Thursday, September 24, 2009

Brand new "Daisy" Review


By Matt Stuttler

As I first listened to Brand New’s album Daisy, I thought for sure I had downloaded the wrong album. It begins with an eerie sample of an old recording of a lady singing a gospel song, and then tears into a Glassjaw-esque heavy, blistering track full of straight screaming. This first song, entitled “Vices”, is definitely the heaviest tune Brand New has ever written, as well as the most different sounding track in their entire four-album discography.

The rest of the album is just as surprising. The band seems to have been influenced by those they have influenced, with traces of southern roots in “In a Jar” and maybe even a little bit of folksy twang on “At the Bottom”. They even seem to be taking nods with Modest Mouse, both vocally and with their guitar work. This is not to say that Brand New has progressed dramatically, but that they have possibly matured musically, though not nearly as much as from their first release of Your Favorite Weapon to Déjà Entendu.

Songs such as “Sink” and “Gasoline” are bristling with yelping vocals, lyrical imagery of fire and God, and the burning down of both. Frontman Jesse Lacey seems to be continuing the spiritual quest he began in The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. Questioning the point of existence in the song “In a Jar”, Lacey sings “Holding out for rest but on the seventh day/ I’ve created nothing and I’m wide awake…There’s too many saviors on my cross again/I know I’m never going to be a perfect man”.

The album concludes with “Noro”. The chorus, “I’m on my way out”, is appropriate for both the ending of this epic endeavor, and also hints towards the rumored possibilities riddled across blog sites that “Daisy” may indeed be the last work of the collective Brand New.

In general, Brand New has added a great album to their repertoire. It’s experimental, but not to the point where they’re doing something different in their particular niche. It has both upbeat and slower songs, with both types washed in walls and sometimes bricks of effects. I would suggest this album to fans of Manchester Orchestra, Colour Revolt, mewithoutYou, or for anyone who likes southern tinged rock, a hint of religious mockery and questioning, distorted overdriven instruments and thumping bass drums, and a little bit of noise and post hardcore elements.

Farm Aid


By Amy Hunter and Dav Timm

Back in 1985, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young put their heads together in an effort to raise awareness about the decline of family farms and to raise funds for the affected families. They played the first ever Farm Aid Concert that year, and since then the Farm Aid organization has been hosting concerts and raising money to support family farms.

This year marks the 24th year of Farm Aid and, to date, the non-profit organization has raised $35 million. Farm Aid accomplishes its mission by promoting food from family farms, growing the Good Food Movement, helping farms thrive, and taking action to change the system. According to the Farm Aid website, “Farm Aid works with and provides grants to local, regional and national organizations to promote fair farm policies and grassroots organizing campaigns to defend and bolster family farm centered agriculture. By strengthening the voices of family farmers themselves, Farm Aid stands up for the most resourceful, heroic Americans–the family farmers who work the land.”

On Sunday, October 4, Farm Aid will hold this year’s concert at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis. If your support of family farming isn’t enough incentive to attend this show, consider the lineup, which promises performances by Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Wilco, Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, Jamey Johnson, and Phosphorescent. Ticket prices range from $39 for lawn admission to $44, $54, and $79 for seats, and $169 for premium seats. If you’ve never been to the Verizon Amphitheater, we highly recommend buying a lawn ticket for this event because it’s a fair price for what’s sure to be a killer show. The doors open at 12 noon on the 4th, so if you attend, plan on arriving early so you won’t miss anything.

This concert is certainly a must-see, since it’s uncommon to have so many huge acts performing together for a common cause. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of classic rock, folk, or jam bands, Farm Aid is where it’s at. Moreover, the proceeds benefit a worthy cause. If you plan on going, buy your tickets soon since such a legendary concert is likely to sell out.

Top Ten Reasons to Live Last Week


1.) Kanye Interrupts…
After Sunday night’s incident at the MTV VMA’s, when Kanye West rudely interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech for Best Female Video, the web exploded with manipulations of Kanye West interrupting various people. You can find Kanye interrupting Robert Pattinson, Michael Jackson, Patrick Swayze and even God in manipulated internet images.

2.) 1980’s Dating Montage
A legit Youtube video showing how hard it was to get a date in the 80’s. Back then you couldn’t just set up a profile on a free dating website. Watch various men with funny clothes and hairstyles talk about what they are looking for in a female. http://www.break.com/index/awesome-80s-video-dating-pickup-lines.html

3.) Recession iPhone Covers
A sad reminder that we are still in a recession, but now you have a new reason to keep paying those $100 phone bills! Cut your costs with corrugated cardboard iPhone 3G cases! Choose from paying .99 cents each or go for the “Bailout Bond” and purchase ten for $7.99! Visit case-mate.com to go Recessionista chic!

4.) Fall Term Refund Checks
Don’t you love that time of September when you receive an email from Melissa Cantrill stating you have a semester refund check waiting for you in the Business office? Now students can actually purchase class books. (*Disclaimer: I’m sorry if you didn’t receive this email but that probably means you did not get a check and should not visit the Business Office wanting a refund check).

5.) It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Devito hi-jinks are back with the season five premiere of It’s Always Sunny… on FX tonight! Season four is available now on DVD and Blu Ray.

6.) Pavement Reunion
After years of speculation it is confirmed that the band Pavement will reunite next year at Summer Stage in Central Park. Mark your calendars. Only 369 days until the benefit concert starts.

7.) Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Sony’s 3D animation adaptation of the children’s illustrated book comes out Friday at our local Globe Theater! Character voices include Bill Hader, Mr. T and Neil Patrick Harris.

8.) Painting on Feathers
Turkey hunting season is quickly approaching. If you know a turkey hunter ask him for the tail end of his turkey after he shoots it. The art of turkey feather painting is a profitable and exciting business. For ways to make your turkey gobble check out myspace.com/denisetadlock

9.) Wolverine on DVD
For the two percent of the public who hasn’t seen the leaked version on the internet.

10.) The Twilight Saga’s New Moon Extended Trailer
More vampire and less animated werewolf! The trailer leaked early after a surprise showing of it in front of the movie Sorority Row on Friday but it was officially premiered Sunday night during the VMA’s. The trailer focuses more on Bella’s depression, the trip to Volterra and the Vulturi! Complete with better clothes and makeup!

Pymalion Festival in Review


By Matt Stuttler
Photo by peradi

The fifth annual Pygmalion music festival kicked off last Wednesday at the Canopy Club in Urbana, Illinois. The festival consisted of bands mostly within the indie community, with genres ranging from folk to punk to electronic. Pygmalion mixes internationally renowned acts with a multitude of bands from the Urbana/Champaign scene at fourteen different locations within a five mile radius in four days. For me and fellow representatives from Greenville College (Hayley Sutton and Dav Timm), the first show of the fest was an eccentric collective known as the Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band. This band set a precedent for the rest of the weekend with quirky beats, moments of intense aggression followed by soothing bells, and clean vocals. Another stand out artist of the night was a two man act called Japandroids of Vancouver, Canada (which is far from Japan). At first the crowd seemed wary of such a small number of people for the proposed sounds found on their MySpace, but once the rawness and distortion of the singers electric guitar kicked in with catchy yelps from both members of the band, it most definitely made up for a simple instrumentation of just guitar and drums. Owen and Headlights also performed, both bringing to the table their own take of minimalism onto a mostly college age crowd.

Thursday started on a mellower note at the Krannert Art Center, with the sweet folk crooning of Denison Witmer, followed by the funny, yet deadly seriousness that is My Brightest Diamond. Later in the evening, Maserati exceeded the standard set the night before to perform their scathing, quick post-rock with a vigor usually found in old school punk bands. Lucero closed out the night with their whisky drenched guitar licks and raspy vocals, recalling both country and rock acts of an older time, but with a sense of emotion that made their music both relevant to all ages of music lovers.

