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(02/25/20 6:00pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
After what seemed like a wait of a million years, the Aussie psychedelic rock band, Tame Impala, finally released their fourth studio album after a painstakingly-long wait. The album, The Slow Rush, was released in full on Feb. 14, 2020, and it was inarguably the best Valentine’s Day present anyone could have asked for.
Thankfully, however, none of us had to wait until 2020 to get even the slightest taste of new music; we were gifted with the single "Patience" in late March of 2019, the first work of musical art from the band since Currents in 2015. Although not on the album, this track alone gave us a great taste of what new to expect from the band that put out three full-length albums prior, all distinctly different in sound and character. Listening in retrospect, "Patience" introduced us to some of the themes covered in the new album and gave us a decent introduction for the “feel” of the music we would later get to experience in The Slow Rush. This sampling trend continued on with the release of the single "Borderline"—not long after "Patience"—and then so on and so forth with the releases of "Posthumous Forgiveness," "It Might Be Time," and "Lost in Yesterday," all featured on the album. A little bit at a time, we were drawn into the album and the ideas that fueled its creation before it was even released. With all the single releases—and later with the full album—we received everything we love about the old Tame Impala but with a new, fresh twist.
(02/05/20 2:28am)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
(01/24/20 6:57pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
On Jan. 17, 2020, Mac Miller’s posthumous album was released, a little over a year after his sudden and tragic death. The album, Circles, was produced and finished by Jon Brion, per the request of Mac’s family. Brion, who had helped Mac work on the project before his passing, released it on his behalf as his last album and last piece of work for the world to hear.
Karen Meyers, Mac’s mother, published an Instagram post on Jan. 8 announcing the album’s release date and gave a brief overview of the conceptualities and significance behind it. The two-paragraph exposition revealed that not only was Mac working on another project before his untimely death, but it was to be completed by his visionary companion Brion, and set to release just a week later. Circles would be a conceptual counterpart to Mac’s last LP, Swimming. As mentioned in the post, the spirit alluded to by the parallels was the idea of “Swimming in Circles.”
Jon Brion, a songwriter, movie composer, and producer, worked closely with Mac and his visions for both Swimming and Circles. Brion is credited with co-producing over half of the tracks on Swimming, and was expected to amount about the same contribution to Circles. Mac had his solidified vision for the latter, and Brion was to help sharpen the divination of everything it was to become, from the lyrics to the overall sound.
“There were supposed to be three albums: the first, Swimming,was sort of the hybridization of going between hip-hop and song form. The second, which he’d already decided would be called Circles, would be song-based. And I believe the third one would have been just a pure hip-hop record. I think he wanted to tell people, “I still love this, I still do this.””— Jon Brion, in an interview with The New York Times.
Swimming, which was released on Aug. 3, 2018—just a month before Mac’s death— is a full-body, stream of consciousness work that is extremely introspective and induces the purest forms of emotional vulnerability for the active listener. As Brion mentioned, Swimming is more hip-hop based—which is what really gives it that stream-of-consciousness component. The album is subjectively melancholy, bringing Mac’s mental tribulations to the forefront of the musical conversation. For many, this album hit harder following his death, namely because he presented himself as very vulnerable, and we were essentially left with this image of him as someone who was in the midst of trying to overcome his psychological distress; however, his time was cut short in trying to break through that wall of adversity. This dismal awareness was heavy, and echoed in the hearts of many fans and admirers every time they listened to “Wings” or “Come Back to Earth.” While this was the reality of the situation, Circles transcended this idea, and offered us a little bit more closure from the artist.
Circles, although not an embodiment of a mental breakthrough, still breaks the downbeat pattern of the previous album. In Circles, Mac’s perspectives seem to shift, transgressing and focusing more on the world and his relationship with everything around him in a slightly more positive light, rather than being so inner-focused, as in Swimming. Circles is everything that the word bittersweet means; it’s a somber experience to listen to new music from a beloved artist that was so soon taken from us, but it’s beautiful to have this last piece of his voice and expressions that repaves our idea of him as he conveyed himself in Swimming. In a way, it really acted as a last goodbye and final accomplishment.
As a precursor to Circles, the posthumous single, “Good News,” was released on Jan. 9th. This earnest song set a great precedent for the rest of the album, since it still confronts a bleak subject but takes on a new optimistic undertone. The rest of the songs in Circles match this idiosyncrasy, shifting the attitude on certain subjects to a more light-hearted side of the conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIHF7u9Wwiw
The album, to no one’s surprise, is a masterpiece in itself. As Brion said, it takes on more of a song-based tracklist, and compared to Mac’s previous recordings it deems itself slightly experimental. The entrancing funk embedded in almost every song makes it every bit as infectious as Swimming was, but in its own respects. It is perfectly curated and beams with Mac’s talented artistry. Brion, to his credit, also— in the most honorable way—finished producing the album all while upholding Mac’s vision and preserving his sound. Most of the tracks on Circles are more song-like than we’re used to from our beloved rapper, and a decent majority of them are noticeably more upbeat. But even with this in mind, a lot of lyrics still hit a little too close to home, most notably one of the lines from “Good News,” in which Mac sings, “There’s a whole lot more for me waitin’ on the other side.”
