Brace yourselves; the holiday season is upon is, and before you know it, it'll be beating you into submission, regardless of how many papers you've postponed writing until the last minute.
Besides Fall Out Boy, there are few pop-rock bands that consistently stay in the public spotlight long enough to warrant being pulled into the full category of "pop" music; however, Paramore has somehow wedged itself into that narrow position. After the success of the first single, "Misery Business," off Paramore's second album "Riot!" (2007), the band went on to release "CrushCrushCrush" and "That's What You Get," both of which received heavy airplay on MTV and radio. In addition to its media success, the band also spent the majority of two years on the road touring with the record, and has only now released a combination live CD/DVD and documentary about life on the road with Paramore, entitled "The Final Riot!"
"Isolated Incidents," the recently opened exhibition at The Distillery Gallery, is hard to find. Hidden in South Boston inside a nondescript brick building without windows, the show's visitors have to head around back to a small set of stairs to enter. With but a few flimsy brochures for information, before actually seeing any art, the entire show seems questionable.
Vampires have represented sex since ancient folklore, and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series of books perpetuates this vampire-human sex connection, although it is coated with Meyer's conservative message of teen abstinence. The new film based on the series creates a world that original "Twilight" fans and those not yet acquainted with the book can enjoy, despite its many cinematic problems.
Jaffar Mahmood, who was featured in last week's Weekender Interview, knew he wanted to make movies a long time before he even began writing the script for what would become "Shades of Ray," which screened last night in Braker 001. The film was written, directed and produced by Mahmood, and for this Daily reporter, redefined what could be qualified as "Indie" film. The movie is based around the love life of Ray Rehman, a 20-something Tufts Grad living in LA attempting to make it as an actor, and the influence his ethnicity exerts on his romantic choice. Ray's father is Pakistani and his mother is a white Catholic, leading him to question his choice to marry a white woman when another ethnic female "mutt," as he calls it, comes into the picture. While the issues of race are openly addressed throughout the film, the story is, at its most basic level, a romantic comedy of epic proportions. Not only must Ray figure out how he identifies himself, but he must also decide how big a role race can truly play in his love life. Ray is played to perfection by Zachary Levi, best known for his role as Chuck on the NBC show of the same name. To read more, visit the Arts blog, "The Scene," at www.tuftsdaily.com.
To its credit, "Fable II" offers players the unique opportunity to shoot someone with a blunderbuss to steal celery, clothed only in the top-hat looted from the last person who was blunderbussed in the face. Unfortunately, even the creative made-up words can't compensate for a simple lack of entertainment value. Like its predecessor, "Fable II" is a sandbox fantasy game set in the world of Albion. Despite its charming art direction, the game is highly flawed in execution.
Major: Undecided will wrap up its semester on Saturday with two performances of its fall show, "Yes We Canada." According to senior Rachel Chervin, the group's president, the performance includes plenty of colorful characters, including Batman villains and U.N. delegates, complete with intentionally bad accents. This is Major: Undecided's first performance in Cabot, and Chervin hopes the move from Goddard Chapel will create more of a "theater-type setting." Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $3 for the 7:30 performance and $5 for the 9:30 one. Both shows take place in Cabot Auditorium.
Looking for some improv comedy to go with your mime? Cheap Sox and HYPE!, Tufts' own improv and mime troupes, are pairing up again this year for a night of comedy and tragedy in Cohen Auditorium this weekend. The show, CheapHYPE!, presents two seemingly incompatible forms of entertainment in one performance. It is, in fact, a tradition between the two groups. "Cheap Sox is a good partner to HYPE!" said senior Jeff Beers, a member of HYPE! "We have a lot of history — people have often been in both groups simultaneously. We do this annual show because we're friends, and improv and mime make an interesting pair to watch." The first half of the performance will be eight skits presented by HYPE! "A lot of these skits are ‘classic HYPE!'" Beers said. "There's a mix of comedy and tragedy ... but we're also trying a lot of new things; more experimental stuff." The eight skits were conceived, directed and performed by the troupe, and will be seen by an audience for the first time on Sunday. As to the content of the skits, HYPE! prefers to keep details to a minimum. "We usually don't give away too much before the show," junior Rebecca Baumwoll said. "It's part of the fun to decipher what's on stage." Though she didn't spill any details, Baumwoll did insist that the audience is in for a major surprise. "Our show has a finale that breaks convention in a really big way, and we've never done it before, but we decided to step outside of the box," she said. "We're breaking our own rules, but it's going to be pretty mind-blowing." The second half of the evening will feature unscripted comedy by Tufts' improv troupe, Cheap Sox, with laughs directed at group members as well as brave audience participants. CheapHYPE! may be a tradition for established members of the two groups, but it will be four new members' first big production with their respective troupes. "This annual show is sort of a rite of passage for our new members," Beers said. CheapHYPE! plays one night only, this Sunday, at 8 p.m. in Cohen Auditorium. Admission is free.
