culture. ish. page two

The Rex Theatre on the Southside of Pittsburgh apparently used to serve as an actual theater. The only give-away to this storied past is the lit, carpeted walkways. This is a fantastic place for a concert, especially the Hold Steady.

Listening to live music can easily be compared to watching a live sporting event. Rarely (except on dumb commercials by TV companies) do you hear the claim that it’s better to sit at home and watch the game than go to see it--everyone knows what you’re missing.

The Hold Steady show is the same way. As I stand packed in, listening with friends I came with and a couple hundred other people I may never see again. There’s a pretty intense energy flowing through the room. Yet, we’re willing to stand abnormally close and even smile and laugh with each other (which certainly wouldn’t be acceptable if we passed each other on the street).
There’s very little more enjoyable in life than getting a glimpse into the life of someone who totally loves what they’re doing. The guys from the Hold Steady are a great example. From their constant smiles to their incessant thanking, they certainly looked like they might have been enjoying the concert even more than the exuberant audience.

During the final song, vocalist Craig Finn told the audience that “there’s so much joy in what we do” and started grabbing people by the hand, pulling them up on the stage. Finn just stood there smiling--surrounded by the twenty people he brought on stage--and mouthed “thank you.”

This is the kind of stuff that makes it more than worthwhile to go hear live music.

listen to the hold steady.
photo credit: Rex Sorgatz.

Labels: cc, live, music, number twenty-one, the hold steady

Labels: cc, movies, number twenty, pail feig, tv

The Arcade Fire’s highly anticipated follow-up to Funeral, Neon Bible, could be one of the most looked forward to albums of the year (next, maybe, to Modest Mouse). The album is clearly a biting critique of the modern age. It snaps at everything from government to church, and it’d be hard to find fault with many aspects of their appraisal.

The pessimism of the album is sharp as the Arcade Fire laments everything, summed up in the phrase “the poison of our age." From planes crashing into buildings two by two, to the prayer of a father asking the Lord for a famous daughter, to asking if maybe he is the Anti-Christ, Win Butler has serious questions (and concerns) about the society and world in which he lives.

The sound of the album is as emotionally distressing as the message, and it is beautiful. Neon Bible (an overtly modern and blasphemous title) features a church organ and the typical Arcade Fire symphonic sound.

Despite the overwhelming sense of hopelessness Butler allows himself (and others) to dream of the place where no ships/cars/spaceships/subs go. It’s the place “us kids know” and it’s “between the click of the light and the start of the dream.”

--cc

Listen

Labels: cc, music, number nineteen, the arcade fire

so, here’s an ambitious project, let’s raise over five grand in two weeks. not really intrigued? what if it was to build a well in Africa to help provide clean water to people who currently do not have it? that’s where you and the five grand both come into play.

five grand seems a bit daunting, but let’s break that down. with over fourteen hundred undergraduates as well as hundreds of faculty of staff that’s not much. we’re asking for around five bucks. sure you can give more and you can give less. whatever works for you, works for us. just give it to your RD or drop it off at the Call Office on the third floor of old main. make sure to put it in a sealed envelope with your name on it.

here’s a link to world vision (that’s who we’re going through for this). we’ll keep you updated on the progress. thanks for your help.

Labels: action, cc, the well fund