Our managing editor-at-large and news editor have been talking a big game about crafting the perfect “hip-hop, R&B, soul/funk” playlist for months. Now with quarantine granting them more than a few additional hours, they took the time to compile some of their favorites.
News Editor Tim Carlin and Opinion Editor Rebecca Wolff discuss their thoughts on Carrie and Big’s relationship in Sex and the City. This conversation was edited for clarity. Tim: So why are we on the phone today? Rebecca: We are discussing whether or not Carrie and Big’s relationship in Sex and the City deserves to be the central relationship ... because it was toxic.
I know what you’re thinking. How is the entertainment editor about to rip celebrity culture a new one? I’m not sure either.
I took some time out of my very busy schedule (of WebExing into classes for two hours a week and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my time) to compile all of the quality films streaming on Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Hulu and Netflix right now. The Student will be releasing my recommendations in weekly installments until the end of the semester. I thought we’d start with romantic comedies, classics and nostalgic movies, which are usually comforting to me, instead of action movies or true-crime documentaries, which are not. Favorites are bolded.
After watching “Tiger King,” I have a lot of complicated feelings about it. I’m sure those who watched it, heard about it from a friend or saw a meme about it do, too. Netflix’s docuseries, which was released March 20, is already one of the streaming platform’s most-viewed pieces of true-crime content. “Tiger King” has garnered more viewers than “The Staircase,” “The Keepers” and “The Ted Bundy Tapes” did in their first weeks on Netflix. This could, of course, be attributed to the fact that most U.S. residents are under stay-at-home orders to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, but it’s probably more due to the documentary’s content.
“You want what now looks like?” British and Kosovar Albanian pop superstar Dua Lipa sings on the title track of her sophomore album. “Let me give you a taste.”
Cover photo courtesy of Pixabay
From last season’s Bachelorette Hannah Brown’s return and Champagne-gate to contestant Madison Prewett’s ultimatum, Peter Weber’s season of “The Bachelor” has been full of controversy, drama and tears. Every season, Chris Harrison announces that this season of the Bachelor franchise will be the “most dramatic season yet.” And now, looking back at Weber’s journey as the bachelor, Harrison wasn’t lying. If there is one word to describe this season, it’s “dramatic,” as there was some sort of mishap between the women in every single episode.
Gone are the days of the white Oscars. Well, at least, for the most part. The pressure has been on the Academy for years to change their pool of nominees from solely honoring brightly shining white characters that always seem to be front and center to including the diverse filmmakers and cast that are usually shunned behind the curtain. But racist tendencies of the Academy are not the award show’s only issues.
Since the release of her debut album in 2015, Ashley Frangipane has made a name for herself as singer-songwriter Halsey. Halsey has been known to focus each of her projects around a fictional place associated with a certain sound and concept. Her EP took fans to “Room 93,” her first album to “Badlands” and her second album to “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom.” “Manic” was released on Jan. 17, and it breaks the mold that her previous projects fit. Rather than a place, the album simply explores the self: self-love, self-destruction, self-acceptance and self-contempt.
The two-part, four-hour season finale of “90 Day Fiancé” aired last week. The episodes marked an end to the show’s seventh season, which was criticized by fans as being “the most disappointing yet.” Though it pains me to say this as one of the show’s biggest fans, having watched it since before Danielle was trying, then not trying, then trying again to get Mohamed deported, I agree. I also think it’s time for TLC to consider cancelling the trainwreck of a show.
I saw “Knives Out” five times over J-term. I admit, although I love a classic whodunit movie, I was attracted by the film’s amazing cast the first time I saw it with my mom. A movie starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Katherine Langford, Daniel Craig and Chris Evans felt like exactly what I needed.
The Netflix rom-com sequel, “To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” was released on Feb. 12, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Since the first movie, 2018’s “To All The Boys I Loved Before,” received good reviews and is based off of a three-part book series, it wasn’t surprising when Netflix announced plans to make a sequel. And I honestly liked the first movie – Lana Condor and Noah Centineo had amazing chemistry.
Over a decade ago, Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams sung of “ripping wings off of butterflies” underneath a cascade of rose petals. But long gone are the days of “Brick by Boring Brick” and its emo-fairytale music video. We’ve moved past MTV premieres and the ever-angsty Vans Warped Tour rock music festival – and even Paramore has moved through quite a few iterations of its lineup. The butterflies aren’t wingless anymore. And Williams has, in fact, become the butterfly.
I wasn’t ready for the end of NBC’s hit series “The Good Place.” I mean, when my housemate told me the title for the series finale was “Whenever You’re Ready,” I started crying, knowing what was in store.
I love Doja Cat. A lot. I find myself not wanting to listen to anything else at any given time. Whether it be walking home from class or crafting the playlist for my shower concerts, she is the only thing I gravitate toward. I’m obsessed, and I love when you can feel yourself growing obsessed with a new artist. You listen to every song on every album. You watch any interview or performance you can possibly find on YouTube. It’s a great feeling.
I have to wonder if the writers of “The Office” knew what they were doing when they wrote their series finale. The easy answer here is that they obviously did; Google “the office finale” and you’ll find think piece after think piece about how perfectly NBC’s hit sitcom concluded. My actual question lies within a specific quote. Did the writing team know that “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them” would wind up plaguing yearbooks and Instagram captions for (probably) decades to come? It’s a nice quote, and as someone whose self-admitted tragic flaw is sentimentality, I can see why fans of “The Office” cling to it like a treasured family heirloom.
“Miss Americana,” the new Taylor Swift documentary, made me feel guilty for going through a period in which I no longer liked Swift. I discovered her in 2010, and her second album helped me through a dramatic eighth-grade friendship breakup the following year. I was officially a fan, and so was nearly everyone else I knew, regardless of gender.
Tim: I think it was really smart that they started out with Shakira. Briah: Okay, can I say something? I don’t think either of them are singing. Shakira, she can probably do better than J. Lo (Jennifer Lopez) as far as singing and dancing at the same time. J. Lo, I just don't think possesses that talent. T: I definitely think their background tracks were turned up a couple notches.
When Dua Lipa took home the Grammy Award for Best New Artist last January, I was happy. When she released her comeback singles “Don’t Start Now” in November and “Future Nostalgia” in December, I was happy. And this past week, she came out with “Physical,” a jaw-droppingly good retro-pop banger with a beautiful accompanying music video. And I can’t stop listening.