By: Maizie Hughes and Avi Zmira
Tag Archives: music
BEJALVIN discography review
By: Maple Graham
BEJALVIN is a cybergrind, hardcore electronic duo—made up of Craig and Gunkman—characterized by their unapologetically harsh and abrasive music. They hail from Minneapolis, and while widely unknown among most people, they still have energy that I’ve not experienced from any other music. Since hearing them on their North American Devastation tour, I’ve come to appreciate their unique style, and I’ve since listened to their entire main discography: ‘BEJALVIN’ (the self-referential album), ‘BEJIBLE,’ ‘BEJUBSTEP 3’, and the most recent ‘PLANETARY DEVESTATION’. I’ll be giving my opinion on these main 4 albums only.
With ‘BEJALVIN’ being their first work, it’s no surprise that I find it to be the most lackluster of their main releases—however it’s promising, and you see a glimpse of their future style within the album. It’s uniform throughout: no interludes or prolonged breaks for one to catch their breath. My favorite song from this album is “CRUNCH,” as it’s by far the most sonically violent. But make no mistake—this album is consistent with itself, and “CRUNCH” doesn’t deviate from the main listening experience.
‘BEJIBLE’ is quite a few steps up from their debut album, split directly down the middle and dividing it into two “sides” similar to a vinyl. This is directly stated within “WORST SONG EVER” when Gunkman states “I guess this side of the record’s over now / If you got this […] on vinyl, flip that […] over / If you don’t got this […] on vinyl that makes a lot more sense ’cause we never pressed this […],” during the fade-out of the song. The first side is noticeably more lulling, with a 5 minute opening track—”SYS612 (Bejalvin’s Lament)”—sounding nothing like their usual selves, and then hitting the listener with a wall of noise a third of the way through “BORN MONEY SWAG DIE.” The second side is less polarizing; I find the first side of the album to outshine the second half, but only because of the initial fakeout. The work as a whole is extremely cohesive, with most songs segueing into one another. This trend only continues in their future works.
‘BEJUBSTEP 3’ is the most cohesive of all the albums: it can play front to back with no pauses, and could’ve been released as a giant 19 minute song without any issue. This album features a staggering amount of features and guest artists—only one song out of the 7 track album is made entirely by BEJALVIN. This album also comes with a “full album visual experience” on their YouTube channel, which fits the music perfectly, yet I would not recommend it to anyone who’s sensitive to rapidly flashing lights. This most likely pushed them a bit further into the limelight, and exposed them to fans of the other people they collaborated with.
‘PLANETARY DEVASTATION’ is the most recent release of the duo, and their longest. Clocking in at 33 minutes, it’s intense and is practically an extension of ‘BEJIBLE.’ Fast-paced, loud, and oddly coherent—their effort is clearly shown here through the constant meshing of genres and quick mood changes. Not a single song directly shares a theme, aside from the interlude “SMOKING KILLS” and the following “SPACE ALIEN GANGSTALKERS,” in which the duo compare substance abuse with getting abducted by aliens. Other themes of the songs within the album include shoplifting within “SHOPLIFTING,” dissing Yung Gravy and demanding a grand total of 100 dollars from him within “YUNG GRAVY,” and scrolling on social media within their song “X.” It’s dark comedy combined with noise—something I’ve come to enjoy from them.
In all, BEJALVIN is not for everyone, but they admittedly have refreshing views when it comes to music and self-expression. Additionally, during their live shows, they’re both extremely energetic, even when the crowd is really small, and they make music with a clear passion. I think that anyone who enjoys experimental music should listen to them at least once!
What are Scotties Listening to?
By: Merob Geleto, Dahlia Man and Calvin Weston
What’s your Favorite Artist?
By: Veronica Lopez Sosa, Sofia Patricio Mateo, and Evelyn Solano Ruiz
Maizie and Avi’s thoughts on the 2026 Grammy’s
By: Maizie Hughes and Avi Zmira
How is Spotify Wrapped assembled?
By: Karl Salkowski
On the morning of December 3rd, hundreds of millions of people opened their Spotify Wrapped, resulting in millions of shares and posts. But what is a Spotify Wrapped? And why are so many people embarrassed about it?
Every year since 2015 Spotify has released a personally curated selection of each user’s listening habits. The specific day it releases is always a mystery, but Spotify Wrapped day always lands sometime between the last week of November and the first week of December.
Since the beginning, Spotify has shown you your top artists and songs, but each year they add more and more new features and interesting statistics. The highlight of Wrapped 2024 was an AI personalized podcast discussing your listening habits, while in 2025 Spotify gave out estimated listening ages and had you guess who was your top artist of the year. Needless to say, each year Spotify adds new and inventive features to their yearly marketing campaign in order to make it more trendy and viral.
But the question still remains: Why are so many people embarrassed of what they listen to? It turns out that this is actually much more complicated than it seems. Spotify stops collecting data for Spotify Wrapped sometime between mid-October and early November. This means that everything you listened to in the last month to 6 weeks prior is not taken into account. Many people feel that their Wrapped feels weighted towards the beginning of the year, and this explains why. It’s natural that people’s music tastes evolve over time, which explains how these otherwise mundane statistics can actually be very interesting and surprising.
Over the years, as Spotify Wrapped becomes more and more viral, imitations become more and more common. End-of-the-year recaps have become common in an abundance of apps including Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, and Duolingo.
Spotify Wrapped is a genius marketing campaign only becoming more popular and mainstream each year. End-of-year recaps across websites and apps will only become more and more common, but these recaps aren’t just silly and fun; they also raise important questions about personal data and how it’s stored and shared online.
Marilyn Monroe and Sabrina Carpenter
By: Charlotte Aver
Many people have emulated Marilyn Monroe over the years, but current pop star Sabrina Carpenter may have more similarities than most people who try and pick up Monroe’s torch, and the reason is quite interesting. Behind the curly blonde hair, Marilyn Monroe was an actor, a natural performer, and a turning point in how Hollywood cast women. Sabrina Carpenter began as a child entertainer, is an actor, a singer and a producer.
Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1st, 1926 in Los Angeles. When she was 16 she went to work as a riveter making airplane parts in WWII; she stopped when she was ‘discovered’ by a photographer at 18 and signed with a modeling agency. She started as a pin up girl and was later found by an acting agency that led her into the world of the movies. During her time in Hollywood she appeared in 29 films, and she died with four more either never completed or released. At the height of her career she starred in several classics: ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes‘, ‘The Seven Year Itch’, and Some ‘Like It Hot’ are probably the best known. She died from a sleeping pill overdose and it is widely accepted as suicide.
Sabrina Carpenter was born on May 11, 1999 in Pennsylvania. She was discovered by the Disney channel when she placed third in a singing contest hosted by Miley Cyrus in 2009. She signed a contract with Disney’s Hollywood Records in 2014 and was cast in the lead role of ‘Girl Meets World’. Her contract specified that she release five albums marketed towards teens, and although it allowed her entry to the music industry, the contract held her back creatively. In 2024, she broke her contract after only four albums and signed with Island Records, releasing ’emails I can’t send’ with two hits “nonsense” and “feather”. She also released “Espresso” as a prelude to her album ‘Short n’ Sweet’. It went to number one on the Billboard charts and was her first true breakthrough song.
You might wonder what a 50’s pin up girl and a Disney child star could have in common; it has to do with their hair! They both play the role of the dumb blonde for the media, while in reality both are actually quite witty and smart. Marilyn Monroe was constantly criticized for almost anything she did, likewise Sabrina Carpenter is constantly criticized for even the smallest things.
The marketing for Marilyn Monroe cast her almost exclusively into dumb blonde roles constructed for the male gaze. While Monroe was a part of her image creation she grew frustrated that she was unable to break out of the typecasting and sexualization of her public persona. Many people assume this frustration is behind her presumed suicide. In the decade before Monroe was a star, most of the famous female actors were strong and less sexualized; they had a greater share of female audience than Monroe who catered to the male movie goers.
