Page 11 Eve The Lion’s Eye on Entertainment September 16, 2010 Artist Review: That was Pac By Evan Ramano - Lion § Eye Staff Writer - ebr5008@psu.edu “That was Pac, a revolutionary one minute, a thug life player the next. Ask ten people who Pac is and you get ten different answers, but he was all that and more.” This quote from the recent movie Notorious 2009 is possibly one of the best summa- ries of the late rapper. Everything from his music, to his attitude to his life is summarized easily in the duality of his persona to be many different people at the same time while still being true to himself. Tupac’s album All Eyez on Me was released in 1996 as his fifth and most successful album he released during his lifetime. The album went nine times platinum (that’s over nine million in sales). The album was a two disc release with fourteen tracks on disc one and thirteen tracks on disc two, which was quite a lot of content for a rapper at the time especially since it was already his fifth studio album. Enough of the numbers though let’s talk about his music. All Eyez on Me is a strange blend of rap, and hip hop that carries both very heavy songs with aggressive or reflective lyrics, all the way to softer songs that are both enthusiastic and melancholy about the good times and the bad. Alright, that was a mouthful, so let me elaborate on what the hell that means. Take for example the song “Ambitionz Az a Ridah”. This song talks about Tupac’s need to maintain his gangster lifestyle despite his realization that it will lead him to his death. This is a common theme in Tupac’s music; he was fascinated with his own death and what would happen before and after. This song is smooth and feels natural coming from Tupac, yet you can still feel his passive aggression in his tone. “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug” is another song on this album that has a similar mellow tone but a very dark topic. It has to do with kids growing up good and wholesome but then turning to a life of crime as they get older. This was and is still a major concern for many youth in urban culture seeing the “glory” of being a criminal and aspiring to be a part of dangerous and thrilling culture of gangs. Watch Ganglands on T.V, it’s a serious problem. Even though Tupac talks about it, he doesn’t condone or look down upon this choice, he merely talks as a warning almost speaking from experience. It’s hard to tell if he’s upset by this or just amazed at how young kids are when they join gangs. In contrast, the songs “Life Goes On” and “I Ain't Mad at Cha” are two songs that are very soft and reflective of the harder things in life. “Life Goes On” deals with all of his friends that have passed away. Tupac talks about how he personally deals with his sadness and how he misses his friends who he grew up with. He talks in one segment as if he’s talking to his one friend Kato as if he’s there listening from heaven and tells him to “make sure it’s poppin’ when we get up there”. “I Ain't Mad at Cha” speaks to all his friends and family that either have changed, and can no long be in his life or have wronged him in the past. Tupac’s basic message is that he’s not mad at anyone who has moved on or out of his life. This song is soft and sincere and feels like he’s talking to someone who he was best friends with. Tupac’s album All Eyez on Me is one of the most memorable rap albums from the 90’s gangster rap era. Many of these songs are classic, timeless pieces for the rap genre and retain much of their cultural significance despite the year gap. Tupac’s music is like fine wine, it gets better with age so long as you have the acquired taste for the genre he represents. Thimbles & Threads: Fall Fashion Preview By Caitlin Hazinsky Lion's Eye Generation Editor che5240@psu.edu It’s time for fall fashion again. Designers put out their best pieces for buyers to look at and magazines send out their fall look books to houses in hopes that you’ll start spending your money to get the most up-to-date- out- fits. This year the popular fashion trends are “Urban Warrior,” and “Conservative Glamour” accord- ing to Harper’s Bazaar reviews on New York fashion week. Also, in this article I am going to reference more affordable fashion choices. For fall fashion mixing and matching dark colors seems to be a big plus. Harper’s Bazaar showed pictures of models dressed in bulky sweaters and jackets mixed with skinny pants and pencil skirts. The runway was splashed with midnight blue and black with some accents Fashions for fall run the gamut this year. (photo courtesy google.com) Most of us cannot afford to wear and buy designer fashion, so for those of us let’s look at some affordable options with fashion resembling those on the runway. One of my favorite places to shop that is affordable and in my opinion fashionable For more infomation, come to our first meeting TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 25 11:30-12:45 TOMESZKO 10s Brandywine Professor Pens Page Turner of green, but there weren’t too many bright colors. That doesn’t necessarily rule out wearing bright colors, I myself am a huge fan of mixing bright colors with dark, but the trend is to mix more dark together. For example, designer Proenza Schouler featured a dark blue cropped jacket with a light blue fur collar mixed with a dark blue plaid skirt and black tights; still have fun with your wardrobe—just add in some more dark colors and get rid of some of your summer wardrobe. “Conservative Glamour” consists of more neutral colors mixed with khaki. This is more of a simplistic style, using more basic essentials paired together. Designer Preen paired a beige asym- metrical pencil skirt with a white button down blouse. To make this outfit pop Preen added an open front jacket that was a slightly darker shade of beige. This type of style is perfect for the business woman and way more practical in everyday living. is Victoria’s Secret. Every season they send me several magazines with their new- est designs and after reviewing some looks from the runway and looking through Vic- toria’s Secret’s fall look book, I would say that the fashion in the look book is pretty close (but with more everyday wearable clothing) to the clothing from top design- ers in fashion week. Just a few friendly tips: Jackets and oversized sweaters are big this season. Tie off at waist with a belt. Tights are always a good idea in the cold weather. : Be creative and mix those dark colors! Special to The Lion’s Eye Eagles Mere, Pa. sets the scene of a new, spine-tingling murder mystery novel by Priscilla F. Clement, of Wall- ingford, professor emerita of history and women’s studies at Penn State Brandy- wine. Blood on the Path, published by Eagles Mere Museum, is the gripping tale of the 1959 unsolved disappearance of a teenage girl, that is, until her niece sets her sights on the truth years later. Her quest to solve the mystery takes her on a dark path from historic Eagles Mere to Media, Philadelphia and even New York City. “Clement rekindles fond memories for anyone who has visited this quaint mountain village,” Penn State Brandywine Head Librarian Sara Whildin writes on the novel’s back cover. Clem- ent, who has visited the small town with her family every summer since 1970, uses her intimate knowledge to bring new life to the town’s Victorian charm—*“the inn, the village green, the ice cream par- lor-and that treacherous path around the lake.” Writing a fictional novel has always been a dream for Clement and her family. “My kids have wanted me to write a novel for years,” she remembered. “When I started thinking about writing a book I knew I wanted to connect to the past. I love mystery fiction.” During the nearly 40 years that she taught at Penn State Brandywine, Clement received three teaching awards. She is the author of numerous articles and several books on various aspects of the history of children and of welfare and poverty in the United States. Blood on the Path is her first novel.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers