Tuesday, September23rd, 2014 | . ‘ ,

 

 

Essential Listen: Nick
Drake's Pink Moon

Reno Waswil
TECHNEWS WRITER

To begin, Drake was a folk singer-songwriter
from England who, during his career in the late
19608 and early 19705, oﬂicially recorded three
beautiful albums, although he did not gain a
substantial fan base in his lifetime. He died
from an overdose of antidepressants at age
twenty-six and this album is the last in his dis-
cography. The album is absolutely enthralling
in its minimalism, it is more than the sum of its
parts; it transcends simply being good music in
its simplicity.

“Pink Moon,” in all its quaintness,
shuns the mere idea of the orchestral, wall-of-
sound style as a piano concerto does, but his
voice, so apathetic and quiet like the ramblings
of an old man, yet so powerfully emotional and
sincere, makes it more than wonderful; it is de-
pressing despite of itself. From the beginning
to the end, there exists a subtle sadness, but it is
more of an unconventional sadness. As I listen,
a rush of some unknown emotions from the
beauty overcomes me.

Each of the eleven songs seem to be
the same, as if they are all one song emanating
from the same neural key Drake has so bril—
liantly discovered, but each one is so uniquely
conceived, all conveying their different melo-
dies of stunning humanity, and what is so truly
amazing is the softness of his lyrics. These are
not songs that came from a musical genius
with an amazing power to look at the qualities
of each instrument and the spectrum of sound
and craft a projection of their mind into mu-
sic. What makes him brilliant is his ability and
comfort with what he is saying and his close—
ness with what he is. He has a profound gift to

do so much with so little, and this album is so
much with so little. The minimalism of the folk
guitar music allows him to play and, somehow
without explanation, even the most insigniﬁ-
cant of words and notes show the signs of not
only creativity, as if Drake himself has custom
made them for each song, but with beauty that
only rivals the nature for which he pulls so
much of his inspiration. It is not even that he
is trying to convey his feelings to an audience,
it is as if he plays to ease his mind, he sings to
his life, and the microphones merely catch the
aural presence that he radiates, a quiet ﬁre he
isolates within himself and lets show through-
out the course of the album.

Experiencing the music is like lis-
tening to a musical representation of a Shake-
spearian soliloquy, but that doesn’t do it jus-
tice. Behind all Drake’s words reﬂects his own
shy pity, and he sings as if he knows of its ex-
istence, but refuses to let it overtake him, be-
cause it might truly kill him. Though he may
have wanted to pursue methods of producing
his music that would have been more in line
with the industry, which is just a lengthy way
of saying, in a sense, selling-out, the indeﬁn-
able, unconventional, personal manifestations
of peace and despair of his works, and this 31-.
bum in particular, was all he could bear doing.
And his tone; no more perfect voice could be
chosen to sing his words. '

By the end, one understands what
folk music is and could be: a mind transition-
ing in and out of a reﬂection of self and an
observance of nature. The idealist 603 respect
bordering on worship of nature is a theme that
intertwines with Drake’s expression of his own
soul, and as he fades away to with his ending
song “From the Morning,” he leaves as if allow-
ing us to exit from that soul.

Adler After Dark features robot exhibits

Kori Bowns
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Chicago is an excellent city for mu—
seum fans. With several world-class institu-
tions just a short train ride away, many Chi-
cagoans are very familiar with the exhibits
that the city’s museums have to offer. Adler
Planetarium is America’s ﬁrst planetarium and
part of Chicago’s Museum Campus near other
favorites such as the Shedd Aquarium and the
Field Museum of Natural History.

“Adler After Dark”, 3 monthly event
held at the Adler, is a unique way to interact
with one of Chicago’s great museums. Accord—
ing to Adler Planetarium’s website, Adler After
Dark is an evening event that is held exclu—
sively for adult patrons over the age of 21. The

event offers access to the museum as well as
shows and entertainment that coordinate with
a theme that changes every month.

Tickets for Adler After Dark are available for
advance purchase for $15 for planetarium
members and $10 for non-members. Tick-
ets are also sold at the door for $15 for Adler
members and $20 for non-members.

The event is held on the third Thurs-
day of every month from 6 pm. until 10 p.m.,
and September's Adler After Dark event, held
on Thursday, September 18, was themed “Hops
n’ Bots.” The event sold out early, and for good
reason—Hops n’ Bots offered an exciting eve-
ning of entertainment for all that attended.

Upon entry to the event, all attend-
ees received 8 tickets for 8 free beer samples
from several Midwest craft breweries in atten-

dance, including Solemn Oath Brewery, Lake
Effect Brewing Company, Revolution Brewing,
and more. In addition to the free samples, the
event also offered a reasonably priced cash bar.
A complimentary cheese buffet was also of-
fered, courtesy of Cabot Cheese, and food for
purchase was available throughout the evening
from Adler’s Cafe.

In addition to the refreshments,
there were also several robotics organizations
present at the event to show off their creations.
Exhibitors at the event included representa-
tives from the IEEE/RSI International Con-
ference on Intelligent Robots and Systems,
Chibots, Robot City Workshop, and Illinois
Tech Robotics at IIT. Attendees got to take a
look at each organization’s robots and dem—
onstrations, and several got a chance to drive
a robot or two and share their enthusiasm for

robotics and engineering.

As a huge fan of museums, Adler
After Dark is worth attending at least once. It
gives you a chance to visit the planetarium in
a more laid-back and mature way, without any
children running around. It makes an excellent
date night idea or a fun night out with friends.
And, for those who purchase tickets early, it’s
a great deal; general admission to Adler After
Dark costs just three dollars more than ev-
eryday general admission, and includes some
perks and extras.

There are also a huge variety of
themes for every interest and background. The
October, November, and December Adler Af-
ter Dark events are themed “Dead Space,” “Ga-
lactic Gastronomy,” and “Santa Saves Mars,”
respectively.

 

Photos by Kari Bowns