Soundtrack To My Life

You can’t tell me you’ve never once walked down the street and never thought of a perfectly specific song for that moment and emotion. Or imagined a grand sweeping montage where people suddenly pop out of trash cans and behind trees to join in a conveniently synchronized flash mob (500) Days of Summer style. Weather it be celebrating with Hall & Oates, envisioning Heath Ledger serenading you with “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You” on the bleachers of your high school football stadium, the synchronized sing a long of “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World or the ultimate montage of Ferris Bueller’s rendition of “Twist and Shout” we’ve all had a similar daydream.

December 18, 2012December 19, 2012 by jendenham Categories: Interviews Leave a comment

The Power of the British Accent

It makes me go all weak at the knees and soft in the head. It makes my heart melt and my pulse quicken. It makes even the most unintelligent comment seem somehow deep and meaningful. It can turn a rogue into a gentlemen and a slob into a lady. It’s the British accent.

There’s really no denying the power of the British accent, just ask Tom Hiddleston, Andrew Garfield, Robert Pattinson, and Nicholas Hoult. All amazing actors, all British, and all taking the American movie scene by storm.

December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 by ellierosecarlson Categories: UncategorizedTags: andrew garfield, british, nicholas hoult, robert pattinson, tom hiddleston Leave a comment

Why I Refuse to Let the World End on December 21st

Not to get too The Ring on you, but you’re going to die in seven days.

Well, at least, that’s the rumor anyway. I’m sure you’ve heard it. It’s been on the news a lot. It was the basis of entire skits on SNL and the status of probably every other person in you Facebook feed for the last month.

And only like 90% of them have been the same exact joke ripped from tumblr over and over again.

That’s right, the world is ending.

Err, maybe.

December 17, 2012 by diannamv Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

Guilty Pleasures: UNLEASHED

guilty pleasure (noun) :

– Something that you shouldn’t like, but like anyway.

– Something that you love to do, but you just cannot admit that you do it.

– To describe a certain substance or activity a person enjoys, and often practices, while said person morally believed or is informed that the substance or activity is abnormal, improper or incorrect.

– Keeping a secret collection of ABBA and Carpenters and listening to their albums when no one else is around.

– A usually secretive, sick and twisted activity/hobby that someone does, that KNOWS they shouldn’t and feel downright ashamed for. Sadly, we all have them, including me.

Guilty pleasures are normal. They are super embarrassing, but normal. Everyone has them, and everyone talks about them (to close friends, of course), but something about certain music, television shows, movies, etc is just so alluring and seductive that no one can seem to escape their sticky fingers. The best part about guilty pleasures, though, is gossiping about them. Because the one thing that everyone loves more than they love puppies is talking about themselves, I went on a mission to discover my friends’ true identities in terms of their guilty pleasures. I set my main focus as TV (although I had one friend who picked a movie because he “doesn’t watch TV”) and dug up some pretty satisfying dirt. From Bridezillas to Dungeons & Dragons, I, and now you, know the truth about who my friends really are.

These are their stories.

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 by valerievernon Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

E-Mail Interview with Future Islands

Future Islands: if you could go to any island in the future, which
would it be? Any island in the past?

William Cashion: I think I’d go to Crete in the past & future.

At times, going on tour can be very intense; when was the last time
you woke up bleeding?

William: About a year ago, we had to drive through the night from
Norman, OK to Austin, TX to play a festival at 1pm that afternoon…
Load-in was at 10 or something. We had beer for breakfast.

The craziest thing that’s happened on tour so far? (Eg: Have you had
anyone slingshot a bra with their number on it at the stage?)

William: We’ve had some pretty wild crowd surfing going on at our
shows… Sometimes the crowd doesn’t catch the person, and that’s
always a little scary seeing someone stage-dive to the floor.

What performance of yours was your favorite concert of late? Your
favorite concert by another artist or performer?

William: My favorite Future Islands show from this past year was
probably the one we did outside at Current Gallery a few months back.
We debuted a bunch of new songs that night, and it was a really great
vibe all around. My favorite shows by other artists… Probably this
band Vio/Mire from Providence, RI – I saw them play at the Blue Moon
Saloon in Shepherdstown, WV and they just totally blew me away. Really
beautiful arrangements & performance… the music was woozy in the
best way, it sounded like a Chagall painting.

