After its theatrical debut on Nov 25, audiences have been mesmerized by "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." Originally a children's novel by renowned author Roald Dahl, this story has come to life in a unique way with the help of director Wes Anderson.
mtvU held the sixth annual Woodie Awards on Nov. 18 in New York City's Roseland Ballroom. mtvU – the obviously cooler television station for college students that actually plays music – opened their red carpet access to college newspapers and invited hundreds of college students to come to the show for free. The standing room floor audience had access to three bars and two different stages to watch the five amazing performances up close and personal, with celebrities and VIP's mingling within the crowd all evening for a real rock n' roll award show.
The Setonian had the opportunity to speak to Chris Walla, producer and guitarist of Death Cab for Cutie, before he performed Death Cab's new song, "Meet Me at the Equinox," live at the MTV Woodies.When asked about the band's motivation to write a song specifically tailored for the "Twilight" soundtrack, Walla admitted to being a fan of the series and said the recording process was "unlike anything we've ever done. It was the first time that we put a song together with something really specific in mind."Outside of vampires and werewolves, Walla acknowledged the recent success of Death Cab's latest record, "Narrow Stairs," discussing the band's emergence into the mainstream world. Not feeling the pressure to maintain mainstream standards, Walla said, "I don't think that anybody really gets anywhere by sort of specifically tailoring their music to fit what a particular audience wants to hear.""I think that I think we're just going to keep doing what we've always done, which is just trying to make records that we like and that we would listen to if we were buying them," Walla said.For all the fans yearning for the lo-fi albums from the "Something About Airplanes" heyday, Walla will not make any promises. "You're really in a dangerous place if you are trying to make decisions, musical and creative decisions specifically, to please some subset of your fans," he said.There are no new plans for a Death Cab album just yet, though Walla acknowledged that the new record will "probably be a little bit more accessible than ‘Narrow Stairs' was." For now, Walla fans can listen to his studio mastery on the albums he is currently producing from groups like Tegan and Sara, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and The Thermals.Kevin Stevens can be reached at kevin.stevens@student.shu.edu.
Alice Sebold's best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones" will come to life on the silver screen in Peter Jackson's film adaptation opening in theaters on Dec. 11.
From early November until late December, people everywhere are bombarded by countless holiday songs, TV specials and movies. Even though each season presents original programming nothing can replace the classics like Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
The Walsh Gallery has unveiled its latest exhibit, "Uncommon Threads," which contains the works of 15 contemporary fiber artists. The exhibit, which is free and available to the public from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, opened on Nov. 2 and will run until Dec. 11.
When going to see Dough Hughes' production of David Mamet's "Oleanna," bring your boxing gloves and fighting words. Currently playing at the Golden Theater on Broadway and featuring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, this all-out verbal (and sometimes physical) brawl presents the issue of sexual harassment and assault with the tagline, "Whatever side you take, you're wrong."
The childhood staple "Where the Wild Things Are" has returned with the recent release of a live-action feature film adaptation which has earned a respectable $32.7 million in its opening weekend.
As a special presentation by Seton Hall's Poetry-in-the-Round program, celebrated American poet John Ashbery will be reading selections of his work on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in the McNulty Amphitheatre.
In 1995, most current Seton Hall students were impressionable elementary students, whose biggest concern in life was having an extra five minutes tacked onto afternoon recess. During this idyllic past, Disney and Pixar united to change animation and children's movies forever. From this union came the blockbuster hit, "Toy Story." The life-like characters in the trailers captivated television screens worldwide and were enough to make any child beg to catch the movie on its opening day, even if they weren't interested in cowboys or astronauts. "Toy Story" didn't just bring innovative animation to table, but also a message of friendship, compromise and loyalty that still applies to all ages even today. Fast forward 12 years and one sequel later, Disney-Pixar has re-released "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in movie theaters with an interesting twist- they are in 3D. At the time of the original release of "Toy Story," there were no feature films that had used solely computer generated imagery, making the movie technologically savvy and revolutionary. The re-release targets children who weren't born when Woody and Buzz Lightyear were cultural phenomenons in the mid-90s, as well as to build hype for the third installment to the "Toy Story" saga which is due for release in the summer of 2010. In "Toy Story 3" we visit a more mature Andy preparing to head off to college, putting his toys away into storage, except his favorite toy, Woody. In typical "Toy Story" fashion, the toys are accidentally thrown away and find themselves in a daycare struggling to survive while Woody attempts to save them and find a them new home. The third story targets both the young adults that grew up with the "Toy Story" crew and new, younger fans.The re-release of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" still earned an estimated $12.5 million in its opening weekend, proving that some values stick regardless of generation and age.Kristen Hardy can be reached at kristen.hardy@student.shu.edu.
