I The Behrend Beacon
Tribute songs celebrate
By Christopher LaFuria
editor-in-chiel
c 515005 0, psti.cdti
In Boh Ds lan's "Song to Woody. - he praised the
artist. Woods Guthrie. who was his inspiration
I'm becoming a musician. The last song on his
debut sell-titled album. "Song to Woods" is the ulti
mate dedication song. in which the humbled Dylan
sings about the contributions of Guthrie to the music
world. lie sane:
"Hex. Woody Guthrie/hut I know that you
know/All the things that I'm a-sax in/an' a-mar
times more/I'm a-singin' you the song/hut I cal
sing enough/Cause there's not many men/th
done the things that you've done."
Music is one of the most frequently usi
avenues for delix cling a message of Arai!
Many people have heen sincerely touched 1
past generations and would not have the inspir
Lion and motivation to perform. In recent musi
there haze been examples of this musical hoi
"Stuck Between Stations - , the opening track
The Hold Steady's newest release Boys and Gi
in America. pays tribute to the life. and untime
death of poet John Berryman. In the song.
singer Craig Finn sings about Berryman
thought process in the moments before his sui
cide. Berry man. haunted by his father's suicide,
took his own life by jumping from the Washington
Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis. Minnesota.
According to the Minneapolis Star. Berryman
missed the water and died from being smothered.
In "Stuck Between Stations.'' Finn sang:
"There was that night that we thought that
John Bern man could fly/ But he didn't so he
Meyer fans thrilled with Eclipse
By Krista Jones
Ski]! . write)
kej51)39(0 ))mEed„
Stephenie Meyer has really struck gold with
her bestseller—originally intended not to he
published per her own initial wishes. Meyer's
books arc now on the New York Times Bestseller
list, includinv, thy .liost t rcc -
book of tier' migoing g 6
Eclipse. - Her 'newem hook
met with huge anticipation
was eagerly devoured by
fans. who awaited the foi
installment in her exciting
fantastic hook series. Meyi
fantasy world where vampi
and werewolves hide the
selves from the humans arou:
them has taken readers
storm. so much so that then
a movie in the making for 2C
based off of her first ho
"Twilight.
Eclipse. the third installm,
of her series, continues
story of Isabella—Bell,
Swan. a young human girl ss
fell in love with a vamp:
named Edward Cullen, and when she thought she
lost him, in turn fell in love with her best friend, the
werewolf Jacob Black. Bella is constantly in danger
from other vampires who want her dead for one rea
son or another, and she is constantly being saved by
Edward. In Eclipse, Meyer's characters are well
developed. each having their own distinct personal
ity. While the surreal characters may admittedly he
a bit far-fetched in the believable department. the
human characters are easily believable. They are
characters we can all relate to, and we probably
have one or more of them in our lives.
The relationships and the emotions that occur
here are hclie‘ahle, despite the fictitious genre they
were written for. and the romance that Bella and
Edward have is not vulgar, and it is also something
Your Choice
Due to the graduation of Co-Editor-in-Chief Mike Sharkey, the Beacon is at a 10ss
of what to do with the Humor page. We've decided to give our readers the chaff:
decide
decide what they want us to print in the available space. Suggestions are welcome.
Send your votes or page ideas to srmsoB2@psu.edu. Votes must be in by Dec. 21. -,
Humor page:. A continuation of the humor page.
Puzzle page:. A page full of puzzles for Beacon readers to solve (cross
' words, word searches, sudoku etc.). This page could also include an advice
column.
New Journallism/Gonzo page: A page where Beacon editors, staff and
tributing writers cover events That they include themselves in. •A storytelling
approach to stories that diverts from traditional objective journalism. •
JA•cal Food and Deja page: An evaluation of area restaurants and bars;
with food and/or drink recipes of the week.
sir
r' [JDEI fa' Li
died/You're pretty good with words hut words won't
save your life/ and they didn't so he died."
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah mentions Berryman in
their song "Mama, Won't You Keep Them Castles in
the Air and Burning'?" In it, Alec Ounsworth sings
"Like Berryman/Bed-wet poet fears/That better man
drink taller beers."
One of Okkervil River's tracks on their album The
Stage Naine.s hears the deceased poets name. The
properly titled "John Allyn Smith Sails" references
Berryman.
