the stentorian | ncssm
features
October 2012 3
Push/Pull, an astounding performance
By: Marcy Pedzwater
NCSSM’s fall play Push/
Pull, written and performed by
students at NCSSM premiered
the weekend of Oct. 19-21.
When I first heard about the
concept for Push/Pull, I was a
bit skeptical at first. Sure, the
idea sounded great, but would
Science and Math students
actually have the time to
coordinate such a production,
and moreover, to do it well?
My anxiety and nervousness
for my fellow classmates only
increased when I heard my
fnends in the play talking
about nonsensical lines from
the play such as, “Wait! Don’t
eat that mushroom!”
However, within the first
five minutes of the play, my
doubts were quelled Push/
Pull was an astoimding
performance that brought
brilliant writing, amazing tech
work, and phenomenal acting
together seamlessly.
Pushy'Pull made remarkable
observations about human
nature, the relations between
success and failure, reality
and expectations, and love and
relationships.
The play was beautifully
performed and part of the
power of the performance was
not just in what was said, but
was shown through the actions
and movements of the piece.
Push/Pull captured little bits
of truth in an artistic manner;
there were times when I
couldn’t help but nod along,
thinking to myself “That’s so
true!”
Of, course, it wasn’t all
serious; there were well-
placed moments of comic It was the serious moments,
relief, perhaps most notably however, that defined the play,
a chemistry joke about Perhaps the most powerful
significant figures. scene in the play was “Prayer,”
A Original Dmna Based on Success and Failure
\pmm
pusi^Pull
Friday,
OctoberlO^
at 7pm
Saturday
October 20*^
at 7pm
Sunday
October
at 3pm
ETC Auditorium
Admission is FREE
Freelance Whales, Mumford and
Sons, Jason Aldean reviewed
By: Marcy Pedzwater
This fall, the indie band
Freelance Whales, folk rock
band Mumford and Sons,
and country artist Jason
Aldean released new albums.
Freelance ^Whales’ album,
Diluvia, was released on OctT
9, 2012.
Mumford and Sons’ new
album, Babel, was released on
Sept. 24, 2012. Jason Aldean’s
new album. Night Train, was
released on Oct. 16, 2012.
Diluvia
Freelance Whales’ new
album Diluvia is utterly
unremarkable. It had no huge
flaws, the music flowed well,
it was calming to listen to, but
nothing stood out about the
album. Each song transitioned
to the next without any
distinguishing characteristics.
The lyries were okay, but
they weren’t great and there
certainly wasn’t anything
quotable Ifom them. The
album might make good
background music, but it’s
certainly not something that 1
would seek out and listen to
over and over again.
The album wasn’t bad; . ‘1
I didn’t cringe when I
listened to it and there
wasn’t anything that
I didn’t care for.
The problem
with the album
was that
there was
nothing
to set it
out from all
of the other new
albums that have
been released in the past
month.
There were no stellar
harmonies, breathtaking
melodies, moving lyrics, or
jaw-dropping instrumentals
to make the album stand out.
Based on Diluvia, it’s hard to
envision Freelance Whales
gaining much traction in the
music industry, and for good
reason. 2.5/5 stars
Babel
Mumford and Sons’ most
recent release was impressive.
The unique style of Mumford
and Son’s continues to stand
out in their third album.
Their vocals are distinctive
and alluring, with harmonies
that are uSed sparingly, making
their impact that much greater
when the harmonies are used.
The instrumentation is
impressive, with heavy use
of banjo, giving the band a
distinctive sound. The opening
song, “Babel” showcases the
bands talents, and completes
the song with great lyrics.
The biggest downfall
of the album,
however, was
wouldn’t even realize it.
The album had two styles,
the song with an upbeat tempo
with heavy banjo strumming,
and the song that started slow,
but, once it reached t o
chorus, returned to / /
the upbeat tempo of
the songs before it.
The only
exception to this
pattern was
remarkable album, they must
introduce more differentiation
between their songs. 3.5/5
stars
Night Train
Jason Aldean’s new
album was fair. The vocals
of the album were
phenomenal;
its lack of
variation. Each
song sounded like the song
before it, and at times when
1 was listening to the album,
the song would change, and I
“Ghosts
That We
Knew,” which
was perhaps one
of the best songs
from the album. The
song seemed more raw,
and deviated from the pop
music mold of the rest of
the album.
Hearing the band use a
lighter style of banjo that
supported the vocals rather
than carrying them was a
refreshing and necessary
change of pace. Mumford
and Sons clearly has great
talent, but to produce a truly
Aldean
has a
great
voice for
country
music, and his
album showcased this. The
album had strong variation,
between slower songs like “I
Don’t do Lonely Well” and
faster paced songs like “This
Nothin’ Town.”
One of the standout songs
from the album was definitely
“Talk,” with its smooth melody,
and flowing instrumentation.
The song was dynamic, and the
transition from a slow tempo
at the beginning to a steadier
tempo towards the chorus was
impressive.
The beginning of the album
was pretty unimpressive, but
the later tracks began to grow
on me.
The first few songs lacked
any remarkable characteristics,
but as the album went on, the
songs improved tremendously,
deviating from somewhat
stereotypical country music
to a sound that seemed more
authentic and unique to
Aldean. Overall, the album
was a success, but could have
used more fine-tuning. 3/5
stars
which left a lasting impression
on the audience.
Push/Pull seemed to leave
more questions unanswered
than answered, but did so in a
way that made it seem like it
wouldn’t have made sense to
do it any other way.
Overall, Push/Pull was
a remarkable suceess for
NCSSM theater.
SG
teams
address
student
issues
By Sarah Lee
Student Government. Every
school has it. Every one of
them plans Halloween dances
and or Valentine candy grams.
But how often do you see SG
making a real difference, a
change that can significantly
affect your time at school?
The Student Government
Association at NCSSM begs
to differ. As one of the most
engaging and active student
organizations on campus,
SG serves to represent the
student body by working with
the administration to make
practical changes in stpdents’
academic and residential life
Academic Affairs works
with Academic Programs to
bring positive changes to the
learning environment.
Currently, the committee is
focusing on improving Grade
Transparency and scheduling
process. To be a part of the
committee or for comments
and concerns regarding
academic life, contact the
Committee Chair, Siddarth
Modi at modi 13s@.ncssm.edu.
Programming Committee
plans student activities and
events on campus including
Mr. Unicom, seasonal lock-
ins, spirit week, Powderpuff
games. Senior Breakfast,
College App Day and the list
goes on.
In addition. Programming
also appoints the mascot,
Charlie the Unicom. The
committee is led by Natalie
Ung who ean be contacted via
email at ungl3n@ncssm.edu.
Public Relations works
to improve communication
between Student Government
and the Student Body.
The PR committee
organizes weekly Let’s Talk
on Mondays during common
lunch in which students can
stop by to speak to an SG
representative. In addition,
the PR Task Force consists
of students that specialize in
computer graphics, designing,
and writing to further aid in
promotion of SG and SG-
related events. Please Contact
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