The Smoke Signal

In addition to her introduction in the “Teacher Feature” from the September issue of The Smoke Signal, Mrs. Mukherjee now showcases her hidden talent for singing in her a cappella version of this beautiful Bengali song.…

By Sarah Li
Films
With the cooling seasons comes a cascade of new films. The Social Network, dramatizing the turbulent history of Facebook’s founding fathers, hits theaters next Friday amidst a flurry of online chatter. Red (Oct. 15), a film about a retired black-ops agent threatened by an assassin, manages to squeeze itself in just before the annual onslaught of Halloween-inspired thrillers:Paranormal Activity 2 (Oct. 22) and Saw 3D (Oct. 29).
The final months bring a number of highly anticipated hits with the first segment of the final Harry Potter installment (Nov. 9) and Tron: Legacy (Dec. 17). Family films, includingMegamind (Nov. 5) and Tangled (Nov.…

By Jamie Lin
Movies
It was a sad summer for movies, but a few superstars shone above the rest. Animated family fun reigned supreme with Toy Story 3, appealing to those who grew up with the first two as well as the new generation of kids. Despicable Me, another animated kid-friendly flick, also proved as formidable as its supervillain characters.
While big-budget films like The Last Airbender and The A-Team disappointed critically and financially, Inception was the must-see movie of the summer. Besides keeping its number one spot for three weeks, it has the best international gross of 2010 for…

By Chelsea Dass
WiLD 94.9, 89.3 KOHL, and MOViN 99.7 are all too familiar. They are probably the most commonly listened to stations on the radio, especially by teenagers. Known for their late night remixes and top billboard pop and hip-hop hits, their playlists are fun to dance to, but are also known for “ruining” songs by overplaying the most popular ones. Maybe it is time to try exploring the other frequencies on the radio for a change. It may come as a surprise that there is a plethora of other genres and quality DJs on the radio—so make room,…

By Aileen Lu
Sara Bareilles has some large shoes to fill for her return to the music scene following her Grammy-nominated hit “Love Song” and platinum album Little Voice. But you won’t find the Californian singer-songwriter among the ranks of pop stars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry. With a style resembling Colbie Calliat and Ingrid Michaelson, Bareilles does not disappoint in Kaleidoscope Heart, her second installment of captivating melodies for the soul.

The album opens with an eponymous vocal arrangement, proving Bareilles’ ability to harmonize without her signature instrumentals. She follows up the serene introduction with “Uncharted,” the song that inspired…