Author Archives: Sophie Tomei

What’s going on at the Vancouver Art Gallery?

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If you’ve ever been downtown, then you’ve probably taken notice of the big building in Robson Square that looks like a Grecian temple. That’s the Vancouver Art Gallery, which also happens to be the biggest art museum in Western Canada! It was opened in 1931, and moved to its current building, the former provincial courthouse, in 1983. 

The gallery has a permanent collection that features artists from all over Canada, and they also have temporary exhibits that feature a variety of different works. The last time I was there, they had an exhibit featuring a bunch of female Canadian artists, and it was pretty cool. The exhibit they had going before was a Yoko Ono one that was really interactive. So what do they have on right now?

There are several exhibits to check out! They’ve got one running until June 4th called “Hard-Edge”, showcasing a bunch of abstract paintings with…hard edges from the 1960s and 70s. Outside the Palace of Me is one of their bigger ones, putting on display works from the Canadian artist Shary Boyle, inspired by feelings of anxiety about the state of the world from social and global contexts. The exhibit has a lot of works from different media, and is reportedly quite the whimsical experience. This one also is only on until June 4th, so visit soon if it sounds like something you’d be into.

The Children Have to Hear Another Story is an exhibit of indigenous cinema put together by Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin. These films have been put together over the course of 50 years, and give a strong platform to Canadian indigenous voices–highlighting both struggles and accomplishments. The art gallery’s website advises that if you’re going to this exhibit, you should bring a pair of wired headphones for the best experience! This one is running until August 7th of this year, so if you’re looking for something to do this summer, you should check it out!

I really like the art gallery. It’s basically the only established art museum in Vancouver, and although it’s not that big, it still features a lot of cool exhibits, so I like to stay up-to-date with whatever they have going on. General admission is a little pricey at $29 a person, but I think last time I went there may have been a student discount…there’s nothing about it on their website, though, so don’t take my word for it.

I recommend paying the gallery a visit, especially if you’ve never been before! Support the arts!

Hot Mulligan – Why Would I Watch (2023) album review

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American pop-punk/emo band Hot Mulligan released their third LP Why Would I Watch on May 12th, 2023. Unlike my previous reviews, this album/artist is stuff that could actually be played on Evolution, so that’s a win for the radio station! Their sound on this album is invoking a more Blink-182 vibe, which works pretty well. 

Hot Mulligan has been around since 2014, and they’ve gone through a lot of band members since then. Their Wikipedia page actually has a graph timeline detailing all of the member changes in the last nine years. At the moment, there’s 4 of them, with Nathan Sanville being the only consistent member since 2014.

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Their sound has been pretty emo, pop-punk, midwest emo throughout their releases, but on Why Would I Watch, I’m noticing that they’re leaning more into the pop punk stuff and straying slightly from true whiny emo, which is nice! Other recent pop punk releases from…certain artists…haven’t been the best, so it’s refreshing to have an actual good pop punk release in 2023. Their 2020 album you’ll be fine leaned way more into the emo sound, comparatively. 

Why Would I Watch is 12 tracks long and only 37 minutes long, so very easy to listen to all in one go. The songs all have pretty goofy titles, such as “This Song is Called it’s Called What It’s Called”, which doesn’t make much sense, and “Christ Alive My Toe Dammit Hurts”. Hot Mulligan is kind of a goofy group, and that is kind of a drawback for me, but this level of maturity is very common in the emo scene, so I can’t be too mad about it. 

Sanville’s abrasive, emo scream vocals are still present, thankfully, but are toned down a bit. The mathy guitar riffs are still there, but again, they aren’t the main focus of the songs like they once were on you’ll be fine. The lyrics are typical Hot Mulligan lyrics, and all the tracks are fun yet melancholic–a staple of the genre. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these songs made it into the Evolution 107.9 music rotation sometime soon. 

My favorite tracks are probably “No Shoes in the Coffee Shop (Or Socks)” and “Shhhh! Golf is On”. Sanville’s vocals are my main draw to Hot Mulligan. I’m not the biggest fan of theirs, but I do like the way that guy sings. 

Why Would I Watch was a good pop punk record, and I’d give it 3.5/5 stars. If you like the stuff that plays on Evolution, then you’d probably like this record, so I recommend it!

billy woods & Kenny Segal – Maps (2023) album review

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New York City experimental hip hop artist billy woods and legendary hip hop producer Kenny Segal joined forces to put out Maps on May 5th, 2023, and this might be one of my favorite releases of 2023 so far. It’s an experimental/abstract hip hop/rap record, with some great sample usage and jazzy elements, aligning nicely with woods’ typical style.

