It’s not a negative criticism, but fans of System of a Down will definitely notice a vast difference from the band’s previous three albums.

Mezmerize, the spring release from the band’s spring/fall double-disc Mezmerize/Hypnotize, carries all the familiar elements of a System album, but a distinct line can be drawn between the band’s debut effort and its fourth.

The disc kicks off with “Soldier Side,” a slow-electro-acoustic intro that introduces a new dynamic in System of a Down – dual vocalists. Almost every song, excluding “This Cocaine Makes Me Feel Like I’m On This Song,” features frontman Serj Tankian sharing vox duties with guitarist/songwriter Daron Malakian.

Lyrically, the album runs the spectrum from silly to political. Tankian talks about “choking chicks and sodomy” on “Violent Pornography” but also criticizes the government for “feed[ing] us lies from the tablecloth” on “B.Y.O.B.” (Bring Your Own Bombs).

System has traded in their well-known Middle Eastern sound for something less ethnic and more thrash-metal freak-out. Lurching riffs accompany pounding drum fills that carry the disc’s 11 tracks on a set selection that’s soaked in Hollywood references and strangely, lyrics about Tony Danza.

The album feels incomplete, probably because it’s only one-half of a massive effort, as the band and producer Rick Rubin chose songs that vary the CD extensively, however the mix lacks the usual power the band has shown in previous releases.

The shining star of Mezmerize is “Question!” which displays the heavy and softer sides of System in a perfectly balanced three-minute track.

Fans will feel a bit torn when listening to this scattered disc as no song compares with “Sugar” or “Toxicity,” but maybe things will make more sense when Hypnotize drops in the fall.

What’s Hot: Nintendo’s fifth home-based console will be approximately the size of three DVD cases stacked together. The Revolution has been working with IBM and ATI with the graphics and soundcard. The system will feature up to four wireless controllers and will be backward compatible with Nintendo Gamecube software and hardware. The system will feature internal Wi-Fi capabilities and it’s been rumored that the Revolution will sync up to the Internet for downloadable NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 games.

What’s Not: Little has surfaced about the quality of the games and less is known about a release date. The Revolution is technologically only four to five times more powerful than it’s predecessor so Nintendo may be fighting a losing battle in the home console market come 2006.

XBOX 360:

What’s Hot: The 360 packs a punch by running three symmetric 3.2 GHz processors. It’s also the only new system to give users more than just a gaming experience, plus it comes out this year, whereas the others drop in 2006.

The system will feature a basic (which translates to free) XBOX Live service as well as an Instant Messaging support system.

The system will connect to the XBOX marketplace where users will be able to download things into the 20 GB removable hard drive. CD’s can also be ripped onto the hard drive to be listened to during gameplay.

Plus, that controller that used to be the size of a brick, it’s shrunken down a bit. What’s Not: The day after Microsoft revealed the XBOX 360 at a pre-E3 MTV spectacle, Sony introduced the PS3, which they claim runs twice as fast as the 360.

Playstation 3:

What’s Hot: With the power of the Cell, a chip that pumps out 3.2 GHz of power for PS3, developers will finally get to push their games to the limit (finally a full scale Grand Theft Auto World will be realized).

The system features up to seven Bluetooth wireless controllers that recharge with a USB cable that gets plugged into the console. Also, the system will use standard memory cards, such as Compact Flash or Memory Stick, and is the only system to employ Blue Ray (50 to 100 GB) DVD discs.

What’s Not: Who knows how much the system will cost when it hits shelves in the spring of 2006? Plus, it’s still up in the air as to whether developers will be able to harness the full potential of the Cell. And does anybody remember the first shipment of the PS2? Hopefully Sony can work out all of the bugs before they send out the system.

“High school was a joke to me and I knew that I either wanted to do art or music, and gym class wasn’t helping me with either,” McCoy said.

