Thank you for being the first black president.
Thank you for serving two consecutive terms, from when I was 11 to now, when I'm 19 -- arguably the most formative years of my life.
Thank you for a presidency free of personal scandal, an almost unheard-of notion in America's political climate, both past and present.
Thank you for showing me what it means to be a good husband and father, reminding me so much of my own father.
Thank you for being funny when we needed it, for being serious when we needed it, for always, always, ALWAYS being articulate and compassionate.
Thank you for proving to the world that wisdom does not preclude sincerity, that kindness does not preclude pragmatism, that blackness does not preclude greatness.
Thank you for teaching us that it is often more important to be good than to be right.
Thank you for Obamacare.
Thank you for all you have done to slow climate change.
Thank you for all you have done to close the wage gap.
Thank you for openly identifying as a feminist.
Thank you for all you did to make gay marriage a right at the federal level.
Thank you for going on so many late-night talk shows and reminding us that you are a real, flesh-and-blood human being and not some collective hallucination of the Democratic Party.
Thank you for loving your family.
Thank you for letting us glimpse your friendship with Joe Biden, the greatest executive bromance in all of human history.
Thank you for weeping through mass shootings, through police brutality, through hate -- for showing us that it is okay to cry.
Thank you for taking the vitriol that our current President-elect spewed at you for so many years in stride.
Thank you for campaigning so tirelessly for Hillary.
Thank you for peacefully handing off power despite the knowledge that your successor is unfit to rule.
Thank you for having an imperfect presidency and proving imperfection does not preclude progress.
Thank you for making it seem like we had finally made it to the right side of history.
Thank you for standing by us when we realized we had not.
Thank you for loving us.
Thank you for being the role model to every black child in this nation, and quite possibly in the world.
Thank you for being everyone's president.
Thank you for being my president.
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
One-Man Show
During the first week of school this year, I went to a couple welcome back shows at Tommy's Place to support my friends. A few different bands and solo artists I love were playing shows, and I figured--hey, it's the first week, I'm not busy, and it's right on campus.
As usual, my fellow pop kids blew me away with their covers and originals. Multiple-piece bands were tight and grooving, and solo singer-songwriters rocked out with poignant simplicity. They performed covers as well or better than the original artists, and they sang their own songs like they were already classics.
But almost no one heard it.
I'm no saint. I don't go to every gig I get invited to on Facebook. Sometimes it's because I legitimately can't--I'm under 21, I have another gig or rehearsal--but sometimes it's because I'm just tired and don't feel up to it. And I always feel bad when I miss one, because I know that most of the time, the coffee shop or bar or little venue could really use another body.
The students in the popular music program at Thornton are not just "good." They're great. Maybe I'm biased, but every time I DO go to a gig, I run to the keyboard or guitar right after to write. I feel massively inspired by the talent I see in the other pop kids. They are vulnerable and brave and skilled and silly. They are humble. They are versatile. They are wise beyond their years. I can only hope that my classmates feel the same way about me--to be counted among their musical and emotional equals would be an honor. My point in providing this onslaught of compliments is to affirm how much it shatters my heart to hear this groundbreaking music and realizing that not many people are listening.
It's bittersweet, really. One day, we will be making a larger impact on the music industry, whether that's through performing, writing, education, business, journalism, or some combination of the above. One day, "the time we performed for an audience of just our mom and the bartender" will be another funny story. And honestly, there's something tremendously fun about those little, seemingly inconsequential shows. There's camaraderie in knowing that none of us are selling out arenas, or even the back rooms of pubs. This is where we become our real artistic selves. It's where we test drive new material, experiment with banter and song arrangements, and learn to commit to a performance regardless of the number of people watching.
But that doesn't stop me from feeling frustrated when I see my best friends pouring their hearts out on stage, sweating under the lights, letting tears roll during particularly emotional moments, and knowing that I'm the only one who will congratulate them after the show.
I write all this to say: if you're a musician playing for single-digit audiences, you are not alone. It will all be worth it. Treasure these little shows, because one day you'll be grown and working in the music industry and missing the purity of coffee house open mics. Sing every original song and rearranged cover like you're on stage at the Staples Center, even if the only person watching is cleaning shot glasses and checking the clock. And if you're a friend of a musician: go to their shows. Buy their merch and stream their tracks on Soundcloud. Be one of the people who knew them when. Sometimes it's inconvenient. But I promise that you won't regret it.
As usual, my fellow pop kids blew me away with their covers and originals. Multiple-piece bands were tight and grooving, and solo singer-songwriters rocked out with poignant simplicity. They performed covers as well or better than the original artists, and they sang their own songs like they were already classics.
