By Paige Lee, Arts Writer
June 20, 2020
As new music is continually released this summer, one notable album at the moment is “Wildflower” by The National Parks. The National Parks are a Provo-based band that have been making music for several years now. As the newest album from the band, “Wildflower” is a blend of several different genres — each song on the album has a unique tone and composition to it. “We found the sound we wanted to. We didn’t chase any trends and we feel like we’ve really come into our own, I guess, on this record,” said Brady Parks, the band's lead singer. “In that way, I feel like we’ve blossomed, and we’re ready for people to hear this.” Favorite Tracks The band’s passion and love for their work shines through in “Wildflower.” “I think we took our time on this album. I wrote about 40 songs for it and we ended up putting 15 songs on the album,” said Parks. “We really took our time on it and we were really patient. We want to get it right.” Of all...
By Gabrielle Klinge, Arts Writer
June 19, 2020
The Salt Lake Film Society has had to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic like every other business in the nation. Since many films are already accessible online, the temporary transition did not appear to be as hard for this organization. For those who are not familiar with Salt Lake Film Society (SLFS), here is a description of their services: “Salt Lake Film Society is SLC's nonprofit community art house cinema. We provide access to independent film, documentaries, and international film.” As the majority of cinemas closed their doors, SLFS had to shut down all of their in-person screenings because of the COVID-19 lockdown protocol. However, they have been able to stream original films during the pandemic through their website. One can choose from twelve films to watch at the moment on Salt Lake Film Society’s website. Film topics consist of current issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, COVID-19 and Pride month. There are also films that feature the interesting...
By Paige Lee, Arts Writer
June 14, 2020
Pride month is a time to celebrate and increase visibility of the LGBTQ community. Members of the LGBTQ community have long faced terrible amounts of hate, discrimination and exclusion. Because of this, June is an important month to remember how far society has come in terms of love and acceptance. At the same time, we have to remember how far along society must still go to be fully non-discriminatory towards the LGBTQ community. Although we are missing out on the usual parades and other festivities that Pride month would normally be filled with this June, there are still other ways to cherish this month. Various art forms such as music, tv shows and books highlighting the joys of pride month have been made available online. But one of the best ways to virtually enjoy pride is through films. There is a wide variety of movies released telling stories of the LGBTQ community on an individual level as well as a societal level. In a time where parades are not considered safe because...
By Hannah Keating, Arts Writer
June 14, 2020
This article contains mild spoilers for “The King of Staten Island.” The new film “The King of Staten Island” tells the story of Scott Carlin, a twenty-four year old stoner freeloading in his mom’s basement after grappling with the traumatic loss of his father at a young age. When his younger sister goes off to college and his mother begins dating a former fire-fighting co-worker of his father's, the self-professed screw-up deals with his own failure to launch. Starring comedian Pete Davidson with director Judd Apatow at the helm, the film calls together a studded cast of Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, Bel Powley, Moisés Arias, Maude Apatow and Steve Buscemi. If you’ve followed Davidson’s career, you might see through his character Scott to the veiled autobiography beneath. In an interview prior to the film’s release, Davidson described the character as “75 percent [him].” Both performer and character lost their dad at a young age — Scott Davidson, for...
By Gabrielle Klinge, Arts Writer
June 11, 2020
Members of the music industry speak out against racial injustice in order to spark change in our society. Well-known artists such as Beyonce, The Weeknd and Travis Scott have posted moving statements about the racism that led to George Floyd’s death. Many more musicians and record labels have taken action against the injustice by participating in protests in the streets and on social media. One of the most popular social media initiatives that has come out of this movement is Blackout Tuesday. According to Journalist James Vincent, this virtual protest “was originally organized by two black women working in the music industry: Jamila Thomas, senior director of marketing at Atlantic Records, and Brianna Agyemang, a former Atlantic executive who is now senior artist campaign manager at Platoon.” Both women encouraged people in the music industry to “take a beat for an honest reflective, and productive conversation about what actions we need to collectively take...