There’s always that moment of anticipation before an artist/band steps on stage – that long moment after the background music goes silent and the lights dim and everyone in the room quickly realizes what is about to happen. Soon, what they have only listened to will be seen, and what they will see they will feel.

I have experienced many of these moments in my life, but none of them felt as long as the moment before I saw Stevie Nicks. As the lights dimmed in the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on March 19, 2017, I knew that the singer from Fleetwood Mac was about to step on the stage. For the first time in my life, I would see an artist that felt like home to me.

Stevie’s music has guided me in so many ways throughout my life. Of course, my parents are the reason I have a love for Stevie and Fleetwood Mac and even Buckingham-Nicks, the duo in which Stevie began her career. As a teen, I remember hearing the lines ““Thunder only happens when it’s rainin’ / Players only love you when they’re playin’” from the song “Dreams” and realizing that I was really, truly in love with music and the feeling it exudes. As my sister turned 15 and danced on a stage with my dad at her quinceañera, I listened to Stevie ask herself if she could “sail through the changin’ ocean tides?” and “Can I handle the seasons of my life?” from “Landslide” and I asked myself the same questions.

Stevie Nicks, singer/songwriter extraordinaire, is turning 69 this year on May 26, but she dances across a stage as though she’s 25. Her feet are as light and airy as her beloved and iconic fringe shawl that hugs her shoulders. She is a fairy, a youthful soul, a “gold dust woman”. Her steps are much lighter than her writing is – she’s spent the past 50 years writing about love, lust, pain, tragedy and everything in between.

When an artist’s words have a profound impact on you from a young age, that artist becomes familiar to you, like an old friend. And sometimes, you have a moment with that artist that, unbeknownst to them, changes you. Watching Stevie dance around the stage was that moment for me – it’s the moment we all wait for when we see an artist we love. It’s the reason why we anticipate an artist coming on stage; we expect the artist to give us an experience we haven’t encountered before. Thanks to Stevie, I had that experience on March 19, 2017.

Kurt Cobain would have been 50 years old on February 20 this year. His impact on music is nearly impossible to ignore over twenty years after his death. However, as fondly as we might remember his birthday, such remembrance is short lived since the anniversary of his death is just a little over a month later on April 8, his impact forever balanced with the tragic circumstances of his last days. He is simultaneously exemplar and cautionary tale, with many obvious takeaways from his story, both positive and negative. But beyond the obvious, there are two elements that I think are worth our reflection. Both concern this quote:

“I’m a spokesman for myself,” he says. “It just so happens that there’s a bunch of people that are concerned with what I have to say. I find that frightening at times because I’m just as confused as most people. I don’t have the answers for anything. I don’t want to be a ******* spokesperson.”*

By 1992, Nirvana had reached Rolling Stone magazine darling status, and their cover story featured a lengthy interview with Kurt that deals mainly with their rise to fame and the struggles that came with it. His response above is both illuminating and damning for a culture that so often idolizes its artists. Most artists have the courage to say, “I don’t have the answers for anything,” which means that most of us looking at an artist’s art should be okay with unanswered questions. As C.S. Lewis said in his excellent work An Experiment in Criticism, our appreciation of a work begins with surrender: “We sit down before the picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it.” The more we look to an artist’s work to confirm or deny our beliefs, the greater the risk we run of misusing that work.

Secondly, he says explicitly, “I don’t want to be a spokesperson.” Christians are knocked for this all the time (see Shai Lynn’s recent post concerning Chance the Rapper as a perfect example), but the response to Kurt Cobain’s life and death demonstrate that this is a problem common to everyone. Whether spokesperson or savior, elevating an artist to this point is not only unwarranted (in this case by his own request), it is ultimately devaluing to the art and dehumanizing to the artist. We have all encountered art that affects us deeply, even to the point of feeling as though that work speaks for us. But as Kurt Cobain shows, this may well be a coincidence, or at the very least an unintended consequence. The more we look to an artist to represent us, the greater the risk we run of abusing that person.

