Your Magazine Vol. 4 Issue 11: October 2014

OCT

Opens up about what it means to be a young chef in an up-and-coming restaurant

INTRODUCTION

MAX HULL OF MEI MEI STREET KITCHEN

2014

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STAFF PICKS

HALLOWEEN EDITION

LEIGHA MORRIS

MARKETING DIRECTOR

My grandma made this costume the night before Halloween; it was three sizes too small, I managed to rip a giant hole near my ass and had to eventually be cut out of it by my friend’s dad. Like so eighth grade, am I right?

CAITLYN BUDNICK HEAD COPYEDITOR

This was one in a long line of princess Halloween costumes I wore growing up because I was a princess. This may be my favorite costume (and picture of me) ever because Cinderella is the best. Plus, the turtleneck underneath is super stylish. I definitely peaked at four years old.

HALEY SHERIF TALENT MANAGER

I was Josie from Josie and the Pussy Cat Dolls. This was Halloween when I was nine or ten with my childhood best friend.

DANIEL LEMAR EDITOR IN CHIEF INTRODUCTION

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Here is a picture of me, your Editor in Chief, in 1999. This was my tap dance costume for a recital and in the words of a spooky, Halloween Tim Gunn, I made it work.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

MASKS ARE SEXY. Concealing your identity,

dressing up (or down), and getting to be someone else are all part of the fun. There’s a real power that supplies us with confidence when we can pretend, when we can play make believe as (almost) grown ups.

I will never be able to understand why people don’t dress up for Halloween. “It’s for kids,” or “It’s stupid,” some people say. I think those people just never had a good costume. My own evolution of Halloween costumes started out with the pre-packaged generic ones we all were: skeleton, vampire, policeman, etc. Around middle school, it was cooler to think outside of the store-bought box and to come up with something catchy, something no one else had been before. I was an iPod in fourth grade, making myself a sandwich board and writing “I Want Candy” on the music screen. Most of the boys in my school went as Ghostface from Scream and the girls went as can-can dancers from Moulin Rouge. But I couldn’t ignore a fundamental rule of fashion: there’s nothing worse than being caught in the same outfit as someone else. Thank God I didn’t go to a school with uniforms.

As we’ve grown older, the costumes have gotten more concise and more clever. We dress for the comfort of the party we’re going to or how much we can make whoever we flirt with laugh. The elements of masquerade have been upgraded to an adult level. Last year, I went as Salem from Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, a character who I hold very dear to my heart, but it was really just an excuse to wear all black and a sexy little cat mask. Trick-or-treating, scaring friends with horror movies, and stretching spiderwebs as decorations just don’t hold the same fun they used to.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we aren’t still using our imaginations.

In this month’s editorial, Your Magazine has, in my opinion, reached a new maturity in our aesthetic. Styled and executed by the beyond fabulous Peyton Dix, the photos are fun, fascinating, and, above all, fierce. Don’t be surprised if you see me on Halloween in costume as one of these girls.

My advice: enjoy All Hallow’s Eve. Have as much fun putting your costume on as you will taking it off.

XO,

INTRODUCTION

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Volume 4 Issue 11 • October 2014 CLAUDIA MAK

Creative Director & Head of Design

KATHY COLLINS

DANNY LEMAR

Editor-in-Chief

PEYTON DIX

MATTHEW MULLEN Managing Editor

MADELINE BILIS

Photo Director

Head Stylist

Living Editor & Blog Editor

CHELSEA TREMBLAY

MICHAEL MAHIN

ANDREA PALAGI

CAITLYN BUDNICK

HANNAH PERRIN& RIVKA HERRERA

Talent Manager

Romance Editor

Head Copy Editor

LEIGHA MORRIS

A&E Editor

YMtv Directors

Marketing Director

Style Editor

HALEY SHERIF

KAREN MORALES

Asst. Blog Editor

Copyeditors JACQUELYN MARR, JANELLA ANGELES, PAULINA PASCUAL, KELSEY PERKINS, JAMIE KRAVITZ, CHRISTABEL FRYE, ARIELA RUDY, ASHLEY HOWARD, DIANA DILORETO, ISABELLA DIONNE, JULIA ROBERTO

Marketing ELISE MESA, JAMIE IANNACE, KINSEY MINSCHKE, REBECCA FLUHR, KELSEY JOHNSON, TRACY PARCO, LIA BROUILLARD, CAMILA ORIOL, BRIANNA MARTINIELLI, ESTHER GLASIONOV, MAX CHERRY, NATALIE BENJAMIN, STELLA SANGUANSIN, NIKOLAI JACKOWSKI

YMtv AMANDA GOMEZ, LINDSAY GUALTIERI, TERRENA SCANNELL, MEGHIN HEWITT, RORY MCCANN, WILLIAM VICKROY, STEPHANIE PUMILIA, JAIME TOSCANO, ALEXANRDA JAMES, TATIANA OCHOA, ANDY KEYES

Layout Design by CLAUDIA MAK Editorial Credits: GARMENT DISTRICT, URBAN OUTFITTERS, AMERICAN APPAREL, AND FREE PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION

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CONTENTS ROMANCE

6.Three Parts of Desire

By Kelsey Conner

8. The Power of Playing The Field

By Ellie Romano

14.

9. Touchy Tattoos

By Ellie Romano

STYLE

10. Tote-ally

By Andrea Palagi

11. Top it Off

By Megan Cathey

12. Niche for Nude

By Peyton Dix

13. Coffee Table Books

By Serena Kassow

14. Tennis Chic

By Andrea Palagi

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EDITORIAL

16. Persona, Persona

Photography by Michael C. Thorpe

LIVING

26. A Rower’s Routine

By Wendy Eaton

28. Max Hull & Mei Mei Street Kitchen

By Claudia Mak

32. Civic Engagement at Emerson

By Jamie Kravitz

A&E

36. Women in Music

By Michael Mahin

38. Boston: City of Art

28.

By Julia Ferragamo

40. Halloween Roundup

By Michael Mahin

By Kelsey Conner

44. A&E Playlist

INTRODUCTION

42. Old School Jams

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T H RE E

PA RT S

OF

desire

By Kelsey Conner Photo by Claudia Mak

HOSTEL ONE

ROMANCE

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When I landed in Madrid, I immediately remembered just how alone I was. People gathered at the terminal exit, crying and embracing loved ones as I quietly slipped past. I looked at my phone and was unable to connect to the airport Wi-Fi.

My stay in Madrid was marked by poor connections of all kinds as I failed to make friends, much less find the handsome European lover that all of my friends talked about. Though my expectations for the trip were high, it seemed like the expectations of my friends and family were even higher. I fed them a constant stream of tourist photos on Facebook, all the while searching for the person that I thought the typical solo trip to Europe

would make me.

I wandered the streets alone and quietly observed the nighttime festivities in the hostel lounge, drinking Mahou and questioning my purpose in traveling there in the steaming summer before my junior year of college.

The last night of my stay, after I re-packed my massive Osprey backpack and settled into my routine of observing my drunken peers, a tall and moderately attractive man sat next to me.

“The Americans are making fools of themselves again,� he said in a heavy German accent, motioning to a group of men who were swaying in their seats and shouting about American football.

I raised a single eyebrow. “I’m American,” I said shortly.

He laughed. “But you aren’t making a fool of yourself. Do you want another drink?”

So the night went. We talked about politics, compared German and American education systems, and moved closer with each Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier, a German beer that cost an entire euro more than what I’d been paying for my drinks. The words that were now pouring out of my mouth grew thick, and my meticulously non-regional accent began to slip into its old Southern ways. I was reveling in the company, though we had little in common. Around 1:00 a.m., he kissed me while I was in the middle of speaking. Upon sober reflection, I realized how strange kissing is when you feel no connection, physical or otherwise. That is when he said the words that every hostel-goer loves to hear.

“I have a private suite.”

I allowed myself to be coerced into sloppy and unimportant sex, though I’m still unsure what my motives were at the time. Did I think it would make me feel better about how miserable I was with my life back home?

Or less alone? Would it somehow add value to my trip or make it more impressive? Was this some sort of odd, subconscious bucket list item?

When he fell asleep, I looked at my watch. I had a flight to Barcelona in a few short hours, and I quietly made my escape. As I watched the sun rise from the taxi window, I laughed to myself in realization that we had never even introduced ourselves.

HOSTEL TWO

Despite arriving with a vicious hangover, I landed in Barcelona with newfound confidence in my ability to survive on my own. This would be the city that changed everything, in my mind. This would be where I discovered myself, where I tore down the wall in my head that stifled my creativity and prevented me from writing all summer. Barcelona would redeem me.