But almost no one heard it.
I'm no saint. I don't go to every gig I get invited to on Facebook. Sometimes it's because I legitimately can't--I'm under 21, I have another gig or rehearsal--but sometimes it's because I'm just tired and don't feel up to it. And I always feel bad when I miss one, because I know that most of the time, the coffee shop or bar or little venue could really use another body.
The students in the popular music program at Thornton are not just "good." They're great. Maybe I'm biased, but every time I DO go to a gig, I run to the keyboard or guitar right after to write. I feel massively inspired by the talent I see in the other pop kids. They are vulnerable and brave and skilled and silly. They are humble. They are versatile. They are wise beyond their years. I can only hope that my classmates feel the same way about me--to be counted among their musical and emotional equals would be an honor. My point in providing this onslaught of compliments is to affirm how much it shatters my heart to hear this groundbreaking music and realizing that not many people are listening.
It's bittersweet, really. One day, we will be making a larger impact on the music industry, whether that's through performing, writing, education, business, journalism, or some combination of the above. One day, "the time we performed for an audience of just our mom and the bartender" will be another funny story. And honestly, there's something tremendously fun about those little, seemingly inconsequential shows. There's camaraderie in knowing that none of us are selling out arenas, or even the back rooms of pubs. This is where we become our real artistic selves. It's where we test drive new material, experiment with banter and song arrangements, and learn to commit to a performance regardless of the number of people watching.
But that doesn't stop me from feeling frustrated when I see my best friends pouring their hearts out on stage, sweating under the lights, letting tears roll during particularly emotional moments, and knowing that I'm the only one who will congratulate them after the show.
I write all this to say: if you're a musician playing for single-digit audiences, you are not alone. It will all be worth it. Treasure these little shows, because one day you'll be grown and working in the music industry and missing the purity of coffee house open mics. Sing every original song and rearranged cover like you're on stage at the Staples Center, even if the only person watching is cleaning shot glasses and checking the clock. And if you're a friend of a musician: go to their shows. Buy their merch and stream their tracks on Soundcloud. Be one of the people who knew them when. Sometimes it's inconvenient. But I promise that you won't regret it.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Last Night, I Wept. Today, I Apply War Paint.
I've always fancied myself a revolutionary.
In history class, when we talked about the civil rights movement or women's suffrage, I envisioned myself as the type of person who would have been on the right side of history. Maybe I wouldn't have been staging sit-ins, but certainly I would have given speeches at my university. Written pieces of incendiary journalism. Bigoted white men would roll their eyes when I came up in conversation. It would've been great.
But I was born in 1997, to a two-parent household of economic affluence in a liberal city in a liberal state. Yes, I am a mixed-race, Jewish black woman. But I'm also economically privileged, have attended private academic institutions my whole life, and have had the unconditional emotional support of two wonderful parents. So yes, people have made offensive comments to me and tried to undermine my achievements. But I have been shielded from much of the oppression that might have impeded my development had I come up in the mid-twentieth century, or in a conservative part of the country, or both. To top it all off, the bulk of my childhood was spent under the first black president of the United States. I coasted into last night, thinking that the bulk of my young adulthood would be spent under the first female president. Honestly, the thought of Hillary's victory was bittersweet to me. Where was my glass ceiling to break? Sure, police brutality is still an issue, the wage gap won't go away for another 100+ years even by optimistic estimates, and in many parts of the country, the LGBTQIA+ community is actively discriminated against, but before last night, it felt very much like we were on our way. Like I would simply be buoyed by the progress that was already taking place. Like all I had to do was exist as a socially conscious millennial, and the world would unfold before me as it always had. But then a funny thing happened.
A bigoted, incompetent, sexual predator won the presidency.
And I cried. Hard.
Last night, I lost my innocence. I watched as the America I'd built up in my mind, the America that still had a lot of work to do but was at least on the path to excellence, disintegrated before my very eyes. I read the New York Times article declaring that a reality TV-show host who will be going to trial for fraud and sexual assault will take the oath of our nation's highest office on January 20. My Uber driver asked me why I was crying. I said many things in response to that, but the crux of it is this sound bite: Trump did not invent hatred. Obama's presidency simply concealed it. Trump's campaign exposed it. The bigotry was already there. It was just less socially acceptable to show it with Obama at the helm. Now, as his time in office dwindles all too quickly to a close, the so-called "silent majority" is silent no more. Their champion has won. They have been vindicated. And last night, that felt like rock bottom. Hopeless.
But I wake up today far from hopeless. Because here's the thing, my fellow women and PoC. My LGBTQIA+, Latinx, Muslim, and disabled siblings:
NOW, more than ever, is our time.
For all the times you've wondered who you might have been during slavery, during World War II, during the Civil Rights Movement - this is when you find out. Sure, laws and amendments have been passed that are meant to protect our civil liberties, and social conditions aren't as bleak as they were 50, 100, 200 years ago. But I assure you that this is a turning point in history. I assure you that our children will be asking us about last night, and the last year, and the coming ones. I assure you that we will be confronted by hatred, and, even more frequently, indifference to our rights under a Republican president, a Republican senate, and a Republican house.
I refuse to be hopeless. I refuse to be complacent. I refuse to spend anymore time weeping. I also refuse to pretend that we are not a nation divided. I wish I could love our president-elect and his constituency unconditionally, because I truly believe that love can triumph over hate. But now is not the time for love. Not yet. In order to love, I first require mutual respect.
I don't have all the answers. I don't have any of the answers. I don't know what this movement will look like, what shape it will take. I don't know what I personally need to do, or what we need to do as a collective. So I'll do what I know to do: I will write.
And tomorrow morning, and all the mornings after that, I'll do what I did this morning.
Apply war paint.
In history class, when we talked about the civil rights movement or women's suffrage, I envisioned myself as the type of person who would have been on the right side of history. Maybe I wouldn't have been staging sit-ins, but certainly I would have given speeches at my university. Written pieces of incendiary journalism. Bigoted white men would roll their eyes when I came up in conversation. It would've been great.
But I was born in 1997, to a two-parent household of economic affluence in a liberal city in a liberal state. Yes, I am a mixed-race, Jewish black woman. But I'm also economically privileged, have attended private academic institutions my whole life, and have had the unconditional emotional support of two wonderful parents. So yes, people have made offensive comments to me and tried to undermine my achievements. But I have been shielded from much of the oppression that might have impeded my development had I come up in the mid-twentieth century, or in a conservative part of the country, or both. To top it all off, the bulk of my childhood was spent under the first black president of the United States. I coasted into last night, thinking that the bulk of my young adulthood would be spent under the first female president. Honestly, the thought of Hillary's victory was bittersweet to me. Where was my glass ceiling to break? Sure, police brutality is still an issue, the wage gap won't go away for another 100+ years even by optimistic estimates, and in many parts of the country, the LGBTQIA+ community is actively discriminated against, but before last night, it felt very much like we were on our way. Like I would simply be buoyed by the progress that was already taking place. Like all I had to do was exist as a socially conscious millennial, and the world would unfold before me as it always had. But then a funny thing happened.
A bigoted, incompetent, sexual predator won the presidency.
And I cried. Hard.
Last night, I lost my innocence. I watched as the America I'd built up in my mind, the America that still had a lot of work to do but was at least on the path to excellence, disintegrated before my very eyes. I read the New York Times article declaring that a reality TV-show host who will be going to trial for fraud and sexual assault will take the oath of our nation's highest office on January 20. My Uber driver asked me why I was crying. I said many things in response to that, but the crux of it is this sound bite: Trump did not invent hatred. Obama's presidency simply concealed it. Trump's campaign exposed it. The bigotry was already there. It was just less socially acceptable to show it with Obama at the helm. Now, as his time in office dwindles all too quickly to a close, the so-called "silent majority" is silent no more. Their champion has won. They have been vindicated. And last night, that felt like rock bottom. Hopeless.
But I wake up today far from hopeless. Because here's the thing, my fellow women and PoC. My LGBTQIA+, Latinx, Muslim, and disabled siblings:
NOW, more than ever, is our time.
For all the times you've wondered who you might have been during slavery, during World War II, during the Civil Rights Movement - this is when you find out. Sure, laws and amendments have been passed that are meant to protect our civil liberties, and social conditions aren't as bleak as they were 50, 100, 200 years ago. But I assure you that this is a turning point in history. I assure you that our children will be asking us about last night, and the last year, and the coming ones. I assure you that we will be confronted by hatred, and, even more frequently, indifference to our rights under a Republican president, a Republican senate, and a Republican house.
I refuse to be hopeless. I refuse to be complacent. I refuse to spend anymore time weeping. I also refuse to pretend that we are not a nation divided. I wish I could love our president-elect and his constituency unconditionally, because I truly believe that love can triumph over hate. But now is not the time for love. Not yet. In order to love, I first require mutual respect.
I don't have all the answers. I don't have any of the answers. I don't know what this movement will look like, what shape it will take. I don't know what I personally need to do, or what we need to do as a collective. So I'll do what I know to do: I will write.
And tomorrow morning, and all the mornings after that, I'll do what I did this morning.
