Jeron Armstrong Portfolio
ARTICLE ONE On Sept 18, 2015 Indie Pop/ Psychedelic Rock singer Lana Del Rey released her fourth studio album Honeymoon. The lead single High by the Beach to her album Honeymoon was released on Aug 10. The song title clearly states what Del Rey is doing in her free time. The main message in the song is not typical of the singer. Many of Del Rey’s songs portray heartache, drugs or glorify abusive relationships. However, High by the Beach talks about Del Rey wanting to be left alone by incessant paparazzi and entertainment media and that “all” she “wants to do is get high by the beach.” Getting out more frustration toward the press Del Rey sings, “Now you’re just another one of my problems because you got out of hand. We wont survive, we’re sinking into the sand.” Honeymoon may be Del Rey’s most diverse record yet. The record features styles such as trap, blues, jazz and hip-hop. Regardless of the styles of music in which Del Rey uses, she continues to sing about controversial topics. Junior, Rachel Skelton believes that the sound continues to work for Del Rey. “I honestly love Lana’s new album. I think there’s a great sound and vibe to it, and it’s definitely some of my favorite work she’s done,” said Skelton. Del Rey released 3 other promotional singles, Terrence Loves You, Honeymoon and Music to Watch Boys To on Aug 21, Sept 7 and Sept 9 respectively. On Sept 18, 2015 Del Rey released the record. It debut at number two on the Billboard 200. The album had first week sales of 116,000 units. Critics have continued to rave about the record. Metacritic gave the album a score of 79/100 based on 23 critics. While sources such as The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent and Rolling stone gave the record a four-out-of-five rating. Entertainment Weekly graded the record with a B+. Some of Del Rey’s most controversial topics include use of paraphernalia, glorifying abusive relationships, religion, intoxication and even the glorification of dying young. “We both know the history of violence that surrounds you. But I’m not scared, there’s nothing to lose now that I’ve found,” sings Del Rey in Honeymoon. Many parents are strongly against their children listening to such music as it could influence a young teenager to act in such ways. “Music is a form of self expression., and you”re able to use elements and sing about what you wish in order to do so. I don’t believe Lana’s language or topics sung about who I am or how I act as an individual,” said Skelton. While Del Rey does sing about many controversial topics the sultry jazz-like singer also references many musicians, influential figures and styles from the past. In Honeymoon, Del Rey has a song titles “Art Deco.” If you are not educated, so to speak, about styles during the 1920s through 1940s than you may not understand what they song means. Art Deco is short for Arts Decoratifs, was a style of modernization that combined styles with bright and rich colors, geometric shapes that seemed very bold and rather fancy or “lavish” ornamentation. “You’re so art deco, out on the floor. Shining like gun metal, cold and unsure...” sings Del Rey implying that whomever she’s singing about reminds her of the style and eccentricity of the 1920s through 40s. Del Rey continues to shine and impress and she travels the states going to various Urban Outfitters to promote her record and have meet and greets with fans. Not only does Lana have real conversations with her fans but she can relate to and understand things they speak of. Bringing back missed music styles, social influences and decades old style Del Rey speaks to the new generation. There is only one Lana Del Rey.
REFLECTION
In this article I am most proud of how I gave the review. I covered the different themes of the songs and the overall theme of the album. I gave detail about its sales, debut status, and critics responses. I reported on how both fans, and non fans felt about the record. I wrote this article in inverted pyramid style. Some of the most important information was given early on in the article. The style is also how it represents a well-done style of writing. It shows that I have an understamding of journalism writing. Looking back I believe many of the paragraphs could have been longer. While giving enough information, and important information at that, some of the paragraphs could’ve exceeded in length. This would keep readers from reading sentences and paragraphs that may be choppy. Overall the article is good, but with minor changes it could be even better. I enjoyed reporting on an artist I love, and that I was able to stay unbiased in my review.
ARTICLE TWO MTV’s “VMAs” or Comedy Central’s “The Roast”?
