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Kane Finders
Staff Contributor
Kane Finders is a staff contributor and videographer for the Advocate, deciding to join to gain experience in journalism, writing, and video production. His favorite skill to utilize at the Advocate is working on the page layout of the newspaper. He started his MHCC journey in Fall Term 2022 as a Reynolds High School student attending through the Middle College program. After graduating high school, he wishes to pursue a degree in computer information systems. Aside from school or work, he enjoys hiking in the Columbia Gorge, producing short films, and taking care of his two dogs.
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Since the beginning of the 21st century, droughts have plagued the western United States. According to the official U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) program, severe droughts affected over 80% of western land area at their recent peak in 2021.
Although water shortages are especially prominent in the Southwest, Oregon has also experienced continuous droughts since 2020. As shown in an updated map released by the USDM April 6, 13 of Oregon’s 36 counties are currently experiencing moderate-to-severe drought levels (despite our rather wet winter and spring so far this year). This affected area accounts for roughly half of Oregon’s land.
Such prolonged droughts and their consequences have forced the federal government to respond, which it did earlier this month.
The Biden-Harris Administration announced on April 5 that it would provide nearly $585 million in funding for various water infrastructure projects across 11 western states. They are Oregon, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington.
A total 83 projects will receive funding. They include those aimed at improving drought resilience, water treatment, and hydropower, among other purposes. According to a White House press release issued by Infrastructure Implementation Coordinator Mitch Landrieu, “(D)elivering much-needed repairs to aging dams and other water infrastructure is part of our whole-of-government approach to making communities more resilient to drought.”
This funding comes as part of the Congress-approved Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, most commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021. The official White House website notes the bill authorizes over $500 billion across the five years in funding for “federal investment in America’s roads and bridges, water infrastructure, resilience, internet, and more.”
Of the spending authorized in the bill, more than $50 billion is dedicated to water
infrastructure in the western states. The $585 million announced on April 5 is a tiny fraction of the support the western United States can expect in the years to come – but an important “drop in the bucket” when it comes to dealing with drought problems.
The Advocate
A permanent, retractable roof may be coming to Mt. Hood Community College’s outdoor 50-meter swim pool.
With the estimated $6.6 million addition, paid in part by outside organizations, the college hopes to host additional and possibly year-round swim events that would justify the cost. That’s the idea explained by Andrew Jackman, the MHCC Aquatic Center director, to the college District Board as it moves through the very early stages of planning the project.
The new cover would replace the former inflatable dome that covered the pool, made of fabric. The dome was said to be at its end of life and unrepairable as of 2019 – right before the pandemic hit, shutting down activity for a long period. Previously, the dome would be put up to allow “outdoor” pool use during the winter season.
Another option on the table is a cover for the grandstands at the pool, to protect spectators during swim meets. Given the costs
involved, Mt. Hood would need to choose between the two different roofs, however.
As discussed during the Dec. 22 MHCC District Board meeting, the retractable pool cover has an estimated cost of $6.6 million; a grandstand cover, an estimated $4 million.
Jackman said he believes the right choice is whichever option benefits the college the most, with a retractable roof likely preferred.
The biggest challenge is money: MHCC has roughly $2 million of its own funding available, meaning it needs significant outside help.
Jackman told the Board on Feb. 15 that Mt. Hood is working with other organizations such as Sport Oregon and Travel Portland to pursue necessary funding help, a must before any construction can begin.
Ultimately it’s hoped the Aquatics Center can host regional events – even possibly “Olympic type” events – that would draw people from all over the Pacific Northwest, as one of very few such facilities, Jackman said. Year-round use would make the Center self-sustaining, or potentially able to generate profits for the college.
To learn more about the infrsatructure law, scan the QR code.
here to see the full color renders of the proposed pool cover.Map depicting various projects funded under the Infrastructure law. Render by Mackenzie Inc. Render by Mackenzie Inc.
Artificial intelligence has made significant strides in recent years, and one of the latest breakthroughs in this field of language models is ChatGPT.
