Going Once, Going Twice

The late Johnny Carson’s mic was recently sold for $80,000 at an auction for all objects involved in entertainment. Saved by a boom operator, the mic sold for twice what the sellers expected.

Quitter

Janu Tornell, the fourth person in the history of Survivor to quit, has not entirely messed up the jury. Tornell, a Las Vegas showgirl, will still vote on who gets the one million bucks.

1 TARWATER

The Needle Was Traveling

2 PREFUSE 73

Surrounded By Silence

3 SPOON

Gimme Fiction

4 BUNKY

Born To Be A Motorcycle

5 13 AND GOD

13 And God

6 NOUVELLE VAGUE

Nouvelle Vague

7 OF MONTREAL

The Sunlandic Twins

8 HUSKY RESCUE

Country Falls

9 RUSSEN SOUL

Various Artists

10 ROSEBUDS

The Rosebuds Unwind

Aqualung

Strange and Beautiful

Mellow, solid vocals. The instrumentals are mostly piano and drums; the lyrics are about forlorn love and dramatic relationships. Music is lethargic but moving. The lyrics seem to be really meaningful and relate to listeners and possible life situations. The vocalist has a sweet sound to his voice and combined with the smooth melody, the music invokes a sense of euphoria. Definitely should be classified as borderline emo; most definitely easy-listening.

Mudvanye

Lost and Found

Typical to the Mudvanye style. Twelve racks of hardcore rock and screaming. Made for intense music listeners. The lyrics deal with serious issues such as suicide, determination for success and death. The melodies, if you can call them that, consist of strong drums and guitar. Meant to be played on the highest volume possible. Host a rock concert and turn up the Mudvanye. Be sure to wear scary makeup and smear fake blood on the walls.

Steel Train

Twilight Tale From the Prairies of the Sun

A combination of folk and slow rock. The five man band presents 15 tracks of upbeat yet soft three-minute mini-stories. Some songs talk of drugs, specific women and alternative subjects. Artwork on the CD is incredible but very out-there. Track 10, “Tickle Your Toes,” begins with a blues feel, but the influences felt from all different genres of music. General feel-good music.

Self Against City

Take It How You Want It

Similar to many emo-punk rock bands. Sounds are reminiscent of Something Corporate and a less-depressing The Postal Service. The lead singer’s voice is pleasant to listen to and good for a long drive. The songs are very drum based. Despite their good sound, they will have to fight for recognition in a genre that is so competitive.

While Monty’s has remained a long-time staple of the 5 to 8 p.m. UM Friday crowd, another happy hour has emerged on the scene for the few who perhaps desire a more artistic, cultured crowd. Zoom in on the Miami Art Museum’s JAM at MAM, advertised as a “happy hour with an artful twist,” every third Thursday evening.

The scene officially starts at 5, but come later when more people have gotten out of work. Then you will see artsy people abound, complete with conversations discussing local theater, literature, other artists, painting and politics, and all facilitated by techno music and liquor. This past feature: Robert Rauschenberg, a native Floridian whose prestige emerged in NYC and paved the way for subsequent artists Andy Warhol, Matthew Barney and the like.

Rauschenberg’s Scenarios project, images of Florida infused with nostalgia, are exhibited at the MAM from March 4 to July 3 and exemplify his familiarity and use of common images, i.e. construction signs, pigeons, as sources of inspiration. Roni Feinstein, a visiting professor of art history here at the University of Miami, was there to discuss the art and her in depth study of Rauschenberg and his work.

Rauschenberg developed a pigment transfer process himself in 1992 in order to create works that are collage like, but do not have the raised different surfaces of a normal collage process. His works are infiltrated by what Feinstein described as a “random order” (OK I know they’re exact opposites, but stay with me here), as the whole of the meaning of the work resides in the relation of the objects to one another. Example: in Guide, there are repeated images of a TV with flowers. They look like similar images because of their placement directly underneath one another, but in actuality there is an image on the screen of one of the TVs and the other is blank. They are two separate moments in time. Between them is an image of a pair of cinder blocks. Because of their placement, they also look as if they are repeated, but in fact it is a single image of two blocks. It is easy to feel that the artist is playing with you-what you saw at first isn’t necessarily what is actually there. Rauschenberg is bringing to our attention the importance of what we bring to what we see. It is not so much the reality of what is there, but our belief in the reality of what we see.

