The Punch Brothers’ long-awaited album The Phosphorescent Blues was released January 28th under the direction of T-Bone Burnett, producer of Coen Brother’ Inside Llewyn Davis soundtrack. So far, it has superseded the expectations of both fans and critics. In response to the release, Joe Breen of the Irish Times gushed that, “Listening to the Punch Brothers is an exercise in wonder… Where did that come from? What’s that reference? Is that Debussy? Is that The Beach Boys? Is that bluegrass, blues, jazz, classical, rock? Who cares because that tune’s just beautiful.”
Read moreLive from New York...SNL Turns 40!
On Sunday night, Saturday Night Live heaven occurred, for fans of the show at least. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the late night comedy program, a three and a half hour chunk of prime time television was set aside for a special SNL celebration show.
Read moreEdith Stein Review
Edith Stein is a hard show to pull off. Its protagonist is a fiery Jewish scholar who embarks on a harrowing journey of spiritual self-discovery. Its antagonist is a misogynistic Nazi sociopath whose only inclination seems to be self-advancement. For two hours, the characters search for spiritual peace against the backdrop of one of the most vile genocides in recent human history—the Holocaust.
Read moreEdith Stein
Edith Stein is a heart-wrenching play set in WWII Germany. The story follows the exploits of a Jewish convert to Christianity, Edith Stein, as told by her aged Prioress to a no-nonsense Jewish representative from the International Holocaust Committee named Dr. Weismann. Edith believes she is chosen by God to intercede for her people, much like the Esther of the Bible, and joins the Convent of the Carmelite Sisters, near Auschwitz. However, her greatest trial is found in the person of Karl Heinz, representative of the Ministry of Church Affairs. His demand is simple: Edith must leave the convent with him, or he will bring it crashing down around her ears.
Read moreGrammy Performances Review
Sunday night was Sam Smith’s night. Throughout the 57th Grammy Awards, Smith won 4 awards, including three of the “Big 4”—new artist, best album, record, and song (losing in Best Album to Beck). The singer gave a show stopping duet performance with Mary J. Blige of his Grammy winning song “Stay With Me,” and concluded his time on stage by giving a cheeky thank you while accepting the award for Record of the Year saying “I want to thank the man who this record is about who I fell in love with last year. Thank you so much for breaking my heart because you got me four Grammys.”
Read moreScout Finch Lives On?
Literature lovers everywhere rejoiced last week as Harper Lee, author of the renowned 1960 classic To Kill a Mockingbird, announced that she would be publishing a sort-of sequel entitled Go Set a Watchman, to be released in July of 2015. Go Set a Watchman is said to be about To Kill a Mockingbird’s young heroine, Scout Finch, all grown up.
Read moreHerman Portraits
Have you ever tried to look at someone's face and realized that you're only looking at one of his eyes? Then maybe you move to their nose, or that little dip right above their lips, or you start to notice the quality of their skin. It's incredibly hard to look at someone's face and actually see the whole face. it's almost impossible to see the whole face of a person at one moment.
Read moreCovenant College Web Layout
Last week I noticed that the web presence of Covenant College had undergone a facelift. Being a visual artist myself, I was intrigued to scroll down a new, “endless” page through the many boxy links, interested in seeing what all had potentially changed. And I wasn’t the only one to notice -- a high percentage of Covenant students, faculty, and staff access the Covenant College website daily.
Read moreNew Play Festival
This spring the Covenant College Theatre Department will diverge from its traditional spring musical in order to put on a brand new event. Dubbed the “New Play Festival,” this event is a compilation of ten brand new ten-minute plays that deal with the topic “Returning Home,” which are written by students and staff of Covenant College. In an interview, theatre department head Deborah Kirby, the advent advisor, called the play festival a “celebration for the performing arts.” She explained the event’s focus, saying, “since the playwrights who submitted plays were not delegated just to the theatre department, we have an opportunity of seeing what abundant talent lies around our campus.”
Read moreSelma Review
Selma was released in 2014 to honor the 50th anniversary of the Selma marches. It came at a convenient time in our country’s history, as the Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice incidents have stimulated a national conversation about our supposedly post-racial society. Intrigued, I was ready to see Selma when it came out. Selma was a phenomenal work, and it’s deserving of our attention not only as a well-made film, but as a thought-provoking story. Selma was a phenomenal work, and it’s deserving of our attention not only as a well-made film, but as a thought-provoking story.
