The first thing that you hear is a soft count-up that gets cut off. Indicating that maybe the artist is alone in their room. A chorus-y acoustic guitar, one that feels nostalgic and provocative, fills the void. Followed by a bouncy riff played by a cheap-sounding electric piano. Suddenly, the lively, distorted vocals come in with the drums and bass guitar, painting an emotional picture that's equally captivating as it is longing. 

The story that we hear unfolding has the artist going back and forth, apologetically, trying to make amends for stagnation - where the other character must "feel stuck". When the chorus breaks through, we can feel the sobering darkness of the piano and reversed guitar. Almost as if the artist is trying to forcefully turn back the hands of time. When the second half of the chorus starts, we begin to see the full and vibrant colors of the song. The space is opened up for twinkly keys, soaring guitar riffs, and vocals swimming in delay and reverb. 

The second verse immediately feels more confident but also somehow more desperate, as the story continues. The emotions being portrayed are much more intense, "there I was on the floor of your dorm, hyperventilating". You feel as if the artist is trying to convince himself of something so strongly by quoting some overused motivational tropes, "in the end, everything will be alright just give it some time... BUT HOW MUCH TIME?" When the final chorus comes in, we're struck with a euphoric anthem that we want to sing over and over. Which we do, in fact, as the chorus repeats until it distorts into a fading silence. 

Although the song is just over three minutes, it presents many complex emotions and sonic changes, leaving the listener interested throughout its entirety. It's quite easy to play this song two or three times through without getting tired of it. A very solid 4.8 out of 5 for this phenomenal piece of art by Also Joe. 

Austin Jones, Independent Music Critic

Nevermind

Juniper Street

Lightspeed

Becca and I are pleased to publish our very first Virgin Trees podcast! 

This is our very first Virgin Tree podcast so we realize it is a work in progress as we try to treat delicate issues, well, delicately and attempt to talk about these issues from multiple perspectives. In this podcast specifically, we did not talk about as much as we originally hoped but would still like to acknowledge unspoken aspects of this issue such as the political power of Aziz Ansari and his affiliation to the #metoo or #TimesUp movement as well as his platform as a "woke bae" or feminist POC leader. We didn't have time to address all the complexities of this issue. We would love your feedback or comments though so please feel free to send us a message on our soundcloud page!! 

***TRIGGER WARNING*** we DO discuss sexual assault/rape/consent within this first episode. Please be forewarned that this is a very involved aspect of the podcast so take care of yourself as such. If you feel triggered by this podcast or feel as though you could be a victim of sexual assault, please call the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673. You can also go here to chat with a professional online: https://hotline.rainn.org/online/terms-of-service.jsp

FACT CHECK #1: In the podcast we mention the #metoo movement but don't cite who started it. The movement was created a couple years ago by activist Tarana Burke and made mainstream through the Harvey Weinstein allegations and Alyssa Milano's encouragement of joining the movement.

VIRGIN TREES

Episode One: Aziz Ansari scandal

Virgin Trees podcast: a podcast created by Miriam and Becca that works to tackle current intersectional feminist issues while also occasionally cracking jokes and getting into arguments. Join us! Contact us at virgintreespodcast@gmail.com to submit ideas, questions, comments!

Episode One: Aziz Ansari scandal

Virgin Trees

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