Free from everything. Free from anything that haunts you because once you become nothing, nothing can stop you from doing anything.  You’re a piece of crap with no obligation because every expectation your old life saw is now in the trash. Time to create chaos- an anarchist’s state.  Make people realize that this world is focused on the material things.  Destroy something beautiful. That’s what the narrator’s second personality, Tyler Durden, believes and his original continuously falls into a deeper sleep until his job, or any other priority, has no affect on him. After meeting Marla, the beast awoke.   He no longer falsely attends secretive support groups for an emotional outlet but he cures the numbness by breaking face with other nameless white-collar workers.  Resuming to go to work with an oblivious attitude and a puck size hole in his face, Fight Club has changed his outlook on life from the focus on his boring, trivial profession to the nightlife of mischievousness and intrigue.

Junior Ramsey Whitley says, “The theme is that society should not be the main focus of life. We are all the same. Same as the scum of the earth and the higher ups as well.  No one should be higher or more lofty than anyone. When becoming nothing, maybe we would stop being so selfish so we can get some perspective on life and all start out with an equal chance.”

Senior Cody Ford called it an, “interesting way of taking the idea of a multiple personality disorder and making it as though we may not know who we truly are until we have gone of the deep end.”

On the flip side, debaters believe the imaginary fight club to be idiotic.  For instance, junior Cody Hayes labels it, “terrorism.” He says that, “I know that people are trapped in their own little boring world but blowing up business buildings that regulate the city is not the answer.  They take it to the farthest extreme.”  While Cody appreciates the intention, he bashes the extremity it reaches, which is understandable.

I recommend everyone on this entire earth to take part in this fictional world of released control.  Some call it life changing.  For those 139 minutes of mind-blowing excitement and perhaps a couple of hours reading while always anticipating the next chapter, some sort of catharsis was in store.  Although the set was released more than a decade ago, it’s never too late to take the ride with this mysterious narrator and his wild side, Tyler.

In my previous article about concept albums, I talked about how The Dear Hunter is a very concept-driven band. Their name is based from their Act albums, which tell the story of a “dear hunter” and his life from birth to death. So far The Dear Hunter has released three of their Act albums: Act I-The Lake South, The River North; Act II-The Meaning of, and All Things Regarding Ms. Leading; and Act III-Like and Death. They put their Act’s on pause for the master project of what lead singer Casey Crescenzo titled “the colors project” and later labeled as The Color Spectrum.

The Color Spectrum is a series of nine EP’s consisting of four songs that each depict a different color of the visible color spectrum, from black to white to everything in between. A sample CD was released with a song from each EP (and an extra song from the White and Green AP), but the complete collection was put out (in both vinyl and through digital purchase on iTunes) with a total of 36 songs and over two and a half hours of music.

A handful of people helped with the production of The Color Spectrum. While Casey Crescenzo produced the Black, Yellow, Blue, and Indigo EPs in his home, the White, Violet, Green, Orange, and Red EPs were all co-produced with someone else in separate locations. Manchester Orchestra’s main singer Andy Hull co-produced the Red EP at Favorite Gentlemen, which is a record label and artist community started by the members of Manchester Orchestra. The White and Violet EPs were co-produced with Mike Watts at Vu Du Studios in New York. Mike Watts previously helped mix Act III and when Act III was finished, Casey asked Mike if he would help to co-produce two of the Color EPs. Mike Poorman, formerly of the band Hot Rod Circuit, helped to co-produce the Orange and Green albums in Strangeways Studios, located in Rhode Island.

As for the song content, all of Manchester Orchestra helped with the Red EP. A former band mate,  Brendan Brown, of Casey Crescenzo’s previous band The Receiving End of Sirens played the bass for all of the Orange EP. The mandolin part heard in the Green EP was played by Falling Up’s lead singer and guitarist Jessy Ribordy. The Yellow and Blue EPs feature the band The Naive Thieves. The album as a whole took almost a complete year to finish.

Each color EP has a different sound. The album starts off with the heavy guitars and drums with the Black EP. The lyrics feel dark and the music makes your heart pound. The Red EP is just as fast paced and heavy with a slightly more upbeat feel. To me, I can’t tell when Red stops and Orange begins. They blend together almost seamlessly to me. But you can definitely tell when the transition to Yellow happens because the music makes a drastic change to a happy and cheerful guitar and drum combo and songs filled with lyrics that exude an afternoon on a picnic soaking up the sun. Green mellows out a with softer guitar and happy, though not overly done like with Yellow, lyrics filled with hope and optimistic stanzas. Blue is filled with slow, waltz-like guitar and deep lyrics. It’s much more mellowed down that Green, and it’s almost so much that it’ll put you in a slight funk. Indigo takes the album in a new direction, like with Yellow, and embraces a thick bass and synthesizer sound. Violet is the EP that has the most Dear Hunter sound. It’s a full band and it’s loud and in your face with lyrics that tell a mini-story about a man and a woman that reminds me of the Act albums. The Color Spectrum closes with the White EP, which is filled with calming and feel-good sounds. The lyrics are similar to the Green EP, hopeful and optimistic, but they take a slightly religious direction and moral-driven stance that ends the album with a feeling of “Lost but Not All Gone.”

After the publication of The Color Spectrum, it was announced that The Dear Hunter would go on tour with Anthony Green, since he also would be coming out with his solo album titled Beautiful Things. They started the Beautiful Things Tourin early January. The set was to include Good Old War playing background for Anthony Green and, though individuals weren’t listed, only part of The Dear Hunter.  I had the privilege of attending one of the concerts that was held in Atlanta at The Loft on January 25th. I’ve only seen Anthony Green once, and that was a year ago and he was touring with his band Circa Survive and they played with Foxy Shazam (one of my personal favorites) and Anberlin. The Beautiful Things concert was both a treat because I’d get to see what Anthony was like on solo tours, and I’d get to see The Dear Hunter. I’ve been fangirling over seeing TDH in concert for almost two years now. They don’t tour down south much, since they’re from Rhode Island and they mostly stick to the northern states. After the Beautiful Things Tour is over, Casey Crescenzo has stated that The Dear Hunter won’t be doing any touring for a while, which hopefully means the Acts albums will no to be continued.

Casey Crescenzo and yours truly after the concert.

Here’s a playlist that contains the entire Color Spectrum album, in order by color and how they are presented on the digital download.

The basis of World of Warcraft is to take quests, level, and kill other players. On Wrath of the Lich King, the older expansion (the one I play), the maximum level a player can reach is 80; on Catalysm, the new expansion, a player can get up to 85. From level 1 to level 79 or 84, players have many places to explore and many quests to take. The game doesn’t end when a player maximizes their level. In fact, a whole new world of play opens.

The first thing you do is create a character (after you buy the game, of course). A character can be either a part of the Alliance or of the Horde. In my experience, Alliance players are more serious and tend to focus on soloing. However, Horde players are friendlier and will randomly hand fellow players gold (the highest currency used to buy armour, weapons, food, and mounts). Each faction has different races for play. Alliance races consists of Humans, Gnomes, Dwarfs, Night Elves, Draenei, or, with the Catalysm expansion, Worgen. Horde races are Orcs, Blood Elves, Tauren, Forsaken, Trolls, and Goblins, who are neutral, nonplayable characters in the Lich King.

A wow character leveling up.

Each race consists of classes. A single race cannot be every class and every class isn’t available through every race. A warlock uses shadow and fire, whereas a mage uses frost and arcane. You could also have a hunter, priest, druid, paladin, rogue, shaman, warrior, or a death knight. Every class has pros and cons, and each one has a different role in the world. Some classes cater to melee or spell-casting combat, while others are typically specked for healing. However, each class has individual trees to help fine tune your character further. The create-a-character screen has information on each class as you click through them, so you can best decide.

For the first 79 or 84 levels, you take quests to gain experience and earn money. After you maximize your level, there’s really no limit on what you can do. PvP is the route most players take, which is player vs player combat zones. PvP grants you honor points, which can be used to buy special types of armour or weapons. A high-level character does not have to do PvP in order to continue game play. My goal as a level 80 is to explore the entirety of Azeroth and Outland (where WoW is set). I haven’t yet entered a PvP battle.

World of Warcraft is not the type of game where you make one character and it’s over. Since every class is so different, players must experiment and find out what they want to play as and how to speck it. It’s time consuming, and could become life consuming (just don’t follow South Park’s example). So, whether you’re a serious gamer or don’t know what a game is, World of Warcraft could amaze you if you give it the chance. Your character will not be exactly like the millions of others in the game. Give it a try, and enter the magical world…of warcraft.

It may very well not be an actual saying, but it still works.

On Friday, January the 13, Beauty and the Beast reentered the movie scene in 3-D. Needless to say, it was wonderful.

The essence of the original Disney movie was preserved with wonderful visual effects as an add-on. This movie is perfect for all ages. In fact, a group of teen girls sat behind me, and an older couple sat in front of me.

