20th Century Catch Up: Bond 1

Dylan Howell

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October 23, 2024

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Co-written by Samuel F. Schultz and Dylan J. Howell

Bond Film 1: Dr. No (1962)

a collaborative movie review

Viewed:

as part of the Bond Blu-Ray collection from Wal-Mart

Where to Watch:

Check your local library for DVD copies or rent online from Amazon Prime or Apple TV

Motion Picture Association rating: PG

Overview (Sam)

Neither of our parents were born yet, JFK was president, and Churchill was still alive. 1962 saw the momentous release of the genre defining Dr. No, in which James Bond stops some german-chinese guy with robot hands from blowing up the moon or something. James Bond first existed in a series of novels by Ian Fleming based on his cousin’s exploits as a spy in World War II, but due to the film adaptations’ superior notoriety, most know Bond as a movie character.

Even though Dr. No was not the first Bond novel written, it was chosen as the first film adaptation due to the relatively low budget required to produce it (it could mostly be filmed in one place). Other novels’ legal rights were also tied up in existing contracts or negotiations. Despite adapting a later book, Dr. No is a fantastic introduction to the film version of James Bond. Immediately suave and innately badass, Sean Connery’s portrayal of the superspy commands respect and admiration. As time goes on, his character morphs under the direction of various filmmakers and he is depicted by different actors, but in Dr. No he’s about as James Bond as you can get.

Sam’s part:

I’ve seen the first six Bond films, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Dr. No. I had forgotten how damn good it is as a standalone movie, adventurous and pulpy while eschewing campiness. From his very first line, Bond is, like, the coolest guy ever, but he’s still human.

Bond gets beaten and battered. His knuckles raw from fighting, by the end of the movie he’s covered in his own and other’s blood. While he does a lot of real espionage, constantly monitoring every room for bugs and clocking points of ingress and egress, he doesn’t feel as untouchable as he does in later movies. Even the final battle against the titular evil Dr. No is anticlimactic. Bond scrambles for his life and barely avoids being boiled alive in a nuclear pool. No’s mechanical hands, which once demonstrated his biological superiority over common man, become his demise, unable to grip the lifesaving ladder his enemy escapes on.

Dr. No is the essence of Bond. You gotta see it.

P.S. James Bond’s title credits are some of the most impressive special effects you’ll find from their release window. One of my favorite websites recently has been Art of the Title, which delves into the nitty gritty of the oft-overlooked title card. Here’s Dr. No’s page: https://www.artofthetitle.com/title/dr-no/

Dylan’s part:

My experience with James Bond prior to opening this bottle of Catch-Up was mostly inspired by Bond or Paul McCartney’s Bond theme, Live and Let Die. Having my first experience with 007 being the first film was more surprising than I expected. I know the pop culture pillar that has become James Bond in the 69 years since Ian Fleming published CasinoRoyale, which has Bond as a womanizing, risk-taking, badass action hero who can never die and can’t bleed. While most of those attributes are still present in Connery’s first mission, they have yet to be flanderized into the character that Sterling Archer and Austin Powers parody. Bond in Dr. No is simply a secret agent; after all, his status is 007, meaning that there are six agents in MI6 who are better and more capable than James Bond. Throughout the film, we see Bond use espionage tactics or simple, clever things that show just how smart he is and that he deserves to be a part of MI6 at all. The start of the Film with Bonds’ interaction with the director of MI6 shows Bond as not being viewed highly in the organization and that he is stuck in his ways, not wanting to progress as the rest of the organization does. Bond is more of an everyman in Dr. No than the mythic hero of the film that he will become. Dr. No is an enjoyable surface-level film that doesn’t need anything underneath. It’s a simple and fun spy thriller with the iconic Bond flare—7 bottles of Ketchup out of 10.

20th Century Catch Up WEEK 0: THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Sam Schultz

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October 21, 2024

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20th Century Catch Up WEEK 0: THE BIG LEBOWSKI

Co-written by Samuel F. Schultz and Dylan J. Howell

How many movies are in your streaming queue? How many “classics” sit unwatched on your shelf? It’s literally impossible to watch every movie ever made, so which are even worth your time?

