Every two weeks, Sweeps will take a look back at NIU decade by decade. This is in no way a ripoff of that VH1 series we’ve never seen and certainly never bought the DVDs of. The 1970s at NIU mirrored the rest of the United States, which means there...

All the Super Bowl hype - costly commercials and halftime controversy included - doesn’t mean a thing if a viewer can’t watch the show in a comfortable venue. Those not wanting to spend their Sunday night in the confines of their Lazy Boys and sofas...

Bob Dylan. Bruce Springsteen. Robert Smith. Morrissey. Jeff Tweedy. It’s time to add one more name to the list of poetic singers who can twist and turn words with flawless ease and wrap their lyrics around chord progressions that would leave Ryan Cabrera...

The NIU School of Theatre and Dance introduces two Molière plays to be performed over the next two weeks. "Tartuffe" is about a 17th-century con man who poses in clerical garb to mask his less-than-virtuous intentions regarding a wealthy aristocrat’s...

One senior art education major has given an artist’s touch to the pad she shares with her female friends. Rachel Aberle, a senior art education major, has prominently displayed some of her artwork around the house, including a set of six paintings of...

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead tries very hard to be edgy. Unfortunately, the group sounds less like a band expanding its horizons and more often like 20-somethings kicking and screaming, "Pay attention to our attitude!" The group’s fourth...

"That’s just my cowgirl alter-ego," hums Ani DiFranco on the title track of "Knuckle Down." The singer/songwriter and guitarist is back with more of her hippie attitude and dynamic talent. Her attitude shows the confidence present in her music. "Knuckle...

It's great to be Jim Cameron. His new film, "Aliens of the Deep," is less about any aliens of any deep, and more about himself and how much his marine biologist pals love their jobs. "Aliens" tries to celebrate these scientists and the strange creatures...

Straight out of Philly (but originally Ohio and more recently New York), John Stephens - aka John Legend - hits us with his highly anticipated album "Get Lifted." Stephens isn’t exactly new to the business. He’s had his hands on numerous other projects...

Remember the saying, "If a tree falls in the woods and there is no living creature to hear it, does it make a sound?" That is the most perplexing question in history. This week I went into the firing squad of mind-boggling questions when I joined NIU’s...

The first official solo release from Lou Barlow shows this earnest veteran of indie rock has an uncanny knack for writing consistent and heartfelt songs about love, life and everything in between. Dabbling in a number of projects and mini-projects such...

The "sell-out": that moment when an artist of some merit decides to take large sums of money for his or her work and continues to produce it for said money. What is it about "selling out" in this manner that saddens all of us fans of an artist? Especially...