I remember first hearing “Wake Up” sometime in the middle of my freshman year of high school. Those forceful opening chords and near-euphoric shouts forming a soundtrack to a confusing mess of a year: wandering between classes and buildings, slipping through crowded hallways, dodging the unzipped mouths of backpacks spilling class handouts into the walkway. … Read more
In the age of online dating and Tinder, modern affection has become increasingly rationalized. No longer constrained by the numbers in our phonebook, we have access to more possible dates in a day than preceding generations could have in a lifetime. The idea that you could meet anyone, anywhere, is an invitation for the rationalist … Read more
For an album inspired by death, Funeral seems surprisingly, almost uncomfortably full. Where conventional wisdom would suggest stripped-down spare melodies and muted vocals, to represent loss, Arcade Fire opts for lush orchestras and swelling choruses. In the band’s alternative vision, the spirits of the dead—by turns protective and threatening— never truly pass on. Instead, they … Read more
I am immediately uneasy when “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” starts. It’s not simply the aimless lyrics, nor the drastic change in tone from “Une Année Sans Lumière”, but the frantic desperate energy of the song that impresses upon me the depth of the collapse that has occurred. Not knowing what has actually happened only exacerbates … Read more
I continue to return to “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” not because of the brilliant technical complexity, but due to the transformative power of the accordion. In step with the marching beat and swelling strings, the optimistic bellows give the song a country-folk flavor. Listening to that whimsical accordion chord progression transports me to a small, European … Read more
Since the 1960s, Scotland has maintained a political leaning quite separate from England, with parties on the left receiving twice the number of votes as those on the right. On top of this trend, the increasingly neoliberal policies pouring from Westminster and the exponentially growing financial inequality in Britain signify that there is no better … Read more
Decked out in a red rain jacket embossed with ‘No’ and clutching leaflets, I stood on a front porch and said, “Have you given any thought to the referendum in September?” Almost everyone answered in the affirmative; everyone has been thinking about independence. However, the question I asked next resulted in a variety of answers: … Read more
In the wake of partisan gridlock in almost all levels of government, not to mention last October’s government shutdown, it would be logical to assume that Americans would have lost faith in our governmental institutions. Young Americans are particularly of interest in measuring trust in institutions, as they tend to be the least politically engaged … Read more
Facebook, already dominant as a social media platform, continues to increase its remarkable market penetration: the Harvard Public Opinion Project’s most recent poll shows that 84 percent of the young Americans surveyed reported having a Facebook account, an increase from 79 percent in the fall of 2013. But as the media begins to question if … Read more
The Harvard Public Opinion Project’s most recent results reveal an overwhelming consensus among young Americans that education is an important factor in achieving the American dream. Perhaps this result is unsurprising for a pool of young respondents of whom 88 percent had completed either high school or some college. For a group ages 18 to … Read more