Latest News

Arts & Entertainment

The Kooks: Junk of the Heart

by Lauren Pires on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Britain’s quintessential indie hipsters, The Kooks, are back with their third album Junk of the Heart after a three-year hiatus. Known for their rousing choruses and tongue-in-cheek lyrics, The Kooks are all about strings, fedoras, and black and white videos. This album attempts to change that, and the result is an unfulfilling, haphazard collection of songs.  

The album is all over the place, and while there’s no musical coherence to it, there are a few decent songs which sound more like their earlier material, including “Mr. Nice Guy,” “Eskimo Kiss,” and title track “Junk Of The Heart (Happy).”  

The Kooks have tried to switch it up on Junk of the Heart by introducing a little electronic pop to their sound—songs like “Runaway” attempt to combine their signature acoustic twang with arcade-like bleeps, and they even ventured as far as adding violin-backed interludes to “Time Above Earth”—but these attempts at sound evolution and growth fall short of anything that will bring in new listeners, and won’t appeal to original Kooks fans.  

If Junk of the Heart tells us anything, it’s that the Kooks need to stop striving for something that will always be just out of their reach: maturity. They need to embrace the youth of their fan base and go back to doing what they were doing. Their albums may not define a genre, but at least they were enjoyable.

Arts & Entertainment

The Ides of March

by Chris Liu on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

When a film title references the assassination of Caesar, viewers can’t expect lollipops and unicorns. The Ides of March, directed by George Clooney, is a film that strangles hope with its bare hands, throws it in the trunk, then dumps the body in the wilderness of political cynicism. Not to say the film isn’t expertly crafted; viewers familiar with Good Night and Good Luck know that Clooney understands the camera. Yet, for all the talent both in front of and behind the lens, it’s difficult to grapple with the film’s argument. I left the theatre feeling as jaded as the characters did; truth may be hard to swallow, but it shouldn’t leave such an awful aftertaste.

The tumultuous plot, based on the Beau Willimon play Farragut North, centres on Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), a senior-level staffer working on the Democratic Primary campaign of Mike Morris (Clooney). Myers, at first glance, appears easy to understand. He’s young, idealistic, and in it to win it. He spins the numbers and baits the media, but avoids dirtier tactics. When he talks about Morris, he slips into an emotional, husky drawl; the bro-crush would be embarrassing if half the United States hadn’t done the same thing in the lead-up to 2008.  

He’s so focused—”married to the campaign”, as he claims—that during sex his eyes are on Morris’ televised address rather than on intern Molly Stearns (in a hypnotic turn by Evan Rachel Wood). Now, Clooney is a handsome man, but could Myers really not have turned up the jazz and turned off the TV?  

He’s also joined at the hip with campaign manager Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman), and the two play the game of rhetoric and backroom deals against the rival candidate’s campaign manager, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), whose own morals are questionable at best. “This isn’t about the democratic process,” he claims. “It’s about getting our guy elected!” Both Hoffman and Giamatti are on their game, especially the latter; Giamatti is so incredibly expressive, it’s as if every furrowed brow and forehead wrinkle is screaming, “I’m a slimeball!”

Accordingly, Duffy is the one who tips the first domino. A stroke of the ego, an unscrupulous offer, and Myers’ bright and admirable worldview topples like a precarious house of cards. Except harder, and more vehemently; it’s a resolute cascade of misery and consequence. Myers is left a mere husk of a man. The viewer can see it coming—in this day and age it is absurd to not expect a little cynicism in politics—but this screenplay steamrolls over optimism and spits on its corpse. A shame, since the film’s dialogue is smart, organic and imminently quotable, a feature that’s sorely missing from most contemporary fare.  

The coup de grâce is the slow-zoom long shot towards the end, when Myers delivers his decisive act of retribution. It’s a stark contrast to the intimate, tight close-ups that cinematographer Phedon Papamichael consistently employed throughout. Gone are the scenes where soft lighting flows across enthusiastic faces. Instead, the brutal reality of politics is delivered in a black SUV parked in a grime-filled alleyway.  

This film could be a sobering lesson on the scheming darkness behind the magnanimous rhetoric for some. For most, it should cause a breath of relief that Canadian politics, at their worst, are merely boring. As for the rest—brace yourself. 

Arts & Entertainment

Feist: Metals

by Alexander Hamilton on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

It was “1234” that made Leslie Feist a household name, but it took her an awfully long time to get to that last number in terms of albums, and Metals marks her return after a five-year hiatus.

At first listen, the disc sounds suspiciously similar to a number of other major summer releases, but this isn’t really a problem. Feist is certainly not guilty of lazy repetition and the shared elements are generally positive in character: interesting arrangements and mellow atmospherics.

Feist’s usually prominent vocals are balanced out with the use of careful instrumental arrangements, indicating more of a focus on songwriting than before. Metals doesn’t have any belting numbers like “I Feel It All” or “Sealion,” but its songs still pack a punch, just in a more understated way. Tracks like “Bittersweet Melody” and “Graveyard” culminate in powerful choruses, but there is a melancholy in them more appropriate to a campfire than the dance floor.

The album is more creative than its predecessors. Feist uses her vocals in a wider variety of ways, juxtaposing her voice with a masculine chorus in “A Commotion” to great effect, and transitioning from whispery to exuberant with confident ease.

Metals reveals a more open Feist than before, one willing to experiment and disclose parts of herself that we have yet to see.

Arts & Entertainment

Lady Antebellum: Own the Night

by Jacqueline Galbraith on

More in Arts & Entertainment:

Grammy Award-winning group Lady Antebellum is back with their third studio album, Own the Night. The band has taken the country music industry by storm since their formation in 2006, and their sophomore album Need You Now proved they were more than capable of successfully crossing over into pop music.

The tone of the album is upbeat and optimistic, beginning with the first track, “We Owned the Night,” and other songs like “Friday Night” and “Singing Me Home” perfectly follow suit. Unfortunately, while the group has obviously attempted to show their versatility with some slower, melancholic tunes, most of them fall flat, failing to make a connection with the listener. To be fair, a few of the heartbreak songs are paired with an interesting enough hook that they avoid the downright dullness of some of their other songs, but as far as the band should be concerned, the more energetic, the better.

True to form, the power ballad “Just a Kiss” is the first single off of the album, fully capitalizing on their trademark harmonies and the undeniable chemistry that occurs when Hillary Scott’s smooth tone and Charles Kelley’s slightly more rock-and-roll style mesh.

Lady Antebellum is best when they leave the misery at the door, and stick to what they’re best at: writing catchy, positive songs about living life, loving your sweetheart, and having a good time.

Sports

Martlets survive scare, keep streak alive in opener

by Sam Hunter on

More in Sports:

Sam Reynolds
Sam Reynolds

One hundred and six consecutive wins against Quebec conference opponents. Thirty-eight straight wins over rival Concordia. Three hundred and one career victories for Head Coach Peter Smith. But who’s counting?

The defending national champions kicked off yet another promising season in front of a sparse McConnell Arena crowd this past Friday. McGill withstood a surprisingly resilient effort from the visiting Concordia Stingers, holding onto an early lead they never fully relinquished in a tense 7-5 win.

“I’ll give Concordia credit,” Smith said. “I thought they were much improved and they did a good job.”

Concordia’s scoring output and the fact that the game’s outcome was ever in doubt raise the inevitable question: is there a crack in the Martlets’ patina of invincibility? Five goals is the highest total McGill has allowed in a regular season game over the past two years.

Smith didn’t appear ready to sound the alarm.

“I thought that we did lots of good things, I thought we moved the puck well,” Smith said. “I just thought we had some inconsistencies and I thought that we kind of complicated the game as [it] went on … We got away from some of the simple things that we do well.”

Despite rough patches of play—failed attempts to clear the puck and undisciplined penalties—every time the Stingers closed the gap the Martlets raised their game.

Three times in the third period Concordia cut the McGill lead to two goals, but each time the line of Leslie Oles, Ann-Sophie Bettez, and Katia Clément-Heydra responded quickly. The line scored 12 and 50 seconds, respectively, after each of the first two Concordia goals, twice restoring the three-goal cushion. The three skaters combined for three goals and three assists. Leading the charge was Oles, who picked up two helpers to go with a pair of goals.

“I think we got goals at the right time,” Oles said. “Every time you go out on the ice you want to bring a lot of energy and make sure that you win your battles … so that the next line out kind of follows the same pattern as our line did.”

Backup goalie Taylor Salisbury took that sentiment to heart. Coming on with under 10 minutes to go in relief of starter, Charline Labonté, Salisbury didn’t miss a beat. Stopping the only shot she faced, a point-blank snap shot with 1:50 to go, she preserved the win for McGill.

“I just tried to focus myself as best as I could,” she said of the surprise substitution. “And the team did really well in front of me so I didn’t have to do a whole lot.”

McGill led 3-1 after the first period and 5-2 after the second. Martlet captain Cathy Chartrand scored one goal, Chelsea Saunders chipped in two, and freshman Ioanna Cagionas notched the first goal of her McGill career.

With the win, a fresh season has officially begun. But for a team where anything short of a national championship seems to represent failure, and with a 106-game winning streak hanging over their heads, there is always plenty of pressure.

“We try not to think about [the winning streak] in the room,” Oles said. “Obviously, everyone outside tries to put a lot of pressure on us but, like I said, we just take it practice by practice, game by game, and shift by shift.”

Sports

Forget Field of Dreams, I’ll stay in the dugout

by Trevor Drummond on

More in Sports:

 

Sitting at his desk, in the basement of an empty building, the manager looks over a list of nine names. These nine names represent his best and most talented people. Though he earns a seven-figure salary, the manager’s office does not have any windows, is not particularly large, and is not in some modern high-rise. Baseball managers sit in the basement of the stadium, just down the corridor from the locker room. It’s an area more fit for a janitor’s office than for the head of a professional sports franchise. But he is not a coach; he’s a manager. There’s a difference.

A coach’s work is done mostly at practice, teaching his players the strategies he would like them to apply. Having coached hockey, I found myself frustrated by my inability to impact the outcome of various events in the game. The fact that my players were seven years old may have had something to do with their inability to execute. I was bothered by my lack of influence; I was limited to substitutions, speeches, and the occasional play-call. 

In baseball, however, the manager can affect multiple aspects of any given play throughout the game. He can decide what pitch is thrown and where it’s aimed, whether the batter goes to the plate hacking away or taking the first pitch for a strike. It’s this ability to control so many aspects of the game that makes the position so appealing to me.

I’d love be in the manager’s chair, admiring my lineup card and listening to the sweet sound of batting practice. Crack. Crack. Crack. I could tell just by the sound whether he’d hit it on the screws or off the end of the barrel. I’d walk slowly through the clubhouse and up on the top step of the dugout, examining the field. Come game time, the dugout becomes the manager’s real office. But rather than sitting at a desk, I’d be up against the railing, analyzing and studying the game with intense concentration and admiration for all of its subtleties. 

They say that sports are 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical, but no game is more cerebral than baseball. The manager must decipher what everyone on the field intends to do on a given pitch before it is thrown, and then decide what pitch to call. Every decision is influenced by statistics, psychology, intuition, experience, and wisdom. If the runner on first is about to attempt a stolen base, a curveball in the dirt could allow him to reach third, but a fastball on the outside corner would allow my catcher to gun him out at second. What separates baseball from other sports is the number of decisions that are made throughout a game. In a 10-pitch at-bat, the manager must decide 10 times whether to steal or hit and run, sacrifice bunt or suicide squeeze. The analysis involved in every decision is astounding.

Undoubtedly there are pressures that come with the position. But as an extremely competitive individual, I wouldn’t want these decisions to be in anyone’s hands but mine. I want to be able to say that we won or lost because of my decisions as a manager. After all, there’s another game tomorrow. Though some question the significance of a single game in a 162-game season, that’s what I love most about baseball: being at the ballpark day in and day out. When you’re truly passionate about something, that fire never dwindles. Not for a game. Not for an inning. Not for a pitch. 

a, Sports

Wolfe calls it quits midway through season

by Sam Hunter on

More in a:

Sam Reynolds

Sonny Wolfe, who took over from Chuck McMann as the McGill football program’s head coach in April of 2007, has stepped down from his post.

Wolfe announced the decision to his team after practice on Oct. 11. Earl Zukerman, Communications and Publications Officer for the Department of Athletics at McGill, broke the news to the public in a press release.

“The chances of making the playoffs are slim so it’s time to start thinking of next year,” Wolfe said, in an interview with Zukerman.

Wolfe had planned to step down next year, leaving the position open for the apparent heir-in-waiting—defensive coordinator Clint Uttley, who’s been with the Redmen for four years.

Wolfe will stay with the team in some capacity until his contract ends in April.

With three games remaining in the season, the next of which is this Saturday, Uttley will find himself in the hot seat sooner than anticipated.

a, Sports

Bishop’s keeps Redmen in check

by Christopher Nardi on

More in a:

Robert Smith
Robert Smith

 

There is an old adage that says “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Although this can be said about many sports teams, it applied particularly well to the Bishop’s Gaiters on Thursday as they roared back from a 9-5 deficit at the end of the third quarter to an 11-10 overtime win over the previously undefeated Redmen.

The large crowd that had braved the cold to attend “Fill the Hill” seemed confident that McGill would prevail, as they ended the first half leading their rivals 7-3. Yet an unruly fourth quarter cost the Redmen enormously and their 9-4 lead had evaporated by the time the final buzzer rang. 

“We made some mental mistakes, and we took some stupid penalties, and unfortunately we lost our composure a little bit in the second half, which really affected our concentration offensively,” Head Coach Timothy Murdoch said. “We had to stay on the defensive for way too long, and we allowed them to creep back into the game, tie it up and then actually get ahead.”

Despite the late game collapse, the team can focus on the many positives. McGill dominated Bishop’s during most of the first half, only allowing them to score two quick goals 13 minutes into the game, and then one late in the frame. McGill’s Alex Rohrbach and Ryan Besse potted two apiece in the first quarter, with Besse completing his hat trick in the second. This feat didn’t go unnoticed by his coach. 

“I’d say Ryan Besse was probably the outstanding player of the game [for McGill], he had a hat trick …[and] he played extremely well offensively,” Murdoch said. Jishan Sharples and Nolan Prinzen scored the other McGill goals.

McGill was also strong in the third quarter, as both sides scored twice, making it 9-5 Redmen. The score might have been much closer had it not been for McGill goaltender Ward Waesche who  made three incredible saves on point blank shots, including a gliding foot save.

The fourth quarter was a different story, as Bishop’s players got under the Redmen’s skin, leading to 13 penalties against the home team. The Gaiters scored five unanswered goals to take a one-goal lead before McGill’s J.J. Miller was able to tie the game in the last minute of play. However, Miller’s last-minute heroics weren’t enough, as Bishop’s scored once more in overtime to end McGill’s winning streak at seven.

Despite his apparent disappointment over the loss, Murdoch remained positive about his team’s performance. “I was proud of the team, even though we lost, I thought we played extremely well … in an emotional game. We fought back hard, and just ran out of gas in the overtime,” Murdoch said.

Despite the loss, McGill remains in first place in the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association East standings with two games remaining in the regular season. The Redmen will attempt to get back on track as they close out the year with a pair of games against winless Queen’s.

a, Sports

Championship hangover lasts until Monday afternoon; Redmen eliminated by Concordia

by Adam Sadinsky on

More in a:

 

The defending champions saw their reign come to a crashing halt Monday, as the Redmen baseball team dropped the deciding third game of their CIBA Northern Conference semi-final against the Concordia Stingers. With the win, Concordia qualifies for the National Championship tournament while McGill will be left at home wondering what could have been. After taking home the title last year, the Redmen sputtered to an 0-4 start. They closed the season in much better form and even took the first game of the series against the Stingers 9-3 on Sunday afternoon. That lead was squandered, however, as Concordia took the last two games by scores of 5-2 and 9-0. “There could have been [a championship hangover]. You know, guys were still on a high after winning, there’s still a lot of talk about the rings and all the garments we got that had ‘national champions’ on it. The minute that championship was done, for me it’s done,” Head Coach Ernie D’Alessandro said. “We were a little disappointed with how everything turned out. Short season, things get off to a slow start, and sometimes it’s tough to right the ship. We lost a couple of guys that we didn’t expect to lose, we had a bunch of injuries, and things just never seemed to turn around for us.”

a, Sports

The Red Rocket takes flight in Montreal

by Sam Hunter on

More in a:

 

After his appearance at the POP versus Jock Charity Basketball Game, held at McGill’s Love Competition Hall on Saturday Sept. 24, the Tribune had the privilege of speaking to current NBA player and former Toronto Raptor Matt Bonner.

Bonner has been with the San Antonio Spurs organization since 2006, and won a championship with them in 2007. However, lately, instead of fighting for the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the hardcourt, Bonner, as Vice President of the NBA Players Association, has been battling the NBA owners in the boardroom for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

The Tribune contacted Bonner at his home in Toronto, and we discussed rookie tribulations, the origins of his “Red Rocket” nickname, his thoughts on the city of Montreal, and, nearest and dearest to all our hearts, academics.

 

After you were drafted by the Raptors you were asked to spend a year in Italy. Can you describe that experience?

While I was in Italy I had a great year on the court, but off the court it was an absolute nightmare. I only got paid half of my money, I had my electricity cut out: I had two  eviction notices because the team wasn’t paying my rent. My water heater broke the first week I was there and never got fixed. I’d do the old freezing cold shower, like when you jump in, get wet, jump out, soap up, jump in, rinse off, jump out. And also I think because of that, because I couldn’t disinfect anything with hot water, I ended up getting salmonella poisoning at one point. I was sick for six days and I lost 22 pounds. I hit 105-temperature fevers. I was hallucinating and stuff. And…uh…that was a lot of fun.

But that taught me two things: One, it made me want to make it in the NBA that much more, and two, once I got to the NBA, I never took anything for granted. I’m so happy just to be in the NBA. That was always my dream.

[A]t the end of all that I got my one-year rookie minimum, unguaranteed contract. The worst contract you can get, but I took it, even though I was getting much bigger offers in Europe because, like I said, playing in the NBA was my dream.

 

How do you feel about being such a fan favourite in Toronto?

I don’t even know what to say, it’s just incredibly flattering and awesome that all the fans would take to me, you know?…I don’t consider myself a flashy or exciting player to watch, I just try to go out and do whatever I can to help the team win, you know, through hustle and hard work….

It was funny, in Toronto, I got the nickname “The Red Rocket” because I never had a car and I just would either walk to the games or practice, or if it was raining I would take the streetcar or the subway. [Editor’s note: The red colour of Toronto’s TTC transit system and Bonner’s red hair both contributed to the nickname.] A lot of times, going to the game and coming home, I’m on the streetcar with fans who are also going or coming from the game. And they’re just like, “What are you doing here?” And I’m like, “I’m going home, just like you!” And I remember, every time I’d do a basketball camp we’d open it up for questions and one of the questions would be, “What kind of car do you drive?” You know, a big NBA player must have an awesome car. And they just could not understand when I’d tell them that I don’t have a car.

Another funny one…I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, it’s so embarrassing…because I didn’t really make much money in Italy—then I came back and played for the Raptors and I never really had time to secure living arrangements, so, when I came home that following summer, I remember I lived in my parent’s tiny basement with my brother for the whole summer. A year after playing in the NBA. And I remember, same thing at camps, [fans would ask] “How big is your house?” and I’d have to explain to them that I lived in my parents’ basement.

One thing I learned about the NBA is that in college I might average 20 points a game, in Italy I might average 20 points a game, but in the NBA I’m not going to score 20 points a game, ever. I’m not an All-Star. I’m not even a full-time starter. I’m fine with that, I understand that. It’s about finding your niche and your role that is part of the whole and that will win.

 

You said you’re not an All-Star but a lot of people felt like you should’ve been at the All-Star game in the three-point competition.

Don’t get me started on that. I feel like I’ve gotten the shaft a few times in that department but they always come back with some reason or excuse why I didn’t go. I’m just going to keep shooting the ball and hopefully one of these times I can catch a break. I just hope when I finally catch it I don’t go up there and shoot a two.

 

How great has it been playing with Tim Duncan in San Antonio?

It’s been awesome, he’s an incredible player. I mean, not just about his physical skills on the court, but his mentality; he’s about all the right things and will do whatever it takes to win. Some nights he won’t shoot the ball if he’s getting double-teamed because he knows if he kicks it out we can swing it and get a better shot off the rotation but if he needs to score he will. He’s not selfish. He doesn’t have an ego. He just goes out and wants to win.

He’s a really funny guy. I get along great with him because I’m from New England and people in New England have a very dry, sarcastic sense of humour and he shares that same attribute. He has a very sarcastic sense of humour and is definitely a funny guy.

 

What are your plans for the lockout?

I’m vice president on the executive board of the Players Association so I’ve been sitting in on all the negotiation sessions, which means a lot of travelling back and forth to New York City, so I’ve been busy with that, obviously, spending a lot of time with my family. [I’m] enjoying that aspect of the lockout. Normally right now I’d be in training camp but I can put in more time with my family and just work out and try to be healthy and in shape for whenever the lockout ends.

 

How did you maintain such a high GPA while playing so much ball?

Just busy. Hard work and being busy. I remember I’d go stretches where I’d wake up at 8 and go to bed at midnight for weeks at a time where every spare second was either something academic—studying, class, lab, whatever—or basketball—lifting weights, individual instruction, practice, games. So I just buckled down, put my head down and said I’m going to get the most out of college I can. I’m a student athlete and that means I’m going to get the most I can out of academics and on the court, and that’s what I tried to do.

 

How did you like our city when you came here for Pop Montreal?

It was amazing. Growing up in New Hampshire, which is about a three hour drive to Montreal, I remember in high school all my buddies would drive up to Montreal to party. You know, the drinking age is lower, they had the casino, and the US dollar was worth twice as much as the Canadian dollar back then and they would just go up there and go nuts and come back Monday morning and tell me all about it. And I obviously never went, I was at the YMCA working on my jumpshot. So the only stories I ever heard about Montreal coming up were these stories of just how…I don’t even know what I was picturing in my head, I was picturing the craziest party place, like Las Vegas times 10, like young 18
-year-old kids just passed out on the street from going nuts. And so I never really had a chance to take a proper visit to Montreal because I went to the University of Florida, then my career and everything. It just never happened for whatever the reason, even though it’s so close. So to be able to go to Montreal and have Win and Will and everybody from Arcade Fire be our hosts and be passionate about sharing their city with me and my wife, we had an absolute blast. We went to so many amazing restaurants and concerts and the whole Pop Montreal festival and everything that entails was amazing. We got to do the Old Port. 

We just got a really good cross-section of what Montreal’s about over those four days and it really blew my mind. I loved it, loved the city and it definitely shattered my preconceived notion of what it was.

I look forward to next year when I come back and hopefully participate again and get some of those same experiences.

1 … 1,187 1,188 1,189 1,190 1,191 … 1,367

Read the latest issue

Read the latest issue