I sat in the lobby, halfway dozing, while I waited for my room to be cleaned. In bounced a man, tanned, undoubtedly, from a long stint on the road. His energy and smile intrigued me. He enthusiastically tried to sell his friend on going to the Picasso museum but had no

luck.

“I’ll go,” I said in an uncharacteristic show of spontaneity.

What? I thought. Who am I? I do not do things like this. He turned to me and smiled. All of my doubt vanished.

We spent six and a half hours in the small museum and I forgot about my headache as I hung onto every fascinating word he said. I could tell he was intelligent and well-read, having an extensive knowledge of art and giving a better history lesson that the tour guide. He was six years older than I was, and I was a fool—instantly falling for the blue-eyed Australian who spoke of philosophy and stars and mortality. He was the kind of person who you felt you had known for years and who I thought I wanted to know forever. I felt the familiar letdown that seemed now commonplace in my life when I found out that he was leaving for Paris early in the morning. But he promised to make the night unforgettable.

HOSTEL THREE

We never went to sleep that night and never stopped talking. We sat at a crowded cafe, people watching, drinking wine, and eating calamari. I thought the night would never end; I felt invincible. The food never tasted quite that delicious again. All too soon, I stood in the doorway of his room, sleepily watching him pack. I walked with him to the train station, where he kissed me on the cheek and his beard tickled my face. We promised to keep in touch, and he shot me a smile as the train pulled away. Though I still had another week of traveling left, I already dreaded my return to Boston. I knew that, thanks to my inability to make friends at Emerson, I had no one waiting for me. Our connection reminded me of what I missed in my failed search for companionship at home.

My first night in Barcelona haunted me for the rest of the trip. It left a taste in my mouth that I could not get rid of, a space I could not fill. I moved on to London, while he went to Paris, and the English Channel never seemed so large. I spent the rest of my time in Barcelona trying to replicate how I’d felt with him, to no avail. I wasted night after night on people who did not matter, texting him whenever I had internet. He was another broken connection, one I wished I had never made.

ROMANCE

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THE POWER OF

PLAYING THE FIELD

By Ellie Romano

EMERSON

ROMANCE

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is like a giant orgy. Well, okay, people may not all be having sex with each other in the same room at the same time, but it’s happening all around us.

Such is the nature of attending a liberal arts school with a progressive student population. And it’s great. But sex with the same person can get boring after a while. (Unless you’re already in a sexually adventurous relationship with someone, in which case, more power to you!) But for all the single lovers out there, it’s important to have a wide variety of sexual partners so you never get tired of the same old sex positions. Not many people know how to perform every move in the Kama Sutra and tend to default to the same few moves. A wide variety of lovers maximizes the amount of positions you will be able to experience. If you constantly change up the players in your bedroom, how could the sack ever become boring? Answer: it can’t.

Having a rotation of multiple partners is the best way to switch up the players in your sex life. Pick a few people who you believe would be DTF whenever you are and put them in a mental list. Then each weekend simply hit up a different person on your list. Congrats, you’ve done it—you’re juggling multiple lovers. A nice bonus is that if one of your booty calls is busy and can’t ravage you when you want, skip over them and go to the next one on the list. It’s all about options, really.

But with all this power comes great responsibility.

Some words of advice: don’t double book. Meaning, don’t schedule more than one of your lovers in one night. If

you have plans to sleep with two people at different times on the same night, things could get sticky—literally and metaphorically. Sex is usually different every time and not something you can put a timer on. If you plan on sleeping with someone at one time, how can you book another person afterward? Unless you’re a really good planner, you might end up running late from one date to the other, or a suitor might arrive earlier than you expected while you still have another one under your covers. That situation doesn’t end well for anyone. You risk losing two people on your list in one night! Not worth the risk, darlings.

With the risk of your sexual partners finding out about each other, whether by accident like in the situations previously described, or by word of mouth, you may just want to let each of your partners know that you are not exclusive. This way they really can’t be mad at you if they ever find out you’re seeing someone else, as they had fair warning. They might even support the idea of seeing other people.

Another disclaimer: remember to practice safe sex! Talk to each of your partners before jumping into bed with them to make sure they don’t have any STIs you should know about. Condoms are available at any convenience store and birth control pills can be obtained for free at Planned Parenthood. Let’s be smart, now.

So—off you go! Start making that mental list of lovers and invite them over whenever you have an itch that needs to be scratched. Just don’t go too crazy.

touchyTATTOOS

By Ellie Romano

TATTOOS: a way to permanently

express yourself through body art. Any emotion can be expressed through tattoos: bliss, grief, animosity, even love.

So, what happens when tattoos become a symbol of love? Whether or not the love lasts, the tattoo is forever. Is getting a tattoo of your significant other’s name or a symbol of your love for them a good idea? No matter how in love you are, what happens if your relationship doesn’t work out?

Let’s first examine a local case: Marissa Robinson ‘17 got matching tattoos with her boyfriend about a year ago. The tattoos are of their zodiac signs because they believe their personalities match the characteristics of their signs and are compatible for each other. She’s a Virgo and he’s a Libra. The tattoo is both of the signs together. They discussed getting the tattoos for six months before taking the plunge to be sure it was something they really wanted.

“I love it even though I’m not a big tattoo person because he has been an extremely influential and special person to me and no matter what happens with our relationship...down the line I know that I will always be thankful for sharing a part of my life with him,” Robinson says, regarding her ink. In the past year since she has gotten the tattoo, the couple has had their ups and downs, but she never once wished it wasn’t on her body.

ROMANCE

Marriage is also a time when matching love tattoos can occur. Local married couple Paula and Kevin Klett got matching tattoos on their 20th wedding anniversary. They both have each other’s initials tattooed on their backs as if they were carved in a tree. It reads PK+KK stacked vertically. “We wanted to celebrate 20 years of love... the design made us feel like teenagers again,” says Paula on their matching ink. Neither of them regrets getting the tattoos. Marriage is the true test of love. If a marriage can work, there will be no need to regret getting tattoos symbolizing love.

Now, let’s look to the ultimate role models for tattoo advice: the Kardashian clan. Reality star Khloé Kardashian got a tattoo of Lamar Odom’s initials when they were still together.

Since the couple split, she has not gotten the tattoo removed but confided to her sister Kim in an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians that she is thinking about turning the tattoo into something else, like the word “love.” This is a sensible solution that doesn’t involve the invasiveness of laser tattoo removal. On top of being physically painful (it has been described as feeling like being splattered with hot grease), laser removal can be painful to your wallet as well. Depending on your tattoo, you may need anywhere from 1-10 sessions with your doctor, each costing in the range of $250-$850. Yikes!

Let’s be honest. It doesn’t matter if tattoos are hot or not. If you want one, that’s your choice.

However, if you want a tattoo of a significant other’s name or a symbol of your love with them, remember that, unfortunately, love does not always last forever. Take advice from tatted Marissa, and make sure you really think about your decision before getting inked instead of rushing into it. Or wait until you’re married for years like the Kletts.

Even though we love the Kardashians, you don’t want to end up in Khloé’s stilettos and have to change your tattoo into something it was never supposed to be. After all, those are some pretty uncomfortable shoes to be in—even if they are Louboutins.

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TOTE-

By Andrea Palagi Stock Photography

EVERYTHING about autumn is oversized: thick knit sweaters, chunky leather boots, and scarves that go on for

STYLE

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miles. The chilly November winds mean that along with those year-round handbag staples—a few tubes of lipstick, sunglasses, a very tiny mirror, and anywhere from 4 to 8 bobby pins—fall may also require room in that bag for a wool floppy hat, a pair of leather gloves, the shoes that you actually want to wear when you get wherever you’re going, and even an extra pair of knee-high socks for emergencies. So with all of these seasonal must-haves, when it comes to choosing the quintessential, end-all-be-all of handbags the bigger, the better. This season, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Kate Spade, and others have answered your autumn prayers and put an end to your too-much-to-carry woes with structured doctor’s bags, satchels, and bowling bags all big enough to fit your kitchen sink and an outfit change or two.

Free up your hands this fall with totes, carry-alls, and high-end duffle bags that can handle whatever your seasonal wardrobe throws at (in) them.

TOP

OFF

By Megan Cathey

With many silhouettes, textures, and colors available for outerwear this fall, it’s easy to ditch your basic pea coat and test out different styles. Go beyond your beloved trench and try a sleek robe coat, or, for the extra chilly days, go for a cozy coat either covered or lined with faux fur. These options prove that warmth and style aren’t mutually exclusive.

