Following critical praise for his complex portrayal of Jesse Pinkman on the acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Aaron Paul now has his first major lead with the upcoming film Need for Speed. The Daily recently participated in a roundtable interview with Paul, in which he discussed the pressure that comes with headlining a movie, classic car films and what the future may bring.
Adam Wilson (LA '04) has garnered enough critical acclaim and literary merit over the past two years to turn more than a few heads. A regular contributor to The Paris Review and a finalist for the National Jewish Book award, he has had work published in Tin House, Meridian and "The Best American Short Stories 2012" - to name only some of his many accolades.The writer and Tufts alumnus has published two books. His debut novel, the tragicomic "Flatscreen" (2012), chronicles the life of Eli Schwartz, a lackluster high school graduate navigating suburban malaise, drug-addled entropy and the loss of authentic identity in the cultural fallout of the modern entertainment industry. His most recent publication, the short story collection "What's Important Is Feeling," has just been released in bookstores. On writingSurprisingly, writing wasn't Wilson's first career choice."Mostly, I wanted to be a baseball player," he said. "But that dream ended at age 12. Then I wanted to be a rock star, but then that sort of petered out." He concluded that writing, "honestly, was the only thing I was any good at."Written over a 10-year span, several of the stories in "What's Important Is Feeling" were written during the same period as "Flatscreen." When asked if he subscribed to some ritualized method to guarantee productivity - something several writers claim to do - Wilson said he didn't follow any particular regime. Commenting on a writer's ethic more broadly, he claimed a simpler tactic."You've got to be somebody who's willing to wake up every morning and write," he said. "You have to be able to finish something. And that takes incredible amounts of work." He speculated that having the motivation to write over such an extended period of time - or having the motivation to write at all, for that matter - requires a particular disposition."You have to have an incredible amount of narcissism," he said. "You have to be able to tell yourself, 'These characters are so important [that] the rest of the world needs to know about them.'" This, he says, is coupled with deep self-loathing and a brutal inner-critic (and, of course, plenty of coffee).It's not difficult to imagine this as Wilson's modus operandi. Many of his protagonists tend to be hapless individuals: laid-off investment bankers wandering New York, two OxyContin addicts attempting to spice up their sex lives with a live lobster, a bandleader-turned-corporate-sellout reminiscing over his twisted first love. They are people who subsist on the fringe of society, oscillating between self-loathing and the need to carry on with life. What's remarkable then is Wilson's ability to make the drab, noxious minutia of these people's lives so incredibly humorous. The dark laughs"What's Important Is Feeling" toes the line between comedy and grief, and it is this combination that makes the book so appealing. Wilson has been lauded for his ability to effectively achieve this delicate balance, and it is something that he has a great deal of interest in himself."I'm a big fan of Louis C.K.," he said. "He's constantly playing with the line between what's funny and really sad."The influence is clear: Wilson, who is the recipient of the 2012 Terry Southern Prize for Humor, is constantly conjuring black comedy from the bleakest corners of his characters' lives. Coupled with his rapid-fire prose and forthright tone, the stories are lucid to the point of hilarity, much like the titular story, "What's Important Is Feeling," in which a chiggers-infested movie set is waylaid by its impossibly pompous writer and vexed production crew."The director, Andrew Solstice, had lost interest," Wilson writes. "He spent most of his time trying on cowboy hats, posing in the hair/makeup mirrors, and blowing residue from his finger gun." This is to say nothing of the inimitable confrontation between the writer and the set's animal wrangler, regarding whether the movie's cat can be guaranteed to "smell death" in the climactic final scene.When asked if he thought people undervalued literature's comedic power, Wilson responded that he believes they often do."People underestimate literature's capacity for anything," he said. What is both brilliant and difficult about black comedy is its ambivalence - its ability to remain simultaneously sad and funny. Wilson clearly recognizes that many struggle with this dichotomy."Humorous books often aren't taken as seriously as less funny books are," Wilson said. "This may be part of the great American problem of genre delineation - everyone's very quick to categorize."It's difficult to imagine anybody not finding the book hilarious. Beyond the more sophisticated instances of humor, there are plenty of belly laughs sprinkled throughout the stories. Not least among these are the sexual frustrations of Wilson's characters. When asked if he simply found sexually-frustrated characters more entertaining to write about, Wilson aptly pointed out that nobody cares that much about a lady-killer and that, almost indubitably, bad sex is funnier than good sex.12
"An Enduring Vision: Photographs from the Lane Collection" is an incredible look at variations on a theme as seen through the lenses of some of the past century's greatest and most influential photographers. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) exhibit showcases pieces from the modernist photography collection of a prominent couple in the Boston arts community - William Lane and Saundra Lane (formerly Saundra Baker) - who spent three decades of their lives amassing these photographs. Saundra, who recently donated pieces from her collection to the MFA, expanded her art holdings after her husband's death, and says, in a statement posted on a wall of the exhibit by the museum curators, "the Museum [feels] like an extension of my own home." The room does indeed seem like a home, and the collection itself feels very personal, while still including and engaging viewers.
