POP TO IT IS WO ISSUE TWO SEPTEMBER 2016
Letter Fr m The Edit r School has started back up in full swing and I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to work on a project so enjoyable. Sometimes, I find myself adding Pop To It to my list of obligations and “to-do’s,” but then I snap myself out of it and remember how much I love working with creative and driven people.
I have had gigs before where I’ve had to annoy people to get their work done, but Pop To It has been a whole new experience. The fabulous people behind this Zine want to be creating and sharing their art. It’s an honor to work with this staff and it’s an even bigger honor to share with you their work. Enjoy.
- Ashely Hoffman
c o n t e n t s Pop To It Crew
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Learn about the editors, designers, and contributors who made issue two of Pop To It possible
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Ekata Designs
Playlist
Rebecca provides the perfect tunes to soundtrack your journey back to school.
Creative Majors
Nic discusses her decision to major in studio art, and the misconceptions that follow. 17
Jane reviews the Jewelry business providing opportunity to refugees. 15 How to Thrift 19 Amy talks about her Lydia provides some experience with synes- helpful tips on sucessful thrifting. thesia 21
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Pop to it Ashley Hoffman
Adele Sakey
Ashley Hoffman is an Atlanta peach in Boston. She is currently studying Journalism and Public Relations at Emerson College. You can most likely find Ashley with her French bulldog, Petunia, browsing record shops and sipping on overpriced lattes. Co-Creator, Editor-in-Chief @ahoffz
Adele Sakey is a 17 year old Taurus who, despite constantly using the word “y’all,” is from the northeastern city of Boston. In her free time she like to watch unrealistic reality television and contemplate the inner workings of Sufjan Stevens’ mind. Co-Creator, Editor-in-Chief @mangolakos
@sah.key
Portia Melita
Christina Casillo
Taylor Muñoz
Resident Artist Portia Apple Melita is a public relations major and art minor. In her free time she likes to write music, sing, draw, and interact with bees in any way she can.
Social Media Coordinator Christina Casillo is a senior communication and design major at Elon University who loves social justice and Harry Styles.
From Los Angeles, Taylor Muñoz is a second year communications major and journalism minor at Seattle Pacific University.
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@portiaapple
@chrisrosecas
@adifferentship
Lilly Duran
Amy Hanna
Lydia Velazquez
Lilly Duran is a Gemini born and raised in southern California. She lives for live music and cute dogs.
Amy Hanna is a strategic communications major and music production/ recording arts minor at Elon University. Her chosen pastimes are singing early 2000’s pop anthems and lying down.
Lydia Velazquez is an east coast writer with a love for Van Gogh & veggie pizza.
@lillyduranphoto @spoookylilly
@earthislovely @lyd.vel
@aimzeee @amylily89
Patrick Moran
Rebecca Gibbons Rebecca Gibbons, and music junkie and coffeeholic, is an advertising & marketing communications major at FIT. @rebeccag17
Jane Seidel Jane Seidel is a college student captivated by the world of media. When she’s not in the newsroom or pouring lattes, she is probably sleeping.
Patrick Moran is a senior baking and pastry arts major at JWU and also doubles as a live music photographer. He enjoys long walks in his crocs.
@iampatrickmoran
@jane_seidel
Nic Zuhse
Jason Crouse
Nic Zuhse is a double major in studio art and a minor in digital media at Elon University. She also really loves dogs.
Jason Crouse, originally from North Carolina, is a first year computer science and math major at Northeastern University.
@n_zuhse @nicthepainter
@esuorc
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PHOTOS AND INTERVIEW BY ASHLEY HOFFMAN
Back to school season is a time of change. For high school seniors, it’s a time of huge transition. So often in our society, going to college after high school is just assumed. Maybe a gap year is accepted but college most always follows. For some seniors, college just isn’t the right fit. Maybe they already know or maybe it takes a year. For 19 year-old Rebekka Dizdar, college wasn’t the gig for her. After a year of school at the University of Utah studying art history and dance, the Georgia native is trading in her books for her pointe shoes as she begins a journey of ballet at the Joffrey School in New York City.
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Was college always the plan? At first it wasn’t. My
immediate goal was always to become a professional ballet dancer, but then I injured my knee and I was out of dance for about a year.
