Friday, September 14, 2007
Box Office Breakdown
3:10 to Yuma
Halloween (2007)
Superbad
Shoot 'Em Up
The Bourne Ultimatum
Balls of Fury
Rush Hour 3
Mr. Bean's Holiday
The Nanny Diaries
Stardust
Hairspray
Death Sentence
WAR
The Simpsons Movie
Harry Potter
Underdog
Becoming Jane
Chuck and Larry
Ladron Que Roba A Ladron
Death at a Funeral
*Statistics courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com
West and Jackson fight record sale battle
By Scott R. Niuska
student life editor
psu edu
Hip-hop superstars Kanye West and Curtis
Jackson, aka 50 Cent, have begun what will be
arguably the biggest battle in music history. Both
immensely popular musicians released their eagerly
anticipated third lull-length albums on Sept. 11.
The two artists have been verbally sparring
throughout the past month over who will sell the
most albums.
There have been many highly-publicized
instances of "beer' between artists in the rap genre,
more common-
ly referred
as battles, bi
there has be(
nothing yet
this magn
tude.
stakes are ve)
high, becaw
the higher
seller will
crowned
the king of hi
hop.
Jackson h
more to los
it seems, since
claimed that he would retire from his career as a
musician if he fails to move more records than West
in the first week of sales.
Jackson has been in top form, allowing his signature
cockiness to show through as it never has in the
days leading up to the release of his record, Curtis.
"My first album was the highest-selling LP of 2003,
he told music magazine Rolling Stone.
"That album sold something like 1.14 million in
four days. Jay-is last album sold something like
1.6 total. Kanye works for Jay-Z. Kanye is a work
er bee. He's never been able to generate a fraction of
the interest that I have." He even went as far as to
compare himself to a gorilla, when he said in the
same interview that, "I'm King Kong. Kanye is
human. Humans run when they see King Kong,
because they're scared." He has also insinuated that
all of the current hype surrounding West and his
third full-length album, Graduation, should be
r'EMEI fa' Li
rir
Sept. 7-9
attributed directly to the attention he has gotten him
with his retirement ploy.
West, who is known to have a tendency for obnox
ious outbursts (he said that he believed George
Bush didn't care about black people at a concert
shortly after Hurricane Katrina and flipped out at a
European awards show when he didn't win), has
been surprisingly quiet throughout the entire
process, letting Jackson run his mouth. Jackson
does, after all, have more to lose. West has made no
comments about retiring if he doesn't win the sales
battle.
This battle involves two artists who are extreme
ly popular in their genre, but very different.
Jackson comes off as the tougher of the two stars,
—felling often to his
'ficult childhood
tt included drug
:aling and a drive-by
tooting during which
was hit with bullets
Lp-hop. He is often
!en wearing peculiar
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO clothing that isn't
normally seen in the world of hip-hop style, or any
where else for that matter. In the video for his most
recent single, "Stronger," he wears a pair of aviator
glasses with plastic bars going over the lenses. He
is also known for the complexity of his lyrics that
often discuss political issues and controversial sub
jects. One of his most well known songs, "Jesus
Walks," deals mostly with his religious beliefs.
Though Jackson and West obviously operate on
opposite sides of the spectrum, it will rarely be
argued that they are innovative, influential, and
entertaining artists. That's what makes this battle so
heated. They have split the world of hip-hop basi
cally in two, and given the consumers the opportu
nity to decide who has a wider fan base.
On Thursday night, West was currently in the
record sale lead over Jackson, with country music
star Kenny Chesney closing in at third place, hint
ing at the possibility that by Sept. 18, West and
Jackson won't have the top and second spot.
$14,035,033
$ 9,513,770
$ 7,551,822
$ 5,716,554
$ 5,673,850
$ 5,652,852
$ 4,883,334
$ 3,413,785
$ 3,194,396
$ 1,800,127
$ 1,745,369
$ 1,676,156
$ 1,494,499
$ 1,319,878
$ 1,031,339
$ 881,071
$ 853,910
$ 834,060
$ 728,952
$ 721,041
e times. His lyrics
,us mostly on
'alth, women, and
)lence and are more
lantly harsh than
West comes off
the pretty boy of
iPhone becomes more affordable for Behrend students
By Liz Carey
staff writer
eacs I 111Vpsu.cdu
Penn State Behrend students are among the thou
sands of eager consumers preparing to take advan
tage of the new price drop for Apple's iPhone.
Freshman Communication major. Keegan
McGregor explained, "No one is denying that the
iPhone is a cool gadget hut before the price drop.
when it was $6OO, I could never imagine spending
so much on a phone, but now that it is only $4OO I
might look into it."
