Transit is a five-piece Indie/post-hardcore/alternative band from Massachusetts. On April 2, 2013, they released their ninth album titled Young New England. After listening to each of their 13 songs on this album, it became clear that this album was incredible. According to iTunes purchases, “Nothing Lasts Forever” and “Young New England” are the two most popular songs on the album. From previous experience seeing Transit at Warped Tour, they definitely know how to put on a great show for their fans.

In “Nothing Lasts Forever,” singer Joe Boynton sings a few lines of the song then has the whole band come in.

In “Second to Right,” the song starts off with a strong-up beat tempo and goes to an instrumental section.

In “Young New England,” it starts off strong and aggressive with a monotone feeling. Throughout the song they have voices stating things about Boston.

“Sleep” starts off with the drums and guitars then has the vocals come in. The song has a steadier tempo and a relaxing feeling.

In “So Long, So Long,” the song starts off right away with the vocals followed by the drums and guitar. I find the lyrics of the song very catchy.

“Weathered Souls” starts off with the drums then has the bass guitar and vocals join in. There is an instrumental part in the middle of the song then it picks back up with the vocals.

“Hang It Up” starts off with the guitar and drums then the vocals join in. It catches you in the beginning with saying the title of the song twice and then goes into the lyrics.

“Don’t Go, Don’t Stay” starts off right away with the vocals and guitar accompanied by the drums. In the middle of the song, vocals harmonize with the singer.

“Thanks For Nothing” starts off with the drums, guitar and bass followed by the vocals. There is an echo part within the chorus.

“Summer, ME,” starts off right away with strong vocals and with the drums and guitar. It has an upbeat tempo to the song and just makes you want to join in and sing.

“Hazy” starts off with the drums and vocals lightly then gets a little faster. This song is more laid back and has a slower tempo.

The next song was “Bright Lights, Dark Shadows.” This song picks up the tempo with the drums, guitar and bass followed by the vocals.

“Lake Q” starts off slowly with the guitar and bass, followed by the drums then the vocals. This song has a more relaxing tempo to the feeling. In the middle of the song, there is a slight pause where it feels like it’s over, but then picks up with the guitar, bass and drums.

Make sure to keep an eye out for Transit as they are on their Young New England Tour with Seahaven, All Get Out, and Young Statues.

WNHU, Music Industry Club, Audio Engineering Society, Career Development Center and Purebred Records hosted Music Career Week during the week of April 8 through April 13, 2013.

The week included a lecture series, shows and a game night.

Music Career Week started on Monday, April 8 with speaker Michael Caplan of Elm City Music at Dodds Theatre. Monday night brought a concert by indie-rock band From Indian Lakes, UNH rock band The Dustbusters, and UNH acoustic solo artist Zach Grabko.

Representatives from Telefunken, including two recent University of New Haven graduates, spoke about their microphone company on Tuesday, April 9 in the German Club, and the Career Development Center gave a workshop on music career-related resumes.

Wednesday, April 10 brought Narga and Bryski of Hestia Records to the German Club with the story of how they started their label. Rock and Roll Games took place Wednesday night in Bartels, where participants competed to win concert tickets to concerts including New Found Glory, Insane Clown Posse and Twenty One Pilots.

Steve Rodgers of The Space spoke on Thursday, April 11 about how he started the Hamden, Conn. music venue. Finally, Kaity Davie of The Syndicate spoke about her career in the music industry, interning and more on Friday, April 12, wrapping up the week-long lecture series.

The Music Career Week End Cap took place Saturday, April 13 in the German Club featuring UNH musicians John Farber, Zach Russack, Michael Quick, Joey Nato and Xeromynd. Purebred Records recording artist Lansky Aloi closed out the show.

Ashley Fox, a senior music and sound recording major and station manager at WNHU, planned and developed this year’s Music Career Week.

“When I was a sophomore one of the student managers at WNHU put together a ‘Women in Music’ week,” Fox said. “I went to a lot of those and thought they were great, and wanted to do something like that myself. I wanted a few open forum discussions, which turned into a weeklong event, and went off of that idea.”

