music – Page 2 – The Western Howl

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer

It’s been almost four full years since the Covid-19 pandemic, when lives were completely changed in an instant — forcing people to stay inside, away from friends, family and the things they love most. One of the many things that were missed was amazing concerts. This year, artists and bands everywhere can finally perform, once again, with no restrictions. Here are the summer concerts coming to Oregon:

June Concerts:

Vampire Weekend — The “Only God Was Above Us” tour is June 19 at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater located in Bend, Oregon.

Third Eye Blind & Yellowcard — The “Summer Gods” tour is taking place June 14 and will also be at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend.

Cavetown- Indie-rock artist, Cavetown, is stopping by June 14 to perform at McMenamins Historic Edgefield Manor in Troutdale, Oregon.

Cage The Elephant — Cage The Elephant is performing their “Neon Pill” tour at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater June 24.

July Concerts:

Noah Kahan — Up-and-coming artist, Noah Kahan, is performing his “We’ll All Be Here Forever” tour July 1. The venue is located in Ridgefield, Washington, but if one can make the drive it would be worth it.

YG — Rap artist, YG, is coming to the Roseland Theater July 10 in Portland.

Amtrac — American DJ, Amtrac, is bringing his electric music to Portland at the Holocene nightclub, on July 11.

Blink-182 with Pierce The Veil — Mainstream rock band, Blink-182, shocked the world when they announced their “One More Time” album tour, featuring legendary rock group, Pierce The Veil. This tour will be July 13 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

A Day To Remember — Florida rock band, A Day To Remember, is performing their “The Least Anticipated Album” tour July 14 at the Moda Center.

Portugal The Man — Adding to their hundreds of previous tours, Portugal The Man is performing July 20 at the McMenamins Historic Edgefield Manor located in Troutdale, Oregon.

August Concerts:

Alanis Morissette — The “Triple Moon Tour” will be taking place Aug. 4 at the Moda Center.

Wallows — The “Model Tour” is Aug. 6, and the group will be at the Moda Center in Portland.

Jhene Aiko — Performing her “Magic Hour” tour, Jhene Aiko will be taking the stage at the Moda Center Aug. 8. Tickets are selling fast, so get them while still available.

Olivia Rodrigo — Recent up-and-coming pop artist, Olivia Rodrigo, will be performing her “GUTS” world tour in Portland at the Moda Center Aug. 10.

Fitz And The Tantrums — This iconic pop group will be performing their “Good Nights” tour Aug. 12 at the Roseland Theater.

Hobo Johnson & The Lovemakers — Rap artist, Hobo Johnson, is bringing his crew to perform at the Roseland Theater Aug. 14.

Foo Fighters — Legendary group, Foo Fighters, is performing their “Everything Or Nothing At All” tour, Aug. 16, at Providence Park in Portland.

Peso Pluma — Latin artist, Peso Pluma, will be bringing his “Exodo” tour to the Moda Center Aug. 17.

Elle King — King is taking the stage Aug. 20 at the Revolution Hall located in Portland.

Twenty One Pilots — This iconic rock group is performing their “Clancy World Tour” at the Moda Center Aug. 21.

$NOT w/ Cochise — These two up-and-coming rap artists are performing at the Roseland Theater Aug. 22.

Kid Cudi — “INSANO: ENGAGE THE RAGE” tour will be stopping at the Portland Moda Center Aug. 22.

$uicideboy$ — The $uicideboy$ are bringing their highly anticipated “Grey Day” tour to the Moda Center Aug. 25. Tickets are selling fast, get them while still possible.

Dave Matthews Band — Still performing after 27 years, the Dave Matthews Band will be continuing on their legacy at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater Aug. 27.

Kings Of Leon — The “Can We Please Have Fun” tour is coming to Portland this summer as the band will be performing at the Moda Center Aug. 28.

Bonus September Concerts:

Jelly Roll — Performing his amazing “Beautifully Broken” tour, Jelly Roll will be performing at the Moda Center Sept. 1.

Def Leppard w/ Journey — These iconic rock groups took the world by storm announcing this duo tour. They will be performing at the Moda Center Sept. 3.