Apply war paint.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
October Playlist
October Playlist
Hey, all, and happy almost Halloween. This Halloweekend has been pretty crazy. Honestly, all of October--heck, this whole year--has been pretty crazy. Being 19 in Los Angeles in 2016 is beautiful and funny and overwhelming and terrifying and being in college is never what you expected it would be, and neither are you.
Here are the songs I've been listening to lately.
https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/0d3eKbQBMa3yFLUQA5HLpK
1. "Worth It" - 3:05
ALBUM: Lamentations
ARTIST: Moses Sumney
2. "Come Together - Remastered" - 4:20
ALBUM: Abbey Road - Remastered
ARTIST: The Beatles
3. "You And I" - 2:31
ALBUM: Emotions And Math
ARTIST: Margaret Glaspy
4. "October Song" - 3:25
ALBUM: Frank
ARTIST: Amy Winehouse
5. "So. Good." - 3:47
ALBUM: So. Good.
ARTIST: Johnny Stimson
6. "Beautiful Girl" - 4:03
ALBUM: Beautiful Girl
ARTIST: Sara Bareilles
7. "I Love How You Love Me" - 3:27
ALBUM: Live at Jittery Joe's
ARTIST: Jeff Mangum
8. "Milk & Honey" - 3:59
ALBUM: Milk & Honey
ARTIST: Billie Marten
9. "Cassidy" - 4:28
ALBUM: Por Favor
ARTIST: Brett Dennen
10. "Cough Drop" - 3:20
ALBUM: A Humble Masterpiece
ARTIST: The O'My's
11. "22 (OVER S∞∞N)" - 2:48
ALBUM: 22, A Million
ARTIST: Bon Iver
12. "Gibraltar" - 3:42
ALBUM: No No No
ARTIST: Beirut
13. "The Middle of Ohio" - 2:54
ALBUM: Song of a Dead Man
ARTIST: Taylor John Williams
14. "Gold In The Air" - 3:21
ALBUM: Get Your Burdens Lifted
ARTIST: Jesse Woods
15. "Above The Clouds of Pompeii" - 4:39
ALBUM: Islands
ARTIST: Bear's Den
16. "Mona Lisa" - 3:23
ALBUM: Chasing Waves
ARTIST: Vista Kicks
17. "Comfortable - Live In Birmingham" - 7:37
ALBUM: Any Given Thursday
ARTIST: John Mayer
18. "Hourglass" - 2:18
ALBUM: The Balcony
ARTIST: Catfish and the Bottlemen
19. "You Don't Know My Name" - 6:07
ALBUM: The Diary of Alicia Keys
ARTIST: Alicia Keys
20. "Trouble Sleeping" - 3:27
ALBUM: Corinne Bailey Rae
ARTIST: Corinne Bailey Rae
That's what I've been bumping. I don't know what to expect for the last two months of 2016, or the rest of college, or the rest of my life. I can't help but think about the macro because of how much my life is changing, how quickly and drastically and without warning. I read somewhere, in a piece about songwriting, that by the time an artist is 25, they have experienced everything necessary to make great art. I can't help but feel like it might be true.
Talk soon. xo
Hey, all, and happy almost Halloween. This Halloweekend has been pretty crazy. Honestly, all of October--heck, this whole year--has been pretty crazy. Being 19 in Los Angeles in 2016 is beautiful and funny and overwhelming and terrifying and being in college is never what you expected it would be, and neither are you.
Here are the songs I've been listening to lately.
https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/0d3eKbQBMa3yFLUQA5HLpK
1. "Worth It" - 3:05
ALBUM: Lamentations
ARTIST: Moses Sumney
2. "Come Together - Remastered" - 4:20
ALBUM: Abbey Road - Remastered
ARTIST: The Beatles
3. "You And I" - 2:31
ALBUM: Emotions And Math
ARTIST: Margaret Glaspy
4. "October Song" - 3:25
ALBUM: Frank
ARTIST: Amy Winehouse
5. "So. Good." - 3:47
ALBUM: So. Good.
