The Wake, Issue 10, Spring 2015

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 10 | APR 6 - APR 19

Student Voices, University Money: PG. 13 Integrity and Respect in Campus Journalism Q&A with The Miami Dolphins PG. 16 Far From Yeezus PG. 18

THE WAKE STUDENT MAGAZINE | VOLUME 14, ISSUE 10 Together Again PG. 5

New Notifications PG. 12

A Fresh Take on Fresh Baked PG. 7

Student Voices, University Money: Integrity and Respect in Campus Journalism PG. 13

A Cultural Beheading PG. 9 America and Alcohol PG. 10

EDITORIAL: Editor-in-Chief Grace Birnstengel Managing Editor Lauren Cutshall

Copy Editors Sara Glesne, Lindsey Pastrorek

Cities Editor Emily Mongan

Editorial Interns Kevin Beckman, Shawnna Stennes, Alex Van Abbema

Voices Editor Kayla McCombs

Faculty Adviser Chelsea Reynolds

Sound & Vision Editors Alex Nelson, Sara Glesne

Art Interns Breanna Vick, Breck Hickman, Andrew Tomten, Olivia Novotny, Cera Nelson, Kate Doyle

Art Directors Lizzie Goncharova, Max Smith

PRODUCTION: Executive Director Kelcie McKenney

Public Relations Consulting PRSSA UMN

Head Designer Amanda Gentle

Social Media Manager Abby Richardson

Graphic Designers Kayla Lutteke, Erin Slayton, Becca Sugden

Finance Manager Nels Haugen

Web Manager Carter Gruss Public Relations/ Advertising Manager Jennifer Burns

THIS ISSUE:

Distributors Ryan Condron, Chris Roebber Production Interns Sam Gordon, Caleb Vanden Boom, Alexa Orak, Cara Desmond, Jake Merritt

Illustrators Andrew Tomten, Olivia Novotny, Breanna Vick, Max Smith, Kate Doyle, Caleb Vanden Boom, Lizzie Goncharova Contributing Writers Lianna Matt, Kevin Beckman, Erik Newland, Emma Klingler, Gina VanThomme, Amanda Feddema, Madison Rude, Annalise Gall, Shawnna Stennes, Alex VanAbemma, Ryan Meaney, Anrew Tomten, Sara Glesne, Chance Wellnitz, Nicole Carlson, Carter Jones, Karl Witkowiak Front Cover Kelcie McKenney Back Cover Caleb Vanden Boom

Q&A: The Miami Dolphins PG. 16 Far From Yeezus PG. 21

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR As humans, we like answers. We want answers, we need answers, and we search for answers. Sometimes we even make up answers to satiate our curious appetite.

Although we can occasionally find these answers within our selves, more often, we turn to the news. And when the news can’t give us answers, we are left unsatisfied and unsettled.

Media saturation aside, there was a reason for the exten sive coverage of the disappearance of the Malaysian airlines flight in March of 2014. This is the same reason we have spent the time looking into the Germanwings flight that recently crashed in the French Alps. We were looking for answers, and when we couldn’t get them, we started to hypothesize with trajectory maps and cockpit animations. And when we truly don’t know, we still focus on and talk about the unknown.

That being said, people trust us as journalists to report the news and remain unbiased—or at the very least, transparent. A lot of this is why we are taking the time in this issue’s feature to put the spotlight on another

©2015 The Wake Student Magazine.

All Rights Reserved.

Established in 2002, The Wake is a fortnightly independent magazine and registered student organization produced by and for students at the University of Minnesota.

The Wake Student Magazine 126 Coffman Memorial Union 300 Washington Avenue SE Minneapolis, MN 55455 The Wake was founded by Chrin Ruen & James DeLong.

publication, one that has made some of us question its integrity and transparency.

Normally, we as journalists would give you the answers.

This time, we’re posing the question to you, the reader.

We invite you to take a look at the questions we bring up and mull them over. This is an opportunity for you to find your own answers.

Lauren Cutshall Managing Editor

Disclaimer: The purpose of The Wake is to provide a forum in which students can voice their opinions. Opinions expressed in the magazine are not representative of the publication or university as a whole. To join the conversation email gbirnstengel@wakemag.org.

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ONE-PAGE MAGAZINE

Spring in Minnesota

WAKE RANTZ

by Breck Hickman

The insane dressing habits of Minnesotans: just because the temp hits 40 does NOT mean it’s reasonable to ditch the Uggs you were wearing last week for your styrofoam-textured Old Navy flip-flops. Yes girls of the East Bank, it’s you I’m primarily calling out. While we’re at it, how the hell are you wearing sweatpants to class with that much eyeliner meticulously applied? I will never understand.

The 2: O, wretched bus of my childhood, adolescence and “adulthood,” for why must thou pause at every goddamn stop on thine route? But seriously. By a long-shot, not all bus drivers are horrendously slow, yet this bus with its lackadaisically longwinded route seems to often be piloted by the orneriest of the under-caffeinated drivers in Metro Transit’s arsenal of drivers.

How could Zayn just get up and leave One Direction? Does he really think he needs to go in a different direction? This just means we are going to hear more from Louis... and we all know that is no good. RIP One Direction. I love you, Zayn Malik.

Groups of three or more people who walk sideby-side in tight hallways, can I have a word with you? That word is MOVE. Walking is healthy.

Socializing is healthy. You know what’s not healthy? This slow shuffle I‘m doing while trying to get around you. For those of us who walk with purpose, the only thing worse than getting stuck behind a group like yours is the awkward, wall-hugging maneuver it takes to finally break past your leisurely stroll. In the immortal words of Ludacris, “get out the way.”

ANNOYED WITH SOMETHING? Send your 10 to 150-word rant to rants@wakemag.org and yours might be in our next issue!

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The Best of “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”

Take the Freezeway!

By Carson Kaskel

By Olivia Heusinkveld

Ever dream of ice skating to work or class? Look no further than Edmonton, Canada. The city plans to build a 7-mile greenway—a bike path in summer and a “Freezeway,” a path made completely of ice, prime for a pair of skates, in winter. The Freezeway may be the most Canadian invention of all time, but who says it’s only for the Canucks? This genius plan would be perfect for Minnesota, one of the coolest places on earth. It’s only fitting for the land of 10,000 frozen lakes to become the capital of ice travel. Where could our Freezeway run? The Washington Avenue Bridge. Thousands of students each day flock between East and West bank via Washington, and what would be more fun than racing to class on a pair of skates on a frigid, subzero January morning, eh?

With “The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” Tina Fey and fellow “30 Rock” showrunner Robert Carlock created a show that is brimming with quotable phrases and hilarious moments. Here are ten that made us laugh. ● “Indiana? I barely know Diana.” ● “Gosh darn mommy fudge. What in the ham sandwich are you doing here?” ● “Age doesn’t matter. You can die at any time.” ● “Later days, buuuudy.” ● “Snowbesity: it is when you don’t know if someone is fat or not because they’re wearing a winter coat.” ● “Troll the respawn, Jeremy.” ● “2090 called! You’re dead and you wasted your time on Earth!” ● “Go out there and give him heck for fudge’s sake gosh dang it!” ● “Hashbrown no filter.” ● “Someday you’ll wake up and you’ll say ‘Who is that old woman in the mirror?’ And then she’ll punch you and you’ll say ‘That’s not a mirror.

That’s an open window.’” ● “Females are strong as hell.”

Nicki Minaj Sleater-Kinney

Drake

Hologram-Tupac

43.90% 17.07%

29.27%

9.76%

Who do we actually want to headline Spring Jam?

THE WAKE CITIES

TOGETHER AGAIN

WEST INDIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION UNITES CULTURAL DIFFUSION

By Lianna Matt

The picture of Caribbean life flashes vibrantly with its 15 plus islands steeped in culture from over nine different nations. With the myriad of international influences swirling in the Caribbean, University of Minnesota students from the West Indies have found boroughs of identity among other student groups.

However, the West Indian Student Association (WISA) is sewing all of the little parts back together.

“Some influences are stronger than others,” WISA President Brandon Chan said. “But it’s just a mixed culture. So you’d find people from Guyana that are African and Chinese listening to Bollywood music, and they aren’t even Indian.”

Chan has been involved in the Indian group Bharat and the Minnesota International Student Association’s (MISA) shadow board. Despite an obvious affection for those groups, Chan and other West Indies students he met felt like something was missing.

Although they managed to find bits and pieces of their heritage in other student groups, there was no group which encapsulated the multitude of outside elements initially brought into the Caribbean by colonialism. In the late 1400s, the Spanish and Portuguese sailed the oceans to lay claim to the islands of the Caribbean, and other European powers like the British, French, and Dutch soon followed. By the early 1500s, ships carried both colonists and captured African slaves.

However, when the slave trade became completely illegal in 1833, European plantation owners had to find other people to work their crops in the West Indies. Chinese and Indian emigrants soon became the new work force known as “indentured laborers.”

“It’s just a lot of cultural diffusion,” Chan said, summarizing some of history’s impact on modernday Caribbean culture. “So I may look Indian, but my culture is a lot richer than that. It’s mixed with African, Chinese, like… my last name’s Chan.”

To capture this eclecticism, WISA’s March event was aptly called Island Hopping. Booths touched upon major populations in the West Indies such as Guyana, Trinidad, and Jamaica.

“Everybody’s interested in the Caribbean, you know vacation spots and stuff, but you don’t get to really pick up on the way they speak,” Chan said.

While WISA wasn’t able to represent all of the islands at their first event, they made sure to play music

from all over the area. Students grabbed some food and learned about different aspects of Caribbean tradition; one of the booths taught them some basic language phrases. Then, of course, there was dancing.

