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Arts and Entertainment

A&E 4/21/20 3:29pm

The Strokes’ ‘The New Abnormal’ brings the best of the past to the present

By Morgan Gage

I can’t drive to see my friends. I watched “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” earlier this week. I am living in the same house as my mother. My entire life feels like a bad rerun of my junior high years right now, so imagine my excitement when I discovered a more positive relic of my past: the return of indie garage rock outfit The Strokes after a seven year hiatus. “The New Abnormal” and its callbacks to early 2000s garage rock sound like they belong on a cassette mixtape while still managing to seem fresh. The album will delight listeners, even if they are coping with the pandemic marginally better than myself. 

A&E 4/21/20 3:22pm

375 minutes of music that defined my 3.75 years of college

By Christina Tan

I went to my first concert in college, first semester freshman year in September 2016. My high school friend Eric Shi came with me to see James Blake downtown at the House of Blues. There, under lights filled with haze and concertgoers way older than us, we listened to Moses Sumney over the chatter of the crowd. Eventually, the lights dimmed, and Blake took the stage. When the bass hit on “Limit to Your Love,” I knew I was hooked for a lifetime. 

A&E 4/21/20 3:12pm

Weekly Screen: Week of April 20

 

For our lovely readers, you may know that “The Weekly Scene” is a regular fixture of the Thresher’s print arts and entertainment section that promotes local arts events both on campus and throughout Houston. However, due to campus and citywide restrictions on public gatherings amid the COVID-19 outbreak and our inability to print issues for the remainder of the semester, the Weekly Scene is sadly discontinued at the moment. Thus, to fill the gap in my heart left by my beloved little column, I’d like to present the Weekly Screen: a short list of TV programs, movies and videos to check out from the socially-distanced comfort of your home.  

A&E 4/21/20 2:55pm

Cheesy movies to make you feel less lonely (or at least make you smile)

By Anna Ta

You know how a couple months ago I came out here to publicly shame the Academy for not sharing my impeccable taste in film? Over the past few years I’ve come out on the record on important cultural milestones, such as the second season of Narcos and this one boring movie that the Thresher got free passes to. But since I’m graduating, I thought I’d show my hand before I go with this confession: I love horrible, cheesy movies. Like, a lot. 

A&E 4/14/20 9:40pm

Weekly Screen: Week of April 13

 

For our lovely readers, you may know that “The Weekly Scene” is a regular fixture of the Thresher’s print arts and entertainment section that promotes local arts events both on campus and throughout Houston. However, due to campus and citywide restrictions on public gatherings amid the COVID-19 outbreak and our inability to print issues for the remainder of the semester, the Weekly Scene is sadly discontinued at the moment. Thus, to fill the gap in my heart left by my beloved little column, I’d like to present the Weekly Screen: a short list of TV programs, movies and videos to check out from the socially-distanced comfort of your home. 

A&E 4/14/20 9:38pm

A playlist for quiet time: Songs to calm the mind and pass the time

By Lia Pikus

As I found myself staring out the window last Tuesday listening to The Microphones album “The Glow, Pt. 2” (my go-to album for Feeling Very Small) for the millionth time over the past three weeks, I decided it was probably time to wash my sheets and make myself listen to some new music. I’m naturally a bit self-indulgent when it comes to surrendering to emotion — when feeling nostalgic, for example, I only listen to music that will leave me feeling decidedly more wistful than before. And while I’ve always stood by that self-indulgence on the grounds that it’s simply my nature to try and feel things as deeply as possible, listening to one album on repeat gets old after a certain point. 

A&E 4/14/20 9:30pm

The Rice Thresher presents the Quarantine Cookbook

By James Karroum

Many of us are inspired to keep on the daily grind through small  interactions with the people that matter to us around campus — having to  spend the past month indoors and away from friends has likely made more  than a few Rice students stir-crazy. Plenty of those same people have  turned to stirring ingredients in a pot or pan, whether trying out  online recipes and cooking for the first time, or improvising a  traditional family dish.  Enjoy these nine recipes submitted by students  to the Thresher’s Quarantine Cookbook. 

A&E 4/14/20 3:48pm

‘Joy at Work’ (from home): Rice professor teams up with Marie Kondo in new book

By Morgan Gage

Since the debut of Marie Kondo’s show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” many of us have been asking ourselves, “Does this spark joy?” either in jest or while actually sorting through clutter that we should have thrown out three years before. However, while it is easier to function in a tidy workspace, many items that are crucial to someone’s career cannot be thrown away regardless of their emotional value. This is where “Joy at Work: Organizing Your Professional Life,” coauthored by Marie Kondo and Rice business professor Scott Sonenshein, comes in to bridge the gap by helping readers declutter their workspaces and take pleasure in their jobs.