Dylan and I have “to watch” lists a proverbial mile long, and we decided it’s high time we do something about it: sit on our collective asses and melt into the couch. We’ll be doing our damnedest to catch up on the hundreds of movies we missed from the century before we were born, watching one movie a week representing each year from Taft to Y2K and posting reviews on the Rambler’s website.

We also have side missions: One Bond movie a month and a special Relished Films category to pick familiar favorites outside of the chronology. New movies that interest us may also be added to the mix, helping us stay “hip” to the “current scene.” Expect reviews of Catch-Up films and Bond movies regularly, but don’t hold your breath waiting for the others.

Butter that popcorn and pull up a chair as we step out of the Matrix and take A Trip to the Moon.

Catch Up Film 0: The Big Lebowski (1998)

Viewed:

As part of the Kentucky Theatre’s Summer Classics series on Wednesday, September 4th

Where to watch:

Free with Amazon Prime or rent from Apple TV

Motion Picture Association rating: R

Pervasive strong language, drug content, sexuality, brief violence

Overview (Sam)

Where better to start than the end? At the outset of our foray into twentieth-century film, The Big Lebowski (1998) acts both as an extended allusion to the classic noir/crime film The Big Sleep (1946) and a perfect reflection on the end of the twentieth century. Set in a reconstructed 1991 Los Angeles, with the Gulf War as an allegorical backdrop, Jeffrey Lebowski, known as The Dude, is a man perfect for his time. In a decade of seeming moral relativism, everyone is prescribed an ethos except for The Dude, whose particularism clashes with the stark generalism of many around him. After his rug is micturated upon by an intruder in a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is plunged into the quagmire of an ever-more-complicated kidnapping plot as he gets further and further from his original goal: to get his rug back.

(After this week, we are going back to the 1900s. Trust the process.)

Sam’s part:

My favorite aspect of The Big Lebowski is its point of view: throughout the film, we only see things from The Dude’s perspective. As he’s inundated with stances and judgments, The Dude can hardly get a word in edgewise. Only in a moment of post-coital clarity is the veil lifted and we, along with The Dude, are granted some understanding – new shit comes to light. This, of course, is a subversion of the classic noir style where the detective silently stalks through the story gathering information and playing enemies against each other. In The Big Lebowski, The Dude is totally oblivious to most of the goings on around him, yet is still seen by some characters as a talented sleuth.

This idea of mistaken identity is more than one isolated narrative instance. The Dude is not even the titular “Big Lebowski,” but in fact little more than a bum in the grand scheme of the supporting casts’ lives. That is, except for his two best friends, Walter (John Goodman) and Donny (Steve Buscemi), who act as the angels on his shoulders throughout the film. Donny’s role is comically underplayed while Walter, a manic, rule-obsessed veteran, is the driving force behind The Dude’s decision to step out of passive “Duddhism” and try to get his rug back in the first place. Even still, as he is routinely threatened with bodily harm, drugged, and generally derided, The Dude remains passive. He has little to no control over what happens to him, but in the end, he doesn’t really mind. He’s content to simply abide.

If you are philosophically and/or analytically inclined, I highly recommend checking out The Big Lebowski and Philosophy, a collection of essays edited by our very own Dr. Peter S Fosl which can be found in Transylvania University’s library and in many fine book retailers.

Endlessly quotable and visually stunning, The Big Lebowski is a must-watch. This was my third viewing and it gets better every time.

Dylan’s part:

There comes a time once a decade or even once a century in which a film is needed. A film that ties all those years together. Seemingly without trying, The Big Lebowski defines the 90s, if not the 20th century, entirely. That’s partially why we are beginning our venture into cinema over one of the most technologically progressive and culturally diverse centuries in human history with the film. The Big Lebowski shows how much Ethan and Joel Coen make films for themselves more than anyone else. The attention to detail is fascinating in how they can pay attention to seemingly every movement and object within a single frame of their films. The character work is some of the best I’ve seen in film, with John Goodman, who plays Walter, saying it’s his favorite role. Walter’s moment of vulnerability near the end of the film demonstrates the Coen brothers’ exceptional use of repetition. The character of Donnie is one of the most interesting to me. He is ignored for most of the film and only interacts with Walter, besides one scene with The Dude. But The Dude certainly has a place in the canon of popular culture. I would argue this film is an homage to several genres that defined the twentieth century: noir, adventure, buddy-cop, and a few more, all of them blending together to make a film plot that you have to just abide by. It ends by comforting the viewer by showing that no matter who steals your rug, you can always go bowling. – 9.5 bottles of Ketchup