Despite the emphasis on the West Indies’ individual identity, Chan wants to use the club to create “a bigger multicultural family feel.” At the end of the day, WISA is not only about raising awareness for the West Indies’ way of life; it is a way for friends to work together on an event, to make more connections and more friends.

In order to reach their community vision, WISA and other student groups must overcome an unspoken barrier. Although the cultural events are open to everyone, the Minnesota Student Association’s Student Outreach & Engagement Director Abeer Syedah said that, in her personal experience, the majority of students that show up to these events belong to the same or similar regions.

“It’s understandable in some respects,” Syedah said, “but it complicates their hopes for awareness.”

Chan wants to debunk this stereotype of exclusion during cultural events. “Even though WISA is centered on the culture of the Caribbean, you don’t have to be of Caribbean heritage to participate or attend WISA events,” Chan said. “If you share the love and passion for the Caribbean, there’s always a chance to be able to take part in WISA.” No matter how enthusiastically and passionately WISA welcomes all students, Syedah said that people outside of the ethnicity have to make an effort, too.

“We’ve always historically put it on the minority,” Syedah said. “For awareness and teaching, [people say] ‘Why don’t you teach this to us?’” Student groups try to share their enthusiasm for their traditions and customs, but Syedah hopes that more students choose to learn about cultures outside of their own.

Although WISA registered too late in the semester to become officially affiliated with MISA or La Raza, the Spanish cultural group on campus, this has not stopped the groups from collaborating. True to his word about “breaking down barriers,” Chan wants to partner with not only cultural social groups for events,

but also with groups that focus on different missions such as the Multicultural Pharmacy Student Organization and Friends of Free Arts of Minnesota.

“Because at the end of it all,” Chan said, “all you look for is people to have a good time with and appreciate every little thing that different organizations have to offer, especially in such a large campus like the [University].”

If anyone wishes to join WISA, please contact the board through Facebook or email (WISA@umn.edu).

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THE WAKE CITIES

RAISING THE VOICES OF VICTIMS

ATHAR WAHEED AND THE PAKISTAN SOCIETY OF VICTIMOLOGY

By Kevin Beckman Since 2000, there have been over 48,000 terrorist incidents worldwide, claiming over 107,000 lives. In the last 14 years, the number of people killed by terrorism increased over five-fold, with just five countries accounting for 82 percent of fatalities, according to the Global Terrorism Index. One of those countries is Pakistan, Athar Waheed’s home country.

Waheed, superintendent of the Pakistani Police Service and a Fulbright Humphrey Fellow, is trying to shift the world’s attention from terrorists to their victims.

The University of Minnesota’s law school hosted a presentation by Waheed on March 10 in which he outlined how his organization, the Pakistan Society of Victimology (PSV), is making that shift.

Pakistan ranks third highest in the world for number of deaths due to terrorist attacks, accounting for 13.1 percent of global terrorism deaths in 2013. However, Waheed said Pakistan is a developing society with a relatively weak institutional government. It suffers from government maladministration, corruption, and low levels of institutional support for the victims of crime.

Victimology, a branch of knowledge that deals with victims and the process of victimization, is a neglected field of research in both government and scholarly pursuits in Pakistan.

According to Waheed, problems in victim assistance in Pakistan are not due to a lack of resources; they are due to a lack of adequate governance.

In regards to helping victims of terrorism, Waheed said that Pakistan faces critical issues with emergency management, a lack of standardization for service provision, and the necessity for analysis of the needs of terror victims. It is impossible to develop a policy for assisting the needs of terror victims if their specific and individual needs are unknown, Waheed argued.

Believing a drastic change in perspective was required in Pakistan, Waheed helped to

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establish the PSV as the first national victim services organization aiming to work for victims of crime and terror in Pakistan.

The society creates awareness about victims’ rights, laws, and services through training, research, and education. According to PSV’s website, it is the first national victimological forum devoted to the cause of terrorist victims in Pakistan. It is in alignment with the World Society of Victimology at the international level, as well as other national victim service organizations.

Waheed believes that victimology should be acknowledged as a part of counter-terrorism. Waheed and the PSV work to develop a new, victim-centered approach to policy framework for victims of terrorism at the federal, state, and district levels in Pakistan, which includes developing a national fund for the victims of terrorism, as well as a database to analyze the needs of terrorist victims.

“We have invested so much money and intellectuality into the definition of terrorism,” Waheed said. “For me, it’s not about identifying who is and who is not a terrorist. For me, it is about standing up, and raising the voice of the victims.”

The PSV encourages interdisciplinary and comparative research in victimology and works to advance cooperation of international, regional, and local agencies and groups concerned with the problems of victims worldwide.

Currently, the PSV is developing a

victim services program for Pakistan. This project is a joint collaboration with the International Victimology Institute and Tilburn University in the Netherlands. It is primarily a research study for empirical analysis of issues faced by the victims of terrorism in Pakistan.

More than two hundred direct and indirect victims have been engaged in in-depth interviews to assess their most immediate and important needs.

“We talk about numbers,” Waheed said. “But behind every number is a human life. It’s not about statistics.

These are human beings.”

According to University associate professor of political science Ronald Krebs, helping the victims of terrorism is important not just because of our humanity, but because it encourages social resilience by helping the survivors. Addressing victims’ physical health, and financial and security needs, creates a social safety net that is crucial in preserving the strength and hope of the civilians affected.

However, Krebs said that sometimes an increase in government intervention can exacerbate its terrorism problem.

“Terrorism is a tactic, insurgency is a tactic,” Krebs said.

“There are regions in Pakistan where the state has not wielded significant authority. When the Pakistani government attempts to extend its authority into these regions, those attempts will be met with resistance.”

Therefore, Krebs said that counter-terrorism in Pakistan is a bit of a paradox. While organizations like the PSV may be necessary because of government ineffectiveness, government attempts to broaden its authority will breed resistance, often in the form of terrorism targeted at civilians. This in turn creates the need for Waheed’s organization.

Regardless of the consequences of government intervention, Waheed believes in the necessity of the PSV. “Sympathizing with victims is not sufficient,” Waheed said. “Practical steps need to be taken.”

THE WAKE CITIES

A FRESH TAKE ON FRESH BAKED UNIVERSITY GRAD COOKS UP NEW DOUGHNUT ADDITION TO MINNEAPOLIS FOODIE SCENE

By Erik Newland Bradley Taylor is a person with a vision and a taste for really good doughnuts. After searching fruitlessly through Minneapolis for doughnuts as good as those from his California hometown, the recent University of Minnesota grad decided to bake his own. Taylor started his doughnut business Sssdude-Nutz last fall with a recipe given to him from a local baker.

Taylor didn’t originally intend to sell his doughnuts, but after his friends discovered their deliciousness, he decided to share them with other doughnut lovers. He started up the business and began delivering doughnuts to Stadium Village, Como, and Dinkytown. The name Sssdude-Nutz, pronounced with a soft D sound, was inspired by Taylor mispronouncing “dude” when he had a retainer.

After figuring out a recipe, coming up with a unique name, and securing time at a community kitchen in

Northeast Minneapolis, Taylor sold his desserts at popup shops at places like Dinkytown’s Alpha Print Shop in addition to delivery. He only expected to sell a dozen at his first pop-up shop after promoting via Facebook, but he sold all four dozen within an hour. However, “the second one speaks volumes,” Taylor said. He said the success of the second pop-up shop really inspired him to continue working, and he’s now focusing on becoming more established.

“I’m at a point where I’m comfortable and can be confident about the product,” Taylor said, “But I’m still at a place where I could improve.”

Sssdude-Nutz’ motto is “keep it simple, keep it sexy.”

Taylor said it especially holds true for his meticulously fine-tuned dough recipe. Although he offers a colorful variety of doughnuts with toppings like Oreos and coconut, Taylor’s favorite is the plain.

“Honestly, I put so much work into that dough it doesn’t really taste like anyone else’s,” Taylor said. “A lot of good stuff gets lost in complexity.”

Moving forward into the future, Taylor wants to establish himself in the exciting local food scene. His pop-up shops were so successful that he is considering halting delivery to focus on more pop-up sales. His goal is to have a shop of his own, but for now he’s working on a deal to rent kitchen space in Potter’s Pasties’ Como location. It’s a lot of work to deliver the perfect doughnut for connoisseurs, but rest assured Sssdude-Nutz will keep it real, and keep it sexy.

REGENTS TO THE RESCUE

THE UNIVERSITY’S BOARD OF REGENTS HAS FIVE NEW MEMBERS. WHO ARE THEY, AND WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

By Emma Klingler This March, five new regents were elected to serve on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents. If you are like most students, then you have probably heard of the Board of Regents, but have limited knowledge of their role at the University. The Board of Regents’ policy states that their responsibilities are to “clarify the mission of the University of Minnesota and approve programs necessary to fulfill that mission” and to “monitor and evaluate the performance of the institution in achieving its goals.”

Essentially, the Board of Regents is the University’s system of checks and balances. They evaluate policies, programs, fiscal matters, and the administration to ensure that the University upholds a positive public image.

Elections of regents occur every few years in a session of the Minnesota Legislature after previous regents have served a six-year term. Terms are staggered to prevent a complete board overhaul. The board is made

up of one regent from each of the eight congressional districts and four at-large members. One of the at-large members must be an undergraduate or graduate student at the University of Minnesota.

The current student regent, Abdul Omari, is a doctoral candidate in comparative and international development education, having earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Minnesota.