What do your friends have to say? They’re all really
supportive as well. I think some of them are anxious to move to a city and start their lives. I’m just lucky that I don’t have to wait four years for a degree.
When did you know Are you nervous? This that college wasn’t the is a huge change. It’s a of nervousness and excitement. I’m gig for you? I realized after mix really eager because I know that I’m the first semester. I was much stronger and more determined for my career than the other students in my class. I also discovered you can’t really do much with a dance degree. I’d rather become a professional as soon as I can rather than waiting four years and audition for companies when I’m probably too old and without much experience.
Is your family supportive of this? Beyond. They just want to see me achieve my dream.
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doing this for me. If you don’t have that feeling for your job, you’re probably not passionate about it.
And we’re excited for you! Thank you for talking with us. Good luck! Thank you!
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Holding Hands
y mother loses sleep at the idea that the world could end soon. I can’t say that I blame her. Dozens are dead at the expense of someone with a grievance, politicians bicker like children, and the rich see a multitude of brighter days while the poor are dug into a deeper hole. My mother is convinced that the good in the world outweighs the bad in present time (especially when all three of her children have rooted themselves in different parts of the world and she can’t be there to defend us like the warrior she’s always been). I feel secondhand fear that sometimes comes through her shaken voice on the phone as she talks to me on her drive home.
There’s another part of my heart that exists where my fear is irrational and the love I have to give is never ending. With every WORDS BY TAYLOR MUÑOZ life lost, there’s 3 more waiting outside of a ILLUSTRATIONS BY ADELE SAKEY blood bank waiting to donate. After terror reigns globally, one of the year’s most. popular Google searches is “How can I help the refugees?” Scientists don’t notice the absence of food while working because nothing digested could compare itself to what it must feel like to cure cancer, AIDS, Lupus. I believe we tread on a very thin line. We’re caught somewhere in between not having the heart to flip on the news and listening to the plight of a man without a roof over his head. The compassion I’ve found leaves me speechless but I still think it’s difficult to determine if the good that’s shown itself in the world only exists because of the bad.
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Would we have such a heart if we have never wronged or been wronged? Heaven and hell have become best friends. They must oftentimes struggle to differentiate between one another. There’s struggle in victories and there’s happiness in tragedies. Who are we to place the fine line we walk on? We are all people of the in-between: casting judgment on people who do wrong in a different way than we do. But God forbid we don’t write an impersonal “Happy Birthday” on the wall of someone we lost touch with years ago. I resonate with the fear of my mother but the happiness I’ve experienced since leaving home leads me to feel I’m allowed to start taking care of her. I’ll never know what it was like to live without fear of your own equal. Her internal conflict has become mine. I carry that conflict with me as I try to decipher my place in this world. I have done good and I’ve surely done bad. Where do I fit in? With the evil or the good? Am I part of the change or am I the reason change is vital? I feel as if I’ll spend my entire life searching. I’ll search until I have an answer acceptable enough for my mother. This is the only life I’ve ever known is doing good while being eaten alive by the thought that maybe I could’ve done better. It’s as if good and bad hold hands like lovers and I am trapped beneath their pressed palms. Maybe the world IS going to end soon. I struggle to figure the dread I feel out. I struggle to figure myself out. Apparently, so do the two worlds that reside above and below us.
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On “Home”
WORDS BY JASON CROUSE
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“Home”
is a strange concept.
If someone were to ask me where my home was, I would probably tell them “Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The birthplace of Krispy Kreme donuts and Hanes underwear.” I’ve lived there my entire life, so naturally that would be my home….right? Lately, I’ve been thinking about the definitions and boundaries of what I classify as my “home,” and here is what I have decided: Nobody defines home in the exact same way. It’s unique for every individual. Home doesn’t have to be a street, city, state, zip code, etc. It doesn’t really have to be a place at all. My personal feelings of “home” come as a sense of comfort and contentment, with a bit of nostalgia every now and then. To me, home is sitting in my favorite coffee shop on a gray fall evening discussing the future with my best friend. Home is the cacophonous sound of the bells of the three churches in my neighborhood all playing different tunes at the same time. Home is sitting in the auditorium at my high school spending way too much time rehearsing and performing with my friends and classmates.
