The Observer
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\ Music that you can dance to, introducing Sparks
\ Ocean Alley: the psychedelic surf rock band from Down Under
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There is no better way to describe Danny Elfman’s Halloween show at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, Oct. 29 other than surreal. From the moment Elfman took the stage, I felt like I was in a dream. I have been an Oingo Boingo fan my entire life — if you didn’t already know — and I always knew that I would never see them in concert. After breaking up in 1995...
Concerts not only make life better but did you know that they also help you live longer? Now, before you roll your eyes and sarcastically express your surprise, you must listen to my reasoning. It is no surprise that concerts make life better, as they are the essence of fun, but there is scientific evidence that shows that regularly attending concerts can increase your lifespan by nine years…
Music has become disposable. One day, you hear a new hit song, and then, a month later, it has vanished off the face of the earth. While this is not an entirely new phenomenon, the world of music has shifted greatly over the last decade...
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of women at Notre Dame, Scene has created the ultimate female-powered playlist filled with Notre Dame alumnae, your favorite artists, the future generation and artists who paved the way for women in music…
This is a public service announcement. Bring back the Notre Dame music scene. This is an urgent cry and something I thought I would never have to say after writing a similar public service announcement in 2019. Some of you might not be aware of this, but Notre Dame has an underground music scene...
Here’s how to make a James Bond film: First, you must find yourself a suave superspy. Then, you can determine your source of evil. This individual is important because they will be the source of all of the spy’s problems, forcing him on a quest to put an end to their devious plans...
I am very excited to announce the new acquisition at the Snite Museum of Art: “Earth Kid (Boy)” (2020) by Yinka Shonibare CBE. This incredibly compelling sculpture by the Nigerian-British artist is a very special addition to the Snite’s collection of contemporary art, and it’s something that should be celebrated! Shonibare is currently...
Who exactly is John Mulaney? A very good question. As a big fan of his work, I felt like I knew the man in the perfectly tailored suit well: Mulaney grew up in a very Catholic family residing in (the suburbs of) Chicago and went to Georgetown University for a degree in English....
Music that you can dance to, introducing Sparks
Documentaries have the reputation of being relatively simple; full of individual talking heads, firsthand video footage, photo montages and a logical progression. It’s predictable. Of course, there are many different types of documentaries covering a wide range of subjects, but the formula in which stories are told doesn’t vary much from film to film and...
Please stop hounding on Weezer, thank you.
Okay, yes, I am a Weezer fan, and I hope by saying so doesn’t hurt my reputation. For some reason, everyone likes to sh*t on Weezer, and I don’t know why. I decided to type “why does everyone hate Weezer?” into Google, and I found a mixed batch of answers, primarily on Reddit. Some hate...
Eric André made my Netflix subscription worth it. I may be in the minority, but Netflix has been going downhill in recent years. Since they started removing films and television shows (who thought to remove “Malcolm in the Middle?”) and replacing them with their own originals and “binge-worthy” shows, it became impossible to find anything...
Weather-wise, South Bend was spoiled at the start of this month. Over the Easter weekend, for example, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping — I even wore shorts! But as the month has meandered on, the clear-eyed possibility of spring has slowly been replaced with its edgy alter ego: the price for summer.
On March 24, 2021, the amazing Jessica Walter passed away at 80 years old. Walter was an American actress who appeared in over 170 film, television and stage productions, but she is most famously known for her role as Lucille Bluth in the series “Arrested Development.” I was heartbroken to hear the news of her...
The Snite Museum of Art’s latest exhibition is breathtaking. The day the Snite announced they were hosting Kevin Beasley’s 2016 work, “Chair of the Ministers of Defense,” visiting was the first thing I did when I got back in February. On the second floor of the Snite, in the Contemporary Art Gallery, sits the powerful...
There are very few bands who have earned a reputation like the one afforded to the Foo Fighters. They are not only the friendliest rock band that has graced the Earth — this is from personal experience — but they are also incredible musicians. It may seem unnecessary for a band that is associated with...
If Sublime, Jimi Hendrix and Neil Young had a baby, it would be Australian band Ocean Alley. Even with over a million monthly listeners on Spotify and a massive fanbase in Australia, they are still regarded as a small alternative band in the United States, and this needs to be changed. Ocean Alley, comprised of...
Are you ‘happy’?
To most people it’s spooky season, but to me, it’s Oingo Boingo season. During the month of October, I listen to Oingo Boingo almost every day to get into the Halloween spirit. Not every song is necessarily “Halloweeny,” but their dark-humored spirit and mystic undertones get you in the spirit for this very festive holiday...
Fall has arrived — and girls, it’s time for a wardrobe change. We all know the transition between summer and fall is not an easy feat. As you pack up your vibrant summer attire, you must not pack style up with it. Oftentimes when the weather gets chillier, all we want to do is throw...
You’re all invited to The Nude Party! The New York-based band’s sophomore album, “Midnight Manor,” is a reincarnation of the Velvet Underground sprinkled with Mick Jagger’s swagger. The six-piece group, which consists of a mix of childhood friends and stepsiblings who escaped boredom by learning how to play instruments, was formed in 2012 at an...
I think we can all agree that middle school was an awkward phase in our lives. Unlike for middle schoolers today, who look like they are about to turn 25, middle school was once filled with prepubescent boys and hormone-ridden girls. It’s here where we can find boys with a newfound sense of irrational confidence...
Photography is something that we take for granted these days. We are constantly taking snap-shots of our lives through our cell phones, and we are forgetting about the essence of the photo in which we are taking. I believe the art of photography has been forgotten. Due to its accessibility, we have begun to know...
Michael Donovan, the Brooklyn-based yodeler. I remember the first time ever meeting Mike “Donny” Donovan (’20), former Scene Editor and WVFI Station Manager, at my first Scene meeting in 2019. I vividly recall entering the dark Observer office in the basement of South Dining Hall and seeing a tall, lanky guy sitting at the cluttered...
“Harmony Hall” by Vampire Weekend Ryan Israel, Scene Editor The lyrics to Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall,” the first single off of Scene’s favorite album of 2019 “Father of the Bride,” are eerily applicable to the present moment. With some slight tweaks, “We took a vow in summertime / Now we find ourselves in late December”...
I have accused today’s music industry of being “not what it used to be” for a very long time. Yes, it has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. I consider the ‘80s to be the height of the music business. However, I have found myself blaming the industry for the decline of some of...
Last week I decided to ask my friends on Instagram if they wanted me to make them a playlist. This idea was born because of two things: boredom and the love of music. Honestly, I didn’t expect many people to respond. Perhaps a few close friends would reach out in support. To my surprise, I...
This year is not what we had in mind; we all know that, and I know you don’t need me to remind you. It’s evident that the pandemic has impacted all facets of life, big and small. This new decade has brought us nothing but isolation. The pandemic has threatened not only our physical health...
Oingo Boingo is a name you should know, and if you don’t, you’ll know it quite well by the end of this article. Oingo Boingo — one of my favorite bands of all time — was a Los Angeles new wave band active between 1979 and 1995. They were very popular on the West Coast...
Unpack those jean shorts and dust off that ATV ‘cause it’s springtime in South Bend. Since nobody in jorts likes to four wheel in silence, we, the Scenesters, have prepared a list of exceedingly springy songs for your listening pleasure. Enjoy responsibly.
In light of all the fashion weeks which have and will continue to occur over the coming months, I thought it would be appropriate to analyze the peculiar resurgence of the Dr. Martens shoe brand. The rich history behind the shoe and its historic, cultural and social significance make it worthy of observation. Humanity’s natural...
Before going on to review the new Green Day album, which was released Friday, I would like to take immediate action and retract the statement I made on Sept. 16, 2019: “Green Day’s new path is disappointingly weird, and we are not in for a treat.” In September of last year, Green Day fans received news of...
As awards season is in full swing, every music festival line-up is also being released. Waiting for festival line-ups to be released is often more nerve-wracking than seeing the same predicted film win every award. Festival line-up release dates are all over the place, adding to a festival-goer’s anxiety. There is no rhyme or reason...
It’s the grand finale: Scene’s official list of the top 20 albums of the year. Our writers have spent 2019 listening to countless hours of music, as our Spotify Wrappeds can confirm, and have taken this time before finals begin to reflect on the year in music by ranking our top albums. Each writer’s rankings...
Scene on the Screen: looking into the best, the worst and the weirdest filmmaking, on both the big and small screens, from 2019. Cinema? Who is she? By Mike Donovan, Scene Editor Robert Downey Jr.’s “Avengers: Endgame” martyrdom tried quite diligently to signal “‘the end of an era,’ punctuating a sprawling filmic enterprise” with the...
Existentialism is not a movement but a mindset. On Tuesday, Notre Dame’s Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts hosted their first lecture of their Distinguished Lecture Series with a lecture from Alice Kaplan of Yale University. Alice Kapalan—the John M. Musser Professor of French, chair of the department of French, and founder of the...
Three things you need at a concert: a good concert buddy, an open mind and an Inhaler. On Sunday, Dublin-based band, Inhaler, graced the stage at the Subterranean in North Chicago. The Subterranean, sandwiched between a dental clinic and cafe on North Avenue, looked nothing more than a run-down club with a haphazard marquee, but...
I think we can all agree that puberty is weird and gross. Middle school, land of pubescent boys with spotty mustaches and self-absorbed developing girls, is an atmosphere filled with self-discovery. But this is not self-discovery in the classic sense; it is the discovery of their own personal changes and the changes of others...
Boo! Scene’s here, and we just went trick-or-treating for some spook-tacular movies and music to make your Halloween extra scary. Scared of the dark? Lean into your fears and have some fun this All Hallows Eve. A scary movie never killed anyone, except maybe all the characters in the movie. Some spooky music, cackling cries...
It all began with Patti Smith. In 1975, Smith released her debut album “Horses,” the spark that ignited the punk explosion. Due to her political insight, simplistic song structures and sophisticated beat poetry, it presented something that resembled the sounds of the past fused with modernity and uniqueness that had never been heard before...
There is perfection in chaos, but there is no such thing as pure perfection. Chaos is natural, but as a society, we are constantly trying to achieve an ideal perception of perfection in a world of self. That is unrealistic. We are trapped in the ether of the scroll — a digital panopticon, so to...
Daniel Johnston is a name that will forever be remembered but only by a select few — a small, devoted following who considers him the most influential songwriter, artist and outsider to have ever walked this earth. Johnston passed away at his home in Waller, Texas, on Sept. 11 at the age 58. If you’re...
This is a public service announcement. Support your local music scene. Unpredictable weather, frazzled freshmen and endless weekend chaos are common signs of the start of the school year, but that’s just what you see on the surface. Saturday night at a home near campus, the most important Notre Dame student movement kicked off the...
Twenty-thousand Christians have signed a petition to remove Amazon Prime’s mini-series “Good Omens” from Netflix due to concerns that the show is “normalizing Satanism.” Wait, that doesn’t seem right. There are two issues here: the series isn’t on Netflix, and it isn’t promoting Satanism in any way. In fact, this beautiful piece of work is...
Punk rock gets a bad rap. Punk is often seen as an aggressive and violent cultural movement filled with screams, safety pins and neon mohawks, but that only makes up a small fraction of the scene. Yes, there are aspects of the underground punk scene that are more aggressive than others. There are people who...