Kurt Cobain’s legacy is ultimately a tragic one, but his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, summarized it best**:

“My dad was exceptionally ambitious. But he had a lot thrown on him, exceeding his ambition. He wanted his band to be successful. But he didn’t want to be the ******* voice of a generation.”

His life, work, and death should push us to treat both art and artist with hospitality and respect.

Sources:

* http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-inside-the-heart-and-mind-of-kurt-cobain-19920416

** http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/frances-bean-life-after-kurt-cobain-death-exclusive-interview-2015040

With Coffeehouse just a few more days away, you know exactly what that means – another 2000s artist highlight. Last but certainly not least, our 7^th and final 2000s icon being highlighted “ain’t no other (wo)man but”… Christina Aguilera!

In 1999, Christina Aguilera released her self-titled first album, which sold more than 8 million copies and produced her first hits, “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants”. Since then, she has gone on to release 8 more albums*, featuring many of her top singles, including “Beautiful”, “Candyman”, “Hurt”, “Ain’t No Other Man”, “Fighter”, and “Pero Me Acuerdo de Tí”.

Similar to the other icons we’ve profiled so far, Christina had a deep passion for music from childhood. Her talent was discovered early when she “wowed audiences” on the program Star Search at just nine years of age. Her real rise to fame began around the same time as two other 2000s icons, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. All three were cast members on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club that aired in the early 1990s. This eventually led to the opportunity to record the song “Reflection” for Walt Disney’s Mulan just a year before her debut album was released.**

Aguilera’s talent is obvious and she has proven that throughout her life. She won Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best New Artist, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Latin Best Pop Vocal Album, on top of her many other awards***. She was also the halftime performer at the Super Bowl in 2000 and has adorned just about every fashion and entertainment magazine in existence****. She made the list of Greatest Singers of All Time and Most Influential People in the World, she has been recognized as one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and is commonly referred to as “The Voice of a Generation”*****. Christina Aguilera is an undeniable icon of the 2000s and the final artist highlight before Coffeehouse: The 2000s. Get excited! It’s finally (almost) here!

Resources:

*https://www.discogs.com/artist/77855-Christina-Aguilera

**http://www.biography.com/people/christina-aguilera-9542394#commercial-success

***http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/christina-mara-aguilera-1055.php

****http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/christina-aguilera

*****http://www.uselessdaily.com/world/christina-aguilera-trivia-40-interesting-facts-about-the-singer/

Our artist highlight series continues with a few facts about your favorite band, Coldplay (cue the cheers, tears and “I love Coldplay!!!!”’s), and its front-man, Chris Martin. You may know Coldplay as a band, but you may not know much about its lead singer/pianist/rhythm guitarist, Chris Martin. In any case, we’re here to provide you with some information that may pique your interest in the British alt-rock band and their iconic lead.

Born in England on March 2, 1977, to a teacher and an accountant, Chris Martin is the eldest of five children.* The legend is that Chris Martin has had a passion for music from a very young age. He formed his first band, The Rocking Honkies, while in a preparatory school.* He then went on to the University College in London where he met his future Coldplay bandmates, Johnny Buckland, Will Champion, and Guy Berryman. Originally, they called themselves Pectoralz, then changed to Starfish, and finally settled on Coldplay*** (good choice).

In the year 2000, Coldplay debuted their first album Parachutes**, which took the No. 1 spot on the charts in the U.K. and landed in the top 200 in the U.S. Billboard charts. The album also received the 2001 Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album.* Coldplay would go on to release 6 other albums along with many other singles, EPs and live albums.**  You may know some of their biggest hits, such as Clocks, Yellow, Paradise and Viva La Vida.

Apart from Coldplay, Chris Martin has written a variety of songs on his own. In the 2000s, he collaborated with many artists including Nelly Furtado, Swizz Beats, Jay-Z and Kanye West.* He is still actively collaborating with well-known artists – an example being his presence with The Chainsmokers in their newest hit song “Something Just Like This”. Don’t get any ideas about a solo project though – about a year ago, he went on the record saying “I will never do a solo record…because the only reason I’m able to do what I’m doing is because of the rest of the band.”

