RECESS | CULTURE

"The Best Short Stories 2021" collection allows readers to explore 20 beautifully-imagined worlds

By Bates Crawford | October 31, 2021

All of these stories are fantastic, and it’s clear why Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the very first guest editor for the collection, selected them. Some entertain questions of love and loss, others grapple with public scandals and shame. A few even recognize the temporary bleakness of ordinary circumstances, and how that can be reshaped by the kindness of strangers. What all of these authors do, though, is distill a human experience to its bare bones.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

With its recent re-release, now is a great time to revisit Mac Miller's “Faces”

By Rhys Banerjee | October 25, 2021

Miller was 22 when he released “Faces.” The mixtape, released for free online in 2014, is dense: 24 songs and over 85 minute. Many fans of Miller’s music consider it to be his magnum opus, but until this year, it remained largely inaccessible to many.

---

RECESS | CULTURE

The feud between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones: Is it Real?

By Kerry Rork | October 25, 2021

Was the relationship between these two bands always rooted in competition? Or was this an imagined conflict forced into existence by the media and polarized fans?

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MOVIES

36th NC Latin American Film Festival shines a light on Latin American stories and voices

By Rhys Banerjee | October 21, 2021

Running throughout the month of October, the 2021 North Carolina Latin American Film Festival celebrates Latin American perspectives in cinema, showcasing feature-length and short films. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE

Why don't we care more about the Pastry World Cup?

By Katherine Zhong | October 18, 2021

Perhaps the deeper cause for our shared neglect of the Cup is a lack of appreciation for food as a demonstration of craftsmanship and creativity, of which the increasingly fast-paced industrial lifestyle is a major culprit. Too often we value food for its ability to enhance our productivity rather than for its own virtue. Thus, the advertising slogan for Saladelia outside Perkins Library: “Yum on the run.” You can often see students skipping multiple meals but never their coffee.

---

RECESS | CULTURE

'Far Cry 6' showcases the video game series at its best

By Devinne Moses | October 18, 2021

Playing “Far Cry 6” for the first time, we are introduced to the stakes as we stare into the orange eye of a crocodile and enter a new reality. A cinematic sequence takes us through rampant warfare, imprisonment and rebellion while introducing the stars of this complex narrative behemoth.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Selena Gomez's ‘Revelación’

By Jonathan Pertile | October 11, 2021

Gomez’s return to her heritage is important to me because like her, I have long been trying to reconnect with my own heritage, especially through language.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

How Oh Wonder broke apart to come together in '22 Break'

By Devinne Moses | October 11, 2021

Breakup albums usually tell one side of the story, but “22 Break” is Oh Wonder’s way of telling us what it’s like to break up and share both perspectives.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | TV

How ‘Star Wars: Visions’ goes beyond the usual galaxy’s edge

By Devinne Moses | October 4, 2021

“Visions'' is an experiment in creativity, pushing the boundaries of what “Star Wars” means and what it can look like.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | TV

‘Survivor’ Season 41 debut: Too new or a rejuvenated classic?

By Anna Rebello | October 4, 2021

Entertainment Weekly calls it “the granddaddy of reality TV.” My family calls it “the only show we can all agree to watch together.” Regardless of what you call it, “Survivor” is back, and Wednesday nights are normal again after sixteen long months. And as for the show being “back and better than ever,” I cannot bring myself to admit that just yet.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Lessons about art from Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

By Cody Schmidt | October 4, 2021

Perhaps the only list where Robyn’s “Dancing on my Own” and John Lennon’s “Imagine” will ever be ranked side by side, specifically at number 20 and number 19, it includes a variety of genres and representation from every decade since the 1930s. While many of the songs are instantly recognizable, whether they be pop favorites or timeless ballads, it wouldn’t be the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” without controversy and the plague of rockism. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Column: UNC's Taylor Swift discography ranking is depressing. Ours is better.

By Jonathan Pertile | October 4, 2021

Though we might have lost in football, we certainly win when it comes to taste in Taylor Swift songs. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Lil Nas X's 'Montero' proves he is much more than a one-hit wonder

By Brooks Finby | October 1, 2021

With the release of his debut album “Montero,” Lil Nas X proves that he is an unstoppable force in the music industry—and he knows it well. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Sagun and Carl Storm’s newest EP 'solitude' chronicles the challenges of artistry during a pandemic

By Kerry Rork | September 27, 2021

The EP offers an expressive examination into a year in which artistry and creation were transformed through new mediums and restricted opportunities. Sagun and Carl Storm clearly conquer such distance with beautiful atmospheric songs and an intimate video experience that unite the psychological states of a pandemic-ridden world. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE | TV

I overanalyzed 'Sex Education' so you don't have to

By Tess Redman | September 27, 2021

The third season of Netflix’s “Sex Education” opens in a way you’d expect from the title: a lot of people having sex. This rather graphic opener sets the tone for a season about sex positivity with some characteristically raunchy humor that leaves audiences pleasantly surprised by the tumultuous season to come.

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

The Black Eyed Peas' 'The E.N.D' and the power of nostalgia

By Rhys Banerjee | September 27, 2021

In a time when things seem so complex and difficult, sometimes it’s just easier to channel the innocence we once had and crank up “I Gotta Feeling” one more time.

---

RECESS | CULTURE

SHEIN is She-Out: It’s time to question our consumption

By Kerry Rork | September 20, 2021

Tops from Forever 21, pants from Shein, dresses from H&M, skirts from Zara, jackets from Amazon, accessories from Uniqlo — at a university where 69% of students come from families at the top 20% of incomes and students claim to be environmentally conscious, why do cheap, unethically made clothing items have such a strong presence among our student body?

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

Lorde’s Māori-language EP, ‘Te Ao Mārama,’ is for Everyone

By Sasha Provost | September 20, 2021

Fresh off the release of her third studio album, “Solar Power,” Lorde surprised fans by dropping a surprise EP, “Te Ao Mārama” Sept. 9. The EP features five songs from “Solar Power” recorded entirely in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of the Māori people of New Zealand. 

---

RECESS | CULTURE | MUSIC

On 'Certified Lover Boy,' Drake loses friends and we lose interest

By Brooks Finby | September 13, 2021

Do you need to reinvent the wheel if you've mastered making it spin?

---

RECESS | CULTURE

Why are we so obsessed with the royal family?

By Jules Kourelakos | September 13, 2021

There are three certain things in this world: death, taxes and the evergreen popularity of Princess Diana biopics.