By Jeron Armstrong
Sunday’s VMAs (Video Music Awards), in Downtown Los Angeles was packed with people throwing shade, outrageous outfits, and lots of skin. You could compare this year’s VMA drama to an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. As the lights dimmed on the VMA stage Sunday night, Nicki Minaj opened the show with her song “Trini Dem Girls.” To many fans surprise, Taylor Swift emerged from the stage. Together they harmoniously sang “The Night Is Still Young” and “Bad Blood”. This collaboration was a surprise because Minaj and Swift had a “Twitter feud” that occurred when Minaj’s nomination for “Anaconda” was removed from the Video of The Year category in which Swift was nominated as well. Getting back into tradition, the VMAs returned the role of a host, none other than the infamous Miley Cyrus. Cyrus took on the stage in a wide variety of outfits, all seemingly wilder than the last. Another performer of the night was R&B artist, The Weekend. Performing his number one smash “I Can’t Feel My Face” the audience danced and sang along, even Kanye West. Swift and Selena Gomez, yet again, were also seen dancing on camera. The next winner of the night was announced by Rebel Wilson. As Wilson announced the winner for Best Hip-Hop Video it happened as fans expected, Minaj won. Minaj stunned all as she took her acceptance speech to another level. She proceeded to confront Miley Cyrus regarding negative comments Cyrus previously made about Minaj in a New York Times interview. “And now, back to this…that had a lot to say about me the other day in the press, Miley what’s good?” said Minaj, not holding back on a few choice words. Cyrus responded by saying that Minaj is in the business and knows how the press manipulates words. Cyrus went on to speak about an award she lost in 2008 looking at Minaj and saying, “It’s just an award, I persevered.” By saying what Cyrus did, she may have been taking a dig at Minaj’s “beef ” with Taylor Swift. Later that night Justin Bieber gave his “comeback” performance. The singer/dancer sang “Where Are Ü Now” and “What Do You Mean.” At the end of his performance Bieber began to sob. Ex Selena was seen in the audience not paying any attention to Bieber, but rather her cell phone. We can guess that the fan favorite “Jelena” has officially been declared over since the break up back in 2012. As if the controversy wasn’t already taking over, Swift was the presenter of the Video Vanguard Award. The winner, Kanye West. This added to the night’s confusion as Swift stated that Kanye West’s album “The College Dropout” was the first album she ever bought at the age of 12. “So I guess I have to say this to all the other winners tonight: I’m really happy for you and Imma let you finish, but Kanye West has had one of the greatest careers of all time,” said Swift. Kanye West thanked Swift and took the stage. During his speech he decided to add to the tension and controversy of the night by calling out MTV saying that they used the issue between him and Swift from 2009 for ratings. Just a quick reminder, in 2009 Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to announce that “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.” As he grasped everyone’s attention with his comment West proceeded to announce the biggest news of the night, Kanye West for President 2020. As he dropped the mic and walked off stage viewers were left wondering, Will Yeezus be our next President? Just as you thought it could all be over Miley prepared to give her surprise performance, the camera going backstage to catch a glimpse of Cyrus. As she was handed a microphone she dropped the curtain exposing herself on national television, It did however complete the utter chaos that was, the VMAs.
REFLECTION
In this article I am most proud of how I executed having great amounts of imformation. The VMAs is a large event that people across the globe tune in to watch. For the students who do read our paper, my article gave them the most important, detailed, information of the night. I covered both the drama, that is bound to happen, and of course the winnings and musical talent of the night. Like many of my articles, I used th einverted pyramid style of writing. This conveys good journalism because I used my writing ability, and this style of writing, to convey the best information of the night. Looking back, I’m not sure I would change much, if anything, about this article. It was definitely my most favorite one that I wrote this year. It was challening as it was a large event, but I feel that I was able to tackle the challenge extremely well.