FAUX FUR

STYLE

For instant glamour, throw on a faux fur coat this season. If you’re adventurous, try a fun hue like bubblegum pink or a bold leopard print. Or if you can’t wear THE BOMBER JACKET fur without feeling like a Muppet, try a jacket with a fur Give your fall wardrobe the varsity treatment by lined collar instead. Pair your fabulous fur with a LBD adding a sporty bomber jacket. The bomber’s clean lines and heeled boots for an elegant going-out look or with and athletic fit will give your outfit a fuss-free update. For jeans and a sweater to dress up an everyday outfit. a classic look, try a unisex version that looks straight out of a John Hughes movie. You’ll receive extra cool points if THE ROBE COAT your jacket has decals or embroidery. Have fun with tex A staple on the Fall 2014 runways, robe coats tures and try a bomber in leather, satin, or quilted cotton. combine style and functionally. Designers like Carven, Pair your bomber jacket with distressed boyfriend jeans Altuzarra, and Chloé all showed robe coats on their Fall for an ultra laidback look or use it to dress down a dress 2014 runways. Perfect for those cold days when you just and tights. can’t seem to get out of bed, the robe coat’s draped silhouette and thick fabric provide optimum comfort without THE DUSTER compromising style. Take a cue from fashion bloggers and

Lightweight fabric and an oversized fit character- try a classic camel color or go for a luxurious jewel tone ize the trench coat’s more laid-back cousin, the duster like emerald or eggplant. If you’re worried about being coat. Originally worn by horsemen to protect their cloth- overwhelmed by fabric, cinch your coat with a belt to creing from dust, nowadays dusters are just as stylish as they ate shape. are functional. The duster is perfect for those warmer fall days when you only need a little added warmth. The lonTHE CAPE ger silhouette of the duster makes an eye-catching con Rock a cape this fall and you’ll become a style sutrast with shorter skirts and dresses. Wear classic black or perhero. The cape can work wonders for a simple sweater try a plaid print for instant sophistication. and jeans or it can give a dressier outfit added luxury. For a preppier look, try a tartan print. If you wanted to take a page from the runway, try a military-inspired style in khaki. Keep your head warm with a hooded version or pair your cape with a chic wool hat.

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NICHE FOR NUDE

By Peyton Dix Artwork by Demetria Gertos

STYLE

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AGE 13

was not anybody’s year, and it especially was not mine. My adolescent years were filled with sporadic breakouts and the sudden growth of what would become my current double-Ds. I was the poster child for puberty—where nothing fits right and no one fits in—especially when the dark spots on my face fashioned themselves into something of an unplayed connect the dots game on my forehead.

There was nothing I could do about the breasts, so my preteen vice was stealing my mother’s Bare Escentuals foundation.

The leading contender in my defense against my dark spots was pilfering my mother’s foundation and pouring and smoothing its rich liquid onto my acne-ridden skin. I explored other avenues of concealment too.

For a while I sported a self-cut bang with tattered ends that admittedly was the worst decision I’ve ever made for both my hair and my social life. Still, in my preteen mind, Bare Mocha 20 was liquid gold, my saving grace.

Except that it wasn’t, and I eventually grew tired of fighting the inevitable. My acne had bought a home and paid a mortgage on the prime real estate that was my forehead. After three years of every cover up, overpriced powder, and covert operation into my mother’s vanity, I came to my senses and developed what I like to call my niche for nude.

It wasn’t easy, but around age 16, I gave up on trying to have the pore-less skin I saw in Teen Vogue and started working with what I had. Granted, it didn’t hurt that in attending an all-girls school, the notion of trying to appear relatively presentable drops right around sophomore year anyway. I started sporting a bare face, running errands and sitting in classes without a drop of the Bare Escentuals foundation. My skin finally was bare, and it could actually breathe. Fresh faced and Proactiv friendly, those blooming blemishes eventually dwindled.

I won’t try to fool you: my skin still isn’t perfect. I get blemishes right before a big night out and wake up with zits and bumps that make me feel less than flawless.

But that’s not what I’m going for anymore.

My skin feels healthy, no longer suffocating under the pounds of makeup that used to seep into my defenseless pores.

When I was a pizza-faced preteen, makeup was almost an identifier of mine, but I’ve discovered the liberating feeling of going bare faced. I can leave my room without makeup on without feeling naked and exposed, I just feel natural. My nude face has become my norm and I’ve learned to admire my face without makeup just as much as I do with it.

A FASHIONISTA’S GUIDE

to coffee table books

By Serena Kassow

With fall rolling in, we’re starting to get settled in to our homes for the season. Be it a dorm room or a new apartment, the familiarity of a place you can call your own is starting to greet you at the door every day. Trying to decorate your temporary space can be hard, though, especially for a student in constant motion. We at Your Mag want your space to be one that you’re proud of, that expresses who you are and what you’re interested in; and we want you to be able to do it easily and, of course, stylishly. Therefore, finding temporary and easily transportable design elements is crucial.

Enter the coffee table book. This timeless interior decorators’ staple is basically the cheat sheet to chic—a simple stack of them can transform a whole room. Here are some of our favorites to help you give your room a whole new vibe.

3. TASCHEN 365 Day-by-Day: Fashion Ads 1. Fashion: A History from the 18th to 20th

Century, Tamami Suoh, Miki Iwagami, Reiko Koga,

and Rie Nii If you haven’t already received this incredible anthology as a gift for your bat mitzvah/sweet sixteen/high school graduation (not like we have or anything), then we suggest it as the first thing to get your hands on. The extensive research aspect to this two-volume set will impress your history buff guests and the illustrations are beyond beautiful. Featured inside is a comprehensive history of shapes, textiles, class structure, and identity, all expressed through historical clothing.

2. Charles James: Beyond Fashion

If you weren’t able to catch the latest installation at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (founded by Anna Wintour), have no fear—the Met’s website offers a beautiful compilation of the great Charles James’ lifelong work. Known for his flattering silhouettes and jaw-dropping extravagant ball gowns, the book features photos and explanations behind the social and historical context of each piece.

of the 20th Century

This personal calendar greets you with a new historical fashion advertisement each day, giving you fashion, history, and practicality all in one. Not only is it nice to look at, but going back in time to the days of ball gowns and exaggerated winged eyeliner will surely put a smile on your face every morning.

4. Amber, Guinevere & Kate Photographed

by Craig McDean: 1993-2005

Escape into the grungy fashion of the ‘90s—aka, the supermodel era—with this fun modelography by legendary photographer Craig McDean. The book chronicles the careers of his three favorite models: Kate Moss, Guinevere van Seenus, and Amber Valletta, all captured through his lens and stunning vision.

5. Vogue, the Editor’s Eye

STYLE

Lastly, no fashionista’s coffee table would be complete without paying homage to fashion’s bible, Vogue. This edition chronicles the careers of some of Vogue’s most powerful editors, packing girl power and fashion into one very beautiful package. A section is dedicated to each editor, which features the photographers they collaborated with, models they featured, and the designers with whom they developed lifelong friendships.

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tennis chic

STYLE

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By Andrea Palagi Photo by Carina Allen Model: Emily Waite

LET’S

be honest, there is nothing cute about sweating and it is incredibly difficult to run in stilettos.

For these reasons, fashion and athletics have been at odds since 1480, when the tennis ball was invented, right through 1921, when Gucci was born. Up until recently, athletes and fashionistas were just fine with that. Lately, however, the fashion world has developed a love-love relationship with the game of tennis. Designers are beginning to realize that if you subtract the sweat and get rid of the rackets you are left with is a sleek look that could go by no other name than “tennis chic.”

The Williams sisters, Maria Sharapova, and Billie Jean King are all known for their backhand serves, endless volleys, and Wimbledon-winning follow through. For many people, this list of tennis royalty is not exactly what they would consider an all-star lineup of fashion icons.

Yet it is the athletic looks of these women that are inspiring a typical runways and retail looks this season.

The trends of tennis-wear have long been intertwined with the ever-changing styles of the fashion world.

Taking a look back, in the 1920s women could be seen playing tennis on a Sunday afternoon sporting shapeless, straight cut, above the knee dresses. Another popular look at this time was long, loose cardigans layered over plunging V-neck T-shirts that were often paired with narrow, knee-length skirts. Just 10 years later, tennis fashion made a 180-degree turn away from the loose looks of the ‘20s and back to a more modest look of mid-length skirts paired neatly with sleeveless or short sleeve button ups. After tennis fashion’s more modest days, the 1940s brought a casual, unisex-y look to the tennis courts.

