It's a busy Monday night at Tufts, and students are filing into Brown and Brew to crack open the books. The study mood was set by a local pop/hip-hop radio station playing a club mix.
Amidst hip-hop's incessant braggadocio, few rappers have as thoroughly earned their right to talk as Jay-Z. Journalists have made careers out of chronicling Shawn Carter's now 10-year tenure as an artist, from the hustler wordplay of the still-astounding "Reasonable Doubt" of 1996 (still one of the best debuts in hip-hop history) to his 2001 opus "The Blueprint" (still one of the best records in hip-hop history).
Over the past year, the hip-hop airwaves have been dominated by "trap-hop," a rap subgenre in which self-proclaimed dealers-turned-rappers glorify the selling of cocaine with clever metaphors like trap-hopper Young Jeezy's "I sling so much white/ it'll hurt your eyes."
Ever since printmaking became an art form over 500 years ago, it has been used as a quick, easy and cheap form of communication. Just as other publications like newspapers and pamphlets flourished with the introduction of the printing press, the means for communicating among artists, between social movements, between the maker and the viewer were made so vast that artistic prints entered a realm oil paintings were incapable of.
In the wake of Blink-182, the world seems a bit lost as to in what direction pop-punk is supposed to go. The former Blink members - Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge and Travis Barker - have all found new groups, but as of yet, none have come close to filling the void left by their former '90s juggernaut.
Dave Grohl has everything a rock star could want: cred as the drummer for Nirvana, his own band and a sweet beard. After five consecutive platinum albums (two of which were double-platinum), the Foo Fighters needed some way to commemorate their success. Instead of doing a typical "greatest hits" compilation, Grohl opted for a live album, this time: "Skin and Bones." An accompanying DVD will be released Nov. 28.
Four times a year, Paris welcomes onto its famed runways some of the most gifted and creative fashion designers from around the globe. While each collection showcases the individual themes and artistic visions of the designers, the runways also serve as a lens through which the designers analyze the relationship between fashion and art.
Occasionally, an album or film has the misfortune of being released the same week as a critical darling, causing it to either be forced under the radar or unfairly compared to the other work.
Strokes fans, brace yourselves for a surprise: The guitarist from your favorite band, a man who, for years, has been lying in wait behind the ostentatious personality of lead singer Julian Casablancas, has just released a solo album. It appears that there is not only a personality difference between the two; Albert Hammond, Jr. also seems to have very different musical ambitions from Casablancas.
With something as emotionally infused as artwork, especially child art, an exhibit of works by autistic children is extraordinary; it is art serving as a creative outlet for those who are emotionally blocked. Autism, while still essentially a mystery, is on the rise, with current Department of Health and Human Services statistics showing that up to one in every 166 births yield children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Everywhere in America, one sees the same Main Street, same Sears, same Coca-Cola, same chain drugstore, same fried shrimp and the same local museum reflecting in a lesser way the same big museum. Instead of venturing to the "big museums" this November for whatever universal art they are highlighting, search for a more intimate American vision "'bury"ed closer than you think.
When looking at the new Ben Folds album, it is easy to dismiss it in its entirety, since it is really just a recycled production of old material. It would seem at first to be a marketing ploy to capitalize on his music without wasting any time actually making the music.
When you hear the beginning of The Who's new album, you'll be forgiven if you laugh out loud. The first 40 seconds of the record's first track sound like a mildly inventive recreation of the intro to "Baba O'Riley," the song that opened the classic 1971 album "Who's Next." And when the drums kick in, they sound like a tamer version of the heart-stopping drum fill that capped "Baba"'s intro.
There are many reasons to be afraid of My Chemical Romance: they're pale, they wear black, they love blood, they're from New Jersey. But rock fans across the nation now warmly embrace them as the up-from-the-underground sensation that took the world by surprise with its smash 2004 release "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge."
No strangers to experimental rock, Boston-based Isis once again delivers a release that nestles comfortably and sequentially into its already-extensive discography. "In The Absence of Truth," Isis's third LP for Ipecac and 15th release since 1998, continues to push the limits of experimental/instrumental music. Fusing elements of prog-rock, metal and ambient by creating a record that stays true to the band's signature sound, "Truth" also vibrantly underscores Isis's progression.
If you killed a Great White Shark and used your bare hands to take out its teeth, then devised a way to put those teeth - along with a substantial amount of razor blades - into a mine or explosive of some kind and set the mine or explosive off at a Green Day show, you would rival the volatility, ingenuity and utter disregard for contemporary punk/emo/whatever conventions that characterize the work of Seattle's The Blood Brothers.
The great thing about the indie music world is that it is actually possible for three 15-year-olds playing in a garage for their grandma to be considered an actual band.
The Tufts gallery is not known for housing particularly famous artworks, and it is a place on campus to which many people will probably never venture. Cristi Rinklin's installation, "Nuvolomondo," however, is well worth the trip to the Remis Sculpture Court.
Back in middle school, Diddy was pretty inescapable, with the grating Biggie tribute "I'll Be Missing You" playing incessantly on the bus and on headphones during study period and lunch; it wouldn't be surprising if you had heard of some junior high, in macabre misunderstanding, using it for its class song at graduation instead of that one by Green Day.
On Oct. 17, 2006, British grime MC Lady Sovereign made history when her video for "Love Me or Hate Me" reached No. 1 on MTV's Total Request Live (TRL). Whether or not hitting No. 1 on TRL is any indication of musical talent or virtuosity, one has to applaud Sov for good timing. With just one week left before the release of her first full-length, "Public Warning," on Def Jam Records, there couldn't have been a better time for her to become the first British artist to top MTV's chart.
