To my fellow co-opers,
Welcome to this edition of the Pine Press! This edition is bigger, and hopefully even better, than our last edition Thank you to everyone who contributed! Here are just a few reminders before we get into the rest of the issue:
- Skillshare is coming up! To those who don’t know, skillshare is a yearly event where co-opers host workshops and classes on topics they care about. We’ve had a lot of di erent topics, everything from cooking to beekeeping to inances! See the back page of this article for a QR code that links to the sign ups feel free to sign up! :)
- The election is also coming up! From March 26th to April 2nd, you will be able to vote on your next Vice President of Education, Vice President of Membership, President (our last vote on the presidency tied, so we have to revote), and best pet (vote Miralax!!!!). There will be a debate this Friday (the 24th) at 7pm between the candidates for VPE and VPM, respectively; the presidential candidates will also be available at this time to answer questions More information on this can be found later in the issue!
Let’s get into the issue! As always, you can send Pine Press submissions to me at education@spartan.coop. Questions can also be directed to my email or sent to my discord (lucinda #2251). Also, thanks to Sky from Orion for making this month’s cover.
UOS NDSOF THE S CH UOS NDSOF THE S CH
Ursa Minor by Nana Grizol
-Clayton (Bower)
Dial Tone by Couch Dog
-Zack (Howland)
Cupid by Fifty Fifty
-Teah (Phoenix)
Ready to Be by Twice
-Rebecca (Howland)
Creative Differences (band)
-Abby (Orion)
The Drive by Everyone You Know -Sebastian (Raft)
V by Unknown Mortal Orchestra -Jake (Hedrick)
Out of Tune by The Backseat
Lovers -Jo (Orion)
Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill -
Lucinda (Apollo)
Music Review: Nonagon In inity
Connor
Webster
Hello everyone, my name is Connor and I am here to talk about one of my favorite albums, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s Nonagon In inity King Gizzard and this album hold a very special place in my heart they made my two most hated genres, prog rock and the jam band, cool I rarely listen to bands like this I’m usually listening to either doom metal, Beatles-esque indie (hi Kevin Parker!), or underground country/roots music but the Gizzard scratches an itch for me that I don’t really get in any other albums or artists, and that’s embracing whatever ideas come to you and running with them in full force. A lot of you know who King Gizzard is, so I won’t bore you with the details (and if you don’t know, do yourself a favor and listen to this album), but King Gizzard is a rock band, to put it simply. Even that label does them a disservice—they’ve delved into so many genres in over 26 (!) albums in the last 13 years You can’t really put a proper label on them But we ’ re here to talk about one record, not the other 25, so let’s get to it
Nonagon In inity is nine tracks and 45 minutes of some of the most loud, throttling, blood pumping, psychedelic, and visceral garage rock you ’ re gonna get There’s elements of punk, old school hard rock, prog rock, kraut rock, and psych with a touch of heavy metal in there as well. This album may have nine tracks with individual names, but don’t be fooled: they’re all a part of a larger picture. Each track seamlessly transitions from one to the next, with the inal track looping back to the irst track without any bumps (trust me, I’ve tried to ind the skip, you can’t it really is cool). And that brings me to the main concept since the album loops seamlessly, it’s more like a never-ending concert, the most sweaty, beer and LSD soaked concert you can imagine
The irst track, “Robot Stop”, is the band’s thesis statement for this record, both lyrically and musically The very kinetic and propulsive instrumentation that never strays from the odd timed 7/4 groove would be pretty hypnotic if it didn’t sound like it was a ritual summoning a mosh pit from Hell, wild and frantic guitar solos, howling harmonica, and somewhat sinister keys all sound like a satanic ritual. Even the lyrics join in, with vocalist leader Stu chanting about opening doors, being a robot, waiting for answers. It’s all pretty… satanic, even if the song is actually about how exhausted the band is from constant touring. I still love this groove though; it’s a headbanger's dream. You should get used to it, as it's a groove the band returns to again and again throughout this album.
We don’t really get to breathe before we ’ re hit with the next track, “Big Fig Wasp”, which is a song about how wasps are in a ig Weird The 7/4 time signature is still here, but the groove morphs a little The melody is catchy as hell, and there’s a lot
of really cool e ects on the vocals, but it mostly plays o the groundwork of the opening track. It has some cool guitar feedback throughout before we ’ re thrust back into the groove from before
“Gamma Knife” has an insanely catchy harmonica ri along with some foreboding, ascending chords and lyrics about milk and honey, wanting youth, the unborn self am I the only one noticing that these lyrics are simultaneously hilarious and frightening? There’s also a drum solo it fucking rules “People Vultures” hits us o with a sinister guitar melody and some more hilariously frightening lyrics about someone or something spewing something down… who knows man, it’s fucking weird. It’s almost kind of snide in how the lyrics are delivered. Stu is talking about having to create art constantly while the “people vultures” are constantly begging for it. Oh wait, I think I get it now.
