On April 5, Tech’s very own WREK radio hosted their annual music festival, WREKtacular at the Underground Atlanta. WREKtacular has been an annual tradition for almost a decade. Consistently growing in size and popularity, WREK radio’s effort put into organizing this event was clear. 

True to their festival theme of COLLAGE, WREK highlighted a variety of different art styles and genres of music. WREK also partnered with Georgia Tech Creatives to host a festival market complete with food, artisans, vinyl sellers and Tech artists.

K.R. Badlands started the night off right at 4 p.m. Made up of several Tech students, K.R. Badlands are no strangers to performing, having played at several venues across Atlanta. With WREKtacular being one of their final shows, they made sure to make it a good one for the crowd that was present.

At 5 p.m., local prog rock, or, as WREK described, “dad rock,” band Against the Fold took the stage. Commonly found playing at Georgia bars, this group brought an amazing energy while performing their greatest hits.

 Suede Cassidy, made up of Atlanta natives Jeremiah Percival and Ian Boyd, brought the funk at 6 p.m. with their new wave, synth-pop R&B sound and personable lyrics. The final Georgia-based artist, Rose Hotel, played what can best be described as indie rock at 7 p.m. 

Primarily playing music from her debut album “A Pawn Surrender,” she focused on the psychedelic and folk influence of her southeastern roots. TOLEDO, an indie rock duo based in Brooklyn, took the stage at 8 p.m. with Steve the drum machine. They made the most with their hour-long set, bantering with the crowd as the sun was setting, while filling the set with their biggest hits.

Atlanta was saoirse dream’s first stop on her tour of the East Coast. The Portland-based hyperpop artist attracted the most energetic crowd of the night, complete with several mosh pits across the set. The night wrapped up with yesterdayneverhappened, a Chicago EDM drum and bass artist. WREKtacular, overall, highlighted the diversity of music and creative expression.

The post WREKtacular was a fun celebration of music appeared first on Technique.

Life at Tech complements itself to a fairly boring existence. You can get away with going to class and back, locking yourself away and only focusing on the work you have in front of you.

Alternatively, you can choose to do minimal work now and rather focus on ‘professional development’ which is all the same way to ask: how do you best present yourself to employers? Though scenario one feels like a sad existence, I am more worried about those in scenario two. 

I have seen several peers get caught up milking every single experience or activity for a resume boost or a project to add to their portfolio. But by fixing your gaze on the future you miss out on actually experiencing all the amazing experiences, activities or events attended.

Are you joining a club to solely add it to your resume? Are you attending a party to network? Are you contributing to a class project just to add it to your portfolio? Are you trudging through homework to get it completed?

Do you feel that you get the most out of the experience at hand by doing the following? And more importantly are you satisfied with it? If you had the opportunity to have an infinite amount of time in a day would you treat the following in the same manner?

Before I answer, I understand it is hard to look beyond being productive. I’ve personally also gotten caught up in the “grind” choosing to finish tasks rather than savoring them. A good example of that is writing for the Technique, at a point it became a job… and what’s the fun in that?

That is what all questions boil down for me “How can I maximize my fun?”

I am not saying to only do what is fun but instead see how fun can be injected into every part of your life because why else are we here if not to have fun? It is hard to articulate this change in mindset, and I understand that this is not an answer to everything. However, I hope to bring to attention that being a responsible adult does not mean you need to have a boring existence. 

Many of you may jump to disagree mentioning that you make time for fun. I counter, what is the distribution of work to fun and why can’t we have fun working?

Let’s go back to scenario one. Everyone has those days, where they just need to get through work. But with a change in mindset, this could be an enjoyable time. I look out for challenging questions in problem sets; getting excited to work on what I would call a fun problem knowing that I will come out of it understanding the topics relating to the problem at a deeper level. 

An alternate approach is getting hyped about straightforward questions since you saw similar work in class and you would be able to whiz through it.

