By Sierra Stark

Michael Buble recently released a Christmas album simply titled Michael Buble Christmas.  I have always liked his music and so I was eager to buy it.  As you will see from my review, I was not disappointed.

1. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas- Starting the cd out with this song was a great idea.  His charm and talent added to an already great classic.  I definitely wanted to hear more after this song!

2. Santa Claus is coming to town- Adding a little jazz to this song was a wonderful idea.  The second song was as good as the first!

3. Jingle Bells- This song featured the Puppini Sisters, and I am not sure that they were such a great choice.  Michael was great, but he could have picked someone better to accompany him.

4. White Christmas- I have never really loved this song, but I thought this was better than the version usually heard on the radio, which seems a little too whiny.

5. All I want for Christmas is you- This is one of my favorites on the cd.  I have always liked this song by Mariah Carey, but this version is even better!

6. Holly Jolly Christmas- Let's just say he was born to sing this song!

7. Santa Baby- I wondered how this song would be since it is normally sang by a woman with a crush on St. Nick, but Michael did a fun twist on the song by adding a few words of his own.  He actually refers to Santa as a buddy rather than his baby.

8. Have Yourself a merry little Christmas- Michael's voice made this version of a classic one of  my favorites. Great choice Michael!

9. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)- This is another one of my favorites.  I like the upbeat song here so that you are not bored with the slower, classic songs.

10. Silent Night- This has never been one of my favorites, but Michael did as good of a job as any with this one.  However, I like that he incorporated children singing into the song.

11. Blue Christmas- I never loved Elvis' version of this one, but I think Michael did a much better job.

12. Cold December Night- I liked this new, upbeat song.  The lyrics were well written and Michael sang it brilliantly, as always.

13. I'll Be Home For Christmas- To be honest this was not one of his best.  I thought he didn't sound true to his voice.

14. Ave Maria- This was not a typical Michael Buble sounding song, but I liked it! It was operatic, and well done.

15. Deseos/ Feliz Navidad- This version was better than the normal one heard on the radio. Thalia was a great choice for this song!

Overall I was delighted by this CD. I would recommend purchasing the one at Target so that you can get the CD with 3 bonus tracks.  Well done Michael!

By Brian Tonkin
Since the dawn of man, people have always argued. We argue over just about anything and if you have a point to make, it will surely be met with retaliation. However, there is one exception. Nearly all logical musicians, fans, critics, or really just anybody would agree the “Dimebag” Darrel Abbot is the greatest guitar player to walk this earth. From a combination of love for music and shear shredding abilities, there are few who rival the guitar god.

Emerging form the great American Southwest in 1981, Pantera became one of the leading metal groups of the decade. Pantera’s front man, Darrel Abbot, could easily be the head influence on all modern guitarists. In 2003, after a long and glorious reign on the top of the music industry, Pantera split up and the members went their separate ways. Darrel and his brother, Vinnie Paul Abbot, started a new group, Damageplan. The group got off to an early but short lived success. As the band was playing a concert in Ohio, a schizophrenic fan rushed the stage and proceeded to fire a gun at the members. The man was killed by local police officers but the damage had been done. Four men were killed, one of which was the beloved heavy metal legend, Darrel Abbot.

Last Thursday, December 8th, marked the seven year anniversary of the shooting.  Although his life was tragically cut short, Darrel’s legacy lives on through his musical masterpieces and the many close friends he had in life. On Black Label Society’s hit album, Mafia, fellow guitar god Zakk Wylde pays tribute to his lost friend during the song “In This River”. He was just one of millions who mourns the loss of a true metal hero.

R.I.P. “Dimebag” Darrel Abbot

August 20th, 1966 - December 8th, 2004

By Kaylen Thomas

My friends have been calling me “the Grinch” this holiday season because I refuse to listen to Christmas music. Don’t get me wrong, there are some classic holiday songs that I love, but there are also a lot of annoying songs that I am glad are only popular for one month out of the year. Here’s a list of annoying Christmas songs that would be better if they were, like singer Michael McLean would call, “forgotten carols.”

