It’s officially summer so it’s officially concert season! Below are some tips to stay safe at concerts and festivals. As a concert lover, I think these are great tips to abide by to make sure you are safe and having fun!
Read MoreSinger / songwriter David W. Jacobsen is an accomplished artist with a menagerie of work to prove it. His latest album, Music for the Masses, was recently released in 2023. With 7 songs, and a listening time of 32 minutes and 54 seconds, Music for the Masses is a mixed genre album that combines humor with contemplation. Jacobsen sings of contradictions, opinions, and reflections through the lens of both a human, and an artist. The album has an unapologetic response to society’s confines and contains explicit topics. However, this raw and somewhat vulgar approach to his music gives Jacobsen an air of authenticity and a tone of realism. According to Jacobsen, “this album is about the contradictions of trying to create music that other people will like that you still like yourself,”.
Read MoreTaylor Swift is one of the most elite, successful, and well-known musical artists in our world today. Swift made history with her seamless transition between the genres of country music and pop music. In addition, Swift has also explored the indie and folk musical genres. She has received accolades for her songwriting, artistry, and entrepreneurship, all of which have majorly influenced the music industry and popular culture. Taylor Swift has released 10 original studio albums, 4 re-recorded studio albums, 5 extended plays, and 4 live albums. With such a massive amount of published material, I would argue that Taylor Swift is a genre all on her own. She certainly has enough music to support it.
Read MoreI am fully convinced that Taylor Swift is the ultimate queen of pop music. Taylor Swift is a singer, songwriter, performer, director, artist and entrepreneur. In simple words, Taylor Swift is an icon. Since the start of her career, Taylor Swift has been nominated for over 500 awards and won 324. According to Taylor Swift Fandom, these awards include 10 Grammy Awards, 8 Country Music Awards, 23 American Music Awards, 23 Billboard Music Awards, 10 iHeart Radio Music Awards, and 68 BMI Awards, among others. If those numbers don’t scream success to you, I don’t know what would.
Read MoreThis acapella group originated in Boulder Colorado. Has been all around the world and came to Regis to give a private concert on January 31. They have been together for more than 21 years and have even been a part of the tv show “Sing-Off”. They also are the first vocal band to headline Red Rocks.
Photos by James Ortiz
At midnight on October 21, Taylor Swift released her tenth studio album “Midnights”, to a world who had long been awaiting her return. Under the power of a dedicated fanbase, “Midnights” crashed Spotify upon its release and sold over a million copies in just one week. For Swifties everywhere, “Midnights” was the culmination of everything that Swift represented: love, heartbreak, self-realization, and raw, personal emotion.
But what exactly makes “Midnights” a distinctly Taylor Swift album? For one, the usage of musical elements from Swift’s previous music breathes both new life and nostalgia into her latest tracks, reviving the pieces of Swift eras long gone.
In “Anti-Hero”, Swift embraces the gated reverb, a muted electronically modified drum sound that originated from the 1980s. As a result, the song becomes reminiscent of her 1989 album, her previous ode to the funky pop of the 80s. She juxtaposes the upbeat pop melody with lyrics about how her own self-confidence wavers in her day-to-day life. Her music video portrays two versions of herself that interact with each other in a mentor-mentee relationship, where one Swift teaches the other about the cynicism and the fact that she, herself, is the problem in all of her relationships. At the end, three Swifts convene on a rooftop to share a drink, resolving her struggles with self-esteem with a simple toast.
This interaction between multiple versions of herself isn’t contained to just “Anti-Hero” however. Swift also addresses herself again in “You’re On Your Own, Kid” which initially appears to be about her naivete as a young woman and the bitterness that she has developed in her later years. However, later in the song, Swift subverts her original narrative by saying that her independence is actually a strength that’ll allow her to move past any moment by herself as she sings, “You’re on your own, kid. Yeah, you can face this. You’re on your own kid. You always have been.” Swift fans who can recall the song “Fifteen” from her namesake album will immediately spot the similarities to the ending of “Fifteen” where she tells her former 15-year-old self to “Take a deep breath girl. Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors.” The theme of her future self reassuring her former self of their resilience pervades throughout her experiences and journey as a musician.
In “Snow On The Beach” (ft. Lana Del Rey), Swift and Rey sing about dreamlike romances and surreal moments during love. Both of them have a light, airy melody line that aligns with the theme about being in the hypnotic clutches of love. Combined with the soft, lower-pitched instrumentals that accompany their voices, this song sounds a little bit like it belongs in her “Evermore” and “Folklore” albums. She utilizes the same gentle rhythms and tender percussion to give “Snow On The Beach” a comforting, warmer feeling.
And perhaps the most obvious nod to her former music is the song “Vigilante Sh–” The spoken, monotone words followed by a bass drop is definitely an element that she explored in her “Reputation” album. Knowing that “Reputation” embodied the idea of being a “bad b—-,” it’s no surprise that the message of “Vigilante Sh–” is all about revenge and independence.
But even despite the wide range of musical elements and themes, Swift wraps her Midnights album nicely with one overarching theme: the simultaneous ending and beginning of her journey. She reflects on her previous experiences (“Midnight Rain” and “Question..?”) but also notes the direction that she wants to move forward (“Labyrinth” and “Lavender Haze”). And perhaps there has never been anything more “Taylor Swift” than to know that reflection does not trap a person in the past, but instead, gives them an avenue to move forward.