Coldplay’s alternative style is different from any 2000s icon highlighted thus far. From chart toppers to platinum records, Chris Martin has made himself an icon of 2000s and continues to make a lasting musical impact.

Resources

*http://www.biography.com/people/chris-martin-16466718#synopsis

**http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/coldplay

***http://www.boomsbeat.com/articles/22084/20150820/50-things-chris-martin-lead-vocalist-co-founder-band-coldplay.htm

****http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/coldplays-quiet-storm-20050825

Another week means another icon of the 2000s. As a refresher, over the past couple of weeks we have highlighted the following: Britney Spears, Alicia Keys, Eminem and Justin Timberlake. However, one artist whose rise to fame is slightly different from the rest is Kelly Clarkson.

Kelly Clarkson’s rise to fame came courtesy of the first season of American Idol. American Idol, if you’re not familiar with American television, is a show where people from all over the country sing their hearts out in front of a handful of judges who determine their fate. From there, the chosen contestants compete for weeks until there is only one lucky winner left. This person gets a $1 million prize and a record deal. That person in season one was Kelly Clarkson.

Clarkson’s first single following her win, “A Moment Like This”, went from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts.* That song will forever reign as the iconic song that brought her to fame, but it was just one of many hits in her ascent to fame through the decade. Through the rest of the 2000s, she released 4 albums: “Thankful” (2003), “Breakaway” (2004), “My December” (2007), and “All I Ever Wanted” (2009).** Her second album “Breakaway” holds some of my very favorite songs like, “Since U Been Gone”, “Breakaway”, “Behind These Hazel Eyes” and “Walk Away”.

In 2007, after a three-year absence, Kelly Clarkson released “My December” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Later that year, Clarkson also did a remake of “Because of You” with Country music star Reba McEntire which charted on both the pop and country charts, reaching No. 2 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It must have been quite an honor for Kelly as the two are quite close; Clarkson calls McEntire one of her inspirations and also went on to marry McEntire’s stepson, Brandon Blackstock.***

Finally, to end the decade the right way, Clarkson released her album “All I Ever Wanted” in 2009 and the album’s first single, “My Life Would Suck Without You”, eventually climbed from No. 97 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the second time Clarkson had broken the record for the largest leap to the top spot, the first time with her single, “A Moment Like This”.*

Although Clarkson’s rise to fame was unlike the rest of her fellow 2000s icons, she made her way into the hearts of every American with her true talent. With millions of records sold while also maintaining the spotlight for over a decade, the ‘ordinary’ girl from Fort Worth, Texas proved she could hang with the best of them!

Resources:

*http://www.biography.com/people/kelly-clarkson-9542602#early-life

** https://www.discogs.com/artist/201543-Kelly-Clarkson

***http://www.billboard.com/photos/6487593/kelly-clarkson-life-career-moments-timeline

With all this Coffeehouse and 2000s musical icon talk, I think there is a universal struggle to get one question off our minds… Who really is Justin Timberlake? The man is a living, breathing identity crisis. First, he’s on Mickey Mouse Club House, then he’s in one of the world’s most popular boy bands, then he’s a solo artist, then he’s working alongside comedian Jimmy Fallon, and then – practically full circle – he’s doing children’s cartoon films! Who is this guy?!

Don’t mistake my tone for anger, but rather utter interest. JT shaped my middle school musical taste buds and still intrigues me today. However, I am specifically interested in who he really was during the decade of the 2000s.

Although his work with *NSYNC will forever hold a place in my heart, his solo career began in 2002 and that is what we will focus on as far as his musical endeavors. He released his first solo album, “Justified” (clever) and went on to win a Grammy for it. Although I was quite young when his first album came out, I do remember well my oldest sister speaking with worry about his future success as a solo artist. However, Justin Timberlake definitely proved he could stand alone. In 2004, Timberlake won Grammy awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, after his first album had sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. But his talent does not stop there. *

CNN deems Timberlake an “entertainer”**. Not only does he release many more solo albums that keep him on the charts, in 2006 he also starred in the film Alpha Dog and, as most fondly remembered by me, in 2007 Justin played the voice of Artie in Shrek the Third.***

As far as his personal life goes, Justin dated many ladies including fellow 2000s beloved icon Britney Spears and actress Cameron Diaz. It was in 2007 that Justin Timberlake began to date his now-wife, actress Jessica Biel. The pair got married in 2012 and have a son together!

To this day, Justin Timberlake embodies something bigger than the boy band member my older sister really liked when she was in tenth grade. Perhaps I am intrigued by his charm and ability to swing between entertainment fields. I appreciate his willingness to try new things and I definitely think he is talented and a little funny. There will always be a place in my heart for singing my lungs out to “Cry Me a River” in the car with my friends on the way to the movie theater. For that I am forever indebted to you, Justin.

Resources

*http://www.biography.com/people/justin-timberlake-201200#synopsis

**http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/23/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/justin-timberlake-rise-to-fame/

***http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005493/

I hesitate to reuse the phrase “queen of the 2000s” for the multiple Grammy award-winning artist Alicia Keys for lack of accurate representation. Instead, I’ll just stick with “absolute icon of the music industry”.

In January 25, 1981, Alicia Augullo Cook was born in New York, New York. She began piano lessons when she was seven and quickly stepped into the musical spotlight. Alicia attended the prestigious Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, eventually graduating when she was just 16. Soon afterwards, Alicia was given a full scholarship to Columbia University where she only attended for four weeks, deciding instead to drop out and focus solely on her music. This is the part of the story where most parents start to cringe – and cling to their bank accounts. However, Alicia Cook created her stage name “Alicia Keys” and absolutely took the music scene by storm.*

Alicia initially signed with Arista Records in 1998, but switched just a year later to J Records, headed by the “legendary music impresario” Clive Davis** (he helped launch the careers of many legends including Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow). Here she released her debut album, “Songs in A Minor” in 2001. This album alone sold six million copies, earned Keys 5 Grammys, and spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. If that didn’t kick off the decade right, I don’t know what could.

The Encycopedia.com description of Alicia Keys and her debut album sums it up nicely: “With her classical training on the piano, soul-stirring lyrics, and heart-stopping voice, Keys had become a bona fide superstar. Not just another pretty face singing catchy pop, Keys wrote most of the lyrics and music, played all the instruments, and coproduced the album”.*** And she didn’t stop at just one amazing album in the 2000s. Alicia Keys was one of the artists who ruled over the decade and continues to have chart-toppers to this day.

This is a complete list of Alicia Keys’ seven No. 1’s on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (courtesy of Billboard****)

Songs in A Minor, July 14, 2001 (six weeks)

The Diary of Alicia Keys, Dec. 20, 2003 (six weeks)

Unplugged, Oct. 29, 2005 (one week)

As I am, Dec. 1, 2007 (seven weeks)

The Element Of Freedom, Jan. 2, 2010 (five weeks)

Girl On Fire, Dec. 15, 2012 (two weeks)

Here, Nov. 26, 2016 (one week)

Once again, as we are one week closer to Coffeehouse: The 2000s, I can’t help but think back to some of my fondest memories in the backseat of my mom’s van listening to Alicia Keys singing better than I ever could, and that alone is getting me through the wait. Coffeehouse, here we come!!

Resources

*http://www.biography.com/people/alicia-keys-9542485#synopsis

**http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/alicia-keys

***http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1006024/bio

****http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7580552/alicia-keys-here-top-rb-hip-hop-albums-chart

On May 21, 2002, Marshall Mathers, known popularly as Eminem, released one of his top-selling albums, “The Eminem Show”. In honor of one of the most influential artists of the 2000s, I have decided to fully immerge myself in the album to review yet another icon of that decade.

