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Ielts cue card sample 61 - describe your favourite music band, describe your favourite music band..

what music band it is
how do people react to the music of this band
when you first heard their songs/music
Why do people listen to music?
Talk about the type of international music.
What are some types of traditional music found in your country?
How does the internet affect the sales of CV, DVD and Music Albums?
What is more important: Traditional music or International Music? Why?

Tips for answering this Cue Card Speaking topic:

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Blog > Essay Advice , Personal Statement > How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)

How to Write a Great College Essay About Music (with examples)

Admissions officer reviewed by Ben Bousquet, M.Ed Former Vanderbilt University

Written by Alex McNeil, MA Admissions Consultant

Key Takeaway

Ask any admissions officer if they’ve read a college essay about music, and they’ll definitely say yes. Between music extracurriculars and academic interests in music, it’s is one of the most common college essay topics.

So does that mean that you shouldn’t write your college essay about music?

Not necessarily. But as with any common college essay topic, some approaches are better than others.

Let’s get into it.

Why you should (and shouldn’t) write your Common App essay about music

As we explained in our Stanford Items exercise , writing your college essay on a common topic isn’t off-limits. In fact, most college essays share common topics and themes. Trying to find a completely unique, never-been-done-before topic is almost impossible. And writing about a quirky topic in hopes of coming across as unique usually backfires.

In other words, it’s likely that you’ll write about the same topic as someone else.

The problem arises, however, when you write about a common topic in a cliche way . Cliches are always a danger in college essays, but in especially college essay topics that tend to surface again and again.

To avoid cliches, your college essay about music needs to be deeply personal, specific, and meaningful. You’ll want to let go of any over-generalizations or truisms and focus on the details of your own story.

Because you’ll need to write meaningfully and vulnerably, you should only write your college essay about music if you have something genuine and significant to say.

The Best Ways to Approach Your College Essay about Music

College essays about music aren’t off the table, but you should be thoughtful in how you write about them. The following two approaches will help you avoid cliches and find an authentic, meaningful story that fulfills all the requirements of a personal statement .

Writing about music as an academic interest

If you’re interested in studying music in college, then you can consider writing your college essay about music as an academic interest. A college essay about your academic interest in music can show fantastic intellectual fit with a school.

Let’s say you want to study music theory or composition. You might write about a topic you find compelling, a problem you’ve solved, or even a recounting of your journey becoming interested in the subject.

Or maybe you’re an aspiring performer planning on studying music performance. As an admissions officer, I read outstanding essays about students performing their favorite pieces, creating emotional music projects, and teaching lessons to young children.

No matter your topic, your goal with this approach is to show an intellectual spark, a curiosity and passion that will demonstrate to your admissions officers that you’ll be a great addition to the music community on their campuses.

Writing poignantly about a deeply meaningful extracurricular

The previous approach is great if you want to study music, but what if music is just an extracurricular passion of yours? Don’t worry—you can still write about it.

In that case, the best way is to focus on meaning. Remember: personal statements should be deeply-meaningful reflections on your personal strengths.

To start, reflect on your music extracurricular. Is it playing guitar in a band? Playing trombone in your school’s symphony? Learning piano from your grandma? How your love of poetry turned into a love of songwriting?

Next, think about what strengths you have to showcase. If you play guitar in a band, maybe you want to highlight your collaborative spirit. If you love poetry and songwriting, perhaps you focus on your creativity.

Writing about your love of music in a way that draws upon your strengths will make sure that your Common App essay avoids the following two approaches and gives admissions officers a reason to admit you.

Approaches to Avoid

While the following two approaches aren’t necessarily bad, they are the most cliche ways of approaching a college essay about music. You might want to consider avoiding them.

An inauthentic tale of triumph

Let me tell you a cliche story.

When I was in fourth grade, I decided to join the school orchestra. I found it exceedingly difficult at first. No matter how hard I tried, I never could seem to place my fingers correctly on the fingerboard. Every sound I made mimicked a screeching cat. But I decided not to give up. I practiced every day after school and on the weekends. By the time I was in ninth grade, I had made it into my high school’s top orchestra.

Is that a lovely story? Yes, absolutely. Is it hearty enough for a college essay? No. While it tells a good narrative of growth and progress, it remains on the surface of the writer’s life. It comes across as a convenient way to brag about your strengths instead of exploring them in a genuine way. In this example, the story also focuses on events that happened way too far in the past.

A song that changed your life

This approach is by far the most common cliche in college essays about music. We’ve all been there: a favorite song that transports you to a moment in your life whenever you hear it. It makes sense that you’d want to write about yours.

But there’s a problem with this approach. Too often, it reads as trite or unoriginal, and the end result usually doesn’t say much about the writer. And when it does, the message an admissions officer gets doesn’t typically give them any more reason to admit you. Since you want your college essay to be meaningful, even vulnerable, and strengths-based, you’re better off choosing another topic that better speaks to who you are.

Key Takeaways + Examples

College essays about music aren’t for everyone. But when you get it right, you can strike the perfect chord with admissions officers (you’re welcome for the pun).

As you go, dig deep, find something genuinely personal, and try to avoid the most common and cliche ways of approaching the topic.

Want to see some examples of college essays about music before you get started? Check out our examples, The Time Machine and The Band .

Liked that? Try this next.

The Incredible Power of a Cohesive College Application

How to Write a College Essay (Exercises + Examples)

20 College Essay Examples (Graded by Former Admissions Officers)

How A Selective Admissions Office Reads 50k Applications In A Season

"the only actually useful chance calculator i’ve seen—plus a crash course on the application review process.".

Irena Smith, Former Stanford Admissions Officer

We built the best admissions chancer in the world . How is it the best? It draws from our experience in top-10 admissions offices to show you how selective admissions actually works.

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Describe your favourite music band

Describe your favourite music band.

You should say:

what music band it is
how do people react to the music of this band
when you first heard their songs/music

and explain why this is your favourite music band.

Follow-up Questions:

Why do people listen to music?
Talk about the type of international music.
What are some types of traditional music found in your country?
How does the internet affect the sales of CV, DVD and Music Albums?
What is more important: Traditional music or International Music? Why?

Sample Answer 1

I like to listen to all kinds of songs, whether they are taken from some solo albums or some famous music bands. Talking about music bands, of course, they usually have a different kind of appeal to music lovers, especially if they are some musical bands like “Air Supply”.

By the way, “Air Supply” is my favourite music band. I first heard their songs about 15 years ago, when I still was a college student, and since then, I have been hooked to their music.

This famous music band is a soft rock duo consisting of English singer-songwriter and guitarist Graham Russell and Australian lead vocalist Russell Hitchcock. Since starting its journey, Air Supply has had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight top-ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s. Formed in Australia in 1975, this music band has included various accompanying musicians and singers to make some of the best music in the history of soft rock.

From the beginning, as a soft rock duo, Air Supply has been popular for their love songs, and people react to these love songs very strongly and passionately because of their romantic nature and mellow sound. Anyway, just like everybody else, I also love their acoustic music. These days, it seems to me that everyone is making acoustic versions of their old songs to make songs sound even better, but I don’t think their “remakes” sound as good as the original songs sung by Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock.

Anyway, Air Supply is my favourite band, primarily because their songs are light, and their lyrics are relatively easygoing. Besides, I have heard very few voices as beautiful and lyrical as Russell Hitchcock’s. I would consider their songs as something I can hum to anytime and anywhere. However, the best thing which makes “Air Supply” my favourite music band is that when I listen to their songs, it makes me feel as if it’s just me in the room with them, and they are singing only for me.

Sample Answer 2

I like many music bands very much, but Pink Floyd is my favourite music band. This music band is a famous music band for their music which falls under the genres of progressive rock, psychedelic rock and art rock. Though the band is not active anymore yet, they are heard by millions of music lovers. They are an English rock band that was founded in 1965 and remained active till 1995, and reunited in 2005. I have become a big fan of this band primarily because of their distinguished philosophical lyrics, sonic experiment and mind-blowing music quality.

Pink Floyd is considered one of the most musically influential and commercially successful bands. Their albums have sold well over 250 million records worldwide. Regarding how people react to their music, it depends on the listener and their choice of music, but people with good music choices and quality lyrics choices are bound to love this band’s songs. Each of their albums got a high appraisal from the music critic, and their album “The Wall” is widely known worldwide.

I first listened to their music (most probably, songs from the album ‘Atom hearted mother’) when I was in my 10th grade in school, and after that, I listened to almost all of their songs countless times.

There are many reasons we should listen to music. It is considered to be the food of the soul. Music is refreshing and washes away the tiredness, boredom and monotonousness. Good lyrics help us brainstorm, understand things more deeply and from different perspectives, and help grow positive inspiration and motivation. Music inspires us deeply and eliminates our boredom and narrowness in life. It is one of the best entertainment and inspirational sources for human beings.

Sample Answer 3

I have heard the music of so many music bands over the years, since my high school years, and all of them quenched the musical thirst of my heart and mind in some capacity. But, there is one music band, which blows my mind away with its legendary sounds and lyrics, is called “Enigma”. And, I am certainly glad to have an opportunity today to tell something about this music band because it tops the list of all of my favourite music bands in the world.

Anyway, if I remember correctly, I listened to the songs of this world-famous music band for the first time in almost 15 years when one of my rich high school friends played them for me in his car on our way to a market. Back then, I didn’t own any audio cassette player at my home. Still, after listening to the songs of Enigma, I not only fell in love with their songs but also became very desperate to buy my cassette player despite my parents’ reluctance.

Apparently, my parents thought that having a cassette player at home would distract me from my regular study work. But, I wasn’t exactly ready to listen to any advice or warnings from my parents because I wanted to listen to the songs of my favourite music band to my heart’s content. Anyway, after buying my cassette player, only god knows how many times I had listened to their songs, which included the songs like “I love you, I’ll kill you”, “Age of loneliness” and “ Mea Culpa”.

Anyway, I like this music band mainly because their songs are uniquely sensual with a very calming effect on minds and bodies. I also like this music band because their songs tend to transcend the time and generation, because of their extraordinary musical appeal, unlike the discos of the 80s and the techno and hip-hop music of the 90s. Their music just takes me on a beautiful, emotional journey every time I listen to them.

Sample Answer 4

The Beatles is an English music band that was formed in England, and later on, the band gained unbelievable popularity worldwide. It was one of the hit music bands in the world after its inception in the 1960s in Liverpool. ‘The Beatles’ was formed by George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. The band experimented with several types of music composition and became quite successful. It was widely popular for its unconventional types of music. This is an excellent candidate task card for me, and I am glad about this. Here are the remaining answers.

I have been listening to their songs since my childhood. Though the band is no longer available, I have a large collection of their songs. And often I love listening to their songs in my leisure hours. I cannot manage much time owing my business to listen to music, but when I was a student, I used to listen to music around the day. And the melodious songs of The Beatles entertained me much.

The Beatles have lots of famous songs. The band has reshaped different types of songs and initiated pop culture. Some of the most noted songs of this band are – ‘Tomorrow Never Knows, ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’, ‘I Feel Fine, ‘Getting Better, ‘All My Loving’, ‘Hello Goodbye’, ‘All You Need is Love’ etc. All the songs were composed and tuned differently. So, they gained global popularity.

There are many reasons to like this group. The band has dominated the rock era of the world. And I am in love with the music style of The Beatles. The group has experimented with various types of music genre together, and the application of classical instruments have brought a change in style. The band was commercially successful as well, and each individual in this band is a legend, and this is quite rare for any music band in history. So, I like this band very, very much. Their music still inspires me and help me fight my stress.

More Ideas to help you prepare your answer:

Cue card topic: describe your favourite music band..

1. I love to listen to rock music, and Broadcast is my favourite music band. It was formed in 1995 in the UK with the participation of original members, including James Cargill, Steve Perkins, Trish Keenan, Roj Stevens, Tim Felton and others. I have been listening to their songs for the past couple of years. The band has some popular tracks like “The Book Lovers”, “Echo’s Answer”, and “Lights Out”. I love the band for its special types of music composition.

2. The Band is my preferred music band, and despite being a Canadian majority, it has some special blends of country and folk music and also performs blues. I have been familiar with the band for the past seven years, and it has a remarkable number of famous tracks like “Ain’t No More Cane”, Atlantic City, “Chest Forever”, and “Go-Go Liza Jane”. “I Shall Be Released”, “Life Is A Carnival”. I liked the band for its enriched music and superb lyrics.

3. I prefer to listen to band music from AC/DC – the Australian band based in Sydney. The band is run by Angus Young, Stevie Young, Chris Slade and Axl Rose. I have been listening to the band for the past five years. “Back in Black”, “Highway to Hell”, “T.N.T”, “Shoot to Thrill” – are some of its popular tracks. Since I love to listen to rock music, this band goes with my demand. Besides, I also like the unique types of lyrics of this band.

4. Headless Chickens is my favourite band in New Zealand. The band is famous for using electronic musical instruments. The band members were Chris Matthews, Fiona McDonald, Johnny Pierce, Michael Lawry, Grant Fell, Bevan Sweeney, and Anthony Nevison. I have been listening to the band since my teenage. Some of its popular tracks are “In Love With These Times”, “Collision”, “Give It a Whirl” etc. I love the band, particularly for the superb music composition.

5. The number of bands in Indonesia is fewer, and Hightime Rebellion is one of them. the band got fans within a short time after its formation. Ready Surindrapati, Reza Arafat, Miyane Soemitro, Pulung Wahyuaji and Jason Sutrisn are the current band members. F Song, Walking Hour, Hum, Winter in the Window, Crest of Mind, Sail, Left-Right etc., are some of the famous tracks of the band. I mostly love the psychedelic beats, tone, and female voice.

Tips for answering this Cue Card Speaking topic:

This should be an easy cue card topic as it allows you to talk about any music band you like from your country or internationally renowned music bands.

First name the music band and say what type of music band it is (Genre, music style, lyrics style and member(s) of this music band).

Now talk about the reasons you like this music band. This part is a bit tricky as this is the part when you need to convince the examiner about your style and topic of speaking. Try to give some compelling reasons why you like this music band.

Some of the common reasons for liking a music band could be:

The music is touchy/ contemporary

This is a famous band for their extraordinary works on music.

Their music and lyrics are perfect.

They have a large fan base, and their works are critically acclaimed.

They have made a revolution in music.

All of this music band’s members are famous for their contribution to the music.

They have some hit songs that are heard by many people worldwide.

They have created a new style and music.

Their lyrics speak of your unspoken words.

You enjoy listening to their music.

The songs of this music band have good themes, and the lyrics are of high class.

The music is heart soothing, and you always love to listen to their music.

For the question “ How do people react to the music of this band ” you should mention that the fans of this music band revere the songs. You should also mention that people have different tastes in music, and tastes vary primarily based on age group and geographical location. People with different music choices or people who do not have a taste for this band sometimes criticise this music band, but yet this is a famous music band with a good number of hit songs.

For the question “ When you first heard their song ”, mention your first memory of the songs by this music band. If a friend or relative recommended this, mention it or say that you heard it on the radio or all of a sudden like this music. Also, mention that later on, you explored the songs of this music band from your interest.

The final question asks you to explain the necessity of listening to music. This answer should reflect your point of view of listening to music. In general terms, music is considered like food for the soul. Music is relaxing, washes away our sorrow and opens new dimensions. Good music relates us to the memory we have and can inspire us. Music is also helpful when we pass through depressed and challenging times as music helps us to heal our wounds.

The above paragraph explains why we should listen to music, but you certainly have your own reasons and mention that logically and convincingly in your answer.

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Describe your most favorite music band or singer you enjoy listening to

Describe your most favorite music band or singer you enjoy listening to:-, you should say, -what’s the name of the band and the band members, -how long do you listen to their song, -what is some famous song from this band, sample 1:- .

Well, music played an important role in everyone’s life. Without music, we cannot imagine our life because we need music to celebrate each and every occasion. I am not exceptional from others, I also love to listen to music.

Here I would like to talk about a “swaraag” music band which I love to listen again and again. This music band is created by Ustaad Mohamand and his son. In this band, there is a total of six members. Each member of this group has vocal quality as well as a great knowledge about the musical instrument. They started this band in 2002 through performing a live concert. however, in 2018, they participate in a musical competition the rising star. With the help of this competition swaraag band gained a lot of popularity whole over the world.

When I listen to this band first time on the set of the ” the rising star”. I am becoming a big fan of this band group. because they create indo-western music which I like most. they sing a song to combine two different genres such as folk+rock or sufi+rock. To add to it, the way they present a song to the audience is totally amazing. Moreover, they play a different instrument just like a pro and song of this band forces the people to tap their feet on the floor. all in all swaraag band gained name and fame due to their fusion version. According to my point of view, they took the music industry at the next level.

Well, I love to listen to music. I have heard a plethora of songs which had sung by music bands. But here I would like to talk about my favorite music band named “Maan Music Band” which established unbelievable popularity in India. This band had established by a famous Punjabi folk singer “Anmol Gagan Maan” about five years ago. I explain it briefly.

I have been listening to their songs since my school life. “Maan Music Band” has lots of famous songs such as Punjab’s traditional folk songs such as Jagga, Heer-Ranjha, Soormey, as well as other songs such as Bullet, Honsla, Sooraj and so on. There are numerous reasons which are responsible for my likelihood of it.

Firstly, this music band performs in an open space such as a ground or a park. So, a crowd of people can watch their performance. Secondly, all the songs of this music band like by every age of people. For instance, the head of this music band is the most popular Punjabi singer and she knows the Punjabi tradition properly. She sings folk songs of Punjab in order to put her contribution in the Punjabi folk Lore. Every person likes her great enthusiasm and dare.

Moreover, This music band is a group of girls who are well-educated and they know to play musical instruments. A few years ago, people thought that women are only for living in the four walls of the house and they can’t manage everything with their own efforts. But through this band, Anmol Gagan Maan advised to all people that men and women both are equal as well as both can do the same works such as working in the crop yields, water to the crop, do business outside the house and so on. Anmol Gagan Maan starts every concert of her music band with a lecture for building a belief and respect for ladies in individuals.

Eventually, Anmol Gagan Maan puts her contribution to improving the condition of a girl in society. I love this music band. Many times, I visit the concerts of “Maan Music Band”. But some times, when I am unable to go there, at that time I watch the live concert of this music band with the help of a social site YouTube. So, this “Maan Music Band” is my favorite music band.

favorite singer, you enjoy listening to:-

Why do you like listening to their music.

Well, India is a diverse country and there are numerous of the singer who has a great vocal quality. I like many of them such as A.R Rehman, Sunidhi Chauhan, Babbu Maan, Daljeet Dosanjh however, Gurdaas Maan is top of my favorite list.

He is a living legend in the music industry. he is a famous Punjabi singer as well as, a good actor. he started his career when he was young through performing in college competition. although his age is 60+. he has a unique and fascinating voice which attract everyone. till now, he performed more than 300 sings for the Punjabi industry. each and every song which is sung by Gurdaas Maan has some unique message. He is down to earth person. he is multi-talented for example, he is a songwriter, choreographer, actor, director, singer, and social worker as well.

He has sung so many beautiful songs such as Roti, Jogiya, Boot polishan but the name of the song is “Desh’ which admire me most. First of all, the melody of this song is so soothing. secondly, this song has 2 different messages. First is never say anything wrong about your country where you live. Second is everyone has some good qualities. apart from it, I love to listen to his songs whenever I have free time. according to my perspective, he is the best singer who sings a song in a versatile way with full of energy.

Well, music is very important for me because when I fell stressful and tired. So, that time I prefer to listen to music to relax as well as, I have a huge collection of old and new songs.

But here I would like to talk about my favorite singer. Well, I most prefer to listen to Punjabi music and, I also like Punjabi singer his name is Parmish Verma. He was born on 3 July 1990 in Patiala.

Interestingly, He is not the only a singer. He is also known as Director, producer, model, and actor. Moreover, he is a very successful person as well as, famous in the last years.

The most important thing, singing is not his profession and he started the career as a filmmaker. he also faced many troubles during teenage. He drops out the college in Punjab and, went to Australia in search of better opportunities and a better life.

However, Parmish came back to Punjab after leading a struggling life there. He was determined to build a career in the entertainment field. The first step he put in the industry by the video “Zimmewari bukh te doori” in 2014 which is described his struggle in Australia.

But, now every child knows his name. He has sung amazing songs like ja ve ja, sab fade Jaan gye, chirri udd kaa udd, kache pakke yaar and so on. I always listen to his song because I am also a student and, I face a new problem in daily life. When I listen to his songs and that time think its suit on my situation.

That is the main reason I prefer to listen to his songs and watch movies. His songs and movie always influence and motivate me.

At the last, not a least, In Parmish Verma every song and video give a good message to everybody. In song kache pakke yaar he tells about international students life and they face all troubles in very positive for the best future. According to me, he is the best person in the world who achieve success after facing a lot of failures in his life.

Follow-ups questions:-

Question:- What kind of music is popular in your country?

Answer:- Well, in my country different types of music are popular but people more prefer to listen to pop music and folk music as well as, individuals have much different taste and there are some concerts for classical and rock music. Moreover, folks always love to listen to traditional music on wedding functions and parties.

Question:- What do old people like to listen to?

Answer:- According to me, the old age group most like to listen to old traditional music and soft music which gives the relaxation to mind. with it, they do not like to listen to pop or heavy music on high volume. For example: my grandmother, always prefer to listen to the radio station and that television channels which provides news, traditional and classical song and so on.

Question:- Do you play any musical instruments?

Answer:- No, I do not play any types of musical instrument during my school and college life because that times my school and college did not provide particular music teacher and instruments. Furthermore, I also do not have the interest to learn and play.

Question:- Does the music industry prefer to make more money than producing good music?

Answer:- No, not really good music makes a large amount of money. for example: if the singer uses his or her singing skills and good vocal, then he can earn a lot of money. if a singer prefers to earn money instead of singing better songs then he or she cannot earn money because money sounds good but only good sounds can make money.

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It is generally believed that some people are born with certain talents like sport or music but others are not. however, it is sometimes claimed that any child can be taught to become a good sports person or musician. discuss both the views and give your own opinion. give reasons for your answer and include relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Describe your most favorite music band

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My Favourite Band

Filed Under: Essays

I have always loved music since I was young . My favorite band is One Direction . I love One Direction because they are the most amazing band in the world . When I first heard their music, I knew that they were always going to be one of my favorites band. They song made me want to get up, dance, and sing . Their music is catchy ,fun to listen to and over all great. One Direction are a British-Irish boy band consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson . The cutest guys you could imagine . I like One Direction most because their voice is very nice and when they sings their voice comes from the heart and which is very touchy and tends the song listen many times. They competed on the seventh season of The X Factor . One Direction’s first single is “What Makes You Beautiful” . The first song of one direction that makes me feel crazy is What Makes You Beautiful . A catchy tune began to play, it made not only my body dance but my heart too.

A deep and sweet voice began to sing meaningful lyrics that made me smile so much it hurt my cheeks. One Direction’s song Little Things has the emotions kind of moving, with the lyrics that make you want to cry because they are so meaningful. One Directions voices are reason why I love them so much. Their singing voices and talking voices can catch anyone speechless . Their voices are so beautiful, in every single way possible. I mostly like Harry and Zayn voices . Each member has beautiful personalities as well, another reason I love them so very much. Liam has a sweet and caring personality.

The Homework on How Can You Love Someone And Make Them Cry

Throughout life we have heard many people repeat wise sayings. The majority of the time we don't stop to think about what these sayings really mean. For example, "Those who truly love you and care about you will make you cry." How can you love someone and make them cry? When I was younger and very rebellious, I would always be disciplined by my mother. She would make sure I was doing the right ...

Louis believes he will never grow up and thinks everything needs to be fun in a way. Zayn has a sweet, over protective, bad boy personality. Niall has an adorable, care free, special personality that makes everyone love him. Harry has the perfect kind of personality. He can be shy, but at the same time completely friendly. Harry is very sweet and seems to always make people feel special. One Direction is the most important thing in my life. I absolutely in love with One Direction. Especially, Zayn Malik! I hope that my dream to go to One Direction 2013 World Tour will come true .

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... as it really is.Jewel's song, "Always," illustrates a definition of love. The first line of the song totally defines love in the same way ... is an example of someone using the word just to make others or even himself happy. I watched the soap opera, ...

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... between individuals and some behaviors can be stereotyped. 6.What would make a personality test reliable and valid? I believe not one test ... to live higher than your means. I tell my children; Love what you have, Need what you want, Accept what you ...

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... at the office just to hear your voice. Love is when she lets you order olives ... hands and neither remembers initiating the contact. Love is when she comes over to your ... than complaining she starts kissing you instead. Love is when you carry ALL the ...

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... baritone, the most imitated voice in rocknroll. Like just about any band that's been around a ... forces. You only need to listen to make this statement. Through the years of ... faced the angst-filled writer of the song. Two of Mr. Vedder's most impassioned ...

Essay on My Favourite Musician

Students are often asked to write an essay on My Favourite Musician in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on My Favourite Musician

Introduction.

My favourite musician is Ludwig van Beethoven, a renowned composer of the classical and romantic periods.

Beethoven’s music is magical. His symphonies, especially the ‘Fifth Symphony’, are full of emotion.

His Influence

Beethoven’s music has greatly influenced the world of classical music. His compositions continue to inspire musicians today.

In conclusion, Beethoven’s music has a special place in my heart. His compositions are timeless and continue to captivate me.

250 Words Essay on My Favourite Musician

Music is an essential part of human culture, providing a medium for expression, communication, and emotional connection. Among the countless musicians who have graced the world with their talent, my favourite is Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer and pianist. His profound influence on the transition from the Classical to the Romantic era in Western music marks him as a revolutionary figure.

Beethoven’s Life and Works

Born in 1770, Beethoven began his musical journey at a young age. Despite enduring a tumultuous personal life, including progressive hearing loss, he composed some of the most iconic pieces in Western music. His works, including Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 9, and Moonlight Sonata, have left an indelible mark on the world of music.

Innovative Musical Style

Beethoven’s compositions are renowned for their emotional depth and innovative structure. He expanded the symphonic form and the sonata, introducing new thematic development and formal principles. His music often reflects his personal struggles, adding a new layer of emotional intensity.

Beethoven’s Legacy

Beethoven’s impact extends beyond his lifetime. His compositions continue to inspire contemporary musicians and composers, and his commitment to his art in the face of adversity offers a powerful narrative of resilience.

My admiration for Beethoven lies not just in his musical genius but also in his strength of character. He transformed his personal challenges into a source of inspiration, creating a musical legacy that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide. His life and works serve as a testament to the transformative power of music.

500 Words Essay on My Favourite Musician

Music, a universal language that transcends boundaries, has the power to evoke deep emotions and connect souls. Among the myriad of musicians who have touched my heart, one stands out: Ludwig van Beethoven, a titan in the realm of classical music.

Early Life and Struggles

Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany, into a family of musicians. He displayed prodigious musical talent from an early age. However, his life was far from smooth, marked by personal struggles and familial issues. He moved to Vienna in his early twenties, a city that would become his home and the stage for his musical feats. The most profound of his struggles was his gradual loss of hearing, which began around 1801. Despite this, he continued to compose music, a testament to his indomitable spirit.

Beethoven’s Music

Beethoven’s music is a reflection of his life, a mirror of his struggles and triumphs. His compositions, while rooted in the classical tradition, pushed the boundaries of music, paving the way for the Romantic era. His work can be divided into three periods: the early period, heavily influenced by his predecessors, particularly Haydn and Mozart; the middle period, marked by innovative and heroic compositions like the Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’; and the late period, characterized by profound, introspective works such as the Symphony No. 9 ‘Choral’.

Personal Connection

The reason Beethoven is my favourite musician is not only because of his extraordinary musical prowess but also due to the emotional depth and complexity of his works. His music resonates with me on a profound level, inciting a range of emotions, from joy to despair, from contemplation to liberation. The ‘Moonlight Sonata’, for instance, evokes a sense of melancholic beauty, while ‘Ode to Joy’ from the Ninth Symphony exudes a triumphant spirit, a celebration of human brotherhood.

Beethoven’s influence on music is immeasurable. His compositions broke the conventions of his time, expanding the symphonic form and introducing novel harmonic and structural ideas. He was a pivotal figure in the transition from the Classical to the Romantic era in music, inspiring countless musicians and composers that followed. His music, imbued with a timeless quality, continues to be revered and enjoyed by audiences worldwide.

In conclusion, Ludwig van Beethoven, through his life and music, embodies the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. His music, laden with emotional depth, intellectual complexity, and innovative techniques, has left an indelible mark on the history of music. His legacy continues to inspire and influence musicians and music lovers alike. For these reasons, Beethoven is, and will always be, my favourite musician.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Essay on Music Has the Power to Heal
Essay on Importance of Music
Essay on Say No to Junk Food

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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Describe your Favourite Singer [IELTS Speaking]

Posted by David S. Wills | Dec 14, 2021 | IELTS Tips , Speaking | 0

In part two of the IELTS speaking test, you will be asked to describe something or someone. It is impossible to predict who or what this might be, but one possibility is a cue card that says “ describe your favourite singer .”

In today’s lesson, I am going to show you how to do that by giving you some useful language to use and also my own sample band 9 answer.

Cue Card: Describe your Favourite Singer

Obviously, there are many different possible cue cards and even one that asks about your favourite singer may have many possible variations. It could say “describe your favourite singer” or “describe your favourite musician.” You need to read the cue card closely before making a choice and preparing an answer.

Here is one possibility:

Describe your favourite singer. You should say: – who this singer is – what type of songs he/she sings – what type of people listen to his/her songs and explain why he/she is your favourite singer.

Here are the key things to note:

It must be a singer (ie not a guitarist or pianist)
You must describe the person a little
You must describe their music a little
The bullet points also ask about their fans
You must explain your reasoning

This is a lot to include, but that’s ok – it will help you to speak for at least one minute. Try to view it as a bonus and don’t worry if you run out of time before you have said everything. It really doesn’t matter as long as you use good English and your answer is coherent.

Planning your Answer

When you get the cue card, you need to immediately begin thinking about your response. The best idea is to quickly choose a singer to describe, then note down some ideas of things to talk about. Don’t waste time choosing between good singers and instead utilise your time carefully.

I would pick the singer Bob Dylan because his name is the first that comes to mind. Perhaps there are people who are easier to talk about, but with just one minute to prepare, you really don’t have time to debate it.

I would quickly make a few notes about things to talk about based upon the cue card and also anything else that seems relevant to me:

protest songs

Those are just a few words that would help me to provide a good answer. They might not make much sense to you… but the important thing is that your notes guide you through the response by reminding you of ideas and vocabulary.

Vocabulary About Singers

Let’s now look at some vocabulary to help you describe your favourite singer. For a more general lesson on IELTS and music, you can click here .

First of all, here are some ways to talk about singers so that you don’t repeat that word over and over. Note that these are not always direct synonyms and so you must think carefully before choosing:

Note that “frontman” is only used for men and thus could not be applied to a female singer, whilst a “crooner” is a specific type of singer. It is also not typically viewed as flattering, so it may not be appropriate for your “favourite” one.

