Culture
Culture
Beach House album rolls with the tides
When “Thank Your Lucky Stars” was announced via Beach House’s Twitter account last week, they stressed that the album was not a “companion” to their recently released “Depression Cherry,” nor was it a collection of b-sides. Slipped into the announcement was the claim that this album was not a “surprise.” Given that “Depression Cherry” was […]
Movies
‘Sicario’ strikes at the zeitgeist
In Denis Villeneuve’s bleak new film “Sicario,” the FBI’s attempts to sedate the drug war across the United States-Mexican border serve as a metaphor for general American idealism. Centering on by-the-books FBI agent Kate Mercer (Emily Blunt, her typical luminance dimmed, but still present), the film follows her experiences as she’s recruited to a task […]
Culture
Aasif Mandvi talks American culture through humor
Immediately following his audition for “The Daily Show,” Aasif Mandvi was hired by host Jon Stewart to be the “senior Middle East/Muslim/All Things Brown correspondent,” much to the confusion of his parents and himself, as he admittedly spent more time at bars than at mosques. This past Saturday night, Mandvi amused students, parents and alumni […]
Culture
‘Hamilton’: a cultural phenomenon
If you haven’t heard of “Hamilton” yet, you will, even if you decide to ignore this article and skip ahead to the Sports section. “Hamilton” is a new Broadway musical that uses a multi-ethnic group of actors to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton and the Founding Fathers through a well-crafted hip-hop and rap-infused score. […]
Culture
Father John Misty’s grotesque museum of truth
On a busy block of East Avenue Friday evening, a line of painfully hip patrons snakes from the door of Anthology, one of Rochester’s newest music venues, and well around the corner. After a curiously long wait outside—the opening act already began—the queue hiccups to life and crams inside the long hall of the theater. […]
Culture
Hoodie Allen and the fountain of youth
“My friends grew up, they never get drunk, they never wanna hang out late They’re gonna get jobs, they’re gonna pay bills, they’re gonna get old and gray I’ll never do that, I wanna stay young, don’t wanna fit in, I wanna have fun So if that’s okay, I don’t think I’m ever gonna act […]
Culture
The year’s best of television: 2015 Emmy predictions
The Emmy Awards, taking place this Sunday, Sept. 20, always has its fair share of surprises, and this year won’t be any different. However, due to a monumental change in voting procedures that opened up voting to the general Television Academy membership—previously, only small panels of members voted in each category—all bets are off. With […]
Culture
“EMOTION”: A new sound for a new era
Is autumn the new summer? Starbucks would like you to think so. The Pumpkin Spice Latte (#PSL), is a seasonal icon inseparably associated with autumn. I propose that the #PSL highlights a paradigm shift in which fall is replacing summer as the new “Utopia Season”–a reaction to today’s culture of information and expression, a culture […]
Culture
Colbert stays strong
Let’s dispense with the obvious: Stephen Colbert’s iteration of “The Late Show” is a fairly standard talk show. There are short sketches; he monologues with funny graphics; he has guests, and they plug their projects; and there’s a musical guest. It’s simple and spare. He’ll necessarily take some time before he starts to get comfortable […]
Culture
‘Digging for Fire’ highlights authenticity
When you watch Joe Swanberg’s movies, you’re struck by the ostensible love interests. How can two people so starkly contrasted ever hope to forge a lasting relationship? In Swanberg’s earlier work (“Silver Bullets,” “Drinking Buddies”), the results often aren’t pretty. In his latest, the excellent “Digging for Fire” (co-written with Jake Johnson), Swanberg takes an […]