The Theatre Council will present a twist on the classic tale, "Beauty and the Beast," on Saturday Oct. 3 at 1p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Theatre-in-the-Round.
With Paramore's recent explosion onto the entertainment scene due to the massive success of "Decode," the single used endlessly in "Twilight" promotions, the band has made wide strides to meet the challenge of living up to their success with the release of their third full-length album, "Brand New Eyes." Now connected to the series, Paramore takes a step away from the teenaged vampire angst of "Twilight," instead choosing to write about what they consider more mature matters.Interestingly, the band chose not to contribute songs to the "New Moon" soundtrack for fear that they would become irrevocably tied to the craze.The group does not abandon their discussion of love, but instead looks at the subject, most fittingly, with brand new eyes."Careful" is a commanding opener to the record, and is a good indication of the impending journey. It leads into "Ignorance," the first single, which showcases the convictions of vocalist Hayley Williams. The album's tempo is slowed slightly with "Playing God," a deceptively poppy attack on religious hypocrites. Steam picks back up with "Brick By Boring Brick," a standout track featuring formerly-sparse elements like handclaps and gang vocals. A rough-cutting end slows back down into the reflective "Turn It Off," and even further into "The Only Exception," a sweet slow sing-along with an elegant orchestrated ending that one can imagine being sung around a campfire. Despite its melancholy title, "Feeling Sorry," a song reminiscent of the trademark pop of The Starting Line, is about picking up and moving on. "Looking Up," highlighted by its stellar bridge and obvious harder rock influences, picks up the album's love theme, reminding listeners how quickly things can change. Including a nod to "My Heart," a song off of Paramore's first record "All We Know Is Falling," "Where the Lines Overlap" pulls the theme to a close when Williams declares that she's "never been happier." Closing out the album are "Misguided Ghosts," a haunting song about revelation and acceptance, and "All I Wanted," a heart-wrencher showcasing Williams' vocal chops.On the surface, "Brand New Eyes" will seem like the same Paramore you've heard in the past, with song after song driven by the surprisingly big voice of a punky front-woman but a deeper look yields the understanding that this is Paramore all grown-up. This is no place for Tommy Pickles; the majority of the band moved out of their teenage years between the recording of "Riot!" and "Brand New Eyes," and their progression and budding urge to look to a better future is certainly evident. The record weaves through life's confusions and leads to the road of self-realization.While there is nothing ground-breaking here (as true originality in music has become an elusive feat), Paramore begins to break the surface with improved lyrical content and more creative musical inclusions. "Brand New Eyes" is an undeniably catchy album with good replay value, and the most cohesive release from Paramore to date.Embarking on a long-awaited tour of small clubs, Paramore will play three sold-out shows in the area in mid-October at Montclair's Wellmont Theatre, Philadelphia's Electric Factory, and New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom before heading off on a European tour.Bonnie Falconer can be reached at bonnie.falconer@student.shu.edu.
An exciting aspect of Seton Hall's location in South Orange is its proximity to New York and New Jersey's biggest music venues, such as Madison Square Garden, the IZOD Center and PNC Bank Arts Center. However, there are many much smaller, accessible venues hosting shows from the tri-state area's burgeoning music scene, including popular and obscure bands. Kevin Stevens can be reached at kevin.stevens@student.shu.edu.
At the start of the fall semester in 2007, Seton Hall junior Rob Hoffman was snapping women's soccer shots in preparation for the Setonian production night.
MtvU and the New York Stock Exchange Euronext are sponsoring a nationwide competition called "Movers & Changers," which challenges budding entrepreneurs to promote social change through innovative business ideas.
When "Beatlemania" spread across the world in the 1960s, it's safe to say John, Paul, George and Ringo would have never pegged an Xbox or Playstation as a future venue.But now the Fab Four can add this generation's video game consoles to their resumes with the release of "The Beatles: Rock Band" on Wednesday.
Although most of Seton Hall University's undergraduate students were still in diapers while Michael Jackson sang and moonwalked his way to success, the King of Pop left a lasting impression on our generation.
The Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University is currently showcasing several exhibitions this summer.
Some of the most interesting aspects of Michael Jackson's long and storied career can be measured in straight numbers. The first four Jackson 5 singles – "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" – all went to No. 1 on the charts, making them the first artists to achieve such success. Michael performed or produced at least 60 Top 40 singles in his lifetime. His Thriller album had seven Top 10 hits out of nine songs, and follow-up Bad yielded five consecutive chart-topping singles between 1987 and 1988 – two records that have yet to be matched.
With New York City a half an hour train ride away, Seton Hall students have endless opportunities to experience entertainment in one of the most culturally diverse and lively cities in the world. These lesser known attractions will provide any city-savvy Seton Hall student with fun in not such obvious places.
Solutions by The State News