ARTIST: Johnny Stimson
6. "Beautiful Girl" - 4:03
ALBUM: Beautiful Girl
ARTIST: Sara Bareilles
7. "I Love How You Love Me" - 3:27
ALBUM: Live at Jittery Joe's
ARTIST: Jeff Mangum
8. "Milk & Honey" - 3:59
ALBUM: Milk & Honey
ARTIST: Billie Marten
9. "Cassidy" - 4:28
ALBUM: Por Favor
ARTIST: Brett Dennen
10. "Cough Drop" - 3:20
ALBUM: A Humble Masterpiece
ARTIST: The O'My's
11. "22 (OVER S∞∞N)" - 2:48
ALBUM: 22, A Million
ARTIST: Bon Iver
12. "Gibraltar" - 3:42
ALBUM: No No No
ARTIST: Beirut
13. "The Middle of Ohio" - 2:54
ALBUM: Song of a Dead Man
ARTIST: Taylor John Williams
14. "Gold In The Air" - 3:21
ALBUM: Get Your Burdens Lifted
ARTIST: Jesse Woods
15. "Above The Clouds of Pompeii" - 4:39
ALBUM: Islands
ARTIST: Bear's Den
16. "Mona Lisa" - 3:23
ALBUM: Chasing Waves
ARTIST: Vista Kicks
17. "Comfortable - Live In Birmingham" - 7:37
ALBUM: Any Given Thursday
ARTIST: John Mayer
18. "Hourglass" - 2:18
ALBUM: The Balcony
ARTIST: Catfish and the Bottlemen
19. "You Don't Know My Name" - 6:07
ALBUM: The Diary of Alicia Keys
ARTIST: Alicia Keys
20. "Trouble Sleeping" - 3:27
ALBUM: Corinne Bailey Rae
ARTIST: Corinne Bailey Rae
That's what I've been bumping. I don't know what to expect for the last two months of 2016, or the rest of college, or the rest of my life. I can't help but think about the macro because of how much my life is changing, how quickly and drastically and without warning. I read somewhere, in a piece about songwriting, that by the time an artist is 25, they have experienced everything necessary to make great art. I can't help but feel like it might be true.
Talk soon. xo
Saturday, October 1, 2016
September Playlist
September Playlist
Eeek! I am a day late on my September playlist! My apologies, pals!
It has been a turbulent couple weeks. Nothing I can't handle, just a little strange. Unfortunately, not much to report on the boy and career fronts, which are my two favorite fronts. But school is chugging along, and at this moment I am in my childhood bedroom, which is always a good time.
Here are the songs! First a Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/0Svuq7pYs0OyShuh33rW2T
And now the list of tunes:
1. "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" - 4:29
ALBUM: Castaways and Cutouts
ARTIST: The Decemberists
2. "untitled 03 | 05.28.2013." - 2:34
ALBUM: untitled unmastered.
ARTIST: Kendrick Lamar
3. "Unaware" - 5:49
ALBUM: Allen Stone
ARTIST: Allen Stone
4. "Three Thirty" - 3:35
ALBUM: Three Thirty
ARTIST: Eighty Ninety
5. "Bad Self Portraits" - 3:25
ALBUM: Bad Self Portraits
ARTIST: Lake Street Dive
6. "Lost In The Light" - 3:57
ALBUM: Barchords
ARTIST: Bahamas
7. "Lady Of The Desert" - 3:53
ALBUM: Imaginary Man
ARTIST: Rayland Baxter
8. "Secret" - 4:09
ALBUM: H & the Bay
ARTIST: Flearoy
9. "The Bird" - 3:38
ALBUM: Malibu
ARTIST: Anderson .Paak
10. "The Blacker The Berry" - 5:29
ALBUM: To Pimp A Butterfly
ARTIST: Kendrick Lamar
11. "High And Dry" - 4:17
ALBUM: The Bends
ARTIST: Nowhere to Run
12. "Nowhere to Run" - 3:29
ALBUM: Don't Dream Alone
ARTIST: My Brothers And I
13. "This Is on Me" - 4:07
ALBUM: Sirens
ARTIST: Ben Abraham, Sara Bareilles
14. "The Wolves (Act I and II)" - 5:22
ALBUM: For Emma, Forever Ago
ARTIST: Bon Iver
15. "Let Us Now Praise Simple Men" - 3:00
ALBUM: Don't Get Too Grand
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
16. "My Boy" - 4:25
ALBUM: Don't Get Too Grand
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
That'll do it, fans. My October playlist is pretty sparse at the moment, which just means it's full of possibility. I've got a couple cool performances coming up this month, so I'm excited about that. Other than that, I'm just trying to survive sophomore year. And 2016, I guess, which is suspiciously close to ending...
Talk soon. xo
Eeek! I am a day late on my September playlist! My apologies, pals!
It has been a turbulent couple weeks. Nothing I can't handle, just a little strange. Unfortunately, not much to report on the boy and career fronts, which are my two favorite fronts. But school is chugging along, and at this moment I am in my childhood bedroom, which is always a good time.
