Skip to Main Content
The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

The student-run community news site of Vermont State University - Johnson

Basement Medicine

This is a game to “Return.” to

This is a game to “Return.” to

Ciarra Annis April 24, 2019

There’s an adorable unsung hero in the messy aisles of free games that can be found in the Steam game marketplace. “Return.” published on Steam in August of 2018, is a platformer game that feels...

Paradise on a plate

Rebecca Flieder April 4, 2019

It’s a cold and blustery night, the kind of night that rattles window panes and, if you dare to brave it, will stick its prickly thumbs into your eye sockets just to see you suffer. These kinds of nights,...

The Apex of Battle Royales

Ciarra Annis April 4, 2019

The enemy team didn’t see me, and I could barely believe it. My teammates had just been wiped out after we assumed the Pathfinder we saw enter the building had been alone. I ran onto the roof of the...

Poetry and Moore

Poetry and Moore

Magnificent Schmidl April 4, 2019

On March 22, NVU- Johnson hosted for the second time poet, musician and activist Jessica Care Moore in the Stearns Performance Space. She came to read poetry, talk about her life and inspire people to...

Writer’s night a success

Writer’s night a success

Ciarra Annis April 4, 2019

About 40 white plastic seats were set up in the lobby of the Visual Arts Center lobby in preparation for the NVU Poetry/Fiction Reading on the night of April 29. All of them were filled with students,...

“The Act”: true crime, truly bizarre

“The Act”: true crime, truly bizarre

Mike King April 4, 2019

True crime dramatization is a hard genre to master, often playing out on the screen more like a low budget B movie than a feature quality production. Hulu’s new series “The Act” has managed to capture...

“Turn Blue” with the Black Keys

“Turn Blue” with the Black Keys

Patrick Bell April 4, 2019

The Black Keys album, “Turn Blue” was released in 2014 to positive reviews from most music critics and was listed as third on Rolling Stone’s top albums of 2014 list. It was nominated for best rock...

An a-maiz-ing performance with an Afro-Carribean twist

An a-maiz-ing performance with an Afro-Carribean twist

Magnificent Schmidl April 4, 2019

On March 26, Burlington-based Afro-Latino band Mal Maiz rocked NVU- Johnson’s Stearns Performance Space. I attended with a few of my friends who were also intrigued by the Creative Audience posters posted...

Left 4 Dead 2 still great after 10 years

Left 4 Dead 2 still great after 10 years

Ciarra Annis March 21, 2019

It will be 10 years this November since “Left 4 Dead 2” released online and there’s no better time to look back at the fond memories it has given its players and see how the game holds up. “Left...

Grande’s new album, “thank you, next” a success

Grande’s new album, “thank you, next” a success

Danielle Christina March 21, 2019

Move over ladies in the spotlight, Ariana Grande has done it again. For those of you who thought that Ariana Grande’s reign ended in 2016 with her album “Dangerous Woman,” you might want to take...

Dysfunction works for “Umbrella Academy”

Dysfunction works for “Umbrella Academy”

Mike King and March 21, 2019

“Umbrella Academy” is a Netflix series based on the comic book by Gerard Way, the front man of alternative rock band My Chemical Romance. With the rise of comic book-inspired television anyone who...

Courtney Barnett: perfectly imperfect

Courtney Barnett: perfectly imperfect

Patrick Bell March 21, 2019

“Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit” by Courtney Barnett appeared on the indie-alternative scene in 2015 and has become a must-listen for fans of her music. It was received well from...

Macbeth and the three witches on the Dibden Stage

Bloody, bold, and resolute

Ciarra Annis February 21, 2019

One of Shakespeare’s best known plays took the stage at Dibden Center for the Arts Feb. 14-17... “Macbeth” was directed by Laura Roald, who previously directed “Nine” also at Dibden. This “Macbeth”...

A stuffed quesadilla

El Toro: a great spot and that’s no bull

Magnificent Schmidl February 21, 2019

El Toro is a small, family owned Mexican restaurant and bar that prides itself in their quality of food as well as their support of local music. Outside on this February night, it is windy and gray, but...

"My Brain on Botany" (2011)

Binta M. Colley comes to Dibden

Magnificent Schmidl February 21, 2019

If you take a walk by Dibden any time in the near future, be sure to check out the new art exhibit in the Julian Scott Memorial Gallery in Dibden Hall by Binta M. Colley entitled, “It’s All in the...