Other words that could be useful:

There are of course many more words you could use and it honestly depends on the singer and the genre of music. You would use different language for describing a heavy metal singer and a rapper, for example.

Here are a few examples of famous singers, with useful phrases highlighted.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of Nirvana, a Seattle grunge band that was immensely important in the 1990s. He was famous for his raspy voice and deep lyrics . His angsty songs conveyed a depth of emotion that resonated across generations but were often misunderstood.
Bruce Springsteen is one of the greatest American songwriters , whose work has remained popular for nearly half a century. His inimitable voice shines through despite his work in different musical genres and his songs explore an array of themes that explore contemporary American life.
Rihanna has a beautiful but powerful singing voice with an impressive vocal range . She manages to infuse her songs with deep and throaty notes yet also hit the high notes when needed. Most importantly, though, her songs convey strong emotions that appeal to her fanbase.
Amy Winehouse was famous for her unique singing style. Her voice was incredibly deep for a woman and she used this to craft immensely powerful songs. She fused soul and jazz styles into her own brilliant form on many iconic hits .

Ok, now let’s see how I would answer the above cue card:

Sample Band 9 Answer

Many years ago, a friend introduced me to the music of Bob Dylan and I instantly fell in love with it. It was not just the music, but the enigmatic character of the singer himself that captivated me. Despite having been one of the world’s most famous musicians for more than a half century, it seems that almost no one knows anything about him. The man is a mystery to all but those closest to him.

Dylan shot to fame in the 1960s as a folk singer whose protest songs captured the imagination of a generation. He put out record after record, constantly baffling listeners with his confusing lyrics. His music has such depth that there are now legions of “ Dylanologists ”* devoted to deciphering his songs, but no one definitely knows what they mean because he never explains them. He lets his art stand on its own, which is rare nowadays.

Through the decades, Dylan has released songs and even albums that span genres and defy expectations, with his most unusual perhaps being a collection of Christmas songs. He is beloved by millions of people around the world and has penned more hits than almost anyone else in history, with even covers of his songs becoming classics in their own right.

For his musical brilliance, the range of his style, his personal integrity, and the sense of mystery he has shrouded himself in, I am constantly in awe at this man and that is why he is my favourite singer.

*This word means people who study Dylan’s lyrics. The “-ologist” part means it is treated like a science.

You can listen to my answer in this video:

As usual, I decided to start this answer with a personal note rather than a formulaic introduction. This helped me to move naturally into a description that covered everything in the cue card but in an organic way.

I have used some challenging vocabulary but nothing outrageous or obscure. Remember that it is important to be accurate in your word use and using random words from the dictionary will never help you. Words like “enigmatic” helped me to describe Dylan but they do not apply to everyone.

Importantly, I captured his style and personality and dealt with his musical range. I talked about folk and protest songs, as well as his confusing lyrics. All of this is more interesting than just saying “he’s a good songwriter” over and over, which many IELTS candidates tend to do.

Nothing here was particularly “advanced” except that it was specific and relevant, which is the most important thing. I’ve also avoided repeating myself and given my answer a natural introduction and conclusion, which is really helpful.

About The Author

David S. Wills

David S. Wills is the author of Scientologist! William S. Burroughs and the 'Weird Cult' and the founder/editor of Beatdom literary journal. He lives and works in rural Cambodia and loves to travel. He has worked as an IELTS tutor since 2010, has completed both TEFL and CELTA courses, and has a certificate from Cambridge for Teaching Writing. David has worked in many different countries, and for several years designed a writing course for the University of Worcester. In 2018, he wrote the popular IELTS handbook, Grammar for IELTS Writing and he has since written two other books about IELTS. His other IELTS website is called IELTS Teaching.

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Describe Your Favorite Singer IELTS Cue Card

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IELTS cue cards are required for the IELTS Speaking module because they assess the test-takers ability to speak fluently and coherently on a specific topic. IELTS results are significant because they can lead to educational and professional opportunities in English-speaking countries.

You will be given a cue card with one minute of preparation and two minutes of speaking on a difficult skill you've learned in IELTS Speaking Part 2. Here the given que card is Describe your favorite Singer IELTS cue card.

Download e-books for ielts preparation, important ielts exam resources.

Describe Your Favorite Singer IELTS Cue Card Follow up Questions

Here are some cue card suggestions for the topic "Describe your favorite Singer":

Who is this singer? How did you get to know this singer? What kind of person is this? Why do you believe he or she is good?

Introduction: My favorite Indian playback singer is Shreya Ghoshal. I've been mesmerized by her lyrical voice and a variety of singing styles since I was a young girl. Her songs are an essential part of my life and have gotten me through some trying times.

Who is this singer:Shreya Ghoshal is the singer I'm going to discuss. I began admiring her voice among all female singers when she was recognized for her songs and voice. Shreya Ghoshal is my all-time favorite singer.

How did you get to know this singer:Years ago, I saw the Tamil film 7g rainbow colony, which featured all of the songs composed by my favorite music director, Yuvan Shankar Raja. I used to listen to all of the movie's songs. Later, I discovered the female version of one of Shreya Goshal's songs, and that's how I learned about her.

What kind of person is this:I admire her singing ability. She is one of the industry's most versatile singers.

Why do you believe he or she is good:She melts people with her voice, whether singing in Hindi or Tamil. Even though her native language is not Tamil, her pronunciation is far superior to that of many of the singers.

Guru Randhawa is one of my favorite singers. He is a Punjabi singer and songwriter who is well-known in India and around the world.

Who is this singer: Guru Randhawa is a favorite of mine. He is a very popular Punjabi singer, songwriter, and composer in the Indian music industry. Gursharanjot Randhawa is his real name, and he was born in Gurdaspur, Punjab.

How did you get to know this singer: When I was in college, I first heard Guru Randhawa's music. When a friend introduced me to his popular song "Suit Suit," I was immediately drawn to his distinct voice and catchy beats. I've been following his music since then and eagerly await his new releases.

What kind of person is this: Guru Randhawa is a humble and hardworking singer. He appreciates his fans and frequently interacts with them on social media, which I find endearing.

Why do you believe he or she is good: Guru Randhawa is a great singer in my opinion because of his ability to blend traditional Punjabi music with modern beats, resulting in a fresh and distinct sound. His music has a broad appeal, and people of all ages and backgrounds enjoy his songs. His lyrics are also relatable and frequently tell a story, making them both meaningful and enjoyable to listen to.

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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1

IELTS Academic writing is meant for students who are applying for top-ranked universities and colleges in English-speaking countries. The writing task one is an academic summary writing based on diagrammatic and graphical representation.

IELTS Writing Task 2

Writing Task 2 is the second part of the writing section of IELTS, where aspirants are presented with a point of view, argument, or problem and asked to write an essay in response to the question.

Writing Task 1 IELTS

In IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 starts with a diagram, a visual representation of information. It can be a table, map, graph, process, diagram, or picture.

IELTS Essay Samples

The essay for IELTS is part of Writing Task 2. It is the same for the General Training and Academic of the IELTS. You will get a topic and have to write an essay on the same.

IELTS Cue Cards

The IELTS speaking cue cards come into play for the second part when the candidate will be choosing cue cards and then speaking on a topic for two minutes at least.

Describe Your Favorite Singer IELTS Cue Card Follow up Questions

The examiner will ask follow-up questions about the candidate's favorite movie in Part 3 of the IELTS Speaking Test. Following your response to the IELTS cue card about describing your first day at school, the following follow-up questions may be asked:

Q1. Do singers have a significant role in your country?

A1. Yes, we value singers just as much as actors, politicians, and others in our country. Songs are a traditional form of cultural expression in our country. There are numerous rituals and ceremonies in which songs play an important role.

Q2. Do you believe celebrities have a lot of money?

A2. It is obvious that celebrities make a lot of money by entertaining people with their talent and skills while sacrificing their privacy.

Q3. Do people in your country prefer to listen to traditional or foreign music?

A3. People in my country listen to both traditional and foreign music. However, the majority of young people prefer foreign music to traditional music, while adults prefer traditional music.

Q4. Do you prefer watching live performances?

A4. Yes, I prefer attending live performances. For a music lover like me, live performances will be extremely relaxing. It also allows me to witness my favorite people's lively interactions and obtain a photograph or autograph from them.

Q5. What are your thoughts on the national role of singers?

A5. I believe that national-level singers must carefully select song themes and lyrics because there are numerous opportunities for young people to be influenced. As a result, it is their responsibility to make it entertaining while avoiding any negative consequences.

Concluding on the topic of writing about your favorite singer, it's evident that their impact transcends the boundaries of music, embedding deep within the hearts of their audience. These artists not only captivates with their melodious voice and compelling lyrics but also inspires through their journey, resilience, and the emotions they evoke through each performance. Discussing about your favorite singer not only brings a sense of personal joy and admiration but also highlights the universal power of music to connect, heal, and inspire across different cultures and experiences. In the realm of the IELTS Speaking test, sharing this passion offers a glimpse into one's personality and linguistic ability, demonstrating the ability to communicate complex feelings and thoughts in English effectively.

Kanika has 5+ years of experience as a writer and content developer. She has written for a wide range of industry verticals, including hospitality, restaurants, non-profits, finance, IT, HR, technology, payroll, and education. She has worked as a creator for a few leading companies and has also helped brands grow through her creative writing.

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Describe your favourite singer or musician. | IELTS Speaking Part 2: IELTS Cue Answer

Describe your favourite singer or musician. You should say: who this singer/musician is what type of songs/music he/she sings/composes what type of people listen to his / her songs/music and explain why he/she is your favourite singer/musician.

Learn How To Answer IELTS Speaking Test Part 2 : CUE Cards.

Sample Response 1:

My favorite singer is the legendary Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist of the iconic rock band Queen.

Freddie Mercury was known for his incredible vocal range and flamboyant stage presence. His music with Queen spanned various genres, including rock, pop, opera, and more. Some of their most famous songs include “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Somebody to Love.”

People of all ages and backgrounds listen to Freddie Mercury’s music. It transcends generational divides and appeals to those who appreciate creativity and powerful vocals.

I admire Freddie Mercury for his unparalleled talent and his ability to connect with the audience. His passion and energy on stage are infectious, and his unique voice has a way of captivating listeners. His music has left a lasting impact on the world and continues to inspire many.

Sample Response 2:

My favorite musician is Ludovico Einaudi, an Italian pianist and composer.

Ludovico Einaudi is famous for his contemporary classical music compositions that often fuse traditional piano with electronic sounds and other instruments. His compositions are often used in film soundtracks, such as “Intouchables” and “Mommy.”

Einaudi’s music appeals to a wide variety of listeners, from classical music enthusiasts to those seeking relaxing or meditative tunes. It’s commonly enjoyed in calm settings or as background music for study or relaxation.

I love Einaudi’s music for its elegance and simplicity. His melodies are soothing and have a way of taking me to a peaceful state of mind. I often listen to his compositions while reading or working, as they provide a calming ambiance.

Sample Response 3:

My favorite singer is Beyoncé, an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer.

Beyoncé is known for her powerful voice and her ability to blend various musical styles, including R&B, pop, soul, and hip-hop. She’s behind hit songs like “Halo,” “Formation,” and “Single Ladies.”

Beyoncé’s music resonates with a diverse audience. From young fans to older generations, her songs speak to those who appreciate strong vocals, catchy beats, and empowering themes.

What makes Beyoncé my favorite singer is not only her incredible talent but also her strong sense of individuality and her role as an advocate for women’s rights and social justice. She’s an inspiration to many, both in her music and her life.

Explore Various IELTS Speaking Part 2 Cue Card Questions and Answers.

Recommended Vocabulary:

Example: Freddie Mercury is a legendary singer known for his remarkable vocal abilities.
Example: Freddie Mercury’s flamboyant stage presence made him a standout performer.
Example: Queen’s music transcends generational divides, appealing to listeners of all ages.
Example: Ludovico Einaudi is a composer of contemporary classical music.
Example: Einaudi’s compositions create a calming ambiance, perfect for relaxation or study.
Example: Beyoncé’s songs resonate with many people due to their empowering themes.
Example: Beyoncé’s music often features catchy beats that make you want to dance.
Example: Beyoncé is an advocate for women’s rights and uses her platform to promote equality.
Example: Freddie Mercury’s unparalleled talent as a vocalist set him apart from other singers.
Example: Freddie Mercury’s passion and energy on stage were infectious, energizing audiences worldwide.

Different Cue Card Topics

Personal Experiences: IELTS Cue Card Topics People and Personalities: IELTS Cue Card Topics Places: IELTS Cue Card Topics Objects: IELTS Cue Card Topics Events: IELTS Cue Card Topics Experiences and Achievements: IELTS Cue Card Topics Hobbies and Interests: IELTS Cue Card Topics Plans and Dreams: IELTS Cue Card Topics Nature and Environment: IELTS Cue Card Topics Education: IELTS Cue Card Topics Work and Careers: IELTS Cue Card Topics Technology: IELTS Cue Card Topics Health and Fitness: IELTS Cue Card Topics Food and Drinks: IELTS Cue Card Topics

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Cue Card # 67: Your favourite musician/singer

Ielts cue card/ candidate task card # 67, describe your favourite musician/singer..

You should say:

who is he/she
what type of songs he/she composes or sings
how long you have been listening to his/her music

and explain why he/she is your favourite musician/singer.

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you are going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer:

I love to listen to music – all kinds of music – because they stimulate my mind and body, and because they make me happy and put me in the mood. But, when it comes to describing as to why one is my favourite musician or singer, it becomes a real challenge for me because I am no music expert. However, I will still try my best to describe my favourite singer.

He is nicknamed as the “King of Pop”. He is also regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century, and one of the most successful and influential entertainers of his era. He came with an undeniable gift of music which pretty much changed the trajectory of pop music forever. He is Michael Jackson.

He is my favourite singer and perhaps will remain so for the rest of my life. Michael Jackson wasn’t only a singer but also a very gifted songwriter. In addition to that, he also did the background vocals and beat for his songs. His songs had beautiful lyrics, meaning and passion. Most of the songs he wrote were number one hits. His songs are timeless classics and people never get tired of listening to his music. Michael Jackson was such a prolific singer that he had sung all kinds of songs from every American genre which included rock, r&b (rhythm and blues music), rap, pop, disco and Motown. He sang with power, and felt genuine emotion, no matter whatever kind of songs he was singing. I have been listening to his music for almost 10 years- since I was about 10 years old, and he has never ceased to amaze me since then.

Michael Jackson is my favourite singer for a number of reasons. The first reason is that he had a very huge vocal range, and he could hold a note for very long. He is my favourite singer also because no other singer makes me feel as cheerful and energetic as him. Besides, he has always entertained me with his sharp and extraordinary “moonwalk” dance performance.

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My Favorite Music Essay Example

In response to Klosterman's question, I would say that I am open-minded. As a child, I grew up on R&B and Hip Hop. However, once I became older was able to expose myself to new musical worlds. Specifically, the categories of music I like are Hip Hop/Rap, Pop, R&B/Soul, and Indie.

In the rap group, I listen to Kendrick Lamar, Logic and Kanye West. Lamar makes me think in a deep and metaphorical way. He keeps me educated upon the societal and political issues that affect today. Similarly to Lamar, Logic, also makes you think. Through his music, Logic can remarkably tell a story. In addition, he uses his platform as an artist to encourage positivity and equality. Lastly, on Kanye West, I love his unapologetic attitude. I sometimes rely upon him in helping me discover older artists and music through of his use heavily sampling.

In the pop music category, I have an admiration for Hall and Oates and the Bird and the Bee. 80’s pop duo, Hall and Oates have a way of creating classical hooks and harmonies that make it impossible not to sing along to. The Bird and The Bee, a popular Indie duo band attract me through their eccentric songwriting. Which blends elements of jazz, electronic, Pop and R&B music. In the R&B category, my favorite singers are Mayer Hawthorne and Justin Timberlake. What draws me to Mayer Hawthorne, is that he has an old school but yet soulful vibe. His soulful voice and lyrics have elements of Motown blended within them. Justin Timberlake has such flexibility in his songwriting nature. Having the ability to go from singing an energetic dance tune to a powerful love ballad.

In some way shape or form, these musical categories have helped shaped my identity today. What these musical patterns say about me is that I like having emotional connections. Whether that is through the artist themselves and or through the music they create.

Out of the 7 musical elements that are mentioned in the textbook, rhythm and form are the most important to me. I am always reeled in first by the beat and from that, I am able to determine the quality of a song. Take, for instance Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode”. Throughout the duration of the song the beat unexpectedly goes through three changes. The unexpected changes force the listener to do two things: never get acquainted with one single beat and hear three songs in one. The form is also key as well. One thing that I enjoy about rap is that certain lyrics are left to open interpretation. Wordplay is a magical example of this interpretation. Which leaves a word or phrase to either be seen as literal or figurative.

In all, If I met someone at Klosterman’s party, they would assume based off my identity that I would like hip-hop and pop music. Over time I found that some tend to stereotypically determine that just because I am African-American I only enjoy “hip-hop” music. However, if they got to know me more they would come to find that those two genres are not what I solely listen to. I am very open and enjoy listening to any music genre. I feel the more open-minded one is, the more they set themselves up to discover new things. Music continuously re-develops and it waits for no one.

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100, 300, 400 & 1500 Word Essay on My Favorite Music

Table of Contents

My Favorite Music Essay 100 Words

There are many kinds of music such as pop music, country music, rock music, and the list goes on. However, my favorite music is piano music. Some people might not be familiar with piano music, but they prefer other kinds of music more. But to me, piano music is the finest of all music types.

I like piano music for two reasons. One is that music is played on a piano. The piano is my favorite musical instrument. I have a special liking for it, as I play piano for six years.

Moreover, the piano has its own elegance and dignity. Secondly, its melody relaxes and soothes me. After studying, I listen to the piano, for it reduces my stress and relaxes me. I enjoy piano music. It is also a way for me to be happy.

My Favorite Music Essay 300 Words

Music in the modern world is present everywhere. Around so many different musical styles: pop music, rap, alternative, rock, disco, techno, drum and bass, and, of course, immortal classics. Different people, depending on their tastes and preferences, like a variety of music.

Scientists say that by knowing a person’s musical preferences can determine their character. With this statement, I agree, because I think music can show nature and soul. For example, they believe that rock listeners are smart and sensible.

As for me, I like “Mill”. This group sings folk rock. Their repertoire includes Norwegian, Scandinavian, English, and other ballads. I like this band because of the unusual music and engaging lyrics. Each of their songs has a deep meaning and tells a story. They create a magical world populated by knights, Vikings, Valkyries, and many magical creatures. In addition, their soloist has an extraordinary voice. It seems to me that such a talent is born rarely.

I admire people who create music themselves. I, unfortunately, lack this talent. In my understanding, such people can show feelings, and draw pictures with their songs. They can make the listener laugh or cry, and think about the significance and eternal.

It is imperative that the music is good. I do not like it when it does not convey any meaning, except for primitive instincts. Unfortunately, modern pop music has gone along this path.

I think you cannot live without music. It is everywhere. I always listen to music regardless of my mood. She often helps me in everyday life. Dull household chores become easier and more fun under the right music track. A long road is brightened up by your favorite band. One contemporary poet wrote: “The world would be meaningless if the music were not present” – and I fully agree with him.

My Favorite Music Essay 400 Words

Out of all the various types of music we have studied, I would have to say my favorite type of music is from the mid to late 60s, 70s, and 80s eras. My favorite music style is rock & roll. To be specific I am talking about some of the music we studied in units 12, 13, and 18 of our textbook.

I like this style of music the highest because it represents who I am and what I enjoy. The lyrics to songs during these times were fun and easily understood. This was compared to other genres of early music that seemed very dark, depressing, or hard for me to understand or relate to.

In my opinion, rock and roll is easier to listen to and dance to, than other genres of music before the 1950s. This was mainly because the lyrics and the music prior to the ’50s were boring and very difficult to dance to. I am sure my opinion of this type of music before the 50s is based on my age and the time era I grew up in.

Rock and Roll have an excellent rhythm and a backbeat that sounds different from other early genres of music. It likewise has a blues influence which I like. Earlier genres of music, in my opinion, didn’t have the same type of rhythm, speed, syncopation, or strong backbeat, the riffs, and the hooks that rock & roll has. I also like the vocal range that some rock & roll musicians have and their ability to sound unique. From the early ’60s and on, the music sounded better. Rock and roll during these times also became more rhythmic.

In conclusion, I must say that it was very difficult for me to pick just one style of music or just two bands. There are so many other styles of music I enjoy listening to and numerous artists I appreciate. I could probably write forever naming all the musicians and different styles of music I enjoy.

It was also difficult for me to explain rock & roll specifically. This is because it contains many elements of different genres from some of the earlier music we studied. I just know that rock & roll wouldn’t have become what it is today if it weren’t for our musicians in the past. This has allowed us to learn and grow from them.

My Favorite Music Essay 1500 Words

It’s super challenging to pick a favorite kind of music for me because I love all music so much. When I was a child I always loved music, in dance class, I remember all the other girls had a difficult time finding the beat in the music but for some reason, I found it very easily and have always enjoyed dancing to music and it always made me very happy.

In general, music can have a big impact on people’s moods and is very effective. For example, relaxing music can calm some people when they are feeling angry but rock music can help them get their aggression out. Music affects everyone differently and everyone has a favorite kind or at least one they prefer more than the others.

Personally, my favorite genre is alternative music. Yes, I know that’s not exactly the most usual answer. Most people claim they prefer country or pop but not alternative! Well, I have my reasons for liking alternative the most, and once I explain I think you will understand quite clearly why I like alternative music the most.

First of all, I would like to say the hardest time I had doing this essay was deciding between techno and alternative. I love them both a ton. I finally decided on alternative but I finally settled on alternative because every song is unique and different in alternative.

That is why I am passionate about loving alternative music. First of all, I admire its uniqueness. Alternative genres are characterized by their uniqueness, hence their name. I love to hear what the artist come up with when they combine different musical genres together to create an unusual and new song.

I think that when artists do this they express themselves and show their ideas through their music. This makes it cooler and unique in its own way. That’s one of the main reasons I chose Alternative over all the other ones is because they are all pretty much the same.

Some of my favorite alternative songs are The Great DJ, Tiptoe, Bring Me to Life, Clocks, and Into the Ocean. All of these songs are different from each other and the other genera. Some of the songs are mixed with rock and pop music (for example, “Bring Me to Life”).

Things like that are why I love this genre because you never know what you’ll get and what it sounds like together. My favorite mixes are when they have rock, pop, and some mellow/relaxing music in their songs. This is because it’s so different and I am weird. I like action movie music because I want to be a director one day. I like to imagine when I’m listening to that kind of music some kind of action scene or something.

Some of my favorite artists that do some or all alternative are Coldplay, Neon Trees, Evanescence, Santigold, and Snow Patrol. These artists are my favorite because their ideas of how the music should sound or proceed after a verse are the same as mine. I really like listening to these artists when I am happy or angry. However, I usually listen to more relaxing music when I am upset, so they aren’t exactly the most suitable to listen to when I am sad.

However, listening has complications. Like I mentioned before I like to dance however with alternative music it is sometimes more difficult to dance to. This is because there isn’t always a consistent beat and the tune varies from slow and graceful to rock and fast.

However, if you just want to sit and listen to music and not think, an alternative works well. That’s the one thing about pop that I really enjoy is that you can dance to it or just pay attention to it. However, now that I really contemplate it you usually can’t help getting up and dancing when listening to pop so I guess it’s even. Other than the whole “hard to dance to” thing, the alternative is perfect for me.

My least favorite music is country. Don’t take offense if you like country because it’s nothing against you…probably…just kidding! I really don’t enjoy country music, especially the updated version of country. This is because all of the artist’s voices sound the same and so does pretty much everything else.

The tune varies slightly, but besides that, it’s the same old same old. And I don’t really like how they always sing about stuff like how their house was stolen by their ex-wife and then their Ford breaks down…again. I guess others might think I’m crazy and that not all songs are about stuff like that. Some of them are about ex-boyfriends who cheated on them.

They slashed holes in all four tires and took a sludge hammer to the headlights and carved their name in the seats. They did this so on and so forth. Truth is I actually listen to country music, but I have to really be in the mood for it like when we go on a deer hunt or something. But besides that, I pretty much think that country is Do Rae Me Fa which makes me laugh out loud. Again no offense to those country lovers out there.

Country is my least favorite genre, but hard rock aka rock and roll is right there with it. I have anger issues I’ll admit it but in hard rock, I like anger, hate, and…just plain screaming! I honestly can’t stand hard rock.

It is so ridiculously obnoxious that I just want to punch the guy with the Mohawk in the face so he shuts up! Most people who even want to listen to that are punk teenagers who are upset about their lives more than most teenagers. My dad also listens to it now that I think about it…but that’s just because he loves the 80s too much. Again just kidding…sort of…(nervous laugh) I love you, Dad!

After that, I think I may have a new least favorite…funny how reflection on things can change the order or place of something so fast. It’s also funny how ridiculously long it took me to write this thing. Okay back on track, I believe that the music you like depends on your personality. Also, I think music can affect your personality and as I mentioned, it certainly affects your behavior.

So whenever I am feeling depressed, I listen to music that is the opposite of what I’m experiencing, unless I’m happy. Sometimes though when I am upset or angry it would be pleasant to listen to the same feeling of music. Even if I am happy I still sometimes listen to sad songs just because I feel like doing it.

I think I really like the alternative because I’m able to get all feelings not just happy or sad or angry. Different songs, different meanings, different feelings. It’s just the genre that has it all. Due to how much music affects behavior, I avoid all songs that contain swearing and/or immoral language. I feel like songs like these are the very poorest and they are definitely my least favorite as far as individual songs are concerned.

I listen to all the songs I like during the week that I want, alternative, pop, etc. But there is one day when I only pay attention to one type of music. That day is Sunday and I only pay attention to gospel music (don’t think I’m being self-righteous or anything I swear I’m not trying to put it across that way) my point is, is that on Sundays I only tune in to songs that help me get closer to God. I like Come Thou Fount by Jenny Oaks Baker. I prefer instrumental hymns better than lyrics because they are more relaxing and I love instrument sounds, especially the violin.

By the time Sunday is over though I am more than ready to listen to my usual stuff. I feel like I listen to music all the time, 24/7, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love music so much that it is pretty much my whole life, which might not be a wise thing now that I think about it.

I am grateful for music. If I didn’t have it, I would probably be mentally unstable right now. In the past, music has always been there for me, especially when I was in a tough place and about to break mentally.

I just turned on my iPod and played some music. For example, right now I am trying to finish this without freaking out or breaking my computer because this is so long. I have my earbuds in and am listening to my alternative selections and am halfway through.

I would just like to conclude by saying that music has always had a big part in my life and I don’t know what I would do without it in mine. In summary, my main objective here is to show my love for alternative music and all music.

I also want to show how I use my music and other kinds of music. I hope that after this you will see why I like alternative music as well as simply all music so much. If not, I will have wasted what feels like a lifetime (though in reality, it has probably only been 6 hours). And that is my favorite type of music typed out into 5 extremely long pages.

100, 200, 400 & 500 Word Essay On Beat Plastic Pollution

100, 150, 200, 250, 300 & 500 Word Essay on Intellectual Property Rights

discuss about your favorite singer. how do you know him, what this person is like and do you think he is good?

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Include an introduction and conclusion

A conclusion is essential for IELTS writing task 2. It is more important than most people realise. You will be penalised for missing a conclusion in your IELTS essay.

The easiest paragraph to write in an essay is the conclusion paragraph. This is because the paragraph mostly contains information that has already been presented in the essay – it is just the repetition of some information written in the introduction paragraph and supporting paragraphs.

The conclusion paragraph only has 3 sentences:

Restatement of thesis
Prediction or recommendation

To summarize, a robotic teacher does not have the necessary disciple to properly give instructions to students and actually works to retard the ability of a student to comprehend new lessons. Therefore, it is clear that the idea of running a classroom completely by a machine cannot be supported. After thorough analysis on this subject, it is predicted that the adverse effects of the debate over technology-driven teaching will always be greater than the positive effects, and because of this, classroom teachers will never be substituted for technology.

Start your conclusion with a linking phrase. Here are some examples:

In conclusion
To conclude
To summarize
In a nutshell

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In some countries, owning a home rather than renting one is very important for people. Why might this be the case? Do you think this is a positive or negative situation?

Some people believe raising the price of fuel is the greatest way to address global environmental issues. do you agree or disagree, some believe that more academic subjects such as chemistry, physics and history should be taught in schools, while others believe that students will derive more benefit from studying practical subjects, such as motor mechanics and cooking. discuss both views and provide your own opinion with relevant examples., some people think that success is the best measure of intelligence, while others think that intelligence can be measured in other ways. what is your opinion on that give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. write at least 250 words, the use of a mobile phone is as antisocial as smoking. smoking is banned in certain places so the mobile phone should be banned like smoking. to what extent do you agree or disagree.

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With Arms Wide Open

How did creed, the most hated band of the 1990s, become so beloved—and even cool i sailed the seas with thousands of fellow lunatics to find out..

It’s high noon on a blazing April day, which is the ideal time to be sitting in an Irish pub aboard a cruise ship the size of a small asteroid. The bar is called O’Sheehan’s—yes, pronounced “oceans”—and it’s located deep within the belly of the boat, just above the teppanyaki joint, the sake bar, and the lustrous duty-free shops. This consciousness-altering diorama of infinite seas and cloying Guinness-themed paraphernalia is where I meet Colleen Sullivan, a 46-year-old woman with a beehive of curly red hair and arms encased by plastic wristbands. She wants to tell me how Creed changed her life.

A few moments earlier, Sullivan dropped one of those wristbands on my table—an invitation to talk. It’s lime-green and emblazoned with pink lettering that reads “Rock the Boat With Creed.” I slip it past my hand and sidle up to her booth. Sullivan uses one nuclear-yellow-painted fingernail to hook back the wristbands on her right arm. Underneath is the pinched autograph of Scott Stapp, the band’s mercurial lead singer, enshrined in tattoo ink. This, it seems, is not her first rodeo.

We are both here for “Summer of ’99,” a weekendlong cruise and concert festival for which Creed—as in the Christian-lite rock band that sold more than 28 million albums in the U.S. alone and yet may be the most widely disdained group in modern times—is reuniting for the first time in 12 years. Roughly 2,400 other Creed fans are along for the round-trip ride from Miami to the Bahamas, and the rest of the bill is occupied by the dregs of turn-of-the-millennium alt-rock stardom. Buckcherry is here. So are Vertical Horizon, Fuel, and 3 Doors Down, the latter of whom hasn’t released an album since 2016.

