“Che te dice la patria?” asked Ernest Hemingway in 1927. The question of what the fatherland—Italy, under the yoke of Mussolini—had to say was, in those years, of seminal importance; doubly so for Hemingway, a man whose first taste of love and death came on the Italian front during WWI.[Read More…]
Author: Ilia Blinderman
Criminally blonde: Red, white, and dead
Blondes around the world, natural and bleached alike, are attacking strangers for no reason. The cause is unknown, but it only affects women. Hazel Hayes, a brunette Toronto native, witnesses the first attack in New York City, right after she finds out she’s pregnant from an affair with her married[Read More…]
Flux Pavillion: Blow the Roof
Today, some listeners are voicing concerns that dubstep is a dying genre—a fad that existed solely as an exciting, contrarian alternative to the growing popularity of catchy electronic pop. Likewise, they argue that with new mainstream acceptance, the genre is floundering—the limelight brings the destruction of a genre that can[Read More…]
Hollerado: White Paint
The 2009 release of Hollerado’s breakthrough debut, Record in a Bag, uprooted the band from small-town beginnings and propelled them into the indie limelight. The band’s sophomore effort, White Paint, is the culmination of the ensuing four years—more than a thousand live shows and several tonnes of confetti later. The[Read More…]
PVT: Homosapien
The title of Australian trio PVT’s fourth effort Homosapien sheds light on the band’s perspective on sound. With its scientific tinge, the title alludes to the electronic infrastructure of the album. The band’s progression from instrumental electronic rock to a more electro synth-pop sound began with their last album, Church[Read More…]
Music journalism: you’re doing it wrong
Last week, the New York Times’ credibility was called into question when reporter John Broder’s negative review of the Tesla Model S, an electric car, was challenged by none other than the company’s CEO, Elon Musk. The story caused a stir in the press, simply because the subjects of mainstream[Read More…]
McGill’s Savoy succeeds with uproarious comic opera
As senate reform once again makes its awkward, halting round through this country’s public consciousness, it is perhaps timely to reflect on this peculiar institution’s elder brother: the British House of Lords. No longer a bastion of the hereditary aristocracy—though they still hold a seventh of the seats—the upper chamber[Read More…]
Picks for the 2013 Oscar Winners
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a reputation as tame, dust-covered fossils that shirk from innovation and gravitate towards the crowd-pleaser. This was true for the Best Picture winners of the last two years—both The Artist and The King’s Speech are fine, but not spectacular, eulogies for[Read More…]
A sonnet stored in DNA would sound as sweet
DNA has an incredible capability to store information. Now, thanks to a simple cipher, DNA can be manipulated to act as a storage system for digital data. The importance of archiving data holds significantly more relevance in today’s world, where information is generated at an increasing pace. From GDP economic[Read More…]
Does chocolate make you smarter?
As it becomes increasingly difficult to find a seat at McLennan, it’s clear midterms are fully underway at McGill. Although these tests make up less of our grades than finals, many students will do whatever it takes to perform well. Tactics range from taking up residence in the library to[Read More…]
