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April, 2013

  1. Top 10 (…or 11) Hits of RCL Spring 2013

    April 24, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    It’s crazy to think that it has been an entire semester already! It seems like just yesterday I was listening to my first few new bands on Spotify and eagerly writing reviews of them. Now, four months later, I can honestly say that writing this passion blog has been a real joy in my week, because it’s allowed me to not only spend forced time listening to music, but I feel like I’ve simultaneously broadened my horizons and refined my tastes (which in my opinion can totally happen at the same time).

    This week, I decided to wrap up the entire blog by doing a “best of” playlist that highlights the entire semester’s journey through the files of Spotify. These are all songs that I really enjoyed listening to, and have continued to listen to even after I was done with that week’s blog. The list is pretty diverse, but I like it that way. There’s something for every occasion or situation on there, which makes it really reflect the genre of “Alternative” as a whole. So without further ado, here are the top 11 songs of the semester in no particular order, and then some very random ramblings about what I’ve learned this semester.

    Danse Caribe – Andrew Bird

    Let’s Go – Matt & Kim

    Howlin’ For You – The Black Keys

    My Name is Jonas – Weezer

    Something Good Can Work – Two Door Cinema Club

    Thunder – Boys Like Girls

    This = Love – The Script

    Runaways – The Killers

    Violin Sonata in G Major K 301 2nd Movement – Mozart

    Remember Me As a Time of Day – Explosions in the Sky

    My Body – Young The Giant

    Something that I really liked about all these songs is that they each are so unique from the others. Each artist and each song has a truly unique flair to it, one that you don’t really find elsewhere. The songs are distinct and memorable, and each is a work of art in its own way. Each paints a picture that I struggled to find elsewhere in music for various reasons, which makes each a 3 to 4 minute gem amid a world of repeats and cliches.

    And that’s probably what I liked best about this blog. I knew for a fact that before I listened to any of these artists, I was stuck in a musical rut, and I didn’t even realize it. I was listening to what I considered to be essentially the same songs over and over again, just with different words or different instruments or different artists. One thing this blog has taught me is that a lot of music is the same, and that music that repeats the works of another looses credibility and legitimacy. It’s also taught me that a song or artist that breaks that mold is a great find that deserves a few minutes of my time.  Each song is one that I feel like in some way, I could relate to (hence my descriptions of where various songs would fit into the soundtrack of my life ). As I go through this extremely variable and constantly changing college life, I find it necessary to find music that reflects all these new experiences, and thus I found a need to expand my listening habits to cover music that could still relate to me in these new and constantly shifting times.

    As Albert Einstein said: “I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” Music is, for me and most others, an expression of the self that can’t be said with just words. This semester of exploration has taught me that finding music that makes you happy and that fits with your life is hugely rewarding. I used to say “Ugh, I have the worst taste in music”, and I now take that statement back. It’s my taste in music, and as long as it makes me happy and satisfies me, I don’t have to measure it against anyone’s standards. Branching out and listening to new music has not been to try to change my tastes into the taste of others, but simply to see what new material is out there that might satisfy my ears.

    So I recognize that while this is my list and I love all the songs on it, it might not suit any of you, or anyone else for that matter. It’s tailored to my tastes, and that’s what’s good about it. So I would encourage you to, instead of listening to my top playlist of the semester, take a few minutes to make your own, and listen to it. Branch out a bit, sample some new stuff, and find music that makes your heart happy. It’ll do ya some good 🙂


  2. Defeminization in the military & of athletes

    April 10, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    For my final CI blog, I want to address something that might not technically be an “issue” with women in the military, but is still none the less something that really made me think, especially in light of a recent newspaper article: defeminization. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines the term “defeminize” as such: “to divest of feminine qualities or characteristics”. Essentially, it’s often used to describe situations or instances where women take on more masculine qualities (also known as masculinization)

    This summer, as the Olympics were wrapping up, a Turkish news reporter Yuksel Aytug penned the article “Womanhood is dying at the Olympics” in a Turkish newspaper The Daily Sabah (sorry I couldn’t find a copy of the article online. I know it’s on the newspaper’s website, but the website was in Turkish, and I was struggling a bit with that, speaking English and all…) In this article, he criticized female athletes in the Olympics because they looked too masculine, calling them pathetic. He stated that women should receive extra points for looking more feminine.