To celebrate, Sixthman, the booking agency responsible for this and many other cruises, has thoroughly Creed-ified every element of the ship. The band’s logo is printed on the napkins and scripted across the blackjack felt. The TV screens at the bar are tuned to a near-constant loop of Creed’s performance at Woodstock ’99. The onboard library has been converted to a merch store selling Creed hoodies and shot glasses. The stock music piped into the corridors has been swapped out for Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel,” Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy,” and 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite.” When I turn on the closed-circuit television in my cabin, a channel called New Movies plays Scream 3 and Can’t Hardly Wait . And four elevator doors in the boat’s central plaza are plastered with the words “Can You Take Me Higher or Lower?” Sixthman pulled similar stunts with 311’s “ Caribbean Cruise ,” Train’s “ Sail Across the Sun ” cruise, and Kid Rock’s notoriously debauched “ Chillin’ the Most ” cruise—the Kid Rock cruise also took place on the vessel I’m on, the Norwegian Pearl . The idea is to teleport a captive audience back into the dirtbags they once embodied and to a simpler time, when Scott Stapp controlled the universe.

Sullivan tells me that her relationship with Creed overlaps with her sobriety story. She first became a fan of the band in the late 1990s, when “Higher” and “With Arms Wide Open” were soaring up the Billboard charts. Then, Sullivan started using, and her appreciation for the divine proportions of those songs faded in service of more corporeal needs. Years later, after Creed broke up and Sullivan got clean, she returned to the music and discovered a dogma of her own: Maybe she had been put on earth to love Stapp—and Creed—harder, and with more urgency, than anyone else in the world.

“He helped me grow with those old Creed songs,” she tells me. “When I saw Scott for the first time live, he had just gotten clean too. I’d go to the shows and there would be tears streaming down my face.” Her left arm contains another Stapp tattoo, with the words “His Love Was Thunder in the Sky” scrawled up to her elbow, surrounded by a constellation of quarter notes. It’s a lyric taken from a 2013 Stapp solo song called “Jesus Was a Rockstar.” The singer Sharpie’d it onto her body himself.

“Summer of ’99” is Creed’s second attempt to reunite, after it disbanded in both 2004 and 2012 amid clashing egos and substance issues. The band couldn’t have picked a better time to get back together. If you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of an extremely unlikely Creed renaissance, redeeming the most reviled—and, perhaps more damningly, most uncool —band in the world. For much of the past 20 years, hating Creed has been a natural extension of being a music fan: In 2013 Rolling Stone readers voted the group “the worst band of the 1990s,” beating out a murderers’ row of Hootie and the Blowfish, Nickelback, and Hanson. Entertainment Weekly, reviewing Human Clay , the band’s bestselling album and one of the highest-selling albums of all time, bemoaned the record’s “lunkheaded kegger rock” and “quasi-spiritual lyrics that have all the resonance of a self-help manual.” Meanwhile, Robert Christgau, the self-appointed dean of American rock critics, wrote Creed off as “God-fearing grunge babies,” comparing the group unfavorably with Limp Bizkit.

The disrespect was reflected more sharply by Stapp’s own contemporaries. In the early 2000s, Dexter Holland, the frontman of the Offspring, played shows wearing a T-shirt that read “Even Jesus Hates Creed.” After leaked images of a sex tape filmed in 1999 featuring Stapp and Kid Rock and a room full of groupies made it onto the internet, Kid Rock retorted by saying that his fans didn’t care about the pornography but were appalled that he was hanging out with someone like Stapp. The comedian David Cross, who embodies the archetype of the exact sort of coastal hipsters who became the band’s loudest hecklers, dedicated swaths of his stand-up material to bird-dogging the singer. (One choice punchline: “That guy hangs out outside a junior high school girls locker room and writes down poetry he overhears.”) Then, in 2002, after a disastrous show in Chicago at which a belligerently drunk Stapp forgot the words to his songs and stumbled off the stage for 10 minutes, four attendees unsuccessfully sued the band for $2 million. Holland’s shirt didn’t go far enough—at the group’s lowest, even Creed fans hated Creed.

All this acrimony plunged Stapp into several episodes of psychic distress. His dependence on alcohol and painkillers was well documented during the band’s initial brush with success, but after Creed’s short-lived reconciliation, Stapp spiraled into a truly cavernous nadir. In 2014 the singer started posting unsettling videos to Facebook, asserting that he had been victimized by a cascading financial scam and was living in a Holiday Inn. That same year, TMZ released 911 calls made by Stapp’s wife Jaclyn claiming that he had printed out reams of CIA documents and was threatening to kill Barack Obama. But these days, Stapp—who announced a bipolar diagnosis in 2015—appears to be on much firmer ground, and the band has reportedly patched up some of those long-gestating interpersonal wounds.

But with time comes wisdom, and in 2024 neither the critical slander nor the troubling reports about Stapp’s mental state are anywhere to be found. It is a truth universally acknowledged that Creed is good, a shift that, as Stapp told Esquire , “just started happening” around 2021. The new paradigm likely solidified the next year, when Creed’s mythically patriotic post-9/11 halftime show, played on Thanksgiving in 2001, began to accrue latter-day meme status. The set was ridiculous and immaculately lip-synced by Stapp and company. Yoked, shirtless angels spin through the air, and cheerleaders pump out pompom routines synchronized with “My Sacrifice,” all while the live broadcast is interspersed with grim footage from ground zero. It’s garishly, unapologetically American, issued just before the unsavory decline of the Bush administration clicked into place. Today both of those relics—Creed and the unified national optimism—are worth getting wistful about. “This is where we peaked as a nation,” wrote football commentator Mike Golic Jr., linking to the video.

Creed nostalgia has only proliferated further since the resurrection of that halftime show. The band’s guitarist, Mark Tremonti, told the hard-rock site Blabbermouth that he’d recently noticed athletes bumping Creed as their “ go-to battle music ,” and in November, an entire stadium of Texas Rangers fans belted out “Higher” to commemorate their team’s World Series victory . Earlier this year, a viral remix of “ One Last Breath ” even began pulsing through some of the hottest parties in New York. The band has clearly crossed some sort of inscrutable cultural Rubicon and thrown reality into flux—up is down, black is white, and, due to a sublime confluence of biting irony and prostrating sincerity, Creed fucking rocks .

All this means that the inaugural edition of the “Summer of ’99” cruise is buoyed by very high stakes. It has been 12 long years since Creed last played a show, and the cruise is intended to be the dry run for a mammoth comeback tour that is scheduled for 60 dates, through summer and autumn, in basketball arenas and hockey stadiums across North America. The only remaining question is whether the band can keep it together. I’m there in a commemorative Creed Super Bowl halftime T-shirt to find out.

Several flights of stairs above O’Sheehan’s, the day before I meet Sullivan, I find Sean Patrick, a giddily beer-buzzed 34-year-old from Nashville who is standing in awe of a Coachella-sized stage that looks downright sinister on the pool deck. Creed is playing two shows this weekend, and the first is set for the very minute the boat leaves port and escapes Miami for the horizon. This means that everyone who purchased a ticket to “Summer of ’99”—which ranges from $895 for a windowless hovel to $6,381 for a stateroom with a balcony—has ascended to the top of the ship, preparing for Creed’s rebirth in a wash of Coors Light tallboys.

As of two days ago, Patrick was unaware he would be attending this cruise. Everything changed when a friend, who was on the waitlist, received a call from Norwegian Cruise Line informing him that a cabin with his name on it had miraculously become available. Patrick was suddenly presented with the opportunity to spend a tremendous amount of cash, on very short notice, to witness this reunion amid the die-hards.

Unlike Sullivan, Patrick doesn’t possess one of those highly intimate histories with the band, flecked with tales of trauma and perseverance. Still, he fell in love with Creed—even if it was only by accident.

“I think it started as a joke. The songs were good, but there was definitely a feeling of, like, Yeah, Creed! ” he tells me. “But then, next thing you know, you find yourself in your car, alone, deciding to put on Creed.”

The majority of the passengers on the Pearl have never been burdened with Patrick’s hesitance. Their relationship with Creed is genuine and free—cleansed of even the faintest whiff of irony—and, unlike Patrick, they tend to be in their late 40s and early 50s. The woman standing ankle-deep in the wading pool with a Stewie Griffin tattoo on her shin unambiguously loves Creed, and the same is probably true of whoever was lounging on a deck chair with a book, written by Fox News pundit Jesse Watters, titled Get It Together: Troubling Tales From the Liberal Fringe . Two brothers from Kentucky who work in steel mills, but not the same steel mill, tell me that loving Creed is practically a family tradition: Their eldest brother, not present on the boat, initially showed them the band’s records. Tina Smith, a 48-year-old home-care aide from Texas, crowned with a black tennis visor adorned with golden letters spelling out the name of her favorite band, loves Creed so much that she embarked on this trip all by herself. “This is my first cruise and my first vacation,” she says, proudly. (Smith is already planning her next vacation. It will coincide with another Creed show.)

Passengers I encounter that are a generation younger are clearly acquainted more with Creed the meme than Creed the band. These are the people who vibe with statements like “Born too late to own property, born just in time to be a crusader in the ‘Creed Isn’t Bad’ fight”—especially when they’re arranged as deep-fried blocks of text superimposed over the face of Keanu Reeves as Neo. If the establishment brokers of culture once settled on the position that Creed sucks, then it has been met with a youth-led insurgency that seems dead-set on shifting the consensus—if for no other reason than to savor the nectar of pure, uncut taboo.

Many members of this insurgency are aboard the Pearl , and they’re caked in emblems of internet miscellany that scream out to anyone in the know. Consider the young man, traveling with his father, who is draped in a T-shirt bearing the Creed logo below a beatific image of Nicolas Cage circa Con Air , or the many fans who wander around the innards of the Pearl in matching Scott Stapp–branded Dallas Cowboys jerseys, a reference to that halftime show. In fact, the best representatives of sardonic Creed-fandom colonists might be the youngest collection of friends that I’ve met on board. They are all in their 20s, most of them work in Boston’s medicine and science sectors, and each is dressed in a custom-ordered tropical button-down dotted with the angelic face of Scott Stapp in places where you’d expect to find coconuts and banana bunches. A week before “Summer of ’99” was announced, the four of them made a pact, via group text, that if Creed were ever to reunite, they would make it out to see the band play, no matter the cost. Their fate was sealed.

“I hated Creed. I thought they were terrible,” says Mike Hobey, who, at 28, is the oldest of the posse and therefore the one who possesses the clearest recollection of Creed’s long, strange journey toward absolution. “But then I started listening to them ironically. And I was like, Oh, shit, I like them now .”

His point is indicative of a strange tension in this new age of Creed: If “the worst band of the 1990s” is suddenly good, does that mean all music is good now? Is nothing tacky? Have the digitized music discovery apparatuses—the melting-pot TikTok algorithm, the self-replicating profusion of Spotify playlists—blurred the boundaries of good and bad taste? Am I, like Hobey, incapable of being a hater anymore?

This is what I found myself thinking about when Creed took the stage, right as the Miami skies began to mellow into a late-afternoon smolder, and put on what was, without a doubt, one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen. The scalloped penthouses of Miami’s gleaming hotel district passed overhead as the Pearl ’s rudder kicked into gear, and Scott Stapp—looking jacked and gorgeous, chain on neck and chain on belt, flexing toward God in a tight black shirt—launched into “Are You Ready?,” the first song of the afternoon, his baritone sounding, somehow, exactly like it did in 1999. “Who would’ve thought, after our last show in 2012, our next show would be 12 years later, on a boat?” Stapp said. He is risen, indeed.

I later hear from Creed’s PR agent that Tremonti, the guitarist, was more anxious than he was excited to get this first show in the books. I also gather, from Stapp’s representative, that photographers are mandated to shoot the lead singer during only the first two songs of the set, before he begins to “glisten” (her word) with sweat. But if nerves were fraying, Creed conquered them with ease. The members of the band were enveloped by an audience that had paid a lot of money to see them, and in that atmosphere, they could do no wrong. They blitzed through a variety of album cuts before arriving at the brawny triptych of “Higher,” “One Last Breath,” and “With Arms Wide Open,” pausing briefly to wish Tremonti, who was turning 50, a happy birthday. (Stapp wiped away tears afterward, a genuinely touching moment, considering that during their first breakup, Tremonti had compared his years collaborating with Stapp—who was then in the throes of addiction— with surviving Vietnam .) Given Creed’s historic proximity to the Kid Rock brand of red-state overindulgence, I half expected the concert to detonate with violent pits and acrobatic beer stunts, but nothing remotely close to mayhem occurred. This crowd was downright polite—chaste, even—as if it had been stunned by the grandeur of Creed.

“He tried to dance pogo ,” says a disappointed German woman, basking in the pool after the show, gesturing toward her husband. Both of them explain to me that pogoing is the German word for “moshing” and that, even more astonishingly, Creed is huge in their native hamlet, just outside Düsseldorf.

“It’s a reunion after 12 years!” says her husband. “Everyone should be dancing pogo .”

Nothing about Creed’s music has changed in the past decade, which is to say that many of the quirks that people like Hobey once used to mock the band for were on brilliant display during its first show back. But the truth is that little of the smug hatred for the group has ever had much to do with the music itself. Creed’s first record, 1997’s My Own Prison , was nearly identical to the down-tuned angst of Soundgarden or Alice in Chains, drawn well inside the lines of alt-rock radio. (It earned a tasteful 4/5 rating from the longtime consumer guide AllMusic.)

The problems arose only after the band started writing the celestial hooks of Human Clay , solidifying its superstar association with other groups chasing the same crunchy highs with machine-learning efficiency: Nickelback, Staind, Shinedown, and so on. Post-grunge was the term music journalists eventually bestowed on this generation, and in retrospect, that was the kiss of death. Creed was suddenly positioned as the inheritor of the legacy of Kurt Cobain, the godfather of grunge, who bristled at all associations with the mainstream music industry and hired the notoriously bellicose Steve Albini to make Nirvana’s third album as sour and uncommercial as possible. Stapp, meanwhile, has long called Bono—he of the flowing locks, billionaire best friends , and residencies in extravagant Las Vegas monoliths —his “ rock god .” Creed’s sole aspiration was to become the biggest rock band in the world, and for a few years there, the group actually pulled it off. Cobain’s grave got a little colder.

Post-grunge steamrolled the rock business, reducing its sonic palette to an all-consuming minor-chord dirge. Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” went quadruple platinum in 2001, eventually sparking a furious period of retaliation from the underground. (You could make the argument that the rise of the Strokes or the White Stripes or the indie-rock boom writ large is directly tied to the vise grip Creed once held on the genre.) Before long, music aesthetes adopted a new term, rather than post-grunge , to refer to the Creed phenotype: butt rock . In fact, by the late-2000s, the hatred of Creed had been so canonized that when Slate published a rebuttal —in which critic Jonah Weiner asserted that the band was “seriously underrated”—the essay was considered so “ridiculous” and contrarian as to single-handedly inspire the viral and enduring #slatepitches hashtag, instantly prompting parodies such as “ Star Wars I, II, & III, better than Star Wars IV, V, & VI .”

But, frankly, when I revisit Weiner’s piece, many of his arguments sound remarkably cogent to modern orthodoxies. “Creed seemed to irritate people precisely because its music was so unabashedly calibrated towards pleasure: Every surging riff, skyscraping chorus, and cathartic chord progression telegraphed the band’s intention to rock us, wow us, move us,” he writes. Yes, these easy gratifications might have been unpardonable sins in the summer of 1999, capping off a decade obsessively preoccupied with anxiety about all things commercial and phony. But now even LCD Soundsystem—once the standard-bearer of a certain kind of countercultural fashionability—is booking residencies sponsored by American Express. We have all become hedonists and proud sellouts, and with Creed back in vogue, it seems as if the band’s monumental intemperance has become a feature rather than a bug.