Friday began with long bearded folk singer William Fitzsimmons. It was great to both watch and listen to the calm, introspective character that had been given a set in a Barbecue shop. After being exposed to many great coffee shops around town and seeing the luscious University of Illinois campus, we caught BLK JKS at the Canopy Club. Hailing from South Africa, BLK JKS fused reggae, world music, and indie jam all into a blender served in a cool, frosted mug. Maps & Atlases took the stage next, with clean guitar shredding galore and insanely high and goofy vocals that came from a long bearded man in sharp attire, which was the typical appearance of most acts. Lucky for us, we were able to catch the semi-local band Oceans’ last Urbana performance. Oceans embodied passionate instrumental hardcore harkening back to the early 90’s scene, with the addition of a violin with loads of effects placed upon it, but not the kind of violin you might find in, say, an over-hyped jam band feeding off mainstream radio rock. The show took place in the basement of the Red Herring, an amazing vegan restaurant that offered pay as you can meals and the opportunity to volunteer for an hour of work to earn a free meal.

The final day was arguably one of the most epic festival dates I have attended in my short yet fulfilling festival attending career, beating the socks off of Cornerstone music festival and making Agape look like a youth group function. After attending another great string of coffee shops, Dav and I hiked across town to Parasol records where we caught New Ruins perform an acoustic set that was really great. New Ruins escapes being pigeonholed into any particular genre other than easy listening, but it was indeed very easy to listen to in the great environment provided by the garage-turned-record store. The room was filled with vinyl’s, magazines, and CDs from almost exclusively obscure and underground scenes, collected to be some kind of haven for those sick-of-the-run-of-the-mill commercial music store. After this nice little refresher, I attended Lymbyc System’s performance in the U of I student union. Lymbyc System displayed exactly what I was looking for, with quick subtle samplings of electronic beats and noises combined with the effort of keyboards, acoustic drums, and a violin. They played pulsing ambient instrumental music, which felt like falling asleep on an extremely comfortable subway car by your lonesome.

I witnessed The Books live production of some of their greatest works from their albums, along with a captivating video show behind the act. Watching The Books was like watching a chopped up, classic, home video mixed with a modern movie set to the soundtrack of sound samples and acoustic instruments in a really fancy theatre filled with both college kids and older music snobs. Following this amazing spectacle was Iron & Wine, the name that Sam Beam has given his work. He was a great performer, reminding me of what it must have been like to see Bob Dylan in the 1960’s. The night then took a completely different path with YACHT, an electronic pop band from Portland that might as well be from Outer Space or from the works of Kurt Vonnegut. Their performance was like watching a reverse youth conference, complete with brainwashing techniques of subliminal messaging in the background, a call for the audience to repeat the words spoken by the leader of the guy and girl dynamic act Jona Bechtolt and pamphlets about the “triad” which YACHT has claimed as the symbol for their band. Following YACHT’s performance was Hood Internet, a team of two DJs that mash up popular rap and R&B songs with indie music to make catchy, sweaty dance music.

RJ D2 closed out the official Pygmalion festival with his set of vintage record spinning and sampling of sweet electronic beeps and beats. The unofficial end to Pygmalion was a house party where The World’s First Flying Machine and Santa played with Hood Internet DJ’ing. The room was humid and made everyone grooving to the tunes drip with perspiration. The show lasted until Sunday morning when the cops showed up and shut down the greatest fun our generation could get ourselves into. Pygmalion is a great experience, showcasing both the sweet town of Urbana and the cool music to be found worldwide.

Clayton Art Fair

By Brittney Isringhausen

The streets of downtown Clayton during the weekend of September 11 hosted the 16th annual St. Louis Art Fair. St. Louis is a community that truly sees the value of art in day to day life, so when it came time again to celebrate the visual and performing arts with their yearly art fair, they definitely went all out. Drawing artists from across North America and abroad, the show featured something for everyone’s taste.

Sights, sounds, and smells captivated fair goers in every moment to make the experience unforgettable. Every medium imaginable was represented in visual arts. Ceramics, digital art, drawing and pastels, glass, jewelry, metal, sculpture, painting, 2D and 3D mixed media, wood, photography, and printmaking--it was all there in its greatest forms. The art work was all for sale, but at a hefty price. Pieces ranging from $500 to $20,000 as a norm but a few booths had small trinkets for $20 to $40. I bought a small hand-blown glass bulb from a local artist--he had recently learned to blow glass a few years ago when volunteering at a studio in the St. Louis Art Museum. He talked to the resident artist and quickly picked up the craft and developed his own creative touch in glass working. Some two thousand applicants applied, so to be one of the one hundred and eighty two visual art booths is quite an honor. This free event provided the public with the unique chance to interact with the art and the artist. The art was beautiful and the artists were very enthusiastic about having visitors touch their art and ask questions; the show provided a perfect setting for education and connection with the art and artist.

