"Human Sacrifice, Cats and Dogs Living Together, Mass hysteria!"

    What's up everyone?
    It's been a few days, and just been a relaxing weekend. Catching up with school work and hanging out with friends and roommates and such. For all you Columbia people or people who have also been on spring break, I hope this week back in school has not been to bad for you!
    So I got to listen to the album Magic by Bruce Springsteen, released in 2007.

    Well, all I've got to say is: fuck yeah. This is my favorite Bruce Springsteen album ever! It was also the first Bruce Springsteen album I ever bought. I remember going to the K-Mart in my hometown with a friend of mine and seeing it there. I had listened to him before with my father but never really explored his music on my own, so I went ahead and bought it to give it a try. We drove around and listened to the whole album. (while skipping pretty much all my morning classes because of that and going out to get lunch and just driving around NJ and such. I was not a big fan of high school.) After one listen, I was immediately hooked.
    This is Bruce's first album with the E-Street Band since The Rising was first released, and they make quite the comeback. This album is pretty much the definition of modern rock and roll today. It brings the Bruce and E Street band elements, obviously, but also brings the music to a new intensity. Every song on this album is raw but spot on, all the instruments being emphizised and everyone giving it all they've got. Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager, classified the album as "a high energy rock" album, and he couldn't have been more right about that. He also said that is has a very "heavy E-Street Band" sound, and there too he is right. I would definitely say that this album is a bit heavier than his other albums and he does it in a way that it still sounds like him.
   Also, I remember reading that the songs on Magic were meant to be played live. I can see this, because the songs have such an energy to them that it even sounds like they were played live. It's just pure rock and roll, and I think Bruce always does a great job with this, and Magic is him at his peak.
   The themes on this album are little bit more darker and blunt. It still has the working class element to it, but it also has an element in it that sort of like about the country crying for help. It is about really looking at society in America and that state it's in, and also looking for the truth around us, even when the country seems to be slowly coming apartment. It is definitely many kinds of statements that this album is making, and you can get lost in this album very quickly, but letting the music and lyrics take you is the best way to experience this album. It does make you think a bit, so be warned.
   I can not express how much I love this album, so I can't really pick any favorite songs on this album, as they are all amazing, so I will write the whole track list for you:
     1. Radio Nowhere
     2. You'll Be Coming Down
     3. Livin' In The Future
     4. Your Own Worst Enemy
     5. Gypsy Biker
     6. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
     7. I'll Work For Your Love
     8. Magic
     9. Last To Die
   10. Long Walk Home
   11. Devil's Arcade
   *12. Terry's Song- bonus/hidden track- Bruce's song for Terry Magovern, his long time assistant, who passed away July 30th, 2007.
   
   So there you have it folks, Magic. It's a must and it never gets old.

   So otherwise, my roommate and I watched Ghostbusters last night. Ok, who HASN'T seen this movie? If you haven't, I'd get on that. Right now. It's a classic! Released in 1984 and directed by Ivan Reitman, the film is about three scientists (played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis) who, after losing their academic jobs, decide to start a ghost catching business. The film also includes Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dana, as she gets mixed up with a spiritual plot to end the world. Rick Moranis also plays Louis, Dana's geeky neighbor and Ernie Hudson, who plays one a team member of the Ghostbusters. And I mean, who doesn't know the theme song?
   This movie is a classic and should not be missed, so watch it! That's all I have to say about that.

    I also got to watch The Black Parade Is Dead!, the live DVD from My Chemical Romance, which includes the final performance of that tour over in Mexico City, where they played The Black Parade in it's entirety. It really is quite the performance. They have so much energy and stage presence when they play the album, and it really is a fun show to watch. Probably nothing like being there, but you can get a good taste of it from the DVD. It also features a show from Hoboken, NJ of all places. I have yet to see that one, but once I do, I'll report back on it. Anyway, that's pretty much it for now!
   Stay classy.

  -The AR

Long Walk Home:


Ghostbusters trailer:


The Black Parade Is Dead! trailer: