The Beat: Ten Year Anniversary Edition (March 2023)

Letter from the Editor

This is a big one, Beat freaks.

The Beat of Boston University is officially TEN YEARS OLD!! To celebrate, I lit a jar candle, closed my eyes, and blew it out while imagining what a zine would wish for. I didn’t come up with much, but at least that makes it easy to grant.

As is the nature of college organizations, The Beat’s founding membership is long graduated, likely enjoying their late 20s and wondering if journalism was really the right decision after all. I kid, of course - how does the saying about glass houses go?

Well regardless, here’s to The Beat! Here’s to ten strong years, and here’s to ten more! Who knows, by the time The Beat turns twenty, maybe we won’t be printing these on paper anymore! Maybe it’ll all be QR codes and finger swiping. That can’t be right - QR codes will be obsolete by then.

Enjoy the issue! (Ideally, over a piece of cake)

With Love, MacLean Bishop Editor-in-Chief

The Beat Birthday Bash Playlist

Happy Birthday - Stevie Wonder

Birthday - Katy Perry

Happy Birthday/Cumpleaños Feliz - Dora The Explorer

Happy Birthday Mr. President - Marilyn Monroe

Birthday - The Beatles

Sandstorm - Darude

Happy Birthday Song - CoComelon

Happy Birthday - Loretta Lynn

Happy Birthday - Mac Miller

Ratchet Happy Birthday - Drake

Birthday - Selena Gomez

Birthday Cake - Rihanna

B-Day Song - Madonna & M.I.A.

If you’re bored on a Friday night and looking for the next big thing in uhhh, whatever genre that is (don’t be mad if I call it math rock)... you’re going to want to seek out the musical stylings of Ski Club. As a just-starting-out Berklee band, as of this publication they have yet to release songs on any music streaming service... BOO! But seeing them live gives an audience member a new appreciation for what it means to jam.

The band consists of Abigail Zachko on vocals and guitar, Evan Cieplik on bass and backing vocals, Zach Feinstein on drums and Eli Torg on guitar. Their music is a heady mix of flowing and melodic instrumentals, rowdy songs about watching porn, and whatever the hell Cieplik is doing onstage (most likely, he is jumping wildly, stomping with unbridled fury, waving his bass around like a matador’s cape, riling up the crowd into a frenzy). Zachko is also mesmerizing in their own confident, electrifying way, with bangs from TikTok and vocals that pierce through the chaos she creates.

Ski is developing a small but dedicated fanbase in the Boston/Allston scene. I’ve even seen someone show up to O’Briens in a full ski ‘fit, complete with goggles and helmet, to show their support. So if you’re considering coming out, dress warm, ‘cause Ski is going to serve up some COLD riffs and heart-stopping energy out there. stay frosty, beat babes!

follow @weareskiclub on insta <3 vanessa bartlett

ode to zines

google dot com how to wrap text in indesig n content, i am content. warm words ooze from my fingers.

graphics, i am graphically depicting babies with guns. for fun.

printed pages of work. gravy on my mashed potatoes. you wish u could be so cool. hi to the print shop guys under warren!

a zine finds its way onto my friend’s fridge. nice. you’re like my mom.

ode to zines II

ozymandias cried out from the cold earth, “take a copy of my zine!”

an anarchist writes a 6 page pamphlet. 6 point font. i didn’t know they could do that.

a zine is for a woman who listens to wet leg.

a zine is for a man who can admit he doesn’t like his dad.

a zine is for (your pronouns here) who eats hot chip and lies.

a zine is for the taking. for leaving behind. why does everyone leave? they don’t, you just lose them. but you could press them like flowers in the pages of a zine. you could draw a baby with a knife and put it in a zine. someone stole my friend’s fridge zine after a party. sad!

Mountain Song

I’m blundering through My First Real Heartbreak in radical fashion. The greatest minds are preparing an award in honor of my valuable contributions, which is very kind of them.

The urge to triple text and cry on public transit lets up for just a second, so I’m flailing to figure out my next move, my new era.

Note titled “goals”: to exist and be interesting, to CLIMB and MOUNT and SCALE my sorrow.

So a mountain, because I grew Very Literal and my only other idea is taking up the guitar, which would be admitting defeat.

I will become a Nature Guy and climb a mountain. The plan is to curate a self that finds solace in trees and horizons, that draws inspiration from landscapes, that is fine with being solitary, when really I’m feral and boring and losing my luster.

by Josh Rosenthal

Maybe I won’t be helpless if I can do this, if I can go from base to summit without remembering the heartbeat I lost and haven’t found since.