That does not mean Stapp no longer takes himself, or his art, seriously. The singer’s earnestness—some might say humorlessness—has always been a cornerstone of Creed’s brand, and there are millions of fans who will continue to meet him at his word. They brandish personal biographies that intersect with Creed’s records; they finds lines about places with “golden streets” “where blind men see” more inspiring than corny, and many of them are etched with the tattoos to prove it. But in the band’s contemporary afterlife, when all its old context evaporates, Stapp has also attracted a community eager to treat Creed like the party band it never aspired to be—the group of licentious pleasure seekers Weiner wrote about. They’re all here, sprinkled throughout the boat, ready to drink a couple of Coronas and shred their lungs to “My Sacrifice.”

After wrapping up the first night of the cruise, Creed, along with the rest of the bands on the bill, was scheduled to administer a few glad-handing sessions on the weekend itinerary. On Saturday, Tremonti chaperoned a low-key painting session while the Pearl floated into the Bahamas at a dock already crammed with other day-trippers. (Our boat was parked next to a Disney cruise, and when we disembarked, in direct earshot of all the young families, the PA blasted Puddle of Mudd’s “She Fucking Hates Me.”) Tremonti keeps busy: The previous evening, he had judged a karaoke tournament—on the main stage—alongside 3 Doors Down lead singer Brad Arnold. Toward the end of the competition, Tremonti grabbed the microphone for a rousing cover of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” which I’d like to think served as a tribute to Creed’s own tenaciousness.

Stapp, on the other hand, is slated for exactly one appointment mingling with the masses: He’ll be shooting hoops with some of the more athletically oriented Creed adherents on a helipad that doubles as a basketball court near the rear of the boat. Stapp is, by far, the most famous person on board, evidenced by the security detail that stands guard on the concrete. So I take my seat on the bleachers and watch him casually drain 10 free throws in a row in mesh shorts under the piercing Atlantic sun with the distinct tang of contractually obligated restraint. Afterward, Stapp slips back into the mysterious alcoves of the ship, while an awed buzz of fans—hoping for a selfie, an autograph, or a split second of euphoric surrender—tail him until they are sealed off for good. It is the one and only time I see him cameoing anywhere but the stage, drawing a stark contrast to the other musicians on board, who flit between the casinos, restaurants, and watering holes in the guts of the Pearl .

This makes some sort of cosmic sense. Stapp, to both his detriment and credit, has never embraced the flippancy that so many other people wanted to impose on Creed. “Sometimes I wish we weren’t so damn serious,” he said in a memorable Spin cover story from 2000, at the height of his mystique. “My agenda from the beginning was to write music that had meaning and was from the heart. You can’t force the hand of the muse.” If you’ll excuse the ostentation of the sentiment, you can maybe understand how someone like Stapp might not be able to feel like himself when he’s orchestrating photo-ops around a free-throw line with that same young man dressed in his Nic Cage–themed parody Creed shirt. He seems to find nothing trivial about Creed’s music. The threat of irrelevance shall never tame him. You cannot force the hand of the muse.

Unfortunately, Stapp’s remoteness is also why Kelly Risch, a 58-year-old from Wisconsin with streaks of ringed, white-blond hair and glam-metal eye shadow, is currently fighting back tears in the Atrium, the ship’s lobby and central bar. Risch is sipping mimosas with her sister Shannon Crass, and, like so many of the others I have spoken to on this cruise, they each have matching Creed tattoos memorializing a personal catastrophe. Twenty years ago, Risch suffered a massive blood clot in her leg and almost died. Crass printed out the lyrics to the latter-day Creed ballad “Don’t Stop Dancing”—a song about finding dignity in the chaos of life—and pinned them in Crass’ intensive care unit during her recovery. Today the chorus is painted on their wrists, right above Scott Stapp’s initials.

The sisters were two of the first 500 customers to buy tickets to “Summer of ’99,” which guaranteed them a photo with the band at its cabin. This is why Risch is crying. The photo shoot came with strict rules, all of which she respected: no Sharpies, no hugs, and no cellphones. She’d hoped for a moment, though—after spending $5,000 and traveling all the way from the upper Midwest, after clinging to life with the help of Creed, and after waiting 12 long years to have the band back—to thank the singer for his comfort. But Stapp, even indoors, was wearing dark, face-obscuring sunglasses. She didn’t even get to make eye contact.

“He’s so great with the crowd. He’s so engaging onstage,” says Crass. “I think that’s why this is disappointing.”

The two sisters are determined to make the most of the rest of their vacation. The Pearl will be pulling into Miami tomorrow at 7 a.m., and there are plenty more mimosas left to drink. I tell them I’m going to speak with Stapp, and the rest of Creed, in an hour. Do they have anything they’d like me to ask?

“Tell him not to wear sunglasses during the photos,” they say.

Creed is finishing up the meet-and-greet obligations in a chilly rococo ballroom, paneled—somewhat inexplicably—with portraits of Russian royalty. The band members have been at this all morning, after a late night finishing off the second performance of their two comeback sets. A molasses churn of Creed fans, all sea-weathered and scalded with maroon sunburns, weaves through a bulwark of chairs and tables toward the pinned black curtains at the rear.

Creed has this down to an art. The band is capable of generating a photo every 30 seconds, and afterward, the fans exit back down the aisle, with beaming smiles, their brush with stardom consummated. Stapp chugs a bottle of Fiji water and holds out his hand for a fist bump after the last of those passengers disappear. A crucifix dangles above his navel, and an American flag is stitched to his T-shirt. He’s still wearing those sunglasses.

I am given just 15 minutes to ask questions, in a makeshift interview setup against the portside windows, under the watchful surveillance of the entire Creed apparatus—both PR reps, a few scurrying Sixthman operators, the photographer, and so on. I ask what their day-to-day life is like aboard the “Summer of ’99,” in this highly concentrated environment of super fans, with no obvious escape routes. Stapp says that he has spent most of the time on the cruise “resting and exercising,” while Brian Marshall, the band’s bassist, told me he executes his privilege of being one of the band’s secondary members by frequenting the sauna and steam room. Throughout the weekend, Marshall is hardly recognized.

Scott Phillips, Creed’s drummer, confirms my suspicions about the cruise’s demographics. The ticket data reveals that a good number of the passengers aboard are under 35 years old. I’m curious to know how the band members are adjusting to this new paradigm shift, and if they wish to settle common ground between the post-ironic millennials and the much more zealous Gen Xers, who bear Creed insignias on their calves and forearms.

“People are drawn to our music for different reasons,” Stapp says. “That’s probably why you have the guys you were talking about, who want to chill and drink light beer and scream ‘Creed rocks!’ and the others, who have a much deeper, emotional impact.”

“And maybe, at some point, with the light-beer guys, it does connect with them,” Phillips adds. Stapp agrees.

But, really, the reason I’m here is because I want to ask Stapp a question I’ve been curious about for the entirety of Creed’s career. The band’s bizarre odyssey, from its warm reception among youth groups across America to the bloodthirsty backlash that met its success to this current psychedelic revival, has all orbited around a single lasting question: Why is Scott Stapp so serious? Could he ever mellow out? Does he want to? Surely now is the time. If Stapp allocated some levity for himself, then so many of the bad things people have said about him would be easier to process. Who knows? Maybe he’d have an easier time getting his arms around the current state of Creed, a group that is now, without a doubt, simultaneously the coolest and lamest band in the world. Why must he make being in Creed so difficult?

“It’s just who I am,” he says. “It’s what inspires me. It’s where I come from. And it’s tough, because you have to live it. That’s the conundrum of it all. That’s the double-edged sword. If I started writing [lighter material], there would be a dramatic shift in my existence.”

There’s a break in the conversation, then Stapp asks me to identify the name of the new Taylor Swift album. The songwriter’s 11 th record has dropped like a nuclear bomb while we’ve all been out to sea, but data restrictions mean that nobody on board can access Spotify or any other streaming service. The Norwegian Pearl serves as a butt-rock pocket dimension: The biggest story in pop music simply can’t penetrate our airtight seal of Hinder, Staind, and so much Creed. “It’s called The Tortured Poets Department ,” I reply. Outside of my fiancée, he is the only person on the entire cruise I will speak to about Taylor Swift.

“That’s what I feel,” he says, without a shred of artifice. “I connect with that title.”

Later that evening, I climb to the top of the Pearl for a final round of karaoke, where fans keep the spirit of 1999 alive for a few more hours. The bar is more hectic than it’s been all trip—everyone is willing to risk a hangover now that Monday is all that looms on the horizon. The host asks a guest if they intended to sing “Torn” by Creed or “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia. “I assume Creed, but Natalie would be a fun surprise.”

The playlist is more diverse than I expected. We are treated to both Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin’ ” and Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine.” Brandon Smith, one of the very few people of color aboard the cruise, crushes Maroon 5’s “She Will Be Loved.” A lanky kid from St. Louis unleashes a Slipknot death-growl into the microphone. A queer couple quietly slow-dances on the otherwise empty dance floor. And a 16-year-old, teeth tightened by braces, orders his last Sprite of the night. “Rockers are the most awesome people!” shouts one transcendently inebriated guest over the clamor of his Rolling Stones cover. “Creed is awesome!” On this one thing, at least, we can all agree.

Music and Concerts | In memoriam: As a ’90s producer and music…

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Music and concerts | in memoriam: as a ’90s producer and music tastemaker, steve albini was brutally honest — and usually right.

Music producer Steve Albini in his studio on July 24, 2014. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Like, a lot a lot. The first time I met him was about 30 years ago. I was a graduate student at Northwestern University and assigned to interview somebody, and I had just bought “In Utero,” Nirvana’s follow-up to its blockbuster album “Nevermind.” Albini was the producer of “In Utero,” and one of my favorite albums, The Pixies’ “Surfer Rosa,” and so I called him, he agreed to chat, and while I remember little of what he said, I remember we talked for hours.

He had studied journalism himself at Northwestern, so he was generous. He had endless opinions on culture and music and what it means to stand by your convictions. I remember at some point simply asking what a record producer did. He said he wasn’t a record producer, he was a record engineer. I asked what that was, and he said it was like a record producer.

A year ago, the last time I spoke to him, I asked about his first concert , and he replied as he replied to everything, with too much knowledge and detail and an opinion so insightful and provocative and hilarious that it sucked the air from the room. The concert was the Edgar Winter Group, Sept. 27, 1975, Montana, where he lived as a teenager. He recalled his father saying people only went to rock shows to buy drugs. He recalled, as Edgar Winter launched into a 20-minute keyboard solo, the “dead-eyed gaze” of Johnny Winter “navigating solo breaks in this tumultuous excess, like Ahab resigned to his fate in a dinghy, tossed by the sea and pernicious corpus of his brother’s prog rock white whale …” He didn’t know if the concert itself was exactly a good idea, but: “An impressionable young Steve thanks whoever set it up for those enduring images of madness and futility.”

Albini talked like that.

He was an intimidating guy, and eventually, a sweet guy. He was, as kids say these days, a “gatekeeper,” the prototypical record store owner who frowns at what you bring to his cash register — though he made records, he didn’t sell them. The day after he died, the satirical website Hard Times posted this headline: “Steve Albini standing outside gates of Heaven telling everyone how much he hates the Smashing Pumpkins.”

He could go off on corporate culture and its deadening effects on artists and consumers (and did so elegantly at times, for literary journals like the Hyde Park-based Baffler ). He produced famous records and made lesser-known ones with his bands Big Black and Shellac, but also became, by dint of his taste, a sought-after totem of cultural integrity — a representative of a way of being. Or as comedian Fred Armisen told this newspaper several years ago: “Steve Albini became a huge influence on me, which I don’t know if he knows. He had this philosophy on how to live and be and gave me advice I still keep in mind.” As for Albini, he always kept it blunt: “I wasn’t a fan of Trenchmouth (Armisen’s Chicago-based punk band) — and so that’s not why we would have become friends.”

He was vintage Gen-X sarcastic, ironic, contrarian, defiantly principled. One of the best things ever written on music was Albini’s 1993 essay “The Problem With Music” for the Baffler, in which he laid out finances, empty promises, unnecessary flourishes. It opens with quite the metaphor: a band (“some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances”) standing at one end of a trench filled with waste and at the other end is a music industry “lackey” with a fountain pen and contract. Whoever swims the trench first will get the deal. Only then, the industry insists: “Swim it again, please. Backstroke.”

Thomas Frank, the founder of the Baffler, told me in an email that he never knew Albini personally, but that essay for the journal would become its “consummate expression”: “Seeing through the falsehoods of the culture industry was the first order of business, and no one was better at it than Steve Albini.”

By credits alone, Albini was not only a glue stick of underground music, and a major influence around the country as Wicker Park became an early ‘90s music mecca, but a tastemaker for what was once called college radio music and later rebranded “alt rock.”

Steve Albini performs with the rock group Shellac at the Lounge Ax circa 2000 in Chicago. (Kevin Tanaka/for the Chicago Tribune)

He held it to ideals that no popular cultural business could entirely satisfy.

He recorded a who’s who of ‘90s Chicago bands (including Urge Overkill, Veruca Salt and Jesus Lizard); alt superstars (PJ Harvey, Bush); and the occasional icon (Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, The Stooges, Cheap Trick). He became known for applying loving sonic care to acts best known by their fields of distortion. He captured, as the cliche went, how a performer sounded live. But attaining clarity, power and honesty seemed deceptively easy. As Albini told Chicago magazine in 1997: “I honestly just feel that music like this deserves to be taken seriously. And that means people who record them should be as concerned about quality as if they were recording the (expletive) Chicago symphony.”

Yet, at the peak of his influence, he also said: “If you wanted to take punk seriously on a more significant level, you could. If you pretend to take dance music seriously on a more significant level, that is a delusional pretension. There really is no substance to it.”

Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick said they first met in the late 1970s. A teenage Albini sold him a guitar. Nielsen’s son Miles, now of the Rockford-based band Rusted Hearts, even helped Albini physically build his Electrical Audio recording studio in Avondale. When Albini later produced Cheap Trick, he was “a stickler, but excellent,” Nielsen said. He had “this reputation as a tough guy,” though Nielsen suspects “a lot of it came from record execs because Steve was so different. He was the most honest person in the music business.

“And that’s a list without a lot of company.”

Still, as Albini got older, he came to regret some of the hardline things he spouted. (He once wrote for a music zine that the Replacements’ breakthrough “Let It Be” was a “sad, pathetic end to a long downhill slide.”) Michael Azerrad, biographer of Nirvana and author of “Our Band Could Be Your Life,” posted Wednesday on X that Albini “was a great artist and underwent the most remarkable and inspiring personal transformation.” With years came warmth, pleasantness. He faced his incendiary urges. After all, here was a man who once, for a Northwestern art class, invited 100 of his enemies to throw stuff at him as he swore at them behind Plexiglass.

People threw dog poop, bricks, bowling pins.

Smashed microwave that was smashed with a bat on stage by Daniel, held by Martin Atkins, of the band Pigface, at his Museum of Post Punk Industrial Music in Bridgeport on Feb. 5, 2024. The museum filled with artifacts, is by appointment-only. Chicago is called arguably the birthplace of industrial music. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

Martin Atkins , former drummer of Public Image Ltd., a Pilsen resident and an industrial mainstay with bands such as Pigface, Nine Inch Nails and Killing Joke, recorded with Albini for years. “We would argue,” he said. “He didn’t like the idea that Pigface was touring in a bus. He would say, ‘Oh, what a bunch of (expletive) rock stars!’ And I would go, “Steve, there are 16 of us! What would you want us to do — tour in five mini-vans?

“I remember in Minnesota, coming back from one of his favorite studios, he agreed to drive me to the airport and we argued music for so long that he drove 40 minutes past the airport and I missed my flight. Things were often very cut and dry to Steve, but always centered on the glorious movement of sound. Whatever personal, spiritual, creative problems he might have had, he worked hard to clear them out to get you your sound.”