No disrespect to Tech or a student doing the following, however, I would be so bored if I were to just go to class and back and only focus on schoolwork. I tried it out during the last half of my senior year, during school closing, and the lifestyle was not for me.

This is where we start to enter scenario two, where we start to do more work past what’s expected.

Most students look at all these experiences, like clubs and on-campus jobs, as supplementary to the university lifestyle which is an amazing start. 

This thinking sometimes gets poisoned when you get caught up in worrying about the future. I stray from the following by constantly reminding myself why I initially jumped on the opportunity in the first place… what was my selfish reason? Most of the time, my reason is just wanting to experience something new. I try to jump on any experience that passes my way or looks remotely interesting to me. A friend I met in freshman year used to joke about the motto “try everything once” and to an extent, I agree with him. 

By jumping on every opportunity, I have had the pleasure to be exposed to several amazing people, places and events. 

Moreover by focusing on having fun, I have been able to maximize personal and professional development without actively trying.

At the beginning of this semester, I had the opportunity to go to the American Chemical Society Fall 2022 National Meeting in Chicago. I was one out of a few hundred undergraduate presenters at the event. 

Most of them had come for one day to present and head out right after, I understand several were limited by project funding. However, a majority were just focused on their presentation and nothing more. 

We were at the ACS Fall meeting. There were over 12,000 people registered ranging from undergrads to retired faculty to industry and government professionals. There were almost 10,000 presentations across five days. I felt extremely lucky to stay the whole time where I was able to seek out lectures on topics that interested me, actively meet new people regardless of the benefit they could provide to me, and present my own work to experts and proceed to pick their brains. 

Through all this, I found a happy medium between scenario one and two. I didn’t just present my work and leave, and I wasn’t actively looking at how I could exploit this conference to push my future. 

Rather, I enjoyed the present for what it was, which not only helped me make the most of my presentation but also by chance, helped my future too by meeting several senior scientists in the industry as well as professors with who I may be interested in working with during my PhD.

When I look back at the event, established faces in the community did treat this event as a big get-together — they were just as excited as I was. 

A similar ethos is seen in the corporate world too, the higher up the ladder you go the more you see people act like people who actively search for how to infuse fun into work even though it can be argued that they have more responsibilities. 

So, I would like to ask, why is there a stigma around having fun? Why must we not have fun to be “responsible”? 

The temperature is dropping and pumpkin spice is making its way back onto menus.

Autumn is officially here! In the state of Georgia, the population knows how to make the most of this season with several not-to-miss events happening across the month of October.

There is at least one festival occurring in and around Atlanta for all of October. From amazing food to interesting crafts and events, these whole-day activities are a must. Here are a few of the largest and most unique festivals in Georgia.

The Festival on Ponce will be held at Olmsted Linear Park on Oct. 8 and 9. There will be several vendors and displays present with folk and ‘outsider’ art. 

The Atlanta Pride Parade, the biggest event of the Atlanta Pride Festival, will step off from the Atlanta Civic Center MARTA Station on Oct. 9 at noon. In the past, the parade has amassed over 100,000 people.

The Georgia Apple Festival is held in Ellijay on the second and third weekends of October. Over 300 vendors will be present with artisan crafts and several apple-oriented attractions.

Gold Rush Days Festival takes place in Dahlonega on Oct. 15-16, 2022. The festival is centered around celebrating Dahlonega’s 1828 discovery of gold. Hundreds of craft and food vendors will be present.

The Pumpkin Festival at Stone Mountain will host several events from Sept. 17 to Oct. 30. Along with the glow-in-the-dark night parade, this year they also introduced the World’s Largest Pumpkin Light Show.

The Helen Festhalle has been hosting the Helen Oktoberfest for 52 years now and will continue to. The German festivities will commence until Oct. 30.

