Busy at college, Tech students often try to find the cheapest and most convenient food. This method may not be the safest, however, as evidenced by the health violations of Lucky Buddha, a fairly popular Chinese-American restaurant near campus.

On Sept. 18, the Lucky Buddha received a failing score of 40 on their Food Service Establishment Inspection Report. This was not the first bad score that the restaurant had received.

According to the report, the Health Inspector noted, “Management failed to implement procedures that would prevent recurring violations that previously resulted in scores of 44, 66 and 74…”

Most of the violations pertained to food storage and preparation, which can could be frightening for some because these are the areas that are most hidden from consumers.

For instance, the Health Inspector observed rotted cutting boards that were “black, discolored and pitted.”

Most customers were completely unaware of this situation, including third-year ChBE student Matthew Cline.

“The food was always great, I never had any problems,” Cline said. “But the restaurant is very small and it seemed pretty average cleanliness. I was surprised at first, but all food prep is done in the back and so no one really saw the health issues.”

The kitchen, too, was not clean. Staffers used  dirty wiping cloths, unsanitary surfaces and  raw meat was even being washed at the same time as the dishes. Raw chicken was often left on the counter for an indefinite amount of time before cooking.

The Health Inspector also  “observed staff touching egg rolls with bare hand(s) to package for customer.”

These transgressions could be seen as carelessness, but some customers believe this lack of attention is inexcusable in the  food service.  According to the CDC, salmonella, which comes from improper treatment of ingredients and poor kitchen hygiene, was the second most prevalent form of foodborne illness in 2011, proof of how dangerous cutting corners in the food industry can be.

Many Tech students have ordered takeout from Lucky Buddha, and thus were oblivious to the cleanliness and health issues inside the restaurant.

“I usually got takeout so I didn’t think too much about it. I was really surprised and shocked when I saw the bad health rating,” said ‘13 Alum Lauren Lillquist.

Many students also relied on Lucky Buddha for its convenient location close to campus.

“It wasn’t the cleanest place, but the food was reasonably priced and good. And it was convenient. You’d always see Tech students,” said Kelly Felker, a second-year BUS major.

Some students, though,  saw  Lucky Buddha as a lackluster option from the start.

“It was mediocre, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good quality Chinese food. I think they messed up my order too,” complained Alana Wilson, second-year CEE major.

The Lucky Buddha was epitome of a restaurant primarily serving college students, as it was mostly characterized by its late-night service, staying open until 4 a.m. on the weekend. The Lucky Buddha served average Americanized Chinese food, and if a student had a craving, it satisfied.

However, some Tech students believe  greasy satisfaction should not have to jeopardize students immediate health.  Some even suggested that it was better that the location was shut down.

Tech students will now  have to find a new Chinese restaurant to frequent whenever the craving hits them. Currently, these alternatives include Lucky China and Wok-n-Roll.

Lucky Buddha will be going to court s, but the according to WSBTV, the owners are hopeful that the restaurant will shut down.

“The Fox,” a song by the Norwegian musical comedy group Ylvis, has become hugely popular over the past few weeks, reaching close to 130 million views on YouTube. Now the question is, does it deserve it? “The Fox” is a fun, catchy song that manages to be ridiculous enough to be funny. It is hilarious to see someone take the sounds foxes make so seriously.

What makes it work here is that these guys completely sell it. They build up their auditory quest as a serious endeavor through the tone of the verses until the chorus turns the song on its head.

The music video is just as absurd. Seeing two grown men sing achingly about a fox and dance around in fox costumes is hilarious. It works with the song and matches its tone by juxtaposing their serious facial expressions with their outrageous costumes.

It is also a good parody of current electropop music; the way the song builds up from a slow beginning into a sudden burst of energy with the drop perfectly mimics the style of many modern electronic artists. In this way, the song points out some of the sillier and rote aspects of the genre.

There have been grumblings that this song is merely annoying and Ylvis is not saying anything important. However, it does not seem Ylvis is trying to say anything important in the first place—just something silly and somewhat clever. The goal was to make something funny, and the group largely succeeded.

This video was made to promote Ylvis’s nighttime talk show and has unexpectedly catapulted them into international recognition. The brother-duo have hosted radio shows, traveled across Norway on comedy tours and currently have a hosting job for the upcoming season of the television variety show “I kveld med Ylvis.”

Their first abroad performance of their parody songs, chief among them “The Fox,” was mid-September on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. They appeared later as musical guests on Jimmy Fallon’s late night show.

