(Photo credit: Kaleigh Robichaud)

Alyssa here with your monthly playlist! I enjoy editing for Arts & Culture partly because I’m such a huge fan of music from almost all genres. Each month I’ll be providing a themed list of songs with that hopefully catches your interest. Look out next month for a buzzword video — Christmas themed, undoubtedly. Submit your own playlists in the comments section or email TBG to have yours featured! The more music, always the merrier!

This month’s theme: Study Session – Stay focused, stay motivated, stay awake with these tunes!

Black River Killer – Blitzen Trapper  – Listen!

Baby Boomer – Monsters of Folk — Listen!

Rats – Devendra Banhart — Listen!

Samson – Regina Spektor — Listen!

I’ve Just Seen A Face – The Beatles — Listen!

Let’s Stay Together – Al Green — Listen!

Check the Rhime – A Tribe Called Quest — Listen!

Fireworks – Animal Collective — Listen!

I’m Shipping Up to Boston – Dropkick Murphys — Listen!

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) – Jimi Hendrix — Listen!

Sufjan Stevens performs in front of sold-out crowd at Royal Oak Music Theatre. (Photo credit: Alyssa Firth)

I’ve been a fan of Sufjan Stevens since I first heard his music through a close friend last year. I will admit, I’m one of those fans who barely knows the names of any songs and simply listens, sings along, and enjoys. Judge the basis of my opinion if you will, but my dear readers, when I say Sufjan’s show was worth shelling out the $35, I mean it was worth much more. Time, effort, and a whole lot of pure talent were put into his show that ran over two hours. Pleasing a sold-out crowd at Royal Oak Music Theatre on October 14 would be an understatement.

For those of you who haven’t heard of him, Sufjan Stevens is a Michigan native who’s been releasing albums since 2000 from his co-owned record label Asthmatic Kitty based in Holland, Mich. He’s most well known for his Fifty States Project in which he had set a goal to write an album for each of the 50 states. Michigan and Illinois were released in 2003 and 2005, respectively, but he has yet to produce another state-themed album. With nine albums under his belt, his much anticipated tenth album, The Age of Adz, was released only two days before the show in Royal Oak.

Stevens chose a set list of songs off his latest album and EP, All Delighted People. Some fans in the audience were disappointed not to hear some of their favorite old tunes. One fan even shouted the incredibly offensive, “A** h**, play old songs!” (I don’t care what you expected from a show, you do not shout that at an artist), but Stevens made up for what he refused to play by smoothly transitioning himself into a new, undefined genre. Though he did “cleanse the pallet,” as he put it, with a few folk songs in between, Stevens can no longer be described as simply that. Possibly electric-infused folk with a hint of jazz and delightful melodies that make you want to move your body to the music, but does that pass as a definitive genre? Transcendental, experimental, and slightly existential at times, Stevens’s new music and lyrics took the audience on a journey they were probably not expecting.

The amazing part of the show was that the audience was never bored. Usually when you see a band play songs you don’t know well, or even at all, you have trouble getting into the show because you can barely sing along. Stevens’s songs went peacefully together, one after the other. His longest song, which he described as a “mini-series on love,” was close to 20 minutes long. It sounds like it would be terrible and dragged out, but just when you start to feel yourself get bored, the band kicks in with incredible bass and percussion that pulls you back in. Even when things get a little weird, like when a giant diamond descended from the ceiling behind Stevens and he uncharacteristically danced around wearing white-rimmed sunglasses, he always brought it back to Earth with his tenacity and musical talent. If you’ve ever wondered if Stevens is one of the those artists who sounds the same on his album as he does live, I’m here to tell you he is. His voice did not falter once throughout the set.

I can only best describe Stevens’s show as a live music video, but on a different level. Behind Stevens and his nine-piece band, including two backup singers/dancers dressed in metallic dresses and leggings, was a giant white curtain stretching from floor to ceiling. For each song, a delicately edited video was displayed on the curtain to fit perfectly with the music played. Some edits were quick and fascinating, and others displayed melodic images that stretched across the screen to mesmerize the crowd. The dynamics of the show were elaborate, yet perfectly in sync at the same time. If you weren’t staring at the images and colors in front of you, you were watching as the band passionately played their instruments and Stevens fervently performed his music without fault. You were also probably watching the two girls dancing in the back who, adorably, were completely off beat with each other, but were clearly having a fantastic time grooving along. You might have even noticed the Bee Gee look-a-like playing trombone in the back, and he was totally diggin’ it, too.

