By Makenna Ridilla 

If you are a Swiftie, then you know she just completed performing her sold out Eras Tour all over the country. I love Taylor Swift! No, I did not see her perform live, but I was able to see the concert in the theater. It was one night I will never forget. But if you missed it live and in the theater, don’t worry! You can still see it on Disney Plus!

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) debuted on March 15. In fact, on Disney Plus, the film has a few extra songs! If you are a Swiftie, this is a moment that is just as special as the real Eras tour because you can watch it over and over again!

You will also be glad to hear that she is releasing a new album on April 19, called The Tortured Poets Department. I know it’s going to be good and hope there are many more albums to come! After all, she is only 34 years old!

If you are looking for sad songs, happy songs, or just enjoy good music, you should give Taylor Swift a try! With so many Eras, there’s bound to be one you fall in love with!

By Lucas Garland 

Have you heard of Alice Cooper? If not, you've definitely seen his influence in music, style, and live performances. With 29 albums and still putting on shows at 76 years old, I knew I had to write about this rock ‘n’ roll hero.

Alice Cooper was a rock band in the late 60’s and early 70’s. They had a unique sound that put them apart from other bands at the time. They had lots of great songs like “School’s Out” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” This sound and theatrical performance would later be known as Shock Rock. This sub genre would be used by bands like Kiss and Rob Zombie. 

Although they were the biggest band in the world at the time, unfortunately in 1974, the band broke up. The lead singer, Vincent Furnier, legally changed his name to Alice Cooper to keep the rights to the music.

After that, Alice continued to make solo albums like Welcome To My Nightmare and Flush the Fashion. Around this time, Alice became addicted to various substances and struggled continuing his music career. Luckily, he overcame his addictions and wrote an album about his time in therapy: From the Inside.

From there he became a staple of the 1980’s glam metal/hair rock era. His shows also became bigger and better with even more songs that required amazing stunts, like “Snake Bite” when he lets a live stake crawl over him, or “Feed My Frankenstein” with a 12 foot tall monster that roams the stage.

Speaking of his shows, I've been lucky enough to see him live twice. I cannot put into words how phenomenal both the music and the performances are. The illusions are also great and almost put me in a trance. My personal favorite part is when he sings “Ballad of Dwight Frye,'' in which Alice sings while he is in a straitjacket. I would 100% recommend the show to everyone.

Today, Alice still puts on shows and has just released his 29th album, Road. I think it's safe to say that, without his influence, music and theater would not be what they are today.

By Madolyn Pittman 

Pierce the Veil is a pop-punk, post-hardcore band founded in 2006. Members include Vic Fuentes (lead singer), Tony Perry (lead guitar), and Jaime Preciado (bassist). They have released five studio albums, each one fantastic in its own special way.

The first album released by Pierce the Veil was A Flair for the Dramatic, released in 2007. Although the album itself doesn’t have a direct meaning, or story, the songs that are in it are meaningful enough themselves. For example, “Yeah Boy and Doll Face” is a song about a relationship which has gone awry. Although the male loves the female, his feelings are not reciprocated, and this drives him crazy. The song uses gut punching, poetic lyrics to describe his experience. Another one of my favorites is “The Cheap Bouquet." This one uses theatrical, important lyrics to show listeners what it’s like to be in a relationship which has gone dull, and trying your best to win them back. The album uses songs like these to describe love and all its hardships. 

Their next next album, Selfish Machines, released in 2010. It describes a relationship where one person is reliant on the other person with "obsession and desperation, and the stupid things you do when you're in love.". One of my all-time favorite songs, “I Don’t Care if You’re Contagious,” happens to be on this album. This bittersweet song describes a boy who passed away, and doesn’t want to be separated from his girlfriend. It is based off a young fan whose boyfriend passed away in a car accident. It is said that she held his hand for the first time at one of Pierce the Veil’s shows. When Vic Fuentes heard about this, he knew he had to write a song about it. Another one of my favorite songs is, “Besitos.” Vic Fuentes explained, “[The song is] about my dysfunctional relationship with a girl I couldn’t stop hurting over and over again. It’s meant to be her speaking to me, asking me why I’m not satisfied with what we had.” This song uses Latin elements to deliver a painfully realistic message. 

Their third studio album, Collide With the Sky, released in 2012. This album was made to inspire hope amongst the chaos that may be happening around you. One of my favorite songs on this album is, “A Match Into Water.” This beautifully painful song tells the story of one of Vic Fuentes's ex-girlfriends who had recently been diagnosed with cancer. It is absolutely gut-wrenching, but truly does inspire hope. My second favorite song has to be, “Hell Above.” This song describes Fuentes’s feeling about finding that place when you're young where you can find some sort of freedom. All of these songs are right up my alley, somehow making you dance and cry to a beautiful tune.

Fourth, their album Misadventures released in 2016, and is one of my favorite albums of all time. The album describes experiences unique to Vic Fuentes. One of the songs on this album is titled “Today I Saw the Whole World." This song details an instance where a past girlfriend of Fuentes cheated on him with his friend. This song describes betrayal and hurt, two very real feelings. The song "Dive In” is unique to the rest of the album because instead of describing a failed relationship, it describes the band’s immense frustration with fame and the forever changing music industry. All in all, these songs are more upbeat and DIY, evident by the album cover. 

Last, but certainly not least, we have Pierce The Veil’s fifth released album, Jaws of Life. In Vic Fuentes’s words, “It's just about how life can try and sink its teeth into you and devour you, and trying to find your way out of that. I think this album represents getting out of that grip and seeing the light again and breaking through." This message is universal, and extremely motivating. One of the best songs to ever exist, AKA, “Death of an Executioner,” is about social media, and its unrealistic expectations of perfection that can destroy you. WIth the rise of cyber-bullying and cancel culture, I see how this song is relevant to the current time. Another song, “Pass The Nirvana,” is about all of the generations that were negatively-affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This album is incredibly influential and modern, and, like all of their amazing albums, I suggest you give it a listen!

By Marissa Eldridge 

If you are looking for a new music artist who sings different genres of pop music like dark pop, regular pop, art pop just to name a few, then you should give Melanie Martinez’s music a try. She has released four albums, so you will not be bored or run out of music for a while! K-12, Crybaby, and Portals have 13 songs, while After School has seven. In my opinion, her two best albums are Crybaby and Portals. Trust me, they will get you attached to her music very quickly. 

Her music is amazing because she likes to express her feelings through her music. If you decide to start listening to her – which you should– I would start with either the song “Dollhouse” or “Fire Drill.” “Dollhouse” was the first song I ever listened to from her, and I got hooked immediately because it is so catchy.

Her new album Portals talks about her past relationship with another singer named Oliver Tree and how he was pretty much using her for everything. It's a really personal record from her, but everyone will be able to relate to the feelings she talks about. I hope you fall in love with her music and give her a chance. You won't regret it!