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 the past …

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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 with …

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I’m a little behind in my blog posting, as it’s been a whirlwind second week here in London. I’ll start with last Saturday. I went to a small basement club in the Tottenham area of Central London. I was initially denied at the door with the explanation of, “No football or rubgy shirts allowed.” I attempted a response but the pony tailed ogre was in no mood. He took a brisk step forward, placed his nose an inch from mine, and repeated, “NO FOOTBALL OR RUBGY SHIRTS ALLOWED,” this time with the full force of his baritone behind it. Unfortunately, …

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The Lionheart Brothers, straight outta Trondheim Norway, made their way to the Oxford Circus in London on Monday night to play The Social. I had originally intended to take the tube down to Ealing Broadway to watch a match and enjoy some discount pints. I stood at the station, with my Ipod on for some 15 minutes, nose in a book, before I realized there was no longer anyone else waiting. Apparently the message delivered earlier by the station attendant, whose accent was too thick for comprehension, had made clear the breakdown of the Bakerloo Line. Fortunately, I wasn’t entirely …

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Conor Oberst made his return to the 400 Bar in Minneapolis on Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of December. Oberst has a history of playing the 400; he was 18 for his debut on the 400 Bar’s stage. “It was the first place to ever pay me to play outside of Omaha.” He explained. Bill Sullivan, brother of owner Tom Sullivan, now manages Bright Eyes.

He played a set of entirely original material before returning for an encore. The encore consisted of Bright Eyes, “covers,” as Conor called them. “Southern State” and “A Man Named Truth” were two among …

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