By Kaydence Wilkinson

The trunk of the car slammed shut with a resounding thump. It had been a long day climbing in the American Fork Canyon in Utah, and we were all ready to get home and shower. Our good mood, however, was stopped short when my sister, Kaiya, hesitantly uttered “Hey, guys, I think we just locked the keys in the car.” We had to be at a Ben Rector concert in just two hours, and we were stranded on the side of the road with just our phones, climbing shoes and water bottles.

Several months earlier, I had received an email from Spotify informing me that tickets were available to purchase for the Ben Rector tour. I had excitedly skimmed through concert dates and times and was thrilled to see that he would be performing in Texas. Unfortunately, when I presented this discovery to my mom, she told me that the date just wouldn’t work for us. I was ready to give up, as there were no more concerts in Texas, when one of the concert locations caught my eye: Utah. I have an older sister, brother, and sister-in-law living in Utah, and my mom suggested the possibility that I fly to Utah, go to the concert with my sister, and then fly back home in time for school the next week. I latched on to this idea and a few minutes later, I had a two-way plane ticket on Allegiant Air and tickets for a concert on Oct. 7 in Sandy, Utah.

My weekend started out amazing. I flew out to Utah, ate at all my favorite Utah restaurants, watched chick-flicks with my siblings, and got a preview of college life with my older brother and sister. Everything was going according to plan…until the key incident. After we locked the keys in the car and became stranded in the mountains, I was worried that I was going to miss the concert that I had flown all the way to Utah for. Fortunately, we were able to contact a friend who found the spare key and drove it up the canyon. Unfortunately, this put us hours behind schedule. We had planned to arrive at the concert an hour early to get great seats, however, under the circumstances, we were grateful to be sliding into our seats at the outdoor amphitheater just moments before the spotlight illuminated the stage for Jordy Searcy’s opening act.

I didn’t know much about Searcy before the concert, but I was very impressed with his songs and his performance. He sang several sweet songs about his fiancé that immediately made me a fan and left a lasting impression. Next, it was time for Ben Rector to take the stage. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and the excitement in the air was as palpable as the cool Utah breeze when Rector sang his first song. Right off the bat, it was clear that Rector was a genuinely funny and good guy. He cracked jokes with every song and expressed his gratitude that we had come to his concert. He also worked hard to keep the audience engaged and involved. We clapped along to the chorus of one of the songs, we were taught a two-part harmony to sing along with him, and we even whistled as he sang. Unlike other concerts where the artists sometimes change their songs so that they are almost unrecognizable, Rector’s songs stayed true to the originals, even when they had an acoustic twist—or in one case, a harmonica twist. His songs were familiar but interesting, and I hung on to his every note.

One of my favorite parts of the show was near the middle when he paused the concert to do a Q&A with the audience. Rector was asked questions such as what his second favorite song was, what his favorite color was, and if he watched “Bluey” with his kids. His response to the last question was that he doesn’t get to watch “Bluey”  with them very often, but when he does, he admits that “Bluey”  is an “awesome show.” Near the end of the Q&A, an audience member asked him to sing an older song, one of my personal favorites: “Extraordinary Magic.” He paused at this question, and the audience waited anxiously to see how he would respond. Finally, he turned around and asked the two men playing with him if they knew “Extraordinary Magic” on the guitar. Searcy shockingly announced that he did, and with Rector’s disclaimer that he hadn’t played the song in over a year, they began. I didn’t even notice the chill in the air as I listened to the soft melodies drifting across the amphitheater. The moment truly was extraordinarily magical, and everyone could feel it. As soon as the last chord rang out, everyone, including Rector, cheered like crazy, and one by one, every audience member stood up to give them a standing ovation.

From a ‘90s country song cover to a choreographed “Little Mermaid” mashup, Ben Rector sang a song for everyone. He, his guitarist, and his pianist were jamming to the beat with giant smiles on their faces through every song, surpassing even the energy of the audience. There was no smoke, flashing lights, or giant movie screens. The concert setup was simple: just three guys on a stage. Nothing flashy was needed; their songs simply stood for themselves. Song after song, they proved themselves to be likable, genuine people. The barrier that had once separated the artist from the audience crumbled, and by the end, everyone in the audience felt as if they and Rector were old friends.

The sun had long sunk below the horizon as the time had flown by when it was time for Ben Rector to sing his final song. He prefaced this song with how grateful he was for the kindness of people in Utah and their enthusiasm for his music. Rector went on to say that in a Q&A from a concert in Utah several years ago, someone had asked him to sing the “Utah song” and he’d had no idea what that was. So, he decided to write a Utah song. As he performed it, the lyrics had everyone laughing out loud and jamming along with them; it was truly the best note to end on.

As my sister and I slowly packed up our chairs and made our way to the car, I knew that night would become one of my favorite memories. The music was incredible, the atmosphere was enchanting (despite the cold), and Ben Rector was a captivating performer. All in all, going to the concert for Ben Rector’s “Old Friends Acoustic Tour” was a solid 10/10 experience—definitely worth flying to Utah for.

By Julia Seiden

As soon as I got that well-recognized notification that “Taylor Swift has made a post” on Instagram, I immediately clicked on it, just like I always do. When I saw that the post was announcing that her Eras Tour was coming to theaters, I scrambled to my local movie theater’s website to buy tickets. Months later, I got to my movie theater 30 minutes before showtime  to buy Taylor Swift merchandise and meet my friends, who I got to see the movie with. Everyone in the theater was dressed to their best in glittery dresses and Taylor Swift shirts. As I sat down in my seat and looked at the menu with Taylor-Swift-inspired drinks, I felt a thrill of excitement, as I was about to relive one of the best nights of my life.

Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” is a concert film that goes through all of Swift’s “eras”. It was filmed at the Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles which was her last stop on the U.S. leg of the tour. According to Ticketmaster, more than 2 million tickets were sold on the day of the presale, and they quickly sold out within 24 hours. The concert film is a good way to get to experience the concert for those who didn’t get to attend.

The film itself is a three-hour-long phenomenon and goes through Swift’s music career. Before this tour, Swift had done a single tour for each new album that she had put out, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was not able to go on tour for the new albums that she had put out. To make up for this, she decided to combine all of her eras/albums into one big tour. Her eras are composed of all of her different albums and range from one to seven songs in each era.

Personally, I loved the film because as someone who went to the actual concert, I felt like it was an incredible way to relive and experience the concert again. My seats at the concert were in the lower bowl so I had a pretty good view, but the movie allowed me to get to experience different angles of the show and take a closer look at all of the magic that went on behind the tour.

Diving into the elements of this film, one aspect that I absolutely loved was the actual editing of the movie. For example, during the “Reputation” era, there was a big 3-D snake edited into the film to make it look like it was wrapped around the stage. There was also some editing with the text that would announce each era as it came on. I thought that the editing enhanced the movie greatly because it allowed us viewers to get to be entranced by the visuals and keep the film organized and fun.

Another aspect that I loved about the movie was how it allowed me to see different angles of the show and get to notice things that I never noticed before the movie. Something that I didn’t pay much attention to during the actual concert and the videos that I saw on the internet was how intricate and beautiful the actual sets were. During the “Evermore” era, I was able to see the incredible backdrops of tall trees and a forest, and during the “Folklore” era, I was able to see the unbelievable cabin. Another thing that can be seen is also the stage visuals which honestly took my breath away. A guitar can be seen on the actual stage during the “Fearless” era, and I could see the iconic dive that she does into a hole in the stage even better during the movie.

Some other things that I never noticed before watching the film were the detailed costumes, dancers and backup vocalists. The concert itself was a very overwhelming experience and there was a lot of information to take in, so I never got to fully see Swift’s costumes or appreciate her backup dancers and vocalists. This movie allowed me to actually see the precise details on her bodysuit in the “Lover” era, and how her “Folklore” nail was chipped. I also loved getting to see her incredibly talented dancers who made their presence known with their amazing choreography. There was always so much happening on the stage and I feel like I previously hadn’t paid much attention to the actual backup vocalists but with these closer angles on the stage, I was able to watch them put on a remarkable performance and hear them better.

If I had one complaint about this whole film, I would honestly say that I wish that she hadn’t cut some songs from her setlist. The film is just about three hours-long and I understand that to keep the time short, it was necessary to cut some songs out of the film. However, some of my favorite songs that she performed live were cut and I would’ve loved to get to experience those songs again.

I personally feel like this movie was a phenomenal way to relive “The Eras Tour” and get to hear some of my favorite songs again. For those who didn’t get to go to one of Swift’s concerts, the movie is obviously not the same thing, but if you have fun people in your theater, you can sing and dance along together and get to watch it on a big screen with your friends as well as listen to the songs on loud speakers.

Overall, I thought it was such a fun movie to watch because it wasn’t like your traditional movie theater experience where you sit and quietly watch the screen. I got to sing, dance, talk and clap along with everyone else. I would for sure recommend this film to anyone who has been to the concert and wants to relive it, fans who didn’t get to go to the concert, and also people who aren’t fans because you never know how this movie can change you.