As a complementary bonus to the album itself, music videos were released for every song on the day of the album’s release. The videos were distributed by DatPiff and organized into a playlist on Youtube; they were also featured as video covers for the songs on Spotify. Each one complements its song perfectly, translating each individual track into a visual aesthetic. This only further solidifies the album as a finished body of work, and as Mac’s last piece of art for all of us to indulge in.
On the day of Circles’ release, all social media platforms were flooded with comments of emotion and praise, all induced by the album’s impact. The effect that Mac and his music had/has on us and how this final album was the perfect point of closure was the main focal point of the public mind. This posthumous album gave us a perfect goodbye from an artist who not only made a large generational impact, but who we all felt like we knew on a personal level. From those who simply enjoyed his music to those who credit his music for helping them through the toughest of times, Mac reached and touched everyone individually. Circles was like an ambient parting, and it all felt just as personal as his music has always been in the hearts of his fans.
With Circles, Mac reminds us all to live in the present and make the most that we can out of the life we’re given. In the song “Everybody,” he leaves us with, “Everybody’s gotta live// And everybody’s gonna die// Everybody’s gotta live// I think you know the reason why.”
(09/18/19 1:00am)
Hollywood’s Bleeding is the third full-length album from Post Malone and arguably his most respectable one to date as far as themes and motives go. While keeping his familiar trap vibes prevalent, Malone also tries new sounds and even genres on for size in a select few songs, which ends up working out really well for him. The album is an insightful master work that’s all about taking risks—both on a surface and introspective level. In it, Malone opens up and shows off more than we’re used to, and in most ways, it deems itself outstanding, but not in all respects.
(09/16/19 1:30pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Hollywood’s Bleeding is the third full-length album from Post Malone and arguably his most respectable one to date as far as themes and motives go. While keeping his familiar trap vibes prevalent, Malone also tries new sounds and even genres on for size in a select few songs, which ends up working out really well for him. The album is an insightful master work that’s all about taking risks—both on a surface and introspective level. In it, Malone opens up and shows off more than we’re used to, and in most ways, it deems itself outstanding, but not in all respects.
(09/15/19 3:45am)
The new Travis Scott documentary—produced by the man himself—was a great cinematic reflection of Scott’s progression as one of the most individualized and ingenious artists of our generation. The documentary highlights some of the most pivotal moments of his career and what he did to get to where he is today. Aside from minor production details that I personally would have liked to see, this new documentary did an amazing job connecting its audience to Scott’s personalized story. Through clips of his shows, interviews of his fans and highlights of his day-to-day experiences, it perfectly showcases the raw talent, hard work and dedication that fuels Scott’s creative vision.
(09/09/19 7:45pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
The new Travis Scott documentary—produced by the man himself—was a great cinematic reflection of Scott’s progression as one of the most individualized and ingenious artists of our generation. The documentary highlights some of the most pivotal moments of his career and what he did to get to where he is today. Aside from minor production details that I personally would have liked to see, this new documentary did an amazing job connecting its audience to Scott’s personalized story. Through clips of his shows, interviews of his fans and highlights of his day-to-day experiences, it perfectly showcases the raw talent, hard work and dedication that fuels Scott’s creative vision.
(05/23/19 10:09pm)
Compared to the rest of Mac DeMarco’s discography, Here Comes the Cowboy didn’t quite live up to the standards of mellow grooviness that we’re used to from this king of indie. An album-length listen is slow enough to act as a calming sedative to the listener. It’s drawn out with uninteresting—and in some cases predictable— arrangements that more or less parallel DeMarco’s singing throughout the songs. His easy-going voice is common amongst all of his albums, but this one seems to hold a certain monotone dullness to it. The lyrics don’t necessarily shine through either on the surface, but when you take a deeper dive into the meaning, that’s really the only thing making this album one of the most important in DeMarco’s career.
(05/19/19 7:53pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Compared to the rest of Mac DeMarco’s discography, Here Comes the Cowboy didn’t quite live up to the standards of mellow grooviness that we’re used to from this king of indie. An album-length listen is slow enough to act as a calming sedative to the listener. It’s drawn out with uninteresting—and in some cases predictable— arrangements that more or less parallel DeMarco’s singing throughout the songs. His easy-going voice is common amongst all of his albums, but this one seems to hold a certain monotone dullness to it. The lyrics don’t necessarily shine through either on the surface, but when you take a deeper dive into the meaning, that’s really the only thing making this album one of the most important in DeMarco’s career.
