Spooky Season Series Selection Part 2 - Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story

Austin Price, Editor in Chief  

In continuing my Spooky Season Series Selection, we have another series created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. Today’s selection is the second season of the Monster series and focuses on a controversial and highly debated case. The disputation of this case was mainly due to the extensive media coverage and exploitation of all involved through the televised process. In a harrowing account of childhood abuse and the greed of the American Dream, comes the biased story of the Menendez brothers. Today’s Spooky Season Series Selection is Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.  

On September 19, 2024, nearly two years after the show’s debut, the second installment in the Monster anthology series hit the streams. The second series centers on the 1989 murders of José and Kitty Menendez. The murders were later determined to be parricides, as the couple was killed by their own sons, Lyle and Erik Menendez. Nicholas Alexander Chavez portrays the eldest brother, Lyle, while Cooper Koch embodies the younger brother Erik. Javiar Bardem plays the head of the house, José, and Chloë Sevigny accompanies him as José’s wife, Kitty.  

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story incorporates the Rashomon effect. The Rashomon effect is the phenomenon of the unreliability of eyewitnesses. It is used by the show’s creators, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, to allow viewers to form their own interpretations of the story, by presenting key events through unreliable narrators. The narrators of the series are the brothers, Lyle and Erik, the leaders of the family, José and Kitty, Erik's lead defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, Erik's therapist, Dr. Jerome Oziel,  Dr. Oziel's mistress, Judalon Smyth, and Dominick Dunne, a journalist whose biased perception of the boys’ story was published in Vanity Fair.  

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story has received a plethora of criticism, mainly due to the overly sexual themes seen in the episodes. While childhood sexual abuse is one of the main aspects of the Menendez brothers' case, many argue that the explicit sexual content and portrayal of the characters discount the severity of the issue in the true story. Additionally, the show garnered controversy for implying an incestuous relationship between the brothers. This relationship has been denounced by both Erik and Lyle. However, Lyle later expressed gratitude for its depiction of child abuse, that gave a new light to his side of the story, and a better reasoning for his motive.  

The series has 9 full episodes, each of which bounces between featuring different viewpoints and accounts of those involved. The soundtrack, costumes, set design, and mannerisms of each episode clearly demonstrate the spirit of 1989, when the crime took place. Out of the 9 episodes, halfway through the series, at episode 5, is The Hurt Man.  

Directed by Michael Uppendahl and written by Ian Brennan, episode 5 is a one-shot episode that features the magnificent talents of Cooper Koch and Ari Gaynor. The episode centers on a conversation between Erik, played by Koch, and his lead defense attorney, Leslie Abramson, played by Gaynor. This conversation reveals Erik’s account of the atrocities committed by his father, while his mother, aware of the situation, neglected to protect him. In a haunting conversation formatted in a confessional style, Erik expresses the nightmares of his past. Leslie serves as a mentor, guardian, and safe space for him to finally relieve himself of the horrors of his childhood.  

The series has gained various opinions from the public. Some were swayed by the passionate performances of Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez. Their depiction of the brothers garnered an unexpected sympathy from the current generation. This is due to the current generation’s more inclusive and empathetic outlook on life, as well as our distrust of the legal system. With this outlook, Erik and Lyle’s stories were finally told to a captivated audience, bringing their supposed injustice in punishment and time served under scrutiny. As a member of Generation Z myself, I will say that the performances of Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez were heartfelt and raw and gave a voice to the unexpected victims of the story.  

Unlike the first season of the series, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, season 2 is much more entertaining and is written for audience appeal. Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, was written in a no-nonsense way, clearly painting Dahmer as the villain, with no room for debate. Season 2 of Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, is a more Hollywood studded, glamorized version of true crime, blurring the line between hero and villain and skewing the perception of truth and reality.  

Despite the multiple controversies, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story achieved global commercial success, debuting as the number one series on Netflix worldwide, the most-viewed streaming content on the Nielsen Streaming Chart, and the third most-watched Netflix series in the second half of 2024. Critics and academy members praised the performances of the actors involved. At the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, it earned 11 nominations, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Koch. For the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, nominations included Miniseries or Television Film for Koch, and Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for Bardem.  

