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Thursday, July 18, 2019

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ARTS

In the truest sense of the word, a 

“mixtape” is a compilation of songs 
that come from multiple sources. 
This definition harkens back to the 
days before digital playlists. Mix-
tapes were not endlessly augmented, 
so they were often made with a cer-
tain vibe or theme in mind. 

In the mid to late 2000s hip-hop 

scene, though, the definition began 
to change. At this time, a mixtape 
was essentially a free album that 
could not be held accountable for 
any sort of uncleared sample or 
copyright 
infringement. 
Entire 

careers were made off of this plat-
form. Take Lil Wayne for example: 
Some fans only listen to mixtape 
Weezy. That’s how popular mix-
tapes were for a time. Today, the def-
inition of a mixtape is changing once 
again. Mixtapes are being released 
for profit, but they are intended to 
be taken less seriously than a nor-
mal studio album. With his latest 
release Angel’s Pulse, Blood Orange, 
also known as Dev Hynes, combines 
each interpretation of the mixtape 
into one final product.

Hynes said during the tape’s 

short promotional period that after 
each album he creates, he also cre-
ates a mixtape of sorts to serve as 
an epilogue. He usually gives these 
mixtapes to friends and random 
passersby, but for the first time, 
Hynes is sharing one of these tapes 
with the world.

Angel’s Pulse serves as the epi-

logue to Hynes’s phenomenal 2018 
release Negro Swan. It fleshes out 

any incomplete ideas and wraps 
up this chapter of Hynes’s career. 
With this mixtape, Hynes explores 
the different sounds presented on 
Negro Swan and experiments with 
their strengths and limitations in 
a context that is not meant to be 
taken as seriously as an album. With 
that said, the sound is not cohesive 
throughout, true to the original defi-
nition of a mixtape. Angel’s Pulse is 
a collection of songs that Hynes felt 
effectively represented this moment 
in his life.

Despite the implications of the 

word “mixtape,” Angel’s Pulse 
deserves to be taken seriously. It’s 

lighthearted, but that doesn’t mean 
it’s not heartfelt. Opening track “I 
Wanna C U” is bouncy and loved up. 
It ponders Hynes’s relationship with 
the person trapped in his head. It’s 
very sweet sounding, but the repeti-
tive nature of the song makes Hynes 
seem almost tortured in a way, as if 
performing the song is the only way 
to make the person in his head man-
ifest themselves in real life.

In stark sonic contrast to “I 

Wanna C U” are “Dark & Hand-
some” and “Benzo.” The songs 
depart from the light tone of “I 
Wanna C U” to a more contempla-
tive and somber sound, but they 
share the same themes and suggest 

the mixtape’s overall concept. “Dark 
& Handsome” yearns for days long 
gone as Hynes’ sings, “Nothing lasts 
forever, and I told you / Everything 
you need to know is not true / Lyin’ 
to myself because it hurts you.” 
“Benzo” continues this theme of 
yearning for something that is not 
there. He laments, “Open the door, 
leave with arms exposed / Outside, 
I saw where I belong.” Hynes knows 
what will make him content, but the 
only way he can get there is if he can 
leave the past behind him.

Angel’s Pulse continues this 

theme of yearning for an altered 
past with the heartwrenching “Bir-
mingham,” a reflection on the 1963 
16th Street Baptist Church bomb-
ing in Birmingham, Alabama that 
tragically took the lives of four chil-
dren, and “Baby Florence (Figure),” 
a track in which Hynes assures his 
partner that he will help deter-
mine where their relationship went 
wrong. However, mixtape standout 
“Gold Teeth” seems a stark depar-
ture from this theme. The track is 
stacked, featuring Tinashe, Gangsta 
Boo and Project Pat. It’s highlighted 
by braggadocio and talks of life in 
the streets over a chopped sample of 
Project Pat’s “Rinky Dink II/We’re 
Gonna Rumble.” Everything on the 
track screams assuredness: Project 
Pat’s gruff delivery on the refrain, 
Gangsta Boo’s empowering verse 
and Hynes and Tinashe’s lush, con-
fident chorus. Despite all this, it still 
falls perfectly in line with the vibe 
of the mixtape. It presents a desire 
to be someone who does what they 
want, when they want to do it.

