http://www.reportermag.com/ Tag Review from Reporter Online. en-us http://www.reportermag.com/article/167 My journey towards a refreshing and rewarding concert experience after a very long, stressful week started at approximately 257 p.m. in the afternoon when I sat down to wait in line for Jimmy Eat World and Paramore, the College Activities Board's major spring concert. In the three hours it took for the doors to open, I witnessed the assassination of a bug named Herbert, the delivery of a total of four pizzas, a long detailed conversation on how RIT's Gordon Field House bathrooms... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/167 http://www.reportermag.com/article/203 Russian Circles Station With the release of their previous EP, Enter, Russian Circles generated about a metric ton of buzz. The short offering showcased their blend of post hardcore song structure, intricate guitar, driving bass, and their signature epic flair, and left many, including myself, wanting more. Sadly, Station, the band's debut full length, just falls short. Sure, the musicianship is stellar, and yes, the songs seem more developed. However, the intensity that made their... Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/203 http://www.reportermag.com/article/199 Would you get sprayed in the face by pepper spray? Doesn't sound too appealing, right? Wayne Perry apparently begs to differ. As a self-defense instructor who travels the country and demonstrates police pepper spray, he discovered the healing power of peppers. Later, he went on to create Sinus Buster, the company that bases all their products around capsaicin, a pepper extract. Sinus Buster 's world-famous product is the original Sinus Buster Nasal Spray, but they've branched out... Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/199 http://www.reportermag.com/article/166 Tina Fey must be one of the busiest people in the world. From producing, writing and starring in her new hit television show, 30 Rock, to making an appearance in an American Express commercial, she's been spread all over the media. Now, Fey teams up with her former Saturday Night Live co-star Amy Poehler to front the new feature comedy, Baby Mama. Michael McCullers, writer of the Austin Powers trilogy and past SNL episodes, wrote and directed Baby Mama, a film about motherhood... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/166 http://www.reportermag.com/article/168 The Ghost you Left Behind When people think about the musical output of Sweden, two things usually come to mind death metal, and ABBA. You can clearly imagine my surprise when I learned that Hearts of Black Science were from Sweden. The band plays a wellexecuted style of electronic indie-pop. A heavy current of downtempo electronica can be heard throughout The Ghost You Left Behind, and a lot of the glitchy drum patterns sound similar to Telefon Tel Aviv. The only two acoustic... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/168 http://www.reportermag.com/article/170 What do you do if you love both apples and grapes? You could always try Gr&257;pples. They're Washington Extra Fancy or Fuji apples, depending on which apples are ready for harvesting, infused with a blast of Concord grape flavor. The concentrated grape flavor and pure water are made into a bath that the apples are soaked in to give them their new flavor. Sold in the United States and recently in Canada, they come with bilingual labels and are continuously gaining... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/170 http://www.reportermag.com/article/169 Noyes Noyes is the brainchild of guitarist Victor Villarreal, former axe-man of a number of legendary Chicago indie bands like Cap'n Jazz, Ghosts and Vodka, and OWLS. Villarreal has pioneered his own unique approach to guitar. His finger-picked riffs are beautifully melodic, and at times, almost hypnotizing. This album is a joy to listen to. The guitar work is complex in execution, but when layered and repeated, as Villarreal does on this disc, it can't be described any other way... Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/169 http://www.reportermag.com/article/147 Mysterious Mysteries' self-titled EP is perhaps one of the most cohesively written pieces of music I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. Even though lyrics are scarce and there are no repeated musical or lyrical themes, there seems to be a strong plot that strings each song together without morphing them into one composition. This EP plays like a novel that, while short, is extremely interesting from start to finish. The opening track, "Chapter One," serves as an introduction to... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:30:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/147 http://www.reportermag.com/article/146 Why Bother Working for a Living? Have you finally unlocked all the new characters in Smash Bros. Brawl? Then maybe it's time to take a step away from your electronics. It's warming up outside, so why not gather a few friends and play Public Assistance? Game Play You begin the game as an able-bodied welfare recipient. Your general goal is to spend as little time as possible in the "working person's rut" with a real job. Instead, you want to commit as much welfare fraud as... Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:30:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/146 http://www.reportermag.com/article/126 What do proms and psycho killers have in common? Nothing, but they're both in this movie. Prom Night is a remake of the 1980 film titled (surprisingly enough) Prom Night. It centers around a girl named Donna Keppel (Brittany Snow), whose family is murdered when an obsessed teacher raids her house while she is out at the movies. Life goes on and the teacher goes to prison. Now, a few years later, it's prom night, and the psychotic teacher has escaped. He wants what he came for... Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/126 http://www.reportermag.com/article/125 Hulk Rules I have a unique fascination. I find it absurdly entertaining when things are done horribly. Whether it's zombie movies, crazy commercials, or oddities on the home shopping network, it seems that how much of a failure something may be just adds to its humor. There is something greatly satisfying about watching "Attack of the Giant Leeches" and noticing that the jaws of each creature were fashioned with plungers, and the "disgusting" larva sacks were nothing more than... Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/125 http://www.reportermag.com/article/103 "Dnde quedan los servicios?" That's a pretty important thing to know how to say while traveling in Spain. Thankfully, Bottles In Translation has come to your rescue; you now know how to ask where the toilets are. Each 32oz. bottle boasts 100 useful phrases in either French, Spanish, German, or Italian, all of which are translated into English. The phrases are divided into boxes based on their general categories, including locations, days of the week, and food. The bottles are also... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/103 http://www.reportermag.com/article/105 Red of Tooth and Claw I hate country music. That having been said, I was not very excited to review the latest album from Murder by Death, a group with a trademark country swagger. You can imagine my surprise when their newest album, Red of Tooth and Claw made its way into regular rotation in my CD player (yes, people still use them!). What makes Murder by Death a remarkable musical force is their ability to cram country, blues, folk, and just the right amount of punk into a... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/105 http://www.reportermag.com/article/104 The Redder the Better There is no substitute for heart. This is true in most things, and especially in music. The most technically astounding composition is nothing if it isn't played with feeling. On their debut EP, Rochester's own Polar Bear Club wears their hearts on their sleeves, and you can hear it. The band's sound is best defined by two standout elements powerful guitar-work, and a flawless vocal delivery. This is not typical punk rock guitar playing on display. PBC sprinkles... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/104 http://www.reportermag.com/article/76 Who is ZOX? I was wondering the same thing until they came to perform at RIT. An indie band that is signed on to Side One Dummy Records, ZOX has traveled all over the world and has had over ten songs featured on MTV's Real World, Road Rules, and Maui Fever. Featuring Eli Miller on vocals and guitar, Dan Edinberg on bass, Spencer Swain on violin, and John Zox (no prizes for guessing from where they got their band name) on drums, ZOX got together in 2002 while they were students... Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/76 http://www.reportermag.com/article/88 Can't find your light switch in darkness? Fumbling around more often than you like? Say hello to Lite-A-Switch, an LED faceplate with three lights on each side of the switch, which not only let you know where it is, but also provide enough light to navigate a room without having to turn the room light on. The LED lights are on when the room light is flipped off and are turned off when the room light is on, so there's no electricity powering them unnecessarily. Installation The... Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/88 http://www.reportermag.com/article/89 Porcelain Sparta was spawned after the demise of now legendary rock outfit, At The Drive In.' It's that other spin-off band that's not The Mars Volta. There's a good chance you've heard of them, but whether or not you've actually listened to the group is a toss-up. Porcelain opens up with "Guns Of Memorial Park" which pretty much sets the tempo for the rest of the record. It's a mid-paced tune with wailing guitars, solid vocals, and a unique drumming style. All of the songs on this... Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/89 http://www.reportermag.com/article/44 For many, the release of Nintendo's latest blockbuster game Super Smash Bros. Brawl on March 9 was the perfect end to Spring Break. Chester Kwan looks back at the Smash Bros. brand from its first launch over eight years ago. The Initial Smash With the release of the first Super Smash Bros., I was skeptical yet intrigued as an avid fighting game fan back in the day. It featured basic four-player bouts determined by knocking your opponents out of the arena rather than knocking them out... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/44 http://www.reportermag.com/article/45 Long gone is the era of gumball machine pedestals. You can now mount one on your wall. It certainly makes for an interesting conversation piece and, yes, it really dispenses gumballs. Made to look as if it were simply a framed picture of a gumball machine, the frame itself has a small plastic knob at the bottom that one twists to receive the prized gumball. Gumballs can be refilled from the back of the frame, where a small removable cap can be found. The machine takes standard size... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/45 http://www.reportermag.com/article/46 Bob Mould District Line The latest solo album from Bob Mould, formerly of 70s punk stalwarts Husker Du, is possibly his best yet. Bob Mould's solo work could best be described as an updated 90s rock sound, with a few electronics thrown in as accents. Honest lyrics are delivered in Mould's classic powerful tone, on top of driving and creative rock backdrops. As opposed to some of his earlier solo work, District Line doesn't feel dated or repetitive. Opener "Stupid Now" channels... Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400 http://www.reportermag.com/article/46