In keeping with a new found tradition of sending piercing shells through the campus via this lovely lil' thing called Newspeak, I guess I'll bring up a name which everyone else has: Gadsen Flag. Unless your bed is under a rock you should have heard about his antics by now. Well that's great! Honestly, I think its great. I mean I think he's talking out his lower posterior porthole some of the time (maybe a lot of the time) but hey, at least he's talking. I'll leave the commentary to the lovely ladies of Philler and the editorial pages. The one thing I will say is maybe if more people voiced their ideas we would have a better campus... or at least more amusing things to read.
Anyways. This week's article will be somewhat short but nonetheless informative. First of all, a little note about the airwaves around Worcester. Yours truly will be joining the WPI minions in broadcasting on WPIR across channel 38. Air times are Mondays and Fridays from 1pm to 2pm. And, if that's not good enough or if you live off-campus like I do; tune into 90.5 WICN from 11pm to 2am every other Monday night starting February 20th. Yes, that's right, the FCC and some very unsuspecting radio station people will actually be letting me broadcast across the airwaves. Look out. What will I play, you ask? Good question. I have a two-part theme that hopefully I will stick to. I intend to play 1: songs by bands you hopefully haven't heard of before and 2: songs by bands you might have heard of but never heard more than one single. No overplayed radio hits. No Pearl Jam. No Metallica. Sorry, I like both groups but they are just way overexposed.
And the part you SHOULD have been waiting for: an album review! Yes, only one this week because that's all I could afford to buy. (Can anyone say I need a budget from Newspeak?)
Bettie Serveert - Lamprey - In case you haven't heard of them Bettie Serveert is a relatively new band from the Netherlands that is making quite a name for themselves here. They've already been on MTV and hosted 120 minutes...but I won't hold that against them. Their sound is a rather unique one. Part Gin Blossoms melodies, part Sarah McLachlan songwriting and singing, part Sugar angst and energy, but all wonderful. Somehow this is one band that manages to stay on that line between fast and slow without losing your interest. Some songs are quicker than others, but all have a certain feel about them that drives even the slower tracks on the album. This in itself is an accomplishment, but Lamprey holds even more surprises in store. The songwriting has depth and emotion in not only the melancholy lyrics but also in the arranging of the music itself. Songs range from their pop single "Ray Ray Rain" with its happy sounding melodies and darker more subliminal lyrics to faster paced ones like "Re-feel-it" to the stronger and compelling yet quite subdued "Silent Spring." All in all one of those most amazing things about Bettie is their way of tugging on you slowly with happy melodies and bitter lyricism until you find yourself captured in their dark radiant sunshine. Carol van Dijk's voice is compelling and strong yet without overpowering the mood of a song. Yes, I know what you're thinking "oh great another female fronted alternative band" but I can honestly say that Bettie Seveert is NOT just another stereotype. Their music is powerful and yet soothing in a time which favors harsh grating sounds of other groups. If you are looking for an alternative to all this so called "alternative" music then check out Bettie Seveert's latest release.
Well enough of pretty poetic music reviews... this week I'd like to ride the Newspeak sensationalism wave while its still there and (if you even care) give out my name. Well, not really. My email address (oh come we're ALL geeks at this school just give up and admit it dammit) is tintern@wpi (duh....like it'd be tintern@rpi). What I'd like all of you to do is email me with information and flood my inbox. Yes, I'm inviting you to clutter my inbox with your opinions, ideas, comments, statements etc. Of course there is one condition. Being involved with several major WPI factions like SocComm and SGA and such I kind of represent all of you in various areas. In order to better do this I'd like to hear what you have to say on these (critical?) WPI issues:
1: SGA... blast away and tell me what you want from us.
2: SocComm again.. same here.
3: Music...(duh that's what I try to write about sometimes)
Specifically tell me your views on SGA and what we should be doing. I know I'm probably flogging a dead horse but go ahead and speak up. Relieve some of that C term stress and let me know how we can better life and anything else at WPI. For SocComm I would specifically like to know what kind of events would interest you. Would you like to see a big hobby horse on the Quad, or what? Is Quadfest worth doing or should we just shuttle everyone over to Clark University's Spree Day? And for music... This gets personal. As a member of the Pub Committee I've noticed attendance at shows during the past three has gone way down. Why? Are we not bringing the types of shows you like? If so what kind of shows WOULD you like to see/hear? Keep in mind that we can't get Van Halen or NIN or even Mazzy Star (though I would personally give a testicle to bring them here). What kinds of music would like or what is wrong with the kind of music that is brought here? What kind of music IS brought here? Should we even bother? And if you'd like to say something non-related to any of this, feel free. I'm wide open to new ideas and I'm NOT afraid of writing under my real name....or email anyway.
ps. watch this spot next week for BIG ...I mean REALLY ***BIG*** WPI music related news. Go Figure it out for Yourselves.
-tintern.