Home Page: Multimedia Belt

Phoenix rising
By Nathan Mattise
October 18, 2010 - 9:01pm
Review: France's indie darlings conquer the rock scene in Central New York and around the world.

A friend had a question for me right before Phoenix took the stage last night at Cornell University. The show was sold out for a few weeks and we were packed tightly about 40 rows deep from the stage – this despite getting to the show 45 minutes early.

“So, you think they’re the most relevant rock band in the world?”

Presidential politics: The making of a political mastermind
By Christine Mehta
October 12, 2010 - 10:35pm
Kathleen Jamieson takes a hard look at the power of speech and rhetoric in the race for the presidency.

An almost full-house in Hendricks Chapel watched former president Bill Clinton declare once again on the projector screen that he “did not have sexual relations with that woman.” A second later the audience burst into laughter as the word TRANSLATION flashed onto the screen along with, “Bill Clinton does not define sexual ‘contact’ as relations.”

Hamilton 'gets innocuous!'
By Darren Bleckner
October 2, 2010 - 11:05am
Review: Sleigh Bells and LCD Soundsystem made a riotous impression in Clinton on Friday night.

There are a few ways for concertgoers to evaluate a set. Did the audience hear all the radio singles it wanted? Did the band throw in some fan favorites and rarities? Or did the band play a mixture of its whole discography in an order that allowed for the momentous highs while never bottoming out so low that the crowd stands still?

Whichever your answer, LCD Soundsystem has perfected a set list so epic, so powerful and so emotional, that the audience is never allowed to come down from its musical high.

The indomitable spirit of Little Hot Mama
By Sarah A. McCarty
September 27, 2010 - 11:54pm
Singer Flossie Turner Lewis tells about overcoming poverty, illiteracy and racism in the South.

Flossie Turner Lewis started earning a living when she was just two years old. Dressed up in a satin evening gown, an up-do hairstyle and lots of makeup, she earned a spot singing and performing in carnival and minstrel shows with her family. She was dubbed "Little Hot Mama."

Home sweet Dome
By Timothy R. Olsen
September 19, 2010 - 2:29am
QB Ryan Nassib's record-setting TD performance leads the home-opening win over Maine.

Ryan Nassib threw a team record five touchdown passes and Syracuse shook off a slow start to rout Maine in their home opener Saturday, 38-14.

“It feels pretty good, especially with all the great quarterbacks that have come through here,” Nassib said about setting the school record for touchdown passes in a game.

Juice Jam: Your views and reviews
By Caitlin Dewey
September 12, 2010 - 9:58pm
You tweeted, we listened: a collection of student videos, photos and opinions. What did you think of the festival?

This year's Juice Jam boasted the largest crowd in the event's seven-year history. Five thousand students were on hand at Skytop on Sunday, and many of them took to the Internet to share videos, photos and memories of Lupe and the like. Below, find some of our favorites -- and don't forget to share your own in the comments!

One down, 246 days to go
By Shayna Meliker
August 31, 2010 - 1:46am
After a sun-soaked first day of school warmed nervous freshman and relaxed upperclassmen alike, the countdown to May is officially on.

When freshman Justin Hoffman showed up to his calculus class Monday morning, the Carnegie classroom location he scribbled down was completely empty. In fact, it wasn’t a classroom at all –- just some kind of office.

Unfortunately for many of the 3,450 freshmen starting their Syracuse University careers Monday, Hoffman's not alone.

Obviously confused first-years gripped their printed MySlice schedules and campus maps, wandering the paths and searching for building names such as Hinds and Heroy halls. 

Ra Ra Riot comes home to 'Cuse
By Nathan Mattise
August 30, 2010 - 11:23am
Close relationship with Syracuse remains a constant in college rock heroes' unpredictable ascent.

Ra Ra Riot’s current producer Andrew Maury once told me the reason you have to see the band live is because its energy alone is a “captivating spectacle.”

A light in the dark
By Christine Mehta
August 24, 2010 - 11:49pm
Alexander Williams, a graduate student from Ghana, has managed to overcome the obstacles inherent to being blind.

Alexander Williams was always a curious child. One day, his curiosity got him into trouble.

At age 12, Williams was hit in the right eye by a stray bullet.  Warring factions in the part of Liberia where he lived for the first 12 years of his life were fighting over port access to the harbor when his house got caught in the crossfire. 

Laying new groundwork at Hendricks Chapel
By Rachel Ousley
August 24, 2010 - 4:46pm
The Rev. Tiffany Steinwert, the first female dean of Hendricks Chapel, is laying the groundwork for the future of SU institution.

In its 80-year history, Hendricks Chapel has never had a female dean. Until now.

Rev. Tiffany Steinwert was appointed in March, making her the sixth Hendricks dean in Syracuse University's history.