For the unaware, Jack Antonoff is a hot name in the music industry. He is most well-known for being the producer of American pop “princess” Taylor Swift and a litany of other notable musicians like Lorde, Lana Del Rey, Florence and the Machine, The Chicks, Clairo, St. Vincent, and many, many more. The cherry on top of it is that in 2022, after three consecutive years of being nominated, he also won the Producer of the Year award for non-classical music at the Grammys.

In our culture, I often come across a strange belief that animation is something just for children and should not be taken seriously, but this closed-minded thinking is proven so wrong by the master of animation: The great Hayao Miyazaki. 

To non-metal listeners, heavy metal seems to just be loud, violent and dark with a litany of unintelligible lyrics that even some metalheads don’t understand. A lot of people don’t realize that there are so many messages in all types of music, and this genre is no different. Still, many find themselves caught in the distress of “not understanding what they’re saying,” which only drives people away from genres where they have a very different way of expressing themselves, like metal.

In July 2009, the Syfy network premiered a new show, Warehouse 13. It ran for the next five years, and despite being one of Syfy’s most-watched shows of the time, it’s often unheard of or swept under the rug in terms of pop culture. Let me bless you with a retrospective of this glorious television spectacle. 

The release of Netflix’s newest adaptation, Avatar: The Last Airbender (2024), has permeated the internet with mixed reviews. While some fans are pleased with its grimmer tone and faithfulness to the original soundtrack, others are disappointed when they compare it to the quality of the original cartoon. As for myself, after hearing the news that the original creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005-08) exited the live adaptation project due to creative differences, I knew to start the first episode with low expectations. 

Flor—stylized as “flor”—is a pop band hailing from Oregon that has been making sugary, yet soulful, pop tunes since 2014. The band consists of three members: Zach Grace (lead vocals, keyboard), Dylan Bauld (bass), and Kyle Hill (drums). To most people, flor sounds like any other pop band, and in a way, they would be right. Unlike the pop that we can hear on the radio, however, something about this band feels different—combining that pop sensibility with storytelling, a sense of nostalgia, and powerful points of musicality that combine into a fantastical release that you can’t help but hold on to. 

In the first portion of this retrospective on the films of George Lucas, I wrote about how, in terms of the auteurs (filmmakers who put a lot of their personalities, philosophies, and personal interests into their work to the extent that they are considered the primary author of the film), Lucas is not considered in as high regard as his Hollywood peers like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, or Steven Spielberg. In this entry of my retrospective on Lucas and his films, I will write about how much of Lucas’ essence is put into his films, such as influences from his divorce making it into the story for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and political views littered throughout the Star Wars franchise.

Hello all of you wonderful people, and welcome back to the Arts & Entertainment section of The Lamron! Today, we have something very special: A review of some music the wonderful and spectacular Rachel Turner (who happens to be my girlfriend) picked out for us—whose birthday happens to be on the date this releases, Mar. 1!  This is the perfect opportunity for you and me both to get affiliated with some new music that I know will be amazing! Without further ado—let’s get into it!

When many moviegoers think of the greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy sequels out there, many think of the likes of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), or Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1981), but I believe that we have a new candidate in the conversation now with Dune: Part Two (2024).

The pair that make up the band Grandbrothers could not be more different from each other. The group consists of the duo Erol Sarp, a trained jazz pianist, and Lukas Vogel, who constructs and plays synthesizers. Educated electronic synths and classically calculated acoustic piano playing create a unique and contrasting sound, combining the realistic warm piano with the cold yet varied synths. This more electronic sound not only allows them to stand out against their contemporaries, but also allows them to flesh out their sound. 

Prequel to one of the most successful TV sitcoms of all time, the Big Bang Theory (2007 - 2019), Young Sheldon (2017 - 2024) recently premiered its seventh and final season. It shouldn’t be news that the CBS original is a massive success; millions of viewers tune in weekly to check in on their favorite characters and enjoy the comfort of a digestible story. If you’re wondering whether Young Sheldon’s popularity is warranted, I come to you as a hater of the Big Bang Theory to answer—absolutely. 

George Lucas is an individual most associated with the science-fiction-fantasy franchise Star Wars, and/or in a more negative light, his trademark wooden dialogue and his consistent re-edits of his films. Lucas is more than just the man who made Star Wars, though, and created the idea for Indiana Jones, as well. He is as much an auteur—an individual with full creative and personal control over a film, allowing them to create a reflection of themself through the film—as peers such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, or Steven Spielberg. 

With Dune: Part Two (2024) hitting theaters in a few weeks, what better time to revisit the world of Arrakis? For those unfamiliar, Dune is a film series based on the six Dune novels written by the late Frank Herbert. To complement this man’s creative genius, the film series is directed by visual genius Denis Villeneuve, a modern master of science fiction with previous works including Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Arrival (2016), and Enemy (2013). Though it may not have been clear to people going into the first film of this series, Villeneuve blew audiences away with his prowess on screen and crafted a visual recreation of the works which even the late Herbert would be impressed by; you can tell each shot had meticulous effort put into it.

*Heavy Spoilers Ahead*

Francesca Sloane and Donald Glover’s smash streaming hit Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2024) is a show marketed as an espionage drama that, in actuality, is a meditation on the pitfalls one can experience with a partner within a relationship, and the seeming implausibility of overcoming some of these inconveniences. It is a thoughtful and beautifully crafted show that focuses on this seemingly simple, but overlooked premise: To be in a relationship is to have a partner in crime, an equal in all regards meant to give and receive support.

With 123.4 billion watchers, this past Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11, was the most-watched television event of the year! Beloved by many wing-eating, beer-drinking football fans, the 2024 Super Bowl hosted an intense game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs. My apathy towards the Chiefs’ victory and the game itself couldn’t be stronger as I lay on the couch, using that night as an excuse to splurge on a Wegmans sub. In marketing major, non-sports fan fashion, I only cared for two things: the commercials and the halftime show. 

With a simple background of a room in his house, simple appearance, and simple text reading “sample this,” you would expect a simple tune from RJ Pasin. Ironically, that couldn't be further from the truth. All his beats are meticulously crafted— almost always incorporating an instrument like a guitar and some exquisite editing— and span widely through genres such as hyperpop to djent.

Welcome back loyal readers, it’s been a while! Over the last month or so, we haven’t had a chance to take a look at any of the newly released films, so I’d like to play a bit of catch-up! This is every major motion picture that came out from the day most of us left for break, to the first full day of classes.