As spring finally comes around, and we enter the final month of classes at Tufts, K-Weekly is once again wrapping up a semester of publishing. With such a long wait between this article and the next, I figured the best topic to write would be a sort of recap of some newer K-pop tracks and comebacks.
The five-time Grammy award-winning band Snarky Puppy will perform at Roadrunner in Boston to promote their newest album, “Empire Central” (2022), on April 8. Bandleader and bassist Michael League formed the band in 2004 after failing to place into any of the ensembles at the University of North Texas. Rather than give up, League created Snarky Puppy as a way to play music. Since then, Snarky Puppy has been acclaimed by critics with five Grammy wins and loved by a passionate worldwide audience.
Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage opened “Wild Goose Dreams” (2014), a comedy written by Hansol Jung, on Friday, March 17. Running through April 8, this production follows the love story of two lonely people in Seoul.
Laguna Beach, Calif., now a famous tourist destination due to the MTV reality show “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” (2004), was not always known for its beautiful beaches and unique coves, but used to be a gay Southern California hotspot. Now known for its quirky art galleries and walkable beaches, there still exists a visible acknowledgement to the queer history and progress that this city has helped create and grow.
“Boston Strangler” (2023) is a true crime story that doesn’t glorify its killer. Rather, it celebrates those who brought him to justice. At a roundtable panel with Matt Ruskin, the film’s writer and director, the Daily learned more about the quality journalism that inspired this film.
Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for season 2 of “Shadow and Bone” (2021–).
Classical music can be a daunting genre for beginners to enter. I believe this is because it is a completely foreign way of approaching music compared to what our society teaches us — see one of my previous columns for more thoughts on this. But, surprisingly, most people have already been subconsciously listening to, and loving, classical music! Whether you like to whistle along to the theme of “Indiana Jones” (1981–) or tense up to the pounding harmonies of “The Dark Knight” (2008), chances are that film music is an integral part of your life. But most people do not realize that film music is also fundamentally classical music. Much of American film music comes directly from Western classical music, and I believe that the popularity of classical music has not died but rather shifted and obscured to the more programmatic medium of film music.
In the less than three years following the release of her first EP “Minor” (2020), singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has demonstrated both growth and consistency in the indie-pop space. Sonically, Abrams’ music has drastically evolved since her first EP, which largely focused on short, repeated melodies and simple lo-fi production. Her debut full-length album “Good Riddance” (2023) represents the personal and musical growth evident in Abrams’ career journey over the past few years, featuring more complex melodies and ballads which combine indie, rock and pop genres masterfully. Abrams imbues her art with vulnerable and direct storytelling, and her performances are not an exception.
Ten years ago, the budding Nickelodeon-actress-turned-pop-star was taking the first steps toward a lucrative music career. Ariana Grande released her first lead single “The Way” featuring Mac Miller on March 25, 2013, off her debut album “Yours Truly” (2013). The single debuted within the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, securing Grande her first career entry. Grande has since continued her streak, becoming the only artist to debut the lead single off her first six studio albums in the top 10. The only music to precede “The Way?” A standalone single titled “Put Your Hearts Up” that Grande jokingly has tried to bury in the past. In an interview with MTV, Grande said, “I still have nightmares about it, and I made them hide it [the music video] on my Vevo page.”
Are you considering visiting your significant other, sibling or unrelenting friend who keeps asking you to “come and see what their life is like” at their respective university? Do you wonder what another college is like, especially one that is starkly different from yours? If you are, I am here to tell you about my experiences taking the leap and booking that ticket.
The Tufts Association of South Asians held their annual Culture Show last weekend in Cohen Auditorium. The event, also known as the “C-Show,” is a showcase of South Asian dance, music and comedy that brings together a wide variety of student groups from across campus. At this year’s show, nearly 200 students performed to a packed audience in Cohen on Saturday night.
Sunday’s 95th Annual Academy Awards brought home huge victories for films such as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022) and for actors such as Brendan Fraser, who won best actor in a leading role for his performance in “The Whale” (2022).
Throughout literary history, we’ve seen numerous authors delve into other occupations outside of writing. However, there are few like Cristina Reyes. Originally born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Reyes has not only published several volumes of poetry, but has also had a successful career in pageants and in Ecuadorian politics. As a pageant contestant, Reyes came in as a runner-up in ‘Miss Ecuador,’ and eventually went on to compete in one of the major international pageants, ‘Miss Earth.’ As a politician, Reyes has held multiple positions in different branches of the government, including representative for the national assembly for the Social Christian Party.
Last week, the Daily had the opportunity to attend two screenings of Women Take the Reel, a film festival hosted at universities across the Boston area. Taking place in Barnum Hall, the event showcased two female-directed documentaries, including the award-winning documentary “Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” (2022) and the new Half the History short film “Tapping Into Our Past, Tapping Into Our Future: Ayodele Casel” (2022).
For the 2022–23 academic year at Tufts, the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies has made an effort to produce shows for the “Year of Queer Magic.” Their newest product? “Red Rainbow” (2021).
Mark your calendars because Friday, March 31 is International Transgender Day of Visibility. This is an annual awareness day that allows the accomplishments of transgender people to be spotlighted and offers schools and communities an opportunity to create and celebrate more trans-inclusive spaces.
After one full year of fighting during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tisch Library has premiered a new exhibit emboldening and empowering Ukrainian heritage. Located right at the library’s entry point, the collection calls on students and faculty to learn more about the region’s cultural history, free from the rampant Russification of Anglo-American scholarship.
Welcome back to claustrophobic cinema.
The last conversation between the Daily and Professor Stephan Pennington, associate professor of music at Tufts, shined a light on his career in the military and his discovery of his queer identity while enlisted. After Pennington left the military decorated and accomplished, he turned toward academia.
“Daisy Jones & The Six,” originally a 2019 novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid and now a 2023 Amazon Prime original television show, takes audiences through the tumultuous, drama-ridden life of the fictional band The Six, which later gets rebranded as Daisy Jones & The Six when Daisy joins the band. While the band may be fictional, its music certainly is not; their album “AURORA” (2023) was released with the Prime series.