Wanting to expose the different fields of the music industry to students, Fox contacted people she has looked up to and who she thought students could learn something from, taking suggestions from WNHU co-workers and friends as well.

Many students, with both music related majors and non-music related majors, attended the lectures and took part in the activities that were held throughout the week.

Kylie Hall, a senior music industry and communication double major, attended the lecture series and particularly enjoyed Kaity Davie’s speech about her career.

“I think that Music Career Week opened my eyes to some of the different ways I could get involved in the industry,” Hall said. “My favorite lecture was Kaity from The Syndicate because the work that they do there is the type of work that I would like to do in the industry.”

“For a couple weeks I’ve been really discouraged about my choices with school and it was really disheartening,” said Tina Sciortino, a senior music and sound recording major. “Speakers like Katie and the Telefunken guys kind of rejuvenated me and helped me realize that I don’t necessarily have to be a recording engineer with my degree.”

Each lecturer gave a fair amount of advice, answered questions and was willing to speak to students before and after the lecture; they even offered to read resumes and hand out business cards.

“I think Music Career Week was pretty successful,” Fox said. “I’m really pleased with everything on a personal level because I feel like I learned a lot and hopefully made some connections throughout the week…generally I feel like those who did attend got something out of it, and that is enough for me to feel like the week was a success.”

Twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg brought us Jurassic Park, a film that would spark a generation’s love for dinosaurs. Now the film has been brought back to the big screen (as many films have been recently) in glorious, headache-causing 3D. And let me say, it’s a fantastic experience to see the movie on the big screen, an opportunity I was denied simply because I wasn’t born yet.

Jurassic Park (AP photo).

The film…well, everyone knows what the film is about. Or at least they should. An entrepreneur named John Hammond (played by the great Richard Attenborough) figures out how to clone dinosaurs and begins breeding them to make a huge, dinosaur zoo/theme park. However, as any park of this nature would experience, Hammond must first have the attraction inspected by several dinosaur scientists, a mathematician, a lawyer, and his grandkids (who have a knack for putting themselves in danger). As one would expect, the dinosaurs break out and all hell breaks loose.

The film still has all of the things that made the original a classic: Wayne Knight’s fat antics, John Williams iconic score, and Jeff Goldblum being sarcastic and seductive. But everyone has seen the movie (if you haven’t you really owe it to yourself, and also WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU), so the real question is “is it worth paying to see this in 3D?” The answer is a surprising yes. The film is incredibly enhanced by being on a big screen: the sound is fantastic and the special effects have stood the test of time incredibly well. The movie could look like it came out this year if it wasn’t for all of the old school technology that the characters think is cutting edge (it’s almost adorable watching them get excited over an interactive CD-ROM). The 3D (and I hate using the phrase) is astonishingly immersive, as at times it feels like you’re are in the movie. I know that’s an incredibly cliché thing to say, but it’s how I felt watching this film.

Jurassic Park proves that a movie re-released in 3D does have some value, and it stands to this day as being an excellent, adventuresome movie about a group of people trying to run away from dinosaurs.

From the minute I saw the trailer for this movie (with its emotional exposition to the almost unbearable piano chords crashing during the second half of the trailer), I had my suspicions that it would break my heart. My suspicions weren’t unfounded, and director Derek Cianfrance’s film The Place Beyond the Pines has finally arrived after being delayed several months.

The film, without giving too much away, follows Ryan Gosling as a white-trash circus carnie named Luke Glanton, a motorcycle rider. After a one-night fling with Romina (played by the always lovely Eva Mendes), he comes back a year later to discover that he is now a father. Though she lives with her new boyfriend, he insists that he remain in his son’s life and provide for him, no matter the literal and figurative cost. From this need to provide spawns his relationship with Robin, a local junkyard worker, who introduces Luke to the world of bank robbing. Gosling robs the bank, speeds off in his bike, and Robin picks him up. Easier said than done. As is expected, eventually his crimes catch up with him, and soon Luke becomes the target of police officer Avery Cross (played by the always capable Bradley Cooper). Soon he must fight to evade the law and continue to provide for his son.