The performing arts dominated another aspect of the show—three separate stages featured dancing, theatre, music and puppet shows. Some of the acts on the main stage included Abstract Giants, an eight piece live organic hip/hop funk band, and Pat Liston, “an acoustic collision of impassioned songwriting and stimulating music.” The Modern American Dance Company also did a piece. MADC call themselves ‘Chirma,’ a Greek word meaning an illusion or fabrication of the mind, and are said to “push entertainment to the limit with the incredible journey into one of the most mysterious places in human existence… dreams.” Israeli folk dancing, Scottish Country dancers, “Circus Harmony” performers, theater for adults and children, and Native American Flutes by Mark Holland satisfied all appetites for performing arts.

“Art in Action” was another popular draw of the art festival. The artist demonstration stage was not something that fairgoers walked past. Artists showed step by step the use of many mediums such as clay, jewelry, and wearable fibers. For the thirteenth consecutive year the SIU-Carbondale school of art and design brought their Mobile Glass Blowing Studio and Third Degree Glass Factory. Visitors were able to witness and a few were even able to interact with the beautiful art of molten glass blowing.

The art fair would not be complete without a place for kids to make art and express their creativity; the Creative Castle provided several cultural and educational organizations as well as school districts with a vast array of projects. Art Mart generously donated all art supplies. Clayton School districts hosted a Lego booth; Rohon Woods School helped kids make Moroccan Khamas (good luck) hands. El Mundo Latino taught kids different forms of Mexican Folkloric Art. The most popular project put on by the St. Louis Art Fair were paper bag hats which were seen being worn by both adults and children, in all their unique fashions, all weekend.

Another place for hands-on art was at the Art Studio for Adults. As with the Creative Castle, local organizations sponsored and helped teach different projects. Art Dimensions had wire and paint for metal sculptures. Craft Alliance had clay wheels and throwing lessons. A local artist, Thomas Sleet, provided a sculpture studio and taught visitors to utilize common metal and steel objects to assemble small metal sculptures. El Mundo Latino also had a project for the adults with jewelry making with unique stones and different metals. Art Mart donated supplies for Art Studio as well.

Two thumbs up to St. Louis for putting on an outstanding art fair. Visual and performing arts were represented in numerous ways, many ways I had never imagined. We are quite lucky to live so close to a city like St. Louis that places such value on art and expression. If you missed out on the art fair no worries. There are festivals and fairs going on there quite often and hey, the art museum is always free!

Eagle Scout & Maserati play at SLU's Billiken Club



By Aaron Oda

The Billiken Club, located in St. Louis, recently hosted a night of good vibes with musical guests Eagle Scout and Maserati. Many young souls flocked to this free opportunity, excited to enjoy the sights and sounds of these two great bands. The show started out in a joyous uproar as Eagle Scout took the stage, consisting of Greenville’s own Brandon Hunter on lead vocals and bass, Kyle Coleman on drums, Jeremiah Clark on synth, and Robert Varner and Ben Helman on guitars. The audience was not disappointed as Eagle Scout showcased tunes from their soon-to-be-released debut album including “Death Rays,” “Arm’s Length,” and “The Decay.” Combining their infectious hooks influenced from the post-punk/dance scene and their multi-layered guitar work, Eagle Scout is an event best seen in person. They ended their show on a high note, playing the crowd favorite “Decatur” as warm bodies danced to the rhythms and sang to the melodies.

Next on the gig was Maserati, hailing from Athens, Georgia. The group has a sound that borrows from the post-rock ideas of Explosions in the Sky and Mogwai and the psychedelic leanings of bands such as Pink Floyd. They played a lengthy set, entrancing the listener with their delay-drenched guitars and pulsating beats, while creating a hazy and relaxed atmosphere for the audience. This quartet proved that they are a rising act to watch for in instrumental music.

