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The annual Beloit College Mindset List is something I look forward to…well…annually. If you’re not familiar with the list, it’s a compilation of the social and historical events and mores that will and won’t have shaped the development of this year’s college freshman. In short, it’s a reality check on the experiences that separate generations from each other, courtesy of Beloit College in Wisconsin. The original list, which came out just after I graduated college was [[Read the Rest]]

There’s nothing wrong with the new album released by The Academy Is…  Fast Times at Barrington High has a pure college rock sound, some decent melodies and a few catchy hooks scattered here and there.   It’s a perfectly serviceable album.

The problem though is that aside from a few tracks, nothing really standouts. Rumored Nights is a good track but it sounds an awful lot like everything else on the radio these days (Metro Station, Rogue Wave, We the Kings [[Read the Rest]]

Staind’s sixth release The Illusion of Progress is a poetic, compelling alt-rock affair.  The lyrics are dark and morose at times (well most times).  Back to back ballads Believe and Save Me could almost be part one and part two of the same long-suffering track.  But don’t interpret the melancoly as a bad thing.  Here, Staind use the gritty tone to full advantage, and back off enough with some juice to keep the album interesting.  This is It [[Read the Rest]]

So I don’t keep beers in my house.

I’m deathly afraid of reaching the point where beer replaces pornography, football and writing as my nightly pastime to pass the time. I’m not talking about knocking back brews with friends at a pub, or going over to someone’s house and emptying a case of Bud. I’m talking about sitting alone in my apartment every night with the lights off, the television on mute, my cell phone buzzing restlessly [[Read the Rest]]

WARNING: Spoilers ahead (if there is anyone not me who hasn’t seen the movie)

I bet you’re thinking that this topic is so over and why would I even write about it weeks after its release, when its relevance has completely dried up. Well, I just finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight and I thought it frankly sucked sweaty donkey balls. It was so bad that I felt I need to come back home [[Read the Rest]]

New York City has always been a striking city, but in my many visits here, I have never thought of it as beautiful. But last night, I got a glimpse of what sits in the hearts of New Yorkers that rests their souls amid the swirl of chaos and the press of people that defines day to day life here.

Yesterday’s drive down to New York City was surreal, and if it set the tone for this long weekend, [[Read the Rest]]