In this election, regents from the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 7th congressional districts were chosen. For each position, candidates are either recommended to the Minnesota Legislature by higher education committees or nominated from the floor.

The winners of this year’s election came from both the recommended and floor candidates. Michael Hsu of the 6th District and Thomas Anderson of the 7th district were recommended candidates that won against their opponents nominated from the floor. In the election

for the regent from the 3rd District, however, both candidates were nominated from the floor. This was the closest election of the year, decided by two votes.

Darrin Rosha, a former student regent from 19891995, won the position of regent over Bill Luther.

The regents from the 1st and 4th districts were re-elected this year, having both just completed previous terms. Dr. Patricia Simmons from the 1st District is now serving her third term as a regent. Richard Beeson of the 4th District currently serves as Chair of the Board of Regents, and ran unopposed.

Whether they’re appointing the next president of the University or approving plans to repave parking lots, these individuals will spend the next six years ensuring that the University of Minnesota continues to function effectively at all levels, and maintain a strong relationship with the surrounding community.

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THE WAKE CITIES

PROF 1001

NOT EVERY PROFESSOR YOU’LL HAVE IN COLLEGE DESERVES AN A

By Gina Van Thomme The Techno-phobe “Does anyone here know how this works?” this professor says, awkwardly holding a black USB cable like Paris Hilton holding a baby. And God forbid this scene only happens once a semester. No, the technological complexity of 21st century life seems to plague this professor every single day. To paraphrase one student’s succinct observation, why can’t the octolingual professor with a PhD ever hook up the projector correctly?

The Pauper This professor spends class sessions trying to drop as many way-too-obvious hints as possible about how much they’re underpaid. For example: “Today’s class will be focused on finances, which is extremely ironic considering I have none and had to spend my entire weekend grading these crappy papers.” Dear professor, sure, it majorly stinks that twelve years of education didn’t result in the income bracket you were hoping for, but you’re preaching to the choir… a choir of unpaid interns who know too many ways to cook Ramen and will be wiping with single-ply for the foreseeable future.

The Theorist “This course will change the way you think” is this professor’s tagline, but the only thing you’re thinking about changing is your enrollment in his or her class.

Everything is abstract and open to interpretation, leaving you suddenly missing the cold hard facts of math class. After about the 17th class session of discussing the meaning behind “The Red Wheelbarrow,” you simply cannot take any more. Crazy idea: maybe the poem was actually about a RED. FRICKEN. WHEELBARROW. Day after day, you scratch your head thinking, “In a class where basically anything can be right, how am I getting so damn much wrong?!”

The Kanye This fun-loving faculty member is under the

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impression that they are the center of the universe. This misguided species believes students are only enrolled in one class: theirs. He or she loves to assign projects that no student could possibly accomplish while maintaining a normal course load and their sanity. PSA: No college student has the free time to observe the cycles of the moon and write a 120-page musical score about how it affects the tides while doing a group presentation about the importance of the solar system—in sign language.

The Anti-Retiree There is no better way to learn than through experience, whether it is your own or someone else’s.

But when the person who is sharing those experiences can’t get through a 55-minute lecture without an inhaler and Life Alert, it gets to be a little problematic.

We’ve all had that professor who should be enjoying afternoon bingo at the senior center instead of leading a lecture on microorganism reproduction. The class is horrible, but sometimes in lecture you worry about what would happen if the professor died of old age, and decide that if it comes to that, they can at least have the decency to do it on the day of the midterm.

The PowerPointer It’s 8 a.m., you are “awake,” and you successfully made it to class. Then your professor turns on a PowerPoint, flicks off the lights, starts droning on and on about business management, and you’re out faster than morals at a frat party. Maybe you didn’t learn much in class, but you wouldn’t trade the high quality sleep

you got for any 4.0 in the world. In fact, you’ll probably hang on to the syllabus with this professor’s contact information so he or she can come PowerPoint you to sleep on those insomnia-infused nights.

The Sugarcoater This professor is kind and gentle—the kind of person you imagine really understands the strife of a college student. They promise the material won’t be too complicated, so basically if you make it to class and have a pulse, passing will be as easy as texting in a three hundred person lecture. But then comes the first midterm, and it makes less sense than Kim Kardashian’s bleached hair, shattering your dreams of surviving the semester.

The Good Story It might sound crazy, but despite how poorly a professor was graded on RateMyProfessor, how badly they needed to retire, or even how much their class put you to sleep, you most likely learned something— even if you only learned that you would never take another philosophy class. Regardless of how much you complained about waking up at 8 a.m. for lecture, or hated on their endless group assignments, you got the credits, the experience, and a brand new story to whip out at parties. And in the end, isn’t that all you can ask for? (Cue the “awws.”)

THE WAKE VOICES

A CULTURAL BEHEADING

ISIS ATTACKS ARE UNSPEAKABLE IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

By Amanda Feddema In its latest string of atrocities, ISIS has committed what UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has labeled a war crime for the destruction of our “common cultural heritage.”

Over the past few weeks, militants have bulldozed the ancient cities of Hatra, Nimrud, and Khorsabad in Iraq, reducing parts of them to dust and looting or smashing the antiques inside.

wash away the origins of the antiquities as much as possible in order to launder them. Larger figures, like the remaining Lamassu or the Mosul Museum collection, ISIS will destroy because they would be too easily identified and their destruction is of greater worth as a propaganda spectacle for recruiting and fund-raising purposes, Canepa said.

But the loss of the artifacts is not the most devastat-

20th century in Syria and Iraq, like Dura Europos and Hatra, are so unbelievably unique and important,” Canepa said. “It has changed our ideas of late antique Mesopotamian urbanism, early Judaism, or early Christianity, and gave us an idea of the type of culture that was developing between the Roman and Persian empires. If it weren’t for those excavations, our understanding of the past would be so different. I have no

ing aspect of ISIS’s destruction of these ancient sites.

According to Canepa, history is deduced not only from the types of figures and architecture found, but also from the relationships of each object or structure to one another and the different layers that the ancient societies were built upon.

doubt that these sites still had unexcavated material of equal importance, and now much has been destroyed through looting and ISIS’s attempts to erase history.”

“This is the cultural equivalent of those horrible beheading videos,” Eleanor Robson, a professor at University College London said in an interview with BBC News. “We are meant to feel repulsed and angry and powerless.”

Its origin dating back roughly 2,000 years, Hatra had survived the rise and fall of the Parthian empire and withstood Roman invasion twice before falling to the founder of the of the Sasanian dynasty in the midthird century. Nimrud and Khorsabad were two of the old Assyrian capitals, where Nimrud is believed to be over 3,000 years old, and Khorsabad held many of the famous winged Assyrian bulls, called Lamassu.

All three sites housed ancient architecture that was a blend of the multitude of civilizations that arose throughout their histories.

“It means something different if you find a statue of a god in a domestic space verses a temple, or underneath a Christian church,” Canepa said. “Now, the archaeological context is lost.”

“We don’t have textual sources for most of human history,” Matthew Canepa, University of Minnesota Associate Professor of Art History and Classical and Near Eastern Studies, said. “Archaeological evidence is often the only primary source—it provides us the only evidence of many regions, time periods, and cultures.

The archaeological record and cultural heritage are not renewable resources—once it’s gone it’s gone, and so is our window into the past. And for the Iraqis themselves, their tangible connection to their past.”

According to Robson, these ancient cities were part of a massive empire that preceded both the Greek and Roman empires, controlling all of the Middle East and a large amount of the Mediterranean. As a result, the people of Mosul, an Iraqi city currently controlled

by ISIS forces located near the three ruins, are very proud of their ancient history. The legacies of all three cities are now believed to be buried in the rubble left behind by ISIS forces, although the exact extent of the damage is currently unknown.

Canepa explained that ISIS is more interested in harvesting salable artifacts from the sites, and that they loot and say they destroy them. The antiquities market that consumes ISIS’s looted objects will try to

Excavation began on the sites in the 19th and 20th centuries, but due to instability in the region, the excavations were never completed, Canepa said.

“The stuff that came out of sites in the 19th and early

ISIS claims that they are destroying these monuments because they are “false idols” and that they are practicing a more pure form of Islam, but destroying these sites also allows them to perpetuate their control over the people in the region through fear. In a commentary for CNN, Stuart W. Manning, an archaeologist and classicist for Cornell University, said that ISIS has to destroy Iraq’s old history, otherwise the history represented in these cities will attest to great futures other than the “barbaric nihilism” promoted by ISIS. “Even if Iraq is a relatively new nation state, these sites are genuinely important for Iraqi identity because it represents part of the memory of the unified Iraqi state. A unified nation that essentially no longer exists,” Canepa said. “ISIS is trying to build their new caliphate on the carcass of the old Iraqi state. More importantly, in blowing up churches or shrines to prophets revered by Muslims, Christians, and Jews, ISIS is erasing any physical evidence of the co-existence of communities or religious practices that do not fit their fundamentalist caricature of ‘pure’ Islam or imaginary Caliphate.”

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THE WAKE VOICES

AMERICA AND ALCOHOL

THE HARSH TRUTH ABOUT OUR BINGE DRINKING BLUES

By Madison Rude Turn up, go hard, and pass out.

Binge drinking is a part of life on most American college campuses. The parties start on Thursday and rage all weekend. Drinking culture is a problem, but why is it this way? What compels young adults to overdrink when they’re underage? Well, society does.

The American attitude toward drinking is much different than that of our European counterparts. In most European countries, children start to drink at a much younger age with the supervision of their parents, which in turn allows the parents to control the beginning of their children’s relationship with alcohol and teach to be responsible. In America, however, there is controversy surrounding the drinking age. Should we raise it? Should we lower it?

