Arts Columns
Autumn in Cambridge
The fall season in Cambridge has the potential to be just as transformative for its inhabitants as it is for its trees.
Outbound to the Magellanic Cloud: Ligia Bouton’s ‘Temporary Monument to Henrietta Swan Leavitt’ at Kendall/MIT
What is on display in the temporary tunnel is not just a collection of stars studied by an astronomer, but sight and wonder made material.
It is All Half Lights* / Before Memorial Day
The androgynous mind sleeps, it is halting/halted, faulting/faulted —
Virtually Famous: Music Journalism in A Social Media World
With social media playing a larger role in determining the music we listen to — and music streaming platforms increasingly resembling social media with features such as followers and likes — artists have claimed greater control over how their music and narratives are communicated to the public
‘There Is No Right Routine’: Zoulfa Katouh on Inspiration, Deadlines, and Navigating Growth
Writing a story changes for everybody. Routines differ by how writers set deadlines and goals, and how they structure their pieces — whether they outline or not. For Katouh, understanding what works best for her work was a large part of her journey as an author.
Weaver’s Way / In Blue
And the ceilings are high, voices echo from two rooms over among arches and paneling. Dark water. A river, green and lapping in a distant country in which I’ve never stepped foot —
Close-Listening: Diving Deep into a Song’s Lyrics
Misheard lyrics can be a golden moment of serendipity. Despite their falsehood, these alternative listenings of a song can open up compelling new interpretations and personal connections to the music.
The Seven Sisters Cliffs and Coastguard Cottages from “Atonement”
England, the site of numerous popular film locations, holds one of the most striking settings in cinema: the Seven Sisters, a stretch of sprawling cliffs in East Sussex.
The Record Review Logs On: YouTubers as Music Critics
Content creators embrace the subjectivity of the genre by sharing the stage equally with the music and putting their passion and appreciation on full display.
In Which I Have a Brief Chat With the Political Consultant Who Stands Outside My Window Every Night, Trying To Tempt Me Just Like Satan to Eve in the Garden of Eden
I close my third-floor Winthrop House window so that I can no longer hear the POLITICAL CONSULTANT. Time for bed.
Pitchfork’s Recipe for the Record Review
In this first installment, I start by assessing Pitchfork’s distinctive brand of album reviews — the bread and butter of music criticism — as the standard for what is both valuable and frustrating about the genre.
A Graveyard, Democratizing Decoration, and Art Beyond Repair: Joyce Kozloff’s ‘New England Decorative Arts’ at Harvard Station
A colorful, eight by 83-foot-long ceramic tile mural against a gently curved wall, Joyce Kozloff's "New England Decorative Arts" has enlivened the Harvard bus terminal’s double-ramp walkway since its installation.
