Review: Mac Miller’s ‘The Divine Feminine’ lacks originality
In “The Divine Feminine,” Miller tries to show he has the chops to make more intricate tracks. He proves his talent by executing talented flow.
In “The Divine Feminine,” Miller tries to show he has the chops to make more intricate tracks. He proves his talent by executing talented flow.
Beautiful ballads float through the air, while musicians serenade locals from their front porches. This is Porchfest.
The Handwerker Gallery’s first exhibit of the 2016–17 academic year, “Sun Flare,” which opened Aug. 31 and will remain open until Oct. 12.
The movie is indeed a one-sided telling…carried by the spectacular performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Snowden) but hindered by other performances.
Ithaca College’s Women and Gender Studies Program will host Gloria Joseph, professor emerita of Africana Studies at Hampshire College and partner of the late Audre Lorde, to discuss the poet’s life.
The group made waves with “Stay Beautiful,” a two-piece acoustic Spotify exclusive, released Sept. 8. Following the release of their second full-length album, “Blush,” “Stay Beautiful” is a coupling of two songs that successfully encompasses the two themes that are most prevalent in Moose Blood’s music: family and love. Their deeply personal lyrics translate beautifully into the stories told by the E.P.’s tracks, “Glow” and “Knuckles.”
The first track, “Glow,” opens up with slow, melodic guitar strumming, which sets a melancholy tone for the rest of the track. The instrumentals are followed by the lyrics, “I said goodbye today / I just watched you drive away / I just stood with mum and waved.” The combination of Eddy Brewerton’s raw vocals and the guitarist’s soft melodies add a heart-wrenching touch to the song. The lyrics provide insight to the difficulties of being separated from one’s father, while sweet melodies and instrumentals envelop the listener. Released as a single on Jun. 1, “Knuckles” is a true anthem to those who have experienced unrequited love. Opening up with the lyrics, “It wasn’t hard to fall for you / You had it all planned out, didn’t you,” the song offers an introspective look at love. The track builds on this knowledge, providing slow, low instrumentals to accompany it, adding to the emotion. It continues later with “That thing you said, stay beautiful / Even though that I know that it’s second hand,” providing more evidence of the heartache being felt by the artist while also referencing the name of the E.P., “Stay Beautiful.” During the last run through of those lines, there are moments of unaccompanied vocals where the listener is left with nothing between them and the music. It’s a period of reflection, for both the listener and the musician.
Viewers meet Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) as she gets ready in her mother’s home for what she calls a “business meeting.” Her mother teases her, saying, “I thought this wasn’t a date?” To Robinson, it wasn’t — until she met the ever-so-charming Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers). Obama and Robinson visit countless places on their date, such as an Afro-Culture museum exhibit, a church meeting and a theater to see the film “Do the Right Thing.”
This album jumps right into its harsh sound with title track “Bad Vibrations.” While old fans will recognize the dark, emo sound and possible nostalgic themes of early 2000s punk, other listeners will skip over this song. Under lead singer Jeremy McKinnon’s screaming vocals, a loud guitar riff follows an overdone beat, producing nothing more than a blaring tune.
This album exemplifies a complete return to the band’s traditional form as they it comes back to their its folk roots. “Star Wars” was more of an psych-indie rock album, while this album is shaped with softer midwestern tones. Tracks like “Common Sense” invoke a hypnotic beat and sense of confusion, while others, like “Nope,” have a more cool and collected rock tone.
DeGraw presents a sound similar to his previous song, “I Don’t Want To Be,” in his new song, “You Make My Heart Sing Louder,” from his new album. The singer-songwriter captivates his fans by returning to his original sound for this steady, medium-tempo piece. Another new song from the album that takes fans back to his 2003 sound is “Kite Like Girl.” This upbeat, instrumental song encompasses DeGraw’s classic sound but has a pop twist.
Originally penned as a novella in 18th-century France, “Candide” has stood the test of time again and again. Now, the theatrical version will be performed in Ithaca with Ithaca College students, alumni and staff at center stage.
The Kitchen Theatre in downtown Ithaca is hosting “Hand to God,” a show that breaks social boundaries through raunchy and hilarious puppet characters. This is the first production of “Hand to God” in the Ithaca area since the show debuted off-Broadway in 2011.