1. Foxygen — “We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic”

Listening to this album is like when Dorothy leaves sepia-toned Kansas and enters the Land of Oz: boom, Technicolor, so bright, groovy and engaging. This retro sophomore album (the first being the LP, Take The Kids Off Broadway), features ‘60s and early ‘70s dreamy psychedelic rock that sometimes becomes unhinged, and lyrics with imagery that evoke a nostalgia you can’t pinpoint. The mellow “San Francisco” makes you want to join Dorothy and cartwheel through a field of poppies.

2. Of Montreal — “Lousy With Sylvianbriar”

Lead singer and lyricist Kevin Barnes uses this album as a confessional and we listen intently, trying to unravel his poetically twisted story telling. “She Ain’t Speakin’ Now” is a return to the band’s earlier melodic sounds with a surprise explosive rock chorus, making it one of the best tracks. The album marks a return to the band’s earlier sounds, with more clearly defined verses, choruses and bridges than the recent Paralytic Stalks (2012). As always, the band offers chilling harmonies — check “Triumph of Disintegration.”

3. Palma Violets — “180”

Freshly deemed 2013’s “Best New Band” by NME, this post-punk revival band will undoubtedly be added to the list of British indie greats. Think the Vaccines meets the Ramones, with remnants of The Doors and early Smiths. A few of the tracks, such as “Last of the Summer Wine” have a jam band feeling with catchy guitar riffs. The youthful band isn’t afraid to have fun, as the clapping and cheering on the record suggests, likely reminiscent of the campfire that first brought them together.

4. Daft Punk — “Random Access Memories”

This album is not only just fucking cool, it’s also an important collaboration of a myriad of artists and styles, all weaved together to create a funky fusion homage to the past, present and future all at the same time and usually all in the same song. Something about Daft Punk being French gives them an edge, mais peut-être je ne suis pas impartiale.

5. Johnny Marr — “The Messenger”

Although he’s been in the music industry since the ‘80s, The Messenger is Marr’s debut solo album. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he was Morrissey’s partner in The Smiths. NME also recently hailed him with the “Godlike Genius” award. As a guitarist, Marr himself has racked up an impressive list of bands on his resume, including Talking Heads, The Pretenders, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs. Marr uses this album to rock out, showcasing his songwriting abilities and the fantastically fine-tuned guitar stylist he is.

By Sophia June

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1. Boards of Canada — “Tomorrow’s Harvest”

Prior to the release of the group’s first album in eight years, Boards of Canada’s studio canon consisted of two masterpieces and a disappointing pop move. Tomorrow’s Harvest not only joins the former category but is as much a contender for the title of their best album as the group’s groundbreaking first two works. Over 63 minutes that feel substantially shorter, Boards of Canada unfurl some of the year’s bleakest yet most inviting music, evoking desolation while still throbbing with life.

2. DJ Koze — “Amygdala”

Clocking in at 83 minutes, DJ Koze’s stoner-house masterwork Amygdala seems frighteningly huge at first but plays like a pleasant drive, moving linearly through gorgeous musical landscapes. A former hip-hop DJ now immersed in dance music, Koze displays enough disparate influences to make Amygdala accessible to fans of just about any genre. Yet at the end of the day, it’s all about that four-on-the-floor thump.

3. Baths — “Obsidian”

L.A. producer Will Wiesenfeld, a.k.a. Baths, is able to inject more emotion into music made with machines than any other musician I’ve heard. While his debut Cerulean was effective for how subtly yet powerfully it expressed its underlying anguish, Obsidian is uncompromisingly dark. This is one of those albums that’s only satisfying if you mentally prepare yourself for it, but once you’re ready, it’s an intensely moving and powerful experience.

4. Kurt Vile — “Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze”

No album this year better maintains one consistent and enjoyable mood than the fifth album from Philadelphia musician/former War On Drugs member Kurt Vile. Inspired by meditative seventies Americana like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers, Wakin On A Pretty Daze accomplishes the rare feat of making the vastness of the world seem non-threatening. Vile accomplishes this through a strong spiritual bent and emphasis on the (at least relative) safety of one’s own head.

5. Chance The Rapper —”Acid Rap”

Chicago MC Chancelor Bennett is as obnoxious as David Lee Roth, but he sure can rap — and he sure can assemble a killer album. The quality of the production and the guest list rivals Kanye’s recent work, but Chance’s verses are better than anything on Yeezus. He treats his words like LEGO bricks, piling them into massive and tangled yet rich and colorful structures.

