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movies

Interview with Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube

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by Ben Pawliger

Last Friday I met up with the stars of the up and coming movie, 21 Jump Street, including Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and Ice Cube. The movie is about a pair of policemen that knew each other back from high school. The pair, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are sent back to high school on an under cover mission. Together, these 2 re-visit their high school days and have fun while bringing down a synthetic drug ring. It is the perfect blend of a comedy and action movie.

The movie was based on the comedy series from the 1980’s also called 21 Jump Street, which starred Johnny Depp and Holly Robinson. When I spoke with the stars of the movie last Friday, they seemed to be the perfect team messing around with one another like brothers. They talked about how they loved working together and how much fun the experience was. Ice Cube also was in this movie, playing a police captain, Dickinson. He said he also enjoyed creating this movie and working with the two rising actors. Jonah Hill also talked to me on how he always wanted to be a writer, and writing 21 Jump Street was a great joy for him. He planned on producing 21 Jump Street for a while now, and now that is has been completed and is coming to theaters, he is very pleased.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds 100% approval rating from critics and has an average of 7.9/10. I recommend that all see this film.

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Cd Reviews

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by Laura Saker

 

 

“Chains of Love” by: Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams is not new to the music business that’s for sure. He has released numerous albums already and his latest album, Ashes & Fire, includes the song “Chains of Love”. The music video was recently released and was a hit. Since Adams is an alternative singer, his music usually does not appeal to me. However, when I heard this song, it changed my perspective. This song is great because it is easy to listen to and does not resemble a crazy rock song at all. In fact, the song reminded me of a Coldplay song, which is a very popular band that appeals to many different music interests. I would recommend this song to anybody because it has meaningful lyrics and a great melody.

 

“Underground” by: Jane’s Addiction

Jane’s Addiction has a released their second single, “Underground”. It is true Jane’s Addiction music because this song is hardcore rock. However, I really liked how the guitar portion was compatible with the vocals. I also thought the music video was very well made and went well with the lyrics. I would recommend this song to anyone that listens to rock bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers. I could for sure see this song being played a lot on the radio soon.

 

artists

Reviews by Jake

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The Wheeler Brothers is a band that plays country style rock music.  Created in Austin, Texas, the band is made up of the three Wheeler brothers (Nolan, Tyler, and Patrick), Danny Matthews, and A.J. Molyneaux.  In the song “Spent Time,” the band sings about many things they miss being locked up in jail, including a girlfriend, best friends, the sunshine, and the wind breeze.  The music video begins with a sheet of paper in a lake that says “Wanted” on it with the lead singer’s face.  Then, a shooting scene occurs with the lead singer, who is masked, trying to rob a store.  He runs away with the money and sees his girlfriend by a lake. In the morning, he is caught by the sheriffs and taken away.  The song has upbeat, fast parts, while there are also slower, sadder parts.  The country style setting of the music video and country style music show that the state of Texas has had a great influence on the Wheeler Brothers’ music.

 

Katrina is an uprising musician who recently got back into the music industry.  She was on the show “Star Search,” the precursor to “American Idol,” starting at the age of eleven.  After eight years of being on it, she was bombarded with record deals but she rejected them.  She eventually got a Masters in Entertainment and Media Law at law school.  What got her back into music was seeing a singer named Cher perform in Las Vegas; then she decided to sing again.  What really has made her an upcoming music star is her latest single “Shame On Me,” which reached #1 on Clear Channel’s “NEW! Artists to Watch” chart.  In her song “So Eden,” she sings about how her love with someone had disappeared after eating a certain fruit.  This is a metaphor to the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve; Eve ate the fruit and then God banished them from the Garden.  She sings about how everything was lost.  Beginning with an image of an apple, Katrina sets the overall subject of the song in the music video; the subject focuses on a certain fruit that is special.  Throughout the song, that image is repeated along with an image of a tree, referring to the tree that the fruit came from.  Also, Katrina is shown throughout the video singing.  Her song “So Eden” is so significant because it relates back to one of the most influential and most recalled stories of the Bible: Adam and Eve.

 

Black Box Revelation is composed of two men from Brussels, Belgium: Jan Paternoster, age twenty-two, and Dries Van Dijck, age twenty.  They have been playing over a decade, having a growing fan base in the U.K. originally and then moving to the United States.  The band’s genre is not clearly defined, as it is a mix between R&B and garage-band rock.  Some influences include the mid-60’s Rolling Stones and The Kinks.  They began recording with producer Alain Johannes in Los Angeles and soon created their most accomplished album, Shiver of Joy.  On this album is the song “High on a Wire,” which has a bluesy-rock feel.  The title of the song refers to how the band is very focused on what they do.  They sing about how they cannot “fall off the wire” and how they cannot think about what is ‘below the wire.”  In other words, they sing about how they cannot digress from what they are trying to accomplish or think about what digressing would lead to.  According to the content of the song, the members of the band seem like determined musicians.

artists, cast members, music

Buzz Bake Sale a review

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Buzz Bake Sale
By Ben Pawliger
The 16th annual Buzz Bake Sale, sponsored by 103.1 The Buzz, was a day where South Florida Rock fans can really enjoy some live, loud, captivating music. Many Florida rock fans came out to the Cruzan Amphitheater on a warm South Florida December day to watch their favorite bands perform live in front of thousands of fans.
These bands include Seether, Hinder, Everlast, Art of Dying, Middle Class Rut, and Falling in Reverse. Fans of these bands included everyone from teenagers to retirees. All day South Florida rock fans were singing (or shouting in some cases) while jumping with fists high in the air along with their favorite bands on stage. Other fans though, brought lawn chairs and towels and just lied down on the large field facing the stage while their favorite bands performed. Some highlights of the day for the fans other than seeing their favorite bands perform live, was meeting them!
Many bands, once they performed, got to meet their fans, as well as give out autographs to those who wished. The whole day of performances cruised into the night, until Seether rocked the whole place off its feet, ending the venue with fans pleased. “They really rocked the show! It was an amazing performance!”-one Seether fan said after watching them close out the concert. Overall, Buzz Bake Sale was a day for South Florida Rock fans to listen, sing along, and have fun with their favorite musicians!
artists, music

Jingle Ball 2011 Miami

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by Jake Wasserman

As the doors opened at 6:00, South Floridians started entering the stadium to see the Y100 Jingle Ball.  When it was about a half hour until show time, fans were in their seats apprehensive to see the first performance.  At 7:00, the show kicked off with American singer Demi Lovato.  The crowd roared as she stepped onto the stage and sang one of her most popular songs, Skyscraper, which debuted on Billboard 100, a ranking of songs based on Billboard magazine, in the top ten.  She released her third studio album on September 20, 2011, titled Unbroken, which has made her very popular in the recent months.

Next, an American pop music duo appeared towards the back of the stadium, called Karmin.  They performed their unique cover of “Look At Me Now,” which was originally recorded by hip-hop artist Chris Brown.  Nick Noonan played the resounding chords on the keyboard in this song while Amy Heidemann sang the vocals.

Then, Foster the People took the stage and the crowd went nuts.  The pop band is composed of lead singer Mark Foster, drummer Mark Pontius, and bassist Mark Pontius.  They made sure to play their hit song “Pumped Up For Kicks,” which is on their debut album Torches, which was released in May 2011.  This song hit number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cody Simpson came on next, appearing in the back with the spotlight on him.  He is only 14 years old, yet he is an up and coming Australian pop singer.  He has a great voice and sings along with his acoustic guitar.

Gym Class Heroes was the next act and they lived up to the expectations.  They came out with their old classic song, “Cupid’s Chokehold,” from their album As Cruel As Children, which they released in 2006.  There is a story behind their group name, as lead singer Travie McCoy and drummer Matt McGinley met and became friends at their high school’s gym class in ninth grade in Geneva, New York.  They came to be in 1997.  Travie McCoy also has a bit of solo career, as he performed his single “Billionaire” which he recorded with Bruno Mars.  They finally played their latest hit song, “Stereo Hearts,” which is off their album The Papercut Chronicles II.  Adam Levine from Maroon 5 helped to record that song, and it hit #4 on the Billboard 100.

Canadian pop singer Avril Lavigne was next to perform.  Bringing back memories for every teenager in the building, she played her song “Sk8er Boi,” which comes from her debut album Let Go which was released in 2002.  While she played her song “Girlfriend,” she was dancing all over the stage ad made the mood very energetic in the building.  The Script, which we had previously interviewed over the phone, was the next act.  They are a band from Ireland.  Our interview about them can be seen here: http://www.sweptawaytv.com/index.php/2011/09/the-script-interview/.  They ended with “For the First Time,” and really got the crowd into it as they sang the chorus in sync with the crowd.

An American band formed in New York City called Cobra Starship came on next in the back of the crowd.  They are composed of lead singer Gabe Saporta, guitar Ryland Blackinton, bassist Alex Suarez, drummer Nate Novarro, and keytarist Victoria Asher.  They made sure to play their hit song “You Make Me Feel…” off their album Night Shades, and Asher got the crowd “La La La”ing with the chorus of the song. ***Ryland and Alex are Boca Raton natives and graduated from Olympic Hts High School.

Next was Kelly Clarkson, an American pop singer who came onto the scene in 2002, when she won American Idol in its debut season.  She has always been well known but she recently has been popular after releasing her fifth studio album Stronger in October of 2011.  She sang “Mr. Know It All,” which is her first single off the album.  In the background on the screen during the song, criticisms of Kelly Clarkson came on in a montage, one of them saying “Kelly Clarkson is fat.”

The highly anticipated LMFAO came on next, with the people of Y100 saying they did all their previous shows to warm up for this one.  The crowd exploded into screams, and LMFAO came out opening with “Sorry for Party Rocking.” They are an electric pop duo consisting of Redfoo and SkyBlu, who is Redfoo’s nephew. LMFAO is known for their dance moves, and when they ended with their hit song “Sexy and I Know It,” they made sure to “shuffle” and “wiggle” the whole time.  The crowd knew the lyrics to all their songs and made sure to sing along and dance.

Known as the world’s best DJ, David Guetta came out next and got a loud cheer from the audience.  He is a French house music producer and DJ, and is popular all across the world, especially in Europe.  He made sure to mention that Miami always played his records back when he was not as popular, while the rest of America played house music from other artists.  He got the crowd dancing and moving with his rhythms and beats off of his fifth studio album, Nothing But the Beat, which came out in August of 2011.  His performance included many unique designs lighting up the screens in the background.  Flo Rida made an unexpected appearance, and performed in David Guetta’s song “Where Them Girls At,” which also features female sensation Nicki Minaj.

Flo Rida loves to interact with the crowd, as he came out on someones shoulders touching the crowd’s hands.  Lastly, known as Mr. 305 as he is from Miami, Pitbull came out in his standard suit, tie, and sunglasses.  The crowd loved him and sang with him in every song.  He made sure to play hits from his latest album, Planet Pit, which was released in June of 2011.  Songs that he sang from this album included “Hey Baby (Drop it to the Floor),” which he produced with T-Pain, and “Give Me Everything,” which features Ne-Yo, Afrojack, and Nayer.

The show was then over after Pitbull performed “Hotel Room Service,” which hit #9 on the Billboard 100, and all the fans got what they wanted hearing today’s hit songs live.  Overall, the Y100 Jingle Ball was a spectacular show.