Friday, March 20, 2009
A LOOK AT THE WORLD OF MUS - iC, FROM THE OB
SCURE TO THE OBSCENE, THE NEW AND THE OLD.
Metric's new album
Fantasies leaked
Usually when a mildly popular and successful indie band has
a highly anticipated release, there are people all over the inter
net checking pages for the next track to be "leaked." This is the
case for the Canadian band Metric's new album Fantasies. At
first the band controlled singles being posted on their Myspace
page. The first song from the album, "Help I'm Alive," was
posted back in Dec. 2008, and it was a catchy pop tune about
the fears of performing. It's definitely replay worthy, with a con
tagious guitar riff and lyrics that you'll learn after two listens.
Through some means, the album was "leaked" on the internet.
A typical leak is when someone starts sharing the album over
the internet and, with a critically acclaimed band like Metric, it
spreads like wildfire. The day after the leak on March 9, the
band uploaded the entire album to their Myspace page for fans
to listen to.
After reading a blog about the leak', I cruised over to Metric's
Myspace page to give it a listen. I was thoroughly impressed
with the quality of songs. The first three tracks are done very
well: perfect rock songs driven by Emily Haines's (lead
The cover of Metric's Fantasies
siriger/synthesizer)nife r airul4Wesl The .fpurth track, "Twilight
Gbilaxy," is by far 'thy'faiThrite.lr . tfas' a fiery` irbovy electronic
sound with poppy drums by Joules Scott-Key that sound like
they're being played a mile away. Drawing from the song's title,
it provides a very spacey feel with reflective and haunting lyrics.
Immediately after that, the next track brings back the rock
with an upbeat song titled "Gold Guns Girls," a song about being
dissatisfied with the material realm of life. Again, Emily Haines's
genius writing at its prime, asking a listener, "Is it ever going to
be enough?" The next track continues with a contemplative and
inspiring ballad apparently written by Emily Haines for guitarist
James Shaw. As the album develops, it becomes a little less in
teresting to me. The songs are well written, varying from very
mellow to loud and churning guitars.
So, what can I say about this album's leak? There are no pro
fessional reviews done by big name magazines. On the other
hand, amateurs like myself, who didn't wait for a record to arrive
in our mailbox, have been blown away by Fantasies. In addition
to this, there are thousands of plays recorded for each of the
tracks posted on Metric's Myspace page. "Help I'm Alive" floats
just below a million plays.
When you look at Last.fm, a site that allows users to record
and "scrobble" each play for a song to a site, Metric has thou
sands more plays. Users are commenting about how much they
love the songs, how catchy they are, and how much the new
album is awesome. The conclusion I'm going to draw from all
of this is that once the album hits stores on April 7, it's going to
perform amazingly. We might even get to see a music video or
two on MTV 2. Keep your ears and mind open for this album; it's
h bi
The members of Metric from left to right: Joules Scott-Key, James Shaw,
Emily Haines, Josh Winstead.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
"Corruption and
hypocrisy ought not to be
inevitable products of
dembcracy, as they un
doubtedly are today."
—Mahatma Ghandi
-~ _
~ \
MESE
By Justin Pekular
contributing writer
jjpsoBs(o psu.edu
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
I- /
._.,
_ _ _ _ \..,
Watchmen meets expectations with success
By Neil Peters
asst. arts editor
njpsoB3(a psu.edu
continued from front page
realistically happen if heroes
existed. Wars America actually
lost are won and the staple of
the government's power is a
walking god-man. However,
with the exception of Dr. Man
hattan, the naked blue guy, no
one has any super-powers.
They are masked crime fight
ers who follow in the footsteps
of characters like Batman or
the Punisher.
This strange and different
twist to the usual "superhero
movie formula" actually is
quite a refreshing take on this
somewhat worn-out genre.
Accounting major Philip
Brodis said, "It was a very deep
movie. I liked the movie and
liked the concepts, and the
man who was Rorschach
played a really good role."