Friends since high school, McCoy, drummer Matt McGinley, bassist Ryan Guise and former guitarist Milo Bonacci met in 1997 at a friend’s birthday party where the vocalist and the band were separately performing.

Bonacci was later replaced by guitarist Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo.

“They didn’t have a singer because they just played instrumentals. I was like ‘fuck it, there’s a mic up there,’ so I grabbed it and started rapping,” McCoy said. “We got together the following week and we’ve been together ever since.”

Originally fueled by the buzz of their debut album, For the Kids, Gym Class Heroes started work on their follow-up, The Papercut Chronicles, before being signed to a record label.

“We had all intentions of just putting out the album ourselves like our first one, but the guy who did our t-shirt designs ended up playing some songs for Pete [Wentz] from Fall Out Boy,” McCoy said.

Wentz took the demo to John Janic, head of Fueled by Ramen Records, and the rest is history.

“When we found out Fueled by Ramen’s interest we were like ‘whoa’,” McCoy said. “They build up a band and let them grow as opposed to a major [label] that just tosses you out there and expects the world to digest you without even knowing you.”

With a label supporting their effort, Gym Class Heroes went into the studio to complete work on their second album. They emerged with a polished, more mature sound than on their first album.

“There’s a lot of stuff on [The Papercut Chronicles] that definitely lets people into my personal life,” McCoy said. “I know there are a lot of people that have been through or will go through what’s happened to me. It’s hard putting some stuff on the album, but it helped me and it could help others.”

McCoy and company’s Chronicles is a collection of what can be best described as “hip-hop lounge.” Their lyrics and instrumentation embody a style of rap that evokes emotion in the listener, something McCoy said radio hip-hop has ceased to do.

“When I listen to a lot of hip-hop, I feel like [rappers] are degrading listeners,” McCoy said. “What’s disgusting is that it’s become a trend [to talk about money, cars and women] to where kids getting into hip-hop have no idea about that lifestyle…and everything is so formulaic that if [rappers] don’t talk about that stuff they’re not going to sell records.”

McCoy has turned his back on what is portrayed by the average rap video by creating songs that deal with love, life and personal issues in a poetic manner that is rarely vulgar.

The Papercut Chronicles features 18 tracks of inspiring music. The most effective track on Chronicles is “Faces in the Hall,” which deals with the murder of a homosexual high school student named Alberto.

“It could be a true story for anybody across the United States. I felt that it was something that needed to be touched on and heard,” McCoy said. “When I finished that song in the studio I almost threw up. If somebody listens to that song and gets the same feeling I got when writing it, then I’ve done my job.”

With the February release of the album behind them, Gym Class Heroes have begun a string of tours to support the new album and bring their unique brand of music to crowds across the United States.

Currently, they are on tour with label mates The Academy Is… and Fall Out Boy.

Next, the band will jump on a reggae tour until the summer when they will play on Vans Warped Tour. They will be playing a set that is vastly different than anything else on the tour, but are ready to shock those who thought mixing rap and rock tastefully was dead.

“We’re used to complacent crowds and dropped jaws when we come out,” McCoy said. “But then to see those same kids dancing their asses off by the second song…it blows me away.”

Fall Out Boy’s independent release, Take This to Your Grave, buried the stereotypes of sing-along punk and accumulated a massive following of scenester kids. Two years later – and now signed to Island Records – the band is looking to jump over the sophomore slump with From Under the Cork Tree.

“There is a lot more potential for pressure, but it’s all about how you take it,” lead singer Patrick Stump said. “It would be stupid to let it bother you. If you cater to what somebody else thinks then it’s not really your thing anymore.”

Stump said the band felt the heat of making a successful album, but they decided that staying true to what got Fall Out Boy where they are was the best approach for the new record.

“If Picasso is sitting around like ‘I hope this sculpture sells’ then he’s not making a good Picasso,” Stump said. “On a much, much, much smaller scale, if Fall Out Boy is sitting around like I don’t know, is this going to sell?’ then it’s not a good Fall Out Boy record.”