Future w/ Metro Boomin — Rap artists, Future and Metro Boomin, are performing their “We Trust You” tour at the Moda Center Sept. 7.

The Script — This soul rock group will be performing at the Roseland Theater Sept. 8.

Mitski — Alternative artist, Mitski, is bringing her beautiful music to Portland Sept. 21, performing at the Moda Center.

Childish Gambino — Shocking fans everywhere with his “New World” tour, Gambino will be performing at the Moda Center Sept. 24.

Green Day — This alternative rock band will be performing their “Saviors Tour” Sept. 25 at Providence Park.

Boogie w/ a Hoodie — Performing his “Better Off Alone” tour, Hoodie will be taking the stage at the Moda Center Sept. 25.

Contact the author at howlstaffwriter@wou.edu

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TTPD

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was finally released April 19. During the announcement speech at the Grammy Awards show Feb. 4, Swift held up two fingers in a peace sign — alluding to her double album drop — when announcing her eleventh studio album. Fast forward to meeting Swift at midnight, fans listening to the 16 tracks of “The Tortured Poets Department” were surprised at 2 a.m. when Swift dropped an extra 15 songs.

The production of the album rested in the hands of Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff of the band Bleachers, longtime friends and collaborators of Swift who heavily utilized synths, keyboard tunes and distortion techniques. Track one, “Fortnight,” is sung alongside Austin Post, also known as Post Malone, while Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine is featured on track eight, “Florida!!!”

The album itself appears to be the lovechild of Swift’s last original album release “Midnights” and the pandemic-created sister albums “Folklore” and “Evermore.” While officially being a pop genre album, much of the album is backed by a soft piano and utilizes strong lyricism as Swift sings about various tragic topics, such as heartbreak, abandonment and the nuance of fame.

The 31 songs have topped the charts, being the first album on Spotify to reach one billion streams within a week as well as being the platform’s most-streamed album within one day at 300 million. Despite breaking records, the album has been surveyed heavily in the media — with many fans turned anti-Swiftie and strangers criticizing what they consider to be odd lines, off-beat tunes and a lack of true poeticism, rather antithetical to the tortured poet of “The Tortured Poets Department.”

However, most critically condemned is Swift’s apparent past relationship with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, with multiple songs dedicated to their previous interloping. Although nobody knows definitively which songs are about Healy, many fans presume at least “Fresh Out The Slammer,” “But Daddy I Love Him” and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” to be in regards to Healy — with the latter being a direct descriptor of Healy’s behavior during and after their time together.

“The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” the second installment of the album, contains the song “thanK you aIMee,” which, in all capital letters, spells out KIM — which fans presume to be about Kim Kardashian and their nearly decade-long feud.

Overall, the album explores the themes of unrest, misunderstanding, dying romance and Swift’s complex relationship with fame. Very few songs, if any, are considered joyful pop hits, and the most upbeat song of all, “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” is likely one of the most “miserable.” It’s an album for the tortured poets of the world reeling from personal loss in one way or another — and, according to the Swifties, more is coming May 3. Although, in typical Swift fashion, she’s likely got more tricks up her sleeve to keep the guesses coming and the songs streaming.

8/10.

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.mail.edu

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Losing music subculture

Written by: Lili Minato | Freelancer

Throughout the late 20th and the early 21st century, subcultures that existed around music genres were very prevalent and impactful to many, especially young adults. Those who were considered different or outcasted could easily find a community of like-minded individuals. These groups all involved fan culture and listening to a particular genre of music.

Punk subculture, which originated from punk rock, is the first and one of the most notable of its kind. Punks share common political views — such as anti-government and anti-corporation ideologies, as well as a similar fashion sense and music taste.

Akin to all music-related cultures, punk has hundreds of branches of subcultures for a multitude of people to identify with. They may have different styles or worldviews, but they all share the same history and origin.

Other music subcultures include, but are not limited to the following: goth, hip hop, punk, emo or heavy metal.