Indeed, of all the legendary tales of Steve Albini, one of the best is the long letter that he wrote to Nirvana before recording “In Utero,” to lay out his philosophy and expectations:

“I do not want and will not take a royalty on any record I record. … I think paying a royalty to a producer or engineer is ethically indefensible. … I would like to be paid like a plumber: I do the job and you pay me what it’s worth. The record company will expect me to ask for a point or a point and a half. If we assume three million sales, that works out to 400,000 dollars or so. There’s no (expletive) way I would ever take that much money. I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

Nirvana, eager to retain a shred of indie cred after becoming the biggest band in the world, was a natural fit with Albini. The problem was, after they made “In Utero,” the record company hated its sound; the band itself began airing doubts. And so, before release, changes were made. Moreover, Albini’s reputation as a pedantic, prickly and iconoclastic collaborator, quick to question someone’s ideology, caught up to him.

He told interviewers major labels didn’t want to work with him; critics accused him of selling out by working with them at all, then being fast to complain if it went badly.

But as goofy as it sounds now, since the concept has lost its meaning: He never could sell out. Not the way we assume artists inevitably do. He retained a pure righteous punk intention, except when such astringent logic failed. Talking about his younger, uncompromising self, he gave himself little room to hide. Last year he told the Guardian newspaper: “The one thing I don’t want to do is say: ‘The culture shifted — excuse my behavior.’ It provides a context for why I was wrong at the time, but I was wrong at the time .”

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Armisen said that just the other day Albini had texted him about cymbals. He didn’t get cymbals: “Like I can tell the difference between this one and that one but if I’m honest they both sound like cymbals and I don’t care.”

Armisen concluded: “I always loved hearing him say ‘I don’t care.’”

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Steve Albini, legendary producer for Nirvana, the Pixies and an alternative rock pioneer, dies at 61

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Steve Albini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more, has died. He was 61.

Brian Fox, an engineer at Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio Recording, said Wednesday that Albini died after a heart attack Tuesday night.

In addition to his work on canonized rock albums such as Nirvana ‘s “In Utero,” the Pixies’ breakthrough “Surfer Rosa,” and PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” Albini was the frontman of the underground bands Big Black and Shellac.

He dismissed the term “producer,” refused to take royalties from the albums he worked on, and requested he be credited with “Recorded by Steve Albini,” a fabled label on albums he worked on .

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows Noa, played by Owen Teague, in a scene from "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes." (20th Century Studios via AP)

At the time of his death, Albini’s band Shellac were preparing to tour their first new album in a decade, “To All Trains,” which releases next week.

Other acts whose music was shaped by Albini include Joanna Newsom’s indie-folk opus, “Ys,” and releases from bands like the Breeders , the Jesus Lizard, Hum, Superchunk, Low and Mogwai.

Albini was born in California, grew up in Montana, and fell in love with the do-it-yourself punk music scene in Chicago while studying journalism at Northwestern University.

As a teenager, he played in punk bands, and in college, wrote about music for the prescient indie zine “Forced Exposure.” While attending Northwestern in the early ‘80s, he founded the abrasive, noisy post-punk band Big Black, known for its mordant riffs, violent and taboo lyrics and drum machine in lieu of a live drummer. It was a controversial innovation at the time, from a man whose career would be defined by risky choices. The band’s best-known song, the ugly, explosive, six-minute “Kerosene” from their cult favorite album, 1986’s “Atomizer,” is ideal evidence — and not for the faint of heart.

Then came the short lived band Rapeman — one of two groups Albini fronted with indefensibly offensive names and vulgar song titles. In the early ’90s, he formed Shellac, the ferocious, distorted noise-rock band — an evolution from Big Black, but still punctuated by pummeling guitar tones and aggressive vocals.

In 1997, Albini opened his famed studio, Electrical Audio, in Chicago.

“The recording part is the part that matters to me — that I’m making a document that records a piece of our culture, the life’s work of the musicians that are hiring me,” Albini told The Guardian last year, when asked about some of the well-known and much-loved albums he’s recorded. “I take that part very seriously. I want the music to outlive all of us.”

Albini was a larger-than-life character in the independent rock music scene, known for his forward-thinking productions, unapologetic irreverence, acerbic sense of humor and criticisms of the music industry’s exploitative practices — as detailed in his landmark 1993 essay “The Problem with Music” — as much as his talents.

Later in life, he became a notable poker player and apologetic for his past indiscretions.

“Ugh man, a heartbreaking loss of a legend. Love to his family and innumerable colleagues,” wrote actor Elijah Wood on X . “Farewell, Steve Albini.”

Author Michael Azerrad, who included a chapter on Big Black in his comprehensive history, “Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground, 1981–1991,” also posted on X. “I don’t know what to say about Steve Albini’s passing,” Azerrad wrote. “He had a brilliant mind, was a great artist and underwent the most remarkable and inspiring personal transformation. I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Albini is survived by his wife, Heather Whinna, a filmmaker.

I moved to the US at 16 and went from fast food delivery driver to making $3 million a year. Here's how I did it.

Chef Andres Mendez moved to NYC and went from fast-food delivery driver to earning over $3M a year.
Mendez's income skyrocketed when he became a contract chef for CookUnity, a meal subscription service.
CookUnity's expansion and increased demand during the pandemic boosted Mendez's earnings from recipe commissions.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Andres Mendez, a 31-year-old chef in New York City. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I moved to the United States from Mexico in 2009, I had no idea how much my life would change.

I arrived as a 16-year-old to join my brother and started working as a fast-food delivery driver . 15 years later, I'm a chef who earns seven figures.

Here's a breakdown of all my jobs and earnings and how I got to where I am today.

Food delivery driver, $500 a week

My brother was already working in New York City when I arrived, so he asked if I would like to work at the same fast-food company he worked at. I started earning $500 a week.

After two months of navigating the city's streets on a bicycle, I realized I didn't enjoy it.

Everyone was always in a hurry, and I saw several delivery riders get into accidents. I decided to look for another job.

Chef's assistant, $620 a week

I told a friend in the industry that I was ready to leave and wanted to get into cooking. I'm not trained as a professional chef, but I've always enjoyed cooking. As a young boy, I'd join my grandmother in the kitchen and help her make mixiote, a Mexican dish of meat and spices wrapped in a maguey leaf.

My friend told me Essex World Café was seeking a chef's assistant. I applied and got the job.

I learned a lot about camaraderie and teamwork. I also learned how to work with ingredients, make sauces, and prepare each type of meat.

I worked eight hours a day and earned $620 a week. After three years, I felt I'd gone as far as I could in that position, so I looked for a job in a larger restaurant.

Line cook, $710 a week

My next role put me in the hot seat. Another friend also told me about this job. I became a line cook at Pacific Grill.

Line cooks work as a team. One manages the grill, another manages the fry, and, in the middle, someone handles the pans. I was in the middle in charge of pasta and sautéed vegetables.

I never got bored. I loved the pressure of producing the perfect dish at a certain speed, but that pressure sometimes stressed me out.

Line cook, $820 a week

I next joined a restaurant called Extra Virgin in the West Village in 2015.

I was a line cook again, producing desserts and salads for $820 a week. I learned how to make Mediterranean foods and dabbled in making my own dressings.

The owner was also the chef, so everything had to be perfect, well-arranged, and flavorful. I had a fantastic experience working in that restaurant and stayed for three years. The most challenging aspect was having the boss work alongside me in the kitchen.

Dishwasher, $790 for four days a week

My network grew, and another friend told me about a startup called CookUnity in 2016. I didn't know anything about it and wasn't sure if it was for me, but my friend gave me the owner's number and asked me to call him.

CookUnity is a chef-to-customer meal subscription platform based in Brooklyn. Customers order ready-to-eat meals from an online menu and see which chef wrote the recipe. The chefs, who are private contractors, earn up to a $3 commission for every dish they sell that's prepared using their recipe.

When I met the owner, he explained they were looking for chefs but didn't have any line cook positions available. I had gained a lot of experience and knew a lot of recipes, but I didn't say I was a chef. The only other job they had available was a dishwasher. I wanted to be part of the company, so I became a dishwasher.

Being a dishwasher is a very tough job, as the chefs want the kitchen to be immaculate at all times. Over the next year, I saw the dynamics of how the chefs and the team worked.

I earned $790 for four days a week of work, so I had extra time for my music hobby. I played in a mariachi band and still play when I can.

Kitchen manager, $45,000 a year

In 2017, I was asked if I would like to become a kitchen manager. My role was to work with the chefs and ensure they had all the ingredients they needed for the dishes.

Each of the CookUnity chefs has a different menu, so I had to learn about various ingredients from different parts of the world. I worked between 12 and 14 hours a day and earned a salary of $45,000 a year.

I was a kitchen manager until the pandemic hit in 2020.

Chef, $969,000 a year

In 2020, I became a chef for CookUnity , transitioning from full-time employment to being a contractor. I started creating recipes, and the sous chefs and cooks made my dishes.

At first, my dishes were only sold in New York, but during the pandemic, the need for food delivery services rose. My earnings started to increase.

I receive a commission from the sale of each of my dishes. In 2021, I earned $969,000. CookUnity expanded to Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Austin, Atlanta, and Seattle. Now, 85 sous chefs and cooks across the country produce my dishes.

Chef, $3,000,000 a year

By 2023, I was earning over $3 million. I sell 10,000 to 11,000 meals weekly in New York and Los Angeles. My goal is to sell that many in each of the other cities and continue to provide job opportunities.

At first, my rise in earnings felt like a dream. It was a big accomplishment for me. My friends are extremely happy for me, and I offer advice to my friends who are chefs when they need it.

During the week, I create recipes and cook, but on the weekends, I spend time with my wife and children.

I bought a farm in Mexico where I employ 20 people. I plan to buy another home in Mexico or Texas. I'm extremely proud of how I can give my family a better life.

Watch: How 3 Korean chefs make 10,000 office workers' lunch boxes every week

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Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Wyatt Flores, Danny Ocean and Grupo Frontera

Anamaria Artemisa Sayre

Felix Contreras

Wyatt Flores is featured on this week's episode of Alt.Latino . McKenzie Whitman hide caption

Wyatt Flores is featured on this week's episode of Alt.Latino .

Ana and Felix collect their favorite recent releases from the past few months, including new material from the breakout regional band Grupo Frontera, a country/Latin cross-over in the music of Wyatt Flores, a new song from groundbreaking rapper Mala Rodriguez and more.

Songs featured in this episode:

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66, "Mas Que Nada"
Luis Muñoz, "Crescent Moon"
Mala Rodriguez, "Casi Nada [Explicit]"
Alih Jay, "Bang Bang (Mi Baby Me Mató)"
Cher, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"
Grupo Frontera, "Me Hizo Un Favor"
Wyatt Flores, "Half Life"
Danny Ocean, "Cero Condiciones [Explicit]"
Fabiola Méndez, "Lamento en Celinés"
Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, "EL ÚNICO"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler, with editorial support from Hazel Cills. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Share full article

For more audio journalism and storytelling, download New York Times Audio , a new iOS app available for news subscribers.

A Plan to Remake the Middle East

While talks for a cease-fire between israel and hamas continue, another set of negotiations is happening behind the scenes..

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

Today, if and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a ceasefire fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East. My colleague Michael Crowley has been reporting on that plan and explains why those involved in it believe they have so little time left to get it done.

It’s Wednesday, May 8.

Michael, I want to start with what feels like a pretty dizzying set of developments in this conflict over the past few days. Just walk us through them?

Well, over the weekend, there was an intense round of negotiations in an effort, backed by the United States, to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

The latest ceasefire proposal would reportedly see as many as 33 Israeli hostages released in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

US officials were very eager to get this deal.

Pressure for a ceasefire has been building ahead of a threatened Israeli assault on Rafah.

Because Israel has been threatening a military offensive in the Southern Palestinian city of Rafah, where a huge number of people are crowded.

Fleeing the violence to the North. And now they’re packed into Rafah. Exposed and vulnerable, they need to be protected.

And the US says it would be a humanitarian catastrophe on top of the emergency that’s already underway.

Breaking news this hour — very important breaking news. An official Hamas source has told The BBC that it does accept a proposal for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

And for a few hours on Monday, it looked like there might have been a major breakthrough when Hamas put out a statement saying that it had accepted a negotiating proposal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the ceasefire proposal does not meet his country’s requirements. But Netanyahu says he will send a delegation of mediators to continue those talks. Now, the terms —

But those hopes were dashed pretty quickly when the Israelis took a look at what Hamas was saying and said that it was not a proposal that they had agreed to. It had been modified.

And overnight —

Israeli troops stormed into Rafah. Video showing tanks crashing over a sign at the entrance of the city.

— the Israelis launched a partial invasion of Rafah.

It says Hamas used the area to launch a deadly attack on Israeli troops over the weekend.

And they have now secured a border crossing at the Southern end of Gaza and are conducting targeted strikes. This is not yet the full scale invasion that President Biden has adamantly warned Israel against undertaking, but it is an escalation by Israel.

So while all that drama might suggest that these talks are in big trouble, these talks are very much still alive and ongoing and there is still a possibility of a ceasefire deal.

And the reason that’s so important is not just to stop the fighting in Gaza and relieve the suffering there, but a ceasefire also opens the door to a grand diplomatic bargain, one that involves Israel and its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians, and would have very far-reaching implications.

And what is that grand bargain. Describe what you’re talking about?

Well, it’s incredibly ambitious. It would reshape Israel’s relationship with its Arab neighbors, principally Saudi Arabia. But it’s important to understand that this is a vision that has actually been around since well before October 7. This was a diplomatic project that President Biden had been investing in and negotiating actually in a very real and tangible way long before the Hamas attacks and the Gaza war.

And President Biden was looking to build on something that President Trump had done, which was a series of agreements that the Trump administration struck in which Israel and some of its Arab neighbors agreed to have normal diplomatic relations for the first time.

Right, they’re called the Abraham Accords.

That’s right. And, you know, Biden doesn’t like a lot of things, most things that Trump did. But he actually likes this, because the idea is that they contribute to stability and economic integration in the Middle East, the US likes Israel having friends and likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

President Biden agrees with the Saudis and with the Israelis, that Iran is really the top threat to everybody here. So, how can you build on this? How can you expand it? Well, the next and biggest step would be normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

And the Saudis have made clear that they want to do this and that they’re ready to do this. They weren’t ready to do it in the Trump years. But Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has made clear he wants to do it now.

So this kind of triangular deal began to take shape before October 7, in which the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia would enter this three way agreement in which everyone would get something that they wanted.

And just walk through what each side gets in this pre-October 7th version of these negotiations?

So for Israel, you get normalized ties with its most important Arab neighbor and really the country that sets the tone for the whole Muslim world, which is Saudi Arabia of course. It makes Israel feel safer and more secure. Again, it helps to build this alliance against Iran, which Israel considers its greatest threat, and it comes with benefits like economic ties and travel and tourism. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been very open, at least before October 7th, that this was his highest diplomatic and foreign policy priority.

For the Saudis, the rationale is similar when it comes to Israel. They think that it will bring stability. They like having a more explicitly close ally against Iran. There are economic and cultural benefits. Saudi Arabia is opening itself up in general, encouraging more tourism.

But I think that what’s most important to the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is what he can get from the United States. And what he has been asking for are a couple of essential things. One is a security agreement whose details have always been a little bit vague, but I think essentially come down to reliable arms supplies from the United States that are not going to be cut off or paused on a whim, as he felt happened when President Biden stopped arms deliveries in 2021 because of how Saudi was conducting its war in Yemen. The Saudis were furious about that.