The band has returned from the studio with 13 tracks that carry on their tradition of punchy-sarcasm. Song titles like “Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued,” “I’ve Got a Dark Alley and a Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth” and “I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me.” Aside from the titles though, the guys did a lot of growing up over the past two years in order to get from the grave to the forest.

“It’s been a long time since we wrote [Take This to Your Grave]…we’re that much older and the kids that bought that record are that much older,” Stump said. “Their tastes have grown just as much as our tastes have and it would be stupid to make the same record again, but it would be stupid to ignore that the last record came out.”

Stump said the record is mature but much older because Fall Out Boy doesn’t try to be something they are not.

And when it comes to writing songs the band is definitely not like other artists.

“[Bassist] Pete [Wentz] writes the lyrics and I write the music,” Stump said. “You think it would be the other way around…but the two of us form the crux of the main songwriting and then the four of us [including guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andrew Hurley] build and form the songs.”

Stump said the writing process for From Under the Cork Tree found Fall Out Boy settling into a pattern when it came to song composition.

“[Pete’s] not giving me any melodies or any order so I have a little liberty in arrangements. He’s like my music editor and I’m like his lyrics editor,” Stump said.

Stump said he doesn’t understand why some people refer to pop music as “a four letter word,” but the band doesn’t mind. Stump has no problem following what he calls is an unofficial “pop formula.”

“You have to have a verse and you have to have a chorus,” Stump said. “Whatever is the main ‘thing’ of the song, you can change it around, but if you don’t say it more than once then you’re just lying to yourself.”

With Cork Tree finished, Fall Out Boy will pick up where they last left off and where they feel they can be most intimate with their fans – on tour. The band recently began a trek through smaller venues with friends and old label mates Midtown, The Academy Is… and Gym Class Heroes.

As the May 3 release date for the album approaches, Fall Out Boy plans on attacking fans with a sonic fury this summer on the main stage at theVans Warped Tour.

Stump said the experience his band has gone through over the past two years has only added to their confidence as they plan on influencing the rock scene once again.

The band has come out of the studio with a stronger sense of identity and a need to add to their ever-growing mob of fans by moving kids with their music.

“We know who we are and we’re not trying to be another band,” Stump said. “We’re hardcore kids that decided to do a pop and punk band. I’m not trying to figure out where to put the mosh part, but if there’s moshing…that’s just how it happens.”

From the opening exclamation, “When there’s nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire!” to the final line on the album, “I’m alive,” Stars ignite a multitude of feelings in the listener. As soon as the album starts with “Your Ex-Lover is Dead,” the floating vocals of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan thrust the listener into a sonic romance filled with feelings of sorrow and victory that layer a tragic-sounding violin and horn base.

Set Yourself On Fire should spark the interest of any experimental music fan, especially with one of the album’s most shining tracks, “Soft Revolution.”

Stars prove they aren’t all about crafting an aural dream, they use the album’s title track to create a sudden sense of speed, like that of a shooting star weaving through the universe.

Most of the songs on this sprawling 13-track disc feature luxoriously over-dramatic musical backgrounds but under the sound, the lyrics carry a timeless sense of love, triumph and rapture.

Stars throw out all of the instrumental stops on the album, using the standard drum-bass- guitar formula, but add texture to their sound with violin, cello, viola, french horn, saxophone, keyboards and a glockenspiel.

Listeners of the Postal Service will enjoy the beauty of Stars latest disc which sets out to prove that “setting yourself on fire” may be one of the best things to do all year.

Singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist is convinced that his band is not only Sweden’s hottest import, but also the best thing to happen to rock n’ roll and he may be prepared to beat in into you; either with his spotless black leather shoes or shameless self-promotion.

Touring stateside to promote their latest album "Tyrannosaurus Hives", the five piece, consisting of Almqvist, bassist Dr. Matt Destruction, guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem, guitarist Nicholaus Arson and drummer Chris Dangerous brought their signature white suits to Anaheim’s House of Blues for the last stop on their American tour before heading off to Austrailia.

