Science nonfiction: When our planet is lost to industry, where then does our civilization go? A “charismatic billionaire” might say space; Maccabee Anderson says back to Earth. In responding to the prompt “There’s nothing left to conserve,” Anderson argues the construction of an extra-terrestrial escape hatch misses the point: the light of our own world can only be understood with the dark of another.
Charlie Phelan, assistant editor
Rock and Roll is here to stay: Earlier this month, The Strokes announced their upcoming album Reality Awaits alongside an international tour kicking off June 12. Ticket sales were predictably brutal. Though nothing will ever match the chaos of the band Oasis’s return last spring, which had me clutching my laptop on the street for hours, The Strokes’ return has been equally exhilarating.
The downside of producing near-flawless records for decades are high expectations. In the meantime, the band has dropped a new single, “Going Shopping,” a teaser that leans towards a breezy, springtime mood. It’s playful, mind-melting, and driven by a guitar’s ’80s-influenced melody. The autotune slightly gets in the way, but not enough to dull the track’s easy charm.
This arrives just a few months after Arctic Monkeys’ release of “Opening Night” as part of HELP (2), a War Child Records compilation of artists supporting children affected by conflict zones. The two rock bands orbit the same spheres of contemporary culture—the Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner himself sang, “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes.” Speculation about a prolonged Arctic Monkeys return continues to simmer; for now, we’re left to revisit their transportive, genre-defining Glastonbury performance of “Body Paint” while we wait for The Strokes to fully return to the stage.
Meri-Li Mercier, contributing editor
Image: Gerrit van Honthorst, The Concert, oil on canvas, 1623 (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC).