14 I TUESDAY, OCT. 12, 2010 ALBUM REVIEW me Dissent of Man' Reviewed by Josh Bollinger COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Known for being one of the most influential bands of its genre, Bad Religion makes it clear on its newest album, "The Dissent of Man," that the punk band is still a force to be reckoned with. An improvement from the lackluster 2007 album "New Maps of Hell," the mood of "The Dissent of Man" starts as a high intensity anthem for punks everywhere with its opening song "The Day That The Earth Stalled." Band co-founder and vocalist Greg Graffin kicks off this song with his velvety smooth voice, right before the band joins him in the fun with a high energy chord progression After more than 30 years Graffin's voice still perfectly complements the melodic structure of Bad Religion's music. The energy level is maintained through the first three songs until being brought down to a more chill level with some melodies and social commentary in "Won't Somebody," where Griffin encourages the audience to take initia tive and fix the environmental injustices of our world. My favorite section of the album is smack dab in the middle, with the two-song run of - Meeting of the Minds" into "Someone to Believe." A big part of what makes this album so good is the fact that the musicians are actually tal ented, both in playing their instruments and in their songwriting. Drummer Brooks Wackerman dominates the drum kit with a tight and creative authority and doesn't get stuck in a rut of playing the same typical punk beats over and over again. Nearly every song is as likeable as the one before. making it hard for Bad Religion to top itself. As the album progresses, it's apparent that these guys are experts when it comes to writing catchy songs that everybody can enjoy listening to. _ . Throughout the album, Bad Religion proves that it's more than your average punk band. The band's influences from other genres shine through while the building blocks of its songs keep it in touch with their punk roots. If Bad Religion keeps turning out albums this good. I foresee a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination in the future for this punk power house. Grade: A- DoNNilload: "Someone To Believe" To e-mail reporter: tjbs267@psu.edu pEV!EW me Extra Man ' Reviewed by Lauren Ingeno COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER From a cross-dressing ex-literature teacher to an eccentric failed playwright and a middle-aged dommanix, "The Extra Man" seems to have all the ingredients of a quirky, yet enjoyable film. Unfortunately, it wasn't. "The Extra Man" starts off as an unconventional tale that seems to have promise. Adapted from Jonathan Ame's 1998 novel, the story centers around Louis Ives (Paul Dano), a young prep school teacher who is fired from his job after he's caught trying on ladies' under wear in a classroom. Louis. who imagines his life is being narrated as if he were the protagonist in an E Scott C: , ,irtesy of imdb.com Fitzgerald novel, decides to move to Manhattan to become a serious writer. Through a newspaper ad, Louis finds and moves into the apartment of Henry Harrison Kevin Kline), a much older playwright offering his dating services as an "extra man" to wealthy, older women of New York. Henry, though seen as rude and annoying in his circle of friends, develops a friendship with his young protege. Henry teaches Louis how to sneak into operas, how to urinate in the streets without getting caught and how to win the hearts of the citv's aristocrats. The roommates exchange some witty banter and some more eccentric characters are intro duced. Mine's acting is a little over the top, but his persona at the beginning of the film is at least believable. When Dano is first introduced in the film, his shy nature and awkwardness calls for sympathy. It is endearing to watch him lust over his co- worker (Katie Holmes) at his magazine job. But throughout the film, it becomes unclear why Louis had romantic feelings for her in the first place. I felt uncomfortable as I watched the dreary character deal with his sexuality and try to make friendships with people who didn't like him. "The Extra Man" which starts off as an amus ing film about an unlikely friendship soon turns into a downfall of unbelievable and nonsensical events. The plot and the tone of the film are never fully developed and it becomes hard to know whether to laugh, cry or cringe. The characters, who start off interesting, soon become unlikable, and the film lasts about 30 minutes too long. By the end of "The Extra Man" I was left con fused, bored and found myself sighing, "Enough already." Grade: C To email reporter: ImlsolB@psu.edu COUNT ON BRUNO ars CD near perfe ,~ r ~ .a,.-., .T . ... ,t~ Reviewed by Joshua Glossner COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER • I'm sure many of us thought Bruno Mars was just going to be a collabora tive artist after two big summer jams under his belt not to mention writ ing huge hits for big names from Brandy to Flo Rida. But his solo album proved us wrong. "Doo-Wops and Hooligans" is filled with phenomenal lyrics and catchy melodies. After a few listens, I found myself singing along. Possibly the coolest thing about Mars' CD is that Mars draws from a variety of genres, including R&B ("The Other Side"), rock ("Runaway Baby"), reggae ("Liquor Store Blues") and piano acoustic ("Talking to the Moon") he'll please most fans from any of these genres without breaking a sweat. The album starts out with "Grenade," a song about a dysfunc tional love. Mars sings about how he would do anything for his true love, but the girl won't return the favor. "The Lazy Song" is possibly the A NEW STATE OF MUSIC Adz' turns from norm Reviewed by David Strader COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Indie-pop aficionados rejoice Sulan is back with a number of sur prises. Sutan Stevens' - The Age of Adz" was released today, and longtime fans will find that the multi-talented instru mentalist is stepping boldly into new territory. While it would have been nice to see Sutwi continue his self-proclaimed goal of creating a concept album for each of the 50 states, I am more than happy with the direction he has taken on "The Age of Adz." The album starts off on familiar ground, as the open- Mg track "Flitile Devices" is much akin to work on Sutan's folk-heavy 2004 album "Seven Swans." But as the second track begins, prepare to be properly derailed, as Sutan gives something dangerously comparable to his electronic 2001 project, "Enjoy Your Rabbit." Even the average Suan devotee may cringe at the mention of that album, but S 4 an takes "The Age of Adz" on a successfully electronic trip into glory. If the electronic style doesn't turn you away, the epic album-titled third track will blow your mind. The tried-and-true elements of coolest college men's anthem to date. The song has some of my favorite lyrics in any song I've ever listened to, because of its humorous depictions of men, like "Kick up my feet and stare at the fan, turn the TV on, throw my hand in my pants." The song just basks in the glory of being a carefree man with no one to tell him what to do. As a minor downside, though, it sounds a lot like "Billionaire" by Mars and Travie McCoy. _ One of the best songs on the album is "Count On Me." This song is about best friends and how they will always be there for one another, no matter what. After hear ing this song, I felt like I had to call up my best friend and sing this song to her. "Count On Me" channels a pop alternative sound that resembles the Plain White T's "Hey There, Delilah." Mars also sings about Vegas-like weddini "Marry At the sor ting a loved tear-jerker the baroque pop are there, with horns and choir chants in all the right places. After the brilliantly persuasive third track, you'll find yourself more than content lulling through the mediocre mid-album tracks. By the time you reach excellently composed songs like "Vesuvius" and "I Want to be Well," you'll proudly support Sutan's electronic venture. "I Want to be Well" presents another unexpected turn for Sutan, as the artist rejects his normally passive lyrics with Christian undertones and drops the infa mous F-bomb. A lot. While the vulgarity is a shock for the artist's other peaceful lyric language is fitting for the esci intensity of "I Want to be Well, it emphasizes that Sutan is "T king around." Though "I Want to be Well" easily conclude "The Age of At. the ending is well-saved for an immense 25-minute.song, "Impossible Soul." The sight of an enormous final usually lends itself to those giant den track" quiet gaps that eve hates so much, but no such dis pointment is to be found here - prepared for a half-hour of supreme excellence. Amidst soothing inner workings of are no .IT or exp c it, so it makes the song much classier than most of the sexu al innuendos in simi lar songs on the radio today. "Our First Time" also has a cool R&B flavor to it and is a nice change in pace from the rest of the album. "The Other Side" features "Nothin' On You" rapper 8.0.8. and Cee Lo Green. . 0 " t I'm still having a hard time trying to figure out what the lyrics mean in the song there are just so many options. They all sing about living for ever and have a mysterious line about meeting someone on "the other side." It could mean anything from becoming a vampire "Twilight" much, anyone? or taking drugs to escape the reality and the world, among other possibilities. I guess it's just one of those songs left open to interpretation of each listener. But how could we forget Mars' No. 1 hit, "Just the Way You Are?" It's one of the most loved songs this year. Everybody's heard it by now, and even with all the play time it gets from radio stations and elsewhere, it's still good. All of these songs have the poten tial to be hits on the radio and to top the Billboard charts. J talks about aasing and falling for him ip-tempo way Baby." !ould proba ss what the )ur First "is about if think hard ugh. The CD proves that Mars is in the ranks of the decade's best songwrit ers and R&B artists. Grade: A Download: "Count On Me" and "Runaway Baby" the lyrics "Impossible Soul," S4an presents an unforeseen vocal surprise: Auto-Tune. How could the beloved indie-idol cross into T-Pain's town? Don't worry. By this point in the album, you'll already be convinced that Suan can pull it off. After the Auto Tune endeavor, the album concludes where it began with a folk crescendo reminiscent of Sul§an's roots. This suggests that maybe this electronic undertaking was a one-time thing for our indie pop hero, but it's always hard to tell with him. Overall, the album's underwhelm ing middle portion is overshadowed by two mountains of quality near the beginning and end. Skeptics may shun SiAm Stevens as another electric Judas, but if you are open-minded, pick up the album. Grade: B THE DAILY COLLEGIAN To email reporter: pgs2996psu.edu of ant to
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