Here are the songs! First a Spotify link: https://open.spotify.com/user/12149039602/playlist/0Svuq7pYs0OyShuh33rW2T
And now the list of tunes:
1. "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect" - 4:29
ALBUM: Castaways and Cutouts
ARTIST: The Decemberists
2. "untitled 03 | 05.28.2013." - 2:34
ALBUM: untitled unmastered.
ARTIST: Kendrick Lamar
3. "Unaware" - 5:49
ALBUM: Allen Stone
ARTIST: Allen Stone
4. "Three Thirty" - 3:35
ALBUM: Three Thirty
ARTIST: Eighty Ninety
5. "Bad Self Portraits" - 3:25
ALBUM: Bad Self Portraits
ARTIST: Lake Street Dive
6. "Lost In The Light" - 3:57
ALBUM: Barchords
ARTIST: Bahamas
7. "Lady Of The Desert" - 3:53
ALBUM: Imaginary Man
ARTIST: Rayland Baxter
8. "Secret" - 4:09
ALBUM: H & the Bay
ARTIST: Flearoy
9. "The Bird" - 3:38
ALBUM: Malibu
ARTIST: Anderson .Paak
10. "The Blacker The Berry" - 5:29
ALBUM: To Pimp A Butterfly
ARTIST: Kendrick Lamar
11. "High And Dry" - 4:17
ALBUM: The Bends
ARTIST: Nowhere to Run
12. "Nowhere to Run" - 3:29
ALBUM: Don't Dream Alone
ARTIST: My Brothers And I
13. "This Is on Me" - 4:07
ALBUM: Sirens
ARTIST: Ben Abraham, Sara Bareilles
14. "The Wolves (Act I and II)" - 5:22
ALBUM: For Emma, Forever Ago
ARTIST: Bon Iver
15. "Let Us Now Praise Simple Men" - 3:00
ALBUM: Don't Get Too Grand
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
16. "My Boy" - 4:25
ALBUM: Don't Get Too Grand
ARTIST: Donovan Woods
That'll do it, fans. My October playlist is pretty sparse at the moment, which just means it's full of possibility. I've got a couple cool performances coming up this month, so I'm excited about that. Other than that, I'm just trying to survive sophomore year. And 2016, I guess, which is suspiciously close to ending...
Talk soon. xo
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
So...What Do You Do?
The title of this blog post is a question I get a lot as a popular music major.
I don't really blame anyone for asking it. The pop music program at Thornton is relatively new - the first graduating class was in 2013 - and for people who aren't dedicating their lives to the pursuit of such an unusual career, it can be hard to fathom what it is we do all do.
"Oh, you're a pop major? So like...you just sing all the time?"
Yeah, not exactly.
As a popular music major, our course load is substantial. There are aural skills and theory classes to help you master the...well, theoretical side of things, songwriting, music history, individual instruction on our primary instruments, proficiency classes for instruments we can't play yet, music technology, arranging, and...popular music performance.
I don't mean to make it sound ominous, but truth be told, performance class is exhilarating and fulfilling and terrifying and in general way more than I (or any of my classmates) bargained for when we enrolled here.
Every quarter, the class is divided into four bands, each one equipped with a lead guitarist, a drummer, a bass player, a keyboardist (maybe), and handful of vocalists and singer-songwriters to cover lead vocals, backing vocals, second keyboard and guitar parts, and handheld percussion. The first class of the quarter, we figure out our biweekly rehearsal times, and get assigned our first week of material. And that's when it gets crazy.
Twice a week (or probably more...vocal rehearsals are a great way to bond over how hard it is to hear backing vocals on recordings from the 1960s), we meet up and try to replicate some of the most significant popular music in recorded history. We go to performance class and, despite our best efforts during the week, we get roasted by your professor. We get behind on your charts and stay up really late the night before they're due trying to finish them. We get stressed out and curse the powers that be that this class--this class that you dedicate double-digit hours to every week--gets us a whopping two units closer to our degrees.
But then, in the middle of October, something incredible happens.
We have our performance midterm.
Freshmen perform on a Wednesday night at Ground Zero, the milkshake kingdom of the University of Southern California. The blenders don't stop whirring for anyone, not even the sweaty 18-year-olds belting 50s pop like their lives depend on it, and even though it's the middle of the week and the dead of midterms season, you can bet that GZ will be packed with friends and family of the froshpopcult clan. Adrenaline races as Andy calls for the freshman pop kids to huddle up like a championship basketball team. The first pep talk is always the most inspiring. It's hard to remember exactly what he says to hype us up that night, but rest assured, the energy spikes even more as the house lights come down and the show begins.