Everything about Beck Hansen's current position usually signals disaster, or at least disappointment, for a musician. He is just emerging from a six-year absence, after having settled down with all the comforts of happy family life and immense commercial success. Needless to say, the odds were stacked against any kind of creative innovation in the eclectic performer's 12th studio album.
Known for their lo-fi electronic jams and avant-garde fashion sensibilities, Metronomy, an English band hailing from Devon, recently released their fourth studio album, Love Letters. Coming off of the intense critical and commercial success of their third album, 2011s The English Riviera, Love Letters is highly anticipated production. Luckily for the band, this latest album with its highly stylized aesthetic and the unique color scheme featured in promotional materials is a challenging experiment in electronic music that shatters any expectations.
It is rare that a program juvenile enough to elicit headshaking and embarrassing enough to make viewers cringe a program that is lazy to a blatantly noticeable degree can continue to entertain over the many years it has been on the air. Straddling a dangerous zone between all of these categories, Workaholics keeps delivering surprisingly consistent entertainment value and true heart.
Although Pharrell Williams only just blew up on the pop scene in 2013, he is a music industry veteran. He has been leaving his musical mark for many years now, as both a singer and a producer. Blending elements of soul, funk and hip-hop into his vocal and instrumental productions, Pharrell has consistently kept pop sounding fresh and innovative. With producer credits on Justin Timberlakes Justified (2002) and more recently Kendrick Lamars good kid, m.A.A.d city(2012), Pharrell has molded some of the past decades most influential music.
Meryl Streeps Miranda Priestly character in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) has, since the movies release, become an iconic representation of the fashion world. Priestly coolly says in response to an editors suggestion of a spring editorial focusing on florals: Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking. Every designer struggles to find the balance between brightening up post-winter lines with floral accents and actually bringing revolutionary elements to their pieces without being overly avant-garde.
For an artist whose heyday was in the late 1980s, Neneh Cherry has made quite a comeback with her newest album, "Blank Project." One would think that being out of the alternative/electronic/punk music scene for such a long time would put a damper on the brash effectiveness of Cherry's earlier work, but in her latest project she returns with an assertiveness that not only rivals the initial shock value of her 1989 debut, "Raw Like Sushi," but also places her on the forefront of female-driven punk music.
For an artist whose heyday was in the late 1980s, Neneh Cherry has made quite a comeback with her newest album, Blank Project. One would think that being out of the alternative/electronic/punk music scene for such a long time would put a damper on the brash effectiveness of Cherrys earlier work, but in her latest project she returns with an assertiveness that not only rivals the initial shock value of her 1989 debut, Raw Like Sushi, but also places her on the forefront of female-driven punk music.
At the center of ABCs new psychological drama Mind Games is a puzzling contrast: its core premise relies on manipulation of the mind and moral ambiguity, but somehow it still manages to come off as fuzzy and heartwarming. The series showcases the intrinsic darkness of human nature and how it can be twisted through lying, cheating and other illegal practices to help those in need. If these things are done for the good of the underdog, its all okay, right?
