Brendan McGuirk likes conversations and learning things.
Here's some stuff he's learned about:
Kendrick Lamar's "Big Steppers" tour begins with a mystery - where is the crown of thorns the rapper wears on his recent album cover, and why has he donned Michael Jackson's signature sequin glove?
With all apologies to “Sweet Caroline,” “Dirty Water,” and the “Cheers” theme song, this year’s Boston Calling audience is primed to hear perhaps the most authentic soundtrack the city has ever produced.
It's been seven years since Dorchester rapper Cousin Stizz shot to meteoritic heights on the strength of his debut mixtape, "Suffolk County."
Legendary Boston hip-hop heavyweight Dre Robinson, 42, still raps like he’s boxing his way out of his Jacob Street neighborhood corner in Dorchester.
After the days spent traveling New Hampshire in search of novel insights prognosticating the coming months of our political spectacle, I was vexed.
Observing Growth, Vulnerability, and Vision on from the IGOR Tour. If it's been done before, Tyler, The Creator isn't interested in doing it. He's not the re-creator, after all.
It had only been three months. It was 2014, and Steve Desrosiers had barely settled into his new job when he was unexpectedly tasked with leading a high school assembly to address the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson that summer.
Lecolion Washington had never worked on a film score before, but his first visit to the Sony Studios lot in Los Angeles, sharing a campus with Hollywood types like Quentin Tarantino and Don Cheadle, gave him flashbacks. "I felt like a freshman in high school again, where I'm like, 'Oh my god, that's the quarterback!'
Look at an awards show, and what do you see? An inherently imperfect distillation of creativity, enterprise, community and success? A lumbering institution that struggles to nimbly support, champion and reflect an ever-expanding world of shared art?
Jefe Replay’s recently released debut album, Proper Finessments, begins with the distinctive sound of an iced-down beverage being swirled around a disposable cup. The loophole is Jefe’s finesse...
Danny Ainge messed up Millyz' plans. Before the Celtics bigwig traded Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder to the Caveliers for Kyrie Irving, the Cambridge-bred MC had made fans out of the pair of green teamers, and was eyeing ways to link with the two fan-favorites during the rollout of his upcoming album, "SPED: 2," a sequel to his 2015 mixtape due for release Sept.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is rightly one of the most celebrated authors of our time. His 2014 "Atlantic" cover story, " The Case for Reparations," was a watershed piece of journalism that brought to bear the United States' amorale redlining practices which served to destroy black wealth for much of the 20th century.
When Boston hip-hop duo 7L & Esoteric got into the music game, they would have gone to any lengths to see their albums in the right stores. "The big deal to us in '96, '97, was having it in New York," said MC Esoteric...
Are all Swedes given pop PEDs as children? Seinabo Sey, the latest in a line of Scandinavian songstresses that spans from ABBA to Robyn, played the first Boston show of her career last night at Brighton Music Hall...
WBCN -- The Rock of Boston -- may be gone, but Foo Fighters spent Saturday and Sunday nights at Fenway Park making sure its spirit lived on...
I grew up in a Stevie Wonder household. Many of my friends grew up in homes where The Beatles were sacrosanct, or The Eagles, or maybe Sinatra. My mother was a child of the '70s, though...
“Power couple?” Talk about cliché, cliché, cliché. But with their thrilling, blockbuster performance to a jampacked Gillette Stadium last night, Beyoncé...
Whether you know it or not, chances are you've attended an event deejayed by TJ Connelly. After all, he's been the DJ in residence for Red Sox games at Fenway Park since 2005, and just completed his third season in that same role for New England Patriots games at Gillette Stadium.
At the planet's most prestigious school, the world's most prominent statistician admitted that his research and reporting, which millions of readers had turned to for reason during an unreasonable time, may have been open to misinterpretation.
The Museum of Fine Arts will hold a special event for the fifth straight year celebrating Juneteenth, which commemorates the enactment and ultimate enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation to free American slaves in Texas and other disputed territories.
Not even the heaviest of recreational smokers forgets the way yesterday felt. Stalwart '90s Def Jam duo Method Man and Redman brought their Smoker's Club...