While many people still participate and exist in these subcultures, there is a huge decline in engagement compared to the late 20th century. The culprit of the loss is none other than music streaming services such as Spotify.

Thousands of new songs are uploaded to Spotify every day, with many of these falling under niche subgenres and categories that Spotify creates to keep said music organized. Spotify then pushes these subgenres onto users to make an individualized listening experience.

Alex Michaels, a senior at Western and habitual Spotify user, expressed his distaste for Spotify subgenres and their classification system.“(Spotify’s classification system) is a mess,” Michaels stated.

“A major difference between the Spotify subgenres and just the idea of subgenres in general is often subgenres are created by people in that community, who listen to that type of music or create that type of music and the subgenre is a reflection of that,” Michaels said.

Corporate-created subgenres lack the authenticity, community and history that real musical movements had. Spotify subgenres don’t have any real-life impact.

“Genre is functional, it tells you what to expect from this type of music. Sometimes it can tell you how it was created or specific trademarks of that genre of music. There are characteristics of that genre and then that allows artists to play with those trademarks and characteristics and create something genre-defining or genre-defying,” said Michaels.

In a final comparison between the new genres and the old, Michaels shared, “Spotify genres don’t have any functionality, their definitions are mostly vibe associations or specific artist examples, and there is no hard criteria.”

As Spotify and other streaming platforms continue to grow in popularity and users, as well as the daily increase of new genres, the survival rate of classic music subcultures comes into question.

Will genre subcultures continue to survive or will they become lost to time?

Contact the author at lminato22@mail.wou.edu

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Bats and blood

Written by: Lili Minato | Freelancer

“Cold” — The Cure

“A Forest” — The Cure

“Marian” — Sisters of Mercy

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead” — Bauhaus

“In the Night” — Bauhaus

“Spider and The Fly” — London After Midnight

“I Don’t Want To Fall In Love” — She Wants Revenge

“The Suffering of Spiders” — Traitrs

“Nine While Nine” — Sisters of Mercy

“Walking on Both Sides” — Pink Turns Blue

“Bloodsucker” — Paralysed Age

“Human Fly” — The Cramps

“Each Other” — This Cold Night

“There’s a Girl in the Corner” — Robert Smith

“Fantasmas” — Twin Tribes

“Slowdive” — Siouxsie and the Banshees

“Lust” — Boy Harsher

“Appealing Skies” — Corpus Delicti

“True Romantics” — Lebanon Hanover

“My Favorite Black Cat” — Lebanon Hanover

“Jasmine And Rose” — Clan of Xymox

Contact the author at lminato22@mail.wou.edu

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Valentine’s with a sprinkle of angst

Written by Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

Tired of the lovesick wailing on every radio in the first two weeks of February? Try this playlist for a refreshing taste of upbeat and rocky Valentine’s Day angst.

“We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)” — fun., Janelle Monáe

“Thnks fr th Mmrs” — Fall Out Boy

“Applause” — Lady Gaga

“New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)” — Taylor Swift

“Blow Me (One Last Kiss) – Radio Edit” — P!nk

“Mr. Brightside” — The Killers

“Friends” — Band Of Skulls

“Hello – Acoustic” — GROUPLOVE

“So What” — P!nk

“Under You” — Foo Fighters

“Let’s Dance to Joy Division” — The Wombats

“Shake Me Down” — Cage The Elephant

“Crazy Youngsters” — Ester Dean

“Kiwi” — Quarters of Change

“The Middle” — Jimmy Eat World

“Governess Shadow” — July Talk

“Mistakes” — Sharon Van Etten

“Cough Syrup” — Young the Giant

“Seventeen” — Jimmy Eat World

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

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Soft rock for the soul

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

“Everlong” — Foo Fighters

“Photograph” — Nickelback

“100 Year” — Five For Fighting

“Where The Streets Have No Name” — U2

“Lovers in Japan – Osaka Sun Remix” — Coldplay

“My Hero” — Foo Fighters

“Stop and Stare” — OneRepublic

“Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” — Train

“Use Somebody” — Kings of Leon

“Viva La Vida” — Coldplay

“Bitter Sweet Symphony – Remastered” — The Verve

“Sweet Disposition” — The Temper Trap

“Wonderwall” — Oasis

“Yellow” — Coldplay

“For the First Time” — The Script

“She Will Be Loved” — Maroon 5

“With Or Without You” — U2

“Iris” — The Goo Goo Dolls

“Clocks” — Coldplay

“Wherever You Will Go” — The Calling

“You And Me” — Lifehouse

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu.

