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BY AUSTIN HORNBOSTEL Editor-in-chief [email protected] Whenever I get to the start of a new year, I — probably like a lot of people — find myself thinking back to all my favorite things from the year gone by. I’ll think about the best movies I saw in theaters — for me it’s "Deadpool," hands down, but if I’d seen "The Jungle Book" or "Zootopia" in theaters instead of on Netflix, they’d challenge for that category. Or I'll look at the most revisited inclusions in my Netflix “Continue Watching” queue. This year was a little dif- ferent. I’ve been caught up the past few weeks think- ing about the music I listened to during 2016 and how it’s different from anything I’ve heard before. Music is my media of choice, at least on a day- to-day basis. I comb SoundCloud and music blogs like Pigeons and Planes, constantly looking for new songs and artists. I always have an album playing when I’m doing homework or in Barnett Hall for work, and I listen through them again during my three-hour drive to Kansas City when I go home for breaks. I’m the kind of person that stays loyal to artists and waits impatiently for their next albums, and the releases this year weren’t an exception. When I think about my favorite albums of the year, it’s pret- ty easy for me to narrow down, and they all happen to be artists I’ve loved for a while — Chance The Rapper’s "Coloring Book," Run The Jewels’ "RTJ3," Frank Ocean’s "Blonde," Gallant’s "Ology," Modern Baseball’s "Holy Ghost," PUP’s "The Dream Is Over," and Childish Gambino's "Awaken, My Love!" There you go, enjoy that impromptu top seven list. If I comb back through this list, however, I see a trend with some of these albums in that they redefine the sound traditionally associated with the artists. The biggest examples, for me, are "Awaken, My Love!" and "Coloring Book." "Coloring Book" represents a mesh of genres, similar to Kanye West’s "The Life of Pablo" from last year, as it resides firmly with one foot in the realm of rap music and the other in that of gospel music. And then it uproots itself and takes a step into the radio-friendly auto-tuned rap music that permeates today’s airwaves, then it flips the script again, taking a step into the world of R&B. The result is an incredibly positive, genuinely engaging album with a range of songs that refuse to sound alike. This album serves as a testament to how versatile an artist like Chance The Rapper is. A song that features Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz — “No Problem," which is one of the most by-the-book rap songs on the album — sounds just as much like a Chance The Rapper song as “How Great,” a song that begins with a nearly three minute choral refrain of the hymn “How Great Is Our God.” One of my favorite songs on the album, “Juke Jam,” is a pure R&B track with Justin Bieber on the bridge, and it’s followed immediately by another upbeat rap song. "Coloring Book" marks the shaping of an artist who feels at home not only making just about any kind of music but also getting that collection of differing sounds to work together cohesively in an album. And then you have Childish Gambino. I’ve loved Childish Gambino — a moniker Donald Glover came up with using a Wu-Tang Clan name generator — since I discovered his music in high school. It also helps that he wrote for and starred in two of my favorite shows of all time, "30 Rock" and "Community." And his newest television show, "Atlanta," has quickly climbed up my list of all- time favorites, too. So it follows that I should have seen Childish Gambino’s latest shift coming, given his propen- sity for attempting everything he possibly can ar- tistically. He released a short film and a 72-page screenplay with one of his albums, in addition to all the projects I already listed. But I truly didn’t expect his newest album to sound like this. See MUSIC, page 7 6 THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 Throwback Thursday: Campus improvements through the years As work continues on Baldwin Hall and bulldozers begin the process of overhauling Stokes Stadium, we look back to a time when the sounds of construction were a major part of campus life. During the winter of 1964, construction was on schedule for the completion of Violette Hall, according to a Dec. 16 Index article. The article goes on to specify the 50-classroom hall was set to cost $1,397,861 with the project slated to fin- ish June 1965, a little over a year after the origi- nal groundbreaking. Violette Hall was originally earmarked to house six departments — the Division of Busi- ness Education, the Division of Education and Home Economics, the Department of Mathemat- ics of the Division of Science and Mathematics, the Speech Correction Department, the Division of Language and Literature and the photography section of the Division of Industrial Arts. There was even space reserved for the Index offices. Over the years, departments continue to shift location — or disappear altogether — and construction will always be a part of our ever- changing institution. We can only hope that con- struction on the stadium and Baldwin Hall will remain on schedule like Violette Hall in the ’60s. Now Renting Visit early for best selection! Apply Online www.TheWhiteApartments.com “White Apartments” & other close locations • 1,2, 3, 4 & 5 bedrooms • Several floorplan options to choose from (while they last) • Across the street from campus! Voted “Best Apartment Complex” Kirksville Apartment Rentals Kirksville Daily Express Readers Choice Awards 660-627-2060 REACTING TO MUSIC Submied photo Above: Truman students pose in front of the sll-in- progess Violee Hall construcon in 1964. Violee Hall was one of several projects in the works.
