2 The New Trier News Features Tuesday, October 14, 2014 Tanaka captures Humans of New Trier school,” said Tanaka questions. I was fine with being asked by Madison McVey According to Tanaka, she picks the question because it was much “Humans of New Trier,” a her interviews at random. more general than personal. It just Facebook page that has recently “I just walk around the school. caught me off guard, so I didn’t really flooded many New Trier students’ Sometimes the people are alone or know what to say.” newsfeeds, is doing its best to in a group of friends. I’m trying to Akason was a fan of the page. document people of the New Trier photograph people who I don’t know “I think the page shows what students community. that well or have never met. It is more think about on a variety of topics, This blog consists of pictures exciting to talk to strangers,” said and it shows them while they are at of staff and students at New Trier, Tanaka. school and unprepared,” said Akason. accompanied by a caption providing Not everyone feels comfortable Although Tanaka just recently a glimpse into their lives. Run with being photographed said began her Humans of New Trier by senior Bella Tanaka, this blog Tanaka, but most people find it to be project, she has no quantifiable was inspired by Brandon Stanton, an exciting opportunity. expectations. “In my opinion, it who started Humans of New York Many of the questions Tanaka doesn’t have to have thousands of (HONY) in 2010. asks are directly copied from likes to be successful. I started this Stanton takes pictures of questions Stanton uses in Humans of project to learn about my peers,” said random people on the streets of New New York, but she also makes up her Tanaka. York City and asks them questions. own follow-up questions depending Tanaka’s goal is not to try and Stanton’s Facebook page currently on each individual’s answer. The Emma Killeen & Hannah Warner featured in Humans of NT page Tanaka relate to each person she interviews, has over nine million “likes”, and has questions range from “what’s the best but rather she hopes to absorb their inspired people everywhere to create part of being an advisor?” to “what’s something they don’t want to,” world views his mixed raced child. stories and share them with others. their own ‘Humans of” pages. your biggest goal in life?” explained Tanaka. Sophomore Joe Akason was Tanaka currently runs the “At the start of the school year, I “I don’t expect everyone to Some of the people who stood asked about the last time he laughed Facebook page alone, but some saw that my friend in California liked open up to me, but some people do out to Tanaka were a couple of boys hard, and his response was “watching people have offered to help. She his high school’s ‘Humans of’ page, and it’s great. I try to make the whole who said that they were all afraid of Modern Family.” plans to continue the photo page until and thought that was really cool that process as comfortable as possible. I spiders, and a faculty member who Akason said, “I did not know she graduates and she hopes it will someone had done that for their high never want to force anyone to share talked about his concerns of how the about the page until I was asked the continue to be popular until then. Knock knock, it’s Lagniappe Porter Robinson because it didn’t fit with the rest of the show’s up-to-date jokes. At first, I couldn’t tell what it was about, and dazzles with “Worlds” by Nick Merrill renaissance of sorts is ambitious had a hard time understanding the but his execution in doing so blew lyrics to the song. I perceived this to Porter Robinson’s new album, by most expectations. The first two be about how obsessed with phones “Worlds,” breaks down EDM singles he released from Worlds, “Sad teenagers are which is incredibly boarders and sets a new precedent Machine” and “Lionhearted” both overdone and obvious to a point that for the versatility that is required to excited fans and left them wondering it isn’t even funny anymore. be successful in the ever changing as to what happened to the bass During Lagniappe the pit band Electronic Dance Music scene. mastery that they had experienced in plays unaccompanied by the actors It appears that the 22 year old’s, “Spitfire.” It’s disappeared, but for after intermission. The conductor, basey, eardrum blasting and dubstep the better. senior Adam Wrobel, and head filled days are behind him. He The hit single, “Sad Machine” composer senior Will Finnegan, follows up on his first EP “Spitfire,” was the first step that Robinson took Kevin Slowey and Albie Smith performing in Lagniappe 2014 Pearlman were both very animated during their which was released in early 2011, in drastically changing his sound in scene where he dresses as a Hogwarts solos, and then invited the rest of the with a brilliantly orchestrated first Worlds. The song features Robinson by Leah Pearlman student, senior Kevin Slowey’s musicians to the stage to join in a fun full-length album. Robinson has making his vocal debut singing a made a deliberate shift away from his At its worst, Lagniappe pokes line in the rap where he references rendition of “Sir Duke” by Stevie duet with Vocaloid, a synth that former career-defining sounds as he fun at mundane and overdone Evanston as E-town, the intercom Wonder. Bands in the past have been recreates human singing into the leaves behind his long adored bass- behavior of students. At its best, voice mentioning the swim unit and less than seamless, and this year’s voice of a robot girl, strange maybe, dropping identity, using Worlds as an Lagniappe satirizes the relevant and how boys can’t use menstruation as made up for it. but effective. opportunity to redefine himself as an current trends of student life. “Knock an excuse, and a 37 ACT were all The film portion of the show He follows this chart topper artist, songwriter and music producer. Knock” Lagniappe Potpourri 2015 very relatable to a NT student’s life by Brian Weaver and Gray Schiller with, “Lionhearted” which effectively Robinson did this with the was relatable to all students, making and ,therefore hilarious. brings the audience into the New demonstrates Robinson’s grasp of understanding that he may lose it hilarious, provoking lots of laughter The second half hit each joke Trier English department. The entire his newfound frontiers. In the track and frustrate some of his fans, but in the crowd. out of the park. A very unique scene film was funny and took on a “The he collaborates with Swedish indie- Office-style” filming. While the style for Robinson, “Worlds” means pop artist Urban Cone, together they Although this year’s Lagniappe had a fashion show for finals outfits. something deeper than mainstream doesn’t have a strict storyline, the The idea was so linked to New Trier of filming gave me a headache, the create the most dance-sounding song film itself did a great job of making success: it’s him showing his true on the album. show’s more general theme spoke to students, and it made for one of the self. opportunity “knocking.” funniest scenes. Senior Julia Levin, light of the seriousness that surrounds Despite his clear step away from seniors while completing college “Worlds” turns toward a songs top heavy with bass and fast The first scene tackled life acted as a fashion show reporter and gentler electronic stratosphere which applications. paced dubstep drops, “Lionhearted” at New Trier and its vast array of used the phrase “TI-Inspiring.” This includes the likes of well-known In the short film, we watch a silences critics of his new arsenal of activities, which is so large that joke had me laughing almost for too talents like M83, Passion Pit and student thank a teacher with a gift for high and lows with a quick paced, you may meet a new person on long after the joke was made. Netflix MGMT. Immediately, Robinson’s a college rec, and when the student crowd favorite EDM single. graduation day. For the rest of the Anonymous was another distinct aim of complete reinvention is leaves the scene it closes up on the As a whole album “Worlds” is show, the characters go back in time topic for Lagniappe of 2015 to cover. understood. Whether he succeeded teacher who implies she doesn’t even able to both perform and deliver, its for a second chance at high school. One of the most celebrated in reinventing himself is a discussion remember who he is. huge, ambitious interconnected and After speaking with the creator scenes, Country Thunder vs. to be had, but after listening through The set design was a lot less even comes with its own light show of the show’s theme, senior Talia Lollapalooza vs. Spring Awakening, the 12 track, 57-minute album over theatrical as it has been in the past. It (i.e. Robinson’s current countrywide Levy, I was told that the gist of the made me laugh the whole time. and over, my opinion remains strong. was very much just a backdrop for the tour). The world that “Worlds” show questioned, “What would New Especially when senior Nathan Reiff He did it. invokes fantastic and unmistakably Trier be like if students actually came out with a blanket and candle, actors to come alive on, which was The standard bass drops and good and bad at the same time. As the radiant by design, is displayed by got involved in the awesome mentioning “Ravinia is pretty nice predictable build-ups in most the chorus of voices in the flowing opportunities that school has to too…” big grandiose backdrops can add an mainstream EDM tracks nowadays element to the shows excitement, but “Hear the Bells,” the static genius offer?” The answer: an awesome The complete cast dance are nowhere to be found, which of “Divinity,” the intimacy of “Sad from the actors. four years, as seen throughout the numbers started off with a scandalous for me separates him from the Machine” and the animated dance The sound designer a junior, musical. dance to the forever popular Partition mainstream electronic music scene. beats of “Lionheated”. Jack Bender, made sure the whole The show’s relevance in by Beyonce in glamorous, sequined With big names in the EDM If you listen to this album from cast was heard as opposed to “Literally A Scene” was spot on. A jerseys. Five boys played the band world like Avicii, David Guetta start to finish, by the time you get years past when there have been few actors played 8th grade girls, who members of N’sync and sang ‘Bye and Calvin Harris slowly adopting to the majestic violins in, “Fellow some miscommunication with the use the word “literally” literally after Bye Bye” mimicking the dance style this new ideal of electronic music, Feeling” that slowly develop into microphones on stage. every other word. It was incredibly of the band. The last dance, which Robinson turns away from it creating interweaving bass blasts you’ll have The plot made a full circle at accurate, basically placing all of my included the entire cast, had me something truly special in the your mind made up on whether or the end when the two characters younger brother’s friends on stage. dancing in my seat. It was to ‘Rather process. not you appreciate Robinson’s new The girls realized that they were Be,’ the song of the summer. One of in the beginning had been friends The focus of this album was not border breaking record. misusing “literally” after the older the dances, however, was to a song since their first day at high school, to make 12 tracks that each go to the If you do, and you make it sister literally does run after them by Madonna and Justin Timberlake answering the musicals question top of the charts because they contain to Robinson’s finale, “Goodbye with a knife literally trying to kill called “4 minutes” from 2008. This “what if opportunity knocked twice?” a standard pop beat with generic To a World,” a song whose fitting them. song played for a majority of the As the chorus of the last song says, lyrics, build ups and drops. His focus melodies leave the audience with a There were a lot of one-liners dance number and was boring and “change begins with you.” was to redefine himself as an artist vague sense of undergoing a journey throughout the show that not only outdated. and in the process move into a new filled with wonder, it will be pretty made me giggle, but full on snort Another outdated scene “NT genre of music. hard to deny that the 22 year old has in laughter. Senior Jack Oldfield’s Confesssions” caught me off guard His idea of beginning an EDM done something amazing.