There are few bands that have maintained such a monolithic presence and influence in music as a whole, as Melvins have. Melvins emerged in Washington in the early 80s, playing live shows before ever entering a recording studio. They immediately set themselves apart from the norm by playing atypically slow and heavy music in an era when speed and energy were the key to success. Their endless inspiration to musicians and bands, both then and now, is a phenomenon worthy of its o

Mojave 3 takes a rustic angle in “Spoon and Rafter” As long as I've been a fan of Mojave 3, I've noticed that most discussion about the band ends after their third album “Excuses for Travellers.” While I somewhat understand why, Mojave 3 does have some criminally underrated work past “Excuses for Travellers.” A lot of it comes from their fourth album “Spoon and Rafter” that came out three years later. “Spoon and Rafter” is very unique from its predecessors. Once again, the

You don’t need an excuse to listen to “Excuses for Travelers” Before the turn of the millennium, Mojave 3 had already released two country-tinged and dreamy albums for the world’s listening pleasure. While both were similar in a broad sense, both albums were in different neighborhoods. Their debut “Ask Me Tomorrow” was slower and more ethereal, leaning heavily into dream pop, while their second album “Out of Tune” explored faster speeds and leaned closer to country and rock

A rising trend has become apparent where bookstores and newer generations of readers are gravitating toward some genres and leaving others in the dust. Genres like romance, manga and pop-fantasy are all rapidly gaining traction over genres like sci-fi, horror and philosophy. The differences have an impact on what audiences read, as well as what the substance of not only the books within the genre hold, but also all of the other genres. Writers become accustomed to writing a

This review is an outlier compared to my usual pattern. I’m not reviewing a game that’s at least a decade old. For once, I’m striking while the iron is hot. That pun is intended, as the subject of this review is Dressmaker. Released on Sept. 21 of this year, Dressmaker is an indie darling that made waves in the cozy gaming community. I haven’t been able to put it down since I purchased it! As always, a minor spoiler warning for those that have yet to play the game. Graph

Pokemon is one of the most prolific and extensive multimedia franchises to date with movies, TV shows, trading cards, plushies and video games. It has an extensive history, dating back 30 years and is successful all over the globe. In November of 2022, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were released to the Switch. Now that its hype has died down after four years, is it worthy of its tremendous legacy? Here’s a minor spoiler warning for those who haven’t played yet. I would also

It’s often said that too many cooks can spoil the broth. Faith No More proves just how untrue that can be. For their album Angel Dust, the group was comprised of the legendary vocalist Mike Patton, guitarist Jim Martin, keyboardist Roddy Bottum, bassist Billy Gould and Mike Bordin on drums. Any of these talents alone would be striking, but together, they are a force of nature and one of the most unique mainstream bands to emerge in the 90s. Angel Dust is a marathon rather t

“Opal” is a film by Jack Stauber, a musician, filmmaker and internet personality who made a wide variety of short films with mixed media animation ranging from claymation and live action to 3d polygonal computer-generated images and distorted, brightly colored drawings. Opal was made October 30, 2020, and was featured on Adult Swim, as well as appearing on Stauber’s official YouTube channel. The film “Opal” focuses on some of the most common forms of child neglect, and atte

The Black Sabbath influence on “Nola” by Down is like an answer to the question of whether God directly interacts with our world or simply set the dominoes up and is watching them fall into place. Down is evidence that it’s the latter; Black Sabbath set the course for metal and Down is just the pinnacle of 25 years of Black Sabbath’s endless reach in the landscape of metal. This album is nothing short of worship, an unrelenting prayer. It’s the lord (Ozzy Osbourne for sake

Cozy gaming is a relatively new term in the gaming community used to describe low stakes, relaxing games. One of the most popular and defining titles of the pseudo-genre is Stardew Valley. Released officially in 2016, and still receiving updates, Stardew Valley dominates the cozy gaming community from console to pc to mobile. As per usual, dear reader, there will be a handful of spoilers, so consider yourself warned. Graphics: 5/5 Stardew Valley features a classic two d

Novig, a no-name sports betting app launched in August, is anything but that. Novig released their Just Sports campaign Sept. 9 with strategic partner and equity holder, Sydney Sweeney, stark naked and talking about “sports” for an entire 58 seconds. As a girl who was raised in and around sports, actively works in sports and has no thoughts of backing down anytime soon, it enraged me. So much so, I decided to put down my camera for the week and address the video. With the

Have you ever questioned the morality of your everyday choices? It can be quite the revelation when one comes to find that many of their everyday choices do not reflect the person they thought they were. We may simply be a product of the society we live in, but for those who take a step back and look at what their actions contribute to, we start to see the mess we have made. According to a paper entitled “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” written by Peter Singer, and publish

If you were alive and conscious during the 2010s, it’s impossible that you are not, on some level, familiar with the Arctic Monkeys. Their chart topping single, “Do I Wanna Know?” was harder to avoid than the omicron strain of COVID-19. Despite this fact, the pre-AM portion of their catalogue is rarely brought up or recognized. This is especially true for their debut album, “Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not,” which was released in 2006 when the band was freshly o

Mojave 3’s album “Ask Me Tomorrow” was a great exercise in combining elements of dreaminess,the ethereal and tinges of country music. Mojave 3 had created a sound that embodied the melancholy feeling of a wide-open desert night. Their second album forged a sound similar in its dreaminess and tinges of country, sure, but it also finds a way to flip the vibe on its head, reminding the listener of waking up and driving down to the gulf at sunrise. By 1998, Mojave 3 added two ne

Very few singleplayer games have frequent maintenance updates 12 years after release. Even fewer have consistent new content. The Sims 4 is one of these with new downloadable content (DLC), collaborations, limited time events and new basegame additions nearly every other update. I personally have spent over 1,500 hours on the game and have put hundreds of dollars into it. Despite such a huge investment, or perhaps because of it, The Sims 4 is the first game I’ve played that

Kathryn, deep in the theatre kid trenches. Contributed photo Cringe culture. Making fun of others for liking something that has been deemed by popular demand as “cringey.” Targeting individuals for expressing themselves in an unconventional manner or style. Causing people to fear authenticity. One of the cheapest attempts at humor. I’m so over it. Growing up a weird kid, theatre kid and art kid in middle and high school made me highly susceptible to falling victim to crin

Pictured: Members of Mojave 3 After they were dropped by Creation Records in 1995, the members of Slowdive decided to go in different musical directions. Three of those members, however, decided to keep recording music together. They changed their sound from the ambient-ish brand of shoegaze that Slowdive was known for, to a dreamy, country-tinged sound, ultimately foregoing all shoegaze. These members, Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell and Ian McCutcheon, formed the band Mojav

In December of 2018, Hades entered early access. About two years later, in September of 2020, it was fully released. Greek Mythology re-imaginings and re-tellings are a dime a dozen. Despite that, Hades sets itself apart. The aforementioned fourth title from Supergiant Games earns its place as one of the favorite games I’ve ever played. Please note, there may be very minor spoilers throughout this article. Read at your own discretion. Graphics: 5/5 Hades boasts highly styl

"To Bring You My Love" Album Cover t’s not uncommon for a single track to get taken out of context of the album it’s plucked from. The track that receives this sort of attention is usually exceptional to the rest of the album and because it stands out is the reason it’s taken out of context. What sets “Down By the Water” by PJ Harvey apart from these songs is that it’s an apt representation of the album it hails from. It features the same buzzing distorted guitar drone in

Capcom has a diverse repertoire of franchises, everything from Resident Evil to Streetfighter to Ace Attorney. In August of 2001, Devil May Cry joined their extensive roster on the PlayStation 2. Devil May Cry is widely considered the first true character action game, a sub-genre of third person action defined by high-skill melee, dramatic flair and intricate combo systems. Graphics: 3/5 The set design is gorgeous, but the graphics are quite dated. Excellent for the time

From Death’s Dynamic Shroud: Specialization in samples Death’s Dynamic Shroud normally specializes in sampling music in unique and creative ways. Sometimes these samples are almost completely plundered (“Regret When it was Lost,” “RPG Windows Vista”), and other times they use these samples to add to their music (“You Like Music”). Death’s Dynamic Shroud always seems to find creative ways to pilfer other songs to form something unique. One of the biggest things that Death’s

In their heyday, Depeche Mode kept making album after album of fleshed out, moody worlds that felt both lush and murky. Leading up to their peak, though, Depeche Mode had one highlight of their early career that kickstarted a more atmospheric and lush sound. That album is “Black Celebration.” As they were developing their sound in their early career, Depeche Mode started heavily using industrial-sounding drums and brooding melodies. You can hear these ideas shine through in

The massacre in Darfur is a prime example of the corrupt leadership and political issues happening in Africa. According to Julia Steers, a correspondent for Fault Lines, in 2019 Sudan’s president of 30 years, Omar Al-Bashir, was ousted. He was replaced by a traditional council led by two generals, one from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the other from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The leader of the SAF is General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the leader of the RSF is Moham

On June 19, 2016, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers walked into the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California where they faced the 73-9 Golden State Warriors for a Game 7 contest. This same Warriors team held the best record in NBA history and held a 3-1 lead against the Cavs in the finals. This Cavs team had an impossible mission to complete, finishing the 3-1 comeback. It had never happened before. Following an incredible play by Kyrie Irving, crazy defense by James and s