A&E 4/7/20 6:10pm

Review: Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’ revitalizes disco and dance when we need it most

By Jacob Tate

The only thing that could pull me out of my quarantine-induced depression and resulting creative rot was the possibility of reviewing the new Dua Lipa album, “Future Nostalgia.” The much-anticipated album (at least within the niche queer communities I reside in) arrived on March 27, a week before its intended release date due to a much-circulated leak that had Dua crying on Instagram Live. Taking it like the absolute queen she is, Dua steeled herself and dropped this absolutely nuclear classic of a 21st century disco album. 

A&E 4/7/20 6:06pm

Weekly Screen: Week of April 6

 

For our lovely readers, you may know that “The Weekly Scene” is a regular fixture of the Thresher’s print A&E section that promotes local arts events both on campus and throughout Houston every week. However, due to campus and citywide restrictions on public gatherings due to the COVID-19 outbreak and our subsequent inability to print issues for the remainder of the semester, the Weekly Scene is sadly obsolete at the moment. Thus, to fill the gap in my heart left by my beloved little column, I’d like to present the Weekly Screen: a short list of TV, movies and videos to check out from the socially-distanced comfort of your home. 

A&E 4/7/20 6:04pm

On Frank Ocean, Isolationism and the Vulnerability Paradox

By Lia Pikus

Without a word or warning, elusive singer-songwriter Frank Ocean resurfaced from his sea of isolation this past Friday with the release of two new tracks, “Dear April” and “Cayendo.” Both intimate ballads stripped of rich instrumentation and centered around Ocean’s emotional vocals, the two tracks popped up out of the blue on Ocean’s website in October 2019 in the form of preorder vinyls which  just shipped out last week, coinciding with the songs’ digital release. 

A&E 4/7/20 6:00pm

KTRU sustains its sound from a distance with new remote programming

By Katelyn Landry

After recently celebrating the restoration of its original call sign letters last fall, KTRU has entered yet another new chapter in its vibrant history: completely remote operations. Rather than surrendering the airwaves to Robo — the station’s “robot” automated system which plays prerecorded music and announcements on loop —  the DJs of Rice Radio have found a way to preserve the human touch that makes KTRU a destination for eclectic music lovers across Houston and beyond. 

A&E 4/7/20 5:57pm

Halted Hollywood: Movies you can watch early, and ones you’ll have to wait for

By James Karroum

Virtually every traditional movie theater across the country has closed indefinitely by now, which has thrown a wrench into several upcoming movie releases, including highly anticipated blockbusters like Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow” and Disney’s live action remake of “Mulan.” Box Office Mojo says U.S. movie theatres have grossed only $5,000 in each of the past two weeks on average, several orders of magnitude less than this time last year. Films that were scheduled to come out this spring and summer have been pushed back several months, and for those which have not, expect them to be delayed soon. Here are the major delays grouped by production company...

A&E 3/31/20 10:08pm

Missed-fits: The would-be outfits of Spring 2020

By Christina Tan

With half of the semester suddenly cut short and students now in isolation, methods of self-expression through clothing are limited to a tiny Zoom screen. We asked fashionistas and planners alike to send us their missed-fits — missed opportunities to wear an outfit this semester. All photos submitted by students and designed by Christina Tan unless otherwise noted.

A&E 3/31/20 5:48pm

The podcasts to get you into podcasts

By Anna Ta

Now that you’re bored of teaching yourself TikTok dances, you finished watching “Tiger King” and your sourdough starter flopped, you can finally move onto a new project: becoming one of those people who are “really into podcasts.” This little starter kit of some of my favorite podcast episodes will hopefully be helpful in introducing you to some of the most famous (for good reasons) series as well as some that are woefully underrated. 

A&E 3/31/20 5:41pm

Weekly Screen: Week of April 1

 

For our lovely readers, you may know that “The Weekly Scene” is a regular fixture of the Thresher’s print A&E section that promotes local arts events both on campus and throughout Houston every week. However, due to campus and city-wide restrictions on public gatherings due to the COVID-19 outbreak and our subsequent inability to print issues for the remainder of the semester, the Weekly Scene is sadly obsolete at the moment. Thus, to fill the gap in my heart left by my beloved little column, I’d like to present the Weekly Screen: a short list of TV, movies and videos to check out from the socially-distanced comfort of your home. 

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