All of the acting is where it should be: Gosling is emotional and vulnerable as a trashy guy trying to do right by his son. It’s devastating to watch him struggle to be in his son’s life so that his son doesn’t become a burn-out like himself. It’s even more difficult to see Bradley Cooper on the opposite side of the law. Cooper is conflicted and tortured, as he must not only fight his personal demons but also the corrupt cop force which he works for. And Ben Mendelsohn, who plays Robin, is a sad but loveable bum who is just trying to help.

The cast is supported by some fantastic directing by Cianfrance; his direction brings the intensity of the emotional and action scenes. The driving scenes are fast-paced and amped up, as if the cameraman is on crack, and the emotional scenes are shot with such honesty and vulnerability. He captures the look and tone of a small town that suffocates its citizens, and he does so with style.

The script itself is incredibly ambitious and daring, and it’s quite incredible to watch unfold. The story could easily have been much shorter, but it would have taken away from the total impact of the movie. About an hour and a half in you think that the story is wrapped up in a nice bow, but it goes from 0 to 60 and continues to push on. It never feels unnecessarily drawn out because you’re fully invested in these characters and their story.

The film is a beautiful, poignant story of the relationships between fathers and sons, and how one is dependent on the other to be successful. The story could have fallen to cliché and sappiness, but the earnestness of the acting and directing make the film honest and heartfelt. There’s never a moment when you grow bored, because when you’re not watching physical action you’re drawn in by the emotional swells and pains.

The Place Beyond the Pines is a bold, heartbreaking film that constantly keeps you engaged and anticipating future scenes. There are no flashbacks, which adds to a sense of impending doom and that there’s no turning back in this intense drama. It is without a doubt the best movie to come out this year so far and deserves to be seen at least once.

With Oblivion opening next week, it brings with it an original score composed by popular group M83. The score is fantastic, and movie scores always make great music to listen to while doing homework, so here are five other great ones.

Photo obtained via Hollywoodreporter.com

5. Tron Legacy (2010): A movie by the same director as Oblivion; this score, however, was written by techno group Daft Punk. The score blends computers and a full orchestra to make an incredibly original and bombastic score. On a side note, fans of Daft Punk will be happy to know the group will be releasing another studio album.

4. The Last Airbender (2010): Though the film itself is an abomination of filmmaking, composer James Newton Howard managed to create a spectacular score, the only light in this stinkpile of a movie. The song “Flow Like Water” will give you shivers all the way through.

3. Beyond Rangoon (1995): Another not-great movie that is strengthened by a fantastic score, this time by Hans Zimmer, the man who can’t make a bad soundtrack. Many of Zimmer’s scores for movies set in Asia are gorgeous, and this one stands as the best (sorry Kung Fu Panda 2). The score transports you to another place all together.

2. Star Trek (2009). Composer Michael Giacchino works a lot with Pixar, but when he doesn’t he’s often found working for director J.J. Abrams, and this is his best collaboration with the director. Sad and exciting, joyous and intense, this soundtrack is everything you want from your movie music and more.

1. Lincoln: I still believe this should have won at the Oscars this year for Best Original Soundtrack, but that’s beside the point. John Williams’ latest creation, Lincoln, shares the same intimacy and vulnerability of the film itself: it’s beautiful, it’s poignant, and it’s hopeful. Not Williams’ typical action movie soundtrack, much more personal.

By Katerina Sperl and Sam Nicosia

1) “Come Together” by Aerosmith, originally performed by the Beatles. It is completely obvious to the world that the Beatles is one of the greatest bands of all time. It is also completely obvious to the world (or at least the people in it that know me and Katt) that we think Aerosmith is the greatest band of all time. When you put together the two, you are heading straight for musical greatness. Many covers involve the artists changing the song, but the cover hits precisely to the original. However, there might not be a greater way to do it. Steven Tyler’s vocals are as strong as always, and the rest of the band keeps the dramatic beat powerful.