I am most afraid of my home losing its significance after I move away for college. In a short time after writing this, I am moving 800 miles away from the city and state I have lived in my entire life. I know that I’ll be able to find new homes in Boston, but I worry that when I return to my city after making new memories and new friends, I won’t carry the same sentiments of home that I do at this point in time. Winston-Salem isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The house that I have always lived in will likely remain for me to return to. I don’t know if my feelings of home will persist throughout the years as I grow older, but I can only hope that they still continue to exist even after I grow older and move away for good. If there is one key point my pondering has taught me, it is this: find your homes in your current situation and do not take them for granted. If you’re able to recognize what makes you happy, you will spend more time and energy actively appreciating it before you move on to the next big adventure.
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A GALLERY BY LILLY DURAN
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FEATURING YANA KOSTECKOVA
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Dear World, Stop Shitting on my Creative Major WORDS AND VISUAL BY NIC ZUHSE When I first told my parents that I wanted who make $61,500 annually,) I was sudto be an art major, I was met with back- denly at the bottom of the totem pole? lash. I got the, “Are you sure about that?” Creative majors can offer a service that no and the “How will you support yourself?” one else can learn or can be taught. We questions faster than I could respond. offer services that STEM careers would be Honestly, I wasn’t sure of the answers but nothing without. Who do you think made I knew I couldn’t go into the STEM field all of those illustrations in your anatomy like my high school guidance counselor textbook? An illustrator made those. How was suggesting. When I got to college, about that text book about typeface that after people asked my name, they asked your professor required you to buy? A my major. I was met with a look of pity writer and graphic designer worked on and the never funny “I guess you want that together. Creatives have never been to be unemployed” joke. About half way in a higher demand than they are right through my freshman year, I was fed now. That demand will only go up as up with it. Why was it acceptable to be companies try to have the most engaging an exercise science major (those of who media to draw in consumers. So world: earn $55,000 annually) but when I said please stop raining on my creative major. I wanted to go into illustration (those of
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E k a t a T
UNITY THROUGH J E W E L R Y AND NEW BEGINNINGS
here are roughly 21.3 million refugees in the world. Displaced from their countries by war, persecution, or natural disaster, these people seek refuge within other countries. Almost 34,000 people are forcibly displaced every day. These refugees flee to other countries, but are often met with discouraging circumstances. The lucky ones get registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and are sent to another country to be resettled. Others, however, make a home in refugee camps. These areas, filled with thousands of tents and huts, are meant as temporary solutions, but inevitably become their permanent home for years and sometimes even decades.
Returning to the country that they originally fled means great danger and persecution. However, remaining in the refugee camp means a dismal existence. Ekata Designs is on a mission to change this ill-fated cycle.
WORDS BY JANE SEIDEL A Memphis-based jewelry business, Ekata Designs provides employment, income, and training to refugees as they transition to a new life in America. Sarah Brubaker, the co-founder of Ekata Designs, saw a need among the community for jobs that could accommodate and employ women with little English and education during their first few years in America. Ekata Designs currently employ more than 30 Nepali and Somali women, who bring to the company a myriad of technical skill, heart, and wisdom. Ekata serves as a transition phase for refugee women. It’s a safe haven where they can save money for school or search for a permanent job. The company values the unity that comes from working together -- which is what “ekata” means in Nepali. Their jewelry is beautiful, boutique-level quality -- their products are reminiscent of upscale stores like Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. Stone cuff bracelets, rose quartz earrings, and Agate Pendant Necklaces populate their online store. Find them online at www.ekatadesigns. com, and on Instagram at @ekatadesigns.
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How To Thrift WORDS BY LYDIA VELAZQUEZ, ILLUSTRATIONS BY PORTIA MELITA
Thrifting is more than just shopping. Its an art form. It’s being able to go into a building full of hand-me-down and who-knows and finding something that holds significance to you and then giving it a second life. Now, like all art forms, there are guidelines to thrifting that should be considered for the best chance at a successful experience.
1 Scope Out Your Options
Before going to first thrift store you can think of, consider your choices. Research what second hand stores are in your area, whether it be GoodWill, Salvation Army, or a localized store. Ask around or look for reviews on the store’s selection, cleanliness, where the money goes, and whatever else is important to you.
2 Get in the Zone In preparation for the shopping, dress comfortably and lightly. Wear something that allows you to try on multiple outfits. My go to outfit is leggings, a tank, and some slip on shoes (slip on shoes are highly recommend if you plan on shopping for shoes or even pants). There’s also two possible mindsets to go into for thrifting: either an open one where you buy whatever you’re feeling OR a direct one with what you want/need in mind.
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3 Shop as Long as You Want
Take your time perusing the racks and shelves. Be patient while looking. Look at everything and take in consideration its condition, the price, and if it’s just overall “worth it” to you.
4 If the Shoe (or the $3 Jeans) Fits When you find something that fits and that you like, try to think of at least three different ways you can wear it to ensure that it will be put to good use. Let’s be honest here, I bought a $5, sea green nightgown the other day on a whim because my friend told me it looked good on me. I have yet to figure out how to wear it outside of my bedroom. Now that you’ve made your selection, go home, have a personal photoshoot and revel in the coolness of your vintage finds. Tweet us what you find using the hashtag #PopToThrift.
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A GALLERY BY PATRICK MORAN
WORDS BY REBECCA GIBBONS
Great Good Fine Ok, a Brooklyn-based synthpop band, was formed by Jon Sandler and Luke Moellman. During live performances, the two are joined by Danny Wolf (drums) and Carey Clayton (guitar). The synth duo released their first EP, “Body Diamond” in 2013, and since then have released another EP titled “2M2H” followed by several singles.
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Synesthesia
The production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body.
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WORDS BY AMY HANNA I cannot remember when music grew to become more than just a series of sounds for me. I suppose music had always been that way; when I sang the songs of Disney princesses from my crib, swaying contentedly to the Beach Boys as my mother twirled me round, crying to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” Music had always been more than just sounds.
any way. I wasn’t comfortable with difference, not yet.
I wish I could say that these newfound sensations made me feel good, or special. I didn’t tell anyone about my experiences with synesthesia for years. No one had ever made me feel bad about it, but as a young teenager, I tended to repress anything that made me feel different in
roll. I cried because I could finally put a name to the greatest sensations I experience.
As I grew up, new sensations kept cropping up. I’d smell chocolate chip cookies as if they were right in front of my nose as Christmas music played. The sound of certain songs would wash over me and propel me forward, even if I was lying down. Synesthesia isn’t just sound evokI think I was thirteen years old when it ing sight or color. Synesthesia is the string first happened. I was singing along to that ties up all your sensory experiences, something – I wish I could remember, even the ones that don’t make sense tofor something so momentous – and sud- gether. denly I saw green behind my eyes. Not a When I was seventeen, I happened upon solid color, but smoke, swirling with the an article about synesthesia, and I cried. crescendos of the music. That’s funny, I I cried because I wasn’t the only freak on thought. I wonder if this is supposed to the planet that waded through a haze of happen. red and orange brought on by rock and
Some songs are green for me. And some songs are chocolate chip cookies. No matter what, music will always be more than just sounds.
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PLAYLIST:
Back to School
CURATED BY REBECCA GIBBONS
It All Starts Here Magic Man The Great Unknown Jukebox The Ghost Moving Forward Colony House Dream On Aerosmith Where I’m Going Sir Sly Go Your Own Way Fleetwood Mac This Must Be The Place Talking Heads As You Go Stellar Young I Can See Clearly Now Johnny Nash Blake’s Got A New Face Vampire Weekend Oh, La Ra Ra Riot Help Me Run Away St. Lucia Everywhere I Go New Politics Life Is A Highway Tom Cochrane Young Hearts Strange Talk Time Of Our Lives Pitbull, Ne-Yo Paradise Waiting Vacationer Big Ideas The Boxer Rebellion Get It Matt & Kim Show Me The Way Penguin Prison
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WORDS BY CHRISTINA CASILLO COLOR PAIRINGS BY AMY HANNA
Album Review
HOME OF THE STRANGE BY YOUNG THE GIANT Young the Giant released their third album, Home of the Strange, on August 12th. We take you track-by-track through the record, a payoff of innovation and a politically charged narrative of immigration and hyphenated identities.