Colloquium: An Interview with Professor John Svarlien

Grantland Phelps

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October 21, 2024

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Colloquium: An Interview with Professor John Svarlien

In Lumine illo Tradimus Lumen. These Latin words hang above everyone here on Transy. It means, “In That Light, We Pass On the Light.” If any professor exemplifies that expression, it is Professor John Svarlien. I was graciously granted an audience with Svarlien for an interview where he answered questions about himself, questions from students, the future of the Classics and Latin departments, and more in this exclusive interview:

Grant: Many people wonder when exactly you are retiring. Is there any particular reason why?

Svarlien: Okay, well, the first answer is pretty straightforward. This is my last academic year, and the last class will be Latin II in the winter term. And why am I retiring? There is a right time for everything, and I’ve been teaching for at least 40 years, so there are several reasons for retiring. There are so many young faculty out there in the job market, and old faculty make room for young faculty.

Grant: What brought you to Transylvania University in the first place?

Svarlien: I came to Kentucky as a graduate student from the University of Texas at Austin, and while I was finishing up my dissertation, I had just received a job offer from Centre College and ended up staying for six years, but the reason I came to Transylvania was because it was an excellent opportunity for me. It was being able to start a Classics program; there wasn’t any Latin when I first joined. So it started off with adding Latin and teaching first-year seminar courses, and then I gradually built up other classes in addition to Latin, like ancient history taught by Frank Russell, and brought in more faculty like Professor Kaufman, teaching ancient philosophy. It’s been very much a team effort, and my colleagues have been wonderful.

Grant: Some of the students are asking if you are going to remain in touch with students on campus. What do you have to say about that?

Svarlien: Oh, I definitely want to remain in touch, I mean this when I say it but the greatest thing about my job is the students. That is, getting to know them, having face-to-face conversations, learning about them, having discussions about what is being taught in class, and they find it interesting to them, which is a great joy to have, and I am going to miss that experience. I will miss the classroom and the dynamics between presentation and debate; it is very stimulating to me and hopefully to the students as well. I don’t think I’ll be doing any more teaching but I will certainly not be absent from campus.

Grant: What are your hopes for the Latin and Classics department and the next professor to take up your mantle?

Svarlien: Well, the next professor we will hire at the end of this year will be teaching next fall, and will be a Latinist and will be teaching Latin along with other courses I have taught, but also different specialties. That person might teach gender and sexuality which I taught, they might teach history or philosophy. The great thing about classics is that it is so multi-faceted, and multi-disciplinary. So what I am most excited about is Medical Humanities, building up that program with Kaufman and Belina Sly and others from different programs like biology and classics. I think that it’s exciting to not just do one thing in classics like read ancient poetry, but to see all the connections and tie that all together in contemporary culture. I’m totally confident in leaving, the program is in very good hands and I will enjoy watching that grow in new directions.

Grant: How do you feel about the current state of affairs on campus? What would you like to see changed?

Svarlien: I’d like to see the student population grow. It’s difficult, and there are all kinds of reasons why that’s complicated, but it would be nice to get a slightly larger student population, and it would be nice to have more in-state and out-of-state students with different backgrounds. I have always been a strong advocate for campus culture, and that could be gathering outside for debates or programming in the arts and [bringing in] public speakers. I just think that’s important for the undergraduate experience, just as much as what is going on in the classroom. I think we have a strong student community here, and that’s one of the central points of a good college is to have that student culture and interact. I want students and faculty to interact more outside of classrooms.

Grant: What are your plans for retirement? Any vacation destinations in mind?

Svarlien: Well, the great thing about being a classicist is that there is always a reason to go to the Mediterranean. This last summer, my wife and I were in Greece, one of the many trips we have made, and then this coming summer, we are planning to go to France. Travel has always been an important part of my life, and I really push that for students. Everybody is different, but travel is a great learning experience because when you travel to a new country, you experience something new all the time. When you are an undergraduate or before you get into a professional school or when you have less time, you have less time to explore. This is a great time to do things like travel if you can do it.

