My Shout-Outs: Junior Year

OMG COLLEGE SLOW DOWN I'M NOT READY TO BE A SENIOR YET.

^Now that I got that out of the way, it's time for the annual listing of the coolest, dopest, most bestestest peeps this side of the Chippewa! My junior year at UWEC was definitely one of the hardest I've had so far, and so I have a LOT of people to thank. 

First, of course, is the mellophone section of the BMB! We had a smaller section this time around, but there sure wasn't a smaller number of crazzzyyyyy people!
And their names are:
Alex Herrera
Amy Greathead
Andrea Ranzau
Tony Peterson
Ashley Sukhu
Kyle Launderville
Robyn Gehri
Emily Watkins
Ben Mackie
Siri Stensberg
Sam Olson
Forrest Cleven-Peterson
Grant Sachs
Best of luck to Alex, who's graduating!! Have fun being an English teacher girl!
I also wish good fortune to Amy, who will be student teaching in the fall!

Next, I shout-out to my homies in the UWEC Symphony Orchestra!
Eli Webb-violin
Grace Wilgus-violin
Crystine McGinley Adams-violin
Nathalie Burmeister-violin
Rose Mish-violin
Jake Brunquell-violin
Suzzana Kellett-violin
Rosie Moua-cello
Rachel Burtman-bass
Hunter Jeske-bass
Miranda Mullis-cello
Kate Hegna-violin
Allison Litke-violin
Sarah DiPiazza-clarinet
Laurie Craig-flute
Unfortunately, I have to say goodbye to some graduates here as well!! I hope for nothing but prosperity for Laurie, Eli and Grace! Additionally, Rosie will be student teaching in the fall, so good luck to her as well!

Horn studio peoples, ya'll are next! I learned alot from you guys, thanks for inviting me!
Rosie Evans
Andy Michor
Andrea Ranzau
Dominic Meincke
Kristina Mienke
Tommy Printon
Elizabeth Brunner
Hannah Steig
Ben Mackie
Amanda Halek
Katelyn Klevgard
Siri Stensberg 
People are graduating here too!! I wish for smooth sailing for Hannah, Dominic and Tommy, kick some ass boys (and girl)!

Creative Writing (ENGL 220) people: you are ALL the best. Literally. Like, the best ever. You showed me a world outside of the crazy music department, so I give you my deepest gratitude! ...But there were some people who stood out:
Summer Underwood (Amazon warrior princess pirate shaman!)
Anne Sandell (ENGL 310-Spring 2016-ROUND TWO!!)
Judi Johnson
Abby Schultz
Alyssa Sablan

Then I have these amazing professors who have helped me learn alot about...well, pretty much everything!!
Nobu Yasuda
Ryan Jones
Gretchen Peters
Randy Dickerson
Allyson Loomis (Best professor I think I've ever had. My creative writing buddies can attest to this!!)

Here comes the random list of people! I'll include everyone I can:
Lucas Brawdy
Britany Chartier
Autumn Schacherl
Garrett Aalfs
Jack Donovan
Miles Plant
Emilie Zamarripa (you're closer to the top this year!)
Haley Reichardt
Shelby Moore
Alex Exworthy
Trevor Kent
Jesse Kozak
Joe Poncelet
Andy Ludewig
Jamie Gronski
Angie Coyle
Carlee Schneider
Mariah Sands
Courtney Walin
Adam Wysocki
Aaron Grindemann
Paul Soulier
Madeline Reilly
Dani Schmalz
Matt Strom
Anika Reinighaus
Michael Dellutri
Amanda Koval
Karen McGregor
Sam Zimmerman
Brady Scafe
Christine Lasee
Shalaine Buehl
Andrew Nicholson
Bobbi Freagon
Grace Luebben
Julia Falbo
Since there's a lot of people in this list, of course there are some graduates!! Best wishes and all the luck to Miles and Jack!!

Now, before I head on to the Big Four, I must take this time to honor two graduates who I will miss more than anybody else. Knowing that they won't be here next year brings actual tears to my eyes!! 
Kelly Noltner-Girl, you know you were da best evah!!! And yeah, you can sing pretty well, too! I'll be seeing you at the Metropolitan Opera House! 

Shane O'Neil-My chauffeur. My rock. My music buddy. My only male best friend! I promise I won't start bawling into after I post this but...GOOD LUCK, MAN, DO THE BEST JOB YOU CAN OKAY?!!!! #tearsfoyears #pleasedontleave #illbeemissingyou

Alright, so I know it's my custom to do a Big Four every year, but here's the thing: this year was so exceptionally challenging for me, that I couldn't just turn to four people. There are indeed FIVE, FANTASTIC, FABULOUS women who have carried me through all the trials and tribulations this year.
Briana Buchholtz-Three years running girl! After she got back from Japan, it was a little rocky at first, but eventually she reminded me why we're such great friends. I can't believe we still have another year to tear shit up. Senior year, baby, LET'S DO IT!

