Our rapidly urbanized world has become a much discussed subject in recent years: more than half of the world’s population today lives in cities. By 2050, 20 percent more will be added to the percentage. Urban populations typically increase in three ways: natural growth, migration, and reclassification of rural to urban area. The United Nations … Read more
Can the slight rewording of a “contribute” button on a political candidate’s website really lead more people to donate more money? Does asking for $5 instead of $10 actually increase the number of repeat donors? Surprisingly, seemingly minor marketing techniques such as those have proven successful for many political campaigns and other organizations. Anne Lewis … Read more
Hipsters. With their detached discontent and pseudo-vintage flannel shirts, they claim the spot as our era’s most visible nonconformist subculture. They pair the grunge, beatnik, hippie, and rebel movements from past eras with protests against today’s social norms. The hipster avoids chain coffee shops, frequents vintage stores, and checks her Facebook feed on her iPhone. … Read more
This is the fifth installment of the Harvard Political Review‘s interview series with Massachusetts’ candidates for governor. Evan Falchuk is representing the United Independent Party in the election. Harvard Political Review: Can you begin by introducing yourself, your party, and your vision for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Evan Falchuk: I was raised in Massachusetts. I’m proud … Read more
On September 14th, 2004, when Arcade Fire’s Funeral was released, most of this magazine’s writers had barely entered middle school. We each had our unique experiences of discovering the album—some first heard the songs over the speakers of their older siblings’ CD players, others at high school parties, and some only in college at the rabid … Read more
I’m only a few weeks into senior year, yet something about the phrase “getting ready for graduation” is already beginning to rub me the wrong way. After all, as experience shows, the true rites of passage, the ones with the power to transform, inevitably catch us unprepared, unwilling, or both. Even when we choose … Read more
Once, when asked to describe his view of the world in eleven words or less, Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler responded simply that “Death Is Real.” The question at the heart of Funeral’s colossal penultimate track (and also, I would argue, at the heart of everything Arcade Fire has ever written) is a familiar one: … Read more
Somewhere along the way, frontman Win Butler and the rest of Arcade Fire must have read Don DeLillo’s White Noise. I read the novel in my tenth-grade English class—it’s a grim, wryly comedic cultural critique that centers on a small-town Hitler studies professor and his family. Everyone struggles to cope with the specter of his … 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
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