Indie rock leading ladies release ‘rest’ of recent recordings
Rating: 4/5 stars Despite what the name suggests, the new EP from indie supergroup boygenius (“the record”) is not simply “the rest” of what they recorded for their recent full-length album. In fact, “the rest” is a brand new, consciously…
Ceramicist writer duo visits Oswego, shines spotlight on Chicano artistry
Writer Josie Méndez-Negrete and ceramicist Verónica Castillo have worked to make Chicano art more visible, including to SUNY Oswego students. Méndez-Negrete and Castillo both appeared as guest speakers on Oct. 2 for the fourth webinar in the creative writing department’s…
Wes Anderson’s ‘Henry Sugar’ proves director’s storytelling expertise
Rating: 5/5 stars Wes Anderson’s (“Asteroid City”) adaptation of Roald Dahl’s (“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) short story, “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” is about the mystical extrasensory perception of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley, “Learning to Drive”). Actually, it…
Chappell Roan deserves her plastic sequined tiara, applause
Rating: 3.5/5 Chappell Roan (“Love Me Anyway”) has dressed as a cowgirl, a cabaret dancer, a waitress and a cowgirl in the long promotional era for her latest debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Roan’s style…
Unafraid, unapologetic poet Danez Smith visits Oswego
Poet Danez Smith does not care what elite white literary circles think about their work. “I’m not going to be in places that I’m not interested in being,” they said. “I don’t think all-white, straight literary circles have anything for…
Cooper needs more vegetarian options
Will somebody please think of the vegetarians? In non-Western cuisines, meatless diets are not only conventional but often expected and even considered holier. In America, however, vegetarians have to deal with awkward carefulness and annoying conversations. As a reparation for…
Demi Lovato hits sour notes on poorly attempted “edgy” release
Rating: 1/5 stars The past few years revived another wave of pop-punk topping the charts; constant homages to nu-metal and grunge by alternative artists; and country music remembered it requires a guitar and not just a southern accent. Here we…
Conservative students say university caters to liberals
[This story was originally written during the spring 2023 semester, but was not published.] As their meeting began on an April evening last semester, several members of the Oswego chapter of College Republicans joked about transgender pronouns. For many these…
Laufey unites past with present on jazzy, sophisticated “Bewitched”
Rating: 4.5/5 stars Jazz has an awkward position in pop music. Critics used to encounter it in underground clubs and bars, then jazz became synonymous with commercial pop to the ire of snobs as “failed art music” or even capitalist…
Oswego hosts Aux Cord Wars at OzFest
It is not often that the audience chooses the opening music to a concert. But at OzFest 2023, Aux Cord Wars handed the show to SUNY Oswego students. For each round of the Aux Cord Wars, hosts Jay Dukes and…
