STAFF WRITER,
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The third Saturday of every April marks an annual event that is well known to every novelty collector and hipster across the country: Record Store Day. Record Store Day is a celebration of purchasing vinyl recordings, the oldest and most official way of collecting music. On Record Store Day, musicians and record labels release exclusive copies of their work on vinyl (either a 12-inch or a 7-inch), CDs, or even taped recordings. Musicians will also make appearances, host Q&As, and even perform at local store in celebration of this event. The first Record Store Day occurred on April 19, 2008, and has been a massive success in the following years. It has expanded to over 1,400 independent record stores in the United States and has been catching on across several continents.
This semester, Boom Roasted Productions will be putting on the stage adaptation of the classic dark comedy television show The Addams Family. The story follows the youngest Addams girl, Wednesday, as she falls in love with a “Normal Boy,” and the struggle that ensues between the two families trying to get along with each other. The show has been in rehearsal since the beginning of January, and a diverse range of students who study music, communication, political science, and even science have all been involved with the production of the show.
The biggest news in the music community the past month has been “Yeezus” himself, and his very anticipated seventh album. The Life of Pablo was released Feb. 14 on Kanye’s own record label “GOOD (Getting Out Our Dreams) Music, Inc.,” which has also released albums by other hip-hop and R&B artists like Common, John Legend, and Pusha T.
With the Oscars coming up very soon, I couldn’t help but notice that one of my favorite movies of the year went completely under the radar—and not only to the Academy, but also to the entire public. Grabbing only a mere three Oscar nominations, Quentin Tarantino’s new film, The Hateful Eight, contained everything one can hope for in a Tarantino film: malicious characters, excessive blood and gore, an intense climax, and dialogue so funny and natural sounding that any actor can have a ball with it. This new “who-done-it” murder mystery takes place in a snowed in haberdashery in Wyoming during post-Civil War America, where eight unlikely visitors are forced to spend a whole night with each other. Questions about race, capital punishment, war, and loyalty to one’s family brings these characters to violent ends, and the story culminates in a third act that kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing the whole way.
