Arts

2020 Music in Review: The 10 best albums of the year

By Jack Hargrove | November 16, 2020

From beginning to (almost) end, 2020 has been the most unconventional year in recent memory. And naturally, the music released this year has been strange. While those who released music at the beginning of the year largely finished recording before the pandemic began, many artists releasing albums at the tail-end have had to work around stay-at-home orders and general shutdowns. As always, art has found a way to overcome, and these 10 albums represent some of the best music released in this otherwise difficult year.

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Arts

The D-Constructed Cook: Hosting a Pandemic-Friendly Friendsgiving

By Justin Mon | November 16, 2020

Over the years, the idea of “Friendsgiving” — a Thanksgiving meal with friends — has become wildly popular, especially among college students. It’s a great excuse to host a dinner party, catch up with friends and share good food and drink. I have fond memories from my first two years at Dartmouth of gathering at a friend’s house at the end of fall term and feeling the stress dissipate as winter break began. 

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Arts

Review: Final season of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ champions love and acceptance

By Sabrina Eager | November 12, 2020

On Oct. 3, Netflix released the sixth and final season of the Canadian comedy series “Schitt’s Creek.” Originally aired in Canada on CBC and in the U.S. on Pop TV, the show deftly and hilariously tells the story of the once-wealthy Rose family, who have fallen from grace and must live in the small town of Schitt’s Creek. 

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Arts

The D-Constructed Cook: Essential Building Blocks For Easy Everyday Meals

By Justin Mon | November 12, 2020

There is nothing more defeating than walking into the kitchen ravenously hungry after a long day of work — and then having to cook. Expending the effort to plan a meal, prep ingredients, cook the dish and then clean afterward is simply tiresome, even for those who enjoy the act of cooking. If you’re on an off-term or taking classes while living off campus, preparing food can add another layer of stress to an already stressful day. But thankfully, all that stress is not necessary for quotidian cooking.

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Arts

Review: Clipping’s ‘Visions of Bodies Being Burned’ offers terrifying narrative of America’s societal problems

By Nicholas Kim | November 9, 2020

For the better part of the decade, experimental hip-hop group Clipping — stylized as clipping. — has played a pivotal role in the revitalization of horrorcore. Consisting of rapper Daveed Diggs — known for his role as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the 2015 Broadway hit “Hamilton” — and producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, Clipping prides themselves on taking elements of horror films and transforming them into musical form. The trio’s name perfectly encapsulates their production style, as harsh, industrial noises overlay unnerving, spine-tingling screams and discord. 

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Arts

Q&A: Allie Levy ’11 on running Hanover’s Still North Books & Bar

By Shera Bhala | November 9, 2020

After graduating from Dartmouth, Allie Levy ’11 had two dreams. The first was that she would pursue a career aligning with her English major, potentially in bookselling. The second was that she might one day come back to Hanover. Last winter, Levy fulfilled both. She had a soft opening for the Main Street bookstore Still North Books & Bar on Dec. 19 of last year. The space is airy, calming and filled with a diverse collection of books that Levy hopes both students and Upper Valley residents can enjoy. 

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Arts

'Faith, Hope and Charity' tells a hauntingly resonant story

By Sabrina Eager | November 6, 2020

The Dartmouth theater department’s MainStage production for the term, “Faith, Hope and Charity,” premiered this past weekend, marking the department’s first-ever radio play. Adapted from the original German play written by Ödön von Horváth and translated by Péter Fábri, the production brings the European story into an American context. 

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Arts

Opera singer Nicole Heaston discusses inclusivity in opera

By Mounisha Anumolu | November 2, 2020

On Tuesday night, the Hopkins Center for the Arts hosted renowned opera singer Nicole Heaston for a discussion surrounding her celebrated opera career and her thoughts on the industry overall for her first event as an artist in residence. During the event, Heaston shared notable clips from her past performances and details regarding her experiences in the world of opera with the Dartmouth community.

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Arts

Review: ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ shines light on misogyny in Trump-era America

By Charlie Palsho | November 2, 2020

The much-anticipated “Borat” sequel, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm,” is as politically timely as it is funny. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and directed by Jason Woliner, the film, released Oct. 23, outdoes its predecessor with its bold, high stakes pranks and rich political satire. At its core, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” makes a powerful critique of how misogyny is frequently overlooked in President Donald Trump’s America.

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Arts

Mandolinist Chris Thile and Aoife O’Donovan defy genres in Hopkins Center performance

By Elle Muller | November 2, 2020

On Oct. 21, mandolinist and singer-songwriter Chris Thile and singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan performed live from Brooklyn for the Hopkins Center for the Arts’ Hop@Home program. The event, which the Hop had originally planned to be performed in person, took place through the Hop’s YouTube channel.