The Little 5 Points Halloween Festival and Parade will be held on Oct. 22 and 23. There will be several Halloween-related stalls and events across the weekend, accumulating to the parade that starts at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

As the Georgia humidity leaves for a few weeks and the leaves start changing colors and falling, there is no better time to be outside. Across North Georgia, there are several outdoor activities readily available. 

From the end of the Appalachian mountains to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Georgia boasts an enormous amount of hiking trails. 

Rather than listing them all, it is recommended to visit the “Leaf Watch” website, organized by Georgia State Parks, to get a list of hiking trails along with tracking the exact timing of fall foliage.

Apple picking is a quintessential fall activity. Along with the Georgia Apple Festival, Ellijay is also home to several apple orchards where visitors can go apple picking like Mercier Orchards, B.J. Reece Orchards and R&A Orchards. 

Sleepy Hollow Farm in Powder Springs also offers pumpkin picking and a corn maze.

Along with the standard autumn events, the list would be incomplete without any mention of the Halloween-related spooky events.

From Oct. 13-16, the Rolecall Theater will host the Atlanta Horror Film Festival. 

There will also be outdoor screenings Oct. 7 – 9 at Ammazza Edgewood. Over 200 independent horror films will be screened.

Georgia has no shortage of haunted houses. 

The most popular ones are Netherworld Haunted House, 13 Stories Haunted House, Paranoia Haunted House and Escape Woods. 

The Atlanta Botanical Garden will be exhibiting Scarecrows in the Garden for the month of October. These creations are made by local artists and crafters including Tech’s very own School of Materials Science and Engineering.

Summer 2023 is a whole year from now. As many upper-year students would agree, regardless of how much time you have to apply for the upcoming semester, it doesn’t matter… it is almost never enough! So how can you set yourself up for success?

Firstly find out what you want to do. This is one of the most crucial steps of the process and one that is normally overlooked. As a student, what are your goals after university and how can this summer give you the experience to achieve them? Or alternatively, if you do not know what your goals are, how can this experience help you figure them out? 

The answer is almost always defaulted to a private internship. However this being the most basic solution means there is normally a more tailored experience out there if you spend a little longer looking. 

So, what is out there? 

If you are interested in continuing with your course-focused education during the summer, studying on campus is probably best. There are several courses offered by Tech during summer semesters for all students to participate in. An extension of this would be participating in a study abroad, either at GT Lorraine or at other research institutes associated with Tech, or as an exchange student. 

There are internships which has its own pros and cons. Of all summer experiences outside of Tech, Tech does the best in assisting students in landing any internship that may be of interest. Communicate intent with your advisor and Office of International Education to ensure you select the best program you are applying for.

Interested in working with a professor or trying to solve fundamental problems? Research allows for that kind of flexibility. Rather than just limiting your search to research done by professors in your major, feel free to explore outwards. As we progress, research is becoming ever more interdisciplinary in and outside of Tech and therefore students hold a large power when it comes to deciding a lab they are interested in. Other options that exist include Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) at other institutions or even fellowships offered to students. Interacting with Tech Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) is a good place to start, though they tend to blanket all forms of research.

Want to commit to a government job or work on pressing national problems? Government facilities are always looking for students, either for internships, fellowships or research experience. 

You are not just limited to the Department of Defence or Navy, as there are several national labs like Sandia or National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) that are sponsored by the Department of Energy or Commerce. 

They normally recruit at career fairs with an application similar to that of an internship.

Finally, the most common summer experience found at Georgia Tech – an internship. Here, one normally works in a private company on a predetermined project, hopefully providing valuable expertise. 

Other than informing a student on how the workplace operates, it also provides good insights on social skills required to succeed regardless of post graduation path.

Canadian singer, songwriter and producer Harchit Kohli has had a productive lockdown and is using the amassed momentum to continue to grow. 

The University of Waterloo student recently released his debut EP “HK24,” where listeners hear him experiment with different sounds, from 1980s synthwave to Don Toliver-inspired production.  

