Think Outside...
And the trilogy begins
Lifestyle Rugby near campus LOCAL CLUB STARTED AT ST. JOHN’S CONTINUES
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Las Vegas’ finest are back at it
KORI WILLIAMS
AMBER REILLY
Staff Writer
Contributing Writer
GREEN DAY
THE KILLERS
¡Uno!
Battle Born
OUT OF 5 STARS
OUT OF 5 STARS
Green Day has toured all over the world and have released nine albums thus far in their 20 year career. So after a while it makes sense to try something new. The band has unleashed their first ever album trilogy ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, ¡Tré! marked by the release of the first album ¡Uno! on Sept. 25th. Before ¡Uno!’s release, in an article was published by Britain’s The Sun, Green Day stated that this album would be like classic Green Day but “done with a new sound” and the band stayed true to their word. Fans of the band’s classic albums from the 90’s such as Dookie and Nimrod might hear the pangs of nostalgia through their speakers when they play this record. As always is the case with Green Day, this album isn’t for anyone with sensitive ears due to the excitingly high volume and expletives galore. “Oh Love” is a perfect introduction for the entire trilogy while both “Kill the DJ” and “Let Yourself Go” gave the album a slightly different feel. “Kill the DJ” sounds like a song from the early 90’s, vintage Green Day, while “Let Yourself Go” takes a different spin with a sound that relates to today’s alternative rock/ pop punk sound. The sound of contemporary Green Day was represented with “Nuclear Family” which sounds similar to “Christian’s Inferno” from the band’s previous album 21st Century Breakdown. Despite the quality of songs, there isn’t much variation between songs at all. This could have been done on purpose, as 1990’s Green Day albums also lacked variation and the band may have wanted to stay as true as possible to their original sound. Fortunately, the songs aren’t so similar that the album sounds like one continuous track. Some songs stay on track and go together cohesively and some just go off the track. ¡Uno!, being the first album in the trilogy, does a good job of opening the door for the other records that are scheduled to follow. Its upbeat sound is welcoming and if anything, will get fans curious as to what to expect next. ¡Uno! sounds as if it was ripped from Green Day’s recording sessions in 1993 during the band’s heyday. Even though at some points the album sounds derailed, it’s a solid opener to what should be an interesting trilogy.
PHOTO COURTESY OF VILLAGE LIONS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB FACEBOOK
A Lions player leaps for the ball during a contest on Randall’s Island. referee fees and registration dues. ANTHONY O’REILLY During the time that the Lions played News Editor on campus, the group, according to Whelan, was largely self-sustaining, paying for In college life, the world of sports is just their own travel expenses through the efas big, if not bigger, than the academic life forts of a band that traveled with them on campus. From intramural flag football called The Rocks. “We paid for all our own travel expensto NFL games being screened every weekend and our very own Red Storm athletic es from revenues earned from the band,” teams, it’s impossible to escape the world he said. “The rugby club got a dollar per person for every student who showed up at of sports. One sport that you might not see at the gigs with an SJU student ID card. We St. John’s though, is the game of rugby. often made three and four hundred bucks However, back in the 1970’s the sport was on a gig.” The Lions became so prominent that extremely popular on campus, according to Alan Whelan, the founder of an under- they drew the attention of several clubs in graduate rugby club during his time as a St. Europe. “Because we were great hosts and the John’s student. “During my time at SJU, the interest dominant college side on the East Coast, was phenomenal,” he said. “We were the we were offered fixtures against every European college side that came through largest club on campus.” The club eventually grew into what is NY.” Whelan said the Lions played European now the Village Lions, teams such as Manchester U, Nottingham playing in the first diU and Paris U and acvision of the NY Met cused the administraRugby Union. tion of not welcoming I don’t want “The Lions are the touring sides to without doubt the our present campus. greatest social rugby “Not a single memundergraduates club in NYC,” he said. ber of the SJU admin“They draw players to feel we have istration ever came from rugby playing down and personally abandoned them. colleges across the welcomed any of the country and from all Alan Whelan dignitaries that travover the world.” eled with these tourWhelan told the Torch that although the club was popular ing sides.” Whelan said that in 1985, the adminisamong the students on campus, the admintration at the time made the choice to ban istration was not fond of the sport. “SJU never gave us any assistance in re- the group from the University. cruiting new members period,” he said, except for the $2,500 the club received from (Continued on P. 18) the school, which he said went to coaching,
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The Killers are ready for battle with their new release Battle Born, which came out on Sept. 17. While The Killers are classified as rock, their music could be described as alternative, new wave and indie among other genres. Its fans have waited four years for this album to come out and many would say that it was definitely worth the wait. Lead singer Brandon Flowers has recently admitted to that he took voice lessons to prepare for the recording of Battle Born. He has also proclaimed that this new album is a “celebration of music.” This statement certainly shows to be true through the first single off the album, “Runaways,” which is the most epic and powerful song on the record. Flowers has stated that Bruce Springsteen was one of his main influences and “Runaways” is a perfect example of that sentiment. The verses have meaningful lyrics of Flowers analyzing his relationship with his wife and in the pre-chorus, his voice soars. Upon first listen, one would get the chills and feel inspired from his top ten single. “Flesh and Bone” comes rushing in with powerful 80’s synth sounds and drums. Another standout track is “Miss Atomic Bomb,” which has powerful instrumentation and tells a vivid story of a new kid in town who is romanticized by the local girl. One of the best tracks on the album is the title track “Battle Born,” which gives the record a triumphant ending. The lyrics, Flowers’ soaring voice and the instrumentation are inspiring and have a very hopeful tone. While the lyrical content of this album is powerful, it is sometimes overdone and could be translated as cheesy. Probably the cheesiest and silliest lyric on the album will be the line, “don’t want your picture on my cell phone” from the ballad “Here With Me.” There is also a desire for more anthems on the album in the same vain as their breakthrough single “Mr. Brightside.” Besides these faults though, the positive aspects of the album clearly outshine the negative. In all, Battle Born is just another album that will be added to the resume of success that The Killers have had. They have stuck to their niche and have not changed, which is critical in the ever changing music landscape. They have clearly won this battle.