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drink up!
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Old Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin was poisoned, shot, stabbed and
drowned. After all that, he finally died. It is no surprise
that a beer named after him would be equally bad-ass.
Old Rasputin comes to us lovely students by way of
North Coast Brewing Company.
This beer falls under the style of Russian Imperial
Stout; a style originally made in Britain, but received its
name because it was exported to Russia.
Old Rasputin is an apt name for this beer, and not
just because its namesake and style share a common
geography. _
Old Rasputin is as black as the soul of the “Mad
Monk” himself, sporting an opaque black body and a
thick chocolate-milk-shake-like head.
No light will penetrate this beer.
Boasting a powerful aroma of coffee, chocolate and
dark fruits, the taste bursts with all these amazing fla
vors dancing around the palate, putting you under a
spell as if you were a hemophilic heir to the Russian
Empire (another history joke).
For those of you out there who know your stouts. Old
Rasputin has a trick up its sleeve. It is surprisingly bit
ter for the style with a nice hop character at its finish.
Now, I know what many of you are thinking, “Zack, I
don’t like dark beer. Also, your beard is more amazing
than Rasputin’s ever was.”
To this I say, “Thank you for the compliment, but
you’re going to have to learn to trust me about dark
beers.”
There are many beers out there, and some of the best
I have ever tried were the color and consistency of used
motor oil. Don’t make me have to put you under a spell
to drink these beers, do yourself a favor and try this
damn beer!
Rasputin was known to be strangely intoxicating due
to his mystique and his large “presence" (which, accord
ing to legend is still preserved in a glass jar). Old
Rasputin is just as mysterious and big as the real thing,
boasting an alcohol content of nine percent.
Buyer beware this beer might just intoxicate all
who dare lock lips with an Old Rasputin.
Zack Taylor
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It’s a rather sad day
when you begin to under
stand why the vast majori
ty opt for “rocking out” to
the same Katy Perry song
12 times on the radio over
a venture away from the
mainstream music indus
try’s playlist.
With its monotonous
drone of stereotypical
indie innovation,
Meligrove Band’s most
recently released album,
“Shimmering Lights,"
would justifiably send
many a brave soul fleeing
back to Justin Beiber’s
consoling melodies.
Set to a backdrop of
less-than-harmonious
horns, the opening song,
“Ghosts at My Back,” sets
a weak “The 0.C.” sound
track wannabe tone des
tined to pervade through
the remainder of the
album.
One would expect the
next song to progress
towards a touch more
tuneful tact... except it
merely reiterates the ini
tial theme of rather harsh
ly obnoxious instrumen
tals and hooks covering a
lack of lyrical substance or
vocal capacity.
f on or before Wed.,
mgm/r ’
St JcAoid’hiAifr euvaneUd! J|| 1
VARIETY
listen up!
Moments into “Make
Believe It” suggests per
haps these Toronto boys
just recently managed to
get their hands on a syn
thesizer and simply forgot
about superfluous details
such as lyrics, melody and
pitch in the midst of their
excitement.
On a slightly more opti
mistic note, “White Like
Lies” proves it is in fact
possible to simultaneously
be excruciatingly whiny
and yet void of any recog
nizable human emotion.
Who knew?
The album boasts a
condonable attempt at
the creative sound signa
tures of The Killers. The
Shins and Beck; however,
Meligrove Band, in all
actuality, exhibits about
as much originality as a
pine tree in the Blue
Ridge Mountains.
An attention-demand
ing title, a relatively
catchy piano accompani
ment and a refreshingly
harmonious rhythm dis
tinguish one of the final
tracks, “Bones Attack!!,”
as the band’s strongest
prospect for landing a
spot on any Cali-based
The Red a Black | TUesday, November 16, aoio
Meligrove Band “Shimmering Lights”
semi-soap opera sound
tracks in the near future.
Causing listeners to
unconsciously grit their
teeth is generally not a
desired goal in putting out
a CD, yet by the closing
song, I found myself with
a dull aching in my jaw.
At least this final track
emits a vibe of what one
might consider... anger?
Which is more than can be
said for preceding soulless
noise.
In all fairness,
“Shimmering Lights" is
not what I would consider
a musical atrocity by any
means.
Meligrove Band’s array
of electronic-based noises
smashed against careless
guitar riffs probably
makes for much more
appropriate background
music in a bar, rather than
for jamming in your car.
Darcy Lem
5