Hynes redefines ‘mixtape’

JIM WILSON 
Daily Arts Writer

ALBUM REVIEW

THE NEW YORK TIMES

On July 11, Nevertheless Film 

Festival, founded and directed by 
University FTVM alum Meredith 
Finch, launched its inaugural run at 
the Michigan Theater. The festival 
assembled a wide variety of feature-
length and short films, all created by 
female-identifying filmmakers. 

The name was inspired by wom-

en’s rights motto, “Nevertheless, she 
persisted.” Within the film indus-
try, equal representation behind 
and in front of the lens has been, 
to say the least, 
concerning. 
In 

2017, USC Annen-
berg 
conducted 

a 
study 
which 

found that across 
the 
top 
movies 

from 2007 to 2016, 
only four percent 
of the respective 
directors 
were 

female. However, 
filmmakers 
who 

identify as female 
make up at least 
half of the leader-
ship behind every 
film presented at Nevertheless, as 
proclaimed in every program given 
out at each showing. 

Between actors speaking publicly 

about the need for more women in 
the film industry — like Regina King 
vowing to make future projects 50 
percent female during her Golden 
Globe acceptance speech — and 
sexual misconduct running rampant 
around the industry, the festival sets 
a much needed precedent for the 
next generation of filmmakers. 

Two films were screened open-

ing night: “Throat Singing in Kan-
girsuk,” directed by Eva Kaukai and 
Manon Chamberland, as well as 
“A Colony.” directed by Genevieve 
Dulude-De Celles. The former was 
a three-minute short film, which 
managed to blow my mind in just 
that amount of time. It depicted the 
rugged Arctic terrain of the direc-
tors’ home of Kangirsuk, a village in 
Quebec, Canada, while they throat 
sang their way through the short. 
The guttural and, at first, borderline-
frightening throat-singing acted as a 

complete contrast to the peaceful, 
snowy landscape.

Next was the full-length film “A 

Colony,” screened in French with 
English subtitles. Sometimes, I find 
that watching a movie with subtitles 
adds a layer between the viewer 
and the film which can hinder emo-
tional connection, but the subtitles 
did not take away from the immer-
sion. Language was one of the many 
themes throughout that added to the 
endearing and fragile nature of the 
piece. 

Along with showing films, the 

festival held panels that were free 
to attend. Connecting film audi-
ences with these filmmakers gave 

a perspective to 
movies that many 
in Ann Arbor have 
yet to experience. 
Held 
in 
North 

Quad at Michi-
gan, the various 
filmmakers spoke 
on their creative 
process as well as 
what drew them 
to their respective 
projects. The main 
objective of these 
panels being to 
connect film audi-
ences with film-

makers, a privilege afforded to both 
parties. Every filmmaker exuded 
excitement and gratitude. It was sur-
real to see such high-quality work 
and then get the filmmaker’s per-
spective on it. After certain show-
ings, viewers even had the option to 
head over to HopCat afterwards to 
share a beer with the filmmaker. 

Nevertheless Film Festival was a 

refreshing and soul-fulfilling break 
from this summer’s superhero mov-
ies. As I entered the Michigan The-
ater, women smiled at me from the 
welcome desk encouraging me to 
take whatever swag I wanted. Scat-
tered along their table were pins 
with “the future of film is female” 
emblazoned on them. I shyly took 
two of those with anticipation of 
adorning it on my rapidly deterio-
rating backpack for senior year. Not 
only is the festival socially beneficial, 
but the selection of films was easily 
the most emotionally nuanced I’ve 
seen this summer. I’m looking for-
ward to seeing what they have in 
store for Ann Arbor next year.

New female film
festival fascinates

NATALIE KASTNER

Daily Arts Writer

FESTIVAL COVERAGE

Read more at michigandaily.com

The festival 
assembled a 

wide variety of 
feature-length 
and short films, 

all created 
by female 
filmmakers. 

Angel’s Pulse

Blood Orange

Domino Recording 

Company