    Obviously, the article received much backlash. I know personally I’m blown away by the abilities of female Olympic athletes, and I could care less what they looked like. They lead healthy, fit lifestyles, and they’re able to accomplish incredible things. It’s hard for me to grapple with the fact that anyone would criticize such talented athletes for their body types, because to me, there shouldn’t even be a standard for how “feminine” a woman looks.

    While this article was about female athletes, I’ve found in talking to a couple of my friends in ROTC that this has become somewhat of an issue within the military as well as more and more women join the military. In a sense, I sort of equate athletes and members of the armed forces: both put a great emphasis on physical ability and make use of uniforms (which purposely make everyone look the same, regardless, at least in the case of the military, of gender). In terms of defeminization in the military, uniforms are a bit of an interesting topic. At least for ROTC, women are required to wear their hair in a bun, and they wear the same uniforms as men (there are different cuts of naval uniforms for men and women, but for air force and army, men and women wear the same uniforms). For their dress uniforms, women are required to wear suit-dresses that, aside from the skirt, are nearly identical to the men’s dress uniforms. As a whole, there’s a great push to make women and men as indistinguishable as possible, both in ROTC and in the actual armed forces.

    The interesting thing is that many people have conflicting views on the subject, including me. To be honest, I’m not quite sure how I feel about defeminization, whether for those in the armed forces or for athletes. Now I myself am not in the military, but I do come from a military family and I can picture myself in the situation quite well. There’s a part of me that understands the necessity of equivalent standards of dress and physical fitness for men and women in the military, and that part of me wants to make the argument that women shouldn’t have to dress any differently. However, there’s another part of me that would be annoyed if I couldn’t wear a beautiful dress to the military ball and had to wear a suit dress instead (sure it comes with the job, but I know of a lot of girls that feel it’s unfair that they have to wear masculine-looking uniforms instead of dresses to formal events). And therein lies the issue: defeminization is not the same as equalization. Rather, defeminization is the effort to make a female more masculine, to place more masculine traits on a woman. This can be seen especially well in military uniforms: they’re not made to make men and women look the same, they’re made to make women look more like men. The message this sends is that in order for women to participate in the military, they cannot embrace their femininity, but rather have to make themselves seem as masculine as possible. But what does it even mean to “embrace femininity”?

    I think part of the issue is that the military is one of the most demanding co-ed work places. In terms of athletics, there are still different teams for men and women. In all other places of work, the differences between men and women aren’t always showcased as clearly. However, because of the extreme physical demands of the military and the nature of the job, men and women are often compared, especially in the modern day. This is the result of the fact that for the vast majority of time, the military has been a man’s world; it’s only recently that women have been allowed to serve in the same positions as men.

    It’s kind of an odd concept to think about. What really provides the greatest equality for women: defeminization, or celebration of femininity? And what could that ever really look like in the military?


  3. The Script (*sigh*)

    April 10, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    This week, I’m still going to be reviewing one alternative artist in depth, but I would like to change it up a bit. For the most part, I’ve been looking into a new artist each week, and exploring their music to see if I liked it. I’ve been listening to new music and new artists, trying to broaden my horizons. However, this week, I want to review a band that I know by heart and that I love dearly (fitting for my passion blog, no?): The Script.

    First and foremost, I was surprised that The Script was even considered to be an alternative group at all. I guess, in light of my past few blogs, I should just drop all expectations and previous definitions of the word “alternative”, and just go with it. By anyway, I have to admit I sort of stumbled across the idea to blog about them at all. I have to admit, I was at a loss this week, and I didn’t really know which new artist I should listen to. I simply googled the words “alternative music”, and got a Wikipedia page listing, alphabetically, all bands under the genre “alternative”. It was a bit overwhelming, so I just picked a random letter (S), and went to go pick a random artist there. However, when I got to the S section, I was so surprised to see The Script that I changed my mind immediately.

    I love The Script. I cannot say it any more plainly. I know pretty much every song on all three of their albums by heart, I follow them on Twitter, I’ve liked them on Facebook, and I listen to them almost every day. They’re my favorite band! SO I’m really excited to give a nice, in depth review that’s a bit more personal than reviews where I didn’t previously know the artist. I would highly recommend listening to The Script, and I hope this blog inspires some new fans or listeners.

    So, for some background information: The Script originated in Dublin, Ireland in 2001, and all three members (Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power) still remain in the band to this day. All three of their albums have debuted in the UK at number one on the charts, and have been in the top ten in the US. Their most popular songs in the US played on the radio are: Breakeven, The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, For the First Time and Hall of Fame (all favorites of mine. If you haven’t heard them, this is a good place to start. They’re winners!) All three albums, The Script (2008), Science & Faith (2011) and #3 (2012) have been quite successful and have all contained several hit singles. They’re all strong albums, but they show a nice progression and maturity of the band throughout their first few years.

    My favorite thing about The Script’s music is the creativity and originality of the music. Ultimately, all music falls into one of three broad categories: good times, bad times, and love. Those are the things we as humans feel the most emotional about, so they’re common threads in all music. Yet sometimes, I find myself frustrated: because of this, a lot of music gets boring and repetitive for me. There are only so many ways to say certain things, only so many new beats or sounds to include. However, it’s my personal opinion that The Script’s lyrics are so fresh and original that they give a new take on a lot of old themes, and I love that. For example, instead of directly singing about breakups, they use neat metaphors such as those in If You Ever Come Back and Six Degrees of Separation. This makes the emotion in the songs seem a lot more genuine, real, and intense, and I love that.

    I also really like how bluntly The Script uses language. Many of their songs are labeled “Explicit” for their use of the f- and s-words. However, there is a TON of emotion in every single song by The Script, whether happy or sad, so to me, a lot of times it’s fitting. It enhances the songs, rather than detracting from them.

    In terms of my particular favorite songs, I thought I’d break them up into categories. For songs about the “good times” or inspirational songs, I really like Good Ol’ Days, Millionaires, Hall of Fame, This = Love and Science & Faith. In terms of sadder songs, my favorites are Six Degrees of Separation, Breakeven, Dead Man Walking, If You Could See Me Now, and Before the Worst. My favorite love songs by The Script are: No Words, For the First Time, Kaleidoscope and Hurricanes.

    Sorry if that was overwhelming, but in all honesty, I really love all their songs. They’re worth a listen!


  4. Advocacy and the R-Word

    April 10, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    To me, advocacy is taking a stand for any sort of cause, and trying to make a difference in society as well. It means trying to influence the general public, or policy in some way.

    I feel like what I have planned for the advocacy project fits into this definition really well. Not using the r-word is something that I have personally decided to do, and it’s a worthy cause to me, because I think that it’s really hurtful to those with intellectual disabilities, and it’s really rude and stereotypical of society to use the term in a derogatory way. In terms of how I plan to influence society as a whole, I would like the end goal of my project to be that people become more aware of the harmful effects of the r-word, and that they themselves pledge to not use it. Hopefully, some sort of larger campaign will gain the attention of students at Penn State and motivate them to look into the issue more, which will hopefully motivate people to take the pledge to stop using the r-word. I think it’d be really cool to see the “Spread the Word to End the Word” movement become a huge thing here at PSU!


  5. Advocacy through photography..?

    April 3, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    For my advocacy project, I’m not quite sure whether or not it will be a long term thing. I would like to bring the “Spread the word to end the word” movement to Penn State, but I want to do it with a bit of a unique spin. I understand that multiple other clubs have brought the movement here, with the hopes that a lot of students will pledge to stop using the r-word. However, it hasn’t typically gotten a lot of attention. At least, I haven’t noticed it myself, and I’ve never been moved to take the pledge based on the actions of any one club.