With the incredible success of the first two seasons of Monster, the series was again renewed for a third season, Monster: The Ed Gein Story which was released on October 3rd, 2025. It stars Charlie Hunnam as murderer and graverobber Ed Gein. Tune in again next week for the third installment of Spooky Season Series Selection for analysis of Monster: The Ed Gein Story, along with more productions by Ryan Murphy.  

Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is available to stream on Netflix.  

Spooky Season Series Selection Part 1 - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

Austin Price, Editor in Chief  

Spooky season is upon us! That means it’s time to pop some popcorn, curl up under a plaid blanket, and light a pumpkin spiced candle while watching a relaxing tv show. If you’re like me, this relaxing show involves gruesome crimes, obscene murders, and intense trials. As a spooky season enthusiast and true crime nerd, I understand the excitement of diving into a new series focused on some of the most horrific events imaginable. And so, to feed both my October loving soul, and satisfy my true crime craving, I am creating the ultimate list of TV series perfect for spooky season, all based on real events and true stories. Come with me as I provide you with the best content to consume as the leaves change and the costumes are purchased. Each installment of this series will highlight one of my favorite TV series that fits the macabre and mystery of spooky season. First up, we have Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.  

On September 21st, 2022, Netflix, Ryan Murphy, and Ian Brennan partnered to bring an unfiltered and raw look into the disgusting and perverted nature of one of America’s most notorious serial killers, Jeffrey Dahmer. Evan Peters stars as the infamous cannibal and has received countless accolades for his performance. The show was initially conceived to be a limited series, with the first and only season planned to follow the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer. However, it was later renewed for a second and third season.   

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is one of the most visually upsetting and intense depictions of Jeffrey Dahmer’s life. I have listened to countless podcasts and read tons of articles regarding his life, but I will say that Ryan Murphy brought the disturbing nature of Dahmer’s personality, and the repulsive nature of his crimes to the screen in a nightmarish way. As a lover of true crime, it takes a lot for me to actually recoil and truly be terrified by a case. However, I could not watch this series in one go, because of the realistic depictions of Dahmer’s confessions.  

Evan Peters is a genius in the titular role, and metamorphosizes into one of the most deranged and appalling serial killers in American history. His performance was recognized when Peters won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.  Watching the TV drama gives a feeling of poison in one’s consciousness, as it carefully follows and exposes the crimes and actions of Dahmer, without holding anything back. Ryan Murphy approaches the Dahmer story without fear of repercussions and does not limit his exposure of Dahmer's life to being culturally sensitive and politically correct. While this approach has been criticized by many, I found it to be refreshing. The media is constantly monitoring and censoring aspects of true crime. While I understand this approach is done to respect the sensitivity of viewers, I’d argue that consumers deserve to truly be immersed in the hideous reality of killers to fully understand the severity of their crimes, and to fully emphasize with victims.  

Sharing the spotlight with Peters is Niecy Nash, who’s portrayal of Glenda Cleveland, Jeffrey's neighbor, resulted in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. Nash’s character gives an often-suppressed side of the story, as an African American woman whose concerns over Dahmer’s behavior were repeatedly ignored by police. In this narrative, Nash brings awareness to the many victims of Dahmer that were considered minorities, and that did not initially receive the same levels of commitment and respect by authorities as some of his other victims did.  

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story includes 10 full length episodes, following the timeline of crimes committed by Dahmer, and glimpses into the ending result of his behavior and court records regarding his accusations and charges. The show immediately made its way into all forms of digital media. The season rose to the number one spot on Netflix in the first week of its release. In the second week of its release, Netflix announced that Dahmer was its ninth most popular English-language TV show of all time, with 56 million households having viewed all 10 episodes.  

Following the gigantic success of an anthological look on Dahmer’s story, Netflix announced on November 7, 2022, that it had renewed Monster as an anthology series, with two further editions based on the lives of "other monstrous figures". These figures would later be revealed to be Erik and Lyle Menendez for Season 2, and Ed Gein for Season 3. Stay tuned for upcoming installments of Spooky Season Series Selection as both of these series will be covered and included.  

Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is available to stream on Netflix. 

Netflix Series, Cobra Kai, Shows the Power of Friendship

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer 

The show Cobra Kai is based off of the events in the movie The Karate Kid. It was made in 2018 by Josh Heald, John Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg in hopes for the Karate Kid saga to live on. The show begins thirty four years after Karate Kid. The dojo name “Cobra Kai” is taken from The Karate Kid, and there are many returning faces including John Kreese, Paul Dugan, and Terrance Silver. This show explores many different forms of relationships and how they can teach us to be better people.

Robby Keene is the main character in season one. Miguel Diaz is the main character in season two. They become friends throughout the show as you get to know the differences and similarities between Miguel and Robby and how their bond is formed. They both want the same things, but have different paths to get there. At first, they don’t like each other because Robby is jealous that Miguel starts to have a father figure to look up to. Throughout the seasons, they have their problems, but they grow up and move together towards achievable goals that bring them together. 

In one memorable event from the season two finale, Miguel ends up in a coma because Robby kicked him off a high staircase. However, later in the show Robby and Miguel fight again and resolve their conflict. Eventually, they find common ground after the fight and become best friends. They are able to unite because they both didn’t have male role models growing up. I feel like the lessons that are being taught to the viewers are that people can have conflict at first, but it is important to know and understand their side of the story. This also shows that the two people who once didn’t get along can always move on from the past, and grow into more mature people.

Another character, Tory Nichols is also similar to Johnny Lawrence. Both of them miss father figures, and resort to isolating themselves. Tory and Johnny never really got to know who they really were as they both grew up without knowing who their biological father is. Many have speculated online about rumors of Mike Barnes possibly being Tory’s father. I disagree, but I think her father could be either Dutch or an unknown man. Both Dutch and Tory had difficult lives and both ended up in juvie. That is revealed when Johnny’s buddies from high school mention that he was up in Lompoc County.

While learning under Sensei Johnny Lawrence, Miguel starts to become close to a girl named Samantha, and eventually starts a relationship with her. They find things in common and they share chemistry together as their relationship grows stronger each season. Miguel struggles in this relationship because Sam feels like she doesn’t know and understand him anymore after a few weeks. They eventually break up and Miguel gets into a short relationship with Tory Nichols to try something new in an attempt to get over Sam. Tory points out that this is unfair for her. Eventually Miguel returns to Sam when she finds an octopus necklace in the dojo and realizes that Miguel still likes her more than a friend. They get back together again because they spent some time on their own trying to find out more things about themselves but they end up realizing that they love each other romantically. This shows how willing Miguel was to communicate and understand his love for Sam from the very beginning of the show, all the way to the end. Their relationship can show us how to communicate in romantic relationships, and everyone should be able to do this in their own lives.

Throughout season one, Robby gets hired at LaRusso Auto and works there helping a character named Daniel fix and sell cars. Daniel later becomes a father figure for Robby. Both of them had demons in their past and fought them. Daniel sees the potential he had in himself and decides to help Robby use it in his life. Robby struggles against his opponents in tournaments. Robby knows the sorts of struggles that he faces are inevitable. He makes lots of mistakes throughout every season. but he wants to take responsibility to show Daniel that they are alike in many ways. Daniel learns how to trust himself throughout this father-son relationship as he helps Robby. There are times where they argue, but they eventually put their differences aside to come back together. Robby and Daniel are very much alike and they have always found ways to win in various situations.

Many people struggle with bullies in their life. Yet, in the end, it is always important to remember what you’ve been taught. Even if that is fighting for your purpose or love. I have most certainly dealt with a whole lot of bullying and I do not like it. It is because of bullying and the things I dealt with in my early life that I began to watch this show Cobra Kai. I feel like if I get better at fighting for what is right, then maybe I could pass down my knowledge as a sensei one day. While I hope that everyone lives their lives full of happy memories and experiences, they should also be ready for unfortunate events to happen. However they can overcome those difficulties by remembering to spend the most time you can with the people that you love and care for.

