In a time where we rely on the power of technology and centre our values around the economics of society, three brave, young and talented Queen’s students (Chien-ming Huang, Lance Wei, and Takeshi Miyazawa) enlighten us with their views on the reality of popular culture in an exhibit entitled POP: Free Your Mind.
You gotta respect an all-black group for calling themselves Spooks. You also gotta respect a mostly-male hip hop group that includes a female. And you gotta respect a group that produces a strong, original album, regardless of genre. S.I.O.S.O.S. Volume One starts out with Other Script, a powerful track that uses strings and a phat beat to back up the vocal stylings of the four MC’s. Ming Xia’s vocals are the perfect foil due to her light, clear voice. She may not have the strongest voice, but she makes up for it with true chill soulfulness.
The houseguests on CBS’ floundering reality show Big Brother threatened to walk out of the show this week. Apparently, the six remaining “ordinary people in an extraordinary situation” were disappointed with the efforts of the producers to create friction in the harmonious house. The potential rebellion did not come to fruition, but had said producers scrambling for a contingency plan. In a related story, a tree fell in the forest and nobody heard or cared.
On Wednesday night, music booking made for strange bedfellows when the Headstones played the Cocamo to what felt like a packed house. And although having a hard rock band like Hugh Dillon and the boys play at a place known more for its cheap drinks, bubblegum dance music and meat market-ness more than its ability to host a concert, shouldn’t have worked, it largely did.
A recent ruling by the Durham Region School Board restricts the reading of J.K. Rowling’s wildly popular Harry Potter series in elementary schools unless parental consent is given. They are not banning the books from their libraries, however, a memo sent to 100 elementary school principals states that “We want to be sensitive to the parents who are concerned about the amount of witchcraft/magic in the novels.”
Stardom, the official opening film of the 2000 Toronto Film Festival, left me in awe Thursday night with its brilliant camera work, smart dialogue and unconventional storyline. Director Denys Arcand takes the fairytale of a model’s life and looks at the impact of fame, beauty, and money on one’s heart and mind.
After the success of The Usual Suspects, writer Christopher McQuarrie has created a much darker film that explores the relationship between masculinity and power.
Way of the Gun, McQuarrie’s directorial debut, is not so much an experiment in storytelling as it is a horrific fantasy, where gun culture, male morals, and pro-life principles are pushed to their extremes.
“Never before has a band been able to capture and combine the intensity of improvisation music with the upbeat vibe of electronic dance music. The future of music has arrived, it is the music of The New Deal.” — jambands.com
For those of you who have been lucky enough to catch their live show, the Tea Party can amaze anyone with their powerful sound. Though only three members form this great Canadian act, their passion for music — differing from eastern European, culturally-rich sounds to all that is electronic to a love for both ambience and big band music — leaves you craving more.
Back from a summer of slaving in dirty assembly plants, stylish shoe stores, and urine-infested public pools, The Journal’s A&E staff (Alicia, Nat and Dan) wanted some relaxing way to reacquaint themselves with one another and the arduous task that lies ahead. Now. Here is the account of that subdued September evening on the town.
Everywhere we look, we see people undressing, talking about sex, and writing books about new positions and places to perform this once-so-preciously-held and now-exploited act. From sex scandals to tips in Cosmo on how to “please” your man, it seems that knowing who’s done it and where to get it is the latest trend. But are we getting hornier or is this something we’ve been brainwashed to want?
Andy Stochansky is living every drummer’s dream.
After seven years of laying down the beat for folk heroine Ani DiFranco, Stochansky has decided that it’s time to do it his own way, taking on the role of songwriter and frontman for his own four-piece band. Having recorded two albums, the debut while you slept and last year’s critically lauded radiofusebox, Stochansky and his band play their first Kingston show at Club 477 tomorrow night.
Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted to be famous. I’ve wanted to live the life of the beautiful people, where today’s press trashes your outfit but tomorrow’s praises your shocking performance as a serial killer in a Scorsese film.
Stardom, Denys Arcand’s latest film featuring good Kingston boy Dan Aykroyd and Cornwall model Jessica Paré kicked off the twenty-fifth Toronto Film Festival last night. For Queen’s Film student Heather McDonald, the Toronto Film Festival is another step on the long, arduous and humiliating road to stardom.
You might expect this review to start with some witty re-creation of a cheer that will slyly criticize the latest teen flick, Bring It On. But, the only cheers about this Kirsten Dunst vehicle that you will find in this space will be upbeat and positive.
People find sexual gratification in strange places. Some find it in a set of fuzzy handcuffs. Others find it in a pair of crotchless panties. And then there are those that find it suspended fifteen feet off the ground, hovering naked over a bleached corpse with metal rings pierced through their flesh connected to chains that hang from the ceiling.
If Nelly was the king of the world we’d all be chilling in the hood, waving our gats in the air and capping off every sucker MC who’s style wasn’t fresh. We’d ride around in expensive cars while big booty ho’s passed the chronic and danced. He’d be 50 feet tall and we’d flock in droves to praise his flow and his wealth. Unfortunately, Nelly is the king of nothing and his only destiny is the bottom of a bargain bucket. “Country Grammar”, the title cut and the reason this album was made did the rounds on BET and Muchmusic and has had pretty good airplay, but everyone will be sick of it soon. After that we won’t be seeing much more of Nelly.
New to the Arts & Entertainment section this year, Style File will be a monthly column featuring news about fashion, beauty and whatever else contributes to what you wear and how you wear it. It will focus on style news as it pertains to the university student, including articles on anything from the quest for a formal dress, to why fashion is art. Ideas are always welcome; this space is designed to reflect what the public wants to know.
How unhappy are we? It seems that, now more than ever, we all want to be someone else, something else. Famous.
The guy who makes your pizza, the girl who delivers your mail, the kid in the 7-11 parking lot messing around on his skateboard — all want to entertain you someday.
