by Alexandra Augustak
In spite of recent events, many faithful Grammy watchers still ask questions as to who Arcade Fire is, and why they won, arguably, the most esteemed award in the music industry. But the questions do not stop there, since most are skeptical of Esperanza Spalding’s victory against the likes of Justin Bieber and Drake for the Best New Artist award. Even so, such events prompted an array of blogs and twitters dedicated soulfully to mocking how unknown these musicians are, while simultaneously accusing them of being undeserving of the award. But what these bloggers don’t seem to realize is that there is a whole other world of music outside of what they hear on the radio. While it is celebrated that people are so loyal to everything mainstreem, it is questionable if their ignorance is keeping them away from viewing music as a much larger picture.
“Who is Arcade Fire?” is a question that would insult any indie music appreciator before the Grammy’s. Now that the award show surprised many viewers by giving the Indie-Rock band the highest honor, many question how Arcade Fire could have won against music power monsters, like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. Many people claim that such awards should be given to musicians who actually made an impact on the industry. However, many argue that the Grammy’s are not about the effects of a certain artist, but of the quality of the music that they produce. Those who think that awards should be given out due to the popularity of the artist and their impact on the industry should probably stick to watching The People’s Choice awards, which seems to have the same opinion.
The worst part about this situation is that these people who haven’t heard a single song by Arcade Fire prior to their performance on the show, automatically denounce it as bad music just because the band is not known as well. Because of our culture, it is seen that most people’s impression of a band depends on their popularity.
Mainstreem music seems to play as a safe haven for many today; knowing that the listener cannot be disappointed by whatever is playing on the radio. But such a mind set like that could keep quality music from ever being heard by the average person. After all my father once told me that “the worst thing you can do when it comes to music, is to limit yourself to one specific genre.” This seems to be true, since it is a lot more rewarding to have an open mind to things such as music; you will find so many more songs and artists that you would have just ignored otherwise. So the next time you create a new playlist, try making it a little more diverse than usual, in the end you may find yourself to be pleasantly surprised.
On the evening of Friday May 8th several music-loving teens assembled in the school auditorium to support “Jamnesty”. Jamnesty is an event hosted by the Amnesty International club, which runs not only in our school, but in the rest of the world. They raise money to protect human rights and bring awareness to people who don’t know about or understand the injustices in the world. On Friday night, several student bands each played a small set. The featured bands were The Branford Ballers, The Green Team, The Red Tide, All Else Fails, Vincent’s Late Arrival, and Flashbang. They played a variety of different genres ranging from metal, jazz, funk, rock, and alternative. The Branford Ballers did a great job pumping up the crowd with their rendition of “99 Red Balloons” and the audience was surely quite impressed when Matt Schell from The Red Tide played his “keytar”. Vincent’s Late Arrival featured Shane Emery singing the band’s original song “Fading Away” which made it hard for Flashbang’s Tao Markovich’s to compete with his James Bond influenced entrance. Certain songs got everyone dancing, and after a few songs, a few people even danced with the bands on stage. Cole Freeman, from The Red Tide, was “really pleased with the whole result. We were able to pull together a good show from very little prep time and organization.” It was a great night. Everyone was there to support their friends, support a great cause and have an all around fun time.
THE BUZZ 