HAUTE CULTURE
22
FIT
W27
MARCH 2016
23
ALBUM REVIEW:
B ROA D C IT Y S E A SO N 3 H OTS P OTS
“ I L I K E I T W H E N Y O U S L E E P, F O R Y O U A R E SO B E AUTI FU L Y E T SO U N AWA R E O F IT ”
BY MADELINE GRANDUSKY-HOWE
HOORAY! “BROAD CITY” IS BACK FOR ITS THIRD SEASON. TO CELEBRATE, GRAB YOUR FRIENDS AND VISIT SOME OF THE MANY PLACES CLOSE TO CAMPUS WHERE “BROAD CITY” WAS FILMED.
- THE 1975
BY: NATALIA PEREIRA PHOTO COURTESY: @1975 INSTAGRAM
Bed Bath & Beyond, 620 Sixth Avenue Any “Broad City” fan knows that BB&B is Abbi’s favorite place. She even has a secret handshake with the employees. In real life, writer and star Abbi Jacobson’s mother worked there while she was growing up. It’s just a few blocks from campus, and who knows — there might be a cutting board with your name on it. Star on 18 Diner Cafe, 128 10th Avenue In season two, Abbi and Ilana visit this Chelsea diner in hopes to revive themselves after a long night out. It’s conveniently located near the High Line, another filming spot. Revel, 10 Little W. 12th St. In season two’s episode “Mochalatta Chills,” Ilana takes Abbi out for a swanky lunch to celebrate $400 earned in commissions, thanks to the group of unpaid interns she hires. Exterior
shots were filmed at this Meatpacking District restaurant. Visit for dinner or Sunday brunch when you’re celebrating a special occasion. Magnolia Bakery, 401 Bleecker St. (corner of West 11th Street) Abbi and Ilana spend an entire episode in season one tracking down Abbi’s lost phone. Spoiler alert: They finally track it down at the famous Magnolia Bakery. But don’t worry, they grabbed a banana pudding for the road.
Grounded Coffee, 28 Jane St. In “Broad City,” this coffee shop acts as a sandwich shop where Abbi has her first art show. In reality, this spot serves up great tea lattes and loads of ambience. Come here if you’re searching for a peaceful place to do homework or read. Watch “Broad City” Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central. Don’t worry, if you don’t have cable access, you can watch new episodes online for free a week later.
PHOTO COURTESY: TVWORLD.INFO
EXHIBITION REVIEW:
MUNCH AND EXPRESSIONISM
BY ANDREA NAVARRO
Located on Fifth Avenue and 86th Street, the Neue Galerie is one of the nine museums that constitute the famous Museum Mile. The Neue specifically concentrates on 20th-century German and Austrian art and design. Recently, it was home to an exhibit on Edvard Munch, the father of expressionism. Born in Norway, Munch was inspired by the other-worldly, beautiful landscapes of his home country. Though Norway can be seen throughout his work, it was in Germany that he was recognized as the creator of a new epoch. He gained attention there at the end of the 19th century because of the powerful symbolism of his works — his paintings overf lowing with universal emotions such as anxiety (“The Scream,” “Puberty”), sadness (“Melancholy”) and lust (“Madonna”). He was interested in showing how strongly people feel emotions and what that looks like. That, along with some of the recurring topics of his work, such as mental illnesses, sexual liberation and the death and sickness that seemed to follow him since he was a boy, were some of the reasons why he gained a huge following of young German and
Austrian artists. Even though the whole curatorial selection of the exposition is superb, the most remarkable and magnificent part is the printmaking — a technique that Munch mastered in Germany by learning traditional woodcut techniques and then altering them to his own specifications. The third f loor of the Neue is filled with many prints of the same subjects, all made slightly different by using distinct colors that allow for different interpretations of the same image. One only needs to see the “Towards the Forest I” series to feel immersed in the love, intimacy and limitlessness that the work inspires. Each sentiment is a little different because of the colors — sometimes dark red, midnight blue and pure black, while others light with soft pinks and greens — used for every different print. Perhaps his most famous work, “The Scream” is part of the collection (though not the original oil on canvas). It’s still an exhilarating thing to behold, and if you find yourself mouth open, jaws aghast — well, shrug it off before you mimic the artwork.
Sex. Love. Fear. These are only some of the evident themes of the 2016 music scene, especially for Manchester, U.K. band, The 1975. However, this is not just another band, but rather a reawakening period for music. Instead of sticking to a simple, clear-cut genre, The 1975 has rebelled against the boundaries and cut through preconceived notions. If you are a music enthusiast looking to experiment with a newer style, then you do not want to pass this band up.
very risky. So what does this mean for the band’s newest album release?
