In an attempt to make all bias and preferences clear from the start, I will admit that I am a Penn State fan second and a Joe Paterno fan first. I was at the stadium the day JoePa finally got his 400th win, a three-touchdown comeback against Northwestern, an accomplishment that will most likely never be replicated at the Division I level. Those who stuck around after the final whistle saw Paterno carried off the field by his players, and finally address the crowd—“I stayed here because I love you all.” At the time I smiled, under the impression the coach had long since lost his touch. But how could I have known what would come in the following year? How could anyone know?

That is the final time I will address Joe’s on-field accomplishments in this column, because his life was about so much more than football—and anyone who says otherwise is sorely mistaken. Painting the man’s life as a mere two-sided struggle between his 409 career wins and his mishandling of the sexual abuse scandal is not only disrespectful, it’s also inaccurate. If anything can possibly define his life, it is the sheer number of young men he changed for the better during his career at Penn State.

Yes, it is impossible to ignore the scandal. It is impossible to craft even the briefest obituary for the late Lions coach without mentioning Jerry Sandusky. And why not? There are no excuses for Paterno’s mishandling the situation. That’s what initially affected me the most. This was a man I had idolized most of my life as a symbol of all that was good in collegiate athletics, a man that suddenly had made a mistake that cost several children their childhoods? It stung—not only the realization that he had made the mistake, but the fact that I couldn’t defend him for it.

Four months later, I still can’t. I’m not writing this column to vindicate Joe Paterno. I’m writing it to put his life, and the scandal, in perspective. I don’t believe it’s my place to attack the Penn State board of trustees for firing Paterno with little more than a phone call, or the Big Ten for removing his name from the championship trophy—although that certainly doesn’t mean I believe their actions were justified. Sally Jenkins, the Washington Post reporter who gave Paterno his final interview, stated that “[he] was not a statue made of bronze, and was defined as much by what he failed to do and say, as by what he did. Which merely made him, in the end, human.”

I think Jenkins has the right idea. Paterno made a human mistake—an explanation that makes it no less horrible, yes, but a human mistake nonetheless. We should measure his successes and failures in the same light. These successes range far beyond his wins on the football field.
Paterno, in his 46-year tenure as head coach, won much more than 409 games. Under his guidance, Penn State was not just another football school, as was common in the era. Year after year his players had the highest graduation rates in the NCAA, despite the fact that he personally helped to raise the university’s admission standards. He created a program that put the emphasis on the former half of student-athlete, while personally tending to each and every man who came through it.

As for the scandal? Sadly, there’s very little that can be gathered from the situation in retrospect except for the complete and total failure of Penn State University in almost every aspect of handling it. If anything, it goes to show that stories don’t always have happy endings. I would never go as far as to say Paterno was scapegoated, or should have stayed on the job—but there’s no denying the situation was dreadfully mismanaged, and this is the worst possible ending.

But for once, let’s make this about Joe Paterno instead of Jerry Sandusky or Penn State. Let’s make this not about the titles he won, but the young men whose lives he changed. Let’s look beyond these last few months, beyond the horrible mistake that damaged his legacy, but could never destroy it.

Think of Adam Taliaferro, the former defensive back who was paralyzed on the field, whose full recovery Paterno watched over, who wound up becoming a lawyer and getting a job at the university with Joe Pa’s help. Think of the fact that Paterno actually asked the board of trustees to raise the university’s admission standards, and personally tended to his players with homemade spaghetti and tutoring sessions until they qualified.

Think of the man who cared less about the players’ results on the field than he did about the students’ futures off it. And then, if you still feel the need to
judge the man as a criminal, then do it. But please not before.

Bear Bryant, the legendary coach whose wins record Paterno surpassed, once famously stated he’d “croak in a week” once he stopped coaching. He lasted four. The similarities between the two men exceed the bounds of coincidence and have become simply upsetting.

Still, I think Joe Paterno’s legacy is more accurately summed up by a different quote. Right before Joe gave up his family dream of becoming a lawyer to go into coaching, his father, Angelo, asked him one question: “Are you making a difference?” Angelo died before he could find out. If only he knew how much of a difference his son made. We are fortunate enough to know, and should appreciate such a man.

