The Papyrus Arts and Pop Culture

Getting 'Hung' Up This Summer

2010-07-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

So you love Entourage, right? Well, have you noticed the show before it, Hung? Last season it received much critical acclaim. Hung is on HBO, Sunday nights at 10pm. Below are clips of what you can expect from Sunday's episode!

Ep. 12: Video Extra - Ray's Hat

Ep. 12: Tucson is the Gateway to Dick or This Is Not Sexy - Preview

'Entourage' Is Back! Taking A Look At Sunday's Episode

2010-07-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this is Entourage's 7th season? I can't either. Take a look at what's happening on Sunday's new episode with a preview and a never before scene clip.

Ep. 80: Buzzed: Preview

Ep 80: Credit Card Denied

Enjoy the Summer

2010-06-21T19:52:00.001-07:00

Greenville College is pretty much closed for the summer, unless you are working paint crew or clean up dump. This is it for local stuff! But we'll still be around for other things...

Varsity Art XIV (Art St. Louis)

2010-02-24T18:29:00.001-08:00

This weekend, Art St. Louis will be presenting the 14^th annual exhibition of Varsity Art. The exhibit features art created by students from 19 different colleges in Illinois and Missouri. One to two students are chosen from each school to present pieces of different media. This year, Greenville College was chosen to select two art students to participate in this exhibition. Our recently graduated Tara Underwood and talented Hayley Sutton, both Art Majors, will be showing off their work. The opening reception starts at 6 pm this Saturday , February 27, and is open until 8 pm. Come out to support our art students and see some excellent art from other universities! The show will be open until March 11 for all to see and is located on Washington Avenue in St. Louis.

Superman Breaks Record

2010-02-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Feb 22, the original first edition Superman comic—said to be the holy grail of comic books—sold for $1 million. Released in 1938 by Action Comics, the publication features Superman lifting cars, and originally selling for 10 cents a copy. Not only is this transaction significant for its rarity, but it also sets a new record for the highest price paid for a comic book (previous record stood at $317,000). Almost immediately after the comic was placed on comicconnect.com, a collector placed the offer of $1 million for the comic, which rated an 8.0 for its optimal condition. Collectors claim an opportunity like this comes around only once every twenty years. So until 2030—faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, it’s a bird, it’s a plane—it’s Superman!

The Golden Archipelago

2010-02-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

-Joshua Witchger

The music of the Austin based group Shearwater excels in evolutionary manner. Over an eleven-year stretch, their vision continues to unfold into something deeper and more refined than before. With help from the New York Times and NPR, the group’s 2008 release earned them wider attention, as Rook was praised one of the year’s best albums. The sextet’s newest release, The Golden Archipelago, is no exception to the group’s genius.

In The Golden Archipelago (i.e. The Golden Islands), solemn and haunting music expresses wonder, bewilderment, and grief, towards some of the world’s most isolated and “on the edge” landscapes. Front man Jonathan Meiburg, who spent time in various islands as an ornithology grad student, uses his experience with biology and ecology as the main content of The Golden Archipelago. Themes of nature, wonder, and anguish, dominate as the group praises and laments nature through their signature sound. While not explicitly a concept album, the motif of man’s impact on nature and subsequent loss of identity lingers through nearly every track, compelling the listener to contemplate along with Meiburg.

Beginning the album is a recording of aborigine Bikinains chanting their struggle against globalization. According to The Golden Archipelago’s 52 page booklet, the Bikinains have been exiled to a nearby area, while their homeland is used as a testing ground for advancing weapons of war. Their plea translates to, “No longer can I stay it's true/ no longer can I live in peace and harmony/ no longer can I rest on my sleeping pillow/ because of my island and the life I once knew there.” Quickly after this chant, Meiburg delves into metaphor, comparing the echoes of crashing waves to the reverberation of memories from a former life.

At times, Meiburg’s lyrics seem less like 21^st century song material, and more like naturalistic rhetoric from the Enlightenment era. In “God Made Me,” Meiburg seems to yearn with the outcast aborigines pleading, “we call back to the old familiar life… unchain me… I am life breathed in the radiant lie.” Then later in “Runners of the Earth,” the vastness of land and sea is explored further, ending with the line, “I learned a lie that power breeds/ regeneration.”

Finally, the singer takes on the persona of the outcast in singing lines in their native tongue, translated to mean, “The thought is overwhelming/ rendering me helpless and in great despair.”

The whole of The Golden Archipelago swoons and strides in a seamless rhythm. String arrangements, piano, and malleted drums tie the album together perfectly, producing an almost dream-like quality. Excelling in educated lyrical content, backed by music that suits their endeavor, the whole of the album succeeds. Certainly, one will be led to agree with Matador Records’ declaration that “Shearwater’s The Golden Archipelago is the band’s most absorbing and accomplished work to date.”

Show - Friday - Blackroom - 7:30

2010-02-24T18:22:00.001-08:00

Up In The Air And Down To Earth

2010-02-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

- Matt Stuttler

Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air is a depressing yet humorous look at the state of humanity in the current economic depression. Ryan Bingham, played by George Clooney, is employed by a company whose job is to do exactly what most corporations fear to do themselves: notify the company’s employees that they are fired. This occupation keeps Clooney in the air flying from city to city in order to perform his dirty deed most every day of the year. This means a life of hotel living, efficient traveling habits, and a general (yet clearly welcome) sense of isolation in Clooney’s life. His cycle of sky high living is interrupted by the introduction of two female characters: the first a fellow frequent flier that becomes a love interest Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) and the second a recently graduated fresh face Natalie Keener ( Anna Kendrick) that tries to change the way Clooney’s company runs.

Based on a comic novel by Walter Kirn, the film analyzes Clooney’s character Ryan Bingham’s interaction with these two females. Bingham’s main conflict occurs when Natalie convinces the company’s director (Jason Bateman) to halt the flights of all employees, causing Bingham to feel utterly “grounded.” In one last desperate effort to maintain his flighty life, Bingham must take Natalie on his flights to show the need for his job. Up in the Air has dozens of scenes of people being fired by the protagonists, each one reacting in a different way. Some act on in anger, throwing things and threatening suicide while others simply weep. The deeper into the movie you go, the more empty the office buildings become due to the corporate downsizing. Bingham manages to console and even help some of these recently fired people into continuing on in their lives even without the stability of their former jobs.

The film itself is sadly beautiful, with hues of blues and sharp blacks protruding shot after gorgeous shot. Many scenes take place in airport terminals and office buildings, which are symbols of efficiency and business, but later become symbols of desperation and abandonment. Much of the film was shot in St Louis, so chosen by Jason Reitman because “…St. Louis has so many offices available to shoot in because all these companies have ceased to exist.” He went on to expound on why St Louis was the perfect choice for the majority of the filming, saying, “I love the extras in St. Louis. You know they're curious about the process, they love the process they are disappointed when the day ends. L.A. extras are disenchanted with the entire film business. But more importantly, it was a city that hadn't been shot by many movies and because of that I felt like I got to be one of the first to shoot a lot of locations and the people are lovely."

Another great part of Up in the Air is the realism it captures. Many of the minor characters were extras pulled off the street, and some of the firing scenes involved actual recently fired workers. Reitman had this to say about the process, “We put ads out in local papers in St. Louis and Detroit looking for people who had lost their job and were willing to go on camera and talk about their experience. From there we chose 60 people, 22 of which are… in the finished movie. They would come in sit at a table, we would interview them about what it's like to lose your job and be searching for purpose in this economy and we would fire them on camera.”

Up in the Air presents a realistic, slightly optimistic look into the current state of the US with both wit and satire. Be sure to check it out this weekend at the Globe Theatre!

Local Natives Release Strong Debut Album

2010-02-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

By - Joshua Witchger

When I go to a show, I have a tendency to impose a prejudice upon bands I’ve never heard before; maybe it’s my inner cynic, but I’m often inclined to hesitate on the first listen. That's why this past summer, when Blind Pilot was two hours late for their performance in Pontiac, MI— due to complications getting through U.S. customs— I wasn't too enamored about the extended set the opening group, Local Natives, would be playing.

From the moment they took the stage, I immediately wrote them off as just another proverbial spoke in the fixed gear bicycle of indie rock. Perhaps my personal bias, mixed with a crowd that appeared to be unfamiliar with their music, was the cause for my initial lethargy towards their performance. After the first few songs, however, more and more people entered the venue. Applause grew, dancing intensified, and people’s unfamiliarity didn’t seem to inhibit a good time. This free spiritedness was contagious, and by the end of their set, Local Natives were a hit. Admittedly, I ended up enjoying their performance more than I thought I would.

Now, six months later, I’m just beginning to listen to the music of the Los Angeles rockers Local Natives. As a new name to the emerging scene of rock music, Local Natives stand out as an intelligently minded and energetic quintet. With catchy melodies, a high level of energy, and multiple part harmonies, the group takes on senses similar to Grizzly Bear, Fleet Foxes, and even Paper Route, while also adding unique elements all their own.

Without a substantial fan base in the U.S., Local Natives ironically released their debut album Gorilla Manor in Europe back in November. Recently, however, the group was picked up by US label Frenchkiss, which released an expanded version of Gorilla Manor on February 16.

Despite US obscurity, their debut album is a praise-worthy enterprise, full of songs that grow. Local Natives have a knack for building powerful melodies from simple progressions, heightened by the clicks and clacks of energy-packed percussion. Through carefully constructed pop melodies, vocal harmonies, and even down tempo transitions, Gorilla Manor is music that capitalizes in exhorting joyous energy, yet still leaving adequate room for songs to breathe.

Besides an intelligent musical styling, Gorilla Manor is a lyrical journey. “Sun Hands,” one of the album openers, dives into a hopeful quest, centering on the oft-repeated chorus, “I’ll endure the night/ for the promise of light.” Combining lead guitar melodies with lively percussion, the melody heightens as the group shouts “And when I can’t feel with my sun hands, I’ll promise not to lose her again.” As the song culminates into a heavy rendition of the original guitar melody, it slows down, easing into a milder outro.

Another stand-out track, “Airplane,” opens on howling sounds, suddenly taking turns from loud to soft, as the singer recalls the memory of a friend, “I love it all/ I want you back.” As the song progresses, his voice seems to accept his friend’s fate while still remaining hopeful, singing, “I bet when I leave my body for the sky, the wait will be worth it.”

With a host of memorable lyrics, catchy pop hooks, and sporadic bursts of percussion, Gorilla Manor is a giant step in the band’s very young career. With the music of Local Natives finally releasing in their home country, give Local Natives some support and check out their new album Gorilla Manor. They’ve also got a great video cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecelia” on Youtube.

The Musical Journey of Zach Strout

2010-02-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

By - Joshua Witchger

Byline: In anticipation of Zach Strout’s debut CD release, the singer-songwriter discusses his songwriting, recording, and partnership with Blackroom Records.

CCM Worship Arts major Zach Strout is gearing up to release his debut album Luggage Rack on March 9th. One thing’s for sure, he has a passion for folk music—but his ambitions haven’t always been such. “When I was younger I wanted to be in a screamo band,” recalls Strout. Over time though, his tastes have developed, almost exclusively, into favoring the metaphorical language of folk music.

“I was initially drawn to folk music through Bebo Norman’s album Ten Thousand Days,” says Strout, who admires the beauty of folk lyrics, melody, and composition. “But it’s the picking patterns that really drew me in. I would sit for hours replaying music just to learn the patterns.”

As Strout matures, his pursuit of conveying honesty in his songwriting is something he continually refines. Tipping his hat to the music of Jon Foreman, Derek Webb, and Tyler Burkum, Strout seeks to adapt a similar conversational, down-to-earth approach he admires in these artists. “What I see is honesty, they have a certain rawness in their approach to explaining their emotions. And while I’m not sure if people feel this way when they listen to me, my hope is that they feel like I’m talking to them.”

Strout’s journey of performing folk music began his freshman year, fall of 2008. Having just arrived at Greenville, Strout quickly teamed with like-minded individuals, forming a folk outfit known as Ellery Grange. “I had only played one or two shows before coming to Greenville,” recalls Strout. Over the time spent with Ellery Grange, he became comfortable playing in front of an audience and collaborating with friends. However, with two members having left Greenville, Strout decided that instead of looking for new band members, he would pursue his music as a solo artist.

Playing a handful campus shows, and open mics, Strout quickly exhibited a new repertoire of songs. “Breathe and 61 were some of the first songs I wrote back in 2007,” says Strout, who over the past few years has been building a collection of original material. “One of the songs I play [Mary Lou] was written with Ellery Grange, but most others are fairly new.”

Currently, his pursuit as a solo musician has taken several unexpected turns. Most unexpected was his partnership with Blackroom Records, which all began when Strout’s friend enrolled to take a new course, aptly titled Blackroom Records. The basic idea behind the course is to operate as a record label—signing an artist, recording, producing, promoting, and marketing. In order for the class to function properly, they needed a musician. Thus, due in part to Strout’s friend, his name was suggested as a possible candidate for this role.

Some time later, Strout ran into one of the coordinators for the course, who mentioned in passing that they would like to hear a demo of his music. Strout jokes of how he just happened to be carrying one with him at that instant. Forgetting he had given the demo away, he was surprised a few weeks later when class instructor David Shreiber contacted him, wishing to hear additional songs. Knowing the decision lie between him and two other artists, Strout was told to expect a call informing him of the group’s final outcome.

Strout describes his evening of unveiling while he was at work. “I’m not supposed to answer my phone while I’m working, but I was really anxious to hear their decision,” recalls Strout. It turns out that faculty member David Shreiber incidentally stopped by Strout’s workplace that night. Spotting him from across the store, he excitedly shouted to him, “Hey, did you get the message? You made it.”

Form there, Strout describes the rest of the process as a bit hectic. “Plans were quickly made to record the album during the fall and have everything completed by Thanksgiving weekend— but it took a lot longer than it should have,” says Strout, who was initially a bit hesitant towards the final product.

Eventually, Thanksgiving weekend came and the record was far from completion. “[One of the hard things was that] while recording I would only get to hear pieces of the songs, and none of it was mixed yet,” describes Strout. Hearing the raw sound of the recording process, contrasted with his hopes of producing an album that would fit comfortably in his folk catalogue, Strout was a bit disheartened.

But then it all came together. Peter Lokey, who recorded and mixed the album, finished the tracks, and right when the fall semester came to a close, Strout’s album was complete.

“I was given the tracks right when I got home for Christmas break,” recalls Strout. “I sat down in my room and just listened to the tracks… and was really pumped. Peter was amazing to work with and he did a great job finishing up the album.”

Partnering with many other student-musicians, Strout considers himself fortunate to have such a supportive community of people who worked together to complete his album. In addition to Strout, who writes all the music, sings, and plays guitar, a wide range of other instruments were utilized to present a fuller folk sound. Piano, drums, viola, and stand-up bass are featured on several tracks, played by Sarah Maitlen, Evan Sieling, Blakeley Woessner, and Nichole Graham respectively. Also playing on a few tracks are Blake Holderread with lap-steel guitar, Lucas Harger with banjo and guitar, Jay Wilde with trumpet, and myself with mandolin.

All in all, Luggage Rack contains 11 tracks with a final instrumental reprise. “The last one was all Blakeley’s improvised composition,” says Strout, who thinks it is a fitting way to close out the album. “And I think it might also be my favorite song.”

With the first shipment of CD’s just arriving, Strout is anxious to share his music with the Greenville community. Strout and Co. is preparing to offer a full band performance for the release show on March 9th in the Blackroom With the anticipation of more shows in the future—possibly even a small summer tour—Strout is fully embracing whatever direction Luggage Rack takes him.

Join the Greenville community on March 9th in welcoming the official debut of Zach Strout’s album Luggage Rack.

Eagle Scout Sprouts 'New Hands'

2010-02-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

By Matt Stuttler

Greenville College’s own Eagle Scout will be releasing their debut full length New Hands on February 16. A culmination of four years’ worth of material, including re-recordings of “Kites” and “Spies Like Us” that previously appeared on their second EP Pandamonium!, Eagle Scout treads new waters and layers on New Hands.
The album oozes and aches with gritty distorted punk guitars (discovered since the last release) and quick punchy delay lines from guitarists Robert Varner and Ben Helman. The same intensity is there, but with an almost new vigor that comes along with the progression and tightness of a consistently maturing band. The hard hitting hardcore influenced dance beats (courtesy of drummer Kyle “Rocky” Collman) and sing-alongs (courtesy of the entire band) have also come along for the ride, but with a sharp intelligence to them, reminiscent to a more spacey and experimental Tokyo Police Club.

The album, produced by Matt Goldman (Copeland, Anathallo, Underoath), showcases vocalists Brandon Hunter and Hen Belman’s high/low dynamic, sometimes verging on voice cracking pronouncements to severe yelps of emotion bundled into man form. Keyboardist Jeremiah Clark finishes the line up out with his smooth and atmospheric lines, adding that extra layer that puts Eagle Scout above the level of most typical indie dance bands. “At Arm’s Length” opens the album with the scathing lyrics “we gave greatly to a cause we never knew/just to prove we did our part/despite my best efforts to stop the bleeding/my veins ran dry and I realized just where we went wrong” which sets the pattern for the lyrical content of the rest of the philosophical/cynical almost ironically joyful vocals that continue throughout the album.

“Currents” glides in with a nice little delay ditty that later bursts into a full out yell that embodies the water/waves theme of the song, complete with a pounding bass drum and synths that woosh. The most upbeat track of the album “Death Rays” races in a similar style to the movie Death Race, with malice on its nice trimmed college beard and spikes on its spinning tires of punk doom. The track doesn’t let up until it hits a metaphorical speed bump/breakdown that is sure to be a climatic moment in a live setting with the shout along “A space suit/can’t save us/won’t save us now”. The reduxes of both “Spies like Us” and “Kites” give both songs a facelift, with stronger vocal approaches and a realer feeling all around. The intro of “The Decay” despite its title brings in the listener in with a jangly little tambourine joint with a slick as butter guitar line. Probably the lightest/slowest song of the album, Eagle Scout still manages to get across their point, even if the song tends to decay itself a bit. “I Am Your Ghost” and “Weaker Science” both carry the listener on towards the end of New Hands, decked out with more smart lines and catchy hooks. “No Devil Lived On” and “Our Body is Walls” round out the experience with nods to the founding fathers of both punk and indie rock, keeping the toes tapping, the eyes reading the lyrics, and the head nodding in agreement.

New Hands is an exquisite release that is bursting with catchy, abrasive, atmospheric tunes. The band has grown in both popularity and maturity, leading them to be even more accessible to the ear of the current college music scene. The album art is sweet and icy looking. Not only does Eagle Scout keep the kids dancing, but also remind them there is something going on in both a local and global setting just below the surface that isn’t quite right. If you’re into Foals, Tokyo Police Club, Friendly Fires, or Los Campesinos, give these cool dudes a try.

Greenville College Alum Andre Anjos Scores 'Holy Rollers'

2010-02-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Three noteworthy films of Sundance:

Blue Valentine

Finding themselves amidst the complications of married life, Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams play a couple that retreats to an unfamiliar place, seeking to revive their marriage. Directed by Derek Cainfrance, the film charts the history of a relationship in a unique and heartfelt way.