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Where nature and human nature intertwine

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

I grew up country. I’m not talking suburban outskirts country, but rather an unincorporated town, population four hundred and twelve, hay bales on the side of the road kind of country. The kind that someone would have to go out of their way to get to.

Yet, it was within that capsule of limited population and small-town idealism that I got to see the wonder of simplistic living in my backyard. I didn’t grow up with technology, so my days were spent flipping through paperback books, playing outside with my sister and dad and finding any part of the earth to mess with outside.

We foraged for mushrooms and wild blackberries, or put on big rubber boots and stomped in the mud. We stared up at the sky, rode four-wheelers out in the large, unoccupied field in our backyard and climbed a huge tree with my dad, who built platforms for us to sit down and take in the expansive view of the meadow.

When I got into middle school, all of a sudden, phones and tablets were introduced to my world. I met people who spent their childhood behind a computer monitor, or playing on concrete sidewalks or “fake playgrounds,” as I like to call them. Who on earth would need to build all that when you could have trees and dirt piles and slug kickin’ in your backyard?

My classmates in middle and high school told me that it was shameful to have a country home, embarrassing to have grown up without using Snapchat or playing video games, and I was young, so I believed them.

When COVID-19 forced everyone back into their homes, I suddenly had the opportunity to travel back in time and revisit my childhood. I stayed at home, and I spent time outside where my old friends, the flowers, the grass and the sunlight were. I could forage for berries, lay in the dirt and spend time in the home that I was once ashamed of. It was then that I realized — there is no life more fulfilling than this.

I felt horribly, deeply saddened by those who didn’t grow up the way I did — the people who spent their time trapped in concrete jungles, surrounded by asphalt and car engines and Xbox systems — and, frankly, it just didn’t seem like the right way to live. I was mad that at some point in my life, I was envious of the people who lived the way they did.

As I grew up, I saw more of the world. Perhaps the most eye-opening experience for me was traveling to Hartford/New Haven, Connecticut. When I arrived there, the sky was the wrong shade of blue. It was pale, tinted with a sickly yellow, and I felt unsettled. I figured out a short while later that it was air pollution. I looked around and all I saw was concrete and pollution — a dulled out life. I knew that I wouldn’t be happy living there. It felt suffocating.

My belief system after COVID had only been reinforced after seeing city life in different areas of the US, and I had come to the very important conclusion that the world feels best where it is untouched. We, as human beings, have destroyed, pillaged and burned the earth. We have buried it in cement, poisoned it with exhaust, littered it with plastics and oils and ruined a very large portion of what used to be, in my opinion, something precious.

But the inherent need for us as human beings to connect with the earth cannot be ignored. We are one with the world and we cannot exist in a society where Mother Nature is being plundered for profit and reshaped at the cost of our rivers, mountains, trees and fields.

What I would encourage everyone to do, at least, in the most serious way possible — touch grass. Go drive to the coast and stare at the ocean, or lay down in the dirt, take vegetables from a nearby crop and run away like a Hobbit. Whatever inspires us to traverse outside of the house, outside of the city and into the natural world, existing as designed.

As I sit here writing this article, I know a large portion of readers are not the biggest fans of country music. But Keith Urban sang something that I remember every so often because it used to play on the radio as I spent my childhood running around in the great outdoors:

“I’m gonna kick off my shoes and run in bare feet. Where the grass and the dirt and the gravel all meet. Goin’ back to the well, gonna visit old friends. And feed my soul where the blacktop ends.”

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

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Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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Summer ’24 concerts

TTPD

Losing music subculture

Bats and blood

Valentine’s with a sprinkle of angst

Soft rock for the soul

Where nature and human nature intertwine

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