After a fabulous night, fellow Greenville students had much to say about the show. Senior Ben Helman, guitarist of Eagle Scout, remarked, “Getting an opportunity to play at the Billiken Club was really exciting for us. It was great to open for an established band like Masertati and it gives us a real shot at some exposure.” Junior Nick Vineyard commented on the two bands’ performances as “sick.” All in all, it was a well-spent Friday night, hanging out in the company of friendly faces and enjoying some splendid music.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy

Top Ten Reasons to Live 09/09/09

The Beatles Rock Band
09/09/09, The Beatles are back in avatar form on Rock Band. The game features forty five of the band’s songs and costs $59.96.

The Beatles Remastered
Yesterday was also the day that the band’s entire catalog was released in newly remastered stereo and monaural versions.

Metropia Preview
The film takes a futuristic look of Europe in a world that is running out of oil. Located under the European streets is a network of underground stations. Vincent Gallo's character Roger fears the underground when he starts hearing voices while entering the underworld. He finds out that his life is being controlled by some unknown force. Roger tries to break free with his super-model companion Nina played by Juliette Lewis.

La Roux’s Video for “I’m Not Your Toy”
The song is super catchy and the video is equally delicious. La Roux is a European synth band that specializes in cute songs, gingers, the latest fashions and futuristic music videos.

Pygmalion Festival
The four day festival is going on Wednesday, September 16th to Saturday, September 19th in Champaign-Urbana. Artists and bands include: Iron and Wine, Ra Ra Riot, Wavves, Headlights, Low, The Books, The Antlers, Autolux, Yacht, Japandroids, Maps and Atlases, Owen, Maserati, My Brightest Diamon, The Life and Times, William Fitzsimmons, Denison Witmer, Margot and The Nuclear So and So's, Company of Thieves and tons more.

This American Life
Downloadable podcast stories on NPR. Each week they have a featured story based on a common theme. This week it is Frenemies. Visit http://www.thisamericanlife.org/ to download not only this week’s podcast but the entire catalog.

PowerAde Strawberry Lemonade
This delicious drink is manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Ben Rieder just discovered it even though it was introduced before he was born. Its primary competitor is Gatorade.

Elbow’s Abbey Road Edition
a. The UK rock Band Elbow teams up with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Choir to play their 2008 album The Seldom Seen Kid in its entirety. You can watch all the live performances on You Tube, or if you're lucky, you can find a copy of it on DVD.

Coconut Records
Even if Coconut Record's album Nighttiming was released all the way back in 2007, they're making this list because it sounds so good even years later. This album's ready to keep you company as you trade your shorts for sweaters. The first single off the album, West Coast, is especially catchy, and will keep you tapping your toe even as the leaves get ready to fall.

The New iTunes
Released today, iTunes 9 has been revamped for easier navigation, redesigned with a new layout and a new black tabbed-menu system across the top of the iTunes Store interface. There is more browsable content inside every category of the store. Not only is iTunes new and improved but the iPod Nano now features a pausable FM radio and video camera.

Hillbilly Bombshell

The small green building off of the town square is not another rinky-dink Greenville hair salon, but a unique skate and record shop Hillbilly Bombshell owned and operated by Nate (Insert Last Name Here). Far from housing hillbilly couture, the Bombshell features skate accessories and obscure records for cheap!

Nate’s dream of opening a skate shop and record store became a plan put in action when he found out that Greenville was building a professional skate park. The shop includes skating gear, clothing and accessories. The name Hillbilly Bombshell started out as a joke from a friend that grew into a legit name of the business.

Hillbilly Bombshell expands outside the shop. Nate also has a collaborative artistic community that branches beyond the green house's doors. The Hillbilly Bombshell Art Collective is made up of designers, musicians, painters and other artists that grew out of the “932” area of metro St. Louis. Founded in 2002, 932 is made up primarily of a hip hop crew with fifteen members from four different states. The idea of expanding 932's artist collaborative into Hillbilly Bombshell came from Nate's interning days at indie label distributor Caroline Distribution in New York. After being exposed to a large amount of record-label knowledge, music, and art, the idea of starting and extending Hillbilly Bombshell to include artistic collaboration was put into effect. Now, not only does the Hillbilly Bombshell Artists Collective house hip-hop artists, but also features relatively unknown local artists that produce genre-defying tunes.

