Playlists
Review: NIcky Minaj, Pink Friday
I was pretty much destined to have a complicated relationship with Nicki Minaj. On the one hand I just want her to succeed; one, because she is trying to revive the sadly lapsed tradition of fierce female rappers, and two — my more visceral reason — because she, like me, is a woman of Caribbean descent trying to do big things.
Guilty Pleasures: Peter Frampton, “Frampton Comes Alive!”
I wasn’t always ashamed of Frampton Comes Alive! I disowned it only in my mid–adolescent hipster years, after the following words, encountered in a magazine, dealt my innocence a cruel blow: “Frampton Comes Alive! is a fixture of record store bargain bins.” I hadn’t known that five–minute talk–box solos, exclamation–pointed album titles and cover art showing Frampton doing his best impersonation of Christ were not cool.
One Track Mind: “Doncamite,” Gorillaz
If you thought Gorillaz were satisfied with this year’s Plastic Beach, their epic, critically–acclaimed third album, you’d be wrong.
Review: Girl Talk, All Day
All Day is, by its very nature, an extremely difficult album to review. There aren’t really “songs” to highlight, themes to pick up on, lyrics to quote.
Deja Vu: Civetbusters
Where does Larry King belong in relation to Ghostbusters? If you answered that he probably knows the famous spectral exterminators well, having been mistaken as a walking corpse by countless concerned citizens, you would be wrong. Mr. King can thank the civet cat for providing him with the enviable status of being only one degree of separation shy of the 1984 classic. After a nice meal and some r–and–r the night before Thanksgiving, my recently–reunited family settled down for some bonding time.
Review: Black Swan
Black Swan begins with an exhilarating ballet number. The camera circles continuously around Nina (Portman) as she performs Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, a ballet that requires her to adopt the personalities of both the “White Swan” and the “Black Swan.” The cinematography and choreography are breathtaking as the number progresses, slowly spiraling out of control as the dark side increasingly takes over. This tension between the bipolar personalities of Swan Lake’s protagonist drives the film, as Nina embodies the White Swan’s grace and fragility but cannot quite demonstrate the manic intensity required to play the Black Swan.
Review: The Fighter
It’s telling that The Fighter is named as such. A more descriptive title might have been “The Boxer,” but this is not a biopic about boxing.
Interview: Cast Of “The Fighter”
It’s late afternoon on a cloudy day in Los Angeles, and everyone in the press room has a reason to be nervous.
Review: Faster
Faster’s unoriginal and awful title suggests a forgettable experience, and unfortunately the film’s content does nothing to counteract our initial impression.
Carp My Diem
So I’ve never registered for classes during advanced registration before. No, seriously. I’ve always miraculously either slept through advanced registration or procrastinated to the point of Real–Housewives–of–D.C.–reunion–show oblivion, and watched advanced registration period become a blip in the distant past.
Fighting Homelessness Step By Step
[media-credit name=" " align="alignright" width="273"][/media-credit]The front page of the November issue of One Step Away contains a number of accounts about the meaning of Thanksgiving.
Operation!
In 127 Hours, Aron Ralston’s lower arm joins one of the many body parts lost to the world of celluloid.
Review: Matthew Izzo
Kill two birds with one stone at this charming furniture/clothing store hybrid. Shopping at Matthew Izzo is like entering a kitschy, candle-scented Wonderland, with wildly different items from African drums to delicate silver chains tempting your wallet in every direction.
Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I
As is the problem with all book adaptations, the Harry Potter movies struggle between appeasing pedantic super fans and providing enough modification to warrant a cinematic retelling.
Review: 127 Hours
Aron Ralston traveled to a national park in Utah for a typical adventure involving rock climbing and hiking.
Deja Vu: A Very Brady Priceless Artefact
Earlier this week, an ancient horse statue was recovered in Hawaii, barely escaping an attempted theft by an imposter posing as a Mrs. Carol Brady’s deceased husband, who had originally discovered the statue shortly before being murdered under mysterious circumstances. Mrs. Brady was kidnapped from her home in California by said imposter, who had integrated himself into the Brady family, taking the family for shopping trips and gifting Mike Brady’s son, Peter, with a pair of nunchucks. The imposter was discovered by super sleuths and step–siblings Bobby and Cindy Brady, who had recently been given a detective kit. The entire incident is thought to be Jan Brady’s fault. Well, that’s almost how it happened.
Ego Of The Week: Adie Remiker
Street: As chair of Strictly Funk, what exactly do you do? Adie Remiker: Delegate all responsibility to others and let them work their magic. Street: What is your signature dance move? A.R.: Hair Flip… with a body roll… end with a boom–ka. Street: Are you strictly anything else? A.R.: Strictly way too old to be living in the quad. Street: What’s the most underrated thing at Penn?
One Track Mind: “Together Baby,” Ghostface Killah
One of Wu Tang’s most active members in the current music scene, Ghostface Killah shows no sign of slowing down, following up last year’s misguidedly R&B–centered Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City with The Apollo Kids, set for release Dec.
