Earlier this month, the Academy Awards announced that in addition to its other film categories there would be a new award, for achievement in popular film. In other words, they’ve realized that elitism isn’t always the best policy and seem top be trying out compromise — you catch more flies with honey, not indie filmsContinue reading “Are the VMAs Irrelevant?”
Author Archives: Ned Kuczmynda
Solo
We’ve reached a weird point in Star Wars fandom. Back in the 70s and 80s there were few popular franchises that received the amount of attention and mainstream exposure that the series did and as a result lots of then kids and teenagers grew to be adults in the 90s when the “extended universe” tookContinue reading “Solo”
The Unique Artistry of Childish Gambino
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. –T.S. Eliot There’s been a lot of hubbub lately about Childish Gambino (Alter Ego: Donald Glover) and his apparent plagiarism of underground rapper Jase Harley’s “American Pharaoh” in his nation-sweepingContinue reading “The Unique Artistry of Childish Gambino”
The TDE Championship Tour brings a new meaning to the phrase “Mixed Bag”
I first encountered Kendrick Lamar’s music when he participated in a remix of Imagine Dragons’ 2012 smash hit “Radioactive”. I knew absolutely nothing about him, and since I was twelve years old, I definitely wasn’t allowed to listen to his breakout album Good Kid Mad City which was blowing up and propelling him to stardom. HisContinue reading “The TDE Championship Tour brings a new meaning to the phrase “Mixed Bag””
Town Of Salem
Most of us are familiar with some variation of the party game mafia. Some know it as Assassin, Werewolf, or Serial Killer. The game is very simple. People use some form of random selection like a hat full of names to decide who will be the killer; sometimes there is a medic, or a policeman;Continue reading “Town Of Salem”
Shakespearean Tragedy in Avengers: Infinity War
Well, it’s been over a month since Avengers: Infinity War was released. This is going to be less of a review of the film (because, lets face it, these things are review proof anyway) and more of an in depth analysis of how it is a textbook Shakespearian tragedy. With that said, there are some majorContinue reading “Shakespearean Tragedy in Avengers: Infinity War”
Jack White: Boarding House Reach
When you spend your free time like I do — mostly listening to music, speculating about music or watching videos where other people speculate about music — an album like this one tends to be quite a delight. It’s especially enjoyable when something like this comes along, if you happen to have written a prettyContinue reading “Jack White: Boarding House Reach”
Judah And The Lion, Colony House, and Tall Heights
A couple of weeks ago, I went to see one of my favorite bands: Colony House at the 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. They weren’t really headlining, Judah and the Lion was. I had never really given their music much of a shot — I’d heard a few of their songs on the radio and it kindContinue reading “Judah And The Lion, Colony House, and Tall Heights”
Dave Grohl’s Documentaries
If you are any kind of rock music fan, you probably know who Dave Grohl is. Nirvana’s drummer, and front man of the Foo Fighters, he has played a large part directly and otherwise in shaping the modern rock landscape. When grunge began to die and Nirvana ceased to make music, he started the FooContinue reading “Dave Grohl’s Documentaries”
Doin’ it for the Culture
Since the inception of the rap genre it has been chock full of stereotypes, especially about the gritty streets. While most other genres have veered far and wide with their lyric topics, hip-hop subject matter has stayed mostly the same. Since Straight Outta Compton’s drug talk, murderous lyrics and casual misogyny, these things have been lyricalContinue reading “Doin’ it for the Culture”
