Arts - The Tufts Daily

Arts

Gorillaz packs vibrant sound in latest concept album 'Plastic Beach'

March 7

Leave it to a fake band to make a concept album about a plastic society sound so real. Leave it to the synthesizers that create most of the sounds and melodies on "Plastic Beach," the ambitious new undertaking by the virtual band Gorillaz, to sound so vibrant and full of life. Leave it to a genre−bending hip−hop project to create a perfectly constructed pop album. Well, it should have been obvious: Who better to make 2010's most stunning, colorful album than a band made out of colors and lights themselves?

Arts

Saya Woolfalk's art creates fictional world in Tufts Art Gallery

March 4

People have long imagined fictional societies and ideal worlds more perfect than their own in which people live in harmony and are free from conflicts. In writing of his ideal alternate world, Sir Thomas More used the term "utopia," derived from the Greek and meaning literally, "no place," suggesting that such a model society cannot exist.

Arts

Theater Feature | 3Ps celebrates centennial this weekend

March 4

Since its founding in 1910, Pen, Paint and Pretzels (3Ps) has established a remarkable history that predates the Tufts Drama Department in fulfilling student demands for theater. This year marks the independent student group's 100th anniversary. In order to commemorate this special occasion, 3Ps will be throwing a Centennial Celebration this weekend.

Arts

Jamie Cullum's latest album 'The Pursuit' of melding pop and jazz together

March 4

Jamie Cullum's fifth studio album, "The Pursuit," follows the patterns of his previous jazz−pop fusion albums and further narrows the gap between the two genres. Cullum still has the same jazz licks and slides over pop song structures, but he explores the pop genre even more by delving into hip−hop beats and distortion.

Arts

Top Ten | Artistic Dancing Characters

March 3

Have you seen the lineup for the newest season of "Dancing with the Stars?!" Besides having that overexposed hag Kate Gosselin in there (see our Open Letter), we love, love, LOVE everything about this cast. Hopefully Shannen Doherty will punch Kate in the face, or maybe Buzz Aldrin will drop dead on the floor. Who knows what could happen with this cast? Our excitement has led us to consider our Top 10 favorite artsy dancing people (and animals): 10. The penguins from "Happy Feet" (2006): They're cute, they're cuddly AND they can dance. Who doesn't want to see a bunch of tap-dancing penguins like Mumble bust a move? 9. Tom Cruise in "Risky Business" (1983): Need we say more? 8. Turk from "Scrubs:" Remember that time Turk danced to Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" (1990) in order to get into the janitor's air band? No? YouTube it. Dude's got slick moves, you can't deny it. And when he points to his wrist when the singer says "time?" Squeal! 7. Jake Blues from "The Blues Brothers" (1980): Few moments in film rival the agile epiphany of Jake Blues (John Belushi) during a gospel sermon delivered by the Reverend Cleophus James (James Brown). Possessed with the Holy Spirit, the roguish and rotund Belushi begins to tremor, then launches into a nimble series of flips and tumbles. And all without losing his stylish Ray-Ban's. You gotta give it up for that. 6. Elaine from "Seinfeld" (1990-1998): We're not really sure how to describe Elaine's iconic dance, which may have been one of the funniest moments of the famed television series. What we do know is that she's got moves. 5. Hugh Grant in "Love Actually" (2003): Grant proves that the Brits can break it down, too with some hip shaking and disco style finger pointing. 4. John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994): Travolta has always had the dancing bug, and there is no other actor in Hollywood who can pull off skin tight white leather in one film and long, luscious locks in the next. We will have some Royale with that cheese. 3. Carlton Banks from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (1990-1996): Probably the most amazing thing about actor Alfonso Ribeiro's ode to lame white dancers and Tom Jones is how his shoulders and his butt seem to be moving completely independent of each other. Also how he's using a candlestick as a microphone. 2. Jon Heder in "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004): This lanky ginger rocked the stage with a dance so funky we couldn't help but vote for Pedro. 1. Christopher Walken in the "Weapon of Choice" (2003) music video: Perhaps inspired by a feverish need for more cowbell, Christopher Walken dances, prances, jumps and jives through an empty hotel in this Fatboy Slim music video. Without losing his impeccable composure, Mr. Walken abruptly leaps off of a balcony to display his Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon-esque abilities. Let's see the celebrities on "Dancing with the Stars" do that! —compiled by the Daily Arts Department

Arts

From the Office of the Tufts Daily

March 3

Dear Kate Gosselin, So, we heard you've been invited to be a contestant on the 10th season of "Dancing with the Stars." Isn't that nice? Some two-bit hack of a producer at ABC thought you might be good for a few cheap laughs and a small ratings boost. You know, to pull in the housewife demographic, or because of some other equally asinine piece of marketing logic.

Arts

And the Winner is...'

March 3

Click above for an audio feature of Catherine Scott, Charissa Ng and Zachary Drucker discussing the Oscars.