In addition to their foxy tribute, the group has made several other videos like “Pressure,” “Stonehenge” and “Someone Like Me” that are worth watching; they all work as parodies by focusing on the stereotypes of their respective genres.

“Someone Like Me” mocks the melodrama of love songs and the cliché themes in dub step. The song mixes two people yearning to find “the one” with dub step breakdowns complete with flashing lights and wind tunnels. Somehow, the result meshes these disparate elements cohesively.

This song does, in a way, reflect the direction that European electropop is heading—toward the sleek, polished club music genre.

One of the criticisms of electropop is that it is “soulless,” and this song somewhat confirms the critique. Along with the emergence of acts like Icona Pop, this genre is definitely heading in a more poppy, radio-friendly direction and has come a long way from the countercultural days of New Order and Depeche Mode.

The electropop genre is experiencing a resurgence in its popularity, but it may be at the expense of substance. No matter what, we will always have “The Fox” for a good laugh.

The Tech men’s golf team is off to a winning start to their season. The Jackets were victorious in both of their first two tournament, never trailing after any individual round.

In their most recent tournament, the Brickyard Collegiate, Tech led after the first round but ended up being edged by Mercer by just two strokes to take second, despite having two players finish in the top five.

Junior Ollie Schniederjans ended up tied for fourth, and senior Seth Reeves claimed a share of the individual title with a 9-under-par performance for the tournament.

The Jackets are currently ranked second nationally behind  Alabama, the same team to which Tech finished as the runner-up on their national semifinal battle a season ago. Seth Reeves, one of the current seniors on the team, reflects on close finish a year ago and what he and his teammates can do to continue the play of that national championship run and this season’s hot start.

“Walking off the course, we knew we could have beaten Alabama,” Reeves said. “Looking back, we knew we could win.”

Reeves believes their performance in the national championship tournament last year has had a direct effect on the team’s play this year, and as a result they have acquired golf’s most valuable asset: confidence.

“We believe in ourselves to win every tournament we play in. Physically we had the tools, now we have the confidence,” Reeves said.

Talking about differences between the current team and last year’s, Reeves says that the main difference is the experience level. The core of the team consists of three seniors and two juniors, and according to Reeves, the Jackets consider themselves a veteran team. Another key aspect is team camaraderie—intangible and sometimes overlooked, but Reeves knows that those closely knit bonds are essential to the team’s success.

In collegiate golf, teams are composed of five players who each play three rounds of 18 holes. The top four scores are selected from the team to give the team an aggregate score for each round which will determine the winner. Reeves says that on many courses, the leaderboards aren’t readily accessible, which means individual players spend a lot of time unsure about the team’s overall standing until the end of the round. That’s where the trust and camaraderie come in.

“You care about the people you are playing with. Teammates trust each other to give 100 percent,” Reeves said. “Golf is so tough mentally. It’s easy to give up on yourself individually or for a round, but you never know if your score will be used, so you always have to fight for your teammates.”

Asked if the pressure from being ranked so highly affects the team at all, Reeves claimed that it was actually less stressful.

“There’s always pressure when you’re good.” Expounding upon that response in regards to the ranking, he said, “It actually helps us relax; it settles you because you know you can do it. You already have.”

Reeves shares that the team has a mantra that they hold to for every match: never get discouraged.

“Anyone can beat you over 18 holes, but a tournament is not one day, it’s three, and 54 holes is a marathon, not a sprint,” Reeves said. “You fail in golf more than you succeed; there are a lot of holes and a lot of plays, so if we can go 54 holes without being discouraged, that is a success.”

Of course the team also seeks successful results as well, and so far, those excellent results speak for themselves. As for Seth, he plans to play his last amateur competition before he turns pro in the US Amateur Championship, which will be held in Atlanta next August.

The secret to Tech’s success is not actually a secret at all. It is merely that they fully believe in each other, and that belief is strong enough to overcome any adversity that the team may face.

With their sights firmly fixed on the ACC and national championship this year, the teammates are not likely to get discouraged along the way because each player knows that he is fighting, not only for himself, bur for something much greater.

It is no secret that graduates from Tech go on to do incredible things in the workforce.  Whether they go on to become Nobel laureates, founders and CEOs or astronauts, the degrees they earn at Tech allow them to advance quickly in their field and as a result make a fairly enviable salary.  After student loans and debts are paid off, though, the next step for many alumni is to give back to the institution that propelled their success.