Annie Clark, the singer better known as St. Vincent, might have just become the Beyonc? of the art pop genre with her latest eponymous album St. Vincent. Though Clark may never receive even a fraction of the international recognition achieved by the now-legendary Knowles, the comparison is undeniable. Much like the former Destinys Child star, St. Vincent is making music that is fresh and original, fierce and independent. She manages to combine the more lighthearted elements of pop with a barrage of musical influences, which fuse together on one of the most intriguing albums released thus far in 2014. Indeed, with her more recent success, Clark is approaching a level of celebrity status that, within certain circles, could be considered similar to that of Beyonc?s.
You may look, but do not touch, says the dapper man at the door before taking a sip of his drink and ushering a group of audience members into the OBERON a theater and nightclub within the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.). From this point onward in AcousticaElectronica, no matter how close one gets to the performers, no matter how touchy-feely they are with the audience, there is an inescapable sense that everything is happening at a distance. Despite the fact that the performers sometimes weave through the crowded dance floor, the fourth wall is still firmly in place. Nevertheless, AcousticaElectronica is perhaps one of the most immersive theatrical performance events out there.
Annie Clark, the singer better known as St. Vincent, might have just become the Beyonc? of the art pop genre with her latest eponymous album "St. Vincent." Though Clark may never receive even a fraction of the international recognition achieved by the now-legendary Knowles, the comparison is undeniable. Much like the former Destiny's Child star, St. Vincent is making music that is fresh and original, fierce and independent. She manages to combine the more lighthearted elements of pop with a barrage of musical influences, which fuse together on one of the most intriguing albums released thus far in 2014. Indeed, with her more recent success, Clark is approaching a level of celebrity status that, within certain circles, could be considered similar to that of Beyonc?'s.
Television, it seems, is rife with political thrillers of all kinds: from Scandal (2012-present) and Homeland (2011-present) to Netflixs House of Cards (2013-present) and the upcoming Crisis, the genre is clearly in no short supply. These buzzy shows have garnered intense and loyal fans, impressive ratings and frequent critical acclaim (the exception here is Crisis, which doesnt premiere until March 16). But despite the current popularity of the political thriller, FXs superbly crafted The Americans hasnt seemed to be able to capitalize on the trend. To be sure, the spy series, which just recently returned for a second season, is a critical darling and has earned nominations at the Emmys and other smaller awards shows, but it certainly does not pervade the pop culture landscape the way its counterparts do.
For those who cannot quite find the right creative outlet here at Tufts, Boston offers unlimited opportunities for artistic expression. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) is a popular venue, one which senior Mikko Silliman has been visiting every weekend for the past five semesters.
Pen, Paint & Pretzels' spring major production, "How I Learned to Drive," opens tonight in Balch Arena Theater. The show, written by American playwright Paula Vogel, was first performed in 1997 and follows the story of a young girl, introduced to us as Lil' Bit (played by sophomore Tessa Barlow-Ochshorn) through her childhood and adolescence in Maryland.
Pen, Paint & Pretzels spring major production, How I Learned to Drive, opens tonight in Balch Arena Theater. The show, written by American playwright Paula Vogel, was first performed in 1997 and follows the story of a young girl, introduced to us as Lil Bit (played by sophomore Tessa Barlow-Ochshorn) through her childhood and adolescence in Maryland.
For those who cannot quite find the right creative outlet here at Tufts, Boston offers unlimited opportunities for artistic expression. The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) is a popular venue, one which senior Mikko Silliman has been visiting every weekend for the past five semesters.
Lea Michele, once a Broadway prodigy and now the starlet of Glee (2009-present), released her debut album Louder at the end of February. Michele is a well-known actress with a loyal fan base. But the album is of particular note in light of the July 2013 death of her Glee co-star and boyfriend Corey Monteith. After a brief hiatus from the public eye, Michele remerged in spectacular fashion, joining the rest of the Glee cast for the shows fifth season as well as releasing her first record.