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woods has been active in the hip hop scene since 2002, with Maps being his twelfth LP release. He founded Backwoodz Studioz, which is also the record label that he releases all his music under. Last year, he put out two records–Aethiopes and Church–both of which were met with positive reviews. I was excited to see what he’d do this year, and I was definitely not disappointed by Maps. It’s 17 tracks long but only 44 minutes, which makes it more accessible to listen to in one sitting, which is how I prefer to listen to new albums.

The album is a bit lighter in tone than the previous releases from last year, but still has woods’ signature weird, often funny, but still relatively harsh rhymes. It’s an album about being on tour, and reflections on having to travel around a lot.  It starts off relatively light with “Kenwood Speakers”, and picks up in intensity towards the middle. His beats are extremely strong throughout, and his sample usage really stands out. He samples renowned electronic artist Aphex Twin’s track “#2” from Selected Ambient Works Volume II on “Babylon By Bus”. As a big fan of Aphex Twin, when I reached “Babylon By Bus” on Maps and heard the “#2” sample, I got very excited. It was incorporated into the track really well, and sounds awesome with woods’ verses over it. woods’ sampling is always cool, which is one of the biggest appeals of his music for me. 

Kenny Segal’s production is also phenomenal, he does a great job. Segal and woods previously collaborated on woods’ 2019 album Hiding Places, which is another great record that is very well-produced. 

There are some cool features on Maps as well, like rapper Danny Brown and singer Benjamin Booker. Brown’s verse on “Year Zero” is strong, bringing this track up as one of the strongest on the album. The transition between “Babylon By Bus” and “Year Zero” is also really smooth.

My favorite tracks are “Babylon By Bus”, “Year Zero”, and “FaceTime”. Maps is so far my favorite hip hop release of this year, and one of my favorite records in general of 2023. I’d give it 4.5/5 stars. I highly recommend it to any hip hop fans!

Tim Hecker – No Highs (2023) album review

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Vancouver-born ambient electronic artist Tim Hecker’s album No Highs came out on April 7th this year. It’s got his signature ambient, drone-y sound, of course, and at this point, he’s quite the ambient music veteran.

Making music since 1996, Hecker has eleven albums out, and he’s done a lot of film scores as well, most recently the score for Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool (2023). He’s a well-established and well-respected name in the ambient/electronic music scene, and he’s from Vancouver, which is cool!

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No Highs is his latest release, featuring eleven tracks, and coming in at 51 minutes long. If you’re not an ambient music listener, the eight-minute long tracks might seem intimidating, but that’s just kinda par for the course with drone stuff like this. Actually listening to them doesn’t feel like it takes a full eight minutes.

The first track of No Highs, “Monotony”, opens with the same note played in a sequence that kind of sounds like morse code, and the song continually builds up in sound, adding more and more while building the drama. Subsequent tracks feature discordant strings, his signature organ sound, and some saxophone parts played by esteemed composer Colin Stetson. The album felt cohesive yet textured enough to be captivating. One thing I really like about Hecker’s work is his production, which was good on this album, however certain parts did feel a bit abrasive, but that might’ve even been a stylistic choice. I’ve noticed another thing, too, with his sound–it’s often quite cinematic, which makes sense, given his ample experience in movie scores. Several tracks, but especially “Lotus Light”, were sweeping and felt like being brought along on some kind of journey. 

As far as ambient drone music goes, I would say that No Highs is relatively accessible–it isn’t particularly harsh, has a lot of really beautiful sounds, and has enough melody to not be fully drone. I’m not sure if I’d necessarily recommend it as an entry-level album to the genre, but it also wouldn’t be the worst choice, either. 

My favorite tracks are “Monotony II” and “Winter Cop”. “Monotony II” opens in the same way as “Monotony”, but the Colin Stetson feature is very strong–his saxophone playing is really mesmerizing and adds a lot to this track. “Winter Cop” is a pretty simple song, a bit more bare-bones, but that aligns more with my personal preferences. It reminds me of taking a walk in the forest while it’s snowing.

If you like this type of music, then I definitely recommend No Highs. It’s one of my favorite ambient releases of 2023 so far, and I’d rate it 4/5 stars. Give it a listen!

Super Mario Bros. (2023) movie review

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This Mother’s Day weekend, I had the privilege of finally seeing The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) in theaters. The movie came out back in early April, which basically coincided with the busiest time at school, so my viewing had to be postponed until this past weekend. It’s an origin story for Mario and Luigi, explaining how they got from the human world to the…Mario(?) world.

I saw it at the Park Theatre on Cambie–a theater that I had never been to prior to this movie. Cambie is a REALLY long street, but the stretch a few blocks down from King Ed Station is so nice, and that’s where the Park finds itself. It’s got only one screen, but the theater is really roomy. I’m a fan of smaller theaters, so I was a fan of this one, naturally.

Before I give my personal opinion on the movie, I want to bring up the fact that other people did NOT like this movie, particularly critics. Before I actually watched it, I got the chance to observe the reviews and opinions of others on social media, and I often saw people criticizing it for being too commercial, lacking in plot, etc. I see where these people are coming from, but I have to disagree, because…it’s a movie about Mario. Video game guy. Of COURSE it’s commercial–Nintendo wants you to watch that movie and think to yourself, “man, I really want to play a mainline Mario bros. game now!”

And again, who cares if the plot isn’t complex and story-rich, the movie is an origin story for the Mario brothers, I don’t really think they could’ve made it any deeper than it already was. The Mario Brothers are from BROOKLYN–for me, that’s enough lore right there.

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I personally ENJOYED the movie. It looked really cool, had some really neat references, some great funny moments, and was overall a silly and fun animated flick about a long-time beloved video game character. It checked all my boxes. My one and only “gripe”–and it’s hardly a gripe–is the voice cast. They had a celebrity cast voicing all the main characters, and for the most part they were fine, but I kind of wish they had picked voices who were more suited to the characters. Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong was funny, but still, Seth Rogen’s regular speaking voice coming out of Donkey Kong’s mouth was kinda weird.

If you’re a Nintendo fan in any capacity, or just wanna have a fun 90 minutes, I recommend giving it a watch. I’d give it 4 and a HALF stars out of 5. Do it for MARIO!

Cheers! – thoughts on drinking culture

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Being over the age of 19 is so awesome because you finally get the opportunity to start delving into addictive substances. Gambling, tobacco, scratch tickets, drinking, etc…so many fun and safe activities for adults! I’m being silly, of course, but alcohol consumption in particular definitely has a certain culture surrounding it. I’m not personally that big of a drinker, but I do enjoy it on occasion. I would classify myself as more of a social drinker, I suppose. I’m a cocktail girl. No beer for me, sorry. Drink(s) of choice? Either a vodka soda with lime, or a gin and tonic. I’m classic! 

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Drinking is a historical activity, of course. Humans have been drinking since some guy figured out that letting a pile of fruit go bad actually creates a magical juice. There was a time where drinking alcohol used to probably be THE most fun you could have doing anything. Flash forward to the present, it’s still a pillar in the navigation of modern social settings. 

Drinking “socially”, like how I usually go about it, basically means that you’re drinking without the intention of getting drunk, and more so just to have fun with whoever you’re out with. Drinks can also be used as social currency. Buying someone a drink can be used as a way to express interest in someone, or just to do something nice for a friend. Drinking by yourself is often seen negatively, and drinking (excessively) during the day is usually not common, but things like mimosas are ONLY meant to be consumed in the morning/brunch time. The concept of a “happy hour” refers to when bars and restaurants start serving drinks at lower prices, usually in the evening. Different drinks are consumed at different times of the day (like mimosas) and for different occasions. And the list goes on! 

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Drinking etiquette and all the rituals and rules surrounding it are actually really interesting from a social perspective. Obviously, alcohol can be abused and turn into an addiction if approached irresponsibly, so it’s important to be safe. Everything in moderation, after all. It might be slightly weird to say, but in a way alcohol is quite the unifying substance–there’s a reason it’s referred to as a social lubricant. Having just a little bit can make socializing so much easier if that’s something that may be a bit difficult otherwise (it is for me). 

I am of the opinion that a little alcohol, if the situation is right, can be fun! As long as you’re being safe, I don’t see much wrong with drinking here and there. I can only imagine what Prohibition in the US must have been like, with alcohol being straight-up banned. 

I know that not everyone drinks, and if you don’t, no worries. You’re doing your liver a favor. But for those of us that do, make sure your alcohol consumption etiquette is up to par, and drink responsibly!

Cinematheque GRAND REOPENING

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Guess what, Vancouver movie lovers? The Cinematheque downtown is opening soon after a two-month closure for renovations!! If you’re not familiar, the Cinematheque is a small, one-screen theater downtown on Howe. It has been around since 1972, and they show a variety of movies–old and new, Canadian and international, and every genre you can think of (except for newer Hollywood stuff, you’ll have to go to a regular theater for that). They also show a lot of BC First Nation cinema as well, and they’re volunteer-based! They were closed for the months of March and April to do some renovations, but they’re opening back up to the public on Monday, May 15th. The first screening that night is the South Korean film Walk Up (2022), directed by Hong Sangsoo, at 6:30PM. I, for one, am very excited! I went to one of the last screenings at the end of February, and am so glad that they’re back. Tickets are only $10 for students, which is one, more affordable than a ticket for anything at a regular theater, and two, supporting a good organization. 

I’ve been to the cinematheque many times since moving to Vancouver, and it has established itself as one of my favorite spots in the city. It’s perfect because you can bring a friend or two, or you can go by yourself, and the enjoyment is still there. It’s also a really great date spot for that artsy ECUAD student that you might be inexplicably captivated by. Wink, wink. It’s a nice screen, and you get a chance to watch a lot of contemporary films that you may not have known about otherwise, and they also show really crisp restorations of older, beloved films. It’s a really cozy space! I’ve had the opportunity to discover a lot of really neat movies there. Side note, it feels so film-bro-y to call movies “films”, but, I mean, that is what they’re called. And there’s a threshold for how many times I can use the word “movie” in an article about…movies. Films. Whatever. I think it’s kind of lame when people rag on others for being into arthouse cinema or anything that isn’t a Marvel movie. “You just wanna be different!!”, “Stop hating things just because they’re popular!!” Ugh. It is possible to enjoy art films and blockbuster stuff, too

ANYWAY, if you’re a filmbro like I apparently am, you should pay the Cinematheque a visit! 

The new internet arena

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Do you have social media? Do you go on it relatively frequently? Do you watch YouTube videos? Do you know what a meme is? Congrats, dear reader–I am branding you as a Modern Internet User. Chances are, though, that you’ve been on the Internet for a while now…you probably remember the days of VIRAL VIDEOS and cheezburger cats and rage comics galore. The Internet was a vastly different place 10 years ago. The culture has changed so much since then, and we find ourselves in a totally new arena. Nowadays, all “memes” (if they can even be referred to as such anymore) stem from Twitter and TikTok (maybe Reddit, but not really), “virality” as a concept is not the same as it used to be, rage comics are used in a post-post-ironic sense (almost full circle, but we haven’t quite reached that level yet), and everyone seems to be arguing about something or other at any given time!

I think TikTok really changed the game in terms of meme-popularity. Memes used to last for months, even YEARS sometimes. Things like YouTube rewind were actually funny and cool because memes didn’t lose comedic value after a couple of days like they do now. I swear, something starts to trend, everyone posts it constantly, it’s seen as the funniest thing ever, then suddenly, everyone switches up and decides it is no longer funny, and that posting anything related to it is now “cringe”. Short-form media, like TikTok, have also contributed to a noticeable decline in attention span, and things are just so much more ephemeral because of it.

The topic du jour on Twitter and TikTok right now seems to be posting clips of an ABC show called The Good Doctor. The show’s been out for a while, but for some reason people are only really getting into it now. I predict, though, that this will all blow over within the next week or so. Even though it seems to be all the rage now, it won’t last long, because that’s just how things work these days.

 

As someone who basically grew up on the internet, it’s really wild to see how much the culture has morphed and changed into something so different. I am often nostalgic for how things used to be, but I know that living stuck in the past is not always that productive.

 

If you’re coming from the same background as me, how do you feel about the current state of the internet? 

Memento (2000) review

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I recently watched underground, indie film director Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) for the first time. This was also the first Nolan film I had ever seen. I was familiar with his work, of course, but I’m not that big into Hollywood blockbusters. Memento, however, was one of his first movies, so the budget was lower and it didn’t feel nearly as Hollywood-overproduced. I like psychological thrillers a lot–Silence of the Lambs, Perfect Blue, even The Sixth Sense. I am a fan of the genre, so Memento seemed like the next mind-bending flick to watch.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a guy who can’t form any new memories embarking on a quest to find and kill the man who murdered his wife. That’s the barebones description of it, anyway. Spoilers ahead, by the way–if you haven’t seen the movie, read a different article, there are PLENTY to choose from!! Anyway, the movie is backwards–as it progresses, we gain more context and learn more information about the main character–Leonard’s–overall situation. He remembers everything up until his wife’s death, but during the attack he suffered a head injury that rendered him incapable of forming any new memories. To combat this, he leaves himself notes, takes a bunch of polaroid pictures, and has even resorted to tattooing important information onto his body as a way to permanently remind himself of certain things. From the beginning, the movie really doesn’t tell you anything. I’m not the most perceptive person, either, so I feel like I might have been extra slow to understand–I was very confused. But the pieces start to fit together, and things slowly start to make more sense. You eventually find out that the whole quest that Leonard has been pursuing was completely fabricated by himself, and due to his memory loss, he is able to convince himself that he needs to kill his wife’s attacker, even though he already killed him a year prior. Keep in mind, this is a grossly simplified version of the story–I recommend watching the movie itself for the best experience. DON’T just read the Wikipedia plot summary, either. That’s lame.

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When I finished the movie, I was unsure of whether or not I liked it, but this is often the case with me. I usually need to sit on a film for at least a day before forming a proper opinion on it. I came to the conclusion, though, that I did enjoy it! The writing and acting is actually pretty goofy, which upped the slight camp factor–something that I did not know Christopher Nolan had previously been capable of. Unintentional camp is arguably the best type of camp–it sheds all irony. 

Anyway, I’d give Memento a good 4 stars out of 5. It was fun, and I recommend it if you’re looking for something thrilling (and pretty confusing).

Molchat Doma @ Harbour Convention Centre – Concert Review

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https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqakmkcs4sG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Guess what? I went to another concert! This time, I saw Molchat Doma on May 11th at the Harbour Convention Centre. 

Molchat Doma is a Belarusian post-punk, synthwave band whose music is very doom and gloom. They currently have 3 albums out, but arguably their most popular is Этажи (“Etazhi”/”Floors” in English), released in 2018. Despite being a European band that only really sings in Russian, they picked up popularity in North America, and announced a 2023 tour featuring North American dates. Their latest album, Монумент (Monument), came out in 2020, and they were planning to tour that year, but…a certain illness prevented that from happening. This album, compared to Etazhi,  is a bit more uptempo, and has some more synthpop elements to it. But rest assured, it still has that post-soviet Russian doom-feel that people seem to love. 

Admittedly, I’m not a crazy huge fan of Molchat Doma. I definitely like their sound, and they have a decent number of songs that I really enjoy, but I wouldn’t say I’m one of their top listeners. I liked Etazhi a lot when it came out in 2018, but that was when I was in my goth music phase. I would listen to nothing but Joy Division, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, etc…basically anything adjacent to those bands. I will say, though, Joy Division is an all-time Sophie favorite, and Egor Shkutko, their lead vocalist, sounds a lot like Ian Curtis. Definitely one of my main draws to the band. 

I found myself back at the Harbour Convention Centre less than week since I had been there last. This time around, I felt like I warmed up to the place a little more. The crowd was almost EXCLUSIVELY goth people, which was amazing. Lots of Russian-speaking people as well. One thing I noticed that initially confused me was the fact that a lot of people were wearing sunglasses…indoors, in the dark. I thought they were just wearing them for fashionable stylings, but then I realized why the glasses were actually a very smart choice; the STROBE LIGHTS. Maybe I’m just a little clueless, but I didn’t realize that part of their performance would include an aggressive use of strobes. I felt like I had a camera flashing in my face for the duration of their set, but it rocked. It was jarring at first, but once I got used to it, it made the performance feel very club-in-Berlin-that-you-don’t-remember-arriving-at. 

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The opener was a band called Nuovo Testamento, they’re an Italian synthwave band, kind of like a slightly more upbeat version of Molchat Doma. They sounded really good, but I unfortunately only caught the tail-end of their set.

Molchat Doma put on a very cool show. They were everything you’d expect them to be–dark, gothic, gloomy, brooding, but still had great stage presences. As I mentioned before, the lights were intense, but honestly made the show for me. I’m not a fan of big theatrics when it comes to live performances, but this completely excludes cool lighting effects. I eat that kinda stuff up. 

The Molchat Doma show was overall very good! As someone who isn’t super into them, I really enjoyed it, and would definitely see them again.