Aerosmith (AP Photo).

2)“She’s So High” by Four Year Strong, originally by Tal Bachman. This cover is so unlike the last one, because the changes that Four Year Strong made are so dramatic and impacting. When a punk band covers a mellow song, this is sure to happen. Surprisingly, the cover is better than the original. The cymbals in the background paired with the screamy punk vocals make the cover more exciting than its calming original.

3) “Cups” performed by Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect, originally by Lulu and the Lampshades. I am addicted to this cover! It is only a minute long, so it is played about eight times before I will even switch the song. The very less-recognized original is definitely worth the YouTube check. I do prefer the cover, but the original oozes a fun, more folky vibe.

4)“Working Class Hero” covered by Green Day is an outstanding song being covered by an even more outstanding band. I remember the first time I listened to bands covering John Lennon’s music on the Instant Karma album and thinking what an amazing tribute this album is to the musical legend. However, this song by far sticks out due to Green Day’s unique interpretation of the musical piece and Billie Joe Armstrong’s phenomenal vocals, which completely draw the listener in to the song. I can honestly say without a doubt that John Lennon would be proud of their tribute.

5) “Hotel California” by The Eagles takes on a new vibe when covered by The Killers. With a twist of Latino influence, the song becomes one of the greatest ever heard. Brandon Flowers’ voice hits every note to perfection and can only be rivaled by Don Henley’s vocals in the original. As a fan of classic rock, I have found it very hard to find another band that can do their unique take on this song without destroying it. The Killers have done an amazing job and this definitely goes down in my book as one of the greatest covers of a classic rock masterpiece.

6) “Hey Ya,” originally by Outkast, is not exactly my favorite song in the world. I’ll (Sam) be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of pop or hip-hop, but Obadiah Parker leaves me speechless whenever I hear his acoustic cover of this hit song. His vocal range and raw talent shine through in this tribute. When you first listen to this song, the first thing you will notice is that it sounds nothing like the original, but instead is a brilliant acoustic cover accompanied by this artist’s powerful vocals. By taking this song and interpreting it in such a dramatically different way, Obadiah Parker’s musical genius will astonish music fans everywhere.

7) “Beautiful” is known to most as one of Christina Aguilera’s greatest hits in her musical career. However, the cover of this song performed by The Lemonheads puts the original song to shame. This tribute shows musical brilliance in its unique interpretation of the song, accompanied by the band’s pure talent. The acoustic guitar along with Evan Dando’s remarkable vocals turns this hit pop song into a soothing musical masterpiece. The only way to simply describe this song is by its title: beautiful.

For those of you who are unaware, UNH’s Music & Entertainment Industry Student Association (known as MEISA) has changed names, and will now be known as the Music Industry Club (MIC). While the name may have changed, they are still dedicated to bringing the UNH community great live music, and this past week was no exception. This show featured UNH’s own Zach Grabko, UNH band The Dustbusters, and California Indie-Rockers from Indian Lakes; it definitely brightened everyone’s Monday!

MIC Logo (obtained via Facebook).

First to perform was MIC secretary (and soon to be treasurer) Zach Grabko, who did a short but sweet acoustic set. Personally, I love acoustic performers because there’s a gutsy vulnerability to it. There are no bells or whistles to hide behind, just a microphone and a guitar. For some this can be daunting, but Grabko is a genuine performer and had no problem commanding the stage with songs he wrote in high school about love and life. Some might not have recognized him without his makeup; he recently played one of the stepsisters opposite David Janovsky in Into the Woods with rave reviews. Whether singing about the king’s festival or the girl that caught his eye, his voice is undeniable. I think he had a solid set and had some catchy original songs, my favorite being “The Dive.”

