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(11/05/14 5:05pm)
With Taylor Swift's latest album, 1989, it appears that she is trying to shed her country origins like a butterfly shedding its chrysalis. In her reverent ode to the Big Apple, “Welcome To New York,” she implicitly shuns the backwards, unexciting life she’s left behind in Nashville by exulting in the gaudy wonders of the big northern city. Swift has thrived on her odd balancing act between aw-shucks down-home country girl and ultra-sleek, savvy pop star, and her career has taken off with its feet firmly at the top of two ostensibly separate charts. You have no choice but to feel bad for her when she complains pleadingly, “Why you gotta be so mean?”, almost like she’s embracing the troubling notion that the listener will be the one to save her from said meanness. You also had to smirk at the acid dripping from the microphone when she asserts her anger at all of her caricatural boyfriends, more figures and devices than actual humans in front of Swift’s withering glare.
(11/04/14 4:40pm)
A middle-aged man, clad only in his briefs, meditates, levitating three feet above the floor. Thus begins Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), telling us very clearly from the start: something is not quite right. In fact, something is extremely not right. Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thomson, a washed-up Hollywood has-been, once the star of the lucrative Birdman superhero franchise. Now, he struggles to keep his Broadway play afloat, or even to find decent actors to fill its roles. Mocked by the voice of Birdman himself, emanating from the poster of his glory days on his dressing room wall, Thomson struggles to find within himself the power to make do with his life and move forward with his goals.Instead, he finds within himself a deeper, more ominous power—superpowers. Perhaps. The beauty of Birdman is its relationship with reality and perception, a teasing jump between what is real and what is not. It makes the audience question what the boundaries of realism are. A film about a play, and about the behind-the-scenes of the play, many shots jump between real and staged, from one afternoon to the next morning, without warning. The soundtrack, a powerful drum-led backdrop, is sometimes melded with the world of the film itself, such as when Thomson walks by a street performer in Times Square beating out the very rhythm he walks to. The cinematography, too, aids this fluid reality, relying more on traveling than on cutting to move from scene to scene, as if shot in one continuous take. We see the back of Thomson's head a surprising amount, following him as he moves around the back of the theatre. This places us directly in the world of the film, so it's jarring when a door opens only to reveal, as Thomson walks through it, that the scene has suddenly moved forward three hours.The colorful supporting cast doesn't exactly dispel the strangeness of the Birdman environment. Emma Stone is Thomson's daughter Sam, fresh out of rehab and working as his assistant. She is biting and witty, evidently the child of a former celebrity, but her dry voice works wonders jumping from sarcastic self-deprecation to open, unmoored uncertainty. Playing against her self-doubts, and her father's, is Edward Norton as Mike Shiner, a Broadway buff whose name alone draws in crowds. He is the artiste of the bunch, a puffed-up, arrogant actor who believes that his vision is more important than anyone else's. The thing is, he's often right. His suggestions do indeed improve Thomson's play. But they come with his sexual advances mid-scene, his running off-script, and his general self-important attitude. Yet somehow, Norton makes him likeable—at least as a character, if not as a person. It's hard not to want to watch him act, or act acting, as mired in meta-layers as this film is. And minor turns by ZachGalifianakis as Thomson's long-suffering manager injects much of the humor (aside from what is produced by Shiner's buffoonery) into this dark comedy.And then there are those superpowers. Or are there? Once again, the film is coy here. They're sort of a metaphor, Thomson's inner vanity exerting itself. But they're shown literally. He rises into the air, soaring over the heads of the ignorant people below. But when he arrives at the theatre, a cab driver chases him inside in search of his payment. Telekinetic powers only reveal themselves in the solitude of his dressing room. And yet, Sam, the one person who could possibly know about his powers, is also the only one to see their eventual evidence, and react to it. So it's unclear, where the film is trying to go with this. A metaphor made reality? Mental illness? Still, it's an unexpectedly powerful representation, and a clever counter to Shiner's very real, raw, sexualized vanities.In the end, Birdman says as much about acting as it does about those who do so. It's a commentary on identity, on failings personal—one heavy scene has Sam angrily shouting at her father all of his failings, committed back when he was still a celebrity and thus, too busy to make timer for her—and professional—this play, an adaptation of Raymond Carver's What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, written, directed, and starred in by Thomson himself, is his last-ditch effort to, as his daughter brutally phrases it, "make him relevant again"—and those mired in both. Identity politics, especially in the world of showbiz, come down to what Shiner so succinctly puts as: "Popularity is the slutty little cousin of prestige"
(11/03/14 2:51pm)
Class of 2017:as newly-minted sophomores, we now find ourselves annoyed by freshman. But let’s face it—we envy them. As sophomores we feel like the middle child that the upperclassmen look down on and the younger frosh seem to glance over. We envy the upperclassmen who have already made many of their major undergraduate decisions, and we envy that the freshmen don’t even have to worry about those yet. We now find ourselves in what can only be called the “sophomore slump,” a period of academic and social angst, anxiety and uncertainty.
(10/22/14 2:40pm)
1. The Zombie— Each and every step seems like torture. You feel for these people because they wereclearly up all night a) eating, b) procrastinating and c) realizing at 4 a.m. that they have a pset duefor the class they are agonizingly inching their way towards finishing.
(10/21/14 9:12pm)
The impending doom of midterms week is here and at the end of this long dark abysmal tunnel awaits one of the best nights of the Princeton school year … Princetoween! Everyone is just about done with midterms and gets to dress up and go crazy as if they are not themselves. So, if you didn’t dress up last year or if you’re a freshman and forgot to bring a costume, then never fear! As you stare at the random things in your closet wondering what makeshift costume you can create, take a look at the following ideas to see what you can be … just don’t be yourself.
(10/18/14 2:23pm)
Meanwhile, in Ba Sing Sei, Prince Wu's coronation is underway. With most of the royal artifacts looted, King Wu's crown is now the royal brooch. During his coronation, he calls up Kuvira to receive the Kyoshi Medal of Freedom in honor of her "service to the realm." However, Kuvira crushes the medal and states that she will crush anyone who questions her new Earth Empire. Yeah. The Earth Kingdom is no more.
(10/15/14 6:33pm)
Episode 1
(10/14/14 5:52pm)
If you’re a student at Princeton, you know of Small World. It’s the first café everyone suggests for a special meeting off-campus. Sometimes the café feels like it belongs on the campus side of the FitzRandolph Gate because of how many Princeton students frequent the shop. Even if you haven’t had a chance to visit the physical location (although technically there are two within walking distance, our classic one on Witherspoon and one farther down Nassau Street), you know the name because on-campus coffee shops serve Small World brewed coffee.
(10/12/14 12:50pm)
While former University President Shirley Tilghman takes a well-deserved break from ruling over the Orange Bubble, her soul sister, Hillary Clinton, made headlines when she became a grandmother this September.
(10/11/14 3:14pm)
Do you like head banging so hard your neck hurts? If so, Elder is probably for you. The heavy psych band formed in Boston in 2006 and has since released two full albums and a number of demos and EPS. They pack in metal riffs with a classic hard rock sound and some incredible guitar solos. The way the bass (Jack Donovan), guitar (Nick DiSalvo), and drums (Matt Couto) blend together rhythmically is also truly impressive. For a great example of how they synergize to create a really tight stoner metal sound, listen to “The End” from their second album, Dead Roots Stirring (2011):[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9kMoN7hmlE]And if you’re not a fan of screaming in metal (like me), don’t worry. Lead vocalist Nick DiSalvo sounds more like classic Black Sabbath than anything you’d hear in, say, Slayer. A last song I highly recommend to get a sense of their style—“Spires Burn” from their most recent EP:[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b940y_gMsg]If you want to rock out this Saturday night, be sure to check out Elder. The heavy riffs they lay down create a huge atmosphere—the psych rock vibe is overwhelming (in a good way). There will be Rock and, at the risk of overselling them, there will most likely also be Roll.
(10/11/14 2:51pm)
As a freshman on campus, you have one main goal: to not look like a freshman oncampus. Unfortunately, even as a newcomer to campus, it usually isn’t hard topick the frosh out of the pack. These 15 tell-tale signs are all too often the give-away.
