Signed to Def Jam in 1985, LL Cool J has been its diamond in the rough. LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James) wrote the first love-rap, “I Need Love,” in 1985 and still romances the ladies with tantalizing hits and a ripped body. He’s not only a rapper,...

Ryan Huff gets situated in his producer’s chair. He adjusts his headphones and taps his foot. “Ten seconds,” he says into the microphone. The man on the other side of the glass nods, puts on his headphones and situates himself. It’s 7:09 p.m....

Today - 7:30 p.m. - Sleeping Beauty arrives @ the O’Connell Theatre, Stevens Building. - 7:30 p.m. - CAB Fine Arts presents Late Night Catechism, a humor show with a pseudo-nun, @ the Carl Sandburg Auditorium, Holmes Student Center. - 8 p.m. - Santaland...

It’s easy to poke fun at Elton John, whose name has become synonymous with the modern-day power ballad. Composing songs for Disney soundtracks and starting petty feuds with Madonna don’t exactly lead to rock credibility. On this album - his first...

Flash back to 1988 for a second and turn on your classic Nintendo Entertainment System. Now take those repetitive high pitched frequencies set against The Legend of Zelda and add lyrics to the mix. How does that sound? Not too hot, right? Mates of State...

Animation never looked so real! “The Polar Express” is about a young boy (voiced by Tom Hanks) who, excited and attentive, lies in his bed, hoping to hear the sound of Santa’s sleigh to restore his slipping belief. It’s five minutes to midnight...

Welcome to a flavorful edition of Playback. This week’s installment comes from Harriett Wilson, a Stevenson cafeteria cook helper who hails from nearby Sycamore. When she’s not working, Wilson likes to spend her time reading, gardening, traveling...

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Fear not, friends, for it seems you have stumbled upon the long-lost island, er, residence hall room of NIU students Heather McCoy and Charity Thompson. The girls have turned their homely Douglas C room into a jungle...

It is your hope of hopes, your dream of dreams. It is the job you have been salivating over ever since “Career Day” in kindergarten. It is your dream job. From time to time, Sweeps will delve into what it takes to be an astronaut, fashion model, CIA...

After debunking the campusfood.com myth, the Sweeps Action News Team grew aimless and lost its sense of purpose. Then we found out about a sex club at NIU. Needless to say, it hit us like journalistic Viagra. SANT needed answers and jumped into action...

If the Beach Boys and The Strokes could somehow manage to conceive a child, it would more than likely bear a striking resemblance to Julian Casablancas and have Brian Wilson’s drug habit. The sound of this musical child, however, would be that of The...