Next was The Dustbusters, a group of guys who describe their sound as “If Modest Mouse and Dinosaur Jr. had a baby…” I would definitely agree with this portrayal of the group. The similarities to Dinosaur Jr. hit me as soon as they began to play; I could pick up traces of Counting Crows and The Mountain Goats between their vocal tones and the instrumental vibe as well. Their sound is very mature, which I thought was cool to see from four guys goofing around on stage. It’s always nice to watch a band that’s really relaxed and fun on stage; it gets the crowd more involved and willing to participate back. They had a nice mixed set of originals off their new EP (you can download it for free at http://thedustbusters.bandcamp.com/ ) and a couple of covers from artists like Wilco. My favorite song of theirs was “Garden Gnome” which they performed complete with their own garden gnome on stage that had been stolen from someone’s lawn. The song had some really great lyrics and harmonies. All in all, I can definitely see myself unwinding on a warm summer night with a cool glass of iced tea and some of The Dustbusters playing in the background.

Lastly was the headlining act, From Indian Lakes, all the way from Yosemite Valley, Calif. Spending their day off from tour to play for us, these indie rockers absolutely blew me away. Lead singer Joey Vannucchi’s voice made me melt and his falsetto reminded me of Alex Trimble of Two Door Cinema Club (a huge compliment as TDCC is one of my favorite bands). Vannucchi was not the only one with a beautiful voice, as their harmonies were so delicate and wonderfully layered that it added a whole new element to their sound. Their ability to transition from slow, quiet tranquil songs like “Stay Outside” to more energetic songs like “Breaking My Bones” so seamlessly left me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next song. “Stay Outside” was probably my absolute favorite track of the night, which you can also download off their bandcamp page. What I really loved most about From Indian Lakes is that you can feel their passion when they perform. It is that very passion which hooks you and leaves you in a trance. I could have sat there all night listening to them play. They most certainly have a new fan in me and I hope they swing by the east coast again soon.

When you think of film critics, the most infamous name that comes to mind is Roger Ebert, Pulitzer-Prize winning author and film critic. The renowned critic has been battling cancer for several years now, and he passed away this past Thursday, April 4; with it died a man who defined movies for his generation.

Roger Ebert, film critic, passed away due to complications with cancer. (AP photo)

Ebert started his film critic career in 1967 writing for the Chicago Sun Times. In that year he wrote his first book, a book on the history of Illinois, and had his review for George A. Romero’s horror classic Night of the Living Dead published in Reader’s Digest. In 1975, he started his own TV show titled Sneak Previews, which was broadcast on a local Chicago public-broadcasting station, and from there his TV presence grew.

The show was picked up for national distribution by The Public Broadcasting Service, and Gene Siskel joined as a co-host. This pairing spawned the team-up that was “Siskel and Ebert,” and the duo became widely known. They popularized and copywrote the popular phrase “The Thumbs Up/Down.” After Siskel’s death, Ebert would co-host with a rotating schedule of co-hosts, but that hole was eventually filled by Richard Roeper. His television presence made him the face for film criticism. He even appeared on Sesame Street. He was given an honorary membership to the Directors Guild of America in 2009.

He reviewed on a star scale from 0 to 4, though his review for The Human Centipede is known as contradictory since he refused to review it, simply believing, “It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don’t shine.”

He married Chaz Hammelsmith in 1992 and remained married to her until his death. Before their marriage he even had a brief relationship with Oprah Winfrey, and Winfrey sites him as the inspiration for her TV show. Unfortunately, Ebert was diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer in 2002, and since then his health declined. In 2006 he had a section of jaw bone removed to get rid of cancerous tissue. He died of complications with the cancer.

Though he is no longer alive, his enthusiasm and influence will continue to live on. Ebert was one of the cinema’s most outspoken critics, and he will be missed. In an interview for Salon, he said, “I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state.”

Two days before his death, he posted on his blog, “So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.”

If Hasbro’s newest film G.I. Joe: Retaliation proves one thing, it’s that the time tested method of adding Dwayne Johnson to anything makes it better than its predecessors. The film, which was originally supposed to come out in August 2012, has finally arrived, though in some ways the wait wasn’t necessarily worth the result.

