Culture

The flawed genius of Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo

Kanye West, perpetual source of controversy and brilliant music, occupies a desirable position in pop culture: as his commercial potency goes down, his relevance — and notoriety — go up. His influence on music…

Marc Jacobs, gothic opulence, and fashion’s fading spectacle

Take everything you know about New York Fashion Week (NYFW) — the stress radiating from designers’ brains to create wearable, store-ready collections — and throw it all out the window. Marc Jacobs refuses to…

Events March 3–17

ART Marbling with Claire Ryder Join Claire Ryder as she demonstrates the ancient art of marbling: painting colours atop thickened water. The results are intricate, vivid, and natural, and the…

B.C. Music Fund has insiders singing a happy tune

Stephen Harper may have been known as the (embarrassingly poor) musician in Canadian politics, but a recent announcement by Premier Christy Clark will certainly be music to many ears in…

The Revenant finds its centre in struggle—and DiCaprio

The internet is rife with jokes about Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar impotence. But through his recent alliance with director Alejandro González Iñárritu (director of Birdman and Babel), The Revenant star DiCaprio…

When it comes to race, Grammys have the Oscars beat

“It’s time for big changes.” So said Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, following widespread criticism of the Academy’s failure to nominate…

Events: Feb 18–March 2

MUSIC White Poppy Euro Tour Kick Off with the Backhomes and Slumberland Lowkey psych act from Vancouver, White Poppy, will be Eurotripping in March. Come support the kickoff of their…

The Valley offers poignant, topical story of resilience

Running all of this month at the Belfry, UVic Writing prof Joan MacLeod’s The Valley is full of universal truths and intimately unique characters. It’s also remarkably topical. The Valley…

Music offers sweet escape for local frontman

Thirty-five-year-old SweetLeaf frontman and Leg-Up Program bassist Chris Jones makes one thing clear: a career in music is no easy gig. The scuffed work boots Jones wears are a reminder…