To find out more about the HBB Artist Collective and skate shop visit their website www.hillbillybombshell.com and sign up for email updates from the store and collective at info@hillbillybombshell.com. Hillbilly Bombshell is located right off the square at 110 West College avenue.

Taking Wood Review


Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock, Taking Woodstock carries us out of summer on a breeze. The movie scenes float along from one place to the next like a leaf in a soft wind, changing direction, destination unknown. That's how I felt during the two hours I spent in the theater. Ang Lee’s direction with the story was too relaxed and uneven to hold one's interest for too long; a definite slow go from beginning to end.

The film starring Comedy Central comedian Demetri Martin focuses not on the festival itself (the view of the stage is a few second blip of it from a distant hill while on explicit drugs), but on Martin's non-fictitious character Elliot Teichberg, author of the book that inspired the movie. He played a big part in making Woodstock happen after the festival's permit was revoked from a neighboring area.

Elliot’s character is timid and submissive, lacking that certain spark to make him the main shining star of the movie. The festival's behind-the-scenes headquarters is Elliot's parents' rundown motel, whose rooms are turned into offices and the pool transformed into a hippie watering hole. The story focuses on Elliot's experience with helping to make Woodstock happen, as well as how it unchains him from his parents and allows him to be more true to himself.

A bright pattern in the mangled tapestry that is Taking Woodstock is newcomer Jonathan Groff, who plays the festival's organizer Mike Lang. When Groff stepped out of the car for the first time donning a leather vest and long brown curls my mind was racing wondering why I didn't know Andy Samberg was in the movie. As seconds ticked by I corrected my mistake and became intrigued by Groff's character. His performance was mellow, almost too mellow, and I was waiting for the time in the movie where he makes everyone drink the kool-aid and end the movie. At least that would make the film interesting. Just when you were becoming curious as to what happened to Mike Lang, he would reappear, riding profoundly into the shot either on a horse, car, or cart.

Emile Hirsch delivers his character admirably. He has returned to live with his parents from Vietnam and has vivid flashbacks of the war while trying to adjust to all the love and peace of the festival. Liev Schreiber's ex-Marine character is a gun toting' cross dresser, hired on to be the motel's security. The recreation of 1969 in artistic style was credible but the speech wasn't. I couldn't tell whether Demetri Martin was meaning to make the phrase “far out” that awkward or not.

Taking Woodstock has an unformed and unorganized feel to it. You only know when the festival officially starts when you hear the echo of distant music from miles away. Bands and artists are not even an object in the movie. Ang Lee did a great job making Woodstock seem uninteresting. The movie needed more direction instead of jumping from event to event without an ending goal. There is no finished portrait to Taking Woodstock and some of that could be blamed on the absence of music and Demetri Martin's stiff performance.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

3 Minute Look at Metropia

Starring Vincent Gallo, Julliete Luewis, Stellan Skarsgard and Alexander Skarsgard.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

In/5 Min. Ago/Out

IN
Online Walking
Lola

IN
Shane Botwin

Liquid Leggings


5 Minutes Ago
New Games
Daisy

Silas Botwin

High Waist Shorts


OUT
Canoeing
Blush

Nancy Botwin

Non Prescription Glasses

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

St.Louis Venue locations


Firebird
www.firebirdstl.com
2706 Olive St
Saint Louis, MO 63103-1426
(314) 535-0353

The Pageant
www.thepageant.com
6161 Delmar Blvd
St Louis, MO 63112-1200
(314) 863-6827

Pop's
www.popsrocks.com
1403 Mississippi Ave
East St Louis, IL 62201-1059
(618) 274-6720

Off Broadway
www.offbroadwaystl.com
3511 Lemp Ave
St Louis, MO 63118
(314) 773-3363

The Billiken Club
St. Louis University
Grand Avenue
St. Louis
http://thebillikenclub.wordpress.com/

The Gargoyle
http://www.thegargoylestl.com/

Fubar
www.fubarstl.com
3108 Locust St
Saint Louis, MO 63103-1205
(314) 289-9050

Fox Theatre
527 North Grand
St. Louis
http://www.fabulousfox.com/

How to Start an Electronic Solo Band Online in College

Matt Stuttler

What is to be done at Greenville College when you have an obscene amount of time to waste on a computer without burning hours on social networking sites? What if you feel the need to express yourself through beeps and clicks, whirrs and simple beats, without the ability to form a full time electronic band? Easy answer: download software like Ableton, Reason, or Fruity Loops and buy a cheap MIDI controller and become your own band.

