Staff Picks: March

Lauren Drapeau – Editor-in-Chief

This month I went on a trip to New Hampshire with some friends of mine during spring break and rediscovered a personal favorite: “Bobby Boucher” by EARTHGANG, Spillage Village and Benji. Something about the second verse, man. Amps me up. This song on repeat on the drive to school produces enough courage and drive to get through the day and absolutely destroy all of my impending responsibilities. The verses have been crafted with an extraterrestrial flow, a flow of such art that upon hearing for the first time, will enter the ears and forever remain in the bloodstreams of each individual. The second verse. If I could somehow get a soundbite tattooed on my body that acted as a button to play in the ears of everybody in a 50-mile radius, it would undeniably be the second verse of this song. If I could eat a verse for breakfast so that it played on a loop in my ears for 24 hours straight, it would be the second verse of this song. If I could wear the second verse of this song in the form of clothing, I would never wash it if it meant not being comfortably consoled by this verse when it was in the washer. I could suffer a terribly unfortunate brain injury and be ruled as brain dead, and this song would defy all medical rules and bring me out of my coma.

Nathan Robillard – Managing Editor

I have been fortunate enough in the last couple of weeks to continue my involvement in covering professional soccer, working with both Rhode Island Football Club and Hartford Athletic of the United Soccer League Championship. Naturally, being so heavily involved with the sport has caused me to hear a whole lot of the classic albums from the FIFA video game series – a genre of music which I have rediscovered after it molded a huge part of my childhood. This week, John Newman’s “Love Me Again” brought me back to the prime middle school FIFA days, a simpler time where my biggest concern in life was my absolutely atrocious, never-to-be-seen win percentage (there wasn’t a lot of winning involved, so I don’t even know if you can call it that). I grew up on FIFA Youtubers and the nostalgic game series, so this song was an energetic, feel-good resurgence to get me through the month.

Casey Chan-Smutko – News Editor

For this month, I chose “ivy” from Taylor Swift’s album “evermore.” This song shows off Swift’s beautiful singing ability and how she can create a song that isn’t autobiographical. The chorus is what keeps me going when I’m feeling down. It takes me back to old memories from my childhood and I wonder, what if? After all, we always want the perfect life for ourselves and “ivy” does that for me.

Sully Cummins – News Editor

Over spring break I picked up a copy of Nas’ “Illmatic” on CD, while visiting a friend in New Hampshire. This album brings back memories of playing NBA 2K13 on Xbox 360, using one of my favorite NBA players ever, Derrick Rose. Nas burst onto the hip hop scene with this debut album and has since been a legend in the rap game. Top two and not two… Anyways this album is loaded with memorable tracks for me, but my favorite is “N.Y. State of Mind.” Sleep is indeed the cousin of death. I couldn’t think of a better song on the album to introduce Nas to the world. I do have some honorable mentions, being “Represent” and “Halftime.” Nas truly is one of my favorites, and I’ll be bumping this album in my car daily.

Maia Hembruff – Entertainment Editor

While March didn’t seem to bring that groundhog’s promised early spring weather, a certain song has helped warm my heart this past month through the bitter coastal wind. I have played Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” on loop many a time as of recently, with its soothing melody and romantic lyrics putting me at ease whenever I feel stressed. This song feels hopeful to me, and fits right in with the other “dad music” I’ve been circulating back to recently, with America’s “Sister Golden Hair” and Cat Stevens’ “Father and Son” being my other honorable mentions for the month.

Zachary Petrick – Sports Editor

Over the last month, or week really, I have been listening to Metro Boomin and Future’s collaborative album, “WE DON’T TRUST YOU.” Since its release last Friday it is all I have listened to. With high profile features from Travis Scott, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and more, this album has a good mix of styles. Most notably, Lamar used the song “Like That” as a platform to attack Drake and J. Cole. The verse has sparked trends on social media and has the rap community discussing the ongoing dispute between the artists. My personal favorite track on the album is “Cinderella,” which features Scott. Scott adds a more melodic element to the song with his style. Overall I have really enjoyed this album over the last week and look forward to more of Metro’s work.

Lucas Masiello – Newscast Editor

This month, I’ve been listening to the greatest songwriter ever to live, Bob Dylan, to prepare myself for the upcoming Dylan biopic featuring Timothée Chalamet. In 2019, Dylan released “The Rolling Thunder Revue,” recordings from 1975 – in my opinion, this is peak Dylan. Opening with live versions of his originals “Tonight I’ll be Staying Here With You” and “If You See Her Say Hello” before covering the Irish folk song “Easy and Slow” shows his depth as not only a songwriter but a performer. Unfortunately, as Cigar comic author Luke Abbenate and I can attest, he no longer has the charm during live shows that he did during the ‘75 Rolling Thunder show.

Aidan Cahill – Photo Editor

This month, I haven’t really listened to too much music. I’ve been incredibly stressed all month, and as such I have been listening to the same few songs on repeat. A lot of my repeated tracks were gentle acoustic songs, but some mid 2000’s radio hits absolutely hit the spot. Of those, “Soak Up The Sun” by Sheryl Crow does everything it needs to. It’s high energy, fun and all around just an absolute vibe. Songs like this often get listed as guilty pleasures for people, but there’s no guilt in enjoying a song that makes you feel the way “Soak Up the Sun” does.

Jenny Arnold – Social Media Coordinator

This month I have been exploring my love for house EDM. More specifically, the song “Atmosphere” by FISHER. This song brings the spring and summer vibes. FISHER is also an amazing artist to listen to when you’re going on a run, which is one of my favorite warm weather activities.

Nils Fimmers – Production Manager

This week I’ve been revisiting Playboi Carti’s 2020 “Whole Lotta Red” album. Though a lot of music listeners discount Carti’s discography due to his unprofessional and impulsive tone, I find his music (especially on the production side) to be fantastic for high-energy events. That’s why this month I chose “ILoveUIHateU,” a high energy song that helps me get through monotonous tasks daily, whether it’s walking to class or running for a workout.