Holy Rollers

Holy Rollers sees Jesse Eisenberg playing a Hasidic Jew who is determined to become a Rabbi. However, through the influence of his Brooklyn neighbors, he is pulled into the world of illegal drug smuggling. This film being Kevin Asch’s directorial debut, exposes the true story of abandon faith and family. One of the coolest things about this film is that GC alum Andre Anjos composed the soundtrack for this film.

Winter’s Bone

Director Debra Granik tells the story of a young girl, played by Jennifer Lawrence, who is on a mission to uncover the truth about her father. With adversity all around her, Lawrence’s character teams with her friend and uncle to find her father and save her crumbling family. Taking several awards at Sundance festival, look for this award winning adventure story soon to be released.

March St. Louis Concert Calendar

2010-02-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

3/2 The Rocket Boys 8pm $7 Cicero's
3/4 Via Audio w/ Pattern Is Movement 9pm Free Biliken Club
3/4 Montez 8pm $5 Lemp Auditorium
3/4 Paula Cole 9pm $25 Old Rock House
3/5 Those Darlings w/ Flaming Death Trap 9pm $8 Off Broadway
3/6 Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears 8pm $10 Off Broadway
3/6 The Magnetic Fields 8pm $26 The Pagent
3/7 Frontier Ruckus 8pm $8 Off Broadway
3/9 Rodrigo y Gabriela 8pm $25 The Pagent
3/11 Elevator Music Series presents: Califone 8pm $12 Luminary Arts Center
3/11 Willie Nelson & Family 8pm $45 The Pagent
3/13 G. Love and Special Sauce 8pm $20 The Pagent
3/14 David Bazan w/ Headlights 9pm $12 Old Rock House
3/14 La Diapute 8pm $5 Lemp Auditorium
3/20 Appleseed Cast (playing Low Level Owl I & II) 8pm $10 Off Broadway
3/23 The Cave Singers 9pm Free Biliken Club
3/26 Dr. Manhattan 8pm $5 Lepm Auditorium
3/10 Flogging Molly 5pm Free Vintage Vinyl
3/18 Project 86 w/ Flatfoot 56 8pm $12 The Firebird
3/21 The Aquabats 7pm $15 The Firebird
3/24 Saosin w/ Maylene and the Sons of Disaster 7pm $15 Pop's

Beyond The Bachelors (A Letter)

2010-02-22T14:37:00.000-08:00

By - Steph Plant

Dear Jars of Clay.

I just wanted to write and say thank you for spending a little time in Greenville, Illinois. I could just kiss you right on your shiny, shiny foreheads for improving my life so much.

Back in high school I remember playing your cassette tapes all the time and wondering what kind of people you were. I dialed up the internet and went on a search for more information on how you’d become a band. I remember that fateful day when I read the words “studying Christian Contemporary Music at Greenville College in southern Illinois” and made the critical decision to send in my one and only college application and grow up to be JUST LIKE YOU. Thank you, Jars. Thank you for instilling the dream in me. The dream that many of us arrive here with: to one day complete our CCM bachelor’s degrees and go on to great and glorious CCM bliss.

It doesn’t bother me now that the dream was shattered that very first semester when I attempted to take Piano I with Dr. Kwon and realized that being a music major actually involved crazy hard WORK that I wasn’t at all prepared to do. Two hours a night in the practice rooms? Are you kidding me, Jars?! No wonder you dropped out and skipped right to bliss early on. I’m happy for you. I’m also happy for me.

I withdrew from a bunch of my music classes and perused the class listings to seek out some other interests of mine. I put my big plans for a CCM career on pause for a while as I took amazing classes with people like Rick McPeak, Ruth and Richard Huston, Daryl Iller, and Steve Heilmer. I learned so much from them all because of you, and I’m much indebted. Because of you I was exposed to the works of M. Scott Peck, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Annie Dillard. Because of you I got involved in lots of art classes and ended up changing my major so that I could devote more time to making lots and lots of woodcuts. Because of you I was challenged not to seek out what to think but how to think.

Because of you I live with a wonderful cat. (His name is Nunu, and he wants me to thank you for him as well.) Because of you, I ended up picking up my guitar again and started writing my own little songs (since that I wasn’t any longer intimidated by ambitions of being just like you)!

Because of your impeccable taste in Christian colleges, I met people who I’ll consider my bffs FOREVER. Forever, Jars. Do you understand how important you are to me?! You’re responsible for so much happiness in my life. Thank you for being the doorway to friendships with so many ridiculously wonderful people... Rachel Brown: delightful, dear, sister for life, Micah Jerrell: caring companion and boyfriend supreme, Katie Bogdanowicz, Krista Herring, Johannah Swank, Anna Nieves, Travis Hall, Anna Wagner, Joy Tsakanikis, Sara Miller, and Kelly Latimore, just to mention a tiny sliver of them.

Jars of Clay, you’re the best. I can’t decide who I’m more indebted to, you, or the U.S. Department of Education. My bliss didn’t come cheap, let me tell you. It was worth every penny I’m going to be paying off for the next several decades.
Anyway, thanks again to each of you, Charlie, Dan, Matt, and most of all Steve - I want to fall in love with y’all.

Your biggest fan,
Steph Plant

Steph Plant graduated from Greenville College in 2009 with an art degree. She currently resides in Greenville, filling her time with substitute teaching at the elementary school, playing with her cat Nunu, spending time with friends, making silly collages, and music shows.

Sun Chips, How Green Of Them!

2010-02-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

By London Novak

One major corporation taking eco-friendly measures is SunChips, who recently announced they will start selling their chips in compostable packaging. The chip bags will be made of a plastic composed of renewable, plant based materials called polyastic acid (PLA). According to a SunChips press release, this is the first fully compostable snack chip bag made from plant-based materials. The change is designed to significantly improve the environmental impact of its packaging. Gannon Jones, vice president of marketing at Frito-Lay North America, said, “This is an important first step towards having a fully compostable chip bag in market by Earth Day 2010.” Now when we eat a bag of SunChips, we can put our trash in the compost bin. And that’s not to mention the full serving of whole grains and 0 grams of trans fats! SunChips snacks are available in Original, Harvest Cheddar, French Onion, Garden Salsa and Peppercorn Ranch flavors.

Another company combating the issue of environmentalism is the multinational automaker, Nissan., who has recently put out the company’s first all-battery electric car. Hoping to change consumer behavior, the company is taking charge for the markets in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. They’re planning on having service stations in many parking lots and shopping malls in which retailers will be offered the services for free. There are major efforts being put forth to deliver public charging. In Israel, the Renault-Nissan Aliance is working to deliver electric versions of the Renault Laguna with swappable batteries for longer trips. Unfortunately, this feature will not be issued in the US since many homes have multiple cars and trips are usually shorter. Reservations have already been in progress and orders can be placed in August while the car will be delivered by the end of the year.

Currently within our own City of Greenville, recycling bins are making their way home to proud new owners. After a long battle with many city inhabitants, the decision has been won over to start a curbside recycling program. Beginning on March 1, city inhabitants will no longer have to throw away reusable materials on their normal trash day and have the opportunity to make a difference in their community. Although people will not be able to throw away glass, other materials such as plastics, cardboard, newspaper, aluminum, and tin are able to be picked up. Because of the services, there will be an increase on the water/sewage bill, but it will not exceed $6.

The Oscars, A Night of Firsts

2010-02-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

By - Matt Stuttler

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony kicks off on Sunday, March 7, and will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. Commonly known as the “Oscars”, this will be a year of firsts for the historic night.

The biggest first springs from the obvious rivalry that exists between the pair of ex-spouse directors James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow. Both have nabbed nine Oscar nominations for their respective films Avatar (Cameron) and The Hurt Locker (Bigelow).

If Bigelow wins the Oscar Nomination for best director, she will become the first female to win the award and only the fourth to be nominated. When asked to comment on the possibility of being the first female director to win the Oscar, Bigelow responded philosophically with “I hope someday we can lose the modifier and that becomes a moot point whether the person is male or female and they’re just filmmakers making statements that they believe in.”

Another first comes from the Best Film nomination for Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, which features Lee Daniels as the first African American director whose film has been nominated. In the animated world, Up is the first CGI animated feature film to be nominated for Best Picture.

Another big first (in sixty years) for the night will be the broadening of the best picture nominees to ten, which is double that of the previous years. “Having 10 Best Picture nominees is going to allow Academy voters to recognize and include some of the fantastic movies that often show up in the other Oscar categories, but have been squeezed out of the race for the top prize,” commented Sidney Ganis, the Academy President.

Some films, such as the previously mentioned Avatar and The Hurt Locker (each nominated nine times), received several nominations. They are Inglorious Basterds ( eight), Precious and Up in the Air (six), Up (five), District 9, Star Trek, and 9 ( four), An Education, Crazy Heart, The Princess and the Frog, and The Young Victoria (3).

The nominees for Best Picture are Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire, A Serious Man, Up, and Up in the Air.

For Best Animated Feature Film, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, and Up.

For Best Director, James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air), Lee Daniels (Precious) and Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds).

For Best Lead Actor, Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker).

For Best Lead Actress, Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidbe (Precious), and Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia). For a complete list, visit the Oscars web site at www.oscars.org

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-18T21:17:00.001-08:00

Photo by: Audi Acree
Merry Christmas from The Papyrus 09' staff!

Snogging in America: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

2009-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

This hilarious coming-of-age story is based on the international best-selling series of books by the British author Louise Rennison, and follows the eccentric and irresistible Georgia Nicolson as she overcomes the trauma of being a teenager.

Misunderstood by her “ancient” parents—but buoyed up by the love of her cat, Angus, and her bessie mates, the Ace Gang—Georgia Nicolson (GEORGIA GROOME) struggles through life seeking out her two main desires: 1. To get a gorgeous boyfriend. 2. To throw the greatest 15th birthday party ever.

When handsome brothers Tom (SEAN BOURKE) and Robbie (AARON JOHNSON) arrive at school, Georgia thinks her boyfriend dreams have been answered. But when she sees Robbie with her arch rival, Slaggy Lindsay (KIMBERLEY NIXON), she devises a plan to show Robbie that she’s the mature, sophisticated girlfriend he deserves. Unfortunately Georgia’s plans - involving snogging lessons, dying her legs orange and stalking Slaggy Lindsay - don’t exactly run smoothly.

In addition her own romance problems, Georgia's dad (ALAN DAVIES) is given an amazing job opportunity in New Zealand. This leaves Georgia’s mum (KAREN TAYLOR) open to the charms of builder Jem (STEVE JONES), a George Clooney look-a-like who’s ancient (mid 30’s) but still a fittie. The worry over her parents’ marriage is a huge pressure on Georgia, who feels that the responsibility for holding the family together rests on her shoulders.

In her quest to get Robbie and keep her family from splitting, Georgia transforms from a selfish girl into a young woman who’s grown beyond the valley of the fab and into the universe of marvy.

The DVD is out Monday, December 21st (12/21/09).

Shaping a Dynasty, The Young Victoria opens Today

2009-12-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

In The Young Victoria, Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) delivers an incredibly compelling performance as Queen Victoria in the turbulent first years of her reign. Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice) portrays Prince Albert, the suitor who wins her heart and becomes her partner in one of history’s greatest romances. This love story, set amongst all the intrigue of the court, also features Paul Bettany (Iron Man, The Da Vinci Code), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Jim Broadbent (The Damned United, The Chronicles of Narnia), Thomas Kretschmann (Valkyrie), and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Tristan & Isolde).

The Young Victoria opens today to a limited release. The film will be playing at the following cinemas in Chicago:

Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON Theatre
AMC River East 21
Landmark Century Centre Cinema
Century 12 Evanston/CineArts 6

Over the Moon, a 'New Moon' Review

2009-12-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Caitlin Tadlock

Midnight on November 20, I was amidst the “Twi-hards” (a term coined for extreme Twilight fans) for the first time in 364 days. Ronnie’s Cinema in St. Louis was packed to the max with several auditoriums holding the midnight screaming, I mean screening of The Twilight Saga‘s: New Moon. Women young and old were dressed in their Team Edward and Team Jacob shirts. The more daring fans had the audacity to dress as vampires, fangs and all. At 12:01 the lights went dim and without warning the screen went black; that’s right, no 5-minute National Guard recruitment advertisements! A full moon appeared on the screen and the crowd gasped. It was the start of a new moon.

The Twilight Saga’s second installment of the now multimillion-dollar franchise New Moon is a hit with its fan base, grossing a total of 473 million dollars worldwide. It’s the story of Forks, WA, high school student Bella Swan who gets broken up with by her vampire boyfriend after his brother tried to take a snap at her. Bella finds solace in her werewolf best friend Jacob Black and thus starts the love triangle for the next film.

I would like to start off the review with a quote from the director Chris Weitz, “I’ve realized I won’t necessarily get good reviews for this movie. Having swallowed that, this was made for the fans, and if you don’t get it, then you don’t get it”. This review will be more directed towards the Twilight fans since it‘s they who are watching the films. I can sit here and agree all day that the hour of Bella being depressed wasn’t your cup of tea and the lines shared between Bella and Edward were more comical than touching, but I won’t because no one cares about non-Twilight fan opinions because you just don’t understand.

The special effects and all around vision of the film are excellent with the direction of Weitz. My favorite part of the film wasn’t Bella/Jacob bonding or Bella/Edward moments, but the chase montage of the renegade vampire Victoria. Thom Yorke’s song “Hearing Damages” played in the background as Victoria is chased through the Olympia forest by Jacob and company. The underwater scene where Bella is drowning is also visually aesthetic even though I did hear stifled laughs from a few members of the audience when the Edward apparition appeared; maybe it was boyfriends of the girls.

Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, says in interviews that throughout New Moon, Bella grows up in Edward’s absence. I have a problem with this. Bella is introduced as an independent middle-aged-teenager that has spent her life looking after her mom rather than the other way around. Bella is now enraptured by Edward and can’t see her life without him even when he is gone. She is co-dependent and although the film portrays first real heartbreak for a girl, something most girls can relate to, it also shows the unhealthy infatuation Bella has with Edward. Like Jacob says in the third book Eclipse, Bella never learns to live without Edward. Bella goes through the film depressed, putting herself in danger, and in the end gets rewarded by saving Edward’s life and having an almost happy ever after. Is Bella regressing in each installment of the series?

In the book New Moon, Bella jumps off a cliff because it would be the only way she could recall Edward’s voice in her head. I felt in the film it didn’t do a great job portraying this as an act of defiance but as an attempt of suicide. In the lines she mutters before jumping off the cliff she says “You wanted me to be human, so watch me”. To the people who don’t read the books but watch the movies (unbelievable, but there are a lot) this scene comes off more as a suicide attempt rather than a dangerous attempt to see her beloved. Not healthy.

The film was adapted well from the book, better than Twilight was. The running time let the story flow more freely and without rush. The CGI wolves didn’t look as bad as what I thought from the trailer, Dakota Fanning playing one of the Volturi was disappointing as expected, and I wasn’t bothered with the lack of Robert Pattinson because I have converted to Team Jacob.

The beginning starts with a full moon and ends with a gasp and cut (not fade) to black. The ending can’t be disappointing for fans because in a measly 7 months we will be hit with the next installment Eclipse. For Twilight fans, I give The Twilight Saga’s: New Moon an 8.5 out of 10; and for the boyfriends of the girls who were dragged to see it, I am sorry, 5 out of 10 for you and I hope you were rewarded afterwards, you know, with Dairy Queen.

Wind and Sail Releases EP

2009-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

By Emilie Moroney

The Wind & Sail CD release show may have gotten off to a late start, but it was well worth the wait. The show featured The Great Outdoors from Edwardsville, and Greenville College band The Van Pelts. The Great Outdoors started the show 40 minutes later than scheduled. The normal four-piece band performed at what singer and keyboard player, Quinn Buerkett, dubbed “75%,” as they were without their bass player. They were indeed missing their low end and the set seemed to drag on a bit without that dimension, but they managed to get the night off to a good and anticipated start as the audience could still enjoy the good song writing and performance.

As The Van Pelts took the stage the audience seemed to gain energy with the familiarity of the band. While they have played, as singers Moriah Seamen and Tara Wepking noted during the performance, a lot of shows in the Blackroom lately, it was still fun to watch and listen to. Their whimsical, light-hearted tunes made for a good transition to the headlining act.

Even though it was Wind & Sail’s first time headlining a show at Greenville, there was a good turnout of people who came for the band’s EP release. The EP entitled A Place to Discover features 5 songs that the group recorded over a weekend in Tennessee. The album artwork was hand crafted and Devin Moroney, the lead singer and guitar player for Wind & Sail, emphatically expressed that they “worked really hard on them”. The crowd seemed to recognize the music and really enjoy the show. The band was selling the new CDs for the special price of $2 instead of the normal $5, and were happy to have sold 43 copies on the opening night of its release.

Wind & Sail will be embarking on a 10-day tour to different parts of Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska to promote A Place to Discover this Friday before they return home for the Holidays.

Top Ten Reasons to Live this Week

2009-12-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

By: Caitlin Tadlock

1.) Fraggle Rock the Movie

Coming to a big-screen near you is the revamp of Jim Henson’s 1980’s puppet creature television show. Cory Edwards, director of Hoodwinked, is overseeing the project and claims they have a script that they are excited to bring to film. The problem with the film is that it has to appeal to an age range from ten year olds to thirty and forty year olds. Edwards reassures that they are going to be using real puppets for the movie.

2.) Cold War Kids - Behave Yourself EP

You can download Cold War Kids new album early on December 21, exclusively on iTunes. Their first single has been getting hyped on 105.7 The Point during the acceptable music shows like Les Aaron’s “New Music Sunday”. Cold War Kids are playing in Chicago at the Vic Theatre on January 30.

3.) The Fame Monster

Lady Gaga released an 8 song CD last Tuesday that does not disappoint (Caitlin). Even though Gaga is jammed down my throat at work: while I’m walking down the hall, reporting traffic or visiting the restroom, I still love the catchy dance beats of each song. I favor “Telephone” featuring Beyonce today.

4.) Team Jacob

My mother and I are Team Jacob and after the opening of New Moon there are more converts. December 12 is nearing and Jacob wolf himself, Taylor Lautner will be hosting Saturday Night Live! I am hoping for Taylor squared jokes, Twilight spoofs and underage slams.

5.) Brodmann Blades

For $100 you are now able to play ping-pong without handles! Ping-pong with handle-free paddles is supposedly all the rage for Christmas. You wear the paddles like gloves. If you want to save your money I say try cutting off the handles and super gluing ($3 at Wal-Mart) some gloves ($1 at Wal-Mart) together. But if you want the wristband I would suggest you get the Brodmann Blades package.

6.) Beach House - Teen Dream

The new album from Beach House - Teen Dream will release on January 26. Take a listen on myspace.com/beachhousemusic or mixxedtapes.blogspot.com to get a feel of what the album will sound like. Their first single “Norway” is splendid!

7.) Hoarders on A&E

I watched the previews of a television show on A&E about hoarding. I was amazed! This is totally going to be me in fifty years and instead of McDonalds bags it’s going to be CATS! Monday nights, 9 pm on A&E.

