Senior English major Chris Tamasi recently finished his inventive senior project — a manuscript for a children’s book that touches on the impact of modern technology on childhood imagination. I had the chance to sit down with Tamasi to speak about the notable accomplishment, the process that preceded it and his plans for the future of “Offline.”
“Offline” is a story about a young boy, Kyle, growing up in the 21st century — highlighting his struggle, but really a societal struggle, to find balance between imaginative and technological forms of entertainment.
There is perhaps nothing more frightening than the boundless nature of the unknown. This is the very mentality director David Robert Mitchell has latched onto with his newly released horror film, “It Follows” — one of Amherst Cinema’s newest features. The film unnerves, as once the notion of the unknown has been rooted, there’s no knowing where it’ll creep. “It Follows” premiered in Cannes last May and was released in theaters March 27.
Two Amherst musicians, Julian Boykins ’15 and Andrew Nwachuku ’15, are trying to realize a dream that lies dormant within essentially every Amherst student. The duo, called Notable Alumni, make music inspired by the idea of greatness. Notable Alumni, are striving to be just that: notable.
Boykins, an economics major from Atlanta, and Nwachuku, a pre-med psychology major from Maryland, met their first year in Charles Pratt, through a shared appreciation for the intricacies of rap music.
Australian singer and songwriter Sia owes her success to her decision to play into the peculiar. Her growing collection of songs is created through a manipulation of raw emotion. Like with most performers of the time, a variety of visual art accompanies Sia’s music. The Sia brand includes her boxy platinum blonde hair, a variety of veils that cover her face, and most notably, a series of bizarre music videos. Released in October of 2013 as a part of the “Catching Fire” soundtrack, the track “Elastic Heart” was quick to tug at the heartstrings of listeners.
TV on the Radio has been firmly held in the arms of fans and critics alike since the post-punk group put every cent they had into their 2003 demo, “OK Calculator.” The demo is characterized by the uneasiness that could only stem from the act of producing unknown music from an equally unknown indie rocker’s Brooklyn loft. Although good fortune in the form of some stellar reviews quickly granted the group some security, they never wavered from their signature TVOTR sound. Their jittery resonance is the seed for their uniquely manufactured angsty optimism.
It’s impossible to regret my first trek to Marsh after experiencing the magic that is The New Rockwells. The Amherst collaboration debuted with infectious energy at this year’s first Coffee Haus, and has since gained a notable fan base. Their musical prowess is evident in both their first original song, “Where are You Tonight?” and their magnetic stage presence, which had the Marsh Coffee Haus audience clapping until their hands were numb. The group consists of recent Amherst College grads Ben Muller and Ian Stahl and UMass Amherst senior Marty Boyle.
As summer comes to a close, the haunting gaze of British-bred FKA Twigs adorning her August-released “LP1” can be seen on the pages of pretty much every music blog — and rightfully so. FKA Twigs’ debut album brilliantly combines the jarring and the calm to introduce the artist in a manner that exclaims, “This is whom I am, good luck figuring it out.” She cleverly settles the listener in just the right amount of ‘normal,’ in order to butter them up for the experiment she has manufactured.