Sure, we'd been playing those songs for weeks. Sure, three bands sing "The Great Pretender" even though no one was that big a fan of that song in the first place. Sure, the keyboard does that weird thing where it spits out a synth beat for like forty-five painful seconds while the keys player looks for a piccolo sound. And sure, one of the singers trips on a wire and curses really loud and a stage mic picks it up.
But you know what else happens?
The guitarist absolutely NAILS the "Johnny B. Goode" solo. The vocalists soar on the tough backing harmonies. The drummer's stick goes sailing into the audience right after the last crash of the last song and the crowd goes wild. And right in the middle of the set, everyone looks at each other and smiles with giddy disbelief, communicating without saying a single word: I can't believe this is a midterm.
Because this is what we do. We spend hours, days, weeks, months perfecting music that laid the foundation for modern pop. We perform with the musicians that we'll be working with for the rest of our lives. We live the dream.
I haven't had a sophomore performance exam this year, so I can't speak to the differences yet. We perform on Fridays instead of Wednesdays. The material is harder. The expectations are higher. The venue is the massive, newly renovated Carson Soundstage instead of the gritty milkshake café we all came to love last year. But I know a few things will remain the same--the last-minute crazy outfit choices. The giggly, anxiety-ridden run-throughs of lyrics to confusing funk songs. But more than anything else: forming unshakable bonds during the most exhilarating final exams in the world. And then, when that crazy night is over, we show up for performance class the next Tuesday. We get assigned new bands and new songs.
And we do it all again.
I don't really blame anyone for asking it. The pop music program at Thornton is relatively new - the first graduating class was in 2013 - and for people who aren't dedicating their lives to the pursuit of such an unusual career, it can be hard to fathom what it is we do all do.
"Oh, you're a pop major? So like...you just sing all the time?"
Yeah, not exactly.
As a popular music major, our course load is substantial. There are aural skills and theory classes to help you master the...well, theoretical side of things, songwriting, music history, individual instruction on our primary instruments, proficiency classes for instruments we can't play yet, music technology, arranging, and...popular music performance.
I don't mean to make it sound ominous, but truth be told, performance class is exhilarating and fulfilling and terrifying and in general way more than I (or any of my classmates) bargained for when we enrolled here.
Every quarter, the class is divided into four bands, each one equipped with a lead guitarist, a drummer, a bass player, a keyboardist (maybe), and handful of vocalists and singer-songwriters to cover lead vocals, backing vocals, second keyboard and guitar parts, and handheld percussion. The first class of the quarter, we figure out our biweekly rehearsal times, and get assigned our first week of material. And that's when it gets crazy.
Twice a week (or probably more...vocal rehearsals are a great way to bond over how hard it is to hear backing vocals on recordings from the 1960s), we meet up and try to replicate some of the most significant popular music in recorded history. We go to performance class and, despite our best efforts during the week, we get roasted by your professor. We get behind on your charts and stay up really late the night before they're due trying to finish them. We get stressed out and curse the powers that be that this class--this class that you dedicate double-digit hours to every week--gets us a whopping two units closer to our degrees.
But then, in the middle of October, something incredible happens.
We have our performance midterm.
Freshmen perform on a Wednesday night at Ground Zero, the milkshake kingdom of the University of Southern California. The blenders don't stop whirring for anyone, not even the sweaty 18-year-olds belting 50s pop like their lives depend on it, and even though it's the middle of the week and the dead of midterms season, you can bet that GZ will be packed with friends and family of the froshpop
Sure, we'd been playing those songs for weeks. Sure, three bands sing "The Great Pretender" even though no one was that big a fan of that song in the first place. Sure, the keyboard does that weird thing where it spits out a synth beat for like forty-five painful seconds while the keys player looks for a piccolo sound. And sure, one of the singers trips on a wire and curses really loud and a stage mic picks it up.
But you know what else happens?
The guitarist absolutely NAILS the "Johnny B. Goode" solo. The vocalists soar on the tough backing harmonies. The drummer's stick goes sailing into the audience right after the last crash of the last song and the crowd goes wild. And right in the middle of the set, everyone looks at each other and smiles with giddy disbelief, communicating without saying a single word: I can't believe this is a midterm.
Because this is what we do. We spend hours, days, weeks, months perfecting music that laid the foundation for modern pop. We perform with the musicians that we'll be working with for the rest of our lives. We live the dream.
I haven't had a sophomore performance exam this year, so I can't speak to the differences yet. We perform on Fridays instead of Wednesdays. The material is harder. The expectations are higher. The venue is the massive, newly renovated Carson Soundstage instead of the gritty milkshake café we all came to love last year. But I know a few things will remain the same--the last-minute crazy outfit choices. The giggly, anxiety-ridden run-throughs of lyrics to confusing funk songs. But more than anything else: forming unshakable bonds during the most exhilarating final exams in the world. And then, when that crazy night is over, we show up for performance class the next Tuesday. We get assigned new bands and new songs.