What’s your favorite kind of venue/crowd to perform for? MICA
certainly enjoyed yall last year. How has Baltimore’s music scene
effected your band’s experience?

William: I like playing the smaller clubs, I’m a fan of the intimate
shows. The Baltimore arts scene has been really supportive to us
through the years. There’s a great, tight-knit community here and
we’re proud to be a part of it. The Baltimore Round Robin Tour back in
2008 was one of the most unique & crazy tours I’ve ever been on…
something like 25 bands and 60+ people.

How do you guys get ready for a show?

William: We can’t give away all of our secrets!

If you could be rock stars in any other time period, what would you
pick? We’d definitely say 1800’s. Or performing for extinct animals.

William: I think it’d be rad if we were doing our thing in the 1950s.

How do you collaborate with artists in the production of your music,
from album artwork to music videos and posters?

William: We generally work with our friends when it comes to
collaborating… Keepin’ it in the family.

If you could collaborate with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

William: Brian Eno.

If you could give yourselves advice when you started out as Future
Islands, what would you say?

William: Tour more.

Any advice for up-and-coming art school bands?

William: Don’t wait until you’re any good to leave the garage. Throw a
keg party and make your band the headlining act.

Favorite:
cheese? Parrano cheese.
Baltimore location? Falls road.
American location? North Carolina… I also love the deserts of the Southwest.

So what’s in the future for Future Islands?

William: Writing, a whole bunch of writing.

What’s your favorite scene in the Back To The Future trilogy?

William: When Michael J. Fox is playing the guitar solo at the dance.

Fill in the blank: BMORE…. (Be more _____.)

BMORE Polite

Came up with these questions with my friend Daphne Taranto. She also runs an art zine with her twin sister who goes to RISD. The zine is called YTB and it features student work from MICA and RISD students. Special thanks to her for being able to pull enough string to make this happen. Also special thanks to Future Islands for participating

December 14, 2012December 19, 2012 by renanpmachado Categories: Interviews Leave a comment

Highs and Lows: Time to Toke Up

a well photoshopped photograph.

For many of us, the idea of consuming marijuana (whether it be smoking or ingestion) is taboo. But in truth, it is simply a series of natural compounds that release large amounts of dopamine in the brain; while it is a mind-altering substance it is safer for the human body than alcohol and cigarettes. We love those, so why do we not love weed? It is only when one is high, that reality is subject to hilarious alterations. As with everything else in life, it seems, marijuana has its highs and its lows; sometimes the effects that are experienced are not necessarily what was desired. As legislation is taking place in many states across the nation, and the private possession of weed is being legalized many individuals who partake in the smoking of weed are coming forth, triumphantly displaying their pride. These are (some of) their stories.

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 by adkuhn Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

I first saw Dog Day Afternoon when I was in high school- it was a time in my life when I forced my family to sit through countless gangster and detective movies in order to feed my growing infatuation with Al Pacino. I assumed that I was sitting down to watch an average heist movie, and to see Pacino at his dreamiest. Only one of these assumptions was true, and I would implore you to look at the screenshot below and guess which one.

Please allow the author a moment to swoon

December 14, 2012May 6, 2013 by dmartin Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

My Week With Marilyn: Review

I had already watched the documentary on Marilyn, “Marilyn: The Last Sessions”, so all I was interested in during the movie was how much it would stay true to the reality. Although the movie is narrated by Colin, the “third assistant director” (a nobody) who falls in love with her just like every other man who comes into her life, he is nothing but a window that the audience looks into to watch Marilyn. It makes sense, because how could anyone else be the protagonist in a movie that is about the Marilyn Monroe? I had my doubts about Michelle Williams acting as Marilyn, for she really looks nothing like Marilyn or has any of her iconic features. When she opened her mouth, however, I was drawn to her immediately; she sounded exactly like Marilyn. In my mind, I couldn’t help myself but to compare the movie to the documentary, and overall, the movie did an outstanding job portraying all the necessary and important issues surrounding Marilyn’s short life, and creating precious moments that gently revealed her character and state of mind. The subtlety in William’s expressions and voice was exactly what perfected it.

