If you're wondering what to get your music-savvy friends for the holidays, consider buying them these releases to add to their record collections. Ha, just kidding - who actually pays for music anymore? Anyway, I couldn't mention only 10, so here's my baker's dozen of top picks for the albums of 2007.
We all have one to shop for - the friend who happens to be an über-finicky music fan. Here are five holiday gift ideas for the snob who wants a more in-depth present than the hottest Soulja Boy single on iTunes:
Wu-Tang Clan - "8 Diagrams"
With video games more popular this holiday season than ever before, do you know what to buy for the gamer in your life?
Ever accidentally eavesdropped and overheard something so ridiculous you had to laugh and tell all your friends later? Well, share it with the rest of us. Send your ridiculous, funny or ridiculously funny overheard quotes to Beth Romanik.
There is nothing that defines relationships and sex for this generation more than Facebook.
Alicia Keys has carried a piano prodigy stigma throughout her career, yet her two studio albums and Unplugged album were punctuated with a hip-hop edge indicative of her Harlem upbringing. But with her latest, "As I Am," Keys' sound matures, often reaching adult contemporary. It's her most mellow, most boring album, but it's still pretty good.
Holiday shopping season is rapidly nearing, and you know what that means: prime time for fossilized rock stars to release self-prostituting "best-of" compilations that collect and reorganize all the songs you already have.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Drawing a perfect circle will be the goal for some UF artists Friday night.
It's tough for me to say, but if I had to pick one game that made me love playing video games, I would have to pick Mario 64.
Maybe during the break after this class
Jay-Z may have left the Brooklyn underworld more than a decade ago to establish himself as one of the most successful figures in the music industry, but that didn't stop him from revisiting his dark past on "American Gangster," his 10th studio album in 12 years. Inspired by the Ridley Scott film of the same name, Jay-Z weaves tales of a young drug dealer over 70s soul beats to mixed, but mostly positive, results.
Recording and releasing albums is no longer just for bigwigs in the music industry. Gainesville bands are also heading to the studios in order to give fans souvenirs, to get their songs heard and of course, to make some extra money.
Talking to Bob Wootton is almost like communicating with a ghost.
After my first viewing of the trailer for "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry," with its rampant homophobia and the sheer presence of Adam Sandler ("Punch Drunk Love" notwithstanding), I knew it was going to be a film to avoid. When it turned out to be my only viable choice at a movie theater one night, I knew deep within my soul that I was going to hate it and write a scathing review.
You know what I hate? When people (or more often, movie characters) say, "You just know," when referring to significant others. I even had an older relative once tell me that they just knew "like you know about a good melon." But even that bewilders me - many a time I have cut open a not yet ripe cantaloupe.
Hate to break the news to you, but better sex is not going to happen just because it's harder, faster or longer (though I'll admit, those don't hurt).
Judging from his films, the coming-of-age story seems to be Wes Anderson's favorite genre. At the end of every one of his films, at least one of the protagonists has arrived at some enlightened state of maturity, and this nirvana is usually acknowledged by a sentimental slow-motion shot accompanied by heartfelt music.
Take a good look at the poster for "Scarface" with that famous black-and-white image of Al Pacino. Now imagine Denzel Washington in the place of Pacino (he even holds a pistol in the same hand) and plop Russell Crowe behind him for good measure, and you have the poster for Ridley Scott's new film, "American Gangster," which was surely no accident.
Solutions by The State News