Christmas Shoes- This is a popular song that I am sure you have heard of. It’s about a young boy whose mother is dying, and instead of spending quality time with her, he goes out to buy her a pair of shoes she will never walk in. That is so stupid and unrealistic. Plus, he is a little young boy without an adult. In our world today that would never happen- this would only be realistic if it were an episode of the PBS cartoon Arthur, where 3rd graders go around and get ice cream without their parents on a regular basis.

When Christmas Comes to Town- This song is all about greedy little brats. The world really shouldn’t encourage kids to expect gifts.

Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer- Did she really- because the only thing the grandson singing the song cares about is that Santa might be real. The song states “Now we’re all so proud of grandpa, he’s been taking this so well, see him in there watching football, drinking beer and playing cards with cousin Belle.”  Grandpa doesn’t even care that his wife got ran over- making this irritating song even more stupid.

Homeless- The stupid song gets stuck in my head and all I can hear is the word “homeless.” The lyrics say the words home, homeless, or mansion (which I consider to be a type of house) at least 25 times (I got sick of counting).We get the point we’re not homeless.  Come up with better lyrics next time and maybe you will stumble upon a catchy Christmas song.

I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas- No you don’t. You are just trying to be as obnoxious as possible. Also, at least 300 people die yearly from hippo attacks. So don’t expect to get one and stop singing with that annoying whining voice.

Santa Baby- Why does this young girl want to date an old fat bearded man who is married? There should be a new verse added about how Mrs. Clause can’t compete with Madonna- then I might consider not changing the song when it comes on the radio.   

 

By Nicholas Lives

"Don't Stop Believing" (by Journey) is one of those songs that is largely considered to be a "classic."  After all, it gets replayed and remixed by multiple artists nearly every year. There must be something about it that has caused it to stick in the minds of people everywhere for so many years.

Because of this, I decided to take it upon myself to investigate the lyrics of this so-called classic, and discover for myself what sort of story this song aims to tell its massive audience.

Let us begin the investigation!

Below I have provided the lyrics to the song (black), along with my investigative commentary pertaining to the lyrics' meaning. (red)

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world

And so begins the story. Here we are told that a “small town” girl lives in a “lonely world.” Where exactly that “lonely world” is located remains ambiguous, leading me to believe that this world is most likely some sort of run-down ghost town, because what other “small town” could be more lonely and ambiguous?

She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

I suppose living in a run-down ghost-town just wasn’t working out for Ms. Small-Town, although one can’t help but wonder why she decided to board a train at such a late hour.  Not only that, but “goin’ anywhere” indicates she doesn’t know where the train is going. I suspect evil may be afoot here…

Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit

Now we’re talking about another kid, huh? Considering this is framed in the same way as the first line, one can infer that the writer of the song considers “south Detroit” just as bad as “lonely world.”

He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

What’s with everyone leaving town so late at night? I guess Mr. City-Boy must be pretty desperate to get out of south Detroit, but for what reason? I wonder if this is the same midnight train that Ms. Small-Town boarded…

A singer in a smokey room

A smell of wine and cheap perfume

These two lines seem to indicate we’re in a bar or nightclub of some sort, but since the last line talked about boarding the midnight train, one can only assume that this bar is in fact located INSIDE the midnight train. I think now I can see why everyone was so eager to board it.

For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on and on and on

“For a smile they can share the night?” Now we’ve established that the midnight club train ALSO functions as a bed-and-breakfast, and that they apparently use smiles for currency. What a train ride! But the next line indicates something far more sinister. What goes on and on  and on? The train? Is the midnight club/bed-and-breakfast train going to keep rolling off into “anywhere” forever?