“Mr. Beat” is a fun track that modulates between 7/8 and 8/8, which the lyrics cheekily reference I love this groove, the organs, and the ascending and quirky bassline during the verse Before we go into the next track, “Evil Death Roll”, we get a strangely blissful segue using harmonics; it’s nice I’m not gonna lie, “Evil Death Roll” is not my favorite track on the album The same formula from the rest of the album is there, with noisy guitar, sinister chord progressions, and weird rhythms, but it all seems a little bit too much on this track. The melody seems kind of thrown together, the shrieking guitar feels like it’s too noisy and brittle, and the song just kind of meanders a bit before transitioning into the groove of the next track as a teaser and then going back to the melody from the end of “Mr. Beat”.
“Invisible Face” is this kind of odd meter bossa nova garage rock track with another killer bassline. It’s one of my faves due to how dynamic the track is, as well as the way that the chord progressions never really resolve before the end and transition into “Wah-Wah”, which is more of that psychedelic weirdness that I enjoy There’s also a zurna on this song, which adds this really whacked out and wild layer to the song ’ s instrumental The album’s last track, “Road Train”, is, to put it simply, fucking badass The groove sounds like a train coming from Hell just to cause mayhem and chaos wherever it goes, which the lyrics reflect it’s literally a song about Satan conducting a train from the ninth circle of Hell just to cause destruction, and I love it.
I love this album. It’s incredibly detailed for how loud and chaotic it is, and the themes of being on the road, the creation of art, and the perception of art are incredibly engaging. This is much more than a balls-to-the-wall heavy psych record: it’s about how art, its creation, and how it’s sold, and how it’s perceived takes a mental toll on artists, no matter how much they enjoy making that art It can be an endless cycle, and I think that’s what the band is trying to convey on this album
Spartans Study Abroad For Spring Break
Chloe Lester
I went on a Study Abroad program for the Full-Time MBA program at Michigan State University. We went to Portugal to tour a variety of businesses focusing on aspects of the local culture as well as Corporate Social Responsibility. On this trip, I joked often about not being able to ind any spicy food in Portugal However, I learned simple cultural preference was not the only reason for this change from my preferred flavor palate Alcohol production in many countries and the flavor palates of the local cuisine are often closely intertwined due to social meal traditions as well as historical water quality concerns that are decreased by the fermentation process. These preferences largely persist today in the form of tradition
We visited the Casal Sta. Maria Winery to learn about traditional Portuguese wine. I was most intrigued by Ramisco. These wines are produced in Portugal due to favorable climate conditions and are exclusive to the Colares region of Southwestern Portugal. The ability of large hills to block the e ects of cold wind coming from the water allows a speci ic microclimate to be chosen for red wine production within the vineyard. This allows red varietals to excel in areas that would be poor choices for red wine production without such topographical conditions. Ramisco has had long lasting success as a stable wine in Portugal as it is a phylloxera-resistant varietal When other red wine production in Portugal had to be delayed so their stalks could be grafted on American phylloxera-resistant rootstocks due to a mite infestation, Ramisco strived as its vines thrived in sandy soils inconducive to mite survival
The intersection between traditional wine and food in Portuguese cuisine is best described by addressing the potential for bitterness in Portuguese wine. Bitterness is typically not a desired element in wine, so careful thought is put into wine and food pairing to ensure both aspects of the cuisine uplift each other and bring out their best elements Traditional Portuguese food tends to be acidic, salty, and fatty These foods pair well with Ramisco and other regional wines as astringency and bitterness in red wines is suppressed by acidic, salty, or fatty foods and emphasized when paired with hot or spicy foods These foods compliment the white wines from the region as well as white wines take on environmental flavors much easier than red wines Due to proximity to the water, white wines in the Portugal area are not very sweet and take on earthy flavors from the sea water and soil, resulting in a good pairing with seafood, vegetables, and other non-spicy foods. This tracks with my experience of Portuguese cuisine My favorite restaurant that I visited was a beachfront restaurant called O Nosso Prego Costa de Capricia. I had the opportunity to try a ish that was freshly caught that day. The flavors of the ish were strong and dominated the meal Supplemental food items included fresh ceviche, vegetables with minimal spice, bread, and salty cheeses. Although wine is not an essential
element in all Portuguese meals today, traditional wines likely had a signi icant impact on culinary preferences and traditions
Raven, she eats
