Nelly’s Brass Knuckles hits hard with that swagger and energy fans expect from the leader of the St. Lunatic family. Backing up his own vocals — and backing up his backup with shouts and chants — Nelly never lets the listener’s ears fall asleep.

Enlisting heavy hitters like LL Cool J, Chuck D and Snoop Dogg, Brass Knuckles runs the gamut of hip-hop history and geography. Nelly gives us the Midwest swang, along with songs like “LA” that sweats West Coast g-funk from the heat of Snoop and Nate Dogg, and “Chill” which sounds like it fell out of a G-Unit album.

Brass Knuckles could have packed a little more punch and a lot more originality. Energetic as he is, Nelly has basically had the same flow since he taught us the correct form of country grammar.

Dear and the Headlights (who doesn’t like a good pun?) delivers their sophomore album Drunk Like Bible Times to the world of indie rock. Blending a variety of genres — rock, folk, some jazz, even a little classical guitar — Dear and the Headlights separate themselves from the rest of the indie rock groups — only not really.

The album starts off with “I’m Not Crying. You’re Not Crying, Are You?” Showing the band’s versatility, the song opens with a folksy guitar line and equally folksy lyrics, but quickly descends into Killers-esque rock. The single “Talk About” highlights the theme of the whole album: a harsh heaviness masked by catchy rhythms. Lyrically poetic and satirical, the song lulls you into its own cynicism.

Three years after the British punk rock band The Subways delivered their debut album, Young for Eternity, the trio returns with their sophomore album, All or Nothing. Less than 40 minutes in length and with songs averaging three minutes, it is short, sweet and largely nondescript. While songs like their single “Shake! Shake!” or the title track are catchy enough for the melodies to stick in your head, the lyrics are largely shallow and fail to express real emotion. One energetic, guitar-driven song blends seamlessly into the next, a flow that is slowed only by the sweet “Move to Newlyn” and the ballad “Strawberry Blonde.” All or Nothing actually falls somewhere in between: it’s good enough to play in the background, but doesn’t hold your attention for long.

We sat outside CTB, incognito, each wrapped in blankets and R’s face masked by her fedora —

R: It’s a “lady hat!”

— sipping our espressos, discussing the upcoming election, Proust, the human condition and Project Runway. R and R’s political discussions never seem to result in much r-and-r, and this instance was no different.

R: You don’t have to hold me down and spray Fantastik in my mouth every time.

R: That last time was an accident.

Friday 10/24:

If you’re a fan of the theatre and family tragedy (who isn’t?), you’ll love God’s Ear, playing tonight at the Schwartz Center. Penned by Jenny Schwartz ’95, the play will begin an Off Broadway run in April. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $8-10.

Need ideas for how to entertain mom and dad during Parents’ Weekend? Why not let them buy you tickets to Howie Mandel? The Canadian TV personality and Deal or No Deal host hits Barton Hall at 7 p.m. for a night of stand-up and storytelling. No prize money will be distributed. Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are $20-25 for students, $25-30 for the general public.

Saturday 10/25:

While I really do love “chick lit,” I strongly believe that it has two distinct categories: the good and the really, really bad. Unfortunately, the newest novel from Lauren Weisberger ’99, Chasing Harry Winston, falls in the latter category. Yes, Weisberger is a Cornell alumna, so I feel terrible about trashing her work. But let that go to show just how unfortunate the book is, because I am going to trash it anyway.

Combine science fiction with romance and you have Stephanie Meyer’s first adult fiction novel. The Host concentrates on what it means to be human in the wake of a foreign invasion.

We’ve all heard the alien conspirators, the paranoid people who believe that the Earth is under attack and people are being abducted. This novel shows what would happen if those conspiracy nuts were right all along. Not just another extraterrestrial science fiction conundrum, we see the story through the eyes of one of these aliens, forcing a perhaps unwanted sympathy. By constructing this point of view, Meyer turns the violence and animalistic nature of humans into a dualistic package.

Since winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Dreamgirls, American Idol alumna Jennifer Hudson has spent nearly two years crafting her eponymous debut album. The final product is one that is as much of a vocal triumph for Hudson as it is an inconsistent hodgepodge of musical directions. From gritty urban soul to syrupy adult contemporary pop, Hudson tries to please every audience, an ambition exacerbated by the 11 different producers hired to helm the album’s 13 songs.

Whereas Takk … and Ágætis Byrjun were reminiscnet of august, icy floes and glaciers, and Von and Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do conjured images of sleek sheets of black ice, Sigur Rós’s latest album goes to great lengths to prove that Iceland is also capable of producing flora and fauna. Xylophones and a brass section replace crash cymbals and drum-and-bass interludes common in earlier singles (“Sæglópur” and “N‡ batterí”). Jónsi Birgisson & Co. suddenly sound more like Panda Bear & Co. circa Sung Tongs and less like a calmer Explosions in the Sky, a less twee Múm or other oft-compared acts.

Sick lacrosse player 1: Dude this song is sick who’s it by?

Sick lacrosse player 2: Hoobastank, bro.

Sick lacrosse player 1: Nice man, we should put this on the warm up, it’s getting me pumped up.

Sick lacrosse player 2: Yea I know. It makes me want to smash my head through a concrete wall.

— Mac’s

Annoyed girl: Get the fucking dick ring off the fucking printer.

— State St.

Frat guy: So what did you end up doing last night?

Obnoxious jock: I blacked out and woke up in Dickson.

— Central Campus

Confused Boy: I contacted my sponsor for that program, and get this: Her favorite TV show is Friends, and she was on the women’s soccer team. So we have a lot in common.

— Becker Dining Hall