April 23, 2012 at 2:22 PM

Penn State in the running for advance screening

Though Marvel Studios blockbuster “The Avengers” isn’t set to hit theaters until May 4, but Penn State students have the opportunity to clinch an advance screening.

Penn State has been selected as one of the eligible universities for the contest, along with other Big Ten rivals including Ohio State, Northwestern and others.

No date for the advance screening has been set, according to the Facebook page.

In “The Avengers,” Marvel superheroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury unite to combat a sinister common enemy that threatens world security, according to the film’s official synopsis.

To vote, head here: http://www.facebook.com/avengers/app_398173363540435

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April 4, 2012 at 6:01 PM

School of Seven Bells rocks Chronic Town

Under a thin cloud of hookah bubbles and cigarette smoke, electronic shoegaze duo School of Seven Bells stunned Thursday night during a nearly hour-and-a-half set at Chronic Town, 224 W. College Ave.

Vocalist Alejandra Deheza, as well as guitarist and producer Benjamin Curtis, and an accompanying band surprisingly kicked off their spring tour promoting 2012’s “Ghostory” in State College of all places. The band’s touring in major metropolitan areas, after all, but it spared no talent.

School of Seven Bells induced something I had never seen before — crowd-surfing in a hookah lounge, proving Chronic Town to be a severely underrated Centre County venue.

Deheza and former Secret Machines member Curtis were also almost impenetrably beautiful to the point where I wanted to reach out and touch to see if they are real. The funny thing is, I probably could have done so.

The small crowd warmed up to School of Seven Bells during the evening, inching toward the cornered stage after spacey introductions, including “Alpinisms” primer “iamundernodisguise” and massive hit “Windstorm.”

Fans were also treated to the newest “Ghostory” single “Lafaye,” a memorable highlight of the evening on one of the new album’s strongest tracks, along with the hard-rocking “White Wind.”

School of Seven Bells proceeded to then destroy on a double encore of the heart-wrenchingly-dynamic “Half Asleep” and “Sempiternal” from “Alpinisms,” causing those around me to remark that their “minds had been blown.”

The band didn’t miss Deheza’s sister, Claudia, who left the group with “Ghostory,” as it replicated its ambient wall of sound production value well in a live setting.

Opening indie dream pop act Think Twice, Dublin, comprised of Penn State students, also churned out a chill, solid set, dense in texture and with smooth vocals from a 2011 EP.

The performance was co-hosted by student group Students Organizing the Multiple Arts and State College-based booking company, Roustabout!

School of Seven Bells will perform at 9 p.m. tonight at Philadelphia’s Johnny Brenda’s.

For a new remix of “Lafaye” by witch house duo Creep, click here: http://stereogum.com/992631/school-of-seven-bells-lafaye-creep-remix/mp3s

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March 28, 2012 at 7:48 PM

Silversun Pickups' new single is "a delightfully, mellow surprise"

For Silversun Pickups, moving forward isn’t enough: they have to veer off to the sides and experiment along the way.

As it turns out, this can be a good thing.

With the release of “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings),” the lead single from its upcoming third studio album “Neck of the Woods,” out May 8, the band downplays its use of ‘90s buzzsaw guitar tones and instead leans more toward the atmospheric dream pop side of its musical palette. Driven by midtempo ethereal keyboards and billowing drums, “Bloody Mary” is a delightfully mellow surprise.

Granted, it’s no “Well Thought Out Twinkles” or “Panic Switch,” but unfair comparisons to their louder tracks aside, the melody is perfectly complemented by frontman Brian Aubert’s breathy vocals and arcane lyrics.

At first, the song almost certainly alludes to the mirror-inhabiting ghost of modern folklore (“say her name three times, activate our nerve endings”), but upon closer listens, the possibility arises that this might be an ode to the equally infamous complex cocktail.

A crass notion? Perhaps, but then again, it wouldn’t be entirely farfetched for a band named after a liquor store.

To listen to “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings),” click on the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIO43xfij3s

Grade: B+

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March 26, 2012 at 1:16 PM

Bryce Jordan Center hosts freestyle competition for an opportunity to meet Mac Miller

Today is your last chance to impress Mac.

As part of the Macadelic Freestyle Competition, the Bryce Jordan Center is giving Mac Miller fans the opportunity to snag two free tickets to his performance at 8 p.m. on April 3, as well as attend a meet-and-greet with the Pittsburgh rapper.

Fans can send their 30- to 45-second renditions of their favorite Mac Miller songs to [email protected] with their name, phone number and email address. The top five will be determined and sent to Miller, who will pick the winner.

The deadline for submissions is tonight at 11:59:59 p.m. EST. The contest’s official rules are listed below.

Official Rules

1. The video must include participant’s 30-45 second rendition of one of Mac Miller’s songs. Participants may only submit one video.

2. Videos over 45 seconds will be immediately disqualified.

3. The last date for video submission is Monday, March 26, 2012 at 11:59:59 p.m. EST.

4. All submissions must be in one of the following formats: .MPEG4, .MOV, .AVI, or .WMV.

5. Video submissions must not display any nudity, profanity or offensive content. Any submission found to violate this policy will be immediately disqualified.

6. By submitting material you are granting the Bryce Jordan Center the right to utilize video content to promote Mac Miller.

Here’s a link to the Macadelic Freestyle Competition’s Facebook event page for more information: http://www.facebook.com/events/392402527437702/

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March 14, 2012 at 12:54 PM

Tap-dancing student receives scholarship on "Ellen"

Nearly every weekend since he started college, Josh Johnson has made the five-hour trek from “Penn State to Penn Station” in New York City.

To pay for school-related costs like tuition, Johnson, a sophomore majoring in marketing and communications, has tap danced in subway train cars and in the streets of New York, but his work has finally paid off.

Following an interview and tap performance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” today, the student received a $35,000 scholarship from Chegg, an online textbook rental company, as well as a new pair of dancing shoes from DeGeneres.

For more on his story and to see his interview on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” click here: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/videos/index.php?mediaKey=0_img3ggib

Check back at the Daily Collegian for more on Johnson.

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February 27, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Norwegian rocker embodies the angsty female spirit

Females can finally rejoice as there exists an an artist who finally embodies the tool we wish we can all be.

Norwegian rocker Ida Maria turns the tables of society as she sings about girls who are obnoxious, but powerful cocky females showing guys that we don’t cry, we get even and soon enough the men will be the ones crying.

What really sets her apart is her strong personality. Whereas some artists like Beyoncé or Rihanna sing about the hurt in relationships, Ida Maria sings about the hurt she puts on others for tearing her spirit apart.

In her song “Bad Karma,” the Norwegian vocalist sings about how karma is going to come back to get a bad lover when in actuality, she’s the karma. What’s really ballsy about this component of her personality is that she isn’t the type of spoof that thinks everything happens for reason. Ida Maria’s someone who grabs life by the balls and says “if no one else is going to do it, I will.” Which is true because even though people always think “he’ll make the first move” or “it was meant to be,” they’re wrong. People need to understand they can control their fate by taking the initiative to come out on top and Ida Marie represents this.

In her song “10,000 Lovers” Ida Maria shows girls aren’t as stupid as guys think as she sings about straight up players who think they’re going to get away with their sheisty antics. Though the male population tells each girl they get involved with that she’s their everything, they might be genuine, however this has already been told to a bunch of other girls who feel the same sense of “passion” that you do.

She sings “home sweet home ain’t sweet anymore/I’m tired of sleeping on the bathroom floor,” which says “hey you treat me like the dirt on the floor.” Then the vocalist sings of how, her lover has most likely slept with anyone from the girl serving her pizza to the girl standing behind her in some line. Typical men, they go order a slice of cheese and come out with the whole pizza pie.

