Jakob Bro

Born near the beachy shores of South Carolina, Trevor Hall grew up listening to the melodious tunes of his father’s harmonica and drum set (Rosenfield, 2012). Throughout his young life, inspired by his father, Hall would constantly be glued to a notepad writing music; following his dreams, at 16, Hall recorded and released his very first record. With all of the joy found in writing and releasing

Gay musicians felt this John song was a message to Brian Epstein, featuring a Dylan influenced folk rock sound. It is...

Whilst it would seem at face value that the portrayal of a strong female heroine is empowering for all women in a society of unequal gendered stereotypes, the explanations as to why the female heroine is so strong, seems only to be justified through motivation instead of ‘natural’ strength. To many theorists this motivation can only be explained through a woman’s maternal instincts, or a female link to the power and dominance projected by men which is portrayed through a female’s identification with herself and the ‘lack’, leading to a sense of heightened power through the phallic. In this essay I will be analysing whether a heroine is personally empowered through self-determination as a strong women, or instead motivated by external situations such as maternal instincts, or problems associated with gender differences.

Women’s music came from radical, grassroots origins in the 1970s thanks to contributions by brave women, mostly lesbians (Mosbacher, 2002). These women used non-violent, peaceful force to forge their own way into the music industry. It was a peaceful yet political revolution of togetherness and liberation. It brought together women of different backgrounds who produced easy-listening, mellow harmonies played with lyrics filled with tumultuous

Marcus, Greil. The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes. New York: Picador, 2011. Print.

Jack Johnson is a soulful singer songwriter and guitarist who released his third album In Between Dreams on the 1st of March 2005. Ideation around Johnsons music style has come solely from his diverse background by which he was bought up in Hawaii. He portrays his attitudes of ease and calmness to life within all his pieces by making them informal and natural. In Between Dreams showcases his vocal and instrumental style thoroughly. He experiments with various styles and variations of music (reggae, love stories, and cruisy, laid back tunes). His album is a collection of 14 mellow and simple songs that are pleasing to the ears and easy to enjoy.

This collaborative album comes from two peas in a pod, Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile. In the first few tracks especially, the two of them trade off singing lines, causing the tunes to sound like a conversation between two songwriters chatting about life and finishing each other's sentences. There are are songs written by both of them, as well as Barnett’s wife Jen Cloher (Track 3) and Tanya Donelly (Track 9). The layers of guitarIf you like Kurt Vile or Courtney Barnett you will love this album because they balance each other out quite well. It is gentler than some of Courtney Barnett’s solo work and less atmospheric than Kurt Vile’s solo records. You hear the best of both of them while they play together. This is a wholesome and genuinely

“Deliver,” the first song publicly released on this album, showcases the R&B styling of hip-hop artist Ty Dolla $ign. Each snap, snare, intonation in this song is skillfully planned to match a more sophisticated rendition of classical music. Sounds of the harp, violin, and saxophone make their ways in each of the songs on this album in order to enhance other guest talents such as hip-hop artists Ab-Soul, Nikki Jean, and Troi. All in all, with the overall unique production quality on this album, we can be socially aware while “turning

World-renowned drummer Niall MacMillan’s world has been rocked by his brother’s betrayal. Still struggling to distinguish fact from fiction, he welcomes the distraction offered by the beautiful woman pulling him into her dreams.

Daniel Johnston is an artist and songwriter famously known for igniting the emergence of the “Lo-FI” music genre in the 1980’s. Born in Sacramento, California in 1961, Daniel lived passionately through his art and music, and is considered an indie music genius by his distinguished following of fans. Growing up in West Virginia, Daniel was the youngest of five children in a conservative family. Johnston’s parents and siblings were creative and intellectual people, making his home environment a suitable place to flourish as a well-rounded individual. Daniel began to demonstrate a remarkable enthusiasm to his artistic abilities at an early age with countless pencil drawn illustrations, home-recorded short films and collections of original alternative rock albums. However, his strong fixation towards his artwork lead him to become socially withdrawn from his family and surrounding community, and as time progressed, his once endearing personality and artistic expression drove Daniel to become a “problem” at home. The dawning of a delusional mindset became apparent, in the sense that Daniel viewed his family and peers as subjects for his art, as opposed to actual significant characters in his life. He was later diagnosed with manic depression, and was in and out of mental institutes over the course of his career. Nonetheless, Daniel’s raw and unfiltered performances brought him eminent success within the music industry, and his impact in the rise of underground music remains

When one hears the word “feminist”, many different things may come to mind. One may think of the “bra burning” feminists of the 1960s or the “riot grrrl” feminists of the 1990s. It can bring to mind issues such as abortion, birth control, and unfair wages. There are many different aspects of feminism, some of which are understood only by those involved in the movement. But like most things people are passionate about, feminism has held a strong place in music since its very beginning, and can be seen in its festivals, its politics, and in the average American’s everyday life.

“Clearing”, the album’s seven-minute opener, sets the tone here - to looped woodwinds and pianos, it spins a thoughtful and experimental kind of patchwork of melodies. The song’s second half works through this same strange melody with reversed pianos, an unofficial musical motif for the record. These pianos are often the album’s greatest flaw; pretty, yes, but often quite dull, especially

Experiencing a dazzling rise in audience and interest that is only exceeded by their own shimmer, glitter and personalities, Ben Hopkins and Liv Bruce are. Acute lyricists and musicians PWR BTTM deliver a bold, self-narrative full of candours and everyday crises. Engagement, humour and a disarmingly affability is built around their exposed punk rock guitars and breakneck rhythms creating ebbs’ and flows of emotions.

Beginning with sudden, energetic burst of violins, piano, electric guitar, electric bass, and a drum kit, the song’s intro is heavily syncopated and rhythmically varied. After a short call and response section between the piano and rest of the band, every instrument in unison performs a rising, 8th note riff that connects to the verse. It is here when the vocals come in where the intro’s powerful energy slides into a less driving, more mellow mood. The intro grabs the listener’s attention, but once the lyrics come in the music slides back to allow the singer to be dominant.

Moreover, the script features a very gutsy, independent female heroine who drives the plot. It’s refreshing to see such a strong female character. The viewer effortlessly roots for the heroine. The script nicely addresses the female-male conflict.