This AI is a language model that will answer questions and prompts with data from the internet. Specifically, ChatGPT is designed to generate humanlike responses to a given question or task.
This technology is one of the first rolled out to a vast population. This January (2023), only two months after ChatGPT’s launch, it surpassed over 100 million active users. And every day, more than 13 million people use this free tool. With access to the internet, anyone can use ChatGPT to write essays, provide interview questions, or answer complex reading, writing, and math problems.
ChatGPT uses a vast amount of data to create a complex system that can understand prompts and generate humanlike answers. This model is trained and uses data based on hundreds of thousands of books, articles, and databases to generate answers. One of the most significant advantages of ChatGPT is its ability to understand the context of
the situation and generate responses that are appropriate for that given situation. This means that it can be used in various applications, including customer service jobs and language translation tools.
With this new AI’s power, many wonder how it will affect industries and fields such as education and journalism.
In education, ChatGPT has a significant potential to be used by students and teachers alike to create and complete assignments and courses. For example, it could be used to brainstorm ideas for an essay or answer questions on tough subjects, such as chemistry, so that a student could easily understand it. It could also be used by teachers and professors to answer students’ questions, generate lecture plans and outlines, and help professors develop study materials like flashcards and pre-exams quickly and accurately.
There also are many drawbacks and pitfalls to this new technology. For example, this AI has been known to provide wrong
answers and incorrect explanations of topics. For some observers, it is much harder to trust that ChatGPT will be factual and accurate to the level of popular search engines such as Google or Bing.
With the ability of ChatGPT to influence formal education, many instructors have been very concerned about how students will use this new tool to complete their assignments. Concerns stem from students using this AI to write long, elaborate essays without the student’s real voice ever used, or worries students will use this technology to get answers to science and literature exams.
Even so, others see the positive potential of ChatGPT and where it could be used in a way that would still allow students to learn and retain information – accepting the fact that students in the classroom will use AI.
One writing instructor at Mt. Hood Community College has an interesting take on using ChatGPT in the classroom.
“(I)t’s like Wikipedia, where you can learn
general things from it, especially for getting clarity on an assignment or concept,” said veteran teacher Michele Hampton.
With this new language model being free and available to all, many students and professionals are going to be using this AI to help with projects and assignments. And with that reality, Hampton said she believes colleges and university’s need to “have more seminars to enlighten instructors on what its uses are, and then having instructors talk about the reality of it in class.”
Despite these concerns, the potential benefits of ChatGPT in education are clear. As AI technology develops and improves, it could become an essential tool for educators and students alike. Whether it’s used to provide personalized feedback, create interactive learning experiences, or help students develop their communication skills, ChatGPT has the potential to transform the way we teach and learn.
“TWO MONTHS AFTER CHATGPT’S LAUNCH, IT SURPASSED 100 MILLION ACTIVE USERS”
The
AdvocateEarth Day has become a widely known holiday throughout the world. Since April 1970, the first Earth Day marked in the United States, volunteers have been picking up trash in parks and public squares, planting new vegetable gardens and fir trees, and learning how to become more environmentally conscious.
Earth
Day is such an important worldwide event because, before 1970, there were no federal agencies to protect the U.S. environment. Because of the recognition that first designated day got, the United States now has the Environmental Protection Agency, which works to protect people and our environment from potential health risks.
Prior to that April, the post-war (World War II) consumer boom was in full swing. Oil spills, factory-produced pollution, and unsafe environmental practices were on the rise. Companies could pollute the air or water and cause community health risks with little-to-no legal repercussions. But after the first Earth Day helped to raise public awareness, this all changed.
Many protests and rallies helped to promote businesses and governments at all levels to become more environmentally conscious.
Companies were now held responsible for the pollution and potential hazards they brought to the population. As a result, Congress and state legislatures created much-needed fixes like the federal Clean Air and Clean Water acts to reduce air and water pollution.
As Earth Day 2023, which falls on April
22, arrives with global warming continuing to occur, many people wonder how climate change will affect the next few decades, or centuries. Since 1880, the Earth’s temperature has risen about 2 degrees Fahrenheit, on average. While this may not seem like much, many scientists are very concerned with the potential consequences, such as an increase in ocean levels, drought conditions, worsening storms, and more.
So, Earth Day is a time for people to express their concerns over and take direct action regarding the burning of fossil fuels, use of plastic containers, the harms of fast fashion, and ongoing deforestation worldwide. It is also a chance to advocate for governments and corporations to do their part in creating a safer environment.
Earth Day 2023 official organizers are looking to raise awareness about climate change and promote sustainability. Their theme for this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in Our Earth,” focused on engaging governments, institutions, businesses, and more than 1 billion citizens who participate in some type of Earth Day activities to do their part to create a greener planet.
Come April 22, ocean cleanup efforts will be organized worldwide to help keep plastic
out of the oceans and maintain safe habitats for marine life. One local Oregon initiative on Earth Day is planting trees. Organizations
Graphics sourced from web.
such as Friends of Trees put on events to inform people about the need to stop deforestation and to continually add trees to our own neighborhoods and surrounding forests.
What can you do to participate in Earth Day? For starters, think of ways that you can reduce your personal carbon footprint. Some ways can include using reusable containers, recycling more, and buying clothes and goods secondhand. And as the weather gets nicer, think of biking or walking rather than driving.
As for community and group activities you might want to volunteer for this Earth Day (and not limited just to April 22, but activities offered throughout the month), here are some fun events set for the greater Portland area, and beyond:
Celebrate Earth Day @ Learning Gardens Lab:
→ Plant Sale, Book Sale, Clothing Sale
→ Free Admission!
→ From 11am to 2pm
→ Link: http://bit.ly/3o9sEDB
Tree Planting Event:
→ Learn About & Plant Trees
→ Free Admission!
→ Tyson Creek State National Park
→ Link: http://bit.ly/43t6zA6
City of Troutdale Earth Day:
→ Learn About & Plant Trees
→ Free Admission!
→ Tyson Creek State National Park
→ Link: http://bit.ly/409w1I1
"THEIR THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S EARTH DAY IS 'INVEST IN OUR EARTH' "
The bans in China on the import of different recyclables have shown the weakness in the United States’ recycling infrastructure.
Starting in 2017, China installed a ban under Operation National Sword that barred the import of certain waste products. The next two years, it kept adding more and more products to that list. According to the University of Georgia, this ban has displaced over 100 million tons of plastic waste.
All this plastic has to go somewhere –and after the ban, plastic imports from the U.S increased in the countries of Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and elsewhere. However, these countries don’t have as many resources to deal with plastic waste, so the U.S. has to find new ways to deal with the refuse.
Why is exporting plastic waste to other countries bad? These countries weren’t prepared for this influx of plastic waste, and they don’t have stringent environmental protection regulations. U.S. waste management companies have taken an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. The consequences are a huge negative impact on these nations, and on the world. Without the proper recycling infrastructure, these countries may incinerate, dump the
plastics, or pursue other harmful actions. Incinerating releases harmful chemicals into the atmosphere that can poison people and the animals nearby. Dumping can also affect humans and animals by contaminating water sources and food sources.
The good news is that according to Statista, our plastic waste exports have decreased. In 2017, the start of the ban, the United States exported 3.68 billion pounds of plastic waste. In 2021, we exported only 1.21 billion pounds.
This is a great improvement, but still a lot of plastic waste. This is where the EPA’s National Recycling Strategy comes into play.
The goal of this plan is to achieve a “circular economy.” In the EPA’s words, a circular economy “keeps materials, products, and services in circulation for as long possible.”
The agency goes on to say that achieving a circular economy will slow climate change while lifting the burden on underserved communities by reducing the waste shipped to landfills and other places that produce harmful effects.
One aspect of achieving this circular economy is by improving our own “national municipal solid waste recycling system.” This would require improving education so people know what they can and cannot recycle, while also improving the infrastructure here so we
have the capacity to handle recycling within our borders. According to the EPA, this is only one step in a series of steps to achieve a circular economy.
