Lia Pikus

Songs For Quiet Time Pt. 2

Back in April, the Thresher compiled a playlist of songs submitted by students that made them feel more grounded while swimming in the sea of COVID-19 chaos. Now, seven months and a seeming lifetime later, the series is back for a second installment, “Songs For Quiet Time Pt. 2.” We asked the same two questions to those who submitted music: What songs or artists have been helping you get through self-isolation, and how have they helped you do so?  

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

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. 

On Frank Ocean, Isolationism and the Vulnerability Paradox

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. 

Pikus’s Picks: some things that are making me happy this week

How you can support the music industry during COVID-19

First, it was South by Southwest. On March 6, the Austin-based festival was canceled for the first time in its 33-year run, marking the first major festival cancellation of the COVID-19 outbreak. Then came Coachella, postponing their mega-festival to October to the dismay of thousands. After LiveNation, AEG and other industry giants followed suit, delaying or cancelling all live events in the United States and a handful of other countries, not much remains in the way of live music. In the face of COVID-19, the entire live music industry has been brought to a grinding halt. 

Review: Indie duo Tennis brings intimacy to Houston show

Last Monday night, as indie duo Tennis took the stage at White Oak Music Hall, frontrunner Alaina Moore and I had two important things in common: We both were sporting fabulous jumpsuits, and we both were horribly sick with head colds. 

Women Making Waves: A Women’s History Month Playlist

 March is a wonderful month. Spring peeks its head around the corner, break provides a respite from the chaos of college life, and once again I get to make what I believe to be the one perfect march madness bracket (which, despite my conviction, always flops immediately). Another amazing and arguably more important thing about March: it’s women’s history month, a time to formally celebrate the brilliance and bravery of women of the past who have paved the way for women present.  

Review: King Krule welcomes darkness, gets comfortable with chaos on “Man Alive!”

If you ever a) were an angsty teen or b) hung out around other angsty teens, there’s a good chance at some point you’ve head-bobbed contemplatively as you pretended to understand one of King Krule’s cryptic lyrics. Since his ascension to his throne with his 2013 album “6 Feet Beneath The Moon,” 25-year-old Archy Marshall (aka King Krule) has reigned with a silver tongue and an enigmatic fist — as a counter-cultural figure he’s been largely reclusive, but as a lyricist, he’s one of the generation’s best. 

Review: Tame Impala delivers trademark vibrations but fails to innovate

Making an album as creatively rich as “Currents” was always going to be a tough job or Kevin Parker, and his newest album “The Slow Rush” is the comparatively-lackluster proof.

Get an STI test, and protect your health

Testing for sexually transmitted infections is increasingly important for college students at Rice and across the nation. More STIs were diagnosed among teenagers and young adults in 2018 than in any prior year, according to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention. With transmission rates higher than ever before, getting tested is the most effective course of action you can take to maintain both your and your partners’ sexual and holistic health.