Read moreGushing on Gone Girl
In light of the hype surrounding the David Fincher-directed film adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s thriller novel Gone Girl, I went and saw it for myself . My hopes were up and I was excited despite the fact that I hadn’t seen a single preview. At the same time, I lacked knowledge as to the plot, beside the fact that I knew it was labeled “jarring.” Well, I found it to be pretty darn jarring. SPOILER ALERT now, just in case you haven’t seen this movie and ever want to take the plunge. For those of you who would like to read the gut reactions that Elizabeth Ann Fogal had to Gone Girl, keep reading.
Read moreAmerican Idol Revamped
American Idol is back! After fourteen seasons, what Fox calls, “the original reality competition show” is looking to reinvent itself yet again. While many may read this and let out with an exasperated sigh, “another show with another promise,” I think this season may actually be successful. Having undergone several major formatting changes, American Idol hopes to return once again as the show that discovers superstars.
Read morePeaky Blinders Review
The BBC has done it again! At least, that's what many of the critics are saying about the newly popular show Peaky Blinders. If the thought of British mobsters circa 1919 excites you, then you better buckle up because it's going to be a bumpy ride (bareback on a racehorse because that's just how protagonist Thomas Shelby does it.) Peaky Blinders centers around the Shelbys, a gangster family living in the foggy industrial city of Birmingham, England. The family makes their money through the black market and illegal bookmaking, the underground business of betting on sports such as horse racing or boxing. The gang has an organized hierarchy headed by the former World War I soldier Thomas Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and while he was away at war, the Jezebel-esque Aunt Polly (Helen McCrory). Peaky Blinders is named after the actual historic gang of Birmingham, the "Peaky Blinders" who were known for sewing razor blades on the peaks of their caps which they used as weapons to blind their adversaries.
Read moreInherent Vice: An Invitation
Christmas break is prime movie watching time. No classes, plenty of new releases, and hopefully some Christmas money to spend at the theatre, right? Over break, perhaps you saw a non-Covenant rendition of Into the Woods, the new, modern Annie, or The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Or maybe you hit one of the smaller theatres in your area to see a limited-release film called Inherent Vice. But I’m guessing that you probably didn’t, so instead of giving everything away, I’d like to whet your appetite for a wildly interesting, post-modern narrative that you might not have heard about underneath the hustle and bustle of winter blockbusters.
Read moreRedeeming the Nude
I am an art major here on campus, which often times means that what I am working on is strange and uncomfortable to other people. Beyond that, I am a figurative painter. I paint and draw people and those people are usually nude. This puts me in a very strange position in Covenant’s community because, as Christians, we often have a hard time being sure of what to do with images of nudity.
Read moreInterstellar Review
Here’s the bottom line about Interstellar: It is grand science fiction, conceptually brilliant and entertaining. However, because of its flaws, especially in the ending, it lacks the cohesiveness necessary to make it a classic for a wider audience outside its genre.
Read more1989 Review
In 2008, Taylor Swift released “Love Story” and quickly got her first taste of crossover success. Looking back, Swift’s swift climb to super-mega-stardom, which started six years ago, seems like it must have been inevitable, but it is more likely a result of the compelling brand and style Swift has created for herself and how she rigorously controls every aspect of her music and her career. With 1.287 million copies sold in just the first week, the best-selling week in the industry since 2002, 1989 is a fantastic example of what Swift has done and can do. It is also a fantastic album to listen to.
Read moreBehind T Swift's Latest Breakup
At the beginning of this month, Taylor Swift announced that she was totally over Spotify. Or rather, that was the message she sent by removing her entire back catalog from the popular music streaming service, a move that caused an outcry from the 15 million subscribers–one third of Spotify’s total user base–who actively listen to her music through the service.
Read moreThere Are Things Here Not Seen In This Photograph
“In a way, I’ve always been at war with what the still photograph did,” says artist Duane Michals. Over the past few years, as social media platforms have risen to everyday prominence, and photo-centric apps like Instagram permeate our existence on an hourly basis, I have experienced a growing, nasty discontent with my own life, as I compare it to the lives and images of others. Comparison indeed has proved to be the thief of joy.
Read moreWhy Sing Hymns
Recently one of my friends asked me why we don’t have hymnals in the chapel. This question saddened me greatly because the fact is–we do. But this begs the question,why didn’t she know that? Clearly we haven’t picked up the hymnals that line the backs of our chairs in years if we have come to a place where we aren’t even sure if they exist. Sure, we sing hymns occasionally in chapel but we always have the slides to project the words for us. So why do we, Covenant College, have hymnals if we have a projector? And why even sing the hymns at all when we have so many other types of worship songs?
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