Arts

Formosa Betrayed' turns true events into gripping thriller

March 3

Considering that Taiwan's pending recognition as an individual country could feasibly drive China and the United States to military conflict, the question of Taiwanese liberation is severely underemphasized in the media. The issue receives its due prominence in "Formosa Betrayed," an intelligent, calculated, political thriller that grapples with the complicated and corrupted state of Taiwanese politics in the 1980s.

Arts

Exuberant, dark wit abounds in Tufts alumna's poetry debut

March 2

Junkies, "The Wizard of Oz" (1939), mezuzahs, prostitutes, Buddhism, multiple divorces, breastfeeding and drugs only begin to make up the list of the broad, darkly funny American landscape in Tufts alumna Melissa Broder's (LA '01) first book of poetry, "When You Say One Thing But Mean Your Mother," published in February 2010.

Arts

Cop Out' fails to spoof or honor buddy cop genre

March 2

Post−Oscar season is an interesting time of year for the film industry. With last year's greatest hits still fresh in the audience's mind, studios try different strategies to draw audiences to theaters. Though some movies, like Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" (2010), are early−bird awards fodder, most are never meant to compete in the major leagues. For the most part, the studios' goal seems to be to distract viewers from a dreary winter and the overhyped nominees.

Arts

Harry Callahan exhibit explores intimacy

March 2

In the Herb Ritts Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Harry Callahan is described as "both extremely famous and barely famous at all" on the wall text of the exhibit "Harry Callahan: American Photographer." Whether visitors have heard of the photographer or not, the 40 or so works that line the walls of his exhibit are instantly striking. Callahan is a master of visual poetry, and the MFA pulls together an outstanding collection of his explorations with the camera — from figure studies to abstracted natural subjects to darkroom experiments.

Arts

Caryn Horowitz | The Cultural Culinarian

March 1

My week has not been going too hot.

Arts

Acoustics' provides visual journey

March 1

There are only so many ways to make a documentary engaging. As an added challenge, when the subject of a moving picture is unmoving pictures, a filmmaker has to get a little creative.

Arts

Roni Horn aka Roni Horn' explores isolation, identity

March 1

After traveling to London and New York City, the exhibit "Roni Horn aka Roni Horn" has finally made its way to the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (ICA). The show has been slightly altered in each city in order to best inhabit its current space, leading Horn's works to be viewed differently as they respond to the area around them. This change is particularly relevant in an exhibition such as this because Horn's show is predominantly based on ideas of shifting identities and memories surrounding the artist's experience with the world around her.

Arts

How to Make It in America' portrays young New Yorkers trying to live American dream

March 1

What is the American dream of the 21st century? Is it running one's own company and finally experiencing financial success? Is it being a part of the melting pot, with friends from all corners of the cultural landscape? Is it living in a scrappy apartment on the Lower East Side while working on Fifth Avenue, going out for sushi and partying with fashion models and art gallery owners? Is it finally paying a sketchy cousin back and escaping without a broken arm?

Arts

Mitchell Geller | Slings and Arrows

February 28

I'm a big fan of art. That's a really broad statement. Let me classify it: I like most art. Recently, however, I attended an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London entitled "Pop Life, Art in a Material World." The exhibition centered on some of the biggest pop artists of the last fifty years or so, beginning with Andy Warhol and ending with Takeshi (not to be confused with Haruki) Murakami, touching on many artists in between, ranging from Keith Haring to Jeff Koons to Damien Hirst.

Arts

The Crazies' is enough to drive anyone nuts

February 28

In a world where characters are supposed to be flat, plots predictable and action sequences utterly boring, "The Crazies" might be considered a decent movie. Sadly, this is not that world, and for those unfortunate enough to have to sit through the entirety of "The Crazies," one can only tip a metaphorical hat and offer sympathies for the horrifying experience.

Arts

High on Fire's new release showcases lead singer's talents

February 28

Stoner metal has become a notable force in rock music today. Embracing the rumbling, down−tuned guitar riffs and rough vocals characteristic of the genre, bands like Mastodon and Baroness have garnered critical and commercial success over the past few years.

Arts

Strong performances, pithy script make 'Stick Fly' excellent show

February 28

Throughout Lydia R. Diamond's "Stick Fly," Taylor (Nikkole Salter), an intelligent but grating entomologist, speaks eagerly and frequently of her passion for insects, despite the marked lack of enthusiasm with which her diatribes are met. To her future father−in−law, she details the methods that scientists use to study flies: An insect is stuck to a Popsicle stick with glue, and its image is then digitally magnified for the sake of observation.

Arts

Ambitious 'Have One On Me' sees Newsom exploring new territory

February 25

Joanna Newsom's novel approach to songwriting has been obvious since her 2004 debut, "The Milk-Eyed Mender." The album was almost painfully intimate, with deftly picked harp underpinnings cradling her charmingly hesitant voice. Newsom's penchant for challenging, playfully abstract lyrics and fluid song structures immediately set her apart from other singer-songwriters. Her latest album, the three-disc epic "Have One On Me," sees Newsom at a new level of maturity.