Instead of “kiss me, I’m Irish,” this St. Patrick’s Day, the WSN Arts Desk presents you with “consume me, I’m Irish media.”
“The Bee Sting” by Paul Murray
Filled with prosaic tension and wit, “The Bee Sting” is a slow-paced yet entirely riveting novel. Written by Irish author Paul Murray, the nearly 700-page book explores the financial, social and emotional fall of the Barnes family. The Barneses live in a small Irish suburb where everyone knows them as a wealthy family that runs a car dealership. When the recession hits, however, the family loses their status, the characters each go on their own downward spirals and the readers are dragged through an alluring family saga.
The most impressive part of “The Bee Sting” is Murray’s prose. Each chapter is narrated by a different member of the family, and Murray switches his writing style to match each character’s personal voice. This diversity in style keeps the massive book quite interesting for the reader, but above all, it truly speaks to Murray’s skill.
— Alexa Donovan, Arts Editor
“Derry Girls”
There are few comedy ensembles as perfect as the core five in “Derry Girls.” The sitcom’s backdrop is Northern Ireland in the ’90s during the final years of The Troubles, which exacerbated religious tensions between Protestants and Catholics. Each 30-minute episode balances this historical context with hilarious slice-of-life comedy that you could only get from a group of 16-year-olds at a Catholic all-girl’s school in Derry — and their one male English friend.
If you’re on social media, you’ve definitely heard soundbites from the show, like Clare (Nicola Coughlan) telling Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) “look at the state of you” when Erin assumes Clare’s into her after she comes out as lesbian. Whether you enjoy the group trying to fight a guy for Fatboy Slim tickets or Derry freaking out over Bill Clinton’s visit, “Derry Girls” is capable of capturing anyone’s heart.
— Dani Biondi, Film & TV Editor
“Starburster” by Fontaines D.C.
Released shortly before its 2024 album “Romance,” this single shot past old favorites to become the band’s most popular song on Spotify — and for good reason. The Dublin-based group’s music is rich in both production and lyricism. “Starburster” was inspired by a panic attack that vocalist Grian Chatten had in a London train station, and explores the idea of needing to constantly perform in the aftermath of fame. Chatten has a knack for songwriting that is simultaneously to-the-point while leaving you to think. This shines through in the song’s frenetic chorus, as Chatten probes the ideas of lofty expectations and feeling like an imposter: “I wanna strike with the SAG, I need the friends from it.” Perhaps cut to further that idea of panic, between phrases of the song’s refrain, Chatten exhales audibly and emphatically, and the use of the sound against the song’s instrumentals is striking. It reminds me that music is an art form above anything, and that bands like Fontaines D.C. can elevate well-established genres by breaking conventions.
— Eleanor Jacobs, Music Editor
“Normal People” by Sally Rooney
“‘Marianne,’ he said, ‘I’m not a religious person, but I do sometimes think God made you for me.’”
“Normal People” is a devastating chronology of two people weaving in and out of each other’s lives, always seemingly at the wrong moment. The novel follows Marianne and Connell from adolescence in a small town in Ireland to college in Dublin, as they grow up and grow apart from each other. It’s a book about the way two people can be consumed by each other so much that it’s unbearable, their connection is so deep it almost drowns them. Marianne is a quiet and intelligent girl with a rich family, while Connell is a boisterous and jovial guy from a working-class, single mom. They’re night and day, yin and yang, light and dark. Sally Rooney’s talent for painting a heartbreakingly honest relationship on the page never fails to amaze me, and her depiction of Irish culture never fails to make me want to connect with the 10% of me that is Irish.
— Julia Diorio, Arts Editor
The Cranberries
As someone who is half Irish, has a quintessentially Irish name and wakes up every morning to a Cranberries poster above her bed, I felt it was my obligation to write about this band. The Cranberries formed in 1989, and its members included lead singer and guitarist Dolores O’Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. The band started out in Limerick, a city in the republic of Ireland, and it is most recognized for its top hits “Zombie,” “Linger” and “Dreams.”
The band’s passionate rock sound and range of tones within its albums never fail to satisfy my varying musical moods. I like to listen to the slower, melancholic tunes of “Never Grow Old”, “The Glory” or “Just My Imagination” as I stroll between class, coffee shops and the library. When I am on a run or at the gym, the upbeat punky sounds of “Schizophrenic Playboy,” “Animal Instinct” or “All Over Now” help energize me through my workout. No matter which Cranberries song I am listening to, I am always charmed by the singers’ Irish accents, which shine through as they belt their lyrics.
— Siobhán Minerva, Deputy Arts Editor
Contact the Arts Desk at [email protected].
