The Paw Print

Don’t let the funky and calming grooves on “To The Sea,” Jack Johnson’s latest album, fool you; he cares about the issues he sees all around him and makes the best of a “world that’s not always fair,” as he says in “From the Clouds,” the sixth track on the album.

Johnson’s music seeks to spread the message of love and peace, without taking blows at the government, a quality not often found in artists.

Johnson ventures into new territory here, as he gives plenty of room for his backing band, Merlo Podlewski (bass), Zach Gill (keyboards), and Adam Topol (drums) to flourish and groove right alongside him. Rather than rely more on his words to carry the messages, as he’s done in his previous albums, Johnson uses his band’s power to its fullest extent.

The music carries his words to new heights, while still showcasing Johnson’s voice. The band knows when to fall back and let Johnson be heard and when to come in with full force, underscoring the messages Johnson conveys.

In “The Upsetter,” Johnson falls back on the style he knows well, using conga drums and soft guitars, all the while creating a sense of environmental urgency, pleading, “Stop upsetting this world that you’re standing on,” a call to everybody, not just the liberals usually seen as Johnson’s fans.

There are moments where the album drags, with the downright annoying “Pictures of People Taking Pictures” and when Johnson delves into his personal troubles, as in “No Good With Faces,” where he admits he is “too tired to try,” but even those tracks don’t get in the way of the sense of urgency and the feel-good mood he is offering to his listeners.

It’s a compliment to Johnson’s songwriting abilities that he is able to convey these messages about love and the environment with lyrical urgency, while keeping with the calming musical style he’s known for.

Currently on her worldwide Monster Ball tour, Lady Gaga has managed to bang out another hit album straight from her tour bus. “Lady Gaga–The Remix” provides clubs around America with 10 more Gaga songs to blast through the speaker.

Combining songs from her previous two multi-platinum albums, Gaga hits all the notes she should, while bringing her loyal fans more of the same — which is probably what she was aiming for in the first place. 

The American version of the album contains a measly 10 songs to the international’s 17, leaving many stones unturned for Gaga’s U.S. fans â€” the ones unwilling to venture onto YouTube anyway.

Marilyn Manson collaborates with Gaga on “Lovegame,” making for one of the more remarkable remixes on the album. Despite the odd twist on the song, the two oddballs bring a much-needed change to the album that seemed to be doomed to the fate of boring. “Lovegame” incorporates the best one can expect from a remix of an already successful song. The reintroduction of Manson lives up to the hype of this highly anticipated collaboration.

The remixes of “Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” and “Telephone” are less impressive; Gaga’s voice comes off more electronic and automated than ever, almost sounding like a creepy answering machine’s voice. The remix of “The Fame” is much simpler than one would expect from the always extravagant and over-the-top Lady Gaga, compiling the original song with a few more beats overlaid, but no surprising changes are made to the hit.

A standout and favorite of the album slows things down quite a bit, lending a refreshing change to Gaga’s usual dance floor classics: “Alejandro” is both well done and sounds accurate to Gaga’s voice, but will most likely go unnoticed by casual listeners; its sound is somewhat similar to the original. The worst of the album unfortunately comes at the close of it. Gaga’s most recent smash hit single, “Dance In The Dark,” employs a lengthy intro that is simply boring, in a spot on the album where a new and attention-grabbing remix is most needed. It is the longest song on the album, dragging on for over six minutes. Perhaps if it were shorter, the finale of the U.S. version of the album would be more appreciated by critics and fans alike. 

On July 23, Avenged Sevenfold, a heavy metal/hard rock band from Huntington Beach, Calif., put out its first new album, “Nightmare,” since the death of its drummer, Johnny “The Rev” Sullivan last December. After a year of mourning his death (an overdose of medication and alcohol was found during the autopsy of the 28 year old), the band is moving on.

The album reveals the band’s fears. From being in a straitjacket to going to hell, the members of the band – M. Shadows (lead singer), Zacky Vengeance (rhythm guitar), Johnny Christ (bass guitar) and Synyster Gates (lead guitar, backing vocals) – express their personal nightmares. This album displays what state of mind they are in after the loss of a close friend and band member and is an announcement that death doesn’t rule their lives.

Compared to previous work, this album is slower paced. Unlike “City of Evil,” the third album, which was fast and loud and was about what they believed in, the recent release looks death in the face and says, “we’re still here no matter what.” The emotion in that music makes this release stronger than previous albums.

“The eeriest thing about it is there is a song on the album called “Fiction” (a nickname The Rev gave himself),” said Matthew “M. shadows” Sanders in an interview with HardDrive, a radio show. “[It] was the last song The Rev wrote for the album, and when he handed it in, he said, that’s it, that’s the last song for this record. And then three days later he died.”

“Fiction,” the 10th track on the album and “Afterlife,” the fourth track from their fourth album, are similar in their talk of death. The band’s view of death has not changed since their first album, “Sounding The Seventh Trumpet.” Some songs have the same message but since the emotion in “Nightmare” is so strong, it resuscitates the music from being just lyrics and beats into fresh entertainment. While slower than previous albums, fans will still want to follow along.

It’s dark. You can’t speak. You can’t move. You can see. You can hear. It doesn’t feel like a dream, but you know it is. It’s sleep paralysis.

During the weekend that just passed, there has been a shooting in Harlem that started after a fight broke out at a crowded party. It started in a park and from there it erupted onto the streets on Sunday morning. There were a total of 50 bullets that were shot. One man was dead and six others were wounded.

A name can be any thing you want like Jasper, Lyndon, Vincent, Kyle, Jon, Jacob, Leon, Carlisle, or even Sepiroth for guy names and for girl names Claire, Scarlet, Lilith, Macy or even Mischa. But what does it mean? A name can have a meaning like Mairearad which is Gaelic (Irish) for pearl and Mischa which comes from Russia which means like god. Certain names can mean more than one thing and in some languages names can be unisex for both boy and girl. Some names are spelled different like Jon it can be spelled John. Like Jeffery can be spelled Jeffree. Or Nicky can be Nikki. But in the end a name has a meaning and a way to be unique Michael can be pronounced in two different ways. Some names are tied back to a culture or religion. Like Claire is a name that comes from Saint Claire. So what is in a name after all? It is all about pride and what it means to certain people and certain cultures in many ways. But in the end everyone has a name so everyone is unique in their own way so write your name however you want it and be you.

September, the month most kids dread, simply because it means waking up early again and going to school. School is already hard enough on students, being that we all have our obstacles to overcome, and imagine if you didn’t have the supplies you needed for school –it’d be twice as hard. Being prepared for school is a big necessity for those who wish to succeed, that’s why Do Something.org is taking action to ensure that this upcoming September, students are ready for school.

            Do Something.org has a series of programs that help different causes, Do Something 101, is a program that has teamed up with staples to run a school supply drive. Staples and Do Something 101 is at its third year of hosting this collection, and Now through September 18^th, you can go to any staples across the U.S and drop off school supplies in the bins provided through the Do Something 101 foundation. Each staples store is tied to a local non-profit organization and will make sure that the supplies is delivered to different communities.

             Do Something 101 is important because with extra supplies, schools can function a lot better and provide the best education possible. 

The wonders of life for many isn’t strange, but do we really sit down and wonder?

As Trinidad Carnival 2011 is quickly approaching I am anxiously awaiting more carnival band launches. However, bands: Woi!! Mas, Oasis, Bliss and TRIBE have already launched, not to mention various other media launches such as YUMA and Spice.

TRIBE, the largest band on the road for the past couple of years, is portraying “The Way of the Warrior.”

Initially, I thought TRIBE would use it usual skimpy bathing suits, beads and feathers because I didn’t think they would be able to pull off a hard-core theme such as “The Way of the Warrior.”

I was, however, very pleased to see that many of costumes did reflect some sort of warrior whether it be an African Warrior or a Native American warrior. My favorite section was Massai Warriors. I love the way the African print is juxtaposed against the typical 21st Century carnival costume. This costume is very chic. Knights Templar, Xi’An and Mayan Eagle are among my favorites as well. Ultimately, I feel that they did a good job of sticking to their theme.

Bliss, the smaller, more intimate band affiliated with TRIBE, was not as impressive. Many of the costumes lacked the connection back to “The Way of the Warrior.” I was expecting fewer feathers and beading, and perhaps more metal. Some of the costumes had absolutely no connection to warriors such as Caprica or Solaris. However, I did like Cyclon and thought it was an accurate presentation of warrior with the red and silver metal accents!

Oasis is a new band to Trinidad’s 2011 Carnival. They, however, did not come with anything new or particularly creative. I am awaiting YUMA, another new band, to bring some innovative ideas to Carnival 2011. Yuma and their presentation “Zodiac” seem both intriguing and promising. Photos from their media launch were very exciting and I cannot wait till the launch. Not to mention their designer’s were mentored by the legendary costume designer, Wayne Berkley.

Woi Mas!! and their presentation “Skulldugery” seemed like recycled Halloween costumes. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? They were successful at being different. However, It seemed like one big art assignment. I’m not sure how comfortable these costumes will be on Carnival Tuesday. I cannot compare Woi!! Mas to Brian MacFarlane and I do not think Woii!! Mas will take any of Brian MacFarlane’s masqueraders.

I cannot wait till Trinidad Carnival 2011 to see all these costumes on the road or maybe even on a Savannah Stage.

The sun is high beaming at almost 98 degrees and I’m sweating in the backseat, hoping for the little breeze of mercy to relieve the unbearable stale air. It’s a bright Saturday morning and I’m on my way to the beach with my mom, my sister and her best friend. Showered and packed, we all headed out to Coney Island in my cousin Mama’s car with her two kids. Sitting there for almost an hour, I thought I was going to pass out.