 (Chorus)

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard

This is where things start getting creepy. Who are these strangers? What are they waiting for?  Why won’t the train stop already? Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy should never have boarded this midnight train…

Their shadows searching in the night

Now the strangers’ shadows are searching? Searching for what? Souls to devour? Don’t make eye contact with the shadows, Ms. Small-Town and Mr. City-Boy!  It’s a trick!

Streetlights people, living just to find emotion

As the train lurks on down the forever-winding boulevard to anywhere, it would appear that the “Streetlights” are taking on the forms of “people!” These streetlight people apparently only live to find “emotion,” but I suspect the only emotion they are after is FEAR.

Hiding, somewhere in the night.

I’m not sure what’s scarier, knowing that shadow people and streetlight people are slowly pursuing me, or not knowing where they are hiding in the night, or when they might attack again.

Working hard to get my fill,

Everybody wants a thrill

It has become apparent that this so-called “midnight train” is the railroad equivalent to that squid-faced fellow’s ship of lost souls from Pirates of the Caribbean. “Working off to get my fill?”  The only way to get off, it seems, is to pay off your debt to the evil train conductor. Although the second line here seems to indicate that Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town aren’t the only ones trying to get off this nightmare train…

Payin' anything to roll the dice,

Just one more time

Payin’ anything to roll the dice just one more time? What could this possibly mean? Is Mr. City-Boy gambling for his life now? How desperate are these people to get off this train of doom? I can’t blame them, I suppose. Those streetlight-people and stranger’s shadows are hiding somewhere in the night, after all. It’s only a matter of time before they leap from the darkness to snatch up a wandering soul.

Some will win, some will lose

Some were born to sing the blues

Some will win, some will lose. Judging from the information give on line 2, I guess the losers are forced to “sing the blues” to appease the cackling demons and ghosts that are undoubtedly watching the frightened passengers of the midnight train. Now that’s just sick.

Oh, the movie never ends

It goes on and on and on and on

Not only do the passengers have to worry about the presence of demonic streetlight-people, mysterious ghostly shadows, and a never-ending train, but it appears they also have to endure the premiere of the evil train conductor’s home-made movie! A movie with such badly-written dialog and horrible acting that every second you spend watching it causes your brain to throb in agony. Those monsters! This train truly is the Nightmare Express.

(Chorus)

Don't stop believin'

Hold on to the feelin'

Now is the part where the song gets all inspirational and stuff. I think I finally see why this song is so popular! Even though Mr. City-Boy and Ms. Small-Town are trapped on a nightmarish train of lost souls, they “don’t stop believing” that they may eventually escape one day, and “hold on to the feeling” of sanity that has been steadily dripping away since they boarded the Nightmare Express. It’s bittersweet, really. I kind of have hope for the two poor souls now. Maybe they WILL escape... Maybe someday, if they just keep believing… they will-

Streetlight people

And just like that, all hope is lost. After filling our minds with all that “believing” nonsense, the song seems to tell us the end to this story in a single line. “Streetlight people.” Of course, how could we forget about the streetlight people? We don’t hear anything more about our two heroes after this, indicating that perhaps while they were busy “believing” in themselves and “holding on” the the tiny sliver of sanity left in their minds, the Streetlight-people burst in through the window, and carry them off into the lurking shadows, never to be seen again… This is quite a miserable end to the story of a small-town girl and a city boy from Detroit, who unfortunately decided to board the midnight train going anywhere.

So I guess we know now why this is such a popular song.  After all, who doesn't like a good ghost story?

By Carolyn Webber

Love stories have been around forever. We’re human; we can’t help but enjoy leaving our lives and reliving false love stories of giddiness on the screen. But a new movie has come out that seems all too real. Like Crazy is a movie about love. The couple meets, they part, they try, they fail, and yet some force keeps them together. Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) meet while in school in California. Anna, though, is not a US citizen. She’s British and is therefore constrained by the laws of her student visa. The movie follows the relationship between the two, rather than stressing on the individual characters. Like Crazy was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this past spring, and then was re-released in theatres in November. The Broadway Theatre of Salt Lake is the only theatre playing the movie in Utah.

