Evergreen students can walk with their heads held a little higher now, since Evergreen alum Ben Haggerty (better known by his stage name, Macklemore) released his second full studio album with collaborator Ryan Lewis. The Heist was the #1 album on iTunes almost immediately following its independent release.
While a few of the songs on the album had previously been released as well-received singles (such as “Thrift Shop feat. Wanz,” which has earned more than 8.2 million views on YouTube, and pro-gay ballad “Same Love feat. Mary Lambert”), new tracks such as “Neon Cathedral” and instrumental “Bombom” hold up to the expectations built after his popular The VS. EP was released in 2009.But the shining gem of The Heist transcends the disappointment of arguably less integral songs like “Thin Line feat. Buffalo Madonna,” “White Walls,” and even the danceability of “Can’t Hold Us feat. Ryan Dalton.”
“Starting Over feat. Ben Bridwell (of Band of Horses)” evokes in the listener a sense of emotional investment that was certainly not anticipated. Perhaps it’s the musical talent of Band of Horses’ frontman (who also gained popularity in the mainstream hip-hop community through the sampling of Band of Horses’ “Funeral” in Kid Cudi’s “The Prayer”), serenading Haggerty’s lyrical apology for a hard-fought drug addiction or the owning up to fans that he has relapsed since his initial sobriety in 2008.
“Starting Over” is the kind of song that really doesn’t have to be literally related to your life to have an effect on you. Its message of repentance, “If I can be an example of getting sober, I can be an example of starting over,” says much about Haggerty’s perspective of taking responsibility and moving on. And perhaps it says even more about the music community as a whole if fans are as enthusiastic and passionate as the artists they listen to.
“Same Love feat. Mary Lambert” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
By Anatalia Nicholl
