Friday, September 19, 2008
The Smithereens new
album covers the Beatles
By Jeff Kramer
contributing writer
jsksl6l@psn.edu
As I browsed through iTunes
for new music, I saw the
Smithereens album, B-Sides The
Beatles. “That’s curious." I
thought, “is that band really ball
sy enough to release a Beatles
cover album?" I was skeptical
as 1 pressed the “buy album" and
put ten of my precious dollars
down the drain. I transferred all
the songs to my iPod Touch, laid
on my bed, and pressed play on
the first track, “Thank You Girl."
Within the first few measures of
the song, all my doubts were dis
pelled. A couple new ones
[doubts] cropped up, but I was
satisfied.
The Smithereens are an aver
age New Jersey band with a
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The members of the Smithereens doing the cliche "we pose against a hrickwall."
Heroes makes its season three
debut September 22
By Neil J. Peters
assistant college life editor
njpsoB3 6? psu.edu
As each day passes, the
moment all of America has been
waiting for looms closer. It’s an
event so monumental, so spec
tacular that Lord Voldemort
would wet himself. It’s the
beginning of an era of awesome
Monday nights.
I’m talking about the season
primer of the NBC hit Heroes.
the greatest TV show of all time.
Some readers may disagree with
this view, but one cannot deny
the impact the show has had on
television programming history.
You may remember back in
2005, when NBC was in a bit of
a pickle; they were abot to go
under. Competition was steep
back then, or in the “Big ‘O5" as
1 like to call it. NBC was being
steamrolled by the competition,
(i.e. Grey's Anatomy , Lost.
Smallville and House). With
only game shows like Deal or
No Deal and a slew of reality
shows, death for the network
Kristen Bell and Hayden Panettiere co-star in NBC's Heroes.
Pat Dinizio. guitarist Jim
Babjak, drummer Dennis Diken,
and bassist Mike Mesaros
formed the group in 1980.
After some circulation of a
single from the 1986 album.
Especially for You. the group
was confronted by Rolling Stone
magazine for being too much
into the mod scene/British inva
sion. The article claimed they
were too akin to the Beatles, an
influence they proudly wear on
their sleeves.
In the early 19905. the
Smithereens were a ;,fight influ
ence to Kurt Cobain when he
was writing Nevermind. Since
then, the group had been fairly
uneventful until 2006, when
Mesaros left the band and was
replaced by Severo “The
Thrilla” Jornacion. This brings
us to their latest album, B-Sides
seemed imminent. But then a
champion rose from the gloom.
On Sept 25. 2005. Heroes
received more viewers than any
other NBC show in five years,
with an average of 14 million
viewers a night. It was a season
filled with 25 episodes of awe
some that saved NBC from
imminent doom. Critics raved
over the incredible mix of comic
book action and OC drama.
However, most good things
must come to an end. With a
second season, plagued by the
2006-2007 Writers Strike, the
show kind of lost its way.
Between fuedal Japan and some
random place in Mexico, most
fans got rather impatient. Now,
a beacon of hope shines though
the haze. With a full staff of
writers and no problems in sight,
this season can’t do anything but
reclaim its title as the best show
on TV.
Granted, it is rather boastful
to claim that Heroes is better
than other hit shows such as
Grey’s Anatomy or CSI. But
please before you gum up my
GOOGLE IMAGES
As I [sort of] mentioned previ
ously, I’m pretty cynical when it
comes to bands who aren’t the
Beatles trying to be the Beatles.
Usually it’s just some indie hip
ster with his buds playing
“Come Together” in the garage.
Hell, that’s what Across the
Universe was—a collection of
low grade covers. The
Smithereens’ B-Sides The
Beatles captures the Beatles’
sound quite well.
Jornacion doesn’t neglect his
bass guitar, as is most common
with Jersey bands like the
Smithereens. The George
Harrison bass lines are fully
intact, especially in “Cry for a
Shadow.” DiNizio’s throaty
croon is shocking to hear in lieu
of John Lennon, but as the
album progressed, I grew accus
tomed to and even fond of it.
There were a few songs where
the vocals could have used some
more emotion, though —“I'll
Get You,” for one.
The Smithereens do a fantas
tic job covering Beatles songs.
In fact, they do too good of a
job. If this album’s aim were to
get the band booked for wed
dings as a cover band, it would
do a great job. But they’re not a
Beatles cover band, they were an
inspiration for Nirvana. These
covers give you no reason not to
listen to the original Beatles
tracks. Even Ringo’s simplistic
drum beats are emulated. The
album offers little creativity, no
matter how tight the recording
and sound are.
inbox with all of the hate mail.
Please, allow me to submit this
rebuttal
In the case of Gres's
Anatomy. I must ask one ques
tion: are you female? If the
answer is “yes." then please con
tinue going about your business.
If you answered “no”; then I’m
going to have to ask you to
please turn in your manhood into
the Behrend Beacon Office.
Yes, Grey's Anatomy is very
popular among women, but only
for the exact same reason Heroes
is a better show than CSI for
men. Can you guess why? No?
I’ll give you a hint: It involves
the opposite sex.
It is a well-documented fact
that Patrick Dempsy is the main
weakness for all women
between the ages of twelve and
dead. If you don’t believe me,
try this experiment. Simply
walk into Dobbins and say the
nickname, Dr. McDreamy.
Every woman within earshot
will whirl around wildly, search
ing for the source of her hor
mone rush.
