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(04/13/22 6:00pm)
There's no question that Black female rappers receive more criticism than male rappers of any race. Since the explosion of hip–hop and R&B in the 1980s, male artists and white male executives have dominated this sector of the music industry, leaving Black women as the underdogs of the rap scene. The student response to Alabama–based rapper Flo Milli as a headliner for Penn’s 2022 Spring Fling is a harsh reminder that there is much progress to be made in tackling colorism and misogyny in the rap industry.
(04/04/22 9:00pm)
When I watched clips of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings, I first took note of her calm way of responding to the Republican senators’ tricky questioning, a familiar experience for Black women dealing with white peers or superiors. And like many other Black women, I also took note of her hair.
(04/05/22 1:44pm)
The rumors are true: It's officially Short King Spring. While men often flaunt or even lie about tall heights on dating apps and women who are attracted to men generally regard height as an important factor in their relationship decisions, a new trend—celebrating shorter men—might be changing the dating scene.
(03/22/22 1:14am)
College students can’t live without music. We require our daily fix of euphoria–filled pop or somber, nostalgic folk for densely packed parties or late–night study sessions, and most of our music consumption is dominated by huge platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
(03/21/22 5:00pm)
Care takes many forms. Parents can showcase the most public displays of care, from helping babies take their first steps to encouraging their kids to succeed in school. But young people also perform unseen care work when looking after older relatives or younger siblings. College students create formal and informal networks of care to cope with the pressures of university life and look out for one another. Regardless of what it looks like, care is an important source of joy and a valuable form of human connection.
(03/22/22 2:24pm)
Inspired by primal scream theory, Tears for Fears has always stood for engaging with negative emotions rather than repressing them. Their ‘80s hit songs like “Everybody Wants To Rule The World,” “Shout,” and “Mad World” are characterized with by the upbeat synths and percussion of the decade, juxtaposed with heavy lyrics discussing childhood trauma, war, and social movements of the time. Now, after an acrimonious breakup, various personal hardships, and almost two decades, the English duo has re–emerged with a new perspective and an album to accompany it, The Tipping Point.
(04/14/22 2:00pm)
Easy to make but hard to master, pop–punk has its fair share of vocal critics for being overly generic and juvenile. Avril Lavigne is one of few artists who not only knows the genre’s ins and outs but also has the ability to craft undeniable hits without sacrificing artistic integrity. In her prime, Lavigne was cranking out chart–toppers like “Girlfriend” and “Complicated,” songs that are as catchy as they are relatable. Like her pop contemporaries though, Lavigne eventually drifted away from the sound of her early years. Christina Aguilera found a home in Spanish music on La Fuerza, Nelly Furtado transitioned to indie pop on The Ride, and Lavigne herself tried her hand at more stripped back production on Head Above Water. However, in the wake of pop–punk's surge, Lavigne is going back to her roots. Twenty years later, she makes a return to the realm of teen angst and rebellion on Love Sux, though without the boldness or fearlessness we would typically expect from the artist.
(04/13/22 2:00pm)
The words “best tour ever” are a lot to toss about, especially in the post–COVID–19 pandemic age, but Aminé made those words worth their weight. On March 1, he brought his show, “The Best Tour Ever Tour,” to Philadelphia, performing at The Fillmore alongside openers 454 and Cochise. During his time on a hometown–inspired stage, he brought a lively and colorful energy to the crowd that came perfectly near spring break.
(03/14/22 5:00pm)
Ukrainian culture, specifically its music, has been a target of Soviet oppression for practically a century. As early as the 1930s, Stalin attempted to eradicate any semblance of state–building aspirations or a Ukrainian national culture. This included a massacre of the kobzari, the itinerant, bandura–playing musicians who were mainstays of Ukraine’s unique and vibrant folk tradition. The Soviet Union went so far as to mandate the registration of musical instruments and ban nomadic musical performances.
(03/14/22 5:24am)
When I meet Indigo De Souza for the first time through the lens of a brief but meaningful Zoom session, she lounges in a desk chair in her drummer’s house. In the room behind her sit piles of cardboard boxes, presumably filled with essentials for her upcoming tour. A week away from the start of a string of dates with indie rock princess Lucy Dacus, De Souza reflects on her childhood, the music that raised her, and the anxious excitement of life on the road.
(02/28/22 8:00pm)
Since their 2006 self–titled debut, Baltimore duo Beach House has gained significant influence as an indie band, while always relying on the same mesmerizing vocals, synths, and distorted acoustics to create their distinct dream–pop sound. Given that, plus the fact that “nobody has any attention span” according to band member Alex Scally, Beach House worried an 18–song album released in four chapters would be far too much. But on their new sprawling and abundant record Once Twice Melody, every song has its place. The double LP is a blend of all of the band’s previous work, combining the drama of Teen Dream and Bloom, the dark edge of Depression Cherry, and the heaviness of 7. The album welcomes the listener into another world that transcends time and etherealizes the mundane. The 84–minute journey into the cosmos acts as a protest against rushing through life in a linear fashion by creating an introspective and surprisingly intimate experience.
(02/28/22 7:07pm)
A lunch period has just ended at a school in Philadelphia, and students pour into class. The room is full of sweaty children, but the other things you would expect from a classroom seem limited: the shelves lay relatively bare, chipped walls surround a muggy environment, and the ceiling is leaking.
(03/24/22 7:00pm)
The moment the backdrop showed the title card, “Dua Lipa Presents: Future Nostalgia in Stereocolor,” the audience at the Wells Fargo Center screamed in anticipation. The familiar synth intro of “Physical” began to loop, backed by a live band, as dancers came on the stage one by one. Then the lights turned on, with Dua Lipa at the center spotlight, decked out in a neon bodysuit. At that moment, the crowd went wild. Everyone stood up and jumped with pumped fists, and they wouldn’t be sitting down for the next hour and a half.
(03/14/22 3:00pm)
One line in a $30 million federal aid package for addiction treatment centers has wreaked havoc on conservative mass media. The outrage stems from a Fox News article that alleges the $30 million package approved by the Biden administration is funding distributions of glass pipes used to smoke crack cocaine. In reality, the package includes funding for rehabilitation centers and various treatment programs across the country. The specific line the article refers to includes funding for safe smoking kits that minimize the risk of disease transmission for drug users, which often contain sterile drug paraphernalia like glass pipes.
(02/28/22 10:00pm)
Penn has a storied history of activism on its campus—one that often sought to tackle major social issues extending far beyond the University grounds. In the late 1960s, for instance, students successfully shut down recruitment events by Dow Chemicals during the Vietnam War and led high–profile teach–ins and protests. For decades, students rallied for racial justice in university education with activists like Cathy Barlow (C, W ‘71, L ‘76) leading students to a sit–in at College Hall that led to the creation of the Afro–American Studies program and DuBois College House. Kate Lam (C ’92)and other Asian American organizers spearheaded a six–year campaign in the '90s to demand a program in Asian American Studies.
(02/21/22 8:00pm)
Brooklyn–based indie–folk band Big Thief is nothing short of magical. Their music gives us space to feel and to love, with no questions of whys or hows. On Feb. 11, they released their fifth album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, which is dedicated to all feelings and to all love. The record's lengthy title is the response to a question asked by lead singer and guitarist Adrianne Lenker on “anything,” from her 2020 solo record, Songs: “Dragon in the new warm mountain / Didn’t you believe in me?” This twenty–track album features everything but the kitchen sink in the best way possible. With a chaotic combination of humor and heartbreak, Big Thief explores the natural highs and lows of emotional transparency.
(03/24/22 3:00pm)
Since taking off in 2019 with a pair of intriguing singles, Black Country, New Road entered around the turn of the decade as one of the most promising outfits in rock music. The English post–rock group debuted with the intense and experimental For The First Time in 2021, which pleased fans and critics alike. Despite an unexpected change that will drastically alter the band’s future, lead singer Isaac Wood and company have continued the band’s trajectory beautifully with Ants From Up There, a soaring album of thunderous solace.
(02/21/22 5:25am)
Honesty is the best policy, as the old adage goes. For Mitski Miyawaki, honesty is the only policy.
(02/27/22 10:18pm)
Recently, the music industry has been consumed by controversy, from streaming services to the ownership of music from artists' catalogs. Artists have been extremely vocal on this topic, rushing to each others' defense and sometimes talking over one another just to be a part of the conversation. But what do these musicians have to say about the voice of music itself—is it possible to own language?
(02/15/22 6:57pm)
While Valentine’s Day is often associated with romance and roses, friendships can be some of the strongest connections often excluded from the celebrations. Instead, with this year’s Valentine’s Day playlist, I hoped to focus on philia, the love between friends.
