Arts & Culture

Music Lately: “Von Dutch,” ‘Scrapyard,’ ‘Vultures’

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A phoenix! In I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, Quadeca contemplates his life and loved ones from beyond the grave. His new mixtape Scrapyard sees him reborn with Ye-like confidence. “Room packed out with the fans,” he gloats on “Guess Who?”. “They said I was naive … ‘cause they couldn’t tell a masterpiece from a type beat.” They don’t doubt him anymore: Anthony Fantano rates Scrapyard a coveted “light 9.”

Scrapyard’s “Texas Blue” features Kevin Abstract, who underwent a rebirth of his own on Blanket.

Arts & Culture

Looking Past War: Understanding Israel Through Music

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There is a very small chance that you are not aware of the crisis currently unfolding in Israel. Pictures of destruction fill our screens, and headlines continue to announce death tolls and count the missing. Many members of the Cornell community attended a memorial held by Cornell Hillel on October 11, and President Pollack has sent two emails about these events.  

Unfortunately, the news often has a dehumanizing effect — instead of being thought of as real people, the dead and missing are reduced to numbers, and a country becomes only its actions. Sides arise, and issues become polarized; many forget that these are real people and real lives being destroyed, not simply pawns in a political game. The lack of understanding and empathy for Israel is nothing new.

Arts & Culture

Album Review: Olivia Rodrigo Wears Her GUTS on Her Sleeve

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The first thing to notice about this album is that Rodrigo sounds really great. Her voice is strong and always enjoyable, even when she screams. More than that, Rodrigo is an actress, and she really commits to her songs’ theatrical elements by yelling, stomping and emoting. An album with so many shouting elements would not be pleasant to listen to with a lesser performance. Rodrigo’s singing also varies among GUTS’s ballads and helps differentiate them in style and tone. 

Arts & Culture

Feelings and Americana in Zach Bryan’s Zach Bryan

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I’m a recent convert to country music. At one point, I might have given the usual line that I listen to “anything but country” — now, if you see me driving around campus with my windows down, you’ll probably hear me blasting my hours-long “country era” playlist. This week, the country album of choice has been Zach Bryan’s new self-titled album, a raw 54 minutes of poetry, folk and Americana. 

On August 25, Bryan released his fourth full-length album since his debut DeAnn (2019). In the last four years, Bryan has amassed over 16 million monthly listeners on Spotify and sold out shows nationwide. Yet, despite his quickly-earned success, Zach Bryan does not pose as anything other than Zach Bryan.