But I can’t even make it out of bed before I Remember. I only text twice this time.

“You’re not a failure,” my friends in relationships say when I lament about just wanting to climb the damn mountain, which gathers dust in a folder titled “places to go.”

And then he folds me into the passenger seat of his Land Rover like a stuffed animal on vacation and we drive past mountains and my chest gets heavy and the mountains are beautiful and oh, there it is again.

The pressure on the back of the next generation is starting to create cracks, and from the fissures comes the Essex trio Bilk’s debut album, Bilk.

With themes like political upsets, growing up, being an outsider, and dealing with our image-driven world, Bilk manages to be a bullhorn for their generation without taking themselves too seriously.

They make their statements through blunt and honest lyrics coated in British colloquialisms and experiences with lyrics like “four pints at the local spoons,” “part and parcel,” “signing onto the dole,” and “Tesco value vodka drinking p—k.” A thick Southern-British accent sings these lyrics, adding undeniable charm.

Their debut album comes after five years of grinding and demonstrates the growth they have experienced in that time. The difference between their first acoustic single, “In Your Car,” released in 2020, and “It’s No Longer There,” - which is reminiscent of The Libertines’ “Music When the Lights go Out” - from their album makes this apparent. The lyrics tackle a more complex subject, and the guitar playing advances. However, the acoustic tracks are hardly the highlight of this album. Singer Sol Abraham’s voice is best heard at the front of a fast-paced mix of indie rock, pop, and rap, which the rest of the album delivers.

“Hummus and Pita,” “Daydreamer,” and “Stand Up” are easily the hardest songs on the album with their anti-establishment lyrics, guitar-led bridges, and quick tempo. Although, Bilk provides a solid middle ground with “10 O’Clock,” which sounds like the closing track from an Inbetweeners episode.

While a few verses from the album lack the instrumental kick larger bands bring, and some lyrics can be cheesy, Bilk redeem themselves with catchy choruses and guitar-heavy bridges.

Their fans push them to the frontlines as Bilk has sold out their 10gig UK album tour. They are finishing these gigs at the beginning of March, and one can only hope Bilk will bring their bullhorn to the US next.

<3 Josephine Best

happy birthday sing-along

(feel free to sing at your own pace <3)

Lyrics: Ready?

One, Two, Three!

Happy birthday to you!

[OPTIONAL: Cha Cha Cha!]

Happy birthday to you!

[OPTIONAL: Cha Cha Cha!]

Happy birthday dear The Beat,

[OPTIONAL: Cha Cha Cha!]

Happy Birthday to you!!

[Half-assed applause]

my favorite albums

Ants from Up There - Black Country, New Road

A staple in my “falling to my knees at BU Beach” playlist. So deeply tragic, and additional listens only reveal devastating layers of anguish and remorse. Perfect album for bleak winter days.

Favorite Songs: Chaos Space Machine, Good Will Hunting, Basketball Shoes

Being Funny in a Foreign Language - The 1975

My favorite band finally learned how to make an album that’s under an hour long, dreams do come true! Absolutely gorgeous set of songs here, and the mere existence of “About You” automatically catapults this record into all-timer status. Makes my heart full, really.

Favorite Songs: Looking For Somebody (To Love), Oh Caroline, About You

Dawn FM - The Weeknd

Not fair of The Weeknd to follow up what I consider a modern classic (After Hours, mon amour) with yet another modern classic, one that might be an improvement on its predecessor? Unreal.

Favorite Songs: Gasoline, Out of Time, Less Than Zero

of 2022 <3

MOTOMAMI - Rosalía

A fast and furious vision projected directly from the apocalypse. Instantly iconic, and along with its boundless versatility, it really makes me want to ride a motorcycle.

Favorite Tracks: SAOKO, LA FAMA, COMO UN G

Preacher’s Daughter - Ethel Cain

“But what’s *actually* your favorite album of 2022?” This one, without a doubt. I can’t think of the last time a record stunned me as much as Ethel Cain’s debut. While not for the faint of heart, Cain’s exploration of a haunted American life is the type of album that burrows into your skin and refuses to leave, and by this point, I think I’d feel empty without its presence.

Favorite Tracks: Hard Times, Thoroughfare, Sun Bleached Flies

Renaissance - Beyoncé

I can’t even be sad about not being able to get tour tickets, because the dance parties I had alone in my dorm room to this album are more than enough. Sonic brilliance, with each transition from track to track feeling like a breath of fresh air into life itself.