Suicide is very prevalent in the music industry. It
has been the cause of death of many artists such as
Deceased musicians Elliott Smith and Woody Guthrie
Nick Drake, Kurt Cobain, Michael Hutchence. lan
Curtis, and Phil Ochs. One recent artists that has
been remembered in song is Elliott Smith. Two
notable artists that have paid tribute to Smith are
Ben Folds and Bright Eyes. On Folds' album, Songs
for Silverman, he references the little things he knew
about Smith. Folds. who claims he wished he knew
that an outside reader can relate to on an emotional
aspect. At the same time, you still need a suspension
of belief to enter Meyer's world, being that the book
is based on a feud between vampires and were
wolves and the helpless ignorance of humans.
The story line is easy to follow in this book, and
easy to keep up with as well. None of the characters
in this book have a "God complex," which means
iey're not perfect and
ive flaws, but at the
ime time, they are still
irreal and undefeatable.
to story takes time to
roduce itself and lets
to accompany the weight
of the decision she's supposed to make.
In addition to the well-developed story and char
acters. Meyer's vampires and werewolves were
given a downside. In her hooks, she shows the read
ers that being a vampire or a werewolf might have
fun benefits, but there are also great downsides to
having the immortality, strength and speed. She
shows the good aspects and the bad, leaving her
books with a good balance. Eclipse and Meyer's
other two preceding books are well written and
appropriate for the age levels they are marketed for,
as well as all ages. They are fun, exciting, and have
a romantic edge that keeps readers riveted through
the last page.
reader ease into it
.hout throwing him or
.r off a cliff. The biggcst
ivision to be made in
is book is whether or
to make Bella a vam
.e, and Meyers doesn't
,t make her one so that
le and Edward can he
igether forever. She
lows all of Bella's
tions, and gives Bella a
isonable conscience
id believable emotions
inspiration
more about the fallen songwriter, sings, "Elliott,
man you played a fine guitar and some dirty basket
ball/The songs you wrote got me through a lot/Just
want to tell you that."
Bright Eyes' Connor Oberst, penned a song on his
Four Winds EP about Smith. "Reinventing the
Wheel" discusses how Smith was the model for
artists in today's music industry.
Some of the tribute songs are devastating
accounts of the artist's death. Jeff Buckley's tragic
accidental death, swimming in Wolf River Harbor in
the Mississippi River, led to the mourning of a gen
eration of musicians that struggled to accept what
Other artists that remem-
Buckley in their songs are
.my Correia, Chris Cornell, PJ
Harvey, Heather Nova, Juliana
Hatfield, Hole, Aimee Mann,
Ron Sexsmith, and Beth Wood.
Inspiration comes from a variety of methods.
Poets and past musicians have influenced many cur
rent musicians. It is necessary to cite sources for
this inspiration. These tribute songs are tangible
homages that directly display these artists apprecia
tion for the past and their influences.
Top Five Sandwiches
By Ryan P. Gallagher and
Scott R. Muska
5. Reuben
4. Chicken Salad
3. Dagwood
2. B.L.T.
1. The Fat Bitch
Freshmen feel change after first semester
By Kayla Wright
staff writer
kmws2os@psu.edu
As the semester nears its end many freshmen
fail to see how much they have changed
from the beginning of the year. Their initial
fears, thoughts, and ideas of college have virtually
disappeared and have been replaced with a more
comfortable view of college and thoughts of next
semester. Although many have complaints about
the Behrend campus, most students plan on return-
ing next semester.
Upon entering college, students had a variety of
expectations. Freshman Alex Johnson stated, "I
thought it would be less snowy and very time-con
suming. The people are nicer than I expected and
my professors turned out to be very nice and help
ful."
Freshman Bridget Gutting expected "more work
and fewer papers." She stated, "I didn't expect to
be friends with everyone on the floor." She also
expected "The horror stories about roommates get
ting drunk and peeing on the other person's bed to
be true."
Freshman John Diziky stated, "I expected to have
a lot of work." Contrary to most people's beliefs
that they would have more work when attending
college, freshman Steve Conroe said, "I expected to
have a lot more free time and planned to spend it
playing guitar but that didn't work out."
Initial' expectations cause most people to feel anx
iety. The majority of people seemed to be nervous
about roommate issues, the workload, and making
friends. Johnson stated, "I was nervous about meet
ing my roommate because I had never met her and
I thought we wouldn't get along and that she'd
probably be mean." Gutting feared that she
- ni - r --- 1
id.r.l
ppened
One artist that was
.eply affected was Duncan
iek. In his song "A Body
ies Down." Shiek sings the
(e of Buckley's tragic death:
the Mississippi waters/
ighted by a beauty/ Afraid
its light/ Notify your holy
.!n/ Console your sons and
ughters/ And tell me one
)re time/ What is just/ What
ight."
