Promposal playbook

tion. For promposals with written components, I recommend misspelling the name of your intended date. This gives the impression that while you care a little, you certainly don’t care enough to stalk their social media account. Note: to avoid seeming like an idiot, this strategy does not apply to common names such as Max or Julia.

2. Surprise! When you catch a potential date off guard, they are more likely to say yes before thinking through the potential social ramifications of going to prom with you. To preserve the element of surprise, I recommend dropping the question at the most unexpected times. Many memorable promposals are given during tensely emotional moments, such as after a test, following a sports game, or even during other promposals.

6. Plant flowers or a garden! If you’re willing to devote a couple minutes each day, starting a small garden on a window or in your yard is a fun and reward ing way to embrace the warm weather. If you have younger siblings, there is a plant sale at each elementary school this May. Ask them to pick up a plant or some seeds. If not, there are a bunch of small business greenhouses that you can visit for all of your gardening needs. Two highly-recommended nurseries are Taddeo’s Greenhouses located in Havertown and Plant and People in the city. Brighten up your backyard with some flowers or vegetables. Planting a few veggies will also lead to some delicious, healthy summer meals later on!

7. Run or walk for a good cause! If you’re look ing for a long-term spring goal or a way to exercise outside of school sports, consider signing up for one of the many runs that happen around the Philly area. One very close opportunity is the Ardmore Rotary 5k Race on May 20.

It is a run and walk that raises money for the Ardmore Rotary Club, a club that works to upkeep and maintain the Ardmore community. If you’d like to run for charity, there is a Philadelphia Bar Association 5k on May 21. This event benefits the Support Center for Child Advocates, an organization that helps and supports neglected and abused children. There are many more May runs in the area that focus on a variety of causes– check out RunGuides.com to find others.

As the end of the year approaches, everyone is look ing forward to summer and the end of the school year. Still, it’s not over yet. If you have some free time on a weekend or a weeknight, try one of these ideas. Whether you decide to train, volunteer, or simply hang out with friends, make the most of this May!

Prom is approaching, which means we’re entering the season of sharpied signs and awkward hallway confessions. When everyone is pairing up, it’s easy to feel left out. Luckily, there are plenty of nearly-guaranteed methods to land a date. Please note, while some of the advice is genuine, this article is intended as satire.

1. Keep it cool. A key element to a killer promposal is playing hard-to-get. You cannot seem desperate. Make sure your person of interest knows that if they refuse, you still have plenty of alternatives up your sleeve. This strategy also helps to maintain your ego in face of rejec-

3. Stay Smart. There is nothing more attractive than intelligence. If you have yet to show off your Powerschool grades to your person of interest (or if your grades are nothing to brag about because your teachers don’t like you), incorporate your smarts into your promposal. Whether it be busting out your Fe Man T-shirt or correcting your prospective date’s grammer, let them know that they should be honored to listen to your non-stop witty remarks on prom night. Consider expanding your vocabulary through the misuse of old English. Instead of, “Will you go to the prom with me?” try “Shalt thou accompany me to the prom dance this coming Saturday?”

4. Know Your Audience. Food is a great (and classic) way to incentivize a potential date–whether chocolates, candies, or Trader Joe’s frozen miniature corn dogs from the bottom shelf of your mom’s refrigerator. Unfortunately, many lovebugs are plagued by dietary restrictions such as nut allergies and veganism. So if you’re bringing along a snack, it is good to check whether your person of interest is able to indulge. Say you’ve already cooked up a nice, juicy steak to ask out your unnamed love interest. But what if they are vegetarian? Consider wafting the elegant aroma of your scrumptious steak over to where they sit! If they smile, now you have got the green light! If they pinch their nose, don’t take offense, just change your strategy. Maybe even swallow the entire steak whole, dislocating your jaw like a snake to immediately eliminate the odor.

Love is very tricky business. When it comes to prompos als, nobody has all of the answers–not even me, the author of the article. But there are some tips to help increase your romantic yield rate. Hey, since you only live once, if you’re debating whether or not to ask out that special someone, you may as well go for it.

The date is February 22, 1993. A new band out of the Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England has just released their debut full length LP. This band is Radiohead, a newly formed rock band, yearning for the fame of Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana just a year after their massive commercial success Nevermind. Up to this point, Radiohead had released a few singles through the EMI label (owner of the Parlophone Record Label), none of which obtained much commercial success. However, there was one outlier. This single is one which we all know today as “Creep.”

