A&E
August 30, 2017
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Seattle musician takes the stage at Bumbershoot (cont.)
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“Timber, Bumbershoot, and Folklife festivals all had me playing with them due to Sound Off,” said McCue. “Also, they gave me a drum set, an electric guitar, and a synthesizer, so Sound Off has at least indirectly gotten my roommates pissed at me a couple times.” McCue learned to play the guitar at an early age, but started to seriously play in middle school and began to write his own material in high school. “It started as a way to cope with how bad I was at football, and turned into something that I was genuinely interested in,” said McCue. McCue describes his musical style as “alternative folk.” He writes his own music and lyrics and finds inspiration from discovering different artists, especially in the Seattle music scene. His lyrics have an intriguing and purposeful intent, and the stories embedded in his songs tell a different narrative than one might expect from someone with only an acoustic guitar on stage with him. “I usually get inspiration from drawing on whatever e Seattl d r story I’m trying to tell. I like to make albums a gu Van y s as a continuous story or as a recurring rte ou C theme,” said McCue. to ho McCue’s topics for songs range from monkey funerals (“Monkey Funeral”) and the existential crisis of a gorilla (“Gorilla”), to reflective pieces about the loneliness of the ocean (“Ocean”) and the trials of being a human and looking for oneself in the world (“Nothing”). His ability to create beautiful music with unexpected stories and hidden meanings makes McCue worth the listen. If you are planning on going to Bumbershoot, make sure to check him out. His latest album Obscure can be found on SoundCloud.
Culinary event center opens on MI The Emoji Movie’s success Sophie Poole
Grady Short
editor in chief
On September 14, 2017, Caruccio’s, a culinary event center, will open on Mercer Island in the Aviara building. Caruccio’s will offer cooking classes, space for business or personal events, chef demonstrations, pop-up dinner events, and film nights. “The main goal of Caruccio’s is to fulfill my lifelong dream to create a special, artful place in my community for us all to come together,” said owner Lisa Caruccio. “Mostly, I want to elevate the appreciation for the culinary arts.” Caruccio holds a degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management and has worked in hotels and with food all around the world. “I have learned so many meaningful things from each country I lived in, and I wanted to bring it all together in one place,” said Caruccio. The idea of bringing a global perspective and diverse cultures to Mercer Island through different culinary experiences is at the heart of Caruccio’s mission. “Mercer Island is an incredible community of a diverse group of people who appreciate good food, cul-
editor in chief
Photo Courtesy Caruccio’s
A mock-up of the venue for the new culinary event center: Caruccio’s. Caruccio’s offers an ideal space for business or personal events, complete with catering.
ture, and travel. We needed a space to come together on this,” said Caruccio. Mercer Island seemed to be an ideal location as it has been Lisa Caruccio’s home for ten years and is convenient for residents of both Seattle and Bellevue. After the grand opening of their space, the event center will offer teen cooking classes with changing cultural cuisines. Additionally, for students who take serious interest in the culinary or hospitality field, Caruccio’s plans to provide advanced classes
for high-school aged students and offer student internships by next summer. “I would like [teenagers] to know that the culinary arts is a highly respected and growing field. We all eat and we all come from a culture. And we all do better when we bond with each other,” said Caruccio. “It makes me happy that I can contribute a space to do that.” More info can be found on their website: w w w. c a r u c c i o s . c o m Caruccio’s is located at 2441 76th Ave SE, Suite 100, Mercer Island, WA.
In late July, audiences across the world were treated to one of the most critically panned movies ever: the ill-fated animated blockbuster, ‘The Emoji Movie’. With a whopping 8% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a measly 1.8 out of 10 on IMDB, filmgoers of all kinds ripped the film to shreds, citing its absolute lack of humor, blatant product placement, and cringeworthy, cliched plot. The movie’s release also inspired a subculture of ironic internet jokes which poked fun at its many faults. The only thing staler than the many uninspired poop jokes the movie inflicts on its viewers would be to write yet another scathing review of it. Instead of doing so, it might prove more fascinating to look at the film’s unlikely success. That’s right — a success. With a relatively small budget of 50 million dollars, the movie has nearly surpassed 100 million dollars in revenue after three weeks in theaters; not an amazing performance, but far from box-office-flop territory. All of this sends a clear message to the studios be-
hind the Emoji Movie, and to the film industry in general. In the post-Emoji Movie world, it would be hard to fault a media company or a film executive for thinking that a similar low-budget, dumbed-down animated kids’ movie could succeed financially without a well-written plot or unique characters. The very subject matter of the movie signals a trend towards over-commercialization of kids’ films; the main characters ride a wave of music through the Spotify app, find themselves thrown into Dance Dance Revolution, and wind up in Dropbox along the way. A viewer with no background knowledge could easily interpret the movie as sponsored content paid for by the companies that own these apps. How much more haphazard, low-quality entertainment will audiences let studios get away with? How much longer until animated movies become feature-length commercial breaks with some celebrity voices and adorable characters thrown in the mix to keep kids satiated? No one can know for sure, but the success of the Emoji Movie shows that the bar is set pretty low.