Middle school is usually a time that most of us like to forget about, but not for Lars Erik Ljungholm ‘20 because that was when he first met his friends Cameron and Cole Tessier. The brothers met Lars in their church’s youth group, and the three of them played on the church’s worship team quite frequently. It wasn’t long before the three decided to pursue producing their own music, forming the band we now know today as Drive-In.
All three are producers and songwriters, and the roles they play in the group are mostly shared among all three. When they play live, though, Cam acts as lead singer and keyboard, Cole does background vocals and synth and drum pad, Lars plays guitar and synth as well. “There’s so much in our music,” said Lars, “There’s too much for just three people to make with real instruments so we would have to use backtracks.” Even though nowadays they’re separated because of college, they maintain their work through Facetime calls and a lot of sharing files on Google Drive. Cam and Cole will send an idea for a track, Lars will make his tweaks and adjustments before sending it back, and then the process repeats. It’s back-and-forth until they decide it’s perfect. Although they haven’t played any shows together as a full band yet, they’re working on booking shows for the near future. Lars also recently played in a coffeehouse and asked a few friends to assist him, although the performance was more stripped-back without Cam and Cole.
Coming to Houghton has helped Lars grow as an artist; may it be through his Visual Communication major or his Music Industry minor. When asked about the influence the college and the classes here have had on him musically, he said, “I was just surrounded by music all the time [during my Music Industry classes]. You just get a ton of ideas. Going to Houghton has impacted me so much through the people I’ve met here. I’ve picked up a ton of unique production techniques and met many people who I believe are going to have great success in the music industry.” Not only has his work in the Music Industry program given him opportunities for making valuable connections and great friends, taking Visual Comm classes has really allowed him to think about his music in different creative forms; he has even had the chance to implement his own musical work in his class projects.
When Lars defined the genre of his music, he labeled it as “alternative pop,” admitting though that it is a fairly broad genre and difficult to pinpoint. He mentioned artists such as The 1975, LANY, and M83 as some of the biggest musical sources for inspiration for Drive-In. When Lars writes music, he draws from the work of many other artists that he listens to; he will pick out what he really likes in certain songs and what inspired those certain parts. May it be a melody or a something more specific like a beat of a snare – then he’ll create his own track based on the inspiration. Lars said in an interview that, “The music [of Drive-In] is a culmination of everything you’ve ever heard – ever. So, like, in some of the songs you can hear every day noises; like a pen on a desk. Everything is an influence.” Listeners will find that each song individually tells its own story, but the songs on the EP blend more sonically by the way they sound and the way they feel.
All of Drive-In’s EP’s were completed over the summer, and two have already been released (“1996” and “Glass”) but be on the lookout for more music from the band: the third installment from their EP series is set to release on New Year’s Day. Before that though, Lars mentioned some other fun projects that might find their way to your favorite streaming services. Make sure to follow Drive-In on Instagram (@driveinmusic) for updates! And for your listening pleasure, head over to Spotify or Apple Music to stream the available EP’s and singles.
After the dramatic reveal at the end of 
If I could describe her new album “Younger Now” in one word, it would be “mature.” It’s miles and miles ahead of Miley’s older songs, all dripping with pop star dreams and the monster that fame makes of us all. In her new album, Miley revisits her roots in the Memphis country music scene, borrowing from influences like Elvis, Dolly Parton (who makes an appearance in the track “Rainbowland”), and her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. The album has the reflectiveness that is often evident in these kinds of songs.
Life is moving fast, so fast we are forgetting how much time has elapsed. That’s why it’s always fun to look back and see just how long ago everything happened. One of the things that make us all scream at how old we are is the ever changing music scene. Remember Britney’s black hair? How about when Timbaland was relevant? These songs do and I bet you didn’t realize they are now ten years old. 
This song, coming from the last album Jack White did as part of “The White Stripes” was amazing from start to finish. With political overtones, fantastic guitar thanks to Mr. White and those Bob Dylan-esque vocals that mixed in with the pounding beat made every rocker swoon. We could not ask for anything more from Jack White and that’s why this wraps up the list.
As far as the films were concerned, I will say that I was impressed. After a relatively lackluster showing from last year, and the departure of Film Fest giants like Olivia Graziano ‘16 and Derek Booker ‘16, I had relatively low expectations as far as quality was concerned. But thanks to a fresh crop of talented newcomers my concerns have greatly diminished.
Lars Ljungolm ‘20 walked away with a few awards on the night, one for Best Cinematography rightly going to 
Hosts, Sarah Duttweiler ‘17 and Travis Trotman ‘17, exuded a palpable energy onstage, doubling down on their peppy “Purple vs. Gold” theme. They did the whole “shoot a video of the hosts frantically racing to SPOT, making it to the chapel, and then entering through the aisle doors as the video ends” thing, and as overdone of a concept as that may be, I couldn’t help but smile watching the two of them shimmy up to the stage in all of their wavy-armed, leg-flailing enthusiasm. Their overall contributions to the show were minimal as far as skits were concerned, but they did handle the job with a whimsical nonchalance.
The Heart Speaks in Whispers