Could Stevens have possibly gone an entire show without playing anyone’s favorites? It’s possible, but not probable. Before ending his set, Stevens thanked the crowd by saying, “It’s obviously been a pleasure to share this beautiful mess with you.” He then finished his set with the always loved, “Chicago.” With the first few chords of the song, the entire venue erupted with an enormous cheer of approval, and everyone sang along. He ended the show with a 10 minute encore of older songs, which hopefully appeased the few unruly fans.

Auto-tune, spaceships, and graphic arts: All things that have never been associated with Sufjan Stevens until now. It sounds like he’s gone off the deep end, but I was thoroughly impressed with his subtle messages of love and perseverance through a spectacular performance. Even if you miss his banjo, you can’t deny his talent. His songwriting abilities have not gone amiss. The man knows how to rock out a show and express his gratitude for his fans. Worship of artist and audience was dispersed equally that night in Royal Oak.

Mr. Stevens, my heart is forever yours.

Comedian and Last Comic Standing (NBC) semi-finalist Tracey Ashley joined MSU students and East Lansing residents alike at the Union on the evening of Saturday, April 10^th. Following young comedians Felicia Gillespie and Ryan McKernan, Ashley performed for an hour and half to a full crowd in the main room of the Union. Ashley sat down with TBG’s own Alyssa Firth for a one on one interview after the show.

Firth: How did you like the audience?

Tracey Ashley: The audience was fantastic. They were great. They got everything, they were on top of it. They knew when to laugh. So obviously you guys get a lot of comedy here, so it was fun. This was a fun show.

Firth: Do you tend to get stuck up crowds once in awhile?

TA: Oh yeah. It’s not even that they’re stuck up sometimes. They might just be too young. We did a show last night and it was little sibs weekend so they had all their brothers and sisters, and like the youngest was eleven years old. You know, I’m talking politics, I’m talking about marriage, all kinds of things. I felt bad, so I did a joke for her so she could feel comfortable. It was just like a little kid joke, you know? They were fine, but there were some things I said and they were really like “Aww!” but they really thought, they took it literally. And their hearts were broken and I was like, “Come on you guys, just join reality.” But they were okay. But tonight was fantastic.

Firth: What did you think of the opening acts?

TA: They’re great. The young lady, Felicia Gillespie, she travels with me and she’s an up and coming star and you’ll hear her name a lot and I’m sure she’s going to be doing a lot of colleges. So I like her brand of humor a lot. And I like the young man, I think his name was Ryan, he was excellent. And you can tell he’s been doing this quite a bit, coming out here. And I like the twist with the guitar at the end. So it made for a, we had a variety show kind of tonight. So it made it, I thought it was great. It was a good build up.

Firth: Do you go to a lot of college campuses?

TA: I do a lot of college campuses. It’s funny that I didn’t do this school. A few years ago, I did a bunch of schools in Michigan. I started up in Sault St. Marie and I worked my way all the way back. I did big schools, small schools, but I never made it here because I think I was booked somewhere, so it was great to come back up here. We’ve done three schools in Michigan this week.

Firth: Well we’re glad to have you here!

TA: Thank you! Thank you!

Firth: How long have you been telling jokes?

TA: I’ve been doing comedy now for a total of 10 years, but not ten years straight doing comedy. I had a day job. I worked in advertising sales. I sold for a radio station that used to broadcast the Minnesota Vikings, so I sold there. I worked at a hip hop station for awhile and then when I decided to do comedy, I left the station and started doing temp work, so I could do a temp job and then go on the road. It wasn’t till I was able to get an agent and a manager that I could do it full time. Then I did Last Comic Standing and a lot of college students watch that. That ended up getting me on a lot of conferences, so since then I’ve been doing a lot of colleges and clubs.

Firth: Were you funny growing up?

TA: It’s so funny, cause in school I was funny. My family didn’t know cause, you know, I was raised by preachers, so at home I had to be contained and be on my best behavior. They would be shocked because they would get these phone calls from school, like, “Your niece won’t shut up in class.” I had one teacher, my professor, science professor, he threw me out of class and I wasn’t even talking. I said, “I wasn’t even talking!” and he said, “Well if you weren’t, you were gonna.” That’s how bad I was! He threw me out and I turned around and I just started acting out, like, “I’ma get you. I’ma get you!” and all the students were laughing. I just always liked to make people laugh, so it was something that I knew that I always wanted to and I couldn’t wait for the opportunity.

