Last week’s Nooner was my first time listening to Alfa Garcia, and I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been the unwilling spectator at bizarre and ambitious indie shows where the discomfort is almost tangible. But without a doubt, watching Garcia was time well spent. She poured her sunshine onto the crowd and her sincerity canceled out the awkward...
Wednesday night at the Barn was looking to be a great one, as it marked the first stop on Chuck Inglish’s Wax & Roll Tour. As a fan of his solo work and The Cool Kids, Inglish’s former duo with rapper Sir Michael Rocks, you can probably guess that I was pretty ecstatic to see the rapper and producer...
I am an unabashed indie rock fan. I can hardly help it. My favorite bands range from Arcade Fire (whose lyrics gave this column its name) to Vampire Weekend to the New Pornographers. Stereotypical? Sure. But you can’t help what you like, right? I grew up hearing 80s alternative music around the house, so it seems natural that I...
Attempting to pinpoint the single feature that made Eminem the best-selling artist of the past decade is a challenging and nearly futile task. After all, there are so many layers to the guy that make him such an engrossing enigma. The man's been called a gifted artist as well as sell-out; a clever poet as well as chauvinist pig;...
Protect ya’ neck! Fans of the Wu-Tang Clan piled into HUB 302 on Tuesday night to witness the greatness of GZA, the oldest member of the most revolutionary group in hip-hop. Event-goers were greeted with priceless merchandise giveaways, the opportunity to discover their “Wu-Tang Rap Name,” Wu-Tang trivia and even a rap battle by fellow UCR students. The mood...
Buggy and repetitive, “Batman: Arkham Origins” — the third main entry of the popular Arkham video game series — fell short of its predecessors in almost every aspect. The story unfolds on Christmas Eve, when Black Mask puts a bounty on Batman’s head for $50 million, causing Batman to sacrifice more than just his Christmas dinner in order to...
Let’s face it: We all love comic book movies. Whether it’s the heroism, big-budget fight scenes or the humorous antics, movies based off comic books offer something for the kid inside all of us. At a time when the popularity for superhero flicks is at an all-time high, Marvel continues to strengthen its superhero dynasty with its latest offering,...
I’ve never listened to reggae before, and I’ve never known about the underground scene. The closest I’ve come to listening to the genre has been “I Shot the Sheriff” or “Don’t Worry (Be Happy).” I didn’t know what to expect at a reggae show, but as Tommy Benedetti, drummer for John Brown’s Body, told me, “Reggae’s sounds are rich...
Tennis — composed of husband and wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley — has warmed indie-loving hearts with their unique vocals and knack for writing whimsical lyrics, all without the typical love-smitten angst of the genre. Their latest album, “Small Sound,” changes Moore and Riley’s lyrical mood from sweet and soft to sorrowful and hopeless. While that may...
Ever wondered if your decisions in life meant anything? If you actually had the freedom to make your own choices? If your life just restarted day after day as if nothing had ever happened? If that’s the case, meet Stanley, the protagonist of a little story called “The Stanley Parable.”
Stanley’s job is composed of sitting at his desk in...