Under the stage name Phaeleh, Bristol-native Matt Preston creates and performs electronic music of an indeterminate genre. Also indeterminate, for some, is the pronunciation of his stage name. Matt corrected my initial pronunciation of Phaeleh to “fella,” although he added, “I did not have a certain pronunciation in mind when[Read More…]
Arts & Entertainment
Keep up to date on local art, new albums, and everything entertainment-related.
Juicy J: Stay Trippy
For Juicy J, being ‘trippy’ is both a state of mind and a lifestyle, and in Stay Trippy, he raps about living it for 20 years. Throughout, the former Three 6 Mafia member condones codeine, crime, and cannabis, detailing his experiences with each. Dipping between tempos, he will rap pointedly over a beat and then continue in double-time. In his intro, ‘Stop It,’ he speaks of “getting high like I’m eighteen but I been rich since the late eighties,” and continues to reference themes of intoxication and career longevity throughout the album.
Chihuly exhibit continues to dazzle Montrealers
If you have walked by Sherbrooke and Crescent recently, you have likely already noticed one of the staples of American-born sculptor Dale Chihuly’s repertoire. The sculpture, entitled The Sun, emerges from a mass of glass tubes that snake around each other in a brilliant, chaotic tangle of yellow and red.
Our Nixon can’t deliver the reel goods
It turns out that if Richard Nixon’s key aides were a few decades younger, they probably would have been really into Instagram. Penny Lane’s new documentary Our Nixon, released Aug. 30, uses mostly amateur Super-8 camera footage, shot by the former U.S. president’s White House chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; John Ehrlichman, his domestic affairs assistant; and Dwight Chapin, his deputy assistant, who all ultimately ended up serving jail time for their involvement in the 1970s Watergate scandal. Henry Kissinger appears in the film fairly often too, though he was apparently too busy addressing international relations and his relationships with women to fool around with a camera.
The fine art of getting inked
With the increasing popularity of tattoos, they have gained recognition as one of today’s more overt expressions of personality. Tattoos are no longer largely perceived as symbols of dissent and delinquency; a contemporary view of them now leans closer towards a holistic understanding of these designs as visual art. Breaking away from stereotypes of skulls and barbed wire, more varied tattoos[Read More…]
Earl Sweatshirt: Doris
The last time Earl Sweatshirt was in the spotlight—for his much-hyped mixtape Earl—he dropped everything and disappeared to Samoa. Soon, rumours, mainly fueled by colleague and collaborator Tyler the Creator’s more-than-half-serious “Free Earl” campaign, circulated that he was forced into a boarding school by his mother. Now he is again a product and a victim of hype; on his latest album, Doris, he airs his grievances and talent in equal measure.
Could be good
MUSIC Esmerine + Matana Roberts + Kingdom Shore Canadian acts Esmerine, a percussive chamber music band with a brand new album, Damarak; and Kingdom Shore, who make punk and hardcore with classical instruments, join New York City sound experimentalist Matana Roberts at Sala Rossa. Wednesday, Sept. 4, 8:30 p.m., Sala[Read More…]
Drinking like there’s no tomorrow
If there is one lesson to be learned from all three features written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg in the last decade, it is that looks are always deceiving. In Shaun of the Dead (2004), the titular Shaun treks to the corner store to buy Cornettos— the U.K. equivalent of Drumsticks, and a recurring motif in each of the films— oblivious to the fact that a zombie apocalypse is occurring around him. Similarly, Hot Fuzz (2007) played upon the superficial innocence of a sleepy English village. The creative duo revisits these themes of lurking malevolence in The World’s End, this time waxing Sci-Fi while simultaneously exploring one man’s yearning to return to his golden youth. The result does not disappoint.
Still Life: Mourning Trance
Often, archetypal indie pop concerns itself with loss, generally that of some idealized relationship or another. However, Still Life’s new album shifts its creative focus to a different type of loss: mourning the deaths of extended family members of the band. This theme attests to the collective history of the musicians, who have been playing together since childhood. Every track reflects on these experiences, but it feels more like a tribute to living on rather than a cry against the unfairness of the world.
McGill’s English department brings Shakespeare to life
With endless exams and essays currently stretching out before us, nothing feels farther away than summer. Fortunately, the McGill English Department’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream provides a glimpse of the warmer months to come. The show sparkles with youthful enthusiasm, and features a cast comprised of the[Read More…]
