Arts
the
student mixtape: madeline silva ’16
review:
“Left to My Own Devices” Pet Shop Boys “They’re my favorite band of all time ... it’s a good example of their sound.”
britney jean By grace young
graceyoung1997@gmail.com
“Walking on Music” Peter Jacques Band “Probably best disco song of all time ... the whole thing is perfect.”
photo by//lizzie prUneau
“Love in Your Eyes” Gazebo “I like the lyrics about a man who is in love with his synth more than his girlfriend. Accordingly, the synth in the song is incredible.” “Spacer Woman” Charlie “I love this song so much because it sounds like a coked-up Russian prostitute.” COMPilED by//BLAKE OETTING
permanence By anthony pizzimenti
pizzimenti.anthony@gmail.com
The movie The Social Network makes a few good points. In the scene where Mark Zuckerberg finds his old girlfriend in a restaurant, she says something interesting: “The Internet isn’t written in pencil, it’s written in ink.” This is accurate due to all the personal information available out there, not only to colleges or higher institutions, but to anyone that can sit down at a computer screen. Have you ever scrolled way-wayway down on your Facebook or Twitter feed just to see what it was like a few years back when it was exciting to post things on the Internet? It’s a hellish joyride of embarrassment and regret with ups and downs of poorly used language, bad memes and terrible photos. And everyone can see it. Imagine it’s 1957. No Internet, just mail. You write a raunchy let14 A&E JANUARY 2014
ter to a suitor of yours and send it off, only to have it taken by the postman and tacked up on the office pinboard. Later that day, a news reporter writing a piece on the ever-increasing intricacies of envelopes happens to take the letter and send it to his editor, who puts it on the front page of The New York Times with the headline ‘Look What I Got 4 U.’ Now take out the postman, and make him the friend you accidentally sent that text to. Make the pinboard his Facebook wall. Replace the reporter with a potential employer at your favorite company forever. The publication of your once-private letter is now a rejection notice from your dream job. Think before you speak. Or text or type or message or snap. Just don’t say anything you wouldn’t want to send to your grandma, because if your grandma would disapprove, so will the public eye of the world until the end of time. Scary, isn’t it?
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movie and music reviews of 2013, including One Direction, “Now You See Me” and more.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Britney Spears, and I guess I just assumed she was hairless and in jail. My last memory of her prior to the Nov. 29 release of “Britney Jean” was being chastised in my basement by my older pals for not understanding the “secret meaning” of her hit song “3.” Googling it now, I realize it was released five years ago, and apparently I’m not following the right entertainment blogs on Twitter. However, after listening to “Britney Jean,” I wasn’t missing out on anything. The album was first brought to my attention when “Work B**ch” came on Pandora one afternoon and the electronic dance beat was enough to draw my attention away from the stirring math assignment I was staring at. “Get to work, b**ch,” Britney yelled at me. Rude? Maybe, but the song screamed pump-up and by the end I was ready to actually start my homework, which is really a testament to Britney Spears. Energized, I decided to look up the rest of the album and my hopes were quickly dashed. Techno beats were everywhere, taking over songs at times. A short electronic dance break would have been enough in most cases, and even the wild noises couldn’t distract from Spears’ disappointing vocal range that even I could keep up with. Despite that, some bright spots did shine through – specifically “Perfume,” which stayed with me all day. In all, “Britney Jean” had its moments, like any album, but the shining areas weren’t illuminated; instead they were hidden amidst a whole barrage of techno tones. photo used with permission from britneyspears.com DESIGN BY//MEGUMI KITAMOTO