Student Spotlight: Lila McKenna ’20 and Nextlife collaborate
Music is the art of collaboration, and no one knows this better than Lila McKenna ’20, who started working with musical duo Nextlife this fall.
Music is the art of collaboration, and no one knows this better than Lila McKenna ’20, who started working with musical duo Nextlife this fall.
We have all seen it: a huge sensation, a star burning brightly and boldly. But then, the star crashes down, never to resurface except in commercials for yogurt and the occasional magazine shot that boasts a collection of “Hollywood Has-Beens: Where Are They Now?” Beautiful poetry, films and plays have been written on the idea that there is an upper limit to the number of stars our world can worship and, thus, some must fall. But not Beyoncé. Never Beyoncé.
BDSM is a topic of fascination that has been rising bit by bit outside of the shadow of stigma in recent years. With videos like Buzzfeed’s “Couples Try Bondage For The First Time,” released two years ago, and “I Became A Dominatrix To Control My Anxiety,” released just a year and a half after — with plenty of other tangentially related videos in between — it’s clear that BDSM is no longer something people are ashamed of talking about. If anything, kinky has become cool, and there’s a large market of people who want to know more.
It’s a recurring theme in discussions amongst Vampire Weekend fans that their albums correspond to seasons. Their self-titled debut album, full of perky strings and New England imagery, is reminiscent of a collegiate fall. Their sophomore effort, “Contra,” with its bright synths and upbeat tempos, brings to mind a sunny summer day. And “Modern Vampires of the City,” their third album, is the definition of wintry, with its black and white cover and its existential, morbid themes.
I’ve never thought much about how art is moved. We can carry small pieces or move them on a cart, but what about the massive ones? Like “Guernica” or “Water Lilies” or “Hovor,” a piece on display in the new Hood Museum of Art? The answer: a massive elevator, one story high, that could fit at least eight normal elevators inside it. This is my first point of contact with the inner workings of the Hood Museum of Art.
In the days before this year’s Green Key concert, The Dartmouth sat down with Eli Sones, one half of the LA-based DJ group Two Friends, best known for their extensive collection of “Big Bootie” mixes. A Los Angeles native and long-time music lover, Sones began pursuing music seriously while in high school and has continued evolving artistically ever since. Working alongside his childhood bestfriend and fellow DJ-Producer Matthew Halper — the other half of Two Friends — Sones has learned a lot about the importance of conenction and cooperation throughout his musical career. Over the course of the interview, Sones shared his insights as a musician who is well-versed in collaboration and creation.
This year, Waka Flocka Flame, Two Friends and MAX will headline the Green Key concert. Read below for profiles on these artists — and what students should expect to see at the concert tonight.
In 2002, the Hood Museum returned a Tlingit Chilkat shirt to southeast Alaska. The shirt, which was said to have been made before the 1880s, had been in possession of Axel Rasmussen, the superintendent of schools in Wrangell, AK. After his death, it found its way into the possession of a New York City art dealer, and when it was not sold, it was donated to Dartmouth in 1959.
“Pokémon Detective Pikachu” is without a doubt one of the most bizarre ideas for a mainstream, Hollywood family film that I’ve encountered in recent memory. To be clear, I’m not referring to the basic notion of adapting the hugely popular Japanese multi-media franchise into a live-action American film. “Pokémon” is so ubiquitous at this point that even if you’ve never really experienced it –— as is the case with me — you’ve almost certainly at least heard about it through cultural osmosis.
For Stephanie Everett ’19, her career on stage far predates her recent roles in the Dartmouth productions of “Eclipsed” and “Into the Woods.” Rather, it dates back to her fourth-grade talent show, in which she and four other girls performed “Hard Knock Life” from “Annie” complete with props and choreography. According to Everett, her passion for theater grew from that day on; she participated in musicals throughout middle school and high school, where she said she found a serious program with a dedicated teacher.
At some point, every person has felt pressure to live up to some kind of expectation to fulfill a role and project an external image of ourselves to others.
Kelleen Moriarty ’19, the student director for the upcoming production of “The Glass Menagerie,” has been involved in theater since she was in middle school. According to Moriarty, when she first came to Dartmouth, she knew that she wanted to major in theater and eventually pursue it professionally, since theater was “the one thing” in her life she was “very sure” of.
With the release of her new single “ME!” this past April 26, Taylor Swift has evolved once again. A bubbly and bright pop song, “ME!” marks Swift’s departure from the mood of her previous album, the inspired and aggressive “reputation,” and her persona’s transformation to the glaringly upbeat and pastel imagery of “ME!”
The film “Gloria Bell,” written and directed by Sebastián Lelio and starring Julianne Moore as the eponymous main character, is a meandering slice-of-life film beautifully unfolding what can only be called a coming-of-age film, only later in life.
It’s been a little over a week since “Avengers: Endgame” came out. I’m not exactly sure when the moratorium on spoilers ends, but here goes:
It’s been almost four years since Cage the Elephant released their Grammy-winning album “Tell Me I’m Pretty,” and in that time, frontman Matt Shultz suffered the shocks of a tumultuous life . He endured a divorce from his wife Juliette Buchs along with the suicides of two close friends , and that despair became the impetus for Cage’s fifth studio album, “Social Cues,” released on April 19.
Today, the Hood Museum of Art is holding a symposium entitled “Arts, Artists, and the Museum: a Conversation.” Considered the Hood’s second major re-opening event, it consists of discussions with a variety of artists who have work on display in the galleries, an open house and a reception in the evening.
Museums originated from Western collectors displaying “artifacts” from other cultures. Indeed, many items in museum collections are there because they were donated by collectors of such “ethnic” artifacts. So, given this early practice of showcasing travels, conquest and wealth, what is the responsibility of the museum today? Do museums have an obligation to educate the public about other cultures and their history?
At the beginning of this term, I noticed just how much stuff I had accumulated after several years of dorm life in a boarding school. I have used all of my closets and other storage spaces to the fullest, yet, I still have many books, jackets, random electronic devices and documents on the floor. Sometimes, I struggle to dig out the t-shirt I want to wear because my closet is literally full of clothes; other times I am tripped by the Amazon boxes on the ground or I cannot find the right cable among millions of cables all of which have become so intertwined that they may never be separated from each other. This is what a pair of filmmakers called the “Minimalists” refer to as “clutter.”
Reaching its 40th anniversary this year, “Alien,” directed by Ridley Scott, is widely regarded as one of the most influential sci-fi/fantasy films of all times. The film’s symbolism, grand setting, relatable extraterrestrial horror and the metaphysical questions it raises all contribute to a complex and thrilling viewing experience. Forty years since its release, the movie’s profound message still echoes with human identity and remains relevant today. As a devout “Alien” fan, I will review “Alien,” the first movie of the namesake series, but I will also provide a brief guide on the correct sequential order in which to watch the iconic movie franchise.