The Aux

Music

'Dreams' gives the player the power to create

Caitlin Scott | February 23

ALBUQUERQUE — Anyone who plays this game is a creator. The recently released "Dreams" by developer Media Molecule for the PlayStation 4 is a sandbox game with a simple and clear motive. The game is committed to making everyone, from the average player to the hardcore gamer, an artist and goes against the common thought that only talented people should create art.

---

Music

The Aux: The greatness of " The Irishman" is overshadowed by its length

Justin Garcia | February 6

I’ll try and keep this short — unlike this movie.  “The Irishman”, a bloated slog of a mafia movie, acts as Martin Scorsese's latest addition to his legendary directing career. Despite its egregious runtime, the film’s well-written script is masterfully performed by some of the genre’s greatest actors. “The Irishman” undoubtedly holds a place in Scorsese's pantheon of filmography.  The movie follows the mob-career of Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) as he menverures the potential pitfalls of life as a made man. Frank stands alongside Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) a calm and collected mob boss and hot head union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) as the trio waltz through the mob’s golden age and into it’s extinction. The movie is based off of Charles Brandt’s novel “I heard You Paint Houses.”

---

Music

The Aux: "Little Women" expands on themes where the book fell short

Lissa Knudsen | January 29

Greta Gerwig’s interpretation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel “Little Women” revisits the original story applying a modern day lens. For those that haven’t read the book, the storyline follows the lives of the four March sisters (Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy) and is known to be loosely based on the author and her three sisters’ childhood experiences.  The story is set against the backdrop of the U.S. civil war, with the young women's father off working as a chaplain in the military. Within this context, the four coming-of-age daughters are left in relative poverty but are simultaneously allowed the freedom to explore their interests and proclivities with autonomy and notably without any paternal influence. 

---

Music

The Aux: Once upon a time in Hollywood offers a hard to follow alternate history

Makayla Grijalva | January 26

Quintin Tarantino’s ninth film, “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood,” bent time while retelling the Manson family murders of 1960s starlet Sharon Tate and company. However, the lack of narrative caused the film to fall flat among others in the director’s repertoire.  The film follows fading western star, Rick Dalton (Leonardo Dicaprio) and his stunt man, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they try to navigate this new-fangled Hollywood. 

---

Music

The Aux: "Death Stranding" isn't for the average gamer

Caitlin Scott | January 26

In a post-apocalyptic United States, everything has been ravaged by a largely unexplained phenomenon called the “Death Stranding,” from a PS4 video game released by Kojima Productions on Nov. 18, 2019.  “Death Stranding” is the first game from Director Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions after their disbandment from Konami in 2015. The death stranding wiped out cities and almost all life while opening a gate between the worlds of the living and the dead. The ghostly animal-like apparitions that you see in the game called “BTs” haunt forests, mountains. Certain humans called repatriates are able to return to life from a strange underwater space known as the Seam.  Sam, the main character of the game (portrayed by Norman Redus), is one of these repatriates. He is what people like to call a post apocalyptic delivery man, as that is what you do for most of the game. Thankfully for those who are going to play the game, the gameplay is more straightforward than the story. 

---

Music

The Aux: A violent "The Joker" tells compelling story

Amanda Britt | January 22

The 2019 film, “Joker’, tells the origin story of one of DC Comics’ most notorious super villains through a dark, psychological thriller revealing the sad truths behind Arthur Fleck’s (Joaquin Phoenix) life and the events that led him to become “The Joker.” Director Todd Phillips’ exploration of Fleck depicts a man who is rejected from mainstream society because of his mental illness and social ineptitude. He then embarks on a downward spiral of anarchy, which leads him towards a path of destruction and self-demise. The film made over $1 billion at the box office with a budget of about $70 million.

---

Music

The Aux: Netflix’s 'Daybreak' is the Gen Z ballad nobody asked for

Justin Garcia | December 1

I wanted this show to be good. Instead, "Daybreak" disappoints despite the actors’ best efforts and the show's endless onslaught of timely memes. Released on Netflix in late October, "Daybreak" is a genre blend between a teenage coming-of-age story and "Mad Max" style post-apocalyptic sci-fi, with just a dash of YouTube meme culture. Only teenagers survived a biochemical/nuclear apocalypse, leaving adults as wandering "ghoulies" doomed to crave human flesh and to repeat their last thought. As such, the Gen Z traits and tenets become the mainstream. The 10-episode series primarily follows protagonist Josh Wheeler (Colin Ford) as he navigates his first sexual relationships, high school cliques, grief and roving cannibals. Despite each episode running just shy of an hour — and despite at least three occasions of being outright disgusted by the show (a defecating pug comes to mind) — I managed to get through it.

---

Music

Four female artists on the rise

Luisa Pennington and ​Megan Holman | November 20

The music industry is no easy place to make it. With an immense variety of genres, record labels, a wider variety of audiences than ever before and streaming platforms, music is quite literally at our fingertips. The following is a list of four up and coming female musicians from diverse backgrounds whose work falls into several different genres. 