As original and timeless as
the story is, what really makes
the film shine are its memo
rable characters. The most
iconic of its cast is the masked
and brutal Rorschach. Emo
tionally damaged and border
line psychotic, Rorschach is
actually the character that
most people are drawn to.
Though he is violent, he also is
the film's unbending symbol of
justice who fights against all
odds to avenge the innocent
and punish the wicked with
lethal force.
Night Owl, on the other
hand, follows more like Bat
man with respect to the utility
belt full of handy gadgets and
a flying Owl Ship nicknamed
"Archie." He more questioning
and reluctant to act as the
film's tension rises. Each per
son brings their own bit of
spice to the cast, which comes
together to form a great epic.
The movie draws on the
graphic novel for its inspiration
and sticks to its origins to the
most intimate detail. In several
cals
mo re
'camera angl7.siatbe
tieWirKlit.ei
boa 's pant% With the film
following the comic so closely,
some people wonder if the film
is even worth seeing if you
haven't read the novel.
However, political science
major Ryan Romba said "Hav
ing never read the graphic
novel, I went to see the movie
not knowing what to expect
and I have say that I was
pleasently surprised. It was
very entertaining and provided
a great movie experience."
Watchmen is a very different
movie with a different mean
ing. It breaks away form the
typical plot of superhero
movies known as the "Origin
Story" and covers completely
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One of eight movie posters for Watchmen pays homage to the original cover of the graphic novel, shown
above. Rorschach (portrayed by Jackie Earle Haley), pictured below, is arguably the most iconic character in
new groundr . tim*,m4ko
comparitbleft otiOr=
its kind, It is not .
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man. The only way to
it is to say that it is IP
Though is seems li
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the new and controvei
the only way to get
story is to see the mt.
self and draw your ow'
sions.
As a viewer, prep,
bombareded with pol
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ground even our re&
an open mind and be
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different, fresh, origin
and breathtaking. It
men.
Gas, and Electric.
the entire Watchmen series
Rhythms of Life series
welcomes Simple Gifts
By Evan Koser
arts editor
emksllo(a psu.edu
The all-female, three-mem
ber traditional musical group
Simple Gifts made their way to
the stage in Bruno's last Tues
day.
As part of the year-long
Rhythms of Life series, the
group came to perform as part
of their on-going tour. Simple
Gifts was aptly scheduled for
performace on St. Patrick's
Day, enabling them to show
case their Irish, Scottish and
Appalachian musical quality.
Dancing alongside the three
talented musicians were the
members of Fiddle Kicks, an
all-female clogging group.
The two toured together for
two days, one spent at
Behrend and the day prior at
Seton Hill University in
Greensburgh, as part of a joint
Irish heritage and St. Patrick's
Day celebration.
Simple Gifts consists of the
founding member Linda Little
ton, Karen Hisrshon, and
Rachel Hall (who has also
been recognized as one of the
leading concertina players in
the United States). Amazingly,
the three switch with ease
among their 12 instruments.
Two violins, a concertina, a
mandolin, a banjolin, a few
recorders, bowed psaltery, a
The Behrend Beacon 5
hammered dulcimer, a bari
tone fiddle, guitar, piano, and
percussion all eventually
found their way into the
group's line-up.
While the majority of the
rest of Simple Gift's tour con
sists of straight-foward con
certs, the group is known to
play (and often do so without
hesitation) for educational and
enlightening purposes. As
stated on their homepage by
former Senior Educator of the
Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Mu
seum, "Simple Gifts wowed
our audience with a cultural
and educational program that
was fun, informative, and en-
ergetic."
The group also runs con
structive music workshops.
Sophomore history major
Sonia Rosales said she loved
the experience.
"I've never been so exposed
to a new culture, and such dif
ferent music. This was a per
fect group to pick for a day
like St. Patrick's Day."
The Rhythms of Life series
will continue to bring new ex
periences to campus on April
21 as the program ushers in
Cellofourte, a string quartet
emphasising the blending of
rock and classical music.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO