@ va Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca Eight songs I loved in 2017 > Favourites from a variety of genres Joshua Toevs Columnist we the end of the year comes the time for lists. I personally am nota fan of making lists when it comes to things like songs or albums; instead I like to use my time writing about the songs or albums that I jammed to a lot or that made me feel something. With that being said, here are eight songs that I loved in 2017. “The Deep” by clipping. A story told through song, “The Deep” finds abstract rapper clipping. sharing the adventure of African women thrown into the water to live on the surface floor and their trip to reach land again. The song is a four-part act until they finally reach that break in the water, with the production and flow rapidly increasing in speed. The production features a lot of industrial sounds to give you the feeling of being underwater. The nondescript drum loop mixed with these sounds and clipping.’s storytelling makes for a very replayable record. “As If It’s Your Last” by BlackPink BlackPink strikes again with the most infectious bop in K-Pop for 2017. It has a sound of K-Pops past infused with a little bit more of an electronic vibe to make it feel fresh. The chorus has a tantalizing melody to it, while Jennie’s rap verse is cocky cc With the end of the year comes the time for lists.” and oozing with charisma. Fans of K-Pop already know what BlackPink brings to the table but even an outsider would respect this pop banger. “Taste” by Rhye “Taste” is Rhye’s return to music after a four-year hiatus. The beautiful vocal melodies are still perfectly intact, giving a sense of familiarity, but the production adds an extra layer of depth to an already beautiful sound. The bassline is groovy while the piano lines are absolutely gorgeous. This record is fun and danceable, which is a nice progression into Rhye’s overall sound. “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B The song that put a female rapper on the top of the charts for the first time in 19 years is an absolute club banger. The stripper-turned-rapper flows her ass off. Cardi is confident and she weaves through and dominates the glossy trap beat. The hi-hats are rattling while the key loop is super infectious. Cardi uses a repeatable hook to keep the track playing in clubs and radio alike, but it is her verses that keep me coming back. She is Nicki Minaj if Nicki showed off her street side more often. “Bodak Yellow” is so much fun to rap to anda song that I continually come back to. “Midnight” by Jessie Ware The first track from Jessie Ware’s album Glasshouse is a silky starter with beautiful arrangements and even more encapsulating melodies. Ware’s vocals have a quiet power to them as she maps out a rendezvous with her love. The chorus brings in some smouldering drums and a beautiful refrain from Ware. This is adult contemporary pop music at its absolute finest. “Star” by Brockhampton “Star” is a genre-bending, pop-culture- referencing hip hop track that is outrageously fun. The ragtag group that met ona Kanye West fan forum come together and flow over a grime- influenced trap beat. People mentioned on this song include Heath Ledger, Beyoncé, Jason Statham, Liam Neeson, and Chris Paul, just to name a few. Dom McLennon steals the show with his opening verse, and the overall ethos of wanting to attain certain aspects from each celebrity mentioned makes fora unique idea in the hip hop landscape. “(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano” by Sampha This song is the most breathtaking record I have heard all year as it is just Sampha and his mastery of the piano. It is low-key and sweet, and it Crowded Bookshelf: ‘Game of Thrones’ circa 1314 > A recommendation for the ‘Accursed Kings’ series Duncan Fingarson Senior Columnist T" Accursed Kings is a seven-book series by French author Maurice Druon. The books are works of historical fiction, set in 14th-century France and following the line of King Philip the Fair. Philip, also called the Iron King, was responsible for the transition of France from a land of feudalism to a country with a strong centralized government. He also, infamously, disbanded the Knights Templar and had their Grand Master—Jacques de Molay—burned at the stake for heresy. It is this act that kicks off the series’ first book. The “accursed” part of the series title also stems from the execution of Jacques. In the books, the Templar Grand Master calls Philip before the tribunal of God, cursing the king and all of his line. From there, the stage is set for an epic tale of deceit, betrayal, love, and loss. The series begins in the year 1314 and ends in 1356. In that time, France goes through seven kings. It would take more than one article to summarize the entire series. It is, however, fair to say that if you like A Game of Thrones, then it’s worth giving The Accursed Kings a look. George R. R. Martin wrote the foreword for the English- language edition, favourably comparing Druon’s work to his own, and it’s an apt comparison. France of the 1300s is a little more mundane than Westeros, lacking in dragons and magic, but more than making up the difference in political intrigue. Keeping all of the plots and schemes of the various characters straight is a task in itself, but one that is pulled off adeptly. There’s also plenty of war and death. By the end of the series, many of the characters you've come to love or hate will be dead, killed off by history just as well as by the author’s pen. Unfortunately, for the same reason, many of the worst offenders never quite get their comeuppance. Historical fiction is still bound by the events as they are known, but the devil is in the details and the books make a fine tale nonetheless. All that said, though, book seven is not quite on the level of the first six. The original six were first published in French between 1955 and 1960, but book seven didn't see print until 1977. Where the others are third-person accounts, bouncing around between events and characters at will, the seventh is written in first person as a monologue. I found it something of a struggle to get through, for very little payoff at the end. The series is good and well worth the read, but skipping the seventh book is entirely forgivable. (¥ ‘Mr. Finish Line’ aloum review (¥ ‘Alhambra’ board game review (¥ ‘Masseduction’ album review (¥ Awonder of a movie And more! Promotional art for ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ allows Sampha’s unique vocals to breathe throughout the entire song. He sounds his most comfortable in this realm of music and the stripped away melodies lend to his vocal strengths. On this track, Sampha uses the piano to represent two different things. The surface level role is that the physical aspect of the piano helped him find his creative spark and his talent as an artist. The other role the piano plays is actually something that ties Sampha and his mother together. When his mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2010, and when the disease returned in 2014, the artist put his music on the back burner to take care of her and used the piano as a mode of escapism for both of them. You can really hear the emotion in Sampha’s voice on this track and how much he cares for his mother. It is a truly beautiful song that should be getting more recognition than it has. SUS ae mes i ae ae ee en fa) i Boa | iat MAuRICE DRUON Cover of ‘The Iron King’