High-waisted, tailored shorts and above the knee skorts replaced the longer more feminine looks of the previous decade. The mock neck top also became very popular with women on the tennis court during this time. Then, in the early 1950s, tennis-loving ladies everywhere opted for the classically feminine and increasingly popular cinchedwaist, front button dress with a built in belt matched with a short cardigan. The next decade brought mod, above the knee mini-dresses onto the court that were followed

by the large dramatic shirt collars and super short skirts of the 1970s. Up until the 1980s, most tennis wear was white, sometimes with a black accent or two. Then finally, by the ‘80s, pastels and bright neon tones made their entrance onto the courts.

Today, tennis is back and looking better than ever.

As of late, tennis fashions from the last 95 years are colliding to create an off the court look that designers are embracing and embellishing to make their own.

Sports wife turned designer, Victoria Beckham, has a line of tennis-inspired mini-dresses for semi-formal occasions of business or pleasure. These dresses feature a straight, boxy cut, a signature of the 1920s, with a pleated bottom that mimics the playful tennis skirts of the 1980s. Rag and Bone retailers have recently started to sell oversized sweaters with plunging V-necklines that are reminiscent of the on the court styles of the 1920s. Even Ralph Lauren was inspired by the sexiness of tennis-wear as the brand recently released several knit, knee-length dresses with loose V-necks that imitates the tennis style of the ‘20s and ‘50s.

So, what’s the deal? Why are the pages of this season’s Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar sprinkled with models in pleated tennis skirts and not modified football jerseys or high heeled golf shoes? Tennis seems to be serving up the most stylistically satisfying fashions partly because of the lifestyle of luxury that it represents. The game of tennis offers an air of high-class regality that makes it appealing to high-end designers and similarly to their consumers who have a taste for the high life themselves. Additionally, tennis taps in to one’s flirtatious and romantic side as illustrated in films like Annie Hall. The romanticism associated with this sport, as opposed to basketball or hockey, lends itself to the art of fashion. There may also be, deep within the heart (and under the Bvlgari diamond necklace and beneath the silk Chanel top) of every fashion lover, a stifled desire to channel her inner Sporty Spice. How better to do that than in a pair of Chanel’s tennis hot pants and matching visor? Love means nothing but this fall, tennis chic means everything.

STYLE

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persona,

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persona

Models: Hunter Harris, Lily Richards, and Nina Tomakyo Photography by Michael Thorpe

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ROWER’S ROUTINE

the banks of the Charles River this Oct. 18 and 19, you won’t find the typical still waters and quiet hum of autumn. Instead there’ll be buzzing excitement for an event that draws more than 9,000 athletes and 400,000 spectators each year.

Those still waters will be traded for a rush of sculling boats competing in the world’s largest two-day rowing event: the Head of the Charles Regatta. It was created in 1965 by the founders of the Cambridge Boat Club.

Now in its 50th year, the event will attract rowers from around the world ready to compete in the strenuous three mile rowing race. The course features some tricky obstacles including five three-arch bridges, which take plenty of practice to master. Navigating the lanes beneath these bridges while among the other boats proves to be a challenge each year—and teams practice ardently to get it right. Chloe Laverack, a senior at Northeastern and a member of the women’s rowing team, hopes that her team has done just that.

By Wendy Eaton Photo Provided by Chloe Laverack

“For Northeastern, and other Boston schools and universities, practicing on the Charles is a beautiful home advantage,” explains the Southbury, Connecticut native, “We are able to practice doing Head of the Charles pieces competitively within our team on the actual course to prepare confidently for the official head race.”

The chemistry major is no stranger to the competition. She’s competed in the race in the last two years and is ready to give it another shot. “My hope for this year’s event is to decrease our course time from last year and raise our place,” says Laverack, who was a walk-on to the women’s rowing team her first year at Northeastern. “I had never rowed before and my experience on the rowing team hasn’t been easy. Being on a varsity team with the physical demands of rowing is challenging,” she says.

Chloe Laverack may have never rowed before she joined the team, but she was accustomed to the vigorous work of being an athlete. She was captain of her high school cross-country team and was a track and field

athlete all four years. At 5 feet 10 inches, Laverack is an athletic force to be reckoned with and she focuses on the physical demands of training as progress.

The Head of the Charles is, as Laverack puts it, “by no means a sprint.” She detailed the dedicated training schedule that goes into such a physically challenging race. “I am truly part of a team,” she says. “Together we are on the water just after 6:00 AM every morning.” What is done during a single practice can vary between longer aerobic workouts and shorter, more intense pieces. Practicing both ways aids in perfecting the high competitive stroke rate. But when they’re not working together, they’re working against each other. Groups within the team race against other groups as well. According to Laverak, the workouts are not only early, but also long. “We are typically on the water for an hour to an hour and a half, and afterward we may do a run or a circuit.”

Rowing isn’t all about being talented and wellpracticed in the water. Rowers need to be in peak physical condition overall. The workouts for the women’s rowing team continue long after the 6:00 a.m. practice. The team gets back to work in the afternoon, hitting the weight room or going for a run. They also do series on erg machines, or ergometers, more commonly known as indoor rowing machines.

“To be able to exert yourself to your maximum ability for three miles means many, many more miles need to go under your belt first,” she says. This practice-makesprogress mentality pervades the mantra that Laverack uses for herself. “It’s about progress. I believe you are always training up to the point of the race that you are in. After you finish that race, you use the experience and the work you’ve gained from it as training for the next race, and so on.”

Training involves more than vigorous exercise— smart diet choices are imperative. Laverak notes eating high carb and protein snacks like toast with peanut butter and bananas with water or Gatorade are perfect for before and after practices. “I have a favorite pasta recipe I make before all my big days,” she says. “It’s whole wheat pasta with a sort of bruschetta mixed in, mozzarella, garlic, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.” And after a big race? “Maybe a bowl of ice cream or slice of cheesecake. I’m human too!”

While pasta is definitely a pre-race ritual for the rower, so is wearing her lucky sports bra. “It’s a Champion black sports bra,” she says, “I think black clothing is intimidating so I have that little token.” When she’s not donning the lucky bra, Laverack says her personal choices to train on her own are beneficial to the team as a whole.

“Personally I have been training for the 2014 Head of the Charles for three and a half years now, since I started rowing. Training is something that compounds on itself as long as you keep working it. To stop training for the future would be to not progress in speed for myself and the team.”

The common team goal is to be better than they were at the 2013 Head of the Charles, but the real goal, according to Laverack, is to work harder than she ever has before. “I hope that we have great, fast, competitive races that we can look back with pride at, and know that we truly performed at the highest level that we are capable of,” she says, reflecting on her last time rowing in the race.

Progress is what Laverack has been working towards since she walked on to the rowing team four years ago. Her team’s performance this year will tell us if she has obtained the progress that she has trained so hard for.

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fresh peaches from barden orchard yu xiang sauce

puffed sriracha rice

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chinese eggplant from schartner farms

MAX HULL

& THE UNADULTERATED, INVENTIVE CUISINE OF MEI MEI STREET KITCHEN

By Claudia Mak Photos by Claudia Mak

It is hard to describe the food at Mei Mei Street Kitchen; it is difficult for customers, for servers, for reviewers, and, surprisingly, even for Max Hull, the 25-yearold brain behind some of the most creative food in Boston. He is a novice chef who only started getting serious about cooking when siblings Irene, Mei, and Andrew Li founded Mei Mei Group and created the Mei Mei food truck in 2011. Now, Max stands tall on the bridge of the back of the house at Mei Mei’s brick and mortar location. But, Max is merely a pupil amongst pupils; many of the other cooks are just as new to professional kitchens as he is. So, what exactly does food created by young, intelligent innovators taste like?

As most great stories begin, Max and Irene’s began with pie. Irene was a student at Cornell in Max’s hometown of Ithaca, New York, when the pair met. As they became closer, they started to hang out and bake pies together, going out to forage for wild berries and returning home to make pie crusts. “It was really cool, learning how to make a good pie crust…What attributes you were looking for, how the techniques that you applied to it affected the result, and how you could tweak those to get a better result. In the end—you end up with a freakin’ delicious pie. It’s awesome,” Max says.

After pies came more advanced recipes. Eventually, the two became so engrossed in cooking that they opened an illegal, underground restaurant in Ithaca called

Deadpan. The restaurant eventually gained some Cornell campus notoriety, “Word started to spread and we ended up doing a dinner for a secret society at Cornell called Sphinx Head,” Max says.

