For Marvel movie viewers who have never read the comics, Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, is probably the least-known and under-appreciated of the superhero clique The Avengers. He had barely any development in “The Avengers” (2012), aside from a few witty lines and some badass arrow-slinging stunts. ...
Located at 11 Bow Street in Union Square, Bloc 11 Cafe is the new spot for rich coffee, scrumptious sandwiches and delectable pastries. To any Tufts student, this place might look eerily familiar. Founded by Tucker Lewis and Jennifer Park, the owners of Davis Square’s beloved Diesel Cafe, Bloc 11 ...
Part autobiography, part dramatic narrative, "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" (2011) is a book that defies genre, expectations and even — for the most part — cynicism.
The New Pornographers have been members of the indie rock scene since 1999, with bragging rights to their now 15-year music career. And after listening to their newest release, "Brill Bruisers," it's easy to see why. Not to say that the band has aged — in fact, just the opposite: they've ...
"Isn't it amazing how life is one thing and then, in an instant, it becomes something else?" asks Mia Hall (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), the teenaged girl at the center of "If I Stay," released in August. When a car crash changes her life and family forever, Mia falls into a coma, hovering near death. While her body lies unconscious, however, Mia has an out-of-body experience, rendering her aware of her surroundings and the aftermath of the accident. Given the pain and trauma that has abruptly transformed her life, Mia has an impossible choice before her. Will she live and deal with pain, loss and grief, or choose death?
School is beginning anew, which means no one wants to waste precious homework or Netflix binge time wading blindly through heaps of sub-par TV trailers. Fortunately, a handful of upcoming premieres stand out among the usual "meh" crime dramas and twenty-something sitcoms that ABC Family flings ...
Tufts theater wants new students to know that it's cool. On Sunday, Aug. 31, and Monday, Sept. 1, incoming freshmen will be able to see two orientation shows: "boom," produced by Pen, Paint, and Pretzels (3Ps), and "Edges," courtesy of Torn Ticket II, the musical theater group ...
Based on the popular novel by Lois Lowry, "The Giver" (2014) hit theaters as one of the summer's final dramas. As the box office figures show, however, it proved an anticlimactic end to the season. Lowry's story received the 1994 Newbery Medal and has been lauded as a provocative young ...
Similar to the plight of the avid moviegoer, the summer can leave a music lover unsatisfied, exhausted and disappointed. With a slew of generic, over-produced pop nuggets dominating every radio and Pandora station, finding new and exciting music seems impossible. Even tracks that are only a few months ...
The Museum of Fine Arts is currently exhibiting She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World," which will run through Jan. 12 and features photographs from 12 prominent Iranian and Arabic female photographers. Throughout the gallery, each woman's photographs provide a unique commentary on the social conditions of her homeland - ranging from observations about women's traditional societal roles to interpretations about the effects of war on everyday life.
The idea of jazz singer Norah Jones and Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong collaborating on a country album is plain bizarre. The smooth crooner and the punk rocker are on opposite ends of the musical spectrum — a fusion of the two would be pure mayhem ... right?With their Nov. 25 record, “Foreverly,” ...
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 show's fifth season as well as releasing her first record.
Despite an ever-increasing infatuation with newer, technologically driven styles of electronic and hip-hop music, more relaxed melody-based music continues to find success among many audiences. Few bands today do a better job of sticking with a classic sound than Real Estate. The band's most recent album, Atlas," is a testament to the group's ability to successfully continue creating the exact same kind of music that characterized their rise to stardom.
Sometimes it is the most convoluted, indecipherable messages that are ultimately able to have strongest impact. This is where Perfect Pussy finds its strength; despite the group's often hard-to-understand lyrics, their music is both powerful and compelling. Their debut album, Say Yes To Love," is a forceful, fiery experience, a 23-minute tirade that seems to be on the verge of going too far without ever actually breaking down. And, it turns out, resting on this edge is satisfying.
If there is one thing that Katy Perry is known for, it's certainly not delicacy. Her latest release, Prism," is a colossal disappointment that can only be seen as a blemish in Perry's career and otherwise stellar discography. Skyrocketing to stardom with her 2008 single "I Kissed a Girl," Perry branded herself as the peppy bad-girl with whimsical fashion sensibilities and an affection for the '80s. Coming off of a failed career in the Christian music world, Perry jettisoned innocence for raunchy hooks and verses dripping with double entendre and innuendo - a tactic that worked spectacularly for the singer. Her debut "One of the Boys" (2008) was a strong, smart pop album that generated hit after hit, including "Waking Up in Vegas" and - arguably the best pop song of 2008 - "Hot & Cold." At their core, these songs were simple and easy to love.
Calle 13 has once again proven themselves to be one of the most important and gifted group of musicians to have emerged from Puerto Rico (if not all of Latin America) in the past 25 years. Although many Americans might not be familiar with the group, Calle 13 is proving more and more deserving of attention with their groundbreaking and genre-defying work. Their fifth album, Multi_Viral," comes after their record-breaking "Entren Los Que Quieran" (2010), for which they racked up numerous awards. They have the record for both the most Latin Grammys won in one night and the most Latin Grammys of all time for a group, with 19 to their name. With such an impressive record, it would seem almost impossible for Calle 13 to match the highs of "Entren Los Que Quieran" with "Multi_Viral," but the Hispanic group manages to do so easily.
From the beginning of Mogwai's Rave Tapes," it's clear that the band has launched itself in a new direction. Channeling the same bombastic free-spiritedness of a ball in a pinball machine, the energetic and, at times, chaotic "Rave Tapes" is worth a listen. Somehow, the Scottish post-rock band is able to combine songs about rejecting the ideals of the media through spoken word with tracks that feel like the opening score of "Rocky" (1976). Indeed, for the adventurous listener, "Rave Tapes" is a journey worth taking.
“At least to begin with, I would recommend closing our eyes.” With these opening lines, Brian DeGraw’s debut solo album, “SUM/ONE,” begins. Listeners should take DeGraw’s introductory suggestion to heart. Full of incredibly varied instrumentals and experimental, electronic sounds, the album ...
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.