By Daniel Bromfield

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1. Andrew McMahon — “The Pop Underground”

Former Jack’s Mannequin frontman Andrew McMahon has struck out on his own again, this time opting for a bit of a synth-pop endeavor that’s incredibly pleasing from start to finish. The Pop Underground may only be four songs, but every track is laced with McMahon’s signature wistful lyrics and melodic croon. The opening track, “Synesthesia,” is a particular joy, as is the EP’s closer, “After the Fire.”

2. Tegan and Sara — “Heartthrob”

Remember 2009’s Sainthood? Well, this is nothing like that. Every Tegan and Sara album released since 2004’s So Jealous has seen the Canadian pop duo experiment with a different sound, and Heartthrob is no different — just imagine Cyndi Lauper produced this time around. “Closer” is a track that will live on in the annals of pop history while “Now I’m All Messed Up” will make you feel as though you’ve just been dumped. Every. Damn. Time.

3. Saves the Day — “Saves the Day”

With Chris Conley as the only original member of the band to remain on the roster, this year’s Saves the Day is an album from the band unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. And it’s wonderful. Songs like “Ring Pop” and “Xenophobic Blind Left Hook” prove that Conley can still write beautiful lyrics and that his band’s got the chops to make them come alive. It’s also been some time since the band’s had a closer as good as “Stand in the Stars.”

4. Kings of Leon — “Mechanical Bull”

Following a short hiatus after Caleb Followill’s abandonment of a 2011 show, Kings of Leon are back with an album closer to Aha Shake Heartbreak and Youth and Young Manhood than anything in recent memory. The first two songs on the album, “Supersoaker” and “Rock City” are among the best rock songs of the year. They’re quick. They’re catchy. They’re everything you could hope for when you need a pick-me-up.

5. Paramore — “Paramore”

There’s not much that changes between Paramore efforts and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. From “Fast In My Car” to “Grow Up” and “Still Into You,” you can expect the standard arrangement of happy-go-lucky melodies and somber melodies from such tracks as “Last Hope.” This is the same Paramore you’ve known and loved and, guilty pleasure or not, it never gets old.

By Eder Campuzano

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1. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds — “Push the Sky Away”

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds celebrated thirty years as a band this year by releasing the best album of their career. Push the Sky Away is grounded with subtle brilliance, and the album becomes weirder, louder and better after every repeat listen. Push the Sky Away finds beauty in simplicity while at the same time keeping you in awe.

2. The National — “Trouble Will Find Me”

For a band that sees consistent praise from their fans and critics, the pressure of deciding to find a new sound to avoid staleness or keeping with what works isn’t a decision to take lightly. The National’s, Trouble Will Find Me capitalizes on its heavy lyrics and its distinctively indie rock sound, all while making it sound fresh by finding new inventive things to do within what they know. Even after six albums, The National still know how to tug the right emotions with its deep and resonating lyrics.

3. The Wonder Years — “The Greatest Generation”

The melodic six-piece punk band, The Wonder Years exceptionally articulate the confusion and frustration of the everyday twentysomething that’s suffering from a midlife crisis thirty years premature. The band stands out with The Greatest Generation by having the album serve as a story of meeting someone at their lowest point and seeing them through and coming out the other end stronger and wiser. From beginning to end, The Greatest Generation gives fresh air to a genre that’s been past its prime.

4. Queens of the Stone Age — “…Like Clockwork”

After taking five years off, the expectations for Queens of the Stone Age were set unfairly high. But even with that precedent, the Queens were still able to surpass most, if not all expectations. The magic of …Like Clockwork is that the band is as relentless and tough as ever, except now they sound focused, but never formulaic. Having a plethora of guest appearances from everyone from Dave Grohl to Elton John helps keep the band sounding fresh throughout.

5. John Mayer — ”Paradise Valley”

If John Mayer’s previous effort, Born and Raised was him looking for redemption, then Paradise Valley is him finding it and celebrating forgiveness. Paradise Valley shows Mayer’s best effort of sincerity, without losing the qualities that make him a standout. What makes Mayer’s newest album so great is that he’s ditched his pop leanings for the sake of a stronger Americana sound, and the outcome is a more mature and honest Mayer that doesn’t forget to have fun.