Irene took a leave of absence from Cornell, returning to Boston to work on opening Mei Mei with her siblings. Max decided to enroll at Emerson to pursue writing, literature, and publishing. His time at Emerson was cut short because he really wanted to be working full-time with Irene on the truck. When Irene was exhausted after working for 10 hours a day, Max envied her position, pining to spend his time cooking tirelessly.

Max was aware of his trinity of creative interests at the age of 6. He says, “I remember, I was making lemon bars and I said to my parents, ‘Aw man, I have all these interests, maybe some day I’ll have to choose between becoming an artist, a writer, or a chef.’”

By process of elimination, Max realized that the one thing he could not live without was cooking. To him, writing was a good cerebral exercise but also something of a chore. When it came to art, although Max had dedicated many years to the craft, it was still not as satisfying as cooking. “I’m a much better pencil artist than I am a cook. Much better. No contest. But cooking is the only thing that I can’t not do,” Max admits.

Max grew up with barely any background in Chinese cooking. He had little knowledge in the subject be-

“THE ONLY THING I HAVE IS MY BRAIN AND THAT’S THE ONLY REASON I AM WHERE I AM, THAT’S NOT ENOUGH REASON TO CALL YOURSELF CHEF”

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fore he started to learn about it from Irene, whose family is Chinese, as well as the caretakers of Irene’s father. Although most cuisines intrigue Max, Chinese is especially interesting to him because of the varied techniques and styles of cooking. “If you’re interested in food, it’s impossible not to be interested in Chinese food,” Max says.

Because Max is still a tenderfoot to the realm of “chefdom,” a chef jacket is, figuratively, a little too large for his shoulders. The young chef doesn’t actually think he is a chef, nor does anyone in the restaurant refer to him as chef. “I’m not a chef, I haven’t paid my dues, I’ve never been a line cook except for in my own restaurant, never went to culinary school, never got screamed at for ten hours a day, seven days a week for years on end, I haven’t done any of that stuff. The only thing I have is my brain and that’s the only reason I am where I am, that’s not enough reason to call yourself chef,” Max admits.

He is still searching for his voice as a chef. “If you’re doing creative writing, your writing is just going to sound like a bad imitation of the writers you read the most. That’s just as true for cooking as it is for writing.”

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at Mei Mei. Yet by being so novice, Max has displayed a great deal of uninhibited originality through his food. “I think if there’s one thing that’s very myself about the food we serve here it’s that it doesn’t really conform to any tradition,” says Max.

Like Max, many of the cooks in the back of the house have little to no formal culinary experience. The kitchen is comprised of brainy ones: Emily is an MIT graduate, Ashley is a biologist specializing in bats, Hannah studied zoology, and only two cooks are culinary school graduates. Brian Young, co-chef of the highly anticipated Townsman and cook at Mei Mei, says, ”we had a stage (intern) today on the truck that has a degree in biogenetic engineering. It truly is amazing to see, especially as someone who has been in the restaurant industry in some capacity since age 14.”

The kitchen’s environment is very egalitarian.

Many cooks have items on the menu, and every cook has input about each dish. The back of the house is like a commune of scholarly young people who have shifted their focuses to cooking, all for the love of food. “This industry attracts people who are very hard working. Nobody gets into cooking for the money, so you tend to at-

tract people who are either ex-cons or really passionate.

That’s a great thing for a person to be.” Max says.

Even if Max dissociates with the formal title of chef, many would dare to contradict him. Word of his talent is spreading; Max and Irene have been nominated for national awards such as Eater’s Young Guns Class of 2014 competition. Max is steadily learning how to become a better leader, despite often feeling inadequate. He wants to assume all responsibility for the food at Mei Mei, minus the formal title. Max asserts, “The title that I like best is the one that is my Instagram bio. Which is, ‘If the food at Mei Mei sucks, it’s my fault.’”

Last winter, in a TEDx talk at Wellesley College, Irene and Mei eloquently described the mission that Mei Mei has in its farm-to-table philosophy. This cautionary tale about the future of the unsustainable restaurant industry should inspire prevention in kitchens across the country, but prevention happens to be riddled with dayto-day obstacles. Sustainability, locality, and honesty mean steep food costs and lack of seasonal crop security.

But one of the biggest issues is getting customers on board with the sustainability practices of the restaurant, because “all that translates into is less meat at a higher price,” Max says.

As Irene finishes up her last year at Cornell, it is up to Max to keep her eco-friendly practices alive. “The work that she’s done with our restaurant has been pretty awe-inspiring. I’m just starting to get into that. Now that she’s gone I’m stepping into that world. I am planning to make an effort to do things even better than we have up

until now,” Max says.

Max dreams of retiring in his old age and owning a quaint restaurant attached to an inn. He wants to flee the city and return to the natural landscape of his hometown of Ithaca. Cornell, being a land-grant university, has many agricultural resources that would help Max achieve his retirement dreams. “I want a small farm and lots of land for foraging. I want to serve a menu that is honest.” What he does in between now and then is a mystery. Max is more certain when it comes to the future of Mei Mei. He wants the restaurant to eventually operate its own farm outside of the city. “I want this place to be successful enough that we can start a new project. I think that project should be a farm…That would be the obvious next step for us,” Max says.

Maybe the food at Mei Mei is really just a charming display of amateurism. But the complexity and consistency of the dishes can’t be reduced to a fluke. Max and the cooks at Mei Mei are taking techniques from their favorite cookbooks, drawing inspiration from choice chefs, adhering to sustainable sourcing practices, and reifying all of this into delicious food. So, the reality stands: a bunch of nerds with limited culinary experience are killing the food game.

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Mei Mei Street Kitchen is located at 506 Park Dr. www.meimeiboston.com

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MISSION POSSIBLE:

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AT EMERSON LIVING

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By Jamie Kravitz Photos by Nydia Hartono

USING games to better society is a relatively new concept, and Emerson wants in.

160 Boylston Street: from the outside, it doesn’t look like much. As students we walk past it every day, but our eyes often glaze over the building, opting to focus instead on our destination—whether it be Piano Row on one side or Boloco on the other. If the location is known for anything, it’s the dusty antique shop on the first floor. Take a short (albeit eerie) elevator ride up to the fourth floor, however, and you will find a different kind of treasure.

The Engagement Lab at Emerson College is many things at once. Simply put

by Brandon Sichling, a VMA graduate student, it is “an applied research lab for civic engagement.” While concise, this definition feels unsatisfying. Yet attempting to sum up all of the work done by the team in just one sentence is not an easy task.

The fourth floor of 160 Boylston serves as a workplace for the Engagement Lab staff and student lab assistants, as well as for Emerson faculty who are employing the lab’s resources in various projects. The lab has been used as a space for the VMA topics class Games and Social Change, a course taught by the lab director, Professor Eric Gordon.

The purpose of the Engagement Lab is to design and study technological avenues of civic engagement. Civic media, which includes interactive games, aims to benefit specific communities by discussing and resolving key issues.

Professor Catherine D’Ignazio, one of four new faculty members who are Fellows at the Engagement Lab, believes that civic media is an emerging field. “All of us are working to define it in our own ways. There’s a connection there between the accessibility and availability of information, and then the participation in public processes… the varying ways that people can participate in their community to basically change the world for the better,” says D’Ignazio. She points out questions that civic media raises, such as: “How do people have the right information to make good public decisions?” and “How do you get people engaged around certain public issues that really matter, that really need participation to move forward?”

Many important and inventive games have been developed as a result of the work being done at the Engagement Lab. These games range from role-playing (Civic Seed, designed in cooperation with Tufts University’s Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service) to real-time strategy (Risk Horizon, designed in partnership with the World Bank). The lab has also developed in-person games such as @Stake, a role-playing/tabletop card game, and Boda Boda, an in-person game designed in partnership with the Red Cross in Uganda as part of a safety and first aid certification course for drivers of motorcycle taxis. UpRiver is a multiphase game, meaning it is played on a digital platform as well as in-person. “I think there’s a

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difference between just kind of plopping a game on top of something that you want people to know—that’s what you might call gamification—versus designing a game from the ground up to be more meaningful, engaging, and participatory,” says D’Ignazio.

The lab’s most prominent game initiative is Community PlanIt, an innovative way of evaluating public opinion. In today’s digital era, holding a town meeting seems like an antiquated ritual. Community PlanIt has revolutionized the basic idea of a community meeting through online, interactive games. Participants play individually by answering questions and can then contribute their rewards to worthy causes—solutions to civic problems. Coming up with these causes is another key part of the game.