The government has grown dependent on the military group known as “The Joes,” and the Joes enjoy the love and attention of the country. However, the villains from the first film, G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, are back to get revenge. Cobra Commander still craves world domination, and this time it is through nuclear warfare. The plot exists simply to carry the audience from one big action scene to another.

The film stars some of Hollywood’s biggest, including Channing Tatum, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ray Stevenson, Bruce Willis and, in an odd cameo, RZA. All of the actors do the best with what they’re given, but what they get is not much. When the film’s sets aren’t blowing up or used as arenas for ninja sword fights (as they should be), they are dominated by cliché and some very, very bland jokes.

But you go to these types of movies for the story. You go for the action. And for the most part, the film delivers. There are swordfights on mountain cliffs and giant tanks, but the film never gets over-the-top like you want it to. There is a glorious bombing scene and the swordfight on Cliffside is fantastic, but the rest of the film is never able to capture the cartoonishness that was in the movie (sometimes to a fault).

The film is not high art, and it’s not trying to be. It wants to be an action movie with big sets, and for that it succeeds. There are some great fights and gadgets, but between them the film is muddied by band screenwriting. Fans of the original will enjoy the film, as will action movie fans, but those of you looking for more words, this one isn’t for you.

For die-hard Stephenie Meyer fans, The Host has been a long-awaited movie adaptation. It premiered on March 29 and, while some aspects of the movie were really good, others fell flat.

The Host is a movie about an alien invasion. The aliens, also known as souls, invade the human body through incisions made on the back of the neck, and gain control over all the body’s functions. But there are some humans who resist and are able to stay alive internally. For instance, the main character in the movie is named Melanie Stryder and, when her body gets invaded, she resists and is able to communicate with the alien that invaded her body through thoughts. Melanie is also a very strong resister and is able to gain control of parts of her body when the alien, known as Wanderer or Wanda for short, is distracted or Melanie is emotionally driven to take control. The movie doesn’t focus on all the science-fiction elements, but rather the human and alien relationships and the emotions of both sides.

The human race is close to extinction and Melanie, her brother Jamie, and her significant other Jared, were planning on joining Melanie’s Uncle Jeb in a hidden and safe place, which is later revealed to be a series of connected underground caves. They were on route to the safe place when a group of Seekers (police officers) captured Melanie and inserted the soul Wanderer into her body. Wanderer was given the task of searching through Melanie’s memories in order to find the caves that one of the last groups of humans was located. Wanda winds up having the same feelings for the people Melanie felt strongly for, so Wanda feels love for both Jared and Jamie, and she feels bad for the human race. Wanda runs away from a particular Seeker and finds the group of humans. The humans slowly learn to trust Wanda, but that particular Seeker refuses to stop searching for Wanda and the group of humans. The Seeker brings trouble and sacrifice along with her.

The Host has an amazing cast, including Golden Globe and Oscar nominated Saoirse Ronan (Hanna, The Lovely Bones), Screen Actors Guild Award winner Diane Kruger (National Treasure, Inglourious Basterds), Chandler Canterbury (Knowing), British actor Max Irons (Red Riding Hood), and Jake Abel (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, I Am Number Four). The Host was also directed by Oscar nominated Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, In Time). The Host had all the ingredients for a great movie—good actors, a well-known sci-fi director and a great story—but something was off.

The fight scene between Kyle and Wanda was weak and quick. There wasn’t really any build-up to it, and it was hard to figure out what was happening while they were fighting. There were also some issues with characters’ relationship development. There’s a romance between Ian and Wanda that seemed too sudden and too forced. One second, Ian is saying he likes Wanda, and the next he’s proclaiming his love for her. It was all just too rushed. It was also hard to tell how much time was passing throughout the movie. Saoirse’s character wore similar outfits throughout the film, which added to the atmosphere of the caves, but was also confusing because it wasn’t clear if it was a new day or just a mistake made by the filmmaker.

Despite all of my nit-picky complaints, I would definitely go see it again. I was a fan of the book, so that may have clouded my judgment a bit, but I think overall the movie was ok