For most freshman, myself included, a student’s first job at MSU may go along the lines of something like serving food in a dining hall, making coffee at Sparty’s, or even handing out toilet paper and garbage bags at the front desk of any given dorm. RCAH freshman Brynne, however, took the alternative route for her first job. Brynne poses nude for figure drawing and sculpting classes at Kresge Art Center.

Nude Models have to stand in specific poses for a long period of time (photo credit: Emily Lawler. Note: Not real model.)

The Life of a Nude Model at MSU

Brynne found her job through myspartancareer.com. After finding out about it, she went straight to Kresge Art Center to get information. “There was just something inside me that was just like, ‘You have to do this,’” Brynne said.

Her parents were a little upset at first and her friends were confused by her choice of job, but now they admire and respect her. “My parents still don’t like it, but they knew they couldn’t stop me,” Brynne said.

Though she has never been ridiculed for her modeling, men sometimes get the wrong idea. “To guys, it’s a bit like being a stripper. They’ll say ‘Oh, maybe I should take one of your classes,’ but I really don’t care,” Brynne said. The embarrassment of standing naked in front of a room full of people faded away after two classes for Brynne. “I’m a pretty confident person, which makes it a lot easier. I wouldn’t recommend this to the weak-minded,” Brynne said.

The models do not know what class they are going to be modeling for or when. Brynne currently poses for five different classes, usually once or twice a week. It may get boring at times standing up there, but students will sometimes hold conversations with the models. “They’ll ask ‘What’s your major?’ or ‘Why are you doing this?’ Sometimes it’s awkward, but sometimes they play music to get the artists’ creativity flowing,” Brynne said. Though she does get breaks, it is difficult to stand still for such a long period of time. Brynne fell once during a forty five-minute pose. “It’s physically exhausting, but it depends on the pose,” Brynne said.

What the Artists See

Journalism and design specialization freshman Dennis Vlahoulis took the STA 110 class last fall with Britta Urness. This was his first time drawing a nude figure. “I wasn’t as uncomfortable as some of my classmates… In my eyes, there was little distinction between the mannequin and an actual person. In the end, it all turns into art,” Vlahoulis said.

Seeing the human body makes it easier to draw for him. “You start to see the body in shapes that are interconnected to create the human form. The more you practice and develop, the easier it will become,” Vlahoulis said.

Brianna Ritivoy drew nude models in an art class she took (photo credit: Emily Lawler).

Why They Need to be NAKED!

But for anyone who has never taken an art class or had any interest in the field, you might ask yourself, why? Why must they be naked of all things? Graduate teaching assistant and painting major April Matthews teaches the STA 110 class this year, in which the class views a nude model for two weeks at the end of the semester. “Students get a better idea of the structure of the human body, and how the body moves,” Matthews said. “You can compare it to a doctor working on a cadaver. Even if you don’t end up drawing, you need to get an idea of why the body moves, why clothes fit the way they do,” Matthews said.

The models do a variety of poses for three hours for the class. They start with short, active poses to show movement and they last from anywhere between thirty seconds to five minutes. Throughout the class, the poses will become longer, going from fifteen minutes to even forty-five minutes. “It’s really important for life drawing. It’s a lot harder than people realize to get the right posture,” Matthews said.

The models are not always nude for every class. It all depends on what the teacher or professor wants for the class. “[Models in] sculpture classes will sometimes wear clothes,” Matthews said. It may be less awkward to draw someone who is wearing clothes, but seeing the body makes it easier to get the right shape. “Clothes, though they can somewhat be form-fitting, are often much simpler from a drawing aspect than the curves, tonal differences, holistic nature of the nude human form,” Vlahoulis said.

As strange as it may sound to be willing to pose nude, it becomes normal for teachers, students, and models. “It becomes a job. You just kind of ignore the strangeness and it becomes ordinary,” Matthews said. “Most of us care more about the artistic details presented within our own artwork than an uncomfortable situation,” Vlahoulis said.

For Brynne, the modeling has become an enlightening experience that she plans to continue doing throughout her stay at MSU. “I’ve become a lot more confident in myself; I have nothing to hide anymore. It makes being myself a lot easier,” Brynne said.