The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 — 7A

DETROIT ARTS COLUMN

Bringing music back 

to Detroit’s kids

W

hen 11 University of 
Michigan students 
walked through the 

doors of Woodbridge Commu-
nity Center, 
a chorus of 
elementary 
schoolers 
greeted them 
with cheers, 
shouting 
“They’re 
here! They’re 
here!” as they 
ran down the 
hall.

The 
Uni-

versity 
stu-

dents are part of a club called 
Seventh Mile Music, which gives 
free after school music lessons to 
kids in Detroit’s Woodbridge and 
Brightmoor neighborhoods.

University alum Sam Saunders 

was inspired to start the club near-
ly two years ago. He grew up in a 
low-income town in West Virginia, 
and participated in a similar music 
program when he was younger. 
The program helped him realize 
his love of music, which led him to 
the University of Michigan School 
of Music, Theatre & Dance to pur-
sue a degree in piano and composi-
tion with the help of a scholarship. 
Without his music program, he 
wouldn’t be where he is today.

When Saunders came to Michi-

gan he was instantly impressed 
with the University’s resources 
and the wealth of talent in SMTD. 
He learned that the funding to 
Detroit Public Schools’ music pro-
grams had been cut, and wondered 
why one couldn’t help the other.

That’s 
when 
Seventh 
Mile 

Music was born.

“I just thought it was such a 

shame that an entire generation 

of kids in Detroit were getting no 
exposure to the arts, especially 
because African Americans have 
had such a huge impact on the 
arts, they’ve kind of cultivated our 
musical style,” Saunders said.

The student volunteers with 

Seventh Mile Music travel to 
Detroit twice a week using Uni-
versity transportation. They rent 
instruments and meet with the 
kids after they get out of school for 
their music lessons. The kids pick 
an instrument that they are inter-
ested in out of the instruments that 
the University students can teach, 
like drums, piano, guitar, banjo, 
cello, violin and more.

In a colorful classroom in the 

Woodbridge Community Center, 
LSA sophomore Michael Payne 
teaches one little girl to play 
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on 
the cello. Payne began teaching 
with Seventh Mile Music last year. 
He was most worried about not 
having any teaching experience, 
which ended up not being a prob-
lem at all.

“The kids are all so sweet, genu-

inely the nicest children I’ve ever 
met,” he said. “They’re so friendly 
and they’re really interested in 
learning the instruments.”

The program director and co-

founder of the Woodbridge Com-
munity Youth Center, Margaret 
Wilson, said that this program is 
filling a void that exists in Detroit 
schools.

“The children love it, they’re 

very excited about it,” Wilson said. 
“They love the opportunity to be 
able to play an instrument.”

Wilson said that parents in the 

neighborhood enjoy the program 
too, and the kids get to show their 
families what they’ve been work-
ing on at a recital that they put on 

in June.

The fledgling club is trying to 

solidify itself by creating board 
positions to help things run more 
smoothly and be more organized. 
Right now, Saunders is the glue 
that is holding the group togeth-
er — he rents the vans, rents the 
instruments, communicates with 
the community members and even 
pays out of pocket to keep things 
going.

He’s dropped over $1,000 of his 

own money to help pay for trans-
portation, or to buy kids instru-
ments that they get to keep for 
themselves so they can practice at 
home — all because the club is hav-
ing trouble securing funding, even 
from the University.

“Since we have not been able to 

acquire funding, if I stopped fund-
ing it, then it would fall apart com-
pletely,” Saunders said. “We’ve put 
in too much work to just let it go to 
waste.”

Saunders said the organization 

has applied for several University 
grants in the past, but was turned 
down from them.

“If the school were able to pro-

vide us funding, that’s just all 
that’s holding us back,” Saunders 
explained. “We have plenty of 
interest. There’s obviously a huge 
need for it in Detroit.”

Seventh Mile Music’s goal is 

to be able to provide instruments 
to every kid that is interested in 
learning about music but hasn’t 
had the opportunity to in Detroit. 
Because, as Saunders knows first 
hand, music can make all the dif-
ference.

Pfleger is learning how to play 

‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. To 

help her with ‘Hot Cross Buns,’ 

email pspfleg@umich.edu.

PAIGE 
PFLEGER

BOOK REVIEW

By BAILEY KADIAN

Daily Arts Writer

Ben Tripp’s “The Accidental 

Highwayman” is written “in the 
tradition of 
class 
fairy-

tale 
fanta-

sies,” but I 
would 
say 

it’s more of 
a fantasy to 
believe that 
this 
novel 

would 
be 

viewed 
in 

the 
same 

light as the fairy tales we have 
grown to love, such as “The Prin-
cess Bride.” It never makes it 
close to those stories that keep 
us engaged and excited, because 
there is a lack of depth to the char-
acters and plot. Instead, Tripp 
attempts to produce a story with 
similar elements of magic, love and 
heroic acts, but does so in a medio-
cre way, with nothing new to add. 
We know what to expect based on 
the genre and how the story is told, 
but we find little else to make a dis-
tinction between this novel, and 
anything we have read before.

Set in 18th century Britain, 

the novel follows the story of Kit 
Bristol, a servant to highwayman 
“Whistling Jack,” who is infamous 
for his gambling and unethical 
tactics. Kit serves loyally to his 
master, when one day, to his 
surprise, his master returns home 
bleeding from a fatal wound, a 
result of gunshots from those 
attempting to catch the dangerous 
highwayman. Kit’s reaction to 
the death of his master is one of 
a weak and fearful young man 
who is confused and lost, while 
attempting to plan an escape. 
Kit is on a quest, accompanied 
by his horse Midnight, to rescue 
a mysterious princess who is 
caught in an arranged marriage. 
His journey takes him through 
a magical series of events filled 
with fairies, a circus, a witch and 
numerous dangerous acts that 
call for a refreshing and heroic 
protagonist. Kit has some heroic 

qualities, so it’s fairly easy to side 
with him through his various 
trials, but overall, it’s not enough to 
add much dimension to the story 
itself, or offer anything new to a 
traditional fairy tale.

Despite 
being 
the 
novel’s 

protagonist, Kit also serves as a 
major weakness because of his 
youth. We root for him because he 
is nice, not because he does much 
to deserve our support or acts like 
a courageous hero. He regularly 
appears as the stereotypical hero 
of any good fairy tale, failing to 
add any dimension to his type. 
This lack of innovation has been 
a conscious choice meant to put 
a satirical twist on the entirety 
of the novel, but I’m not going 
to give Tripp that much credit, 
particularly while he is targeting 
a young adult audience. Young 
readers want to walk away with 
something new and exciting 
towards a genre they love, and 
I’m not certain a satire will 
accomplish that.

The relationship between Prin-

cess Morgana and Kit is enjoyable, 
but there isn’t enough interaction 
between the two characters to 
make up for what’s lacking in the 
rest of the plot. This makes it dif-
ficult to support the love between 
both characters, because readers 
cannot truly grasp the dynamic 
between the two of them. Their 
love doesn’t fully develop into 
anything that shifts or changes 
the story, though, in a fairy tale, 
that’s typically what readers 
want a love story to accomplish. 
More interaction between the 
two of them could have made up 
for weaker elements in the novel. 
However, Morgana is definitely 
a redeemable character in the 
novel — she is strong and adds 
excitement to their relationship, 
given her admirable qualities of 
strength and courage, but unfor-
tunately, 
her 
characterization 

doesn’t drastically alter the way 
the story moves.

It’s fair to say that a young adult 

novel can get away with a few 
stupid scenes or conflicts that are 
frankly just a result of misfortune. 

However, regardless of who this 
novel is directed toward, I would 
have liked more of a build up of 
conflict, where we question the 
emotions of the characters that 
we are rooting for and understand 
Kit’s relationships to those around 
him. Some secondary characters 
were occasionally dropped into 
the story, but overall added very 
little to the resolution.

Some may say this novel can 

stand alone, regardless of its 
similarities to “The Princess 
Bride,” but it can’t simply 
because there isn’t anything 
that keeps readers fully engaged 
with and dedicated to its plot 
or its characters. Tripp uses a 
dialect similar to eighteenth 
century speech, which is mixed 
with some degree of humor and 
lightness as an attempt to find 
balance. I doubt a young reader 
will finish the book and say “I 
appreciate the wit and modern 
humor woven through the old 
language in this novel.” They 
want an engaging and moving 
story and there isn’t anything 
humorous about a fairy tale that 
lacks those elements.

Critics describe this book as 

“fun,” and in some ways, there 
are fun elements to the work, 
but within that, there must be 
substance that allows for read-
ers of all ages to stay engaged 
in the story. I’m not sure this 
novel does anything close to 
that, because through moments 
of long descriptions and limited 
character growth, there isn’t 
much left to look for, and while 
looking, I doubt you’ll find any-
thing. Even if Tripp intention-
ally created a series of clichés as 
a way to exaggerate all elements 
of a fairy tale for the sake of 
humor and wit, there still needs 
to be something distinguishable 
for a young audience, consider-
ing the humor may or may not 
go over their heads.

All in all, if you are looking for 

a heart-warming fairy tale and 
find yourself reading this book, 
it’s safe to assume that decision 
was entirely accidental.

Nothing new about 
‘Highwayman’ tale

The 
Accidental 
Highwayman

Ben Tripp

Tor Teen

$17.99

MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Musicians aim to 
retake streaming

Tidal is Jay Z and 
friends’ challenge 

to Spotify

By CHRISTIAN KENNEDY

Daily Arts Writer

In the early hours of March 30, 

many of the Internet’s elite artists 
went blue — turquoise to be exact. 
Beyoncé, Jay Z, Nicki Minaj and 
Rihanna were the first I noticed. 
They urged followers to change 
their profile pictures to the bright 
blue color as well. Lastly, all of 
them featured the caption “#TID-
ALforALL.”

So, what is #TIDALforALL? At 

first glance, I figured it must be a 
new charity they unanimously 
decided to support: possibly a tsu-
nami relief fund? But no, it refers to 
a newly relaunched subscription-
based music streaming service. 
Tidal, originally launched in 2014, 
was acquired by Project Panther, 
which is owned by none other than 
Jay Z.

Following the aqua profile pic-

tures, a countdown began. “Five 
more hours… are you ready?” was 
posted to Rihanna’s official Face-
book along with a video in which 
the music industry’s A-listers 
assemble around a conference 
table. Five hours later, at 5:00 p.m. 
Monday evening, a press confer-
ence appeared on Tidal.com (and 
is still available for viewing) in 
which it was revealed that Tidal 
will enter the streaming indus-
try, currently dominated by Spo-
tify and Pandora. But there’s more. 
With this crowd of artists, there 
always has to be more. While there 
is no free version, Tidal offers “the 
best High Fidelity sound quality, 
High Definition music videos and 
expertly Curated Editorial.”

Vania Schlogel, a member of the 

Tidal team, revealed that not only 

is this a new streaming service, but 
it is owned solely by artists, and 
even more importantly can also be 
taken offline.

Following her brief introduc-

tion, she invited the owners of 
Tidal to the stage: Alicia Keys, 
Arcade Fire, Beyonce, Calvin 
Harris, Chris Martin, Daft Punk, 
Jack White, Jason Aldean, J. Cole, 
Jay Z, Kanye West, Dead Mau5, 
Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna 
and Usher.

Now, that is what I call a knock-

out line-up.

Keys then took to the podium 

to expand on what Tidal is, and 
what it means for the music indus-
try — for both artists and fans. Her 
speech is filled to the brim with 
anecdotes about music. How it 
makes us feel, how it connects us. 
Not a word she said is false, but it’s 
also hard to see what exactly she is 
getting at.

The music industry is in freef-

all. Between illegal downloading, 
album leaks and streaming ser-
vices such as Spotify, which seem 
to rip off artists (ahem, T. Swift), 
it seems that these artists have 
banded together to claim what is 
theirs — music. And can we blame 
them? It is their work that we love. 
It is their passion and effort that 

we wake up to in the morning, that 
makes road trips bearable and that 
lifts us up when we feel low.

At first glance it comes off as 

a power-grab, which in the end, 
may turn out to be just that. Only 
time will tell. However, as each of 
these innovators walked up to the 
front of the stage and signed their 
declaration, it’s hard not to feel as 
though music history were being 
made in front of us.

I am very interested to see the 

experience of Tidal as compared 
to other companies that seem to fit 
the same niche. Will the quality of 
sound be noticeably better? What 
type of editorial content will be 
featured? Will it be so original that 
I need to have Tidal in my life? In 
all seriousness, I hope so.

Some will bitch about hav-

ing to pay; even more will bitch if 
their favorite artists move solely 
to Tidal, but it’s their work and 
they can do what they choose with 
is. As fans, as people, we should 
respect that. Innovation is what 
keeps the world running, and it 
certainly allows the music indus-
try to grow before our eyes every 
single day.

Tidal, you’ve certainly made a 

splash. Now, it’s time to see if you 
can truly live up to your name.

TIDAL

Hillary Clinton signs the Declaration of Independence ... April Fools!

By CATHERINE BAKER

Daily Arts Writer

Friends, family and esteemed 

colleagues, I have gathered you 
here today to discuss an important 
topic: ABBA.

Now before you scoff, roll your 

eyes or laugh, let me explain. I 
believe ABBA to be one of life’s 
greatest joys. In addition to being 
an excellent source of feel-good 
songs to sing in the shower, ABBA’s 
music is full of drama, humor, 
wit and heartbreak — basically 
everything good music should 
contain. A few nights ago, I was 
scrolling through Spotify in search 
of a song that would help me 
jumpstart my essay due the next 
morning when I stumbled upon 
“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” in the 
depths of an old playlist. This is 
what dreams are made of.

Regrettably, 
my 
first 

introduction 
to 
ABBA 
was 

through the movie “Mamma Mia.” 
I had probably heard “Dancing 
Queen” during a climatic montage 
in some movie, but this time the 
combination of Meryl Streep and 
Pierce Brosnan singing “SOS” was 
enough to send me to Google. (Yes, 

I know, I’m not proud of this part 
of the story, either.) While Pierce 
Brosnan should probably never 
sing again, I would like to thank 
him for jumpstarting my devotion 
to this Swedish pop band. Meryl 
Streep, on the other hand, is more 
than welcome to serenade me any 
day of the week.

There are iconic names in 

music that all people recognize, 
even if they have never listened to 
them before. These are the bands 
and musicians that transcend 
generations and gain the coveted 
title of “classic” (in varying 
degrees). The Beatles, Rolling 
Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood 
Mac, ABBA — I could go on, but 
you get the point. This mishmash 
of cultures and genres has very 
little in common except for the 
fact that they are occasionally 
played on the oldies station and are 
widely regarded as timeless. While 
it’s still unclear what exactly 
allows a song or artist to cross the 
boundary from good to immortal, 
it’s clear that ABBA has it.

Let me break it down for you. 

ABBA was one of the first groups 
to emerge from a non-English-
speaking country and achieve 

success worldwide, and is one of 
the best-selling music groups of 
all time. It brought disco/pop to 
the forefront of the music industry, 
spawning several tribute bands 
and a musical, “Mamma Mia!,” 
that toured worldwide. In early 
2010, ABBA was inducted into 
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 
and Rolling Stone listed “Dancing 
Queen” as one of the greatest songs 
of all time in 2011.

Whether you love, hate or 

are simply indifferent towards 
ABBA, you can’t deny its impact 
on modern music or the success it 
garnered throughout its 12-year 
run. 
Despite 
my 
far-fetched 

dreams of an ABBA reunion, no 
new music would top “The Winner 
Takes It All” or “Take A Chance 
On Me” simply because the age 
of ABBA is over, even if its allure 
is eternal. I don’t want to live in 
a world where “Dancing Queen” 
doesn’t exist, and — deny it all you 
want — I don’t think you do either. 
So, ABBA, thank you for the music 
that inspired a generation.

(Just for the record, “Mamma 

Mia” is still a fantastic movie and 
anyone who says otherwise can go 
fight my 13-year-old self.)

ABBA remains one 
of life’s greatest joys

POLAR

This is the Ramones...April Fools!

