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Celebrities should stick to what they're good at
Sometimes celebrities spread themselves too thin — literally and figuratively. Take, for example, Jessica Simpson.
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Tuesdays best night for quality TV shows
The only time I ever turn on the TV with any form of excitement is on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. Tuesday has the best networks have to offer.
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Non-Christians feel left out during holidays
As a kid, I remember having to spit out a piece of bread I absentmindedly sampled at the grocery store.
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Disney's 'The Wild' unoriginal
By Justin Kroll For The State News Every so often, Hollywood will release two or three films with similar ideas or themes within a year's span.
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Dresden Dolls fail at different genre
The Dresden Dolls' new album is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich — predictable, yet digestible. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione make up the playtime duo still marching to the "cabaret-punk" beat with songs about gender changes, orgasms and alcohol.
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'Roman Holiday' shines with talent, plot
When young Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) escapes from her overwhelming schedule full of public interviews and meetings while on a royal tour in Rome, she unknowingly meets an American reporter named Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) as he tries to get the inside scoop on the princess who has gone AWOL.
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LL Cool J's love lyrics can't save new rap release
By Erik Adams For The State News As an avid viewer of the late VH1 show "Pop-Up Video," I know that LL Cool J is an acronym for "Ladies Love Cool James." As someone who has heard LL's new album "Todd Smith," I now feel that moniker may be truer in reverse. Over the course of "Todd Smith," LL finds himself making legit claims of female admiration while also begging for in-club hookups and forgiveness from ex-girlfriends.
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Folds shares stories, involves audience
Ben Folds chucked a stool at his piano twice, conducted the audience in a three-part harmony and invited Big Daddy Taxi cab driver Rick Shaw on stage to play harmonica. The mark of a great concert or any artistic output is a tension between two opposing emotions or ideologies.
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D12 rapper Proof killed in Detroit
Detroit — Proof, a member of rap group D12 and a close friend of Eminem, was shot to death early Tuesday at a nightclub along Eight Mile, the road made famous by the 2002 film that starred Eminem and in which Proof had a bit part. The death of Proof — whose real name is Deshaun Holton — was confirmed by Dennis Dennehy, the publicist for D12's label, Interscope Records, as well as by Detroit police spokesman James Tate. "Memorial service arrangements are still being made, and his friends and family would appreciate privacy during this difficult time," Dennehy said in a statement. MSU communication senior and rapper Joe Perye said the news gave him chills. "He would be the last person you would expect to get killed," said Perye, who knew Proof and many of the artists he worked with.
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Mastering the basics
Correction: The caption in the photo "When grilling meat" should say pork chops need to be cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Have you ever had to throw out clothing due to permanent stains or stop wearing a shirt because the buttons fell off?
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Five favorites
1 "An Unfinished Life" is a movie about a single mom named Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez) and her daughter running away from Gilkyson's abusive boyfriend.
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'Smoking' hot movie is a must see
"Thank You For Smoking" follows Big Tobacco's main spokesman while he "filters the truth" about cigarettes and struggles to remain a positive influence on his 12-year-old son. The film is a clever satire about how the truth is only a small fraction of what Americans are bombarded with every day.
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New DiFranco album 'razor sharp'
Ani DiFranco's 2002 solo performance at Carnegie Hall is something of another world. The political edge is razor sharp, and the kinship between performer and audience is cosmic. Released April 4, the new live album sounds like it's captured a moment in history. You hear the politically charged songstress pouring her heart out with intensely interwoven lyrics and incredible six-string finger picking, but it's difficult to take it all in. The concert, recorded just seven months after Sept.
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Fashion deserves as much respect as sports
Even if you are not a sports buff, the name Tiger Woods probably sounds familiar. He's a golfer — everyone knows that.
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'HMS Pinafore' operetta misses the boat for college students
College students might recognize a reference to Gilbert and Sullivan's 127-year-old operetta "HMS Pinafore" in "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons." But they wouldn't connect with the music or the outdated prim-and-proper aura of the show — "What, never?
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'Benchwarmers' relies on same old jokes, characters
By Justin Kroll For The State News It's very common in movies today that we see actors simply playing themselves rather than portraying characters on screen.
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Sword fighting club might be in MSU's future
Dueling with self-made and duct-taped swords, the Aegis Sword Academy's sword fighting demonstration Saturday afternoon wasn't exactly reminiscent of "Pirates of the Caribbean." But it was as close as one could get on the sunny lawn of IM Sports-Circle.
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Book explores musical stories
In his take on Rod Stewart's classic song, Lester Bangs spins a tale of an aging prostitute and a young man's tumultuous relationship.
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Only longtime fans will benefit from seeing new Dylan DVD
The newly released Bob Dylan DVD is "totally unauthorized" and only for hard-core fans. "Rolling Thunder and The Gospel Years" came out Tuesday and chronicles the folk/pop/country/rock 'n' roll legendary lyricist's career between 1975 and '81.
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The Flaming Lips produce so-so concept album
By Erik Adams For The State News Following the release of The Flaming Lips' 2002 album "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots," the band became seasoned travelers, spreading a gleeful in-concert gospel with the aid of confetti, rabbit costumes, fake blood and a giant balloon that enabled frontman Wayne Coyne to walk on the hands of devoted fans.