Community PlanIt is being utilized in cities across the country, such as Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, and Los Angeles. It is also used internationally in Moldova and will soon be implemented in Bhutan. According to Christina Wilson, project manager at the Engagement

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Lab, Community PlanIt is ideal for “policymaking or other planning processes that require broad community input. The ongoing research question of Community PlanIt is to see how digital technologies can help facilitate a more participatory planning process,” says D’Ignazio.

“Many people in these planning processes voice the ideal of having it be participatory and including many voices.

It’s [an issue of ] how to engage people and how to collect all of that really amazing wisdom that the community has.”

Last month, the Engagement Lab launched a Community PlanIt game just for Emerson College, called Emerson UnCommon. Beginning on Sept. 22, students, faculty, and staff were challenged to answer a series of questions while earning coins for their responses. Then, coins are pledged to the cause(s) of the player’s choice. By participating in Emerson UnCommon, students, faculty, and staff have the opportunity to submit their own causes or simply vote for those proposed by others. The causes are projects that benefit the Emerson community—anything that is connected to a department, student housing, or a club recognized by Student Government. These causes will help advance Emerson’s five strategic priorities: academic excellence, civic engagement, internationalization and global engagement, innovation, and financial strength and stewardship.

The three winning causes are to receive $1,000 in funding so that the ideas can be implemented on campus.

In his email to the Emerson community, President Lee Pelton described participation in the game as a “remarkable opportunity to make your voice heard in an important all-campus conversation.” According to Wilson, it’s the first time a game has been used to do planning on a college campus.

The hope for Emerson Uncommon was, in D’Ignazio’s words, to “open up that planning process and explore…people’s current relationships with Emerson, and how [we can] dream together. How do we envision a future together and [also] meet people where they are?”

Animation and motion media major Alex Eby ‘16 is a student lab assistant. She describes Community PlanIt as bringing together individual opinions on community matters. “Everyone gets a chance to voice their opinions

for these certain issues. Students, teenagers, teachers, adults, they’re all using their own voices together in this one game,” says Eby. In the end, the data is analyzed in order to find out what the community thinks, and to come up with solutions.

Registration for Emerson UnCommon opened Sept. 10, and game play lasts three weeks. There arethree missions, and each mission takes place over the course of one week. The game is set to end Oct. 13.

The students, faculty, and staff in the Engagement Lab research and develop all of the games. For each project there is a specific team. While larger projects like Community PlanIt involve everybody at the lab in one way or another, there are also smaller projects that involve a few faculty and staff and one or two students. “Every lab assistant has different tasks,” says Eby. “I’m their graphics person. I do a lot of graphic design, mostly for Community PlanIt. I’ve also worked on editing videos and commercials.” After hearing about the Engagement Lab during her first year at Emerson, Eby attended an information session where she found an opportunity to help in the lab.

Sean Vaccaro ‘17, a film major, also found out about the lab his first semester on campus. Interested in game production at another school, he was able to pursue this passion while still studying film at Emerson. “I ended up finding the Engagement Lab online, asked if I could help around, and eventually got hired. I do graphics posters, edit videos, and [shoot] some…footage. I have had the opportunity to write music for some of the games,” says Vaccaro.

While the lab assistants tend to be VMA majors, the Engagement Lab is looking to expand their reach and involve new types of people and platforms. “If you have an interest, they’ll find a way to incorporate it. We’re trying to incorporate all kinds of media here,” says Vaccaro.

According to Professor D’Ignazio, the Engagement Lab is expanding its focus from just games into other areas of research pertaining to civic media and civic discourse. “At the moment, I’d characterize the Engagement Lab’s situation as very much in flux in a really positive and creative way,” says D’Ignazio.

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OFF THE CHARTS:

WOMEN IN MUSIC

By Michael Mahin Stock Photography

THE

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year 2013 had looked, for a long time, to be shaping up to be a thoroughly dispiriting time for female representation in music. Robin Thicke’s ode to misogyny “Blurred Lines” was dominating airwaves everywhere and of the top 10 chart-topping singles of that year, only two (Katy Perry’s “Roar” and P!nk’s “Just Give Me a Reason”) were by female artists. At the same time, Miley Cyrus was prompting critics from every side of the political and social sphere, primarily due to a VMA performance that (perhaps knowingly) reveled in the selfexploitation of a former Disney Star. Taylor Swift’s Red unsurprisingly dominated album charts earlier that year; however, increasing attention was drawn to Swift’s dating habits, arguably simplistic lyrics, and public persona as a habitual dater. Even seemingly surefire victories, like Lady Gaga’s Artpop, were met with tepid reviews and lukewarm sales.

Then, on Dec. 13, 2013, Beyoncé, the whizkid supreme of modern pop, dropped her surprise fifth album, the self-titled BEYONCÉ, overnight with no promotion and no pre-album hype. Apart from being, easily, one of the strongest, most surprising albums to be released this dreary year for music, Beyoncé’s self-touted “visual album” prompted a web-wide discussion about the status of female artists in the modern music scene. Finally, after proudly announcing she was, in fact, “a feminist,” Beyoncé threw 2013 for a loop, providing the year of “Blurred Lines”’s chart-stomping success a much-needed

feminist wake-up call. Critics were quick to point out that Beyoncé’s lyrics and music videos were sources of potentially problematic imagery and messages that stood in stark contrast to the feminist label she was now espousing.

However, wherever you stand on the Beyoncé debate, it’s hard to argue against the fact that BEYONCÉ prompted a series of provocative and important discussions about sex, race, and capitalism in modern music.

So, where do we stand, in the wake of Beyoncé’s feminist call-to-musical-arms, in 2014? Well, if this year proves anything thus far, it’s that Beyoncé truly reigns supreme when it comes to shaping (or at least predicting) musical trends and ideology in the modern music sphere.

Because, after the consequential outcries in response to Miley Cyrus’s 2013 fiasco and Robin Thicke’s refusal to acknowledge “Blurred Lines”’s inherent misogyny, 2014 is shaping up to be a pretty fantastic year for female artists. This summer alone saw the chart-sweeping success of a number of female artists’ singles such as Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” and Sia’s “Chandelier.”

Elsewhere, formerly “invisible” female artists bubbling just under the pop radar finally found their way into the iPods of everybody and their mothers; Charli XCX not only scored a sizable hit with this summer’s “Boom Clap” but is also featured in perhaps the summer’s definitive rap-lite anthem, Azalea’s “Fancy.”

Sia, the past few years’ hit-girl when it comes to singing and/or penning hot-topic choruses (Flo Rida’s “Wild Ones,” Rihanna’s “Diamonds), finally released a

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collection of her own, the fantastic 1000 Forms of Fear. comes out of it sounding just about as you’d expect after The album touched upon darker themes of alcoholism a painful break up: ravaged and world-weary, but with and the destructive nature of fame. Previously forgotten, just enough reserves of strength so that the album isn’t a but no less-talented, artists like Kelis returned in fighting totally undiluted downer. form, with her album Food sounding unlike anything else Elsewhere, rising star Tove Lo, a Swedish singer the “Milkshake” singer had ever produced (and, in many whose single “Habits (Stay High)” has climbed the top ways, sounding a whole lot better). Jenny Lewis, whose 40 charts this summer, will be performing at the Brighgently feminist video for single “Just One of the Guys” ton Music Hall on Oct. 5. Lo, whose debut EP, Truth featuring Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart, and Brie Lar- Serum, was released on March 3, has become the kind son became a meme-ready moment if there ever was one, of potential pop sensation that only comes around every released the focused, lovely The Voyager to high praise. few years. Lo’s style fuses the pop hooks and seemingly Even controversial artists like Sinead O’Connor (one of inane party-rock lyrics of Ke$ha (“I eat my dinner in my the most vocal critics of what she perceived to be the mu- bathtub/Then I go to sex clubs”) with a lingering sadness sic industry’s exploitation of Miley Cyrus last year) had a that transform the songs’ meanings (“I’m numb and way bit of redemption of her own, in this case in the form of too easy/You’re gone and I gotta stay/High all the time/ the awesomely-titled comeback album I’m Not Bossy, I’m To keep you off my mind”). The song’s accompanying the Boss. video is inspired by Lo’s real-life struggle with a painful

Lana Del Rey, who visited our own hub of Boston break up. In its case, it shows the harrowing night at a bar this past May, dropped her second full-length album Ul- when Lo realized she and her ex really weren’t getting back traviolence in June, a bruised, broodtogether. It’s one of the few videos to “BOSTON IS NOW LUCKY ing, provocative, and darkly beautiful truly tap into the ways that alcohol collection of love (gone sour) songs ENOUGH TO BE A HOST TO A dislocates us from ourselves; despite which effectively rewrote what female an array of drinks and make out sesNUMBER OF THESE INTERESTING, pop artists in 2014 were allowed to sions with male and female friends say. The albums features song titles TALENTED UP-AND-COMING ‘IT’ alike, a drugged-looking Lo ends the like “Fu**** My Way Up to the Top” night in tears, stumbling back into GIRLS OF POP.” and the echoes of domestic violence bed. “Die Young” this is not. on the title track “Ultraviolence” (“he hit me and it felt Even older favorites are back for another round. like a kiss”) dripped with the deadly satire of American Stevie Nicks, the den-mother to any witchy, ethereal feculture and ideology that Del Rey has become known for. male singer to come out of the gates nowadays, will be Her story became emblematic of the kind of year 2014 releasing her long-awaited 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the would become; one in which the previously dismissed, in Vault, a collection of demos recorded between 1969 and some cases savaged, female artist (Del Rey of Born to Die) 1987. Nicks, who will be performing with Fleetwood Mac was finally shown some grudging respect from the same on Oct. 10 at TD Garden, has already released two sincritical outlets that had previously dubbed her, or at least gles from the album. The second single, “Lady,” shows off her music, as “the equivalent of a faked orgasm.”

