By virtue of being an over-enthusiastic fanboy, I got in line with my friends a full hour before the doors opened to Emerson Suites for the April 12th Streetlight Manifesto concert. My overzealous nature was rewarded when we were able to grab spots front and center, hanging onto the guardrail between the stage and the standing room.
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Stokes plays music on the street for money, or “busks,” ten hours a week. The only permanent audience she has on the Ithaca Commons on any given day is nine trees that grow between concrete slabs, providing a shifting shade and a slight rustle backing each note that springs from her guitar. -
That’s not to downplay the excitement and bop-til-you-drop feel of hits like “Beta Love” and “Dance With Me.” But the tried-and-tested formula in those tracks can come off as too tried — see “Angel Please,” a key-changing little ditty which slows down in the middle and never fully bounces back from the lapse in tempo, even when it seems to try. But
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“You asked me to stay, but there’s a million reasons to leave.” So sings Julian Casablancas on “One Way Trigger,” the first single off of…
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I never actually planned on joining the circus.
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From begging our mothers to let us get our ears pierced in elementary school to the rite of passage that is the 18th birthday tattoo, body modification is engrained in many human cultures, including American society. Body modification has lasted the tests of time and developed independently in societies around the world, and while some look down on it for its bad connotations, many others embrace it as a means of expression, community and spirituality.
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The french fork. The hulihee. The carnie. The duck tail. The anchor. These are not cleverly named sandwiches at the local indie deli; they are a few of the many titles for modern facial hair styles. Yes, facial hair — beards and mustaches and sideburns. Not only has the list of facial hair styles vastly expanded, but actual facial hair competitions have recently become a growing trend.
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When a red carpet interviewer approached The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney at the Grammys this year, Carney was asked whether he believed tween heartthrob pop sensation Justin Bieber deserved an award that evening. Carney replied, “He’s rich, right? The Grammys are…for music and not for money. And he’s making a lot of money. He should be happy, I guess.” The Biebz retorted via twitter, and so the gauntlet was thrown.
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When most people think of competitive eating, thoughts of “all-American” pie and hotdog eating contests come to mind, with rows of sweaty competitors stuffing their faces with as much food as they can fit in their mouths. While such contests are not uniquely American, they did begin gaining popularity in the United States after Nathan’s Famous held its first hotdog eating competition on Coney Island 96 in 1916.
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Twenty years ago, when The Real World first aired on MTV, it would have been hard to guess exactly how much influence reality television would have on American audiences. Reality television gives viewers a window into worlds that they would never be exposed to, along with people to root for, and people to hate, while knowing that these characters are “real.” They are not characters that audiences fall in love with, only to find out what a jerk the actor is in real life. They can see the people we are meant to love and hate, and have the satisfaction of knowing that we are judging them as people and not simply as characters.