Friday, December 14, 2007
Gaffigan's hilar
ity short-lived
By Connor Sattely
entertainment editor
cisso6oo'psu.cdu
In what many students are calling the event of the
year, Jim Gaffigan brought his hilarious "Beyond
the Pale" routine to a packed Junker Center gymna
sium last Friday. After an opening act by Tennesee
comedian Rich Brooks. Gaffigan took the stage
amidst riotous applause and proceeded to bring
tears to the eyes of many students who had never
even heard his material.
Before the show, while students waited for the
doors to open, the line to enter swelled to include
hundreds of eager fans. Students were showing up
as early as an hour and a half before the start of the
show.
When the doors finally opened. the stream of stu
dents began to pack the gym. which included sev
eral hundred seats and bleachers on the side of the
gymnasium and in the hack. Lion Entertainment
Board members guided students to their seats and
kept a general order in the gymnasium.
Behrend freshman Matthew Alto arrived at 6:30
and sat in one of the front rows for the perform
ance. He wasn't surprised to see the gym fill quick-
.• 4 1 ° Ito . v . eirrits i m"aie . r . ia . c. It . w . o e u . l . d e •
:have been much better if he:
:was on stage longer, for the:
'amount of money paid for a..
.
:ticket, but it was still great." -:
••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Lots of people were talking about it," Alto says.
"Everyone was pretty excited that he was coming.
and I'm not too surprised that it filled up."
Alto, who had never heard any of Gaffigan's
material before, was largely impressed by the
comedian's routine. "He was great." Alto says. "I
loved his material. It would have been much better
if he was on stage longer, for the amount of money
paid for a ticket, but it was still great."
Daniel Cardenas, also a freshman at Behrend.
agrees. "I think the ticket price was a little high - it
would have been better if it were lower for stu
dents, like $l5 maybe, hut the guy was still hilari-
ous," he says.
Both freshmen insist that their favorite part of the
show was the Hot Pocket routine. "I didn't think he
was going to do it, because of the way he opened
his show," says Cardenas, who is familiar with
Gaffigan's routine after seeing him several times on
TV. "But when he did it, it was awesome.-
Gaffigan's "Hot Pocket" joke, in which he calls
out Hot Pockets for being responsible for calami
ties such as diarrhea, depression, and death, was
met with enthusiastic applause from his fans. The
crowd responded to Gaffigan's routine well, even
amongst those who had never seen or heard him
before.
After the show, Gaffigan stuck around to take
photographs, sign autographs, and talk with fans.
Several fans stood in line with empty boxes of Hot
Pockets for the comedian to sign.
"It's a really cheap Christmas gift for someone
who loves Jim Gaffigan," one fan said. "A dollar
and sixty cents for an unforgettable present. Plus, I
get two Hot Pockets out of the deal."
"wouldn't meet anyone. - Unusually, Conroe was
worried about not being able to "eat the right thing."
In high school, students usually look hack at their
freshman year and regret their actions because they
seemed immature. When asked if they had any
regrets Gutting, Johnson, Diziky, and Conroe all
stated that they had "none."
During their first semester, students gain a gener
al feel for the campus and know about classes and
living on campus. Many have to make major
adjustments. Johnson commented, "Trying to find
a healthy alternative to Dobbin's food was my
biggest adjustment."
Gutting's biggest adjustment was "getting used to
sharing a room. At first it felt like we were always
in each other's way."
Another thing with living arrangements that
spurred adjustment was the rules and the location.
Conroe complained that he was "not allowed to
blast his music when he wanted." Diziky stated, "I
have to walk a lot more because I live in Almy; I
have to hike to get anywhere."
With adjustments come complaints. Students'
complaints ranged from the food available to the
state of the campus. Johnson stated, "They never
clean off the walkways; they are always icy."
Conroe complained about Jordan Road stating,
"Cars don't slow down when students try to cross
and the road is not paved so it messes up the bottom
of my car."
Gutting complained about the food commenting,
"Dobbins is disgusting; I got a rotten apple from
there once." Diziky added, "The food messes up
my stomach." Despite all of the complaints most
students still choose to return next semester.
Gutting, Johnson, Diziky and Conroe agreed that
they would be coming back to Behrend next semes
ter.