8 Broadcaster Press April 30, 2019 www.broadcasteronline.com APRIL 2019 VERMILLION.K12.SD.US BY TYLER MANN H THE SPIDERLAND ow is success defined in music? Is it being known and popular while still releasing music, or being remembered more over time? If it’s the former, Slint was definitely not a successful band. The Louisville group released two albums while they were together, and a double-sided single was also put out after they broke up. None of those were met with fanfare on release. Their second album, Spiderland, released in 1991, however, would end up playing a pivotal role in the changing face of rock music in the 90s and beyond. The album opens up with ÒBreadcrumb TrailÓ, its narrative revolving around a person who goes on a roller coaster with a girl, with the roller coaster acting as a metaphor for sex. The clean guitars give way to piercing, distorted harmonics in the chorus section, and the vocals switch from spoken to distantly yelled in these parts. The following track, ÒNosferatu ManÓ, follows a similar structure, with heavy drums and clean guitars locking in an oddly-timed groove with spoken word vocals, before switching to distorted, metal riffs and more yelling. The lyrics on this song detail a vampire figure who lives with a queen, whom he ultimately ends up killing. Both of these first two songs rock hard in their own odd way, and descriptive lyrics paint a picture in the listenerÕs mind. ÒDon, AmanÓ helps to paint a picture of what the bulk of the album is like. The song is highly repetitive, largely featuring a two measure guitar line repeated over and over. This does not get boring however, as with each rep- STATE STUDCO BY LILLY MOCKLER V ermillion High School Student Council is finishing up yet another school year of studentinvolved government. This school year student council planned many fundraisers and school spirit activities. One of the major fundraising opportunities for Student Council is the Children's Miracle Network; every student-run government participates in this awesome fundraising opportunity. Our student council also plans a few spirit week events throughout the year. They plan Homecoming, Snowcoming and, new this year, they planned events for National Counseling Week. Every year all of the student councils around the state go to State Student Council; a large convention with guest speakers and workshops about leadership and other various government-related topics. This year it was held in Sioux Falls on April 7th-8th. The first day featured a speaker, Matt Bellace. He spoke about leadership and working together. During the state convention the students elect a CONTINUED ON Ò STUDCOÓ PAGE 4 VERMILLION HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER etition the underlying sense of dread gets greater and greater. The end of the build up, when the guitars distort for a short amount of time, is less grand than the previous tracks, but nonetheless effective. The story of this track is one of a man with crippling social anxiety, for which he even- tually seems to take responsibility. The following song, ÒWasherÓ, is, as of writing, the only piece of music to ever make me cry. It is a perfect storm of depression, each repeated guitar arpeggio adding to this. The seven minute build up concludes with a gut-wrenching guitar solo before settling down again. Lyrically, it is utterly dismal. It chronicles a man seemingly going through an extremely tough separation, and in the end, he takes his life. The vocals play into this narrative perfectly, sounding alarmingly vulnerable. ÒFor DinnerÉÓ is less notable than the other songs, but still enjoyable. It is a quiet, ambient, and re- petitive piece that serve as a nice calm moment before the album’s apocalyptic finale. That finale is ÒGood Morning, CaptainÓ, which retains much of the factors of the previously songs. A slightly off sounding bass rhythm, clean repeated guitars, pounding drums, and a few distorted sections all play into this escalation. Meanwhile, the lyrics focus on a ship captain who has lost all his men and is going insane. This ending is much better heard than described, so I wonÕt. But I will say, the vocalist reportedly checked into the hospital after recording it. What isn’t amazing on Spiderland? One factor I didnÕt mention is the production and mixing, which is superb. Each instrument fits into its natural place in the song, and the drum sound is my favorite of all time. Even though it wasnÕt well-known in its time, Spiderland would become an important album. It had a large influence on bands in post-rock most prominently, as this albumÕs trademarks of long buildups and huge dynamic shifts later became the genreÕs cliches. So next time youÕre listening to a rock album released after Spiderland, consider what influence it mightÕve had. Listen on YouTube! Copyright 1991, Touch & Go Records i2i Competition Success BY LILLY MOCKLER T he freshman class at Vermillion High School took part in the shark tank project under instruction of Teramie Hill, the freshman English class teacher, for the fifth year this year. This project includes public speaking and research about inventions and products. The students came up with an invention and then researched how to make it. At the end of the unit, they presented to their class. The students were then judged by a panel of well informed individuals. A select few of the freshman class were invited to the Invent to Innovate (i2i) competition. Mrs. Hill loves teaching this unit. When asked what she likes most about the Shark Tank unit, she said, ÒI like that students get a chance to be creative and actually create something of their own rather than researching other things that people have created.Ó When asked what her favorite invention sheÕs seen over the years, she could not pick one because they are all unique. She says the hardest part about this unit is the collaboration and teamwork. ÒThey have issues collaborating with each other, which is good because they learn from it. ItÕs always tough to get all the community members to be able to work it into their schedule.Ó During the i2i competition, the students presented their inventions and were judged by a panel of industry professionals. The whole participating class had a chance to win up to 1,000 dollars. There were three schools that had teams there. Third place was given to a group from Vermillion, winning 500 dollars. Their invention was called Amario Plus. The team of four was comprised of Will Fairholm, Quinton Herrera, Hari Kadarkaraisamy, and Kaleb Preister. The first place team was also from Vermillion. They won 1000 dollars. Their invention was called Sweet Souls, this group included Mckenzie Kerkman, Carter Mart, and Mackenzie Brady. The winner of The Crowd Favorite was Avery Johnson. She won 250 dollars. The i2i competition was extremely fun and everyone can not wait for the years to come. Germans Come to South Dakota! BY MYA DEJONG AND NOAM GORNOWICZ (German Student) T he German American Partnership Program (GAPP) has been a program for six years at the Vermillion High School. The program sends students from both countries to each otherÕs schools to experience their respective cultures and language. The sixteen German exchange students arrived on Friday, April 5th at the Sioux Falls Airport. The students were housed with sixteen American host students from the Vermillion High School German classes. On Sunday, the German students and their hosts took a trip to Rapid City. The first day the students visited the Dignity Statue in Chamberlain and the Badlands. Later that day, they arrived in the Black Hills to continue the tour of western South Dakota. On Monday, they started the day at Mount Rushmore and ended the day at the Crazy Horse Memorial. The students also took in some American cuisine at Pizza Works in Custer. The next day, they left the cabins for Deadwood. On the way to Deadwood, they stopped in Lead at the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center, where each of the students were allowed to hit a golf ball into the gold mine. In Deadwood, they shopped, ate at Mustang SallyÕs, and participated in a tour of The Bullock Hotel, which is thought to be haunted. The trip to the Black Hills was a great cultural experience for all the students. One German student said, ÒIt was amazing to the see the landscape because it is so different than in Germany.Ó The students arrived back in Vermillion Tuesday night and went to their first day of school on Wednesday. On the first day, the American students showed the German students around the campus. The German students were interested to see how American high schools differed from their German high school counterparts. To cap off their American high school cultural experience, the Germans exchange students attended prom on Saturday, April 13th and had a wonderful time. They left on April 20th after a farewell party for them on the 19th. We love hosting the German students and look forward to hosting them again in two years. Vermillion High School and GAPP Exchange Students gather under Mouth Rushmore. Be sure to follow ÒVermillion Ratingen GAPPÓ on Facebook! Submitted photo.