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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2001/11/16/test-spins-mogwai/)

November 16, 2001

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Test Spins: Mogwai

By wpengine | November 16, 2001

Mogwai, those cheery Scottish lads known for their often gloomy, mostly instrumental rock, have unleashed yet another opus on the world. Their latest EP, My Father My King, consists of just one 20-minute instrumental, and it picks up on all the facets of Mogwai’s music that didn’t show up on the fantastic early 2001 full-length Rock Action.

“My Father My King” represents the grandiose, heavy side of Mogwai, using grinding metal guitars and pounding drums to create a claustrophobic, doom-laden atmosphere. The song starts low with just a repetitive guitar figure, and more elements are added on as it just builds and builds and builds, eventually rising to frightening heights of excess riffage.

But somehow, the simple beauty that took center stage on Rock Action still manages to shine through the feedback. The overall effect of the song is hypnotizing, as it naturally flows from quiet to loud and back again, with peaceful sections transitioning nicely into the more rockin’ bits. Simply stunning.

Archived article by Ed Howard

Related

Kyoto Now! Campaign Urges Quicker Action

By wpengine November 19, 2001

Last Friday, seven months after the administration agreed to work toward carbon dioxide emission reduction, members of the Cornell Greens and the Kyoto Now! campaign rallied at Day Hall, demanding action. The rally consisted of speeches from Kyoto Now! representatives and chanting with the crowd. Students were responding to the delay in the formation of a project team, one of the first goals set in the agreement earlier this year. The team is intended to “figure out how to meet the goals” for emission reduction, according to Moss Templeton ’03. “On April 17, 2001, Cornell University made a commitment to implementing the standards of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change,” said Doug Krisch grad. “[Harold D.] Craft [Jr., vice president for administration and chief financial officer] stated that quote: in the days ahead … I will form a university committee … that will advise me on the implementation of our commitment, unquote … Where is the project team?” The agreement came after a sit-in last April that led to seven days of protest outside of Day Hall, during which the administration committed to making a significant effort toward the standards set forth by the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement signed in 1997. The protocol calls for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to seven percent below the 1990 levels by 2008. After the energy audit conducted this summer to determine the energy use of each building on campus, the project team is the next step toward the implementation of the goals. Craft did not return calls seeking comment. “The project team will be formed by Vice President Craft,” said Henrik N. Dullea ’61, vice president for university relations, stating that the administration has been working with the Center for the Environment toward this goal, as was set out in the agreement in April. “We have promised to do it and will,” Dullea said. “It will happen shortly.” Since last year’s protests at Cornell, students from universities across the country have shown interest in the Kyoto Now! campaign. “The actions at Cornell have inspired dozens of similar movements around the country,” said Chris Adams ’03. “Already, at least 15 universities have students working on this campaign, including Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, William and Mary and the University of Wisconsin.” Members of the Cornell campaign spoke to students nationwide at this October’s ECOnference in Washington D.C., informing others on how to initiate such efforts through workshops. “By signing Kyoto Now!, Cornell established itself as a leader in its mission, now Cornell must be a leader in its actions,” Krisch said. Faculty members also back the campaign, such as Prof. Tim Fahey, Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of natural resources. “There is a lot of faculty support for this cause,” Fahey said. Kyoto Now! members plan to be persistent with the administration in asking for the implementation of the emission reduction goals. “The University needs to realize that we are still here,” said Lindsey Saunders ’03. “They are not going to be able to wait us out.”Archived article by Stacy Williams
Real Worlder Melissa Speaks Out About Experiences on MTV Show

By wpengine November 19, 2001

Melissa Howard, former cast member of MTV’s reality television show, The Real World, spoke Friday evening in Kennedy Hall Auditorium about her experiences on the show as a bi-racial participant. The talk was attended by close to 100 students, many of whom were members of Bi-Multiracial Lineages, Ethnicities and Nationalities Discussion (BLEND) and the Cornell Filipino Association, co-sponsors of the event. Howard said that it was “great to just be in a room with people who understand what it feels like to be characterized.” Tammy Lewis, President of BLEND, said in her introductory remarks that her organization co-sponsored the event because Howard was “very vocal on The Real World about identity and race.” Howard, who lived in the New Orleans house for five months in 2000 as part of Season Nine, has a mixed ethnic background. Her mother is Filipino while her father is African American. After commenting on her own background, Howard began discussing her own portrayal and experience on The Real World. “The Real World is bad,” Howard said. “It packages the show for a very specific audience.” Howard also complained that the show’s producers, Bunim-Murray Productions, “tried to make issues racial,” and that “the producers make you a minority and exploit you.” This is why, Howard said, “nice guys do not do well on The Real World.” “The fact that the producers made arguments racially bent really pissed me off,” she said. Howard also discussed how other cast-members, including Jamie Murray ’00, were negatively portrayed on the show. “The show is good at characterizing people and filling predetermined roles,” Howard said. “Jamie filled the typical ‘frat-boy,’ privileged white guy role.” “Jamie’s role was portrayed wrong,” Howard said. She further commented that other cast-members were “portrayed in horrible ways that aren’t fair.” Howard, who struggled with her own ethnicity in many episodes of the series, said that on the show “you choose and pick your battles.” “You will kill yourself trying to educate all those who don’t know,” she added. When asked by an audience member whether or not the experience was worth it, Howard responded, “I would not do it again. It was not a positive experience and was definitely not worth all the personal emotion and pain.” Finally, Howard discussed how The Real World was “really, really staged.” She explained that certain characters, such as her boss Elton on the show, were actors. “How the producers sleep at night, I do not know,” she added. “It was interesting hearing Howard’s opinion,” commented Aaron Shapiro ’04. “This is not something you pick up on just by watching the show.”Archived article by Marc Zawel