The plot isn’t the only thing that makes the movie worth seeing. Symbolism pops up repeatedly with items- such as the chair and the word “Patience.” And it’s interesting to see how everything is totally defined by space and time. The distance between people implies the story without speaking it. Time is imperative because if something had happened just an hour or a day before, there would have been a completely different result. Time is not normal in this movie either. There are jumps between scenes which leave you guessing what happened during those missing months/years. These jumps may cause stumbling questions, which some don’t appreciate.

Critics of the movie also found the relationship and events to be unrealistic. Senior Cassidy England said, “I didn’t like the movie at all. The relationship was not realistic and it was totally awkward the entire time.” The title also doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere with the movie, besides the quote being written on the bottom of the chair. It does, however, draw somewhere from the enduring theme of love throughout the movie. In the beginning, Anna shares a quote about love in which she writes, “I thought I understood it. But I didn't. Only the smudgeness of it. The eagerness of it. The Idea of it. Of you and me.” It may seem sappy, and maybe it is. But this movie is definitely and fresh take on the traditional love story.

By Nicholas Lives

Here I am again with another first-impressions track-by-track album review.  Today's special treat is Coldplay's newest album entitled "MyloXyloto," which probably means something cool when translated to English from hipster, I'm sure.  Alright, enough time has been wasted already. Let's do this!

1. Mylo Xyloto: Wow, opening an album with the album title song is a pretty bold move there, Coldplay.  You must be fairly eager to impress me, eh?  Well let’s see just how title-worthy this oddly named song really is, shall we?  So far the tingling bells and electronic zinging are making for an appropriate build up…I like where this is going... Wait, are they saying the words “hurts like heaven?”

2. Hurts Like Heaven: Wait what happened??  We’re already on the second track?  Oh I get it; this must be one of those “musical experience” albums, where every song blends into the next seamlessly.  Hmm, channeling some Pink Floyd here are we, Coldplay? Well here’s a question: Why is the album’s title song getting relegated to a 10 second build up to the next song?  Maybe it’s just me, but I think naming the album after what basically amounts to the sound of electronic jingle bells somewhat underwhelms the listener’s expectations for the rest of the album.  Hold on a minute, is that fading I hear?

3. Paradise: Way to be consistent, Coldplay! The last song faded out completely and this song just started like it was its own independent thing!  So is this a “musical experience” or not, guys?  Oh forget it, let’s just listen.  … From what I gather by the lyrics, this song seems to be about some sort of “paradise,” but the phrase “Para-para-dise” is regularly accompanied by what sounds like a child whining at his mother. “Eeeee-Eeeeeeah-Ooooh!”  Not sure what kind of paradise this is supposed to be; maybe Coldplay just finds the sounds of spoiled infants to be particularly pleasing.

4. Charlie Brown: And there goes the last song fading out again.  Did you guys just start out wanting to make a musical experience but then found that it was a little bit too difficult to integrate all these songs into one another?  I suppose I’ll just drop it for now so we can get on with the listening of this song.  … So far I’ve sat through about a minute of this song, and I still can’t figure out what it has to do with everyone’s favorite manically depressed “Peanuts” child.  Not one mention of Charlie Brown, guys?  I keep hearing the phrase “glowing in the dark,” so if anyone can find a way to connect that to Charlie Brown, feel free to enlighten me.

5. Us Against the World: … Listening to this song, I gather this song is meant to be the political equivalent to “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” but less interesting to listen to.  You guys are up for global peace too?  Well more power to you for making a song about it, but did you have to make the song so - hold on, “It’s us against the world?”  What happened to being united with other countries?  Were you just singing about yourselves this whole time?  Well now I’m just confused.