(05/02/19 2:43am)
Neotheater, the third full-length album from AJR, provides its audience with equal doses of grand symphonic energy and lyrical introspective dread. Like their other albums, the themes focus on self-reflection, but Neotheater revolves mainly around growing up and going through the trials and tribulations of young adulthood. They’ve outdone themselves yet again with their signature beats, unconventional themes, and hard-hitting lyrics. This album is light-hearted in its sound and heavy in its meaning. It’s pleasing not only to ears but also to the maturing conscious, as the music helps us dance through the troubles many of us are facing as we get older.
(05/01/19 7:24pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Neotheater, the third full-length album from AJR, provides its audience with equal doses of grand symphonic energy and lyrical introspective dread. Like their other albums, the themes focus on self-reflection, but Neotheater revolves mainly around growing up and going through the trials and tribulations of young adulthood. They’ve outdone themselves yet again with their signature beats, unconventional themes, and hard-hitting lyrics. This album is light-hearted in its sound and heavy in its meaning. It’s pleasing not only to ears but also to the maturing conscious, as the music helps us dance through the troubles many of us are facing as we get older.
AJR’s contortion of electro-pop is hard to get tired of, and Neotheater definitely keeps that trademark alive and well. With this album, AJR puts a new twist on their arrangements; this time they lean a little harder towards orchestral sounds. Trumpets, stringed instruments, and more piano sneak their way into the upbeat pops that define AJR’s sound. They infuse these two styles perfectly, and a great track to exemplify this is the very first one, “Next Up Forever.” The compositions in this album are modern on a surface level but have very musical-like undertones. The theater-like music clashes with their contemporary pop, which almost directly defines Neotheater (neo meaning new, and theater meaning… well... theater).
(04/24/19 1:49am)
Mat Kerekes’ new solo album is a perfect, early-summer release filled with simple but infectious melodies that function as flawless mood music for the upcoming season. The soft grunge, post-hardcore album, Ruby, is breathing with the spirit of young freedom. Ruby is a refreshing, feel-good creation, but it also captures a bit of audio-induced nostalgia if you were really into the culture that allowed punk rock to thrive.
(04/20/19 3:00pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Mat Kerekes’ new solo album is a perfect, early-summer release filled with simple but infectious melodies that function as flawless mood music for the upcoming season. The soft grunge, post-hardcore album, Ruby, is breathing with the spirit of young freedom. Ruby is a refreshing, feel-good creation, but it also captures a bit of audio-induced nostalgia if you were really into the culture that allowed punk rock to thrive.
Kerekes is best known as the vocalist of the alternative rock band, Citizen. Going solo with Ruby, he really showcased his abilities as a songwriter and producer. Ruby is a modernly classic body of work, and the songs that comprise it are hard to keep off of repeat.
(04/03/19 6:29pm)
Following his first Academy Award winning film, Get Out, Jordan Peele broke box office records with Us, his second stroke of creative genius. Although Us reached nearly 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, some professional and fan-based critics have expressed disapproval regarding its label as a horror film. This film, like his last one, embodies a terrifying, disturbing nature that would fit better into a category of corrupt psychological thrillers. I, like many others, am a huge fan of both movies because of this; it’s a very out of the ordinary subgenre of horror. Peele’s imagination generated another perfectly original plotline, and the range of effects he used throughout the movie shows off his great storytelling ability.
(04/01/19 4:17pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Following his first Academy Award winning film, Get Out, Jordan Peele broke box office records with Us, his second stroke of creative genius. Although Us reached nearly 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, some professional and fan-based critics have expressed disapproval regarding its label as a horror film. This film, like his last one, embodies a terrifying, disturbing nature that would fit better into a category of corrupt psychological thrillers. I, like many others, am a huge fan of both movies because of this; it’s a very out of the ordinary subgenre of horror. Peele’s imagination generated another perfectly original plotline, and the range of effects he used throughout the movie shows off his great storytelling ability.
(03/20/19 4:00pm)
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte and Byte’s editorial board.
(03/19/19 5:05pm)
by Oilvia Weinzapfel
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte and Byte’s editorial board.
(03/10/19 5:01am)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
(03/06/19 5:57pm)
by Olivia Weinzapfel
Public opinion on Disney’s live-action remakes, to no one’s surprise, is starting to shift toward a negative light. Some of the first classics that were recently remade, such as The Jungle Book or Beauty and the Beast, were alluring to life-long Disney fans; it was exciting for children and adults alike to see their favorite classics recreated in a life-like scene. It’s a great concept, but this can only be done so many times before these remakes start to lose their luster. That being said, why does it seem like Disney is making an effort to rework every single original?
