By: Darren Ranck, Brennan Carley, Charlotte Parish

The winter doldrums finally seem ready to fade into the abyss, making way for a spring with plentiful opportunities to indulge in the arts. So, in the spirit of March Madness, we decided to put our own twist on that all too familiar bracket that sports fans obsess over for weeks. 

By: Brennan Carley

A hum rises in my throat. A few lyrics murkily surface, muttered almost unconsciously, as my feet began to tap on the floor. There can’t be a chance that my head is bobbing side to side, is there?  After all, this is Avril Lavigne who I’m listening to, and it hasn’t been cool to listen to her since … well … well was it ever considered cool?

By: Darren Ranck, Brennan Carley, Charlotte Parish

When Britney Spears’ new single premiered last month, it was clear that she had bought in to the revitalization of the electronic sounds from the ’80s  and ’90s.  The style permeates our pop world today, from the futuristic synthesizers of Katy Perry’s “E.T.” to Lady Gaga’s supersonic “Born This Way.”

By: Brennan Carley

Though not as flashy as Toy Story 3 or How To Train Your Dragon, the third Best Animated Picture nominee, The Illusionist, charms and sparkles with melancholy. Largely dialogue-free and wonderfully drawn, the film explores the life of a disenchanted French magician who wanders to Scotland. In a tiny village in the highlands  of the country, he stumbles upon an enthralling girl who changes his life forever.

By: Brennan Carley

I long for the days when Nicholas Cage had his head on straight, that time when Lindsay Lohan took the world by storm in Mean Girls, and when John Travolta wasn’t constantly battling rumors about his private life rather than making quality movies (I mean come on, Road Hogs, John? You were in Grease, for God’s sake). The days of when actors’ private lives didn’t actually overshadow the reasons for which they had their fame to thank (namely their acting) are long gone. Who can honestly say that they’ve seen a Tom Cruise flick more recently than they’ve read an article about his wacky antics on Perez Hilton’s website?

By: Darren Ranck, Brennan Carley, Charlotte Parish

For this week’s very special Oscars issue, we decided to host a mock vote among our staffers, Joe Allen, Katie Lee, and Dan Siering, and editors, Arts & Review editors Darren Ranck, Brennan Carley, and Charlotte Parish, and Editor-in-Chief Mike Caprio. 

By: Brennan Carley

Taking a look at yesterday’s top 10 most downloaded songs on iTunes, one finds the list littered with predictable hits by Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, the cast of Glee, and Justin Bieber. Glancing further down the page, the far superior but vastly underappreciated British soul singer Adele dominates the albums chart with her pitch-perfect new album 21.

By: Brennan Carley

Performing their least-television friendly song, the Canadian-bred band members tore their way through an edgily wonderful “Month of May.” Moments later, Win Butler accepted the Album of the Year Grammy for The Suburbs, the first time in years that the award has truly gone to the best album of the year.

By: Brennan Carley

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Brennan Carley recounts the best Lady Gaga performances.

By: Brennan Carley

A frequent topic of conversation in the Arts corner of The Heights office is, obviously, entertainment. When the conversation turned to Jake Gyllenhal earlier this week, my fellow editor asked an interesting question, that I wonder if the actor has ever asked himself: “Do you think Jake Gyllenhal is ever going to make it big in Hollywood?”