Although subdued when off-stage, watching the skinny lead singer perform may lead some to believe that he suffers from seizures. In actuality he’s slowly hypnotizing the crowd with his jolted movements, creating a frenzy that he knows will only stop when his last note has been shrieked.

From the moment the curtain went up, Almqvist led his band through a franticly spastic set which seemed to have no rhyme or reason to it.

The band opened by attacking the crowd with the fierce one and a half-minute anthem "Abra Cadaver" before launching into the rubber-band twang of "Main Offender."

Dangerous and Arson kept up with Almqvist’s pace through most of the set and the talents of Destruction were showcased during his bass solo on hit single "Hate To Say I Told You So."

Almqvist, never to be one-upped by his band slowed the set to converse with the crowd, asking them to "make sounds like the monkeys do."

A loud roar erupted from the crowd and after a few minutes of turning the House into a jungle, Almqvist decided to "bless [the crowd] with more music."

Straying from their typical formula of in-your-face punchy garage rock, the Hives broke into an improved version of "Diabolic Scheme," treating the fans to its’ jagged agony, but as the guitars came upon the middle of the song the Hives froze on stage and the music stopped.

The crowd began to scream and shout for their slim Swedish hero to emerge from his paralysis and as the two-minute mark approached, the band suddenly sprang back to life and finished the tune.

The Hives ended their set with "Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones" before returning to encore with the strangely addictive "Antidote." Although the performance was short lived, simply because their last two releases combined barely break the hour mark, the Hives put on a show that’s worth the ticket price and then some.

On The Documentary, the debut release from Compton’s The Game, hip-hop fans are allowed to indulge in a blast from the past, when the rhymes came from the street and classics were made as soon as the first beat dropped.

The Documentary, possibly the most anticipated rap release of 2005, features production from a hip-hop all-star roster including Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Scott Storch, Havok from Mobb Deep, Just Blaze, Eminem, Cool and Dre, Timbaland and Kanye West. Hip-hop beats were never as pleasing as the 18 tracks featured on this debut.

The Game dialed every name in the rap rolodex because the album features appearances by 50-Cent, Eminem, Tony Yayo, Faith Evans, Busta Rhymes, Nate Dogg and the legendary Mary J. Blige. The Game also dials up the dead, bringing Biggie, Pac, Jam Master Jay, Aaliyah, Left-Eye and Easy-E back to life through poetic eulogy, mixing their legendary styles with his own as a way of pouring a 40 for the fallen.

Starting with his battle cry on opening track "Westside Story", The Game gets listeners attention by declaring that the West never died after Tupac’s casket closed. In fact, he proves that it’s very much still alive.

"Hate It or Love It" oozes of classic cool as the beat paints a picture of a drive through any ghetto circa Foxy Brown and the Motown era. "How We Do" features a beat that Dre must have resurrected from a tape deck he lost eons ago and Just Blaze digs up the old N.W.A. sound with "No More Fun and Games" as the break beat chorus rings that "it’s not about a salary, it’s all about reality."

The Game brings listeners into his deepest pains on "Start from Scratch" on which he almost breaks from rap to a full-on breakdown, but he also cheers to one of his greatest accomplishments on "Like Father, Like Son" which chronicles the birth of his son.

With The Documentary, The Game knows he’s one of the best to ever grab the mic, claiming that he’s "Flava Flav with a wrist watch," and with his gritty lyrics and neck-breaking production.

The building, being built adjacent to the old one, has been under construction since October 2003, but plans for the center were originally written up over a decade ago.

Kim Apel of Cal State Fullerton’s Facilities Management said funding for the project was first requested during the 1991 to 1992 fiscal year and the plan was placed into funding priority after it received systemwide support. However, after the 1990 Higher Education bond failed, the project was left without funding.

