THE
FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 2007
MAROON
PAGE 5
New Stefani CD is ‘bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s’ By CAROLYN SIERICHS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
I have to start off by saying Gwen Stefani’s new CD, “The Sweet Escape,” isn’t such a sweet escape. “Hollaback Girl” — good. “Wind It Up” — bad. Somewhere in the past two years between Gwen’s two albums, she completely lost it. Don’t buy “The Sweet Escape” expecting “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” They are nothing alike. Most of the songs on Gwen’s first solo album — “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” — were catchy and tolerable to listen to. Not so much with the new one.
Some of the songs on “The Sweet Escape” I could endure listening to, but not many. The tracks “The Sweet Escape,” “Early Winter” and “4 In the Morning” are the only songs Gwen gets right. “The Sweet Escape,” featuring Akon, is one of those songs that makes you want to open the sunroof of your car and sing along. Don’t judge; you do it too. It has a good backbeat and isn’t repetitively obnoxious like “Orange County Girl” (we get it, you’re from the O.C.). “Early Winter” and “4 In the Morning” are those songs that everyone who has ever had a broken heart can
relate to. The lyrics are meaningful and the melodies are enchanting — perfect for fixing what someone else broke. The first single off the album, “Wind It Up,” is a complete disaster. The only time people might actually want to listen to it is at 2 a.m. at Tuck’s on Ladies’ Night. For those of you who don’t know what the main melody in “Wind It Up” is, it’s “The Lonely Goatherd,” probably one of the worst songs from “The Sound of Music.” I mean, really, yodeling is not hot, even if you are Gwen Stefani. Most of the songs, like “Yummy” and “Don’t Get it Twisted,” have some tacky techno beat that reminds me of
really bad 80s music. “Fluorescent” is four minutes of pure misery, and “Wonderful Life” isn’t so wonderful. The rest of “The Sweet Escape” is filled with monotone screaming that makes you want to toss the CD out of that sunroof you had open earlier. Don’t get me wrong, I am a Gwen Stefani fan. Middle school wouldn’t have been the same without No Doubt, and she also helped me master the spelling of bananas. But Gwen, do us a favor, never ever do anything like this to us again. Carolyn Sierichs can be reached at cmsieric@loyno.edu.
Forget wolves, there’s something else on the prowl By ALEX WOODWARD SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A strange visitor is among us. You may be asking, “Who is this mysterious creature?” or simply, “Why is it here, and will it affect my allergies?” Tommy, known to many at Loyola as “The Library Cat,” has taken up an unofficial residence in the Monroe Library. After several attempts to remove Tommy from the library, students and faculty alike have opened their arms to the cat, something they call a welcome presence for the new semester. After arriving at the library’s steps in the early morning, Tommy makes several attempts to enter; the slowmoving doors are a welcome invitation to the warm, friendly student habitat.
Once inside, he runs for the back, just to be scooped up by a feline-friendly student, faculty or staff member and sent back outside, only to enter moments later at the delight of all those present : a cute, entertaining anecdote to share with friends and family at the end of the day. But why Loyola? What allure does the university’s library possess that captures the indomitable spirit of this tenacious animal? In an attempt to answer these important, hard-hitting, journalistic questions, The Maroon spoke with the cat’s chosen companion, Monroe Library Public Services Assistant Brooke Brown. “I think he comes in for the warmth,” she said. “He likes getting the attention.”
Tommy is often fed, given water and sometimes housed in a rear office, leaving the library staff to question the cat’s ownership, a thought that makes the staff reluctant to return the estranged animal to the outdoors. “He’s very nice, but we have to take him outside at some point,” Brown said. “We thought someone might come to get him, but we just ended up taking him to his house,” she continued. “We tried calling the number on his tag, and they told us to ‘Just put him in the yard.’” To get inside the animal’s head, The Maroon asked Brown about the cat’s personality. “He’s very personable, and he’s never scratched or bit,” Brown said. “The library has a lot of cat lovers, so he doesn’t mind.”
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Perhaps Tommy schedules his visits around the coffee cart’s hours of operation. The cat’s early appearances may coincide with the coffee cart’s 7 to 11 a.m. hours. It may be a coincidence that he’s carousing alongside caffeinehungry students , yet it’s one worth mentioning. His namesake may be in reference to The Who’s 1969 rock opera “Tommy,” the title character an underdog that wins the hearts of millions and makes a believer out of all who are witness. Could he be the “Pinball Wizard?” Is he the physical metaphor for New Orleans citizens’ optimism in a post-Katrina environment? A symbol of hope for Saints fans? Or possibly a message of peace for the city’s crimeridden communities?
STEVE KASHISHIAN / THE MAROON
Tommy the cat plots his next move outside the library in the Peace Quad. Unfortunately, Tommy was unavailable for comment at press time. Alex Woodward can be reached at adwoodwa@loyno.edu.
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