Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916
Saturday, September 07, 2024 — Houston, TX

Arman Saxena

A&E 9/3/24 11:03pm

Houston concerts to check out this semester

By Arman Saxena

This semester’s concert lineup is packed with an eclectic mix of genres and artists that promise to light up the city’s music scene. Whether you’re eager to see alternative hip-hop innovators like Bladee and Joey Valence & Brae, rock legends like Weezer or pop icons like Usher and Mariah Carey, Houston’s stages are set to host unforgettable performances. Don’t miss out on the chance to experience live music at its finest.

A&E 8/27/24 11:15pm

“Imaginal Disk” Takes Magdalena Bay To Extraterrestrial Heights

By Arman Saxena

In the fall of 2021, pop duo Magdalena Bay’s playful debut album “Mercurial World” introduced many to the group’s blend of catchy pop melodies with elements of House, R&B and Electronic music. That album became one of the most acclaimed and beloved pop albums of the decade so far, and few would have imagined that the duo of Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin would top their previous effort when their latest project “Imaginal Disk” was announced. With “Imaginal Disk,” Magdalena Bay has announced themselves as the contemporary masters of the pop concept album. More psychedelic and surreal than anything they’ve produced before, “Imaginal Disk” is an eclectic amalgam of the duo’s trademark catchy pop rhythms with electronic, rock and psychedelic sounds that take the duo into new and exciting musical directions.

A&E 4/16/24 10:36pm

Movies coming your way this summer

By Arman Saxena

With this being the Thresher’s last issue of the semester, our coverage of the biggest movies of the moment will be on hold for a few months. However, that doesn’t mean Hollywood will be on hiatus. This year’s summer blockbuster season promises to be a big one, with some of the most anticipated films of recent years like “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4” hitting the big screen in the next few months. Here are some other films coming out this summer that you won’t want to miss.

A&E 4/9/24 11:43pm

Huberman and Hugetz observe American empire

By Arman Saxena

For around 30 years, filmmakers Brian Huberman and Ed Hugetz have been working on their seven-part series “Once I Moved Like the Wind: Geronimo’s Final Surrender to the American Empire.” The two present the fourth part of their film, titled “Carcosa” at Rice Cinema April 13 at 7 p.m.  

A&E 4/2/24 11:29pm

Review: “A Night of Knowing Nothing” is an intimate portrait of activism

By Arman Saxena

Rice Cinema presented three films as part of the Glorious Things series, a collaboration between Rice Cinema, Rice Humanities Research Center and FotoFest, on March 22 and 23. Organized by assistant professor of art Sindhu Thirumalaisamy, the films detail stories from the perspectives of marginalized groups that are connected by a common theme: the intensifying of authoritarianism at Indian universities. “Does Your House Have Lions?” focuses on university suppression of queer students, while “We Have Not Come Here to Die” and “A Night of Knowing Nothing” center on student protest movements that swept India after the death of Rohith Vemula, a student, activist and Dalit, the lowest ranking group in traditional Indian caste hierarchy. 

A&E 3/26/24 11:07pm

Review: On ‘Bright Future,’ Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker remains powerfully optimistic

By Arman Saxena

While indie folk-indie rock group Big Thief has consistently dropped passionately bittersweet and critically acclaimed work since their 2016 debut “Masterpiece,” the band reached their career high in 2022 with “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” which stands as one of the most celebrated albums of the decade so far. Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief’s lead vocalist, has had no shortage of success herself, with her previous album “Songs” appearing in the year-end top 10 albums list of many major publications. While Big Thief tracks like “Not” and “Little Things” can be noisy and dense, Lenker’s solo work is reliably soothing yet simultaneously heartbreaking. 

A&E 3/26/24 11:06pm

Female-directed films to look out for in 2024

By Arman Saxena

Female filmmakers have been innovating since the era of silent film in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the 1934 establishment of the Hays Code — a set of guidelines for Hollywood films from the 1930s to 1960s that censored content deemed offensive — played a major role in stifling women’s creative say in the film industry. With Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” becoming the highest-grossing film in the states and worldwide, 2023 was a landmark year for female directors in Hollywood and signifies an ever-changing landscape of female film direction. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are some new or upcoming female-directed films that represent the variety, innovation and artistic verve that women have imbued into the film canon.

A&E 3/5/24 10:23pm

A&E predicts the 2024 Academy Awards

By Basma Bedawi , Jay Collura and Arman Saxena

It’s March already, meaning it is time to examine the Academy Awards, an event sure to be full of awkward moments, baffling losses and confounding decisions, once again hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for some reason. However, the 96th Academy Awards Ceremony has something special going for it — this past year was an excellent one for film. It will be difficult in many categories for the Academy to make a bad choice, though there certainly are some categories the Thresher A&E section feels strongly about. Here are our picks for who will win at the 96th Annual Oscars and who actually deserves it.

A&E 2/27/24 10:47pm

With ‘Practices of Attention,’ Rice students explore capitalist ruins

By Arman Saxena

Anyone who has walked through Sewall Hall in the past couple months has inevitably seen the words “ARTS 477: Practices of Attention in Capitalist Ruins” written in big, bold lettering on flyers displayed throughout the building. The class is part of a larger project associated with the Moody Project Wall piece “Practices of Attention” envisioned by Angela Chen, a lecturer of art in Rice’s Department of Art.

Editor's Picks

Most Popular

The Rice Thresher