Each week, the staff here at The Anchor give their recommendations on an album, book and movie to enjoy. Here are our recommendations for the week of 1/13-1/19.
Album: good kid, m.A.A.d city by Kendrick Lamar (2012)
The album good kid, m.A.A.d city captivates listeners in its amazing and complex storytelling about Kendrick Lamar’s life as a teenager living in Compton, CA. This was Kendrick’s second studio album and was the album that made Kendrick extremely popular among the rap genre. The first song on the album, Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter, introduces us to Kendrick as a 17 year old chasing after a girl named Shereane. This girl will eventually cause Kendrick to be involved in the crime scene of Compton as well as experiencing loss through his friend’s death. After his loss, Kendrick resorts to religion and converts to christianity. Overall, good kid, m.A.A.d city is a great listen for those who enjoy storytelling in rap.
Book: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)
The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy is an adventure that shows us the story of Arthur, who is a human that barely escaped into space before Earth was destroyed, and Ford, who is Arthur’s best friend that is from space but lived on Earth. Arthur and Ford travel around space looking for the answer to the “ultimate question.” They search for this withtheir crew that consists of Trillian, Zaphod, and Marvin on a stolen ship called the “Heart of Gold.” Together, they search for the computer that has the answer to the “ultimate question” and on this journey, they escape death multiple times. This book is very exciting, adventurous and is a perfect read for those who love science fiction.
Movie: La La Land directed by Damien Chazelle
La La Land is a love story between Mia and Sebastian. Mia is an aspiring actor while Sebastian is a jazz musician. Unlike other love stories, this one does not have a usual happy ending. La La Land is directed by Damien Chazelle who also directed Whiplash. This movie has extremely emotional music that is played by an orchestra, and the music lets viewers know exactly how the characters are feeling based on the soundtrack alone. Along with the soundtrack, the acting between Mia (played by Emma Stone) and Sebastian (played by Ryan Gosling) is amazing because it feels real: you can sense their relationship declining throughout the movie and the understanding between them at the end. This movie is great for people that enjoy romance movies and musicals because La La Land surpasses most other movies like it.
