Staff Pix 4/19: Freeze Frame/Roll the Credits

This semester was literally a movie. Check out our staff’s picks for “Freeze Frame/Roll the Credits”, presented with blurbs worthy of a promotional sticker on a jewel case. Tune in to Staff Pix on Fridays 5-6PM EST!

Sofia GiarRusso

“Touch (2021 Epilogue) [feat. Paul Williams]” by Daft Punk

I was between picking this or “Turn Down For What” by DJ Snake & Lil Jon. But let me gush about Daft Punk for just this time–I’m sorry DJ Snake and Lil Jon. Random Access Memories (2013) is not an album I’m necessarily nostalgic for, instead, it’s one I remember appreciating from the jump. Watching the robot guys win a Grammy for this one is somehow a core memory, probably because I grew up with the music of Discovery (2001) and the duo’s “Technologic” sensibilities by way of my older brothers. In the present, I can’t get enough of Daft Punk. While the electronic duo may not be coming back, their releases for the tenth anniversary of RAM filled the ‘beep bop boop’-sized hole in my heart. “Touch (2021 Epilogue)” is a disgustingly gorgeous instrumental track that repeats only one very simple line over and over: “Hold on / If love is the answer you’re home.” Sung by a choir made up of what I believe are children, this track is innately sentimental. 

Kim O’Donnell

“Follow Your Arrow” by Kasey Musgraves

When I think of a “Freeze Frame, Roll the Credits” moment, I think of songs that are uplifting or empowering or somewhere in between. This Kasey Musgraves song is both. “Follow Your Arrow” talks about being true to yourself, no matter what the circumstances. Musgraves sings about all the standards that society tries to impose on us, then says, “Just 'cause you can't beat 'em, doesn't mean you should join 'em,” encouraging us all to find our own path no matter what the outside noise tells us. I can picture it playing at the end of a coming-of-age story, where the protagonist has gradually figured out who they are, what they want in life, and how to get it. After these credits roll, the character’s life will change and change again, probably hundreds or even thousands of times in their life. But the message of staying true to themselves will stick with them, always. 

Nathan Hilyard

“Sandusky” by Uncle Tupelo

I first heard this song as the end credits of some Joan Didion documentary rolled. I enjoyed the documentary, and I really enjoyed the twangy, hopeful guitar grooves cooked up by Uncle Tupelo. It’s just a good 3 minutes and 44 seconds of guitars passing melodies back and forth. It’s melancholy and hopeful, using the gentle groove to hammer in the lessons of the past film, and, coming to the end of the semester, it’s the joyful background music needed to send me off for the summer. 

Bennett Himmel

“Everything Is Embarrassing” by Sky Ferreira

What is there to say about this song that hasn’t already been said? I first heard this song when I was 14, and I immediately felt somehow…validated. It didn’t make sense of course- I had never felt the painful sting of rejection, and I was too young to understand how it felt to be completely detached from life and emotion. Yet somehow, I felt like I understood the song, like she was singing directly to me. Years later, the song has become something of a personal anthem for me. It’s a song for the people in corners at parties, the people drafting texts they’ll never send. I’m 21 and I feel like I’ve finally had some crucial “coming-of-age” moments, and there’s no better phrase to describe young adulthood than “everything is embarrassing.”

Izzy Desmarais

“I Heard Ramona Sing” by Frank Black

In my prolific library of playlists for absolutely anybody with a Spotify account to see, there is one entry titled “my ultimate movie soundtrack.” The description explains these are “songs that would be on the soundtrack if my life was a movie SLASH songs that make me feel like I’m in a movie.” For example: “The greatest” by Lana Del Rey does not resonate in a particularly significant way, so it wouldn’t necessarily be on my life’s soundtrack, but it does make me feel like an aging California star losing her grip on reality in some indie drama. “I Heard Ramona Sing” by Frank Black is both a song that makes me feel like I’m in a movie and would unequivocally be featured on my own life’s soundtrack. I don’t know how to describe this track other than hopeful—the lyric “There are moments in the night / It is alright” rings in my ears and reverberates through my soul. I can’t think of a better song to close out my time here at Milk Crate. 

