Best of Fall Issue E-Dition 2020

Artist of the Edition: Ms. Ritz
by Angie Wang,
class of 2024
Ms. Ritz has loved art ever since she
was young. “Making things was
like my best friend,” said Ms. Ritz. As a
quiet child, she felt that art was the only
place where she could truly express
herself “when words wouldn’t always
come.” Teaching allows her to
communicate through her work while
also helping students learn to express
themselves through their work.
Ms. Ritz bases a lot of her work around
the ideas of home, family, emotions and
growth. Ms. Ritz created the piece
“Home” last year when she became “an
empty nester.” Her children had all
moved out of her house and her home
became “quiet for the first time in 25
Album Reviews
by Jake Grim,
class of 2021
In September, Slauson Malone quietly
dropped his sophomore solo project.
For those that are unaware of the
Standing on the Corner member,
Slauson Malone is an extremely talented
producer and musician hailing from Los
Angeles, California. He and his Standing
on the Corner partners have been leading
a quiet genre-bending revolution. In
2019, Slauson released his breakthrough
album A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018
which was personally one of my favorite
albums of last year. It was glitchy, offkilter,
and wholly original. It meshed
jazz, hip-hop, plunderphonics, and
sound collage. When I saw that Slauson
quietly released Vergangenheitsbewältigung
(Crater Speak), I was expecting an even
more odd and bizarre journey. However,
Slauson Malone dazzles again in 2020,
not through wild experimentation but
instead through heartfelt balladry.
Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater
Speak) is very much a musical companion
album to A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018.
It revisits similar sound loops, chords,
and melodic elements. Interestingly
though, this project sounds almost
entirely played by Slauson himself, as
opposed to sampled loops. The weird
sample splicing and glitch elements are
still in full effect, but they take a
significant backseat to real
instrumentation. The somber piano that
looms sadly across “I’m tired” sounds as
if it was recorded live off a microphone
in the room. Similarly, the acoustic
guitar playing on “THE MESSAGE 3:
Blood” is downright breathtaking. This
album reminds you that behind
Slasuson’s exceptional sampling is a
genuinely talented musician.
years.” By creating this piece, Ms. Ritz
was able to express the internal emotions
she experienced throughout this time.
She describes the branches breaking
through the house in her work as “an
emblem of the physical home that could
no longer contain [her children’s]
growth.” The cherries dangling from the
top branches are “symbols of beauty,
love, and a new start.” The bruised
cherries on the ground, however, are
“emblems of loss, moments of marks
missed in our lives.”
Ms. Ritz created “Heart/Home” when
the COVID-19 pandemic first hit,
inspired by her inner emotions. The
conflicting feelings of uncertainty and
love both play a part in her meaning of
this piece. She describes her feelings of
disorientation, fear, and uncertainty as
VERGANGENHEITSBEWÄLTIGUNG (CRATER SPEAK)
Slauson Malone
On A Quiet Farwell, 2016-
2018, Slauson rarely sang or rapped, and
if he did it was buried under layers of
production.
Alternatively,
Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater Speak)
shows Slauson’s captivating vocals and
writing. Whether talking about being
stuck in life, personal identity, issues
with drugs, or his identity as an African-
American man, Slauson’s abstract
delivery is refreshing and poetic in a
sense. On “Smile #6”, Slauson’s words
bounce as he details himself as being
“stuck in a joke” in reference to his
position in life. His feelings of anxiety
and concern are relatable to all people
especially during times of crisis such as
now. Slauson’s concluding statement on
the project is “Darkness in my smile,
shadows in my speech/Thunder in my
tongue, lightning in my teeth” which is
also perhaps a reference to the storm that
brews inside his inner psyche. Although
the main focus of Slauson’s music is the
production, his poetic lyrics and delivery
cannot be understated.
The Verdict: For its genre-bending
instrumentation and abstract lyrics, I
give Vergangenheitsbewältigung (Crater
Speak) an 8.6/10.
“the uprooting of [her] heart.” This
sudden shift in her life not only impacted
her, but also her sons, who moved back
home from across the country. The
“uprooting” she mentions applies to her
heart’s feeling and the physical
“uprooting” that her sons experienced.
While initially overwhelmed by the
sudden change, her love for her sons
grew. The title “Heart/Home” comes
from Ms. Ritz’s personal belief that home
and heart are interchangeable. To her,
home is wherever love is.