Eminem starts off with a 30-second intro called “Curtains Up”, followed by the song “White America”. In it, he talks about the challenges of being a white rapper that the predominant, white culture of America rejects. Another song, “Say Goodbye Hollywood”, sends a bit of an opposite message as he speaks to his conflicted feelings about the fame he achieved up to that point. He mentions past pain and heartache, revealing a vulnerability that, honestly, is refreshing especially compared to the work of many other hip-hop artists. He speaks freely of the importance of his family, whether that is the anguish he feels over the poor relationship he had with his father or the love and adoration he feels for his daughter Hailie. He devotes an entire song to her on this album, “Hailie’s Song”, and features her on “My Dad’s Gone Crazy”, where she sings with him. His most popular song on the album is probably “Without Me” and I will say, I got the ‘feels’ hearing this song, which I have not heard since at least 7^th grade. I appreciate this song because there is no doubt that this man has musical talent – or maybe just talent in talking really fast. His lyrics are not only catchy but there is also actual substance to the words, which has been one of the other refreshing things about conducting this review. He closes out with a “Curtain Close”, and that’s a wrap.

Clearly, Eminem is not afraid to rap about controversial topics, something that is true both on this album and in his other work in general. This, combined with his unique voice and musical style, definitely changed the way I thought about rap and the way it “should” sound. I cannot be alone in this feeling because Eminem shook hip-hop for a reason with his approach to music. His beats are simple but his rap is complex, and his talent set him apart from the beginning of his career. Eminem is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea for obvious reasons, but his individual talent and impact on the 2000s is undeniable. Although he may not have the same influence now that he had in the last decade, he remains a household name, thanks in part to his album, “The Eminem Show”. I don’t know about you, but he’s definitely getting me excited about Coffeehouse: The 2000s!

I grew up in a Christian home and went to a Christian school during the heyday of MTV, so I was nowhere near U2 while they were establishing themselves as one of the biggest bands on Earth. Little did I know that though they were far away, they were still so close. As I approached adolescence, I had one of the essential music moments in my life, one that I think any music lover can share: hearing an album for the first time that is like an awakening, opening your eyes to what music can be, changing the way you listen from that point on. That moment was the day a friend shared The Joshua Tree by U2 with me. Seeing that it is the 30^th anniversary of this classic, some appreciation is in order.

The Joshua Tree is U2’s crowning achievement, a fixture on nearly every critic’s “Best of” album list, and one of the certified best-selling albums of all time with over 25 million copies sold. Living as we do in a fog of digital music that measures success in subscriptions, singles, and streams, it is easy to take this for granted. But The Joshua Tree was the number one album in 20 different countries at a time when full albums mattered. It won the Grammy for 1987’s Album of the Year, and in 2014, the US Library of Congress chose it for the National Recording Registry, a collection of the most culturally significant works in audio recording. As Rolling Stone put it at the time, the album release and subsequent tour was U2’s “all-but-official coronation as the World’s Biggest Rock Band.”

Also at that time, Rolling Stone described U2 as “Christians”, or more specifically “three young Christians and the token nonbeliever”, something that would make many current artists cringe, or at least fear for their careers. But U2’s faith was on display from their earliest albums, including most of October and explicitly on the beloved tracks “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “40” from War. Their faith was still prominent enough by the conclusion of The Joshua Tree that it defined them. One has to wonder, given the “evangelical” quest for a sympathetic pop culture icon, how Christians missed the opportunity to capitalize on the world’s biggest rock band.