With "Lemonade" - the album, its visual companion piece and, now, the tour in support of it - Beyonce proves herself to be the standard-bearer of pop. When her "Formation" tour made its local stop at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro last night, Beyonce proved herself to be peerless in her ability to impress and inspire masses through pop performance at the highest level.
In "First Weapon Drawn," debuting Saturday for Record Store Day, rap and comics fans finally learn the secret origin of the dastardly hip-hop heel Czarface in an immersive audio-visual experience that resurrects a nearly forgotten storytelling format. It's a scheme as visionary as any a mad scientist might concoct.
Thirty years ago, U2 made an album that accomplished everything an album could. It sold over 25 million records. It won the Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards. It even launched a tour so massive it spawned a concert film and an album of its own.
For more than one generation of Red Sox fans, there's no dream more thrilling than catching a few moments with legendary ace Pedro Martinez.
The lifeblood of music appreciation is discovery. Everybody loves the shit we already love, but energy and excitement and most importantly community all arise ...
Today, Stan Lee turns 94. A writer and editor with thousands of stories under his belt, his most unlikely one is probably the story he lived, where starting as an employee of a once-obscure publishing house he became a geek icon, an art form's most public emissary, a figurehead maligned for glory-seeking, a respected institution and even a movie star.
Hugh Jackman wasn’t the first actor to portray a superhero in a high-profile Hollywood production, but like his character of seventeen years, he was the best there is at what he did.
It's a Monday summer night at a sports bar that was recently recognized as the best of Boston. Listen to the chatter of the patrons, though, and you won't hear any whining about the state of the Red Sox rotation or the injustice of Tom Brady's suspension.
What's the difference between a vandal and a street artist? Oh, about 25 years. That's how long it's been since Cambridge-raised Mike Lee stylized himself into the renegade graffiti artist MerkThose, but these days "Merk" doesn't need to scour for neglected urban surfaces to find welcome canvases for his work.
When it comes to cultural influence, there's arguably no force greater than hip-hop. But for many local lovers of the genre, finding a point of entry into the regional scene can be a challenge. And while there's no shortage of creative folks making quality hip-hop music, opportunities for them to connect with fans via live shows are sparsely limited.
Rob Gronkowski is one of the most elite athletes on the planet. You and I are maybe not. But now, at the Boston Sports Club in Medford's Wellington Circle, we can all work out like Gronk.
Dan Savage wants you to get real. If you're feeling dissatisfied with your sex life or your relationship, the author, advocate, and sex advice columnist suggests you start with some housecleaning, quit fantasizing and figure out just what it is you're looking for.
Mostly, you just wish Carrie Fisher hadn't died. In the weeks since her passing, one thing has been made perfectly clear: Fisher had much more to give. Her unique biography, her voice, her perspective, her sense of self and her candor made Fisher an irreplaceable public champion for everything from mental health to feminism, ageism, expression and representation in Hollywood.
The world is weird. People do weird things, they say weirder ones and often believe the absolute weirdest. Comedians Marcus Parks, Ben Kissel and Henry Zebrowski like weird, and on their show, Last Podcast on the Left, they explore the weirdest stories of true crime, cult history and reported conspiracy theories, daring listeners to join them in laughing at the darker side of humanity.
Rappers are, ultimately, mythmakers. Jay Z's myth started 20 years ago, when his debut album, "Reasonable Doubt," was released by Roc-A-Fella Records -the upstart music label he formed in partnership with Damon Dash and Kareem "Biggs" Burke.
Though it seemed impossible for years, Spider-Man was always destined to join his fellow House of Ideas products in the Marvel Cinematic Universe - it just made too much sense.
The annual Boston Music Awards are upon us, bringing a yearly opportunity to survey the movers and shakers among the regional arts scene. With the festivities being held tonight at House of Blues Boston, we wanted to shine a spotlight on five need-to-know acts of this year's BMAs.
NBC's "Powerless" lays out its premise with its title sequence, which opens on an image DC Comics fans will recognize as an homage to the cover of "Action Comics #1," the first appearance of Superman.
