Post Punk with Patrick: Braid Balance

Patrick Bransfield
Staff Writer

Balance and Composure have always represented (for me at least,) a bridge between 90s grunge and emo music, and modern post hardcore bands. Therefore, upon seeing on Facebook that Balance would be releasing a split with Braid, an Illinois emo outfit actually from the 90s, I was eager to give it a listen. However, the first song of the split “Lux” by Braid, turned out to be a pretty big let down to my ears. The band is obviously instrumentally tight, having 20 years of experience under their belt.

Braid Balance (Photo Courtesy of Google Images)

It’s not that “Lux” is poorly written either, the song is an interesting toe-tapper that’s catchy and also rhythmically interesting.  However, the vocals completely kill the track for me. Bob Nanna’s voice is unnecessarily whiney, and doesn’t fit the major/up-beat drive the song has. And that’s saying a lot coming from a listener who spent his middle school years listening to Fall Out Boy. 

Crossroads Task Force Propose Future Plans for Goucher

Samuel Kessler
Staff Writer

President Sanford Ungar sent an email to the staff and faculty detailing the creation of a taskforce called Crossroads on January 4. In his email, Ungar describes Crossroads as “the second iteration” of Crossroads, a task force created in September 2011 by the suggestion of the Strategic Planning Group. Crossroads is formed from a mixture of trustees, faculty, staff, and ex officio members (who are members due to having another important role on campus), with some of the members returning from Crossroads. Returning members include President Ungar, Associate Professor of Education and Faculty Chair La Jerne Cornish ’83, Professor of Psychology Rick Pringle, now Chair of the Board Norma Lynn Fox ’76, and Chair Pierce Dunn. Meetings of Crossroads+ began in January.

Back From Abroad: Glasgow, Scotland Gay Gordons, D-Throws, and Tartan

Lo Smith
Contributor

Last spring, I had a bit of an existential crisis. Standing in front of a class of 18 middle-schoolers in Glen Burnie, I realized I didn’t want to be a teacher. This realization set me free. Since I was nine years old, I thought I wanted to teach. Suddenly, my entire plan was gone. My future was terrifyingly open. I did what every junior in college does when they have this crisis: I went straight to the study abroad office and applied (within minutes to the deadline) to spend my first semester of my senior year of college in Glasgow at the University of Glasgow. I don’t think I have made a better decision in my life. 

Back From Abroad: Glasgow, Scotland Gay Gordons, D-Throws, and Tartan

Lo Smith
Contributor

Last spring, I had a bit of an existential crisis. Standing in front of a class of 18 middle-schoolers in Glen Burnie, I realized I didn’t want to be a teacher. This realization set me free. Since I was nine years old, I thought I wanted to teach. Suddenly, my entire plan was gone. My future was terrifyingly open. I did what every junior in college does when they have this crisis: I went straight to the study abroad office and applied (within minutes to the deadline) to spend my first semester of my senior year of college in Glasgow at the University of Glasgow. I don’t think I have made a better decision in my life. 

French Students Light Fires in Hearts as Well as on Stage

Emily Keyes
Sports Editor

My French, to put it nicely, is on the same level as that of a three-year-old Parisian child. You might be asking, then, why last Friday night I decided to sit through three and a half hours of Autour d’Albert Camus, a play comprised of scenes from La Malentendu, Les Justes, and Caligula, three plays by Albert Camus. The answer: French men. This was what initially drew me to the play, because even if I could only understand every fifth sentence, at least I could stare into the foreign eyes of a man who has probably eaten more baguettes in one week than I will eat in a lifetime.