Ida Maria deserves so much credit in America’s industry because she’s the perfect combination of Courtney Love’s ballsiness and anti-conformity, minus the murder and cocaine, with Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s powerful vocals and edginess.

Listen to: “Bad Karma,” “10,000 Lovers” and “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked”

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February 26, 2012 at 4:54 PM

Predictions for tonight's Oscar nominees

One of the best parts of the Academy Awards every year is predicting who will win. The mini-competitions that you have with your friends are always a fun addition to an already lively event. Here I present my personal predictions of the winners.

For each category, I included who I believe will win as well as a possible spoiler who could surprise everyone and take the award. I offer explanations of my choices for the more popular and exciting categories. The rest are included at the bottom from pure knowledge.

Enjoy and good luck with your predictions.

Note: This is a list of my predictions to win the awards, NOT who I feel deserves it.

 

Best Picture: As always, you can cut out at least half of the nominees that have no chance of winning at all but still deserve the recognition. I’m having a hard time seeing anything other than “The Artist” taking this. A successful black and white silent film is almost cheating in a ceremony like this. The fact that the movie has been cleaning up to this point doesn’t hurt it either. If anything had a chance of edging it out though, it would be “The Descendants” or “Hugo,” but don’t count on it.

Prediction: “The Artist”

Possible Spoiler: “Hugo”

 

Actor in a Leading Role: This will be a race between Jean Dujardin for “The Artist” and George Clooney for “The Merryl to be there again next year so making her wait another year to receive another Oscar doesn’t sound that bad at all.

Prediction: Viola Davis

Spoiler: Meryl Streep

 

Actress in a Supporting Role: There isn’t really any question over who will win this. Not only was Octavia Spencer spectacular, but she doesn’t have much competition. While all of the other nominees functioned well in their roles, none of them owned it like Spencer did. I can’t possibly see anyone even coming close to taking the award from her.

Prediction: Octavio Spencer

Spoiler: Octavio Spencer will not lose

 

Director: This is one of the tougher ones to choose as Woody Allen, Michel Hazanavicius, and Martin Scorsese all produced masterpieces. Allen came back to the film scene with a powerful comedy in “Midnight in Paris” and Scorsese continues to show that he can do no wrong with the family-friendly “Hugo.” In the end though, I think first time nominee Hazanavicius’s work will edge them out. “The Artist” was simply too good, and the fact that a silent black and white film can find success in today’s film world is incredible.

Prediction: Michel Hazanavicius

Spoiler: Martin Scorsese

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February 26, 2012 at 4:50 PM

Have You Heard: "Good Girl" by Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is notorious for bashing guys in her singles (see some of her country hits, “Before He Cheats” and “Cowboy Casanova”).

Now, her latest single, “Good Girl,” is no exception to her list of number-one boy-bashing songs. Underwood speaks straight to the good girl herself, telling her to stay away from the “no good” boy that she’s involved with.

With lines like “his lips are dripping honey but he’ll sting you like a bee” and “but he’s really good at lying, yeah he’ll leave you in the dust/ ‘cause when he says forever, well, it don’t mean much,” it’s obvious that the boy had been treating the girl wrong.

Maybe this good girl will team up with Underwood to take a “Louisville slugger to both headlights.”

It makes me wonder if Underwood is speaking to herself from a past relationship, or if she’s just speaking out to all the “good girls” out there.

Which man in Underwood’s life could she be speaking to? She’s certainly not belting out the harsh lyrics to current husband, hockey player Mike Fisher — especially after she told her mom how great he was in her single, “Mama’s Song.”

The first line of the chorus, after all, describes just how great her husband has treated her, “He’s good, so good. He treats your little girl like a real man should.”

Many girls, like Underwood’s past bad-ass-female songs, may find this song playing on repeat after a bad breakup or during a fight with their significant other.

