by Chelsea Butler
The Monarchs have created a new
genre for the music scene, and they
define it as an “organic psychedelic
sex rock.”
The band’s original name was The
Signs, and when different members
were in the band, the band was called
Free Radio. After much deliberation
and writing a list of a hundred names
for the band, they finally decided on
The Monarchs.
Members are Matt Murdock,
drummer, a former student and
Nathaniel Greene, senior, bass and
keyboard player, both 19, and Garret
Wargin, lead singer and guitarist, who
is 22 years old. Greene and Murdock
have been best friends since they
were kids. Greene describes that they “always come together as a package
because [they] are almost brothers.” The lead singer was found when
Greene posted an ad on Craigslist for
a vocalist and who could sometimes
play the keyboard as well.
The variations in the style of
music they play is why it’s so hard to
define this band’s genre.
The three all enjoy the same type
of music. Led Zeppelin is the biggest
influence on the band as a whole, as
well as alternative music. Jazz and
blues are the major influence for the
lead singer. Greene is mostly inspired
by psychedelic music; music he
believes is “a little out of this world” such as Radiohead.
Since the music is so unique from
what is already established in music,
the band has been able to land many
gigs. They’ve been receiving show
opportunities since November of last
year. They received the opportunity
to play at ROXY, Uptown Theater,
Riot Room, Jerry’s Bait Shop and
many more.
When I saw the band live at the
Uptown, it was interesting to see
a band that wasn’t afraid of being
different. Their style of music really
makes their show line up unexpected
since their sound is so unique. I
would compare the band to Pink
Floyd with the sounds of modern
alternative music.
The Monarch’s album is
available to download for free at
themonarchmusic.com.
by Ryan Merchant
Everyone knows what movie ratings
are: G, PG, PG-13, R, etc.
However, many people don’t know
the criteria used to determine R or PG-13 ratings.
There’s not a huge difference
between PG-13 and R movies. A PG-13
movie can be changed into an R movie
by adding a few things, including
nudity, the notorious F-bombs, and
scenes of gore with excessive amounts
of blood.
However some PG-13 movies have
been pretty graphic. For example, “Poltergeist,” a horror movie about
paranormal activity, includes a scene
in which a man rips his own face off
in the mirror. This movie should have
been rated R, but was reduced to PG
simply because of the director and the
producer.
Andy Wallace, senior, noticed the
differences between the two types of
ratings. Wallace noted that “R movies
show more gore” and that in PG-13
movies they “can only say the F-word
once.”
Jackson Alex, junior, mentioned that
PG-13 movies “imply the same thing
as R films,” except PG-13 films don’t
show the entire scene that may include
violence, nudity, or gore.
Two different surveys, one including
movies from the nineties and another
including movies from the last decade,
confirm that more R-rated films typically
win the Oscar for best ilm. The ratio of
both surveys was 6-4, which represents
six R films to every four PG-13 films as
Oscar best films.
However, this fact does not mean
R films make more money or are fan
favorites. It’s actually quite the contrary.
In both surveys, PG-13 films have made
more money than R films by a difference
of about $1.6 billion.
This difference in earnings makes
sense because more people are allowed
to go to PG-13 films since they are
family friendly and make a better film
to see with a group of people. Also, in
the 1990s and the 2000s, some really
successful movies were rated PG-13,
including the “Lord of the Rings” and “Titanic,” both of which were awardwinning
movies.
Thus, just because a movie is rated
R doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the
better movie versus a PG-13 film.
by Samantha Henson
From the very beginning of the
95-minute film, the audience’s attention
is captured with the scene of the
mysterious actions of three young girls, actions that are explained later on in the story.
“The Woman in Black” is set in the
1900s and is about a lawyer, Arthur
Gibbs, who is having a hard time dealing
with the death of his wife, who died
during childbirth.
With his job at stake, and with only
one more chance to redeem himself in
the eyes of his boss, Arthur is forced
to travel to a remote town. His job is
to go through the paperwork in the
unoccupied Drablow House and get
things in order after the owners decide
to sell it.
Immediately after he arrives, the
townspeople make it clear that he is
not welcome. Arthur notices that they
are very superstitious about the house.
The townspeople’s hostility worsens
when Arthur’s arrival triggers multiple
unfortunate and peculiar events.
Sam Jerome, Arthur’s only friend
in the town, helps Arthur complete his
work, despite everyone else’s attempt to
scare Arthur away. Sam’s past, as well
as the real reason he’s interested in the
Drablow House, unfolds later on after
Arthur attends dinner with Sam and his
haunted wife.
The movie has a great story line,
and does a great job explaining the
mysterious events as they occur, but the
movie as a whole was slightly bland.
Although “The Woman in Black” is also a book and a Broadway show, I
thought more detail and controversy
could have been added to the movie to
help keep the audience’s attention. |