8.) The Road

Starring Viggo Motensen and directed by John Hillcoat, The Road is the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 2006 novel. Father and son wander through a post apocalyptic wilderness as they fight fear, starvation and madness. Reviews hailed the film “one of the most spookily convincing, least ‘movieish’ visions of a bombed-out wasteland future I’ve ever seen”. The movie is out now in select theatres.

9.) The Scrubbing out of Zach Braff

Scrubs comes back from the dead on ABC. Last year it was announced that Scrubs was ending but instead a new class is taking over. Zach Braff’s spot will be filled with a medical student in the start of the season. Maybe this will mean more people will stop watching and then we won’t have to see Scrubs at all except on UPN, WON, MTV, Comedy Central, TBS and etc (etc. stands for etcetera, not a television station). Tuesdays at 8 pm on ABC.

10.) Vampire Weekend - Horchata

It’s kind of been a love/hate relationship with Vampire Weekend over the past few years. When their first album dropped it was just a love relationship, soon after people felt an annoyance with the band. Well prepare to love somewhat again! Arriving early in January is Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album Horchata. “Cousins” is the band’s first single from the album and it’s quite quirky and different from their first CD.

Christmas Ideas for the Poor

2009-12-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

By: Caitlin Tadlock

1.) Woot.com

Woot offers one item each day at a ridiculously low price. From Star Wars bobble heads to USB plug-ins Woot.com has you covered. Anything you purchase from the website will only be $5.00 flat shipping rate. If you start going to the site now you might have all of your Christmas shopping done by Christmas Eve.

2.) Homemade Junk

The creative have an advantage here. If you are artistically enabled, make something for your family and friends. There is a good chance it could come out bad, but it’s not like they can tell you they don’t like it. It might be thrown to the bottom of the closet but you’ll feel better when you know they can’t return it.

3.) The “Used” Button on Amazon.com

Last year I told my mom I would take back anything she bought on Amazon that was “new”. Why buy the $20.99 Dexter Season One DVD set when right next to it is a 99% reliable rated user selling a “used-like new” season for $8.00 cheaper right? And, even if it is scratched, it’s a delight to give the user a low rating and watch them hit you with complaints about their low rating. You can always return the product.

4.) Rodarte for Target

Starting December 20, Target will carry the fashion line Rodarte for exactly one month. Although the line doesn’t include the $500 pieces you saw during London Fashion week earlier this year it will cover similar styles to fit your budget.

5.) Recycleagift.com

Take those gifts you still have in boxes from last year and swap them for money to get others something they might want. The website swaps unwanted DVDs, CDs and books for cash. Visit the site, type in the product code, decide the price and wait for someone on the web to buy it.

'The Blind Side' Opens Eyes

2009-12-10T19:45:00.000-08:00

By: Jamie Hoag
Jen Redell

“This team is your family, Michael. You have to protect them.” This line spoken by Leigh Ann Touhy, played by Sandra Bullock in the movie The Blind Side, emphasizes the importance of family and relationships in this film.

The movie, starring country music artist Tim McGraw, as well as Sandra Bullock and Kathy Bates, is based on a true story about current Baltimore Raven’s star, Michael Oher. It is also based on Michael Lewis’ book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which involves performances and inspiring football scenes. Its multifaceted genre lends itself to be a film that a variety of people can enjoy.

In the opening scene, viewers are exposed to a scene of National Football League (NFL) coverage from nearly twenty-four years ago. The footage depicted a scene from a Monday night football game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants. In one single play, the future of one famous football star, Joe Theismann, was altered forever. His career permanently ended that night. This piece of NFL history provides context for the storyline of The Blind Side.

The audience identifies from the NFL clip that had someone stepped up to protect Theismann that night, the results of that night would have been drastically different. This realization helps put the rest of the movie into understanding.

After the Touhy family attends a high school volleyball game for their daughter, they spot a child walking down the cold and dark streets alone. When inquiring about who the man is, the son of the Touhy family, played by Jae Head, points out that everyone at school calls this kid “Big Mike.”

Throughout the rest of the movie, the family offers “Big Mike,” who reveals he likes the name Michael, a life that he has never known, and in return Michael changes their lives forever. The Touhys offer Michael a roof over his head, food on his table, money and support for college, and unending love. Michael changes the heart of each Touhy family member by living a selfless, humble life to the best of his ability, despite his unfortunate childhood of orphanage living and absent parents. Through him, the family realizes the value and importance of helping others out and loving the unloved.

After the final scene of the movie, as the credits start to roll, there are real pictures displayed of the real Michael Oher and his adopted family. They also showed a clip of Michael Oher being drafted into the NFL in 2009. Oher was the 23rd first-round draft pick.

Although this was life impacting for Michael it also helped change the Touhys life. There are many different challenges that Michael and the Touhys conquer together. As Michael became a student and football player, his coach, adopted family, and friends helped him become the man he always wanted to be.

Here’s what some of the top critics have to say. The Los Angeles Times, Betsy Sharkey says, “ Watching The Blind Side is like watching your favorite football team; you’ll cheer when things go well, curse when they don’t, and be reminded that in football, as in life, it’s how you play the game that counts – though winning doesn’t hurt, either.” USA Today, Claudia Puig says, “It’s even more powerful when we learn that he now plays in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.”

Don’t pass up an opportunity to see the movie, The Blind Side. It has already produced $40.1 million and to most critics is a 7 out of 10. So if you need a break before finals go see the movie The Blind Side. You won’t be disappointed!

Giving 'Cold Tangerines' a Warm Review

2009-12-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

By: Taylor Griggs

Shauna Niequist's novel "Cold Tangerines" is an absolute delight from start to finish. I came upon its glossy cover while perusing the shelves of the Greenville College bookstore. It was the tantalizing orange, sprinkled in dew and featured on the front cover that caught my eye. I reached for it, pleasantly surprised by how light it felt in my hands, despite it being hard back, and read the premise on the back. I haven't been able to put it down since.

At page 209 I feel I have a pretty good grasp of Niequist's general tone and style of writing. She has a wonderful voice that is light, airy, often comical, and at times profoundly sobering. Her book is broken up into short stories of delectable proportions that aim to celebrate the gift of life. Once you start one there's no way of stopping until you've reached the end. Niequist's tales are from the heart and range in theme from pregnancy to war torn Africa. Her sensitivity to the sights, sounds, and smells of daily life are breathtaking through her vivid imagery and excellent storytelling. She writes:

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color the sky is right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday life to make God’s belly laugh, glad he gave life to someone who loves the gift."

If you desire to appreciate the tiny gifts of everyday life, if you desire to see God in everyday life, or if you just need to know you're not the only one who doesn’t have it all together, "Cold Tangerines" is for you. Peel open this wonderful book and let it breathe life into you, as it did for me.

What to Expect When Expecting New Moon

2009-11-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

By Caitlin Tadlock

I like Twilight, but being a college student makes me an objective Twilight fan. I feel like I am separated from some Twi-hards in the sense that I know Twilight was a bad movie and am thoroughly aware that the books are at the 4th grade reading level. With that in mind, this is a list of ten things to look out for when watching New Moon on Friday at the Globe Theatre.

1.) Muscles in the Rain
Taylor Lautner and the rest of the Quileute boys will be showing off their muscles in rain-soaked Washington for the majority of the film for tween girl and twi-mom reasons. Lautner will also be taking off his shirt every time Bella is in trouble, when he’s about to ride his motorcycle somewhere, or when there is a vampire in his midst.

2.) Kristen Stewart's performace is an A+
Kristen Stewart will do a great job acting out the depression her character Bella goes through when Edward leaves her. One neat thing that Chris Weitz does is a 360 degree of Bella’s life without Edward as the seasons pass behind her. Half of the movie will play out like a girl going through a heroine withdrawal.

3.) Bad acting
Dakota Fanning is not a cute 5 year-old anymore and I have noticed that people don’t realize this when they cast her in movies. The werewolves are newcomers to acting and the movie clips shown so far present unprofessional and cheesy acting from the wolf pack.

4.) Silly looking CG Wolves
My friend and I busted out laughing when we first saw Jacob Black transform into a werewolf. It might have been the consensus that the werewolves were in no way scary. The first trailers from this summer and the ones now show a different Jacob wolf but it’s actually not any scarier.

5.) Better Tech Credits and Visual Effects
No matter what, the werewolves are going to look ridiculous because they’re CGI werewolves. But, New Moon in the visual sense will be better looking all around without Catherine Hardwicke’s extreme close-ups and long moments of awkward silence.

6.) Nauseating Fan Girl screams
If you can resist avoiding the theatre for the first seven or eight days there is a good chance you can avoid the twi-hard gasps and screams when Edward apparitions appear for two seconds at a time throughout the movie.

7.)PG-13 Violence
More vampire be-headings will take place during New Moon. Also expect a ton of werewolf fights, Volturi fights, renegade vampire fights and a Jacob v. Edward showdown.

8.) Better Sparkles?
With better special effects come better sparkle effects from Edward…Let’s hope.

9.) Kill yourself scenes
New Moon is going to be depressing no matter how you look at it. Get ready for the saddest 2 hours and 2 minutes of your youth, besides when you get broken up with in real life.

10.) The Eclipse trailer in front of New Moon
a. Just kidding, but the Remember Me trailer starring Robert Pattinson will be.

Celebrating the Life and Death of Geocities

2009-11-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

By Caitlin Tadlock

October 26, 2009, marked the last breath of Yahoo’s website maker Geocities. No more “.GIF” roses or stars around banner advertisements and no more polyphonic background music when you visit your favorite boy band fan site.

It is obvious as to why Geocities has closed its doors, since there are so many better webpage builder options out there, but why not keep it around for historical web reasons? That is what groups Archiveteam and Archive.org have been doing since the announcement of Geocities’ demise. The two archival web groups came together to track down as many Geocities web pages as possible to file them away for public viewing records.

My first Geocities experience started with building a fan page dedicated to the Mickey Mouse club in 1997 or 98, and of course my second one was for The Backstreet Boys. The background was black and I had tiny GIF sparkles flashing around the locks of bad hair from the Backstreet Boys. I stopped updating my fan pages when I gained musical taste and when they made me pay to have a certain amount of JPEGs stored on their website.

The following are students’ reflections of Geocities webpages:

“Geocities changed my life. Whether I was browsing music libraries for MIDI versions of my favorite late-90s pop songs or checking my homework assignments on Mr. Nyhuis' 8th Grade Math Webpage, my web-surfing experience was always enriched by the wide variety of resources that Geocities had to offer. I'm appalled at Yahoo's decision to shut down the website, and I urge everyone to pray that they will reconsider their unforgivable action.” - Dav Timm

“I think all my old bands in high school had a Geocities page but no one actually knew how to use it. Sweet stuff.” - Robert Varner

The online archive teams only got a tiny piece of the huge pie when filing away Geocities webpages. Thousands, maybe millions of Arial and Comic Sans fonted pages are lost forever in the World Wide Webular black hole of oblivion.

'Pirate Radio' Sets Sail

2009-11-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

By Caitlin Tadlock
caitlintadlock@gmail.com

Sassy, classy and cool is Richard Curtis’ (director of “Love Actually”) British comedy “Pirate Radio”, formally known as “The Boat that Rocked”. “Pirate Radio” has an all-star Brit lineup that includes Billy Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Concords”), Nick Frost (“Shaun of the Dead”), Tallulah Riley, Emma Thompson and introducing America’s new British muse, Tom Sturridge. The film features only two American leads, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and January Jones (“Mad Men”).

In the 1960’s rock & roll was limited to two hours of BBC play each week in the UK. In “Pirate Radio” a group of radio renegade DJs’ set in the sea, outside the jurisdiction and broadcast rock & roll 24/7. Pirate radio ships got away with a lot of things that are regulated even today by the Federal Communications Commission. In the film the British government stops at nothing to shut down radio rock.

I believe there is a big difference between the UK’s “The Boat that Rocked” and America’s “Pirate Radio”. Even in the movie trailers the two focuses on different themes of the movie. In the British version the trailer revolves around all of the DJs’, the life of new addition Young Carl (Tom Sturridge) and the British government shutting them down. In the American version the trailer focuses almost solely on Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character “The Count” as a sort of rock savior to the ship, which is hardly the major point in the story.

The film seems to be edited heavily for American audience. The story jumped scenarios too quickly and characters and story lines were underdeveloped that made the audience fill-in-the-blank in places. All together “Pirate Radio” had extremely choppy editing. The music was the driving force but the selection was lacking too, understandably they couldn’t dish out the money at the time for any Beatles songs to be featured in the film.

“Pirate Radio” still has its very British sense of humor, which is good. The characters all have their unique trait and their senses of fashion are over-the-top. I’ve been in the radio business since I was 17-years-old and have had the unfortunate opportunity to work with some of the most greasy, grimy money hungry blokes. Today, radio is run by monopoly corporations headed by overweight and soulless beings that only care about website hits and revenue. 40-year-old pop DJs’ jump at the chance to get a picture with Miley Cyrus for the purpose of looking cool to under age kids on Facebook. “Pirate Radio” is refreshing in a way that every rock DJ, news reporter, intern and boss care about what they play and the fans. Basically, music was the driving force for radio.

Even if the movie lacks some historical musical aspects, the “Pirate Radio” soundtrack makes up for its lackluster. The Who, The Kinks, The Turtles, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix and Cream make up a fourth of the two disc album with Duffy being the only current artist featured.

The theatre’s audience on Friday night gave “Pirate Radio” applause when the credits rolled. It was a small crowd, the mindless explosion trash “2012” came out that day, but it got the point across that “Pirate Radio” was a delight to the eyes and ears. I will find a way to purchase the British version “The Boat that Rocked” before I watch or buy “Pirate Radio” again. I have an inkling that the original may be all around better than the export they gave to us ‘mericans.

The Beat is Dead

2009-11-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

By Sam Adams

Friday October 30th marked the last day of St. Louis’ hip-hop station 100.3 The Beat. At noon the hip-hop and R&B format abruptly changed to Halloween music. The station ended with Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” and started the twelve o’clock hour with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” followed by the theme song to “Halloween” and “Ghostbusters”. Within an hour fans of the station flocked to their Twitters and Facebooks asking what was happening to The Beat.

Due to lack of listeners for the past few years, Clear Channel decided to pull the plug on The Beat and all of its employees. The station had low ratings due in part to its rival hip-hop station Hot 104.1. It is expected to change to a rock format in January to compete with 105.7 The Point.

At midnight on November 1st the 100.3 website changed from a Halloween theme to Christmas 100.3. At 6:00 a.m. Christmas music started pumping out into the airwaves. The holiday music will last until January 1st, when the format will make another change.

Employees that were let go from 100.3 The Beat at noon on October 30th included KiKi the First Lady, DJ AJ, Taylor J, Dwight Stone (D.Stone) and Selena J who is now solely on The Beat’s sister station Majic 104.9.

The Death Set Review

2009-11-09T16:45:00.000-08:00

By Matt Stuttler

The Death Set’s most recent album Worldwide, released in 2008, passed
under the radar of the majority of well known trend spotter blogs.
This is an utter shame, as the band brings a jangly, electronic,
sample heavy take on punk rock akin to Dan Deacon and vocals
reminiscent of a happier Mae Shi. Forming in Australia then moving to
America to feed on the teenagers of our country’s East Coast, The
Death Set quickly took to the proverbial skies and toured with
Brooklyn band Japanther. After signing to Counter records, The Death
Set released Worldwide. Some highlights of the album include
“Negative Thinking”, beginning with some sweet samples of
pre-programmed voice modulators then jumping straight into a
consistent dance beat with a smooth as butter guitar lead leaking all
over the place. The band doesn’t suffer in the least from only having
two members, proving that heart and pure weirdness can make up for any
deficiency of live performing members, such as on “Selective
Memories”. Another stand out of the album is “Impossible”; que'd in
with an old school hip hop stomp and racing between thick synths and
shout along verses. Check out this band if you’re looking for hope in
advancement in this art-stricken society that is modern music.

http://www.myspace.com/thedeathset

Donald Miller Book Tour Comes to Greenville College

2009-11-09T16:43:00.000-08:00

By Wendy Smith
The Donald Miller “A Million Miles Tour” comes to Greenville College on Tuesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. On Miller’s 65-city national book tour he will talk about his latest book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Greenville College is the only stop in Southern Illinois.

General admission for the event is $15 or free for a limited number Greenville College students, faculty, and staff. More details will be released soon about how students, faculty, and staff can get a ticket. You can purchase general tickets at www.iTickets.com

Miller is best known for his New York Times Bestseller Blue Like Jazz, which has been adapted into a movie. A sought-after speaker, Miller has delivered lectures to a wide-range of audiences including the Women of Faith Conference, the Veritas Forum at Harvard University, and the Veritas Forum at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years amusingly and tenderly chronicles Miller's experience with filmmakers as they edit his life for the movie. He also shares the principles storytellers use to make a story meaningful and exciting, as well as applies them to real life.

The book tour also features comedian, actress, and author of Angry Conversations with God, Susan Isaacs.
Isaacs, an alumnus of The Groundlings Sunday Company, has an MFA in screenwriting from the University of Southern California and has had many guest appearances on hit television shows including Seinfeld. Isaacs has guest lectured at Pepperdine University, Orange Coast College, Santa Monica College, and teaches for the Act One Program.

Go to www.amillionmiles.com or contact media@greenville.edu for more information.

Homecoming Concert

2009-10-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Saturday's Homecoming Concert in the Blackroom featured:
The Van Pelts (Above)
Ever Ash
Skylight Windows
A.J. Alvarez
Liz Rourke
Mark Pedal
Michael Trieb

The participants were from this semester's lab bands and singer/songwriter class.

Jack-O-Lantern Ideas

2009-10-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

By Caitlin Tadlock

Greatest
1.) Favourite Deceased Pet
Let your neighbours know that you still hold them responsible for running over your cat by setting out carvings of your recently demised precious one.
2.) Michael Jackson through the Years
The original JACK-o-Lantern! Use mini, white, and regular pumpkins to chronicle MJ’s life in fruit form.
3.) Monuments
Show off where you’ve been by displaying the Eiffel Tower, Sears Tower and Leaning Tower of Pisa on your front door step.
4.) Lady Gaga
Make some Alexander Wang shades and put on some Chanel lipstick and the above picture says it all!
5.) Jack Nicholson - The Shining
Stick a light in it and you will surely scare off the little ones with this creepy lantern!

Lamest
1.) Pumpkins with Hangovers
During the fall, my mom loves sending me FWD emails showing pumpkins in different scenarios throwing up their insides. After the third FWD it gets kind of old.
2.) Nightmare Before Christmas carvings
Unless you and your friends are Hot-Topic regulars, this was so twelve years a go.
3.) Hillbilly Pumpkins
We get it your an uneducated smuck from the south. You don’t need to show us with your pumpkins!
4.) Heath Ledger - The Joker
Same goes with the Halloween costume.
5.) Ed Hardy chic-kins’
If I ever see a brightly colored tool-ish pumpkin sitting out on someone’s porch it will most definitely be smashed by morning!