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This is an interesting pick for the Amerika Something to opening track. It was also the first single of the album, which follows 2014’s Mind Over Matter and 2011’s Believe in eponymous album. The track has a twinkling opening, a breath of fresh air as we enter into Young the Giant’s new world. The song, named for an unfinished Kafka novel, touches on topics of socioeconomic advantages, power, and isolation. This track also showcases their drummer, Francois Comtois,’ smooth vocals, which are a beautiful counterpoint to vocalist Sameer Gadhia’s bold raspy tones. Another track with killer bass! The 5 pieces’ bassist, Payam Doostzadeh, is always bringing his A-game. This tune does well to showcase Sameer’s lower register. The funky guitar line contrasts wonderfully with the lyrics about emotional burnout, stress, and the childlike vulnerability and naivety with a new relationship. Also, 2:32.
Elsewhere
Jungle Youth
This track is definitely the weaker of the two funky guitar heavy tracks (as opposed to Silvertongue). The distorted heavy guitar and rich vocals are very reminiscent of songs off of The Black Keys’ Brothers. All in all, this track leaves something to be desired, maybe pushing the vocals further front in the mix.
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This song was played in abundance over the alternative radio air waves . I disagree with the decision for this to be main radio single, whereas I would’ve preferred Silvertongue. I think this track doesn’t really do anything to showcase the innovation this record has to offer. However, I adore the heavy bass and the smirking promise of the hook: “I’ll give you something to believe in.”
Mr. Know-it-All
This groovy track has incredibly topical lyrics about the front one puts up to create a persona, especially in the social media age. I’m a fan of the slightly peaky guitar and I think the use of harpsichord in the second verse is very clever. It’s a short and sweet track that knows exactly what it wants to be. Titus was the third track released and seems to be one of the band’s signature slow tunes that builds and explodes at the bridge. They do it incredibly well. Sameer’s voice is akin to a lullaby, telling this story, with panning rain in the background to set the scene. Once again, Francois offers his vocals, this time in the bridge. The drums finally kick in and the song is still somehow soothing as can be. One of my favorites, for sure.
Titus Was Born
The final single One of my Repeat Silvertongue released does an amazing job merging the sounds biggest faults when listening of the two prior releases into one great song. The grittier vocals and hummable hook leaves listeners with the ideal synth-rock song. The performance of this song on Jimmy Kimmel shows that the rawness carries over to the live show. I hope there is someone in this world that makes me feel the way this song does because holy wow! All I really have to say beyond this is that I was exiting a tunnel while the first chorus came in and I felt like I was being birthed. 10/10. Next. This funky walk cycle of a song should’ve closed the album. It starts off super moody and quickly ascends to the hopeful hook that will stay in your head for days: “It’s over, nothing’s over/I’ll grow up when I’m older/God only knows what I would do to you.” It has a lengthy, powerful instrumental that leads into the quiet whisper of a finale. Though there’s just one verse and pre-chorus, followed by many iterations of the chorus, it still manages to pack a punch. Therein lies the magic of Young the Giant: even the most simplistic efforts can result in the most powerful of emotional responses.
Art Exhibit
Nothing’s Over
This album is a combination of the sounds of Young the Giant’s first and second efforts with a funky twist. Low points were few and far between, and I would recommend listening to the record straight through, rather than on shuffle or in segments. I am looking forward to hearing these tunes live and can’t wait for what they’ll do next.
to new music is that if I’m not convinced in less than ten seconds, I skip it. This was the case with the track Repeat. However, I forced myself to continue listening and I was glad I stuck around. The swirling melodies were enjoyable. and the lyrics regarding the optimism of an immigrant’s story pushed the song forward. However, I didn’t think it was the best track to follow one of the two slow songs on the album.
Home of the Strange
From the first note I had one thought: I love Bleachers. But on the real, this was an interesting track, not just to close with, but compared to Young the Giant’s body of work as a whole. The verses are definitely more familiar, but the choices made beyond that are somewhat new to the sound of the band. I personally would’ve enjoyed this more towards the beginning of the album, maybe wedged between Amerika and Something to Believe In.
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