I The Behrend Beacon
Ben Kweller’s sound matures on third album
Kweller’s third LP came out September 19, 2006.
By Ryan Gallagher
contributing writer
When Ben Kweller released his first solo LP in
2002, it sounded as if Rivers Cuomo turned into
Ben Folds for a day and decided to bring a whole
new sound to modern music. While some may say
that this is impossible, be sure to pick up Sha Sha
immediately and then write your apologies.
Last month, Kweller released his third album, a
self-titled, catchy piece of work that proves he is
getting better and better at his solo act. Unlike his
previous albums, Kweller takes on the task of
playing all the instruments, which is truly what
defines a solo artist.
Still maintaining the Ben Folds-style from Sha
Sha while incorporating the classic style from On
My Wav, Kweller has lived up to his reputation of
having a fresh, unique sound that made him stick
out in the first place. On a number of his songs,
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he starts to hit an older style comparable to Tom
Petty or any other band that comes to mind when
hearing a name such as Petty or Dylan. Now put
a name like Folds with that, plus a Conor Oberst
way of pushing the lyrics into your head like no
other, and you get Ben Kweller.
The songs range from a feel-good, upbeat jam to
a slow, emotional sound that is better than any
thing you’ll hear on the radio. The final song on
the album “This is War,” reveals a completely dif
ferent sound than his normal style, but shows that
he can produce a playlist on all of his albums that
will always keep you guessing. The transition
from the song “Thirteen” to the follow-up track
entitled “Penny on the Tracks,” illustrates how he
keeps this style strong and original.
If you are sick of the bad music that consistent
ly fills up the radio and for the most part televi
sion, listen to Kweller just once and you’ll be
intrigued and wanting more.
On September 21, Kweller jammed on “Late
Night with Conan O’Brien,” performing his hit
“Sundress” and had an exceptional performance.
Kweller had a crew with him for the complete
sound. Starting off a bit slow and depressing,
Kweller quickly turns this song into a memorable
tune that 1 have grown to love.
He will be touring parts of the country through
out the month, unfortunately not coming close to
Erie. However, just listen to any of his albums
from the past four years and you will be rewarded
with a unique treat that most artists do not have to
offer.
It’s extremely difficult to say whether this is his
best album so far, because it seems that he has
taken a different approach to each one individual
ly. It has the most mature sound yet, and we can
only hope for more as fast as possible.
Eerie Horrorfest creeps into the weekend
By Lauren Weaver
staff writer
Kicking off Wednesday, October 4 and wrap
ping up on Sunday, October 6, Erie celebrates
the third annual Eerie Horrorfest. Not as terrify
ing as the name implies, the Horrorfest is a film
festival dedicated to the ghoulish art of terrifying
flicks. Various length films have been submitted
from up-and-coming filmmakers all over the
country and have been diligently sorted through
so only the most terrifying pieces will be
screened.
This years submissions total nearly 600 com
pared to last year’s 150, proving Erie’s
Horrorfest to be a nationally recognized event,
that grows every year. The biggest celebrity of
this year’s festival is George Romero, director of
Dawn of the Dead, Creeper, Night of the Living
Dead , and Day of the Dead. Added to the pan
theon of personal accreditations, Romero acted
in Silence of the Lambs and Night of the Living
Dead in addition to many other films.
Other key ingredients to the cauldron of guests
at this year’s Horrorfest include German bom
P.J. Soles, an actress who starred in Jawbreaker,
Knightrider and Halloween, which leads into
another part of this weekend’s celebration. On
October 4, a Halloween cast reunion was held,
predicted to be the largest in years.
Other actors aside from Soles that made an
appearance at the fest are Brian Andrews, Sean
Bad grade for School for Scoundrels
School for Scoundrels stars Billy Bob Thorton, Jacinda Barrett and Jon Heder.
By Josh Lane
staff writer
School for Scoundrels is about a guy named
Roger (played by Jon Heder, better known as
“Napoleon Dynamite”) who finds an “under
ground school” for men who have confidence
problems. The class is taught by a womanizing
expert named Dr. P, played by Billy Bob
Thornton, who may be the only remotely good
thing about this movie. Dr. P attempts to teach
this socially inept group of guys how to become
“cool dudes,” but the real bulk of the movie
comes when Dr. P and Roger fall in love with the
same woman. It becomes a challenge of who will
win her over first.
This movie has problems from the get go. The
first scene involves Roger giving out a parking
ticket to someone who parked in front of a fire
hydrant. While Roger is printing the ticket, two
large men come out of a building and start
accosting him. He then proceeds to run away.
The thugs decide not to chase after him, instead
they take out a gun (yes, a gun) and shoot at his
vehicle. This action seems a bite extreme for a
parking ticket And the really sad part was that
the shooting was supposed to be funny. The
whole dialogue leading up to that scene was sup-
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Clark, Nancy Loomis, Charles Cyphers, and
Tony Moran. A student section of films w ill be
shown on Sunday, featuring films like Dr.
Frankenstein, Apperception and Beast in the
Creek. The world premier of Butcher House, a
flick co-produced by former Behrend student
Michele Gonda took place Thursday night.
A typical day of festivities is not for the faint
of heart. Events begin in the early afternoon and
generally commence halfway into the witching
hour. Admission to the various events range
from $3 to $l2. A detailed schedule can be found
at http://www.eeriehorrorfest.com.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A scene from George Romero’s The Crazies.
posed to be funny, but it just wasn't. Everyone in
the theater was looking around to see if they
were supposed to laugh, and no one did.
The only great moments in the movie come
when Dr. P is teaching the class. Thornton gives
a great acting performance (unfortunately, it’s
not enough to counteract Heder’s Napoleon
Dynamite 2.0 attempt) and is really one of the
few funny things about this movie.
There are a few gags involving paintball gun
shots to the groin, an experiment with mace used
in a sealed area, and objects hitting people’s
heads at fast speeds. It’s basically everything
that’s funny in the previews, but not really
groundbreaking material. Bottom line: this
movie wasn’t nearly as good as it could have
been. When the previews say, “From the director
of Old School...’’ you come to expect a little extra
effort. So if you saw the previews and chuckled,
then don’t waste your money; you already saw
the best parts.
Friday, October 6, 2006
CONTRIBUTED IMIOIO
Pass or Fail?
FAIL
f *4
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