Tech’s recent Philanthropy at Tech week spotlighted the school’s history of donations through more than 70 signs which were installed throughout campus.  These signs were aimed at raising student awareness of the impact such contributions have had on Tech.

Alumni contributions are such a common occurrence at Tech that the school has been ranked third in the nation among public universities for alumni giving, and since 2006, these funds provided a hefty percentage of the school’s development fund.  How do alumni  go about becoming a giver?

Perhaps the most simple and straightforward way to make a monetary impact on the school is to make a cash donation.  According to the Office of Development’s website, all that is required for a cash donation is a mailed check with an attached note detailing the purpose or designation of the gift.

This option is the most frequently used in gifting to Tech and was the method chosen by several notable alumni donors, including Ernest Scheller Jr., whose 50 million dollar cash donation to the business school was the largest single cash donation in the school’s history.

Donors can also give to Tech through the donations of assets.  Real estate, personal property, such as artwork,  stocks, bonds and other personal assets can be donated to the school to then be sold by the Georgia Tech Foundation.

This option allows donors to receive a possible tax deduction along with other tax savings, while still making a monetary contribution to the school.  Donors can also make their donation profitable for themselves by choosing a donation option that allows them to make income for themselves. This is possible through the creation of gift annuities and annuity trusts.

These are a handful of ways in donations can be made back to Tech and figuring out the right method may prove chaotic for the recent graduate.  To help alleviate this, Tech has come up with several tools meant to aid in the giving process.

The Office of Development has created a Gift Strategy Chart, allowing givers to match their goals with the possible options and the outcomes of each option.

The department’s website also features a Life Stage Gift Planner, allowing donors to choose their age group and view the financial problems and issues they may be facing and how they can give to Tech in a way such that these issues and concerns can be avoided or addressed.

Though the school has made it simple to give back, future graduates may not be entirely convinced that giving back is necessary. After all, with so many other graduates giving back, what difference would your donation make? The answer may be surprising.

According to the Georgia Tech Student Foundation, one in five students attending Tech receives private scholarships as a form of financial aid.

Furthermore, one-third of the facilities at Tech have been partially or fully funded through private donations. One in every six professors receives research and education funding through an endowed position provided by former donors.

Finally, over the past four years, over 10,000 students have received over 122 million dollars in scholarships from private philanthropy.

Such donations are directly helping students during their time at Tech.

By donating to Tech, donors are aiding in helping students live out some of their dreams while also helping the school maintain its reputation of excellence and prestige.

Homo sayswhaticus, a collection of short stories by satirical author Lance Manion, is of that small genre of books that, when being read, finds the reader pondering why on earth he is reading such a book. Notice the assumption that the reader is male; Manion has (purposefully) alienated an enormous portion of his potential readers by gearing the whole book to the minds of immature college-aged men. A good portion of Manion’s work revolves around the restroom; Homo is assuredly not for the faint of heart. If this topic fails to disturb the reader, the rest of the book is quite philosophical and even somewhat worth reading.

Throughout the text, Manion includes many relatable stories. These are, however, thoroughly mixed in with the afore-mentioned disrespectful and outrageous tales. One must be paying attention to gain anything substantial from this book, which is what the author intended. Speckled through this collection of short stories are little gems of philosophical ponderings such as why movie theatre concessions are so expensive and why sneaking in one’s own snacks is not a solution. At one point, Manion contemplates the needless complexity of toothpaste, wondering why each brand sees fit to change the flavors every once and a while even though, Manion assumes, no one was complaining about the previous state of the toothpaste.

One of the many reasons that this book goes against the norm lies in the fact that Manion insults the reader almost as often as he insults himself, and never claims to be a good writer. This combination allows Homo to be a bearable read. The advertisements for the book made no attempt to avoid the fact that it is indeed an antinovel; even the “About the Author” section is a tongue in cheek imitation of normal books. (After reading this section, one would assume that Lance Manion is merely a pseudonym of Ren McCormack from the film Footloose.)

Because Homo is honest from the start about its intensions, it is a relatively good book. It is geared towards a specific audience, and anyone outside (and in some cases inside) the demographic of college-aged men is sure to be offended at least a little. This is, however, the entire point that Manion is trying to make with his book. He specifically states that Homo sayswhaticus was written not because he thought someone would like to read it; rather he wrote because he wanted to. He goes on to state that all of the bad grammar and lack of detail or proper conclusions are intentional. Manion states that he wrote in this style in order to help his readers be inspired by his stories and create some of their own. The choice of believing this explanation or merely thinking that Manion did not wish to read his own work in order to edit it is up to the reader.