Top Ten Reasons to Live This Week

2009-10-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

By - The Papyrus Staff

1.) New Music Sunday on 105.7 the Point
Taking a well deserved break from playing Sick Puppies, Three Days Grace and Breaking Benjamin, Les Aaron gives listeners a breath of fresh music from all over the world from 7p.m. to 8p.m. every Sunday. From the most diverse and unexpected to the just plain good, Aaron presents the best sixty minutes of music radio in town.

2.) Harold and Maude
I just discovered this 1971 film in one of my Communication classes. It’s about a 17 year old boy falling in love with a 79 year old lady renegade. The two embark on off-the-wall adventures before her 80th birthday. Cat Stevens did the soundtrack to the movie which features the song from the iGoogle super phone commercial “If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out”.

3.) Auto-Tune the News
Interviewers, sportscasters, and vice presidents alike break into song to report important news in auto-tuned form. The Gregory Brothers take our favorites in politics, media and entertainment like Newt, Biden, Katie Couric and of course T-Pain to smash them together into three minute webisodes.

4.) My Robot Friend
Hailing from New York, NY the eccentric Robot Friend spits out the sweetest robot tunes! The most recently released track “Waiting” features Alison Moyet, an English pop-singer formally from the band Yazoo. “23 Minutes in Brussels” and “Robot Love” are two of the best songs from his album Soft-Core available on www.myrobotfriend.com

5.) Jon Brownhill
The 2007 Greenville College alum is in town for two weeks starting yesterday!

6.) Meteor Showers
The last meteor shower took place Tuesday night and it was pretty sweet.

7.) Robert Pattinson School
The original R.Pattz is a language, science and mathematics college in England. To be accepted into this prestigious online school you need to be an enthusiastic, lively and versatile Mathematician to join the strong team, delivering courses across all key stages, including the opportunity of Further Mathematics at Advanced Level.

8.) Josh Brolin
No, not the actor! Former members of Mauled by Bears and The Doctor and The Devils have a new killer project. Check out myspace.com/joshbrolinrules to hear songs such as “Billy Mayzhem” and “Where are You Going? pt. 2”.

9.) David Bazaan at the Highdive
Sunday in Champaign, David Bazaan will be playing at The Highdive venue. The show is only $10 for a sure-to-be good night of jams.

10.) MakeMeBabies.com
MakeMeBabies is using advanced face detection technology to predict what your baby will look like. Upload your photo, your partner’s photo and make a baby in seconds!
You can also make babies with the listed celebrities or send baby invites to your friends.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start! Where the Wild Things Are Review

2009-10-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

By Aaron Oda

When I heard over a year ago that Spike Jonze was going to be directing Maurice Sendak’s beloved children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, I jumped for joy in excitement over the thought. Being the wildly inventive and creative director of such films as Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, I knew if anyone could pull it off, it would be Spike Jonze. Helping out in the writing process is Dave Eggers, author of the tragicomic memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.
For those of you that missed out on the book as a kid, Where the Wild Things Are tells the tale of a misunderstood boy named Max, who, after lashing out at his mother, runs away from home into the woods. The woods then transform into a mysterious forest, leading him to a ravaged boat, which after a highly dangerous sail washes him to an inhospitable island. There he encounters the nine-foot-tall wild things, which seem to come straight out of the wacky universe of Jim Henson (in fact the wild things were made at Henson’s Creature Shop). Max then persuades the monsters to not devour him by saying that he, in fact, is their king. These wild things are not complete savages though, in fact, they are more human than monster, holding fragile emotions and with no parents around, constantly hurting one another emotionally and physically.
The rambunctious bunch are friendly and child-like, yet possess a true sense of complexity and confusion. The wild things have their own issues to deal with such as the affects of loneliness and letdown, as they soon find out that Max is not their king but a regular kid. It’s like they each embody a specific experience Max has had in his past home, the home he soon desires to be back at. This is what makes the film work so well. There is this sense of melancholy to the performances, a sense of baggage and childhood anguish. Max realizes that being in a family is hard and that although he loves the new friends he’s found in the wild things, he longs for real love, the love only his real mother can offer.
The whole atmosphere and mood of the film is just beautiful. Marked by hand-held camerawork and sun-stroked cinematography, the aesthetic look brings a romanticized and lo-fi quality to the picture. The darkness and messiness of the wilderness provide a visceral contrast for the viewer as well. The sublime, child-like soundtrack is wonderfully scored by Karen O, singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, as well as some like-minded friends of hers. The music is dynamic and compelling, marked by strumming acoustic guitars, a children’s choir, and Karen O’s instantly recognizable voice. It also has sounds of sadness and yearning, making for a diverse musical ride.
Ultimately, Where The Wild Things Are is the story of a child’s innocence brushing up with reality’s hardships. It brims with creativity and the untamed spirit of our youth. Some may be turned off to the darkness of the film or the lack of narrative to the story, but it’s a right choice for this fairytale. The film feels like a daydream in a sunny afternoon, weaving and winding about with carefree attitude rather than a straightforward linear movie made for cheap laughs. In the end, it’s about a boy trying to understand himself and the joy and difficulties love brings. From its rousing energetic opening to the beautifully heartbreaking ending, Where The Wild Things Are is quite the journey, and in this reviewer’s opinion, possibly the best film of the year.

Area Concerts

2009-10-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

10/23 Mute Math $20 8:00 The Pageant
10/24 Relient-K $22 8:00 The Pageant
10/25 David Bazan $10 8:00 The Highdive
10/27 Taking Back Sunday $22 7:00 Pops
10/27 Mason Jennings $15 9:30 The Highdive
10/29 The Chariot $10 6:00 Pops
10/29 Mason Jennings $17.50 8:00 The Pageant
10/25 Samantha Crain $10 8:00 Off Broadway
10/27 Mae/Deas Veil $13 7:30 Off Broadway
10/27 White Rabbit w/Suckers $13 8:30 Firebird
10/29 Honor Society $15 8:00 Firebird
10/30 Our Lady Peace $20 8:00 The Pageant
10/30 Oceania $7 9:30 Firebird
11/01 The Rocket Summer $15 7:00 Pops
11/02 Matisyahu $25 8:00 The Pageant
11/03 Paramore/Paper Route $29.50 7:30 The Pageant
11/04 AFI $26 8:00 The Pageant
11/05 Neko Case $22 8:00 The Pageant
11/07 New Found Glory $16 7:00 Pops
11/09 Nurses/Little Girls FREE 8:00 The Billiken Club
11/09 Between the Buried&Me $13.50 7:00 Pops
11/10 El ten Eleven FREE 8:00 The Billiken Club
11/10 David Cook $30 8:00 The Pageant
11/11 Why? $10 8:30 Firebird
11/11 OK Go $10 7:00 The Canopy Club
11/10 Joe Purdy $12 8:00 Off Broadway
11/13 Somanydynamos $12 8:00 Off Broadway
11/13 Peter Bjorn & John $15 8:00 The Gargoyle
11/13 Cobra Starship $25 6:30 The Pageant
11/16 Cage the Elephant $10.50 6:00 Pops
11/16 Bobby Long $15 8:30 Off Broadway
11/20 Jandroids w/ Surfer Baby FREE 8:00 The Billiken
11/20 Elvis Perkins in Dearland $10 8:00 The Gargoyle
11/21 All Time Low $19 7:30 The Pageant

All are in St. Louis. Highdive and Canopy Club are in Champaign, Urbana, IL.

Agape Needs You!

2009-10-21T18:43:00.000-07:00

By MacKenzie Osborne

This article is coming to you from the Agapefest 2009 Assistant Director of Media PR. On behalf on the entire Agapefest Cabinet, we want you to apply to be on staff with us this year! To give you a glimpse of why you should apply, I have interviewed junior Rachel Dothager, Director of Finances.
Rachel Dothager has been on staff since her freshman year and is now on Cabinet as Director of Finances. Here is what she had to say about Agapefest:
M.O.- What made you apply to be on staff your freshman year?
R.D.- I came to Agapefest all four years of high school, and always had a blast. I wanted to know more about the festival, help organize it and hang out with famous people!
M.O. - Why do you think people should apply for staff?
R.D.- I think people should apply because all staff members get All Access passes, which is a cool free perk! Also, it is an awesome experience to work with professionals and other classmates. It is the only student-run festival in the nation, so that means we rely entirely on our peers and friends to be on staff. This is a great experience that would look excellent on your resume, regardless of your major. (I’m Elementary Education!)
M.O.- What are you most excited for this year at Agapefest?
R.D.- I am most excited about working with the Cabinet and being in the decision-making process to choose bands. Also, I am excited for continuing my relations with vendors and artist merchandise people from last year.
There you have it, from one of Agapefest’s very own! Please don’t forget to apply for staff positions at www.agapefest.com/apply, the password is apply. The applications are available now! I hope to see you on staff this year!

Wonderful Wedding in the Upper Union

2009-10-15T10:23:00.000-07:00

-Sarah Cleveland
With a wedding cake and punch on hand, GC students and fans of NBC’s hit series “The Office” crowded into the Upper Student Union to join in celebration of the series’ most loved couple’s wedding. Jim and Pam finally were finally going to tie the knot.

The hour long special episode featured many laughs and surprises, for which the show is infamous. While at his stay at the hotel in which the wedding takes place, Kevin, an office worker, has his shoes destroyed by the manager of the hotel. And, (this is a spoiler if you haven’t already seen the episode) Jim and Pam don’t even get married at the hotel.

After the first few minutes of the episode, Pam and Jim ask for everyone’s cooperation at their wedding and especially address their requests to regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company Michael Scott, who never fails to overdo everything. Everyone must also keep Pam’s pregnancy a secret as not everyone at the wedding knows the news, especially Pam’s very conservative grandmother.
When everyone is finally gathered at the hotel near Niagara Falls for dinner the eve of the wedding, it is Jim, not Michael, who spills the news during a toast that Pam is pregnant. Michael does his best and ultimately worst to try to fix the already awkward and pained situation. The damage, however, is already done, and Pam’s grandmother decides not to attend the wedding.

After a night of crazy mishaps and dancing, not to mention Andy’s (another office worker) trip to the emergency room after doing the splits the wrong way, the morning of the wedding finally comes. Jim and Pam decide to get married secretly on a boat in the middle of Niagara Falls and then join everyone in the chapel for their actual wedding.

The end of the wedding features workers of the office dancing enthusiastically down the aisle to Chris Brown’s song “Forever.”
For “Office” fans everywhere, the episode certainly retained its crazy nature and kept its many laughs original. GC student Abbey Villwock commented afterward, “It’s exactly what their wedding needed to be.”

Kelcie Mattson, another GC student, said with a smile, “It made me cry! Just perfect.”

You can catch more of the sixth season and watch Jim and Pam adjusting to married life by tuning into NBC Thursday nights at 8 p.m.

Winged Sparks of Fire - Kelly Latimore

2009-10-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

- By Matt Stuttler

Kelly Latimore’s most recent release Winged Sparks of Fire is the perfect soundtrack for this fall season, although it was released this past summer. Self-described as “forest folk” on Kelly’s cllct artist page, the album is simple and soulful, made with stripped down acoustic instruments such as acoustic guitar and banjo, but filling all the same.

The second track of the album, “Multum in Parvo (Harlan and Anna Hubbard)” is perhaps one of the most interesting tracks Latimore has produced inspired by the tale of the Hubbard couple. “Multum in Parvo” is latin for “Much in Little,” and according to Latimore, the Hubbard “learned to live well the phrase". Latimore continues, “After getting married around 1945 they built a shanty boat on the Ohio River in Ohio and then spent eight years drifting down to New Orleans. Their lives were compounded by the gifts of needed things that were at hand.”

Another rousing track on the six song EP is a cover of the classic gospel song “Down by the Riverside”, complimented by some nice guitar slides and wonderful vocal harmonization. For a song so often covered, it is given a new feel on this release, one with vigor and passion behind the lyrics that makes it believable to the listener (especially the line “I’m gonna study war, no more”). Latimore has definitely come a long way from his first release, this being his fifth. He has reached a point to where his voice blends wonderfully with his finger picking work, akin to artists Iron and Wine and Brian Lee & his Orchestra on levels of maturity.

Definitely check this album out for some good room jams, road trip listenings, or for anytime to reflect on that good ole’ feeling of returning to your roots (regardless of where you’re from) and a warm feeling of content sung in the words of one of Greenville’s most recent alumni singer-songwriters. He is sorely missed as a performer and as a generally all around good person here on this campus. To download the album for free from Kelly Latimore (including his past releases), check out http://cllct.com/art/kellylatimore.

Cloudy with a chance of a Review

2009-10-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

By: Tyler Duddy
When you were a kid, you dreamed. You dreamt of a world full of giant pancakes, mashed potato snow and hamburgers falling from the sky. I know I had these visions and if you say you didn’t dream like this, then now is your chance to. Welcome to a world full of ice cream storms, spaghetti tornados and pea soup fogs. Welcome to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
The movie is another case of a film idea taken from a book. I have had the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for as long as I can remember and I actually happened to bring it with me to college. Beautiful hand-drawn images that spice up the story and really bring it to life, adjectives that will make anyone’s mouth water, and an ending that really hits home makes this book a classic that will forever find a spot on my bookshelf. So naturally I was a bit worried when I saw the trailer for the upcoming film. It looked a little lackluster and was made by Sony, a company not particularly noted for its animation superiority. I watched that trailer every few days studying the only three minutes of characterization, jokes, and plot line that I could get my hands on trying not to read too far into it and prematurely judge it without a proper screening. I toiled in my bed nightly hoping the directors wouldn’t stray too far from what I knew and loved. I failed senior year of high school because of the meatball drawings that littered my final exams, and I actually lost a girlfriend because I decided to test out my theory of a pea soup fog on her while she was sleeping.
While I was obviously not that excited for the movie release, I bought my ticket and stepped into the theatre on opening day to find that my guest and I were the only ones in a theatre meant to seat hundreds. While my logic wanted to take this as a cue to exit, my gut said otherwise. It proclaimed, “Tyler, this is something you have been waiting for, something you have been excited about since you jumped out of your seat in the theatre from when you saw the first trailer. This is something that deserves a chance”. I sat down and prepared for the worst.
I was immediately blown away by the beautiful animation and earth shaking sound effects. (I can’t comment on the 3D effects because I only saw it in 2D the three times I watched it). I was instantly pulled in by the captivating protagonist Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) and his sidekick Steve (Neil Patrick Harris). From the first thirty seconds into the movie until the end credits I was laughing. Now let this be said, I am not one to laugh at movies, I hate comedies and actually came home from my fourth grade class crying because I was the only one in the room that wasn’t laughing at the Peanuts. I can’t even count how many times I laughed out loud during the ninety minutes of flying food. The humor is pretty original and various, meaning it does not rely on slapstick, auditory or animation tricks too heavily to produce laughs. I would most closely relate it to the popular (or at least it used to be popular) web comic Homestarrunner.com because of its outrageous voices and off the wall jokes, or you could say it resembles Gilmore Girls because in most of the scenes everyone talks so fast that it takes a few seconds for your brain to digest it before you laugh and figure out what just happened. I would say most of the funny parts I noticed came from either the randomness of the voices or the ridiculous one-liners.
I think the voices work so well in this movie because the actors are just doing what they do best. Mr. T (voicing Earl) for example is the in-your face tough guy we have all come to love, Andy Samberg (voicing Baby Brent) is the naive outrageous character we’re used to and Al Roker is the (you guessed it!) weatherman. I love this because the directors did a fantastic job of showcasing the abilities of the voice actors without exploiting them and making them the stars of the shows, or the draw of the audience. No one came to this movie just to see Andy Samberg wear a diaper and knock over a wagon full of sardines. The directors are not relying on one main actor or actress (Johnny Depp, Alice in Wonderland anyone?) to sell this movie. It is a joint effort and really works out that way because it is the interactions between the characters and their environments that make the movie so great.
The storyline strays from the book quite a ways, but the writers did this so well that even I even didn’t mind. You can tell that the crew really read this book and applied it to today, the movie is set now, and a lot of the book would not have made sense for today’s kids, and it seems that they figured this out early and wrote the script incorporating the main ideas and high points from the book, while still playing around with it enough to call it their own. I absolutely loved the conversion and would maybe even say I liked the film a bit more.
The music seemed to revolve around one leitmotif, which was okay because they toyed with it and added effects so it fit the situation and reflected the mood of the scene. They also added a few songs to liven up the particular moments, particularly the ice cream fight. But overall I would say the star of the star of the auditory world in this film would have to be the voice acting which shines bright throughout.
Overall this was definitely my favorite animated film of all time. With brilliant jokes and quick wit, this movie will truly make you laugh whether you make it to the final few showings at The Globe or pick it up on Blu-ray when it is released. This is a film of epic proportions so let’s pick it up and give it the recognition the crew worked so hard to deserve.

Accept it the New Moon Soundtrack is an A+!

2009-10-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here is the Twilight's New Moon complete soundtrack. It is full of good music no matter what you think of the movie and franchise itself. Take a listen! Editors, Grizzly Bear, Sea Wolf, Bon Iver, St. Vincent and Thom Yorke! It's gold!

Death Cab for Cutie - Meet Me on the Equinox

Band of Skulls - Friends

Thom Yorke - Hearing Damage

Lykke Li - Possibility

The Killers - A White Demon Love Song

Anya Marina - Satellite Heart

Muse - I Belong to You

Bon Iver & St. Vincent - Rosyln

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Done All Wrong

Hurricane Bells - Monsters

Sea Wolf - The Violet Hour

OK Go - Shooting The Moon

Grizzly Bear - Slow Life

Editors - No Sound But the Wind

Alexandre Desplat - The Meadow

fun. fun. fun and Eagle Scout!

2009-10-11T12:49:00.002-07:00

-Kelly Baker & Ben Rieder
Photo by Lindsey Byrnes
Our very own Eagle Scout, along with Miniature Tigers, opened up for the band Fun. last Wednesday night at the Firebird in St. Louis Missouri. Tickets to the show were completely sold out. Ben Helman from Eagle Scout commented, “It was awesome. We’ve never played at a sold out show before. Good times all the time.” Eagle Scout was well received by the Firebird’s enthusiastic crowd, even though they didn’t play Decatur. Eagle Scout was followed by Phoenix based band, Miniature Tigers. Their upbeat tunes and cover of Abba’s Mamma Mia was thoroughly entertaining. This lead up to the main event, the magical musical mystery known as Fun. Fun. consists of the Format’s lead singer Nate Ruess, along with Jake Antonoff, and Andrew Dost. Fun. was also joined by former Greenville College student Jon Goldstein for their current tour. Goldstein is also the drummer for The Pragmatic, another band that formed here at Greenville. Not only was the concert awesome, it was also full of surprises. Much to the crowd’s excitement, Ruess played songs from the Format, bringing back nostalgic moments to his fans. After a long night of music, a hot crowded room, and plenty of dancing, it seemed the show was over. Chanting fans, however, brought Ruesso and band back on stage for an encore. During this acoustic set, a ‘tipsy’ fan proceeded to get on stage and ‘dance’ next to Ruesso. He respectfully declined. On a sweeter note, Fun.’s bassist turned twenty-nine that evening. His father brought a birthday cake and presented it to his son on stage. These surprises really added to the show. Fun’s dynamite performance displayed incredible stage presence. “I thought it was amazing how similar they sounded live compared to their CD,” said Greenville College sophomore, Josh Cranston. Overall, the concert was superb. A tip for all of you avid concert goers, always end the late night with a frisco melt and side-by-side banana chocolate shake from Steak and Shake. Ya dig?

