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.
Arts & Entertainment
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Oscars 2010: The shoo-ins, the underdogs, and the buzz-worthy
You’ve got 26 days until the Academy Awards, so here’s the buzz and predictions you need to know so you can decide which films to catch up on in the weeks leading up to the Oscars. BEST PICTURE This year the Academy has selected 10 motion pictures as candidates for Best Picture, instead of the usual five.
POP RHETORIC: R.I.P. MTV
The Buggles need to come out with a new one-hit wonder: “Internet Killed the Video Star.” This is the sad but true fate that our music age has come to. Remember when VH1 only played new music videos? How about MTV? Or MuchMusic? For the latter, you may be thinking, “but MuchMusic still plays music videos.
STANDing tall against genocide
Since 2003, a reported 400,000 murders have taken place in Darfur, Sudan, at the hands of the state-sponsored militia, the Janjaweed, and their campaign of ethnic cleansing. While the main violence has ended – there are few villages left to burn – the atrocity has displaced over 2.
CD REVIEWS: Basia Bulat: Heart of My Own
It’s clear from the opening track of Heart of My Own, the follow-up to her Polaris-nominated debut Oh My Darling, that Basia Bulat isn’t content with her previous success – she’s trying to soar to new heights. As a singer whose music too often gets the “sweet” label (which it undoubtedly is), it’s refreshing to hear her really going for it.
Women do it solo in The Vagina Monologues
Seeing The Vagina Monologues can be a bit intimidating – but it’s precisely that hesitation that the show is trying to counteract. The Monologues was created as an attempt to reclaim female sexuality by making “vagina” – both the word and the body part – less taboo.
Do as the Romans do and stay away from When in Rome
Having endured recent atrocities committed in the rom-com genre (The Proposal, Leap Year) audiences deserve a watchable flick. Unfortunately, When In Rome – which opened in theatres on Friday – is another dreadful dud. Anyone who has seen the trailer or gaudy bumblebee-yellow movie poster already predicted this, but for the well-being of everyone else, it’s worth restating.
CD REVIEWS: Joey Stylez: The Blackstar
The question of whether music can ever be objectively good or bad has plagued musicians and critics alike for decades. Joey Stylez’s debut album, The Blackstar, has finally answered it. His music is absolutely the worst combination of sound I’ve ever heard, and for me, he’s redefined the concept of bad music.
The Rake’s Progress shows no sympathy for the devil
Opera McGill’s production of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, an opera based on a series of 18th century satirical etchings by William Hogarth, combined intricate costumes and sets with raw musical talent – and the result was enough to convert any doubting opera-goer into a full-fledged fan.
POP RHETORIC: Fist-pumping iQs away
A phenomenon has appeared in the media, spreading from the shores of Seaside Heights, encroaching slowly upon our values, sneaking into our living rooms as we turn on the TV, and preparing to quietly kill us in our sleep. It is MTV’s new hit reality series Jersey Shore.