Rihanna, Jay Z’s million-dollar pop product, turned trite demos into golden radio hits. The recipe required no lyrical profundity or vocal artistry. She hummed repetitive phrases like “umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh,” sang over EDM-based melodies like Calvin Harris’ “We Found Love,” and profitable radio hits were born. But after the release of “Unapologetic” […]
Author Archives: Suzie Papantoni
Student filmmaker directs focus to relationships, self-reflection
BY SUZIE PAPANTONI A&E contributor spapantoni@media.ucla.edu A reserved German exchange student in America, the peculiar land of stretchy pants and preservative-filled junk food, resorts to a full-body banana costume to charm his host’s daughter, a nonchalant girl in a gorilla suit. The quirky romantic comedy “Gorilla-Mädchen” is one of two films by UCLA students at […]
Music professor uses Irish flute to relive travels, revive traditions
Each week, Daily Bruin A&E will explore the instruments of the World Musical Instrument Collection and their performers that all contribute to the musical landscape of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. This week, we highlight the Irish flute. A single night in an Irish pub dismantled Timothy Taylor’s strict, decades-old approach to classical […]
Book Review: ‘My Life on the Road’
Women are not allowed to own a car, let alone travel, in Saudi Arabia. Traveling is a revolutionary act for women, wrote Gloria Steinem in her autobiography “My Life on the Road.” It’s no wonder, then, that the famous feminist has led a nomadic life. Steinem, 81, worked as a freelance journalist, co-founded the feminist […]
Second Take: ‘Hunger Games’ premiere to stand out in trend of dystopian teen movies
Katniss Everdeen is making her comeback Friday: bow and arrows in tight grip, hair in an effortless braid and unflinching spark in her eyes. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” will provide a resolution to the rebellion against the Capitol and bring the series to an end. When the “girl on fire” frenzy began […]
UCLA students find nostalgia in casual, edgy ’90s fashion throwbacks
Selena Lomeli cherishes a ’90s maxi jean dress with gold details that her mother has passed down to her. “When I think of ’90s, I think of my mom,” said Lomeli, a third-year cognitive science student. Lomeli is one of many students on campus reverting back to plastic chokers, denim jeans and crop tops. Students […]