Still channeling Led Zeppelin

Still channeling Led Zeppelin

Patrick Bell February 21, 2019

Greta Van Fleet’s new album “Anthem of the Peaceful Army” is the band’s first full-length album. It has earned new fans with this release, but a lot of controversy as well. Hailing from a small...

Dumplin’ disappoints

Dumplin’ disappoints

Magnificent Schmidl February 21, 2019

Well, it’s happened again. Movie trailers have led us to believe that Netflix made a great movie about strong women, body positivity, empowerment and acceptance of all kinds of people, when in reality,...

Isaac Eddy

Isaac Eddy and the power of vulnerability

Magnificent Schmidl February 8, 2019

The spring semester’s second Creative Audience event featured an orientation reboot on Monday, Jan. 28 in Bentley 207. The main speaker was Professor of Performing Arts Isaac Eddy, who spoke about...

Pocket Camp: almost perfect

Pocket Camp: almost perfect

Rebecca Flieder February 8, 2019

Animal Crossing was my first love. Wild World was released in 2005, but I first picked up a Nintendo DS somewhere around 2008. I was nine years old. After almost four years of playing and over 500 hours...

Bounce, roll, and wobble around to your heart’s content with “Pikuniku”

Bounce, roll, and wobble around to your heart’s content with “Pikuniku”

by Ciarra Annis February 8, 2019

A new indie platformer game entered the scene on Jan. 24 entitled “Pikuniku.” It is the first game developed by the indie collective Sectordub. “Pikuniku” was published by Digital Devolver, a publisher...

Tame Impala shines bright with “Currents”

Tame Impala shines bright with “Currents”

Patrick Bell February 8, 2019

Tame Impala’s most recent album, “Currents,” is a staple of the modern indie scene that has listeners coming back to it time and time again three years after its release. To start off this album...

Shastina Wallace and 
“Interbeing: Moving Together”

This year’s BFA exhibits tell personal stories of life and loss

Adriana Eldred December 14, 2018

Every fall semester, seniors in the Fine Arts program are set to present their exhibitions, and this year is no exception – except for, of course, the exceptional work done this year. Three placed in...

Promotional poster for season six featuring Robin Wright’s Claire

“House of Cards” falls flat without Spacey

Tom O’Leary December 14, 2018

When developing the sixth and final season of his Netflix series "House of Cards," creator Beau Willimon was put in an impossible situation by the show’s star, Kevin Spacey. Spacey, who played the primary...

Father John Misty

Spotify wraps up the year

Patrick Bell December 14, 2018

So the other day, I was running out of my apartment late for a class, had some weird brown crud on my chin, and I had totally forgotten to do some homework assignment for that day. I had my headphones...

“Mr. Burns” perplexes despite valiant cast efforts

Danielle Christina December 6, 2018

A hush falls over the crowd as four actors march onto the stage, silently taking a seat in dilapidated furniture. The dappled lighting casts star-like shapes across the actors’ faces, the ceiling, and...

Ruby Velle and The Soulphonics perform at Dibden Center for the Arts

Soulphonics lay it down with hot tunes on a cold night

Magnificent Schmidl December 6, 2018

Those willing to brave the elements on the 13th were met by a warm atmosphere in Dibden Theater at NVU-J. Ruby Velle and The Soulphonics, a stax-style southern soul band from Atlanta, rocked the house...

Fourth chapter in The Story So Far

Fourth chapter in The Story So Far

Thomas Streeter December 6, 2018

The Story So Far released its fourth album on Sept. 21 of this year through Pure Noise Records. The Walnut Creek, California pop punk band is comprised of lead vocalist Parker Cannon, bassist Kelen Capener,...

“Deltarune”: journey to the dark world

“Deltarune”: journey to the dark world

Ciarra Annis December 6, 2018

Fans of indie video games got a surprise on Halloween as developer Toby Fox released the first chapter of "Deltarune," a successor to his first game "Undertale." The release came only with a series of...

This photo is far scarier than Nightmare Vermont's actual event

Scary? Not so much

Kylie Brown November 9, 2018

The only thing scary about Nightmare Vermont was how scary it wasn’t. Nightmare Vermont is an all-volunteer, charity Halloween event that’s been running since 2004. The event took place at the grandstand...

Look out! It’s Spider-Man!

Tom O’Leary November 9, 2018

Over the course of the past decade, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has become a cultural phenomenon across the globe. Since "Iron Man" premiered in 2008, Marvel Studios has dominated the movie industry,...

Load More Stories