The Wake

Marlah is what happens when suburban kids lose their girlfriends and pick up guitars to fill the void in their broken and empty hearts. Marlah is a band living in a suburban Twin Cities vacuum, and These Curses is a very accurate depiction of suburban naiveté. Curses spans the same range thematically as singer Ben Holum’s vocals. By the 12th minute the album becomes un-listenable because by this time Holum has already exhausted his three-note repertoire. The same occurs thematically, where hearts, irreverence, and a vague call for revolution dominate. The least intriguing aspect of …

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The Minneapolis music scene doesn’t garner international attention (or national for that matter) on too many occasions. Prince, the Rhymesayers crew and some notable artists flying under the radar are basically the extent of the Cities’ musical notoriety. Now, however, we have Motion City Soundtrack – the powerpop quintet repping our hometown to the fullest.On September 18, the group released Even If It Kills Me, their 13-track third studio album. I am glad to say that we should be proud to have them call Minneapolis home. EIIKM is upbeat, synth-heavy and self-deprecating; everything a good pop …

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Something has been keeping me awake for days. Insomnia? Methamphetamines? No. It is The Go! Team’s new album, Proof of Youth. Like their past album, the newest release is chocked full of what I like to call “Go!-ness” Imagine a high school marching band combined with rapping, cheering, and breakneck electronica, and you have something close to The Go! Team’s style. Proof of Youth is like pure energy. Play it on a lazy afternoon, and by the second song you’ll be off the couch and running a marathon. I was in the …

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The best part of October 2nd’s Deerhoof concert at the Walker Art Center (held in the McGuire Theater) was the audience’s first reaction to Deerhoof’s opening song: laughter. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki came out bowing, bass in hand, while John Dieterich laid down screeching guitar brickwork for the band’s opening song. Drummer Greg Saunier propelled the song into one of its many stop and go sections, while Matsuzaki led into a chorus of “Beep Beep Beeps.” That was the punch line, and it was hilarious. Throughout the show Deerhoof turned their audience on its ear with guitar dissonance …

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Canadian indie-rock outfit Arcade Fire has only been around since ‘03, but their live show has become the stuff of legends. Their September 30th show with LCD Soundsystem at St. Paul’s Roy Wilkins Auditorium showed the Twin Cities what all the fuss is about. Dance-rock group LCD Soundsystem opened with a solid, energizing set. Their catchy sound, characterized by pulsing beats and repetitive lyrics, pulled the crowd in and got everyone moving. Songs like “Yeah” and “North American Scum” pumped up the volume and the excitement, and the disco ball added to the dance-club atmosphere. Frontman James Murphy revealed his …

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I firmly believe that MTV officially killed God when they green-lit their new “reality” TV program A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. For those unaware, allow me to synopsize this train wreck: 16 straight men and 16 lesbian women are all trying to find true love with bisexual model and fourth-tier celebrity, Tila Tequila. I wish that this show was one of a kind, but unfortunately it is just one of many of the terrible love-laden reality programs flooding the airwaves this fall. For example, I Love New York will be returning on VH1 this fall …

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Minneapolis is known for contributing a diverse selection of bands to popular music. Among the many folk and rock artists that constitute the area’s music scene exists a band defying the conventions of yet another genre. Progressive jazz trio The Bad Plus have instated themselves as one of the most forward thinking groups in experimental music. The Bad Plus push the boundaries of musical form by taking uninhibited jazz improvisation and wrapping it around traditional structure. What is created is music that is at one point as catchy as any pop song, but at another is pushing …

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Mankind has achieved great things with the use of science. Ed Cussler, a professor in the Chemical Engineering department at the University of Minnesota, has achieved great things too. He’s written several books, published over 200 articles, and holds a number of patents in his chosen field. He’s also filled a swimming pool with thickener and tested how it affects swimmers’ speeds. It’s this particular experiment that Cussler will be discussing during the latest edition of Café Scientifique.Cussler will hold a lecture next Tuesday, October 16, at 7 p.m. at the Bryant Lake Bowl. The event, entitled Experiments in Fluid …

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On Friday, September 28th, the new iPod Touch officially hit shelves. To give an accurate review, The Wake attempted to contact Apple’s PR department about testing the new iPod but they failed to respond to any emails or calls. So, like lowly reporter scum, I was forced to saunter into the Apple store at Rosedale and demo the iPod Touch guerilla style: popping in every few minutes to quickly test a feature, and then slinking out of the store unnoticed, avoiding any unnecessary forced conversation with the commission-fed sales associates.The Touch is an achievement in both its design and …

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Many people dismiss the concept of biofuel as the energy source of the future as a radical, impractical notion. If recent developments from the award-winning Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt don’t change their minds, then nothing will. As Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota, Lanny Schmidt has made incredible progress in the journey towards the future of renewable energy. In 2004, professor Schmidt discovered a way to produce hydrogen from ethanol, a revolutionary feat at the time. In the past year, he and his team have developed a process that converts soybean oil and sugar …

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It wasn’t even my idea to go to the Renaissance Festival this year. I’d been once before, about seven years ago, and although the turkey legs were good they didn’t seem to warrant an annual pilgrimage to Shakopee. Boyfriend felt differently, or at least said he did after he and my 16-year-old sister began plotting our journey to the western suburbs, complete with costumes. I knew that I would prefer to spend my one afternoon of the week with him doing something a little more relaxing, romantic, and non-medieval perhaps, but in the spirit of Queen Elizabeth …

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If you ever find yourself banging rocks together or drawing hieroglyphics on your apartment walls, then you may be perfect for the self-proclaimed, “loud, dysfunctional, and eccentric family” that is the Anthropology Club. The University of Minnesota has the oldest continuously running undergraduate anthropology club in the nation. Though the club is affiliated with the Anthropology Department, they are a close-knit group of about 40 members that like to have fun. “It’s a very welcoming group,” says co-president Sara Falteseck. “I was made to feel included on my second day here. I really found a home”Falteseck, …

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Rumbling tracks from the approaching train, roaring exhaust from the passing bus, warning screams from the police siren – all call Southeast Minneapolis home.The bells don’t ring out from Turtle Community School any longer. Home for-sale signs seem to be the latest lawn ornament. Discarded red plastic party cups blow through the allies.The Como neighborhood acts as the sponge for University of Minnesota students who want to live close to campus but not exactly on it. People who rent out-number the home-owning residents almost 2-to-1, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.It is roughly bordered by highway 280, I-35 W, Hennepin …

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Thai Rocky Spring on 13th and 5th has all the makings of a good “ethnic” restaurant; the exterior is broke-ass, it’s in an area that boasts diverse tastes in food, and its patrons appeared to be of the same general lineage as the menu’s offerings (which is usually a good barometer of authenticity).With that in mind, I wish I could say that the cuisine and dining experience match the façade.Thai restaurants can typically be judged by their curry and traditional iced tea (regular, spiced iced tea mixed with coconut milk). Unfortunately, Rocky Spring didn’t have the generally delicious beverage on …

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For a student who is currently a junior or senior here at the U, there are plenty of reasons to be ambivalent about the new football stadium, which is in its early stages of construction on the East Bank campus. The stadium is not scheduled to open until the 2009 season, and by then it is likely that I (and probably many of you) will be long gone. To move a few steps beyond ambivalence, many people – particularly those who don’t really care about football – are vehemently opposed to the idea of pumping $288.5 million into a stadium …

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