Arcade Fire is one of my favorite bands and it would be impossible for me to put aside my geekiness in this article. Yet, as I picked up their new album “Reflketor” last Fall, I felt a vague sense of dread, even though I enjoyed it. Here is my attempt to figure out why this latest record from the Canadian collective scared me so much: When I was 14 my voice cracked in front of the whole school. It’s the…
There’s a point somewhere in the midst of Morning Phase where you will be forced to bury your irony, cynicism, and incredulity. Beck’s revelatory new chef-d’oeuvre is so complete in its exhortations of truth and hope, and his songwriting is so masterful that skepticism feels like an insult to the splendor of Morning Phase. While it might not drag you out of bed at sunset and put a shovel in your hand, it is the kind of album that demands…
Well, it’s that time of year again: finals are upon us. Classes are almost finished, and soon we will all be drowning in study guides and primary sources. As if tests weren’t enough to worry about, most of us have research papers, oral language exams, and presentations, too. This much work can only mean one thing: all-nighters. Pulling an all-nighter is a college rite of passage. It’s not fun, but every once in a while, it must be done. After my…
Hey, everyone! Let me be the twenty-seventh person to welcome you back to campus. This is an exciting time of year; you’re getting comfortable in your new dorm room, trying to figure out your schedule, and deciding whether there’s anyone in your immediate vicinity worth pursuing romantically. Freshmen are getting their bearings and posting all kinds of “COLLEGE IS THE BEST”-type Facebook statuses. Sophomores are enjoying no longer being on the very bottom of the college “food chain” while the…
Greetings once more, my long-suffering nerd comrades. Having finally been freed of (most of) my midterms, I’m back to tell you about that geekiest of all pasttimes—roleplaying games—along with nerdy music and where to find nerdy things on and off campus. Tabletop Games I say “tabletop games” because roleplaying games exclude the ever-enjoyable Magic: The Gathering—the subject of my lost-to-a-server-crash first post of the semester—among other games. Regardless, you’ve likely heard of Dungeons and Dragons, that most stereotypical of nerdy activities. It may look…