Rauschenberg has had an incredible life, traveling to Italy, North Africa, France, Greece and Turkey, all with the goal of finding inspiration. He found it, apparently, having reached the climax of his fame in the 1950s and ’60s. In his later years, he returned home-in Scenarios he shows affection for more local scenes: a rooster, a mosaiced car in Key West done in 2003, humble dwellings, a flag draped over a window of a seafood hut in Catydid Express.

The Miami Art Museum is reported to be one of the best museums in the Miami area, drawing famous artists and sought after exhibitions. With programs such as JAM at MAM and openings of exhibitions complete with a band and an appearance of the artist himself, it may also be the most social. It would be a shame to have spent four years here without a visit.

Melanie Klesse may be contacted at m.klesse@umiami.edu.

1. Video Music Awards occur in Miami.

2. EDGE gets exclusive interviews with The Thrills and My Chemical Romance.
3. Reefer Madness appears on the front page of EDGE…with a joint.

4. GREEN DAY rocks out SPRING semester.

5. Rapper Fabolous surprise visits UM.

6. UM Jazz Band gets nominated for a grammy.

7. Jay Mohr tells EDGE that he’s dropping the mic.

8. The throngs of celebrities that came to campus; the list includes Vanessa Carlton, diva Jill Scott.

9. EDGE helps students staying in Miami what to do for their break.

10. EDGE gets two bands mixed up. Whoops.

You hate to read but you like a good story. Unfortunately, tape decks are out of style and only CDs are accepted in the world. Enter Simon and Schuster Audio, who take away the doldrums of a long car ride with repeating radio stations or the painstaking task of reading until the words blue on the page.

Simon and Schuster has alleviated the problem for students who have no time to sit down to read. The books are even downloadable to the sleek white iPods that most students sport. So aside from providing background to toilet cleaning and road trip adventures, audiobooks can be listened to when students are exercising or even walking to class.

STORIES

Debuting are three college-inspired audiobooks, including two nonfiction titles and one fiction title, which make up a range of three to six CDs each. The first nonfiction title is the unabridged version of Lewis Black’s Nothing’s Sacred. Read by Black himself, the audio is his angry humor about the world and everything in it. Hilarious and subversive, Black examines his experiences and how they have shaped him.

The second audiobook is the nonfiction title of Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell. Using humor and wit, Vowel describes an American political murder as the story unfolds. Read by herself and a few guest readers such as Stephen King, Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien, the narrative is both entertaining and informational.

The only fiction-based compilation of the three, edited by David Sedaris, is group of classic children’s narratives. Entitled Children Playing Before A Statue of Hercules, Sedaris uses his voice along with others to communicate classics by Tobias Wolff, Amy Hempel and Akhil Sharma. Dancing around themes of love and betrayal, the stories are aimed more toward the old rather than the young.

Visit a local bookstore and entertain your mind with more than just tunes about lickin’ the lolli.

Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu.

Consisting of four music students and four instruments, local band Assorted Stone is damn good considering their four-month, eight-gig existence. The band’s founder, Ben Krogen, a junior from Boston, says that his inspiration for starting a pure rock band came from reading Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” From there, it took six months and auditions to compile the bands current guys: Andrew as lead singer, Neil on drums, Evan on guitar and Ben on base. The boys vibe off each other and any onlooker can tell that they love it.

Named from a conversation about Disney Movies, Ben’s lack of ability to correctly pronounce Sword in the Stone resulted in their moniker. Despite the inspiration from a childhood classic, Ben and the guys promise that they have a hard-edged sound in comparison to other local bands.

“We have appeal because we are the only real rock band,” says Ben. As the vocalist, Andrew says, “We aren’t afraid to rock.” Although the boys do other freelance gigs, the band gives them an opportunity to play their type of music, something that they appreciate after long hours of practice and juries in their rigorous music program.

As for the future, they will break for the summer and convene in August, on a regular student schedule. Determined to shake up the local Miami music scene, Ben says they’d like to just get their name out there: “We’d like to just get people accustomed to our sound, our name.”

With a line-up, a name and some practice the guys have been playing shows all over the Miami area from Sandbar in North Miami to hard-rock venue Churchill’s. On Saturday the band takes the stage at the best rock bar in town, Churchill’s Pub. The guys will play for a few hours, showcasing their talents while performing a mix of covers and original stuff. Grab a drink and listen to some good music before exams and finals officially start.

Joanna Davila can be contacted at j.davila1@umiami.edu.

Just a few years ago, the rest of the world never knew Armando Christian Perez would transform into Pitbull, a budding rapper with a promising career in the highly competitive world of hip-hop. Now, times have changed and everyone is trying to get a piece of Pit, which was evident during the interview when his cellphone abruptly cut him off mid-sentence. Quickly breaking into Spanglish, the Cuban-American MC apparently has business to handle. After hanging up the phone, he says, “I apologize about that. It’s my banker.” While attempting to deal with the attractive novelty of superstardom and balancing a heavy agenda, Pitbull displays a refreshing degree of humility.

Born in the “hood” of Dade County, the 24-year-old rapper’s hustle is almost instinctual. Describing both of his parents as “hustlers,” Pitbull is a product of the streets. Once a drug dealer, reflecting on that time in his life brings no regrets. “The streets teach you how to hustle and how to think three, four steps ahead of the game,” he says. When realizing that music was more promising and lucrative than the drug game, he applied his street hustling skills to break in the predominately Black rap industry. “With my skin color being white and me being Cuban and from the South, everybody was like, ‘What the fuck is this shit?’ But now they got it. Now they are embracing me.”

In 1998, he found himself on the set of a DMX video having a freestyle battle with Ruff Ryder’s Drag-On. A buzz soon followed around the industry about his skills and shortly after, he found himself signed to Luke “Uncle Luke” Campbell’s label, Luke Records. After amicably parting ways with Campbell, Pitbull landed a deal to the record company responsible for bringing the “crunk” phenomenon to the mainstream TVT Records. The rest is history. “I never really got any big breaks,” says Pit recalling his rise in the industry. “I found ways to create opportunities for myself.”

Since the release of his debut, M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is a Major Issue), the album has become the biggest-selling bilingual hip-hop debut in more than a decade. After hit singles such as “Dammit Man,” “Culo” and “Toma” blowing up on urban stations in the South, Pit says, “I don’t think da Vinci or Michelangelo could have painted me a better picture,” commenting of the success he has generated from being on the independently run label. “It’s been a blessing and I’m just here to take advantage of these opportunities.”

Another blessing that has come with the company is his friendship with label mate and hit maker Lil’ Jon. After meeting Jon in 2000 in Miami, he had Pitbull guest-appear on his double platinum album, Kings of Crunk. When it came time for Pit to enlist producers for his own debut, it was a no-brainer for Jon to return the favor. When asked what he has learned as result of working with Jon, he says, “I’ve learned to work hard and don’t stop…to keep grinding, stay humble and not to get too comfortable.”

As far as upcoming projects, Pitbull has his paws in all areas of the game. He recently remixed his current single “Toma,” which he promises will have some “pretty big names on it.” This Saturday, he will be one of the many artists, ranging from The Game to Faith Evans, performing at Spring Fest at the Bayfront Amphitheater. Of his performance, he warns it will be “loose, wild and crunk.” And while it was reported that his follow up album would be an all-Spanish album, those plans have been put on hold due to a conflict of interest with his label.

Outside of music, he plans on opening the doors for other minority rappers, like Fat Joe and Big Pun did for him-by starting his own label. And no matter how successful Pitbull becomes, he realizes that there is always more to be accomplished. “I don’t think you can measure success, because I think there’s always somewhere else you can go with it,” he says before adding, “I don’t want anything to come too quickly, because whatever comes quickly, leaves quicker.”

Marcus Washington can be contacted at m.washington2@umiami.edu.