In 2021, he released his first three songs; “Freak in You,” “Late Nights” and “I Could Tell.” Wanting to develop further, Kohli was interested in publishing a longer-form piece of music. Unfortunately, he had trouble finding his sound. 

“At first, I was set on an 80s-themed EP which would feature synthwave songs and nostalgic vibes,” Kohli told the Technique. 

“I wrote about two to three songs but while recording them I just didn’t feel motivated. It felt like no matter what I wrote, I would always end up sounding like The Weeknd because he has mastered the current 80s synthwave sound.”

That all changed when he started to write “Soul.” Falling in love with a beat by Sonni — featuring dark flutes, accented strings and heavy 808s — Kohli was more inspired than ever. 

“I love combining different genres, and this instrumental felt like a mix between modern trap and an old vinyl sample,’’ he said. “I began writing and I knew that for a beat with this energy, I would have to match it, so I made a conscious effort to be vocally louder than I have been in any of my other songs.”

Kohli matched the energy by channeling inspiration from Don Toliver, who mixes trap seamlessly with rhythm and blues. 

Although he had written “Want You More” months prior, he was intrigued by the sonics; knowing it had to be on the EP, he wanted to give it his undivided focus. 

“Something about the underlying dark triplet melody repeating throughout the whole song and the simplicity of the lyrics itself was so catchy and I knew this song had to be on the EP,” Kohli said. “The song I took the main inspiration from was ‘Best You Had’ by Don Toliver. The simple, yet catchy hook combined with a repetitive guitar melody made this song appealing to me and I knew I wanted to create something like this.” Although he feels that he did not push the boundary based on the lyrics and melodies used, Kohli wanted to prove to himself that he can make a radio-ready mainstream hit.

Halfway through the EP, he changed scopes and wanted to showcase his artistic prowess. 

“I’m unique and I am passionate about different genres so I wanted to try something outside of hip hop as well,” he said. “I wanted to show that I can make a great song without 808s or drums.”

Kohli approached “Time Flies” in a fairly new manner for him. After finding an acoustic guitar instrumental made by Phyllis and Eeryskies, he freestyled his first run-through and used most of the lyrics that he came up with. 

“‘Time Flies’ is definitely my most personal song, and I love the nostalgic vibe,” he said. “I recorded this song in my university dorm room trying not to bother my roommates but a couple of them heard and actually loved the song, so that gave me more confidence to put it on the project.”

Kohli’s favorite song “Walking on My Love” was produced by YZ, his favorite YouTube producer. He loved the Willie Hutch sample in the beginning. 

“Some people consider using samples as cheating, but […] there is a plethora of old music that will not be heard in this day and age,” Kohli said. 

“I believe appropriately using someone else’s music is a great way to showcase their craft, keep old music alive, and display your ability to work on top of another song.”

Wanting to develop his songwriting, he found melodic inspiration from Justin Bieber’s minor mode melodies.

“This is by far the fan favorite and I’m beyond glad that my listeners enjoy this song because it is the most original and experimental song,” Kohli said.

He titled the EP “HK24” because of a childhood memory.

“When I was a kid I would play ‘Call of Duty’ with my friends and one of them would use a gun called an HK and he would always pick it up and say ‘Yo look it is you,’” Kohli said. 

“Since then I stuck with it for my producer name because I felt it was just unique to me. So for my first ever project with multiple songs, I figured what better name to call my EP than ‘HK24,’ something that means something and represents me.”

Based on his approach to this EP, it is clear that Kohli takes a very analytical approach to his music. 

He knows the sound he wants to emulate, the production he requires and the story he wants to tell. 

When manufacturing music like this, many artists seem to lose the artistic aspect, but Kohli uses this mindset to complement his love of music. He knows which battles he wants to fight and makes a game plan to confront them headfirst.

“I can’t wait to put out more music and just see where it takes me,” Kohli said. 

