Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features music by American R&B artist and songwriter Victoria Monét.
Victoria Monét
Victoria Monét, a talented R&B artist and songwriter, secured three well-deserved Grammy Awards at the 2024 ceremony, including the coveted title of Best New Artist. Witnessing her triumph filled me with absolute joy, as her musical creations, both as a songwriter and a vocalist, are nothing short of extraordinary. Recognizing that not everyone may be familiar with Victoria’s incredible talent, I decided to curate a playlist featuring some of my favorite songs penned by this exceptional artist.
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Slumdog Millionaire flashes between Jamal’s life as a teen and his childhood, showing the realities of living on the streets of Mumbai as a young child. The story is compelling, and the acting is phenomenal, but the thing that makes this film is the soundtrack. With artists like M.I.A. involved, it is easy to understand how this film won the Golden Globe for best soundtrack in 2009. A. R. Rahman, the score’s creator, wanted to create a mix of both modern and old India in the soundtrack.
While this movie discusses and portrays hardship and is not indicative of every success story, I think it gives hope to those who feel stuck and like they won’t succeed. You can check out the soundtrack for Slumdog Millionaire at the Music Library!
Editor’s note:Arachnophonia is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.
Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student worker Susie (class of 2019) and features the Tony Award winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. Thanks, Susie!
Dear Evan Hansen is certainly not your classic musical. For one thing, there are only 8 people in the entire cast, and there are certainly no big dance numbers. But there are many reasons why Dear Evan Hansen cleaned up at the 2017 Tony Awards including winning Best New Musical, and one of those reasons is the cast recording, which also won the Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album in 2017. The soundtrack captures the rawness of the story by having the “orchestra”, comprised of 5 instruments, on stage with the performers, and it utilizes electronic instrumentation to complement the importance of technology in the story line. And the soundtrack as a whole takes you on the journey of Evan Hansen, shy, bullied, friendless teenager who finds his place in the sun through a fabricated story just to have the truth come crashing in and destroy his new “perfect” life.
The soundtrack opens with “Anybody Have A Map?”, a song any mother wondering “does anybody happen to know how the hell to do this?” while raising teenagers can relate to. Then you hear the heartbreaking tune “Waving Through A Window” from Evan Hansen himself as he sings about always being on the outside and never being seen. Through the next 5 songs, you hear about Evan and his bully Connor, who is now dead, but due to a combination of coincidences, Evan is believed to have been Connor’s only friend. And as Evan leans into the lie, he helps Connor’s family, the school, and the world cope with loss due to teenage suicide through the song “You Will Be Found.” As Evan builds relationships and finds love in a father figure and a girlfriend that he never thought would be possible, everything begins to fall apart in a true Broadway fashion culminating with “Good For You” and “Words Fail.” But, of course, when the whole world seems to hate you, a child can always find support from his mother, and in “So Big/So Small”, Evan’s mother comforts him and the audience with lines like “your mom isn’t going anywhere … no matter what”. And from the rubble, Evan comes back and finds himself by “Stepping Into The Sun”. And in closing, Evan Hansen reminds us that even if you don’t have the life you have dreamed about, “today at least you’re you, and that’s enough”.
This soundtrack certainly isn’t a light and breezy listen, but if you enjoy emotional ballads and the beautiful vocals of Ben Platt, certainly give Dear Evan Hansen a listen.
Editor’s Note:Our “Spider Sounds” feature returns! “Spider Sounds” invites members of the University of Richmond community to share their thoughts about CDs (or other items in the Parsons Music Library’s collection). The links included will take you to the library catalog record for the item in question, or to additional relevant information. Today’s post is by Kasey, one of Parsons Music Library’s student workers and features a CD by a group that just won several Grammy awards (including “Best Rock Song” and “Best Alternative Music Album”). Thanks, Kasey!
If you’re looking for something with soul, substance and breadth look no further than Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes. The band’s Southern roots can be heard throughout the album backing raw vocals from their lead singer Brittany Howard and an array of instruments – some expected and some not. Whether you’re doing homework, hanging out with friends or cruising around town, Sound & Color by Alabama Shakes is sure to have your head bobbing to the beat. Find this album and many more at Parsons Music Library!