ARTICLE THREE On Oct. 23, 2015 four years since Adele’s diamond certified record 21, the London soul-singer released “Hello” as the lead single for her third studio record 25. A 30 second teaser of “Hello” was shown during a commercial break of the UK’s The X Factor. However, the official fulllength single was released on Nick Grimshaw’s show on BBC Radio 1. In the video Adele is seen arguing with a past lover begging for their forgiveness. There are flashbacks of them enjoying their love with one another. However, many of the cut scenes are Adele singing alone intertwined with scenes of the singer in a forest belting out the song. The video is shot in a sepia format which gives it a somber feel. In addition to the single being released, the accompanying music video was as well. Adele would set a new record for most views on Vevo within a 24 hour period with 27.7 million views, thus breaking Taylor Swift’s previous record. The video was accumulating an average of one million views per hour with a peak rate of 1.6 million views. This beat the trailer for Star Wars Episode VII which had a peak rate of 1.2 million. The final record that the video broke was the fastest music video to be certified. By doing so, Adele beat the record for Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball.” Two days after the release of the song it sold 450,000 copies in the United States alone, and 165,000 chart sales in the UK. During her radio interview with Nick Grimshaw Adele states, “I felt all of us were moving on, and it’s not about an ex-relationship, a love relationship, it’s about my relationship with everyone that I love. It’s not that we have fallen out, we’ve all got our lives going on and I needed to write that song so they would all hear it, because I’m not in touch with them.” Adele comes back doing what she does best, singing. Adele was diagnosed with having vocal nodules. To correct her nodules Adele underwent vocal cord surgery. The ballad features soaring vocals and an emotion that left many with tears. Pop superstar Katy Perry showed her support for Adele by posting a picture of a crying face imprint on a pillow. Perry tweeted “[sic] Listen’s to ‘hello’ from @OfficialAdele once.” “My favorite genres of music are alternative and rap. My favorite artists are Vampire Weekend because I like the rhythm of their songs,” said Isabelle Bohm. “[But] my first thought was that it sounded more like a slow, sad song compared to her other music. The beat was nice and I think she [Adele] should continue to write love songs because ‘Hello’ sounded very nice.” Adele sings, “Hello from the other side. I must’ve called a thousand times to tell you I’m sorry for everything that I’ve done, but when I call you never seem to be home.” Just like many of Adele’s other singles’ themes of heartbreak and of being the heartbreaker are present, “Hello” talks of Adele attempting to mend a former relationship, but the person on the other end of the phone simply lost interest. Are others losing interest in the singer as well? “The Weeknd is my favorite artist,” said Senior Aliya Atcha. “I like his music more for the content of it. The things Adele sings about don’t catch my attention the way he does.” Sure Adele may have competition, but if she still has the success she had with her previous album, the singer should be “AOK.” Adele describes the song as a “massive breakthrough” saying it put an end to her writers block. That it must have; because she announced to fans that the record 25 would be set to be released on Nov. 20, 2015. Critics have went crazy over the single with The Telegraph and The Evening Standard rating the song a four-out-of-five stars. Emily Jupp of The Independent wrote: “Adele does what she does best, belting out emotional tales of love and loss much the same as with her last album, 21, but this time, with a little more self-forgiveness.” Everyone, Adele is back.
REFLECTION
In this article I am most proud of how fast and efficiently I completed the article. When the song came out people went crazy. It sold large amounts of the single were sold. Millions and millions of copies. I was able to gather information about the song and process and write a complete article on it. While again using inverted pyramid style, this article also uses LQTQ style by stating, not fully, how someone feels about the song; and then having their quote come after. Toward the end of the article some of my paragraphs began to become shorter. While converying the needed information, the article could have been longer in length. I believe this would have improved the article.
PERSONAL Life is filled with mistakes. We all have to make them in order to learn and to grow into a better, or worse, person. Some mistakes that we as human beings make, are inevitable. Others, however, are simply idiotic empty-headed mistakes. An act of impulse and unclear thinking. When we make these mistakes someone is bound to be let down. It’s just absolute shit when you let everyone, including yourself, down. Someone like me was born to make mistakes. Born to be the absolute, most perfect, model of what a mistake is. Something that just went wrong and truly cannot be fixed. I started my first mistake at the tender age of newborn. That’s right folks, I was born! Who would’ve believed that’s a mistake. Well when Plan-B and contraceptives fail, I think that’s a big glowing sign that reads, “MISTAKE!” Now, I’m sure my mom is very happy I was born. I’d like to assume anyway. But when you know you just weren’t supposed to happen, it weighs heavy on your mind. As I was growing up, mostly in my early elementary school years, I guess I could say I was a happy child. I had lots of friends and did what every child did. Then around the age of eight my mother and I moved out of my grandparent’s house. Not a huge deal, I was going to miss my friends, but whatever. From New Jersey to Pennsylvania we went. The area, a complete change. It may be prejudiced or stereotypical to say, but this is when I began to think that neighborhoods actually do define how people act. I went from a family that made well over one hundred-thousand a year, to a neighborhood of low income, ignorant fools. However, I quickly learned that these people were just as kind. Really, no difference. While living in Pennsylvania I had experiences that no child should have. I mean how cliche for me to say that, because doesn’t everyone? Yet, these truly weren’t something a child should see. My mother mad a man, who we called “Philly,” and whose real name was Edward. This man would become one of my sister’s father. Things seemed to be going extremely well. My mother was happy, I was happy, and then we found out she was pregnant. Such is life. And when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Or, even better, you bail out on your girlfriend because you can’t support another child. Yes another, of the many we didn’t know about. I guess in 2006 selling dope wasn’t that high paying of a job. Months went by and I guess you could say we were still doing okay. Then the big news came, Philly came back. Oh boy and did he come back madder than ever. As an eight-year-old boy I watched my mom endure endless abuse. Some things I’d just rather not bring up from my unconscious to write about. I would sit crying as the cops came inside and as he’d threaten to kill my mom they’d only tell him to leave. A woman will blood on her face just wasn’t a sure enough sing that maybe, just maybe, something was wrong. Now, how does this have to do with me being a let down again? Well after everything was over I was told that it was my fault. In order for them to be together he only wanted her and his kid. If I had learned about it then I could make the comparison of Hitler and the Jews. I just wasn’t the blue-eyed blonde that would make the cut. “You or him,” my mother would say. “I just had to choose you.” While on the road for our 18-hour drive one of my most hidden memories took place. This is a personal essay about me being a let down, so I’ll just relive every other worthless moment of my life. I decided against writing about it. Just know it made me feel like a dumpster. Just a place for people to throw all of their trash into. Thanks to that situation my entire adult life was ruined. Oh well. Then we moved to the Sunshine State. How perfect, it sounds like a new start. And for my mom that is exactly what is was. For me, I learned about bullying. I was always a loud kid. I talked loud, laughed loud, sang loud, you name it! No one ever minded, and who would? I was a kid. But Florida was, and is, worse than ever. I had my first racist experience, which lasted all year. I had my first crush, which was ruined. I had absolutely zero friends. How could this happen to someone like me? Who did I let down for this to happen? An answer that would soon lead to ever single problem from fourth grade up. I let myself down. I was gone. My first crush was a girl named Alyssa Atchely. I guess at nine she was pretty. But I was a “chubby nigger,” no way that I could’ve gotten her to like me. My fourth grade year was the first time I was also ever called things like, “queer, gay and faggot.” I had never heard those words before, excluding gay. And that I wasn’t. But even now my voice and some of the things I do are feminine, and that my friends is life. I was constantly picked on. I began to shut everyone out. I wasn’t happy at all. In the beginning of fifth grade I moved to Tampa with my mom’s new boyfriend, and now my mom’s third child’s father. It was a year long relationship. She was happy. Me? I was just going with the wind. I endured the safe suffering I did the year before. I didn’t expect anything new really. Abuse, abuse, abuse. Blah, blah, blah. End relationship. Back to Orange City we came.