Hannah Zirbes-Definitely one of the nicest, chillest people I've ever had the fortune to know. I honestly don't know why I didn't befriend her earlier, cause she's really that amazing. 20th Century Music and World Music were awesome, now let's conquer Music History Seminar together! (Also, Briana and Hannah went bar-hopping with me on my 21st birthday, so they get an extra shout-out for that!)

Andrea Ranzau-It's definitely been a bumpy road for us. But I take great solace in knowing that I can turn to you whenever I need help. I know our lives are not going to get easier, but having you by my side makes the ride bearable. You deserve a great support system, and I am absolutely willing to be a part of it, just like you are in mine! 

Teresa Wolfe-Let's recount the number of classes we've had together: MUSI 227, MUSI 229, MUSI 303, MUSI 350, and MUSI 405. Next up: Renaissance Counterpoint!!! Doing the music history sequence with you was beneficial in WAY more ways than I can count. All those late nights at the library, all the studying for quizzes and midterms and finals and writing all dem papers!! You'll be gone in one more semester, so we're not going to waste any time come the fall!

So, who was the girl who just went, like, above and beyond, who showed me that I do have friends that are willing to make plans with me, whenever, wherever? That is none other than my bus buddy, my Disney Sorry enthusiast, my music critic/helper, my McDonald's partner, my Noodles+Company/Books-a-million bae: EMILY WATKINS!!
By and large, your support has given me hope that I might not be such a lost cause after all! Every Sunday we've hung out, we've talked, we've dueled it out in the manner of board games, we've laughed, we've cried (well, maybe not that part), we've done many great things together!! I'm glad you're only a freshman, because this is only going to get bigger and better, I assure you!

Year 3: DONE. So, what's next? I don't know yet; I can honestly say I don't know. The wind will take me where it wants me to go, so while I continue this journey, you'll be sure to keep getting postcards. 

Zedd-"True Colors" Review

It may have been a long time overdue, but German DJ/producer Zedd finally reached a commercial breakthrough with 2013's definitive dance hit, "Clarity". Its accompanying LP of the same title featured many tracks with the same dance-pop crossover appeal, no doubt aided by pop craftsmen like Ryan Tedder, Ellie Goulding, and Matthew Koma. For the next two years Zedd tirelessly promoted "Clarity" with concert tours and festivals, whilst helming hits for other pop divas such as Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Such a full schedule makes you wonder if Zedd had the energy to take on the draining task of another album, but none-the-less, he has returned for a sequel: 2015's "True Colors". Since the era of "Clarity" just recently ended, it's not surprising at all to hear that its follow-up pretty much offers more of the same. Like last time, the album begins with a stripped down, pop-leaning interlude, giving guest artist Bahari a chance to shine before the grainy synths and pounding drum machines crash in around the two minute mark. From there, Zedd trades off between assaulting the ears with as many electronic sounds as possible and relieving the senses with a couple acoustic-driven ballads. So, he doesn't necessarily make any big artistic strides here, even if a couple songs are a nice refreshment of the EDM-pop that once dominated the radio in the early 2010s. Lead single "I Want You to Know" is by far the best, using Selena Gomez's vacant vocals to provide the essential hook, with Zedd picking up any slack with his restless studio tricks and techniques. 

It's just too bad that he didn't expand on this blueprint further, because he instead decided to overwhelm the mind with too many  contrasting ideas. He tries really hard to mix EDM, folk, pop, hip-hop, house, and rock, but this mix of genres is not presented with subtlety or cleverness; it's a blunt, full-frontal assault of naked ambition. It's so obvious that cuts like the guitar-lead title track or string-driven "Daisy" are meant to play to Zedd's musicality, that they lose some of their intrinsic charm. Attempts at self-empowerment like "Straight into the Fire" are admirable, but woefully fall aside when they run out of steam mid-way through the track. Ditto for "Beautiful Now", a would-be party jam for the couples on the dance floor, if it wasn't so stark in its minimalist approach. Indeed, "True Colors" suffers a great deal because of Zedd's self-indulgence, that even the best songs like the Echosmith-assisted "Illusion" are stretched beyond their limits and ultimately fatigue the listener. Now, this may have been easier to forgive had Zedd moved beyond his trademark synths and abstract, metaphorically saturated lyrics or put a new, different spin on the material. However, since much of "True Colors" welcomes "Clarity" comparisons because the same production stylings and influences (Daft Punk seems to appear in almost every song in some fashion), it doesn't offer either the artistic innovation or musical prowess it promises. Of course, Zedd puts enough vibrance in the sounds to prevent the trend of all the songs sounding like carbon copies of one another, and for what it's worth, he doesn't mask or obscure the strengths of his collaborators either. For all his commentary on the state of EDM in the mid-2010s, however, it's a slight disappointment  to know that "True Colors" works best when enjoyable, upbeat dance pop that is at the fore. The slower, more contemplative songs become a jarring buzz-kill, making what should have been a successful sophomore sequel an overwrought and taxing one.