“I love music — always have and always will. Every day I am getting better as an artist, a vocalist and a musician. I keep working on my craft by myself. I want to keep pushing my boundaries and just keep practicing because I really do care about this. I want to keep progressing and it’s my goal to be one of the best to do this.”

“What Is Left Unspoken, Love” opened on March 25 at the High Museum of Art in Midtown. The exhibit explores questions surrounding love and relationships. 

Curated in-house, the multi-modal exhibit features artists from all walks of life and from around the world. They hoped to follow the ethos of poet and painter, Etel Adnan, who wrote love is “not to be described, it is to be lived.”

The exhibit varies in media, styles, tones and stories, from familial bonds to stories of a failed relationship the exhibit explores a variety of expressions of love. Unfortunately, this sometimes does lead to a mismatch in tone in the same room, where both childlike love is shown while discussing heavier stories like that of “The Kitchen Table Series” from Carrie Mae Weems.

Pieces like “In the Beginning: Time and Dark Matter” by Michelle Stuart add a unique depth to this exhibit which is ultimately focused on themes surrounding love. By combining celestial images with a collection of shells and fossils, its placement in this exhibit offers up its meaning to the poetic expression of the viewer. 

More than just stills, there are several sculptures and videos of all sizes and lengths on display. Grandiose pieces like “Take me, take me, take me … to the Palace of love” by Rina Banerjee exist and leave several onlookers speechless.

Following the theme of extending the definition of love, the exhibit also hosts several pieces that offer different interpretations of the word. 

“Love Me, Protect Me Chair” by Thomas Barger reflects on parental love, saying thanks to their mother and father, who loved and protected him. 

In comparison “VI Mural from the series Reducción objetiva orquestada’’ by Gabriel Rico, tries to define relationships through math but ultimately suggests they are beyond comprehension. 

“The Love You Give is the Love You Get” by Jeffrey Gibson, brings light to liberation movements associated with Indigenous rights and the LGBTQIA+ communities utilizing a sculpture that reflects traditional powwow regalia.

The High curated a diverse exhibit, not just in terms of themes and media, but also artists. More than half the pieces are that of international artists such as RongRong&inri and Ghada Amer. Indigenous and African-American artists are a prominent part of the display as well.  

Organized into six thematic sections, the exhibition outlines the most quintessential concepts of love. The High has outlined it as The Two, The School of Love, The Practice of Love, Loving Community, Poetics of Love and Love Supreme. All the way from the unification of people to love’s ability to transcend the exhibit touches all themes equally and with care.

The exhibit ends with the “Pulse Room” by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. This interactive light exhibit invites visitors to transmit their pulse to the lightbulbs in the room. 

By recording prior heartbeats, visitors are connected to each other, and a collective identity is formed. As a warning, the final gallery of this exhibition features flashing lights.

Overall, this multi-modal exhibit may look confused, disorienting and frankly overwhelming on a first walkthrough. However, The High provides additional commentary along the walls of the exhibit and on their website. The exhibit and pieces within them deserve a second pass. 

“What Is Left Unspoken, Love” will be on display at the High through Aug. 14. Tickets to the High are $18 for regular admission with group discounts available. 

The Second Sunday of each month offers free admission, and members of the military receive free admission and parking. More information is available at high.org.

On March 8, Center Stage Theater welcomed Aries to the stage, who rocked The Loft. Since his last tour “WELCOME HOME” in late 2019 following the success of his debut album, he has grown up, taken inspiration from the industry and developed his sound.

Aries found his start on youtube, where he would post two-minute videos breaking down hip-hop smashes, such as Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Lif3,” Playboi Carti’s “Magnolia” and Drake’s “God’s Plan.” He used all of this to advertise his own music. He knew how to leverage the online landscape by having a popular presence on Twitch, Discord and Reddit. 

His first breakthrough was in Jan 2018 when he released “CAROUSEL,” which had ultimately peaked at number 10 on Spotify’s Viral 50 – USA playlist. 

He later doubled down on this success in April with “SAYONARA,” which is his most listened to song to date. 

