The Wake

Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

In my pursuit of the new Xiu Xiu album, I stumbled upon another gem released in the same week.
Vampire Weekend’s official full-length debut has taken the spotlight in a big way over the past two weeks. Their eponymous album represents a textbook example of Internet hype controlling a band’s fortunes.

Vampire Weekend mixes …

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Dear Uncle Ethan,So there’s this girl who’s got everything going for her: she’s gorgeous, smart, funny, and we’re totally on the same wavelength intellectually.There’s only one problem: she’s dating my roommate. But when she talks to me, I get a strong vibe that she’s craving something more. How can I steal this girl without my roommate killing me in my sleep? JessieDear Jessie,First off, roommates come and go, but true love is forever. So you …

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I’m in an auditorium and 25% of the students are sleeping, 25% are sudokuing The Minnesota Daily and roughly half the room appears to be either paying attention or staring blankly into space. 10% of students look like they’re taking notes. Personally, I’m on my laptop, writing this introductory paragraph and wishing I were somewhere far, far away. What happened to that college education I was promised in high school?This particular class is Intro …

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Irony is tricky. Often cited but rarely understood, it is a modern day conversation-killer that has the power to make you sound both stupid and pretentious. The difficulty starts with the many definitions of the word. Beginning with Socrates who “knew nothing,” continuing through Shakespeare with Roman (dramatic) irony, and finally into the all-encompassing cosmic irony, the word has proven its resiliency until now. Plagued my constant misuse and misappropriation, we might be witnessing the …

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In the 1960s, student demonstrations for free speech erupted at the University of California at Berkeley, attracting national attention and cementing the movement’s reputation as a landmark in the history of civil disobedience and student protest. Since then, American universities like Berkeley have been seen as hotbeds of activism, “marketplaces of ideas” where multiple voices can be heard. But Indoctrinate U, an independent documentary that played last month at Oak St. Cinema as part of …

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The Hip Hop Live show, in First Avenue’s Main room on the 11th, showcased three MCs; Brother Ali, Ghostface Killah, and Rakim. Though from drastically different backgrounds, the three artists share a bond through a common, continuing the fight for the survival of Hip Hop as vital music and a respected art form. It’s an uphill battle these days. Hip Hop over the last 8 years has slowly eroded into lack luster MCs with …

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Coming from a middle-class suburb, walking around campus and seeing thick-rimmed glasses, scarves, vintage sweaters and leggings typically emblematic of pretentious indie rock kids makes me nostalgic for the Insane Clown Posse and Slipknot T-shirts clouding my high school memories.Throwing on Victory Records’ The Autumn Offering’s new CD is like taking a step back to simpler times – like 9th grade. Fear Will Cast No Shadow, the Florida metalcore band’s third studio album, wait for …

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To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie - The Patron

I recently created a sandwich. I call it the Spumonty Cristo because it is derived from a sandwich recipe called the Monte Cristo, served at Grandma’s restaurant on Washington. Music by The Patron has the same air of nonsensical compatibility as my …

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The Pantages was packed with people of all ages excited to see the band Stars perform. The band threw roses and praises from the stage. The lobby was bustling and the merch table was flooded. “Last time we played in Minneapolis, about 45 people showed up,” Torquil Campbell told the crowd, which promptly erupted into cheers and applause.Stars is touring for their new album, In Our Bedroom After the War. Opening with “Take Me to …

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It’s hard to tell whether the harshest critics of Wes Anderson (director of such films as Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Royal Tenenbaums) lack imagination, or whether they flat-out don’t get it. Either way, his work can be easily characterized as “not for everyone.”These critics need to offer legitimate rationale for this negative point of view. Instead, they use buzzwords like “pretentious” and “affected,” and calling Anderson a one-trick pony who relies …

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In this day and age, it’s no wonder that a fictional animated metal band can blow away an audience. That’s exactly what Dethklok, the band featured in the show “Metalocalypse” on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, did on Wednesday Nov. 7 in the Great Hall at Coffman Union. Despite being billed as the opening act for …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Dethklok not only stole the main time slot but proved …

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A well-worked delay pedal and dueling electric guitars immediately come to mind with the mentioning of rock-electronica quintet, Minus the Bear. At the mention of seeing them live, the next thought is probably: “Can they nail every song with that same tightness and accuracy?”The Seattle-based band made their Minneapolis appearance last Friday as an array of different social groups filed in to the main room at First Avenue. Standing between a group of wasted frat …

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As any pretentious, well-rounded individual does, I feel like I have the ability to enjoy a good play without being distracted by the fact that no screen exists between the set and me. The Deception makes this feat simple for even the most unpretentious, square individuals that happen to stumble into the Jeune Lune Theatre.The Deception is an interpretation of an 18th century play written by Pierre Marivaux. The originally titled La Fausse …

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Band of Horses - Cease to Begin

Band of Horses exploded onto innumerable rock radars last March with the release of their first album, Everything All The Time. It was an album too beautiful for words. Cease to Begin, released on October 9th, builds on the success of their drifting southern sound, and takes …

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It’s easy to write off massive multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft as someone else’s nerdy pursuit. But more and more, news about Second Life, a virtual online universe roughly modeled after our own, is making it into mainstream headlines and popular culture. Whether it’s Dennis Kucinich extending his presidential campaign into the online world or the discovery of a virtual pedophile playground, Second Life spawns a unique stream of news that often brings …

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