The Beacon’s one-stop guide to music, film, dining and culture.
Taylor Swift (Photo Courtesy of Fanpop.com)
By Lisa McMahan -- Staff Writer, Laura Frazier -- Staff Writer
LISTEN TO ... TAYLOR SWIFT
If there's one girl who has some serious things to say, it's Taylor Swift on her latest CD, "Speak Now."
With everything from her painfully sweet melodies to songs that seem to release all her pent-up "yeah, you broke my heart" rage, T-Swift still knows how to sing for every occasion.
"All you are is mean, and a liar, and pathetic and alone in life" she chants on "Mean," one of the album's better songs. This is clearly for the girls who have been hurt by a guy (ahem, that's probably every girl in the world).
But what makes Swift so arguably great is that she can turn it right around and sing about the good guys, too.
She hits the chorus of "Mine," the first single released off the album, to explain how perfect her boyfriend is.
Swift also addresses the girls who did her wrong. On "Better Than Revenge," she sends a vivid warning to anyone who even thinks about messing with her.
All you can really do is hang on for dear life as she tears apart the girl who stole her boyfriend.
"She's an actress, whoa, she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress, whoa." Jeez Taylor, you tell her.
Before listening to the album, I was slightly concerned that it would sound like all of the others. But Swift surprised me again by keeping every song original.
It seems like part of her popularity is due to her versatility, but on a simpler note, it could be that it's just fun to sing – or yell – along with.
– Laura Frazier
GO SEE ... PORTLAND OPERA'S "HANSEL AND GRETEL"
It's a fairy tale most of us know well: Brother and sister get lost in the woods, courtesy of their evil stepmother. There's something about breadcrumbs, a house made of sweets and a conniving witch. She prepares to eat the children, but they outwit her and push her into her own oven. Hansel and Gretel live happily ever after, as most of our childhood heroes and heroines are apt to do.
The Portland Opera hosts its final productions of the three-act opera "Hansel and Gretel" at the Keller Auditorium this evening and Saturday evening. As a gratuitous shout out, might I add that UP senior Danielle Larson is working as the opera's directing intern extraordinaire?
Although the opera was performed in English, the German-lovin' nerd in me couldn't help but notice some of the plot variances between this opera, written by Engelbert Humperdinck, and other versions I have read, including the original Brothers Grimm tale.
Trees came to life, angels appeared in dreams and baking supplies flew. Although I was rooting for the children's survival, I couldn't help but delight in the performance of the witch, played by tenor Allan Glassman.
Included in the program was an article entitled "Hansel and Gretel: It's Supposed to be Scary." If you consider bloodied silverware decorating the stage between acts, a sandman dancing his skeletal body across a table, and the witch's victimized children returning to life "scary," then I would have to agree.
Operagoers are encouraged to donate to the Oregon Food Bank and, although the production itself isn't appetizing in the normal sense of the word, "Hansel and Gretel" just might leave you hungry for more.
– Lisa McMahan
Hansel and Gretel (Photo courtesy of Portlandopera.org)
