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drink up! JH9Hjßrass9||li§s Pon> Cooitnn or St*yT*hwttßu>g 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 This beer falls under the style of Russian Imperial Stout; a style originally made in Britain, but received its name because it was exported to Russia.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 M tHHBHB Hfifilß flfiflll S9B3MKB ISIjfBHKHfiBfiBHSiI BfIfIRHSS SHfIHHBII BBBBBBBBBHKBIWHBBBMSWBHMBI ftfiHHßfiHßßflßfe for only* T-shirts for the food from *wi!h valid l (iA ID who pay student activity tecs on the Athens campus 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