Arts

Arts

Grammys 2022: Who should win and predictions for who will win

By Jack Clohisy | December 1

On Nov. 23, the Recording Academy announced the nominees for its upcoming 64th annual Grammy Awards, to be held this upcoming January. In recent years, the Recording Academy and Grammy Awards have undergone many changes to adopt new policies centering on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as leadership adjustments. In the "Big Four" categories (Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best New Artist), nominees increased from five to eight in 2018, and this year, have been expanded to 10 per category. With that, here are the nominees for each of the aforementioned awards, as well as who, in this author's opinion, deserves and is likely to win each award.

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Columns

Brand who deserve your dollars: Girlfriend Collective

By Colette Smith | December 1

Girlfriend Collective is an athletic and loungewear brand that uses recycled materials like polyester, fishing nets and used water bottles to create its pieces.The company was founded by a husband and wife duo, Ellie and Quang Dinh. They noticed that it was difficult to find activewear that was created in an environmentally sustainable way and also that many of the activewear brands used the same exact materials. So, Ellie and Quang began to search for alternative fabric choices, which is how they found a fabric mill in Asia that creates fabric from 100% recycled bottles and an SA8000-certified factory in Vietnam. The SA8000 certification means that the factory meets a standard developed by Social Accountability International to protect workers’ conditions and wages. Thus, once the sustainable fabric factory and the production factory were discovered, the husband and wife duo began the design process and Girlfriend Collective was born. 

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Theater

'Tick, Tick... Boom!' celebrates the legacy of theater composition

By Henry Chandonnet | November 30

On Nov. 26, legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim died. Sondheim leaves behind a changed fate for the modern musical, having reinvented the standard with classics such as “Into The Woods” (1987), “Company” (1970) and “West Side Story” (1957). Just a week before Sondheim’s passing, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” was released on Netflix. The film celebrates musical theater and composers, namely through the original writer Jonathan Larson. These two consecutive events call on us to reminisce upon the icons of composition and reinvestigate the simple joys of live theater. 

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Arts

'Dopesick': The negligence that fueled the opioid epidemic

By RaiAnn Bu | November 30

"Dopesick" is a new miniseries drama on Hulu adapted from the nonfiction book by Beth Macy and executively produced by a team including Micheal Keaton. The miniseries blends the individual stories of how OxyContin deeply affected the lives of Americans, the development and marketing of OxyContin and the government's struggle to regulate the prescription of OxyContin. The story follows several perspectives of patients, physicians, regulators, salesmen and top executives, piecing together the cultural and social impact of the opioid epidemic.  

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Columns

On Demand: 'Never Have I Ever' been the star of an American teen dramedy

By Raga Chilakamarri | November 30

My housemate Nyssa’s most underused fun fact is that she auditioned for the role of Devi on Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” (2020–), a YA-esque Netflix series about a first-generation South Indian American high schooler intent on improving her social status. The role, though, went to Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (You’re still a queen, Nyssa). 

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Arts

'30,' awash in intimacy, reveals new sides to Adele

By Maeve Hagerty | November 23

“I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart,” Adele sings as she opens her fourth studio album to date. Her newest album, “30,” which was released on Nov. 19, is a testament to Adele’s growth as an artist, a mother and a person.  

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Columns

On Demand: 'Strangers,' 'Love Life' and the subtle rise of Zoë Chao.  

By Raga Chilakamarri | November 23

For a brief period in high school, I would end the school night by watching a web series on Facebook Watch before bed. There’s an image evoked by these private moments: laying sideways, my cheek pressed against the pillow; leaning into my horizontally-held iPhone, the short charging cable restricting my mobile radius; my glasses pinching against my nose, eyesight worsening by the minute.  

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Arts

Porter Square Books expands with new location

By Carl Svahn | November 22

David Sandberg never saw himself owning two bookstores. The former lawyer, who has been co-owner of Porter Square Books since 2013,recently oversaw the opening of the famous local bookshop’s second location in Boston's Seaport District. Despite the setbacks of COVID-19 and the pressures of expanding, Sandberg sees a bright future ahead for the new shop. “I just think that we worked really hard to make this new store feel very much like it is Porter Square Books,” Sandberg said. “I think it's too early to tell, we've only been open a month, but it looks like we're going to be successful in creating that.”

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Column

K-Weekly: Vibe out with Jessi’s ‘Nunu Nana’

By Odessa Gaines | November 22

As I have mentioned many times before, the world of K-pop is vast and is much more than simply pop music in Korean. K-pop has Latin, pop, alternative, rock, hip-hop and rap influences. The industry is built to mesh these sounds together and try to create distinct sounds. One artist who most definitely has her own sound, but is often overlooked, is Jessi.

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Arts

Taylor Swift reclaims her narrative with 'Red (Taylor's Version)'

By Emily Thompson | November 19

Almost a full decade after the original, Taylor Swift has reclaimed ownership of her music with the release of "Red (Taylor’s Version)" (2021). The album, which contains rerecordings of the songs from the 2012 album and six new “from the vault” songs, broke the record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist in Spotify history, previously held by Swift’s "Folklore" (2020).

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Music

Is Summer Walker 'Still Over It'? She really is.

By Jack Clohisy | November 19

Thought Summer Walker was over it and moved on? Nope. She's quite literally still over it. It has been two years since the release of her critically acclaimed debut LP "Over It" (2019). Since then, Walker has been crafting her next album entangled in the same themes as her prior work. "Still Over It" (2021), Walker's follow up, was released on Nov. 5, and it's clear that some relationships continue to prove tumultuous. In this newest work, Walker dives into herself to identify the emotions she's experienced throughout her pregnancy and introduction to motherhood.

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Columns

For the Culture: Is art ever really 'new'?

By Paul Osmond | November 19

I have been very inspired recently. I suspect this has to do with the arrival of fall, my favorite season. I wondered whether others shared this inspiration, and I soon discovered this was not necessarily the case. Hardly any of my friends felt as inspired as I was, and I began to wonder where inspiration comes from — is it something that occurs naturally or something that must be brought forth?

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Arts

Netflix's raunchiest series returns: 'Big Mouth' drops Season 5

By Maeve Hagerty | November 18

In a unique marriage of honesty and the outrageous, “Big Mouth” (2017–) has returned. The hit adult cartoon dropped its fifth season to Netflix on Nov. 5, and it is quite possibly one of its best. A show that has followed the story of the horny, pubescent students of Bridgeton Middle School seems to have recovered its footing this season after a rocky fourth season. The coming-of-age style of the series became popular for its raunchy humor and ability to tackle many of the issues faced by preteens as they go through puberty, mental health struggles and social and familial conflicts. This particular season is as uncomfortable and weird as the rest, sometimes taking jokes and shock value moments too far, but it also demonstrates what is so special about the show.

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Column

Dreaming of Sandman: Dream tests our power

By Sadie Leite | November 18

And the dead heads sing. Why? Because power, kings and gods have complications.

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Music

Silk Sonic transcends genres, generations on debut album 'An Evening With Silk Sonic'

By Maeve Hagerty | November 17

There are certain feelings that cannot be put into words. That feeling which is a combination of joy, good vibes and a solid bass line, and which is best encapsulated by “An Evening With Silk Sonic” (2021), is one of them. Released on Nov. 12, the album is the synthesis of creative genius. Pop culture icon Bruno Mars and the masterful Anderson .Paak are Silk Sonic, and their shared project “An Evening With Silk Sonic” is the perfect blend of ‘70s soul and disco topped off by a large dose of modern charisma. With the legendary Bootsy Collins narrating the album throughout, the album is an ode to the music and style of the ‘70s, but “An Evening With Silk Sonic” is entirely unique to Mars and Paak. Highlighting Paak’s effortless rapping and Mars’ signature vocal style, the album isn’t just an imitation of ‘70s music — it’s a reflection on its influence on modern music.

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Arts

'The Eternals': Is it one of Marvel's best or one of its worst?

By Isabelle Kaminsky | November 17

Marvel’s Phase Four has introduced countless new elements to its Cinematic Universe. What was once simply a world of superheroes, now includes a multitude of creatures, planets and timelines. We received a new Captain America, met the Time Variance Authority and the Multiverse and now the Eternals.

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Columns

Brands who deserve your dollars: Asportuguesas

By Colette Smith | November 17

This week’s column is dedicated to my love for those shoes that are ugly enough that they are cool. Think Birkenstocks, dad sneakers and now, the new addition to the list: Asportuguesas shoes. Asportuguesas started their shoe design process with the explicit intention to create sustainable footwear. They achieve this by using sustainable materials and a small, manual production process. 

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Arts

Snail Mail's 'Valentine' captures the anguish of lost love

By Henry Chandonnet | November 16

By now the “break-up album” is a genre in itself. These albums have been smash successes, namely because they contextualize the human need to grieve lost relationships. Still, this form of album can often become overplayed, using the same musical tropes or lyrical structures to comment on the same idea. It’s when an artist brings a new sound to the traditional form, and reinvents the ideals of the genre, that one truly takes interest. That’s all true of Snail Mail’s most recent project, “Valentine.”Snail Mail combines the traditional breakup trope with a new indie-rock sound, making the sound engaging and innovative. 

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Arts

'Y: The Last Man' adaptation doesn’t do its cast justice

By Carl Svahn | November 16

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. A devastating plague has wiped out most of the Earth’s population, and the key to our survival lies in the hands of an unlikely and ill-equipped group of survivors. Now, make that plague one that kills everything with a Y chromosome and make the group consist of the last cisgender human man on earth, his pet monkey (also male), his insecure yet lethal bodyguard and the rogue lesbian geneticist who might be able to save humanity’s future. Now that’s an idea. This is the set up for Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s seminal indie comic, "Y: The Last Man" (2002–08), and while the long-awaited TV adaptation keeps this engrossing premise, it adds elements that turn one of the best post-apocalyptic stories of the last two decades into a miserable snooze fest of a show.

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Columns

On Demand: Not a lot of luggage but a lot to unpack in 'The Wilds'

By Raga Chilakamarri | November 16

Like most people, I’ve daydreamed about my likelihood of surviving in apocalyptic or suddenly traumatic situations like "The Hunger Games" (2008–10), zombie attacks or being marooned on an island. While I lack any evolutionary faith in myself to successfully perform DIY outdoors survival, as a member of Tufts Wilderness Orientation, I’m sure I could finagle my way around a tarp, if given the proper rope, stakes and moral support.  

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