Recommended Tracks in Bold: 
1. Addicted to a Memory       2. I Want You to Know     3. Beautiful Now

4. Transmission                     5. Done With Love             6. True Colors

7. Straight Into the Fire        8. Papercut                             9. Bumble Bee

10. Daisy                                11. Illusion

Marina and the Diamonds-"Froot" Review

It was maybe a bit too shocking when quirky songstress Marina Diamandis traded the indie-rock and new-wave textures of her 2010 debut "The Family Jewels" for the big pop choruses and gleaming electronic beats in her 2012 sequel "Electra Heart". Though the quality of her music didn't exactly suffer from this genre shift, her core artistic persona was a bit smothered by the crowded roster of mainstream producers who tended to favor the pop sounds and frivolity over satirizing the idea of popular music itself. Now with the affair well behind her, Diamandis perhaps realized that "Electra Heart" was too jarring a step into the masses, so she doesn't make the same mistakes again on her third album, "Froot". Only two cooks are in the kitchen this time: Diamandis, who provides all lyrical content, and producer David Kosten. Together, these two pull off a neat trick with "Froot", pulling in the introspective and humanistic elements from Marina's debut and synthesizing them through the sounds of singer-songwriter, new-wave, and pop. Essentially, they just split the difference between her first two records and handpicked the best traits from both of them, but that alone doesn't accurately reflect the true artistic progression from "Electra Heart" to this. It's quite uncanny how Diamandis can begin "Froot" with "Happy", a song that lays her rawest emotions bare, supported only by twinkling synths and acoustic guitar, and then jump into the light-weight pop of the title track just seconds later. She repeats this pattern several times, bouncing back and forth between upbeat dance songs ("Blue", "Savages") and intimate, alternative ballads ("I'm A Ruin", "Immortal"). It's an effortless task for Marina, who not once feels like she's forcing the material or reaching for emotional depth that isn't there. If that wasn't impressive enough, then also take into account that there are almost no tracks that suck the momentum; each song works in tandem with the others to operate as a whole piece of work, never scattershot or unfocused. Then there's also the fact that Diamandis has never been more affective as a vocalist, delivering lines about fruit and roses with equal power as those tales of human savagery and betrayal. It's readily apparent that she heavily examined the flaws in her first two albums and consolidated the strongest parts, leaving the filler behind. She nearly exceeds in constructing a masterpiece, with just a couple of plaintive detours halting perfection ("Gold" and "Forget", both placed early enough in the album that they don't detract from an otherwise astounding set of songs). After taking the always messy steps into super-stardom, Marina and the Diamonds has wound up with her best album so far, mixing all of the unique aspects of her music together in an exuberant fashion.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Happy                                2. Froot                     3. I’m A Ruin

4. Blue                                   5. Forget                     6. Gold

7. Can’t Pin Me Down          8. Solitaire                  9. Better Than That

10. Weeds                               11. Savages               12. Immortal

Marina and the Diamonds-"Electra Heart" Review

She may appear as a coy, ghostly mistress on the album cover, but that is certainly not an indication of where Marina Diamandis has taken her alternative new-wave/pop since her startlingly fresh and formed 2010 debut. Diamandis hides in plain sight under hair curlers and too much concealer, anathema to "Electra Heart"'s sound: a fizzy mix of Ke$ha's electro-pop sounds with the bite and clever writing of Lily Allen. Though shifting genres this early in her career might seem like a sell-out move, Diamandis has actually set pretty sizable goals for herself. The concept underpinning "Electra Heart" is that modern pop is all sound and style: highly intoxicating but grossly unsubstantial. Obviously, then, her plan is to recreate this mold, penning more lyrical intricacies (note how she still replaces some words with their ironic homonyms: "Idol" to "Idle", "Hypocrites" to "Hypocrates"), while paying no attention to the G-rated mass appeal boundaries that so many artists have followed since the new decade began. That sounds a lot like Lady Gaga's intentions with 2008's "The Fame", and there are even points where "Electra Heart" sounds like Lady Gaga. The principle difference between Gaga and Marina is that "The Fame" broke through the trappings of modern pop simply by making better pop music, pulling trends from the underground to show how deficient the mainstream was. Diamandis certainly tries to progress this notion, but she comes up a little short in trying to sell it. This is mostly at the fault of her collaborators, which include big-budget pop names like Dr. Luke, Cirkut, and Diplo, with further assistance from indie-pop darlings Rick Nowels and Greg Kurstin. Almost predictably, Dr. Luke and co. helm the stellar one-two punch of "Bubblegum Bitch" and "Primadonna", unabashed in their grand hooks and taunting swagger, while Kurstin and Nowels contribute the artsier, subtler "Valley of the Dolls" and "The State of Dreaming". 
All four songs can stand on their own, but they don't necessarily hold up when placed in the same context. 

