Hometown Vibes

Seamus Palm-Baker (left)
 Sten Spinella (right)

After Bang Productions has found it's most successful musical duo after a semester of recording two of C-Town's Finest. In late 2012, Sten Spinella and Seamus Palm-Baker dropped their first mixtape of 17 tracks under the production of Randy "Rand-X" Menard, Justin Morano, and Seamus himself. With collaborations from Meredith Whaley, Emily Frese, and Humbert Polito, the first publication from these budding rappers has been nothing but a full success. Titled as a nod to the Truman Show, "Good Afternoon, Good Evening, And Goodnight" hits upon four distinct tones describing the love of music, the passion behind writing, and the creativity that lies within creating new sounds without boundaries.

Sten Spinella (2012)

Sten Spinella, high school senior and avid writer from the Tri-Town area knows what it's like to experience heartache, the fire of passion, and the exhilarating love for bringing his A game on and off the courts. As captain of the basketball team and contributor to the works of this album, the beginning was truly an accidental success. Sten worked with his some of his oldest friends, AJ Pearson, Ian Johnston, and Seamus on the catalyst of this movement, a track entitled "C-Town's Finest." After rave reviews and a begging for more from his high school peers, the movement began and gave height to a four month follow up entitled "C-Town's Finest Pt. 2," as well as "Take It Back" (feat Anna D'Agostino).

Seamus Palm-Baker (2010)

Seamus Palm-Baker, Hartford, Connecticut native, is new to "theTri" but has not arrived silently. Along with the use of breath on this tape, Seamus has worked in the creation of Valley Regional High School's unofficial basketball anthem, "The Perfect Storm," a source for the motivation of their success this season. His coarse and jagged flow pushes his lyrics into the hearts of listeners and makes them remember every word he spits, whether he's flirting with the subject of a song in "Cherry Blossoms" (feat. Meredith Whaley) or reminiscing on his childhood dreams in "Kids to Kings." There's a love of the game that's rarely found in rappers of his age, 17 years cannot even closely describe the caliber of his creations.

The mix tape, 17 songs with topics ranging from love to heartbreak, passion to disappointment, strength to weakness, conjoins all of our favorite emotions, even those we hate to love. Find the full mixtape HERE. With the album as a footstep towards their current success and reminder of the hard work put into their sound, the two are working separately on their individual mixtapes according to Sten. With continued support from the individuals who helped them along, the both are bound for success in the future, and are almost guaranteed to be great after their high school careers come to an end; Good Afternoon, Good Evening, And Goodnight.

Good Afternoon, Good Evening, And Goodnight

1. Beautiful Music

2. Let It Slide (ft. Emily Frese)

3. Skinny GIrl

4. Lunch Break

5. Good Afternoon

6. Reefer Man

7. Paradise (ft. Meredith Whaley)

8. Better Left Said

9. Everything (ft. Meredith Whaley)

10. Good Evening

11. Serenade (ft. Meredith Whaley)

12. Let Go (ft. Humbert Polito)

13. No Sunshine

14. Wait For The Sky (ft. Humbert Polito)

15. Dank Dreams (Drugs Are Bad)

16. At The End of the Day (ft. Meredith Whaley)

17. And Goodnight

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Reveal One Love For All

A new generation is sweeping the nation as it does every lifetime. This generation though, myself included, is making big changes, reforming culture and the true meaning of love and life. Leading this revolution are masterminds of all ages. Ben "Macklemore" Haggerty and a producing hand from Ryan Lewis have emerged from the woodwork with hits from their recently released album "The Heist" like "Thrift Shop," a witty satire of the hipster-culture, and a socially rejuvenating track entitled "Same Love." Introducing the song with a short anecdote from his childhood, Macklemore builds upon his experience trying to understand his sexual orientation and the ways in which society and religion have attempted to mask the truth of those with the same trials. He moves forward paralleling homosexuality with illness, because truthfully, it's like a seasonal cold, right?

Unlike many opinion pieces, Haggerty doesn't directly bash religion, society, or parental units, but instead discusses the specificity of the wrong actions and statements they make. Lines like "Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind," directly quoting the Bible written 3500 years ago express the still upholding truths of the book; later refuting this with other written snippits understood in an incorrect fashion. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have quickly established their catalystic role in the alteration of society, from their discussion of sexual orientation equality and religion to allusions to R Kelly's "Trapped In The Closet." These two masterminds have done more than just introduced a new hit song to the radio airways, they have sparked a fire that will burn for years and years to come.  

"Same Love" is a track that appeals to those who are both uninterested and interested in social reform, with a strong beat and witty lyrics. It's not a song worth debate, but just to make you think, make you dance, and make you love those around you. You can find Macklemore & Ryan Lewis on SoundCloud, Youtube, and Facebook, as well as download them on iTunes.

Say Anything Says A Little More

January holds resolutions, hopes, and most importantly the birth of a new year. This time around, not only will a new year be born, but a new album for the passionate rough-around-the-edges band, Say Anything. They sure are saying more than expected with a set of three disks, releasing on January 22, 2013, consisting of rare tracks and b-sides unseen by fans, and even those pesky pirates. The anticipation has been unyielding since the release of their last album entitled Anarchy, My Dear just last year. A constant vigor has propelled the group forward, never seeking more than a three year period to create a new album, unlike many of the artists and one hit wonders scattered through the music scene today. Max Bemis leads the mission to relieving the world of ditsy teen pop songs with his callused vocals, harmonic partnership with Jake Turner, Parker Case, Jeff Turner, Adam Siska, as well as raw integrity and drive from the entity. How else could anyone get through the final chorus of "Woe" (track from the album Is A Real Boy...) without leaving the crowd to do all of the work?

As with the albums preceding this release, we can expect the same sound of Say Anything with the generation of this compilation, a total of 45 new tracks according to Equal Vision Records. We can expect some old and some new, maybe even some old with a new sound. Say Anything is unpredictable, but I can predict this hometown favorite to catch the eye of new and old fans, rising to the top of the charts. That's That. 

Disc One – Baseball: An Album by Say Anything

1. Colorblind

2. Showdown at P-Town

3. Into the Night

4. All My Friends

5. Ants in My Pants

6. The Ocean Liner Incident

7. Mackdaddy

8. Shameless

9. That’s That (Do What We Want)

10. Resounding

11. Rats

12. Manhattan

13. “Sure, Baby…Hold Back.”

14. The Last Great Punk Rock Song

15. Where the Hurt Is

Disc Two - Menorah/Majora EP and the Dormroom Demos

1. A Walk Through Hell

2. You Help Them

3. Try to Remember, Forget

4. By Tonight

5. Baseball, But Better

6. I Am a Transylvanian

7. I Want to Know Your Plans

8. For the Silent

9. All This Fashion

10. Until the Bombs

11. The Keg is Bleeding!

12. Signal the Riflemen

13. A Boston Peace

14. The Great Awakening

15. A Certain Type of Genius

16. My Bare Hands

17. Nudity

Disc Three – Junior Varsity and Other Early Rarities

1. Baseball, But Better (2012 Acoustic Version)

2. The Presidential Suite

3. Thoughts on a Liberal Education

4. A Boston Peace (Brett Gurewitz mix)

5. Consigliore

6. Jessie and My Whetstone

7. The Last Great Punk Rock Song (JV Version)

8. Dreaming of Manhattan

9. She Got Away

10. High School Low

11. All My Friends are Enemies

12. Sappy

13. Anti-Anti

The Mess of a Messy Bun

Since the summer of 2012, there is one fad we are all guilty of abiding by. The messy bun began its life drooping on the heads of stars like Miley Cyrus with a cutting edge "I don't care" attitude and style to match it. Later named as the "hipster," this blind combination of mixing and matching Grandpa sweaters with black leggings has been convicted as the true mastermind behind the mess of a messy bun. Recently, stars at the Golden Globes sported this trend along side their servings of Theyskens' Theory and Micheal Kors including Katharine McPhee and Emily Blunt. Although I hypocritically disagree to the use of this hairstyle at formal events, especially an event as formal as an award ceremony, I do agree with the style that both of these women used. Emily Blunt (left) channeled the chic and classically formal look with her trumpeted dress and cutouts. I can't help but think about the cuts as those seen in 1990's Pretty Woman. Because of the pattern and style of the gown, her hair truly accents where the eye is drawn when looking at her, pulling your attention down to the contrast between the waist and hips rather than the chest which seemed to be a raging trend this year. Katharine McPhee took a different approach in her edgy ensemble from the Theyskens' Theory Spring Collection for 2013. Seen on the runway in a blazer, it was very unexpected to observe such a revealed upper body from America's sweetheart. The messy bun, rather than subduing your eye pulls it higher, making her seem much taller and slimmer. With a clear band around the front of her shoe, the emptiness pulls the eye downwards, as well, lengthening her legs. Overall, both of these hairstyles were used in different ways for different reasons, both very successful in the end. So this begs the question, is the messy bun really a mess?

Emily Blunt wearing Theyskens' Theory at the Golden Globes, 2013.

Katharine McPhee wearing Michael Kors at the Golden Globes, 2013.