Recently, I’ve been experimenting with background movies. The idea is fairly self-explanatory — a movie played in the background of a party, social gathering or just when sitting around alone, crying. The movie isn’t intended to be watched; in fact, the point is to not watch it. Of course, the ...
“F*** it up, Boston!” The crowd erupted into a cheering and screaming frenzy surrounded by the chaotic blasting of white lasers as 23-year-old Australian pop star Troye Sivan leaped across the stage in preparation for his next song. Sure enough, Boston lived up to Sivan's expectations in the ...
Boston has a large contingent of Italian immigrants dating back to the late 1800s, and the cultural footprint of Italians in Boston is still quite strong. In the North End, Italian restaurants line the narrow streets, with city-dwellers and tourists alike looking for their favorite eats. It is only ...
Harvard University's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts is currently showing "Time is Now: Photography and Social Change in James Baldwin's America," a multi-artist photography exhibit running through Dec. 30. The exhibition highlights facets of African-American life in the north ...
Only four episodes into its third season, "The Good Place" (2016–) already feels back in form. Despite the setting change to Earth, the gang of Chidi, Eleanor, Jason and Tahani all seem to be their normal, albeit idiosyncratic, selves. Our protagonists have a number of short-term and long-term ...
After a successful first edition last October, the Boston Art Book Fair (BABF) is back in full force, with numerous events spanning the course of this weekend. The BABF promises to attract visitors of all ages and artistic backgrounds with fine art, radical design, independent artists and galleries, ...
Contemporary artists know no boundaries among mediums. In their hands, paintings become sculptures, and ordinary objects become art. Indeed, not even the more artisan-oriented medium of textile has escaped being stretched beyond its conventional materials. The current tapestry exhibition at the Isabella ...
Just as the rise of a superhero begets the appearance of a supervillain, the surplus of superhero films in today’s cinema will no doubt spawn supervillain films in the near future. Sony Pictures' “Venom” has attempted to kickstart this villainous takeover, telling the story of the titular, ...
Zachary Hertz (ZH): Given recent political events, we’ve chosen Paramore’s “RIOT!” (2007) this week, starring Evgeni Dobranov, a serial tennis player with a mild interest in computer science whose love for “Misery Business” constantly prevents other people from using the shower. We have ...
Content warning: This article discusses alcohol abuse, drug abuse and suicide.In a scene from “A Star Is Born,” Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) invites love interest and up-and-coming singer-songwriter Ally Campana (Lady Gaga) on stage at a concert to perform “Shallow,” a song Ally had just ...
Among certain segments of the hipster community, there has arisen a consensus that the world actually ended sometime in the '60s, and that the three subsequent generations have just been milling about the wreckage waiting for the other shoe to drop. In 1967, the undulating protoplasm of capitalism ...
"Colette," starring Keira Knightley as Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954), follows the French novelist and actress whose husband took credit for her work for years until she asserted herself as a writer and began to publish under her own name, famously taking up a string of female lovers along the way. The movie follows Colette from her marriage through her first publications, showing Colette's early years of slowly coming into her own as a writer and socialite from under the thumb of her husband.
Atlanta rapper Young Thug, born Jeffery Lamar Williams, is one of the most intriguing figures in hip-hop, representing a dichotomy of classic hip-hop appeal and the avant-garde. Young Thug’s eccentric vocals and lyrics combined with his unique, often androgynous personal style have made him ...
It was a typical Tuesday evening at Thunder Road, one of Somerville's premier music clubs. Rain fell through the chilly air of autumn's evening darkness. Located right off Somerville Avenue, the venue is simple enough: exposed brick interior, advertisements plastered on the walls for its famous ...
I’ve only watched one new movie since starting college. That's the beginning of an incredibly asinine anecdote, but allow me to muse on my earlier statement.Those of you who are long-time readers will remember my first column, from a whole three weeks ago, in which I talked about the sentimentality ...
A church just a six-minute-walk from Carmichael Hall harbors passageways into alternative worlds. One of the Somerville Toy Camera Festival venues, the Nave Gallery, located in the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, opened to the public from Sept. 8–30 with sentimental photographs testifying to ...
Former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood released her sixth studio album,"Cry Pretty" (2018), on Sept. 14. This release follows Underwood’s previous effort, "Storyteller" (2015). "Cry Pretty" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making her the first woman to have ...
Zachary Hertz (ZH): For our Homecoming installment, we have esteemed alumnus Juan Castañeda (LA '18), who can be found asking Siri to download Grubhub every weekend. Our sticks are from Pinky’s, a local restaurant with somewhat of a reputation: Its owner was sentenced on federal tax charges ...
Pop icons come and go — their domination of the music industry is usually marked by a few hit singles, successful tours and then a Las Vegas residency (just look at Lady Gaga). Many stars follow this formula, but rarely do they ever match their peak success later in their career — other than Céline ...
You’ve been working at the deli for three years now. The pay is garbage, but the hours are decent. An older man comes up to the counter and puts in his order. “No problem,” you reply. Suddenly, disgust. A snarl erupts across the man’s face. He begins to berate you for your poor manners. You ...