This seemed to be the general reaction to the CFO
of Apple Computers Inc., Steve Jobs, press confer
ence when he slipped the news of the price drop in
with the release of a whole new generation of iPods.
After the price plunged there were pleat) of
prospective buyers who were delighted to rush out
and purchase an iPhone. proven on Sept. 10 when
the millionth iPhone was sold, only 79 days after its
initial release. Unfortunately, not everyone was as
excited; previous buyers felt swindled out of their
$2OO and Jobs received hundreds of complaints.
Upon receiving the infuriated e-mails. Job's decid
ed to reimburse every iPhone owner; S2OO if he or
Question of the Week:
Whose record would you buy first?
A) 50 Cent
B) Kanye West
C) Kenny Chesney
D) The Bacon Brothers
*E-mail answers to: mjss3B7@psu.edu
Cell phone troubles at Beaver Stadium
By Matt Schwabenbauer
assistant student life edam
mjss3B7o , psusedu
Cell phone and communication issues abounded
at the Penn State/Notre Dame game on Sept 8. The
game was held at Beaver Stadium in University
Park, and was a big win for the Nittany Lions. This
game was, indeed, a big event for the entire town.
The streets were
packed the ni
before and the d.
after with fr
waiting in antici
tion for the
match. It was ne
ly impossible
count the num
of tailgaters on
way to the stadiu
and equally as h,
to tell one persi
from the next
just so happened
that this game was
"white-out night" for Penn State fans meaning
everyone in attendance was urged to wear white.
Because of the similarities in dress, it was easy to
get separated from the group you went to the game
with. Adding to that issue, cell phones rarely
worked. With the substantial amount of people in
attendance at the game, the cell phone networks
were flooded with usage, rendering them feckless.
The first thing that is noticeable when coming in
to view of the field is the wall of bright white wrap
ping around the whole of Beaver Stadium. The sec
ond, is the constant deafening roar of the crowd.
With 110,078 in attendance of the game, all cheer
ing in unison, trying to talk to anyone around you is
pointless. At a few points during the game, the
The Behrend Beacon I
EMMICIISIMMOMIIMUNIMIESTINSIMI
for e% \ (MC ekk.
Apple's reign began in 1999 when the iMac con
quered the computcl world. 'll' , Ao years later the iPod
stole center stage h\ lent \ cluing the music nation.
and !tow it is ruinoi ed that the iPhime will dominate
the inohile phone Icahn: hut it was never a secret
that ;\pple products are expensive. $599 for a
phone seems outrageous for most people, especial
ly for the a \ crage college student who desperately
desired the newest technolop, hut could not afford
the high prices. his is proven hy taking a survey
of students asking simple question. "Do you know
anyone ho actually has an iPhone?" Only one in
six did. phis helps to show that the main customer
for the Mimic is not college student.
In a public letter fobs explained the main reason
behind the pace drop sa\ ing. - Firsi, I am sure that
\‘c are making the correct decision to lower the
ice of the tit;l3 iPhone from $599 to $399, and
that no‘\ is the right time to do it. iPhone is a break
through product. and \A e have the chance to 'go for
it' this holiday season. iPhone is so far ahead of the
competition. and noes it will he affordable by even
more customeis. - This excerpt from Jobs letter
explains that Apple wants the iPhone to he in a lot
of stockimis this holida‘ season.
crowd was so loud that Notre Dame couldn't hear
the count. and jumped off sides. In some ways, it
wasn't the Penn State defense or the fact that this
was his first starting game that was the biggest
obstacle for freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen;
it was the Penn State crowd.
In fact, the whole Notre Dame team had their
hands full at the game. Their only touchdown was
scored due to an interception thrown by Penn State
quarterback Anthony Morelli. Not an optimistic
it to the season for
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO re
tying Beaver
Stadium. They had overcome the "Fighting Irish,"
winning 31-10. This was a big win for the Nittany
Lions, advancing them to he the number 12 ranked
team in the nation. The small town of State College
enjoyed a celebratory night with packed streets and
bustling restaurants, everyone commending the big
win. It wasn't until early the next morning, when
everyone had to return to business as usual, when
the excitement died. The rest of the season looks
bright for the Nittany Lions. starting off with a 2-0
record. It remains to be seen if Penn State can keep
this momentum going all season, but facing off
against Buffalo this week shouldn't be much of a
challenge.
lire Dame coach
arlie Weis, but
at great retribution
Penn State fans.
us game was an
[portant and satis
mg victory for the
Itany Lions, con
lering they lost 41-
to Notre Dame
t year in South
nd, Indiana
The
crowd
oiced while em