While we as consumers don’t have much control over the EPA, we do have control of what we individually recycle. Making sure you recycle the right things improves the state of our planet by making sure they are reused, or properly disposed of. The problem is often that it’s be complicated to know what you can and cannot recycle.
To help, the Advocate has posted some graphics here to let you know what you can and cannot recycle in our area. These
guidelines are subject to change, and vary from specific area to area. Be sure to check your local waste management agency’s website for information on what you can or cannot dispose.
While the U.S. still has a lot to do in terms of fixing its recycling problem, we are taking steps in the right direction by minimizing our export, and pushing development of systems to achieve a circular economy. Ultimately, though, recycling starts with the consumer – you – and in order for the country to minimize the negative impacts on our planet we each have to do our part by recycling the right things.
From 2017 to 2019 we see a steep decline in plastic export due to China’s Operation National Sword. This forced the U.S to rething it’s recycling strategy.Data by Statista
Not so long ago I was shopping at stores in the mall and through online companies that contribute to “fast fashion” – the mass production of clothing items usually considered low-priced but that uses cheap textiles and materials.
I enjoyed that time, while it lasted. I would buy items from collections that were never to be seen again, so long as I looked only in the clearance section with clothing racks full to capacity.
However, what brought me the most concern about fast fashion was working in retail myself. I saw endless piles and racks of clothes that I was folding and organizing. I had fun working in retail, but the way I was shopping before soon stopped and the pandemic was then able to freeze those habits.
TikTok trends remind me of fast fashion in the way that the newest things come and go. There is nothing wrong with that; I think that’s just how trends work, and they inspire people. I know I was inspired to start shopping secondhand when I saw the thrifting hauls from people finding the coolest items. That did bring up other negative issues of people
Matana McIntire The AdvocateClimate anxiety, or Eco-anxiety, is a reality that we now live with. It’s a state of heightened anxiousness over the impending consequences of climate change, and it’s hard to find hope in the face of what feels like an oppressive doom tainting our vision of the future.
It’s easy to look at the news around climate change and think that it’s too late to do something – that there isn’t much an individual can do. But I argue that the most important thing we can do as individuals concerned about climate change is to stay optimistic. Yes – the greater responsibility is in the hands of the corporations and the government bodies in power to tackle climate change. But believing we can still fight this is important.
Here’s how to get into that mind state: Learn about the progress being made to fight climate change, and share that information with your community.
“The Highlight” by Vox is a series specifically “Against doomerism,” that explores how “doomerism” and climate pessimism can be unproductive in the fight for our future.
The Climate Optimist is monthly newsletter out of the Harvard School of Public Health that covers this issue in depth. Read the Advocate’s recommended Book of the Month.
“Climate Optimism: Celebrating Systemic Change Around the World,” by Zahra Biabani. A climate activist, influencer, CEO and writer, Biabani’s book and her article published on Teen Vogue asserts that despair isn’t an option. She uses examples of changes being made to support the argument of optimism in the face of climate change, and provides actionable information that can help sooth eco-anxiety.
Follow climate optimism activists on social media.
One activist to follow on social media is Alaina Wood, @thegarbagequeen on Tiktok. Wood provides resources for learning, for direct action, as well as shares positive climate change news regularly to help combat doomerism.
It’s a tough time to be optimistic, but Earth Day is an opportunity to have these conversations and explore these resources. Integrate climate optimism into your daily feed and let’s work on being hopeful for our future together. Check out page 8 for an Earth Day bingo card activity!
reselling thrifted items for unreasonable prices, and young women, especially on social media platforms, sharing huge clothing hauls, with those same clothes just ending up sitting in their closet without wear.
Another lasting impact often harms the workers who are producing fast fashion. They are working in terrible conditions with insufficient pay. Finally, the fast fashion industry harms the environment, when mostly wasted textiles and clothes make it to landfills.
I am tired of fast fashion. I think clothes can last for years, which is why I barely even buy clothes anymore. I now prefer thrifting.
Thrift finds are like gold. Most of the time there are no replicas of the clothing items you find in thrift stores (while the last few times I was shopping at some I was finding clothes with SHEIN and Forever 21 tags).
Today there are more efforts being made to donate clothes to others who are in need, as well as efforts at recycling clothes at different clothing companies like H&M. I am hopeful that there are more people who are becoming aware of the issues with fast fashion, a shopping trend that ultimately hurts certain communities and the environment.
28 March 2023
The yin and yang of spring has been on full display these last few days. Daffodils open in time for snowflakes to fall on them. Early tree blossoms brighten a morning before dark clouds roll in afternoon to mute all color. Like all transitions, it’s a dynamic time, and although it is not clear at every moment, the movement is decidedly toward spring and all that it promises.
On campus the streams are swollen with the flow of March showers--new edges carved, stream beds rearranged, and old beaver dams breached. The creek that was surveyed by last year’s students has the same name but is different from the one awaiting this year’s crew.
The forest floor is alive with new growth. Sun loving shrubs and herbs are racing to soak up the sun
of lengthening days before the trees towering above close the canopy. Mushrooms, triggered by rain and warming temperatures, are sending their reproductive structures to the surface. Delicacies and dangers for four- and two-legged creatures alike.
The greening vegetation provides shelter and sustenance for resident birds who, like the undergrowth of the forest floor, are getting a jump on those who arrive or awake later. Careful observation of their behavior reveals purpose in their frantic flights. Fluttering feathers of a female lesser goldfinch solicit copulations from a nearby male. The trill of a dark-eyed junco proclaims this patch of parking lot his. Song Sparrows spar over boundaries marked by bushes, hedge rows, and building corners.
The skies, when clear of clouds and rain (or hail and
snow!), host flocks of both Canada and cackling geese, the former likely residents, the latter wintering here but returning soon to breeding grounds on vast Arctic plains. I look eagerly upward, marveling at the flights of the geese and searching for early arrivals from the south. Who will be first? An unimportant question. I’ll celebrate any of the masters of flight, survivors of challenges unimagined by an Earth-bound mammal. Spring…Sun and shadow. Color and cloud. Yin and Yang. Our spinning planet, its northern hemisphere once again tilted toward the sun, moves toward spring - water flowing, migration beginning, miracles appearing daily.
with an eye on nature (and wishes for an enjoyable week between quarter),
Wally MHCC Science FacultyThe Advocate
Welcome to the Spring Term! These next nine weeks, Mt. Hood Community College is presenting countless exciting and interesting performing and visual arts events, including several concerts, art exhibitions, and its latest spring theatre production.
With so many events, it can be easy to lose track of them all. So, to ensure you do not miss anything, this is your guide and preview to MHCC’s arts scene.
As per a MHCC tradition spanning two decades, the Visual Arts Gallery is capping off the school year with two annual exhibitions: the (Regional) High School Exhibition and the MHCC Visual Arts Student Exhibition. The former has already begun and will be featured at the Gallery through April 28. The exhibition showcases the artwork of students from numerous East County high schools.
The next exhibition, running May 8 through June 2, will feature art created by MHCC’s very own visual arts students, utilizing a wide range of mediums from paintings to ceramics. The Visual Arts Gallery, with free admission to all, is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On the side of MHCC’s performing arts, the annual, highly popular Mt. Hood Jazz Festival will be held May 5-7 at various locations across the campus. The Jazz Festival is a long-standing tradition at MHCC, having been launched in 1982. This year’s festival will feature headliner performances from the Ignacio Berroa Trio, Bill Charlap Trio,
Wycliffe Gordon, and more.
If the Jazz Festival is not enough jazz for you, MHCC will host the Oregon Music Education Association State Jazz Championship in the College Theatre on May 19-20. Nearly 30 different high school jazz bands will be competing in the championship.
