Arts & Events

Sleigh Bells’ latest record Reign of Terror brings up a tricky question: Is it important to see growth in a sophomore album or should the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality apply to new material? Reign is, without a doubt, a good album. Alexis Krauss’s signature war cry vocals are still intact and guitarist Derek E. Miller sounds just as heavy as ever. The cheerleading chants are still there and quick throwaway lyrics continue to dominate most of the tracks; really the only notable change that the band...

Tim Schafer needed money to make a game, so he asked the internet to help him out a bit. In eight hours he had reached his goal—$400,000. In 48 hours, he’d made a million dollars. “This is not a cute, quick little game anymore,” his most recent update on Kickstarter reads. “This is the real deal. This is a capital-G Game.“ The “Double Fine Adventure” is a groundbreaking project from Double Fine Productions, home of industry darling Tim Schafer and adventure-game godhead Ron Gilbert, creator of the seminal Monkey Island....

On Friday, Feb. 24, Puget Sound’s run of Metamorphoses debuted in Norton Clapp Theatre. The 90-minute play is based on David R. Slavitt’s translation of Roman poet Ovid’s collection of poems. The play, directed by John Rindo, focuses on Greco-Roman mythology and is split up into about 12 sections, including an introduction and conclusion. First and foremost, the play is a visual spectacle. The superb costumes by Mishka Navarre, thoughtful lighting by Richard Moore and outstanding scenic design by Kurt Walls culminated in a show that was aesthetically beautiful. The...

The movie adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is hard to watch for those who have read the book—and for those who have not. The movie as a whole is thoroughly depressing and consistently uses 9/11 to evoke strong and deeply tragic emotions. The plot of the film Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close revolves around the Schell family. The father, Thomas Schell, is killed on 9/11, leaving behind 9-year-old Oskar and his mother. Oskar, in his grief and desire to learn more about his dead father, discovers a key...

Divorce is a messy procedure in the United States, not only for its ramifications for the separating couple but also for their families. Add Iran’s highly codified Islamic law, conflicts of gender and class, and the alienation and frustrations of a law that cannot account for human emotion, and we begin to approach a situation akin to the tragedy depicted in Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation. The film opens with a shot of Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and his wife Simin (Leila Hatami) petitioning an off-camera judge for divorce. The factors that...

When the A.V. Club asked Sharon Van Etten to describe her reasoning for writing so many depressing songs, she replied, “I guess I usually write when I’m in a really intense headspace, because it’s my form of self-therapy.” Van Etten’s third album Tramp is so lyrically poignant that it is easy to believe that every song she sings is a snapshot into her tumultuous personal life. Be warned that every track on this album will instantly revive memories of bad breakups and accidental ex-sex, but listening to Tramp in its...

Today is National Banana Bread Day! Are you celebrating? If you say no, because you don’t have a recipe, well, I have the solution! If you don’t have a kitchen but still want to celebrate, your other option is to buy a slice from Oppenheimer or Diversions and I highly encourage you do just that. This recipe is one I adapted from allrecipes.com during winter break. I chose to bump up the nutritional value of this recipe and subbed part of the flour for wheat germ. You can also use...

Schneebeck Concert Hall rang with laughter this weekend with the performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.  The School of Music-produced opera was a joyous romp with a band of very jovial pirates and lovely ladies. Directed by Director of Vocal Studies Dr. Dawn Padula with music direction by staff accompanist Denes Van Parys, the double-cast opera was a hysterical hit playing to packed audiences throughout its four-night run. Padula’s stage direction was subtle but extremely effective.  From the nuanced pirate actions to the full-fledged chorus choreography, Padula captured...