Pablo Honey, the official name of the aforementioned debut LP, had been in the works since 1992, after Radiohead’s demo tape Manic Hedgehog caught the attention of EMI Records. After signing with them, Radiohead released their first single entitled “Creep,” followed up by “Anyone Can Play Guitar.”

“Anyone Can Play Guitar” found little to no commercial success, but it was the other single that caught the attention of the public, specifically the Israeli and American music market, by placing 78th on the UK Top Songs List of 1993. Their recording company knew this very well from the start.

Today, thirty years later, almost everyone knows Radiohead for “Creep.” However, the rest of Pablo Honey has been long forgotten, gaining little to no attention. Though the critical reception of this album was originally mixed, the album received criticism for its bland, unoriginal, grungy sound, qualifying it as Radiohead’s “worst” album. But what is often overlooked is the significance of this LP in the Radiohead discography. The current sound of Radiohead has left its rock ’n roll roots for dead and started anew with their ground-breaking, experimental sound through the albums OK Computer and Kid A From the beginning, Thom Yorke’s soft falsetto had not been heard of yet in the grunge scene. In turn, Radiohead’s lead guitarist Johnny Greenwood wowed fans with his unique and exceptional guitar slides, chucks, and overall abuse of his guitar, leaving the listener energized and excited.

There was no doubt, however, that Radiohead would have an impact on the Rock world. What was originally going to be a “throwaway” track became their most well known, and Radiohead failed to realize this without the help of their record company who encouraged them to release it as their debut single. “Creep” was not the only song that showed their potential. The entire album reflected Yorke’s falsetto and Greenwood’s violent guitars. Without Pablo Honey, the five piece would not be where it is today.

When it comes to Pablo Honey’s tracklist, the album opens with “You,” a short and simple energetic song that builds off of a dreamy, plucky lead and slowly transforms into a head bopping mixture of electric guitars and echoey guitar feedback. The second track, “Creep,” contains simple but memorable chords that resonate with listeners thirty years later and lyrics (relatable or not) that deliver lots of emotion with the three quarters mark of the song being the ultimate climax of Yorke’s vocals. The next song, “How Do You?,” is the weakest track on the album, often forgotten as New Musical Express (NME) criticized it for “breaking the album’s momentum… horribly.” Despite this, it contains a sample of the American comedy act The Jerky Boys’ prank call, which includes the famous line: “Pablo, Honey?”

The song fades out into “Stop Whispering,” the next track of the album. Containing a simple, two-chord progression that builds into a chorus of fast electric guitars and another one of Yorke’s Cobain-esque vocal deliveries similar to that of the “Creep” climax. The next track, “Thinking About You,” is Radiohead’s attempt at a rock ballad, dealing with topics of romance, failed relationships and regret, with a simple but attractive acoustic guitar strumming chords beneath the vocals. “Thinking About You” is one of the album’s most sincere and heartwarming moments, which is quickly interrupted by “Anyone Can Play Guitar” with its loud, infamous guitar slides and bends performed by Johnny Greenwood, and plucky bass line performed by Colin Greenwood. The song finishes with a memorable chorus and guitar solo.

The next pair of songs, “Ripcord” and “Vegetable,” deliver moments reminiscent of the Pixies loud-quiet effect, and contain catchy guitar work from both of the Greenwoods and Ed O’Brien. The follow up track, “Prove Yourself,” is a short and simple attempt at a rock anthem with a chorus of Yorke’s chanting “prove yourself” throughout the song. The penultimate tracks “I Can’t” and

“Lurgee” bring the tempo of the album down and prepare the listener for the finale. The final track of the album, “Blow Out,” has been called one of the best Radiohead songs of all time for its wildly experimental sound compared to the rest of the album. It begins with a bossa-nova style guitar groove that slowly transitions into guitar chaos, and continues to build up until the peak, when it collapses in on itself and brings the album to an end.