Nothing warms the heart like a Disney movie. There is the perfect amount of humor, romance, sadness, and suspense. We should definitely not forget our favorite characters. They, of course, make the movie. The wonderful thing about the characters is that they teach you a lesson. The bad guy never amounts to anything whereas the characters with good hearts that display kindness and are humble tend to get the prize in the end. This sends a wonderful message to everyone, not just children.

Senior Jessica Brigan says “Disney movies make me feel like a kid again.” Jasmine is her favorite princess because she was a different type of princess due to her Arabian appearance.

I was not the only teen excited for Beauty and the Beast. Senior Rebecca Rudisill shares my enthusiasm. She says that when she went to go see the movie, “there was a little girl and she said, ‘Mommy, look at her dress!’ and I thought it was wonderful.”

Freshman Brianna Gordon thinks of Belle as a wonderful role model. “She has everything anyone could want- a huge library, a lovely prince, and a gorgeous castle. She even found a family in everyone at the castle.” Brianna has said it all. What’s not to love about Belle?

10. [XXXX]ed Up-David Comes to Life [Matador]

David Comes to Life is a precedent shattering record of contradictions.  The band eschews traditional hardcore punk conventions with metafictional lyrics, sugary-sweet female harmonies and layers upon layers of washed out noise.  The plot of David Comes to Life is a rock opera that chronicles the life of factory worker David Elaide and his love interest, Veronica.  Long story short, Veronica dies in a bombing incident at the factory.  Following this turn of events David discovers that he is a character in a story being narrated by Octavio St. Laurent.  As the characters fight over the control of the narrative, the plot becomes more and more convoluted and metafictional.  The great part about David Comes to Life, however, is that the listener’s enjoyment in no way hinges on their understanding of these complex plots.   The plot of David Comes to Life will definitely need a few listens and a lyric sheet before it is fully understood.  On the other hand, the album’s assault of screeching guitars and guttural screams make for an album that is, sonically, direct and immediate.  Lovable front man, Pink Eyes, barks the lyrics over guitars so layered that it’s hard to ever determine exactly how many tracks were recorded.  Several songs also feature female harmonies that provide a nice dichotomy to Pink Eyes’ harsh vocals.  Ultimately, David Comes to Life is a record that shows just how far a band can go when they choose to play by their own rules.

9. The Roots-undun [Def Jam]

You may know them as the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, but The Roots have been putting out albums for nearly 20 years.  undun marks the release of their eleventh studio album.  Their first concept album undun tells the reverse-chronological story of protagonist Redford Stevens.   The album features raps by The Roots’ lead MC, Black Thought, as well as a variety of guests.  The most notable among these is up-and-coming Mississippian, Big K.R.I.T.   Unlike many modern rap artists, the MC’s are backed by a full band.  The highlight of this live instrumentation is undoubtedly Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson’s unbelievably tight and controlled drumming.  Much of the album also focuses on lush piano soundscapes and strings.  This helps create a suitable atmosphere for the album’s subject matter.  Lyrically, the album is often existential and introspective; focusing on the short, tragic life of poverty.  All of the rappers and singers tell their story from the point of view of Redford Stevens which helps to create a cohesive (if not ambiguous) narrative arc.  Like David Comes to Life, understanding this narrative is not required or even necessarily beneficial.  No matter the narrative, undun is a well-crafted, atmospheric work of art.

 8. M83-Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming [Mute]

Before the release of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming front man, Anthony Gonzalez compared his upcoming double album to classics like Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, White Album and The Wall.  Rarely does an artist set the bar to so high only to completely shatter expectations.  Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming avoids nearly all the problems typically associated with double albums.  No song feels too long or out of place.  The album is without a single wasted moment (and yes this includes a little girl’s monologue about “magic” frogs).  The album clocks in at over seventy minutes and yet, it feels much briefer, almost fleeting, much like a dream.  And, like dreams, the album has something for everyone, from the dueling shouts on “Intro” to the poppy synth line on “Midnight City” to the swelling crescendos on “Outro.”  In this day and age, “epic” has become a buzzword that is used to describe a piece of art when no other suitable words can be found.  That being said, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is epic in every sense of the word.  The instruments swell and subside.  The vocals go from subtle murmurs to empowered shouts.  Ultimately, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming is an album that is both reflective of the past and contemplative of the future, giving it the potential to touch the dreamer in everyone.

