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Upcoming events include sculpture, multimedia AGNES MADRIAGA Features editor
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Album: “Badlands” Artist: Halsey
General Excellence
MANIKA CASTERLINE Music correspondent
State
In the spectrum of pop acts, Taylor Swift reigns supreme as the red-lipped saccharine superstar with hits like “You Belong With Me” and “Shake it Off,” while the younger import to her squad of female powerhouses, Lorde, topped international charts with the darker sound of “Royals” and “Team.” Halsey (born Ashley Frangipane), New Jersey native and the freshest face to the genre, at 20 could distinctly be the “middle sister” conglomerate of both Swift and Lorde, but instead carves her own path in pop as she releases the gritty yet cinematic debut album “Badlands,” which lyrically explores the enclaves of sex and drugs that her predecessors retreat from. Halsey welcomes you to “Badlands” with female empowerment tracks “Castle” and “Hold me Down.” “Castle” sees her entering a kingdom where its people already want her to be queen even though
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Artist in Residency Program. • Nov. 16–Dec. 14: Paintings of artist Deirdre White. • Jan. 18–Feb. 17: Paintings and Drawings of artists Kenny Mencher, Gabriel Navar, George Rivera and James Wu. • Fe b. 2 2 - Ma rc h 1 2 : Ohlone College Multimedia Department. Work from Professors Isabel Reichert, David Folker, Alejandro Jauco, Merav Tzur and Yinghua Wang. • March 18-19: 2016 High School Theater Festival • April 11-May 13: Annual Juried Student Awards Exhibition, showcasing the work of Ohlone students. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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Photography instructor Naomi Vanderkindren works with a student. Vanderkindren’s ‘Paramnesia’ exhibit will run through Sept. 28 in the Louie-Meager Art Gallery on the Fremont campus.
Halsey carves own pop path with debut album
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Instructor to discuss ‘Paramnesia’ exhibit at gallery reception
Ohlone photography instructor Naomi Vanderkindren will discuss her photo series “Paramnesia” during an artist talk and reception from 4 to 5 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Louie-Meager Art Gallery. The exhibit is on display at the gallery, in the Smith Center on the Fremont campus, until Sept. 28. Other exhibits at the gallery this year: • Oct. 5–Nov. 4: Drawing and sculpture from Kevin B. Chen, artist, curator and director of the De Young Museum’s
Staff: Sean Davie Shuai Liu Joy Moon
MONITOR SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
she has barely arrived. It has a no-holds-barred attitude behind it that is reminiscent of Beyoncé’s repertoire, while “Hold me Down” is the fight song that stays light on its feet and poised for the next challenge to her takeover. These songs set up the landscape for “New Americana,” in which Halsey is defining her generation with an anthem as she sings, “Self-made success now she rolls with Rockefellers. We are the new Americana, high on legal marijuana, raised on Biggie and Nirvana. We are the new Americana.” In an album that is laden with heavy and haunting lyrics and overall production value, “Roman Holiday” can be easily forgotten because of its simplicity. However, “Roman Holiday” holds its own as the one track that will be added to a road-trip playlist and sung loudly to. Halsey ultimately speaks in this song to the wind in your hair, do-not-care vibe, whether you are driving down the California coast or on a Vespa in Roma. “Hurr icane,” on the 16-track deluxe version of “Badlands,” was previously released on Halsey’s “Room 93 EP,” and she has called it the trippy song where she zones out when performing. “Hurricane” is sampled in “Gasoline” during the line “Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?” The production of
“Gasoline” contains what sounds like a guqin, a Chinese stringed instrument. “Gasoline” as well as “Coming Down” and “Drive” are produced with an inclusive theme that utilizes the sound of keys, windshield wipers and rain. These details lead to a cohesive but unique sound that draws in the listener and through audio creates the visual perspective of a relationship between two forces of nature. “Coming Down” is the sole track that ties Halsey’s metaphorical references of climate and spirituality together, whereas “Ghost,” “Strange Love,” “Haunting,” “Control” and “Young God” address how the relationship elevates itself to a religion to which the protagonist is masochistically committed. The final track of the deluxe album is a cover of the Johnny Cash classic “I Walk the Line,” fitting perfectly with the message of the Halsey-written tracks that espouse never being the victim of your circumstances. In “Badlands,” the crème de la crème is “Colors.” The other tracks are the fancy bow wrapped around “Colors,” the exquisite treasure that stands alone as the beating heart and soul of Halsey’s freshman effort. “Colors” has been deconstructed by fans to be about the artist’s former romantic interest, Matt Healy, the lead singer of The 1975, a Manchester-formed band
that is known for their black and white aesthetic. Healy’s drug addiction is alluded to in the chorus, “Everything is grey. His hair, his smoke, his dreams. And now he’s so devoid of color. He don’t know what it means. And he’s blue.” Throughout the track, Halsey dapples in the details of their involvement while painting an immersive visual masterpiece of what they once were. “You were red and you liked me because I was blue. But you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky. Then you decided purple just wasn’t for you” – the bridge of “Colors” sums up and stains the listener in vibrant hues long after hearing. Prior to the Aug. 28 release of “Badlands,” Halsey sold out the majority of the dates on the “Badlands” tour including one historic San Francisco venue, The Fillmore, on Nov. 16. The momentum surrounding “Badlands” makes sense when giving the album an auditory spin and it’s worth dropping the spare cash on the deluxe edition for the complete narrative. The storytelling is consistent from start to finish while making grandiose production overtures that set Halsey apart in the bubblegum genre and establish her as the newest queen in the pop scene.