My two kids went into a program in Spain called the Auxiliares (Auxiliares de Conversación), where they taught in public schools at the elementary level. You don’t have to speak Spanish or have any other special qualifications; it’s just when the window is open for applications in January, you just need to get your application in as soon as possible. You get a nice stipend to teach, and the schedule is easy to work with, my children loved it, and my son came back with money in his pocket. I had that experience as an undergraduate, and it meant so much to me, and so I enthusiastically encourage students to travel if they can.

Grant: Is there any advice you would like to give readers? It doesn’t have to involve Latin or academics; it could be life advice.

Svarlien: Get the most out of life. It is a simple thing to say, but one thing is that you have to be deliberate about it. You have to seek it out; don’t be passive, but be active in how you live life. Learn to know yourself; that is one thing these four years are for is getting to know who you are, what your interests are, and what you really enjoy doing. Find a job that you are engaged with, affirm your fulfillment with it, and do not settle for anything less! If you are in a job you hate, then I can’t think of a worse recipe for a good life or a happy one. Decide in your mind what a good life is to you and pursue it with energy and purpose.

Into the Unknown: Over the Garden Wall Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary With New Animated Short

Arts & Entertainment

Peyton Dunaway

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October 17, 2024

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Into the Unknown: Over the Garden Wall Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary With New Animated Short

On September 22nd, Patrick McHale, creator of Over the Garden Wall, announced via his Twitter/X account that the show would be releasing a new short film for its tenth anniversary. The tweet stated that the short would be produced by Cartoon Network and animated by Aardman Animations, well-known for their previous work on the Wallace & Gromit franchise.

Over the Garden Wall was originally pitched in 2006 as a multi-season series called Tome of the Unknown, a tale of two brothers who mistakenly enter a deal with the devil and are forced to travel across a forgotten land to rescue a book of stories. However, after becoming involved in The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack and Adventure Time, McHale realized the series would have been too difficult to produce as-written and was forced to abandon the show’s multi-season format. When asked for another pitch in 2013, McHale revised Tome of the Unknown as a pilot episode for a miniseries named Over the Garden Wall. Cartoon Network greenlit the pilot and production began that year.

Over the Garden Wall was released in 2014 shortly after Halloween as a ten-episode miniseries depicting the journey of Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), two brothers who find themselves lost in the Unknown, a dark forest filled with long-forgotten stories. The brothers meet a bluebird named Beatrice (Melanie Lynskey) and try to escape the Unknown together, all the while avoiding the mysterious Beast. The plot has been likened by reviewers to Dante’s The Inferno; something about the unknowable journey through a land whose existence is so thoroughly incompatible with yours. Walking alongside shadows of the damned; a journey through Purgatory, through Hell.

Which isn’t to say that the series isn’t a fun watch. Over the Garden Wall is surprisingly funny and does an excellent job at balancing humor alongside the macabre, spending just as much time on Wirt’s awkward teenage love life and Greg’s silly attempts at naming his frog as it does the open graves of Pottsfield and the burning of Edelwood trees. Artistically speaking, Over the Garden Wall is stunning. McHale took visual inspiration from many sources, including vintage Halloween postcards and photographs of New England foliage, resulting in gorgeous, colorful painted backdrops and rustic, Americana-esque settings. Combined with the soundtrack (composed by The Blasting Company and inspired by early-1900s folk music) this show is perfect for a fun, if slightly morbid, Halloween marathon.

Over the Garden Wall was successful, winning two Emmys for animation and becoming somewhat of a cult classic since its release. Unfortunately, the series’ short run and open ending meant that fans would never know more about the story or the characters beyond what they saw on-screen. Over the Garden Wall has always been a singular, self-contained story, which is why McHale’s announcement of a new animated short is such big news. It’s still unclear as to what the plot of this short will be, but honestly, this has been anticipated for so long that it doesn’t really matter. People are already speculating about the stories it may tell or the truths it may uncover, wondering and waiting for an opportunity to open this tome of mysteries once again and return to the Unknown after so many years.

Over the Garden Wall’s new animated short will premiere on November 3rd on Cartoon Network’s YouTube channel and social media accounts.

To Shimmy or Not to Shimmy: a Danger to Campus?

Katie Axon

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October 10, 2024

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To Shimmy or Not to Shimmy: a Danger to Campus?