Favorite Tracks: ALIEN SUPERSTAR, VIRGO’S GROOVE, SUMMER RENAISSANCE

SOS - SZA

Worth the long, excruciating wait. The rare 23-track album where nothing feels like filler, and where each song is a unique revelation about who the artist is as a person. This actually became my most-listened album on Last.fm without me even realizing it, amazing!

Favorite Tracks: Seek & Destroy, Nobody Gets Me, Open Arms

Un Verano Sin Ti - Bad Bunny

The quintessential summer album. An escape to a beach with your friends whenever you need it the most, and the good vibes here are so fun to sink into. A career-defining record, and I’m just so glad Bad Bunny has received the recognition he deserves from it.

Favorite Tracks: Después de la Playa, Tití Me Preguntó, Otro Atardecer

- Josh Rosenthal

draw it yerself

who let these babies do these terrible things???? help them commit more atrocities. or have them punished for their crimes.

An Extra-Special

The Beat is old. I’m not even going to preface that or soften it with some compliment– this zine may only be 10 in human years, but that’s at least 75 in zine years. With that backhanded compliment, you might anticipate that I’m going to have a recipe for prune juice or cream of wheat, but YOU’D BE WRONG, YOU WHIPPERSNAPPER. This zine is too gosh darn good to insult, so sit down in your La-Z-Boy, get out your bowl of hard candies, put on your reading glasses, turn the heat up to 95, pull your blanket over you, and get ready for my recipe on how to make a nice, hot-off-the-presses edition of The Beat.

YOU’LL NEED:

- 1 very stressed zine editor-in-chief

- 3-8 contributors (look for a variety of interest levels)

- 1 talented artist

- 1-2 talented artists, but like, in a very specific way

- 500 pieces of colored paper

- A Zoom call or reserved room for mixing

DIRECTIONS:

1. Allow the editor-in-chief to ruminate at room temperature for approximately 5 days. During this time, it will develop slightly darker bags under its eyes as it struggles to come up with a theme– don’t worry, this is normal. If, however, it does not become gleeful with an idea after a week, you may need a new editor-in-chief.

2. Put the editor-in-chief and contributors into your Zoom call or reserved room and let them get to know each other. While you only need three contributors, note that the final product will be much richer and more fulfilling the more contributors you add, and it will also be more complex if you pick contributors with varying levels of interest and procrastination.

Beat Recipe

3. After 1-2 hours, separate the editor-in-chief and contributors into equal amounts and let them rest for exactly three weeks and six days. This is very important!

4. Meanwhile, collect your artists and make sure they have access to digital drawing software. While it may be hard to find 2-3 artists, all with different skill sets, it will absolutely enrich the final product. Just be prepared for your artists to be finished at wildly different times.

5. Check in on your contributors. After three weeks and six days, they’ll be exactly 24 hours away from the deadline and should begin to furiously type away. If they don’t, you may have gotten some rotten contributors. At this time, your editor-in-chief should also be ripping out its hair in frustration. Again, this is normal.

6. Finally, after four weeks, collect all the contributions and artwork, and place them in a locked room with your editor-in-chief and colored paper. After another 5-7 days, your very own issue of The Beat will be complete!

- Toby Pannone

(Formally endorsed by MacLean Bishop, Editor-in-Chief of The Beat)

The Beat of Boston University was born in 2013 from the ashes of The Boston Phoenix. Intrepid DJs crafted the then-8x11, twopage pamphlet to fill the music coverage void The Phoenix left in its wake. Jane Fitzsimmons, our lovely little Zine’s first and unofficial EIC brought her skills and knowledge from a Phoenix internship to WTBU and plunged into a weekly endeavor dubbed “The Beat.”

She made most of the graphics and write-ups herself, and it wasn’t until 2015 when Annaleah Eisner came on board as one of the first official editors that The Beat ramped up its production and found its home. With a team of 15 or so writers and graphic designers, The Beat kept churning out unbeatable content and was able to become the 7x5 multi-page beauty you hold in your hands today. It chronicled and continues to chronicle pop culture, college radio, Boston, Allston, and the thoughts of the quirkiest on our campus. Even when a fire forced our DJs out of their 3rd-floor studio home, temporarily displacing them, The Beat lived on. It is a hallmark of WTBU. Without it, we wouldn’t have our pulse on the beat of Boston University. From one lowly content creator to all the rest, thank you for contributing to the magic, and know that The Beat will always rise to the occasion. Happy 10th!

interested in submitting writing, interviews, graphics (or some other secret talent yet to be put to the page)??? you can become a contributor to this historic zine too!

email wtbu.thebeat@ gmail.com and tell editor Maclean Bishop that you are soooooo interested in working with him :))

see every issue on wtburadio.org ->the beat