Jimmy Eat World’s international tour landed in Athens, GA on Oct. 9. The Georgia Theatre hosted the event; the previously abandoned movie theatre was stripped of its seats, leaving room only for standing, which was perfect. It would have been a sin to sit for even a second during this concert.

The Arizona-based band debuted in 1994 as a punk rock band. The current members consist of Jim Adkins, vocalist/guitarist, Rick Burch, bassist, Tom Lind, guitarist, and Zach Lind, drummer. Through the years, the band has refused to be pigeon-holed in a particular style, as evidenced by their seven current albums in emo, alternative rock and alternative pop genres. Their latest album, Damage, produced by Alain Johannes, has placed them in the pop/rock genre. For those unfamiliar with Jimmy Eat World, their sound is similar the Plain White T’s and Foo Fighters.

The band is known for playing a tight set in their concerts, keeping the energy level high and the audience on their feet. Though the group is touring in promotion of their latest release, the Athens concert’s set list included only three songs from Damage, choosing to focus more on hits from all their previous collections.

Indie/rock artist Matt Pond opened for the band with a set list that was a little slow but enjoyable. Pond made a name for himself with the title song for the 2012 hit movie, The Vow, and has laid everything out in his recent album, The Lives inside the Lines in Your Hand. Even though the audience was not familiar with most of his songs, Pond was able to warm up the crowd in anticipation of the main act.

The audience reaction when Jimmy Eat World walked on stage was deafening. The set list opened with “I Will Steal You Back” from their new album, a song that had a crescendo affect up to the first chorus, where it burst into a high energy that was reflected by the eager crowd.

Surfing off the momentum of this first track, the group kept the energy high and the pauses between songs microscopic. After playing high-octane songs like “My Best Theory,” “Your New Aesthetic” and “Lucky Denver Mint,” they slipped in “Hear You Me,” their slower pace hit from the 2004 teen romance A Cinderella Story, just in time to give the fans a break from fist pumping and show the softer side of the band.

The sheer amount of sensational songs in their repertoire allowed the group to put on a lengthy concert that still felt far too short. The crowd was begging for more up until the last second.

Closing the show with a three song encore, Jimmy Eat World saved the best for last. “The Middle” topped the charts at number one during its first release in the early 2000s, and is featured in the music videogames Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour. As soon as the crowd heard the opening chords, their electric reaction was immediate and Adkins fed off the energy. By the end of the night, it was obvious that the band had enjoyed the show and the crowd. Every person could walk out satisfied that they had seen a top notch show, performed by a group that refused to quit.

Jimmy Eat World will continue their tour with performances in Mexico, UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. They will round out their tour with the much anticipated return to the states Dec. 6-8 in Orlando, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville, FL. There is no doubt that Jimmy Eat World is out to rock the globe.

As Oscar season approaches, there are going to be numerous films coming out soon that will be vying to win the coveted Best Picture award, and Gravity has set the bar high. One of the best films of this year so far, Gravity gives a terrifying yet beautiful look at the dangers of outer space and the will to survive.

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Gravity opens with Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side), a biomedical engineer on her first space mission, and seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney, the Ocean’s series) working on the Hubble telescope. While talking to Mission Control, voiced appropriately by Ed Harris (Apollo 13), they learn debris from a shattered satellite is hurtling toward them. Before they can get back inside the shuttle, though, they are hit with the debris, which destroys the shuttle and strands them alone out in space.

The thing that stands out the most in this film is the cinematography, which juxtaposes breathtaking views of outer space with heart pounding sequences of the two characters just trying to stay alive. Like Cuaron’s previous films, Gravity uses many long takes; the opening shot of the film is 17 minutes long. During this shot, the camera moves freely through space, weaving around characters and giving the audience far-away and close up shots of the action. These long takes allow the audience to get sucked into the film and feel like they are floating out in space with the characters.

One of the best shots in the film is when Dr. Stone gets detached from her tether and floats away into the unending depths of space. The camera stays stationary as she gets further away, becoming increasingly smaller. Through this shot, the audience is able to connect with her and feel the same helplessness she does.

In addition to the film’s visual mastery, many different camera angles were used to connect the audience with the predicaments of the characters. During several shots, the camera is tilted sideways, disorienting the audience while simultaneously showing that in space, there is no up or down.

With almost every film coming out in 3-D now, it is hard to know which ones are worth the extra charge and which ones to see in regular 2-D. Gravity is definitely worth seeing in 3-D and may in fact be one of the best uses of 3-D in any recent film. The 3-D effectively adds to the experience, making you feel as if you were right there with the characters and causing you to throw your hands up in front of your face to protect yourself from the exploding satellite coming at you.

The primary reason for the excellent use of 3-D is the planning that went in to it. Instead of deciding to convert the film to 3-D in post- production, Cuaron planned to use 3-D from the very beginning stages of the film, and over the four and a half years it took to make the film, “about three and a half was for 3-D work.”

Both Clooney and Bullock give terrific performances. For most of the film, they are the only ones on screen, yet they are able to completely captivate the audience and carry the plot. Bullock gives her best performance since her Oscar-winning role in 2009’s The Blind Side, and it would not be surprising for her to at least get nominated, if not win, again.

With multiple movies coming out over the next few weeks, there will be plenty of options to choose from for a movie-going experience. Gravity is definitely one that should not be missed.

I am writing in reference to a recent email that I sent to members of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity that has recently received extensive media attention. The content of this email was offensive and it should never have been written.

I am deeply sorry for the pain and embarrassment my actions and lack of judgement have caused the students at Georgia Tech and my Phi Kappa Tau brotherhood as well as those who otherwise came into contact with the email. As hard as it may be to believe, it was written as a joke for a small audience that understood the context and that it is not my nor my fraternity’s actual beliefs on the subject. I have now come to realize this is a very serious topic that should not be taken lightly.

Misogynistic behavior is everywhere online and unfortunately, my attempt to ridicule it in an immature and outrageous satire backfired terribly and in a manner I mistakenly underestimated. In fact the “locker room” banter that characterizes this email was wrong in and of itself whether or not contained in a written communication. I am both embarrassed and ashamed at this dialogue and realize now that any sexual statement that is demeaning to women is never a joke.

One particular term originated from the nickname I received as a pledge, which was “4th Grade Rape Bait” due to my youthful looks and the connotation of what may happen to someone like me in prison. This became an internal fraternity joke and the term found its way into several communications, inappropriately and even nonchalantly. In retrospect, it was a nickname I should not have embraced but continuing to use the term was my fault. As a leader I should have put a stop to it in any reference.

I understand the magnitude and seriousness of this issue and the pain I have caused this community. I certainly have been forever changed by this incident. I have resigned as my fraternity’s social chairman and have proactively identified and implemented actions in consultation with the Office of Student Integrity.

I know I cannot fix all the damage I have done, but I will strive to become a better man as I work through this episode in my life. I am a devout Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and regret the dark shadow that I have cast on this fine school. I will conduct myself to more honorably reflect the ideals of Georgia Tech in the future.

Sincerely, Matthew

Each year it seems that stores are trying to sell Christmas decorations earlier than the last. It is strange indeed to find Christmas lights in stock alongside Halloween costumes. With the markets having a premature Christmas heyday, it should come as no surprise that the Asian-based yet world-renowned Gracias Choir performs their Christmas Cantata as early as October. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, this internationally acclaimed choir gave their third 2013 performance in the Ferst Center at Tech.

The quality of the Gracias Choir’s Christmas Cantata far outweighed the unusual timing. Though it is normal for people to wait and see Christmas plays around the holiday season, anyone who avoided the Christmas Cantata based solely on it being in the wrong season missed out on a superb performance.

Just before the show began, the announcer came onstage and asked the audience to suspend their belief that it is October and to instead think that it is, in fact, Christmas. The audience gladly obliged.

The Christmas Cantata encompassed three acts. The first two acts were more than could reasonably be expected out of a choir, while the third showed that the Gracias Choir have not lost their minds and do, indeed, know what is expected of a group of their caliber.

The quality of the Gracias Choir’s Christmas Cantata far outweighed the unusual timing

Act One consisted of a play depicting the biblical story of Christmas. The choir acted out the events surrounding Jesus’s birth, spontaneously breaking into song throughout. One of the more intriguing songs of act one was “Carol of the Kings,” which is a unique mixture of the old Christmas carols “We Three Kings” and “Carol of the Bells.”

Act Two was a striking play starring a little girl learning a lesson about Christmas spirit. It seemed as though the Gracias Choir was attempting to outdo their own first act, as they put even more energy into their singing and even sang “Jingle Bells” as though it were “The Chicken Dance,” speeding up with each run through the refrain. By the end of this song, the actors (for the choir members were much more than simple singers) were frantically yet cheerily prancing across the stage, keeping time with the furiously paced orchestra.