If we really look at the culture of the Europeans, we might start to understand why countries like the U.K. have much lower rates of alcoholism and binge

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drinking than we do. The real problem is that by imposing such drinking laws and placing the drinking age so high, society is creating a perfect storm for adolescents. In his article “The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology,” Dr. David J. Hansen, Ph.D. wrote: “While it’s true that less teens are drinking, when they do drink, they actually drink more.”

Teenagers have higher concentrations of hormones that make them want to rebel, act out, and try new things. This rebellious tendency causes many that do choose to drink underage to binge drink, which is far more harmful to their health.

When was the last time someone told you not to do something? Did you do it anyway? In an article from “Psychology Today,” Indiana University researchers found that “when people are told not to do something, it can often bring an opposite reaction.”

Society tells teenagers not to drink. We tell them that it’s unethical, dangerous, and illegal. In reality, all we

ANDREW TOMTEN

do is create a mystery surrounding alcohol while also sending conflicting messages. As a culture, we bestow the rights of adulthood upon our teenagers, all save alcohol. This message tells them that they will be treated as adults in the eyes of the law, but they do not get the benefits of choosing which intoxicants to consume. Many of them react by rebelling against a law they deem unjust. We’ve created the allure of the forbidden, and it’s only causing more problems for all of us.

THE WAKE VOICES

AN HONEST LETTER TO PROSPECTIVE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA STUDENTS AN ALL-ACCESS LOOK AT LIFE AS A GOPHER EMMA KLINGLER

that feature first-rate shows like “Human Centipede: the Musical.” Caffeine lovers out there are in luck; there are more coffee shops in Minneapolis than houses. Or so it seems, but seriously, there are a ton of coffee shops, each with their own unique theme: classic, European, homeless, the list goes on.

Dear Prospective Student, Welcome to the University of Minnesota, where we pride ourselves on our excellent research opportunities, Division I athletics, and Minnesota “nice” attitude. But surely you have heard it all by now. From the tour groups and informational sessions to those promotional booklets that made you feel important for receiving something in the mail for once, you had the greatest qualities of this university presented to you in every form and phrasing imaginable. Instead of restating what you are tired of hearing, allow me to take you on an honest, all-access tour of this fine university, and you can decide for yourself what it means to be a Gopher.

When looking into colleges, location is undeniably important. If you don’t have a cool college town, it’s just your average educational institution. The University of Minnesota gets two whole cities, so it’s essentially twice as nice. Across the river and right down the street from the main campus is downtown Minneapolis, the second most hipster city in the country and the home of Prince, a fact of which we are very proud.

There is a vibrant nightlife with extravagant clubs such as “The Gay 90s.” If you’re into a more artistic scene, Minneapolis boasts a number of experimental theaters

Of course, you aren’t going to pick your college by the variety of coffee shops available, though I would commend you for including that criterion. The academics come first, and here they really are superb.

Mind you, it’s not just because the professors are world-renowned, but because they are genuinely cool people who like to show their school spirit. My chemistry professor, for example, demonstrated his pride for the University of Minnesota by setting our rival’s mascot, Bucky Badger, on fire during a lesson on kinetics. I call that education at its finest.

I know from my own experience that one of the most concerning parts of preparing for your first year of college is figuring out where you will live. At the University of Minnesota, you can’t go wrong. There are Living Learning Communities in many of the residence halls, which makes it easy to meet likeminded people. No matter which hall you end up living in, everyone shares the same important firstyear experiences, such as the middle-of-the-night fire alarms and, if you live in Middlebrook, the occasional surprise fire sprinkler shower. These events are a rite of passage, and believe me, you meet the most interesting people while standing outside in the freezing Minnesota weather comparing the classes you are going to skip the next day.

in the dorms here serve a wide-variety of dishes, the highlight of which are those made at the Exhibition Station. There you will find some of the most unique dishes you have ever tried, like bleu cheese waffles and chili on a potato. The Coffman Union cafeteria features a number of chain food options, including the best Chick-Fil-A in the country and a Panda Express that is also quite acceptable. If you aren’t feeling any of these options, you need only walk down the street.

Washington Avenue is home to so many restaurants serving so many different types of food that you will never lack a reminder of how broke you are.

Every weekend hosts numerous campus activities to keep you from your much-needed study sessions.

Sporting events are big here, so get ready to cheer on your team by the fiercest, most bad-ass mascot that ever psyched up a crowd: Goldy Gopher.

Plot twist: he isn’t even a gopher! He’s a thirteenlined ground squirrel. But “Goldy Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel” isn’t nearly as catchy.

Aside from the sports, there are many weekend activities offered, such as the free movies in Coffman Theater. Each weekend, new movies recently out of theaters are shown, with select picks such as “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Gone Girl,” and “Interstellar.”

If you missed Matthew McConaughey’s cry face on the big screen, you can see it for free in Coffman Union. Other activities, such as Capture the Flag on the quad, which is as intense as it sounds, occur each week and are open to everyone.

Though you have heard it before, it really is true: you will be hard-pressed to find another school with such stellar academics at such an affordable price. With the wide range of experiences to be had, the University of Minnesota can be a best-fit for anyone. It was for me.

Will it be for you?

If you are dreading the inevitable “dorm food,” you can breathe a sigh of relief. The dining halls found

WWW.WAKEMAG.ORG | 11

THE WAKE VOICES

NEW NOTIFICATIONS

CRIME ALERTS’ EXCLUSION OF RACE IS AN IMPROVEMENT

By Annalise Gall The University’s crime alerts are a way to inform our community of a threat or ongoing risk via email in order to enable community members to take safety measures to protect themselves. Included in each alert are the place, time, and nature of the incident, and up until recently, a suspect description. This decision to remove descriptions has caused quite a divided stir.

After such investigations, the University has joined the ranks of case-by-case colleges. If not monitored in such a way, suspicions morph into associations of races with crimes, a subconscious feat to which we are all susceptible. These suspicions are problem because they grossly lump together individuals who share only one cosmetic characteristic and label the group as criminals.

As of February, the University deemed it unnecessary The implicit nature of these psychological messages for a suspect description to be included in alerts if makes it difficult insufficient details are given to aid in the precaution to see their or persecution surrounding a case. In order to be formation and included in alerts, descriptions must “reasonably help identify specific individual suspects or group suspects,” their hurtful product which according to the University. This would include comexplains why binations of any of the following characteristics: race, some people gender, clothing, body type, height, build, accent, have been tattoos, hair color, and facial hair. resistant to the The key here is any combination of the characteristics, change. “For some, knowing as simply one detail is likely not enough information they have all to identify the suspect (unless it is an extraordinary the informatrait, in which case it may be includable on its own tion available merit). For example, if a witness or victim of a crime about a crime, incan only relay that the perpetrator had brown hair, cluding the complete suspect description, makes it is unlikely to be included in the crime alert. A vast them feel better informed and increases how safe amount of people have brown hair, and no one would dare be suspicious of everyone with brown hair simply they feel,” Wheelock said. What is comfortable for some is not comfortable for all. “Others, particularly because the perpetrator has brown hair. Thus, this black men, have shared that suspect descriptions specification does little to nothing to advance the case negatively impact their sense of safety. They express or precautions taken by students, and will effectively concern that Crime Alerts that include race reinforce not be included in the alert. stereotypes of black men as threats and create a hosti le campus climate.”

This change in policy is the result of an 18-month campus-wide conversation on public safety. CommuniStudent safety is of the utmost ty members brought up concerns that the use of racial importance and should never be taken lightly. While descriptors in crime alerts reinforce racial stereotypes peace of mind can be increased when all knowledge of people often viewed as a homogeneous group, and about an event is presented, peace also occurs when create a hostile climate. Pamela Wheelock, University groups of people are not being unjustly depicted. We Services Vice President and head of public safety on all want to feel safe on campus, but a sacrifice of trivcampus, examined the issue along with Police Chief ial knowledge in exchange for the intact dignity and Greg Hestness and President Kaler. By reviewing the respect of all persons is a fair trade-off. safety practices of other universities, it was found that race is included in 13 out of 14 of the respective Including race descriptions in crime alerts can allow crime notifications of Big Ten schools. Institutions that for suspect identification, and so the University will evaluate the use of descriptors on a case-by-case basis still include them when applicable, as determined on include Rutgers University, Northwestern University, a case-by-case basis. However, since a limited suspect and the University of Maryland College Park.

12 | APR 6 - APR 19

description does not advance the safety of students, alerts will not include accounts of race, or any other descriptors, when it is not helpful. Students may still, as always, contact University police for all available information and descriptions of a crime if they so wish.

But by keeping unnecessary details out of crime alerts, we are contributing to a less discriminating and more welcoming environment. And that, fellow Gophers, is a feat of which we should be proud.

KATE DOYLE AND CALEB VANDEN BOOM

THE WAKE FEATURE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SPEAK

A TALK WITH ALLISON MAASS OF THE MN REPUBLIC AND GRACE BIRNSTENGEL OF THE WAKE

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC

THE WAKE MAGAZINE

What is The Minnesota Republic’s organizational mission?

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC: You can find our actual mission statement word for word on our [Student Unions and Activities] page. But really our mission is just to provide an alternative view on campus.

What’s the budgeting process for The Minnesota Republic like?

As far as student service fees and things like that.

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC: A majority of our budget is operational expenses, printing, paying writers, office stuff that we need, stuff like that. We do hold events though, so part of our budget is for programs. We are co-sponsoring Ron Paul coming next week, so some of our budget goes towards that.

