Kendrick Lamar shook the hip-hop world to its core last week with the release of new single “The Heart Pt. 4,” which hinted at a release date of April 7 for the rap regent’s forthcoming new album. With rumours swirling of a new single to be released that very night[Read More…]
Articles by Eric Noble-Marks
Play review: ‘Angélique’ demands that Canada confront a painful past
There’s a smug detachment that accompanies the way a lot of Canadians talk about their past. Despite our country's tradition of violence and systematic oppression, many Canadians perceive our history to be bemusedly boring—something to be admired from afar but never thoroughly confronted or engaged with. We too often have[Read More…]
Staff roundup: Drake – ‘More Life’
In More Life, Drake’s propensity for picking up Caribbean sound and slang is strong, and his growing paranoia of the people around him is stronger. Still, Drake’s talent lies in his humour and humility, and a few moments on More Life demonstrate that he hasn’t fully lost that yet. Drake[Read More…]
Album Review: Jay Som – ‘Everybody Works’
It’s hard to make an indie-rock record in 2017. With rock’s virtually non-existent commercial clout and alternative music’s critical supremacy all but sapped, the genre has been bogged down in a midlife crisis for the past few years. Those who have managed to hang around—Mitski, Car Seat Headrest—have done so[Read More…]
Trib Mix: Dad Rock
You’ve seen the hordes of white middle-aged men longing for the days when music was loud, men were men, guitar solos were long, and the word “rock” was a verb. You’ve seen the YouTube comment sections packed to the brim with 12-year-olds claiming to be born in the “wrong generation.”[Read More…]
Metafiction and Bees: Joketown 16 throws the kitchen sink at comedy
In a city where everyone has a friend who dabbles in comedy, it’s sometimes hard to tell the contenders from the pretenders. But as the 16th iteration of Joketown proved on Jan. 28, sometimes the best way to separate the wheat from the chaff is pure, unadulterated competition. As part[Read More…]
Album Review: I See You – The xx
The xx’s 2009 self-titled debut was a watershed album for indie rock, one that effortlessly fused after-midnight R&B with pop sensibilities. Eight years later, much has changed. World-shifting indie rock records like The xx’s debut now seem few and far between. The band itself has splintered off in different directions;[Read More…]
Best Music of 2016
Compiled by our Arts & Entertainment staff editors and writers, here is the best music of 2016. Best Albums of 2016 rollingstone.com[/caption] 1. Blonde Throughout Blonde, Frank Ocean expresses the small victories and big heartbreaks of everyday life. The album is a mosaic of pop and R&B songs that each tell[Read More…]
Best Film and Television of 2016
Compiled by our staff editors and writers, here is the best film and television of 2016. Best Films of 2016 1. Moonlight Barry Jenkins pieces together a deeply moving investigation of masculinity, class, and race in this fictional biopic. Compelling visuals, and tense dialogue come together in heartbreaking performances to give this[Read More…]
Beat Connection: How Montreal’s next generation of producers are breaking the mould
In bedroom laboratories, on social networks, and at apartment raves, the next generation of artists and collectives are working to take the next step forward in Montreal beatmaking. One producer, Kaytranada, has become something of a standard bearer for Montreal’s cosmopolitan beat scene. Where other producers aim for stylistic consistency and[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Bob Dylan, Nobel Laureaute
By now, you probably already know that Bob Dylan’s Nobel prize win is either a triumph of lyrics as literature or the harbinger of the decline of Western civilization. Over the past few weeks, the announcement has led to an all-consuming blaze of Internet think pieces. There’s been an explosion[Read More…]
Video didn’t necessarily kill the radio star: how CKUT is revitalizing the airwaves
The Casbah Coffee Club, like countless other dive bars in Liverpool, has staked its claim in music history. The supposed “launchpad of the Beatles” now features a commemorative plaque, signed memorabilia, and a £15 entry fee. Yet, the Casbah Club’s most impressive piece of history is also its most modest.[Read More…]
Movie Review: Embrace of the Serpent
After an Oscar season that was packed to the brim with survivalist epics, viewers could be forgiven for not wanting to see yet another “man vs. nature,” movie. However, if there’s one film that weary audiences should make room for, it is Embrace of the Serpent. Sure, it doesn’t boast[Read More…]
Staff Round-Up: Kanye West’s The Life Of Pablo (TLOP)
As a long-time Kanye West fan, I knew The Life of Pablo (TLOP) would deliver in terms of innovation, and considering Kanye’s career progression it was easy to guess that TLOP would feature heavily over-processed samples and gospel-esque backing beats with strong hooks and stronger guest artists. Admittedly, the best[Read More…]
Staff roundup: Rihanna’s ANTI