No adult wants teenagers engaging in sex, for fear of teenage pregnancies and the proliferation of STDs. This is a reasonable fear. And logically it seems clear that one must simply stop teenagers from engaging in sex to end the problem. However in 2006 the teenage pregnancy rate increased for the first time in over a decade. I believe abstinence is not going to work as the only method, and a more encompassing sex ed could combat the problem of teen pregnancy along with many others. Sex ed is the one subject that will apply to every student, and it contains information that is desperately needed.

Many topics are still considered inappropriate for the classroom. In my 10th grade health class very little time was spent discussing the pill, and the implications of taking it. Yet many young girls in our area ask their parents for it because they believe it will make them safer. In elementary and middle school we are told about our respective genitalia, but no time is spent on explaining the other half. Almost no time was spent discussing orgasms. This leaves many adolescents confused, and many are left venturing into a scary world of sexual activity that they know little to nothing about. I’m not saying teachers should give students tips on how to have sex, just an explanation that these things exist.

A Pennsylvania House Bill outlines compulsory sex ed in all public schools. One section of the bill states that students must be taught: “The benefits of and reasons for not engaging in sexual intercourse.” This seems a little similar to the Mean Girls mantra to me. I spoke to a Harriton health and sex ed teacher Mr. Curyto: “Our state is abstinence plus (we are not abstinence only) which means we are required to teach the benefits of abstinence, which is essential for those that have this position. Then we cover how to practice safe sex, if and when students choose that for themselves. So we cover both sides of the topic, which is necessary since we are a public school meeting the needs of all students.”

Mr. Curyto’s acknowledgement that Harriton is a public school has vast implications. A recent article in the New York Times spotlighted a local school (Friends’ Central) and their revolutionary sex ed class. The class “Sex and Society” not only discusses STDs and contraception, but the stigmas and preconceptions attached to sex, and how they differ for males and females. They discuss the social implications of the “lingo” used when discussing sex, as well as the emotional implications if one becomes sexually active before he or she feel comfortable. The class discusses the subject as a whole, and looks to educate students on a topic that is so often considered taboo.

The Friends’ Central class is an elective at a private school. The sex ed curriculum at Harriton is one part of a mandatory health course. So part of the issue is that Harriton students cannot be given the same information simply due to time. Mr. Curyto explained that he and the other Harriton health teachers try to teach as much on the topic as possible. Though a large portion of time must be spent on STDs and the fact that abstinence is the only guarantee of safety, there is also discussion of the emotional side or how sex is portrayed in the media. I asked Mr. Curyto if he felt restricted by the curriculum set by Harrisburg and he responded: “Not in terms of curriculum but in terms of time. We don’t have enough time in class and would like an opportunity to have an elective for seniors to go deeper.” This phenomenon is certainly echoed throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the country. Students are not receiving an all-encompassing in-depth education on a subject that is pertinent to their emotional and social well being.

Inarguably, Scientia est Potens. Knowledge is power. Giving students more knowledge on the subject of sex only gives them more power to make better decisions. Laurie Abraham, the writer of the New York Times article, spoke to many students from the Friend’s Central school. She explains how one boy stated that he became much more conscious and sensitive of his girlfriend after taking the “Sex and Society” class. The boy related how instead of pressuring his girlfriend, he made sure to ask her if she would be comfortable before making any more physical advancements in their relationship, and the two had an honest discussion about the issue, something that would not have occurred had the boy not taken the class. Surely many teenagers (male and female) could use some sensitivity on the issue. Surely many could use some more information.

Changing teenagers’ attitudes towards sex may be much more effective than using scare tactics. Though it is scary, teenagers are going to have sex. But if they can approach it in a healthy, informed way, perhaps it would not be the end of the world.

These types of people crop up at many points throughout our history. One contemporary instance was in the protests for civil rights in the 1960s in the United States. Just as in Tiananmen Square in 1989, many of our protestors came from universities and colleges—they were students.

Interestingly, there does not seem to be much of the collective uproar for freedom recently, yet I believe it is just as necessary now as ever before. There have been some changes in the past few months that dare to defy our basic constitutional rights. It shocks me that most people either agree with them or turn a blind eye.

This year’s National Defense Authorization Act passed with a brief wave of controversy before settling quite simply. It was as though no one noticed that the act made it incredibly easy for the government to accuse almost any debatably “suspicious” person of terrorism and hold that person indefinitely without a trial. It is true that the act is not “required” to extend to U.S. citizens, but that was only an afterthought, put in as a second stipulation. Isn’t anyone a little bit concerned that we were almost stripped of our basic right to habeas corpus? And isn’t anyone a bit worried that the act only reads that U.S. citizens are not “required” to be detained without trial? The fuzzy language is setting up a “gotcha” trick on someone.

Again, the American people stand silent as another resolution begins trampling their rights: at December’s United Nations General Assembly Obama stood in support of a new policy to essentially categorize arguably inflammatory anti-religious speech as hate-speech. The U.N. then resolved to take steps to act against such speech amongst their members. The topic had previously been skirted for fear that fundamentalist Islamists would take advantage of the policy and lash out against those who drew political cartoons about Mohammed, or something equally acceptable under our constitution. All that the resolution required was a few turned phrases before it racked in the support it needed. Tell me where the first amendment exempts religious criticism from our doctrine of free speech?

I cannot help but wonder why no one speaks up or out against these policies in masses. The only evidence I have seen of protest is the Occupy Movement, and those protestors honestly just wanted jobs and a fairer business world. Then there was the brief explosion about SOPA, where a few large Internet browsers made a statement and some people freaked out because they might not be able to visit their favorite sites or watch TV shows for free online all the time. Is it only selfishness that stirs us?

Internet companies and the frustrated unemployed constituency, though completely valid protestors, were not who I was looking for to lead a revolt for freedom. As I mentioned before, in the 1960s in America and in 1989 in Beijing it was the college students. Young people are always going to facilitate the big changes in society, because when young people come together their collective energy and efforts are incredibly powerful. All we need to do is look to Obama’s 2008 election constituency.

The problem now is that there is no solidarity among young college students. Even though we live in a socially networked world and should be more connected than ever, we don’t have a unified sense of purpose. We, as young people, have forgotten that we still need to fight for our freedoms. We all need to think of the lone man in Tiananmen Square and recall that drive to be free at all costs, the human drive to stand up and say something when anyone even dares to tug at the fine fabric of our constitutional liberties.

Despite all the comforts that are typically bound to the notion of suburbia, the misconception that the suburbs are void of culture, a sense of purpose and well— things to do—is certainly prevalent in the minds of many high-schoolers.

But on Friday, February the third, Philadelphia’s suburban youngsters found themselves creating a delightful ruckus at Ardmore’s MilkBoy Coffee, a local gem of a café tucked away on Lower Merion’s own Lancaster Avenue.

Front and center in the “stuffed-to-the-gills” coffee shop, local musicians and bands were given 10 minutes to impress a panel of celebrity judges as well as an audience of their peers, in hopes of claiming the title “Best Band of the Burbs”.

Flashbulbs burst, guitars wailed, voices soared and the crowd got rowdy, with one young man even attempting to crowd surf, only to be quickly escorted from the premises.

It was a night to be remembered. Co-produced by the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) of the Coalition for Youth of Lower Merion and Narberth, The Battle of the Burbs was a successful effort for a fourth time around, showcasing eight groups and soloists qualifying for the final performance, as well as helping to support Girls Rock Philly, a local charity.

The YAC Battle of the Burbs team helped organize the event and comprised 30 representatives from over eight Main Line public and private schools, with the members of the bands themselves representing several more.

But it was the young musicians of Harriton, (as well as a handful from our sister school, Lower Merion) who proved themselves to be forces to be reckoned with. Three of the eight acts were almost entirely made up of Harriton students. Shout outs are as follows:

Bethany Katz, Gabby Schwab and Jack Fenton all served as members of the YAC Battle of the Burbs team, donning snazzy tee shirts designed by Welsh Valley’s beloved teacher and established artist, Todd Marrone.

The infamous Writer’s Block (going strong for well over four years now), with seniors Jake Ohlbaum (guitar, vocals), Zak Kivitz (drums), and Jeremy Levick (bass, vocals); freshman Ben Appel (keyboard, vocals); and Lower Merion’s Nick Paprocki (guitar), gave an outstanding performance, including a crowd pleasing rendition of MGMT’s Kids.

A newer band to the Harriton music scene is Inside the Velvet, a five-piece indie-rock outfit had Seth Silverman on keyboard and vocals, Charlie Akerblom on guitar and vocals, Tristan Fogt on guitar and synthesizer, Jared Johnson on bass and Dylan Pearl on drums.

Both Dylan Pearl (Inside the Velvet) and Jeremy Levick (Writer’s Block) were additionally part of an extra special act, along with Jordan Rosenthal-Kay on guitar and an interesting brass lineup of Jake Marks on sax, Ilias Storti on trombone, and Matt Brown on trumpet.
These Harriton fellows were also joined by St. Joe’s Prep’s Christian Turzo-Egan on drums. Calling themselves Poor Fred Noonan, the group blew the crowd away with their ska-inspired chops, performing in wild headgear last out of the eight bands.

At the night’s end, the judges were left to make the difficult call of who should be crowned with the title of the Best Band of the Burbs, and receive the first place prize of studio recording time with MilkBoy the Studio.

The decision was made, and with much anticipation, Harriton’s own Poor Fred Noonan was declared the winner. The newly formed band plans to record several covers and perhaps even an original with their studio time. They are also the proud recipients of a set of flyers ticket.
Many thanks go out to the sponsors, each of the contestants, the judges, and the YAC for their stupendous efforts in making the Battle of the Burbs such a successful event. If you were there, you know just how thrilling this battle was. But if not, we hope to see you there the next time around.

The video has since gone viral. In one day the video recieved hundreds of views. Even more impressive, Jackie and her video have now been reported on by NBC, MSNBC, and even Yale’s daily paper. One can be sure the views will only increase.
The Harriton community wishes Jackie the best of luck, and encourages everyone to watch the video!

Watch it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n20bwnG1EsY&feature=player_embedded

TSA had their best performance in school history, earning 44 total medals at their Regional Conference, including five first place finishes, thirteen second place finishes, and six third place finishes. The impressive list of students who earned a first place medal consists of Liza Atillasoy, Max Hunt, Ally McLaughlin, Sitara Soundararajan, Dhruv Pillai, Cem Atillasoy , Kenton Weigel, Ali Buck, Shari Lieblich, Emmy Rodriguez, Coco Sutton, Lisa Moc, Kyle Swartley, Steven Scimeca, Caleb Dixon, Andrew Wonnacott, Tristan Maidment, Stephen Lorenz, Jessi Herrmann, Aaron Kolker, and Won Chung. The team will next compete at States in April.

Physics Olympics, competing at Harriton, tied for first with Penncrest after a back-and-forth competition that saw an impressive, last-second win in the Physics Relay. Coach Robert Schwartz mentioned standouts Jessie Vander, who qualified for the International Bridge Building Competition in Las Vegas, Kai Chang, who captained the team, and seniors Eileen Hoang, Niki Green, and Salomon Cohen for their leadership throughout the year. It was the team’s final competition this year.

Congratulations to members of both teams and best of luck in future competitions.

So what are leukemia and lymphoma? They are two kinds of blood cancer. Leukemia affects bone marrow; it causes the overproduction of blood cells. On the other hand, Lymphoma affects the immune (lymphatic) system and, like all cancers, causes excessive cell growth. Both diseases are curable. In fact, a few types of lymphoma and leukemia have remission/recovery rates around 80% and 90%. But something we too often forget is that 90% isn’t 100%. When you know someone who is part of the 10%, then it doesn’t matter that 90% of patients survive. What matters then is that someone you know isn’t going to make it. Dead is dead. There really isn’t any math involved. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is trying to change those numbers and the grimmer ones like the 5-year survival rate of 38.5% for Myeloma (another type of bone marrow cancer) patients. And here at Harriton, their mission is carried on by a teacher and a student.

The Teacher
The teacher is Mr. Klick. A lymphoma survivor himself, Mr. Klick has been chosen to participate in the LLS’s “Man of the Year” campaign. He will spend 10 weeks organizing fundraisers in order to raise money for leukemia and lymphoma research. One such fundraiser is the Dance-a-thon that Harriton will have the honor of hosting. If you’re wondering what a dance-a-thon is you’re not alone. Up until the day before I wrote this article I didn’t know either. The way it works is you get someone to sponsor you for dancing for a certain amount of time. For example, you get your relatives to pledge to pay you 10 dollars for every hour you dance. This dance-a-thon is supposed to be slightly different from the traditional version in that there will be a group component in addition to the individual component. Students will be invited to form groups to perform dance routines, such as those the football team performs during pep rallies, and to fundraise for enough money to “buy” a spot. These groups will then put on shows throughout the course of the event. The dance-a-thon take place on February 24th beginning right after school, and all students will be welcome to come watch.
Yet, the dance-a-thon is only one aspect Mr. Klick’s campaign. As someone in the running for LLS’s title “Man of the Year,” Mr. Klick will be engaged in many fundraising activities including revitalizing Harriton’s “Pennies for Patients“ drive. In recent years, this drive, run by the Harriton Service League, has passed by largely unnoticed. However, Mr. Klick hopes to change that this year. Many of us do not know him outside of the context of “teacher”, but Mr. Klick has another identity as a runner, which most of us are aware of, and as a fundraiser, which you may not have known. One reason Mr. Klick was chosen to participate in the “Man of the Year” campaign is because he coaches marathon runners for “Team in Training.” This running team consists of individuals who raise money for the LLS by getting people to sponsor their running. Mr. Klick runs miles to raise money to save lives. Now he’s helping the Harriton community realize the role it can play in accomplishing the same goal.