The same thing happens to
young men if you flash a picture
of Heroes biggest starlet,
Hayden Panettiere. It will seem
as though time has stopped
inside the aura of the photo-
Heroes definitely wins in the
sex appeal category for men.
Just look at the roster for proof.
With such lovely ladies as
Hayden Panettiere, Kristen Bell,
and Ali Larter in the cast, it is
mathematically impossible for it
to not be the most awesome
show on television.
If that’s not enough proof for
you, I have another question for
you. Have you actually seen the
show? The special effects for
one episode alone are better that
the most of the crappy horror
movies that flood the cinemas
every week. To make matters
better, this season will actually
include real super-villains. It’s
going to be a wild ride that you
do not want to miss!
\r i
yj
Professor holds on to
comedic aspirations
Joe Faloeeo is not only u pro
fessor at Penn Slate Behrend hut
also an aspiring stand-lip come
dian. Dr. Faloeeo will he per
forming this Saturday night at
Jr's Last Laugh, a comedy cluh
on State Street. Faloeeo will he
opening for comedians such its
Andy Woodhull and Johy Saad.
The admissions fee will he
slightly under 13 dollars anil
people under the age of 21 arc
welcome. The comedy cluh not
only offers entertainment hut one
ean also purchase food and drink.
There will he a show at 6:30 pm
and 9:30 pm.
An interview with Dr. Faloeeo
reveals an edgy man with it
humorous background and
upbringing. When asked w hy he
got into the comedy scene and
what age he started at. he replied.
“I started doing comedy in my
20’s. It was the 19S()'s: everyone
was doing it." Fie started out as
follower and grew up to he a
leader as a teacher and a comedi
an with his own material. His
first performance "bombed" he
said, but he didn't stop try ing to
make people laugh. He used to
Yarina
Bv Catherine Frisina
conlribiitinf> writer
cm 1.52440 psu.alu
Yarina is a music group that
was founded in 1984 in Lcuador
and consists of four brothers.
They played in Bruno's Cate
'oh Tubi-ltf}’. AceSraiiig to* i)i£ir
wthsite. yarina means remem
brance in the native Quichua lan
guage of the Incas, and they say
they are dedicated not only to
musical excellence, hut also to
Food For Thought
“The moment a little boy is con
cerned with which is a jay and
which is a sparrow, he can no
longer see the birds or hear them
sing.”
—Eric Berne
Janet Neff Sample Center
for Manners if Civility
“To be persuasive, we must
believable;
must be credible, we must be truth-
Bv Bonnie Hevnian
try to do political humor in his
acts, hut now gets his material
from "apolitical observations."
Dr. Falocco's icon in comedy
is either the late George Carlin
or more recently Lewis Black. In
Dr. Falocco's "inart" comedy
class the students watch DVDs
about different concepts and
\ tew s of comedv.
Lewis Black and George
Carlin are both in the DVDs
along with other comedians that
he shows. How many Zen
monks does it take to change a
light bulb? Give up? Anytime
\ on want to hear that joke or the
answer, talk to Dr. Faloeeo.
"That's my favorite joke to
tell." he says. The answer is two:
one to change it and one to not
change it. Get it'.’ Anyways. Dr.
Faloeeo explained what we
should expect from the show
Saturdav niaht. "I don't want to
exaggerate my contribution at
Jr.'s Saturday night." he says.
"I'm only doing five minutes,
then I'll be introducing the other
acts: Joby Saad and Andy
Woodhull. They are both estab
lished comedians with national
brings “Rhythms of
Life” to Erie
the preservation and sharing of
the beauty, courage and survival
of the ancestral traditions anil
culture of the indigenous peoples
of the Andes.
They haw trawled throughout
Furopc and the Americas and
haw won several awards at the
' Nafive American Music Aw ards.
Their music invokes a varielv of
siring, wind, and percussion
instruments that you may not
haw heard of before, such as the
quena. a traditional bamboo flute
to be believable,
Edward R. Murrow
coiilributiiif! w riter
hrhso7()<" psu.edu
ful.”
The Behrend Beacon I .
reputations, hut I have not seen
their work.”
This promises to he a good
time, ami the audience will get a
whole lot of laughs from three
different comedians. When
asked if he has ever hail a realiv
had experience on stage he
replied. “Oh. yes."
I was almost killed durme
the performance of a Theme Park
Stunt Show." he continued. That
inspired me to go to graduate
school. When asked who his
favorite comedian to listen lo or
watch and he said |Bi 11 MaherJ.
because he does the kind of tv pi
ca I. political humor I wish I
could pull off."
In Dr. Faloeeo's class, the stu
dents watch and learn ilillerent
types of jokes and comedians.
He shows video clips and DVDs
of comedians doing stand-up and
then critiques or laughs hvsteri
calls at the performances. Now
it is his turn once again to he
watched on stage. Come on
Saturday, watch him peilorm.
and laudi at him. Whether vou
are laughing w ith him or til Inin
onlv vou will know.
with seven holes, anti eharaneo
a very small ten-string guitar
made of armadillo shell, hut they
also play guitars and violin.
Yarina feels that even.one can
relate to the beauty and magic of
their music. Band member .lose
Manuel Cachimuel said during
their show Tuesdav allernoon
that their music is. "both relaxing
and entertaining.” One thing is
for certain. Yarina bronchi an
interesting style of music to
Behrend.