I noticed on the application for the student service fees, you pay your advisor.

I believe it was $5,000? Why do you choose to pay your advisor?

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC: He’s kind of staff. He does a lot. He helps us out a lot. To be honest, our kind of group, it’s not easy to find a faculty around here to help us out, um, the majority of professors aren’t really supportive of what we do. So it would be really hard to find somebody without paying them.

Do you think he still would have been your advisor had he not been compensated?

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC: I don’t know. That’s a really would-be situation.

Where would The Minnesota Republic divide between free speech and something hateful?

THE MINNESOTA REPUBLIC: I mean, where do you really draw the line, how can you ever define what’s offensive speech? I mean, all speech is protected in our eyes.

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What is The Wake’s organizational mission?

THE WAKE: The Wake’s organizational mission is to provide grounds for students to express themselves in a very open manner, but also learn how to do it in a way that strengthens their writing skills, and strengthens their research skills, and also gives them a community to meet new people.

As far as the breakdown for the budget and requested fees, where is some of that going?

THE WAKE: The total amount we are requesting for the 2015-2016 year is a little under $40,000. The majority of that goes to printing and paying wages and paying our rent. I would say that on wages, I know we spend $18,000 and that’s for a staff of about 20. Printing, I think it’s about $16,000 for the whole year and I can’t think off the top of my head what the rent and utilities are, but I think it’s somewhere around $11,000. And other things include some events that we plan.

So The Wake has an advisor, can you tell me about the advisor?

THE WAKE: Her name is Chelsea Reynolds, and she’s got a background in magazines, she ran her student magazine like we do now. We meet with her once a month and just talk about everything from what our upcoming features are going to be, to anything we’re struggling with, to conflicts on staff, to money, and she’s just super, super helpful and she does that for free.

At what point does free speech become hate speech?

THE WAKE: I think when it’s doing more to harm a group of people than it’s doing good for what you’re trying to say. So it’s kind of just measuring that. And it’s definitely a hard thing to measure, don’t get me wrong. Sometimes it’s hard to see the harm directly until after you’ve published something.

THE WAKE FEATURE

CHECKING THE FACTS November 7, 2014: There is no War on Women here An article published in The Minnesota Republic website on November 7, 2014 stated that a Gallup poll found 47 percent of women describe themselves as pro-choice, while 46 percent describe themselves as pro-life. In reality this was a poll of U.S. adults, both men and women, with the numbers for just women respondents coming in at 50 percent pro-choice, 41 percent pro-life.

The article also states that “rhetoric of a gap in compensation between men and women has also been shot down as a fallacy,” having no statistics in support of this claim. A 2013 Pew Research Center report estimates that women, on average, earn 84 cents for every $1 made by men.

Focusing locally, a 2015 research report by the Association of American University Women found that Minnesota ranks 19th in the nation for median earnings of women compared to men, with women earning 80% of what men make. Furthermore, Hispanic or Latina women make 54% of what white men make, and African American women make 59%.

February 28, 2015: The business side of abortion An article published on February 28, 2015 in The Minnesota Republic stated that Planned Parenthood’s (PPFA) “government subsidies have resulted in over $700 million in profits.” While the date is unclear, PPFA received $540.6 million in government funding for 2014. This number is also incorrectly stated later as $528 million. Also, PPFA’s profits are later inconsistently listed at “over $127 million last year.”

A CLOSER LOOK

Also in the article, an included claim says that abortions take up “94 percent of the PPFA’s pregnancy related services in 2014.” According to PPFA’s 2014 annual report, the three pregnancy related services they offer are pregnancy tests, prenatal services, and abortion procedures. Of the number of those services totaling 1,475,120 instances, abortions made up 22.21 percent of services in 2014.

between the Mexican-themed party and St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, and Oktoberfest misrepresent cultural appropriation.

In addition, The Minnesota Republic’s use of the term “hate crime” to describe the celebration of Oktoberfest is inaccurate. According to Congress and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a hate crime is a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.” Celebrating a holiday is in itself not a crime, making this an inappropriate comparison.

The Minnesota Republic lists Professor Christopher Phelan’s letter to the editor in The Minnesota Daily that supported the controversial party. However, The Minnesota Republic failed to mention that another letter to the editor written by a student at the University criticized the party and emphasized the negative effects of cultural appropriation.

December 6, 2014: Galactic Fiesta Becomes a Fiasco An article published on December 6, 2014 in The Minnesota Republic defined the term “cultural appropriation” as “the adoption of elements of one culture by members of a different cultural group, specifically the use by cultural outsiders.” However, according to Oxford Reference, cultural appropriation is “the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another… is used to describe Western appropriations of non-Western or non-white forms, and carries connotations of exploitation and dominance.” Therefore, the comparisons made

From a journalistic standpoint, The Minnesota Republic is often questionable in its practices. Each issue boasts an impressive array of inflammatory headlines that are, on many occasions, poorly worded past the point of what is necessary or excusable. Articles that are satirical, mocking, or critical in nature often serve little to no purpose in informing readers and fail to incite valuable discussion due to a rampant lack of fairness and credibility. More times than not, the content’s discriminatory undertones overshadow what has the potential to be quality content.

Yet the apparent lack of sensitivity in itself is not a journalistic crime. The pushback of offended readers does not completely discredit The Minnesota Republic. In fact, opposing and unexpected coverage often adds to public discourse and proves healthy for the informed citizen—when it’s done well.

While The Wake, among others, may be offended by what The Minnesota Republic publishes, we defend its right to publish what they want. Yet we wish

the publication would do so in a more reverential way—a way that is respectful of journalism as a field, and respectful in its use of University resources.

Publications have a right to a political affiliation, to challenge the popular (or unpopular) opinion, and to rock the boat. But we believe there is a way to challenge thoughtfully. Statistics without backing, stories with biased sources, and operating on an inflated budget—these things are not journalism. They are not informative to the reader, nor are they helpful in opening a discussion.

The Wake believes in transparency.

With this, we hope you can recognize the transparency that is currently lacking in The Minnesota Republic. While we cannot call ourselves a magazine without fault, we do pride ourselves on our values of journalistic integrity and respect for the University that makes our publication possible.

SALARIES, WAGES & STIPENDS

The MN Republic requested

61% more for staff compensation than The Wake.

PRINTING

The MN Republic requested

45% more

for printing than The Wake.

The MN Republic prints 4,000 issues a semester.

The Wake prints 7,8000 issues a semester.

OVERALL BUDGET

The MN Republic’s overall budget request is

3.6 times greater than The Wake’s.

KATE DOYLE AND CALEB VANDEN BOOM

The Minnesota Republic has stirred up controversy since its conception in 2011. With covers shouting phrases like “Celebrating White History Month” and “The Minnesota Republic: Terrorists Hate It,” this University-funded publication understandably raises the eyebrows of students and faculty alike. The monthly magazine self-identifies as a conservative voice on campus that aims to provide students with a more diverse political perspective. Running a right-wing publication is both necessary and risky on a liberal-leaning campus like ours, and The Minnesota Republic never shies away from addressing political issues from a conservative point-of-view.

The way the student-run and University-funded publication handles those issues, however, is worth a second look.

The article also stated that Charmaine Yoest, a speaker at an event called “Supply Side Strategy: Exposing and Confronting the Abortion Industry as Big Business” on Feb. 28 in Maryland, said “full term pregnancy can reduce the chances of a woman developing breast cancer in the future.” No statistics were listed to support this claim. According to the National Cancer Institute, some factors associated with pregnancy may reduce while other may increase the chances of breast cancer. Specifying this difference would have helped with clarity in The Minnesota Republic article.

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THE WAKE Q&A

Q&A: THE MIAMI DOLPHINS

HANGING OUT WITH LOCAL CORNUCOPIC-SURF-PUNK BAND

By Shawnna Stennes BB: To orchestrate an album would be super cool, like if we had a full orchestra.

THE WAKE: The Miami Dolphins have been together for about four years now and you’ve got a prett y well-known name locally. What have your experiences been in the Minneapolis music scene?

PL: Well we finally met Garrison Keillor. He said “Don’t steal my pen.” No, we didn’t really meet Garrison Keillor.

BB: We’ve seen a lot of different venues change, that’s kind of fun, and we’ve played at a bunch of different places that we didn’t have the opportunity to in the beginning. We’ve seen a lot of bands come and go and morph into different bands. And then when we went on tour I got the idea that Minneapolis is prett y cool, and I don’t think anybody else has a better music scene.

ZW: Shots fired.

SHARYN MORROW

I met up with the members of local noise/abstract/ blissful punk band The Miami Dolphins three hours before a warehouse show and found them putting together a remote control flying inflatable fish. We sat on couches in a circle and watched the goldfish mini-blimp cruise above our heads while the band pondered sea cows, ice cream, death, and decay as they move out of their 20s. Consisting of Beth Bambery (vocals), Patrick Larkin (guitar), Zack Warpinski (bass), and Joe Scott (drums), The Miami Dolphins have been creating full-speed fuzzy mania for four years with four album releases and another on the way. With a few Wake alumni in the group, their mania will be proudly presented at The Wake’s 13th birthday show at the Triple Rock Social Club on April 16!

THE WAKE: So you guys did an interview with the Wake back in 2011 Zach McCormick where you described your music as “surf punk” or “math-y surf rock.” Would you like to add any adjectives to that label, four years later?

Patrick Larkin: Cornucopic.

Zack Warpinski: Lampshade-core.

Beth Bambery: Lampshade-core… that’s kinda cool.

Patrick Larkin: Depends on the lampshade.