Diamandis has so much fun with the idea of mocking pop that she ends up ceding some of her own quirkiness to it. This is no more apparent than in the middle part of "Electra Heart", when her tongue-in-cheek ambition and well worn pop practices don't click. She recovers quite well when "Teen Idle" regains the focus of the first half of the record. From here, she leads us to a thrilling conclusion when she coos in "Fear and Loathing": "Everyone's not out to screw you over/maybe they just want to get to know ya", bringing the humanistic elements of her music back to the forefront, where they really ought to stay. If "Electra Heart" remains a stylistic outlier, Diamandis would greatly benefit from more attention to the core elements of what made her a star in the first place. She's clearly at her best when she's making social commentary, examining the fundamentals of what it is to be human. When she gives her producers the reigns, they tend to smooth her out and turn daring concepts like "Living Dead" and "Power & Control" into boring and safe ones. But, even though there are missteps taken here, "Electra Heart" is too expertly crafted to simply be a sophomore slump. It's more like a step to the left; after showcasing Marina's indie-songwriter strengths in "The Family Jewels", "Electra Heart" serves to prove that she can do slick, shiny pop just as well. It may not win over Marina and the Diamonds indie purists, but those who wish to see another distinctly opposite side of the famously outlandish singer, there's plenty of opportunities here.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Bubblegum Bitch          2. Primadonna                  3. Lies

4. Homewrecker                    5. Starring Role                     6. The State of Dreaming

7. Power & Control                8. Living Dead                       9. Teen Idle

10. Valley of the Dolls          11. Hypocrates                       12. Fear and Loathing

 

Alice DeeJay-"Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" Review

The 90s was a great period for the trance/house scene, producing such great talents like Ace of Base, Real McCoy, Daft Punk, Moby, so on and so forth. However, continuing into 2000 was quite a difficult challenge, since the world of mainstream music was now in the thrum of teen pop and R&B. During this time, most of the club/dance producers went underground to figure out how to adapt to this new phase in pop. Well, everybody except Alice DeeJay, a euro-trance collective from the Netherlands. They attempted to simply incorporate the fizzy energy of Max Martin into dance, creating what would become the first bona fide club hit of the new millennium, "Better Off Alone". So successful was that one song that most people forgot that soon after, they released a full-length album, cheekily titled "Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" Interestingly, though, the public really didn't miss out on much. From listening to the record front to back, you get so enthralled by "Better Off Alone" that for a quick moment, you actually thought Alice DeeJay could have been a trailblazer for European trance-pop. It's disappointing, then, when you realize that much of "Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" doesn't muster enough energy to even try to combat the staying power of its big single. It has its impressive moments--"The Lonely One" turns up the tempo and breaks the monotony, while "Got to Get Away" is a stark and dark contrast from the sunshine and rainbows that percolate the rest of the album--but far too often, this is a record that settles for middle-grade dance-pop that streamlines Hi-NRG, House, and Techno so much that club connoisseurs will be fleeing from the dance floor instead of inhabiting it. To the casual EDM fan, "Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" could be somewhat thrilling. Consumers of electronic music in general can find at least one song other than "Better Off Alone" to appreciate. But for all intense and purposes, Alice DeeJay are too willing to grate ("Will I Ever" is based off a "na na na na whaee ohhhhh" chorus) than saturate. For best enjoyment, take it in small doses, anything bigger and you might feel your teeth ache from the onslaught of high fructose corn syrup.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Back in My Life                  2. Better Off Alone                         3. Celebrate Our Love
4. The Lonely One              5. Who Needs Guitars Anyway?     6. Will I Ever?
7. Elements of Life                8. Fairy Tales                                       9. Waiting for Your Love
10. No More Lies                11. I Can See (See It in Your Eyes) 
12. Everything Begins With an E  13. Got to Get Away   14. Alice DeeJay