For those who came expecting a simple choir standing stiffly at attention as the orchestra accompanied standard Christmas caroling, Act Three did not disappoint. Fortunately, while this third act certainly had less energy, it was no less entertaining than the rest of the performance. At long last, the audience could watch as the orchestra passionately supplied music for the choir. Throughout the first and second acts, the Gracias Choir’s music came from the traditional place: the orchestra pit. For the third act, the orchestra was given the place of honor and was seated on the stage; the audience could then see that the musicians were as dedicated to the show as their more visible counterparts.

The lighting, orchestra and choir blended superbly to create a fantastic show

Throughout the Christmas Cantata, the lighting, orchestra and choir blended superbly to create a fantastic show worth seeing no matter what time of year it might be. While the spectacle here at the Ferst Center was splendid, the Gracias Choir does not plan to stay at Tech. After their performance on Tuesday, they traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for Wednesday, Miami on Thursday, and Orlando on Friday.

In a fantastic display of holiday spirit, the Gracias Choir plans to perform the Christmas Cantata nearly every day for weeks on end in order to spread the joy of Christmas to as many people as possible.

When a group pushes themselves as hard as this one does, it usually results in a bad performance due to the performers striving for quantity over quality; the Gracias Choir seems to be immune to this norm, much to the good fortune of those who witnessed their Ferst performance. Perhaps it is because they truly believe that their Christmas Cantata is helping people to enjoy Christmas, and with a firmly held belief, it is apparently possible to choose quality as well as quantity. Whatever the reason, the Gracias Choir has managed to do the nearly impossible, creating a great show that is to be performed innumerable times in the few short months leading up to Christmas.

Kings of Leon is a classic American rock band that has put out five albums since its formation in 1999, and each has been met with success; the band’s fourth album, Only by the Night, even held the top of the UK charts for an entire week. In 2010, Kings of Leon pulled in three Grammy Awards: one for Record of the Year, another for Best Rock Song and the last for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

However, their more recent history has not been so glamorous. After the cancellation of part of their U.S. tour in late 2011 due to issues concerning some of the band members, the group went on hiatus and has all but disappeared since; only two singles under the band’s name were released in the past two years. Recently, Kings of Leon broke through that period of relative silence with the release of its sixth album, Mechanical Bull, on Sept. 24.

True to the roots of the band, this new album is a mixture of rock-and-roll and alternative rock, a style that may not make so much sense on paper but works well in practice.

The album opens with “Supersoaker,” which was released as a single in July of this year. The song is loud and upbeat, driven by a solid rock-style drum rhythm and a fantastic bass line that keeps the pace alive and jumping. The guitar is fast, and lead vocalist Caleb Followill’s distinct tone compliments the musical style of the song.

“The instrumentation is fantastic, and the lyrics are meaningful if you take the time to understand them

The album’s next song, “Rock City,” displays its rock-and-roll direction. The guitar is distorted just enough, and the drums have that simple and straightforward rock kit sound that makes the song solid and grounded. When featured, the lead guitar is engaging and prominent without sounding angry or aggressive as some hard rock songs tend to do. Overall, “Rock City” is a perfect example of how smooth Kings of Leon’s sound can be.

The fourth song of the album, “Beautiful War,” is one of the most standout tracks in a collection that stands out from the crowd itself. The track is not driven by insane instrumentation, and you probably will not be caught humming the tune, but it is ear-catching nonetheless. The song is driven by its commitment to balancing the individual parts so as to create one sound that works with the well-known Kings of Leon vocal style.  What makes the song ear-catching is how it takes the four members of the band and combines each of their parts into a singular purpose-driven sound. You hear the song, you know exactly what emotions it is trying to get across and you therefore realize exactly what the message of the song is. No spoilers here though.

The album’s ninth song, “Tonight,” is also one of the most ear-catching songs of the album. It opens with a guitar riff that would not be out of place in an indie Silversun Pickups album, but does not hold on to the minor-tone feel for long. The lyrics are poignant, and some of the best on the album. The song has well-defined moments of seriousness followed by moments of uplifting instrumentation and vocals that work together to create a unique piece of art.

All things considered, Mechanical Bull is a great album, and it does not take much listening to understand why. The instrumentation is fantastic, the lyrics are meaningful if you take the time to understand them and Followill’s style of singing works well with the sound that Kings of Leon creates. With such a harmonic team backing it up, this album definitely deserves a place on anyone’s musical shopping list.