Disney is loved by millions, regardless of demographics. After all, that’s a large part of what formed most of our fondest childhood memories. The sentiment of the classics is something that makes the live-action versions irresistible to us as near-adults. Additionally, it begs a question of standards; will it be as good as the classic? No one wants to miss out on an opportunity to see how well Disney will (or will not) recreate it, which continues to secure plenty of funds for the company. As long as the fanbase lets their nostalgia get the best of them, they’ll keep on paying to see these modernized versions of their favorite originals.
Sure, public opinion toward the idea of these remakes is becoming more bitter than sweet. The plain truth is, many of us are getting annoyed by seeming lack of originality from Disney’s producers. But what kind of multibillion-dollar company needs new ideas when they can still feed on the old ones? Creators are already well aware that we’re in love with the storylines and characters of the classics, so it’s an easy money grab. They can’t really be blamed for taking advantage of that convenience. Generally, success with a remake might depend on the success of the original. Some are more popular than others, but it’s doubtful that any of these remakes will turn out to be box office failures.
While creators know this is an easy success strategy, they still face challenges when it comes to putting a new creative twist on movies to add at least some kind of change. To spark a sense of novelty and add some differentiation, creators seem to rely on three things: visuals, famous actors, and new angles.
You could use just about any Disney live-action film as a great example of a movie with astounding visuals. It’s pretty safe to assume that producers have a large budget for effects and awe-inspiring scenery. We’re used to the cartoons, so they have to make it as visually interesting as possible as we juxtapose the original with the remake. This is a simple but effective tool that grabs hold of and maintains our attention span throughout a movie with a predictable outcome; it keeps our eyes glued to a screen even when we know almost exactly what events we’re about to see.
Another filmmaking reliance on live-action movies is casting. Disney casts almost all of Hollywood’s most recognizable and publicly loved actors and actresses for their movies. The Lion King, set to release in theaters by July 2019, has a cast full of famous leads and many other talented voice actors. This film will feature Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Beyoncé as Nala, and Seth Rogan as Pumbaa, just to name a few. The movie hasn’t been released yet, but the cast list was announced early last year, and it immediately generated positive reactions. We don’t have to know anything else about the production to already be writing the release date on our calendars.
In some instances, however, casting choices might be a little questionable. Fans were probably thrown off-guard while watching the trailer for the next Disney remake, Aladdin. The end of the trailer flashes a scene of the infamous genie emerging from the bottle, and his face is quickly recognized as Will Smith's. In rare cases, this might excite some, but for many others, it might induce preconceived criticism. Based on standards set by the original movie, will Will Smith be able to live up to the legacy that Robin Williams left behind in the animated version? Williams is a widely loved and commemorated character in every role he played, so avoiding backlash with this casting choice is tricky; this aspect of the movie alone regarding one of the main characters might make or break the film's success.
As mentioned before, the same basic storyline still exists in both old and new versions. Creators can work their way around this in one of two ways: different angles or different time periods.
Taking a different angle or perspective on a plot is a refreshing way to recreate these stories. A good go-to method of pulling this off is filming a story from a villain’s perspective. This was beautifully executed in Maleficent, the 2014 version of Sleeping Beauty. We all know the tale, but it’s from another character’s perspective, one that was more or less overshadowed by the protagonist in the early version. This makes the story all the more interesting, since we’re reintroduced to a character on an introspectively deeper level.
Another appealing method of recreation is the evolution of time. Winnie the Pooh, recently released as a live-action version entitled Christopher Robin, is shown in the perspective of Christopher Robin as an adult. This detail is a more relatable one for audience members. Most of us were kids when we first watched Winnie the Pooh, and now we get to see it with Christopher Robin all grown-up, just like us. The nostalgia kicks us once again as we see our lives and struggles of growing up mirrored in filmmaking with a beloved classic character.
As long as Disney’s film creators continue to use these methods of reeling us and our nostalgia in, it’s easy to see why they are delivering remake after remake. As the generation who grew up watching Disney films, it makes sense that producers will be trying to remake as many as they can in the next few years while we’re becoming adults and reminiscing over our childhoods.
(03/02/19 4:27pm)
Concerts are a special kind of musical experience; a band’s music is atmospherically enhanced for the fans, and the shows forever leave a lasting memory. Young the Giant’s performance at Purdue University’s Elliot Hall of Music on Feb. 21 will be remembered well by fans, despite slight shortcomings in their performance. Small mistakes were collectively waived by the listeners, as the audience ultimately gave a grand ovation at the end of the concert.