The Wake

Photo by Scott Tuska

A few hundred yards off the eastern shore and onto the frozen Medicine Lake lies a village of sorts. In a way, this village resembles the ice fishing communities that often dot the lakes during the winter. Instead of grime-covered trucks, quasi-public urination, and Coors Light cans, there are art car taxis, receptacles for empty beers, and one giant robot ride. Why hell, it is the fifth annual Art Shanty Projects!

This twist on a quintessentially Minnesotan past time presents a challenge for local artists …

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Between the years 2004 and 2007 the Drive-By Truckers maintained the same line-up for the first time in their nearly ten-year existence. While guitarists and vocalists Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley remain the core of the band based in Athens, Geor., drummers, bassists and others have come and gone and returned.

Brad Morgan has been a constant behind the drums since 2001, while bassist Shonna Tucker joined the group before 2004’s The Dirty South. Guitarist and singer Jason Isbell recorded three albums with the group, starting with 2003’s Decoration Day.

But in April 2006 Hood announced that Isbell would be leaving the …

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Despite touring perpetually throughout their musical career, Against Me! still managed to release a critically acclaimed punk album last year, one that was nominated for several album of the year awards. New Wave, the band’s sixth release in their decade long career, has inspired a slew of new tour dates across the country, including a show at the Target Center with The Foo Fighters on February 27th. The Wake’s own Deniz Rudin caught up with Warren Oakes, Against Me!’s drummer, for an interview:

Warren Oakes: Hello?

The Wake: Hey, I’m …

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Illustration by Ben Alpert

A blending of cultures was the theme at the Chinese New Year Celebration on January 26 in Coffman Union’s Great Hall, presented by the Chinese-American Student Association (CASA).

The event’s opening performance, a traditional lion dance, was followed by a tongue-in-cheek Justin Timberlake tribute by Jimmy Huang, who shared emcee duties with Catherine Wang. Pop and R&B ballads played during the intermission as guests dined on Chinese fare like rice, noodles, and stir-fry. Chinese-American university students performed “Canta Per Me,” an …

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Dalia - Treetops and Telephone Wires

From the first track on Treetops and Telephone Wires, Dalia’s acoustic sounds draw listeners in for a soft and powerful musical treat. Dalia is the indie solo project of Minneapolis artist Jeni Kozicky, who released Treetops and Telephone Wires in December. Each track features something unique. Although the majority of the songs are solo tracks, Dalia does not limit herself to being another solo-acoustic artist.

“Alley Distribution” features Sean Anon, adding a catchy rhythm and …

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Photo by Abbey Kleinert

Inside the old Riverside Café at the intersection of Cedar and Riverside Avenues is something old, but also new. The walls have transformed from lime green to a ruby red. The booths are now made of old coffee bags stuffed with foam and lined with a coat of plastic. There is even a bar with 28 beers on tap. This old café has transformed into the new Acadia Café.

The Acadia Café, which was previously located at 1921 Nicollet Ave. in the Stevens Square neighborhood, is …

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I would have a hell of a time trying to find Armenia on a map. Chances are it’s near Turkey, but the whole Eurasian area is a mystery to me. The important thing is that there is a restaurant repping the region right here in Dinkytown.

Arax Armenian Cuisine (a poorly-chosen name if I’d say so myself; it evokes images of a chemical scare) is the newest addition to the pantheon of ethnic eateries that call our campus home. Located in the Dinkydome, Arax is in good company, with Little Taj Mahal Indian food right next door.

Arax operates a lot like …

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Black Mountain - In The Future

Do you ever dream of traveling back in time and experiencing a different era? Pressing play on Black Mountain’s ironically titled sophomore album, In The Future, is comparable to strapping into the front seat of the DeLorean and being whisked away into the mind-blowing 1960’s.

The opening track “Stormy High” features powerful guitar riffs imitating those of legendary Black Sabbath. Hard rock fans will be pleased to be offered an alternative from the trend of …

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Illustration by Dustin Nelson

Each of us has incriminating photos from when we were toddlers. However, thanks to a psychological condition called “infantile amnesia,” we have the comfort of not remembering what embarrassing things we said or did. This condition, which isn’t true amnesia, is the explanation scientists give for not retaining childhood memories. It also explains why humans can’t retain memories from before they were born.

Infantile amnesia differs from regular amnesia, in which a person cannot remember anything that happened to them during a …

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Photo by Angie Myhre

When asked to comment on the possibility of the presence of clone derived products in packaged foods, the manager of Harvard Market, a Stadium Village area convenience store declined, explaining, “I just don’t see that happening within the next ten years.”

A casual skim through the contents of several biotechnology companies’ websites (Trans Ova Genetics, ViaGen and Cyagra, just to name a few) tells a different story. “Trans Ova Genetics has offered cloning technology for both pharmaceutical and agricultural purposes for …

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MC5 - Kick Out The Jams

With blood, adrenaline and testosterone spewing from its every orifice, MC5’s Kick Out the Jams is quite possibly the most appropriately titled album in the history of appropriate album titles. The band’s call to “Kick out the jams, Mother Fuckers,” jumps past the cliché “take no prisoners” to floor you with 40 minutes of unremitting rock.

Kick Out The Jams was recorded at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom in late 1968. The album was recorded before a …

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We’re into February now, and spring is on the horizon. Soon, the snow will begin to melt and it will be time to pull the baseball mitts and footballs out of the closet for some recreational outdoor sporting action. Unfortunately, with the constant building and construction that has consumed this gigantic campus, it can be difficult to find a nice grassy field to set up shop and toss a ball around with your friends. However, during my three-and-a-half years at this school, I’ve managed to stake out some pretty good spots. Here, for your consideration, are my top four favorites …

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While reading Dan Savage one afternoon, I stumbled upon the website of a certain high-profile porn blogger and was taken in by her rhetoric. She seemed down-to-earth about pornography, admitting that most of it sucks, but holding that it serves a purpose and should not be looked down on. Interested, I took a look at her recommendations section, and though most of what she recommended seemed fairly standard, one film caught my eye: The Fashionistas. She calls it “the best porn film I’ve ever seen, the film that made me sit up and realize that there really were porn filmmakers …

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Illustration by Anders Carlson

Homer Simpson once said, “There’s as right way to do things, a wrong way, and the Max Power way.” The Max Power way entails the wrong way, but faster and we are sitting in the middle of the quintessential Max Power election. The media is saying nothing repeatedly over an 8-hour news cycle. While this is partly due to a fascination with new technology, it is largely confusion about off-the-wall election year rhetoric. Huckabee would destroy the country with values …

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Sometime last week I went and practiced with the Imperial College Medical Basketball team. Imperial’s actual team had already held tryouts, but the medical team was willing to give me a shot. The team was comprised primarily of Asians, Indians, a Swede named Ole, polish kid named Demitri, a British kid named Alvin, and a Portuguese coach. They all had British accents, except for the coach, and they all played the most unorthodox style of ball I’ve ever seen in my life. No fundamentals, but they could all score in some way or another. The gym was old and cluttered …

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