We live in contradictory times. On the one hand, folks have never been more woke. But they've also never been so dumb. Enter the "Brilliant Idiots."
Over the summer, the Bridge Sound and Stage - a cutting-edge recording studio located just off Mass. Ave. in North Cambridge - served as a host of the Cambridge Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program.
During last year's VMAs Kanye West begged people to "listen to the kids, bro." This summer, before he took his live show on the road, we went to the events he threw to screen his "Famous" music video and sell his "Pablo" merch pop-up, and did.
After last year's ascent as an emerging Eastern Conference powerhouse, and the offseason acquisition of rookie and veteran talent, the Celtics roster holds great promise, but fans' expectations aren't the only thing on Causeway Street that have been renewed for the upcoming season.
Whitney Cummings doesn't know how exactly she became a headlining advocate of the marijuana movement, but true to form the bold stand-up doesn't shy from the tough questions.
After five years, the Copenhagen Beer Celebration is taking its first road trip and setting up shop in Boston, bringing with it hundreds of craft beers from over 50 worldwide breweries.
Music festival season has officially been extended. The first weekend of October brings The Meadows Music & Arts Festival, a brand new event looking to keep the summer vibes going as we transition into sweater weather. On Oct.
James Blake has made a name for himself by innovating in delicate and atmospheric sounds. The "Retrograde" vocalist isn't afraid to experiment with the mechanics of his backing sonics or his voice, and after a high-profile feature on Beyonce's "Lemonade," and the release of his ambitious "The Colour in Anything," now might be your best chance to catch the R&B Brit live.
Sometimes, you have to laugh to keep from crying. Those looking for a reprieve from the hard realities of the world are in luck, as the Boston Comedy Festival is being held this week at locations throughout Somerville and the area.
To see Drake on his Summer Sixteen tour is to see a performer at the height of his powers. He commands a following whose youth he largely shaped by defining the eras and coining the catch-phrases that they use to punctuate and demarcate their lives.
Frank Ocean wants you to know that his art takes time. Despite rumors substantiated by no less than the Old Gray Lady of media, the R&B impresario did not release his follow up to 2012's "Channel Orange" Friday, sentencing his millions of fans to a weekend spent feverishly refreshing his website (and Twitter) in hopes of further details regarding his new album, reportedly titled, "Boys Don't Cry."
Reports of Boston's inability to "turn up" have been greatly exaggerated. Doubters should probably make a point to visit the Middlesex Lounge on Mass. Ave. in Cambridge this Sunday evening, when the sun is still out. By around 7:30-8 p.m., even the skeptics will be riding the Wave, awash by the unmistakeable sense of revelry brought on by the dance party.
No one plays the part of the tortured femme fatale better than Lana Del Rey. Her musical career is largely an exercise in working a certain kind of American story...
While Dutch ReBelle is known for her distinct ability to rhyme and sing in verse, this week she's lending her voice not to a song, but to a cause. The 2014 Boston Music Award-winner for Best Hip-Hop Artist is throwing a charity event this Saturday with the funds going to a small school in need in her native Haiti.
I’ve never lived in a world where U2 was anything besides the greatest rock band on the planet. Tuesday’s “Innocence + Experience” show at the Garden, the band’s third of four appearances in their mini Boston residency, did nothing less than affirm a lifetime’s belief in the undeniable excellence of those four Dublin lads.
Heavy is the hand that wields the hammer. Or something. There's never been a better time for fans that pledge themselves to the Mighty Thor. He's got a top-selling book, a major motion picture active in the works, and a central role in "Siege," Marvel's next major miniseries event.
Gossip, gossip. There's just no way to stop it. Everybody knows it's an attention-grabbing monster. Rumors of discord between Kanye and Kim Kardashian West surfaced this weekend when Radar Online scored photos of the celebrity couple looking somewhat listless while walking daughter Nori to a playdate in Brentwood, California.
This weekend, for one last time, the Boston Calling festival descended upon City Hall Plaza, uniting dozens of acts, thousands of fans, and countless grooves in an upbeat celebration of music and community.
There was a time when Goose Gossage's caustic dismissal that baseball is being ruined by "nerds" might have ruffled the feathers of Bill James. But those days are gone.