After his tour in 2019, there was no news of Aries. He had gone radio silent until October 2020, when he dropped the first single “FOOL’S GOLD” from his newest album “BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU” (BIMWBIY). 

Known for his album rollout and fanfare, Aries kept his fans on the edge, releasing five singles over half a year before releasing BIMWBIY in 2021.

Aries had developed a cult following after “WELCOME HOME” and hoped to expand it with BIMWBIY. 

He did just that with his sophomore album, debuting as the 7th most popular album on Spotify the same week Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and TWICE dropped music. Even one of the promotional singles, “ONE PUNCH,” made it on the NBA2K22 soundtrack.

There were fans who had traveled over seven hours to attend the concert and several who braved the Atlanta rain for hours to get close to the stage. 

As the audience filled the venue, several familiar faces from music videos were seen around the hall, all of whom were employees of Wunderworld, Aries’ collective. 

The concert started on time with an opening performance by brakence. As a fairly small artist known for a unique fusion of grunge, punk and trap, brakence kept the energy up for his full hour-long set and ensured that the audience was feeling his performance. 

Similar to Aries, his fans are few and far between, but the audience matched his energy, erupting into several mosh pits through his set. After that performance, he was sure to have developed a few more fans. 

The highlights of his set were “dropout,” “fuckboy” and “cbd.” That makes it all the sadder to hear that he has been battling sickness during the tour and can not complete it with Aries.

After brakence, the crowd was restless, chanting for Aries every time they saw someone on stage. They waited for 45 minutes before they were greeted by Aries, which is not a long wait compared to the three hours fans at the Atlanta show had to wait in 2019. 

The venue darkened and the screen started a countdown, a countdown until a “Journey 2 the Sun.” Right as the countdown concluded, Aries started with “FOOL’S GOLD,” the single that started his return. With visuals inspired by his music video, the light and atmosphere complemented the energy Aries started with. 

The audience immediately erupted and that marked the beginning of the organized chaos that ensued for the rest of the night. 

The floor had broken into several sections of moshers and those who were there to vibe with the music. Throughout his set, Aries kept reminding the crowd to be civil and was not afraid to stop mid-song to ensure that the audience was protected. The set was fairly simple, with a large enough stage for Aries to pace while being supported by his guitarist and drummer. However, what he lacked onstage, he made up for in visuals and lighting. 

Throughout the whole set, his visuals perfectly encouraged an emotional response in the crowd. From hand-drawn original sketches drawn by Aries himself to rough transitions, Aries ensured everything about the visual aspect of the performance had his scuffed touch.

Midway through the set, the lights turned on. Aries does this at all of his concerts to remind himself of his fans and to acknowledge his reach and the importance of music to everyone in the venue. He opened up about his struggles with anxiety and why it took so long to release BIMWBIY. This heartwarming break ended in the audience chanting his name.

He had continued the mellow tone introduced by the break with “AMY’S GRAVE” and “BLOSSOM,” two of his much older songs, written when he was in a darker place in his life where he was struggling from debilitating anxiety. 

He approached the close with a high note of “ONE PUNCH” and “RACECAR” back to back. He also encouraged a huge mosh pit to form for “ONE PUNCH,” even restarting the song from the top due to the mosh breaking out early. 

Grinning from ear to ear, Aries was loving every minute of it, keeping his energy high and enjoyed performing, especially since the audience reciprocated the energy. He ended with “WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT,” a song manufactured to end a concert. 

However, after a call for an encore, Aries came back to say “SAYONARA.” The crowd lost it, finding a new wind, and the energy was at an all-time high ending the concert with a bang.

After the show ended, the lines for merch for Aries and brakence were insane. Aries came back to the merch booth to sign some posters, talk to fans and 

take pictures. Even though both artists had a tour bus to catch, they tried their hardest to interact with as many fans as possible.

