
Randy Dickerson
Jason Anderson
Nathan Miller
Matthew Meyer
Cynthia Hofacker
Gene Hood

A random list of people that I can't categorize but appreciate very dearly!!
Alex Exworthy
Hannah Zirbes
Bobbi Freagon
Adam Wysocki
Quinn Reinhard
Trevor Kent
Carlee Schneider
Shannon Durley
Shelby Moore
Sierra Joswick
Paul Soulier
Rachel Eckwright
Chad Mantey
Teresa Wolfe
Haley Reichardt
Shalaine Buehl
Grace Luebben
Maggie Donovan
Mariah Sands
Christine Lasee
Angie Coyle
Matt Strom
Anika Reinighaus
Kirsten Miller
Dan Vaningan
Heather Colwell
Zach Bartsch
Katelyn Klevgard
Molly Jones
Katie Lane
There are ALOT of people from this list that are graduating! Alex, Adam, Carlee, Shannon, Paul, Shalaine, Grace, and Angie. All of you are amazing, wonderful human beings that will go forth and tear all the shit up! Thank you for staying by me for so long, and have fun in your adult lives!!!

So, now would be the time that I acknowledge the top four people that went above and beyond and all that usual sappy stuff. But, this year I didn't think that any one person stood out above the rest because everyone helped me out: equally and in different, valuable ways. 
But I'll name a few that witnessed me break down and give up, and then proceeded to push me forward. They never gave up, and I'll recognize that:

Briana Buchholtz-Oh come on you knew this was coming! 4 straight years of unwavering loyalty and companionship, all of them exciting and rewarding! I love this girl more than I love cats, and that's saying something!!

Jesse Kozak-Hey, the first guy on this part of the list! We had good times this year, too many not to warrant a special mention. A very good friend that has only encouraged me to do my best and to not give up so easily. I wonder what shenanigans will ensue in the fall? ;)

Emily Watkins-Once bae, always bae. No one else took me to Carson Park at midnight and ate McDonald's with me. We sat, we bitched, we played cribbage, we ate tons of calories! But most importantly, she continued to support me through some of the darkest days. I couldnt've survived without here!

Andrea Ranzau-It looks like we'll have a little more time together, which is great because it's always fun with my home-slice around! One of my best friends since freshmen year, she holds me steady when I'm just about to crumble. I'll be so sad when she does leave, but happy that she's given me four years of her time and patience!!

That's it for this year. One more semester to go, and I'll be done with school for the first time in 17 years!!!! I'll once again thank everyone mentioned here for their love and guidance. And to anyone that I may have forgotten: only on paper, but not in my heart!   

Sia-"This Is Acting" Review

Either Sia is the worst publicist ever, or she's on to something. Promoting her seventh album, "This Is Acting", as a collection of songs rejected by other artists (Beyoncé, Rihanna, Adele, etc) either implies the songs weren't that good to begin with and shouldn't have seen the light of day, or their intended clients are losing their touch on quality material. The end result turns out to be neither scenario: "This Is Acting" is an album that is as far removed from the introverted acid-jazz of Sia's earliest work as possible, and it certainly does feel like she's playing a character rather than giving the songs a genuine personality, yet these are tunes that could have only been recorded by Sia. The Adele-outcast "Alive" is soaring mid-tempo, but it's bombast and plucky production was an ill fit for the songstress' "25", so she was right to let Sia keep the song for herself. The same goes for Rihanna's return "Cheap Thrills", a sparse club-banger that flies in the face of RiRi's 'bitch better have my money' persona. In some cases, such as the opener "Bird Set Free", it was a blessing in disguise to have the song turned down by so many artists, because Sia largely benefits from the song's presence on "This Is Acting". It encapsulates her standard pathos, vocal, and lyrical content; the quintessential Sia song. And in fact, there are a good handful of strong singles here, whether they're convincing or not, starting with the spacious "One Million Bullets", to the effervescent "Move Your Body". Unfortunately, like so many other pop albums this decade, the songs that don't play as singles are the ones that are either too unremarkable ("House On Fire") or clichéd ("Footprints") to attract the ear before they sink into a self-deprecating lull. A litter later, Sia gets her early-2000s on with "Sweet Design" and "Broken Glass", but as anyone would properly guess, both tracks use the era's most unhip sounds, leaving no question as to why no artist was willing to attach their name to them. The truly forgettable "Space Between" ends this exercise in role-play on a turgid note, raising concern as to whether or not the concept of "This Is Acting" came before or after Sia realized that she did not have a strong, binding set of songs here. If she was expecting to compile an album's worth of rejected material, then it's baffling as to why she clumped the back-half with filler. If not, then the whole selling-point of this record is all the more contrived. Sia's voice remains very strong, her melodies are usually accented over beats, but with a good chunk of "This Is Acting" shooting far beneath her abilities, it feels like this is just a stopgap before she offers a worthy successor to "1000 Forms Of Fear".

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Bird Set Free                    2. Alive                      3. One Million Bullets

4. Move Your Body            5. Unstoppable          6. Cheap Thrills

7. Reaper                                  8. House On Fire       9. Footprints

10. Sweet Design                   11. Broken Glass        12. Space Between

Rachel Platten-"Wildfire" Review

Talk about a long journey to mainstream success. Singer-songwriter Rachel Platten is currently thirty-four years old, and is currently off the cuff of her breakthrough hit "Fight Song". Before 2015, she had released two solo records (the first in 2003, then a second LP followed in 2011), but Ms. Platten sat on the fringes for over a decade, writing songs for other indie artists but no audience or major record label was even aware of her existence. So, maybe the breakout success of "Fight Song" was more of a fluke than anything else, but whatever the reason, it caused enough stir to get Platten onto a record label which released her delayed third album "Wildfire" on the first day of 2016. Though the title implies a certain level of bombast, the cover art's imagery contoured by soft oranges and yellows conveys the album's sound and feel in a nutshell. Rachel Platten is just too sweet and good-natured to push herself beyond the familiar, so she ensures that much of "Wildfire" is filled with warm atmospheres and gently pushing grooves. She strays from this template a couple times--the Andy Grammer-assisted "Hey Hey Hallelujah" canned commercialism at best, but the generally enthralling "Angels in Chelsea" hits closer to the creative--but Platten makes no bones about retaining the formula of "Fight Song" and streamlining in further ("Stand By You") or accentuating it with more synths and club beats ("Astronauts"). Predictably, the mid-album piano ballad comes immediately after Platten's big hit (the tuneful "Better Place"), and further stabs at folky Grammer-pop present themselves soon after that. "Wildfire" keeps things simple, a somewhat disarming strategy when put in context to the other over-blown diva sets that littered the landscape in 2015, so it ends up being some low-key relief to the mainstream excess. Of course this record is not without problems of its own--there's a much stronger emphasis on song, for sure, but the blend of synths, guitars, and piano becomes background noise, rather than help push the hooks into the subconscious. However, it's hard to fault Rachel Platten for wanting to play to her strengths, because she's wound up with a pop album that is neither offensive or crass, just enjoyably light and engaging. It might be a little too late for her to cash in after the effects of "Fight Song" have faded, though, so there's also a sense of loss here. If she's lucky enough, she can use "Wildfire" as a record to lay the foundation for a more blossomed career, because she shows talent and promise, but the results either prove that her chance at mainstream success has either passed, or just begun. Only time will tell.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Stand By You          2. Hey Hey Hallelujah                       3. Speechless

4. Beating Me Up       5. Fight Song                                    6. Better Place

7. Lone Ranger           8. You Don’t Know My Heart     9. Angels in Chelsea

10. Astronauts       11. Congratulations                            12. Superman