Izzie Claudio

“Ghost Town” by Kanye West and PARTYNEXTDOOR

First off, I know this is Kanye and I’m sorry, BUT this song makes me really nostalgic. In high school, my friends and I would always put this song on while we sped down the highway. The windows were down and we were screaming the lyrics. All of senior year, when we anticipated graduation and all the exciting things that were ahead of us, the lyrics spoke to us deeper than ever before. “Oh, once again I am a child / I let go of everything that I know / Of everything that I know / And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free / We’re still the kids we used to be.” This song reminds me that at the end of the day we still have our younger self within us. When it’s time for a new chapter, it’s scary, but it’s also so exciting. The kid within me is cheering me on, so excited to see that we’ve reached this part of our life. We were just kids, letting the wind blow through our hair as we reminisced on all the joys and hardships of high school. We were just kids loving life and loving each other. And we’re still kids, traversing the world and the paths that lie ahead. I think this song will hit just as hard when college graduation rolls around, so I dedicate this to Julia and Izzy (I know you’re not graduating yet Izzy, but I’m gonna miss you just as much). Julia and Izzy, I’m sure your younger selves are so proud of you and everything you’re going to do. So much love and cheers to your next chapters <3 

Julia Norkus

“Time Escaping” by Big Thief

I find it interesting that on Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe in You (2022), this song is one of the first in the line up. I find it odd just because there’s something so final to it—layers of sound that feel like a build and culmination of everything that came before it. However, maybe it makes sense since it’s an acknowledgement of change and the mortality that comes with being human and that there’s already been a build up to this song somewhere else in life. Maybe it isn’t death, but the end of college has its own “mortality”—it ends, and so does this period of my life. A death. Just another reminder that nothing is permanent and it's time to move forward, “Everything, everything, everything falls through / Each dimension breaks in two / Like the two hands clapping / Like the two wings flapping.” Everything collapses, breaks, but often new and exciting experiences take the place of what once was. Much like my time at Emerson, there’s a finality that still has yet to set in, but soon I’ll be ushered into the world like a prize turkey for slaughter, navigating a new and scary world of opportunity. I think I’ll always be grateful for my time here, especially that time spent with Milk Crate. I don’t think I would have survived as a transfer student without the friendships I made through this silly little music publication. So, off I run with my fist in the air in triumph and in fear for what is to come next. All my love.

Hollie Raposo

"Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds

A song written by a Scottish rock band that has made their way into the memories of many. This song is classically known from the movie, The Breakfast Club, that came out in 1985. A movie that almost everybody has watched at least once and has resonated with them for years. A common reference in the cinema and film itself. With different versions that even Nickelodeon's Victorious picked up for that one special episode of “The Breakfast Bunch.” Bringing this iconic movie back to the screen. This song is the pivotal of “Roll the Credits” as the song happens when the actor Judd Nelson that played John Bender thrusts his fist in the air after the many hours of detention. The freeze frame pauses on this moment, and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" plays in the background. As the movie ends and rolls the credits on the simple meaning of these rad team of misfits coming together at the end where they didn’t think it was possible. The song says “will you recognize me?” and I hope that Julia and Izzy will “call [our] name” and not “walk on by”. The movie symbolizing the different backgrounds of people with finding a similar connection just as Julia and Izzy have made Milk Crate a safe place for everyone <3 This has been my first semester on Milk Crate and they have made it such a joyous experience and are so nice and welcoming to everyone that comes in and just wants to write, edit, or design. They are truly one of a kind people and will do amazing wherever they end up. As the chapter ends on this Milk Crate site our beloved heroes Julia and Izzy come to an end. Every time we see a milk crate we will be reminded of them. Don’t You (Forget About Us)!

Remy Foeller

“End of Beginning” by Djo

Djo is one of my all-time favorite artists, and their album DECIDE (2022) always has at least one song in my On Repeat. “End of Beginning” really captures that nostalgic, dreamy feeling of the first year of college. In some ways, everything has changed and at the same time nothing has. It’s only just started but the starting is over. It’s truly the end of the beginning. I’ve been listening to this song in particular because I’m leaving Boston, and it feels so odd to just go like I didn’t spend over half a year here. The lyrics of “End of Beginning” feel like they encapsulate my emotions in this tumultuous time perfectly. When Djo sings “you take the man out of the city / not the city out the man,” I’m reminded of how much Boston has changed me and how I will carry Boston with me. Not just Boston, but Milk Crate especially: Milk Crate is so deeply meaningful to me, and Julia & Izzy have made it so special and awesome that I can’t wait to see where they go next. I hope that wherever they end up, they will remember Boston and Milk Crate, just as much as Milk Crate will remember and miss them. :)