And we do it all again.
Monday, August 22, 2016
August Playlist
August Playlist
Coming to you live from my new house and the first day of sophomore year...!
Pretty weird to think that I started this blog at the end of my sophomore year of high school, and now I'm starting my sophomore year of college. My brain isn't really processing how I am Basically An Adult (and am gonna be 19 in less than three weeks! Woo!)
I've been listening to these tunes a lot this month, on planes and in cars and just doing a whole lotta nothing in my room. It's sad, as always, to bid adieu to summer, but this year is gonna be a series of wild adventures, frustrating rehearsals, and big laughs. So let's do it! One sophomore slump, please! Hold the slump!
1. "Drive Slow" - 4:32
ALBUM: Late Registration
ARTIST: Kanye West
2. "The Mates of Soul" - 4:00
ALBUM: The Mates of Soul
ARTIST: Taylor John Williams
3. "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" - 4:05
ALBUM: The Queen Is Dead
ARTIST: The Smiths
4. "I Want You" - 3:32
ALBUM: ACT ONE
ARTIST: Marian Hill
5. "ILYSB - STRIPPED" - 4:05
ALBUM: Make Out
ARTIST: Lany
6. "Bad Day" - 3:06
ALBUM: Darwin Deez
ARTIST: Darwin Deez
7. "Have Mercy" - 4:40
ALBUM: Aviary: Act 1
ARTIST: Eryn Allen Kane
8. "Flying Kites" - 2:42
ALBUM: Beach Island
ARTIST: Jeremy Zucker
9. "Peaches" - 2:34
ALBUM: A Perfect Day
ARTIST: Bob Schneider
10. "Recreational Love" - 3:10
ALBUM: Recreational Love
ARTIST: the bird and the bee
11. "If I Go" - 3:57
ALBUM: If I Go
ARTIST: Jake McMullen
12. "You & Me" - 3:52
ALBUM: Jill Baylon - EP
ARTIST: Jill Baylon
So that's what I've been bumping, more or less. I've already started curating my playlist for September, and I'm excited to see what the next month, next semester, next year has in store for me. I'm trying not to have any crazy expectations. I'm just gonna do what makes me happy and hope for the best. Journal. Drink tea. Burn candles. Write. And of course, make music.
Talk soon. xo
Coming to you live from my new house and the first day of sophomore year...!
Pretty weird to think that I started this blog at the end of my sophomore year of high school, and now I'm starting my sophomore year of college. My brain isn't really processing how I am Basically An Adult (and am gonna be 19 in less than three weeks! Woo!)
I've been listening to these tunes a lot this month, on planes and in cars and just doing a whole lotta nothing in my room. It's sad, as always, to bid adieu to summer, but this year is gonna be a series of wild adventures, frustrating rehearsals, and big laughs. So let's do it! One sophomore slump, please! Hold the slump!
1. "Drive Slow" - 4:32
ALBUM: Late Registration
ARTIST: Kanye West
2. "The Mates of Soul" - 4:00
ALBUM: The Mates of Soul
ARTIST: Taylor John Williams
3. "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" - 4:05
ALBUM: The Queen Is Dead
ARTIST: The Smiths
4. "I Want You" - 3:32
ALBUM: ACT ONE
ARTIST: Marian Hill
5. "ILYSB - STRIPPED" - 4:05
ALBUM: Make Out
ARTIST: Lany
6. "Bad Day" - 3:06
ALBUM: Darwin Deez
ARTIST: Darwin Deez
7. "Have Mercy" - 4:40
ALBUM: Aviary: Act 1
ARTIST: Eryn Allen Kane
8. "Flying Kites" - 2:42
ALBUM: Beach Island
ARTIST: Jeremy Zucker
9. "Peaches" - 2:34
ALBUM: A Perfect Day
ARTIST: Bob Schneider
10. "Recreational Love" - 3:10
ALBUM: Recreational Love
ARTIST: the bird and the bee
11. "If I Go" - 3:57
ALBUM: If I Go
ARTIST: Jake McMullen
12. "You & Me" - 3:52
ALBUM: Jill Baylon - EP
ARTIST: Jill Baylon
So that's what I've been bumping, more or less. I've already started curating my playlist for September, and I'm excited to see what the next month, next semester, next year has in store for me. I'm trying not to have any crazy expectations. I'm just gonna do what makes me happy and hope for the best. Journal. Drink tea. Burn candles. Write. And of course, make music.
Talk soon. xo
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)