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THE WAKE: What was the journey like getting to your current sound of cornucopic-surf-punk? Did you intend to make this kind of music from the start?

PL: It just kind of happened naturally.

BB: I remember doing my laundry and then you guys happened to be playing and I took the microphone and just like made stupid noises. Then I think Pat said he liked it; he said, “Keep doing it!”

THE WAKE: In your 2011 Wake interview, you mentioned that you were working on a zine called Rot Milk, which you’ve since stopped doing. Have you guys worked on other zine stuff recently?

What other things have you been up to?

PL: Joe writes for a blog called Street.mn.

JS: I blog, yeah, it’s like local land use and transportation issues. It’s juicy material.

PL: We did a photo zine about commuting. That was fun. It was just photos that were taken in rush hour without looking, which sounds boring. We took thousands of photos. It’s called Commuters; that was back in 2013. The time just flies now. That’s another thing, as you get older the time just flies.

And then when we went on tour I got the idea that Minneapolis is pretty cool, and I don’t think anybody else has a better music scene.

THE WAKE: If you guys could add one instrument or effect to your sound what would it be?

Joe Scott: Cowbell.

BB: Maybe like some fun marimbas or xylophone.

ZW: Toy piano.

JS: I can feel by body rotting…

BB: They’re into buying houses now.

ZW: Yeah, we should do a real estate zine.

THE WAKE Q&A THE WAKE: The style of music you guys create is prett y hard to pin down, what do you think is the best mood to listen to your music in?

JS: While you’re trying to put together a toy fish.

BB: When cooking?

PL: When you can focus on it because it requires attention, maybe. It’s short-winded and requires attention.

ZW: I feel like it’s nice when you’re doing something with your hands on a table. Like a jigsaw puzzle or playing Jenga with your friends.

PL: Getting high and playing chess.

BB: Or when you’re at a Dolphins show when you see us, you should maybe listen, please.

ZW: Please listen.

PL: A really active pool party, like when you’re playing volleyball really intensely the whole time.

SHARYN MORROW

THE WAKE: People always seem to work the irony of your band name into any mention of your music. Has the band ever played a show in Miami and have you ever seen a dolphin?

PL: I’ve seen a dolphin at the Minnesota Zoo before they got rid of them because they decided it was inhumane, which was a wise choice. Never played in Miami. We got written up by some blogger in Miami once. We aspire to one day play in Miami I would say.

ZW: I don’t even know if I could name any bands from Miami.

BB: I’ve seen a dolphin.

JS: I’ve never seen a dolphin.

ZW: I’ve seen a manatee.

BB: I’ve also seen a manatee.

PL: That doesn’t count, man.

ZW: They’re kinda like dolphins.

BB: They’re sea cows.

PL: They don’t have sex for fun.

JS: That we know of. They’re very private.

THE WAKE: In the past you have said your inspirations include hummingbirds, robotics, cuttlefish, and ice cream. If the music of The Miami Dolphins was an ice cream flavor, what would it be?

ZW: I’d say pistachio.

BB: Grapefruit, pistachio and like, chorizo.

PL: I’d say pineapple, shrimp, and anise.

JS: Oh man, that sounds good.

THE WAKE: How would you describe The Miami Dolphins experience people will have if they come to the birthday show?

PL: Hold on to your butt s. And yeah, we look forward to being ourselves.

ZW: And trying our best to hold everybody’s attention.

THE WAKE: Any final comments? What are you guys up to next?

BB: We’re working on a new album, it’s gonna be the bomb diggity.

PL: Don’t litter.

JS: Sign up for a compost bin.

THE WAKE: When is your album going to be released?

BB: I think we’re going to try to record within the month.

PL: We’re in an exploratory phase. We’re re-finding ourselves and growing.

BB: And slowly dying.

PL: And dying. Your life is prett y much over after you turn 25.

JS: What percentage have we died just during this interview? Like, we’re .01 percent more dead than when we started rolling.

PL: So hold on to life.

ZW: And sign up for that bin, cause you’re gonna need it one day. You’re gonna die and go in that bin.

THE WAKE: Joe and Patrick, you guys used to contribute to The Wake some years ago, what did you write about?

JS: I did a dumpster diving article that probably was the same as some other dumpster diving article from like three years before that.

PL: I wrote about the most failed transit line thus far in the Twin Cities, the North Star commuter line, although I didn’t write about it in that light. I wrote about a couple of other things. My friend was the Editor-in-Chief, Ali Jaafar of [local band] Hollow Boys.

THE WAKE: How does it feel to be playing The Wake’s 13th birthday show?

BB: Very good.

ZW: Prett y excited, yeah, I like all those bands.

BB: Yeah, good lineup.

ZW: Are you guys gonna have a birthday cake? Otherwise I’m gonna make something.

SHARYN MORROW

WWW.WAKEMAG.ORG | 17

THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

FAR FROM YEEZUS KANYE WEST IS A TROUBLED, CRAZY, MUSICAL GENIUS

By Alex Van Abemma In a 2008 interview, Kanye West said, “I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice.” Rapper, producer, fashion designer, and world icon are all titles used to describe Kanye Omari West. Whether you love him or hate him, the 37-year-old Chicago native has the world in the palm of his hand.

His lyrics range from serious (like in “Jesus Walks,” or “Hey Mama,”) to oddly humorous (see: “In a French ass restaurant, hurry up with my damn croissants”).

It’s impossible to rebut the fact that Kanye has had incredible influence on the rap

LIZZIE GONCHAROVA

18 | APR 6 - APR 19

industry, and is still one of the most important rappers of the 2000s.

Before West ever got into the solo rap game, he worked as a producer. He achieved recognition and was even credited with revitalizing Jay-Z’s career after his work on the album “The Blueprint.”

Kanye’s debut album, “College Dropout,” introduced the world to his slowed-down soul music sampling and his ability to get the most out of any collaborator he featured. It won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 2004 and shot West into the mainstream.

West started the record company G.O.O.D. Music in 2004 which helped countless rap artists start or revitalize their careers. Popular albums “Man on the Moon” (Kid Cudi), “My Name Is My Name” (Pusha T) and “Dark Sky Paradise” (Big Sean) were released on the label.

West, often considered a mentor, helped Big Sean and Pusha T reach their current popularity.

with bewilderment, and critics gave the album mixed reviews. It was unlike anything he or any other rapper had ever created, and focused mainly on a virtual synthesis and an 808 drum machine set to Kanye’s auto-tune singing. Its style laid the groundwork for artists like Drake, Childish Gambino, and Kid Cudi to make music focusing on intimate subject matter and introspection.

The styles of West’s previous four albums were all present in his next album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” The album got rave reviews from most media outlets, and many magazines and websites have ranked it as one of the best albums of all time.

West’s ego was on full display in his sixth and latest album, 2013’s “Yeezus.” Songs like “I Am A God” showed the world just how Kanye saw himself: as a deity above and beyond everyone else.

Aside from his impact on the world of music, Kanye had plenty of controversy outside of that world.

One of his most notorious outbursts was at the MTV music awards in 2009, when he interrupted Taylor Swift as she accepted her award to say that Beyoncé had “one of the best music videos of all time.”

During a hurricane Katrina rally in 2005, West claimed George Bush did not care about black people.

Bush wasn’t the only president that West has upset, as Barack Obama called West a “jackass” after the Taylor Swift incident. West once even stopped a concert to yell at a man in a wheelchair to “stand up.”

“Late Registration” and “Graduation” were released in the next Then there are the actions that are just plain weird, like three years, and posing for Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone. While were very similar in also known as a fashion designer, he released a $120 style to “College “hip-hop shirt” that was simply a plain white t-shirt.

Dropout.” Both “College Dropout” Kanye married Kim Kardashian in 2009. The marriage and “Late Regismade West even more of a target for tabloids and entration” were hailed tertainment news. The couple named their first child, a

by Rolling Stone as two of the decade’s best records. However, when girl, “North” as in “North West.”

West’s mother died in 2007, things Kanye’s next album, “So Help Me God,” is set for a changed for him. He seemed broken, and surprise release, and is expected within the next few he took on different music styles. months. If he continues his trend in music, this will once again be met with critical acclaim. While Kanye West is “808s and Heartbreak,” released in no sort of role model, his contributions to the music in2008, was Kanye’s most polarizing dustry are unparalleled, and will never be forgotten. album. Fans reacted to the album

THE WAKE SOUND & VISION

ERAS OF AN ARTIST: KANYE WEST

FROM THE COLLEGE DROPOUT TO YEEZUS

By Ryan Meaney

LIZZIE GONCHAROVA

ERA I: BEATS AND BACKPACKS (2004-2007) The reverie of “making it” in hip-hop has been a major premise since the dawn of the genre. Kanye West, the epitome of this ideal, gives new meaning to this subjective term while busting through any walls in his path. In the early years, the heedless Mr. West produced his way to the top, bringing old R&B and soul samples to the mainstream.

On his first two proper records, “The College Dropout” and “Late Registration,” West disconnected from the glitter and glam of gangster rap that dominated the airwaves, instead expressing personal perils and hardships of his youth. West never shied away from pushing the buttons of the masses, and on tracks like “We Don’t Care” and “Touch the Sky,” he perfectly melded the sounds of old soul music with the words of a man batt ling for inner peace and outer acceptance. Hip-hop is a world of arrogance, showmanship, and conviction. In his first “era,” West was at war with the world he wanted so badly to rule, searching for recognition from a fi eld with the maxim “what have you done for me lately?”

ERA II: TOP OF THE PEAK (2008-PRESENT) The perils of fame meet all who choose to chase it. Why me? What is my purpose? For whom am I making this art? This era of Yeezy sees West dealing with the brutal peak of stardom. Following a media blitz, West released “808s & Heartbreak,”

a record that saw the artist take on a new sound.