My own electronic endeavors were birthed out of sitting in my dorm room, filling in the hours between supper and the late night hours of running around discovering the town of Greenville. After acquiring the simple tools to produce my own music to be made in the secrecy of headphones and the sounds of the tapping keys on a laptop, I started to compile a small library of tunes based on some of the music I had found online with the incessant dance beat heard at least once a night on the weekends coming from a show in the Blackroom or Ladue.

After delving into the alternative music scene, I discovered other artists who also decided to make beats and tunes using similar means instead of taking part in the acoustic worship happenings on Scott Field. We, as a collective, compiled two tracks apiece to a free download made available by Mediafire.com. Among the individuals who took part of this, many of whom are members of both the great and small bands found on the Greenville campus, there is to be a found a variety of genres and niches within electronic music. Bbbreak the Bank (Dave Laws) takes tunes and melds them together to make new songs altogether, changing the initial feel of the songs and turning them into something more ready for a college party. Blue Satellite (Phil Schwan) combines his experience in jazz/blues and electronic music to form a sound that is more akin to Japanese and European electropop. Sunnyvale or Bust (Adam Taylor) embraces the insurgence of pop punk veteran-turned electronic savvy vocalists, exhibiting layers of catchy melodies with even catchier synth lines. Aural Apex (Aaron Metz), RBRTVRNR (Robert Varner), and I (It’s Like Spring) have jumped into the genre bending phenomena of noise. Within these works you’ll find a lot of different feels and time signatures, tearing apart traditional musical composition and twisting it into something that may be dreary and atmospheric, abrasive and annoying, or loose and unbound all within the same track. French Cinema (Aaron Oda) is more acoustic instrument based, but instead of settling for a conventional instrumental sound, has taken these instruments and fused them with computer work to make busy and interesting songs that seem to take nods from both the electronic scene and the full band feel.

The intent of all artists involved is to seek to push the boundaries of the music we all hear daily and bang it around until it becomes something even more foreign than the basic software functions our work began with. If you are looking to get into something that will not only open up your mind to fresh ideas as well as challenging the standards of the current trend in the overpopulated and generic-saturated shows across the nation, think about doing something different and do it. Ask anyone involved in this project, and if you go about it the right way for the right reasons, we might just share our limited knowledge and expose you to a whole new world of sampled drums and digital keys. All of the artist’s Myspace links are included in the download, and most have their collection of works up for free download.

(Download Link)

http://www.mediafire.com/?ym1meuznmzm

9 Reasons to Live This Week

According to Papyrus Editors.

1.) The Boat that Rocked soundtrack
The movie stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy and has been re-titled as Pirate Radio for American audiences. The soundtrack is two discs worth of music from the 1960’s including: The Turtles, The Kinks, The Who and David Bowie. It is only available on Amazon because the movie will not hit theaters here until late November.


2.) Calvin Klein’s USB Shades
Sunglasses that not only function to shield your eyes from the sun. They now carry your files! If you like to waste your paychecks on ridiculous accessories like the Papyrus Entertainment editor does then you will love these stylish frames with a USB drive built in. It costs $199 to try to look cool.

3.) Ponyo
The beautiful and cute new Japanese animation movie from the director of Spirited Away & Princess Mononoke. It’s about a goldfish that wants to become a human, but the film is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. Voices in the cast include those of Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, and Frankie Jonas.

4.) Discovery
One of the members from Vampire Weekend and one of the guys from Ra Ra Riot got together and formed Discovery. They do an ill cover of “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5. Find their music at www.myspace.com/discoverdiscovery


5.) Ctrl
Hilarious short episodes featuring Tony Hale (Arrested Development), a white collar stiff who one day spills ice tea on his computer keyboard, making function keys like Delete and Ctrl X (Cut) happen in real life scenarios. And it's available for free on iTunes and Hulu.