7. Drake-Take Care [YMCMB]

Take Care is an emotional rollercoaster of an album.  Production by Noah “40” Shebib and hazy, cherubic vocals from The Weeknd help to create a moody, surreal atmosphere that provides a perfect outlet for Drake’s sing-rap delivery.  At its core, Take Care is a record of heartbreak and lost love.  In a stark antithesis to Watch the Throne, Take Care eschews boasting and bragging, in favor of relationships, fame and failed romance.  This all comes to culmination on album highlight “Marvin’s Room.”  Here, Drake has hit rock-bottom, drunk dialing an ex-girlfriend.  Despite his clear loneliness and dejection, Drizzy (can I call him Drizzy?) touts his superiority over his replacement, saying that she “could do better.”  The album also features guest verses from Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, André 3000 and Kendrick Lamar as well as guest production form Boi-1da, Jamie xx and Just Blaze.  Take Care touches on nearly every emotion imaginable, from friendship and love, to jealousy and heartbreak and explores a life no more complex than our own.  Because of this, Take Care noticeably lacks one emotion – contentment – with Drake promising that “his junior and senior will only get meaner” on album closer “The Ride.”  Even as the man that has everything, Drake claims to be no different from the rest of us.  And things are only going to get worse from here.

6. Fleet Foxes-Helplessness Blues [Sub Pop]

In 2008, Fleet Foxes released their self-titled debut of bright, harmony-laden, folk-rock.  This album was full of sunny melodies, inviting songs and organic, Beach-Boys style, harmonies.  In their follow-up Helplessness Blues the clouds inevitably roll in.  As a result, Helplessness Blues is darker, deeper and more complex.  Unlike the songs on the self-titled, these songs shift and move.  Longer, episodic tracks like “The Shrine / An Argument” highlight this malleable quality, changing tone and tempo multiple times over the course of the track.  The trademarked harmonies of their debut also take a backseat here, allowing Pecknold to take a more creative lead role.  He uses this newly found control to paint vivid pictures and explore more complex themes.  This all culminates to create an album that is heavy on tension and longing.  Songs change focus or tone so abruptly that it is almost disquieting.  This all culminates on album closer “Grown Ocean.”  The album ends with absolutely no closure.  The final a cappella verse almost gives the listener the thought that they’ve been cheated.  As the final notes fade into nothing, you’re left wondering “Is that really it?”  And it really is.  It’s almost optimistic.  The song doesn’t end the story, it starts a new one.   And suddenly, the sense of longing is gone.

5. The Weeknd-House of Balloons/Thursday/Echoes of Silence [XO]

In 2011 The Weeknd released a trilogy of mixtapes that can be downloaded for free here.  The first of these mixtapes, House of Balloons portrays a nocturnal world of overdose, Nyquil-hazed nightlife and chemically-paralyzed sex, made all the more disturbing by its quiet anonymity.  The air of mystery surrounding the project at the time of release made House of Balloons all the more intriguing. The music is almost dangerously accessible, with lush, down-tempo production and shimmery-sweet vocals.  Though the picture painted here is far from desirable it is also strangely alluring and difficult to pull yourself away from.  The follow up tape Thursday eradicates some of its accessibility found on its predecessor.  The tape eschews the poppy hooks found on House of Balloons and takes a darker and more psychedelic approach.  Despite this, Thursday retains the drugged-out persona of its predecessor.  Oh, and Drake shows up for a verse.  Drake has been a vocal proponent of The Weeknd, often showing his support thorough Twitter, and this track marks their first official compilation.  The Weeknd would later be featured extensively on Take Care.  The final mixtape of the trilogy Echoes of Silence was released on December 21, 2011.  After releasing three mixtapes over the course of nine months, we know most of Tesfaye’s tricks.  And while it’s true that Echoes of Silence follows the blueprint laid by the previous two records, Tesfaye is not out of surprises.  The first song on the tape “D.D.” is a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.”  Tesfaye channels The King of Pop with eerie accuracy.  It’s a bold move from a man known for bold moves.  The album also focuses on an emotion that is absent from the previous two records – confidence.  Lyrically, the songs are stronger and more focused.  Illangelo’s production is top-notch but never excessive.  While Echoes of Silence may lack the gut-punch of House of Balloons, it makes up for it in consistency.  Echoes of Silence ends the trilogy on a strong note, providing just enough closure to satisfy the listener, while leaving the air of mystery that made The Weeknd so intriguing in the first place.

