(Magazine) Feature Article -Review

Cruel To Be Young by Jonezetta

Music is a pastime that I find most enjoyable. It is something that can sway emotions, and change the way we live our lives. Music is something that should improve upon the silence of the world, giving it new ideas or thoughts, among other things. Good music to me comes in two forms, one that can capture emotions in lyric and expressing it through melody, or something that is experimental, doing something completely new and inspirational. The album that I will be critiquing this week is Jonezetta’s new album Cruel To Be Young, which was released on September 16th of this year. I will go through this album’s eleven tracks, describe what it sounds like, and then give a critique of the song.

Wide Awake- First and foremost I would like to say that this new album is a true contrast to their past album, one that was full of poppy, electric choruses. This song shows us this right off the start. With its eclectic guitars in full tilt, and its undertones of synthesized notes, this song musically, is very strong. This piece has structure similar, with its group choruses that are remnant of its past album ‘Popularity’. Overall, this is a good song to start an album with.
Music 4/5 Lyrics 4/5 Overall 4/5

Holding Onto You- This selection starts with a piano mixed with guitars that could remind you of Coldplay in the Wild West era. After a short start with this, the song goes into full blaze with its roaring chorus. The ‘Woahs’ coming right after the chorus remind me of ‘Popularity’ once again, but this time in a more mature way. The guitar solo near the end of the song, may not get people out of their seats, but it does the job, and ends on an emotional high.
Music 5/5 Lyrics 4/5 Overall 4.5/5

Busy Body- This song is about as close as Jonezetta gets to its previous album. While the three previous songs have reminded me of their past album, this similarity came in structure and not as much in tone. This song starts with somewhat surf-rock guitar, that blows again once into full chorus. The drums sometimes sound as though they are waves. This adds to the surf-rock feeling. The organ in the background definitely adds a twist.
Music 5/5 Lyrics 3/5 Overall 4/5

Paint and Picture- Jonezetta takes on a new musical direction in ‘Paint and Picture’. This piece sounds something similar to what Coldplay could have done, like Holding Onto You. Although it does not have a roaring chorus, the song contains itself instead. Its ‘Johnny-Cash’ guitar style during the chorus adds a great sound. The pounding drums are the only thing that takes the Coldplay feeling away from it. This song is lyrically very strong, and although it is very experimental, this experiment was a success.
Music 5/5 Lyrics 4.5/5 Overall 4.5/5

Sick In the Teeth- The beginning, sounds like a vast collage of different songs, it adds to the chaos of the piece. Its consistent snare drums and the guitars that keep doing arpeggios followed by a wailing cry during the chorus make this song the most musically talented on the album. The chaos at the beginning continues in random points, which makes it sound very experimental. Just like Paint and Picture, its experimentation works very well.
Music 5/5 Lyrics 5/5 Overall 5/5

Cruel to be Young- This song starts with a synthesizer in the background that could remind you of Numb by Linkin Park. During this song it quickly rises to its chorus with its echoing group vocals. The smashing drums and its airy, 80’s sounding guitars make it sound like it captivates every era of music from the past 50 years. Cruel to be Young, along with Sick in the Teeth is the highlight of the album. The 40’s sounding tune at the end definitely makes it fun to listen to, as well.
Music 5/5 Lyrics 5/5 Overall 5/5

Fur Coat (Roaming Like Animals) - With its acoustic guitar, and its wind pipe sounding synthesizer in the background, Fur Coat is the most experimental thing Jonezetta has ever done. Unlike its other experimental songs that work well on the album, this one kind of was a let-down; it has no real high point or climax. Lyrically it is strong, but without a real chorus, it’s something you can’t get attached to, and could be easily forgotten.
Music 1.5/5 Lyrics 4/5 Overall 2.5/5

Valentine –Valentine starts with some soft piano and synthesizer and then immediately smashes into full power. It has some true lyrics that make it very strong lyrically, such as the line, ‘So hard to recognize, bad habits, when they arrive’. Its cooing chorus of helplessness, and its pounding drums and roaring guitar make this another gem of the album.
Music 4/5 Lyrics 4/5 Overall 4/5

Untitled- This cannot really be classified as a song, as there are no lyrics to it, and is just an amplifier sounding like its being turned up. I found this a disappointment as I thought Jonezetta should have filled it with another song instead of wasting time on the album.
Music 1/5 Lyrics 0/5 Overall 0/5

The Queen City Song- Queen City, with its harpsichord, mixed with synthesizers, starts off well. With its roaring bass, and its squealing guitar, and synthesizer throughout, it makes this another strong point of the album.
Music- 5/5 Lyrics- 5/5 Overall 5/5

I Watched You From Outside Your Window- The final song on the album ends on kind of a low point. The slow accordion to start, and then the organ that comes booming in, sound like something that could be heard in a church. The piano and acoustic guitar that replaces them at the end sound like the song could be going somewhere good, but instead it ends. There is a long silence following this, and at the end there is a found sounding mix of piano, guitar, bass and whistling, which finally end the album on a high note.
Music 3/5 Lyrics 3/5 Overall 3/5

Overall, this album is a great. It is a must have for a true music lover. Although it does not have the electric guitar of the first album, someone who is looking for a vast collection of instruments, and experimentation with many roaring choruses, will find enjoyment in this album. This album probably won’t garner much attention from the mainstream, and that’s sad, because this is a great album and it should be recognized. In a time where Katy Perry or Lady Gaga rule the charts, and the lack of talent is apparent in the major label recording industry, this album does not have a chance to get the appreciation it should. Although it does have some wasted tracks, when it’s on, it has tracks that I won’t soon forget. Overall this album garners a strong 4.5/5 rating, a rating that I do not give out easily.

-SJones

Magazine Study

Dear Reader,
Magazine Study
1. I choose the magazine, The Hockey News, 2007, Future Watch. I choose this article because I enjoy knowing what exactly is happening in the hockey world. Hockey is a very entertaining sport, and I find it important to know who the next stars of hockey are in advance.

2. On the cover is a picture of rookie defenseman Erik Johnson. This cover played absolutely no role in my choice of magazine. This is because I buy The Hockey News for its in-depth articles and not the catchiness of the cover. The cover also tells of the articles inside, but since I am a regular to the magazine, I know what to expect inside, so even that had little to influence my decision.

3. Editor’s Notebook- The editors opinion section
Top Prospect, Erik Johnson- The cover story on the top prospect.
Report Cards- Team reports on their rookie talent and depth of their talent pool
Top 50- Top Scouts rank the games future stars
Team Reports- Top prospects on each team.

4. - Scout Opinions
-Upcoming Stars
-Team Talent Pool
-Former prospects and where they went
-What’s better College hockey or Junior Hockey

5. ‘Tavares Race Already On’ by Mike Brophy
John Tavares, the 16 year old prospect phenomenon, may get scouts sick of him. He was a player given special stats that allowed him into the OHL at 15, where he immediately had an impact with 77 points and 45 goals. He is being compared to Wayne Gretzky, a man who’s Jr. Records he has already broken. John Tavares also has a great work ethic, which will ensure his improvement. Tavares has said he knows he is being watched closely and it only wants to make him work harder.

6. The target audience is teenaged males and hockey fans. I know this because the magazine contains both knowledge that is appealing for the average fan and the hardcore fan. Articles like upcoming stars and the Erik Johnson story appeal to casual fans, but articles like the top 50 prospects may be more important for hardcore fans. This makes the magazine well-rounded.
7. – Can/Am Adult Hockey Camps
-Tacki-Man hockey tape
-BMW
-Warrior Hockey Equipment
- NHL Centre Ice television channel

Cheers,
SJones

Billy Talent, The Killers, Friday Night Boys

Dear Reader,

I have some reports of new music in the world. I will be posting below to live versions of songs from upcoming albums of very good bands.
This song below is called 'Spaceman' by the Killers. They are a great band, rock, electronic, indie and pop. They are recording their third album 'Day And Age', and it is to be released November 24th of this year. The first single is entitled Human, but a version of that is To Be Released.



The next is the new single from Billy Talent, it is to be released on itunes on September 15th. It features vocals from Anti-Flag. It seems to be a departure from Emo and back to their punk roots. This is a good quality video below. Unlike Spaceman up above, but it's the best I could find. Remember that all songs live sound 10 times better after recording.



This next band is a pop, rock band, that is releasing their first major release on October 14th, which you can see on my new list of releases. They are the Friday Night Boys. This song is part of their early material.



Cheers,
SJones

Examing The Newspaper

Assignment 2

Dear Reader, here is the latest assignment from Media class. The paper I used was the Toronto Star from Tuesday, September 9th, 2008:

1.‘Oasis takes Toronto Knock’ by Precious Yutangco, Staff Reporter. Noel Gallagher, lead singer of the rock band Oasis was bowled over by a crazed fan at Virgin Festival, Sunday, in Toronto. The band was playing “(Whats New) Morning Glory” when fan Daniel Sullivan, from Pickering, came onto the stage and assaulted Gallagher. He then tried to lunge for Liam Gallagher, brother of Noel, before being taken down by security. It is unknown how Sullivan accessed the stage.

2.‘Roger that: Federer signals he’s back’ by Howard Fendrich, Associated Press. Roger Federer won the U.S. Open yesterday, beating his opponent Andy Murray in three straight sets. This victory was something of a stress reliever, as he hadn’t performed well the entire tennis season. The once number one rated tennis player, replaced with rival Rafael Nadal, had earlier struggled with mono in the earlier parts of the year, which may have affected his game.

3.I find that there are not many differences between the articles. Articles always must contain the five W’s: who, what, when, where and why. These articles are no exception. All the articles also contain quotations, and statistics. There is one main difference that I find and that is the location. Most of the staff writers focus on local news, or news within the country. Articles written by the associated press seem to be from foreign countries.

4.Hard News- Hard news is considered the dry articles of the paper. The tone is very serious. A good example of this is the article ‘Greens Slam Debate Exclusion’ by Tonda Maccharles of the Ottawa Bureau. This article is about how the broadcaster stations are going to exclude Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party, from the electoral debates. This was decided by four party leaders, and five television executives. May has called this a sexist, anti-democratic act and is filing legal action. This story could easily be biased, but since it is hard news, there is no opinion. It shows only the facts, therefore this is hard news.
Human Interest News- This is the type of news that has emotions. It can be considered inspiring. A good example of this is the article ‘Special Children Very Special Needs’ by Trish Crawford, a Living Reporter. This article is a compilation of stories of mothers who wrote in to answer three questions, about their children with Down syndrome. The questions were; what challenges do you live with, what are your joys and the dreams they have for their children. This story is not robotic in tone, and is more joyous.
Sensationalism- Is news that is all emotion, opinion, sometimes fabricated, and is about celebrities. A good example of this is the article ‘Catch Jennifer Aniston if you can but don’t mention the ‘B’ word’ by Rita Zekas, special to the Star reporter. This article is about celebrities, and where they have been lately. It includes many pictures of events and premieres. This article is completely based on gossip, and is there for pure entertainment.

5.'Burke a Better Bet than Sundin’ by Damian Cox. This article is definitely biased. There are many reasons as to why I think this. For one, this is a Toronto paper, and therefore whenever they talk about the Maple Leafs, it will automatically be swung in a positive way to Toronto. This is a major reason. Another reason is that it is based on pure speculation. It believes that there is a higher chance that an owner for another team will just leave his job, while under contract to come to Toronto. Also, the owner’s team is trying hard to prevent him from leaving. This speculation leads us to believe that the writer is a Toronto fan and therefore biased.

6.Local News Stories – ‘Greens Slam Debate Exclusion’, Ottawa, ‘Licensed to Kill: Suspensions fail to stop Lethal Driver’, Waterloo, ‘Vote Ontario, McGuinty Urges’, Ottawa.
Provincial Stories- ‘ Trudeau Speaks’, Montreal, ‘Dion Vows Tough Gun Law’, Montreal, ‘Flags? Check. Baby? Check. Cheerios? On Tap’, Western Canada
Foreign Stories- ‘Request for Retrial Considered’, Europe, ‘Thailand’s PM cooks up trouble’, Thailand, ‘Stress, Trauma Take Toll on Embattled Israelis’, Israel.

7.The tones of the stories are all very different. The foreign articles all focus on the negative things of the country. This is a form of propaganda in a sense that Canada is the best place in the world. Local news is either hard news, or is of a positive sort. This is so that you feel comfortable in the place you live in. Provincial stories are still somewhat positive, similar to local news. However, when dealing with the west, there seems to be a more negative tone. This may be because the western provinces such as Alberta are growing to compete with Ontario, so Ontario tries to make it seem like the better place. Those are the major differences in stories due to location.

8.‘Burke a Better Bet Than Sundin’, Hockey Fans, ‘Special Children, Very Special Needs’, Mothers, ‘The Scent of a Smaller Waistline’, Health Watchers, ‘Is RIM Raiding Rival’s Staff’, Businessmen, ‘Reinforcements are on the Way’, College Boys.

9.On the front page the topic mostly covered is politics. This is due to the upcoming Canadian elections. Another subject that is covered is crime. These two are probably the best selling topics at the moment. This is because people want to know what’s happening with politicians, so they can make their decisions and crime so that they can find out about the latest atrocities.

10.Injunction- A decision where the court gives an order to do or refrain from doing certain acts.
Ambivalence- The state of having feelings of both positive and negative side or of having thoughts or actions in contradiction with each other.
Girding- to prepare oneself for action.
Herniated-To protrude through an abnormal bodily opening.
Acquiesce-To consent or comply passively or without protest.
Equivocations- To avoid making an explicit statement.
Ideological- Of or concerned with ideas.
Muskeg- A swamp or bog, with ground resembling peat.
Stark-Bare or blunt, grim
Liaise- To communicate and maintain contact with

11.Article: ‘Blake Looks For Redemption After ‘Disaster’ Season’ by Kevin Mcgran, Sports Reporter.
Who:Jason Blake
What: He says that he had a disastrous season last year and is looking to redeem himself this season.
When: Yesterday, while at an informal workout.
Where: Air Canada Centre
Why: Blake had a disastrous season last year due to an unexpected rare form of cancer that he developed early in the season. Although never explicity stated, it may be the cause for his sudden drop in goal production, from 40 to 15.
How: Blake worked out hard this past summer, and he feels the best he has in ten years.
This article appealed to me for many reasons. For one I think Jason Blake is a talented hockey player, although he plays for the Maple Leafs. I think it is a miracle that he even survived his cancer, even taking minimal time off of hockey. I believe that it is true dedication to your team. I believe that he will rebound this year, and that he shouldn’t be criticized for his sub-par performance last year.

12.I like the picture under the heading ‘Hazardous Drive’. It is a picture of a car that is in a 15 meter wide hole. While driving on the road, the car sunk into the ground after the road around it collapsed. This picture serves its purpose well; it captured my attention and made me want to read the article. When I saw this picture I thought to myself, what possibly happened to make that car fall into the ground?

13.I think people write letters to the editors for many reasons. The biggest reason I think that people write opinion pieces in newspapers are so that they can express themselves. People write so that they can have there own opinions told, instead of just reading everybody else’s.
The article I read was putting a spin on the hard news about the TV debate that the Green party leader will not be allowed to participate in. They say the debate issue is full of hypocrisy. They believe that the Greens are legally a party and should be respected. The article was for a reader to view their opinions.

14.Steven Spielberg, being sued over the film Disturbia, due to infringing on the storyline of a similar book. Britney Spears, her big comeback at the MTV Video Music Awards. Jennifer Aniston, at the premiere of her new movie, Management.
Mark Ruffalo, how he learned his role in his new movie The Brothers Bloom, from a 75 year old diamond thief. Doc Walker, all the awards the band won at the country music awards. Mainly all of the articles are of a sensationalism nature. Normally celebrity news is of a negative nature, this is done to make the celebrities more human and sell papers. However, in today’s news, the articles are about award shows, and premieres, with Spielberg’s lawsuit being only the negative feature.

15.Dear Reader, I have found the perfect job for you. Are you a confident self starter with strong communication skills? Do you thrive in a fast paced environment? Then look no further. GTA based recruiting firm is looking for experienced Account Managers and Recruiters. Earn the highest commission rates with tier 1 established clients. Call Tom @ 905-850-6835. This is the perfect for Mr. Lobb due to his strong communication skills, and his fast paced mind. Since Mr. Lobb works well with computers he would be able to manage accounts very efficiently.

What a long post. I apologize. Until next time.

Cheers,
SJones

MVA Award Show

Dear Reader,

Here are my thoughts on the latest Mtv Video Award Show.

-Why did Lil Wayne keep touching himself?
-Yes, Lil Wayne was forced to pull his pants up 31 times during his performance.
-Why did Lil Wayne even bother singing with Kid Rock after his little rap part?
-Why does Katy Perry where such high shorts?
-Did anyone actually stay awake during Leona Lewis's performance?
-Kanye's new song, I thought it was too slow.. needed a hook. Hopefully the rest of his new album will be better, and is his new synth voice there to stay?
-Paramore was good, but I thought that she jumped too much, and it allowed her to not sing as well as she could have.

Overall, it was an ok show. For once, no real drama.

I would like to take this time to promote a band that is releasing a new album. Jonezetta. Although there title, is similar to my last name, it is not that only reason why I like them. They are a blend of many different genres, rock, electronica, indie, alternative,and progressive. Their new album 'Cruel to be Young' comes out on September 16th.

Dear Reader,

In attempt to promote musical genres I may at random times post videos of new songs, in order to influence your musical tastes. I do this in order to promote the bands, and at the same time helping you. Although you may not like the music, you will now know you do not like the song.
The first song I am posting is 'I Don't Care' by Fall Out Boy. It was leaked to peer to peer networks the other day. The song will be officially released soon. Below is a fan video of the song.

