“ARTPOP” became a larger-than-life era, even for pop’s most outrageous and concept-focused musician. That’s important context for revisiting the album seven years later and questioning its status.
There are ways to enjoy Halloween and “Turn Off the Light” this holiday season. Petras made the perfect soundtrack for the entire month’s festivities — that fun won’t stop given the current circumstances.
It’s easy to close your eyes and imagine — or idealize — summer. Our mouths flood with the tastes of ripe, juicy fruits and our noses smell backyard barbecues. Our minds fill with nostalgic images of childhood bike rides in suburban neighborhoods and deep sunburns. Our skin aches for the touch of the sand and the feel of the ocean. Our lips long for a summer love. During any other year, these textures and ideas might come to us in May and be gone by August (when we’re sick of the heat and ready for pumpkin-flavored everything). But 2020 has robbed us of these experiences.
To be more deliberate with my time and help diversify my literary world, I committed to only reading authors of color during my quarantine time and throughout 2020. I first read April Sinclair's“Coffee Will Make You Black” (1994) and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” (1965). Two very different books, but both so important to read. The first is a fictional story told from a young girl's point of view as she examines colorism and her own femininity and sexuality. Malcolm X’s autobiography paralyzed me with the knowledge that I did not actually know anything about this crucial and complex man before, and I am so glad that I was able to really learn about him now. I journeyed from Malcolm X to James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” (1963), a perfect follow-up to the autobiography as Baldwindiscusses Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam in this short nonfiction piece. Staying on the nonfiction side of things, I read “Between the World and Me” (2015), a striking and important letter written by a father to his son about holding on to his Black body. Ready for some fiction, I consumed “Kindred” (1979) by Octavia E. Butler and “A Mercy” (2008) by Toni Morrison both in a span of two days. Most recently, I have read “Girl, Woman, Other” (2019) by Bernardine Evaristo which was a simply stunning composition weaving together so many non-male Black lives and experiences into one complete and breathtaking story. Celeste Ng's“Little Fires Everywhere” (2017) is currently on my bedside table, along with “In the Castle of My Skin” (1953) by George Lamming and “On Beauty” (2005) by Zadie Smith.
Who is The Weeknd? I’ve always felt that this vowel-snubbing vocalist was somewhat of an enigma in modern music. This isn’t only because of his rare and almost unparalleled ability to blend hip-hop, R&B and pop (whatever that means) into an expressive finished product; it also comes from his unique capacity for self-awareness. This isn’t to say that The Weeknd is the only popular artist of our day to exhibit this quality. I think many SoundCloud-rappers-turned-breakout-stars like Lil Uzi Vert and NAV are actually quite self-aware, just not in the same way. I enjoy listening to the artists mentioned above from time to time (my housemates can attest), but eventually it gets to a point where it’s just too much for me, and I’m left having to forcefully resist the desire to yell, “enough already” at the moody picture on NAV’sSpotify page while I simultaneously queue up 10 more of his songs, hoping that somehow those droning, auto-tuned vocals and hypnotic trap beats will push me to finally finish the essay I’ve been putting off.
Picture this: it’s 9:30 p.m. on a Friday night. Normally, you’d be getting all dressed up in some thrifted clothes to go pregame with some friends — and maybe that cute boy you like — before you go to a basement party or a club. But thanks to recent events, you’re stuck in your childhood bedroom, ...
With her new single, “Stupid Love” (2020), Lady Gaga returns to the blood-pumping, hair-raising dance-pop of her early career. For many fans, Gaga’s new single is a welcomed comeback. It’s radio friendly — unlike much of her last essentially pop endeavor “ARTPOP” (2013) — and connects ...
If your midterms aren’t too overwhelming, the upcoming weeks are a great time to get off campus and enjoy all of the live music that Boston has to offer. There are two very different concerts happening later this week. On Wednesday night, up-and-coming rapper Lil Tjay will be performing at the Paradise ...
The Canadian artist Grimes might be flooding the news recently: her drama with Azealia Banks (the highlight of which involved leaked text messages of Banks telling Grimes she “smell[s] like a roll of nickels”), her relationship with billionaire Elon Musk and confirmed pregnancy with his child and ...
This article originally appeared in the Nov. 18, 1982, edition of The Tufts Daily.The crowd applauded wildly. Even loyal friends and relatives of the opponents hesitated at first, but then humbly acquiesced to the to the common verdict. "Tracy, Tracy, Tracy,", roared the crowd. What was all ...
The Daily abides. This auspicious anniversary affords an opportunity to stumble down memory lane and dredge up those early days. But truth be told, after four decades I still cannot see a nugget of sweet and sour chicken without being transported to the basement of Curtis Hall to recall those many nights ...
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. "It's not that bad/And I have no reason to be sad/But I find a way/Almost every day to stay this way/ When will I change?" asked Best Coast's Bethany Cosentino nearly five years ago on the indie rock duo's album "California ...
Over a decade ago, La Roux — then an English music act consisting of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid — released their explosive debut album “La Roux” (2009). It produced “Bulletproof” and “In For The Kill” arguably two of the biggest pop songs of the 21st century. And what did the duo ...
Breaking convention is not uncommon. We see plenty of artists performing in ways that break the mold that they formed through their earlier work. Typically, it pays off, but it takes fans and critics a couple months, or even years, to realize that the artist’s decisions were going to be an important ...
As this year comes to a close, I wanted to write this article as a music wrap-up for 2019. Honestly, I never would have thought that I’d do such a thing, but I felt it was necessary because this year was actually pretty solid for music. While albums from this year didn’t necessarily blow me away ...
Three arts editors came together to decide on their top 10 best albums of the decade — no easy task when the 2010s have spanned music from artists like LMFAO to Billie Eilish.Christopher Panella's listHonorable mentions: “Plastic Beach” (2010) by Gorillaz, “Trouble in Paradise” (2014) ...
Tinashe has always released good music — she’s a consistent talent with a variety of releases including independent mixtapes, multiple studio albums including her strong debut “Aquarius” (2014) and the enjoyable (but missing something) “Joyride” (2018). But that was the previous Tinashe; ...
Transcontinental flights were too much to justify going home for Thanksgiving break. But spending Nov. 28 on campus feeling like a woman about to inherit a large sum of money (it was actually just $68 in JumboCash) whilst all of my family FaceTimed me wasn't as lonely as it may have seemed to an ...
MONDAY"Civic Life Lunch — Political Communications in the Trump Era"Details: Philippe Reines, a spokesman and advisor to Hillary Clinton who is famous for being Donald Trump's placeholder during debate preparations, will be joining the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life in the ...
In the classical music world, new albums rarely make a huge splash. The core repertoire is anywhere from 400 to 100 years old, and in that time the most famous works have accrued decades of different interpretative traditions. For a new album to be big, it must provide something genuinely new to the ...
