Image courtesy of The Wildcat Tribune’s Rapid Reviews

  Music has forever been a significant component of a teenager’s lifestyle, as it can provide an escape from reality or can simply just be a reason to break out into dance.

  With so many new music artists who have emerged in the past few years, it can be difficult to keep up with new songs and trending musicians. Some students at San Luis Obispo High School are in the know of what songs are hot or not, but many still remain unfamiliar with these new songs and artists. 

  Through new student senior Owen Spargo, Expressions has learned of a new way to stay updated on all popular music. 

  Spargo’s previous high school, Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, California, runs a podcast called “Rapid Reviews” in which students discuss and review new current releases. 

  New episodes are released weekly in brief segments that are straight to the point and informative, yet engaging.

  “Rapid Reviews was created as a way of making our arts and entertainments content, specifically reviews, more engaging and easily accessible for students who listen to podcasts over reading our web articles. I like listening to it because of the opinions Aria and Amrita give that often make me think about my own thoughts of songs. They also switch up who speaks in the podcast weekly which is refreshing! The format of the podcasts makes it something I can listen to in my free time and enjoy without committing to a full podcast,” said Spargo.

  Expressions listened to their first episode titled “Rapid Review #1”, which includes reviews of new music from singer-songwriters The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles. Each song was rated out of ten and discussed in terms of lyrical and melodic qualities.

  Right off the bat, we noticed great professionalism and composure in the speakers, considering that this is only a high school-level podcast. 

  Each song is evaluated by speakers Aria Khalique and Amrita Himmatraopet. Below, Khalique reviews the song “Heartless” by The Weeknd.

  “I think that it’s catchy if you enjoy hip hop music, but it’s definitely lyrically not a song that I really enjoy or want to listen to again. The lyrics are so much focused on the girls [and the drugs] and that’s kind of it. I didn’t enjoy that,” said Khalique in “Rapid Review #1”.

  If you’re looking to get more into mainstream music, giving a listen to these rapid reviews will be a great way to find out if a song is a bop or a flop.

Check out the Wildcat Tribune’s “Rapid Reviews” here on Spotify.