---

Music

Parasite: The must-see film of 2019

Makayla Grijalva | November 17

Before seeing "Parasite," I was instructed to not seek out information about it. Listening to this advice made the movie the wonder it was. The lack of knowledge beforehand made the confusing ride even more exhilarating. Although I had no preconceived expectations going into the film, this Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or winner still exceeded all of them. It is the first Korean-made film to receive the honor. Likely to be an award-show favorite, the film has already been nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards and quickly gained buzz in the United States since its October release.

---

Music

The Aux: MediEvil remake is frustrating - just like it's always been

Caitlin Scott | November 13

In a remake of MediEvil, fans of the original will have a strong sense of nostalgia with MediEvil, remade. On Oct. 25, game developer Other Ocean Emeryville and publisher Sony Interactive Entertainment released the new MediEvil. The game was released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 (PS4). MediEvil, an action-adventure, hack and slash game remake of the 1998 version, brings the comical and spooky story of Sir Daniel Fortesque.

---

Music

'The Lighthouse' bends time as the leads slowly drift into madness

Andrew Gunn | November 13

In retrospect, Ephraim Winslow shouldn’t have spilled his beans. But, if that were the case, the world would be without a whirlwind cinematic portrayal of a working-class bromance and unraveling conceptions of reality that promises to be an awards circuit darling. Watching someone else’s descent into madness, after all, is a schadenfreude that’s tough to resist.

---

Music

A contemporary spin on Henry V: The King movie review

Daniel Ward | November 7

David Michôd and Joel Edgerton’s “The King” breaks free from the poetic iambic pentameter Shakespearian style it’s based on and recreates the plot with more detail than many past cinematical versions of the play.  “The King” is a historical drama based on Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V,” and was released Nov. 1, 2019, on Netflix. Set in 15th century England, King Henry IV (played by Ben Mendelsohn) is dying from sickness and must choose one of his sons to succeed his throne. He is left with two choices: Prince Hal (Timothee Chalamet,) the firstborn with a reputation of avoiding his responsibilities, or Prince Thomas (Dean-Charles Chapman,) who is eager to be king, but is soft and thirsty for war. 

---

Music

Eating with Wolves: Review of local fall coffee

Natty DeAnna | October 31

It’s that time of year when sweater weather is creeping around the corner, and that means it’s time for a fall coffee review.  The Daily Lobo presents: Eating with Wolves. In this edition, Daily Lobo reporter Natty DeAnna, an experienced barista, rated local coffee shops on their house coffee and seasonal drinks. For anyone out there looking to kick off their fall season by consuming warm beverages, DeAnna tasted recommended seasonal hot drinks along with their classic roasts. Each coffee shop was rated for their house coffee and specialty seasonal hot drink. Our reporter then reviewed based on multiple criteria: Flavor notes, freshness, taste and ambiance. 

---

Music

Post Malone takes an introspective turn

Christina Kaskabas | September 16

On Sept. 6, Post Malone released his third album: “Hollywood’s Bleeding,” which is here just in time for spooky season. The 17-track album was produced by Brian Lee and Louis Bell and has a run time of about 51 minutes. Post Malone, formally known as Austin Richard Post, is famous for mixing and matching different genres of music together seamlessly, and this album is a great example of his work. Within the album, Malone has a mix of rap, hip-hop, slow beats and heavy metal, along with a variety of guest appearances including a comeback from the bat-eating man himself — Ozzy Osbourne. Other features include DaBaby, Future, Halsey, Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Travis Scott, SZA, Swae Lee and Young Thug. Unlike his first two albums “Stoney” and “Beerbongs & Bentleys,” this one has a more personal feel to it. Malone has gone through major shifts outside of his music as well, with him parting Los Angeles and buying a home in Utah.

---

Music

Death Cab continues evolution

Luke Standley | September 12

Death Cab for Cutie’s "The Blue EP" was released earlier this month on Sept. 6 with five new tracks from the Washington-based band. The album title aptly describes the songs within the EP:  It explores the Bellingham Olympic Pipeline accident, a car crash and a disappointingly middle ground sound between classics like their fourth album "Transatlanticism" and their push towards the band’s 2015 evolution with "Kintsugi." Rich Costey serves on this album as the band’s production replacement of founding member Chris Walla. He continues to be a wonderwall for the bands growth that they’re pushing for. Costey came on for "Kintsugi" and has production credits for Muse, Foster the People, Interpol, Sigur Rós and Biffy Clyro, among others.

---

Music

Review: Toy Barn presents

Luke Standley | September 9

On Sept. 1, local show house, the Toy Barn hosted an art collective comprised of local musicians, ranging from hip-hop to, post-punk,  and visual artists publishing their photography and stickers. The venue has hosted similar events but, according to most of the attendees, none to this scale. At the event, the Daily Lobo interviewed some of the bands, encompassing what each act was about:

---

Music

Review: BROCKHAMPTON's renaissances is sad, honest

Luke Standley | September 4

BROCKHAMPTON released their fifth studio album, “Ginger” on Aug. 23. The 12 tracks trudge through the boy band’s recent emotional turmoil and Shia Labeouf’s studio meditation sessions, following the removal of founding member Ameer Vann.  Contrary to comments made by Kevin Abstract, a founding member of the band, declaring Ginger to be a summer “feel good” record, the album is heartbroken, bitter and flustered. Notable songs on the album are “BOY BYE,” “ST. PERCY,” “DEARLY DEPARTED” and “VICTOR ROBERTS.”