Björk-"Homogenic" Review

1995's "Post" saw Björk working with darker, more industrial sounds, more complex thematic elements, and was a marked step forward for the "Icelandic Pixie" that she had been pigeonholed as during the first half of the 90s. Still, the sheer scope of the artistic leap that Björk made from "Post" to 1997's "Homogenic" is incredible. It certainly couldn't have been predicted just two years earlier that she would strip nearly all of the jazzy dance-pop and experimental electronica from her music, instead favoring lush string arrangements and volcanic beats taken from her native homeland. What resulted was perhaps one of the most expansive alt-pop albums of the decade, infusing real, organic sounds with ambient synths, for the most part, anyway. While much of "Homogenic" is grounded in electro-orchestral drama, there are a few moments when Björk breaks that mold and recalls her earlier work:  "Pluto" is all synthesizer and beats, while the new-age "All Neon Like" capitalizes on Björk's minimalist leanings with a vocoded drum pattern backing a sparkling assortment of glass harmonica and keyboard effects. Unsurprinsingly, both of these songs are found later in the album, with Björk front-loading "Homogenic" with a quartet of imaginative and progressive statements: "Joga" interrupts its string arrangement with a dense club interlude, while the sweeping and spawling "Bachelorette" similarly combines dance elements with a quasi-symphonic backdrop. Its this aesthetic that binds "Homogenic", and it certainly provides the consistency is promises. Obviously, Björk doesn't highlight all aspects of her music here, nor does she seem all that concerned with consolidating the strengths of her first two albums. Rather, she digs further into her bag of tricks and properly showcases her unique and masterful talent. As "All is Full of Love" closes with a chorus of Björk's swirling and interloping the song title, there is no doubt that "Homogenic" is her best and most cohesive work. Even if she would later amplify her ambition in the new millennium make further innovations, she never surpassed this artistic and musical peak.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1. Hunter                    2. Joga                       3. Unravel
4. Bachelorette          5. All Neon Like         6. 5 Years
7. Immature               8. Alarm Call           9. Pluto
10. All is Full of Love

The Veronicas-"The Veronicas" Review

By 2014, seven full years after The Veronicas' last album "Hook Me Up", it had seemed that they were destined to be another novelty teen-pop act of the mid-2000s. True to form, feuds between record labels was the prime culprit, resulting in Jess and Lisa Origliasso to scrap the majority of their intended third album around 2010 or so. Admirably, though, they soldiered on; despite the outside drama, they proceeded to update the material for their third album, and miraculously were able to properly release the eponymous "The Veronicas" in late November. Releasing a self-titled record is usually an indication of a debut, or a rebirth, and there's certainly a lot that has changed about The Veronicas since 2007. For one, they're obviously much older (pushing thirty, in fact), so they all but discard their teen-pop past and instead opt for a wider range of sounds. Of course, this would ultimately result in more soul and more indie rock--indeed, the two genres come together in the truly bizarre opener "Sanctified"--but one thing that hasn't changed is The Veronicas' need to explore mainstream pop sounds. They cannily sprinkle 2010s EDM in small doses throughout, while they toss in punk sounds in "Teenage Millionaire", new wave atmospheres in "Cold", and occasionally drop sassy raps at their convenience. Responsible for this adept mix of sounds is mostly producer Toby Gad, a Veronicas mainstay, but they also recruit Nellee Hooper, Dreamlab, and DNA to season the plate, making "The Veronicas" just as much of a pop classic as their first two albums. Even if it doesn't play quite like a piece as "The Secret Life Of" or "Hook Me Up" did, the Origliasso sisters demonstrate their maverick talents, both lyrically and vocally, to unify these songs regardless of their constantly shifting genres and moods. Not many singer-songwriters age this gracefully, but The Veronicas have already proven they're not cookie-cutter tarts like their long-lost peers. They're sheer determination to make "The Veronicas" work pays off to remarkable rewards. And although their pop stylings can be a bit too calculated (mostly in ballads like "You Ruin Me"), they prove that calculation can be enjoyable when at the hands of skilled craftsmen. It's this deft mastery of style and song that once again proves that the world of mainstream pop has too few acts like The Veronicas.

Recommended Tracks in Bold:

1. Sanctified               2. Did You Miss Me?          3. Cruel

4. Line of Fire            5. Teenage Millionaire     6. Born Bob Dylan

7. Always                    8. Mad Love                              9. You Ruin Me

10. More Like Me    11. If You Love Someone 12. Cold

13. Let Me Out      14. You and Me