(10/11/14 2:36pm)
Ah, Yik Yak: a repository for the mental barf of the masses, with anonymity providing an invitation for people to broadcast thoughts they would normally keep to themselves, and for good reason. For those of you who don’t already Yak, Yik Yak is an app that is somewhat similar to an anonymous Twitter. You can share your own thoughts and view the pithy thoughts shared by those in your area. Yakking is pretty much the best way to waste time since good old-fashioned Facebook stalking. Laughs and cringes are both guaranteed. Without further ado, a Yakkified view into Princeton with the best Yaks from the week.
(10/10/14 5:04pm)
The couple at the heart of Gone Girl (2014) is no different. Nick (Ben Affleck) and Amy (Rosamund Pike) Dunne are the perfect urban, beautiful, intellectual couple of America. Both are writers, but are soon hit hard by the economic recession. They are forced out of New York and back to Nick’s Missouri hometown. Through alternating scenes of the present, told in Nick’s point of view, and the past, told through Amy’s diary, a picture of this five year marriage is sketched out. The present, dominated by Nick, is terse, straightforward, and lit with a golden framing. Conversely, Amy’s past is soft blue and cold—a past when both were happy—a past that no longer exists.
(10/10/14 11:03am)
Before getting into the EDM scene DeLong was a drummer for indie bands, and his sound straddles the line between different genres. He combines the beats and dubstep of your favorite EDM artists with the lyrics and strong vocals of your favorite alternative groups. He's a compelling live performer, and one who will be able to transform the courtyard of our favorite academic building into a rave scene this Saturday night.
(10/09/14 6:43pm)
Hey, what are you doing in 4 or so hours?!? Check out Pattern is Movement, an indie-rock duo from Philly, followed by MATTHEWDAVID, LA's experimental&electronic music-making god TONIGHT at Terrace!!!
(10/07/14 5:49pm)
In the mood to smash the patriarchy? Here are 20 feminist jams to get you ready to rule the world.
(10/07/14 3:50pm)
Welcome (back) to your den, Tigers!
(10/04/14 6:35pm)
A drama at heart, with slight comedic undertones, The Skeleton Twins follows the conciliation of its titular twins: stunted wife Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and her sarcastic, gay bachelor of a brother, Milo (Bill Hader). When Milo’s suicide fails to finish the job, thus inadvertently causing Maggie not to follow up with her own attempt on the same day, estranged brother and sister reconnect after ten long years of silence. For his own sake, Milo moves in with Maggie and her upbeat, happy-go-lucky husband, Lance (Luke Wilson). As the twins are confronted by their lives, they seek to understand how everything went so wrong, and what their relationship with each other has to do with all that.
(10/03/14 11:09am)
Just like his previous work, Because the Internet, this mixtape is themed. While Because the Internet had many references to the internet and the day of computers, STN MTN focuses on Atlanta. This mixtape is an homage to Gambino's hometown. He does this with his over reference to landmarks in the suburbs. "Stone Crest. You were out in Lithonia, though" "I'll catch you out at Lenox," and "but I'm looking for hoes at Atlantic Station" are a few of my favorites. In addition to the audible references to Atlanta, many of the songs he samples on this mixtape were put out by Atlanta artists. Usher ("U Don't Have to Call"), Future and Maceo ("Move That Dope/Nextel Chirp/Let Hair Blow") and O Lyfe ("AssShots"). While paying homage to Atlanta, he's recognizing the work of other successful rappers and singers from the area.
(10/01/14 5:29pm)
Dirty Loops is a relatively new band, formed in 2010 by Swedish musicians (don't worry, the lyrics are in English) Jonah Nilsson (vocals and piano), Henrik Linder (bass), and Aaron Mellergardh (drums). Initially, the band was formed without any serious intent of going full time. As a fun, creative project, they took Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" and took it through a process that they call "loopifying" (hence the name of the band and their album), in which they took the song's simple pop structure and completely reworked it with their own unique sound. Via word of mouth and no social media promotion by the band itself, their cover gained 100,000 views within two months. They continued to cover famous pop songs, including Baby by Justin Bieber, Circus by Britney Spears, and Rude Boy by Rihanna (which they renamed Prude Girl), garnering much Internet attention. Eventually, they struck up a relationship with Canadian record producer David Foster, leading to their first original single "Hit Me," and culminating in the release of their debut album last spring.