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Christian Bunker | Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Scene writer Christian Bunker interviewed Aileen Markovitz, a voice major and opera enthusiast who performs in Opera Notre Dame’s upcoming production of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflote” (The Magic Flute), to talk about the opera and classical music. Christian Bunker: How would you describe “Die Zauberflote?” Aileen Markovitz: Mozart’s colorful fantasy opera in which Tamino and
Christian Bunker | Thursday, April 6, 2017
High school sucks, and everyone knows it. Countless books have been written on it and movies and TV shows made about it. Popular culture’s hate affair with grades nine through 12 is so inundating that freshman already know about the swirlies, the mean teachers, the drama, the cliques and the messy break ups — even though
Christian Bunker | Friday, March 31, 2017
Last week was a monumental landmark for music. The week, which Pitchfork dubbed “OK Computer Week” to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beloved album, was received jubilantly by music fans. Equally notable however, is the number of people who didn’t notice the commemoration. For a band so revered by fans and critics alike, Radiohead’s
Christian Bunker | Tuesday, January 24, 2017
No one can deny that the last few months have been a particularly strong period for cinema. The recent slate of offerings is objectively better than “The Angry Birds Movie,” released in May. Apart from the quality of recent films, the change in the kind of films moviegoers see is also remarkable. Just as the recent release
John Darr, Christian Bunker, Mike Donovan and Adam Ramos | Thursday, December 8, 2016
Our album of the year, “We Got it From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service” was the ultimate comeback record, released by A Tribe Called Quest 18 years after their previous LP, “The Love Movement,” hit the shelves. 2016 saw an unusual amount of dormant artists rise from the ashes to release new albums. Here are a few
Jimmy Kemper, Erin McAuliffe, John Darr, Kelly McGarry, Christian Bunker, Adrian Mark Lore, Brian Boylen, Adam Ramos, Mike Donovan, Jack Riedy and Maggie Walsh | Wednesday, December 7, 2016
A Tribe Called Quest — “We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service” By Adrian Mark Lore Suffice it to say that 2016 was a turbulent year, both domestically and internationally. For the music industry, it was a year of sad departures — the death of legends like David Bowie and Leonard Cohen— as well
Christian Bunker | Monday, December 5, 2016
The Lemon Twigs were first recommended to me as sounding “exactly like the ’60s.” As an avid fan of the Zombies, the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills and Nash, this was plenty to convince me to try out the New York-based rock band. However, as I listened to the album, I began to
Christian Bunker | Tuesday, November 8, 2016
It’s been four years since American pop duo The Chainsmokers formed, and they are still yet to release an album. This kind of wait is by no means unprecedented — 16 years separated the Avalanches’ first and second album — nor would it be unforgivable if their work up to this point showed any promise.
Christian Bunker | Monday, November 7, 2016
Of all my unpopular musical opinions, the one that perturbs people the most is my insistence that some albums take several listens to appreciate. Common sense says that if something is bad the first time, it’s going to stay bad. However, I firmly believe that the best things in life are acquired tastes. From black
Christian Bunker | Friday, October 28, 2016
It seems that there is a conspiracy dedicated to the failure of emo rock band American Football’s second eponymous album. Puzzlingly, the members of the band themselves seem to be behind this conspiracy. Everything they’ve done up to now seems designed to ensure that their newest release will tank. First, they came out with a beloved album