Saudi Arabia also wants to start a domestic nuclear power program. They are planning for a very long-term future, possibly a post-oil future. And they need help getting a nuclear program off the ground.

And they want that from the US?

And they want that from the US.

Now, those are big asks from the us. But from the perspective of President Biden, there are some really enticing things about this possible agreement. One is that it will hopefully produce more stability in the region. Again, the US likes having a tight-knit alliance against Iran.

The US also wants to have a strong relationship with Saudi Arabia. You know, despite the anger at Mohammed bin Salman over the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration recognizes that given the Saudis control over global oil production and their strategic importance in the Middle East, they need to have a good relationship with them. And the administration has been worried about the influence of China in the region and with the Saudis in particular.

So this is an opportunity for the US to draw the Saudis closer. Whatever our moral qualms might be about bin Salman and the Saudi government, this is an opportunity to bring the Saudis closer, which is something the Biden administration sees as a strategic benefit.

All three of these countries — big, disparate countries that normally don’t see eye-to-eye, this was a win-win-win on a military, economic, and strategic front.

That’s right. But there was one important actor in the region that did not see itself as winning, and that was the Palestinians.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

First, it’s important to understand that the Palestinians have always expected that the Arab countries in the Middle East would insist that Israel recognize a Palestinian state before those countries were willing to essentially make total peace and have normal relations with Israel.

So when the Abraham Accords happened in the Trump administration, the Palestinians felt like they’d been thrown under the bus because the Abraham Accords gave them virtually nothing. But the Palestinians did still hold out hope that Saudi Arabia would be their savior. And for years, Saudi Arabia has said that Israel must give the Palestinians a state if there’s going to be a normal relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Now the Palestinians see the Saudis in discussions with the US and Israel about a normalization agreement, and there appears to be very little on offer for the Palestinians. And they are feeling like they’re going to be left out in the cold here.

Right. And in the minds of the Palestinians, having already been essentially sold out by all their other Arab neighbors, the prospect that Saudi Arabia, of all countries, the most important Muslim Arab country in the region, would sell them out, had to be extremely painful.

It was a nightmare scenario for them. And in the minds of many analysts and US officials, this was a factor, one of many, in Hamas’s decision to stage the October 7th attacks.

Hamas, like other Palestinian leaders, was seeing the prospect that the Middle East was moving on and essentially, in their view, giving up on the Palestinian cause, and that Israel would be able to have friendly, normal relations with Arab countries around the region, and that it could continue with hardline policies toward the Palestinians and a refusal, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said publicly, to accept a Palestinian state.

Right. So Michael, once Hamas carries out the October 7th attacks in an effort to destroy a status quo that it thinks is leaving them less and less relevant, more and more hopeless, including potentially this prospect that Saudi Arabia is going to normalize relations with Israel, what happens to these pre-October 7th negotiations between the US, Saudi Arabia, and Israel?

Well, I think there was a snap assumption that these talks were dead and buried. That they couldn’t possibly survive a cataclysm like this.

But then something surprising happened. It became clear that all the parties were still determined to pull-off the normalization.

And most surprisingly of all, perhaps, was the continued eagerness of Saudi Arabia, which publicly was professing outrage over the Israeli response to the Hamas attacks, but privately was still very much engaged in these conversations and trying to move them forward.

And in fact, what has happened is that the scope of this effort has grown substantially. October 7th didn’t kill these talks. It actually made them bigger, more complicated, and some people would argue, more important than ever.

We’ll be right back.

Michael, walk us through what exactly happens to these three-way negotiations after October 7th that ends up making them, as you just said, more complicated and more important than ever?

Well, it’s more important than ever because of the incredible need in Gaza. And it’s going to take a deal like this and the approval of Saudi Arabia to unlock the kind of massive reconstruction project required to essentially rebuild Gaza from the rubble. Saudi Arabia and its Arab friends are also going to be instrumental in figuring out how Gaza is governed, and they might even provide troops to help secure it. None of those things are going to happen without a deal like this.

Fascinating.

But this is all much more complicated now because the price for a deal like this has gone up.

And by price, you mean?

What Israel would have to give up. [MUSIC PLAYING]

From Saudi Arabia’s perspective, you have an Arab population that is furious at Israel. It now feels like a really hard time to do a normalization deal with the Israelis. It was never going to be easy, but this is about as bad a time to do it as there has been in a generation at least. And I think that President Biden and the people around him understand that the status quo between Israel and the Palestinians is intolerable and it is going to lead to chaos and violence indefinitely.

So now you have two of the three parties to this agreement, the Saudis and the Americans, basically asking a new price after October 7th, and saying to the Israelis, if we’re going to do this deal, it has to not only do something for the Palestinians, it has to do something really big. You have to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state. Now, I’ll be specific and say that what you hear the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, say is that the agreement has to include an irreversible time-bound path to a Palestinian state.

We don’t know exactly what that looks like, but it’s some kind of a firm commitment, the likes of which the world and certainly the Israelis have not made before.

Something that was very much not present in the pre-October 7th vision of this negotiation. So much so that, as we just talked about, the Palestinians were left feeling completely out in the cold and furious at it.

That’s right. There was no sign that people were thinking that ambitiously about the Palestinians in this deal before October 7th. And the Palestinians certainly felt like they weren’t going to get much out of it. And that has completely changed now.

So, Michael, once this big new dimension after October 7th, which is the insistence by Saudi Arabia and the US that there be a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state, what is the reaction specifically from Israel, which is, of course, the third major party to this entire conversation?

Well, Israel, or at least its political leadership, hates it. You know, this is just an extremely tough sell in Israel. It would have been a tough sell before October 7th. It’s even harder now.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is completely unrepentantly open in saying that there’s not going to be a Palestinian state on his watch. He won’t accept it. He says that it’s a strategic risk to his country. He says that it would, in effect, reward Hamas.

His argument is that terrorism has forced a conversation about statehood onto the table that wasn’t there before October 7th. Sure, it’s always in the background. It’s a perennial issue in global affairs, but it was not something certainly that the US and Israel’s Arab neighbors were actively pushing. Netanyahu also has — you know, he governs with the support of very right-wing members of a political coalition that he has cobbled together. And that coalition is quite likely to fall apart if he does embrace a Palestinian state or a path to a Palestinian state.

Now, he might be able to cobble together some sort of alternative, but it creates a political crisis for him.

And finally, you know, I think in any conversation about Israel, it’s worth bearing in mind something you hear from senior US officials these days, which is that although there is often finger pointing at Netanyahu and a desire to blame Netanyahu as this obstructionist who won’t agree to deals, what they say is Netanyahu is largely reflecting his population and the political establishment of his country, not just the right-wingers in his coalition who are clearly extremist.

But actually the prevailing views of the Israeli public. And the Israeli public and their political leaders across the spectrum right now with few exceptions, are not interested in talking about a Palestinian state when there are still dozens and dozens of Israeli hostages in tunnels beneath Gaza.

So it very much looks like this giant agreement that once seemed doable before October 7th might be more important to everyone involved than ever, given that it’s a plan for rebuilding Gaza and potentially preventing future October 7th’s from happening, but because of this higher price that Israel would have to pay, which is the acceptance of a Palestinian state, it seems from everything you’re saying, that this is more and more out of reach than ever before and hard to imagine happening in the immediate future. So if the people negotiating it are being honest, Michael, are they ready to acknowledge that it doesn’t look like this is going to happen?

Well, not quite yet. As time goes by, they certainly say it’s getting harder and harder, but they’re still trying, and they still think there’s a chance. But both the Saudis and the Biden administration understand that there’s very little time left to do this.

Well, what do you mean there’s very little time left? It would seem like time might benefit this negotiation in that it might give Israel distance from October 7th to think potentially differently about a Palestinian state?

Potentially. But Saudi Arabia wants to get this deal done in the Biden administration because Mohammed bin Salman has concluded this has to be done under a Democratic president.

Because Democrats in Congress are going to be very reluctant to approve a security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

It’s important to understand that if there is a security agreement, that’s something Congress is going to have to approve. And you’re just not going to get enough Democrats in Congress to support a deal with Saudi Arabia, who a lot of Democrats don’t like to begin with, because they see them as human rights abusers.

But if a Democratic president is asking them to do it, they’re much more likely to go along.

Right. So Saudi Arabia fears that if Biden loses and Trump is president, that those same Democrats would balk at this deal in a way that they wouldn’t if it were being negotiated under President Biden?

Exactly. Now, from President Biden’s perspective, politically, think about a president who’s running for re-election, who is presiding right now over chaos in the Middle East, who doesn’t seem to have good answers for the Israeli-Palestinian question, this is an opportunity for President Biden to deliver what could be at least what he would present as a diplomatic masterstroke that does multiple things at once, including creating a new pathway for Israel and the Palestinians to coexist, to break through the logjam, even as he is also improving Israel’s relations with Saudi Arabia.

So Biden and the Crown Prince hope that they can somehow persuade Bibi Netanyahu that in spite of all the reasons that he thinks this is a terrible idea, that this is a bet worth taking on Israel’s and the region’s long-term security and future?

That’s right. Now, no one has explained very clearly exactly how this is going to work, and it’s probably going to require artful diplomacy, possibly even a scenario where the Israelis would agree to something that maybe means one thing to them and means something else to other people. But Biden officials refuse to say that it’s hopeless and they refuse to essentially take Netanyahu’s preliminary no’s for an answer. And they still see some way that they can thread this incredibly narrow needle.

Michael, I’m curious about a constituency that we haven’t been talking about because they’re not at the table in these discussions that we are talking about here. And that would be Hamas. How does Hamas feel about the prospect of such a deal like this ever taking shape. Do they see it as any kind of a victory and vindication for what they did on October 7th?

So it’s hard to know exactly what Hamas’s leadership is thinking. I think they can feel two things. I think they can feel on the one hand, that they have established themselves as the champions of the Palestinian people who struck a blow against Israel and against a diplomatic process that was potentially going to leave the Palestinians out in the cold.

At the same time, Hamas has no interest in the kind of two-state solution that the US is trying to promote. They think Israel should be destroyed. They think the Palestinian state should cover the entire geography of what is now Israel, and they want to lead a state like that. And that’s not something that the US, Saudi Arabia, or anyone else is going to tolerate.

So what Hamas wants is to fight, to be the leader of the Palestinian people, and to destroy Israel. And they’re not interested in any sort of a peace process or statehood process.

It seems very clear from everything you’ve said here that neither Israel nor Hamas is ready to have the conversation about a grand bargain diplomatic program. And I wonder if that inevitably has any bearing on the ceasefire negotiations that are going on right now between the two of them that are supposed to bring this conflict to some sort of an end, even if it’s just temporary?

Because if, as you said, Michael, a ceasefire opens the door to this larger diplomatic solution, and these two players don’t necessarily want that larger diplomatic solution, doesn’t that inevitably impact their enthusiasm for even reaching a ceasefire?

Well, it certainly doesn’t help. You know, this is such a hellish problem. And of course, you first have the question of whether Israel and Hamas can make a deal on these immediate issues, including the hostages, Palestinian prisoners, and what the Israeli military is going to do, how long a ceasefire might last.

But on top of that, you have these much bigger diplomatic questions that are looming over them. And it’s not clear that either side is ready to turn and face those bigger questions.

So while for the Biden administration and for Saudi Arabia, this is a way out of this crisis, these larger diplomatic solutions, it’s not clear that it’s a conversation that the two parties that are actually at war here are prepared to start having.

Well, Michael, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

On Tuesday afternoon, under intense pressure from the US, delegations from Israel and Hamas arrived in Cairo to resume negotiations over a potential ceasefire. But in a statement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear that even with the talks underway, his government would, quote, “continue to wage war against Hamas.”

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a dramatic day of testimony, Stormy Daniels offered explicit details about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump that ultimately led to the hush money payment at the center of his trial. Daniels testified that Trump answered the door in pajamas, that he told her not to worry that he was married, and that he did not use a condom when they had sex.

That prompted lawyers for Trump to seek a mistrial based on what they called prejudicial testimony. But the judge in the case rejected that request. And,

We’ve seen a ferocious surge of anti-Semitism in America and around the world.

In a speech on Tuesday honoring victims of the Holocaust, President Biden condemned what he said was the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States after the October 7th attacks on Israel. And he expressed worry that too many Americans were already forgetting the horrors of that attack.

The Jewish community, I want you to know I see your fear, your hurt, and your pain. Let me reassure you, as your president, you’re not alone. You belong. You always have and you always will.

Today’s episode was produced by Nina Feldman, Clare Toeniskoetter, and Rikki Novetsky. It was edited by Liz O. Baylen, contains original music by Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Dan Powell, and was engineered by Alyssa Moxley. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for The Daily. I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

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May 13, 2024 • 27:46 How Biden Adopted Trump’s Trade War With China
May 10, 2024 • 27:42 Stormy Daniels Takes the Stand
May 9, 2024 • 34:42 One Strongman, One Billion Voters, and the Future of India
May 8, 2024 • 28:28 A Plan to Remake the Middle East
May 7, 2024 • 27:43 How Changing Ocean Temperatures Could Upend Life on Earth
May 6, 2024 • 29:23 R.F.K. Jr.’s Battle to Get on the Ballot
May 3, 2024 • 25:33 The Protesters and the President
May 2, 2024 • 29:13 Biden Loosens Up on Weed
May 1, 2024 • 35:16 The New Abortion Fight Before the Supreme Court
April 30, 2024 • 27:40 The Secret Push That Could Ban TikTok
April 29, 2024 • 47:53 Trump 2.0: What a Second Trump Presidency Would Bring

Hosted by Michael Barbaro

Featuring Michael Crowley

Produced by Nina Feldman , Clare Toeniskoetter and Rikki Novetsky

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Marion Lozano , Elisheba Ittoop and Dan Powell

Engineered by Alyssa Moxley

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube

If and when Israel and Hamas reach a deal for a cease-fire, the United States will immediately turn to a different set of negotiations over a grand diplomatic bargain that it believes could rebuild Gaza and remake the Middle East.

Michael Crowley, who covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times, explains why those involved in this plan believe they have so little time left to get it done.

On today’s episode

Michael Crowley , a reporter covering the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The New York Times.

A young man is looking out at destroyed buildings from above.

Background reading :

Talks on a cease-fire in the Gaza war are once again at an uncertain stage .

Here’s how the push for a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia looked before Oct. 7 .

From early in the war, President Biden has said that a lasting resolution requires a “real” Palestinian state .

Here’s what Israeli officials are discussing about postwar Gaza.

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Michael Crowley covers the State Department and U.S. foreign policy for The Times. He has reported from nearly three dozen countries and often travels with the secretary of state. More about Michael Crowley

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IELTS Cue Card Sample 61
This should be an easy cue card topic as it allows you to talk about any music band that you like from your country or from internationally renowned music bands. First name the music band and say what type of music band it is (Genre, music style, lyrics style and member (s) of this music band). Now talk about the reasons you like this music band.
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Describe your favourite music band
1. I love to listen to rock music, and Broadcast is my favourite music band. It was formed in 1995 in the UK with the participation of original members, including James Cargill, Steve Perkins, Trish Keenan, Roj Stevens, Tim Felton and others. I have been listening to their songs for the past couple of years.
Describe your most favorite music band or singer you enjoy listening to
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Beethoven’s Legacy

500 Words Essay on My Favourite Musician

Early Life and Struggles

Beethoven’s Music

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Describe your Favourite Singer [IELTS Speaking]

Cue Card: Describe your Favourite Singer

Planning your Answer

Vocabulary About Singers

Sample Band 9 Answer

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David S. Wills

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