- Review: Billie Eilish’s newest album hits ‘hard' with rejection, 'soft’ with loveBillie Eilish’s third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, does exactly as it states. Hitting fans hard with themes of rejection and soft with themes of finding love. Eilish decided not to release any singles for this album because she wanted to give her fans all 10 songs at once. This Friday release showcases her talents, and what she has learned in both music and life. Eilish blended heavy bass and the beautiful sounds of a string quartet, to convey the impossible notion of being hit hard and soft at the same time. Since she was 13, Eilish has been creating music inside her childhood home in Los Angeles with her brother, Finneas O’Connell. Her hit song “Ocean Eyes,” which was released commercially in 2016, put her on the map with her innovative lyrics and vocal range. Eight years later and with the help of her brother, Eilish now has nine Grammys and two Academy Awards under her belt. I have no doubts that this album will grant the 22-year-old superstar more awards and recognition. Her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, came out in 2019, showing themes of being a teenage girl, living with strong emotions – like depression and losing friends. Her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, showcases her talent by using her angelic voice to describe serious and hard situations she’s dealt with while getting older. Her third is the perfect blend of both albums, with new electronic sounds and beats added to the mix, along with a string quartet. Eilish starts her album with “SKINNY,” which talks about her struggle with body image and what that feels like to be in the public eye as she sings, “People say I look happy just because I got skinny, but the old me is still me and maybe the real me.” Telling the public eye that while she may look “happier” on the outside because she’s thinner, that doesn’t mean she feels like herself now on the inside. “LUNCH” is the second song on her album, and currently the only one with a music video. She introduces themes of sexuality and queerness by talking about liking a girl. The edginess of “LUNCH” is similar to her hit song, “bad guy” from her debut album, which sounds bubbly and confident. This is the first song I heard from the album, and undoubtedly one of my favorites. With “LUNCH”, you can hear the maturity in her voice, and while she’s never shied away from an intense beat, she has learned to incorporate the beat with more soft-sounding instruments. Eilish introduces a more funk-type beat in her song “CHIHIRO,” named after a character from Spirited Away, an animated film about self-discovery and adventure. In an interview with VICE Asia, Eilish said she owes a lot of her inspiration for her debut album to that movie because of its visual impact on her. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” Eilish creates an upbeat track that introduces a string quartet at the end of the song. With lyrics, “Birds of a feather, we should stick together / Can’t change the weather, might not be forever but if it’s forever, it’s even better,” this song describes being in love until the end. This song is my favorite in the album because it sounds like how love should feel. Eilish incorporated an echo behind her voice, causing it to sound more wistful and angelic. Eilish showcases what can be difficult about love in “WILDFLOWER” and “THE GREATEST,” where love is stuck in a gray area as opposed to being black or white. She expands on her experience of dating her friend’s ex and how it feels to not be enough in a relationship through these tracks while using her classic “breathy” yet powerful voice. “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE,” means “love of my life” in French, and is the title of Eilish’s seventh track, touching on the struggles of being in love, experiencing heartbreak and everything in between. While the song starts off soft and bubbly, it transitions into an electronic beat and uses autotune to echo her voice. This demonstrates the transition between going through the motions of the relationship and then moving on from it. “THE DINER'' is an example of Eilish’s new electronic sound, using strong beats and an echo effect on her voice, making the track sound intense and edgy. She discusses what it’s like to have a stalker from her own experience. She sings, “But please don’t call the cops, they’ll make me stop, and I just wanna talk.” This song is interesting to me, because she sings it from the perspective of a stalker, giving her voice an intense echo sound to give the impression that she’s someone else. She adds to the intensity by using a hard beat and ties in the string quartet. While this song isn’t one of my favorites, I like how different and interesting it is and how it adds a different depth and feel to the album as a whole. “BITTERSUITE” talks about the bittersweet feeling of being distant from your own emotions, and seeking a good and healthy relationship but being stuck alone in a hotel suite. She sings, “And I’ve been havin’ dreams / L’amour de ma vie / Love so bittersweet,” referencing the seventh track. Eilish ends her album with “BLUE,” where she expresses how it feels to be depressed, but how that is still beautiful. This song has beat progressions and a string quartet, which ties in themes from the whole album. She sings, “I thought we were the same / Birds of a feather, now I’m ashamed,” which also ties back to her fourth track. After listening to this album, I scrolled back to the top and started it from the beginning. Eilish has a way of telling the album’s story from start to finish, leaving you wanting to listen again. I decided to review the album in the same order she released it, to ensure the album’s story was told as intended. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is an album that proves why Eilish is one of the youngest artists to be as awarded as she is. It’s her willingness to be vulnerable and experiment with her voice and music. She has accomplished the impossible by bringing fans an album that can hit both hard and soft at the same time. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish said, “I feel like this album is me, it’s not a character. It feels like the WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? version of me. It feels like my youth and who I was as a kid.” @amandaLaldridge news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Free concerts, music and Cinco de Mayo Parade in this week’s To-Do ListMetroplex residents can anticipate an array of events this week, ranging from free concerts for Cinco de Mayo celebrations. Music Free concerts are returning to Levitt Pavilion on West Abram Street. Staring at 7:30 p.m. on May 3, tune in to classic-country artist Jade Flores followed by country-rock star Aaron Copeland at 8:30 p.m. Crowds will return to Levitt Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. on May 4 for QUIMIKOZ, a DFW-based Latin cumbia/fusion band, as they open for headliner Grupo Fantasma, an Austin-based Latin group. Entertainment Uptown Players, a non-profit organization that presents plays and musicals to challenge audiences artistically and create positive public awareness and acceptance, will have its annual Broadway Our Way fundraiser May 2 through 4 at 8 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m. Held at Kalita Humphreys Theater on Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas, the show will put a contemporary twist on famous Broadway tunes. Every first Sunday of the month, the Dallas Museum of Art on North Harwood Street hosts its DMA Free First Sundays: Access for All event. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 5, guests of all ages may see the typically $40 experience for free without the need for reservations. Holiday The Dallas Cinco de Mayo Parade is one of the biggest and longest running celebrations in North Texas. Beginning at 9 a.m. May 4 on West Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff, the mile long parade will kick-off with the Welcome and Confetti-Shoot Step-Off. @hjgarcia0 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Review: Billie Eilish’s newest album hits ‘hard' with rejection, 'soft’ with loveBillie Eilish’s third album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, does exactly as it states. Hitting fans hard with themes of rejection and soft with themes of finding love. Eilish decided not to release any singles for this album because she wanted to give her fans all 10 songs at once. This Friday release showcases her talents, and what she has learned in both music and life. Eilish blended heavy bass and the beautiful sounds of a string quartet, to convey the impossible notion of being hit hard and soft at the same time. Since she was 13, Eilish has been creating music inside her childhood home in Los Angeles with her brother, Finneas O’Connell. Her hit song “Ocean Eyes,” which was released commercially in 2016, put her on the map with her innovative lyrics and vocal range. Eight years later and with the help of her brother, Eilish now has nine Grammys and two Academy Awards under her belt. I have no doubts that this album will grant the 22-year-old superstar more awards and recognition. Her debut album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, came out in 2019, showing themes of being a teenage girl, living with strong emotions – like depression and losing friends. Her sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, showcases her talent by using her angelic voice to describe serious and hard situations she’s dealt with while getting older. Her third is the perfect blend of both albums, with new electronic sounds and beats added to the mix, along with a string quartet. Eilish starts her album with “SKINNY,” which talks about her struggle with body image and what that feels like to be in the public eye as she sings, “People say I look happy just because I got skinny, but the old me is still me and maybe the real me.” Telling the public eye that while she may look “happier” on the outside because she’s thinner, that doesn’t mean she feels like herself now on the inside. “LUNCH” is the second song on her album, and currently the only one with a music video. She introduces themes of sexuality and queerness by talking about liking a girl. The edginess of “LUNCH” is similar to her hit song, “bad guy” from her debut album, which sounds bubbly and confident. This is the first song I heard from the album, and undoubtedly one of my favorites. With “LUNCH”, you can hear the maturity in her voice, and while she’s never shied away from an intense beat, she has learned to incorporate the beat with more soft-sounding instruments. Eilish introduces a more funk-type beat in her song “CHIHIRO,” named after a character from Spirited Away, an animated film about self-discovery and adventure. In an interview with VICE Asia, Eilish said she owes a lot of her inspiration for her debut album to that movie because of its visual impact on her. In “BIRDS OF A FEATHER,” Eilish creates an upbeat track that introduces a string quartet at the end of the song. With lyrics, “Birds of a feather, we should stick together / Can’t change the weather, might not be forever but if it’s forever, it’s even better,” this song describes being in love until the end. This song is my favorite in the album because it sounds like how love should feel. Eilish incorporated an echo behind her voice, causing it to sound more wistful and angelic. Eilish showcases what can be difficult about love in “WILDFLOWER” and “THE GREATEST,” where love is stuck in a gray area as opposed to being black or white. She expands on her experience of dating her friend’s ex and how it feels to not be enough in a relationship through these tracks while using her classic “breathy” yet powerful voice. “L’AMOUR DE MA VIE,” means “love of my life” in French, and is the title of Eilish’s seventh track, touching on the struggles of being in love, experiencing heartbreak and everything in between. While the song starts off soft and bubbly, it transitions into an electronic beat and uses autotune to echo her voice. This demonstrates the transition between going through the motions of the relationship and then moving on from it. “THE DINER'' is an example of Eilish’s new electronic sound, using strong beats and an echo effect on her voice, making the track sound intense and edgy. She discusses what it’s like to have a stalker from her own experience. She sings, “But please don’t call the cops, they’ll make me stop, and I just wanna talk.” This song is interesting to me, because she sings it from the perspective of a stalker, giving her voice an intense echo sound to give the impression that she’s someone else. She adds to the intensity by using a hard beat and ties in the string quartet. While this song isn’t one of my favorites, I like how different and interesting it is and how it adds a different depth and feel to the album as a whole. “BITTERSUITE” talks about the bittersweet feeling of being distant from your own emotions, and seeking a good and healthy relationship but being stuck alone in a hotel suite. She sings, “And I’ve been havin’ dreams / L’amour de ma vie / Love so bittersweet,” referencing the seventh track. Eilish ends her album with “BLUE,” where she expresses how it feels to be depressed, but how that is still beautiful. This song has beat progressions and a string quartet, which ties in themes from the whole album. She sings, “I thought we were the same / Birds of a feather, now I’m ashamed,” which also ties back to her fourth track. After listening to this album, I scrolled back to the top and started it from the beginning. Eilish has a way of telling the album’s story from start to finish, leaving you wanting to listen again. I decided to review the album in the same order she released it, to ensure the album’s story was told as intended. HIT ME HARD AND SOFT is an album that proves why Eilish is one of the youngest artists to be as awarded as she is. It’s her willingness to be vulnerable and experiment with her voice and music. She has accomplished the impossible by bringing fans an album that can hit both hard and soft at the same time. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Eilish said, “I feel like this album is me, it’s not a character. It feels like the WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? version of me. It feels like my youth and who I was as a kid.” @amandaLaldridge news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Free concerts, music and Cinco de Mayo Parade in this week’s To-Do ListMetroplex residents can anticipate an array of events this week, ranging from free concerts for Cinco de Mayo celebrations. Music Free concerts are returning to Levitt Pavilion on West Abram Street. Staring at 7:30 p.m. on May 3, tune in to classic-country artist Jade Flores followed by country-rock star Aaron Copeland at 8:30 p.m. Crowds will return to Levitt Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. on May 4 for QUIMIKOZ, a DFW-based Latin cumbia/fusion band, as they open for headliner Grupo Fantasma, an Austin-based Latin group. Entertainment Uptown Players, a non-profit organization that presents plays and musicals to challenge audiences artistically and create positive public awareness and acceptance, will have its annual Broadway Our Way fundraiser May 2 through 4 at 8 p.m. and May 5 at 2 p.m. Held at Kalita Humphreys Theater on Turtle Creek Boulevard in Dallas, the show will put a contemporary twist on famous Broadway tunes. Every first Sunday of the month, the Dallas Museum of Art on North Harwood Street hosts its DMA Free First Sundays: Access for All event. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 5, guests of all ages may see the typically $40 experience for free without the need for reservations. Holiday The Dallas Cinco de Mayo Parade is one of the biggest and longest running celebrations in North Texas. Beginning at 9 a.m. May 4 on West Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff, the mile long parade will kick-off with the Welcome and Confetti-Shoot Step-Off. @hjgarcia0 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Pickleball hits resurgence in communityIn recent years, pickleball has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. The rules of pickleball were created by three friends in Washington, combining badminton and ping-pong, according to the USA Pickleball website. Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell attempted to find something for their families to do during the summer of 1965. Pritchard’s home had an old badminton court. They began looking for equipment. With no luck, they improvised and used old ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball. They originally had the net at 60 inches, the height of a badminton net. After realizing the ball bounced well off the pavement, they lowered the net to 36 inches. The pair introduced the game to another friend and began creating rules with their original plan in mind, a game for the whole family to enjoy. Pritchard’s wife, Joan, came up with the name “pickleball” in reference to the leftover non-starters in the pickle boat, the last boat to finish in crew races, according to the USA Pickleball website. Two years later, the first pickleball court was constructed in Pritchard’s neighbor’s backyard. From there, pickleball began to grow. By 1990, the sport was played in all 50 states. Pickleball is most commonly played as doubles but can be played as singles. The server must underhand from behind the baseline and serve it cross-court past the kitchen area. The kitchen refers to the non-volley zone located seven feet on either side of the net, from sideline to sideline, according to Pickleheads.com. The line marking its location is called the kitchen line. The game is played to 11 and a team must win by two. Points can only be scored by the serving team. The receiving team must let the ball bounce once and the serving team must let the returning ball bounce before hitting. After, the ball may bounce or be volleyed. However, a player cannot strike the ball from the kitchen unless it bounced in the kitchen first. Various pickleball locations in the country have opened as the sport gains popularity, such as the family restaurant and entertainment complex, Chicken N Pickle. Dave Johnson, Chicken N Pickle founder, was introduced to the sport when visiting a friend in Arizona. Johnson noticed the courts always had a game in play and were full of energy. Johnson returned to Kansas City and began researching pickleball with his team. They realized the sport was quickly evolving and opened the first Chicken N Pickle location. With ten locations and six coming soon, Chicken N Pickle continues to grow as the sport gains more players and popularity. “Anytime I’m in the pickleball arena there’s always tons of people. Whether it’s eight in the morning or ten o’clock at night, our indoor pickleball areas are always, always busy,” community coordinator Brian Lamb said. “People are on a waiting list for weeks at a time just to even play in there.” Pickleball brings people of all ages together because its ease and accessibility. The friendly competition brought to the matches keeps the sport growing. “Pickleball you can play your whole life,” Lamb said. “So I don’t see pickleball slowing down when it comes to popularity.” The sport has evolved at UTA through an intramural team, workshops and a pickleball club. Students can also check out pickleball equipment at the Maverick Activities Center to play on the indoor or outdoor courts. Pickleball courts were added to UTA during Doug Kuykendall’s 40 years as Campus Recreation director before his retirement over 11 years ago. “It’s been around for quite some time,” said Josh Hale, Campus Recreation assistant director for sports programs. “It kind of slowed down, not a lot of people knew what it was, and now we’re starting to see the growth again.” The UTA Mavericks Pickleball Club began in 2023 when the group saw the sport becoming popular and wanted to represent UTA. Luis Cruz, economics junior and UTA Mavericks Pickleball Club member, hopes to see a more competitive scene on campus. “Hopefully within a year or two we can start seeing some really big tournaments and a lot more scholarships,” Cruz said. Cruz began playing the sport about two and half years ago when he joined his mom one day. He kept playing for fun because it was something to do with his friends and family. “It’s really easy to get into. It’s very social,” Cruz said. “Even if you’re not the most athletic, you can just go hang out, have fun.” Interested students can join the intramural team through the campus recreation website or find the pickleball club on social media @mavpickleball. “It’s easy to get attached and want to keep playing,” Cruz said. “I’ve never seen a sport that so many different athletes and non-athletes can come together and compete.” @francisca324_ sports-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
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