There is no sugarcoating of Marilyn’s personal life in the movie. “You never leave her side. Day or night. Her behavior is reputedly a little erratic” – this is the very first statement the audience hears about Marilyn. Then something else that is similar comes up later, “You don’t leave Marilyn alone. She can’t handle it. She thinks everyone will abandon her”. So even from the beginning of the movie, Marilyn is upset and crying, with barely any make-up on. To most people around Marilyn, they are sticking around because it’s their job. There is no sense of genuine sympathy, and some even refer to her as a “cash cow.” So that’s it. The movie wants the audience to feel all the sympathy towards Marilyn that no one else at the time had.

Marilyn

Not only is Marilyn an insecure emotional mess who relies on “pills” day and night, she also doesn’t believe she is of any worth. “All little girls should be told how pretty they are,” Marilyn whispers to herself, and tells us her little secret, “(they) should grow up knowing how much their mother loves them.” I already knew she never had a family who loved her from the documentary. She never knew her mother’s love, or how a husband ought to treat his wife. So then how did she know what she was really looking for when she sought love? She didn’t. Marilyn never understood true love and so she perhaps convinced herself that it was something unobtainable, but something she just could not give up on. Even Marilyn’s giggles in the movie are sullen, and there is a clear desperation in her (Williams) eyes – this is why Michelle Williams could be a successful Marilyn Monroe without looking like her. Williams became a spokesperson for every woman who feels what Marilyn felt, and for every woman who seeks what Marilyn sought (but never even touched).

At last, when Colin suggests her leaving this glamorous and meaningless life to be happy, she firmly replies, “I am happy.” “Of course you are. You’re the biggest star in the world,” Colin says with a sad smile, gazing down at the biggest falling star in the world. That’s what Marilyn really was, the biggest falling star. With her promiscuous posing and dancing, and three husbands, everyone knew Marilyn was the furthest thing from an innocent virgin. But truly, she still was when it came to “unconditional love.”  She was neither a clueless woman nor unaware, but an empty one that no one could help, not even herself.

To my surprise, the movie showed very little skin, probably to pay Marilyn more respect as an individual who passed so early on, but also because that wasn’t the focus – another subtlety that made this film respectable.

written by Yuris Kim

December 14, 2012 by gksksla Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

The Voice: review

Ceelo, Christina, Adam, Blake

Article by: Yuris Kim

 

The Voice is the one and only show I watch regularly (on Hulu), after I decided to quit “The Office”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “New Girl”. I’m still waiting on “Community”. The Voice shows off all these talented singers, much more talented than the ones on “The American Idol”, I would say. The show is like any other talent shows, where they give multiple chances for all the ones who got picked in the first place, and slowly kill them off one by one. One interesting aspect of the show is that there are 3 ways each contestant can be knocked off: by their own coach, by their own song choice and performance, and by America. There are 4 talented singers who are the coaches and mentors as well (Adam Levine, Ceelo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton), who scribble notes during performances and give seemingly intelligent comments and advice. And there is the MC (Carson something) of course, who is always obviously nervous because they are always live and he has a clock ticking right in his face (of course we can’t see it). The show is loud with the cheers from the audience, the lovely audience who Adam tells to “shut up” time to time because they won’t let him speak. What makes the show really interesting though, is the fact that people comment through Facebook and twitter, and share their own intellect as if they were one of the coaches. So I guess I could sum up the general opinions of the viewers and mine on the coaches and the current remaining contestants.

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 by gksksla Categories: Uncategorized Leave a comment

Effie Trinket Goes to the Emmys

Yes, I am stunning.

 

Welcome, welcome. My name is Effie Trinket and you may have seen me on television as a mentor for District 12 during the illustrious Hunger Games. In fact I know you’ve seen me on the Hunger Games since our great government requires that all citizens enjoy every exciting moment of our most compelling television event. Now even though I am forced to be a mentor for the rather primitive District 12, I do have excellent taste and discretion where it comes to fashion. Since I know that many of us are a little challenged in the fashion department I have decided to take time out of my busy schedule to review some fashion from this years Emmy Awards. I think the wonderful thing about this opportunity is that even though most of you will never wear gorgeous designer dresses you get to enjoy all of my wonderful advice. I have selected several tributes who exhibited stunning fashion that I know will inspire all of your drab lives.

December 13, 2012December 13, 2012 by ellierosecarlson Categories: UncategorizedTags: effie trinket, emmys, fashion, hunger games Leave a comment