By Craig Garcia

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1. Parquet Courts — ”Light Up Gold”

Google search the lyrics to “Stoned and Starving” and while reading over the words, play the song. What I mean to say is that lyrics such as, “Socrates died in the fucking gutter” off of “Mastered my Craft” and “I was reading ingredients, asking myself ‘should I eat this?’” posed on “Stoned and Starving” are incredible. The punks have already taken acid and they have already answered questions with a raised fist — but now they’re debating if they should eat Swedish Fish.

2. TV Colours — ”Purple Sky, Toxic River”

Fellow Emerald writer Sam Wendel showed me this band in my garage over a beer and a doobie and he said, “This is the sound of pure, teenage angst.” What he played me was album standout “Lost Highway” and instantly I knew exactly what he meant. To be young is to be sad, as well as confused, and nothing mimics that aggression quite like the drone vocals and throbbing musicianship of TV Colours.

3. Lorde — ”Pure Heroine”

During my radio show last winter, my friend Kristine Malone put on Lorde with the pretext of, “She’s going to be huge.” I disregarded her premonition and now I have to eat each one of my doubts. “Pretty soon I’ll be getting on my first plane/ I’ll see the veins of my city like they do in space,” she bluntly sings on Tennis Courts. That’s her genius — she’s never been on an airplane but already she can describe the view better than a seasoned frequent flyer.

4. Toro y Moi — “Anything in Return”

Make out to this album.

5. Blind the Thief — “Trim Jay Experiments”

Yeah, fuck me for choosing a wild card, but listen to Blind the Thief before you take to the comment section with a fake name and try to scrutinize. Blind the Thief is my favorite Eugene band. Lead singer Schuyler Durham’s lyrics remind me of Pavement and the group’s music is just the right tad of sweet melodies and DIY, garage-recorded hooliganism. This recording is the band at its tightest as well as its most well-produced and it promises more greatness to come.

By Silas Valentino

“Nebraska” is not the type of movie you expect to see now, especially next to the season’s other releases about singing ice princesses, and dystopian societies divided into districts. “Nebraska” is refreshing, which contradicts its black and white cinematography and a star who is age 77.

The film tells the story of Woody Grant and his son David. Woody receives an advertisement in the mail claiming he has won $1 million and needs to go claim his prize money in Nebraska. Woody refuses to believe the money is a junk-mail scam, so to spend time with him, but mostly to stop him from trying to go there himself, David agrees to drive Woody to Nebraska, resulting in a Midwest adventure, as well as a family reunion when the pair stops in Woody’s hometown of Lincoln. Sounds harshly simple, especially compared to the plot of “The Hobbit.”

The simplicity of the film is what makes it so engaging. The black and white aesthetic and minutes without dialogue showcase American regionalism in the heart of the stark Midwest. The humor of the film is surprising and razor sharp. There’s a tension between slightly demented Woody, played by Bruce Dern, and pragmatic David, played by Will Forte, a former SNL cast member, that actually puts you on the edge of your seat. Dern, who recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, also received “Best Actor” at the Cannes Film Festival, and rightly so.

One of the funniest images is a high-angle shot of Woody’s brother, Woody, his two nephews and David watching football in a living room. They’re awkwardly sipping beers and having two-word conversations while staring ghostly at the TV. With exchanges like, “How long did it take you to drive here?”/ “About two days,” the dialogue rivals that of a chance meeting with someone you went to high school with but haven’t spoken to in three years. Director Alexander Payne, whose previous works include Election (1999) and Sideways (2004), chose to cast retired farmers for many of these roles, adding to the film’s authenticity.

The film is a portrait of modern rural America and a take on family relationships, especially when money becomes relevant. In this way, it’s also starkly depressing. Woody’s wife, played by 84-year-old June Squibb, is a ruthless and surprisingly sexual gossip who borderline verbally abuses Woody. His nephews have recently served their stints in prison and the most exciting thing anyone has to talk about are trucks. The stark stasis of the characters’ lives makes you leave the theater with a renewed gratitude that you don’t live in a town of 1,000 in the Midwest.

It’s an interesting film to watch as a college student returning home. Woody and his wife return to their hometown years from when they left, creating scenes of haunting nostalgia. A touching aspect of the film is watching David and his brother deal with their aging father. It’s a reminder that one day, you may have to locate your father’s dentures on a railroad track, and the inevitable parent/child switcheroo, where kids grow up and take care of their parents.