Or they may just be playing it in favor of the rock-edge that Underwood brings to the table while still keeping a taste of her southern twang on the track. She proves in her latest single that, while she’s dipping her toes in the other musical genres, she’s not leaving the country scene anytime soon.

The track, like all of her other songs, also shows off her singing ability, showing that American Idol picked a true winner on their fourth season back in 2005.

The song, “Good Girl,” is the first single to come out of her new album, dropping May 1. And if this is a sense of what is going to be on it, I’m on board for purchasing a copy.

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February 21, 2012 at 6:22 PM

'Smash' Episode 3: What's up with Ellis?

There was a lot going on in this episode including new people and new drama. Episode 3 of “Smash” opens with Ivy Lynn and Derek, whom Ivy’s friend nicknamed “evil director who is a total fox,” doing their thing, and as Ivy’s walking with her friend, she begins to worry that she got the part because she slept with Derek.

Oh, now you think of that? Hmm.

Derek and Karen meet for a drink to talk about what happened with the casting where he offers her a role in the ensemble and an opportunity to be part of a workshop for the show. Dev crashes their meeting and has a verbal fight with Derek. Their conversation may have seemed a little unnecessary, but it showed a more snobby side of Derek.

The head honchos of the “Marilyn” musical start casting the leading men who were in Marilyn’s life: Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller and President John F. Kennedy. A man named Michael Swift is a top contender for DiMaggio, who we see do a rock-type performance of Bruno Mars’ “Grenade” for an audience.

Tom and Julia are discussing the characters and Julia tenses when Tom mentions that Michael Swift is in line for the role of DiMaggio. She suggests cutting DiMaggio out of the picture entirely.

Eileen, played by Anjelica Huston, is still having issues with her soon-to-be ex-husband, and is struggling with convincing everyone that she can produce the Marilyn musical without her husband. Meanwhile, Karen goes home to Iowa for the weekend for her friend’s baby shower and we see a slightly more supportive side of her parents, who in the first episode weren’t so enthusiastic about their daughter’s choice of work, besides waitressing.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned Ellis yet because he hasn’t done much more than creep around while Julia and Tom are working. Ellis is Tom’s assistant who makes appointments, picks up the dry cleaning, etc. However, he also has an unusually big interest in the Marilyn project.

He sent his mother a video of Ivy Lynn singing a song in the first episode, which his mother put on a YouTube-type site, and Julia and Tom were less than pleased. Now, Ellis also thinks he should be paid because he “came up with the idea” for the music, but all he did was say Marilyn would be a good subject for a musical.

Please. He’s also straight, which is not what Tom thinks. Ellis pretends he’s gay and Tom believes him. It’s weird. He wanted to dissolve tension between him and Julia, so he took Julia’s notebook with all of the lyrics and musical ideas she and Tom have come up with thus far.

Ellis later gives the notebook back, saying he “found” it lying around Tom’s apartment. How moral.

Tom finds out that Ivy and Derek are sleeping together, flips the lid and calls it completely unethical. Ellis and Julia have a spat and Ellis threatens, “be careful about what you say next.”

Also, we learn that Julia had an affair with Michael Swift, which is why she doesn’t want him to be a part of the show. She tells this to Tom, who is the first person she’s ever told and the only person ever to know. But who is in the other room eavesdropping?

None other than creepy, sweater vest-wearing, notebook-stealing Ellis.

This episode needed more songs. There was “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” sung by Marilyn and DiMaggio, which was slow and romantic. But besides that, “Grenade,” and Karen’s karaoke version of “Redneck Woman” at the baby shower, there weren’t many songs creating an empty gap in the episode.

And Ellis. Oh, Ellis. I get a bad feeling every time he comes on screen. We’ll see if next week anything comes of the Ivy-Derek relationship and where Karen stands in it.

Will she get offered a role in another show? Will she replace Ivy? Only time will tell!

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