Lady Gaga has always been beset by her public image. Whether it’s the bombastic music videos and otherworldly costumes of her debut, or the earnest, style-shifted music of Joanne and A Star is Born, critics have always questioned the authenticity of Gaga’s persona. The long awaited Chromatica, released May 29, with[Read More…]
Music
All My Friends Fest offers a sweet escape from self-isolation
Cities across Canada are beginning to open up, and although the parks are slowly becoming busier and the weather hotter, no Montreal summer is complete without its signature cultural events. Event cancellations and venue closures due to COVID-19 are undoubtedly putting a damper on spirits, not only for city residents[Read More…]
Dancing with internet friends
Despite the self-isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve still been dolling myself up to go out on the weekends and even, recklessly, the weeknights. With bars and venues closed and our lives re-oriented from being mostly online to almost entirely online, it’s unsurprising that people have been flocking to[Read More…]
Supporting the Montreal arts community during the pandemic
Montreal is inseparable from its arts scene: From small, packed music venues to student art exhibitions and comedy shows, this seemingly enclosed community plays an important role in the city’s culture. So what happens when, within a matter of days, venues close, tours and festivals are cancelled or postponed, and[Read More…]
In conversation with: Northern Gloom
With over four decades having passed since the heyday of bands like the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, the return of punk music and its anti-establishment message is long overdue. Enter Northern Gloom, an emerging Pennsylvanian post-punk band with the ambitious goal of revolutionizing punk music while inspiring social change. [Read More…]
Anonymuz’s ‘Before the Night is Over’ is full of bangers
As of now, Isaiah Joseph, who records under the name Anonymuz, lives up to his chosen moniker. Though his projects have been gaining popularity as of late, the mainstream rap community has continued to overlook his unmatched talent. His newest project, a brief but sonically substantial EP Before the Night[Read More…]
Michael Haze confronts love and loss in his debut EP
“CANCER,” Michael Haze’s second track on his debut EP MICKEY, opens with the crackle of a vinyl record followed by a spare guitar riff. The melody is simple, a two note progression whose deeper half is echoed by a soft and higher strum. Subdued and sparse beats accompany the low[Read More…]
Nuit Blanche 2020 provides the antidote to winter blues
As the leap day came to an end, Montreal found another way to overcome the lack of daylight and the harsh weather. Montreal’s Nuit Blanche, a famed annual tradition, took place from Feb. 29 into the early morning of Mar. 1. Nuit Blanche offered Montrealers something to look forward to[Read More…]
Where do I begin?: Vaporwave
Sounds and images from the era of Windows 95 and peak mall culture manipulated to a degree that is both recognizable of its past roots yet remarkably separate from its source material; this is the spirit of the internet-born subculture, vaporwave. The aesthetics of vaporwave revolve mainly around the popular[Read More…]
‘Miss Americana’ is a shallow depiction of stardom
Taylor Swift—renowned singer-songwriter, multi-millionaire, 35-time Grammy award nominee, 10-time Grammy award winner, one-time Kendrick Lamar collaborator, two-time Kanye clasher, and attempted Pennsylvania political reformer—sits on her couch in tears because her then-recent album, Reputation, was not nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammys. This devastating moment occurs about[Read More…]