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Arts

Q&A: ‘Missionaries’ author Phil Klay ’05 on his new novel, modern warfare

By Lucy Turnipseed | October 26, 2020

In 2014, Iraq war veteran Phil Klay ’05 won the National Book Award for fiction with his debut short story collection, “Redeployment.” This year, he published his first novel, “Missionaries,” which tells the story of terrorism, drug wars and global conflict in Colombia through four intertwined perspectives. The story follows U.S. Army Special Forces medic Mason, foreign correspondent Lisette, Colombian officer Juan Pablo and Colombian militia lieutenant Abel as they struggle to navigate life in the midst of war. Klay’s work has been heavily influenced by his time serving in the U.S. Marines. 

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Arts

Hood Museum launches virtual escape room

By Paulina Marinkovic | October 26, 2020

Whether on or off campus, art enthusiasts now have the chance to browse Dartmouth’s public art collection thanks to the Hood Museum of Art’s new remote escape room game, “Escape to the Outdoors.”

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Arts

The D-Constructed Cook: Essential Cookware for an Off Term

By Justin Mon | October 22, 2020

Despite its variable reviews, Dartmouth Dining is undoubtedly reliable. Quick snack? Check out Collis. Need to refuel after a workout? Foco has a bounty of options. We are nurtured in the womb that is Dartmouth, and when we leave, we are left to fend for ourselves. Outside of the bubble, we face the unforgiving reality of having to cook for ourselves.

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Arts

Q&A with Mali Obomsawin ’18, bassist for folk group Lula Wiles

By Abigail Shepherd | October 19, 2020

Mali Obomsawin ’18 is a musician, writer, activist and citizen of the Abenaki first nation at Odanak. At Dartmouth, Obomsawim majored in comparative literature and government, and she now serves as the bassist for the folk-rock trio Lula Wiles.

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Arts

Review: Joji’s ‘Nectar’ feels forgettable save for a few standout tracks

By Jack Hargrove | October 19, 2020

Over the past few years, former YouTube star George Miller — better known as Joji — has become one of the most popular internet artists in the mainstream world of music. Given his background, a career in serious music sounds unlikely; under his YouTube personality “Filthy Frank,” Joji was known for his dark, gross-out humor and his wild alter ego, Pink Guy. However, Joji’s transition from fringe YouTube comedian to mainstream R&B artist was more successful than anyone could have imagined.

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Arts

Review: ‘Enola Holmes’ offers fresh, female-focused take on Sherlock Holmes

By Paulina Marinkovic | October 15, 2020

“Enola Holmes” — one of the newest entries to Netflix’s catalog, based on the young adult series by Nancy Springer — is a fun, adventurous and action-packed film that brilliantly reinvents the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Directed by Harry Bradbeer and written by Jack Thorne, “Enola Holmes” centers on the life of the youngest Holmes sibling, Enola (Millie Bobby Brown), and her journey to reunite with her missing mother while forging her own sense of freedom. While the film contains some elements of the classic Holmes mysteries, it adds a new twist with its focus on social activism and female intellect. From start to finish, the film successfully creates a world that places a strong-willed heroine center-stage, offering a timeless lesson on female empowerment.

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Arts

Studio art interns bridge student-faculty gap amid COVID-19

By Lex Kang | October 12, 2020

For nearly 30 years, the studio art department has selected five seniors or recent graduates with studio art majors or minors to participate in a year-long internship with the department. This year, however, the constraints of remote learning have forced the program to change.

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Arts

Hopkins Center promotes student engagement through #SmallScreenFun

By Helen Liu | October 8, 2020

Since April, the Hopkins Center for the Arts’ virtual cinema program, #SmallScreenFun, has provided Dartmouth community members with the opportunity to stream films and join live Q&As featuring filmmakers, film scholars and celebrity guests. This term, the Hop has given students a greater role in the program, allowing them to act as moderators and ask guests questions.

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Arts

Review: ‘Mexican Gothic’ is a Victorian Gothic novel for now

By Mia Nelson | October 8, 2020

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s New York Times best-seller “Mexican Gothic” is a lush, moody story brimming with horror and mystery. With all the trappings of a Victorian novel, “Mexican Gothic,” which was released in June, calls upon notable doomed heroines in the literary canon, from Ophelia in “Hamlet” to Cathy in “Wuthering Heights,” in order to place readers in its melodramatic prose. “Mexican Gothic” is your favorite Brontë novel, but better.

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Arts

New studio art class features collaborative book-making

By Chloe Jung | October 5, 2020

Through class projects and hands-on learning, a new studio art class — SART 17.23, “Book Publication Lab” taught by professor Tricia Treacy — is seeking to create connections during remote learning.

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