The Death of Hyphen - - - -

2009-10-11T12:49:00.001-07:00

- Caitlin Tadlock

It is time to say goodbye to your favorite hyphenated words. Say cheerio to ice-cream, bumble-bee (not the Transformer), pot-belly (not the beloved sub shop) and 15,997 other hyphenated words. With technology changing the way we communicate and the invention of lazy machines that take the communicate out of communication like Twitter, texting and devices that limit thoughts to 140 characters, people just want to get their point across quickly and without the hassle of looking down at a keyboard. Sorry hyphen, but we just don’t care about you anymore.

In the new edition of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary it is estimated that 16,000 words have lost their hyphen because people are not bothering to include it. Go to the library and flip through the new dictionary and make note of the changes. Editor of the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Angus Stevenson spoke about the hyphens losing their place in English. He commented, “People are not confident about using hyphens anymore, they’re not really sure what they are for…Printed writing is very much design-led these days in adverts and Web sites, and people feel that hyphens mess up the look of a nice bit of typography. The hyphen is seen as messy looking and old-fashioned.” In that statement Stevenson used two hyphens.

Not all hyphens have been eliminated, Stevenson also noted the importance of some hyphens, “There are places where a hyphen is necessary, because you can certainly start to get real ambiguity. Twenty-odd people came to the party, he said. Or was it twenty odd people?" I will make the announcement now that there is no reason for the hyphen to be taken off of a computer keyboard just yet. The public will still have to worry about remembering what a hyphen is when including it into a website URL, but we could just www.tinyurl. com that problem.

Sufjan is Still Legit.

2009-10-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

-Kara Wenthe
Photo by Kim Larson
Saturday, September 26, 2009, I drove two hours along I-70 and I-57 to Champaign-Urbana. Upon arrival, I briefly explored Green Street, specifically Walgreen’s for an embarrassing one dollar and twenty-nine cent pack of gum, Mango Smoothie. Tastes like cream-savers.

I stopped in Walgreen’s due to the tourist-like shame of not knowing my surroundings, and rather than ask for directions, I just needed to take a breather from the crowds of University students on a Saturday afternoon. I also needed a stand-still moment to read the map on my gps device in order to find an art supply store: “art coop”, which I haven’t yet determined whether it’s pronounced art co-op as the recent death of the hyphen leaves the sound change to be implied; or, if the goose on the t-shirts and neon sign are significant to the pronunciation of the name.

The art store doesn’t really matter, I’m just stalling before I begin bragging about the reason I drove to Champaign. Aside from bargain buys at UO and a visit to a long-time friend, I experienced the wonder that is Sufjan Stevens LIVE. And rather than gloat about all the great songs he played, like Chicago or Casmire Pulaski Day, or express my excitement after hearing samples of all the new stuff he’s been writing; because of course, I’m no music major, I cannot come to anyone and critique a song based on sound or music theory.

I am pround to say, however, that I am incredibly inspired by his collaborative trend, as it is a quality I value highly in any art form. It connotes community.

The Castanets, fellow members of the record label Asthmatic Kitty, opened for and played with Sufjan. Most of the forward half of the crowd enjoyed their performance, despite two gentlemen beside us in the crowd rudely and way too audibly discussing football and frat-boy topics.

Tickets went on sale for the nationwide small venue tour one Saturday in August at 9am and despite technical difficulties with websites, almost all tickets were SOLD OUT by 9:37am. Only the Portland location had available tickets in the hours following. Guess they’re just not hipster enough. To further complicate the sales, tickets were will call only and only two per cardholder in order to keep prices reasonable and crowds minimal. The whole ticket purchase experience was excrutiatingly nerve-wracking, mind you.

And the experience is not yet over. I’m one of those trendy kids who asked her parents for a record player some Christmases ago, and I’m still listening to The BQE. Merchandise at the show consisted of shirts, vinyls and CDs of Sufjan’s whole discography, including the not yet released album: The BQE. The BQE, a project commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music; performed by Sufjan, a backing orchestra, including 36 performers in the form of a small band, a wind and brass ensemble, string players, horn players, and hula hoopers, all accompanied by an original film by Sufjan in 8 mm and 16 mm film; and recorded live in early November 2007, will finally be available in under two weeks, official release date October 20, 2009. It is both a symphonic and cinematic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The CD includes a DVD of Sufjan’s film as an accompaniment to the music. The vinyl includes a comic book explaining the hula hoops.

So yeah, Sufjan Stevens is still pretty legit.

50 Hour Film Festival Has a Winner!

2009-10-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

-Caitlin Tadlock
(Jeremy Ross, Ben Rieder, Aaron Oda and Kelly Baker are winners for their sweet video 'community.')
Photo by Audi Acree
Wednesday night on the quad Greenville College played all the participant videos from 50 Hour Film Fest that occured this past weekend. One group was announced the winner and received new iPod Nanos and two groups of runners up received iTunes gift cards.

1st place went to Kelly Baker, Ben Rieder, Jeremy Ross and Aaron Oda for their short film called "community." that displayed GC's students' thoughts and opinions on the school's objectives and community on campus.

The runners up were Ryan Haggerty, Andy Coad, Todd Ganton and Josh Bales for "Mapquest". Their film incorporated all three requirements about GC: Romance on campus, MAP grants and GC objectives.

Devin Moroney, Emilie Moroney, Chris Sprague and Jeremiah Clark chose all three requirements of GC romance, MAP grants and objectives.

Visit GC Tech to watch all of the participants videos

Baring it all for the Sake of Rock and Roll

2009-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

(Coyne and Brownhill at Van Sant's.)
By Jon Brownhill

Would you ride a bike naked in a public park? I had to ask this question myself when The Flaming Lips decided to shoot a music video at Mt. Tabor park in Portland, Oregon, where I currently reside. The video to be shot was for the song "Watching the Planets" off of their new album Embryonic. The Flaming Lips are one of my favorite bands and their new album is fantastic. The band wanted local extras in the music video but the extras were to be naked and bicycling. I had never done anything like that before. So began my dilemma...

The following were my back-and-forth thoughts the week prior to the September 23rd video shoot:

I love the Flaming Lips and everything they have done. I wanted to be a part of a music video but I didn't want to be naked in public or seen naked on video. However, I was not working that week, and could easily attend. The negative side of this situation would be that my mother could stumble upon this video and be horrified and people all over the world could potentially see me totally exposed. A lot of people were bound to attend and do the same thing. I was self-conscious about my body but thought it could be a liberating experience for me personally. In the end, I decided it would be worth it to bare it all in a safe place with a crowd of people who most likely had similar apprehensions. I had to do it.

The call was to show up anytime at the park from 10am through 10pm on September 23rd. I showed up at about 3pm. As I made my way up the mountain, I heard that the park rangers had shut down the full nudity, but were still allowing partial nudity. I was relieved. I arrived at the top as Wayne Coyne, the lead singer, was inside his signature clear plastic ball. A co-ed crowd of (likely unemployed) young hipsters were surrounding the ball chanting lyrics to the song as it was playing on the loudspeakers. Right after the scene finished, Wayne declared to the crowd of about 100 that they were done with all the extras for the day, but would continue shooting the next day. He was determined to see his vision for the music video through. He said that we would meet again at 10am the next morning at Mt. Tabor, and a bus would bring all of us and our bikes out to Sauvie Island north of Portland. His friend Gus Van Sant, director of Milk and Good Will Hunting, decided to let us use his secluded residence to finish shooting the video.

The next morning, my friend Dave and I got on a bus bound for Gus Van Sant's. It was an overcast and chilly morning, and I was even more nervous than the previous day. We arrived around 11:30 but the scenes were not ready to be filmed until about 1pm. So this group of about one hundred people just hung out on the film director's front lawn for an hour, playing frisbee, psyching ourselves up for the days events, and watching the large freight boats traveling by on the Columbia River headed south towards the ports. The clouds cleared away in this window of time, and the sunshine began to warm the air, as we were all called to the first scene.

The filming began in the forest on another part of Van Sant's expansive private property. The taping began as Wayne once again stood in his giant clear bubble, which sat to the right of another bubble covered in fake fur (you will have to see to understand). The first brave volunteers began stripping their clothes. My friend and I stood awkwardly on the side for the entire first scene because neither of us could quite humble ourselves enough to strip down. Plus, Mr. Van Sant showed up to watch and we were even more star struck than before. Milk, dude, Milk.

After the scene finished next was the naked bicycling. This was it, the entire reason for showing up. Dave and I shrugged at each other, stripped our clothes and rode off down the path on our bikes with the crowd to the production site. I was in shock for a brief moment. I was naked in front of and with a ton of other people. But, everyone was relaxed, calm, and joking with each other. It was not awkward at all. Everyone was having a good time as Wayne directed us over a megaphone to "Bike slower!" on the gravel road as he drove a mini-van in reverse, following us, with a camera pointed out the tailgate. I had faced my fears, and I won.

There were several more scenes throughout the fading day and into the night. The sun was setting and the autumn air was chilling. Luckily, we only had two more scenes; both intended to be shot at night. We went again to the forest. As the crew set up the lights for the night shots, I began to feel awkward. It was cold, and I was tired. This had become a long day of work. We had almost been there for twelve hours already! I was unsure if I would continue doing these scenes. My self-consciousness had erupted once more, but I pressed on. My doubts were subdued when Wayne stripped all his clothes off with us for the last two scenes. It felt like a family as our idol brought himself down to our humble level. The video was then complete.

I finally arrived home that night at about midnight, on my 23rd birthday, with a sense of accomplishment. I felt I overcame a lot of shame and self-consciousness that day and was liberated of body image issues. I felt more confident and excited to be a part of a music video. This experience taught me that we should not feel ashamed of our bodies. It taught me that our differences as humans are only skin deep, but our common ground is far deeper. I have not seen the video yet, and I do not know if I will be seen in it; but frankly, I no longer worry about that. I will of course continue to wear clothes daily, but I won't ever forget this liberating experience.

Helping Local Farmers: Farm Aid 2009

2009-10-07T21:24:00.000-07:00

By Brittney Isringhausen

With the sun shining, blue skies, and beautiful leaves changing into their vivid fall colors, one might wonder if it was karma how great the day turned out to be for Farm Aid 2009. Put on by the Farm Aid organization and headed up by its president, Willie Nelson, this benefit concert was once again a huge success. I doubt a single attendee left unaware of our nation’s need for family farms and our part in keeping them alive. Farm Aid pushes people to take personal responsibility for the food choices we make.

The first Farm Aid happened in Champagne, IL in 1985, when Bob Dylan suggested we do something for our own farmers right here in America. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp agreed that local family farmers were in dire need of assistance and organized a concert with performers Billy Joel, B. B. King, Roy Orbison and many more. “I’ve always believed that the most important people on the planet are the ones who plant the seeds and care for the soil where they are grown,” claims Willie Nelson. Family farms are the pillars of our communities. They grow high quality food and are vital to the economic welfare of their hometowns and the nation. More and more Americans are joining this fight against inhumane treatment of our land and animals. It is up to us to be responsible with what we purchase and where we purchase it. “Read the Label” and “Eat Your Zip Code” were amongst the many motivational signs that decorated the amphitheater. We are quite blessed to live in a town where buying locally and responsibly is not a difficult task. Just down the street from the town square is Wayne’s Market where fresh, healthy grown produce is their specialty.

Farmers, artists, concerned citizens, and consumers have come together to raise awareness about the advantages of good food from family farms through Farm Aid. But feeling good about benefiting a good cause was certainly not the only high people received from this concert. Performers Gretchen Wilson, Ernie Isley & the Jam Band, Will Dailey and Jamey Johnson, along with headliners, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, and Wilco preformed their oh-so-sweet tunes that kept the crowd buzzing for hours.

The gates at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis opened at 12:30 with the first band, The Blackwood Quartet, performing at 1:00. The first half of the show consisted of good ole` jam bands and country music. Gretchen Wilson, the Pocahontas local, played a great set including “Here for the Party” and “California Girl” after first “dedicating” the song to Paris Hilton. At 5:00 Willie Nelson came out to thank the crowd and welcome the viewers at home that were watching the show live on Direct TV and welcomed Wilco to the stage. Opening with “Bull Black Nova,” they put on a great but short set. Jeff Tweedy joked about their hometown, Belleville, IL, and gave his fair share of encouragement toward being responsible in food purchasing. Jason Mraz, the big pop act of the concert, performed “The Remedy” and his popular “I’m Yours”. He encouraged attendees not to worry about what others think of you when it comes to activism stating, “Raise your voice and participate in something.”

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds performed their perfectly fitting acoustic versions of “Funny the Way It Is” and “Stay or Leave” along with many others. Matthews and Reynolds were then joined by Willie Nelson on guitar and vocals for “Gravedigger.” It was truly amazing. Matthews made comments to Nelson, saying “The quicker we get behind the kind of things Nelson believes in the better we all will be.” Up next was John Mellencamp, one of the four founders of Farm Aid, who opened with “Pink Houses” followed by “Paper in Fire” and “ Check It Out.”

Neil Young, another founder, performed “Sail Away,” “Long May You Run,” “Field of Opportunity,” and “Hold Back the Tears,” which definitely graced the crowd. Wearing a ‘Stop Factory Farming’ T-shirt (which he later ripped off to reveal a green ‘Go Family Farming’ T-shirt), Mellencamp stated, “We’re here to make a difference and you can make it without us, but you’ve got the biggest vote with your dollar bill.” He encouraged attendees to text FARMER to 90999 to donate $5. If you were not at the show this is something you didn’t miss out on, you can still text and do your part.

Welcoming Willie Nelson to the stage with him, they performed “Homegrown” expressing the value in planting a bulb and letting it grow. Willie Nelson, being the closing set, was accompanied by his son Lukas Nelson who performed “Always on My Mind” and “On the Road Again.” Billy Joe Shaver, who missed his slot earlier in the day, came out to join Nelson for “You Asked Me To.” It was rumored that the big finale would bring together all the headliners, which did not happen, but that is not to say the finale was lacking.

The ending, a gospel-themed performance, brought back the Blackwood Quartet and Phosphorescent for an epic performance of “I’ll Fly Away” and “Amazing Grace.” With a packed stage and more inspirational words from Willie himself, the music of this show was amazing. Nelson took time to speak to all of us young lost souls out there saying that if you don’t really know what to do next, why not do one of the most commendable jobs and be a farmer.

Dave Matthews has a quote on the Farm Aid website (where you can find tons of information about where to buy locally and what companies support responsible production) stating, “We’re at a moment when a lot of people are asking, ‘What is America? What represents America?’ Certainly, I think that the family farm is a main ingredient of what made America.” We are still able to make the choice between food that is grown and raised by local farmers or food that is genetically engineered on factory farms. If we do not all get together on this and start making the right decisions soon, those choices are going to disappear. Check out the website (www.farmaid.org), watch the concert online, and listen to the advice given by the founders and supporters of Farm Aid. In supporting organizations like Farm Aid, or just by simply “reading the label” we can all be a part of saving healthy, fresh, family farm food that we cannot do with out. So go on then and “eat your zip code.”

Get involved with Agapefest

2009-10-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

By Kristina Crawford

Would you like to get involved in an experience that can only be had at Greenville College? Then sign-up for a staff position for Agapefest 2010! Agapefest is the only fully student-operated music festival, and who wouldn’t want to take part in such an event? Applications will be available for students on October 19, 2009, and can be found at www.agapefest.com/apply.

The Staff positions that are available for students are within the following departments: Ticketing, Security, Main stage/Second stage, Hospitality, Media/PR, Staff Services, Vendors, Ministry, and Grounds.

If you are looking for direction for your future career, being a part of Agapefest may be a good opportunity to get a feel for a potential avenue by working in an area of interest. I was interested in finding out more about Public Relations; I thought perhaps working on staff in the PR/Media Department would give me the opportunity to see what Public Relations was all about, and if it would even be a career that I really wanted to pursue. I quickly fell in love with all Public Relations entails, and I knew I wanted to pursue it further. So if you are interested in Marketing, Event Planning, Concert Promotions, Music Business, Digital Media, Media Promotions, or Public Relations (or if you just want to be a part of something greater than their self) apply at www.agapefest.com/apply starting October 19th. It will for sure be an experience you will never forget.

Brand new "Daisy" Review

2009-09-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

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.

La Roux - I'm Not Your Toy

2009-09-10T18:22:00.001-07:00

Top Ten Reasons to Live 09/09/09

2009-09-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

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.

3 Minute Look at Metropia

2009-09-09T09:18:00.001-07:00

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

In/5 Min. Ago/Out

2009-09-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

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

St.Louis Venue locations

2009-09-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T22:39:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-02T14:10:00.001-07:00

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

Listen! Listen! It's The Noise Recession!

2009-05-14T17:29:00.001-07:00

- London Novak (Sports Editor)
Recent Greenville graduates, Terrard Robinson and Jon Brownhill, have created a new music group that has astounded even me, a wide-eyed professional music listener. Calling themselves 'The Noise Recession', they have produced over twelve songs that are worth checking out.

Jon and T, as his friends call him, were friends and worked together while attending GC, but graduated last spring and moved far out of the state as possible; T going to Nashville, Tennessee and Jon traveling to Portland, Oregon. It was in December that T decided that Nashville just wasn't for him and asked Jon to move in with him. Of course, Jon and his roommate, Lynn Wehner (another GC graduate), agreed to let him stay there. They have now been making music since mid-January.

When asked how they wrote their music, they both replied that they just focused on living 'in the now state of mind'. Their lyrics reveal this present state of living time and time again, making one conscious of it as well. Their funky music makes one want to groove a little, although there are times that make one just want to sit down and chill.

“It's just fun to listen to, ya know?” remarked T, when I asked him how the music made him feel.

The instruments and programs they have been using include their voices, a Korg keyboard, a Mac computer, Garageband, Reason, Logic Pro 8, and their own brain power.

They told me that they'll probably be done making a complete CD by the end of the summer/beginning of first semester next year. They'll be sending out a few samplers that I'll be sure to hand out throughout campus, so if you really really really want one, be sure to tell me so I can get it to you. If you're interested in checking out their music before next semester or before I begin handing out copies, you could go to www.myspace.com/noiserecession or you could Google it and you'll find them. Their Myspace have most of their songs, but not all, so be sure to see what they're all about!

July Movie Preview

2009-05-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

Public Enemies (July 1st)
Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup
Johnny Depp plays notorious Depression Era bank robber, John Dillinger, in Public Enemies. Dillinger launched one of the most wild crime sprees in history. During the Depression, Dillinger robbed-from the rich without giving to the poor, deviating from the infamous Robin Hood style. No jail could hold Dillinger, as his charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to many. This endearment resulted from a lack of sympathy from the public for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. Christian Bale got into his character as J. Edgar Hoover’s agent, Melvin Purvis, by studying old newspaper clippings, ancient newsreels, and visiting Purvis’ son in South Carolina.

Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince (July 15th)
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
The wait is over! Originally scheduled to open November 21st, 2008 Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince is finally coming out. Financial issues caused the push back that sent fans going bananas. I’m not going to waste my time to tell you what the movie is about because I am sure fans already know. But I will disclose that I thoroughly enjoy Freeze Pops in the summer time.

(500) Days of Summer (July 17th)
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Greeting card writer and hopeless romantic, Tom (Gordon-Levitt), falls for Summer (Deschanel) who does not believe in love. The movie follows Tom as he tries to win Summer’s heart over a span of 500 days. The story moves from the perspective of Tom, who goes from ecstatic giddiness one moment, indulging in a fantasy song and dance sequence at one point, to crippling depression the next. The soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer is worth mentioning too, as Regina Spektor, The Smiths, Black Lips, PAPER ROUTE, Feist and Spoon are just a few worthy mentions included.

Bruno (July 10th)
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
Late last year you might remember hearing about all the fashion show sabotages. Top runway shows in Paris and Milan kept getting interrupted by a strange man and that strange man ended up being none other than Borat himself, Sacha Baron Cohen. Bruno is a British mockumentary produced, co-written and starring Baron Cohen. Bruno originates from Baren Cohen’s previous television series Da Ali G Show. Bruno is the third film based on characters from the show, following Ali G Indahouse and Borat: Cultural Lernings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Funny People (July 31st)
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann
George (Adam Sandler) is a very successful stand up comedian who learns that he has an untreatable blood disorder and is given less than a year to live. Ira (Seth Rogen) is a struggling up-and-coming stand up comedian who works at a deli and has yet to figure out his onstage persona. One night, these two perform at the same club and George takes notice of Ira. George hires Ira to be his semi-personal assistant as well as his friend. Taking another direction than the usual slap-stick comedy made possible by Rogen and company, don’t expect Funny People to be as funny as other Apatow productions but more of a heart-felt comedy.

Miss California Keeps Her Crown

2009-05-14T17:23:00.001-07:00

(Courtesy, Micahel Loccisano)
- Caitlin Tadlock (Arts&Pop Culture Editor)
Tuesday, Donald Trump, owner of the Miss Universe Organization, announced at a press conference that Carrie Prejean will resume her title as Miss California. Prejean first came under fire last month during her interview session on the televised Miss USA competition. Entertainment gossip gay blogger, Perez Hilton, asked Prejean if she thought that all states should move forward allowing same-sex marriage to echo the new law in Vermont.

Prejean responded saying, “I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land in which you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage,” and added “In my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

At the end of the night Prejean was named runner-up and stated that her same-sex marriage answer cost her the crown, but her answer reflected her values and she would not take back her answer if she had the chance. As entertainment and news sources talked about Miss California’s comments she became the poster girl for “traditional” marriage and Prejean felt like she was attacked for her Christian beliefs.

The comments blew over for a few days and then pictures of Miss California posing partially nude were making their way through the internet. Prejean made a statement supporting her decision for posing partially nude, “I am a Christian and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recent photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid website that openly mocks me for my Christian faith.”

Tuesday morning Donald Trump confirmed that Carrie Prejean will resume her title as Miss California by making a speech and replacing a “Miss California” sash around her. Trump said that Prejean gave an honest answer to a tough, politically fueled question, and that there was nothing wrong with the pictures of her. Prejean elaborated at the press conference on the pictures, saying they were taken by a friend at her home for application and not for publication. If the photos were for “publication” use, Prejean would not have been allowed to enter the Miss California Pageant but since they were for “application” use, (the photos would be used as a tool to be hired for modeling jobs and not for commercial or public use) the organization would allow Prejean to still be Miss California.

After the announcement was made that Carrie Prejean will keep her title, entertainment website TMZ released supposed professional, partially nude photo shoot pictures of Miss California. Is this debate over or will these new pictures of Miss California put her title in jeopardy once again?

Fake IMAX is Fake

2009-05-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

- Caitlin Taldock (Arts&Pop Culture Editor)
July 18th, 2008 was the day I was ready for my first IMAX experience that wasn’t forced upon me by middle school science teachers. I purchased tickets for the midnight showing of The Dark Knight. Ronnie’s Cinema on Lindbergh holds the only IMAX in St. Louis besides the St. Louis Science Center’s Omnimax, which is a screen that surrounds a person like a projection dome that shows educational films voiced over by Kevin Bacon.

Everyone was ushered into the IMAX at Ronnie’s like cattle for the midnight showing. When I entered the theater I immediately turned around and went back outside to look at the sign above the theater to double check to see if I was going into the right one. I checked my ticket to make sure it said “IMAX” somewhere on it, and after that confirmation I went to an employee and asked where the IMAX theater was. The employee pointed me in the right direction, which was the theater I originally went into. I was confused but went back and took my seat anyway.

Before the film started a warning came up on screen and a robot told the audience that because IMAX is so extreme one might feel nauseous during some intense action scenes and that one should close their eyes and put their head down so the dizziness and nausea would go away promptly. I was reassured that maybe this will be something spectacular and I would be able to throw up on the row below me. I was sorely disappointed when the movie started. The screen did stretch from the bottom to the top but didn’t wrap around the whole theatre like I experienced in middle school when we watched a Titanic documentary at the Omnimax. I also didn’t get nauseous from the IMAX experience but rather from Christian Bale’s Batman voice effects. The film was digital (DLP) and had a nice quality like those flat screens people have in their homes now.

When ordering tickets at fandango.com the cost for an “IMAX Hollywood Experience” is $11.75 and a regular St. Louis experience is $9.25. I was puzzled as to why a few feet of screen and making a film digital would have such a price increase. I guess I wasn’t the only one. Comedian Aziz Ansari from Parks and Recreation and Human Giant recently discovered a Fake IMAX in LA when he paid $15.00 to watch Star Trek on Friday.

Ansari says that “basically IMAX is whoring out their brand name and trying to trick people. These new ‘IMAX’ theatres are really just nice digital screens with good sound, but they ARE NOT IMAX, in that they don’t have the huge 72 foot gigantic screen which people would expect.”

Theatres have different names for their fake IMAX screens. In St. Louis, Ronnie’s Cinema refers to them as “The IMAX Experience” or “The IMAX Hollywood Experience” to differentiate from the giant IMAX screens people are used to associate with the name IMAX. The definition of the IMAX according to fandango.com dupes customers who pay for the fake IMAX experience; “the IMAX Experience® is the world's most immersive movie experience. Using the world's largest movie format, IMAX delivers breathtaking, crystal clear images projected onto screens that fill the entire field of view and a powerful state-of-the-art digital surround sound system. Visit your local IMAX Theater to experience the feeling of being part of the movie”.

Aziz Ansari decided to write his blog (www.azizisbored.tumblr.com) to warn people about the dangers of fake IMAXs’, and it worked. The next day entertainment blogs like “Oh No They Didn’t!” and Digg.com both featured the entry on their top of the day topics. I doubt that this buzz about the fake IMAX’s will get a petition to start to build real IMAXs’ in place of the fakes but maybe the IMAX will be renamed with a more fitting name like “LIEMAX” or “Digital-Screen-With-Good-Sound-And-Slightly-Bigger-Theater-Than-Others.”

To tell if the IMAX theatre you are going to is either a LIEMAX or an authentic one go to http://www.bigmoviezone.com/ and type in your zip code and check the theater stats. If the stats say “1570” then that is a genuine IMAX theatre, but if it just says “Digital” than it’s a LIEMAX. Don’t fall into the IMAX digitally enhanced surround sound trap!

June Movie Preview

2009-05-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

(The Hangover)- Caitlin Tadlock (Arts&Culture Editor)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

A third of the way into shooting The Transformers sequel, the film’s star Shia LaBeouf was injured in a car accident that put his role as Sam Witwicky on a seven week hold. LaBeouf’s hand is permanently damaged and now only has 80% of its original usage. Director Michael Bay pondered over replacing LaBeouf’s hand with a CG hand but decided it too expensive and a “pain in the neck”. LaBeouf and co-star Megan Fox recaps that so far on set they have blew up a fish tank, a helicopter, concrete tubes and a library. The film has broken a few Guinness Book of World records that include being the first film to shoot on top of the pyramids in Egypt.

Land of the Lost

A remake of the trippy kiddie sci-fi television series of the 1970’s and the 1990’s, Will Ferrell and company set to take the sitcom to the silver screen with a big-budget adventure-comedy reboot. The series was about a family that was transported to a bizarre world of dinosaurs, cavemen, and menacing lizard-like creatures called Sleestaks. Ferrell’s character Rick Marshall is a scientist who gets sucked into a space-time vortex with his research assistant (played by Anna Friel) and a dim-witted survivalist (played by Danny McBride). Mary and Sid Krofft, the creators of the television show, are both producers of the film. The Krofft’s say that fans of the series will be pleased with the return of the Sleestaks, Chaka and the original theme song.

The Hangover

The morning after their best friend’s Las Vegas bachelor party, three men wake up in a trashed hotel room with no recollection of why they are half-naked and beaten. Or why a chicken is clucking around the room. Or what happened to the groom. The three men go on a 24-hour comedic quest to find the Groom before his wedding that evening. If marketed properly The Hangover could be another unexpected comedy hit, even though it's not a Team Apatow production. This film could also be Zach Galifanakis’ break out movie according to Burbank, CA test screeners that say this will be summer 2009’s Wedding Crashers, Knocked Up or Superbad.

Away We Go

John Krasinksi plays an earnest expectant father, Burt, who joins his pregnant girlfriend, Verona (played by Maya Rudolph) on a cross-country search for the right place to call home. Allison Janney and Catherine O’Hara are two supporting character actors that give the film a comedic spark. Some people call the film boring, some say it is charming and others are scratching their heads wondering why every new indie movie has the Juno-esque graphics and fonts on the film’s movie posters.

Whatever Works

Larry David plays an eccentric man from Greenwich Village who gets caught up in a series of love stories that get him tangled up with a young girl *played by Evan Rachel Wood) and her parents from the south. Wood reveals that Whatever Works is another classic Woody Allen movie but it is still different than anything he has done. Wood’s naïve character ends up marrying David and trouble ensues.

Year One

Judd Apatow’s sitting in the producer’s seat for this new film. Year One is about two really bad hunter-gatherers in a Stone Age tribe that get expelled from the group and venture out into a world they didn’t know existed. Jack Black and Michael Cera embark on a quest that traces the Book of Genesis and allows them to sound off on their opposing views of religion. Cera plays a terrified existentialist, afraid of everything while Black believes there is a God who is mapping things out for him. The movie is characterized by director Harold Ramis as “just a good, dumb, broad comedy”.

The Rescue Hits St. Louis

2009-05-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

(Kristen Bell 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' along with some IC founders at the LA Rescue Mission.)-Beth Borger
What do Oprah, Billy Boyd (Pippin in Lord of the Rings), and Switchfoot have in common? These celebrities along with nearly one hundred others pledged to support and advocate for Invisible Children’s Rescue effort. All across the world on April 25,nearly 100,000 people peacefully protested the mistreatment of the children in northern Africa. The Rescue was put on by Invisible Children to raise awareness about Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army, a rebel army that has enslaved thousands of children for several years. Many of these children have escaped; however, a majority of the escapees have been mutilated, abused, and hardly resemble the children they were before they were taken from their homes and forced to fight in a dead war.
32 students from Greenville College participated in the Rescue event held in St. Louis, Missouri. Nearly seven hundred students participated in the somber walk from the Edward Jones Dome to the Arch at 3pm on April 25th. After completing the walk, students waited on the steps of the Arch to be “rescued” by both the media and a celebrity. The media showed up within a few hours and several radio stations broadcasted the event. The group continued to wait for a celebrity rescuer.
At 10pm the whole group moved to the “camp” around the Arch and set up their sleeping bags. After midnight, the hope of Taylor Swift showing up after her concert was slowly dwindling, especially considering the gunshots heard from a block down. Sunday afternoon at about 1:30pm St. Louis Rams linebacker Chris Chamberlain came to the rescue of the group and pledged his support.
By this time, there were only nine cities still waiting to be rescued in the United States. Every city in America had a mogul show up with the exception of Chicago, who continued to wait. A constant five hundred people remained for nearly a week in Chicago participating in this protest. Oprah Winfrey finally agreed to put the Invisible Children’s founders live on her May 1st show.
Even though the Rescue event has ended, Invisible Children will not stop raising awareness and urging thousands to protest. Instead, on June 22nd and 23rd thousands across the nation will travel to Washington D.C. to deliver letters and urge senators to find a way to end this war in Uganda. According to the Invisible Children organization, “the program will include lobbying trainings, VIP speakers, a kick-off rally and will culminate in an unprecedented outpouring of activism on Capitol Hill, with hundreds of meetings taking place between Members of Congress and their constituents.”
There are several things that can be done now that the event is over. Invisible Children sells merchandise which goes to benefit the child soldiers and the actual rescue efforts going on. The organization is also doing a TRI pledge. This pledge is asking each student to give up a three dollar cup of coffee at Starbucks in order to help the Invisible Children efforts. The donation is taken off of a credit or debit card each month. You can donate and purchase merchandise at InvisibleChildren.com and attend the lobby days in June at Washington DC. More information can be found at HowItEnds.tv. Please contact Beth Bounds or Jared Pitts if you have any further questions.

Blackroom Cafe Comes to a Close

2009-05-05T20:08:00.001-07:00

Seniors Jess Kamm and Steph Plant performed at the last Blackroom Café of the year on Tuesday night. Jess, who just returned from a Best Semester study at Martha’s Vineyard, opened the night by playing 3 original songs. Steph Plant who was the first act of the school year for Blackroom Café was also the last performer of the school year. Steph’s senior art show will be held this coming Sunday from 6pm to 8pm in the Maves Art Center. The spring semester Blackroom Café CD will be on sale this summer. You can purchase the CD by contacting Lucas Harger at lucasjharger@gmail.com The CD costs $5 and the fall semester CD is still on sale. During the fall 2009 school year Blackroom Café will be held every other week with an outside artist performing every other Blackroom Café.

Steph Plant Performing @ Blackroom Cafe

Bradley Hathaway @ Off Broadway

2009-05-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

- Caitlin Tadlock
The always arrogant Bradley Hathaway played a show at St.Louis' Off Broadway. Greenville College's own Hot Fever opened the night.
Hathaway performed songs from his past few albums and refused to do any of the poems that made him famous.
I don't know how he still has fans, his music is mediocre.
Here is a video from the show.

myspace.com/hotfevermusic
myspace.com/bradleyhathaway

Save on Fleetwood Mac Tickets & More

2009-04-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

Use the password TUSK when ordering and save on Fleetwood Mac tickets.
Courtesy of LiveNation.
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/402964?c=dm-1604762&p=38369688

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are coming to the Pageant in St. Louis June 6th.
Tickets go on sale Tomorrow at 5PM.
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/407688//?c=dm-1608446&p=38369688

Aerosmith Pre-Sale Tickets

2009-04-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Aerosmith Pre-Sale Tickets on sale Friday, April 24th at 10am.
Ends at 10PM Friday.
Go to:
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/406944//?c=dm-1580303&p=38369688
and use the password: singer
to purchase.
Courtesy of Live Nation.

Invisible Children: The Resue

2009-04-23T16:41:00.001-07:00

- Beth Burge

“Call us what you will, just don’t forget to call us daring. Talk is
cheap, and we're not ones to sleep through a revolution.” ~Invisible
Children Rescue Riders

Last night a benefit concert was put on for Invisible Children’s: The
Rescue in the upper union. The Rescue is an event held all across the
world to raise awareness about the child soldiers in Uganda. The
concert went very well. Those who played were Wind and Sail, Laura
Stephens, Joe Letchworth, Anna Joy Griesbach, Rachel Bowden, and Steph
Plant. Each brought a different feeling with them and was greatly
enjoyed by all who were in earshot. The money earned from the concert
goes directly to Invisible Children, specifically The Rescue mission.
Since September 2008, the LRA rebel army has murdered over 1,170
civilians without cause, and abducted around 500 children to add to
their army. This puts the numbers of children being forced to be a
part of the LRA to nearly to the 4,000 mark. Each year Invisible
Children holds an event where thousands of people gather to raise
awareness about the neglected Northern Uganda. One year, thousands
night commuted. Another year they displaced themselves. This year we
will be abducting ourselves for the sake of those who have been
abducted by Joseph Kony and the rebel army in Northern Uganda. Rescue
events will be happening all across the world in one hundred different
cities.
St. Louis, Missouri’s Rescue Event will happen this Saturday, April
25th beginning at the Edwards Jones Dome at 3 pm. Once everyone
gathers, the group of “abductees” will walk from the Dome to the St.
Louis Arch. This is about a half a mile. After arriving at the Arch,
those abducted will camp out until two different groups of people
“rescue” them.
As of now, there are more than 800 people signed up to participate in
the St. Louis Rescue. The group must be rescued by both the media and
different moguls in the areas. The media is there to raise awareness
to the majority of Americans who have no idea of the immense problem
in Uganda happening right now. The moguls are required to bring about
change on a larger scale with our celebrities and our governments
around the world. Many different radio stations have been notified
about the Rescue. Albert Pujols, Governor Nixon, Senator McCaskill,
Senator Bond, and several congressmen have been contacted already in
hopes they will be willing to participate and be a support the effort
to do something about the rebel army and the injustice happening every
day to thousands of innocent children.
A group of students plan to leave Saturday, April 25th around 1:30 pm
from Ganton Circle to carpool to St. Louis for the event. Each will be
carrying just what is needed to make it until they are rescued. This
can include a backpack with warmer clothes from the night, food to
last a whole day, paper in order to write letters to those in power,
three photographs of you and your friends/family (to leave at the
abduction site and to send to the leaders you’re writing to), sleeping
bag, and $5. The group will return once rescued either Saturday night
or Sunday. If you would like any more information please contact Beth
Bounds or Jared Pitts.

If I Stay - Book Review

2009-04-23T16:39:00.001-07:00

- Caitlin Tadlock
The new young adult novel by Gayle Foreman (Sisters in Sanity) hit shelves this month with much anticipation. The book centers on a teenage girl that is comatose after a tragic car accident that took her family’s lives. Even before the book was released to the public, it was picked up by Summit Entertainment for a 2011 feature film release date with Catherine Hardwicke set to direct.

The 196 page turner is set in the Portland, Oregon suburbs. I returned from a week and a half Spring break visit from Portland and enjoyed the book’s references to Mt. Hood, Hawthorne Street, the downtown sites and the Portland hipster scene, since I just recently discovered those places myself a little over a month ago.

Mia has an outer body experience while she is in a coma in a Portland hospital. Through out her time in intensive care, Mia follows around her comatose body as nurses and doctors perform surgery on her and check her vitals. She also follows around her grandparents, best friend, and boyfriend through the hospital and reminisces about the time spent with them in her life. The book jumps back and forth from present time to past events that make you feel connected with her family and have more sympathy for Mia. You learn that her parents were punk rockers and that Mia was the odd one out as she was a budding cellist with a passion for classical music and a pending acceptance at Julliard.

The book has its silly parts in it, being a young adult fiction and all. In one chapter, a famous rock star from the band Bikini stops by the hospital to distract the nurses as Mia’s indie-cool boyfriend Adam tries to rush the ICU with his band mates and Mia’s best friend to visit her.

