Canadian premiers are like janitors: you’re not always sure how they got into the building, or how long exactly they will stay. Yet unlike janitors, our provincial leaders get six-figure salaries and don’t always leave the place clean. In Canada’s federal system they wield a fair amount of power, and[Read More…]
Other News
Speech vs. SOPA
The US House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), began as fairly obscure pieces of legislation. Introduced in October and May of last year respectively, both acts floated under the radar of the news media (and it seems, many congressmen) until last[Read More…]
Around the Water Cooler
NCAA BASKETBALL — If this weekend is any indication of what’s to come in March, we might as well throw out our brackets now. Syracuse, ranked number one in the country, entered the game 20-0 on the season, but left South Bend with their first loss after the Notre Dame[Read More…]
Romance is sweet, revenge sweeter
The program cover for Opéra de Montréal’s performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore leaves a lasting impression. It displays a gaping witch with fiery hair, her expression carrying both a hint of personal pain and menacing madness. Though the opera does tell the story of a troubadour and his turbulent[Read More…]
There and back again
Vanessa Heins “Death country” might seem like an awkward pairing of words, but once you’ve heard the music of Elliott BROOD, you’ll understand how perfectly this self-labeled genre can work. Although the label is descriptive of their older work, the band’s newest album, Days Into Years, strays from this categorization.[Read More…]
Hashtag Criticism
Two weeks ago, SPIN Magazine announced it would be discontinuing its traditional in-print album reviews in favour of 140-character reviews posted on Twitter (@SPINreviews). SPIN reasons that, thanks to the Internet, listeners don’t depend on professional critics to act as authoritative voices about new releases: all anyone needs to discover[Read More…]
The demon barber gets a haircut
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune There are stories that are fun, pleasing, and uplifting to the soul and spirit. Then there are others that are dark, brutal, and challenging to watch unfold. And then there’s Sweeney Todd. One of Stephen Sondheim’s best known works, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of[Read More…]
Common: The Dreamer/The Believer
Common’s The Dreamer/The Believer is not just an album, but also a statement to critics and fans alike in response to 2008’s disappointing and generally dismissed Universal Mind Control. This time around, Common is defiant and triumphant; his sound enhanced by longtime friend and producer No I.D., who produced the[Read More…]
Laughter is the best medicine
Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune My mother, like many, used to stress the importance of good manners. But what happens when yours has none to spare? Well, something like Hay Fever, apparently. Set in the bohemian period of the roaring twenties, the play follows the eccentricities of the Bliss family[Read More…]
Coriolanus: he is the one per cent
aceshowbiz.com Coriolanus is not an easy movie to watch. Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut, an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s lesser-known tragedies, is no popcorn action flick. The plot is complex, the war scenes are more brutal than exhilarating, the dialogue is heavy, and the characters defy empathy. But for those[Read More…]