Finally in June, MHCC will host its own Spring Term musical ensemble performances, scheduled from June 4 through June 7, including jazz, orchestral, choral, and wind concerts, most of which will be free to attend. (Off campus, Spinella’s restaurant in Gresham will host a free Mt. Hood Jazz combos performance on June 12.)
Not to be overlooked is MHCC’s Theatre Spring Production, to be staged on various dates between May 12 and May 21. The theatre student production will be “Buried Child,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama written by Sam Shepard, set in the 1970s.
For more information about all performances and their respective entrance and ticket fees, please visit https://www. mhcc.edu/PerformingArtsEvents/ or scan the QR code below:
I discovered Colombian singer and songwriter Kali Uchis in my sophomore year of high school. Tracks from her 2015 album, “Loner,” made it to my playlist, and I thought it was the newest sound I have ever heard from Latin American artists.
Her 2018 album, “Isolation,” has a special place in my heart: All that summer I listened to that album on repeat. I like to think both she and I matured as young women, writers, and lovers.
I appreciate that Uchis’s growth and maturity as an artist is being reflected in her newest album, the justreleased “Red Moon in Venus.” There are 15 tracks that explore the highs and lows of love, the physical and intimate aspect of love, and healing as a person. The first track, “In My Garden,” gives a soft and calm introduction. Her voice, the sounds of windchimes, and birds chirping follow throughout the entire album to create the perfect mix.
Three featured artists are part of this project: Omar Apollo, Don Toliver, and Summer Walker. The unique sounds each artist bring to the songs makes me think that the order of the tracks was selected carefully and purposefully.
“Worth the Wait” features Apollo. He and Uchis have worked together before to create beautiful tracks for each other’s albums. He has a soft and melodious sound similar to hers. The lyrics to this song explain the feelings of wanting to be around a lover, and experience physical intimacy that was worth the wait.
I love the lyric “I don’t wanna end up just another broken family (you would never do that to me, would you baby?).” It’s interesting to see a more personal side
of thoughts, fears and emotions that come up when being in a relationship with someone. This lyric goes further than the feelings our bodies experience when in love.
“Love Between…” is what being in love sounds like and flows seamlessly after ‘Worth’ as the second track. This track gives the same vibes as a 1950s-60s oldie. The Temprees are a soul trio from the 1970s with the greatest selection of old-school love songs. Their song, “Love…Can Be So Wonderful,” is given credit for the inspiration behind Uchis’s new take on the song.
I enjoy when artists do justice to old-school songs, which is exactly what Uchis did on this track, making it my personal favorite. The instrumentals are absolute perfection, especially the electric guitar towards the end of the song.
I think part of her growth as an artist has been releasing even more music in Spanish. “Como Te Quiero Yo” and “Hasta Cuando” are tracks in Spanish, exploring the same themes of love and healing. I believe words in Spanish seem to mean and sound stronger, while personally, I love experiencing music in both English and Spanish.
“Endlessly” is a song that gives me the old sound and style that made me gravitate towards Uchis’s music in the first place. “Moral Conscience” is an entrancing song that I would add to my personal favorites. It explains karma when relationships are over, and how that comes back to a person in the depths of loneliness and conscience. “Happy Now” truly brings the album to a happy ending with the same windchimes and nature sounds with which it began.
I definitely recommend this album to anyone interested in music with captivating new and old sounds all together.
Lizzy McAlpine is a 23-year-old singer songwriter from Philadelphia – and some of you might have heard of her or have listened to her songs without even knowing it.
Personally, I have been listening to her ever since I found her song on a random playlist on Apple music in the beginning of the pandemic. Her storytelling through her lyrics really spoke to me and still does as she continues to release more albums.
McAlpine’s first album, “Indigo” dropped in 2018, followed by “Give Me a Minute” in 2020, and her most recent, “Five Seconds Flat,” in April 2022.
With the release of the latter, she dropped a 30-minute short film that follows a girl (played by Lizzy herself) and two romances in her life. It starts with a breakup, and the start of a recovery and a new period in her life. Then, there is a time jump to three years later where she has found a new person to be in a relationship with.