Click here to watch Cobra Kai

It Works! A Review of the Tour of Back to the Future: The Musical at the Buell Theatre

Eamon Lujan, Guest Writer

Back to the Future: The Musical is a new adaptation of the classic movie. With a book by Bob Gale, music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard, and direction by John Rando, this timeless tale has hit the stage at full speed.

I attended this show twice while it was in Denver. The first was a part of our family’s season subscription. At that first performance, we had the full principal cast and sat in Orchestra C, Row AA, Seat 9. The second time I saw it with a group of friends and had the full principal cast but a new Marty McFly than the one I had previously seen transferred to the West End production. I sat in Orchestra D, Row D, Seat 7.

Back to the Future: The Musical follows the movie to a T, with only slight changes or omissions. I was quite skeptical coming into the show, figuring it’d be good fun but ultimately another forgettable movie-to-musical adaptation. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It works! 

Back to the Future: The Musical is bombastic, strange, and campy. Much of this is achieved through incredible tech work, with many moving parts that come together to create convincing illusions. The most important thing is that they have recreated the DeLorean time machine and put it onstage. This thing can actually drive around the stage and has a fully detailed interior. Credit goes to scenic and costume designer Tim Hatley, who managed to design and bring this beast to life. 

While it can drive around, the effect is really sold through Fin Ross’ video design and Chris Fisher’s illusion work. The car is sandwiched between a downstage see-through scrim and a screen in the background. Here we see videos of the world zipping by the DeLorean, creating an incredible feeling of speed I haven’t really seen on a stage before. It is a particularly effective piece of technical work that sells the scene well despite it being a simple setup. It also displays the logo when you first arrive in the theatre, with error warnings popping up reminding you not to take photos as phones did not exist in the 80’s and it will mess with the space-time continuum. 

While we are on the topic of technical work, I want to applaud the lighting design by Tim Lutkin and Hugh Vanstone. It does not intrude on scenes where it is unnecessary, but it makes great use of the proscenium which lights up in a futuristic circuit-like pattern when the car is speeding by. Towards the end of the show, when the storm begins to pick up, bright white lights flash at the audience to simulate lightning.

At our first performance, Marty McFly was played by Caden Brauch. He has since left the touring production to instead play Marty on the West End and has been succeeded by Lucas Hallauer. Caden’s interpretation of Marty felt unique, he wasn’t weighed down by what Michael J. Fox did in the movies. His Marty seemed to be playing it cooler than Fox’s. There is a specific line that I feel illustrates the point well. When Fox says “You built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?”, he sounds exasperated and confused. When Brauch says it, he is in awe, with a hint of “right on dude” in his voice.

Our second performance had Lucas Haullauer, who previously understudied the role. Almost anything I could say about Caden’s performance I could say about Lucas’, they both play a very cool and suave Marty. I prefer how Lucas plays out moments with Lorraine and the few moments Marty does get genuinely panicked, his voice shoots up and the persona comes down. I feel Caden had better chemistry with George, his disappointment in how lame his dad is being almost painful. There are moments where he says nothing, just staring at his dad as you see the hope being extinguished behind his eyes. Neither of them gave a “better” performance, I think they both are doing a lot of the same things but playing into different strengths.

Don Stephenson played Doc Brown and his performance was one of the greatest things I have ever seen a person do onstage. I couldn’t make out many of the words he was saying due to his strange cartoon voice, but his vibes and aura were captivating. He moved about the stage in a herky-jerky manner, speaking with the cadence of a mad scientist. Stephenson says “flux capacitor” like Doofenshmirtz says “evil-inator”. There was a point where he made an expression where he stretched his mouth in opposite diagonal directions, a face so impossible he surely must have detached his jaw from the whole side of his skull. He looked like an animatronic with rubber skin stretched so far it was about to tear away. He’s almost what I imagine Doc Brown would be like if an 80’s Back to the Future cartoon had ever been made, similar to the Beetlejuice cartoon. A goofy caricature of a mad scientist, a zany personality that could sustain an episodic series.

