Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, December 19, 2025
The Print Edition Print Subscription
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Arts

The Setonian
Arts

Concert Review | Wayne Shorter proves continued prowess in jazz at Berklee Performance Center

February 9

It's hard to catch people off guard in jazz these days. In a genre that has accommodated everything from Pharoah Sanders' multiphonic saxophone wails to Sun Ra's solos on a squeaky door hinge, few things feel like they really push the envelope anymore. That's why audiences gave Wayne Shorter two rounds of standing ovations last Tuesday night at the Berklee Performance Center: He managed to bring something wholly new to the table.

The Setonian
Arts

Emily Balk | Whisk-y Business

February 8

Ashkenazi Jews have been hiding a terrible secret from the culinary world. Withholding this secret from the general public is the reason why many people believe that the traditional food of their Eastern European Jewish friends is boring and flavorless. The secret, my gastronomic friends, is gribenes, which, translated roughly from Yiddish, means "unholy deliciousness."* Gribenes (pronounced GRI-bih-niss) is essentially chicken skin fried with onions. It's the bacon of kosher eats, the magic fairy dust of the shtetl. Sprinkle it on anything and there is a 100-percent chance that it will taste better.

The Setonian
Arts

Documentaries nowadays: too good to be true?

February 8

Documentary films are designed to document events or people in a way that authentically reflects the world. Last year, however, films such as "Catfish," "I'm Still Here" and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" twisted the definition of the genre, presenting themselves as documentaries but eliciting speculation as to how true they really are. The results have been mixed, to say the least.

The Setonian
Arts

A frozen treat finally finds its way to Boston

February 8

When Pinkberry opened its first location in West Hollywood in 2005, owners Shelly Hwang and Young Lee reaped the benefits of nearly instant success. The Los Angeles locale meant a deadly combination of health−conscious consumers and year−round warm weather to complement its frozen yogurt products.

The Setonian
Arts

Defying vampire mold, 'Diaries' knows its place and owns it

February 7

Red contacts, fake blood, plastic fangs — the vampire craze certainly isn't anything new. From "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997−2003) to the "Twilight" series and "True Blood," one would think the world of vampires has finally been bled dry.

The Setonian
Arts

Hindu sprituality, pollution meet in artist's work

February 7

Indian artist Atul Bhalla in 2005 took a series of 14 digital pigment photographs depicting the artist's gradual descent into the Yamuna River and formed a poignant montage on the spirituality and environmental degradation of the water revered by Indian Hindus. The prints, which are based on the poem "Not Waving but Drowning" (1957) by English poet Stevie Smith, are currently on display at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum at Harvard University.

The Setonian
Arts

Madeline Hall | The Tasteful and the Tasteless

February 7

I am a huge sucker for a juicy conspiracy theory. My overactive imagination has always raced to develop explanations for the more intriguing events in history. I am not a passive citizen; I do not believe the government−certified stories behind assassinations, military coups and other extraordinary occurrences. The United States Government will stop at nothing to cover up their mistakes. When it comes to their explanations, I am a choosy customer … and I am not buying it.

The Setonian
Arts

In 'Rachel Perry Welty 24/7,' artist explores the grind and repetition of modern life

February 6

It's not new for art to find beauty in the humdrum of the world, and it's certainly not new for artists to find beauty in the unusual, but Rachel Perry Welty takes the especially humdrum and composes beauty from it. Her deCordova Museum debut, "Rachel Perry Welty 24/7," sorts through the emotionally taxing stuff that overwhelms daily life and finds subtlety in the most underwhelming of materials.

The Setonian
Arts

Gossip Girl' return mixes old formulas with new characters

February 6

The rich and spoiled New York socialites are back. "Gossip Girl" returned Jan. 24 to continue its fourth season on The CW following the lives of beautiful Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), her troubled friends and her even more drama-ridden family.

The Setonian
Arts

One Tree Hill' continues to deliver wild plotlines, twists in its eighth season

February 2

What do you get if you mix a skateboarding dog and Dave Navarro — the guitarist from Jane's Addiction — with a wild bachelorette party? Well, if you're watching "One Tree Hill," you inevitably get a lesson about love, family and the importance of friendship. Returning in the middle of its eighth season on The CW, "One Tree Hill" is continuing to do what it does best: combining melodramatic characters with unrealistic plotlines to create an emotionally charged show that's horribly addictive.

The Setonian
Arts

Nature takes the starring role in 'The Way Back'

February 2

Outside their trappings as the premier awards ceremony for American film, the Oscars are still governed by the same idiosyncratic, unwritten rules as any other industry fixture: If you're the Coen Brothers, you get a nomination. If you've filmed a sobering drama featuring the Holocaust, you get a nomination. And if you don't get your film released in time to get on board the train of media buzz, you go home empty-handed.

The Setonian
Arts

American film awards and ceremonies a culture unto themselves

February 2

Every year, the whole world is made privy to a series of glamorous rituals in American culture. Elite celebrities get dolled up and stride down red carpets to various glitzy awards ceremonies, hoping to return home with some shiny token commemorating their accomplishments. Awards have been a major component of the American film industry for decades now, generating millions of dollars for nominated movies and creating reputations that can last for entire careers. Even though this award season is limited to film, the ceremonies have far-reaching implications in popular culture at large, shaping celebrities' images and determining the climate in Hollywood for the fiscal year to come.

The Setonian
Arts

MTV's 'Skins' adaptation a bust

January 31

For those of us fortunate enough to have seen "Skins," a UK television series that premiered in 2007, it should come as no surprise that the MTV adaptation of the series doesn't compare. It simply can't, due to the difference between British and American broadcasting standards. England's lenient polices have allowed for a fuller, more realistic depiction of modern−day teenagers, sexuality and drugs; the U.S. standards are too limiting for such a compelling portrayal.

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page