Conferences are great: you don’t have to deal with the anonymity of the 200-person lecture hall and you really get to know your fellow students in an intimate setting. But at a certain point, you realize the same characters appear in every conference. Here’s a breakdown of the kids you’re[Read More…]
Author: Nyrie Israelian & Michelle Anthofer
Professors you definitely want to run into on campus
Professors tend to be known for their intellect: the books and articles they’ve written, the research they’ve conducted, or the number of letters that come after their name (B.A., M.A., M.Sc, PhD, etc.) are important. But profs can be hot, too. Even if they haven’t been endowed with the right[Read More…]
Beauty and its discontents
Adam Scotti “I like what I got, and I’m gonna protect that. Wouldn’t you?” After Steph finds out that her boyfriend Greg has just called her face “regular,” she delivers the play’s first monologue, in which she explains why, though still clearly in love with Greg, she had to go[Read More…]
Sufjan Stevens: not half as enslaved
Sufjan Stevens is a master designer of atmospheres. You would want to be a Jim Carrey-type character in a world of his design, and at the end of the movie you would ultimately choose not to escape through the hidden door. At will, and in bizarre, repeating cycles, he lulls[Read More…]
Leaping and soaring to Chopin
I have only experienced a few perception-altering performances in my life, and Friday night’s National Ballet performance of Marie Chouinard’s 24 Preludes by Chopin and Crystal Pite’s Emergence was one of them. Prior to the performance, I was certain I was not a person who could enjoy contemporary ballet. I[Read More…]
Dan Mangan is nice, nice, very nice
bcscene.ca It’s challenging to listen to Dan Mangan’s song “Robots” without singing along with the refrain: “Robots need love, too / They want to be loved by you.” Those words may or may not be true, but you believe them when you hear them. Perhaps Mangan, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter from[Read More…]
Literary launch lacks laughs
Local literati were out in full blazered regalia on October 5 for the re-launch of Montreal humourist Jonathan Goldstein’s first novel, Lenny Bruce is Dead, originally published by Coach House Books in 2001. The 41-year-old Goldstein, author of two books, contributor to Chicago Public Radio’s This American Life, and host[Read More…]
Bonjay : Broughtupsy
Broughtupsy is the fresh debut album from reggae/dancehall duo Bonjay—and fresh is exactly what it is. Fronted by singer Alanna Stuart and produced by beats/effects master Ian “Pho” Swain, Bonjay brings an invigorating mix of dancehall rhythms and crisp hooks to the floor, displaying ample evidence that these two have[Read More…]
The Postelles : The Postelles
The Postelles are an English accent and a few cheeky lyrics away from being a full-fledged Arctic Monkeys knockoff, but unfortunately their debut lacks the complexity of a Monkeys tune. Instead, it’s pretty straight pop. The instrumentation is minimalist at best (though not at it’s best when it’s minimal), with[Read More…]
Ice Cube : I Am the West
“Ice Cube is the West Coast” is the mission statement for his new album. But after 16 tracks loaded with self-indulgence, Cube and his small posse of gangster no-names, has-beens, and never-weres can’t give a decent reason for why he deserves the title of “Best in the West.” The album[Read More…]
