“Younger Now” - Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has been many people. A revolving door of identities has dizzied Cyrus between the clean quirks of Hannah Montana or the accelerated rage of “Bangerz,” collapsing into the hedonistic haze of her “Dead Petz” epoch. For her sixth studio album “Younger Now,” rumination of the future caves into a pensive nostalgia for “the...
CW’s Superhero Shows
After a one-month-long hiatus, the superhero shows that take up most of the real estate on the CW’s nightly schedules came back on air to finish their respective seasons this past week.
For as underwhelming “The Flash” has been this season, this past week’s episode proved to be a high point for the series as Barry Allen (Grant...
Bad Bunny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws00k_lIQ9U
To listen to Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is to be pulled in by his deep, almost monstrous, modulation. His bars mesh with one another between autotuned melodies and spoken word in a way that is reminiscent of Future’s delivery. At first listen, it can be off-putting and awkward — like in “Soy Peor,” which cruises between spoken...
Music:
Frank Ocean - “Provider”
Four singles released post-“Blonde” — not including features — and Frank Ocean still holds the title as the most elegant singer in the mainstream. His best solo track since “Chanel” finds the enigmatic singer shouting out the late Stanley Kubrick on a catchy bridge and reminiscing on a former lover on a dreamy hook backed by...
Janelle Monae returned this week with two new singles, “D’Jango Jane” and “Make Me Feel” off her forthcoming concept album, “Dirty Computer,” an album which is poised to build upon her previous universes with a sharper, more focused and ambitious world-building.
On “D’Jango Jane,” Monae reads off her decade-long resume, flexing along the way as she sings, “We ain’t...
“Re:Zero”
I can picture the summer season now. Beachgoers having fun under the sun as they run amok celebrating the end of another school year. Feeling the chill of the ocean breeze as they traverse around the boardwalk. Or maybe, just maybe, staying at home and catching up on some of the hottest anime of the year.
Summer is when all...
“We Bare Bears”
The reason why I don’t watch many cartoons nowadays is not because I outgrew them (I’ll never outgrow them), but because so many of them seem to rely on the same tropes. Animated shows just seem rampant on cracking jokes at breakneck speeds and being over the top, only catering to children. That’s all fine and dandy,...
Phoenix “J-Boy”
It feels like it’s been too damn long since Phoenix has been in the spotlight. The French synthpop alternative band made rounds back in 2009 with their lauded “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” with tracks that trickled onto the mainstream like the poppy “Lisztomania” and arguably their most modest hit, “1901.” Although 2013 saw the band release their fifth studio...
Discourse - “Sanity Decays”
South Carolina-based hardcore band, Discourse, released “Sanity Decays” in 2015. Each track’s message can only be delivered through a rawness that consolidates the harsh vocals with powerful drums and momentous guitar. Tracks such as “Bars Surround” and “Time Pries” bring forth the intense introspection with hardcore rhythms to get their messages across. While sonically driven by...
The Handmaid’s Tale
Hulu’s flagship program, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a 10-episode long series based on Margaret Atwood’s story of the same name. It tells the story of Offredd, whose real name is June, a servant in the dystopian Republic of Gilead, a society forged by a militant religious group who executed a coup d’etat which overthrew the United States...