The Wake

Democrats are still feeling the burn from the razor-thin margin by which Al Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election, and republicans would like us to forget the tenuous circumstances that brought us under the leadership of George W. Bush. So, in order to squeeze the most votes out of the lump in the political bell curve, the two major parties have made the current race into a fight for the elusive swing voter. In a mad scramble toward the moderate, democrats and republicans are leaving their ideological stalwarts out in the cold.
The democrats had …

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Students hold varying opinions on affirmative action, and their stances seem to be dictated by whether it has harmed or helped them. If some white students believe they unjustly lost out to students of color, they are obviously going to strongly disapprove of affirmative action. Such is the case with Mike, a white man and a junior at St. Thomas. Mike seems to clearly understand that the purpose of affirmative action is to “establish diversity in places where prejudice might otherwise prevent it,” but he questions if this is always the right route to take. He knows he didn’t receive …

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There’s a running joke that if you ask for two different Jews’ opinions, you’ll hear three. In other words, don’t come over for dinner unless you enjoy arguing. Especially about politics. It’s true in my family æ don’t come over to my parents’ house for a meal unless you would like to spend hours in a heated political debate. With the election coming up, it’s hard enough to escape such arguments on campus. But I promise, one evening in my family’s dining room and you’ll wish that you were having dinner with Michael Moore and …

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There is only one word that can fully describe Scissor Sisters’ self-titled album –- pastiche. Their postmodern reveling crosses the boundaries of time and within one album, the listener gets to experience at least three decades of musical influence. The Sisters, who hail from New York, take Elton John piano thumping and vocal projection (“Take Your Mama Out”) into a new era where the crazed combination of genres make celebrity. But that’s not to say Scissor Sisters don’t deserve the attention their danceable album has received. Their songs are well-crafted, beat-driven, hectic fun. Not only do they invoke Elton’s …

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Surf-y chimed out San-Fran sand pop. Any way you spell it, Rogue Wave’s debut album, “Out of the Shadow” is quintessential California. Floating on the kind of pot-induced planetary poetry that made Paul McCartney’s “Got to get you into my life” deliciously ambiguous, the album is a welcome venture into a world where people struggle to sound sad beneath the sun. Lead singer Zach Rogue writes like someone who just lost his job (he did), and is struggling to come to terms with the realities of growing up (he was). The album itself is fantastic. “Sewn Up” is a …

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The other day I sat outside Coffman, soaking up the remnants of summer sun, watching students pay more attention to those pink, corporate-leashed dogs left around campus by corporate marketing mavens (it’s no “Secret”), than to the people who care enough to register new voters. They hurried by them, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Instead, they chase pink envy, beg for freebie, thong-sized dreams and care only about self. We lock our doors and feel safe locked inside gates. We act afraid to look the next man in the eye. We connect only through battery power …

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It’s quite possible that listeners will be confused about how to feel after hearing Pedro the Lion’s latest effort, “Achilles Heel.” In many of the tracks, singer/songwriter David Bazan tells haunting stories in a matter-of-fact matter over upbeat and poppy guitar parts. Somehow, Bazan’s almost monotone voice and the soothing melodies of the guitars fit together adequately.Bazan tells morbid stories of a man who gets his legs cut off by a train (“Transcontinental”) and a drunk who wakes up in a hotel in a pile his/her own slop (“Keep Swinging”). The album contains some songs that reveal that …

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OK – so you’re perusing the music aisle at some wasteland like Best Buy, looking for a CD. Say you’re looking for the new Green Day album and you find the titles “Rock” or “Alternative” or even “Indie” hanging over your coveted music. How are you able to easily find new bands similar to your old favorites? How are you able to clearly chart music movements and ideas if everything is subsumed by “Rock,” “Alternative,” “Indie” and the über-vague “Alt-Indie” titles? They are gluttonous; they say nothing about the types of music out there or what you are looking for …

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[Editor’s note: We all know that the food at McDonald’s changes on an almost hourly basis. With each shift it seems comes a different selection of culinary skill levels. That said, we thought it’d be nice to have a food review to fit such consistently fluctuating quality levels. So – feel free to fill in the blanks tell the world just how your golden arches was today!]They come, inebriated and hungry, searching for cheap satisfaction. The yellow neon lights attract bar flies for miles around. What could be a better mid-party break than a double cheeseburger and twist …

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Jean Grae spits rhymes, kicks ass (literally) and hates infatuated groupies. In short, she’s cool as hell. A writer, rapper and risk-taker, she’s a picture of poetic prowess.
As independent as she is skilled on the mic, the emcee from Brooklyn, N.Y., has exploded on the underground hip-hop scene in the past few years. Born in South Africa to two jazz musicians, she’s already established herself as one of the best rappers in the game. Smart, socially concious and tremendously talented, the prodigious Grae made a name for herself writing the kind of rhymes that make Lil’ John …

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As you’re walking across campus take a look around you. Among the multi-million dollar buildings sustained by poor college students, you’re bound to find one or two lined along the sidewalks or clustered on the mall. And while many of you are thinking of those bushy-tailed rodents, I’m referring to something a bit more unnoticeable.Trees make up only a small part of the University of Minnesota campus and yet they add so much to the university atmosphere. Their beauty stands through the seasons and they have seen students come and go for decades. But some trees are meeting an early …

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University of Minnesota students are facing double-digit tuition and fee increases for the fourth consecutive year, and they’re paying 14 percent more than they did last year. The deficit, which is around $70 million, is mostly due to budget cuts, along with some increases in university expenses. The main expense is a 2.5 percent average increase in all university employee wages, which totals $25 million. Each employee’s increase varied based on which department or college they are employed by, along with how influential the department’s union is, says Chief Financial Office Treasurer Richard “Fitz” Pfutzenreuter. Some reductions in operating and …

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“I once fed an entire Krispy Kreme to a squirrel,” I recall a friend* from my freshman year telling me. “The little guy ran off a few feet then suddenly grabbed his left shoulder. I think he had a heart attack. It traumatized me for a few hours. Then I went to a frat party.”Such a snack could hardly be considered a healthy food choice for people, since the NutritionData Web site says that one Glazed Cruller doughnut contains 240 calories, 14 grams of fat and—for the carb counters out there—26 grams of carbohydrates. It’s …

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Some say that after you’ve lived in the Big Apple for five years you can be considered a true New Yorker. I’m not sure if that’s true because in all honesty, I’ve only had the opportunity to spend five days there. I do think it’s safe to say that those five days changed my whole outlook on life and society. I traveled to New York for a journalism convention — the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual national convention to be exact. I expected to leave with new passion for my developing career, with new insight into …

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When asked what it would take for the University of Minnesota volleyball team to get back to where they were last year, Erin Martin doesn’t hesitate to say, “I think we’re already past it.”
This may seem like a bold statement by the team’s senior outside hitter, who helped lead the team to their first Final Four appearance last fall, but she and her teammates have done everything to back it up so far. They’ve roared to an 11-1 start and captured the No. 1 ranking in the national poll. Of their 11 victories, four have come …

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