No Longer Underdogs: The Black Keys

Entertainment 

By Mike Horsey  

Husky Herald Reporter

   They are anything, but an overnight sensation. It took ten long years for their success to slowly climb for ‘The Black Keys.’ Suddenly, with the release of their last two albums, ‘El Camino’ and ‘Brothers,’ they have become one of the hottest rock bands in the world.

   After their most recent album, ‘El Camino,’ which was released in 2011, they debuted as the 2^nd hottest album on the 'Billboard Top 200' list. They powered their way to win two Grammys and the hearts of MILLIONS for their hard blues, smooth rhythm, and brilliant compositions. It was so successful that after their tour schedule was released they had sold out back-to-back Madison Square Garden in less than fifteen minutes.

   One common thing someone that claims to be a ‘Black Keys’ aficionado at our school will almost always hear from other people, like Connor Stager (’16) say, “I have no clue who that band is.” However, the great thing is, even if you have never heard their name, almost everyone has heard their songs plastered in comedy movies, Victoria Secret commercials, and blasting in the background of sporting events.

   ‘The Black Keys’ consists of Dan Auerbach with an everyday trademark beard, who mans the vocals and the guitar in the band, and Patrick Carney who shreds the drums with his extremely silent persona and Buddy Holly type glasses. When you listen to these two men humbly speak about their music you realize they’re two quiet friends from the small town of Akron, Ohio who like to shake the entire world with a mountain of noise.

   Connecting in high school, Patrick and Dan have always shared their love in music. To start off, they began playing music in Patrick’s basement. Bailey Watson (’14) says “…Ever since I began listening to their music…I always thought they were a long shot, but they’re coming out from under.” There’s no doubt that the thought of a two man band from the basements of Ohio have always been placed low on the totem pole.

    From the guys’ first old fashion fan base building by touring in a van with no air, which is the picture on the front of the ‘El Camino’ album, to their wild success headlining around the world. We now wait, after three years, for the debut of their new album ‘Turn Blue.’ The world seems to be confident with the two kids from Akron, Ohio; however, one can only imagine that it’s still all syncing in for them. Regardless, ‘The Black Keys’ are not underdogs, anymore.

The Monuments Men not so Monumental

Opinion

By Alyssa Ayers 

Husky Herald Reporter

   The Monuments Men hit the box office February 7, 2014 earning $127,919,000. The film had a star studded cast among them being; Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, and George Clooney, who also directed the film.

   This movie is based on the mission of allied forces of art historians during World War II tasked with protecting artistic masterpieces from Hitler and the Nazi before the famous art and other culturally important things get destroyed by Hitler and his forces. This was going to be no easy task as the pieces were behind enemy lines in the thick of the war.

   This was not a bad movie, but I would not put it in the top favorites either. There were some good parts to the movie, most were too short for most liking, and then the story line was sort of boring.

   There were also some scenes that are comical whether on purpose or not but they were still silly.

   The acting from the cast was good too, but viewers just didn't feel the urgency or importance of their mission during the movie. One of viewer’s favorite scenes from the film without giving any spoilers was when George Clooney’s character was interrogating a Nazi.

   Also a downside to this film was they never really made the audience care about the characters, to make them feel invested and see this band of brothers going to war to rescue this super important art work for future generations, but that just did not really come across the screen.

   It could have gone more in depth with the story line and all of the details of what truly happened in real life. This was a shorter film than some, being 118 minutes long. 

   Although there are downsides to this film, it was generally liked that this was about a true story. This film is educational as well because it described different situations that happened in the history of our country.

   Overall I would recommend The Monuments Men, it was a decent film, and it may not be a must see, but it’s a good one if you haven’t seen it yet. The overall rating of this movie is a 3 out of 5.

'Ride Along' Review

Entertainment

By Michael Poirier 

Husky Herald Reporter

   There are a lot of great movies that have come out over the years, not only in my lifetime, but in many lifetimes. 

  It is so hard to pick the best movie because there are so many amazing ones. I do know one good movie though, and that is Ride Along.

   Ride Along is about this guy named Ben who is a school security guard. He wants to marry his girlfriend, Angel. In order to marry his girlfriend, he has to get her brother’s approval who really does not like him. His name is James and he is the top detective in the Atlanta Police Department, so to show that Ben is worthy enough to marry Angela, James takes Ben on a ride along.

   This movie came out on January 17, 2014. I went out and saw it a few weeks ago and thought it was a very good movie.

   It has a very nice mix between action and comedy. It is one of my favorite types of genres.

   The movie has a runtime of 99 minutes. The budget for the movie was $25,000,000 and as of February 14 the movie made a gross income of $166,133,000.

   I took a look at a few reviews on some websites. On IMBd they gave the movie 6.4 out of 10 which I think is pretty low but on rottentomatoes.com it went even lower and gave the movie 4.2 out of 10.

   Then, the rating even gets lower on rogerebert.com and they give the movie two stars out of five which is equivalent to 4 out of 10.

   In my opinion these ratings are ridiculous and you shouldn’t listen to them. I feel like if you want to go see a hilarious action movie then you should be in the movie theater right now watching Ride Along.

   No movie with Kevin Hart in it should get a rating below an eight because he is one of the funniest people I have ever seen on TV and really captures what comedy is. So personally I would give this movie an 8.3 out of 10 rating because it was very funny and it is a movie I would definitely go to watch again.

    

"Friday" Night's Alright For Fighting

Entertainment
By Paige Christensen

Husky Herald Reporter

   After returning from summer band camp, the members of Port Huron Northern Marching Band were ready to take on the half time show at Friday night football games. A fresh, new theme was suggested by the senior members and officially chosen by Mr. Senkmajor, the band director. The band students had plenty to say about this year’s music; Elton John.

  Senior drum major, Spencer Kohanov (’14), said “I like it a lot. I think it makes a good show, not just the music but also the different sets on the field.” Some of the arrangements he is referring to include: Funeral for a Friend, Love Lies Bleeding, Your Song, and Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. The songs are accompanied by marching band’s color guard performance. Each member wears a vibrant tuxedo jacket with bold accessories to tie in the Elton John theme.

   Maddie Ringvelski (’14), one of fourteen color guards, said “I really like it. I think it will draw the attention of more adults.” The band members are excited to have a piece that appeals to both their peers in addition to an older crowd.

  Tuba player, Chris Wit (’14), had nothing but positive remarks, “I really like the Elton John theme. It’s catchy and it is really fun to play. The show has a lot of energy.”

   However, there is a level of difficulty to the set’s choreography. Maddie Ringvelski (’14) said, “There is a lot of starts and stops.” This makes it more difficult for the color guard girls to stay synchronized.

   In addition to the choreography, some of the music is challenging as well. Wit (’14), speaking from an instrumental point of view, said “Some parts of it are and some parts of it are not.” He went on to mention that it depends on the song and the instrument that each student plays.

  Marching band practices between six and eight hours a week to remedy any imperfections they may have.  Not only do they have to perfect the instrumental element but they must organize over two hundred band members in an aesthetically pleasing way.

    Next time keep an ear out for Port Huron Northern Marching Band.