A name foreign to most, Mudvayne has been rocking the modern world for over 10 years, a surprisingly long life span for any group in today's fickle music scene. The group's latest release, entitled "The New Game," is another move toward the more melodic, classically rock 'n' roll styles that the band grew up listening to.
Sensory overload is a routine fact of life; sometimes there is just too much to look at in too little time, or the message of a piece is overpowered by theatrics. But Paul Chan manages to frame complex philosophical metaphors and political activism in the guise of animation, film and projections. In the Carpenter Center's display of Chan's "Three Easy Pieces," the artist explores both the philosophical and historical worlds in just three works. It is a mind-bending journey, mixing subtle and obvious cues that force the viewers to examine their personal perceptions of the contemporary world.
The fast approach of finals combined with Brown and Brew's limited hours have left many students searching for an alternate cozy, caffeinated study spot. Though Tisch gives students a nearby locale to conquer heaps of work, there comes a time in almost every Jumbo's study schedule when fluorescent lights start to strain the eyes, insta-chai packets at Tower Café no longer satisfy, and that pesky voice before closing makes everyone too grumpy for the late-night reading-room crowd. Cafés provide a welcome change of atmosphere with low lights and drinks with actual steamed milk. Though nothing will replace the convenience and comfort of our dearly departed weekend Brown and Brew (R.I.P.), there are several attractive options in the Medford/Somerville area.
Unlike other dance shows on campus that tend to draw large crowds at the Cohen Auditorium, the Tufts Dance Program's 25th Anniversary Concert features more intimate, relaxed modern dance pieces by the Tufts Dance Ensemble in the Jackson Dance Lab. "Our program produces more intimate performances of artistic and cultural dance for smaller audiences," said Alice Trexler, associate professor and director of the Tufts dance program. "It's what we like to do and it's how we like to relate to audiences."
One part Tufts acting rehearsal and one part 20th-century theatricality at its best, "Six Characters in Search of an Author," written by Luigi Pirandello, is the perfect blend of Jumbo humor and dramatic intensity. Directed by senior Josh Altman, the 3Ps major fall performance is accessible to both thespians and non-theater-goers alike.
Since the long-awaited vampire romance-thriller "Twilight" comes out this Friday, we thought it proper to search pop culture for other seemingly normal people who were hiding a thirst for human blood. After throwing away all the all-too-obvious ones (Gary Busey, Martha Stewart, Lindsay Lohan) we found some startling results.
Some bands, like The Egg (whom I wrote about last month), succeed despite their boring, off-putting or generally lame names. The band's music transcends its failure at this most basic of marketing/branding ploys, enabling the listener to see that, behind this image lies a band that is worth supporting, dumb name notwithstanding.
In many ways, Packard Hall is a reflection of the university itself. As the second- oldest building on campus, it began rather modestly, but over the last century-and-a-half it has experienced numerous renovations and additions. Today, it is a diverse mix of architectural styles and will house the political science department when current renovations are completed.
This column may have led you to guess that there are quite a few things in pop culture that bother me. Unfortunately, not all of those topics can support a whole column, nor would I wish to attempt to have them do so. So, before the semester comes to a close, let me take this time to just go on a few small rants on things that deserve a moratorium.
The on-campus dance group Spirit of Color (SoC) certainly has a reputation for pleasing audiences with its unique, high-energy performances. With contemporary music and hip-hop dance style, the group maintains a level of professionalism without sacrificing the interactive element that draws many Tufts students to their shows.
In Connor McPherson's captivating play, "The Seafarer," audience members are pleasantly caught in a dual world of uncontrollable laughter and shudder-inspiring fear.