The materials that Ms. Ritz uses play a
part in the meaning of these pieces. One
of the first things noticed about these
pieces is the two heart shaped structures.
The two hearts are similar in form, but
when viewers look closer, they can see
that the two hearts differ in material and
texture. “I like to use a lot of different
things and then unify them with color”
said Ritz. Ms. Ritz uses many different
textures to “evoke different kinds of
feelings,” but unites the pieces with a
deep red color.
PUNISHER
Phoebe Bridgers
by Jake Grim,
class of 2021
The emotional potency conveyed in
Phoebe Bridgers’s album, Punisher,
is unmatched. In my opinion, this is a
serious contender for Album of the Year.
Phoebe has been growing in the indie
rock scene ever since her debut album
Stranger in the Alps in 2017. While I
recognized her talent on this album, I
was not really blown away by it. In
retrospect, I realize that Stranger in the
Alps was a direct precursor to the
brilliance of Punisher. The enchanting
production across the album’s eleven
songs is captivating. The acoustic guitar
harmonies on “Graceland Too'' and the
blaring trumpets in the hard-rocking
“Kyoto” are perfect examples of this.
While the production is endlessly
gorgeous, the true star of the album is
Phoebe’s lyricism. Detailing turbulent
family life, damaging romantic
relationships, and social anxiety, Phoebe
is emotionally captivating in every song.
SONGS
Adrianne Lenker
by Jake Grim,
class of 2021
Adrianne Lenker’s Songs is a project
that captures beauty in simplicity,
which is why it is unique. While
Adrianne has experienced success leading
her band Big Thief, Songs sticks out as
wholly her own.
Taking inspiration from legendary
artists such as Elliot Smith and Nick
Drake, Adrianne’s main tools across
Songs is her guitar and her voice. While
there may be other sounds or light
percussion, Adrianne layers multiple
intricate acoustic guitar patterns to
create beauty. A particular highlight of
Adrianne’s guitar prowess is the intro to
“my angel” as the guitar gently mixes
folk and jazz into the void of nature. In
addition, Adrianne’s unique vocals seem
to be completely natural and gentle over
each track. Her trembling voice,
common in her work with Big Thief, can
be found on tracks like “come”.
Adrianne’s guitar and vocals on Songs
combine to create a raw and delicate
tapestry of music.
Not only is the sound of this album
great, but Adrianne’s lyrics are both
touching and heartbreaking. On Songs,
Arts
While both “Home” and “Heart/
Home” have similar elements, Ms. Ritz
doesn’t consider “Heart/Home” as an
extension of her previous piece “Home.”
Instead, the pieces are “part of a series of
work regarding family, love, growth, and
the transitory nature of growing a family
over time” said Ms. Ritz. She chooses
symbols that have universal meanings
and explores them in her personal terms.
She aims for viewers to observe and
analyze the symbols, relating them to
their own lives.
Ms. Ritz hopes that her work “evokes a
gut reaction” in viewers. When people
first see her work, they may recognize
elements that they are familiar with -
such as the shape or the color - but then
deconstruct the meaning as they notice
more details. Though people might not
know Ms. Ritz’s personal meaning to her
pieces, they are still able to interpret the
meaning of the piece according to their
own experiences. Be sure to check out
Ms. Ritz’s piece ”Heart/Home” in the
Arts Center!
If I had to name one stand-out song, the
tale behind “Saviour Complex” is truly
heartbreaking and cathartic. Phoebe
details how she attempts to save those
around her despite destroying herself in
the process. It is a hauntingly beautiful
ballad that cannot be understated.
The Verdict: For its raw emotion,
beautiful production, and Phoebe’s
stellar performances, I give Punisher a
9.1/10.
Adrianne reflects and meditates on her
sexuality, her love, her connection with
nature, and her feelings of loneliness.
Adrianne is both poetic and down to
earth throughout each acoustic ballad.
On the beautiful song “Anything”,
Adrianne sings “Staring down the barrel
of the hot sun/Shining with the sheen of
the shotgun/Careless little swinging sun/
Joyous rays, we wanna come.” This
poignant mixture of nature with personal
feeling makes up the majority of the
album.
The Verdict: For its refreshing
simplicity, beautiful acoustic palette, and
heart-filled lyricism, I give Songs a
8.7/10.