While these ladies have really sharpened their cratedigging skills (while proudly sprinkling some of their Chicago faves), they’ve also crafted some of their own songs which have peppered their mixtapes and risk overshadowing their DJ sets.
Gonyea’s vocals, while reminiscent of a variety of other breathy female vocalists backed by uptempo house beats like Hubbard’s, manages to exude a sensuality not unwelcome in the Chicago’s seemingly asexual dance clubs + subsequent scene.

While some of the heard-it-before naysaying haters may be quick to step on their throats early in their career, I’m excited about any DJs that move into songwriting (LCD Soundsystem?) as those ears trained to reignite forgotten fires tend to have the keenest insights into what their sound and your ears both need.

The mixtape itself is the first in a few that has been without any of Moneypenny’s original songs and begins rather innocuously (albeit suspiciously) with “They’re Coming To Take Me Away Ha! Haa!” and builds slower than any of their previous mixtapes. It could be the Chicago heat keeping them at the lower BPMs, but the exchange has been a little more time to develop more melodic complexity. By the time the tape rolls over to “Creeps” though, the tracks have built into a gargantuan of thick bass and stuttered beats that are interesting AND danceable. However, the groove hits a bit of a sonic pothole as the Dominatrix track fades into a track by the aforementioned LCD Soundsystem. While this track in a way echoes the polyrhythmic synths that have come in the preceding 15 minutes, the track takes over a little too long while the ladies let it drive with its own dynamic which leads to an amazing interlude by the way of Donovans.

Although from here on out, the rapid fire track jumping that took place at the first half of the mix has been abandoned for the dynamics of entire tracks. The exchange though comes with hearty benefits. For the first time the beats become not just infectious but EMOTIONAL. Here the mixtape, as it rolls to a close with Class Actress, reflects back on the listener who is likely not at a club but listening in a much different environment, a lonlier environement.

Whereas previous Moneypenny mixes only hinted at the sensitivity in what at first glance appeared to be plain and simple dance music, Spandexxx.015 openly embraces this possibility for nearly half its length, if not the entire span. Nobody does it better.

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I myself am still on the journey for housing. If you haven’t heard this news yet… I’m moving to New York later this month to intern at MTV. Hopefully, a cable network will hire me in January. FINGERS CROSSED.

This place is either pretentious or terrible or both.

Well, you or I would be wrong! The Art of Pizza serves a hearty deep dish, unfairly overshadowed by neighboring Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria. Though Lou Malnati’s is a classic like no other, The Art of Pizza could one day be the Rocky to Malnati’s Apollo.

The crust is similar to other Chicago pizzas–pie-like, buttery, thick–but it’s the sauce that is the unsung hero. Where as others (let’s say even Malnati’s) may need a little salt to bring out the best in the sauce, this sweet and salty spread is a perfect match for the cheese that (also unlike a Lou’s) satisfies without choking you to death. I had the spinach pie which was a nice spinach and ricotta mix spotted around the pie and giving a depth and purpose to the spinach that might otherwise have merely floated about unnoticed. The ricotta also counters the mozzarella to broaden the range of textures.

So Damn Sexy

The obvious choice was to see George Clooney in The American, a spy thriller with really cool previews. We even paid for an overpriced feast of nachos and ice cream to celebrate our excitement about seeing this film. Once inside the theatre we noticed that we were not the only people looking forward to the two hours of espionage galore. The first 20 minutes were great…. but that was all. L I T E R A L L Y.

I would insert a spoiler aler warning here, but to be honest there is absolutely nothing to spoil. The film has a small group of characters, none of them developed, almost NO dialogue in the film but rather scenes of Clooney working out shirtless, assembling weapons, and occasionally chasing the “Swedes” that are after him… but no one knows why. He does perform oral sex on a woman for an extended period of time. Twice. I think.

He does die at the end. And as soon as that happened, I can’t tell you the last time I have ever seen a group of strangers unite in complaining.

The film is the James Bond version of Castaway with the riddling nature of Inception (which I believe to be the best film of 2010).

There is no plot. It was as if the editors only had 40 minutes of footage to create a 2 hour drama. And those were already some slim pickings… To make things worst… there is no one to root for. I’ll give anyone a crip 5 dollar bill that can explain what the hell happened in this film. I didn’t fall asleep for fear of missing something. I do recall a lot of blood, but can’t even tell you why the injuries had to happen.

I’m only posting this as a warning, but apparently critics and the box office think differently. If you saw the film, please share your thoughts below.

In past years, the Biennials have been criticized for being too international, giving their $100,000 best in show prize to artists not of American descent. This year, they remained a bit more Americo-centric. The work varied in media and approach, as it should, but not in quality. The politics were strong, especially in works like Nina Berman’s photo series, documenting the return, marriage and separation of a soldier from Iraq, badly injured by a roadside bomb. The emotional drama of certain selections was saved from cheaper melodrama by the candid moments caught between wedding photos and small moments of elation and relief upon the return of the soldier. The photos were technically well executed, their composition often catching emotion through reflection, refraction or dual framing, turning what could have been simple portraiture into something far more uncanny, leaving no viewer unaffected by the implications of the war’s effect on personal lives at home despite the geographical and televisual distance. While it seems at first an easy subject, the candidness and simplicity of composition, despite the awkwardness of being part of the spectacle of a biennial, were handled with taste and restraint both by the curator and the photographer.

Similar in its implicit affect, Kerry Tribe’s H.M. is a case study of a patient who underwent experimental treatment for epilepsy. The film installation was not the type to hide its mechanics. The projector and the inevitable fallacy (old motors are never quite perfect) leading the films to fall out of phase and out of sync with one another was a softly executed point to the confusion derived from psychological doctor/patient relationships. The room was wide enough to move about in for the many viewers watching when I visited and the use of a room with two identical entrances and a symmetrical layout gently suggested the invisible lines between patient and doctor or even subject and viewer. Although muddled by the layout of the floor in general, the curatorial success came from allowing a small area to be devoted solely to this one work and not leaving it to flounder in the echo-y carnival that the Whitney’s Biennials can’t help but become.

If anything, this year’s exhibition was an attempt to be versaitle and more open to criticism. Perhaps the next Biennial at Whitney will be more forward in its approach.

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In this edition of the Mixtape Audit, let us introduce you to a laid back mix courtesy of Lady Miss Navy Pier. She did the music for our most popular podcast “Happy Vagina Month” and has been banging out hot mixtapes all summer. (Using vagina and banging in the same sentence was probably a bad choice, right?)

Whether your going for a stroll on your bike, completing a homework assignment or need something uplifiting at your dead end job, this mix will put you in a fresh sexy mood. The T-Pain remake in the beginning should be enough to put a smile on your face.

We all want to eat healthier or at least want healthier options. So we go to a restaurant or go through the drive through and attempt to order the healthiest thing (in our mind) on the menu, most times that is a salad. I was devastated when the Today Show did a special regarding these top 5 salads and how they are actually worst for you than a Whopper! Here is the list:

Wendy’s BLT Cobb Salad with Croutons and Avocado Ranch Dressing
740 calories
50 grams fat (15.5 grams saturated)
2,140 milligrams sodium

Calorie equivalent: 2 Wendy’s Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers (700 calories) Don’t be totally shocked by this high calorie count — this salad is sporting two of the biggest culprits when it comes to diet-busting greenery. First, check the avocado Ranch dressing. Any creamy dressing is going to be high in fat and calories. Replace it with vinaigrette and save big.

Quiznos’ Chicken Caesar Flatbread Salad (with bread)
920 calories
66.5 grams fat (20.5 grams saturated, 0 grams trans fat)
2,090 milligrams sodium

Calorie equivalent: Three White Castle Bacon Cheeseburgers with 3-piece Chicken Rings (860 calories) Unless you have proof to the contrary, just assume that any Caesar salad in a restaurant is a bad salad choice. That’s because the Caesar dressing is exceptionally heavy — really, all creamy dressings are.

Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad
1,310 calories
93 grams fat (15 grams saturated, 2.5 grams trans fats)
1,470 milligrams sodium

Calorie equivalent: Almost as much as a McDonald’s Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese, Medium Fries and Medium Coke (1,330 calories) Why is this salad so hefty? Part of the blame goes to the “tasty Oriental vinaigrette,” for sure (the secret is always, at least partially, in the sauce). Another reason: It’s topped with “crispy noodles” (carbohydrate overload). And to complete the triumvirate of dietary doom: Fried chicken to boot.