Enjoy,
sjones

Welcome and Media Me

Dear Reader,
Welcome to my inaugural article that I am posting on my blog. Throughout the following months I will continue to update the site with many different articles. This first article I am posting is about the types of media I use in my everyday life.

Media is a large part of my life. Each and every day I consume many different types of media; these types contain, but are not limited too: Television, music, movies, and the internet. I will in the following paragraphs go through these subjects and tell you a little bit about myself, and what preferences I have in those subjects.

First, we have television. Television is something that I watch very rarely, but on occasion when I do, I have very specific television shows I watch. These shows are: Lost, House, Criminal Minds and Eli Stone. These shows are the ones I tend to follow, and keep up to date with. Lost can be classified under adventure and drama. This show appeals to me for many reasons. The main reason I enjoy Lost is due to the hidden subplots and symbols in it. In the show, there are many hidden ‘Easter eggs’, symbols that could give away main clues to the story line. I enjoy watching for these. Also, the plot and storyline is very complex, therefore making it a challenge to fully understand. Other shows, such as House and Criminal Minds appeal to me due to the fact that their storylines and plots are somewhat realistic. On occasion I watch sports such as Hockey, Mad TV, Saturday Night Live and award shows such as the Grammy’s. Personally I find that television shows have been watered down by reality programs, something that I find very dull. However their ratings are very high, and due to this, quality shows have lost their prime time slots.


Movies are something that on occasion I enjoy, both at the theater and at home. My movie genre preferences are: Action, Adventure and Sci-Fi. Some movies that I enjoy are the Dark Knight, National Treasure, Lord of The Rings Trilogy and the Rock. To me movies are like a television show but are completed in a shorter time span, instead of having a whole season of shows. I enjoy different movies for different reasons. For example, I enjoyed the Dark Knight for its dark subject matter, and its ability to take an unrealistic character, the Joker, and turn him into a realistic, psychotic killer. Some movies such as the Lord of The Ring appeal to me due to their far fetched ideas that are turned in realistic visions. Realism is definitely something I look for in a movie. If the acting, the sets, the dialogue, and the human emotions feel realistic to me, then I think the movie was a success. Movies, like my views in television, should be complex and always keep me in suspense; a good example of this is the movie, The Da Vinci Code. There is no certain type of film I dislike, because I believe that each movie needs to seen individually. There are, however, films I dislike, such as Godzilla, the main reason for this is the inability to create realism. In Godzilla, the overdubbing for a time is enjoyable, however it soon losses its appeal.

Internet is another form of media I use. This is a form that I use very frequently. I browse many different websites while I am online. They include: The National Hockey League home page, Billboard Magazine Online, Rolling Stone Online, Purevolume, Hockeybuzz, Hotmail and Wikipedia. I also frequently use Microsoft Messenger (MSN). The sites I frequent are based on my interests. I have a strong interest in music, which I will later get into detail with. However, for some sites such as Wikipedia, I use them for pure enjoyment, such as to find release dates for movies and albums. On the internet I barely ever play online games, as I find I do not have the time to play them. MSN, an online chat program is something I always enjoy. I enjoy it because it allows me to talk to my friends from all over the province. Although I could call them, this way I can talk to more than one at once, and save on long distance phone charges.

The last type of media that I will discuss is by far my favorite- music. Music is something that drives me through life. As it is very dominant in my life, I have a very widespread genre preference. I enjoy such genres as punk, hip hop, rap, rock (and all its subgenres), metal, classical, alternative, jazz, and soul.
However, my favorite genres of music are pop punk and alternative rock. I enjoy bands such as Linkin Park, The Maine, All Time Low, The Fold, The Starting Line, Incubus, Modest Mouse, Lostprophets and Muse, to name a few. The band that I enjoy the most, however, is AFI. I enjoy AFI for a number of reasons. For one, their songs have very deep meanings, and some of their albums are of the concept type, meaning all songs follow a particular story. I find this enjoyable because instead of scattered thoughts in songs, all in the album are of the same subject. My favorite song by AFI is Love Like Winter. I enjoy this song due to its catchy choruses and beat. Although this song does not connect to me on any personal level, I still feel moved by this song. As stated earlier music drives me through life. In order to feed my hunger for new music, I use such sites as Purevolume, as stated earlier. I find up and coming bands, and then I tell my friends about them, in order to spread the good word. I enjoy doing this because it allows me to broaden my friends as well as my own musical tastes.

We now come to the end of my first article. It is clearly evident that media plays a large role in my life, and will continually. I will leave you now with a live performance of AFI’s Days of the Phoenix.

Cheers,
SJones