Michale Bindeman plays George McFly, Marty’s father, and is a delight to watch anytime he’s onstage. He is a very tall and lanky man and uses it to his advantage, walking around in an awkward and bow-legged manner. One of the best moments that showcases this brand of comedy is during “Put Your Mind to It”, a song where Marty is teaching his dad how to be cool. Marty dances with swagger and style, and his father flails his arms around as he attempts to replicate the moves. There is a key point towards the end of the show where he gains confidence he never had before, and it is fun watching how his character transforms. He is still gangly and awkward, but he stands tall and stops being hunched over all the time.

Zan Berube plays Lorraine, Marty’s mother, who has the onerous task of making the audience believe incest is funny. She is successful at this endeavor, as she is quite overtly horny and Marty has to dodge her wild attempts to get him into her bed. To add some essential context for those who have not seen the movie, Marty accidentally interferes with his parents meeting for the first time in the past. Instead of his mother nursing his father back to health after he falls out of a tree, Marty falls and his mother becomes affectionate towards him. It is ridiculous how infatuated Zan is with Marty, and it is ridiculous how this is a primary obstacle that needs to be overcome so Marty isn’t erased. Perhaps it is the fact it is all so ridiculous that makes her performance work so well.

The whole show lives in its own ridiculous and campy world. When Doc begins to sing, a group of women come out and act as backup singers. Marty asks where all these girls came from, and Doc says “I don’t know! They just appear whenever I start singing!”. A whole chorus of ensemble members appear later during “Future Boy”, and Doc awkwardly shoos them out of his house when the song comes to a sudden halt. Act 1 ends with a spectacularly choreographed chase sequence through the high school, with Marty and George scaling lockers and leaping over tables. There is so much happening onstage during that sequence, so much to look at. It’s a spectacularly fun show.

The music is the weakest part of this show, despite the promise of the name attached to it. Alan Silvestri composed the music for the original movies and came back to create the score for this musical. When the Back to the Future theme is being played, recreating iconic moments from the movie, there is some real magic happening on that stage. That said, Alan is not a musical composer. 

There are a lot of times where it feels like the music is not meaningfully moving the story forward or developing the characters, two essential traits of any good musical theatre song. The first four songs are duds, making it feel like we were stopping the show to sing a song. The best was “Hello, Is Anybody Home?”, where Marty wonders how he ended up with such a lame family. It’s fun seeing how much his family sucks. The show at this point is sitting at like a 7/10, maybe 6 if I’m feeling uncharitable. Then right after that song, the DeLorean comes swerving out of the darkness and the show instantly rockets up to a 9/10. Everything after that point is just ridiculous, campy, fun. It maintains that energy until the very end with a curtain call performance of Huey Lewis and the News’ “Back in Time”. Back to the Future: The Musical is absolutely not high art, but boy is it a real fun ride.

Hit TV Show, Stranger Things, Highlights A Variety of Human Relationships

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer 

Stranger Things is a TV Show set in the 1970’s through the 1980’s that was introduced to Netflix in July of 2016. It was made by the Duffer Brothers, as a multi-genre series including science fiction, horror, drama, and action. The show quickly gained a lot of popularity and views, making many of its young actors famous. In the beginning of the show, the character Will Byers, played by actor Noah Schnapp, goes missing in the town of Hawkins. The past of Hawkins is uncertain in the beginning of the film but then, the cause behind tragedies in this town are revealed. 

The show often centers around the character, Eleven. She grew up inside a mysterious lab and eventually made an attempt to run away. She escapes through the underground tunnels leading out into a forest away from the lab. When she escapes, she is found by three boys— Micheal, Dustin, and Lucas— who help her learn about the outside world. As she starts to explore this new world, she starts to learn how to form meaningful relationships and love the people around her. You can learn about love through Eleven’s journey of discovery. She explores different types of relationships in her life. Those types of relationships are friendship, romantic, self, and parental love. 