Nicks’ decidedly unpolished vocals as still full of character

Boston is now lucky enough to be a host to a and experience and her usual lyrical inquisitiveness with number of these interesting, talented up-and-coming “it” lines like: “And the time keeps goin’ on by/And I wonder, girls of pop. Lykke Li, whose album I Never Learn was re- what is to become of me?” It’s a moving testament to an leased in May of this year, will be coming to the House of artist, who, since her debut debut album Bella Donna, has Blues Boston on Oct. 3. I Never Learn is a stirring though been blazing a trail for interesting, idiosyncratic female darkly shaded break up album, a peek into what Li has artists who don’t quite fit the usual pop formula. described as the most painful break up of her life. The Boston is therefore the perfect site for all influencsongs, with titles like “Love Me Like I’m Not Made of es, old and new, established legends and rising up-andStone” and “No More Rest For The Wicked,” revel in the comers, to come together. Because if the lineup of female kind of pain that Li seems to wear as a personal shroud. artists visiting our own city this month has anything to On “Heart of Steel,” she croons, “Don’t leave me dying, say, it’s that 2014 has only seen the beginning of a wealth without a lover to hold” like she really, really means it. of female talent ready to make their way into the world.

It’s a bleak, taut ride through her personal hell and she

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BOSTON:

CITY OF ART

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By Julia Ferragamo Artwork provided by ArtWeek Stock Photography

A

people to the local creative communities. For this reason, the event will encompass a wide variety of mediums in order to promote and support creative expression within the area. Other featured presentations include performances and documentary screenings in addition to numerous interactive activities made possible by partnerships with over 200 artists and institutions. Even Emerson will take part in the festivities. Sponsored by our very own writing, literature, and publishing department and emersonWRITES, ArtWeek will include a creative writing master’s class. Open to the public, Emerson professors and graduate students will proctor inspiring writing exercises and provide advice for prospective writers.

Although orchestrating these contributors and planning such a gathering was a significant undertaking, ArtWeek has grown exponentially in its short existence. When the organization first launched last fall, it comprised a mere 29 events.

By the following spring, ArtWeek expanded to include 69 volunteering artists. Looking to the future, DahlingSullivan expects an increase in their number of contributors to well over 100. “We hope [ArtWeek] will not only become a local tradition, but one that will catch on nationally.”

This season’s theme calls ArtWeek goers to “take art into their own hands.” Ultimately, planners hope this will enable the people of Boston to, as Dahling-Sullivan states, “have a series of wow moments, memories that will stay with them.” With the diverse variety and affordability of offerings—over half of these events are free of charge—everyone will have the opportunity to express themselves.

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yarn graffiti workshop, a percussion ice music performance, a futuristic fashion show—these diverse events represent only a portion of the 79 eclectic activities offered at this year’s Fall ArtWeek. From Sept. 27 through Oct. 5, Boston and the surrounding neighborhoods will be hosting a second season of the art-filled extravaganza. Held biannually as one of the Citi Performing Arts Center’s many initiatives, this function, according to Sue Dahling-Sullivan, chief strategic officer and creator of ArtWeek Boston, has “a little bit of everything.” The gathering, inspired by the popularity of Restaurant Week, another biannual event in the city, aims to allow attendees to partake in, as Dahling-Sullivan describes, “one of a kind, unusual experiences that you couldn’t get any other time of year.” Rather than encounter art in the more traditional and passive manner, a goal of ArtWeek is to have viewers transcend and take an interactive role.

“As a nonprofit we really wanted to define ourselves beyond just the four walls of our theaters,” DahlingSullivan explains.

“We want people to think outside the box, outside the theater, and outside what they normally think many arts and culture experiences have become.”

Helping to achieve this vision is iconic Boston artist, Sidewalk Sam. Also known as the “Picasso of sidewalk art,” Sam will not only perform, creating his own work for the event, but plans to call artists and art appreciators alike to share their artistic skills. Attendees are invited to respond to Sam’s artwork with their own drawings which will then be included in the exhibit.

ArtWeek not only challenges patrons to become actively involved, the team at the Citi Center hopes to connect

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MOVIES No Halloween-themed festivities would be complete without the requisite viewing of John Carpenter’s seminal 1978 slasher flick Halloween. It remains, to this day, arguably the most famous, and influential, “dead teenager” film of all time. Though the film’s reputation has been somewhat tarnished by the series’ subsequent (and lesser) entries, don’t be fooled: the original is as scary, stylish, and suspenseful as you could ever hope. Its iconic set pieces (masked villain Michael Meyers standing amidst windblown hanging sheets and a terrified Jamie Lee Curtis in the confines of a claustrophobic, dimly-lit closet) remain supremely terrifying to this day. Turn the lights off and enjoy.

DON’T LOOK NOW (1973)

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Though beloved by horror fans and cult film lovers alike, Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now remains a dispiritingly under-seen and under-appreciated classic of supernatural fright. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie star as grieving parents living in Venice after the death of their daughter. The movie slowly builds suspense as the couple believes they see the red raincoat-clad spirit of their dead daughter weaving in and out of the streets of Venice. The film is gorgeously shot and powerfully acted, but it’s the film’s final, fatal twist that has become its most famous feature.

BOOKS

PET SEMATARY

BY STEPHEN KING (1983) Though not nearly as famous or as immediately recognizable as King’s horror classics The Shining and Carrie, Pet Semetary is perhaps King’s purest, most purely terrifying creation.

A story of grieving parents hoping to resurrect their recently deceased son from the grave, the book masterfully escalates a mounting sense of dread through suggestion and King’s powerfully honed writing chops.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE BY SHIRLEY JACKSON (1959) Arguably the definitive ghost novel of the past century, Shirley Jackson’s masterfully creepy The Haunting of Hill House remains a remarkably effective shocker even to this day. Narrated

by Eleanor, an embittered and lonely woman coming coming completely untethered from reality, the novel powerfully mines horror from the novel’s central tension: is Hill House haunted or is it all in Eleanor’s head?

Don’t read right before going to sleep.

HALLOWEEN

HALLOWEEN (1978)

ROUNDUP

ALBUMS JUJU BY SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES (1981) With titles like “Halloween.” “Night Shift,” and “Voodoo Dolly,” Juju was perhaps always destined to become something of a horrorcrowd cult classic. It is also, however, probably Siouxsie & the Banshees’ most singular musical achievement, a perfect fusion of the band’s post-punk sensibilities and their impressive ear for eerily addictive pop hooks. The aforementioned “Halloween,” a deliciously odd love letter to the titular day of dread, more than delivers on the promise of its name. Songs like “Spellbound” and “Sin In My Heart” are perfect examples of the kind of fright and fearlessness that became the band’s trademark. Also check out standout tracks “Into The Light” and “Arabian Knights” for good, eerie fun.

THE DREAMING BY KATE BUSH (1982)

THE RETURNED (2012 – PRESENT) A French zombie show with a twist, The Returned asks the question: what would happen if your dearly departed loved ones came back from the grave, only they didn’t know they had been dead?

Wonderfully creepy and completely addictive, this quietly suspenseful though occasionally quite gruesome new horror classic is perfect for the Halloween season. Future fans who lament its one season run, fret not: it has already been renewed for a sure-to-be gloriously spooky second season.