Lead singer and pop culture icon Matthew Healy recently stated on Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show that “there’s a lot lacking in pop music these days. It’s such an amazing lexicon and vocabulary of sounds — and there’s just not enough good bands, man, and I’m sick of it.” After starting as an alternative band in the industry, this transition is, in a way, shocking and
The four school friends, Matthew Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald, started their alternative rock band as early teens 13 years ago, with various names including Talkhouse, The Slowdown, Bigsleep and Drive Like I Do.
Each of the 17 tracks on “I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It” has its own unique sound.. The band does not believe in one set genre; they believe that genres are no longer in fashion with today’s music industry. With that being said, this array of ’80s pop mashups has set itself far from the rest of the currentday sounds — a bold move by The 1975.
“We’re a band that defines a certain generation at a certain time,” Healy told The Guardian. “Nobody my
ALBUM REVIEW:
“THE LIFE OF PABLO” - KANYE WEST
BY MEGHAN KANE
PHOTO COURTESY: ONEMUSEUMMILE.COM
PHOTO COURTESY: REDALTERPOLITICS.COM PHOTO COURTESY: DECONEWYORK.NET
age consumes media in a linear, straightforward way; it’s like a human eye, light coming in from everywhere. You can expect a 17-year-old girl to be listening to Kendrick Lamar and to Carole King. I think we’re the first band to really embrace the fact there aren’t many rules left.” This album is different from other music they have produced in the past. In fact, in June 2015, the band completely changed its aesthetics of solely black and white and hinted at a breakup, throwing fans into a frenzy. In reality, it was a start of a new era — a pink, new beginning for The 1975. The 1975 has abandoned the idea of a set genre, and instead strives to promote the art of music as a whole. The band shifted to a more pop sound, said Healy, who grew up with large pop inf luences when he was younger
and is finally showing that side in the band’s newer hits like, “The Sound” and “UGH!” Whether you are looking for a post-rock vibe in “Lostmyhead,” a rhythm and blues sensation in “Somebody Else” or even a David Bowie-inf luence in “She’s American,” this is definitely the album to take a listen to. And if being one of the most pre-ordered albums on iTunes for weeks leading up to its release on Feb. 26 doesn’t say something, then the fact that it has already hit the No. 1 spot on the charts surely speaks volumes. “I’m challenging people to sit through an hour and 15 minutes and 17 songs that all sound completely different from each other,” Healy told NME News. “It’s quite an emotional investment. It’s art. It’s what I want to do. The world needs this album.”
Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo” is fascinating — the title, that is. West’s self-made comparison to Pablo, whether it be Picasso, drug lord Pablo Escobar, Saint Paul the Apostle aka San Pablo or all three, screams triple-entendre with each repetition.
2” and “Wolves,” are some of the few endearing moments on the album. The transparent presentations of his hopes and fears surrounding his children and wife serve as infrequent human moments, what with his blatantly misogynistic comments about Taylor Swift on “Famous.”
“I feel like Pablo when I’m working on my shoes / I feel like Pablo when I see me on the news /
“Ultralight Beam” is about West’s faith in God. This track establishes strong parallels for “The Life of Pablo” with the life of Saint Paul the Apostle. He was blinded by a light beam from heaven as he was journeying to Damascus to persecute Christians. He remained sightless for three days before regaining his sight and dedicating his life to serving the Lord. Paul told the Corinthians that being a Christian means appearing mad, foolish and out of step with the rest of society at times.
I feel like Pablo when I’m working on my house,” he says in “No More Parties in L.A.” Although the extravagance-based Escobar correlation ends there with “Tell them party’s in here, we don’t need to go out.” In a lecture at Oxford University, he said, “My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater.” If West is tantamount to Picasso, “The Life of Pablo” is the moment, after a turbulent life leaving many artistic revolutions and mistreated women in his wake, that the artist finally settles down. In this adaptation, Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s final muse and the woman to whom he remained faithful, is played by Kim Kardashian, and this album is the soundtrack to the artist’s journey, interchangeably personal and creative. The references to his marriage and his family in songs like “FML,” “Father Stretch My Hands, Pt.
“Paul ... The most powerful messenger of the first century... Now we stand here 20 centuries later... Because he was a traveler...,” West tweeted a couple days after his album’s release. He’s an innovator. He’s insane. He’s a genius. He’s an idiot. It’s all been said. The underlying point that so many critics have made is that these “contradictions” are what cause him and “The Life of Pablo” to be so great. But since when have these statements ever contradicted each other when referring to an artist, or an early evangelist for that matter? “That always sounds so funny to people, comparing yourself to someone in the past that has done so much, and in your life you’re not even allowed to think that you can do as much. That’s a mentality that suppresses humanity,” he told students at Oxford. Maybe he’ll dangle Saint from a balcony and title his next album “The Life of Michael.”