+
CAMPUS CHIRPS BACK
PAGE 4
Follow us on Twitter @KansanOpinion.
Tweet us your opinions, and we just might publish them.
@hannahwv92 @KANSANOPINION crying about graduating
MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BRANCHING OUT
Appreciate unconventional music choices
Trap music saved my music taste. The no-holds-barred party genre introduced me to a world of electronic music and transformed me from cookie-cutter hipster to a legitimate music lover. I don't think I'll forget the moment of truth for a long time. We were cruising through the suburbs in the backseat of someone's car, blasting "Yeezus" for the first time and had no clue what was in store. The re-appropriated TNGHT beat drop on Kanye's "Blood On the Leaves" drew a howl of "damn" from all of us. Car speakers were blown out that night.
The hype of that moment has consumed me for the past year, and I've been on the hunt to reclaim that sense of pure, unadulterated excitement ever since.
I'm not going to knock the granola- and-latte hipsters who bump Elliot Smith and Pavement all day—I used be one of them. That's the kind of mood music that gets you pegged as "the hipster" in every school club
you join.
The problem between the two groups is the mutual suspicion—a musical DMZ. So-called "hipsters" are convinced, even though they won't admit it, that the public masses are brainwashed sheep devoid of "taste." The Top 40 lovers can't stand the quintessential hipster aloofness and trash talk them every chance they get.
I won't hate on the people rocking Top 40 hits, there's no harm in that. Pop music is pop music.; the stuff's made to sell records and be fun.
I stood there amongst the cut-off jean shorts crowd swirling with cigarette smoke for most of my former years. Though I didn't like to own up to it, I thought deep down in my heart that I was better than most of America because I listened to Death Grips and Swans. It's a natural group mentality to stratify the "other." In that case it was pop music.
But then Kanye dropped "Blood On the Leaves"
Trap, for those who aren't familiar, is a sub-genre of electronic dance music (EDM) that uses 808 drums and wailing synths to get crowds hyped out of their minds. It became huge on the festival circuit. Some say that trap is excitement distilled into music. I think it's mostly true.
It took a type of music that ignored convention, complexity and pretty much everything else to show me the light. Like most music transformations, it was a slippery slope into house, electronica, and finally Katy Perry and Ariana Grande. The metamorphosis was so complete that I hardly recognized my Spotify
playlists.
The thing was, though, that I don't leave any of my old favorites behind; I merely expanded them. Trap took me under its partying wing and opened my eyes to a larger world of music.
I'll admit that I see trap through a rose-tinted glass. Pretty much every time it comes on, I can't help but dance. Something about it still grabs my soul, but it's not a cure-all or even that great of music to begin with. It's pure energy and pure fun, and in my mind, nothing can beat that.
If you're stuck on either side of the music divide, search for your own trap. Give that genre you despise another listen. Push past preconceived notions about what you and your friends like and dip a toe in some fresh water.
I still can't stand country music though. Yuck.
Kenney is a junior from Leawood studying English. Find him on Twitter @
wilkenney.
FIRST-YEAR STRUGGLES
Don't let 'freshman' title define friendships
During your senior year of high school, you become the boss of your athletic team
You waited for four years to become the captain, and then you have to give it all up when you go to college and become a freshman again.
Going from a senior back to a freshman is usually hard for everyone, but it can be especially tricky for people on sports teams. I've learned from my time on the track and cross country teams that everyone has to do his or her part for the team. We are all individual cogs making sure
Freshman year is a year of learning—figuring out who you can lean on and who's got your back. As a freshman I was lucky enough to have a 'big brother' on the team. He was always there, helping me with school work and teaching me how to get around campus. For most freshmen, regardless if they were an athlete or not, they need to find that person who helps them make the adjustment to college life. For me, it was a teammate—a sort of "big brother." Being part of our team
the whole machine works.
Being part of a sports team is a
huge help when you are a freshman again and a long way from home. The team looks out for you and becomes a second family. The veteran runners help when I am lost on
campus or need some advice about school work. I'm glad I found them when I needed them.
But I'm really glad to be a sophomore.
Yunk is a sophomore from Belvidere,
Ill. studying strategic communication.
Find him on Twitter @tyleryunk.
FIND THE FULL COLUMN AT KANSAN.COM
HOW TO SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
LETTER GUIDELINES
Send letters to opinion@kansan.com. Write LETTER TO THE EDITOR in the email subject line.
Emma LeBaut, editor-in-chief elegault@kansan.com
Tom Dekart, managing editor tdehart@kansan.com
Length: 300 words
The submission should include the author's name, grade and hometown. Find our full letter to the editor policy online at kansan.com/letters.
CONTACT US
Scott Weidener, business manager sweidener@kansan.com
Alek Joyce, sales manager ajoyce@kansan.com
Brett Akagi, media director and content strategist
bakagi@kansan.com
Jon Schlitt, sales and marketing adviser
ischlitt@kansan.com
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Members of the Kansan Editorial Board are Emma LeGault, Tom DeHart, Scott Wedener and Alek Joyce
◊ KANSAS UNJON LEVEL 2 ◊ 1301 JAYHAWK BLVD. ◊ LAWRENCE, KS 66045 ◊ (785) 864-4640 ◊
+