Northern Star

A house of a different color

By Derek Wright | October 5, 2006

A doorway at 132 Harrison St. is like a portal to another place. From the outside, the unassuming, two-story house looks like the other dozen or so 1920s-era homes on the street. There's nothing spectacular about the screen door that hangs slightly downhill...

World Series of Punk to hit Otto’s

By Adrian Finiak | October 4, 2006

"The World Series of Punk" will come to Otto's Niteclub, 118 E. Lincoln Highway. The venue will host a six band show featuring Chicago and out-of-state talent. The line-up includes: Swizzle Tree, Starter Kit, Logan Square, Declare This an Emergency (MN),...

Culture catches up to Paris

By David Rauch | October 4, 2006

David Rauch is a Northern Star employee studying abroad. "An American In Paris" will chronicle his studies and adventures in France. For Americans, traveling after the turn of the century has become a surreal experience. We travel to get away from America...

October prom hits House

By Evan Thorne | October 3, 2006

DeKALB | Saturday, the House Cafe, 263 E. Lincoln Highway, will be home to a punk rock prom party, complete with patron's canvas shoes, ridiculous suits and dressed and gaudily accessories. John Ugolini of Kickstand Productions has organized the second...

Wall of Sound

October 2, 2006

DJ Shadow"The Outsider" The Northern Star . . . . . . . . D+PopMatters . . . . . . 7 out of 10 Tiny Mix Tapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 out of 5 Kasabian"Empire" The Northern Star . . . . . . . . C+NME . . . . ....

Ben Kweller

By Adrian Finiak | October 2, 2006

-Ben Kweller has grown up.

The 23-year-old earned an honorable mention in a Billboard Magazine songwriting contest at age 9, fronted the band Radish at 16 and finally has grown into the shoes he wanted us to walk in on 2002's "Sha Sha."

His third solo release, "On My Way," distances himself from the routine Ben Folds and Rivers Cuomo comparisons. No longer are songs comprised of either jangley piano or crunching guitars — trademarks of Folds and Weezer. Songs have traces of both, but they are sparse.

The roots of "On My Way" reach even further back. The track "Living Life" is eerily familiar to Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." The opening riff of "My Apartment" could be mistaken for The Beatles' "Two Of Us." The song "Hospital Bed" has the most Liverpudlian moments. The guitars during the chorus resemble "Birthday," the bass line mimics the piano from "All You Need Is Love" and Kweller even tries the occasional Paul McCartney impression.

Despite a few lifted instances, the 45 minutes are refreshing.

His predictably juvenile lyrics have been replaced by age-appropriate questions regarding his recent marriage, the restraints of non-stop tours and the inevitable task of coming to grips with success. Kweller is a master at masking productivity with a naturally lethargic demeanor. If you didn't know better, the stylishly sloppy vocals would seem accidental.

Once a child prodigy with endless potential, Kweller has become a bona fide songwriter by embracing various song structures, instrumentation and vocal arrangements.

Saying BK is "on his way" is cliche and a terrible pun. But isn't rock ‘n' roll just one big cliche?

DJ Shadow

By Evan Thorne | October 2, 2006

DJ Shadow single-handedly rewrote the book on what a DJ was capable of. His 1996 release, "Entroducing," mixed elements of rock, jazz, soul and funk with electronic and ambient music, making one of the most mind-blowing albums the genre has ever seen....

Mastadon

By Keith Beebe | October 2, 2006

Mastodon's third album is a vicious slab of metal that intends to crush all that cower. To get an idea of what "Blood Mountain" is all about, imagine what it would have sounded like if cavemen had invented guitars and drums instead of the wheel. It's...

Kasabian

By Evan Thorne | October 2, 2006

There are few cooler dance singles than last year's "Club Foot," Kasabian's breakout song. Blending dance grooves with swaggering Brit-rock, "Kasabian" was a mixed bag, but enjoyable overall. On the follow-up, "Empire," the boys seem to have run completely...

Star-studded cast doesn’t deliver on film’s potential

By Stacie Wieland | October 1, 2006

"All the King's Men" is based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 novel of the same name. It tells the story of Willie Stark (Sean Penn) — a man with ideals who dreams of a life where the government will work for the good of the people and not toward its own...

‘Jackass’ sequel ups the absurdity

By Paul Giuntoli | October 1, 2006

"There will be pain," the tag-line for the two "Saw" films, is a more appropriate tag-line for the "Jackass" movies. The sequel to "Jackass The Movie" has more extreme violence, extreme vulgarity and objects inserted into people's bodies. There is more...

Too much plot, too little fighting

By Christopher Schimmel | October 1, 2006

"Jet Li's Fearless" is the story of Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li), founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. This movie shows Yuanjia's lust for being a champion fighter, which started with his first defeat as a small child. The defeat causes the main character...

Northern Star

Northern Star

Northern Star

A house of a different color

World Series of Punk to hit Otto’s

Culture catches up to Paris

October prom hits House

Wall of Sound

Ben Kweller

DJ Shadow

Mastadon

Kasabian

Star-studded cast doesn’t deliver on film’s potential

‘Jackass’ sequel ups the absurdity

Too much plot, too little fighting

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