Sports

Modern Baseball’s Sports at 10

CHLOE BOULTON | CONTENT WRITER

The end of November will mark the 10-year anniversary of Sports, Modern Baseball’s debut LP. The album was released by Lame-O records and was received well by critics and fans alike.

At time of release, late 2012, the band were young, and up-and-coming on the rising Philadelphia emo scene. Members Brendan Lukens and Jake Ewald attended Drexel University together, and it was there they recorded Sports with the help of Ian Farmer, who later joined the band. Two years later in 2014, Modern Baseball would release You’re Gonna Miss It All, the album that would solidify their place in the emo canon. You’re Gonna Miss It All was greatly successful and reached far more listeners upon release than Sports had done. For this reason, Modern Baseball’s debut is often overlooked. Over the past ten years, it has gotten the love it deserves but tends to live in the shadow of its follow-up. Sports is hidden in plain sight but remains one of the strongest emo records of the 2010s, and one of the best debuts in its genre. Sports has a 30-minute runtime, so not long to make their mark, by any means. In the half-hour, they deliver 12 catchy and dynamic tracks each with the classic staples of any good pop-punk music: fast chords, incredible drums, and memorable lyrics. It is Modern Baseball’s lyrics on this album (as well as those on their other LPs and EPs) that set them apart from the heavily saturated scene of the time. They came with a refreshing honesty that never wavered, the entire duration of the band’s time together. By establishing this as one of their biggest strengths from the very first opportunity, Modern Baseball were able to capture an enthusiastic and fiercely loyal fanbase.

Source: @dietrunrath, Instagram It can be difficult to hear songs with such overt references to social media and not be slightly put off. It dates music, immediately, putting it in a certain place and time and keeping it there. Somehow this goes in the favour of Modern Baseball. Mentions of Facebook and Twitter, iPhones and profile pictures, only make the band’s lyrics that bit more earnest, that bit more genuine. These are university students in 2012, they are writing what they know, and we cannot hold this against them. Sports tells stories of things we all know. The themes laid a foundation for Modern Baseball to build their career upon growing up, love, loss, changing, and frankly not being very cool. It was an excellent album 10 years ago, and an even better one now.

Musicians in the media: Kanye West locked out of Twitter

ANNA ARMELIN | CONTENT WRITER

The influence held by an artist with a large following can be very powerful, with followers subject to the influence of the In today’s modern climate of social media and connectivity, music artists become celebrities on a scale never seen before. With this celebrity comes huge responsibility, certainly to consider and protect the young generation with universal access to the internet and media platforms. individual’s thoughts, opinions, and actions. In recent social media activity, renowned rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West), sent an Instagram post suggesting fellow musician Sean “Diddy” Combs was controlled by Jewish people – a common antisemitic trope. Within hours, Instagram had removed the post and locked his account. In response, Ye took to Twitter, where he posted a separate antisemitic Tweet that he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE”. Twitter, like Instagram, was quick to block the post and lock his account. Offensive posts such as these are nothing new on social media, but the impact on the millions of people able to access such comments in a matter of minutes is alarming. With the great number of platforms available today, social media companies are finding it increasingly difficult to censor and control their user’s behaviour.

Kanye West has a long history of misogyny, bigotry, and intentional provocation. Just a few days ago, he wore a White Lives Matter shirt at the Yeezy show at Paris Fashion Week and had several models, plus right-wing commentator Candace Owens, do the same.

For that public gesture to White supremacy, he was invited on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show and applauded by numerous Republicans, even after the interview predictably went off the rails.

During his interview with Carlson, West wore an ultrasound pendant to signal his anti-abortion views. He pointed to abortion, and the singer Lizzo’s weight, and blamed both for “the genocide of the Black race”. Republicans and conservative talking heads cheered West for “spitting facts” and declared him “a cultural icon”. West did not invent antisemitic conspiracy theories or the racist claim that Black women who end pregnancies are genocidaires or White supremacy. His words are indefensible, and at this point, so is giving him a platform, money, or the attention, he craves.

The power held by such a successful musician in the media is dangerous, and the accessibility of influencing such a large following one simple post is going to continue to be damaging for the world if the issue of censorship is not addressed soon.

Source: Kanye West on stage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, REUTERS

Bristling with creative energy: Punch Brothers’ All Ashore

ESTELLE ALLEN | CONTENT WRITER

Released in July 2018, All Ashore is a Grammy-Awardwinning album by the eclectic New York acoustic quintet and band, Punch Brothers. Although often characterized as a bluegrass group for the connotations evoked by their instrumental line-up, (guitar, violin, mandolin, banjo, upright bass), the Punch Brothers have never hazarded their claim to any genre, instead preferring to let the music go where it often unpredictably does. The group generates a unique and genrebreaking sound through this album, which is as interesting to listen to as their beautiful lyricism. The pieces throughout the LP deftly balance thoughtful lyricism – vitalised by Chris Thile’s tender vocals – with complex and intricate instrumentals that perform with shifting tempo and swing, with all the intuition and spontaneity of a jamming jazz group. The composition throughout follows the lyrical matter of All Ashore, which for Thile (singer and mandolin player) is a “meditation on committed relationships in the present day, particularly in light of the current unsettled political climate”.

All Ashore, therefore, serves as a space of tranquillity in the midst of political disquiet; the album takes the listener on a journey from the plaintive Gardener track to the jig-like, folk-leaning piece Jumbo which characterises and parodies in its tongue-in-cheek lyrics the experience of a privileged white American: “you oughtta know privileged is a pretty hard thing to be, you know?”. Some highlights of the album, include The Angel of Doubt and It’s All Part of the Plan which remain hugely relevant in these anxiety-provoking times.

Source: Wikipedia

The Angel of Doubt portrays a loving and calm narrator who wishes to “keep the demons at bay” of the listener. Similarly, It’s All Part of the Plan disregards negative self-thinking, assuring that everything is going to plan and celebrating freedom from these destructive thoughts. All Ashore is a hugely enjoyable, joyous, and relaxing listen and is a call to step back from the chaos of everyday life and remember the importance of being calm. The album serves as a celebration of love, beauty, musicality, and companionship in the 21st century.