THE X-FILES (1993 – 2002) One of the best, most iconic series of all time, The X-Files is the namesake to some of television’s most enduring horrors. “Home,” about an inbred family of murderers, is still one of the most shocking hours of television to air ever on network TV (it was banned from commercial circulation at the time of its original broadcast). Fan favorite “Squeeze” introduced the world to one of TV history’s most repulsive villains, Eugene Victor Tooms, who can squeeze his way into anything. The truth is indeed out there, and it’s creepy as hell.

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By Michael Mahin

Perhaps still her most controversial album to date, 1982’s The Dreaming provides a fascinating insight into Kate Bush’s rather extreme musical persona. On the album, she adopts every character from a disillusioned Vietnam War vet (“Pull Out The Pin”) to the grieving wife of history’s greatest escape artist (“Houdini”). It’s a heady, frankly frightening descent into almost unparalleled madness, with tracks like “Leave It Open” and the title track “The Dreaming” offering up chilling narratives of dread and evil couched in occasionally muddy and always eerie musical production. On “Get Out of My House,” the album’s closing track and its pièce de résistance, Bush reaps influence from the 1980 film version of Stephen King’s The Shining to fashion a disorienting and epic five-minute acid rock classic, complete with anguished yelps, whispered French dialogue, and donkey cries to boot. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

TV

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OLD SCHOOL JAMS

By Kelsey Conner Stock Photography

AS festival season comes to a close, music fans are begin-

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ning to filter into arenas for the fall’s mega tours. The top 40 bands are not the only ones, though—across the country, hit-makers from decades past are taking the stage for shows that make a sold-out House of Blues crowd look like a high school talent show. So with classic names like Neil Young and Fleetwood Mac heading to the Hub, the question must be raised: who still has it?

Formed in 1967, Fleetwood Mac has not shied from drama. With no less than 11 former members, Fleetwood Mac’s namesakes, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, are the only two members to have remained for the life of the band. However, the most notable is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted 1975 lineup of Mick Fleetwood, John and Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, and, the Queen herself, Stevie Nicks. This group recorded the milestone albums Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, with the latter being one of the highest-selling albums of all time.

In 1985, they released Live In Boston, which was recorded

at the now-closed Boston Tea Party. Success, however, does not mean everything was Little House on the Prairie for the band—as is typical when everyone is married to each other. After many years of quitting and getting back together, the band officially dissolved in 1995.

Of course, no one thought that would last for long. In 1997, they reunited for a single concert, which turned into a tour, which turned into an album. Christine McVie left again, and no one was shocked. What did shock, though, was the record-breaking $84 milliongrossing arena tour that the band did in 2009. In 2013, Stevie Nicks told Rolling Stone that there was “more of a chance of an asteroid hitting the Earth” than Christine McVie reuniting with the band. So where are they now?

Back to touring with Christine McVie, of course. When they perform at TD Garden on Oct. 10 and 25, fans will be treated to hits such as “Dreams,” “Rhiannon,” “Landslide,” “Go Your Own Way,” “You Make Loving Fun,” and “Never Going Back Again,”—to name a few. Fans should not be disappointed, either; according to Las Vegas

man of Allman Brothers Band fame, take a more sterile approach. The small, unassuming man (still touting his trademark ponytail) strolls onto the stage every night and performs a string of hits with little introduction or pause in between, quietly thanking the audience afterwards and departing. Some artists have used recent tours as a way to revive their careers and spark interest in the younger generations, while others are letting the cover bands do all the work for them.

Some artists are gone forever, and some bands swear they are never, ever getting back together. This leaves us with famous cover acts, some that are threefourths of the original bands, and solo acts still touring.

When it comes to cover bands, The Australian Pink Floyd Show (most commonly known as Australian Pink Floyd) is the obvious go-to. They have been touring since 1988, and have dedicated their lives to perfectly recreating the renowned Pink Floyd concert experience. They are doing pretty well, too, considering they have played at the famous O2 Arena in London and specifically requested to play at the 50th birthday party of David Gilmour—as in the original guitarist for Pink Floyd. Some bands are still around, minus a few members. Fleetwood Mac toured successfully minus Christine McVie for years, still selling out arenas all over the world. Similarly, Crosby, Stills & Nash has had a strong run without “Young” at the end, while Neil has enjoyed success on his own. Solo artists can also be seen performing their band’s hits. The most shining example of this is Roger Waters, founder and singer of Pink Floyd. He has had two massively successful tours for both The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon, performing the albums in their entirety with class Pink Floyd showmanship.

However, the current generation is one obsessed with modernity, where the next big thing is already too mainstream. There is no room for old music when you are trying to catch everyone before they are big, so classic music doesn’t appeal to many millennials. However, it is important to recognize what many of these artists bring to the table. Not only do they have massive commercial success backing them (come on, there is a reason that they have greatest hits albums older than you are), they are the ones who pioneered the sounds you hear now. They are the ones we have to thank for the music that we love today, and there is something to be said for a band that has been crafting their sound for decades. So, if we are still reading classic literature for the purpose of understanding the evolution of writing, why would we not listen to classic rock?

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Weekly, Fleetwood Mac’s live shows remain “authentic,” and maintain “the conviction behind each song, renewed and recast in context of the band’s emotional evolution.”

Also appearing in Boston this month is the beloved singer-songwriter Neil Young. A veteran of such timeless bands as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Buffalo Springfield, as well as a stunning solo career, the Canadian has carved a place in rock and roll history. His musical career began with Buffalo Springfield in 1966, a band most famous for their classic protest song “For What It’s Worth” (a song required to be played in every single movie about the ‘60s, ever. Seriously, if you don’t recognize the title, go look it up.) Young has two Grammy’s, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (once for his solo work and once with Buffalo Springfield), is on Rolling Stone’s list of greatest artists of all time and greatest guitarists of all time, and he gets name-dropped in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” He’s a little bit of an overachiever.

Though he has faded in and out of the spotlight since the 1960s, Young has never really stopped making music. Oh yeah, except for that time that he had a brain aneurism in 2005. No big deal, though, he was back to touring a few months later. Known for being incredibly political (again…Buffalo Springfield), Young co-founded Farm Aid with Willie Nelson and still writes protest songs. Sorry, mom, not everyone grows out of that. As for his legacy as a performer, a January 2014 Rolling Stone headline says it all: “Neil Young Stuns With a Spellbinding Carnegie Hall Show.” Young will be performing to a sold-out audience at the Wang Theatre in Boston on Oct. 5 and 6, so good luck getting tickets.

Rolling Stone ranked Neil Young the number five “Best Band To See Live in 2013,” but what other classic artists are worth seeing? It will come to no surprise that Bruce Springsteen was number one, as “the Boss” is a known showstopper and a critical piece to any classic music lover’s concert bucket list. Among the other notable acts are The Rolling Stones, Rush, Paul McCartney, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Each of these musicians has maintained their memorable sounds and still know how to please the crowd. Some artists have taken a new twist to their shows, such as the Eagles’ “History of the Eagles” tour. Taking a chronological approach to their hits, the band takes the time to explain the history of the band in between songs and showcase the talents of each member. It gives audience members a chance to enjoy the contributions made by each member of the band as well as a better understanding of where the hits fit into the band’s timeline. Other aged rockers, such as Gregg All-

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WITH autumn finally in full swing, we welcome to our own hub of

Boston not only the changing seasons but also an impressive lineup of touring artists and album-dropping musical acts. As Halloween and increasingly chilly weather fast approach, this playlist should be the perfect autumnal (and occasionally spooky) backdrop as your studies continue this fall.

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LYKKE LI, “Window Blues” TOVE LO, “Not On Drugs” BJÖRK, “Pagan Poetry” SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES, “Little Sister” CHARLOTTE OC, “Strange” CHARLI XCX, “Boom Clap” ALLEN STONE, “Unaware” JUNGLE, “Platoon” THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, “The Black Angel’s Death Song” PJ HARVEY, “Angelene” HOZIER, “Take Me to Church” PIXIES, “River Euphrates” FOXYGEN, “How Can You Really” YEAH YEAH YEAHS, “Skeletons” PORTER ROBINSON, “Lionhearted” PINK FLOYD, “Marooned” THE BLACK KEYS, “I’m Not The One” GARDENS & VILLA, “Black Hills” KANYE WEST, “Monster” NELLY FURTADO, “Afraid” ASKA, “There Are Many of Us” STEVIE NICKS, “Kind of Woman” KATE BUSH, “The Infant Kiss” THE CRANBERRIES, “Not Sorry” SUN KIL MOON, “Carry Me Ohio” PATTI SMITH, “Godspeed”

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INTRODUCTION

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