By Amy Szmik, Copy Editor
[Photo courtesy of Liane Hentscher]
The Last of Us, the hit HBO series based on the critically acclaimed video game, has released the soundtrack for the first season. The soundtrack has been released via Milan Records and was written by Gustavo Santaolalla and David Fleming. Santaolalla has received two Academy Awards in 2005 and 2006 for Brokeback Mountain and Babel.
Tag: amy szmik
Eurovision Winners: Kalush Orchestra
By Amy Szmik, Copy Editor
By now, most people are aware of The Eurovision Song Contest, an international songwriting contest between European countries. If you’re not, Eurovision is a televised songwriting contest that has predominantly European countries send a musical act to compete for the win. Its first iteration was in 1956 and has been going on for 66 years. Typically, the competition is hosted in the country that had won the previous year, so the 2022 edition was hosted in Turin, Italy thanks to 2021 winners Måneskin. Usually hosted in May, Eurovision has brought us some of Europe’s most talented, outlandish, fun and dynamic acts to center stage by featuring famous winners such as ABBA, Celine Dion, and more recently, Duncan Lawrence. Eurovision’s popularity has spilled into the United States, and many popular songs or artists got their start from Eurovision.
Movie Review: Don’t Worry Darling
By: Amy Szmik, Copy Editor
[Warner Bros. Pictures; 2022]
Rating: 6/10
Don’t Worry Darling has had a whirlwind of press surrounding it before anyone even saw it. From the drama surrounding Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde, to the supposed “spitgate”, all of the media frenzy drowned out, for many, what the actual plot of the film is. The story follows Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Harry Styles), a supposedly happy couple in an idyllic suburb in California. The film is stylized as if it were in the 1950s, with the women cooking and cleaning while the men go to work for the mysterious “Victory Project.” The women are left completely in the dark as to what their husbands do when they go to work. The one woman who doesn’t trust Victory anymore, Margaret (Kiki Layne), is left ostracized by her community. The story follows Alice cracking mentally while slowly starting to question what is really going on. Alongside Pugh, Styles and Layne, the film stars Olivia Wilde, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan and Chris Pine.
Album Review: BLACKPINK – BORN PINK
By: Amy Szmik, Copy Editor
[YG Entertainment; 2022]
Rating: 5/10
Key tracks: “Yeah Yeah Yeah”, “Hard to Love”, “The Happiest Girl”
Disappointing is one word to describe BLACKPINK’s new album, BORN PINK. Superstar KPOP group BLACKPINK released their sophomore album in September, two years after their debut album, aptly titled THE ALBUM. The four member group features Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo and Lisa, and debuted under famed KPOP company YG Entertainment back in 2016. Despite being in the industry for a long time, there is no noticeable growth through their music. It’s especially evident in BORN PINK. While the eight-song album has some good and memorable tracks, many of them are repetitive and could be easily chalked up to empty noise. Blackpink can make good music; they obviously have a discography of good and popular songs, but for an album that was so highly anticipated, it feels like a let down.
Q&A: Plastic Lemonade
By Amy Szmik, Copy Editor
[Photo provided by Plastic Lemonade via Facebook]
Q&A with Nathan Cain (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Damon Bonar (electric guitar), Kyle Willison (bass), Kaitlyn Markert (vocals and ukulele) and Joe Ash (drums) of Plastic Lemonade
Band Profile: glass beach
The four-piece released their debut, the first glass beach album, on their own budget. Fusing everything from ’80s synthpop to emo, glass beach’s mastery in a range of genres is apparent from the beginning of the album, which gives the listener a snapshot of glass beach’s musical capabilities.
Life and Legacy: Chris Cornell
By Amy Szmik, Contributor [Photo by Universal Music Enterprises] The news of legendary grunge musician, Chris Cornell’s death shocked the music world when he died May 18, 2017. Best remembered as the lead singer of grunge band Soundgarden and rock band Audioslave, he was noted for his incredible four-octave vocal range. Cornell had cemented a place…
Life and Legacy: Lil Peep
By Amy Szmik, Contributor [Photo Courtesy of NTS] Emo-rap sensation, Lil Peep, left a legacy not just on music, but on pop culture. Considered the “future of emo” by Pitchfork, his tragic death on Nov. 15, 2017, left a mark on the music industry for musicians and fans. He was notable for pioneering both the…
My Chemical Romance announces surprise reunion show
By Amy Szmik, Contributor [Photo courtesy of My Chemical Romance] After officially breaking up in 2013, My Chemical Romance announced on October 31 a surprise reunion show called Return, which is slated for Dec. 20, 2019, at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles. This will be the band’s first performance since 2012. Read more:…
Arizona band AUDRA releases new album
By Amy Szmik, Contributor [Photo courtesy of AUDRA] Arizona post-punk band AUDRA released their fourth and latest LP, titled Dear Tired Friends, digitally on August 23 and on vinyl and CD on October 18. Read more: Singer-songwriter Nikki Jean releases short film “Get Free” The 10-track album began as a four-song EP; when brothers Bart…
Album Review: Chelsea Wolfe – Birth of Violence
By Amy Szmik, Contributor [Sargent House; 2019] Rating: 7/10 Key tracks: “Deranged for Rock & Roll”, “The Mother Road”, “Dirt Universe” Isolating herself, singer-songwriter Chelsea Wolfe settled in Northern California to focus on her new album after an extensive touring regime. During the time she spent locked away, she created her 6th LP, Birth of…
Group Feature: ACRN’s 2019 Summer Bangers
Before the leaves turn red and we shift our gears into the chilly fall, here are ACRN’s certified summer bangers of 2019. Add them to your Back-to-School playlist while summer extends its stay! Emily DiAlbert, Editorial Director: Tyler, The Creator – “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU” The most iconic breakup song of all time, Tyler,…
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