The plan was accepted once again in the 1992 to 1993 fiscal year but was once again put on hold due to the failure of the 1994 Higher Education General Obligations Bond.

"The campus raised private funds to supplement state funds and was finally awarded state funding in 2001 to 2002," Apel said.

Students who had classes or used the old building for will have upgraded facilities once the new center is finished.

"I took a class in the old building and I remember it being really cramped. There were about 30 students in there, but the room probably should have had only 25," said Casey Rittenhouse, a senior communications major. "I think that if they are going to make more space, it’s definitely better for students."

Apel said the new building will significantly augment studio and performance space for music, theater and dance students.

According to the Support Cal State Fullerton Web site, the $43.5 million project features a 103,000 square foot, two-story facility. The center will also feature an 800-seat concert hall, 250-seat thrust stage theater, 100-seat studio theater, three dance studios, scene shop, design lab, warm-up, dressing and storage rooms, costume and make-up labs and a musical theater rehearsal studio.

Although names for the building and its rooms have yet to be chosen, donors to the project can leave their mark on the center through the special naming opportunity provided by the school.

Ranging from $3 million to name the center to $1,000 for a seat in the concert hall or theater, donors will be recognized in the new center.

The new center is not where construction ends for Cal State Fullerton. Facilities Management has many projects it is working on to better the available facilities for students, faculty and visitors of the campus.

Apel said the Arboretum Visitors center and a second parking structure will be under construction in Spring 2005.

"Future projects which may begin development in the next two years include expanded student housing, a new children’s center and a new physical plan shops area," Apel said.

I feel that all those who share this public responsibility should ahdhere to this unwritten rule. It is only excusable in extreme circumstances where the so-called "shock jocks" are concerned.

Even in the case of Howard Stern, there must have been some issues that were too touchy to talk about.

Recently, disc jockey Tarsha Nicole Jones known as Ms. Jones in the Morning, who hosts a New York morning show for Hot 97, aired "The Tsunami Song," a racist and shocking parody of "We Are the World."

In the case of New York’s Hot 97 morning crew, there is no excuse for their cruel joke.

Because of their on-air insensitivity, the crew has been suspended indefinitely and one week’s worth of pay will be donated to the tsunami fund.

I feel that the entire cast should be fired and barred from ever working in radio again. It is like making a comedy out of Sept.11^th. Some things just should not be done.

It has been said by one of Hot 97’s employees, Miss Info, that the song may have been Miss Jones’ way of coping with the tragedy, but how can a person cope with a tragedy by making a joke out of it?

People die every day, but it is ridiculous to make a joke about it so that one’s ratings go up.

In the future, I would like to see media such as television and radio realize that they have a responsibility to their viewers and listeners and remain human.

I hope that despite the negativity that this situation has brought to light, the positive side is that people will learn to respect each other.

While ASI also voted unanimously to approve $1,650 for the ASI Elections Committee to have walkie-talkies, the majority of their weekly meeting focused on a disagreement between ASI Vice President of Finance Ross McCollum and David Kilgo, a co-president for Cal State Fullerton’s Ambassadors Club and a representative for communications for the Associated Students Board of Directors.

Kilgo appealed to ASI for $3,830.08, which would go toward plane tickets and lodging for seven members of the club.

"Put feet under our legs and help us run," Kilgo said when asking the board to approve funds.

He stressed the fact that ASI was the last stop for the club to attain the funds needed for the trip because the club’s fund-raising activities had only yielded a little over $100.

The Ambassadors Club, which was recognized as a club in September, has been struggling for affiliation with a college in lieu of the cancellation of a university-sanctioned Model United Nations course.

"The Model United Nations is associated with a class we teach in political science," said Tom Klammer, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. "There isn’t a Model U.N. this semester but there will be one next semester."

The Ambassadors Club is different from Model U.N. because it is not an academic club and it does not require the prerequisites required of political science students who opt to take the course offered through the department, Kilgo said.

"We were tired of seeing international issues on this campus not being addressed," Kilgo said.

Kilgo said he took his idea to Klammer, who neither favored nor opposed Kilgo’s vision.

"[Kilgo] is very interested in Model U.N. but I don’t actually know about the club," Klammer said. "We might have been OK with [the club] but we weren’t telling him what to do or what not to do."

In the current course catalogue, Political Science 361 requires that students have prior Model U.N. experience or the consent of an instructor in order to join the course, which are requirements that Kilgo said he has a problem with.

"[Model U.N.] is run by advisers, not by students," Kilgo said. "The Ambassadors Club is made up of 40 to 50 members with a majority of history, communications and English majors. Not all of the people are political science majors."

An issue occurred when members of the student government disagreed when it came to funding the club’s trip.

"I find a conflict of interest when two of this board’s members are on the list of students going on this trip," said Erin Dolbey, an ASI representative from the College of the Arts.

Dolbey said Kilgo and Walter Ruigu, a College of Engineering and Computer Science representative, were biased in their presentation of the issue.

"We are students before we are ASI Board of Directors and we can’t be here unless we go to this school," Ruigu said. "Both Kilgo and I are abstaining from this vote."

Adamantly opposed to the club’s request, McCollum added to Dolbey’s sentiments by asking the board to vote against the funding, stating that the issue was not in ASI’s jurisdiction.

The board turned to Anthony Ragazzo, the program coordinator for both ASI and the Titan Student Union, for clarification.

"Academic organizations can access funds through the inter-club council," Ragazzo said. "But, for non-academic clubs, the options are to fund-raise or come to the Board of Directors."

After nearly an hour, the board approved the funds for Kilgo’s club to take its trip to a conference being held Nov. 20 to Nov. 23.

"We’re currently working with the European Studies Club to host a debate on the trans-Atlantic alliance," Kilgo said after the club’s victory. "After Chicago we plan on taking these skills and experiences gained and disseminate them to the population."

In response to the financial problems troubling college students, the Finance Department offers Finance 310, a course about personal financial management.

The course informs students on a wide spectrum of financial issues including insurance, income taxes, budgeting, credit cards and the stock market, but first starts with a financial self-analysis that includes a statement of future financial goals.

"I ask my students to analyze their spending patterns and less than one-half of them say they are happy with their current financial situation," Professor Charles Schroeder said.

In "They’re Baaaaack: Card Marketers on Campus", an article by Kate Fitzgerald, the author talks about on-campus credit card solicitation and the high price students pay for having credit cards. She wrote that students are suffering in school and going bankrupt because of their spending habits, a topic that Finance 310 covers comprehensively, in an attempt to curb student credit debt.

Schroeder attributes the unsettling feelings to the cost of college and the amount of credit card debt that faces most college students because of unregulated card swiping.

"Students are surprised by the levels of credit card and student loan debt," Schroeder said. "People are shocked by what they spend on food, snacks and other silly things and are often surprised by spending patterns they are unaware of."

Professor Mark Stohs, chair of the finance department, said Finance 310 is not a requirement of finance majors and it does not count toward required finance courses. He said the class is mainly intended for non-business majors that need to fulfill their general education credit in lifelong learning.

Although the course requires some homework assignments, quizzes, tests and a term paper, Schroeder said the wealth of knowledge gained in the course would be beneficial to all students.

"I took [the course] because I thought it would help me create a secure financial foundation for myself," Asha Patel, a fourth-year communications major, said. "The more you know about something, the better equipped you are to handle it."

The course was introduced in the 1970s, but Schroeder said it didn’t become popular until it was approved as a general education course in 2000, but even then attendance was low.

"[In 2000] we had enrollment of 45 students in two sections, but this year enrollment is 215 in four sections," Schroeder said. "Next semester we will be offering the course at El Toro and night classes at Fullerton."

With the increase in enrollment and the addition of new sections, Stohs is confident in what Finance 310 has to offer.