Aries led fans on a “Journey 2 the Sun,” but the destination was not as beautiful as the path taken.

Our Take: 4/5 Stars

With Mitski’s third studio album, “Laurel Hell,” she has come back from a hiatus to drop a highly anticipated, but slightly disappointing album.

The “Best Young Songwriter,” dubbed by The Guardian, has shown a lack of depth and candidness seen in past albums.

While  she was studying at Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music, Mitski had self-produced and released two full albums. After signing with Dead Oceans, she had released two more studio-backed albums — “Laurel Hell” being her third.

However, “Laurel Hell” may have never been released. During the final performance of her Be the Cowboy Tour in September 2019, Mitski had offered up her retirement.

She hoped to “find another life” by quitting. She had felt the pressure of the parasocial relationships seen by her fans, they had felt entitlement to her personal life.

At the beginning of 2020, Mitski came back to music. It may have been a product of lockdowns or that she owed Dead Oceans another album.

“I have to do this even though it hurts me, because I love it,” she told Rolling Stone . “This is who I am. … I’m going to keep getting hurt, and I’m still going to do it, because this is the only thing I can do.”

Coming up, focusing on the music she loved, she would put her all into performing.

This would leave her open to getting hurt, and as such, she told The Guardian that she decided “that even if more harm may come to me, I would be serving my purpose better if I actually wrote something that felt closer to my heart.”

This was the birth of Laurel Hell, Mitski’s alter-ego, a less filtered, more rough and poppy self.

Ironically, her album titled “Laurel Hell” was anything but that, it felt empty and soulless, but it was poppy.

The album was so general in its wallowing themes and couldn’t pinpoint the crux of sadness seen by most basic songs or, at a higher level, when oversharing seen on older albums.

It feels tossed off and cold in parts — it’s an odd development for an artist whose work has historically been so raw and personal.

Even though she has emphasized her distaste for the mainstream this album feels designed to further push her into the mainstream — against her wishes.

“Love Me More,” is a wonderful example of this plea to the mainstream. Yes, it could be a meta album, but it may be an overanalysis of the album to defend an artist’s past views.

Looking at the music itself, there is little criticism to be had. She sets up an amazing dark gloomy atmosphere that sucks the listener in, straight from the first song on the album “Valentine, Texas.”

The song formats and sonic introductions were engaging and kept the audience involved. It shows that Mitski studied studio composition.

If one expects indie Mitski, they will be disappointed. Her indie audience may have expected more based on her preceding work, but her sonic shift to a more pop-focused album was welcome for new Mitski fans.

She is at a crossroads, continuing to experiment her pop sound for a new more diverse audience or dive back into her past if she wants to keep her audience. She had renewed her contract, so she has plenty of time to experiment with her sound and find what she likes.

For Tech students, Mitski is a cultural icon representing the inner turmoil of a college student. While “Laurel Hell” wasn’t perfect, fans are looking ahead to what is next.

Please note that I enjoy the Olympics; however, it should be stated there are several decisions made by the Olympic committee I disagree with. 

Whenever I refer to the Olympics, I am referring to the games and not the organization.

Honestly, I’m a fish outta water — or a better analogy would be a penguin without snow.

With temperatures hovering around 32 Fahrenheit, could you blame me for forgetting that somewhere halfway across the world the world’s best athletes are competing in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics?

I love the winter Olympics. Simply. Since Vancouver 2010, I have been addicted.

In the spirit of Valentine’s day, let’s explore my fondness for the winter Olympics discussing the most romantic sports, heartwarming stories, tumultuous relationships and best events to snuggle up and watch.

Most romantic sport? 

Obviously, it has to be pair figure skating — the elegance, the poise, the tension, the drama; it’s a reality show that writes itself.

One of the most famous examples is Tonya Harding’s and Nancy Kerrigan’s relationship, retold in “I, Tonya”.

