What we can do here and now
My advice to Brandeis students: Eschew transience by engaging with your community. In other words, live in the here and now. It’s something I’ve struggled with for most of my life, trying to stay firmly rooted in the present. For most of my life, I’ve anxiously lived in the future—that uncertain, immaterial head space that […]
‘Boston Calling’ interview and recommendations
Interview with Boston Calling Co-Founder Mike Snow “I grew up here and I grew up jumping on the train to see punk rock shows in Kenmore Square. I love being here and being about this place,” said Boston Calling Co-Founder Mike Snow in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot. We asked Snow why it took […]
MASS MoCA curator discusses work
Denise Markonish, a curator at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) and a Brandeis alumna, visited campus to share her work. In her talk, she discussed both group and individual shows she’d curated, revealing the development process behind taking an idea or an artist and turning it into a fully-developed exhibition. After graduating […]
The mad, musical theater spectacle of ‘The Bacchae’
Thebes has been overrun. Their king, Pentheus, has defied Dionysus, mocking his deity and sacred rites. As his revenge, Dionysus drives the city-state mad. The ancient Greek play by Euripides, “The Bacchae,” has been revived, retranslated and restaged for a contemporary audience. There are musical numbers, a plethora of red plastic balls, and an incredible […]
What our leaders owe us
Student government at Brandeis needs to be better. We elect people to the Union in order to represent us. But that hasn’t been going on—instead of listening, they disregard their constituents, bent on passing their patronizing pet legislation, so they can pad their resumes. In both their words and deeds, our elected student representatives are […]
Trizzy Tré, the Rapper
Trizzy Tré, the Rapper, recently won the BEAM Competition for Springfest 2019 student performer. I sat down with the artist—also known as Tré Warner ’22—and discussed his music, career and getting to share a stage with Aminé. Born in Harlem, N.Y. and raised in Minneapolis, M.N., Warner plans on possibly pursuing degrees in Education Studies […]
“Nature’s Nation” exhibit examines American art
Most art museums don’t really try to explore the origins of their pieces. They leave them up on the wall with just a few scraps of information—leaving it up to us to piece together their historical context. If we’re lucky, we’ll get a sentence or two describing the artist’s life; if we’re unlucky, there will […]
‘Love, Death and Robots’ is Netflix garbage
I haven’t watched TV for almost a year. That’s only a slight exaggeration—I haven’t really gotten into any TV shows since “The Americans” went off the air. I used to love television, but I feel like the prestige shows lost what made them compelling and exceptional. Unfortunately, I picked the worst show to come back […]
BAASA’s ‘Dare to Dream’ celebrates Asian American identity
Culture, family and identity were resonant themes that repeated throughout the Brandeis Asian American Student Association’s (BAASA) Asian Pacific American Heritage Month opener. The event, called “Dare to Dream,” provided a space where identity could be celebrated and experiences shared by a supportive community. The show began and ended with soulful solo musical performances. Both […]
‘Apex Legends’ is actually pretty good
The first time I downloaded “Apex Legends,” I deleted it after five minutes. It felt stale, like ‘Titanfall 2”-lite with “Fortnite” jammed in. Then I played it a few more times at a friend’s house, and the gameplay proved to be a little more fun than I’d originally thought—though I remained cynical. However, since I […]
BEAM Springfest competition calls for entries
Basement Records and the Campus Activities Board (CAB) are asking for student musicians to submit performance videos for their annual BEAM competition. The Brandeis Premier Digital Talent Search is an opportunity for Brandeis students to perform onstage at Springfest 2019 with the headliner—past musicians have included Kendrick Lamar, fun. and A$AP Ferg. The competition is […]
Howardena Pindell: “What Remains to Be Seen” career retrospective opens at the Rose
Last Friday, the Rose Art Museum unveiled its career retrospective of Philadelphia-born artist Howardena Pindell. Pindell’s work spans over 50 years, with the exhibit showing a variety of works from various styles. “Howardena Pindell: What Remains To Be Seen” goes from abstract grids to political collage to more abstract pieces exploring travel and science—revealing a […]
‘Capernaum:’ Oscar-nominated foreign film depicts depressing reality
“Capernaum,” winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes and nominated for a Best Foreign Film Academy Award, is about chaos. Set in and around the Lebanese city of Beirut, it follows a young boy fending for himself—and others—in a cold, anarchic world. The movie depicts an unsolvable mess, a miserable, self-perpetuating quagmire of poverty—sometimes heart-rending, […]
I don’t pay $70,000 a year to write LATTE posts
One of the things that Brandeis has going for it is academics—generally speaking, the professors are qualified and adept at making classes both bearable and edifying, but one aspect of our education here has threatened to drag down the whole experience. I’m talking, of course, about LATTE posts. They’re a horrible waste of time, only […]
‘Valentine’s Day’ debut catchy but needs refinement
“Jesus Christ could you please fuck off!” Dane Leoniak ’20 sings in the first track of “Good, Clean, Christian Fun,” a new album released by Valentine’s Day, a band made up of Brandeis students. The song’s opening is an abrasive polka party fever dream, before judiciously becoming a rock song. “No one will ever know […]
Web-series ‘Proper Bantah’ wants you to step out of your comfort zone
“I hate being at the center of attention, so it’s kind of weird that I have a talk show,” said Rasheed Peters ’20 last Friday evening at the premiere of his new show, “Proper Bantah.” It’s a talk show about getting to know others, intended to help open people’s eyes to the fascinating people all […]
‘If Beale Street Could Talk’: Love and Injustice in 1970s New York
The score of “If Beale Street Could Talk” stays with you long after the movie ends. Composer Nicholas Britell’s minimalist soundtrack swells and ebbs; the main theme a distant brass section doing a call and response with some strings. Paired with the music, the images recur too: close-up portraits of young lovers Tish and Fonny […]
2018 film in review: indie film delivers
This list is extremely subjective. It’s not hard to see that my taste is for art films about trauma or depression or some combination of both. But if you can forgive me my opinions, I’d like to share the 10 films that meant the most to me in 2018. “Roma,” a stunning black and white […]
MELA showcases ‘Shared Connections’
Last Saturday, the Brandeis South Asian Student Association (SASA) hosted MELA, its annual culture show. This year’s “Raabta, our Shared Connection” had a variety of dance sequences and features celebrating South Asian cultures and displayed a vibrant, talented cultural community at Brandeis. Countries represented included Pakistan, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Maldives […]
Adagio exemplifies supportive arts community
While I can’t tell a sashay from a plié, by all accounts, this semester’s show from the Adagio Dance Company, “Take a Chance on Dance,” demonstrated a vibrant, supportive arts community on campus. The 18 dances included performances to songs such as “I Like It” by Cardi B, “Streetcar” by Daniel Cesar, “Believer” by Imagine […]