ESSAY My first crush was a girl named Alyssa Atchely. I guess at nine she was pretty. But I was a “chubby nigger,” no way that I could’ve gotten her to like me. My fourth grade year was the first time I was also ever called things like, “queer, gay and faggot.” I had never heard those words before, excluding gay. And that I wasn’t. But even now my voice and some of the things I do are feminine, and that my friends is life. I was constantly picked on. I began to shut everyone out. I wasn’t happy at all. In the beginning of fifth grade I moved to Tampa with my mom’s new boyfriend, and now my mom’s third child’s father. It was a year long relationship. She was happy. Me? I was just going with the wind. I endured the safe suffering I did the year before. I didn’t expect anything new really. Abuse, abuse, abuse. Blah, blah, blah. End relationship. Back to Orange City we came. Middle school, I grew mean. I fought back, verbally. Everyday was an argument. While I excelled in school, my social life was Hell. Every year of life I was just learning that words can describe people, too. My favorite being fake. Every single person that I knew in middle school that I called a friend, and I do mean every single one of them, has told me that we were never really friends. They simply felt sorry. If you thought the kids of the Project X film threw the biggest party, guess again. I held a three-year-long pity party. Everyone invited. Life was like blowing bubbles, except “Bubbles” was the name of the old guy next door. I began to have my first suicidal thoughts in eight grade. At this point I wasn’t sure who I was letting down. Myself? My mom? Who? Instead of talking to me and asking if I was okay I was punished. After all, isn’t that the best way to cure depression, bipolar disorder and whatever the hell else is wrong with my head? By high school the arguments were what I thought was just part of life. It was no longer standing up for myself, but rather “the norm.” Freshman year I went to see a doctor for my mental health. I could list for hours everything that’s wrong with me. This time I let down my whole family, including myself. Why couldn’t I be normal? Be fully functional? I refrained from taking medicine because I did not want the side effects. Maybe I should have. I lived through freshman and sophomore years, I could make it all the way through. But my mental health has only been declining. Whatever. The same boring drama and boo-hoo happened junior year as well. Be honest, you really don’t want to hear, or read, every detail of my sob story. During the end of my junior year and that summer I was friends with a girl name Christina. We were best friends. We went everywhere together. Life was honestly good. I didn’t feel like drinking a gallon of bleach. People say it’s bad, but I’ve always found comfort in people. Hence my Walt Whitman, “I Sing the Body Electric” poem. Read it! Anyway, I was happy. Senior year started. I was beyond excited. Christina wasn’t going to be there, but I still knew it’d be a great time. I was wrong. I reconnected with old “friends,” if you will. Lexi, she goes by. We became really close again. I think Christina got jealous. Another one let down. How could I abandon her? Through other friends I met, “my boiz.” A bunch of cool skater kids. We all get along well. But with two of them is where I let EVERYONE around me down. I began to smoke marijuana. Really, I was just extremely depressed again. I felt dependent. I also became comfortable with the fact that I was bisexual. Really, who even cares anymore. I wanted to be happy. Well surprise surprise! Remember that talk we had about Caleb and Lexi? Yeah that! I was so angry because him and I were talking. What kind of best friend steals someone from theirs? Lexi, that’s what kind. I hated him, her and the whole damn world. We got over it, and him. Now I feel worse than ever. I let myself down, Caleb down, Lexi down. Kiflan, my mom, my step-dad, Emily Neusch, and everyone else who thought I had it going good. I just couldn’t fool them. I’ll never be happy. I’ll just be here doing what I want. Knowing if I was mentally healthy, it’d make me happy. It is what it is. I really let Caleb down. I cared for him a lot and I told people things he trusted me with. I wish I could go back. I wish I could just tell him a second chance is worth it. But I’m not Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken doesn’t have a magic remote control. “I was born to be the other woman,” or man. “Who belonged to no one, who belonged to everyone.” “Who had nothing, who wanted everything, with a fire for every experience and an obsession for freedom that it terrified me to the point that I couldn’t even talk about it,” (Lana Del Rey, Ride Monologue). I long for freedom of myself. A second chance at everything. To not let anyone down. To be the good guy.