In light of Rihanna's latest album, ANTI, and genre trasition that came with it, the Arts and Entertainment staff at the McGill Tribune got together to write up their initial thoughts on Rih-Rih's latest project. Is ANTI a good album? Sure it is. It’s simple and stripped down, allowing for a cohesive but emotive[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Drop the cynicism and get excited for LCD Soundsystem’s return
Remember when the reunion rumour was solely in the domain of the great fossils of rock’s mesozoic era? When the ravenous rumour mill of music journalism (read: Rolling Stone Magazine) was content to feast on reports of fabricated Zeppelin tours and that time that Pink Floyd got back together for[Read More…]
The rise and fall of David Bowie from Mars
In the spring of 1962, a 15-year-old boy named David Jones was admitted to a London hospital with an injured left eye. The young Jones had apparently been involved in a scrap with a close friend over a girl. The fight left the boy’s pupil permanently dilated, a condition that[Read More…]
Best of 2015: The Snubs
This year, the Arts & Entertainment section editors worked with our staff writers to come up with the best songs, music videos, albums, TV shows, and movies of 2015; however, not everyone’s favourite made the list. To let the close runners-up shine we’ve each picked our two most-beloved snubs that[Read More…]
10 best songs of 2015
Here are our picks for the best songs of 2015: 10. “Sorry” – Justin Bieber Although released in November, this second single released from Bieber’s new album Purpose, “Sorry” is likely to remain a hit for the rest of the year and into the summer. The success of “Sorry” largely[Read More…]
10 Best Albums of 2015
Here are our picks for the best albums of 2015: 10. Lana Del Rey — Honeymoon Dramatically toning down the gritty sound of her previous album, Ultraviolence (2014), in favour of a more layered, ethereal, and timeless aesthetic, Lana Del Rey—one of pop music’s most divisive artist—takes the listener on[Read More…]
10 best music videos of 2015
Here is our list of the 10 best music videos of 2015: 10. Childish Gambino — “Sober” Choreographed by Ian Eastwood, Childish Gambino’s single from the Kauai EP tackles and subverts the oft-depicted ‘guy approaches girl’ scenario in a music video that comically comments on both itself and other videos[Read More…]
10 best movies of 2015
Here are our picks for the 10 best movies of 2015: 10. The End Of the Tour A film about two authors driving around the midwest on a book tour could have been a exercise in pseudo-intellectual masturbation, even when one of them is legendary author David Foster Wallace (Jason[Read More…]
10 best TV shows of 2015
Here's our list of the 10 best TV shows of 2015: 10. How To Get Away With Murder Suspenseful, sexy, and seriously entertaining, How to Get Away with Murder may be Shonda Rhimes’ best work to date. The plot twists at the end of each episode avoid the deus ex-machina[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Michel Gondry music videos
In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the music video was being redefined. A series of visionary directors were beginning to imagine the music video as more that just a means of promotion, but as an opportunity for artistic expression in itself. Last week, the Tribune took a look at[Read More…]
First Listen: Hamilton The Musical
Full disclosure: I’ve never understood the appeal of modern musicals. Generally I find them trite, overdramatic, and contrived. My musical theatre friends have constantly to broaden my horizons, begging me to listen to Next to Normal or Rent. “This one’s different,” they say to no avail. It’s especially hard for[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Spike Jonze music videos
Most people today tend to know Spike Jonze as the director of critically-acclaimed films such as Being John Malkovitch, Where the Wild Things Are, and Her; however, before his foray into feature films, Jonze was one of the most sought after music video directors of the ‘90s, working with everyone from[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Rick and Morty, Bojack Horseman, and comedy in an incomprehensible world
(Warning: Spoilers) October saw the bittersweet conclusion of Rick and Morty’s stellar second season. Like always, it was funny in a way that only shows like Rick and Morty can be. After all, the show’s madcap and absurd delivery is what brought most of its audience to the table in[Read More…]
Dan Bejar, the cryptic musician behind Destroyer, talks lyricism
In the wake of yet another critically acclaimed, lyrically daring, commercial left turn, people are beginning to truly obsess over Destroyer. The frontman of the Canadian indie-rock band, Dan Bejar, still doesn’t seem to get what all the fuss is about. “It’s all stuff I’ve mined before, it’s like an[Read More…]
Give me convenience or give me death
“The world itself is just one big hoax,” protagonist Elliot Alderson says in the pilot episode of Mr. Robot. This summer’s critical darling, the show tells the story of Alderson, a socially-awkward, morphine-addicted hacker extraordinaire. Alderson looks at his world and sees an obvious problem: Much of it appears to[Read More…]
Five albums you might have missed this summer
Summer has come and gone. The temperature is starting to drop, the leaves are changing, and legions of students have packed up their records and headed back to campuses nationwide. Alas, nothing gold can stay. But hey, it’s not all bad. Though it lacked the star power of previous summers[Read More…]
From the beat to the brain
Hans Christian Andersen said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” In a similar vein, Victor Hugo stated, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” It’s no secret that music has the power to change us, to uplift in times of joy, and[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Creepy Love Songs
Run For Your Life Artist: The Beatles Album: Rubber Soul Year: December 3, 1965 When a song begins with “I’d rather see you dead little girl/ Than to see you with another man,” it’s off to a rocky start. Backed by surprisingly upbeat accompaniment, John Lennon spouts harrowing paranoia in[Read More…]
Album Review: Bad Bad Not Good – Sour Soul
Since BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG)’s discovery by Tyler the Creator in 2011, their rise has been nothing short of meteoric, and they now find themselves standing shoulder to shoulder with Ghostface Killah, who collaborated on their recent release. However, on Sour Soul, BBNG sounds anything but starstruck. On this album, their signature[Read More…]
Pop rhetoric: The marriage of hip hop and jazz on rap’s periphery
In 2011, three jazz students at Toronto’s Humber College performed a piece inspired by rap collective Odd Future. Their instructors promptly declared that the piece had no artistic value. Undiscouraged, the young musicians uploaded their arrangement to YouTube under the name “The Odd Future Sessions.” As it happened, Odd Future’s[Read More…]
Oscar Shorts 2015
Even the more informed moviegoers among the masses will often reach the short film portion of their Academy Awards ballots and have no idea where to start in terms of picking the two winners. The critical buzz that accompanies Oscar season largely ignores these compressed works—and the Tribune is here[Read More…]
Cock opera takes Old Montreal
Johnny Legdick is a rock opera about oppression, identity, and above all, a man who has a leg where his penis is supposed to be.
Wrapping Up the Holidays
The McGill Tribune arts team presents an overview of the movies and music you may have missed over the break.
Sloan turns it up to album 11
There are few bands that posses both the longevity and commitment to collective songwriting that Sloan does. Each member of the Halifax four-piece—consisting of rhythm guitarist/vocalist Jay Ferguson, bassist/vocalist Chris Murphy, lead guitarist/vocalist Patrick Pentland, and drummer Andrew Scott—has contributed significant material since the band’s debut in 1992. However, according[Read More…]
Carriere keeps moving as Royal Tusk settles into its own
How does Daniel Carriere—lead singer and guitar player for Edmonton rock band Royal Tusk—relax after a stressful day on the road? It’s simple—he doesn’t. “I don’t unwind as much as I just crash [and] like, pass the fuck out,” said Carriere. “It is exhausting. People think you play a show[Read More…]
Deep Cuts: Sappy Duets
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough Artist: Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell Album: Single Released: April 20,1967 Devotion and loyalty are two subjects that are underexplored in pop music. After all, it’s easy to be in love when it’s convenient, but the best relationships are often quite the opposite. Call me[Read More…]
Pop Dialectic: The return of Twin Peaks and the “cult” TV phenomenon
Last week, TV show Twin Peaks’ cult following created an enormous internet buzz when it was announced that the show would be returning in 2016 for a nine-episode season after an unprecedented 25-year cancellation period. Two of our writers weigh in on the potential benefits and consequences of bringing a[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Mysterious craze—Why the U2 hate has gone too far
Is there a more hated band in the world right now than U2?
Deep Cuts: Covers that one-upped their originals
“I Will Survive” Artist: Cake Album: Fashion Nugget
Hanging by a string: Forecasting the fall of folk revival
Remember when a band consisted only of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals? Over the past few years, a cursory listen to rock radio has featured the swelling of string lines, the jangle of banjos, and the searing leads of brass sections.
Pop Montreal preview
HIP HOP This year, POP Montreal will feature an odd combination of up-and-coming rappers, offbeat eccentric freestylers, and a sprinkle of well-known giants in the industry.
Death From Above 1979—The Physical World
A lot can happen in 10 years. Since the release of Death From Above 1979’s blistering debut You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine in 2004, the bass and drums garage rock duo have broken up, gotten back together, and are finally back with their sophomore effort, The Physical World. While[Read More…]