If you don’t want to watch the movie, in short, it’s about American figure skaters, fierce competitors, how Harding’s ex assaulted Kerrigan with a crowbar to the knee, and how Kerrigan came back to win silver in the 1994 Olympics a month later.

However, would you believe me if I said there was a more romantic sport? 

Well, there is. In fact, there are two of them, one of them being a solo sport.

Number two would have to be Ice Hockey. Canada vs USA rivalries. 

The cellies. 

The physicality. 

The crowd. 

Being one of the few team games in the winter Olympics, the energy is ecstatic. 

Don’t believe me? Just search “The Golden Goal”. 

Number one, without debate, would have to be the Luge.

To an average onlooker, the luge is an insane competition with even more insane competitors. It is the fastest sliding sport, with athletes zooming at 145 kilometer per hour on what is basically a metal sled. 

Yet it is surprisingly one of the least dangerous winter sports seeing a little over 8 injuries per 100 competitors (Sochi 2014). 

Lugers may be insane for trusting their toboggans, but aren’t we all looking for that insane connection?

We all know of Olympic couples and families — they’re commonplace — however, families completing together are few and far between. 

The Dufour-Lapointe sisters compete in freestyle skiing, women’s moguls. 

During the 2014 Sochi Games, Justine and Chloe were first and second respectively while Maxime came 12th. 

This year the sisters looked to score in Bejing. Due to an unfortunate fall, Justine was out of the running. 

The fall made me sad, and Chloe approaching her sister with a talk and hug got me teary.

Cornelius Kersten and Ellia Smeding are the first Brits competing in speed skating since 1992. 

The couple funded their own dream, opening a coffee business (Brew 22) to offset the cost of competitions. 

From running a company together to training together to living together, they feel pretty lucky to be living this life together. 

The gracious competition can be seen across the events. 

Most recently for example, in the first biathlon at Bejing, the Slovenian team had assisted Roeiseland, the Norwegen biathlete, identify and fix a technical issue with the Norwegian rifle while racing. 

Roeiseland had come first place, safe to say this would have not been possible without the Slovenian physiotherapist. 

It’s so wholesome that I’m surprised the snow around the podium didn’t melt.

There are quite a few rivalries that differ between events, narratives that are always shifting, but as the Olympics continue to expand offered competitions, new characters enter the global story of friendly (for the most part) competition.

I have yet to talk about my all-time favorites, the ones that made me fall in love with the winter Olympics. 

The first event I ever recollect watching would be speed skating, this was right after I started learning to skate, and oh my, after watching the athletes, I tried my best to be a speed demon on the ice. 

Well, that was until I finally got to do what I adored. 

After watching Ashleigh McIvor win gold in the freestyle ski cross, I determined I must learn to ski which is exactly what I did. 

Curling has been the most recent addition to my list of favorites, and after working at the chalet as ski patrol, I have gotten well acquainted with curling goers. 

It is not an easy sport; don’t let the videos fool you.

The grace of the athletes is unmatched, not to mention it is magical to see how sensitive the stones are to any stimulus: the strategy behind the throw, constant error correction and even the collisions with others.

However, eight year old me understands if you switch the channel to an event that is more ‘exciting’ as long as you aren’t turning off the stream altogether.

If this is your first taste of the Olympics, to make sure you fall in love this Valentine’s day, I have created a list of all podium events occurring over the Valentine’s day weekend that are sure to get your heart racing.

On Friday, Feb. 11, I would definitely recommend that you tune into to watch Men’s Snowboard Halfpipe, Women’s Super-G. 

On Saturday, Feb. 12,  you’re going to want to make sure that you’re watching the Mixed Team Snowboard Cross, especially the Men’s Large Hill Individual. 

On Sunday, Feb. 13, you don’t want to miss the Short Track Speed Skating, specifically the Women’s 3000m Relay and the Men’s 500m.

On Monday, Feb. 14, make sure to watch Ice Dance, Women’s Arieals and Women’s Freeski Slopestyle. 

Happy watching!