Elevate Difference

Reviews by Sofia Marin

Poetry for Beginners

“I, too, dislike it,” begins chapter one. I remember sitting in class, words like “iambic pentameter” and “consonance” swirling about the room like an intolerable fly drunk on the stuffy classroom air. These words were important, we were told. To understand poetry, we needed to know the rules. And say we did learn the rules, well, we were sixteen-year-old kids and certainly not capable of unraveling the true meaning of a poem. Teacher’s pet and I didn’t even try to feign interest. Ten years later, I’ve decided to give it another go.

Sick: A Compilation Zine on Physical Illness

It surrounds us. No matter how difficult, awkward, or painful, we will inevitably come into contact with it. But despite its ubiquity, physical illness continues to be one of the most challenging subjects for people to broach. Sick is a compilation zine on physical illness that offers up the experiences and perspectives of individuals living with illness.

One Summer in New Paltz: A Cautionary Tale

In the wake of a failing U.S. economy and two unwarranted wars, former president Bush set out to condemn the gay community as he called for a constitutional amendment to reduce gay rights. Facing reelection, the president’s call to enshrine a heterosexual definition of marriage into the Constitution effectively diverted attention away from his failures and used the gay community as a convenient scapegoat. But Bush’s move did more than spark nationwide debate.

Trapped Animal

If you're expecting to hear the frenzied, skittish, punk sounds of The Slits' 1979 album Cut, prepare to be disappointed, perplexed, upset, or some combination thereof. Original Slits members Ari Up and Tessa Pollitt reunited and brought on board the talents of Hollie Cook, Anna Schlute, and Adele Wilson in recording Trapped Animal.

Rainwater Cassette Exchange

Deerhunter's latest album, Rainwater Cassette Exchange, is just five songs in fifteen minutes. Five songs perfectly placed and executed, there is nothing superfluous and nothing lacking.

I Am the West

Love is complicated. What seems to be heading in one direction can catch you off-guard and go someplace else. So too, Lovers depart from the realm of singer/songwriter and venture into the world of electro-pop. Lovers' latest album, I Am the West, opens with catchy synth rhythms coupled with the sweet, airy vocals of Carolyn Berk.

Lessons from the Fat-o-sphere: Quit Dieting and Declare a Truce with your Body

Quit dieting and declare a truce with your body. This seemingly straight-forward proposition functions as the springboard from which authors Kate Harding and Marianne Kirby jump into a discussion of what it means to accept one's self and how to dismantle the countless negative and judgmental messages we receive and propagate on the daily.

1st International Body Music Festival (12/07/2008)

I wasn’t sure what to expect. What is body music anyway? It’s more than music you can see, and dance you can hear.

Optimism in E Minor

There is a reason I waited so long to review the Broken Poets’ most recent album, Optimism in E Minor. While the album offers a slightly less banal form of contemporary adult rock, its instrumentation and lyrics leave something to be desired. As producer and front man of the band, Tim McDonald seems to have forgotten the beauty of simplicity. The songs are lyric-centric, but instead of poetry, the lyrics I hear are affected and hollow.

BARR - Live in Philly (2/19/2007)

There’s nothing more refreshing than a band who doesn’t take themselves too seriously, particularly when they are this catchy. Even more inspiring is a band who, perhaps unknowingly, manages to deconstruct what it means to be a male musician. It was my first time. Seeing BARR was a release like no other. Their performance exhibited a seamless balance of blunt honesty and raw optimism.
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