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Punk rock as a genre has always been anti–establishment, with many songs offering commentary on political and social issues. However, bands of the '80s and '90s would never be able to produce some of the offensive songs they did in the political climate of today.
These days, seeing a movie can be expensive. The average price of movie theater tickets in the U.S. hit an all time high last year, and the costs of DVDs, subscription services, and on–demand movies on platforms like YouTube can add up. Even for the film lovers who avoid costs using less legal means, in today’s busy world, there’s still the time commitment of sitting down to watch.
The Great British Bake Off, a BAFTA Award–winning television series, exemplifies the best of what reality television has to offer: sweets, critiques, and layers of British humor. The UK show has propelled 24 different international spin–offs, along with similarly structured series such as The Great Pottery Throw Down and The Great British Sewing Bee.
On Valentine's Day, Frank Ocean released a gorgeous cover of "Moon River," as made famous by Audrey Hepburn in the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s and, boy, did it floor me. Not only was it a highly creative and interesting spin on a classic, but it definitely has taken on a form totally outside of the context of the original—a crucial piece of criteria for a good cover. Frank’s version was so good that it inspired this series, “Under the Covers," where each week I will review three covers and give a verdict on whether I prefer the original or the cover. So without further ado ...
She's been described as a cross between Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Courtney Marie Andrews. Record–producer and musician Ryan Adams heard one of her original songs and then invited her to produce a 7–inch at his studio the next day. She's about to open up for Bon Iver in London, and has played with legendary bands like the Violent Femmes and The War On Drugs. Everyone, it's Phoebe Bridgers.
Destiny Frasqueri, better known as Princess Nokia, is not your average new–school New York rapper. Nokia is unique not only for her ascendancy in a music genre dominated by men but for her powerful projections of feminism. Princess Nokia came from a difficult background, but has used her past experiences to empower the young women in her fanbase and encourage independence and strength—while also making some great music, of course. Frasqueri lost her mother at age three to AIDS and was placed in a foster home for seven years after that, where she was frequently abused by her foster mother. At age 16, she ran away from the foster home, with, as she puts it, “three dollars in my pocket and 75% on my cell phone battery.” Over time, Nokia honed her hip—hop talent while also developing an attitude of strength through independence, an attitude that has become one of her signature traits as an artist. Princess Nokia also identifies as bisexual, and the early part of her hip—hop career gained traction through performances at queer nightclubs. Needless to say, Princess Nokia has overcome a lot of hurdles to get to the point where she is now, and her autonomous nature and constant determination indicate that she’s not complacent with her place in the rap game today.
Stained glass is beautiful, I think, and it’s one of the reasons I feel nostalgic about the church. Dimmed artificial lights warmed the sanctuary. It used to be candles, which I preferred, but somewhere along the way someone decided they were too dangerous. The sour touch of citrus would be in the air—from orange rolls, of course. We’d go to church because my mother needed us to. I remember nothing about what the pastors would say as it was exceptionally boring. But I remember I was full. Full like the moment after you pray and a sense of okayness spills in and and you’re full. That was when I still believed in God.
When the 2018 Oscar nominations were announced at the end of January, Greta Gerwig made history by becoming the fifth woman to ever be nominated for Best Director. She received the nomination for her 2017 coming–of–age film Ladybird, which is nominated for four other Oscars, including Best Screenplay (also written by Gerwig).
New York City is known for many things—great pizza, glittering skyscrapers, sidewalks crowded with fast–talking business people—but the warmth and friendliness of its residents rarely make the cut. To outsiders, it seems that everyone is always in a rush in New York. They are notoriously pushy, adhering to a code of necessary rudeness to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Out–of–towners tend to remark that New York may be a wonderful place to visit, but a difficult place to call home. Movies and television shows that are filmed in New York often do a good job contrasting the pace of the city with the lives of those who inhabit it. New York serves as a backdrop in HBO’s series High Maintenance, which tells the stories of its ordinary people and the way they interact with each other, as well as with the city that they share.
The 2018 Winter Olympics are almost over, and it's been a hell of a ride.
18–year–old London–based R&B singer Cole Basta, aka Col3trane, has made significant waves following the release of his debut project Tsarina in late 2017. I was highly intrigued by what was hailed by Pigeons and Planes and Complex as an artist to watch in 2018 and by some articles comparing his unique approach to pop music to (our lord and savior) Frank Ocean.
The room—loud with music and reeking of beer—was bright enough for Holly Li (W ‘18) to realize that almost all of the mostly–white fraternity brothers had brought dates who were Asian. It was a little after midnight, and she had just arrived at the on–campus fraternity’s house after a date night. She noticed there was a similar concentration of Asian women at past fraternity functions—by her count at least a third of the dates were always Asian women. As her date left to join the crowd circling the beer pong tables, Holly sank into the upholstery of a dingy couch. One fraternity brother sat down next to her.
When I was applying for housing last summer as an incoming freshman, I was set on one thing only: living in a single. Whether it be in the Quad, Hill, or any of the other freshman housing options, my main goal was to eat, sleep, and live alone. I witnessed classmates who I hadn’t yet met in real life scrambling for roommates on Facebook, while others chose to “go random” to let fate decide.
Black Panther was everything I ever needed. Aside from simply being a beautiful movie with dynamic characters, a perfect soundtrack, and an accompanying Kendrick album, it’s a cultural watershed for the black community. Even now, as I embark on writing this piece, I’m struggling to calm the flood of emotion rising up in my chest. Thinking about it and how it was such a monumental achievement for black people, especially black people in America, is a wave of awareness I’m unfamiliar with. I worry I may never be able to fully express the experience of being black while watching Black Panther. This movie felt like it was for me. The people on the screen looked like me, and they each represented the strength and beauty of blackness in ways I’ve never seen portrayed on the big screen.
I don’t really care for country music. That’s not to say every country artist is terrible, though—far from it. There are definitely some standouts for me in the genre: Carrie Underwood, old Taylor, and, if you’re driving on a hot day with the windows down, perhaps even Florida Georgia Line.
The ease of online communication in our increasingly digital world is generally presented as a curse just as often as it is as a blessing. There is a sense that diving too deep into an online presence detaches us from reality and dulls our ability to communicate face to face. This is certainly a product of the convenience of expression that the internet offers, where the screen serves as a buffer between an individual and the world. On the other hand, social media has proven to be a platform for a kind of emotional honesty, serving to communicate condensed, snappy versions of everyday struggles for the world to like and retweet. Empathizing with these bite–sized pieces of the human condition is comforting—it’s nice to know that you are understood. However, the effect of these glimmers of connection are short lived, and their content is often shallow. There are far more meaningful ways of connecting to universal emotional experiences—and one of those is film.
If you look at any major U.S. music festival, chances are the lineup looks pretty much the same as any other. There is some diversity among the smaller acts, but the headliners this summer are all some variation of Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and The Killers. Even looking at the smaller acts, it's extremely likely that if an artist is performing at one festival, they are also performing at another one.
Solutions by The State News