If given the opportunity to be James Franco for a day, would you take it? He’s creative, sensitive, prolific, and intellectual, but at the same time fashionably disaffected, hinting at a slightly tortured artistic soul. He makes risqué films that screen at Cannes and plans to direct William Faulkner and[Read More…]
Articles by Alex Hamilton
The Feburary blues
There is a point you reach in the middle of the winter when you realize that Montreal is not actually fit for human habitation. Usually it happens when you’re walking back from campus late at night. The wind is blowing, and even that pair of long underwear you’ve got underneath[Read More…]
Making sense of contemporary British theatre
Alice Walker Alice Walker When trying to describe the underlying message of TNC Theatre’s newest production, Attempts on Her Life, the odds are stacked against you. Attempts on Her Life, directed by Laura Freitag, is the best-known work by modern British playwright Martin Crimp. Divided into 16 episodic segments, the[Read More…]
This I believe?
“When you believe in things that you don’t understand then you suffer. Superstition ain’t the way.” —Stevie Wonder The university can be a hotbed for superstition. When you fill people’s heads with speculative ideas that are presented as facts, things will always get messy. Facts and metaphysical truths, when taken[Read More…]
Braids: Native Speaker
The name Braids will be a familiar one to most McGillians. These four Montreal locals (originally from Calgary) were one-time students here before dropping out to pursue music full time. After the successful release of their debut album, Native Speaker, on Kanine Records on January 18, it looks like things[Read More…]
Give discourse a chance!
Last weekend, the McGill Daily and Le Délit hosted the Canadian University Press’s annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Montreal. The conference was a huge success, providing a unique opportunity for student journalists from across the country to meet one another and engage with professionals in the[Read More…]
Big ideas, images, and distorted facts
We are writing this column because we care. The Bob Dylan song from which this column takes its name includes the line: “Their heads are full of big ideas, images and distorted facts.” We’re writing this column because we feel very strongly that these words are relevant today. When Dylan[Read More…]
Chemical Brothers : Further
Released earlier this year, the Chemical Brothers’ seventh effort, Further, can start to sound like a concert album after a few plays. Unlike many of the Brothers’ earlier releases, the album captures the raw intensity and structureless flow of a live set, filled with unexpected drops, blips, and volume shifts.[Read More…]
The American message wars
The most common weapon in the battle of American politics is the message. A candidate’s policy positions, record, and personality are secondary to the political message uniting them. In theory it’s a simple articulation of the candidate’s position, but in reality it’s usually just a mix of political marketing and[Read More…]
The enjoyment ethic
You are familiar with the words usually attributed to Bob Marley: “In every life we have some trouble/ But when you worry, you make it double/ Don’t worry, be happy.” This famous line—adopted as a mantra by stoners everywhere—was actually written by an early 20th century Indian mystic named Meher[Read More…]
Bonjay : Broughtupsy
Broughtupsy is the fresh debut album from reggae/dancehall duo Bonjay—and fresh is exactly what it is. Fronted by singer Alanna Stuart and produced by beats/effects master Ian “Pho” Swain, Bonjay brings an invigorating mix of dancehall rhythms and crisp hooks to the floor, displaying ample evidence that these two have[Read More…]
Michael Franti & Spearhead: The Sound of Sunshine
Michael Franti & Spearhead is best known for its frontman’s vocal politics. On The Sound of Sunshine —Spearhead’s seventh studio album—Franti continues to preach, spreading a message of positive change through his music. Issues of world peace and social justice aren’t as prominent on this album as on previous ones,[Read More…]
Readers Are the New Writers
The dissemination of news has always been intertwined with sensationalism and manipulation. There have been sex scandals and inflammatory whodunits since the dawn of the modern newspaper in 16th century Europe and even in the news-like outlets of ancient Rome. Similarly, everyone from kings to corporations to Glenn Beck has[Read More…]
CD REVIEW: Chemical Brothers- Further
Released earlier this year, the Chemical Brothers’ seventh effort, Further, can start to sound like a concert album after a few plays. Unlike many of the Brothers’ earlier releases, the album captures the raw intensity and structureless flow of a live set, filled with unexpected drops, blips, and volume shifts.
The Bald Soprano has some playgoers scratching their heads
Director Julien Naggar’s production of The Bald Soprano transports the audience into an absurd world that nonetheless seems strangely familiar. Playing this week at the TNC Theatre in Morrice Hall, The Bald Soprano brings TNC’s 2009-2010 season to a climactic finish with its parlour-room madness, reshaping expectations and challenging presumptions.
CD REVIEWS: Rogue Wave: Permalight
Rogue Wave’s fourth album represents something of a comeback. With the death of bassist Evan Farrell in 2007 and frontman Zach Rogue recovering from a recent partially paralyzing neck injury, the band’s efforts on Permalight really show them getting through the storm and back to business.
CD REVIEWS: Massive Attack: Heligoland
After a seven-year hiatus, Massive Attack’s highly anticipated new release Heligoland is a letdown, to say the least. With collaborations from a variety of musicians such as Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, Guy Garvey of Elbow, and regular Massive Attack contributors Horace Andy and Robert del Naja, fans were looking forward to something special.
A group of Jolly Rogers take the stage in The Pirates of Penzance
The McGill Savoy Society’s presentation of The Pirates of Penzance both delights and entrances the audience with light-hearted charm. The Pirates of Penzance, or, The Slave of Duty is a late 19th-century comic opera, featuring the work of Gilbert & Sullivan.
CD REVIEWS: Four Tet: There Is Love In You
The fifth full-length album from British electronic musician Kieran Hebden (better known as Four Tet), isn’t a dramatic departure from his earlier work. Nor will it disappoint fans of Four Tet’s already well-established oeuvre. The album is barely over 45 minutes long and undemanding enough to not need your full attention.
CD REVIEWS: Yeasayer: Odd Blood
If the African- and Middle Eastern-tinged flavour of Yeasayer’s 2007 debut All Hour Cymbals impressed you, get ready to be transported by their sophomore effort, Odd Blood. Yeasayer leaves the tribal aesthetic behind for an electronic vibe, with distorted vocals, synth, and pounding bass lines.