The Student
The student is Austin Wortley; if you haven’t met him, you clearly don’t get out much. Austin is an active member of our Harriton community, from his role in student council to his upcoming participation in “Mr. Harriton.” Last year, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and this year, despite his continuing treatment, Austin has taken on yet another responsibility as a panel member for Mr. Klick. Mr. Wortley will be helping Mr. Klick not only with the Harriton chapter of the campaign but also with the larger campaign as well. A student who continues to give regardless of his personal challenges, Austin is the embodiment of the selfless spirit that Harriton must seek to attain.

The Event
Harriton has a lot more seeking to do. We are not exactly a community of do-ers. We don’t attend most sports games, our pep rallies are lacking in enthusiasm, and the donation bins in the front of our school are chillingly empty. In fact, I have seen advisories that don’t bring in food for the single family they need to provide a thanksgiving dinner for. I have been in such an advisory. But maybe we can change. Maybe we can change because now, it’s personal. Maybe we can change for Ms. Barnett and Mr. Fritz and Mr. Klick. For Adam. For Austin. Maybe we can change for everyone we know and for everyone we don’t. People don’t get to go through this life without pain so we have to help each other out. Here at Harriton, we’re not too good at doing that, but maybe we change for one night. Just maybe.

At this point, I’m sure we have all heard of CAS – creativity, action, and service, as one of the many demanding components of the rigorous International Baccalaureate Program. IB students need to acquire at least 50 hours of each discipline over the two years they are in the program. One aspect of the service component is organizing and initiating an individual service project. For their service project, seniors Julia Olivieri and Leora Haber decided to put their creative talents to use and organized a knitting service project.

Julia Olivieri, a knitting expert, has been knitting since she was about six or seven. Leora Haber originally learned to knit in the third grade, put the pastime aside for a while, and revisited her love in the eleventh grade.

How does one properly organize and execute a service project? This project did not take that much effort to get started, as many of Julia and Leora’s peers were eager to get involved and help them. All the girls really had to do was buy needles and yarn and organize and meeting time, and the project success skyrocketed. It came to the point where teachers were even banning yarn and needles during class! Mostly seniors and juniors signed up for Mrs. Celebre’s “knitting” RAM. Even those who had never picked up needles before were interested in the project participation. This led Leora and Julia to create a new component of their project: teaching students how to knit.

Think of something you’re good at – whether it’s a sport, a subject in school, or a creative activity – and now imagine teaching it to someone else. It seems pretty difficult, right? Well, this is a challenge that Leora and Julia had to face.

“I thought that it would be pretty hard to teach people, because I know when I was learning it took me a while to get the hang of it, but I was really impressed with how quickly people picked it up,” says Olivieri. “I would usually teach the person to cast on [which is how a stich is started], and then show them two or three stitches in slow motion, and then watch as they tried a few on their own.”

The modest Leora claims that it really isn’t that difficult to teach, as long as the student is adamant and determined to acquire the skill. Leora promotes the approach of using the Internet to learn how to knit.

“One of the best methods of teaching may be showing a YouTube video where someone else teaches you how to knit. That was how I learned to crochet,” remarks Haber.
Julia, Leora, and about fifteen others were able to create about 50 items this fall, consisting of hats, scarves, and fingerless gloves. They decided to donate their creations to Cradles for Crayons, an organization dedicated to helping deserving children feel safe and warm by providing them with essentials such as clothing and schools supplies. The girls and a few other members of their knitting team had the opportunity to volunteer for an hour and a half at the Cradles to Crayons warehouse while they were donating their knitted clothing.

At the warehouse, the group picked up orders of winter coats and shoes for children in need. The group then chose from the clothing at the warehouse, creating bags for the children. Even though there were so many clothes at the warehouse, they did not have enough hats, scarves, boots, or winter coats.

“It was humbling to see how much more is needed by organizations like this, and it made me want to continue the project even more,” remarks Olivieri. Leora Haber reflects on her experience at the warehouse. “Cradles to Crayons was heartbreaking. The first thing I became aware of when we visited was how comparatively little we were able to produce. Once we started filling up the bags with what the kids needed, it became apparent that there was not nearly enough to go around. They had enough general clothing, but it was agonizing to reach for a pair of winter boots and realize that your kid would have to go through the winter in Converse instead. The same goes for winter jackets.

Involvement with Leora and Julia’s project has even reached beyond the Harriton community. Junior Aliyah Nissim rallied a group of her friends from camp to knit for the worthy cause. The girls eagerly plan to resume their knitting project after midterm exams. They hope for their project to continue for years to come as they are looking for a junior to take the lead.
Julia and Leora’s project is a great demonstration of how you can put your creative talents to good use. It does not take much to make a difference in your community; all you need is dedication and support.

Science encompasses everything there is to know about anything, and in this sense, it is barely an exaggeration. Every motion we make can be explained by science. For example, this article would not be able to be written if not for my brain being able to signal to my hands which keys to type and when and the computer being able to process inputs from the keyboard.

Other subjects, though interesting, lack a similarly applicable aspect that science possesses. Though knowing vast amounts of history will help you become a more well-rounded and knowledgeable person, it will rarely have any practical application.

A superb knowledge of literature serves a similar purpose, though the writing skills garnered in that environment is key to success in any field. These are necessary parts of our education, yet ones that will never be quite as exciting, since they also lack the continual change that the field of science undergoes.

While we can say that history is always growing in length, which is true, these changes are little in comparison to some fields of science, which are completely revolutionized every few decades. A century ago, history classes were probably taught in a similar way to how they were now and covered similar material, except without the entire 20th century.

In earlier science classes, well lets say things were rather primitive. The information being taught has been proven wrong in some cases, such as previous atomic theories, and much of physics had yet to be fully discovered. Many of the experiments that we now conduct with ease in our classes were being conducted for the first time, just years before these classes, and were far from being standard enough to be taught in classes.

With such great research being conducted in our present day, there is a plethora of research opportunities available with advancements being made nearly every day in many fields. And those fields themselves are expanding, a few decades ago we wouldn’t have dreamed of the current generation of consumer electronics. Now we’re working on incredible nanotechnology, with applications in neuroscience and the consumer market.

This all brings us down to the one question we can not really answer: Why do we enjoy science? One could say its because in a way it is completely limitless. It begs for innovation, for development off of past ideas and the creation of brand new ones, for the need to make everything as small and powerful as possible, for the need to improve the world, one step at a time.

Anthony Gonzalez’s strong vocal performance makes this album a big departure from the band’s last album, “Saturdays = Youth.” Unlike in previous albums, when Gonzalez would bring in outsiders to handle the vocal duties, Gonzalez has finally become comfortable with his own voice, allowing himself to powerfully articulate the lyrics he’s been attempting to express for the past decade.

“Intro,” the cleverly titled introductory track to M83’s first double-album, features Zola Jesus assisting Gonzalez in vocal duties. But it’s Gonzalez who takes the helm and powers through.

“Midnight City,” arguably one of the best singles of the year, features what may be the only tasteful saxophone solo in modern pop music. The standout line “The city is my church!” propels the song into a blissful explosion of synth-led empowerment, eventually fading out to make way for “Reunion.”

The fifth track, “Wait,” offers refuge from the album’s loud, energy-draining tracks through the use of a quiet acoustic guitar. It slowly builds up to become one of the most emotionally charged tracks on the album.

What follows “Wait” may be one of the more amusing tracks. “Raconte-Moi Une Histoire,” which is French for “Tell Me A Story,” features a five-year-old girl telling a story about magic frogs.

“My Tears Are Becoming a Sea” warily introduces the listener to the second half of the album, but suddenly transitions into a sudden euphoric burst. The song eventually fades out to make way for “New Map.” Powered by rapid drum fills and bass, it ultimately ends with baritone sax and flute.

“Steve McQueen,” another standout single, propels the user into a sonic boom, driven by energetic drumming. Moments of silence are spliced into the track in multiple places, quickly alleviating the intensity created just seconds before.

“Outro,” the final track on this mammoth double-album, demands respect. All told, M83’s “Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming” is an epic soundscape that defines the year.