California Pizza Kitchen’s Waldorf Chicken Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
1,570 calories
30 g saturated fat
2,082 mg sodium

Calorie equivalent: Wendy’s 1/2-Pound Double with Cheese, Medium Fries and Medium Chocolate Frosty (1,570 calories)
Same thing, the Blue Cheese Dressing is the culprit. Most “salads” at California Pizza Kitchen are very calorie dense, you would be better off just ordering a pizza if you go there.

T.G.I. Friday’s Santa Fe Chopped Salad
1,800 calories

Calorie equivalent: Burger King Double Whopper, Medium Fries and Small Chocolate Shake (1,800 calories)

This is the worst salad in America. T.G.I. Friday’s doesn’t reveal full nutritional information, so we don’t know how much salt or fat this monstrous dish packs. Here’s a hint: Never, ever order a Mexican-themed salad, no matter where you’re eating.

A few years ago, Sketchers released a new shoe called the “Shape Up.” I found it hard to believe that a company notorious for the world’s ugliest adult sneaker would have the audacity to one up themselves with a shoe with a round bottom. The ads featured lean, racially ambiguous, people enjoying life with their plugly (plastic + ugly) footwear. I never thought it would catch on. I kept thinking to myself, “Who in these United States of America and Toronto would wear a shoe like that?”

The same type of people that would wear Crocs.

God damn the nation. This summer has been filled with people wobbling around, sporting their uneven pavement stompers as if this innovation in fashion is seriously affecting their health in a positive way. And I’m not seeing athletes wear these shoes, it seems to be the notorious unhealthy population who have decided that this is a better alternative to actual exercise. Some of the perks include: not sweating, sort of feeling the burn around the joints, and ruining your life.

The look of Sketchers is already juvenile. They’re cute on toddlers but not on tax paying adults. Pair these gym shoes with jeans and a shirt and you’ll be walking out of your house looking like a Rug Rat.

If you’ve considered purchasing a pair of these sex appeal-killers, keep in mind that they physically inhibit your ability to move. You can’t run or jog in them. And you wouldn’t be able to play any sports with them. It’s all a marketing ploy designed to support inactive people.

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It took two days, but once I was finished with the board and I had it mounted in my bedroom, something in the air changed. The confusion I had about what I wanted to do after graduating faded away and I found myself surrounded by really awesome people that wanted to actually help me. Someone at my summer job randomly insisted on helping me reformat my resume which lead to me to apply for work with some major cable networks, I was able to meet up with Giuliana Rancic from the E! channel and Kelly Zink from Celeb TV to get help on further my journalism career, and earning money didn’t seem to be a concern anymore. It was a complete 180 turn from that emptiness I felt in May when I had started to think that the college industry was a scam.

Really weird/good stuff continues to happen and although some might say its just coincidence, I would at least like to believe that the dream board definitely keeps me on task. I’m more optimistic and my thoughts on success are more like realistic assumptions than fantasy. The dream board reinforces positive energy and esteem. It’s hard to be a Debbie Downer with a massive block of cut out images looming over your home.

Examples:

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How to Make One:
1. You need an insane amount of images. I went through about 30 magazines to find images and words that popped out to me. I guess you could also just google image search for specific things but I feel like that ruins the whole spiritual process and journey. Allowing yourself time to actually sit down and look through pages for things to cut out will give you time to reflect on what you really want and how to get it.

2. When going through the images be sure to follow your instincts. My dream board has 3 cars on it. My close friends will tell you that this is weird considering my natural fear of driving and getting hit by a car a few years ago. I don’t desire to ever own a car, but my guess is that I want to conquer my fear finally so that I could potentially live in a place like Los Angeles. They also say to limit the number of words you use and to try to focus on images, but if you are a fan of puns, wordplay, catchphrases and Ebonics, I say go for it.

3. You must hang this in a place that you will be able to see daily. You should probably already have the riddle of “How am I going to hang this bitch up?” answered before you start. Leaning it on a dresser, taping or nailing it to a wall, or hanging it from something will do. Be creative, but don’t cause a disturbance in your place.

4. Make sure you are using clear tape or staples. Glue can potentially ruin an image which can be frustrating during the process. You want to look at your future and not globs of nasty. (I’m talking about dried glue…)

5. You should be looking at this board twice a day for at least 5 minutes. Also make notes on things that have happened as a result of putting up your board. It will seem superstitious at first, but if you’re jobless, loveless, moneyless, and dealing with a bout of ugliness, it can only improve your life. Trust.