Pablo Honey’s legacy often goes unnoticed, but the importance of it in Radiohead’s discography is immeasurable. Two years later, on March 13, Radiohead’s second album

The Bends would release to critical reception. This album brought Radiohead’s second batch of popular songs, which included “High & Dry” and “Fake Plastic Trees.” The Bends expanded upon what Pablo Honey started and built solid grounds for Radiohead to continue to thrive. Radiohead would release OK Computer two years later, and would be considered one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time, next to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon As for Pablo Honey’s reception, critics said it was “one of rock’s brightest hopes.” NME claims songs like “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” “I Can’t,” and “Stop Whispering” are some of the only “unabashedly direct” tracks in their entire discography. Today, “Blow Out” has been considered one of the best songs in the entire discography and, unlike “Creep,” is liked by the band. It is still played at concerts up to this day, unlike the rest of Pablo Honey’s tracklist, which was gradually dropped from all live sets. On February 22 Pablo Honey turned thirty years old. Radiohead may have dropped its teenage angst phase, but the music still lives on. Whether you know them by their extensive catalog of music, or just by “Creep,” their debut release will always be an important part of the band’s history.

After four years, Taylor Swift is back and better than ever with her sixth headlining concert tour. This tour, “The Eras Tour,” began on Friday, March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, or as some Swifties like to call it, “Erazona.” If all goes as planned, it will conclude on August 9 in Inglewood, California. The announcement of Swift’s tour has been heavily anticipated ever since her tenth studio album Midnights came out and quickly climbed the charts back in October. It is rumored to be her last, at least for a while. This made the demand for seats extremely high. Some fans were not lucky enough to secure tickets after the infamous Ticketmaster fiasco, which included many glitches and “bots” buying tickets before real fans could. Ourania Stois ’25 shares that, “I found them hard to get because of the high prices, so I couldn’t afford to buy them.” Molly Diamondstein ’25 agreed stating, “It was so hard! I waited in the queue for hours and the site kept crashing which was super stressful.” For the fans who were able to swipe the tickets, they are in for not only a great concert, but an amazing experience.

Swift is performing a whopping 44 songs, which many fans are excited about. The crowd is in for a treat as they get to listen to over three hours of songs from all ten of her albums. This set list also includes two surprise songs, specially picked for each performance location. Although her concerts for this tour have similarities, with components like her opening song, “Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince,’’ and her sets, Swift and her team are making sure that there are special pieces that differ at each gig. One way she does this is by interchanging the opening artists. This rotation includes fan favorites like Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams, Girl in Red, Paramore and five other popular artists. Even though these changes are exciting, lots of fans are upset they don’t get to experience surprise songs that have already been sung. But, at Swift’s last Tampa concert, she announced that songs from her album Midnight’s may repeat. Some fans are upset she doesn’t include more songs from her third consecutive album

Speak Now, but it is rumored that she may announce Speak Now TV, a re-recorded version at one of her upcoming concerts. However, fans are happy with the fact that she plays seven songs from her most recent album Midnights, and her second most recent, Folklore Additionally, she has sixteen outfits throughout the night, each displaying elements from different periods of her career. However, some of these outfits vary from show to show. Many of them include sequins and sparkles, and each one gains more and more screams from the eager spectators. A couple fan favorites include her iconic “f shirt” from her album Red and the nostalgic gold dress from her album Fearless. As many know, Swift’s fans, the “Swifties,” have been waiting for the day of their concert for months. A lot of these Swifties, especially ones who use TikTok, have looked for easter eggs throughout the past season leading up to the opening night. These easter eggs are hidden messages inside Swift’s performances. Billboard adds to this by revealing that what makes Swift’s concerts so special is the “hyper-specific planning and eye for gorgeous, perfectly plotted detail—all the way down to the colors painted on her nails during tour rehearsals.” This explains why her fans follow in her footsteps, dressing to the nines with an eye for detail. The New York Times shares that, “Fans did not appear to be playing favorites—many of them were dressed as Swift from various eras, as song titles, specific lyrics, or as Swiftie inside jokes.” It is clear that Swift adores her fans, and they reciprocate that love.

Swift has three Philadelphia dates at the Wells Fargo Center mapped out for May 12, 13, and 14. She is happy to return to her home state to perform as it will be a full circle moment. She is also looking forward to seeing the fans at all sold out nights, as she broke the all-time record for the most concert tickets sold by an artist in a single day. Whether you are lucky enough to attend or bummed out you can’t go, many livestreams and content will be available on the internet. It will surely be an “enchanting” time for all of her fans!

TSWIFT on tour