Injury Reserve’s By the Time I Get to Phoenix and Tirzah’s Colourgrade are both exercises in the unconventional. One sounds like it came out of left field and the other sounds like it came from outside the stadium. Both are unique creations, and their creators are standing on the shoulders of ancestors, parents, and kids that graduated a few years before you.

Donda appears to be a mixed bag for many mainstream critics. Even Pitchfork, a publication that has mostly heralded Kanye’s music (including issuing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy an elusive 10.0 rating) was not feeling it.I have to wonder though how much that has to do with the album rollout.

Kanye's life-defining relationship with his mother has me thinking more about my own life and my understanding of motherhood, both as a son and now as a new parent. Though I will examine the album from a musical standpoint, I also aim to explore my personal connection to Kanye as one of my favorite musical artists.

Recently, a person said to me, “The ONLY good Beatles song is ‘Get Back’ and this is undisputed.” (*COUGH* co-editor of Olney Magazine *COUGH* *COUGH*) In response to this drastically mistaken opinion, I decided to list twenty of my favorite Beatles songs, with some context added, all mainly for the benefit of one of our editors. This was magnificently difficult considering the unfathomably high number of great Beatles songs, but my hand was forced. You won’t enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed listening to The Beatles, but I hope you might enjoy it a little—somehow.