Arts

Interview | Patrick Watson

TV Review | 'Always Sunny' draws laughs, but shows its age

Still on its ever?descending moral downward spiral, "The Gang," as they're known, from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is back for an eighth season on its FX hit series. The owners of the run?down Paddy's Pub in Philadelphia continue to brainstorm get?rich?quick schemes and make ethically questionable decisions. Each of these scenarios plays out with raunchy humor, ensuring that the show still gets laughs this far into its life. Although "Always Sunny" still delivers comedy, primarily thanks to the strong performances by its actors, the single?camera show is beginning to reveal its age with a stale structure and format.

The Artsy Jumbo | Senior Chloe Rotman explores sketch comedy

Sketch comedy has been a constant part of Chloe Rotman's life at Tufts. She is currently the president of Major: Undecided and has been a member of the group for four years. A senior majoring in Child Development, Rotman said the group provided an alternative option for performing after doing theater in high school.

Mae Humiston & Sara Gardner | Let's Talk About Food

This is goodbye, dear reader. We've had a good run. Shall we reflect on the times we've had?

Solange's ethereal latest album, 'True,' floats through its seven tracks

It's not easy being a musician when your sibling is one of the most beloved performers of all time.

2012: An artsy retrospective

Fake Blood's debut album showcases mess of hypnotic electronica

Fake Blood, otherwise known as Theo Keating, has been remixing various songs since 2008, yet he has only just recently released his first studio album. "Cells" is a solid mix of ambient electronic music and a few slightly more upbeat songs whose baselines are just waiting to be remixed. Keating has also been a part of a hip?hop group called The Wiseguys which has influenced his electronic music's use of off?beat rhythms and jazzier basses.

Restaurant Review | Hip, cheap Border Cafe is ideal student eatery

If you're looking for a relaxing, romantic night of fine dining, Border Cafe is probably not the place for you. However, for those who want to spend a fun evening with friends without emptying their wallets - in other words, if you are a member of the college?aged crowd - this is definitely a spot worth visiting.

Megan Clark | Where's the Craic?

For my final column, I will review "The Boxer" (1997), another pairing of actor Daniel Day?Lewis and writer?director?producer Jim Sheridan.

Joe Stile | BASSic

T.I. has released his new single, "Sorry," featuring the renowned Andre 3000. As with any track that Dre puts his verse on, he is astonishing and the main reason to listen to the recording at all.

TV Review | 'The League' triumphs with raunchy, improvised wit

Let's face it: There aren't too many places to turn to nowadays for quality television comedy. With CBS hits like "How I Met Your Mother" and "Two and a Half Men" well past their prime, NBC's "Community" still on hiatus and premium cable comedies requiring, well, premium cable, options are limited.

Music Review | Alicia Keys underwhelms with new album

In the three years since her last album, Alicia Keys has married producer SwizzBeatz and had her first child. Those kinds of major life events usually inspire artists to create personal and profound works. Unfortunately, Keys' new album, "Girl on Fire," is surprisingly insipid and mundane despite Keys' phenomenal vocal abilities. The entire album seems resigned to flood bland adult?contemporary stations without much desire to excite or rouse anything in listeners.

Theater Preview | 'Over the Rainbow' returns to Tufts

Check out Jumbo Slice, the Tufts Daily blog, for an inside look into the fifth annual "Over the Rainbow: Defying Adversity to Benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS" and sneak peek video of students rehearsing for the show. Taking place tomorrow, the cabaret, silent auction and raffle event is sponsored by the Department of Drama and Dance, Health Services, Torn Ticket II, Pen, Paint and Pretzels, Bare Bodkin and the Leonard Carmichael Society. The auction begins tomorrow night at 7:15 p.m. in the Aidekman lobby, followed by the cabaret at 8 p.m. in Balch Arena Theater. Tickets are free, and are available at the Aidekman Box Office.

Elizabeth Landers | Campus Chic Report

I'm digging, I'm digging, I'm searching right through that luggage/ One man's trash, that's another man's come up." Macklemore'sself?deprecating humor is spot on in his hit "Thrift Shop," in which he raps for an entire three minutes and 55 seconds about the art of thrifting and sifting through piles of old clothes for the Velcro sneakers or fox fur coat he might discover there.

Tedeschi Trucks Band rocks House of Blues

Bands often seem bloated as they add more members to their groups and suffer a messy or chaotic sound as a result. But on Nov. 29 at Boston's House of Blues, the 11?piece blues rock group Tedeschi Trucks Band proved to be an exception to that trend.

Killing Them Softly' hits viewers hard

"Killing Them Softly" may be a gritty, violent and overwhelmingly angry gangster flick, but it is beautifully poetic all the same and is almost certainly one of this year's most thought?provoking films.

Ballet Review | No surprises, but plenty of sparkle, charm in Boston Ballet's new Nutcracker

Instrumental Tourist' showcases best of ambient scene

Fractured, expansive and more than a tad lugubrious, Tim Hecker's latest album, "Instrumental Tourist," is a gem for anyone with a taste for the darker things in life, aurally speaking. A collaboration with fellow ambient producer Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, "Tourist" is about as varied as you can expect to get within either artists' oeuvre. Alternating between desolate soundscapes and grating walls of noise, the album offers plenty of variety and detail. Though the sounds can stretch on for minutes upon minutes, Hecker and Lopatin offer such a nuanced, lively sonic palette that listeners will have more than enough to dig into for months to come.

The Artsy Jumbo | Senior Nadav Hirsh explores all aspects of theater

For senior drama major NadavHirsh, the theater has always been part of life. By the age of five, Hirsh was already acting. Since then, he has branched out into almost every other theatrical direction.

Graffiti goes to the gallery

Modern art galleries are often home to a diverse and eclectic assortment of art. Here, more so than in any other art institutions, art is often controversial, cutting edge, avant?garde. In some contemporary art museums, anything goes - even graffiti.