If you happened to walk through the Campus Center at the right time Thursday, October 3rd, you may have passed a table. This table may have been brandishing a sign that claimed the person sitting at said table was giving out “Free Stickers.” Students may be skeptical of this, as we know the old saying for when something seems “too good to be true;” and stickers are awfully good things to college students for them to be free. The question is: can this sticker-entrepreneur be trusted?

The answer: No.

Shimmy creator Casey Casey hand-making stickers in the Campus Center Breezeway

A figure of evil and malice is being spread around campus. That’s right, these stickers being handed out are of only one thing: Shimmy. “What on Earth is a ‘Shimmy,’” you may be wondering. The simple answer is that Shimmy is a character created by Casey Casey, a known entity on campus and the host of this sticker table. Shimmy is a thing that has taken flight in recent months around the Transylvania University campus and specifically the art-student community. Stickers of Shimmy crying litter the hallways, scenes of him being crushed by anvils and thrown off cliffs fill whiteboards, and his image brandishes every surface the miscreants who dare to draw him may frequent.

Students and staff are scared and concerned. WRC professor Scott Whiddon explained to our reporters that he often sees the vial thing drawn on the whiteboards of the Cowgill basement where he has class. He told us that “I find Shimmy highly disturbing. I am robbed of words given fear.”

Drawing of Shimmy spotted in the Cowgill basement

What does this Shimmy sticker table mean for the Transy community’s safety? Sadly, only time will tell. Those who requested stickers by Casey may use their Shimmy’s for fun and joy, but they hold the power in their hands to spread his image in the name of violence. If you are one of the individuals who claimed a hand-made Shimmy sticker for yourself from the table, please be responsible with your new possession and how you use it- we’re counting on you.

Shimmy has been characterized as “pitiful” and “miserable;” do we really want this thing to spread its misery to our students? Are we in danger?! Currently, nothing is being done about this new crazed character, though it may be too late. How long is it before the entire campus is overflowing with Shimmy’s?

Comment your opinion on the subject and spread the news to your friends to keep them safe.

Disclaimer: This article exaggerates and jokes on the subject and was approved by Casey Casey. Do not take this too seriously. Thank you.

An Interview with Dr. Hannah Alms: Transy’s New History Professor

Peyton Dunaway

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October 9, 2024

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An Interview with Dr. Hannah Alms: Transy’s New History Professor

This semester, I started taking Ordinary Americans, a class that studies the lives of everyday Americans and how their actions have led to change within the nation. The class is being taught by Dr. Hannah Alms, a new member of the history faculty at Transylvania for this year. Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with her to talk about herself and her goals for her first year at Transy.

Would you like to introduce yourself?

Sure! I’m Hannah Alms and I’m a professor in the history program teaching American History. I am from North Carolina originally, but I have also lived in Indiana and moved here from Virginia at the beginning of August. I’m very excited to be working with Transy students.

Why did you choose history as your field of study?

Well, I enjoyed history for a long time. I was a big reader when I was a kid, and growing up, I was kind of working my way through the public library. I vividly remember going from the fiction section to the nonfiction section, going upstairs to the second floor and reading all these biographies, and realizing that these stories about real people were just as interesting to me as the fiction I had been reading.

I remember reading these biographies of the Kennedys and the Roosevelts and there was this secondary character who didn’t have a biography. I talked to my dad and I was like, “I can’t believe they don’t have a biography of this person!” And he said, “Well, maybe there’s not a biography. Maybe no one’s written a book about this person.” And then I kind of realized that it was someone’s job to figure out what happened in the past and learn about these people so they could write these books, and I thought that would be a cool job to have.

Why did you want to teach at Transy?

I wanted to teach at a place where I could work closely with students, and Transy definitely fits that bill. I also had a very good experience throughout the interview process. Everyone was very kind and welcoming and excited about teaching and learning, which was an attitude that really drew me in.

Since this is your first year at Transy, is there anything you’re particularly excited about?

One of the things that’s great about working in higher ed is that you’re constantly learning inside and outside the classroom. So I’m excited about the different speakers that are coming to campus- the novelists and the poets. I’ve also heard that the pumpkins at Halloween are fun, so I’m looking forward to that.

How would you describe your teaching style?

How would you describe my teaching style?

I don’t know! I’ve only had a few classes with you so far. I know you engage with the class a lot.

