@ va Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca wv First Nations writers share their stories at ‘Aboriginal Voices (¥ K-Pop filmed right here in Vancouver (YY ‘Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective’ board game review And more! Taylor Swift attempts to stay relevant... and falls flat on her face > ‘Reputation’ album review Joshua Toevs Columnist * here is always this want or desire to be popular or relevant. You see this happen often in high school where kids will try to change themselves to fit in with what is trendy or popular, while usually stripping away what actually makes them who they are. On Reputation, Taylor Swift attempts to do this from a musical standpoint and for the most part fails to find her footing in the ever-evolving world of popularity. This album is the follow up to 1989. On that album, Swift took synth pop into the stratosphere, crafting a fun albeit predictable chart-topper. However, in the years since that release, the chart landscape has changed to feature more trap-style production and definitely a lot more hip-hop records charting high. With this in mind, Swift attempts to meet these new standards of success. Gone are the gooey guitar strings and glitzy piano arrangements, being replaced with snappy 808 drums, deep sub, and more hip-hop-leaning melodies. This results in a darker tone, new to Swift’s repertoire, and while it is cool to see her step out and try something new, the results are not great. On Reputation, a lot of the music comes off as forced and disingenuous, which is a big no-no when dealing with anything resembling hip-hop. That isn’t to say that there aren’t interesting or positive results on the album. On the standout track, “End Game,” Swift is at her most confident and even shows off a little bit of swag as she talks about wanting to be the be- all, end-all for the guy in her life. Swift sounds lyrically charged and vocally loose, which blends well with the bombastic drums and in-your-face percussion that swirls around the vocals throughout. The features on this song are fantastic, with Future dropping his most coherent verse ever while Ed Sheeran shows off a bouncy flow as he effortlessly works the beat to perfection. “Getaway Car” is a nice change of pace track on this record as the production incorporates ’80s synth grooves with more modern electronic samples. The record sees Swift speaking about a love that was never going to bea long-term thing. Her vocals on this song are surprisingly powerful, since she isn’t the greatest when it comes to showing off her vocal range. Now that the positives are out of the way, it is time to get to some of the flaws of this album. Lyrically, this record is a mess. On her previous efforts, Swift definitely plays the victim when it comes to romance, but she mixes that with some witty lines that provide a redeeming quality. On this album however, Swift spends a lot of time throwing a pity party for herself. She even has a song titled “Don’t Blame Me’ in which she talks about how her flaws aren't her fault. The lyrics will really leave you + rolling your eyes as the subject matter becomes redundant. Swift’s choice of singles is also quite baffling—with the exception of “...Ready for It?” which features a bone-rattling sub-bass mixed with an unassuming piano melody that helps prop up Swift’s off-beat flow and average lyrics. While that single was decent, the rest of them are head scratchers. “Gorgeous” sounds like Swift going back to the well to try and recreate older hits akin to singles like “Love Story,” but with diminishing returns. The song is filled with bland lyrics and even more bland production. “Call it What You Want” is mundane as a whole and really doesn’t bring anything surprising or interesting, either good or bad, to warrant any kind of response. The biggest blunder however is the lead single, “Look What You Made Me Do,’ a song that samples Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” so blatantly that there is little effort to make this song Tommy Wiseau, ‘The Disaster Artist, and ‘The Room’ > A look at the world’s most popular awful film Cazzy Lewchuk Columnist e Room is informally known as “The Citizen Kane of bad movies.” Originally released in 2003, the movie is the brainchild of Tommy Wiseau, a man obsessed with Hollywood who refuses to say where he’s originally from. His trademark vaguely-European accent and strange vampiric mannerisms aren't even the oddest things about The Room, a movie he wrote, directed, and starred in himself. Audiences were quickly fascinated with the sheer awfulness of the movie, and it continues to screen globally today as a cult classic. What makes The Room so bad and yet so memorable? It’s the bizarre script and directing choices. Characters pop up and disappear into the plot without explanation, shots are out-of-focus or even recycled, and the lines make no sense, and are even often unintentionally hilarious. Telling the story of Johnny (Tommy Wiseau) and his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle), who secretly cheats on him with his best friend Mark (Greg Sestero), The Room was intended to be a dramatic “film with the passion of Tennessee Williams,’ according to one of its taglines, but ends up too confusing to have a clear genre. After a character catches Mark and Lisa together, Mark snaps at him to “Leave your stupid comments in your pocket!” Literally every single character greets the other with “Oh hi, __!” multiple times in each scene, made even more notable by the wooden delivery of the cast, many of whom had never been in a movie before. It’s tough to describe just how awful yet sincere this film is, as it must be seen to be believed. As if the finished product wasn't enough, Sestero went on to write a book, The Disaster Artist, detailing his experiences making the movie with Wiseau. If anything, the production was even crazier than the finished product. Among other factors, Wiseau fired and replaced most of the cast/ crew repeatedly, made script changes during filming, and repeatedly built and demolished sets overnight instead of leaving them up or shooting on location “like a real Hollywood picture.” Hated by everyone else on set by the end, most were convinced the movie would never be released, leading to further technical and production errors. The Room has attracted many celebrity fans, including James Franco after seeing it for the first time at The Rio Theatre in Vancouver. He went on to adapt Sestero’s book on the project, and The Disaster Artist film will be in theatres starting December 8. Starring James Franco as the legendary Tommy Wiseau himself and Dave Franco as Greg Sestero, The Disaster Artist will no doubt prove reputation Cover of ‘Reputation’ sound like its own entity. The added melodies are barren of any emotion or power, and Swift makes matters worse with her anemic flow and terrible lyrics. It is easily her worst single ever and perhaps one of the worst singles of all time. At the end of the day Taylor Swift attempted something out of her element. She took all the cool elements of hip- hop and black culture and attempted to keep up with the current chart trends. Unfortunately, her attempt comes off as appropriation of the culture more than anything. Sonically Swift stumbles throughout, and every sound and lyric that she tries to pass off as new and edgy is blander than anything. If the old Swift is dead and this is the version taking her place, then we may need to find a time machine to help bring the old version back to life. that truth is stranger than fiction. It’s the story of a failed yet successful filmmaker, doing everything wrong in filmmaking, as released by some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Whatever Wiseau thought would occur with his picture, he probably never dreamt that he'd be played by James Franco almost 15 years later. Truly the strangeness of The Room and The Disaster Artist is unlike any other Hollywood story. The Room may not have achieved the critical acclamation Wiseau intended, but it’s still enjoyed by millions worldwide. Audiences may be making fun of the picture, but Wiseau and other cast members regularly attend screenings, no doubt grateful for the attention and fame. There’s a beauty in the stories of The Room and The Disaster Artist, and one can't help but cheer for Wiseau’s innocence and dreams even as he fails spectacularly. No doubt The Room will become even more popular after The Disaster Artist is released.