 4. Bon Iver- Bon Iver, Bon Iver [Jagjaguwar]

The mythos surrounding Bon Iver’s debut album For Emma, Forever Ago has been repeated so many times that it has practically become indie rock legend.  The man who recorded an album alone in the woods.  His semi-eponymous follow up Bon Iver, Bon Iver may be the album that frees Bon Iver from this image.  While For Emma was firmly entrenched in established folk conventions, the follow up is unfamiliar and surprising.  Justin Vernon himself called these songs “soundscapes” and I can’t think of a more accurate summation of the album as a whole.  Vernon’s falsetto is full of child-like longing and the music is a masterfully arranged medley of textured guitars, tinkling keyboards and shimmering echoes of sound.  These layers of sound are arranged so artfully that Bon Iver sounds like an entirely new project.  And then there’s the album’s loose narrative structure.  Many songs are titled after places both real (Calgary) and imagined (Hinnom, TX) but the distinction between the real and the imagined is never important.  Bon Iver, Bon Iver is a warmly approachable album and yet it defies interpretation.  There is an emotional weight to the music even if the listener doesn’t completely understand it.  The secluded heartache of For Emma is gone.  The snow has melted.

3. Danny Brown-XXX [Fool’s Gold]

Danny Brown is an unusual rapper.  His proudly worn skinny jeans supposedly cost him a deal with G-Unit and his asymmetric haircut would fit right in at a Panic! at the Disco concert.  His voice can most politely be described as “distinctive” and more accurately as a “maniacal snarl.”  On XXX, Brown transforms these quirks into a compelling and haunted universe of drugs, sex and growing up.  The beats here are characterized by a panicked, noisy electro and are perfectly suited for Danny’s world of cheap stimulants and experimentation.  The shocking rhymes on XXX may, at least initially, remind some of Odd Future.  The key difference here is that Brown’s moral depravity comes from experience.  At the age of 30 (XXX indicates the dark subject matter as well as Brown’s age), Danny has been through far more than the kids in Odd Future.  XXX is sometimes disturbing, sometimes horrifying and sometimes outright disgusting, but above all it is shockingly personal.  XXX is a blast to listen to because of Brown’s maniacal delivery and hilariously eccentric wordplay but has staying power because it blurs the line between wildly unhinged and conceptually cohesive.  Download or stream the album for free here.

 2. Kendrick Lamar-Section.80 [Top Dawg]

To say that Tupac is Kendrick Lamar’s favorite rapper would be an understatement.  He devotes at least ten minutes to the late rapper at each of his shows.  Tupac serves as more than a musical inspiration; he is a model for Kendrick’s day-to-day life.  He claims that Section.80 was inspired by a dream in which Tupac came to him and told him to “Keep doing what you’re doing, keep my music alive.”  And it is a message that he has seemingly taken to heart.  He has been christened “New Prince of the West Coast” by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Game.  He was featured on Drake’s Take Care, Game’s The R.E.D. Album and Tech N9ne’s All 6’s and 7’s.  His crowning achievement, however, is on Section.80.  Section.80 is a loose concept record, focusing on the problems faced by today’s youth.   Lyrically, Kendrick tackles everything; “money, hoes, clothes, god, and history all in the same sentence” and yet he never comes off as preachy or superior.  His lyrics are often complex and intelligent but is never over-indulgent.   His delivery is varied, unique and intriguing.  Though Section.80 didn’t receive a physical release (Lamar’s studio debut Good Kid in a Mad City is due out this year) it stands as a conceptually sound, emotionally jarring and powerful work of art.

1. La Dispute-Wildlife [No Sleep]

Wildlife is a poetic record.  The song structure is experimental, the band explores some dark lyrical themes and the vocals are overflowing with emotion.  Each song feels like a short story that is part of a broader narrative of loss, anger and decay.  Jordan Dreyer’s lyrics focus on despair, struggle and the sadness of watching your hometown decay.  On paper, the lyrics read like a narrative poem.  “King Park” is told from the perspective of an individual that is enthralled by a drive-by shooting.  “I See Everything” tells a family’s story of losing their seven year old son to cancer.  These dark narratives are perfectly expressed through Dreyer’s vocal delivery, which swings wildly between a soft whisper and an ear-shattering scream.  The melodies are experimental as well, with roots in spoken word and beat poetry.  The band serves as the perfect backdrop for the stories told.  Like the vocals, the band has a heavy focus on dynamics.  The guitars swing from a soft whisper to a roaring clash without a moment’s notice.  The bass is loud enough to actually be heard but is never overbearing.  This dynamic range can almost make it seem as if the listener is actually sitting in the studio with the band.  Wildlife is an emotionally devastating record of longing, struggle and sadness and yet it never feels over-indulgent.  Wildlife is experimental, mature and intelligent and yet it never feels pretentious or fake. Wildlife is more than emotional post-hardcore.  Wildlife is poetry.  And it is my favorite album from 2011.

Up first is a Corn Chowder Soup, with none of that weak, liquid, chicken broth stuff. It has a thick, fulfilling base, with potatoes, bacon, and cheese. The recipe serves 2, and takes only 10 minutes to prepare. I added chicken to mine, along with going heavy on the bacon, making a tasteful difference. Also good served with warm 7-grain bread, or oyster crackers.

Ingredients:

4 slices of Oscar Meyer Ready to Serve Bacon

1 10 ¾ – ounce can of Cream of Potato soup

1 cup of low-fat or whole milk

1 11-ounce can of Corn Niblets

Shredded Cheese

Directions:

Heat the bacon for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave

Pour the cream of potato soup into a pot, adding in the milk and corn.

Break up the bacon into small pieces, and stir in.

Heat for 5 minutes or until the soup reaches a simmer.

One of my favorite foods in the world, in general, is pizza, but even more so in the winter months. I love Papa John’s, but your money goes a lot further when you make your own. The recipe for this 12” pizza is simple and straightforward, takes about a third of the time to bake as it would to be delivered, and at half the cost. I recommend using store-bought Boboli pizza crusts, and pizza sauces.

Ingredients:

1 12” Pizza Crust

1 5-oz. package of Pizza Sauce

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

2 cups of Italian 3-cheese blend, shredded

2 oz. of pepperonis, sliced *(optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F

Bake time: 10-12 minutes

In a small bowl, combine olive oil and Italian seasoning.

Brush the oil and herb mixture around the outer edge of the crust.

Spread pizza sauce onto crust, leaving a 1″ border around the crust. Arrange the cheese and pepperoni on top of the sauce, and bake for 10 – 12 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Pastas are typically easy, cheap, and fulfilling, so here is a great recipe for the age long spaghetti and meatball dish. It serves 4, and takes only 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

12 ounces of spaghetti noodles

3 cups of marinara sauce

16 Meatballs, cooked

Directions:

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce in a large skillet over medium for 2-3 minutes.

Add meatballs to sauce, and serve over pasta.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/corn-chowder-10000000663045/index.html

http://www.boboli.com/BoboliRecipeDetail.aspx?id=2193

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spaghetti-meatballs-00100000066418/index.html

The heir apparent to the Twilight and Harry Potter crazes seems to be Suzanne Collins’s trilogy, The Hunger Games. The series tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen year old girl living in a dystopian future Earth. In this proposed future, the twelve districts of the North American continent (now called Panem) are ruled by the tyrannical Capitol. Every year, each district sends a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to a Capitol-sponsored event called the “Hunger Games,” a televised arena battle to the death. The last “tribute” standing wins a life of luxury and a sizable reward for their home district. And all that is just what’s on the back cover of the first book.

The Hunger Games brings something to the table for everyone. Senior Destinee Wilson calls it “a cliffhanging series that will leave anyone yearning for more. Those three books are by far the best I have ever read and are now my favorites.” Throughout the series, the action is gripping, the romance is tender, and perhaps most importantly of all, the characters are genuine and relatable. Collins melds all of these elements into a world that is as complete and believable as Rowling’s. Of Collins’s setting, senior Rebecca Rudisill says, “The complexities of the world were the main thing that drew me into the books, and I read through the first book without stopping.” Rebecca’s not alone on that count: critical praise for the series focused on its compelling, borderline addictive suspense.

For those of you who can’t fathom reading something like the 870-page Order of the Phoenix or 754-page Breaking Dawn, the Hunger Games books are all in the far more manageable 330-page range. And if reading is really just not your thing, don’t worry about missing out. The movie adaptation of the first book, The Hunger Games, is slated for release on March 23, 2012. Think you’re interested? Here’s the trailer.

So there you have it. The Hunger Games is poised to take pop culture by storm. And pretty soon, when someone asks you to think of a novel with a bow-wielding teenage girl, you’ll know exactly what they’re talking about.

Hint: This one.

It’s not what it looks like; of course this isn’t another hipster-generated article about some slightly mainstream bands that are breaking the music boundaries between similar genres. Have you heard of a thing called the concept album? Well, ask anyone about The Beatles and 95% of them will know who you’re talking about, if not what songs they wrote. Most of them will have a grasp of the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as well. Ask about the band The Decemberists and, while that percentage does decrease quite a bit, there are still a few people that will know of their existence or their album titled Hazards of Love. Ask about the band The Dear Hunter, however, and that percentage greatly plummets, as does the knowledge of their act albums or their collection titled The Color Spectrum. Though their popularity and mainstream statuses differ, all three bands share something in common: the concept album.

