Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 25, 2025
April 25, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

arts



GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-SA 2.0
Bill Skarsgård plays the monstrous clown Pennywise in this adaptation of Stephen King’s famed 1986 novel.

IT translates Stephen King’s horror onto the screen

After a summer of relatively weak films and a Labor Day weekend that was spearheaded by a Ryan Reynolds movie — The Hitman’s Bodyguard — IT, the second film to be based on Stephen King’s 1986 novel of the same name, had a lot riding on well, “it.”


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Detroit post-punk band Protomartyr played the Metro Gallery alongside Melkbelly and Baltimore band Big Mouth.

Protomartyr brings a unique energy and sound to the Metro Gallery

It took a while before the Metro Gallery filled up, but by the time the headliners came the place was packed. The majority of the people crowded around the front of the stage, eager to see the Detroit four-piece, Protomartyr play their latest show in Baltimore and perhaps even hear a few songs from their newest LP, Relatives in Descent, which is due to be released at the end of this month.



GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-SA 2.0
Pedro Pascal plays the recurring role of DEA Agent Javier Peña in Netflix’s popular crime drama Narcos.

Video streaming services release new fall content

It’s 2017 and almost nobody with an internet connection actually watches broadcast television anymore, except for Game of Thrones and maybe Rick and Morty. Nonetheless, for the most part people are streaming, which is fine because there are literally thousands of sites from which to do so, be they legal or otherwise.



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Hampden was once a center of the white working class in Baltimore.

Hampdenfest gives only a limited view of Baltimore

The dour and gloomy atmosphere that keeps Homewood in a depressing stasis is all too familiar to your average Hopkins student — or maybe just the cynical ones. Fortunately, this environment is unique in Baltimore, a city that maintains its vibrance in spite of everything. So when one wants to escape the heavy-hand of academic insecurity and imagined doom, it is easier than they might assume to find refuge in what seems like a whole different world.


Eva rinaldi/CC BY-SA 2.0
Taylor Swift could easily pass for a member of Gossip Girl’s inner circle.

Are Taylor Swift and Blair Waldorf secretly the same person?

This past week marked the beginning of a new era in Taylor Swift’s career with the release of the first two singles off of her forthcoming album, Reputation. It was also a historic moment for fans of what is arguably one of the best and most controversial teenage dramas of all time, Gossip Girl, as it marked the 10th anniversary of the series premiere.


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Atlanta rapper Playboi Carti found success with A$AP Mob before beginning his solo career.

Playboi Carti impresses with live performance

Summer is over, which means that this writer is back on his proverbial cow excrement. That is to say it is time for another article about a concert. While most of the Hopkins community spent their summer working a high-powered internship or impacting some positive change on the world, some of us chose to just work and listen to music.


Baltimore set for a jam-packed concert season

With the fall semester just getting underway, there’s numerous shows worth seeing coming soon to Baltimore. Here’s a preview of some of the best, covering a wide breadth of genres from heavy metal to indie pop to rap.





 TONY NORKUS / CC-BY-SA-2.0
R&B artist JMSN continues to impress avid listeners with his latest project, Whatever Makes U Happy.

DJ Quik and JMSN’s new releases live up to hype

About a year ago, west coast hip-hop legend DJ Quik — one of the definitive west coast rappers, standing alongside Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and the N.W.A. ensemble — and fellow Compton rapper Problem released a short mixtape called Rosecrans. The EP was a fun, well produced work with a few west coast bangers and some great grooves. Now, Quik and Problem have turned this small EP into a fully fleshed album.


Film Festival promises exciting schedule

It’s been many a year — about five — since we’ve heard anything from the iconic D.C. punk band Bad Brains. Time and personal problems have prevented the band from getting together for studio work since their 2012 album Into the Future and a suspected upcoming album has yet to materialize. Thankfully, punk fans can look to the Maryland Film Festival in their time of need.


 HElena/CC-BY-2.0.
Danish artist and author Asger Jorn was one of the founding members of the CoBrA movement

Students curate and design exhibit of avant-garde art

The Milton S. Eisenhower M Level Exhibit space welcomed a student produced exhibit entitled “Asger Jorn and CoBrA.” The exhibit, which was shown on April 26, was designed by students in the class “The Long Sixtie’s in Europe” taught by History of Art Professor Molly Warnock.


Boomerang is a perfect album for finals stress

If you’ve been searching for a soundtrack for finals week, look no further. Indie pop artist Elliot Moss has that perfect slow, subdued vibe that is so well suited to all-nighters in Brody when you need some light background music to vibe to.




Ferg and Aoki shine at Spring Fair concert

The titular Spring Fair concert was held at the very august Ram’s Head Live in the Inner Harbor on Friday, April 28. The headliners — and indeed the only performers except for a guy who Ferg brought whose name I didn’t catch — were DJ Steve Aoki and the Hood Pope himself: A$AP Ferg.


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