She experiences friendship and love through the relationship she has with Max. At first, Eleven doesn’t like Max because she is jealous over a boy, but when Max asks her about him, they learn about their likes and dislikes. Max gives Eleven relationship advice, and allows her to discover her taste of who she wants to be. This is how she finds happiness with Max. Later on in the show, they understand each other better as their friendship grows. Throughout the show, they support each other through difficult and even violent times as they face issues with both friends and supernatural forces. Their friendship teaches us how we can rely on friends through hard times.

Eleven experiences romantic love in the show with her boyfriend, Mike. Mike and Eleven become friends during her time when she first escaped the laboratory. They become closer as they both struggle with bullies in their lives. Throughout the show, they are both willing to stand up to these bullies for each other. As she defends Mike, Eleven learns that she wants to use her powers for the greater good rather than showing them off or hurting others. As he finds safety in Eleven, he discovers that he can always have someone to rely on through tough times. This relationship teaches us that our partners are supposed to be people who always have our backs. 

Eleven learns about self love throughout the show as she tries to figure out who she is. At the beginning of the show, she had been stuck in a lab for her entire life and therefore, had never been able to discover herself. Once she breaks out and is able to explore the world, she starts to gain a sense of independence. She starts to be able to make her own decisions, including who she hangs out with, how she dresses, and what her values are. This teaches her about herself as she is no longer just a tool for someone else. She also takes time to discover her past and meets her sister, Kali and her mom. From her journey of self discovery, we discover that no matter how bad our pasts may be, it is always okay to keep moving forward and make our own decisions about how our futures shape us.

This show also models parental love with the characters Hopper and Eleven. Hopper adopts Eleven when she escapes from the lab and quickly becomes her father figure. The beginning of their father and daughter relationship is a bit tough as Hopper becomes controlling of her. Hopper wants to protect Eleven as she fights the evil in Hawkins, but at one point ends up pushing her away as she tries to find independence. Eleven returns to him once they both open up about how they have lost important people in their lives. Hopper has made mistakes but his relationship with Eleven allows him to reflect on this, move forward, and become a better person. Hopper helps her understand what parental love is and what it means to be unconditionally supported. Their relationship shows us that parents are supposed to love and support us even through disagreements.

Character based storytelling is important because it allows us a new way to learn about ourselves and how to navigate the real world. Stranger Things shows how people love each other and what that is like. I like to relate some of my writing to this show, as I like to tell stories and express different relationships between characters. The beauty of stories is that they can show how everyone deserves to be loved.

The 5th and final season of Stranger Things will premiere later in 2025 on the streaming platform, Netflix. 

Click here for more information

A Tree Falls: A New Album

Austin Price, Editor in Chief 

David. W Jacobsen is a singer / songwriter that continues to add onto his extensive musical collection with his recent album release, A Tree Falls. This album debuted on December 3rd, 2024, a year after his previous album, Music for the Masses, was released to listeners.  

Click here to read my review of Jacobsen’s previous album, Music for the Masses 

When given the opportunity to listen and review another one of his albums, I immediately jumped at the chance. I adore music and coming from a family of professional pianists and singers, I have a deep appreciation for music used as an artistic forum for expression, investigation, and reflection. The process of creating music, from writing the lyrics to making edits in post-production is an immense task, and one that each artist approaches differently. When I first listened to Jacobsen’s work last year, I instantly felt unique aspects of his music shown through unfiltered lyrics and explicit notes. This same feeling overcame me when listening to A Tree Falls.  

Personally, I believe music is often censored way too much. Honest reflections on mental health, global conflict, political issues, and religious connotations are minimized by the music industry to keep up with the sensitivity of audiences and to increase their approval rates. I enjoy honest artists. I enjoy the bombastic attitude of Jacobsen’s music and the unapologetic outlook he has on life. Because of his unfiltered presentation, A Tree Falls continues the legacy of art without restrictions, evident in his previous work.  

A Tree Falls is an album made up of 7 songs, with a full running time of 32 minutes and 59 seconds. The album is primarily made up of piano centric ballads, complete with humorous dialogue and elements of pathos. A Tree Falls is an album about being ignored. According to Jacobsen, the primary question that the album asks is "If a tree falls in a forest … does anyone give a @$#!?". Throughout the different tracks, a unanimous answer is given. The answer is no. If a tree falls in a forest no one gives a @$#!? And no one cares.  

With the album proposing a bleak answer to a popular question that all of us face in our lives, it instills listeners with both hope and with reluctant resolve on the challenges of life. The album introduces a menagerie of situations in which we ask ourselves, “Does anyone really care about me?”  

The opening track, “No Expectations” reveals the relentless self-doubt and questioning we face when being abandoned or ghosted in a relationship. Jacobsen sings with tones of expected disappointment, demonstrating the exhausted cycle of one-sided relationships. It shows the toll of neglected and unrequited feelings of love that we find in romantic situations. When reflecting on this track, Jacobsen demonstrates the awful truth that connections fray over time. This could be caused by distance, time, or various levels of dedication to the relationship. But, no matter what the cause, it hurts all the same when we lose those connections that once fueled and inspired us.  

The next song I’d like to dissect is track 5, “Don’t You Call Us”. This is my personal favorite track of the album, mainly because of its relevance to today’s job market, but also because it pokes fun at the ridiculous process of job interviews and rejections. In addition, this track is a reenactment of situations I have faced in my personal life and was something I needed to hear. 

“Don’t You Call Us” is about the outdated procedure and generic rejection shown to hopeful applicants for jobs in today’s market. Nearly halfway through the song, Jacobsen reads a paragraph out loud to listeners while the initial instrumentals remain consistent.  The process for creating this song involved the examination of various, real job rejection letters that Jacobsen has received throughout his life. This level of vulnerability enhances the relatability of the song with listeners. Jacobsen says “I took multiple rejection letters and combined them. Every sentence was taken almost verbatim from an actual rejection email.” Spoken with false sincerity and artificial cheerfulness, Jacobsen reads the rejection letters, mimicking the attitude of hiring managers and business heads.  

My favorite part of the song comes right after Jacobsen’s reading of the letters, and that is the sympathetic words of support, spoken by others to try and comfort you when you don’t get a job. Rather than read these programmed responses himself, Jacobsen gave the phrases to his wife to recite, giving her a special appearance on the album. This was a personal touch that showed the support Jacobsen’s wife has for his musical career, and parodies conversations many of us have had.  

The final track of the album, aptly titled “A Tree Falls”, is over 13 minutes long, and is a raw representation of the struggles many artists face. Jacobsen says, “This is a song for anyone whose artistic aspirations are unrecognized, unfulfilled, and likely to remain so.” Jacobsen conducted this track using a variety of inspirations, but a major one was Harry Chapin's 13-minute epic, "There was Only One Choice." Both Chapin’s song and Jacobsen’s track show the crippling challenges artists face. While they are fueled by creativity, they are sustained by recognition. Sadly, most artists are not properly recognized, making an artist’s dream a discouraging nightmare.  

Something I love about this final track is that it’s realistic. It’s angry, frustrated, desperate, and melancholy. It shows the grim reality many artists face, without censorship or placation for the audience. This is what makes Jacobsen’s work so insightful. It approaches both the highs and lows of life with the same amount of energy and attention.  

A Tree Falls shows the shadows of society. The shadows of rejection. Something we can’t escape, and something we hate to confront. Jacobsen’s album allows listeners to meditate on their own experiences, and the nuances of their lives. While our situations differ, we often experience the same feelings of rejection, loneliness, jealousy, and sadness. However, Jacobsen presents these feelings with neutrality showing the validity to the mixed emotions of humanity. A Tree Falls is an anthology of poetic pieces and life lessons and can be appreciated by anyone who’s ever lived a normal life that offers both ups and downs. It gives validity to dark feelings we have, showing authenticity and humility.  

To listen to A Tree Falls, visit the following links:  

Youtube

Spotify 

Pandora

Apple

Deezer

Click here to view more of Jacobsen’s work

Click here to view the lyrics