McAlpine is active on YouTube promoting her songs and tour and posting vlogs when on tour. After releasing her short film, she released a behind-the-scenes look at that
project, as well as a look at making the Five Seconds Flat album. She also has live recordings of several of her songs, providing a fresh feel and simple visuals for her previously released songs.
One of McAlpine’s songs, “ceilings,” has gone viral on TikTok a year after its release. Someone had sped up the audio on TikTok, like a lot of songs found on the platform. After that version blew up, the singer officially released a sped-up version of the song. A month later, ceilings had become so popular that she made a video for it. It is truly amazing what fans can influence.
McAlpine’s website offers limited merchandise, with only a few T-shirts, hats, and hoodies. She also has vinyls of her last two album. There is also a deluxe edition of ‘Five Seconds,’ which features a color vinyl, as well as behind-thescenes photos and lyrics from the album. Unfortunately, that is sold out on her website right now, but you can sign up and wait for more copies to become available.
Lizzy has grown a fanbase through her music and tour vlogs. Her upcoming tour is starting mid-April and has already sold out not only in the scheduled United States stops but also the venues in France, the U.K. and Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany.
Ellen von Fortune
The Advocate
Taylor Swift, whose current “The Eras Tour” is filling stadiums across the U.S., is definitely one of the biggest names in the music industry.
She has won multiple Grammy, MTV, Billboard, People’s Choice, Teen Choice, and Country Music awards. She is famous for writing hits about her personal breakups, and her ability to expose those former partners. With those experiences she has been able to write and sing songs that a lot of people connect with when it comes to those tough times in life.
Swift started in country music. After dropping three albums, her songs shifted to pop. When she released “folklore” and “evermore” in the midst of the COVID pandemic, they were categorized as “alternative.” Her most recent album, “Midnights,” shifted back to the pop genre. She has often crossed the major music genres with 10 albums, in all.
Ten albums are a lot, and she does not even own all of them. When she signed with Big Machine Records at 15 years old, it gave the label ownership to her masters. In 2019 Scooter Braun, a music executive, bought Big Machine Records, giving him ownership of all her original albums. Swift was then offered a deal that if she re-signed with Big Machine she could basically earn each of the albums back, one at a time. She declined the deal and signed with another record label, Republic Records, allowing her to own her own masters of all new albums she recorded,
but it did not apply to her past work.
However, this did not stop Swift from wanting to own her past work. In 2021 she dropped re-records of the albums she did not own, starting with ‘Fearless,’ her second album originally released in 2010. She dropped the re-record in April 2021, calling it “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” which contained all the 19 songs on the original album and added six bonus tracks “from the vault” as she calls them.
In November 2021, Swift dropped “Red (Taylor’s Version),” the re-record of her fourth album that originally dropped in 2012. This time she added six ‘vault’ songs, including a 10-minute version of the number “All Too Well,” which had debuted in 2012. That leaves four albums for her to re-record in order to own all of her music.
Midnights dropped last October, immediately breaking streaming records. Within 24 hours, there were 184.6 million streams on Spotify. The previous record was set by Drake in 2021, with 153.4 million streams of his album “Certified Lover Boy.” One of her songs, “Snow on the Beach,” for which she collaborated with Lana Del Rey, broke the Spotify record for single-week streams for an all-female collaboration with 57.5 million streams.
On her current “The Eras Tour,” Swift is performing songs from all her albums, usually for over three hours each show. The show consists of 44 songs total, that are divided into 10 acts. Every time she performs, she performs two surprise songs that will not be performed at any of the other venues, making it a unique performance every time.
She continues to break records while on tour this year: With more than 69,000 people attending her appearance in Glendale, Arizona, she reported broke Madonna’s U.S. record crowd of 63,000 set in 1987. That is crazy!
Some of Swifts’ fans refer to her as “The Music Industry.” I cannot say I disagree. She is an amazing songwriter and performer and after covering multiple music genres, she truly has taken over a huge part of the industry itself. She is a smart businesswoman who knows how to put on a show.
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