Arts
Archived Stories
Beirut's Gulag Orkestar
September 13th, 2006On Beirut's debut album, Gulag Orkestar, the trumpets rise like smoke blown from a hookah that spins me away to a desert in the Middle East. Heavy rhythms drone beneath the hypnotic vocals of Zach Condon, a wolf howling at the moon whose one man band dubbed Beirut sounds more like 100 stoned Lebanese gypsies on parade than a 20-year-old New Mexican – and it just so happens to be also brilliant! Read More
The History of Eavesdropping
September 13th, 2006The term “eavesdrop” has its origins in the architectural genius known as the eaves of a house. The eaves are the part of the roof that extend past the actual outside walls, so that rainwater will pour off of the slanted roof, away from the house and its potential damage. (We weren’t born with gutters, you know). Read More
The Pipettes' We Are The Pipettes
September 13th, 2006“I just wanna move, I don’t care what the song’s about,” is only one of the catchy line from the song “Pull Shapes” that has been playing in my head all day and it may very well summarize this abum’s entire vibe. Read More
The New Kings of Brit-Rock
September 13th, 2006Get ready, because if this is the first time you’ve ever heard about The Kooks, it’s definitely not going to be the last. The British foursome, all aged between 19 and 23, had not been playing together for more than three months when major labels began knocking on their dorm room doors at college this last year. Read More
Greek Chic: A Fashion Guide to Going Out
September 13th, 2006Going out on the weekends at Cornell has become stale. Don’t get me wrong, the parties are great and the people are fun — it’s the unfortunate choice of going-out attire we’ve been seeing all over campus that’s got us down. Read More
M. Ward Re-Does Folk
September 13th, 2006M. Ward’s Post-War opens with the lyrics: “One or two won’t do/ ‘Cause I want it all,” which more or less summarizes my thoughts on the whole album. Post-War doesn’t have just one song that could be classified as its single, but rather, the whole album presents itself in such a way. Read More
Chocolate: How Sweet It Is
September 13th, 2006You are looking for something. Something sweet and delicious. It isn’t that you are so hungry and it isn’t a mealtime. You want something sugary to provide a boost of energy, but also something that you can be proud of eating for its health benefits. You need a little something to give your mouth some entertainment. You are looking for chocolate. Read More
Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out Of The Country
September 13th, 2006Camera Obscura is your average indie band. They’re from Glasgow, have a few girls in the band, and sound just like Belle and Sebastian. Their newest album Let’s Get Out Of This Country does little to distinguish the ensemble from other bands such as Pants Yell!, or Starlight Mints. Read More
From Be-Bop To Boops and Beeps
September 13th, 2006Last Monday, Don Preston, the keyboardist for Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention visited Cornell to tell stories about being part of such an incredible musical era and play a few new compositions with his trio. Widely credited with mainstreaming the synthesizer, Preston, who also scored the movie Apocalypse Now, now is most interested in electronic music and the boundaries it pushes. Read More
Grow your Own Discotheque: Just Add Water
September 13th, 2006The clock is creeping towards 4 AM on Sunday morning, and despite the fact that I’ve replaced my hot pants and boots with pajamas and mismatched socks, I think the party – specifically my party – is still going on. At least, the last time I traipsed downstairs for a much-needed glass of ice-water, there were people making out against the kitchen sink. Read More