Yeah, I’m much more focused on discussion and student participation; I don’t do a lot of lectures. I like for it to be a welcoming class where points of confusion or misunderstanding can be a basis for conversation rather than something that has to be papered over or ignored. In a history course, being able to discuss and analyze these primary sources as a class is key to understanding them better.

Why do you think this is so important?

It helps students become historians themselves. Rather than learning from an author, they’re the ones actively investigating the sources and evidence we have for understanding the past. Being able to closely examine something, understand what it’s telling us, and knowing what kinds of evidence can support an argument are all skills that I think can help students inside and outside the university.

What are your strengths as a professor?

(Laughs) How about I just say what I enjoy the most?

Go ahead.

The thing that I enjoy most as a professor is not grading, necessarily, but engaging with students’ work. Offering comments and feedback on students’ work and seeing that work improves over time. I think being in conversation with students is more important than grading.

I also enjoy getting to know students’ points of view on academic or intellectual interests, both inside and outside of class. If there are students who share their opinions about the reading or make connections to other classes, I try to remember and reference those things so I can improve the classroom experience for that student and others in the class.

What do you hope to achieve during your time at Transy?

Becoming a part of the campus community and offering classes that are relevant and beneficial to students, as well as making American history something that students can understand both as it relates to their own lives and the broader narratives of American history.

We’ll end with a fun one: What’s your favorite random history fact?

Ok. This is not a fun fact, but it is something I think about all the time because it kind of shifted how I thought about things.

In the 1970s, the U.S. almost passed a law for universally subsidized childcare. It came very close, it had bipartisan support, but it just didn’t end up happening. And the reason I think about that a lot is because that was fifty years ago now, and daycare is still an unsolved social and political problem. And to me, that kind of forces my brain out of the default mindset of “progress”; that 21st century America is fundamentally improved in some way from the past.

It sort of flips our sense of progress and reminds us that anything is possible, but nothing is guaranteed. If we want it to happen, we’ll have to work to make it happen.

Who Cares about Fiona Apple?

Arts & Entertainment

Lyra Duffy

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October 9, 2024

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“Days like this, I don’t know what to do with myself. All day and all night. I wander the halls along the walls and under my breath, I say to myself I need fuel to take flight.”

“Sullen Girl” by Fiona Apple encapsulates the feelings of emptiness and fighting for more. She makes us look into ourselves and question our motives. She describes the effect of names people call us, like a sullen girl, when we are simply so tired.

I have memories of my mother listening to Fiona Apple’s album Tidal when I was younger. I never really understood why anyone would listen to such sad moody music. I later discovered why during high school. Tidal became my favorite album and I soon found myself surrounded by angsty feminist indie music.

Sure, tastes change and people grow, but I found that this genre and artists like Fiona Apple became prominent in not only my life but also in many other women’s lives.

It can be a safe haven to find someone who has such deep empathy for you. That is what this genre felt like. To have your niche experiences elaborately met through lyrical poetry with strong piano accompaniment felt like therapy. Listening to this music made me feel validated in my emotions just as it had for millions of other women. I discovered a community where many other women used Fiona’s music as an outlet. When I met someone else who listened to Fiona Apple, we found an immediate common ground full of delicate, yet frustrated feelings.

Fiona’s appeal comes from more than just her songs. For me, I admire how much she seems not to care what anyone thinks of her music. She creates a mindset through her music; one that promises to be vulnerable and unapologetic. This mindset was there for me and many other women while navigating many societal challenges.

Women are often critiqued when emotional. They feel as if they need to hide their emotions in order to be seen as strong. Rather than feeling human emotions like anger and frustration, they are portrayed as difficult, complicated, and crazy. Still today, women are objectified, expected to act a certain way, and looked down upon.

“I told you I didn’t want to go to this dinner. You know I don’t go for those ones you bother about. So when they say something that makes me start to simmer, that fancy wine won’t put this fire out. Kick me under the table all you want. I won’t shut up.”

“Under the Table,” from Fiona’s album Fetch The Bolt Cutters, describes the regretless feeling of saying what you want when you want. She takes the prominent stance of speaking her mind even when people may not want her to. Throughout the song, she describes how she disagrees and pleads not to be spoken over or silenced.

Women find so much depth and emotion in Apple’s music because she sings about their experiences within her own. Many women find themselves listening to Apple’s music and discovering monumental lyrical words that they could never find for themselves.