6. M.M.I.X.:  Is that a “MIX” I see in this song’s mysterious acronym title?  Well I suppose that means we can expect a large variety of sounds and styles here, which is good news for me, because the last few songs were starting to feel a bit on the redundant side… sounds like we’re building up to something big here, I’m already getting pumped up!  And here come the guitars and vocals like a fantastic punch to the face.  Woo! Hmm.. what’s that they keep saying about teardrops and waterfalls?

7. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall: Oh you’ve got to be kidding me!  Again?  Coldplay, I thought we were over this!  Are you trying to sneak your way back into being a musical experience?  Coldplay seems to be developing a bad habit of making the mysterious sounding titled songs into pointless 10 second build ups to the next song.  Why didn’t you just incorporate the build up from M.M.I.X. into the beginning of this song?  I mean granted, this song has quite a bit of energy and enthusiasm for teardrops and waterfalls, and to be honest it’s probably the best song I’ve heard on this album thus far, but why waste an entire track on the buildup when you can just put it in the beginning of this song?  It’s either a musical experience or it isn’t Coldplay, you can’t have your cake and eat it too.  Just for that, I’m going to skip two tracks ahead because this album is beginning to test my patience.

     ---SKIP------SKIP----

10. Princess of China: Whoa, is that a woman singer I hear being incorporated into this song?  I didn’t know there was a female member in Coldplay, but her presence here is certainly a breath of fresh air after all those whiny male vocals I’ve been hearing throughout this album.  I’m not sure why, but the zinging tazer sounds in the background fantastically juxtapose the cheesy “once upon a time lyrics” that populate the foreground.  It’s like I’m listening to “Disney’s Cinderella: The Rock Opera.” 

10. Up in Flames: That last song won back my enthusiasm for this album, but this song’s incredibly repetitive lyrics and overly moody tone aren’t quite living up to my new-found expectations.  For one thing, whereas the last song actually had some sort of story to it, this song wanders off in vague and uninteresting territory.  What exactly is “up in flames,” Coldplay?  What’s that?  You don’t know because you presumably wrote the lyrics as an afterthought?

11. A Hopeful Transmission: More like, “A Hopeful Transition.” Come on Coldplay, just make up your mind already!  How many 10 second tracks are there going to be in your album, anyway?  Also, what exactly makes this song "hopeful?"

12. Don’t Let it Break Your Heart: Anyway, I guess we’re moving on to this one now.  So far it sounds like we’re flying on some electric piano carpet.  The lyrics are hard to make out due to the extreme echo applied to the vocals, which doesn’t really make sense if you think about it.  If we’re supposedly flying, why would there be an echo way up in the sky?  What’s the sound bouncing off of?  Clouds?  The last words I can actually hear in this song are something along the lines of “don’t...break your heart,” so at least I know I must have not been missing out on much having not been able to hear them earlier.  A song about hearts being broken?  Way to be original, guys.

13. Up With the Birds: Oh thank goodness we’re on the last track!  Listening to this song, it sounds like Coldplay really, really wants to be Pink Floyd.  The weird inhuman sounds echoing in the background, along with the thundering base clouding up the listener’s judgment all seem to be channeling the musical energy directly from Pink Floyd themselves.  I can’t help wonder if Coldplay is like the vampire of the music industry, sucking the blood and styles from other more popular bands in order to sustain their parasitic existence.  Of course, maybe it’s just me.

FINAL STATEMENTS: Overall, this album was... bearable.  While I didn’t feel like punching myself in the face until all remaining memory of the songs were eliminated from my brain, I have a feeling I won’t have to.  Setting aside for a moment my issue with the album being undecided on what it wants to be, most of the songs (with the exception of Princess of China) were largely unmemorable.  Even as I type this now, having just listened to the album, I’m already forgetting some of the tunes and lyrics.  Good songs can stick with you for an hour or so, but great songs stick with you forever.  Most of these songs did neither.  Better luck next time, Coldplay.

Overall Score:2 rockin'-Cinderellas out of 5.