Music 

The Lumineers: Automatic Review 

By Brady Hamm, on Wednesday Feb. 19

On February 14, The Lumineers released their fifth Album called Automatic. This album has 11 tracks (9 songs, 2 interludes) on it, with a runtime of 32 minutes and 34 seconds. Before this album was released, The Lumineers got their fanbase excited for it by releasing 3 of the 11 tracks back in January. 

When they announced the album, Wesley Schultz, who makes up half of The Lumineers, said this album marks 20 years of his songwriting with his duo and other half of The Lumineers, Jeremiah Fraites. Schultz stated that the album explores some of the absurdities of the modern world like the blurred line between what's real and what's not, as well as the variety of ways people numb themselves while trying to combat boredom and overstimulation. Schultz noted that the album was completed in just a month, and will find the duo with their most raw and personal collection of songs thus far. 

When talking to Ms. Audra Wills about the album, I found out her favorite songs were “Keys On The Table,” “Ativan,” and "You're All I Got.” She has listened to it twice through and thinks it’s a 6.5/10. Isaac Young was another person I talked to about the album. He really enjoyed “Same Old Song.” After his first listen he thinks the album is a solid 6/10, but stated that his opinion might change after further listens. 

Personally, I really enjoyed the album. Some of my favorite songs on the album were “Keys On The Table,” “Plasticine,” “So Long,” and “Automatic.” I have listened to it around 4 times while writing this article, but I expect I’ll listen to it more as I put 8 of the 11 tracks in my playlist. I do believe that this may be my least favorite album released by The Lumineers to date, but It’s still too early to truly tell. I would say that statement is more of a praise to The Lumineers discography and other albums than it is a dig at this album. I rate Automatic a strong 7.3/10, definitely worth the listen if you're a fan or want to become one. 

The Significance of Jazz

By Brady Hamm and Zack Gibbens, on Friday Dec. 13

Jazz is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community of New Orleans, Louisiana during the late 19th century during World War 1. Jazz music was extremely important to the community as it brought freedom into their lives and acted as a bridge to connect the black and white community. It also helped out people who didn’t speak the same language as they could communicate through the power of jazz music.

When the Great Depression hit during the 1930’s, the jazz era abruptly ended, as the Americans didn’t have the income to go to the shows and enjoy the entertainment. Even after that, the genre has stood the test of time and is still popular for its relaxing and soothing tunes. Jazz was an important aspect to giving freedom to people and allowing them to express their feelings and emotions through music.

Some jazz players play in a band while others play solo with one instrument. Jazz with just instruments called instrumental jazz, and there is another type of jazz called jazz vocals. Jazz Vocals is a type of jazz where there is a singer who sings lyrics along with the instruments like a normal type of music while Jazz is purely instruments made to listen to the calm, usually soft melodies.

We asked Isaac Young some of his opinions on jazz music. We asked him who his favorite jazz artist/ band was and why he enjoyed listening to the genre. “ I personally like Louis Armstrong,” Young said. “I enjoy Jazz music because it’s Soothing and calming." We also asked Zach Riffle some questions about the jazz he listens to and why he enjoys it so much. “Unlike other music it has soul and culture,” Riffle said. “I listen to it almost every day when I sleep and in the morning." His favorite jazz musician is Berlioz and his favorite song is Take Five by Dave Brubeck.

Recommended Jazz

Jazz Vocals

● Dream a little dream of me - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong

● Street Life - The Crusaders

● Give me a reason - Dominique Fils-Aimé

● That’s life - Frank Sinatra

● Let’s do it - Ella Fitzgerald

● I’ll Be Seeing You - Billie Holiday

● You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You - The Mills Brothers

● If I were a bell - Dinah Washington

● Night Birds - Shakatak

● Walking In Rhythm - The Blackbyrds

● Chet Baker sings - Album

Instrumental Jazz

● Epilogue - Justin Hurwitz

● Feels so good - Chuck Mangione

● Lonely Woman - Ornette Coleman

● Anatomy Of A Murder - Duke Ellington

● All Blues - Miles Davis

● Autumn Leaves - Bill Evans Trio

● Night Walk - Rick Braun

● Songbird - Kenny G

● Misty - Erroll Garner

● Sister Sadie - Horace Silver

● The Sax Pack - Album

Favorite Jazz Artists

● Frank Sinatra - Jazz Vocals

● Chet Baker - Jazz Vocals

● The Crusaders - Jazz Vocals

● Miles Davis - Jazz Instrumentals

● Ornette Coleman - Jazz Instrumentals

● The Jazz Messengers - Jazz Instrumentals

Spotify Wrapped: Worth Waiting For

By Tyler Blackburn, On Friday Dec. 13

Spotify Wrapped is something that people have been waiting for a long time now.  Spotify Wrapped is basically a summary of all the music that you've listened to throughout the year, showing you your top artist, your top genre and song, and how many minutes you spent listening to music in total. It usually comes out late November on a Wednesday, but it didn’t and people were wondering when it would actually show up. Spotify never gave us a date when Wrapped was coming out. It unexpectedly dropped December 4th on a Wednesday. A lot of people were surprised by their results, bewildered as to how their number one artist came out on top.

Some people were disappointed in who their number one artist was, sure that it was going to be someone else. I interviewed a person that was very excited for Spotify Wrapped, Zach Riffle, who was surprised by his top artist. “ I thought my number one artist was for sure going to be Johnny Cash, but it ended up being Longest Johns,” Riffle said. A lot of people, though surprised about their number one artist,  were still happy with whoever it turned out to be, unlike others, who were upset about with their results, like another person we interviewed.

An interview with another Spotify user, Issac Young, when asked about his Spotify Wrapped, said he was disappointed in how it turned out. “I feel like it is inaccurate but I like some of it but it doesn’t really make sense to me,” Young said. “My number one artist was Post Malone but I know I had more minutes on Kanye and he should’ve been my number one because I listened to him all year.”

Spotify Wrapped is now officially out, and so to get your results go check your app! Fingers crossed that you see whoever you're hoping to when you get to your top artists! Goodluck!

J. Cole Releasing New Albums Leading to his Retirement

By Harper Powell, on Tuesday, Dec. 3

The famous rapper, J. Cole, has been recently dropping more albums and mixtapes. Many people believe this new release of music to eventually lead to his retirement album known as “The Fall Off.” He has also been releasing podcast episodes to discuss the albums.

These songs were pre recorded songs from well earlier in his career and with the order they are being released is set to be like a certain part in his career to help tell the story of his life and his career. 

As a big J. Cole fan, I love the new release of music and getting to enjoy his music even more rather than listening to the same songs and now getting different songs. I asked another big fan of J. Cole, Macie Forgrave, what she thought of it. “J. Cole has been my favorite rapper for a while, if he retires I will probably cry. I remember listening to his music on middle school basketball game day and just locking in for the game, he was the only person that could get me in that zone,” said Forgrave.

J. Cole has the ability to connect with anyone, no matter who you are, where you’re from J. Cole can connect with you. I also asked my brother, Korbyn Powell, on how he felt with J. Cole. “His music always gets me through tough times in life. I listen to him all the time no matter the mood, no matter if I’m happy, sad, or angry I always listen to him because he always matches the vibe,” Powell said. 

J. Cole’s new music has definitely been resonating with fans and many people seem to be enjoying the new releases. I don’t think I am ready for his retirement but every good thing has to come to an end.

Ye: Glad or Bad

By Aiden O’Reilly , on Tuesday Dec. 9       

Kanye West is a very interesting man. He has been in many controversies but is a very well known rapper and record producer. He has made many golden albums and many great songs. Kanye has gotten back to back best rapper awards. He has won over 200 awards and has been nominated almost 800 times. He has many great hits and has a very creative tone with his music.

With all these amazing awards and success, though, Kanye has been in a boat load of drama. One example of this is the drama between Kanye and Taylor Swift. Their drama goes way back to 2009 when Kanye West interrupted Taylor’s acceptance speech after winning an award prompting Beyonce music video. Even for a giant Kanye fan this was very rude.

My interviewee Vince Ward  loves Kanye. He showed his playlist and there's quite a bit of Kanye. “His music is very inspirational and reaches deep into my heart.” Ward said.  Many people enjoy the music for the emotional rhythm

And tone. 

Ward said that he has many golden albums with plenty of golden music. Kanye is a very interesting man. Another bit of controversy is Kanye's fascination with Adolf Hitler. I don't. But Kanye posted on Twitter “There have been many great leaders, especially Adolf Hitler.” I'm sure you can see why this is controversial. 

My other interviewee Cohen Bowen is another GIANT Kanye fan. “I think he has made many great albums but with all this drama he is slowly fading away.” Just like Bowen said Kanye is very slowly falling off. He may still have a giant following, but if you don’t release new music you will slowly lose your following. 

In my opinion Kanye West made a good variety of albums and tracks. He has had an immense amount of success over the course of his career, but only time will tell whether or not that success is maintained, and whether or not Kanya is really a good or bad person.