In contrast, Sabrina Carpenter is constantly criticized for targeting the male gaze, but she is doing so ironically. She is presenting herself as the breathless bimbo and at the same time calling out the idiocy of men’s actions in a witty way. If she was truly targeting a male audience, her concerts would not mainly be attended by women, so it is clear she is using the Monroe “dumb blonde effect” to her benefit.
Many pop stars cultivate the similarities between themselves and Marilyn Monroe because they want her success in Hollywood to boost their career. Entertainers and their managers attempt to use Monroe’s template to both increase their audience and invoke a sense of nostalgia for the “golden age” of Hollywood. Madonna is a perfect example of this behavior; her blonde hair, sexualized image and early music all referenced Monroe and she achieved huge success.
My theory is that Sabrina Carpenter is also leveraging the same template, but she is doing so with satire and a greater sense of her own agency. Where Marilyn Monroe was trapped by the image she created, Sabrina Carpenter will hopefully be able to control her own destiny.
For more information, please visit:
‘The Life of a Showgirl’
By: Charlotte Aver
On August 12th at 12:12 am the countdown ended. Taylor Swift announced her 12th studio album by putting a countdown on her website that ended at 12:12 am resulting in a pre pre-order of ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. The album cover was a light green blur with an orange sparkly lock.
The next day she was featured on her boyfriend’s podcast where she showed the album cover and revealed the track list which is, 1. The Fate of Ophelia, 2. Elizabeth Taylor, 3. Opalite, 4. Father Figure, 5. Eldest Daughter, 6. Ruin the Friendship, 7. Actually Romantic, 8. Wi$h Li$t, 9. Wood, 10. CANCELLED!, 11. Honey, and last but not least track 12. The Life of a Showgirl feat. Sabrina Carpenter. She also revealed the release date which was October 3rd.
Leading up to the announcement of her 12th studio album, almost every time she was seen in public she was wearing plaid, this led to much confusement within the swiftie community. The supposed reason for her wearing plaid was a clue to the album’s release date October 3rd, which is also Plaid day. The album’s main theme colors are orange and green.
During the album rollout there have been seven countdowns on her website. One led to the pre pre-order in which you could not see the album cover but the track list was still a mystery. Two led to the album cover reveal as well as deluxe CD’s. Three, four, and five led to vinyl variants. Six led to a cardigan for the album, and the seventh led to hand signed CD’s.
Taylor is known for her use of Easter eggs, which are little clues for her fans to pick up on and guess what her next move within the music industry is going to be. To Easter egg this album she had many outfits and visuals on her eras tour that led to this. One of these Easter eggs was the orange door that showed up during the finale of the Eras Tour each night that she only exited through on the very last show of the tour. Fans speculated that this was a metaphor for her entering her next era, which was confirmed on the podcast she released the album on.
Another thing that she did to hint at her upcoming album was when she brought Sabrina Carpenter out as a surprise guest; Sabrina was wearing a white baby doll dress referencing Taylor’s 11th studio album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’. Taylor herself was wearing an orange flowy dress that was referencing her upcoming album which Sabrina would be featured on, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’.
The craziest Easter egg she left was during her Midnights era (which was her 10th studio album) three years before ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ was announced. She made a music video for her song “anti-hero” that included two versions of her: one was self conscious and wore multiple white and gray outfits, the other version of her was loud and seemingly happy, this version wore an orange and green sparkly romper. Throughout the music video the two versions did many things together one of the notable things was that the happier version of her slammed a guitar into the ground 12 times possibly referencing her 12th studio album. The main theory about this music video is that the self conscious Taylor was referring to ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ and the happier Taylor was referring to ‘The Life of a Showgirl’.
She has also announced a movie coming to theaters October 3-5, in which the debut of the “Fate of Ophelia” music video, brand new lyric videos and her own personal insights on the songs. I will be deconstructing each song with information I gather from the movie and also my personal insights. Coming soon!
For more information, please visit:
- https://www.taylorswift.com – most information in this was based on information that was temporarily on this website.
- https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-life-of-a-showgirl/1833328839 – link to listen to the life of a showgirl on Apple Music.