6.) Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome sees Webb abandon his acoustic guitar, and instead turns his well crafted songwriting to the synth keyboard. A brilliant album by one of the best musicians continually critiquing and challenging the church.


7.) Alton, IL
Why students should visit Alton, IL: Robert Varner is from there. It’s next to the Mississippi river, and houses the infamous Fast Eddies. There are great costume parties in ancient homes where you will be sure to spot a ghost. Bigfoot has also been sighted there and there are some excellent graveyards.



8.) Adventureland on DVD
The movie is set in a 1980’s run down theme park and comes complete with muscle cars, big hair and teenage angst. Adventureland stars Jesse Eisenberg from this fall’s new zombie movie Zombieland, along with Kristen Stewart.



9.) Montez
Because there are two of them.

September Movies to See


Jennifer’s Body (09/18) Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody.

This is Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman’s follow up partnership work from 2007’s Juno. In the movie Megan Fox plays Jennifer, a cannibalistic she-demon poised as a high school flag-team captain. Amanda Seyfried plays the opposite as Jennifer’s dorky second fiddle. One day in high school Jennifer ends up as the sacrifice in a satanic ritual conducted by Seth Cohen’s (Adam Brody) rock band. Hoping Jennifer’s sacrifice will increase the band’s chances of getting a record deal the ritual goes horribly wrong. Jennifer becomes possessed by a demon and her diet isn’t a diet coke and half a side salad anymore. She starts seducing the boys at her high school and eating them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Even though I believe Fox is the protagonist in the film, Seyfried’s nerd girl is the protagonist and aims to stop Jennifer from killing and eating her boyfriend and the rest of their classmates.

Extract (Friday) Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck, Gene Simmons.

From Mike Judge, director of Office Space and Beavis and Butthead comes another one of his working class comedies. Joel Reynolds (Jason Bateman) is the owner of a flavored food extracts company that deals with a withholding wife (Kristen Wiig), an injured employee, a pretty scam artist (Mila Kunis), and a sleazy lawyer. In the past, the general public didn’t accept Judge’s absurdist brand of humor in theaters, Office Space bombed in the box office and only became gold through VHS/DVD sales. Can audiences see a re-run of this happening Friday?

Surrogates (09/25) Starring: Bruce Willis

Bruce and friends examine a future where humans are isolated, only communicating with their neighbors through robots that serve as public surrogates and hotter versions of their human equivalents. Bruce is the FBI agent who joins the aid of his robot surrogate to look into the murder of the college student who invented the robots. The case grows complex and boring, so Bruce goes on an action adventure out of his house for the first time in years to track his target down.

Bright Star (09/18) Starring: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider

Academy Award winner Jane Campion is director and writer of the riveting drama that is based on the three-year romance between 19th century romantic poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, that was only cut short by Keats’ death at age twenty five.

Coco Before Chanel (09/25) Starring Audrey Tautou

The biopic ties a portrait of designer Coco Chanel’s journey from her modest beginning as a local seamstress to Parisian haute couture. The film shows how the designer shammed a style that would change the way women dressed in the 20the century. Rather than the other Coco Chanel biopic from earlier this year that chronicled her later life, Coco before Chanel only showcases her late twenties when she began displaying her creativity.

Cast announced for Greenville College's Factory Theatre's fall Play The Syringa Tree

The Syringa Tree is a personal, deeply reminiscent story of an abiding love between two families, one black, one white, and the two children that are born into their collective household in the early 1960's South Africa. Seen first through the eyes of a child, Elizabeth Grace, as she tries with humor and sometimes overt fear, to make sense of the disarray, magic and darkness of Africa, we follow the family’s destinies in a story that spans four generations, from early apartheid to the present day free South Africa.

Salamina Mashlope Flora Kurasha
Eugenie Grace Lindsey Schuberth
Elizabeth Grace Ali Richert
Iris Brittany Restoff
Granny Elizabeth Liz Ward
Loeska Hattingh Robin Smuck
Dr. Isaac Grace Stephen Gerling
Zephyr, Peter Mombadi James Turner
Dubike, Pietros, Andrew Daniel Turner
Dominee, Sgt. Potgieter, John Grace Alex Gohde