By Cason Johnson

Olivia Rodrigo’s new album “GUTS” has made quite a name for itself, mainly because I have to be reminded of “how good it is” every single day by my Olivia-Rodrigo-enthusiast classmates. Eventually I got so sick of hearing about it that I finally decided to listen to this “perfect album that can’t rival any other.” Although I’ve never listened to Olivia Rodrigo a day in my life, this list will cover all 12 songs in her new album, which I’ll be ranking from 1-10. With all that being said, I give you the unofficial “GUTS” album review.

• “get him back!”

This one starts out slow, but gets hot fast. While the beat may be sluggish, you can really feel the emotion she puts into her voice throughout the entirety of the song. As the title suggests, Rodrigo sings her heart out about how much she misses her ex-boyfriend, but wants her sweet revenge for the breakup. I love how you can feel how vengeful, yet heartbroken she sounds; you can almost relate to how betrayed she feels. The most interesting theme of the song is the back and forth emotions of hatred and love.

Favorite lyric: “Wanna kiss his face (but then I, I want to get him back) With an uppercut (but then I, I want to get him back) I wanna meet his mom (but then I, I want to get him back) just to tell her her son sucks”

7/10

• “lacy”

In all honesty, “lacy” doesn’t really hit home for me. While the message is there, I don’t really care all that much about the song. Don’t get me wrong, I love the message, how complicated feelings of jealousy and idolization intertwine with each other. However, you won’t see me blasting this going 65 mph down I-35 anytime soon. To summarize, sometimes we can hate what we love about others.

Favorite lyric: “I’m losing it lately I feel your compliments like bullets on skin”

4/10

• “the grudge”

While this may not be my favorite of all time, I have to give major credit to Rodrigo. This song gave me legit chills while listening. What I love the most about this song is the way Rodrigo pours her very soul into her voice; you can even hear her getting choked up singing her own song. The message Rodrigo puts out there really stands out, about how her attachment to someone she loved won’t disappear, like she’s being drowned by it. But still, I don’t really vibe with this song all that much because the pacing just feels repetitive. It sort of seems like the same chorus over and over again until the song finally ends. Of course, though, credit where credit is due, I can tell Rodrigo put all of her heart into this song.

Favorite lyric: “And I know in my heart, hurt people, hurt people. And we both drew blood, but, man, those cuts were never equal”

5/10

• “vampire”

This song is definitely one of my favorites in the album. The drums and the guitar that come in really seal the deal— I’m a big fan of the variety in this song. “vampire” really draws in the listener with its constant slow buildup of melody and tempo, with constant choruses to keep things interesting. Rodrigo compels the feeling of being emotionally drained by her lover, hence the name “vampire.” This lover Rodrigo sings about is described as being known for being a major red flag among her friends, but she fell for him anyway and ended up getting left behind. Although “vampire” follows the trend in this album for being slow paced, somehow it’s difficult to notice how slow it really is because of the catchiness, making for a more enjoyable listening experience.

Favorite lyric: “‘Cause I’ve made some real big mistakes. But you make the worst one look fine. I should’ve known it was strange. You only come out at night”

7/10

• “logical”

Two plus two might equal five in this song, but if I keep listening I won’t make it out alive. Definitely not feeling this one, Its repetitive melody and lack of instrumental variety doesn’t really speak to me as much as some of the previous songs on her album do. I couldn’t really understand any main point the song was trying to make rather than how Rodrigo might’ve been misguided by another lover. Overall, this song is kind of basic, although it has some interesting wordplay here and there. But still, I would likely skip this one if it came up in my playlist.

Favorite lyric: “The sky is green, the grass is red and you mean all those words you said. I’m sure that girl is really your friend”

2/10

• “love is embarrassing”

An absolute banger. I would skip through half my playlist just to listen to this song a couple more times. I love the upbeat attitude mixed with a little bit of hysteria in Rodrigo’s voice that is captured so well throughout this song. How she sacrificed everything for a guy who was too oblivious to understand how she was feeling towards him. A cheater that Rodrigo can’t shake from her mind. I especially love the way this song draws the listener in; instantly my foot starts bouncing along to the beat, and the instrumentals are just peak. Very solid performance from “love is embarrassing.”

Favorite lyric: “I give up, give up, I give up everything I placed my bets and it’s not worth anything I give up, give up, but I keep comin’ back for more”

9/10

• “all-american b*tch”

Best described as a roller coaster. The song starts out slow but quickly becomes more upbeat before dipping back down again. Rodrigo expresses that it’s O.K. to let that ego part of you shine once in a while, to show some pride for yourself. Her tone feels sincere but wild and free at the same time, just enough to hype the listener up before calming them back down. However, I feel like the transition between upbeat and mellow could use a little work, as it feels slightly rushed to get to that chorus part. To summarize, this one’s decent. I wouldn’t skip it.

Favorite lyric: “I don’t get angry when I’m pissed, I’m the eternal optimist”

6/10

• “Bad Idea Right?”

Feels like a throwback to a 2000’s song. My favorite thing about this song is that there’s a guitar solo, which is the first time a solo appears in this album, and it’s just icing on the cake. At the beginning, you can hear a door opening followed by Rodrigo saying “hey” to someone, presumably her ex as mentioned in the song. Rodrigo sings about how seeing her ex is a bad idea, but she can’t help but reconnect with this guy even though she probably shouldn’t. Creativity aside, this song is O.K., and I think it was meant to be O.K..

Favorite lyric: “Yes I know that he’s my ex, but can’t two people reconnect? ‘I only see him as a friend,’ the biggest lie I ever said”

5/10

• “making the bed”

Another slow one, but in a better way than the previous songs. Rodrigo mainly sings about how she’s trying to change who she is, pushing away the friends that know her best and not wanting to be herself anymore. Rodrigo is shaping the story of her life; in other words, she’s making the bed. This song is definitely best to listen to late at night, just imagine yourself on a long car ride home taking in the city lights while they pass you by. In all, this song is relaxing and comforting.

Favorite lyric: “And I tell someone I love them just as a distraction. They tell me that they love me like I’m some tourist attraction”

7/10

• “teenage dream”

Another slow comforting one. Rodrigo projects how she’s tired of being someone who can be pushed around easily. Rodrigo sings about how she wants to be a better person, to be wiser and simply good. This song heavily leans on the piano to fit the slow, emotional mood of the song. “teenage dream” almost demands that the listener shed a tear because of the beauty of the song. There isn’t too much else to say since this song is basically only piano and Rodrigo’s singing, no door opening or any other sound cues or effects. But it’s a nice, slow song that warms your heart.

Favorite lyric: “They all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don’t?”

6/10

•  “pretty isn’t pretty”

A pretty straight-forward song. The main issue I have with this song is how repetitive it is, with the same lyrics and sections repeating until the song’s over. Rodrigo sings about how pretty isn’t ever pretty enough for her and she feels that she could be more. But I just couldn’t get a feel for this song, mostly because it doesn’t hit all that close to home. The main message is how pretty isn’t pretty enough, but that same message just seemingly repeats itself throughout the entirety of the song. I’ll pass on this one.

Favorite lyric: “Bought a bunch of makeup, Tryna cover up my face, I started to skip lunch, Stopped eatin’ cake on birthdays”

3/10

• “ballad of a homeschool girl”

Okay, I’ll be right back. I’m going to blast this song up and down the street until I get some kind of complaint because this song slaps. Rodrigo puts so much effort and emotion in her voice to where you can physically hear her strain to get the words out. There is way too much instrumental than there should be, but I’m all for it. The way the guitar and drums start off powerful and dominating before switching back to a more subsiding volume to let Rodrigo sing is just gold, just an absolute chef’s kiss. She repeats the lyric that “its social suicide” frequently, describing the struggle of failing and failing again to find someone that she can connect with, struggling because she’s homeschooled. My favorite part is when Rodrigo starts screaming “I KNOW” louder and louder until she doesn’t even sound like she’s singing anymore. I know for a fact this song is going on my playlist after this review is over.

Favorite lyric: “I’m on the outside of the greatest inside joke”

10/10

There you have it, all 12 of Olivia Rodrigo’s songs in her new “GUTS” album. This album turned out to be more enjoyable than I gave it credit for initially, which goes to show that I was wrong for doubting her talents. I love how clever Rodrigo is, with the small details within her music that tell a story for the listener. I would like to apologize if I rated your favorite song poorly, but the list is final. No take backs.

By Julia Seiden

When I was eight years old and before I had my own phone or computer, I would watch YouTube videos on my dad’s computer. When he wasn’t working, I would spend hours and hours there watching all sorts of music videos or toy reviews. I used to love putting his big headphones on and jamming out to Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. My absolute favorite song that really got me into Swift’s music was “Out Of The Woods” for sure. I used to love watching the music video of her running out of the woods on loop, and just listening to her repeat “are we out of the woods yet” over and over again is what really got me through some of those difficult times that I struggled with throughout my childhood.

Whenever new music is released, I tend to rank albums completely different than when I listen to that same music a month later. With the release of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” a little over a month ago, the album has had time to sink in and I feel like I’ve had some time to really reflect on the new rerecording of one of my favorite albums of all time.

Taylor Swift is currently underway in the process of rerecording her first six albums, already having rerecorded four. The reason she’s rerecording her albums is because when she first started making her music, she got signed onto a record label known as Big Machine Records, where she was able to create pop sensations such as “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space”. When her contract with this label ended, she shifted over to Universal’s Republic Records. According to Time, the reason she decided to switch over is because Big Machine Records sold to a corporation owned by Scooter Braun, who then sold her original music to another company, resulting in him receiving the profits from the streams of the original albums. Swift’s goal is to own and control her own music that she created, hence the phrase “Taylor’s Version”.

In 2014, Swift released her album titled “1989” (named after her birth year), with 1.2 million copies sold in the first week according to The Washington Post. This album was her first big shift into the pop music industry, where she created masterpieces such as “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood”. Now in 2023, she has rerecorded this album as “1989 (Taylor’s Version)”, and has outsold the original with over 1.3 million copies sold in the first week, according to Rolling Stone.

One of the reasons I decided to review this album (besides being a massive “Swiftie”) is because of the fact that I grew up with its music. I was 8 years old when it first came out in 2014, and I would say that this album really transformed me into the Swiftie that I am today. I would hear it all over the radio and everyone was always talking about it. Now that she’s rerecorded it nine years later, I was very excited to get to listen to it and compare it to my childhood memories.

The first song on the album is “Welcome to New York (Taylor’s Version).” I had always loved the original of this song and its “big city” vibe, and I used to have it on repeat when I would travel to New York. My first impression after listening to Taylor’s Version was that her voice sounded the same but the production sounded a little different. Now, after a month of listening to the song, I can definitely hear a difference in her voice, which sounds a lot more mature.

Another song that I definitely noticed a major difference in was “Style (Taylor’s Version).” I would argue that the original version of the song is the epitome of pop music, with a beat that just makes you want to dance. My first impression of this song was that it sounded vastly different from the original. I felt like her voice was really good, of course, but the production of the song

was very weird and did not have the same “vibe” as the original version. I think now, after a month, I would say that the song is amazing and that all it took was a little bit of time to get used to it.

“Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)” was definitely a song that I was curious about hearing the difference in, since the original was such a popular song. I definitely prefer this new version a whole lot more because it sounds less “annoying” than the first and I could really hear how her voice had matured. I also felt like it sounded really similar to how she sounded live, which I thought was really nice.

Jumping ahead to “New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)”, this was probably the song I was most excited about because the original was my favorite off of the album. When I first heard the new version, I was completely speechless and honestly in tears because it sounded so good. I later saw some complaints on social media about how different this song’s chorus sounded, and at first it took me a little time to get over it, but now I would say that it’s my number one song off of this album (again).

In addition to the 16 rerecorded songs, Swift also released five songs known as “vault tracks”. Vault tracks are songs that were originally written for the album but didn’t end up making it on. So when listening to the new version, I also got to hear five brand new songs.

The first vault track that really got my attention was “Say Don’t Go” because of her low register at the beginning of the song, leading into a higher one. I really love this song because of the lyrics and how it’s another example of Swift’s songs having sad lyrics, but a beat that makes you want to dance. I was definitely blown away by this whole song on my first listen and it’s definitely still one of my favorites.

The last song that I would say is really notable (even though they all are) is definitely “Is It Over Now?” The noises at the beginning of this song completely caught me off guard on my first listen because they reminded me of how her songs from “Midnights” sound. This song is definitely my favorite vault track and probably my second favorite song off of this album because it left me speechless. The lyrical references to a… certain someone had me shocked, and the bridge of this song is absolutely phenomenal. I feel like this song was an incredible way to end this album and I can’t believe this had just been out there for so long without anyone getting to hear it.

Overall, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” was definitely an experience to listen to and compare to the original. I’m really not sure if I can say if I like this better than the original, because I don’t think anything can compare to the sounds of my childhood. But at the same time, getting to hear her voice mature, better production on the songs, and new vault tracks really make it harder to decide on which one I prefer. Instead I’ll just give it a ranking…

13/13!