By Marah Harbison, Allison Werner, Nathan Hemminger, and Chase Gosman
Traveling anywhere this Thanksgiving? Here’s the perfect playlist to help you pass those boring hours in the car.
1. “Steal My Sunshine” by Len
2. “Riding In My Car” by She & Him
3. “You Da One” by Rihanna
4. “Fly” by Nicki Minaj
5. “Rev It Up” by B*Witched
6. “9th And Pine” by Less Than Jake
This is the perfect book for anyone who loves heart wrenching tales. I recommend this to all readers who are in the market for a new book.
By Chase Palmer
In this new movie, Leonardo DiCaprio plays J. Edgar Hoover, who was the head of the FBI from its inception to his death in 1972. J. Edgar chronicles this man’s life during this time period and also dabbles in some rumors over his supposed cross-dressing habit and sexuality; however, the film rarely exploits these themes. They focus more on his role in the Palmer Raids, Gangster Wars, and such. This makes the film have plenty of historical elements to it. If you are a history buff then I would recommend “J. Edgar” to you. However, if you usually fall asleep in AP European History, then you might as well skip this film.
This film is not perfect, nevertheless. The 37-year-old DiCaprio plays Hoover even as an old man, meaning that this movie contains a heavy use of facial prosthetics and CGI, required to make DiCaprio and other main actors in the film appear older. The makeup guy’s approach to this technique makes the characters look like unrealistic wax figures. At first it seemed funny, but after a while it took away from the film’s believability aspect. Although the makeup makes DiCaprio’s and other actor’s parts in the movie look like caricatures rather than characters, I thought that the film’s cast was pretty strong, not anything Oscar worthy, but still pretty strong.
The reason why I said J. Edgar ‘rarely’ explores the rumors aimed at Hoover is because I felt that the writer was trying to persuade to us that J Edgar Hoover was gay, a rumor that surfaced after his death. One scene in the film shows Hoover making out with Associate FBI Director Clyde Tolson, played by Armie Hammer. I later learned that his film was written by Dustin Lance Black. I noticed that all of Black’s movies leading up to this one were about homosexuality, the most well-known of these being “Milk“, another biographical film about gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Think what you want about these scenes in “J. Edgar” and Black’s intentions behind them. I personally think that the gay rumors over Hoover served as Black’s original intentions to write the screenplay to “J. Edgar”.
The worst quality of the film is the color. The color is poorly lit and gives the whole movie a bland effect throughout. I believe that “J. Edgar“ is worth seeing, but if you are interested in J. Edgar Hoover’s life and the times in which he lived, I recommend this film only as an entry point.
By Chase Gosman
Check out staff reporter Chase Gosman’s favorite lyrics from Blink 182’s new album Neighborhoods.
Heart’s All Gone
Take off the gloves
We fell in love by the side of the road
This desert will break you down
The veins you cut
Your smoking tongue is the end of us all
But you only care about
Fame and fortune
Watching others tortured
Casting your reflection
Grocery store perfection
This is the last time
Sent to the front line
With dirty boots on the ground
You said I’ll make this all mine.
Wishing Well
I went to a wishing well, I sank to the ocean floor
Cut up by sharper rocks, and washed up along the shore
I reached for a shooting star, it burned a hole through my hand
Made its way through my heart, had fun in the promised land
By Jared Murray
Ceremonials is the second full-length LP from Florence + the Machine, a British band most well-known in America for their euphoric single “Dog Days Are Over.”
Ceremonials is not unlike its critically acclaimed predecessor Lungs; the band’s instantly recognizable mixture of heavy percussion, live instrumentation and strong vocals are extremely apparent on both albums. However, Ceremonials is the creation of a band more mature and eager to branch out of its compositional norms.
Album opener “Only If For A Night” sets the standard arrangement for most of the songs on the album: swelling violins, stomping drums and twinkling harp, all background to Florence’s echoing and ever-present vocals. Tracks “All This And Heaven Too” and “No Light, No Light” echo this formula to great success. The song “Heartlines” adds a tribal tone to this formula, and is easily one of the more enjoyable songs from the album.
Released as the first single from the album, the track “What the Water Gave Me” introduces a more rock-oriented sound which is something rarely heard from the band. The song slowly builds, first starting with just subtle electronics and drums and slowing adding boisterous guitars and cymbal crashes as it reaches its raucous climax four minutes later. A harp and guitar outro end the song on a hopeful note.
Not all of the tracks incorporate the band’s standard sound, and it is these tracks that often feel awkward and even out of place. Song “Seven Devils” stops the album’s flow with its predictable arrangements, but is quickly redeemed due to its cryptic lyrics and harmonic-obsessed violins. Track “Breaking Down” is a whole-hearted attempt at writing a simple pop song, but comes off as awkward despite its charming melodies. Song “Lover To Lover” is a great example of how the band adds small elements such as gospel music to their song writing, instead of a complete sonic overhaul, adding texture to the album.
As a whole, Ceremonials is a solid album by a band confident and willing enough to expand and add to their already successful sound. For other artists, musical growth may be a huge risk, but for Florence and her Machine, it comes naturally.