Kith and Kin Chorus
By: Maggie Hong
Kith and Kin Chorus is a Twin Cities-based group of singers, ranging all abilities and experience levels. Kith and Kin aims to be an inclusive, welcoming arts community, especially for those who have been marginalized and excluded from such spaces in the past. Each year, the chorus hosts open sings, concerts, and fundraisers for local organizations.
Kith and Kin was founded in 2017 by Rachel Ries, a Minneapolis-based musician and songwriter. Seeking a sense of community and a way to take action through music, Rachel founded Kith and Kin Chorus, named for the ever-important ideas of friends and family. Now, over 70 singers join her to spread joy and good throughout the Twin Cities. No audition is necessary, and no experience with sheet music or theory is needed to join. The chorus sings a wide range of material, from pop and rock to folk and indie, and often collaborates with local artists. Each season concludes with a concert benefiting a local justice organization.
Music has a unique ability to connect people across culture, race, and language. It speaks to the soul, rather than a political identity or persona. It asks nothing more than an open ear. K+K embodies these musical values, lifting its voice to make our cities safer and healthier for everyone.
Most recently, K+K has closed their 8th season with a concert benefiting Rock the Rez MN. Past organizations have included: Open Arms of MN, Raíces Sagradas, and CAPI USA. Season 9 will begin in fall of 2025, meeting Monday evenings in Minneapolis. Joining is a great way to get involved with your community, meet new people, and make a difference for our cities.
For more information, please visit:
Separating art from artist: When do we cross the line?
By: Hermekay Dehaney
Separating art from the artist has become a controversial and recurrent topic over the past decade; its main belief is focusing on the work itself of that artist rather than the artist’s reputation and controversies at hand. Usually, when this topic gets brought up, it surrounds a celebrity getting “canceled” over various allegations and actions, which sometimes include severe repercussions such as criminal offenses.
These fallouts usually lead to a moral dilemma of people asking, “When should we separate, or is it okay to separate art from the artist?”
I believe that when the topic around a celebrity is about separating them from their art, then you know what they did was bad. Consider R. Kelly, a famous R&B singer whose crimes landed him in jail for 30 years, with the help of the documentary ‘Surviving R. Kelly’. Despite his sentencing, his music was still played on social media, at parties, and even sometimes at weddings. I would say nowadays people are starting to distance themselves from him, but there are a few outliers.
On the other hand, Kanye West is more of a complex case. He is considered one of the top artists of this generation with multiple platinum albums including, ‘The College Dropout’. and ‘Graduation’. In recent years, his crazy erratic behavior in public and online, especially his antisemitic views, have landed him in this topic.
Although people online do blame his mental health issues which potentially contributing to his sometimes outlandish behavior, there are others that don’t see his mental health as being the sole reason for his behavior. As someone once put it, “That’s an explanation, not an excuse“. So, even though I do believe it’s a factor, that doesn’t fully explain his weird behavior.
People have tried to draw a line on what is acceptable and unacceptable, but it’s not that easy. When someone as influential as Kanye uses their platform to spew hate and misinformation, especially to his impressionable younger fan base, that becomes dangerous.
The art that the artist puts out is sometimes a reflection of themselves. Their beliefs and values are sometimes mentioned in the lyrics, making it impossible to separate the two. Continuing to support such artists, even if you don’t agree with their actions, is still indirectly supporting them. They’re still making money from streams and maintaining cultural relevance despite their actions.
This topic is very subjective of when the line is crossed which leaves a gray area. Obviously, humans are not perfect, so when the opinion of canceling every artist who missteps comes about, that’s unreasonable. Some artists have committed serious and harmful acts that impact others while some have made non serious controversies. What one person sees as totally “cancellable” others may not.
I saw a comment which stated, “Art is based on context. I don’t think the artist needs to be a moral example to appreciate their work. But as always, we have to remain conscious and educated. We can pretend art lives separate from reality,” and to add onto that, this topic is not very limited, it’s not a one-size-fits-all discussion, but the truth is that It gets to a point where if you’re asking the question, the answer is most likely no.
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 