Tag Archives: entertainment

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CVU Community, Sports, Volume '22, Issue 1, Wellness

What Sports Do CVU Students and Staff Watch?

By Kyle Marvin

A survey was sent out to students and staff at CVU asking questions about what sports they’ve watched, their favorite sports to watch, and why they do or don’t like watching certain sports. It turns out that people’s opinions are pretty split.

sport

Across the world, soccer/football is the most popular sport. But at CVU, unsurprisingly, American football is the most popular. About 77% of people who responded to a survey said they had watched football in the last year. Soccer comes in third with about 48% of people saying that they have watched it in the last year. 

About 24% of people that responded said that American football was their favorite sport to watch, and about 12% said soccer was their favorite. These two sports being the two most common favorites also means that they are disliked by many. According to the survey, soccer and football are tied for the third most disliked sports, getting 16% of people saying they dislike watching them. Golf was the most disliked sport with 29% of people disliking it, and baseball with 22%. 

Why do people like or dislike these sports, though? A lot of people said that they didn’t enjoy watching sports that are “boring” or “slow-paced”. Those responses explain why people disliked sports like golf or baseball because golf and baseball have many breaks in between actions. This doesn’t however explain why people say they dislike soccer or football. Soccer and football both have breaks in the game, but for the most part are fast-paced. 

Many people that responded said that they disliked sports that they hadn’t even watched in the last year. This could be because of memories of watching the sport a long time ago and not remembering it clearly or because of things they hear from other people exaggerating how much they hate a particular sport, which I know I hear a lot. 

One respondent brought up that, in their opinion, “the quality of play we are seeing in Major League Baseball is excellent and exciting.” Yet the MLB attendance numbers have decreased from 2019 to 2021. The other major sports leagues in the US, apart from the NFL, have also decreased their attendance numbers from 2019 to 2021. 

With all of the results from the survey and the changes in attendance in major sports leagues across the US, it’s easy to see that the popularity of sports changes over time. It would be interesting to see the results of the same survey ten years from now.

 

Arts and Sciences, CVU Community, Opinion & Review, Volume '22, Issue 1, Wellness

Music Technology and the Vinyl Resurgence

By Colin Halliburton

My first LP was A Night at the Opera (1975) by Queen. When I sat down to listen and enjoy the album, I understood why they are still around. Interacting with the physical versions of my favorite albums created a more in-depth experience, with more character and soul. Before I had first encountered vinyl records, I thought they were nothing more than old tech, something we had created CD’s and streaming to replace.

Music has been a constant and recurring source of entertainment throughout history, but the way music has been captured and enjoyed has changed drastically. Vinyl records were first invented and released in 1930 as a way to record and listen to music and audio outside of a live performance. This brought music and joy to many homes across the world, and that continues today. Over the decades since new technologies have been invented, and the record’s purpose has changed.

In the 90’s vinyl records experienced a sharp decline, partly because record labels/corporations became stricter with their buyback policies, which many record stores relied on to keep a rotating stock of popular items. They also stopped releasing many of their albums on vinyl, and closed some pressing plants. Many saw this as a ploy to get consumers to buy more CDs, which were more profitable for the corporations.

However since 2007, vinyl sales and general popularity have been on the rise, passing CDs once again in the first half of 2020. Almost in spite of the meteoric rise of streaming services (currently the cheapest way by far to listen to music), vinyl continues to grow. Many audiophiles or anyone else who appreciates sound quality often prefer vinyl records to digital streaming, because of the compression.

Revenues by Format (1)
Courtesy of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)

They are also very popular for collecting. Many (including myself) find the artwork and physical disc of music alluring and captivating. A lot of record sleeves come with previously unseen photographs or art, and some record discs even have art on them. In a few rare cases there is vinyl exclusive music on them as well. For example on Tyler the Creator’s 2019 album IGOR (Columbia), the song BOYFRIEND is only available on vinyl, making it a more fulfilling listen.

The almost therapeutic process of sorting through record bins to find a specific album or even anything that catches my eye is addicting. It’s also just like any other collection hobby where building the collection, seeing the shelves full of your favorite albums is enough for a lot of people. The nostalgia factor is also attractive, as vinyls are a way for many to relive their memories.

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The Flaming Lips’ album Heady Fwends on hand-splattered Vinyl (via cdcentralmusic.com)

Interestingly, despite Hip-Hop/R&B being by far the most popular genre in streaming numbers (29.8% of all streams across platforms in the U.S. as of 2021, via Headphone addict) and just pop culture in general, Rock dominates the vinyl market with a staggering 41.7% of US sales as of 2018 (according to Statista). This further shows that a lot of the vinyl LP’s popularity comes from nostalgia and tradition.

For me, I have always loved music, and I think my dad fostered that love by always playing music around me and encouraging me to learn to play it. When we got a record player for Christmas a few years ago, the records really felt like a more tangible way to listen to music. To feel, see, and hold my favorite albums in front of me. Of course streaming and modern technology has its benefits of being less expensive, easier, and quicker to use, but for when you just want to really enjoy the music and have the time, I find records to be the perfect medium.

Some of my favorite albums to leave you with, along with the aforementioned IGOR, are: Gorillaz’ synth heavy statement on modern consumerism in 2010’s Plastic Beach (Warner/Parlaphone); Pink Floyd’s classic 1979 concept rock album The Wall (Columbia); the rare, limited, and sample-filled French Exit by Tv Girl in 2014 (Self); Childish Gambino’s modern soul/R&B of 2018’s “Awaken my love!” (Glassnote); the classic funk/soul of The Beginning of the End’s 1971 album Funky Nassau (Alston); and the technical jazz of Clifford Brown and Max roach on 1955’s Study in Brown (EmArcy).

From the author's collection

From left to right: Study in Brown, “Awaken my Love!”, IGOR, The Wall, and Plastic Beach

Volume 3, Issue 2

REVIEW: Imagine Dragon’s “Smoke + Mirrors”

Mr. Charles Yarwood 

It’s difficult to find anyone who dislikes all of Imagine Dragons’ discography. Their sound is a mashup of musical styles that results in upbeat, powerful, and catchy songs that have appeal to people across all age groups and musical tastes. Taking vocal styles from outfits like Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers and lyrics that are reminiscent of OneRepublic and The Neighbourhood, and the minimalist backing beats of Coldplay, it’s hard not to find elements of their music to like. They had several EPs in circulation before releasing their first full-length album in 2012, Night Visions. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 charts and struck a chord with many listeners. On February 17, they released their second album, Smoke + Mirrors.

While many of the songs on Night Visions had previously appeared on an EP, all of the tracks on Smoke + Mirrors are new to the world. The most extensive version of the album, the super-deluxe edition, features four new tracks that weren’t included in the standard release, as well as four previously released singles that the group had recorded for movies. The singles from Smoke + Mirrors are (in order of appearance on the album) “Shots,” “Gold,” and “I Bet My Life.” These tracks are frontloaded on the album, with all of them appearing in the first five songs, but they give the album some legs to stand on. “Shots” and “I Bet My Life” are similar to much of their previously recorded music, with emotional appeals written into the lyrics, raw vocals, and poppy rhythm sections. “Gold” takes a different tact than the other two singles. It features a tribal drumming rhythm to begin the song, a sound that isn’t similar to mainstream pop, and lyrics that discuss the struggles of materialism and wealth.

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