The Beatles’s fourth album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, is known as the father to all concept albums. Written to exhibit each band member with different identities, the album was created as an experiment. The Beatles already had enough money, and all that was left was new discoveries. Though the first song of the album opens up as a sort of introduction of Sgt. Pepper’s bandleader, “Billy Shears” (who is really Ringo Starr), the concept of Sgt. Pepper was abandoned after the first two songs of the album. Lennon has said that neither the album nor the songs he wrote had anything to do with Sgt. Pepper; “Every other song could have been on any other album.” Still, the album itself is widely viewed and respected as one of the first successful exhibitions of the concept album.

Let’s have a change of gears. A master of the folk rock branch of music that comes from Portland, Oregon is the band The Decemberists. Known for music filled with historical and folkloric elements, each of The Decemberist’s albums are, in their own way, concept albums. The most notable of their concept albums (to me, at least) would be their fifth album Hazards of Love.

The Hazards of Love is an epic rock opera about a woodland shapeshifter named William and a maiden named Margaret that fall in love and have problems when the mother of the forest and a rake interfere with their affections (for those of you in Mrs. Creamer’s English 5 Literature class, you’ll know that a rake is a man that’s a whore and a very, very bad man that uses women for their lady parts and money). Though there is debate as to how the story of Margaret and William really goes, the best and simplest interpretation I’ve picked up from it follows: a shapeshifter named William gets a noble woman named Margaret pregnant, his mother (who is also the mother of the forest) gets angry that the girl is taking her spot in William’s heart and forbids him from seeing Margaret, save for one last night. Meanwhile, Margaret is captured by a rake that brutally murdered each of his three children after his wife died in child birth. William crosses a river (he was only able to cross because he traded his life for passage across the river) and duels the rake in his castle to save Margaret. The rake dies and his children’s souls take him down to hell. William and Margaret escape to the river and exchange vows while sitting on a boat waiting to pay their debts to the river. They weigh the boat down with rocks that drown them. It’s debatable as to whether Margaret’s unborn child lives or dies, but if it did live the story would be brought full circle if the mother of the forest felt pity and raised it, seeing as she did the same for William. As for the actual music portion of the album, The Decemberists use many instruments-ranging from harmonicas, organs, mandolins, banjos, and (of course) electric and acoustic guitars. There is a constant flow between slow to fast-paced, quiet as a mouse to loud as an elephant. Though you will need a dictionary while listening to the album, as you do with all of The Decemberists’s albums, it is worth the listen if you have time for a story with great music combined.

The Dear Hunter is working on a six-act story titled The Acts. The Dear Hunter, a band that originates from Providence, Rhode Island, is an indie rock band that began as a side project by Casey Crescenzo. Their music ranges from songs of instrumentation to alternative rock to classical to blues to progressive rock to–well, you get the picture.

Now, if you start listening to TDH, you’ll need to have a fairly open mind. Each of their albums are like operas and listening to the whole thing take a while (For instance, Act II is 77 minutes long!). So far, three of the six acts have been released. The acts tell the story of the main protagonist, the “dear hunter,” from his conception to his death. The “boy” was born to a prostitute named Ms. Terri and the first act, titled Act I: The Lake South, The River North, shows the progression of the boy’s childhood and journey towards adulthood whilst dealing with his mother’s false affections toward him. The second album, Act II: The Meaning Of And All Things Regarding Ms. Leading, picks up with the boy’s grievance over his mother’s death and also with lust taking him to a whorehouse where he is greeted and captivated by the charms of Ms. Leading. She leads him on a rollercoaster of love, deceit, and false hope that leads to his leaving her. The third album, Act III: Life and Death, sends the dear hunter to war (presumably WWI) where he experiences mustard gas, tanks, death, rebirth, past demons and family ties.

Each of the albums have intertwined themes and musicality. For instance, in Act I we hear the words “The flame is gone, the fire remains” repeated over and over again. This phrase is repeated at least twelve times in Act II, and the melody of the phrase is played instrumentally by a vibraphone in Act III’s song “Father.” All of the acts have similar syncopation and though the instrumentation is a broad horizon of sound, if you listen hard enough to each act individually and then collectively, you will hear more similarities than just a few lyrics or melodies repeated here and there. Besides intertwining themes and such, there is a large assortment of instruments in each album. Act I is more of guitar and vocals, Act II is targeted towards strings (like cello, violin, etc.) and guitar, and Act III has a lot of horn, string, organ, drum, and guitar. Act II feels like an adventure out to sea if you listen to it (and not just because there are a lot of ocean waves and boat sounds mixed into the tracks), and Act III has this awesome raunchy Vaudeville feel that’ll make you think of a circus. I didn’t listen to the story from beginning to the middle (I would say “to the end,” but the story is no where near being over yet) and I instead started with Act II, then Act I, and now Act III. At first I didn’t honestly like Act III: its lyrics weren’t as catchy to me when I tried to listen to it, and I felt like most of the music was too over-the-big-top. When I would attempt to listen to Act III I would get a headache because there was so much to listen to. For me it didn’t live up to the glorious instrumentation and lyrical story Act II gave. Sure Act III is very similar to Act II in the sense that there was a great deal of energy, but the energy in the third act was so much more concentrated in the individual songs (comparatively to Act I and II) that it was overwhelming for me. It may have just been me and that I wasn’t expecting all the energy and intricate details, but Act III has definitely grown on me since then and it is by far my favorite of TDH’s albums. I have yet to listen to The Color Spectrum: The Complete Collection, which came out back in June, but from what I’ve been told (and from what I’ve sampled from Amazon’s playlist), each album is so individually creative that listening to the whole thing gives an assortment of emotions. Each color has its own feel and style, but it’s not overpowering or overwhelming since there are only four songs for every color.

Miller, born and raised in Pittsburgh, started out in the rap group The III Spoken before embarking on his solo career. The group’s mixtape How High was released in 2008. Prior to his more professional name change, Miller released But My Mackin’ Aint Easy. As his career started booming, so did his mixtapes and fan base. In 2009 he released The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and that same year The High Life. Not to mention, in 2009 he also claimed the award “Best Artist Under 21”.

Rostrum Records (yes, the same label Wiz Khalifa signed with) signed Mr. Miller in 2010. Mac Miller had been involved with Rostrum for a while but was not asked to sign until his sound matured. By 2010 he not only matured, but impressed record dealers and fans alike with his mixtape K.I.D.S. which was his first released under a label.

In October 2011, Miller caught eyes and raised even more ears when he released Best Day Ever. Favorites of this mixtape include “Donald Trump” and “All Around the World.” Speaking of “Donald Trump”, the actual Donald Trump said he was “flattered” and assumed Mac to be the “new Eminem.”

Mac Miller’s most recent work is his first album titled Blue Slide Park. In November of this year, Blue Slide Park debuted number one on the Billboard 200.

To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.”

Founded in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America provides a program for young boys to further develop their character.  To rank up, a scout must earn a required number of merit badges. By attempting to earn merit badges, they learn more about one’s self rather than just the materialistic aspect of getting one more badge to put on the uniform.  Jacob Phillips , a junior, says that “Boy Scouts is a cool, fun place where I can hang out with friends and enjoy nature. I have met many people through scouts who have been inspirations to me and who have influenced me into being the kind of person I am today.” It’s an exciting, adventure-filled program.  Jacob mentions the activity norm, “We hike, play video games, sing songs, light things on fire, chase armadillos as well as pee on them, and we go above the system.”

There is organization in the class system. The Boy Scouts are divided into two different sections.  First, there are the Cub Scouts with ages ranging from seven to eleven; second, there are the Boy Scouts ranging from eleven to eighteen and Varsity Scouting being a sub-division for ages fourteen to eighteen. Venturing is an extra program for ages fourteen to twenty-one including the sub-division Sea Scouting.

Throughout the two, scouts go through a series of class/ranks: Scout, Tenderfoot, Second Class, First class, Star, Life, and Eagle.  The first four classes learn simpler things.  Once you hit the Star rank, it’s business time from then on. Star and Life both require that a scout show leadership skills and perform community service.  To become a Star, a scout must have four required merit badges that are needed to rank up, two regular merit badges that are hobbies, and six hours of community service.  To become a Life, a scout must have three required merit badges and two regular with six hours of community service.

To become an Eagle, a scout must have five required and five regular badges with one original community service project.  There is much preparing and planning for the service project.  Junior Ricky Baldwin, who has just completed his Eagle Scout project, says, “It took me about four long hours to plan and six hours to actually do it. Once I turn eighteen this year, I’ll go up for the border review.” After the completion of all of the requirements, the scout must then go to a border review like on any other attempt at ranking up. Once you achieve the eagle status, the most prestigious and honorable rank, a scout can get up to three eagle palms: bronze, then silver, and finally, gold.  Scouts acquire these by demonstrating leadership ability and earning additional merit badges.