I can see my e-mail inbox filling up already. People writing to tell me that I’m insensitive and uncaring, unable to look at the good in the new movie “Riding in Cars with Boys.” But I can see the good.
After Saturday’s competition, the MSU jazz program hopes to improve its reputation in the state.Rodney Whitaker, an associate professor of music and the head of jazz studies, said Western Michigan University has the reputation of having the best jazz program in the state.“But that will soon change,” he said.
Shepard’s Follyself-titledSometimes in the bustling nonsense that is the music industry, it’s easy to overlook the wonderful talent right in our frontyard. Meet Shepard’s Folly, a local Celtic group which features former MSU Professor Phil Shepard, who retired in 1999 after teaching for 30 years. The album is chock full of inspiring and uptempo tunes which manage to stay confined to some extent. Too many times a group like this will find itself getting too busy with its sound, trying to package numerous instruments together to form a unique sound - Shepard’s Folly does it by simply letting each instrument shine. The quality of sound on the disc is perfectly mixed, allowing each instrument to shine and have its own 15 minutes of fame. The songs on the effort range from traditional Celtic to guitar ballads with male and female harmonization to tunes based solely on a mesmerizing violin slivering in between complex guitar chords.
Paddy Keenan loves his work as a musician not only because he gets to perform, but because he has the opportunity to travel around the world. “I prefer sometimes not having to play for money, but then when you set yourself up with a tour you have to finish it,” the uilleann pipes performer said.
Dogwood“Matt Aragon”(Tooth and Nail)Punk rock, if done right, can rock. Punk rock bands who aspire to sound only like MxPx and NOFX can get annoying. Dogwood falls in between, aspiring to some features of both of the above mentioned bands, but still managing to hold an occasional original effect. For instance, the albums opening track, “1983,” has some brief breakdowns in the middle and kicks around some obscure push-pull methods with its chords. As the album progresses, it gives way to a more pop-punk edge, featuring some decent soloing and something besides the quick NOFX-influenced drum line. The band knows how to introduce each song, using various techniques to give each song a strong chapter title, but fails to write an effective piece through each page.
The Juliana Theory“Music from Another Room”(Tooth and Nail)If The Juliana Theory is any indication where modern rock and roll is headed, then fans of the craft are in for a treat. Its latest release is a collection of songs that didn’t make it on to its powerful 2000 release “Emotion is Dead,” and various B-sides. For fans who have watched the band grow from its earlier recordings, it’s a nice addition to their collection. “Moments
Comic book nerds, you know who you are. Just like the classic “Star Wars” geeks and those people who come to college only to spend their weekends playing Dungeons & Dragons, leaving the girl-chasing to those without 20-sided dice, you have these obsessive little habits, like wearing your “Akira” T-shirt twice a week without washing it or posting your own page on the Net about which character made a better Green Lantern. But comic book nerds will probably be the only ones who really understand how the new movie “From Hell” misses the mark.
Sarah Stollak started Millenary as a way to express her creativity. The MSU Museum Folk Arts Department employee was attending MSU when she formed the band in 1996.
“For colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf” is innovative and captivating. The play, presented by the MSU Department of Theatre, ran Thursday through Sunday and continues this weekend. Don’t be scared away by the title, this play is not just “for colored girls who have considered suicide.” It’s for anybody that can appreciate creative writing and talented storytelling. The title is intimidating.
For most people, going to a bar on a Sunday afternoon isn’t high on the list of priorities.
A promising idea, two great actors and a military prison. With any luck, these things would make a truly great movie.
An actor has a lot to live up to when he’s following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson and Gary Sinise, but Ian Griffin worked well as the lead role in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” The Riverwalk production of the classic play opened this weekend at the Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Drive in Lansing and continues this Thursday through Sunday. It’s billed as an adult comedy, but despite some comic relief, this play is certainly a drama. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman is a play based on a novel by Ken Kesoy about Randle Patrick McMurphy (Griffin), a man who has been committed to a state mental hospital.
On May 23, Patricia Green performed an oratorio in the gardens of Haifa, Israel, for peace and justice.
Friday The Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse concert series presents Cucanandy, a Celtic band, at 8 p.m.
The film “Amores perros” starts off with an energetic blast of a car chase and crash and keeps that energy going throughout.
Before fall’s beauty gives way to a gray haze of cold rain and snow, get outside and take a hike. For nature-lovers, the trails may hold a certain allure. “I like hiking because it opens your awareness to the outdoors and your natural setting, it’s peaceful,” said child development senior Leah Mulder, an employee at Moosejaw Mountaineering, 555 E.
When the temperature begins to drop, the heavier clothes begin getting unpacked, the heater gets turned on and the leaves on the trees resemble the colors of a rainbow, something is coming - fall.For some, fall just links summer and winter, for others, it is a little more important.“I think fall is the best time of the year,” said criminal justice sophomore Andre Doser.The original green leaves turn to brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red.
Bob Blackman said when a Celtic group comes to the Lansing area, it usually attracts a large crowd - himself included. But he’s especially excited for Cucanandy, the North Carolina group of that genre performing tonight at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St., as part of the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffeehouse Concert Series. “I’ve been very impressed with its recordings and am anxious to hear them live,” he said.
When it comes to a set style of music, Claudia Schmidt has a problem limiting herself to one genre. “It depends on how I’m working,” she said.
About a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Michael Fredericks and Jon Novello, from the renowned Michigan funk band “Global Village,” wanted to do something to help the victims. “We were just talking over e-mail and were both really flustered,” Novello said.