Comic book readers are known to be fickle, and slow to warm to new costumed characters, but Deadpool's stock has risen steadily since his 1991 debut. Now the Merc with the Mouth stands on the threshold to go from cult favorite to household name.
Ellie Goulding has a voice strong enough to stand entirely on its own. It's distinct and full, and with it she scales to heights even a world-class mountain climber might envy.
It was a lovely day for "Mad Max: Fury Road," which won six Oscars at the 2016 Academy Awards, including for Best Editing and Best Sound Editing.
Future played a nearly endless string of hits to a sold-out House of Blues crowd last night, making a claim as the most energy-inspiring musician in hip-hop.
Ohio bank robber is the latest criminal to adopt the mask of Marvel's latest movie star and ruin Deadpool's good name.
The NAACP is open to civil rights supporters of all colors, but accusations leveled that one regional president has merely been pretending to be black may have made a bigger impact online than any of her years of advocacy.
Fox's FF movie was such a loser it couldn't even properly win Best Worst Picture, settling for a tie with "50 Shades of Grey."
Social media has completely transformed the way modern fans consume and interact with professional sports. The shifting media landscape has forced leagues to experiment with the way their product is delivered. Put another way, the sports industry is redefining its content strategy.The most competitive organizations are working hard to remain ahead of evolving audience behavior, and once again, the Patriots are leaders of the pack.
What does the new trailer for February's "Deadpool" tell us about the upcoming Ryan Reynolds vehicle?
The upcoming crossover sequel by Bendis and Marquez will see one major Marvel hero murder another.
Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.
Not everyone enjoys Drake's "Hotline Bling" as Earth's Mightiest Heroes make their disdain known in new video. Or They used to call Drake on his cellphone late-night when they need to Avenge... Or #NoNewAvengers
It's only right that last night's celebration of all things Boston hip-hop was something of a marathon. Saturday at the Middle East, a host of rhyme-spitters, record-spinners, break dancers and rap lovers descended to the basement at the Cambridge nightclub to dedicate the evening to the past, present, and future of local hip-hop.
"Episode VII" made $153.5 million in the U.S. this weekend to go with $133 million overseas on its march to $1 billion.
The 2015 Grammys most predictable surprise came when Kanye West usurped a moment to protest the grave injustice committed against Queen Regent Beyoncé, First Of Her Name, by the occasionally out-of-touch recorded music industrial complex.
Ultron is so tired of the Black Eyed Peas. James Spader brought memorable charisma and flair to his performance as Tony Stark’s bastard brainchild in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” marking one of the few times a Marvel-movie villain has rivaled the magnetism of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. But if you thought Ultron was grating and condescending before, wait til you hear how he sounds when his lines are replaced by those of another James Spader role—Dunder Mifflin CEO Robert California.
Listen to Radiohead's unused "Spectre" theme and decide whether it or Sam Smith's "Writing's On The Wall" better suits Daniel Craig's Bond.
Fans are theorizing about a potential connection between Jared Leto's onscreen Joker and some fan-favorite Batman storylines.
So much music I love gets classified as "PBR&B," but man I hate that term. The invocation of the hipster class's signature cheap beer is basically shorthand for the non-traditional, progressive, millennial alternatives to conventional rhythm and blues . Boston's own Bad Rabbits might court PBR&B listeners, but their music demands more involved articulation.
Marvel Entertainment has made some executive changes and decided to bring back an 11-year veteran of the company.
Think of Talib Kweli as a rapping academic. It's a better title than “conscious rapper,” the one that hung on him for so long. But Talib Kweli is certainly a conscientious musician; an inquisitive thinker with a penchant for articulating his findings in impressive rhyme-bursts...
No one plays the part of the tortured femme fatale better than Lana Del Rey. Her musical career is largely an exercise in working a certain kind of American story, of bad men and ruined girls and sex and drugs and longing. Lana's telling a vintage tale, tailored for modern aesthetics.
The word for Day 2 of MIT's Sloan Sports Analytics Conference was competition. For eight years, the conference has united professional sports teams, sports industry organizations and cutting-edge academics, all in the pursuit of appreciating and understanding sports and athletic performance with greater, more sophisticated clarity.
People often throw the word “icon,” around, but for me, Batman is a total pop star. While an icon is revered, it can also implicate a stagnancy - its someone whose legacy is already set. To be a pop star, though, is to still be acknowledged as in your prime. Like so many pop stars, Batman can be defined through his various periods.
You could read Batman comics for a long time without ever realizing that there must be teenage girls that live in Gotham City. Cowardly and superstitious criminals? Steady supply. Brooding vigilantes? More than seem statistically probable. Daring, adventurous young students with a penchant for experiencing adolescence and solving mysteries? Those, it turns out, can be found at Gotham Academy...
Streaks and records are made to be broken. Nature finds a way. This summer, it's found a way even faster. Despite making nearly a hundred million dollars in its first weekend, the release of 'Inside Out' constituted the first box office loss in Pixar's history, as its $91M in sales were dwarfed by the ...
Jim Henson's pop art sold a generation on the power of their own creativity and the worth of their dreams.The songs Henson and his Muppets sang were uniformly encouraging, even though what they encouraged was for listeners to be as far from uniform as possible.
This season's Boston Calling was the most fun I've had at City Hall Plaza since playing hooky as a high school senior to cheer the Patriots' first Super Bowl win with Ty Law, Troy Brown, Tom Brady, Bob Kraft's dance moves and about a million of our closest friends in the last non-rolling-rally championship celebration this town will ever see.
I'm calling it now-Sam Smith is Boston's most beloved Sam since Malone. Adams is still safe, but on notice. Sam Smith had a big year. He made his major-label debut with “In The Lonely Hour,” which was pretty much universally embraced, netting the crooner six Grammy nominations, including Album of the Year...
Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow executive producer Greg Berlanti discusses whether fans should expect more onscreen team-ups and why Supergirl and Gotham can co-exist.
It's all about attachments. We make them with family, lovers, community, sport, art, music - and allow them to shape us. With attachment, though, comes loss. And as so much great art reminds us, loss has a tendency to linger.
"Power couple?" Talk about cliché, cliché, cliché. But with their thrilling, blockbuster performance to a jam-packed Gillette Stadium last night, Beyoncé and Jay Z proved themselves worthy of the billing, beyond any reasonable doubt. It was only the third stop of Mr. and Mrs. Carter's...
New video shows Homer and Marge promising the media that "The Simpsons" are not breaking up, no matter how widely they report it.
If "Veronica Mars" were to come back once more, its creator says it could be more like "True Detective."
Singers take off their shirts for all sorts of reasons -- the showy wardrobe change, the ritual of a crowd fighting for a thrown keepsake, to show off a toned physique. Miguel had a simpler reality to deal with during his show at House of Blues -- the R&B A-lister’s showcase of his “Wildheart” album made last night the hottest of the Boston summer.
It was so much easier when Captain America could just punch prominent Nazis. Ed Brubaker and Marvel Comics recently came under fire by Fox News due to the characterization of a small town protest group in Captain America #602.
New rumors are circulating that the monster that killed Superman could make an appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Nothing unites communities quite so well as sports.The MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Boston Conventention and Entertainment Center brings competitive, information-driven sports professionals, intellects and aficionados from all over to discuss their beliefs, theories and findings with people who share their love of sports.
I promised myself I wouldn't lead with a Beyoncé- Kanye-Respect-The-Artistry joke. So I won't. Stalking the stage deck in his Theophilus London-best, Beck shut down day 1 of Boston Calling 's Spring 2015 festival last night with an energetic set that highlighted the breadth and virtuosity of his Hall of Fame-catalogue.
If you put equal parts graffiti and Kaiju sensibilities in a blender, turned the color all the way up and inhaled deeply and you can imagine the kind of Monster-mash display at Harvard Square streetwear destination Kulturez from now through the end of July.Kulturez hosted its Monster Hits art opening Friday, showcasing new work from local artists GUUMON and Merk Those.