Fiona Apple is an artist who creates beautifully intricate music, but more importantly, she advocates for women. She puts the complex emotions and feelings of women’s experiences into uniquely odd pieces of music. The melodic components of powerful piano accompaniment with the clashing of percussion depict the sound of a conflicting, emotional mind.

“Come on, put a little love here in my void. He said it’s all in your head and I said so’s everything, but he didn’t get it. I thought he was a man but he was just a little boy.”

“Paper Bag,” One of Fiona Apple’s most popular songs from When The Pawn… describes the scope of disappointment through heartbreak. She uses the comparison of seeing a paper bag and thinking it was a bird to loving a man, only to later discover how immature he is. Many of Apple’s songs cover heartbreak through a frustrated lens rather than a broken one. This song became widely popular on social media, especially on TikTok. More and more people found Fiona’s music validating through her raw emotional singing.

Fiona Apple’s music impacted my life, but this wasn’t an emotion or experience that only I felt. Rather, I found the community of unapologetic, loud women, who felt their true emotions no matter the constraints society put on them.

An Interview with Dr. Spell: Transy’s New Band Director

Sam Schultz

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October 8, 2024

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An Interview with Dr. Spell: Transy’s New Band Director

When Dr. Benjamin Hawkins retired as Transylvania University’s band director after the 2023-2024 school year, many students were curious to see how a new instructor would stack up against Dr. Hawkins’ impressive legacy. So far, Dr. Larry Spell has made an excellent impression on Transylvania University’s music students, directing the Concert Band and Orchestra as we near Transylvania’s Spooktacular Fall Concert on October 26th.

Dr. Spell has a doctorate in orchestra conducting, plays trombone, and looks forward to spending more time making music with Transylvania students and faculty.

Sam: Starting off, how did you end up in Kentucky?

Dr. Spell: Well, I was in North Carolina. I had a job down there and I really liked my position. I wasn’t particularly looking for a new job, but I saw this come by and I’m like, well, that would be a job to be really fulfilling to do. I did teach at a small liberal arts college briefly in Utah and I really like the environment. I knew I wanted to get back to that at some point. I have an extensive background playing in band, I like the location in downtown Lexington, I like the school’s environment and I like the size of the city. It felt like I would have a really good quality of life here.

When I came to interview, everything was really run so well and they took a lot of time to make sure I sort of felt comfortable here. Like I understood what the school was about. I kind of got a sense of the environment. So it made me feel very comfortable in saying yes to the job because I already had a full-time job.

The longer I live, the more I realize the environment where I’m working is very important to how satisfying my job is, the people I see, and the places I’m at… that really makes a big difference.

Sam: And your office definitely reflects that.

Dr. Spell’s office is eclectically decorated. Many lamps cast variegated light across the room, illuminating books of music, Mystery Science Theater 3000 figurines, a marble bust, a Persian rug, and a sundry of other items in a soft glow.

Dr. Spell: I’m going to be in this place. I want to have things around me that are personal and make me feel at home. It’s not just sort of a sterile environment where I pop in, do my e-mail, and then leave. I don’t like to work from home. I want to come to work and do my work and then I want to go home and be off the clock, you know. I like to have everything I need to do my job here in one place. I’ve always decorated like I live in the 19th century, I think, or

maybe early 20th century.

Sam: I see you have a Real Book (a collection of transcribed Jazz standards) on your music stand. Do you play a lot of jazz or is it a burgeoning interest?

Dr. Spell: I would say it’s a burgeoning interest. I didn’t study jazz in school. I don’t have, like, jazz credentials, but in North Carolina, I did play in a big band and really enjoyed that. And I was the co-director for the jazz band at my last job, me and one of the other faculty were both coached the jazz band. It’s not a big band, but sort of combo-sized, you know. And so we would have to get creative with arrangements. I really got into making arrangements for a jazz band. I would take tunes out of the real book and make arrangements for whatever instrumentation that we had and stuff like that. I’m hoping to get back into playing a little bit of jazz, like a big band kind of stuff. I was an orchestral trombone player for 10 years, you know, so counting measures of rest and then playing really, really loud for a while and then counting measures of rest, you know?

Sam: The life of the trombone.

Dr. Spell: Exactly

Sam: Was there a moment in your life when you knew you wanted to pursue music as a profession?