All of the past stories Mia shares with us have a hand in making the hardest decision of her life. Mia’s character is likable and somewhat relatable, in the beginning her only common concern was choosing college or her boyfriend and how to deal with relationship and family matters. I read the book in one sitting, not because it was a highly addictive read but because it was just shy of 200 pages. Overall the book is nicely written as Mia struggles between deciding if it would be better to live or to die. If I Stay is a moving and thought-provoking book that attracts an audience of both adults and teenagers.

Best of Both Worlds? Hannah Montana Movie Review

2009-04-23T16:38:00.001-07:00

- Shequita Weaver

I’m not going to lie. I’m not even ashamed. When I found out that a Hannah Montana movie was making its way to a theater near me, I was excited. Yes, I’m a 21 year old college senior. However, being able to revert back to my 13-year-old, teenybopper self gives me “the best of both worlds.” I saw the movie the day after it came out. My mom offered to pay, and immediately I asked my 13-year-old sister if she wanted to go. Unfortunately, she’s at the age of being “above” Hannah Montana. So I simply called my 12 year-old cousin who is not yet too cool for Hannah Montana. A year can make a big difference, I suppose. Whatever the case may be, we were off to see the movie event of the year!

I’ll admit that I felt a little awkward singing along to the songs in the movie with a 12-year-old to my left and a 3 year-old to my right. However, as time went on I was able to push my insecurities aside and discuss my reasons for loving Jackson as opposed to Oliver with the cute little girl who had no teeth.

The movie in itself was adorable, entertaining, and charming (if you are willing to watch it from the eyes of a teenybopper girl. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t enjoy it much. In this film version of Hannah Montana, it seems that Miley Stewart is letting her alter-ego lifestyle get out of hand. In short, she’s beginning to think that her name is really Hannah Montana and has become too big for her britches. After getting into a fight with Tyra Banks over a pair of shoes (although, who wouldn’t want to throw a shoe at her head?), Miley’s father decides to intervene and send her back down to her roots—away from Hollywood and home to Tennessee where she grew up.

Being in Tennessee makes Miley realize that she has forgotten who she was. After telling a certain boy (there’s always a love-interest) that she saved Hannah Montana’s life while surfing, she gets herself into a predicament that forces her to introduce Hannah to her hometown in Tennessee—while keeping her secret safe. After cute antics throughout the movie, and a big web of lies, Miley is forced to make a decision. Does she stop being Hannah, or does she return to Tennessee as Miley Stewart, the simple farm girl?

Hannah Montana the movie provides its young viewers with a sense of fun and a lesson in staying true to oneself. While some may not enjoy the sugary sweet, bubblegum genre, I saw it as a refreshing break from my life as a 21-year-old college senior.

May Movie Madness

2009-04-23T16:37:00.001-07:00

- Caitlin Tadlock
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (May 1st) Starring Hugh Jackman, Live Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds. The X-Men spin-off tells the back story of Wolverine’s violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the Weapon X program. Wolverine faces off with his half brother Sabretooth and a collection of rogue mutants including Deadpool and Gambit. Wolverine seeks revenge of his dead girlfriend and tries to free mutant children kept prisoner by William Stryker and Victor Creed on 3 Mile Island.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past - (May 1st) Starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Celebrity papparazo Connor Mead (McConaughey) is a commited bachelor who doesn’t think twice about breaking up with his multitude of girlfriends via conference call. It seems like Connor may single-handedly ruin his younger brother’s wedding until he is visited by the ghosts of his former girlfriends who take him on an enlightening and funny ride through his failed past, present and future relationships. With the help of Connor’s ex-girlfriends, they try to find out what turned him into such a jerk and if there will be hope for him to find true love in the future.

Rudo y Cursi (May 8th) – The Mexican drama/comedy is about two brothers from a rural lower class family with roots in a small “banana town” on the coast of Mexico. The family fights over who performs better in professional soccer. The film is a parody of contemporary Mexico’s “narco-society” (narcotics trafficking as a norm of social life) perceptions of life.

Star Trek (May 8th) – Heroes’ Sylar is Spock, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) is Scotty and Chris Pine is hot! Trekkies and non-trekkies alike join together and hold hands as they watch this movie masterpiece unfold onto the big screen (and IMAX!)

Little Ashes (May 8th) – “The movie that was never meant to be released” according to Robert Pattinson who thinks the film is only being released now since he has found fame in Twilight. Pattinson and Javier Beltran star in the Salvador Dali bio-pic. Dali arrives at a Madrid university and is determined to become a great artist. His weird blend of shyness and exhibitionism attracts the attention of two of the university’s social elite, Federico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunel and soon the three become the most ultra-modern group in Madrid. Beltran and Pattinson’s friendship grow into something more over time and Pattinson eventually goes Brokeback on Beltran in the end.

Angels and Demons (May 15th) – Starring Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor When Langdon (Hanks) discovers evidence of the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati - the most powerful underground organization in history - he also faces a deadly threat to the existence of the secret organization's most despised enemy: the Catholic Church. When Langdon learns that the clock is ticking on an unstoppable Illuminati time bomb, he travels to Rome, where he joins forces with Victoria Vetra, an enigmatic Italian scientist. Embarking on a nonstop, action-packed hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra will follow a 400-year-old trail of ancient symbols that mark the Vatican's only hope for survival. (www.angelsanddemons.com/)

Terminator Salvation (May 21st) – Starring Christian Bale, Sam Worthington and Bryce Dallas Howard. Set in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor (Bale) is the man to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of total stranger Marcus Wright (Worthington). Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet’s operations, where they uncover the secret behind the possible extinction of mankind. (www.terminatorsalvation.warnerbros.com)

You Can't Take It With You: Personal Reflection

2009-04-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

- Tim Burge
Random, hilarious, stellar, fast-paced, wild, crazy, and fun all describe Greenville College’s rendition of You Can’t Take It with You. This crazy comedy had the audience rolling with laughter as a hysterical chain of events leads up to the climax that winds down with a tone of seriousness. Alice, a central person to the play, finds herself in quite a predicament when her fiancé’s parents come for dinner at her house a day early. With her random, quirky family, Alice soon realizes that the two families are worlds of different. As the seriousness of the issue sweeps in, the audience finds themselves at the heart of the play.
When the comedy turns sharply from laughter to seriousness, I felt as if the flow of the play was disrupted, and I was not a fan of the complete 180 degree turn. I really loved the funny parts, and some of the actors did phenomenal, but the seriousness seemed to come out of nowhere. As I mentioned, there were a few of the actors that stood out in my mind. Alex Gohde, who played the Russian ballet instructor, performed magnificently. His over exaggeration of facial expressions and embellishments of body movements made my sides hurt from laughing.
Also, Essie did an outstanding job on her part. At first, her horrible ballet movements irritated me, but as I realized, she was horrible! One of my favorite parts was when two other characters were dialoguing and Essie was lying on the couch with her head hanging off the front wiggling her toes in midair above her. Also worth mentioning was Lindsey, who played Alice’s mom. She became her character and never once faltered from it, and in the process, unleashing laughs upon laughs from the audience.
Overall, the play was wonderful. It had its ups and downs, but most performances usually do. I really enjoyed the actors and their abilities. I wish that I could have gone one more night, just to see it again.

Fun. & Manchester Orchestra Nashville Review

2009-04-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

- Kara Wenthe

Tuesday, April 21st, in Nashville, TN, Manchester Orchestra’s CD Release/ Tour Kickoff Show at Exit/In started out with pop-rock Winston Audio. It’s nothing too wonderful, like something I would enjoy in the heat of the Cornerstone Festival, but never buy their CD or even bother to pirate their music from the internet –a one night stand sort of enjoyment without the enduring commitment and title of “fan.”

Then came the artsy sounds of The Audrye Sessions, whose female bass player (how’s that for feminism?) hand sews and crafts their merch while on the road. Her produce included scarves and purses embroidered with owls constructed out of recycled fabrics. She really did inspire me and spark my interest with her DIY promotion. Their set was nothing too wonderful, minus the last song in which the vocalist experimented with proximity to the mic, creating a DIY vocal effect. Something the sound guys could have easily altered with the twist of a knob, I assume. That should have been my first cue.

The shoddy sound crew slightly sucked the fun out of Fun’s performance. Kurt the Flirt, my companion at this artistic performance, whose knowledge in the art of sound far exceeds my own, winced and rubbed his ears a few times; he credited the painful expressions to the work of the sound crew. Despite technical difficulties, after an extra twenty unnecessary minutes of setup Fun front man, Nate Reuss, counted off into Benson Hedges, a first Fun original. Their first record should be released in a few months, some of which they played, revealing an influence of Freddie Mercury meets the Format. Making fun of their roots, the band covered two Format songs, “The First Hit Single” and “Snails” to keep the party going. A Christopher Walken look-alike in the crowd had his hips groovin’ to the beats, a good sign I’m sure. GC’s own Jonathan Goldstein is the man behind the beats for Fun on this tour (see Tadlock’s article). Check them out in Covington, Kentucky, or Kansas City, Missouri May 7th or 11th in consecutive shows, hope for better quality sound, and see myspace for details, yeah? (myspace.com/fun)

Headlining band, Manchester Orchestra, just released a new album Tuesday, April 21st. I was pretty pumped with the new release; their presence was phenomenal—at least the sound crew experienced redemption during this set. Manchester played all the new and old album favorites and hits, including “I’ve Got Friends,” “Shake It Out,” “I Can Barely Breathe,” and an acoustic version of “The Only One.” Front man Andy Hull covered a WILCO song about Bob Dylan’s beard and made a pop culture reference to fml in the form of song. And his wit prevailed as he added a circumstantial fourth verse just before the slow skin peeling portion of “Shake It Out.” It went a little something like: “If you want to mosh / don’t push little girls / because it’s rude.” Of course, I got clocked by an arm-flailing enthusiast immediately before this heartfelt addition.

Critical Mass Friday 8PM

2009-04-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

Blackroom Cafe Singer/Songwriter Winners

2009-04-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night, the Blackroom Café held the singer/songwriter finale. AJ Alvarez, Anna Joy Griesbach, Zach Strout and Kayla Wiersma all performed to a packed house that night. Freshman Zach Strout picked up 2nd place, while senior Anna Joy Griesbach received 1st place in the contest. Both winners will record the 3 songs they performed in the studios on campus and will receive twenty copies each within a week of the end of the competition.

You can also check out Blackroom Café’s new website at www.blackroomcafe.com

Shut-up & Let Me Go to The Ting Tings Show!

2009-04-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

- Melissa Taylor

(The Ting Tings @ The Pageant on The Delmar Loop)

Originally scheduled to play in the Duck Room at Blueberry Hill, the Ting Tings instead performed at the Pageant on Friday, April 3rd due to over selling tickets. When I say performed, I mean exactly that. This funky duo, which hails from Greater Manchester, England, definitely got the crowd cutting a few rugs, bodies moving, beats dropping. The atmosphere gave off the impression of a rave, with almost every girl mimicking guitarist/vocalist Katie White’s tasteful attire.
Tasteful, I regret to say, may not be the word most would choose to describe the opening act. Hot Tub, a female trio from Oakland, California, graced the stage in ripped up leggings and t-shirts—well, mostly pieces of material connected in pivotal regions. However, even some of the precious little clothing they managed to don didn’t last very long. Shirts came off, and things got, might I say, uncomfortable. Their choice of dance was even questionable, as every move involved explicitly sexual motions. Even worse, they didn’t stay on the stage very long. You can guess what that meant for those in the crowd. That’s a memory I would not like to revisit anytime soon or ever preferably.
On the positive side, everyone there most likely was seeking a night of dancing, and Hot Tub, I must say, did not disappoint in that arena. Their rhymes were flowing, and the floor was far from stagnant. However, I, like most others I suspect, was there for the Ting Tings.
They played all 10 tracks off of their first and only album, We Started Nothing. This set included their well-known singles, “That’s Not My Name” and “Shut Up and Let Me Go.” The Pageant was crowded, but the space definitely facilitated the concert more efficiently than Blueberry Hill could have. Actually, this isn’t the first time The Ting Tings have partied in St. Louis. They were here last July, but as Katie White mentioned during the show, she appreciated the air-conditioning and spacious venue. “Thank God for air-conditioning; now let’s play some tunes.” Jules and Katie lived up to their promise of satisfying tunes as they partied and pleased the diverse audience from teenagers to the “mature.” Despite the opening act that left most confused, overall, it was worth the $17.50 to groove with the Ting Tings and dance to their sweet, funky-fresh beats.

Adventureland, Not Another Superbad

2009-04-19T10:11:00.000-07:00

- Dav Timm

Once when I was in high school, I remember seeing a kid wearing a pro-abstinence t-shirt that read, “VIRGINITY ROCKS!” At the time I didn’t think much of it, but later I realized how absurd the shirt was. Since when does virginity rock? I don’t think virginity is something most people enjoy – I, for one am looking forward to the best part about the V-card: losing it.
This is one reason I liked Adventureland, a charming coming-of-age comedy that follows the summer after college in 1987 for James Brennan (played by Jesse Eisenberg). When his girlfriend dumps him because he’s a virgin, he realizes he needs to get him some. He’s anticipating a trip to Europe before he goes to grad school at Columbia, but then his dad gets demoted and both plans fall through. He’s forced to get a summer job, which he lands at a dilapidated amusement park.

At Adventureland we’re introduced to a plethora of quirky characters who drive the plot, such as nerdy Joel (Martin Starr aka Bill from Freaks & Geeks), Connell (Ryan Reynolds) who claims to have jammed with Lou Reed once, and cute and lovable Em (Kristen Stewart), who quickly becomes the object of James’ attention. By far the funniest and weirdest duo in the film is the married couple that runs Adventureland, Bobby (Bill Hader) and Paulette (Kristen Wiig). The characters provide some of the movie’s greatest appeal. Plus, there’s plenty of slapstick and puking-related humor to make Adventureland a thoroughly comical film.

The movie is a sort of autobiography for writer-director Greg Mottola (Superbad) who spent a summer in similar fashion to Adventureland’s main character. So he knew just how to make Adventureland nostalgic. At the same time it’s accompanied by a classic 80s soundtrack with such artists as Bowie, the Cure, and the Replacements, plus an original score written by Yo La Tengo. Like Superbad, the movie’s tone is set by the soundtrack, but Adventureland tends toward melancholy rather than raunchiness. If you’re expecting Superbad II, you probably won’t be satisfied. Nonetheless, Adventureland is lighthearted and personal and I’m betting you won’t be disappointed if you can put up with the dirty jokes, drug use and sexuality that give it its R-rating. It’s a funny and bittersweet retro comedy, reflective of the romance and naïveté of growing up. If I could narrow it down to three words, I’d simply conclude: well worth seeing.

Spring Concerts Underway

2009-04-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

- Lindsay Meece

If you’re looking for things to do and just can’t bear to be in Greenville for another weekend, lots of bands have started their spring tours and are playing in the area. Many concerts are in St. Louis, as well as Peoria, Springfield, Champaign, or Chicago, if you’re looking for more of a drive. If you’re into music as much as I am, you should jump on this opportunity to see your favorite band in concert. This past week I went to The All-American Rejects concert in St. Louis and to a Copeland concert in Urbana.

The All-American Rejects packed the house at The Pageant in St. Louis on Thursday, April 9, 2009. It was definitely worth it to wait to go home until Friday for Easter break. I’ve seen these guys in concert before and they really know how to put on a show. The All-American Rejects made sure to cover many songs from their latest album, When the World Comes Down, which was released on December 16, 2008. They also covered their hits from their self-titled album and Move Along, singing the fan favorites “Swing Swing,” “Dirty Little Secret,” and “Move Along.” The opening acts were Vedera, Ace Enders, and Shiny Toy Guns who all were successful in keeping the crowd’s attention.

Copeland performed at The Canopy Club right off the University of Illinois campus in Urbana this past Monday night, April 13. It was my first time seeing them and in light of my close proximity to the band (about two people away) and as strong as Aaron Marsh’s voice was, it was an amazing performance. Copeland has a distinct sound that is relaxing and peaceful, but they know how to rock when they’re performing live. They covered songs from their latest album, You Are My Sunshine, released on October 14, 2008. I love the new stuff but I’m also a big fan of their older material and luckily they played some of their older songs as well, including “Pin Your Wings” and my favorite, “You Have My Attention.” Brooke Waggoner, Paper Route, and This Providence opened for Copeland and each had a different style that made the overall concert experience worthwhile.

If you missed out on these two amazing concerts don’t worry! There are many more to come. Mae is said to be playing in St. Louis on May 19, 2009, and that would be a great way to end the school year. Of course, Agape, Cornerstone, and Ignite Chicago are always great experiences. Keep an eye out for your favorite band to come this way because many bands have a spring tour.

You Can't Take It With You - Factory Theatre Comedy

2009-04-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Greenville College Factory Theatre will showcase the wacky but warmhearted Sycamore family in the production of Moss Hart and George Kaufman’s hit comedy YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU, scheduled for April 15-18 at 7:30 p.m.

The action occurs in the home of the eccentric Sycamores. Among exploding fireworks, spontaneous reading of plays and exuberant xylophone music, they all live in happy, if not relatively noisy madness. Alice Sycamore (Ali Richert) loves Tony Kirby (Nathan Ondracek), the vice president of his father’s company. The Sycamore’s quirky lifestyle comes under scrutiny and suspicion when Tony’s parents (Andrew Richards and Liz Pontious) pay an unexpected visit to Alice’s home. In the hilarious ensuing moments, the entire household faces fast-paced pandemonium, complete with pickled pig’s feet, unexpected wrestling moves, detonating fireworks, and house arrest. When the smoke clears, only the wise counsel of Grandpa (Dan Jensen) coupled with the blintz-making prowess of an ex-grand duchess (Chelsea Tredor) can save the day.

Additional cast members of this zany, heartwarming comedy include Lindsey Schuberth, James Turner, Gemma Heilmer, Tyler Simmons, Alex Gohde, Diana Buchanan, Daniel Turner, Amanda Brinkman, Keith Davis, Rebecca Washburn, Taylor Griggs, Elisabeth Ward, and William Ahern. Often described as the funniest comedy ever written, YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU promises to provide an evening of fun for the whole family.

Cool Spotting Takes Stalking to a New Level

2009-04-19T10:04:00.001-07:00

- Caitlin Tadlock

(Nikki Reed spotted wearing Wayfarer II 2143 Raybans, Nike Dunk High Premium Rainbows released January 09')

The other day I stumbled upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/) a website that is devoted to give you details on how to dress like a celebrity, whether it’s a paparazzi shot of them walking through an airport, a magazine spread or a screen shot of a movie scene. I spent some time on the user-generated website, Coolspotters.com and was surprised of how these folks were committed to give you each star’s intricate look.

For example, your favorite movie last summer was Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, you love Kat Dennings lipstick in the movie, and you want it yourself. First, you go to her page on Cool Spotters and at the top it gives a short biography “Kat Dennings, born Katherine Litwack; June 13, 1986…is an American actress”, alright good to know that she’s American. Under the entertainment section you can either go to her movie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist or to the Adventureland premiere where it shows her hanging out with Kristen Wiig and Kristen Stewart on the red carpet. I believe my best option is to go to the Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist page and click a picture of her character, Norah. I hover my mouse over her face and voila, a box pops up over her lips telling me it’s “Sheer Magic” lips stain by Lorac! Alright, now I need to go order that from Amazon.

Coolspotters.com is able to depict a movie shot by shot and give you the lowdown, from the car they drove to the bedspread used and where to buy it. After viewing a picture of Lindsay Lohan I now know where I can purchase Red Bull, Camel Number 9’s and a Sharpie pen. Probably all of these can be bought at a gas station but it is best to know where Lindsay buys them, so I click the link for the Sharpie pen and get an online address to where I can make my purchase.
Is this taking hero worship to an extreme? Yes. Coolspotters.com in a way is like a shopping/celebrity hybrid of Twitter and Facebook. You can create yourself a profile, follow certain celebrities or movies and get updates on where they are going and what they are wearing. You can stop watching the Style channel and unsubscribe from fashion magazines because Coolspotters.com is attempting to bring all celebrity style into one slick click on its website.

Right now, I’m on my final step to buy a pair of Ray Ban 2143 Wayfarer II shades I just saw Scarlett Johansson wear in a TMZ video from Monday night. I followed them for only $99.00!

The Fray/Jack's Mannequin Pre-Sale Password

2009-03-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Go to the evil Livenation website tomorrow and order your Fray and Jack's tickets early.
Presale starts Friday at 10AM to 10PM that night.
General tickets go on sale Saturday at 10am
The Password for Pre-Sale is: strings
http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/404934//?c=dm-1391529&p=38369688
July 3rd at the Verizon Wireless Amp in St. Louis.
-A gift from The Papyrus

No Doubt Pre-Sale Password

2009-03-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Use the word "strings" to order No Doubt and Paramore tickets tomorrow (Friday) at

http://www.livenation.com/event/getEvent/eventId/404412?c=dm-1311698&p=38369688&c=dm-1311698&p=38369688

Starting at 10AM.

Concert is at Verizon Wireless venue in St. Louis.
07/08/09

Spring Semester Lab Bands

2009-02-21T15:58:00.000-08:00

(Photo by Beky Smith)
Robert Varner
Ashley Johnston
Last November, Greenville faculty held auditions for the spring semester Lab Bands; out of the auditions, four of the bands are returning from the fall semester and two new bands were welcomed to the GC music department’s CCM experiment. The idea behind the Lab Band program is to bring together several diversified musical groups and give them professional instruction from professors who have been developing one of the nation’s most renowned CCM departments. Bands gain priceless opportunity and the experience could be a potential turning point in their career. Returning bands include Hot Fever, Lowland Sea, Nester Class 5 and Photoside Café. The newbies to Lab Band include Allez and Dressed to Kill.
The members of Hot Fever are lab band veterans - a vivacious group that woos their crowds with their catchy tunes and an energy that keeps you dancing from the first song to the last. The band has gone through several member changes since its commencement last year. Vocalist Dane Boffey, who is credited with writing a majority of the music even before coming to campus, was the original rhythm guitarist when Hot Fever first became a Lab Band three semesters ago. Now the band has only two original members: Dane on vocals and Sarah Whittman providing back-up vocals and keys/synth. The group added four new members at the start of Fall semester ‘08.
Lowland Sea is an alternative/rock band at their best. They are another returning Lab Band and are influenced by Muse, Coldplay and U2. June Sim, vocalist and guitarist, says they will continue to build a live set and play shows on and off campus this year. Lowland Sea has also undergone extensive member changes but still has a positive outlook on the future.
Nester Class 5 is also returning from last semester. They are an energetic band combining vocalist Charlie DeVos’ rap influences with a heavier style of rock, producing sounds reminiscent of both Rage Against the Machine and Family Force 5. Ever since their start, their music has gradually evolved, both technically and in a solid live performance. The band has set out quite ambitiously, trying to produce music that is both fairly foreign to the campus scene as well as hard to create.
Photoside Café is the final returning band this semester. Their distinct combination of acoustic alternative rock accompanied by an atmosphere of overdriven violin, brings to the table music that imitates Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer. Last summer they were signed to Grr Records, based out of Chicago, while performing at Cornerstone Music Festival. With their solid sound and effective use of a non-traditional rock instruments, Photoside Café has another exciting few months to extend their progress and develop within the music business.
Newcomers to Lab Band this semester include Allez and Dressed to Kill. Allez is a band that comes from a very different place from the other lab bands and each member contributes a variety of influences to the music they play. The material they have right now is a mix between progressive rock and jazz. The relatively strong musical influence is jazz and fusion. Dressed to Kill is an energetic metal group that has shredded their way into the hearts of many since 2006.
www.myspace.com/hotfevermusic
www.myspace.com/lowlandsea
www.myspace.com/dressedtokillkills
www.myspace.com/nesterclass5
www.myspace.com/photosidecafe

The Firebird Grand Opening

2009-02-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

- London Novak

February 5th marked the grand opening of a renovated and renamed St. Louis music venue, once known as The Bluebird, now known as The Firebird. The venue is new and approved and the smell of paint fumes proves it when you enter. Last Thursday the Firebird was packed with STL locales celebrating the grand opening with DJ’ing from Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, rap duo Jason and the Beast, So Many Dynamos metal progressive rock side project Thor Axe, and the one man stand-up musician Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship, all fitting the bill that night to give everyone an array of entertainment.
Thor Axe, the side project of St. Louis’ own So Many Dynamos, is a seven-piece band including three guitar players, two bassists, a drummer, and a keyboardist. Usually it is pretty difficult for a band to pull off that many members, but when talking about Thor Axe, you have to know that we’re talking about professionals.
When I try to think of a good way to describe their sound, I think of a combination of The Advantage, 8 Bit Weapon, and a metal version of Final Fantasy, but pumped with more creativity and newness. If you don’t know the two above bands, they cover all our favorite Nintendo and computer game music, but with a kind of metal undertone. Anyway, Thor Axe doesn’t cover any music but their own.
They performed after Jason and the Beast, who simmered the crowd down, but once Thor Axe took stage the crowd was anxious to hear. Once they did take the stage, everybody had their rockin’ ears on. They played some of their more popular songs, like ‘The Beagle Has Landed’, ‘Girthquake’, and ‘Here’s To Swimming with Bow Legged Women’.
The Firebird’s website is re-designed and the schedule is tight, with different bands playing almost every night. Tonight, GC’s own Eagle Scout will be performing at The Firebird with Krafted in Korea, so in case you get a hold of this issue before the show, which starts at 9:00PM, you should grab $7 if you’re 21 and older or $10 if you’re not, and head over to 2706 Olive in St. Louis to support your fellow students!
http://www.firebirdstl.com/
www.myspace.com/eaglescout
www.myspace.com/kraftedinkorea
www.myspace.com/partydream
www.myspace.com/jasonandthebeast
www.myspace.com/superfunyeahyeahrocketship

The Sheldon and the Greenville Community Present "The Acoustic Aces"

2009-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis has been touring music ensembles through Missouri and Illinois during the 2008 and 2009 season. It is with The Sheldon, Greenville College, and support from Our Common Ground that the music ensemble The Acoustic Aces will perform in the Whitlock Music Center Sunday February 15th at 4:00P.M. The group will perform acoustic music including Americana, Traditional Folk and music by contemporary singer-songwriters. John Higgins, guitarist assembled some of the best acoustic performers in the region to form The Sheldon Acoustic Aces. Members include Thayne Bradford, fiddle and vocals; Charlie Pfeffer, mandolin, guitar and vocals; Bob Bridenbach, dobro; and Vince Corkery, upright bass. Tickets are $5 and are available at Watson’s Drug Store, Jo’s Java and the Music Department Office Room 211 in Whitlock. You can also listen into Ryan Mifflin’s Dirty Roots show on Greenville College’s 89.5 FM WGRN tonight (Thursday) from 8:00P.M. - 10:00P.M. for a chance to win a pair of tickets to The Acoustic Aces.
www.greenville.edu/content/view/1790/38/
http://www.thesheldon.org/

Grammy's Recap

2009-02-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday’s Grammy ceremony was seen by an estimated 19.1 million people. That’s about 2 million more viewers than last year’s show and its highest number in the past 5 years. M.I.A. performed even though she was due to give birth that day, Coldplay only won 4 of the 7 Grammys they were nominated for, Blink 182 is officially back together, and as usual the winner for album and record of the year goes to a surprising odd couple, Led Zepplen’s Robert Plant and bluegrass/country icon Allison Krauss. But the biggest talk of the night and the days following were about two people who weren’t even present for the awards show. Chris Brown and girlfriend Rihanna who were both supposed to perform separate songs that night were no-shows, due to Brown allegedly physically assaulting Rihanna after the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy party the night before the big show. Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Keith Urban and Boyz II Men stepped in to fill their spots.

So Many...What?

2009-02-12T13:54:00.001-08:00

- London Novak

This weekend I had the blissful and extraordinary privilege to attend two events that weaved into each other. The first was watching one of my favorite bands twice and the second was getting the chance to interview them: So Many Dynamos from St. Louis. On Friday they performed with GC’s own The Pragmatic at Off Broadway and on Saturday performing again at the Billiken Club this time without The Pragmatic, both in St. Louis.

The band is made up of four members, Clayton who’s the percussionist, Griffin and Ryan who rock out on guitar and sing, and Aaron who does the lead singing and keyboarding. However, this isn’t the kind of band when watching them seems like there are four members acting separately, trying to outdo the other, but working together as one. This is something I feel like some bands who make it to the “big time” forget to do. When I asked who came up with the lyrics, they told me that it was a collaborative effort that usually took a pretty long time. Because it’s not dependent on one person, if somebody feels uneasy about a certain stanza, then it is reworked until that member is content. That is, of course, if there is no time crunch involved.

Starting out as little tykes who just played music, they decided to start a band while Clayton was still in high school. Soon after, in 2003, they put out their first single, Are We Not Drawn Onward to New Ear?, produced by Ambivalent Records. Within the next year, they put out their first full-length album titled When I Explode. It was during this time that Ryan and Griffin, who were attending college for jazz music, decided to drop out to focus more on the band. Their parents’ weren’t at all thrilled, but were still very supportive in whatever their sons were doing. Their parents still support everything they’re doing, so much in fact, that Ryan’s parents came to the show on Saturday to pinch and kiss his cheek for good luck.

Influenced by Weezer, Talking Heads, Radiohead, and DeathCab, the band has worked hard to come up with their own sound, and have done so quite successfully. Griffin told me, “I think we’re more self-aware of our strengths and weaknesses. We’ve made a lot of mistakes, and it’s not that they were wrong, but they helped us gain our balance.” When I asked how they’ve progressed as a band, they looked around at each other not knowing where to start. “When we first started, we tried having a sound that was somebody else, and it took us awhile to get out of that stage and find who we were and what we wanted,” told Ryan.

Listening to S.M.D. is like a dropkick of ecstasy to the ears while adrenaline lines every crevice of your body. When they play, you could just feel the good vibes excreting from them and penetrating the audience. Watching them is just as exciting because they’re totally into the music. In fact, there’s not too much that they do that doesn’t revolve around playing music. They have two other bands, one being a Weezer cover band In the Garage and Thor Axe which is a seven member instrumental band. Besides watching some T.V. shows (Lost, Dexter, Flight of the Concords), having the occasional potluck with some friends, and catching up on current news by listening to public radio, music has proven to take over the majority of their time.

One of the last questions I asked was what they wanted to be when they were ‘little’. I knew this question didn’t have too much to do with them and the band, but it was asked only for the sake of humor, and some of the responses I received were pretty funny. Griffin always wanted to be a diehard guitarist, while Ryan wanted to be a famous baseball player until 12 when he wanted to play music. Clayton’s answer was quite interesting being that he wanted to be either a marine biologist or a private investigator. Who knows, maybe he could’ve been they guy to uncover the Blagojevich scandal. Then that leaves us Aaron who wanted to be ‘the nerd of my dreams’, it was beautiful. Seriously.

Thus concluded our interview and I bought the boys their promised sodas which they extremely enjoyed before they went on to play. All in all, it was a great weekend for me and all their fans who will continue to cheer the group on. Rock on, boys. Rock on.

You can check out So Many Dynamos and The Pragmatic’s performances from Off Broadway at www.papyrusartsandpopculture.blogspot.com

www.myspace.com/somanydynamos

Blackroom Cafe is Back!

2009-02-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

-Lucas Harger

When the Blackroom Café opened last semester with the first performance by Steph Plant, no one was aware of what the response to the Blackroom Café would be. However, students shared the feeling that singer/songwriter acoustic artists had a lack of opportunity to perform on campus. The gaping hole of an acoustic outlet seemed in direct contradiction to the obvious plethora of acoustic artists around the Greenville area. It was soon apparent that the Blackroom Café might gain enough momentum to last for a semester. Needless to say, on opening night Steph Plant was a perfect paradoxical mixture of uplifting and heart wrenching lyrics and the performance was sure to bring people back the following Tuesday night.

From that week on, the Blackroom Cafe proceeded to feature artists from Greenville campus, such as Johannah Swank, Kelly Latimore, and Caitlin Macri, as well as a recoding singer/songwriter from Nashville, JJ Heller. The Blackroom Café continued to mold, take form, and turn slowly into a consistent intimate stage for artists.

The "Blackroom Café Live" album was put out as a result of the overwhelming positive feedback received from the student body that attended. This album includes three campus artists: Kelly Latimore, Johannah Swank and Steph Plant. The CD features five songs that were all performed live in the Blackroom Cafe. The album was sold for $5.00 and I heard nothing but positive feedback from everyone I had conversation with about the album.

As the new semester begins, the Blackroom Café is getting ready for another semester of great music. The idea of this venue is to provide a place where singer/songwriters have an opportunity to perform and grow while providing the opportunity for the audience to take part in shaping the acoustic folk atmosphere that is evident in the Blackroom Cafe.

Tuesday February 10th, at 9:00 PM, the campus folk band, Ellery Grange, will play and it is sure to be a great night. If you have any questions or comments about Blackroom Café or fall into the category of acoustic, folk, or singer/songwriter and would like to perform, email Lucas Harger at blackroomcafe@gmail.com.

Dirty Roots at GC

2009-02-12T13:51:00.001-08:00

- Megan Garrison

Bored on Thursday nights and need something to do? Tune in to the Dirty Roots show hosted by Ryan Mifflin on WGRN 89.5 from 8:00 to 10:00pm. This show combines numerous music styles such as renegade country, raw blues, vintage gospel, greasy soul, punk, funk, and reggae and features artists such as Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Hank Williams, and many more.

According to Mifflin, his show combines “roots music” with “a healthy dose of revolution and change-the-world attitude” as well as his own thoughts and interaction with his listeners. Mifflin’s idea of “revolution” came about from he and his wife’s college ministry, Wired, at the First Christian Church. Most of the discussions in the class have been about different ways to positively impact the world and “truly make a difference.” This concept, along with Mifflin’s radio background brought the show to what it is today.

Mifflin has been hosting the Dirty Roots show at WGRN for three years, but he has had many experiences in radio including his time as a student at Greenville College. During his sophomore year at Greenville, Mifflin teamed up with a friend, Kris Dothager, to host the Kriff-and-Miff Radio Hour for a semester. The following year, Mifflin started to host his own show, The Miff Till Midnight Show, which continued for two years. Following college, Mifflin worked as the Assistant Program Director and Morning Show Producer at 93.7 KSD in St. Louis. He also had experience at the local radio station, WGEL, which he began working with when he was a senior in high school. These experiences, along with his love of music, have encouraged him to continue hosting radio shows at Greenville College.

Mifflin believes that his show is not only about just the music, but feels that it has “grown into something more, something that allows listeners to be involved and have an active role.” In the future, Mifflin plans to allow the listeners to become even more involved and is also planning on setting up a community-based webpage called “Dirty Roots Revolution” which will allow listeners to play an even more active role in making a difference in the world. Listeners can contact the Dirty Roots Show via email at dirtyroots@rocketmail.com. Keep an ear and eye out for the up and coming Dirty Roots Revolution webpage.

Movin On Up!

2009-02-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

- London Novak

For some reason, every time I think of The Pragmatic, I have the Movin’ On Up theme song from The Jeffersons running through my head. You might ask why I would have such a song in my mind, but it’s pretty obvious if you’ve ever heard the band.
Members of The Pragmatic include both recently graduated Greenville alumni (Andre Anjos, Liz Anjos and Karl Kling) and current students ready to kiss this school goodbye (Jonathon Goldstein and Jeremiah Clark), have been working hard to make a name for themselves while trying to live exciting lives or finishing school. This past weekend they played at Off Broadway in St. Louis. They were asked to perform the opening act for So Many Dynamos. It was amazing to see them up on stage jumping and getting excited to their music just as the crowd was doing.
There were many people there for So Many Dynamos, but they all seemed very enthused for the opening band. As Caitlin Tadlock and I were near the front dancing our butts off, I looked around and saw some people dancing as well as others listening and bobbing their heads to the new sound. The show definitely went over as a major success.
“It’s really exciting to be playing with all these bands that have such prestige behind their names, and whenever they come up to us and say that they enjoy our music and want us to play with them…well, that’s just mind-blowing,” says lead singer Karl Kling.
The Pragmatic recently played with The Faint at The Pageant in St. Louis right before Christmas break started. This past weekend they played with Cordivae and So Many Dynamos. Near the end of March, they plan on playing their most exciting show yet with Anathallo at a new venue that is not yet finished called The Luminary. The show will be the first played in the venue, so be sure to come out and support the band.

www.myspace.com/thepragmatic

"What a Bunch of Fools We Lovers Are..."

2009-02-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

- Kara Wenthe

It’s February, a month occupied with lovers exchanging candy hearts, cupids’ arrows, chocolates, homemade doily-cards, condoms, etc. Fools, I say. Consumer whores who still don’t know what love means. I promise I’m not speaking from bitterness, here. I honestly believe the holiday to be a capitalist invention to boost the economy, and I know I am not alone in that belief.

But what is there to do on the day following the fourteenth, built-up and disappointing, unfulfilling day of cliché romance, St. Valentine’s day? Regret? Remorse?

Look beyond the splendour of pink and red décor to find hope in the heartache. Lonelies, singles, recently released, or still hitched: La Dispute is coming. Myspace description: Blues/Soul group from Grand Rapids, Michigan will be stopping by Greenville the Sunday after Valentine’s Day. Their lyrics: epic. Their beats: beautiful.

Jordan, Brad, Chad, Kevin, and Adam will be performing for fools and lovers in the basement of St. Paul’s alongside Nate Henricks & the Lost Boys, Anchors and Greenville’s own Dressed to Kill. Bring yourself, your new girlfriend, your box of chocolates, and five dollars to St. Paul’s at 6pm Sunday, February 15^th. Oh, and Happy St. Valentine’s day!

Righteous Jams at St. Paul's

2009-02-02T17:33:00.001-08:00

Before GC let out for Christmas break, Eagle Scout played along with Yours For Mine, Wind and Sail, Virgins and Of Kites and Cars.
The Following are clips of Eagle Scout's Performance.

www.myspace.com/yoursformine
www.myspace.com/eaglescoutmusic