How will you be won over by Azealia Banks?Whether by rhymes, voice, or moves, it won't take long for the Harlem rapper to get you in her corner. And that's all before she flashes a smile which radiates a charisma so powerful that you almost want to avert your eyes to avoid direct exposure.
They took the stage blasting Queen's "We Are the Champions," like a pair of prize fighters with designs on the title belt. They finished their set with one making boasts about the "Best rap group in the [ever-loving] world," as the other hopped into the crowd to get and give dap to fans.
Things started quiet, and ended loud.Compared to Day 2, Day 3 of Boston Calling Spring 2015 was more tailgate than turn-up. Where Saturday had been dominated by upbeat, vocally driven dance music, Sunday was more about enjoying the mellow strumming of axes.
Katie Klay is not the woman she means to be. But she has a lot in common with her. An accomplished chef with some significant life-accomplishment notches under her belt, she takes pride in the one restaurant she helped build into an institution (one she still, in fact, resides above), and has another on the way that she will own and operate with confidence thanks to her considerable experience. Knocking on the door of thirty, she insists to anyone that will listen that she is in no way...
So it's a show be about nothing? How can it be about nothing? It must be about something. Just what is rapper Wale about? Last night, at a sold-out Paradise, fans got the chance to decide for themselves. Wale linked his legacy to Jerry Seinfeld long before the observational funnyman named the D.C.
For twenty years, Usher Raymond has made music about the tension between the body and the heart. Usher tunes are either defined by their longing and their in-the-moment urgency, or by the regret that follows that variety of impulsiveness. Last night, he brought his UR Experience tour to the TD Garden to confess, implore, seduce and reassure.
Talib Kweli and Berklee College of Music staged a sort of Inside The Rapper's Studio for students this week, with a session that featured an enlightening conversation covering the lyricist's musical biography, career education, feelings on hip-hop as a cultural force, the evolving monetary value of intellectual property in the digital era and its effect on the music recording industry and musicians themselves.
When she says "Kiss, kiss..?" you say "Bang, bang!" That's the signature call-and-response of Dutch ReBelle, Boston's hottest rapper, who introduced fans to her new "ReBelle Diaries," project last night with an album release party downstairs at Cambridge's Middle East Nightclub.
John Legend commits. He commits in his love life, he commits to his songs, and he commits to his fans-- and to making sure that the night they spend with him is every bit the intimate celebration of romance they might dare hope.
Maybe you missed the election, but Justin Timberlake is the President of Pop. The honorific very deliberately links the most popular song-and-dance man of the 21th century to the 20th century title-holder, Michael Jackson-- the once and forever King of Pop. JT's presidential handle is clever, cute, and just humble enough to avoid either offending or presuming.
The problem with a monster hit is that you can hear it so many times that you stop really listening. "If I'm a pagan of the good times, my lover's the sunlight."
You can learn a lot about a person through their romantic choices. Seeing who someone chooses for a partner reveals insight into what makes them happy, who they see themselves to be, and what they see themselves as needing. Some people match through similarities; others fit, complimentarily.
Scott Summers has a long tradition of being the X-Men's wet blanket. He was the wedge that separated the simmering passions of Wolverine and Jean Grey. But in Matt Fraction's "Uncanny X-Men," he's finally become the bold leader of a race that he was always destined to be.
For all the academic bona fides associated with our Commonwealth, we're equally proud of our blue collar cred. Hailing from Merrimack Valley, the hip-hop collective ST Da Squad descended upon the Middle East Friday to celebrate the recent release of " The Motive of Nearly Everybody, Yo," the debut LP from Haverhill rapper Ea$y Money, executive produced by acclaimed DJ Statik Selektah.
In pop culture, the sex comedy has a pretty hard-earned bad reputation. All too often, “sex” in these kinds of comedies is treated like an endzone...
Theophilus London needs you on his frequency. Last night at Brighton Music Hall, London shared "Vibes," his sophomore release. The album, executive-produced by cultural provocateur Kanye West, hones in on the quality to London's music that's as distinctive as his name.
This shaped up into a regular bout between Superman Red and Superman Blue. Dwight Howard rankled Shaquille O'Neal with his new ESPN commercial, which characterizes the Orlando center as the NBA's resident Superman.