Chromakopia Review

By Isaac Young, Wednesday Nov. 6

Tyler, The Creator never fails to release a masterpiece every few years. On October 28th of this year, Tyler released a new album called Chromakopia. This album is filled with great features, and overall incredible songs. It is his first album in three years, and the release has been highly anticipated by his fans. It is already one of the most streamed albums this year, and although it is ineligible for this year’s Grammys, it is likely to be in the running for next year’s Album of the Year award.

The album is supposed to be a conversation between the famous musician Tyler, The Creator and the normal thirty-three year old Tyler Okonma. In the early songs on the album, he seems to be reflecting over himself and what he has done and become. The album gradually shifts into what he has and currently sees around himself. One song in particular, “NOID,”  has a visual to go alongside the song. In “NOID,” he seems to be running from a fan. The fan seems to be holding something that shifts from a phone to a gun. This is believed to symbolize the correlation of the destruction a weapon and the media can create.

Tyler seems to be attempting to create a division between what the media sees and doesn’t see about himself, alongside a parallel demonstrating the division of his life with and without fame. The album expresses how he feels about his audience’s desire to get as much music as they can from him, but the easier it is to come across special projects like his albums, the less enjoyable they are. 

In conclusion, Tyler, The Creator is one of the most impressively creative musicians. He not only has depth behind every song, but also ties them to his own life and how it’s affected his surroundings. I personally like the album, and believe that its commentary is richer than most people can see. The production is immaculate, and each song has its own separate feeling and mood from the others. Some of the things he says in the album are weird, but overall it is my second favorite album that’s released so far this year. 

Graduation Album Review

By Isaac Young, on Thursday Sept. 26

Many people, including myself, would probably tell you that their favorite musician is Kanye West. Those people would also tell you that Graduation is not only his best album, but the greatest album of all time.

Graduation was released September 11, 2007. The album starts with the song "Good Morning." This song, loved by many, went diamond. My personal favorite on the album, "Champion," follows in popularity. "Stronger", "I Wonder", "Good Life", and "Can’t Tell Me Nothing" are next in line, all top 1,000 all time streamed rap/hip hop songs. On the other hand, "Drunk Hot Girls" is by far the worst song on the album, "Flashing Lights" closely following the monstrosity of a track. The only other notable songs that follow are "Everything I Am" and "Homecoming", which are in the top 250 streamed rap/hip hop songs of all time.

The album’s most notable features include: T-Pain, Lil Wayne, Mike Dean, Daft Punk, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Tanya Herron, and Chris Martin.

If you haven’t heard the album, I suggest you listen to it whenever you have the chance. The album won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and an American Music Award for Favorite Album. West also won Grammys in four out of the five rap categories, and became the first artist to have his first three albums nominated for Album of the Year (College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation). 

The album itself is currently 7x platinum, and could go diamond in the next five years if the streams stay constant with their current range. If I were to give any advice going into the album on your first time listening to it, I’d say to listen in sequential order. Also, if you like Taylor Swift, don’t let the artists' beef stop you from enjoying arguably the most legendary album from arguably the most legendary hip hop artist of all time. 

 Kendrick Lamar Performs!

By Harper Powell, on Monday Sept 16, 2024

This year at the Super Bowl, famous rapper, Kendrick Lamar, will be performing for the halftime show. I think this was a great choice for a performer as Kendrick Lamar has been all over headlines this year after his infamous “beef” with Canadian music creator known as Drake. Also, Kendrick Lamar has done many live events this year which have performed very well, having other famous people on stage with him such as the 2 NBA all-stars, Russell Westbrook and Demar Derozan. My only problem with Kendrick being the halftime show performer is that when he performed earlier this year, he has been known to play his hit song “Not Like Us” over and over again. Now while the song is good and catchy, I think it is beginning to become a bit overplayed. 

The song came out while in the midst of his beef with Drake, being a dis track on Drake. I am not sure if they will let him play this song at such a big event such as the Super Bowl anyway as he says some pretty controversial lyrics with accusations of Drake being into underage girls. Whether those accusations are true or not, I’m not sure if he would be allowed to slander Drake’s name on such a big stage like that, especially with how big and influential Drake has been in recent generations. 

I do think Kendrick has some great songs and I would love to see him perform some of them as he has better songs than the one previously mentioned. One song I would definitely like to see him play is “Family Ties.” Now Kendrick is just a feature on this song with his cousin, Baby Keem, this song has always been a fan favorite when played on tour, it always gets the crowd excited and yelling, so I think it would be a great song to play.