2016 is a strange time to be Ms. Britney Jean Spears. It’s the seventeenth year of a storied career, the turbulent likes of which haven’t yet been replicated in the twenty-first century.
The Duke Common Experience is one almost every student has endured; it is common, after all. This year’s common experience was “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, an emotional novel about the author’s experiences working as a lawyer with underprivileged people on death row.
Instead of following up 2012’s “channel ORANGE” with another concept masterpiece, Frank Ocean opted for something simpler—and better—with his new album, “Blonde.” The scope of “Blonde” is far more intimate than that of “channel ORANGE,” which touched on themes ranging from Ocean’s bisexuality to race and class divides to prostitution to drug abuse. “Blonde” instead focuses, for the most part, on Ocean’s feelings following a breakup with a person whose gender is intentionally obscured by a lack of pronouns, and feels much more personal, an impressive feat considering the emotion poured into every track on his previous effort. The album opens with “Nikes,” which is easily the track least focused on the album’s general theme of love. A cold critique of the trappings of wealth and those who wish to take advantage of Ocean’s success, the tune features Ocean’s pitched-up voice singing a rambling verse over a hazy trap beat.
Dreading the start of classes on Monday? Can’t wait to reunite with friends you haven’t seen in months? Whatever your feelings about the new school year, Recess has a grade A playlist guaranteed to get you through endless hours in Perkins.
With their second full-length LP “SremmLife 2,” rap duo Rae Sremmurd—who performed at Duke’s Last Day of Classes concert April—proves that their brand of poppy, party rap is not limited to the catchy hooks which characterized their earlier work. The Atlanta natives received relative acclaim for their debut “SremmLife,” with critics praising the pair’s energy and distinctly unabashed approach to writing bars for parties.
“Green Party in the HOOOOUUUUUUSSSSSEEEEE!!” As I sat in the front row of a small auditorium in the University of Houston’s student center, it did not occur to me that David Cobb, the loud, bald, bespectacled emcee who spoke with a charming southern twang, had once received more than 100,000 votes in a campaign for president of the United States.
Ever since media has existed, so has media bias; the two go hand-in-hand.
Last week, the third season of the Netflix original series “BoJack Horseman” was released, continuing the chronicle of the show’s titular character BoJack Horseman.
It's been a crazy first half of the week, let alone summer. From Kimye exposing Taylor as a not-so-nice girl to Melania's plagiarism problems, let's just all agree to drown out all the chaos with some music, even if it's just for a moment.
From learning British slang to acclimating to Oxford’s famed tutorial system, students attending Duke in Oxford this summer have been thrown into a culture far different from that in Bull City.
In the age of "Peak TV", having a critically acclaimed or highly viewed show isn't all that counts anymore.
Netflix has brought back a variety of beloved shows, much to '90s kids' delight, but they have upped the ante in announcing the return of “Gilmore Girls” for four more 90-minute episodes.
By now, it’s old news that Netflix is absolutely crushing its foray into original television content.
“Hamilton: An American Musical” is a name recognizable to nearly every ear. Most Americans today are divided into two camps: those who don’t understand what all the hype is about, and those who would give their left arm to see the show on Broadway.
Duke is nationally famous for many reasons, not the least of which is its uncanny ability to send graduating students to work at top financial institutions and medical schools.
In one of the most turbulent, amusing, and even sassy American presidential elections of all time, it’s not surprising that social media has exploded with political activity—from lighthearted jokes to angry tirades on both sides.
When I purchased my Beyoncé tickets in January, this was not the type of story I was expecting to write.
Last year, Duke saw the addition of a new pre-orientation program to its long-standing repertoire of Projects BUILD, WILD, Waves, Change and Search: Project Arts, or pArts.
Tired of the radio's summer smash hits? Did you realize you can actually stop feeling JT's new single or that seems like "7 Years" more accurately describes how long the song has been on track lists?
This past May, “Pet Sounds” passed the 50-year mark since its release in 1966, and with the passing of this milestone, the concept of critical artistic value in popular music turned 50 as well.