Blame the art. The popular singles, “Where the Streets Have No Name”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, and “With or Without You”, are essential pieces in the U2 catalog, with their soaring melodies, Bono’s passionate vocals, and The Edge’s iconic delayed arpeggios. But they are songs of seeking, of tension between faith and doubt, of longing and desire that may remain unrealized. There is hope – ‘I believe in the kingdom come / then all the colors will bleed into one’ – but with the boldness and honesty to admit uncertainty – ‘Yes, I’m still running / I still haven’t found what I’m looking for’. The album opens with “Streets”, a track that builds slowly as a sunrise and bursts like sunlight, bright and full of potential. However, from there the songs are primarily an exploration of difficulty, pain, and loss, with almost every song telling a different story or addressing a particular issue. In that sense, the album moves as though from day to night, with some of their darkest material, “Exit” and “Mothers of the Disappeared”, concluding the album. As they have spoken of at length, U2 selected the album imagery of a Joshua tree in the desert of the American southwest to represent this tension: the barrenness of the desert contrasted with the growth of a tree named for the Old Testament hero, branches raised like arms in praise. The Joshua Tree is their story of America, the nation they saw, and still see, as both a beacon of freedom and yet entangled with problems both home and abroad. Political and military conflicts at the time in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Chile are the backdrop to “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “Mothers of the Disappeared”. They drew parallels between the salt of the earth here and in their homeland of Ireland: the plight of miners in the UK the inspiration for “Red Hill Mining Town”, and a heroin-addicted couple living in Dublin the subject of “Running to Stand Still”, both of which easily translate to the American experience. “Red Hill Mining Town”, my favorite track on the album, is such a beautiful piece of music, and one that communicates the desperation and pain of a laborer faced with the loss of livelihood. If only such an album and such subject matter could have been on the list of budding Christian music stars of the 1980s such as Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, or Michael W. Smith.

U2 is touring this summer to commemorate the 30^th anniversary of The Joshua Tree, playing every song of the album every night of the tour in addition to much of their other music. Most dates have already sold out, but there are still a few venues with tickets available (how about it, Pittsburgh?). Whether you are a longtime fan or looking for something new to discover, The Joshua Tree remains as rich and relevant a musical experience as you will find, the defining work of one of the true living legends in music.

Sources:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/now-what-19890309

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/the-edge-breaks-down-u2s-upcoming-joshua-tree-tour-w459473

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/u2-joshua-tree/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/dg54/

Some may argue she’s the ‘Queen of Pop’ or perhaps even the queen of the world, but there is one thing for certain, Britney Spears ruled over the 2000s. From her chart toppers and outlandish fashion statements to her many infamous relationships with the male species, Britney has definitely made her mark on the world.

As we approach our spring Coffeehouse themed with the decade of the 2000s, it is nearly impossible to merely pass by without acknowledging the ‘queen’ herself. Without further ado, here are a few of the most eventful occurrences of Britney Spears’ career on the 2000s*.

At the start of the decade, Britney Spears had just finished up her first tour of …Baby One More Time and quickly jumped right into her worldwide tour for the chart topper Oops!… I Did It Again in September of 2000. She rose to fame very quickly and stayed there for quite a while.

Let us also never forget her 2001 VMA performance of ‘Slave 4 U’ in which she not only shocked the crowd with her iconic blue and green bedazzled ensemble but also with her stage props – the caged tiger and albino python.

Britney didn’t just stop at the wild animals to prove her untamed persona; it was in 2004 that she proved she really was a ‘Brave New Girl’.  After marrying her childhood best friend Jason, it was only 55 short hours later that she was once again a single woman due to an annulment – and it was just seven months later that she remarried to the notorious Kevin Federline.

It was in 2007 when Ms. Spears took a razor to her blonde locks and that was also the moment we thought the icon had finally fallen… however, just like the Britney Spears we know and love, in late 2008 when she released her popular album Circus and just like that, she was back on top… Oops, she did it again.

Through the twists and the turns of Britney Spears’ life, there have always been a couple things for certain: her pop music has brought many people together, and she remains an icon for the 2000s. As we look toward our spring Coffeehouse, we can always turn to Britney Spears for the ultimate inspiration.

* http://flavorwire.com/120514/britney-spears-a-visual-timeline/3