    Part of me is feeling really ambitious and wants to go really hard with this project and do something that will grab a lot of people’s attention. I had the idea of doing a sort of photo-campaign, then blowing the pictures up to poster-size and posting them around campus. I want it to be something that students notice. I had the idea of doing a photo shoot where I had a bunch of people of all ages, races, genders, etc, pose with duct tape covering their mouths, with the word “respect” sharpied over the duct tape (Spread The Word To End The Word wants society to start using the word respect instead of retarded). The underneath the picture, I would want to have some sort of catchy, clever and short phrase that really got students thinking about how often the use the r-word. Then a link to the pledge they could take to stop using it.

    Like I said, it was just an idea, and it would be pretty ambitious. But some part of me really wants to try for it, or try for something similar.


  6. The Killers

    April 3, 2013 by Sam Lebold

    This week I would like to return to what I had been doing for the majority of the semester, and look at a particular group and give a little more of an in depth review. However, instead of simply reviewing the artist, I’d like to do something additional by using them as a metaphor for the genre of “alternative” as  a whole.

    So I spent quite a bit of time this week on Spotify listening to a group that I knew I would fall in love with: The Killers. Let me just say, they did not fail to impress! I absolutely loved listening to every single track that I heard this week, even those that I knew a bit before.

    The Killers, and American alternative-rock band, were formed in 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Don’t hate me for the cliche, but I really have to throw this in there…) But let’s just say that for once, what happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas. The group’s first complete album, Hot Fuss, came out in 2004, with a few now well known hits such as Mr. Brightside, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Somebody Told Me, and All These Things That I’ve Done. Hot Fuss was initially very successful, and has remained popular enough that three singles from this debut album still remain within the all time top 5 hits from The Killers, which is pretty impressive. Since then, The Killers have produced three other albums: Sam’s Town in 2006 (an excellent name in my opinion), Day & Age in 2008 and Battle Born in 2012.

    The consistent popularity and success of The Killers can be seen in the fact that all four of their albums have at least on single that hold a permanent place in their top ten singles, and to this day many of their most popular songs are old favorites on a variety of radio stations. Their music is a lot different than most of the other artists than I’ve listened to over this semester, mostly because their music is more consistent with the genre of rock, rather than today’s alternative. However, their music is still considered to be alternative-rock, so, in essence, alternative. They don’t use a lot of fresh new sounds or funky instruments. Nothing is really distorted, and the vibe from the music isn’t the typical bubbly, electronic and unique sound that now seems to have become the definition of the genre alternative.

    That’s part of the reason that I really liked The Killer’s music. It was a consistent sound that was similar to a lot of rock I’d heard in the past, but still with its own flair. The beats were upbeat without being “fluffy” or too colorful, and they stuck to their sound. While there were a variety of songs, some faster, slower, some upbeat or a bit darker, they all had a consistent thread running through them of the “rock-esque” sound. As is my style, I listened to a lot of songs and tried to place them in the soundtrack of my life. For the most part, because a lot of The Killer’s music was really passionate and heartfelt, felt like their music would fit in right as important things were occurring and culminating within my story. My favorites were Somebody Told Me, Runaways, Human, When We Were Young, Spaceman and The Way It Was. Many of these are some of their post popular songs, but hey– they’re popular for a reason, right?

    I would give The Killers a sold A+. Their music was so fun to listen to, but in a classic-rock kind of way. It was a great change of pace, and I really enjoyed it. I recognized a lot of their songs from the radio or simply from previous years, and I was really struck with how much their music is a part of the modern music scene.

    Which brings me to a bit of an analysis here: if The Killers were really that consistently popular, can they really be considered to be “alternative”? I mean, simply look at the word: alternative actually means different from the mainstream. Something that is alternative is not the typical, not the usual. It should not, by definition, be popular.

    So can a band that’s really that popular actually be categorized within the genre “alternative”? Can alternative itself even be considered to be alternative, if it’s becoming the mainstream line of music played on most popular radio stations? Popularity and alternative music shouldn’t mix, but is seems they have. Alternative is the hipster genre of the music world: what it has become almost goes against what it stands for, too popular for it’s own good. Just some interesting thoughts to ponder… what can I say, I like feeling philosophical.

     philosoraptor are-we-human-or-are-we-dancers

    Come on, I had to.


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