Examining Artists in the Class of ’24
As an incoming Vassar freshman who has been spending a lot more time drawing and painting, I have been eager to meet other students in my year with a passion…
Arts
Five songs for when you want to cry in the club
The notorious meme compels us all to ask ourselves: Why am I crying in the club right now? Maybe it’s a Saturday night, you’re fist pumping to whatever song you…
Between a rock and a hard place: how I found solace in painting
I step out the back door of my house wearing flip-flops and a tank top and clutching a tiny beach bag with a shovel inside. I tip-toe outside, headed for…
Sex jokes and rock ‘n’ roll: looking back at Erotic Cakes by Guthrie Govan
If I were to tell you to listen to the album Erotic Cakes by guitar virtuoso Guthrie Govan, you might reply, “What the hell is that?” or “I don’t know…
Truth, Honor, Redemption: Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashōmon”
[CW: sexual assault, suicide.] In a sleepy university theater in northern Texas 35 years ago, my father watched director Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashōmon” (羅生門) for the first time. A psychothriller defined…
With ‘Late Afternoon National Anthem,’ Father Koi conquers teen angst
The crucial act of adolescence is not angst itself, but the expression of angst. Kara Lu ’22 (alias Father Koi) has scaled the mountain of her teens with her first…
Nobody Ages Well in Comedy: Chevy Chase’s unending hunt for fame
It’s been two months since Community’s (2009-2015) release on Netflix and the subsequent cultural and discursive revival on forums and podcasts and through various cast reunions amid-COVID19. With its ensemble…
How my mom discovered Marilyn Manson
My mother is 62 years old. Born in 1958 to a family prominent in New York City’s classical music scene, she not only grew up loving music, but even performed…
Reviewer rests head with Car Seat Headrest
Coronavirus came for our spring (fall? Shit.) semester and like manna from a shoegazing god, alternative music rained from the heavens to fill our shelter-in-place malaise. Fiona Apple delivered unyoked…
‘A Parks and Recreation Special’ brings nostalgia, catharsis
As Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) once said,“Crying is only okay in two places: funerals and the Grand Canyon.” But I would like to add a third place—my bedroom, with my…