Friday, March 23, 2007 Modest Mouse floats on alright already We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank By Joshua Lane student life editor Going back to their dark and melodic ways your head to. The guitars gently intro with Brock Modest Mouse returns with a new offering called gracefully holding back as he says "Well, it We Were Dead Before the Ship Even \Sank. Not would've been, could've been worse than you would much has changed from Modest Mouse's last album ever know/Oh, the dashboard melted, but we still Good News For People Who Love Bad Nest's. They have the radio." Then comes the catchy riff that gets ___ have kept their stuck in your head over-the-top sound and you hum for days and production after, just before quality intact. The Brock loses all word play is just as restraint and yells the . : ,,,i dark and eccentric chorus "Well, it as last time around would've been/ but this time Isaac ..: ~.., ~-, -, .. ~•,..,„...„'. could've been/ worse Brock lets himself than you would ever go just a little fur- know/Oh, the dash ther lyrically with / ' * ' . board melted/ but we lines like "If you still have the radio. think you know ... .e]/,' ' A Lead singer enough/ to know ...,-11 • ~. .. 4,, , , ... . , -.. ~ Isaac Brock brings his you know enough 1, , signature all over the you've had 1 , N...„"- place vocals back to . :,,. enough/and if you ...... , ..., .. - • 1 , 44, this album. He is the —,.. .•,...5 --,., ' - 4 4 t- think you •. ..„, ., ~ • reason people connect iii: . , ~.„ ~,...„. don't/you probably ..._ ",7,i"° ..• •z'' , ;',.;' . .:: i with the album. When ----.../w .. . , ..., . .• :- . will." The album is : . / . v ~!.••-• <A" . ;,• 1.2 , :., 4 his voice is at a lower riddled with these Modest Mouse's new album We Were Dead.. is m stores volume it often quivers types of tongue now contributed photo sounding very twisters The band has grown larger this time around his slight lisp to come through. When Brock lets adding a sixth member to their lineup, former gui- himself go, he bursts out in rants, often slurring his tarist of the Smiths, Johnny Marr. Marr adds anoth- words sounding like he's about to get into a bar er layer to the band but doesn't muddy up the sound. fight. You can hear he adds a cooler softer groove in just With all this odd mixture thrown into We Were the right places. It's a difference that gives the Dead... the addition of bandmates, and with Brocks album a different feel instead of a different sound. sometimes non-restrained vocals, the sound is still Modest Mouse returns to their more indy ways in surprisingly tight. They never let it stray to far off this album, straying off the beaten path that they course. The album is full of catchy numbers from created with "Good News." There is no up-beat beginning to end. So it's good news for Modest "Float On" on this record, but there is no shortage Mouse fans We Were Dead... is just what they want of great anthems either. The constant theatrical ed. France brings new view to Behrend Students By Ryan Gallagher contributing writer did. Everyone is living their life, and making as many friends as they can along the way. Don't get me wrong, I did stumble upon t . bar fight or two but Thousands upon thousands of miles and then I guess wherever you go, you will never get away some, rests another world. It's called Europe. from that What's that, Europe is a conti nent that is part of Earth? Ha Each and every individual did something uniquely different from the next for spring break, so I followed the trend and went to France. This was the first time I had ever left the States, except for Canada of course. The instant I stepped foot out of the terminal in Nice, France, I immediately regretted never traveling there until that moment, so I decided to ever experi make it the best enced in the experience of my States to shame. life. I succeeded. I've never seen This "other more people get world" is not just together and different from drink Guiness where we live; it simply for the is unimaginably, love of one the perfectly exact another. opposite of the mean, very few lifestyle that we people that I follow. The food met were in fact is better, but Irish, but no one healthier; the could tell, and clothes are differ- no one cared. ent, but beautiful All my life France is new spring break destination for some Behrend Students and full of fashion people have contributed photo that stands out like talked of travel no other; and the ing abroad and people, well some of the greatest people that I've experiencing life somewhere else, and I never ever met dwelled in Nice. thought much of it. Hopefully, you did the opposite Instead of fast food joints lining the streets erupt ing with cars, I found dozens of boulangeries (bak eries) huddled together, amidst the pedestrian filled walkways. Mopeds sounding like chainsaws, ripped through the streets going about whatever business they desired. Pubs full of die-hard football and rugby enthusiasts made baseball and basketball look like gardening. And did I mention how good the people are? Never did I once hear a European judge another person based on what they wore or anything they r' 1 r thumping throughout the album makes your foot jolt up and down pounding hard into the ground. The first single "Dashboard" was made to bounce of me and have already been around the Earth and seen so much already. If not, then go. Go now, before you're 30 years old and have a life that is so blind to everything else that occurs across the globe. Get out of this country, even if it's for a week and it will change everything. And yes, in case you heard, I did fall out of a win dow the first night I was there and had the joy of spending the following evening in a hospital. Ask me about it - it's a classic. restrained and allows Originally I was supposed to leave March 16, however, flight after flight was cancelled and I could not leave until Tuesday. I had never been happier. This gave me the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick's Day across seas Many have asked, "Do they celebrate St. Patty's Day in France?" Well, I stumbled upon more than a few Irish bars that put any celebra tion that I've Wiffle Ball warms up By Joshua Lane student life editor The cabin fever of winter is finally breaking and of all skills together. It takes a great amount of tal we are already heading into spring. Behrend stu- ent to hit a 90-mile an hour fastball, but almost any dents can't wait to finally be outside without the one can hit a floating wiffle ball. necessity of a coat or Wiffle ball associations sweater. Along with the and clubs are appearing all warmer weather comes over the country, some of some outside activities. which offer regular weekly One of the biggest sum mer activities seeing a big resurgence is wiffle ball. Everyone remembers wiffle ball. It's the neigh borhood version of base ball that can be played with two or more people. The game has been around for a lot longer than you'd think. It was invented in the early 1950 s by David Mullany who invented the ball because he and his friends were tired of con stantly getting in trouble for breaking windows while playing baseball in a field that was too www.junkball.com. has a small. The neighborhood sport caught fire all the rotating center that can way up through the 'Bos Wiffle Ball is quickly becoming the new hotness open and close the holes to but died off in the '9os contrthutd photo allow for fastballs as well onl _ as breaking balls. -- to see a recent resurgent in the new millennium. Jim Kinnane, a Behrend freshman, says he loves "It's easier to have a pick-up game," says Chris witTle ball because "It's freakin' awesome." That Brown a Behrend Junior. "You don't need to have a seems to he the general consensus. So when that whole baseball team." Pick-up games can be found cabin fever finally breaks and you can step outside all over major Peach Street parking lots during the and breathe the warm air into your lungs, and start warmer weather seasons. The lights never go out in a pick-up game of wiffle ball. FOrgie - Glamorous Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot Alcor' - Don't Matter Gym Class Hero's- Cupid's Chokehold Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape What's Missing? Can you guess what's missing out of this picture of the Behrend campus? - r -- 1 - ni ri Ili oar The Behrend Beacon I major parking lots there so it's easy to play late into the summer nights. Wiffle ball has the unique ability to bring people Top games. Clubs are also com ing up with their own ver sion of the classic wiffle ball rules, including out fielders and home runs. With the resurgence of wiffle ball comes different variations of the wiffle ball. One version known simply as a "practice ball" or "the swiss cheese ball" to veter an wailers is a plastic ball with lots of holes cut out The traditional wiffle ball has holes cut out of the side and is specially designed to throw breaking balls. The newest model to the wiffle ball family is called the "junk ball." The junk ball, which can he found at
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers