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The Best Releases of August: Music Staff Picks

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Tropical Fuck Storm – Deep States Aussie noise rock band Tropical Fuck Storm’s third album, Deep States, is as messy and disorienting as the doomed political landscape it was birthed out of. Reflecting mind-poisoning social media discourse twisted through the filter of a distortion pedal, vocalists Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin deliver some of their most compelling melodies over lacerating guitar and synth lines. The opening track, “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, writes from the perspective of Jesus’ second coming to Earth to proclaim in a grand chorus “There ain’t no end of days.” Even at its loudest, a sense … Continued

Music
The Best Releases of June: Music Staff Picks

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Spellling – The Turning Wheel The Turning Wheel, Chrystia Cabral’s third album under the project Spellling, offers bewitchingly captivating progressive folk and neo-soul songs. A shift towards natural instrumentation marks a stark change from 2019’s synth-heavy Mazy Fly, giving these songs a new liveliness, and pushing Cabral’s songwriting towards the theatrical. The sonic palette on its own can be bewildering at first–veering off without warning into performances of soul, hard rock, classical, folk, and of course, synthwave. It’s no surprise that the personnel list reveals more than thirty performers–all of whom sound great. The songs are left with an enchanting … Continued

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The NBA: Where Playoff Predictions Happen

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The NBA Playoffs start on Saturday and all of the match-ups have been set.  Depending on your loyalties, you are either happy (Bulls fans) or mildly disappointed (Houston fans).  But luckily for you, dear readers, I will break down every match-up and then continue to make hypothetical predictions for the ensuing rounds.  This won’t end up like my college bracket, because I will be 100% correct this time.  I guarantee. Out West the first match-up is OKC vs. Houston in the 1-8 match-up.  OKC will take out Houston but it will be a fun series.  The exciting part of this … Continued

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This One’s For the Warriors

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There have been many story lines this year in the NBA, most recently being Rondo tearing his ACL and ending his 2012-2013 campaign.  However, the media has been ranting about the Lakers and raving about LeBron and Durant while completely missing one of the greatest stories in the NBA.  What is that story you ask?  The Golden State Warriors are a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. I repeat.  The Golden State Warriors are a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.  The fans of the Bay Area cannot believe their eyes.  Historically they are one of the most doomed teams … Continued

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Christmas Time for NBA Fans

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It’s hard to imagine that this time last year the NBA was just getting underway.  Already the story lines are better than ever and we’re only about 30 games into the season.  Just five games into the season, the Lakers fire coach Mike Brown and flip L.A. the bird hiring Mike D’Antoni which has paved the way for a Pau Gasol mope fest and Kobe having a career year.  The New York Knicks seemingly limped into the Garden as the oldest team in league history and have shown that age is just another number.  The Golden State Warriors have come … Continued

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Waiting for the Next Scandal

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In the midst of sports these days, it seems as though the next scandal is just around the corner.  We’ve seen it in college football with recruiting, certainly with what happened at Penn State, and the numerous steroid controversies that have riddled the MLB over the past 15 years.  After all of these scandals, I have found myself wondering, what is going to happen next?  Over this Thanksgiving break, a friend and I were discussing this at length, trying to determine which scandal that we could remember being the worst.  Was it the Kobe Bryant sex scandal?  Was it Spygate?  … Continued

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An Absurd Reimagining of the Chicago Bulls Free Agency

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This offseason for the Chicago Bulls has been a frustrating one to stay the least. Bulls fans knew that this would be a financially constraining free agency period not being able to re-sign almost everyone from the Bench Mob — Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, and C.J. Watson all departed — and that getting capable replacements without going over the salary cap would be almost impossible. But what we don’t know are the specific stories behind the acquisition of our new players. Luckily for you, dear readers, I have the inside scoop. Two years ago, Kirk Hinrich stood in … Continued

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