Arts Blog Front Feature
Career Overview: Niall Horan
How has Horan emerged as the frontrunner among his post-hiatus bandmates? The answer is that he knows his niche, and he knows it well.
Top Five Hole Covers
While Hole is best enjoyed through their original songs, their covers highlight the band’s special style and their respect for other musicians.
‘Just Chips Dot Com’—the Podcast, not the Website, is a Crunching Good Time
When I was listening to this on speaker, my sister said she thought that I was on the phone with two really loud friends. I think that about sums up the experience of listening to “Just Chips Dot Com.”
Unpopular Opinion: It’s Not Country, You’re Just Classist
At the end of the day, we need to reevaluate the way we interact with country music. It’s not just a bland, uniform medium for rednecks. If you treat it as such, you’re probably classist.
Miss the Olympics? Try Marble Racing.
The 2018 Winter Olympics may be over, but marble racing goes on year-round.
Top Five Chart-Toppers from ‘Teenage Dream’
It’s important that we take a step back to acknowledge that, just half a decade ago, Katy was delivering Billboard #1’s left and right.
'Kingdom Come: Deliverance' is a Somber, Realistic Medieval RPG
If you like open-world RPGs and are looking for one to sink hundreds of hours into, this should be your next purchase.
What the Hell Happened: Kardashian Baby Explosion
Three Kardashian pregnancy announcements within six months is unprecedented and—by my very reliable, AP Stat-backed calculations—highly improbable.
‘Seven Seconds’: A Promising, Timely Drama
The premise of the show is heavy and immediately intriguing, and succeeds in generating quick interest. However, the absence of gravity in the show’s plot raises doubts as to whether or not the show’s creators are able to do justice to its sensitive nature.
Obama Portraits Ask: Where Are You Coming From? And Where Do You Want to Go?
In one word, the Obama portraits are: cool.
Top 5 Disney Musicals
With Spring Break coming up faster than those too-old chocolates from Valentine’s Day, you’re sure to be clocking in some quality couch time. What better to get you relaxed and ready for vacation than some lighthearted, nostalgic Disney classics?
Music Video Breakdown: ‘Make Me Feel’ by Janelle Monáe
In “Make Me Feel,” Janelle Monáe has created something feel-good, and watchable, and incredibly fun to watch.
Career Overview: Fleetwood Mac
Despite its release dating back 40-ish years, “Rumours” manages to sound new with every listen, its lyricism idiosyncratic enough to eschew cliché, yet general and humanly true enough to be universal. It’s a voyeuristic look at the heart of Fleetwood Mac, the story of their numerous entanglements: a fortuitous and complicated meeting of musical styles and love stories.
Woke Queen: Feminist Theory in Jessie J’s Lyrics
When Jessie J sings about her “dick,” she is calling for a restructuring of phallic inheritance in service of women’s liberation. Does it get more woke than that?
This Year in Pop Culture: 1985
As Passion Pit would say, 1985 was a good year—for pop culture, that is.
5 Upcoming TV Shows to Get Excited About
The glut of new shows that January and February bring each year has passed, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still new shows being released.
Music Video Breakdown: 'God's Plan' by Drake
Over the course of the video, Drake saunters through the streets of Miami, brightening the days of unsuspecting community members with donations—groceries, scholarships, cars, literal stacks of cash.
Music Video Breakdown: 'All the Stars' by Kendrick Lamar and SZA
The music video for Lamar and R&B goddess SZA’s “All the Stars,” the pair’s single from the recent “Black Panther” soundtrack, is visually stunning and mysterious. One would expect nothing less from a creative team that includes Lamar, SZA, and director Dave Meyers.
'Endless Thread' is NPR's Guide to Reddit
In his new podcast “Endless Thread,” host Ben Brock Johnson of WBUR, Boston’s NPR news station, dives into the vast expanse that is Reddit and picks out some of its hidden gems. With producer Amory Sivertson, Johnson tells the public some of the entertaining stories that inhabit random corners deep within the bowels of Reddit. The stories chosen by this duo are wildly unique, surprising, and often touch upon issues deeper than one might initially think.
'Alto's Odyssey' Launches Genre to New Heights
“Alto’s Odyssey” succeeds with such beauty and grace, one forgets that what one is playing is “just” an endless runner, “just” a game for a phone or tablet. “Alto’s Odyssey” isn’t just the best of its genre—it’s better than its genre.
West Cork: A True Murder Mystery
“West Cork” is a podcast released by Audible, Amazon’s e-book and podcast distributor, in which Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey delve into the murder of Sophie Tuscan du Plantier, which took place in 1996 and remains unsolved. Within the first five episodes, this true-crime series paints a complex picture of a quiet town shaken by a violent act. It investigates a murder which, despite being more than 20 years in the past, represents a real source of fear and even danger for the residents of this Irish town.
Music Video Breakdown: 'IDGAF' and Consumerism
Hidden behind Dua’s icy demeanor is a level of incisive commentary producible only by a young firebrand—an Albanian Karl Marx adorned with a single diamond earring.
Everything Sucks!’: Any Fans of the ‘90s?
The nerdy high school freshman kids in audiovisual (A/V) club, the theme of unrequited love, and introverts stepping out of their comfort zones could be in any ‘90s, coming-of-age movie or TV show, and “Everything Sucks!” is no exception. But the Netflix original takes all of these familiar tropes and exaggerates them to comedic effect, altering them to sidestep expectations.
‘Queer Eye’ Reminds Us That Love Is Universal
While the producers of “Queer Eye” stated that the show’s purpose is “to turn Red States pink”, the show accomplishes far more than that. The show emphasizes our commonality and reaffirms that, despite the divisions of today, we are all human.
Music Video Breakdown: 'Supplies' by Justin Timberlake
As J.T.’s attempts at political activism play out on screen, it becomes clear that he has taken on too much too fast too soon. This attempt to tackle Trump, #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, gun violence, and anti-Muslim discrimination in one four-minute music video is not tasteful.