The Awkward Stage: brighter, bigger, better By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor October 8, 2008 Just about everyone has had their share of awkward teenage situations that still come back to haunt them. If you’re one of the few that hasn’t, chances are I hate you. In any case Shane Nelken explores that awkward stage even grown-ups can’t seem to escape with his band, The Awkward Stage.
Their latest album, Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights, features personal lyrics representing Nelken and his own awkwardness, serving as a glimpse into the life of someone who didn’t leave their awkward stage behind, and who is still learning to deal with it.
Nelken started off in numerous Vancouver bands before chasing his own project. Now he’s joined by bandmates Tygh Runyan on lead guitar, Tony Koelwyn on drums, and Chris Mitchell on trumpet and keyboards.
After coming home from tour with A.C. Newman, Nelken became inspired to form The Awkward Stage. >> | Sample evolution By Paul Breschuk
Lance Writer October 8, 2008 The 1980s R&B duo Zapp & Roger made an indelible mark on hip-hop since the days of their first single, “More Bounce to the Ounce.” They were also pioneers of the “talk box” which computerizes the human voice (sounding like a cross between a saxophone and an operatic cyborg).  It was this faux-futuristic texture that immediately grabbed my attention when I first heard their 1985 single “Computer Love.”
Dealing with computer romance, this song is extremely prophetic. In a time before MSN Messenger, MySpace, or Facebook, just what was singer/songwriter Roger Troutman basing his ideas on? Online dating services didn’t come into play until the mid ‘90s. Chat networks were around for years before this song, but only to cutting-edge techno-savvy nerds (such as the members of Kraftwerk). Interestingly, Kraftwerk released a song titled “Computer Love” in 1981. >>  | | Campus Kiss | | Vintage Vault: Mad Love By Jeff Vandusen
Lance Writer October 8, 2008 Mad Love was reviled upon its release in the United States. The Hays production code, which set new standards of decency in American film, had been in effect for about a year by the time Mad Love came out. 
While there was no specific mention of torture in the pages of the production code (sex and proper depictions of the institution of marriage took precedence), Mad Love’s testy, yet subtle depictions of torture and fetishism set off big alarms in the censor’s office. The film bombed at the box office in 1935 and was proclaimed by a Time Magazine critic to be “the type of film that brought about censorship in the first place.” Some countries banned the film, or axed any scene depicting torture or execution.
Mad Love stars Peter Lorre as the medical genius/mad scientist Dr. Gogol. The character Gogol is the very personification of sadism and insanity—a sexually frustrated weirdo with a penchant for watching executions and simulated torture. He has a particular obsession with a raven-haired actress named Yvonne Orlac (played by Frances Drake). >> |