Instead of the soul samples and rapping about the goal, the album was filled with electronic dance sounds and auto-tuned singing.

West retooled his sound for the 21st century; he rapped about the heartache and pain that fame brought him. The desire for fame and fortune for which he yearned in his first era came at a heavy price. West was now a massive, public figure, and a string of broadcasted outbursts and controversies marred his art. After years of apologizing, West put out his magnum opus, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” An amalgam of all of the sonic elements he experimented with before, the record is often considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. The record, while the lowest selling of West’s career, truly exhibited his keen ear for beats and melodies. We don’t know how West will spend the remainder of his career, but knowing Yeezy, he won’t quiet and secluded.

ERAS OF AN ARTIST: ST. VINCENT TAKING A LOOK AT THE TRAJECTORY OF THE ELECTRIC INDIE-ROCK GODDESS

By Andrew Tomten Annie Clark, better known by her stage name St. Vincent, is an eccentric and prolific songwriter who released fi ve studio albums since 2007. An orchestrator of sweet melodies juxtaposed with bitter distortion and dark lyrical content, St. Vincent boasters a sound completely her own. Her unique style, however, has evolved in various ways over the years.

“Marry Me,” St. Vincent’s debut album, sets the foundation for a career full of brilliant compositions.

The most innocent of her full-length releases, this album contains many easy listening diddies, such as the title track “Marry Me,” as well as “We Put a Pearl in the Ground.” Other tracks on this album, however, do contain concepts a bit more sinister.

For example, “Paris is Burning” resembles a deathly waltz straight out of a Tim Burton movie.

Some of St. Vincent’s most popular hits, such as “Actor out of Work,” “Black Rainbow,” and “Laughing

with a Mouth of Blood,” come from the album “Actor,” which followed two years later. Inspired by Disney music scores and silent films, this record ventures deeper into the danger and uneasiness that is often equated with St. Vincent’s work. Additionally, woodwind instruments are heard throughout the LP, giving off the feel of a structured, yet twisted, soundtrack.

Backstage at a music festival a year later, Clark met David Byrne of Talking Heads, and the two hit it off while talking about each others’ music videos and previous musical works. Before long, Clark and Byrne wrote and recorded songs backed by a large brass band, gathering them onto a record entitled “Love This Giant.” The live performances of these tunes were choreographed with crazy dance moves, furthering the theatrical aspect of St. Vincent’s work.

“Strange Mercy,” released in 2011, introduces the theatricality that St. Vincent has incorporated not The latest selft itled solo album is her most wideonly into her live performances but into her music ly-acclaimed record yet. Hits like “Digital Witness,” videos and studio recordings as well. Putting on “Prince Johnny,” and “Birth in Reverse” reveal a lot various personas and telling accounts from perof influence from her work experience with David verted caricatures, Annie Clark frequently puts Byrne, while illustrating a style that is still uniquely the spotlight on strange-sounding guitar and synth St. Vincent. Strange dance moves and costumes solos, such as the danceable finale to “Surgeon.” on stage, exaggerated vocal infl ections, and a wide Her eclectic choice of roles played and sounds used throughout this album made the album very popular, variety of musical style is what makes this album the most distinguishable and artistic release of all and St. Vincent received widespread acclaim before St. Vincent’s records. moving on to her next big project.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF KIM GORDON: THE GIRL IN THE BAND FOUNDING MEMBER OF SONIC YOUTH RELEASES MEMOIR

By Shawnna Stennes Kim Gordon has been perched at the top of the alternative rock pyramid for nearly four decades. Now 61, Gordon has worked as a visual artist, musician, producer, fashion designer, music video director, and actress. As a founding member and vocalist/bassist of noise-rock band Sonic Youth, she was one of the first to surf the no wave genre into the American underground scene of the ‘80s. Cranking out new music and live performances at full speed for 30 years, there are few other bands that can claim to have released albums during both your parents’ high school years and your own high school years.

Pinned as a novelty musician from the start, much of the media made Gordon a portrait of “the girl in the band.”

She channeled that label into the title of her recently released memoir “Girl in a Band.” The autobiography dives into her time at L.A. art school, her experience in the New York City no wave scene, her relationships, her

music, and her wide web of musical friends from Pavement to Meat Puppets to Nirvana.

In the book, Gordon writes about her divorce from Thurston Moore, Gordon’s counterpart as the backbone of Sonic Youth for its entire existence, and the ensuing demise of the band in 2011. Gordon admits the memoir mostly came out of the need to reexamine her life following the divorce.

A large element of Gordon’s grandeur in American music culture is her unconventional talent to produce enduring music without actually mastering an instrument. Gordon has often stated that she is not a musician and that she never really practiced the bass. She instead uses the technique of “not learning to play your instrument that well ever” which is a skill she constantly needs to maintain. In Sonic Youth, Gordon mentions that “it wasn’t like [the band] talked in chords and stuff,” but rather just messed

around with their instruments and played with the sounds that worked.

As a woman of the unorthodox, HARPERCOLLINS.COM Gordon claims her memoir “Girl in a Band” is “the most conventional thing” she’s every done. A rock icon of multiple decades, her unconventionality is what makes her so intriguing; many believe her memoir has captured that, but some believe it has fizzled the mystery of the coolheaded noise rocker that kept to herself. Whatever your perspective may be, Kim Gordon has found something worth saying, and considering the ground she’s conquered over 61 years, her words are ones I don’t want to miss.

BEHIND THE COUNTER SCENES

“BOB’S BURGERS LIVE!” DELIVERS FILTHY COMEDIC INSIGHT TO MINNEAPOLIS

By Sara Glesne With a grill-top, a lovable family, and a team of witt y writers and cartoonists, “Bob’s Burgers” debuted on Fox in January 2011. After four and a half seasons of crass one-liners and clever arcs, creator Loren Bouchard and the Belcher family’s voice actors toured eight U.S. cities to deliver observational standup, sneak preview episodes, and pott y humor aplenty.

“Bob’s Burgers Live!” opened on March 19 in Minneapolis. While some bits were rough around the edges, the improvised quirks either worked to the cast’s advantage, or seemed quickly forgiven by a crowd seeking laughs.

Established stand-ups Eugene Mirman (Gene) and H. Jon Benjamin (Bob) clumsily opened the show with inane observations that still garnered chuckles from the audience.

Both recovered from the introduction’s weirdness later with successful stand-up sets. Mirman pleased the crowd telling a lengthy joke centered around crashing a rental car, his occasional giggle straight from Gene’s vocal cords.

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When a disheveled Benjamin took the stage, Pacifico bottle in hand, he dove into a diatribe against what he called the “apocalyptic” streets of downtown Minneapolis, expressing his incredulity at finding a cocaine urine test at Walgreens (which he not only bought, but chucked into the crowd). He ended on a noisy note, with a keyboard smashing frenzy reminiscent of Tom Waits’ “The Piano Has Been Drinking.”

Benjamin summarized the stand-ups’ range from “observational to enthusiastically observational.” It spanned Dan Mintz (Tina)’s deadpan, staccato-style delivery to Kristen Schaal (Louise)’s bubbly, spitfire set, which vacillated from self-effacing yet endearing, to a portrayal of perturbed Emily Dickens that drew cackles from the crowd.

The stand-up illustrated how, as Bouchard said, the characters were selected to fit their actors, not the other way around. John Roberts (Linda) showcased his vocal range in his stand-up but struggled to pull serious laughs from audience members until he took

on Linda’s guise during the table read.

A thread that connected the show throughout was jokes on bodily ickiness. Comfort with the humiliating things bodies do to themselves is a crucial part of the show’s humor, and given the sizable fan base of “Bob’s Burgers,” the awkwardness of it all maybe scratches at the schadenfreude in us all, or just gives us a chance to relate through crushing on our own Jimmy Jr. or having an unsuccessfully sexy Valentine’s calendar.

From Mintz’s one-liner comparing breasts and batteries to Roberts’ teasing that resulted in Benjamin recounting his defecation adventures in the backstage bathroom, the show was a cycle of jokes sometimes filthy and sometimes juvenile, punctuated by jabs at how terrible humans can be.

The Q&A leaked a few tidbits, like that fans can expect the return of Gyro the sexy dance fighter from season 1, and that 34-year-old Mintz is indeed surprised that he is the voice of a generation of awkward teenagers.

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YOU SEE THIS, I HEAR THAT

THE ART-INSPIRED MUSIC PROJECT AT MCNALLY SMITH

By Lianna Matt In the same way, the composer Lucas Boeser broke apart and segmented together snippets of piano music he had been working on.

In the state between awake and asleep when the world was peaceful and calm, young Sungyat Lai laid on his grandmother’s carpet, breathing soundly. The sun filtered in through the window, warming his skin “Musicians receive their inspiration from something and exciting the dust particles in the air. All of Lai’s that is not necessarily musical,” Franklin said, “so whirring, working cells that made up his body were they write music about their theories or their loved lulled to rest by the whirring and working of his ones. I love that.” In the same vein, how the musigrandmother’s sewing machine. The steady, droning cians interpreted a piece and how the exhibit-goer heartbeat calmed this small, household universe, interpreted a piece could be radically different. For stitching it all together. instance, “Untitled” by Gustavo Torres had a jewel-ringed, glass hand creeping out over the edges of Repetitions and memories of these afternoon naps a wooden box fashioned after an old Victorian, goldbecame the inspiration for Lai’s composition in the en-paged book. With the skeletal connotation the second edition of the Art-Inspired Music Project at McNally Smith College of Music. The exhibit, featur- glass hand carried as well as the pervading romanticism of the gothic, listeners may expect to hear the ing 32 original musical works by McNally students, sounds of a melodramatic organ or at least the angst alumni, and faculty, runs Feb. 24-April 30. of the strings through the headphones. Instead, a rush of piano trickles gently cascading into crescenWalking through the gallery room at McNally Smith, dos greets the ear, the strings supporting the melody guests close off the world by slipping on headphones to elevation, to flying in the airy sunlight. and listening to the songs accompanying animation, sculptures, and paintings. To supplement the exhibit, “Getting people to think,” curator, musician, and liberal arts professor William Black said, is one of Franklin and co-curator Elizabeth Black worked to the most valuable parts of compile the Distinguished Speakers Series which the whole experience. Black touches on the history, science, and examples of artmay have been referring to ists inspiring musicians and vice-versa. the showcase itself, but the Distinguished Speakers Series At the beginning of the project, Franklin put out a complements this driving motivation. call for composers and gathered them all in a room The initiation talks on March 19 gave a to pick out their artistic inspiration. When photobroad overview of the interaction of music graphs of the artwork popped up on the projector and art before focusing in on Debussy. Later screen, both students and faculty got excited. “And talks will look at synesthesia, assonance and they go like that,” Franklin said, pointing suddenly, dissonance in the arts and more. eyes lit up and wide, “like a kid in the toy store. You have a subjecti ve response, a gut reaction, and then The Distinguished Speaker Series, the you calm down and reinterpret it.” The mystery of exhibit, and the program catalogue all serve to that gut reaction is Franklin’s favorite part. educate. Additionally, Lai helped to coordinate a children’s visit to the exhibit with JuxtapoBlack experienced the Art-Inspired Music Project sition, a nonprofit organization promoting from two perspecti ves: as co-curator and as the social entrepreneurship in artistry. Perhaps, source of artwork for one of the composers. As a though, the main lesson from the Art-Inspired receptionist for McNally, she stared at the same Music Project is one from German composer Carl collection of pieces in the same style day after Friederich Zelter (1758-1832): “There is only one day. And, well, she got sick of it.

Art; painting and music are only different fi elds, part of After sending out inquiries, she connected with this general Art; one must know the other side; yes, Franklin, and they began the second edition. Later, the painter who is musical, just as the composer as an artist, she saw how her creative process of who paints, these are the true, genuine, artists.”

“The Grid” translated into music. Black had cut apart photographs and transposed them into monoliths.

Through the Art-Inspired Music Project, Franklin does not wish to indoctrinate people into a certain way of thinking; he wants to show them possible connections between art fi elds that some see as completely unrelated. In reference to his essay in the catalogue, Franklin said that “it is in the context of a school.” He wants to give people the tools and the starting point to explore what he calls the “largest picture of humanity. The arts.”

The Art-Inspired Music Project runs Feb. 24April 30 at McNally Smith College of Music. All of its participants would like to dedicate this project to Ryan Horton.

OLIVIA NOVOTNY

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ONE FRANCHISE TO RULE THEM ALL COMING AROUND TO “THE LORD OF THE RINGS”

By Chance Wellnitz

FLICKR / BANDITA

Although I put the four-disc special extended edition DVDs on my Christmas list countless times, at the start of my 20s I had still never seen “The Lord of the Rings.”

To my two Tolkien-head roommates, that was unacceptable. So there I was, spending a Friday night watching Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy for the first time.

After the four-minute prologue in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” I told myself there was no way I was going to keep the plot straight. This wasn’t like watching “Donnie Darko” in high school, where I was confident I had it all figured out after one viewing only to go online and discover I didn’t have a clue. This was like classic lit in high school, where I gave up five pages into “Wuthering Heights.” And like “Wuthering Heights,” I quickly decided to rely entirely on the Wiki plot summary for “LOTR.” Then, just like Sean Bean’s character, my phone died — which I should have totally seen coming, and looking back, was probably for the best.

Watching a film with its Wiki page glowing in your lap is like going out to dinner with your date’s OKCupid profile open on your phone. It’s a luxury having instant access to everything from how long it took Treebeard to render in “The Two Towers” to a glowing review of the series’ Burger King toys, but I wasn’t able to see and feel the effort that went into making the film series until I put my phone away. Besides, I’d already skipped the books; it would be pathetic if I couldn’t get through the movies.

I had seen other Peter Jackson films before. The sheer expansiveness of the world in his “King Kong” remake can be directly traced back to “The Lord of the Rings,” as can Andy Serkis’ incredible mo-capped performance. The madcap energy of “Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead)” is always bubbling beneath the surface in the Mordor scenes and the heart of “Heavenly Creatures” can be felt throughout the series as well.

Jackson’s love of the source material is felt in every frame of these films. That’s why the films continue to resonate today. I may have missed the phenomenon, but my birthday is coming up, and I may try for those DVDs one last time.

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OF MONTREAL SAN CISCO: “GRACETOWN”

By Nicole Carlson

It’s a relief that of Montreal visits Minneapolis twice a year, because otherwise we’d start to miss their theatricality. Since each show is different, the band is worth watching every time. As always, Lanc introduced the show and entertained the audience with morbid, self-loathing jokes. Then, the charismatic Kevin Barnes entered, glamorously done up in sparkly eye makeup.

Unsurprisingly, the opening song was “Bassem Sabry,” the first track off their new album “Aureate Gloom.” Despite its funky feel, the song is about a recently deceased Egyptian pro-democracy acti vist.

Complex issues hidden under a psychedelic layer is typical of the band’s music, and the new album maintains that norm.

Five more tracks played off the album made for less familiar tunes for the audience and thus less dancing and singing along. There were still plenty of fan favorites, like “Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider,” which turns from distorted instrumentals into a poppy look at Barnes’ dating life. Theatrics were mostly unrelated to the lyrics and went for shock value. The shirtless poodles boxing Abe Lincoln and the projected images of swimming sperm were unsettling.

By Carter Jones San Cisco brought their indelible Aussie beach-pop back to our shores with “Gracetown.” Their sophomore effort comes after a two-and-a-half year hiatus during which time the band matured greatly. On “Gracetown,” teenage angst gives way to a groovier, laid-back sound.

Where their first album, “San Cisco,” lacked grace (for lack of a better word), “Gracetown” patches the holes and brings a healthy dose of synth along with it. Heavy funk and disco influences abound while preserving their signature pop melodies. A more focused narrative, “Gracetown” will ultimately have a longer shelf life than the conglomeration that is “San Cisco.”

The opening track “Run” picks up right where they left off with percussive panting, handclaps, and a Funkadelic-esque bassline which all cling along to Scarlett Stevens’ breakneck drumming. The pop ballad “Too Much Time Together” also isn’t much of a departure from their debut. Josh Biondillo’s snappy guitar riffs shine alongside Stevens’ floating vocals.

The pounding disco hit “Snow” borders on introspection as lead singer Jordi Davieson sings about juggling Mid-show, Barnes handed the microphone over to touring and having a girlfriend who wants him back two girls in Western wear who sang a Kitt y Wells home. “You’re just nostalgic, and it wasn’t even that cover—an odd choice for their glam rock fans. Barnes good,” he croons over a popping synth. San Cisco really also announced he had a fever, explaining his weak harnesses the synth on “Super Slow,” as Stevens’ salavoice and octave-drop during “A Sentence of Sorts in cious vocals blend into a temperate groove in a battling Kongsvinger.” The fact that the show wasn’t cancelled call-and-response with Davieson. Isabella Manfredi of demonstrates Barnes’ dedication to his fans and his The Preatures lends vocals to “Jealousy,” and delivers a addiction to live performance. Perhaps the show wasn’t as good as an of Montreal concert could be, but stiff, hushed tone that follows Davieson’s lead. it was still entertaining and original. Their shows are “Gracetown” will have listeners throwing off their a healthy escape from normality, and every indie pop parkas and grabbing surfboards in no time. fan should experience of Montreal live.

MODEST MOUSE: “STRANGERS TO OURSELVES”

By Karl Witkowiak After eight years without a release, Modest Mouse returns with a new full-length that is possibly their most experimental to date. The new album “Strangers to Ourselves” satisfies longtime fans with much anticipated and fresh material while also providing a good starting point for first-time listeners.

The album feels like a perfect fusion of indie rock influences, with the bonus of unusual composition and deep lyrics. Though his voice may not be conventionally prett y, Isaac Brock spouts thought-provokingly morbid lyrics throughout the LP, peppered with images of nature. The song “Coyotes” illustrates the plight of a harmless wild animal as people mislabel it a harmful beast.

In terms of production, each song on “Strangers to Ourselves” draws influence from either the mellow sound of Modest Mouse’s early albums or the bombastic feel of their mid-2000s material. Title track “Strangers to Ourselves” brings back a somber feel.

Other tracks with more upbeat tempos are more easily relatable to recent Modest Mouse releases, such as “Lampshades of Fire,” “The Best Room,” and “Sugar Boats.” A few songs showcase elements previously unseen in the band’s catalogue, such as the Talking Heads-inspired “The Ground Walks with Time in a Box” or the unusual vocal-pitch change in “Pistol.”

The album shows an evolution of style, and it demonstrates that Modest Mouse won’t just stick with a cheap or simple formula for success. Each song feels different thanks to interesting production techniques, whether they are solid and tight like in “The Best Room,” or perplexing like in “Pistol.”

“Strangers to Ourselves” is a statement that Modest Mouse is here to keep indie rock interesting.

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