
Daniel Siuba
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in Seasons
What I Learned From Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End taught me about life, death, memory, and impermanence. The show’s lessons were numerous: some were direct, some were subtle, but regardless of how they were conveyed, they all felt meaningful. Frieren also reminded me to slow down and listen to the world around me. It reminded me that any act of […] More
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Dreaming of Dana Scully
Editor’s Note: “Dreaming of Dana Scully” was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist. In the early months of 2021, I began dreaming of Special Agent Dana Scully from The X-Files. Before writing this article, I […] More
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New Dreams, New Nightmares: The Sandman, Season 1
I first read The Sandman comics when I was 15 years old. I lived in the middle of nowhere in Indiana, and like most great things in life, I discovered The Sandman through singer-songwriter Tori Amos. Tori referenced Neil and the Dream King himself in a song on her first album, and she has continued […] More
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in MusicThe Bliss of Disappointment: “Let Down” by Radiohead
The first time I heard “Let Down,” I almost couldn’t believe it was a Radiohead song. The emotions it evoked seemed too optimistic; for a Radiohead song, it felt weirdly comforting. Although there is a sense of melancholy and subdued rage in the lyrics, to me, the music ultimately conveys a feeling of acceptance. Lyrically […] More
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in On the Scene
Penny Dreadful: Vanessa Ives & the Priest
Beyond the great seasons and episodes of TV, sometimes a single scene sticks in the mind. In this article series, we’ll be looking at such scenes, how they are crafted to inform the show around them, and what makes them indelible. This week, Daniel Siuba looks at a scene from the end of the first […] More
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in Music
KAYA Collages Culture and Identity on “Harana” and “Half Free”
KAYA is a Filipina rapper, poet, and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. This week, she released a music video combining two of her songs, “Harana” and “Half Free” (ft. Kuya). The first half of the video, “Harana,” depicts KAYA serenading and then dancing with Kuya. As KAYA explains in her liner notes (see below), the […] More
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in FavoritesAmerican Dad! The Many Personas of Roger Smith
Roger Smith from American Dad! is one of my favorite cartoon characters. He is a grey, pear-shaped alien who was originally sent to Earth as a crash-test dummy for a spaceship manufacturer. Roger is campy, cultured, and hypercritical. He loves alcohol, drugs, and sex, and has an unquenchable thirst for revenge; slighting Roger in any […] More
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An Ode to The Cranberries: Songs for the Fall
The music of The Cranberries exemplifies the full potential of rock ‘n roll. It’s loud and confrontational; it’s mystical and ethereal; it’s joyful and celebratory. Even acoustic renditions of The Cranberries’ songs are simply rock laid bare; they’re stripped of their electrified elements but are no less powerful. Due to The Cranberries’ extensive catalogue, I […] More
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in Music
Cuchulain’s FEAT is Timely and Timeless
Cuchulain is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Eugene, Oregon who just released an album called FEAT. As the title suggests, each song is a collaboration featuring various musicians, singers, or bands. Stylistically, the songs are mostly a blend of folk and rock, but they also veer into bluesy, romantic, theatrical, and even jazzy territory. […] More
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in Music
On Ocean to Ocean, Tori Amos Is Queen of the Sea
Writing about Ocean to Ocean is challenging, because until now, I’ve only written about Amos’s albums and songs that I’ve listened to (and loved) for years, sometimes decades. But thankfully, this album didn’t take very long to get into my head and into my heart. According to Amos, Ocean to Ocean is technically the second […] More
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in Music
Vonnie Kyle: A Tale of “Imperfect Parts”
A friend recently introduced me to Vonnie Kyle, a Portland-based indie singer-songwriter who just released a new music video for her single, “Imperfect Parts.” As of late, I’ve been a pretty hard sell when it comes to new media. The surplus of available content has left me feeling fairly jaded, so I initially resisted sitting […] More
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A Voice of Yearning and Rapture: Florence + The Machine
The music of Florence + The Machine is rapturous, romantic, ethereal, and epic. The songs tell stories of heartbreak, loss, ghostly visitations, howling beasts, devils, and of course, love. Creating this list of songs was difficult, mostly because I couldn’t make up my mind about how to choose them. But after some thought, I realized […] More