Contributing writer
Jonathan P. Trang
Latest Content
Top Five High Fives
The high five is integral to the way we live and the way we interact, yet too often do we overlook its storied past.
‘Legion’ Loses Itself in A Maze of Madness
When “Legion” gives us women with mustaches, singing, then has a character say, “Wait, were there women with mustaches, singing?” it’s lampshading at its worst.
Zadie Smith on Language and Life at Coolidge Corner Theatre
In conversation with “Radio Boston” host Meghna Chakrabarti at Coolidge Corner Theatre, Smith investigated these three elements speaking, on everything from the topical to the abstract.
BROCKHAMPTON Are You
BROCKHAMPTON stress that you are valid, you have a voice, and you could be up on that stage if you wanted to.
‘Sgt. Pepper’ at 50 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Hype
We cannot divorce “Pepper” from its reputation. So we must acquaint ourselves with its history and observe how it pushes back on the fifty years’ worth of meaning imposed on it.
Thundercat Gets Us ‘Drunk’ On The Splendor of Life
Thundercat effortlessly achieves a fusion of myriad disparate elements, one that anyone could find appealing. You could play this album in the car with your parents, and they would probably bob their heads and smile.
Music Video Breakdown: ‘Bad and Boujee’
Porridge, funneled through a decommissioned sewage pipe into your infected ear, has more charisma than the trap trio responsible for this human rights violation. The porridge makes more sense too.
John Darnielle Brilliant at Brattle Theater
Onstage at the sold-out Brattle Theater, promoting his recently released sophomore novel, “Universal Harvester,” Darnielle was comfortable and charismatic, as genial as your Midwestern uncle and as thrillingly erudite as your favorite professor.
Mitski Turned Paradise Rock Club Into Just Plain Paradise
The feelings Mitski takes as her subject are both the most dramatic and the most universal; she deals primarily with heartbreak, unhappiness, and the quiet triumph of learning to live with both. Much of the joy of experiencing Mitski’s music, especially live, lies in hearing someone give voice to such feelings so eloquently and acutely.
Alumni Spotlight: Ajarae D. Coleman ’02
Ajarae D. Coleman ’02 is an actress and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles.
David Ramirez Brings Professionalism and Soul to the Historic Club Passim
Ramirez himself never fell short of captivating, bringing a presence and animal force to his set that exhausted him; he frequently wiped his face with a cloth, which sat on a nightstand beside Ramirez’s picture of “Groundhog Day”-era Bill Murray.
'Lyrical Surgeons': The Necessity of GZA’s 'Liquid Swords' In The World Today
If the prospect of rap being overrun by mumblers fills you with anxiety, know you have GZA’s razor-sharp, lyrically peerless “Liquid Swords” to fall back on.
With ‘Lyk Dis,’ NxWorries Makes Good on Its Potential
That single, “Lyk Dis,” is a step in the right direction. .Paak continues to behave as though there’s nothing new under the sun, rap-singing about morning sex and milking the subject for all its worth. Yet he brings a sense of melody that only appeared in glimmers on “Suede.”
'Masterminds' Mindless
The getups are in fact amusing, and the actors are capable, charismatic improvisers—but it’s all in service of nothing. “Masterminds” makes for a diverting hour and a half, but it comprises little else but dumb, awkward spectacle.