"We are trying to promote the course and we think it is very important for many students at CSUF," Stohs said. "If students demand more sections of Finance 310, we will offer them."

Schroeder believes that the material taught in his class is information that everybody should know and will benefit from.

"I think that this course provides a lifelong learning opportunity," Schroeder said. "Even though it’s not going to help you earn more, it’s going to help you utilize what you do earn more effectively."

In “The Goonies,” a 1985 film created by Steven
Spielberg, a group of kids try to save their parents’ house
from being bought by a real estate company and end up on the
adventure of a lifetime.

The Goonies go on a quest to find One-Eyed Willy, a pirate who
supposedly hid his ship in an underground cavern, trapping his crew
and treasure in the process.

On their journey, Mikey, Brand, Chunk, Mouth, Andy, Stef and
Data witness the disposal of a body by Jake, Francis and Mama
Fertelli, a crew of criminals known for causing chaos.

While trying to escape the Fertellis, the Goonies lose Chunk and
begin their underground quest for the jackpot. Above ground, Chunk
is captured by the Fertellis and imprisoned with Sloth, the
disfigured third Fertelli brother.

Chunk tells the Fertelli’s about the treasure and they try
to chase down the Goonies, but Chunk and Sloth come to the
rescue.

The path to the treasure is filled with booby traps and
near-death experiences but the Goonies evade the Fertellis and are
able to get away with a piece of the lost treasure to save their
house.

The best thing about “The Goonies” is the Goonies
themselves. The smart kid, the popular girl, the chubby kid, the
adventurous one, the kid that talks too much and the older brother
that teases you all of the time are relatable to the people we were
as children or the people we were friends with.

To a child “The Goonies” represents an epic journey
filled with scary twists that you wish you were a part of.

As an adult, the movie is not scary but the sense of imagination
and adventure never escape the viewer.

If you were like me and wore out your “Goonies” tape
when you were a kid, there’s nothing to worry about because
in 2001 “The Goonies” arrived on DVD, making it
possible for our generation to embark on a pirate’s adventure
all over again.

If Usher hadn’t taken the name Confessions for his latest
album, Encore would have been a worthy candidate for the title
because the growth of Eminem’s lyrical ability and maturity
that started to surface on 2002’s Show comes full circle on
the new album.

Eminem’s serious side becomes apparent with
“Mockingbird” in which he apologizes to his daughter
for not always being home to raise her, “Like Toy
Soldiers” where he addresses the current state of hip-hop and
“Yellow Brick Road” featuring a cryptic apology for his
use of the N-word on an old track that recently surfaced on the
Internet.

Eminem, like so many other entertainers, steps into the
political arena with the most charged track on the album,
“Mosh,” an awe-inspiring criticism of the current
administration. “Mosh” may not be well received by
supporters of President Bush but should nonetheless be admired for
the courage required to push freedom of speech to its limit.

Devotees to Em’s manner of poking fun at pop culture will
be pleased with comical verses targeting Michael Jackson, PeeWee
Herman, the Olson Twins, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Jessica
Simpson and Nick Lachey on gut-busters like “Rain Man,”
“Ass Like That” and the current single “Just Lose
It.”

Encore features 50 Cent, D-12, Nate Dogg, Dr. Dre and Obie Trice
but sadly does not deliver verses by G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks,
Young Buck and The Game.

Eminem has created the perfect mix of songs and features to
satisfy the cravings of any Shady/Aftermath supporter but most
importantly, he promises to quench the thirst of West Coast hip-hop
listeners on the title track by claiming that he’s going to
make Dr. Dre finish the highly anticipated Detox.

As the years progress, Eminem has slowly shed his stigma of the
“white rapper” to become a respected artist regardless
of color. With Encore, Em continues with his successful formula and
brings a few surprises to listeners’ ears that will
definitely make his latest release a hip-hop stereo staple well
into 2005.