Dr. Spell: Well, I started playing piano when I was very young. I think I was six when I started. I don’t remember this, but I went to my parents and said, “I want to learn the piano” I wasn’t one of the kids that was forced to take piano lessons. I want to learn the piano and I love the piano.

I realized as I was getting closer to middle school, and high school, that I wanted to be part of the band. I wanted to play music with other people. I love that collaborative effort of working together with people. So I didn’t give up the piano, but I focused more on the trombone. And, you know, my piano skills are not great. They’re OK, you know, I get by.

As soon as I got to high school and I was in that band, I really realized that I liked the idea of being the person, kind of coordinating the band. And I tried out for drum major every year for three years, right? Freshman year, sophomore, junior year, and I never got drum major and I was very sad about that. And my band director said I didn’t have good “onfield leadership” or something like that.

I don’t know, maybe I didn’t yell loud enough, but he said I was a good conductor and he said I should conduct a piece in the senior year concert. So the next year I got to conduct a

piece and I was hooked. I went to school to get my Music Education degree and to be a band director. Then I got my master’s and doctorate in conducting and here I am.

So that’s a very long-winded way of saying I’ve always wanted to be a musician. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a musician, but I do remember when I sort of made that switch to trombone and discovered the collaborative part of music.

I’m kind of glad I didn’t make drum major because maybe I would never have gotten a

chance to conduct that concert, and you never know where I could be now.

Sam: This upcoming concert on the 26th is a huge undertaking, combining the choir, band, and orchestra as well as including guests from across Kentucky.

Dr. Spell: We were planning on doing a combined concert anyway, and I think what’s new is having this Halloween theme to it. It’s the same weekend as Pumpkinmania. It’s Transylvania University.

When I was at the University of Utah, we had a very, very successful annual Halloween concert. I just saw how much the students loved it and the community loved it. There are just tons of fun ways you can make a Halloween concert work. You know, the orchestra and the choir and the band are going to be dressed in costumes. We’re just going to do a regular concert right now, with Halloween-y themed music. But at the University of Utah, we would kind of do a whole – not really like a play – but we’d have skits throughout and it would have dance numbers and all that. It kind of became a big production. And that may not be the right fit for us, but it has the potential to grow into kind of a bigger thing.

There’s so much music that you can do that would sort of fit with a Halloween theme and have a really interesting musical experience for the students while still having this holiday concert.

Sam: I can’t wait! So do you teach classes other than band and orchestra or do you just direct right now?

Dr. Spell: Right, so I teach music theory for university students. Basically theory for non-music

majors, like beginning theory. In other schools I’ve taught at, it’s called fundamentals. I’ll teach conducting right now. That’s all I have planned for this year.

I mean, I love music history. When you get a doctorate, you get your main degree and then you have a related field. And mine is music history. I’m particularly interested in American Music history. I taught a class at a former job, American Music history class, taught jazz history. So yeah, I would love to teach something like that, but I’ll teach what they tell me to teach.

Sam: Just for fun, I was wondering if you had a favorite movie?

Dr. Spell: That’s a great question because it’s like, ask me who my favorite composer is. It’s sort of like whatever’s intriguing me at the moment, whatever piece I’m working on at the moment. I got to think about this for a second. Well, I mean, I just happened to watch the old Family Guy versions of Star Wars on TV and it reminded me of how much I love the original three Star Wars movies.

The only thing that comes close to a movie that I just feel super connected with is The Blues Brothers.

Sam: That’s been my favorite movie since I was, like, 12!

We ended up talking about The Blues Brothers for several minutes.

Sam: Thank you very much for taking the time to answer some questions.

Dr. Spell: Absolutely. I appreciate it and I appreciate you writing an article. I want people to know more about the music programs that we’ve got here. And to join band, join orchestra. We can always use more musicians.

GALLERY: Interfraternity Festivities

Layne Martin

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October 8, 2024

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The Interfraternity council launched their 2024 bid day the morning of September 29th, filling Back Circle with excitement and colorful costumes. Layne Martin, Rambler photographer, captures the four chapters embracing their new members.

GALLERY: A Panhellenic Party

Layne Martin

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October 8, 2024

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Transylvania University’s Panhellenic 2024 bid day took place September 22nd, allowing new members to “run home.” Rambler photographer Layne Martin captured the festivities on Old Morrison’s front lawn.