“Nebraska” has racked up a slew of award nominations, including five Golden Globes and six Independent Spirit awards. And you can see it with Grandpa.

The challenge about the movie you choose to watch on Christmas day is that you’re most likely watching it with family and wrapping paper strewn about the room, not alone on Netflix. Whatever film you watch must be widely entertaining. You’ve also been celebrating Christmas for probably over a month now, so I’m daring to venture my suggestions past “It’s A Wonderful Life” and “Frosty The Snowman.”

Roman Holiday (1953): This classic, which is considered one of the most romantic movies of all time, stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, and tells the story of a princess who runs away with a reporter, giving journalism some street cred. A sort of reverse Cinderella story, the 2004 Mandy Moore film “Chasing Liberty” is a bad “Roman Holiday” knockoff.

Dan In Real Life (2007): This is not a Christmas movie, but it is a family movie, and one of the most accurate depictions of an extended family vacation I have ever seen. Or maybe my family is just very strange. Steve Carrell is the perfect combination of funny and pathetic, and the film portrays the oddities of family, with everything from group yoga to talent shows.

School of Rock (2003): The movie is filled with not only some of the most easily recognizable and longstanding jokes, but also some great rock history references and messages about sticking it to the man and following your dreams, all of which hold strong even 10 years after its release. If you’re dying to get another Jack Black dose, watch Hollywood attempt to couple him and Kate Winslet up in “The Holiday.”

Life of Brian (1979): What better way to celebrate the historical meaning of Christmas than with this religious satire? Brian Cohen is born on the same day as Jesus, only a couple doors down from him. People then mistake him for the Messiah his whole life. It culminates in a crucifixion sing-a-long even more ironic than the rock-opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”. And who doesn’t love a Monty Python movie?

The Adventures of Milo & Otis (1986): This is definitely a wild card, but it may be a surprising crowd-pleaser, especially if the crowd is age seven and under. The live-action Japanese movie is about a kitten and a pug who are best friends who go on adventures together. It’s in a style that I’d like to say is similar to “Babe,” but it manages to actually be more realistic than that. The real comedy comes from the British narration, acting out the voices of various farm animals.

I haven’t spent more than three days at home for a year. The transition from living at home to being a somewhat fully functioning human starts with college and ends with calling where you’re from your “hometown” and calling your former house, “your parents house.” People may stop coming home for summers, but the holiday season will always bring people back. Here are the best and worst things about the next three weeks.

Best

– Blackboard and Duckweb are dead to you. The beauty of the quarter system is that the good, bad and weird aspects of fall term are behind us.

– You get to see people from high school and realize that nobody is as cool as you thought they were in 11th grade. Seeing your friends is awesome because you can reminisce and do things you never could do in high school, like go to bars.

– At least in Portland, everybody wants to explore the city as if they’re tourists. But it means people are down to immerse themselves in the city before going back to Eugene, which doesn’t have a zoo.

– You eat like a royal. Lorde may rework the lyrics to her song when she goes home for the first time in college. Mom and dad actually want to cook for you as well as pick up the grocery store tab. Bring on the ice cream and other delicacies you can never get yourself to buy at Safeway.

– If you have siblings, some real bonding occurs. The older you get, the more this happens, which is one of the cool things about life. Growing older means I finally understand Ross and Monica’s friendship.

– You have time to read books for fun. Plus, there’s most likely a lot more hanging around your parent’s house than in your Eugene collection.

– Winter break, especially when you don’t have a job, gives you an excuse to resemble Snorlax as much as you’d like. I’ve already watched a season and a half of Game of Thrones.

– You get to take a break from red cups and go to adult parties with delicious cheese and wine that costs more than $8. Plus you have no responsibilities and therefore have more time to get drunk with your old friends/grandma.

Worst

– Dad: “Are you going to bed?” Come on dad, I ain’t got no bed time!

– Ignorance is bliss, and getting older takes that ignorance away. Suddenly you’ve become much more aware of the strange tension between your grandma and aunt that you never realized was there before.

– Your room is a fortress of nostalgia, filled with shoes you didn’t take to college and now no longer like but can’t get rid of, signs that once graced your high school locker and a desk that you’ll never use again, but that mom uses for calligraphy every once in a while. This is especially hard if you spend a lot of time thinking about life and what everything means.

– If your parents are divorced, you go back to juggling two houses.

– Your younger siblings have actually become humans and may have serious girlfriends or boyfriends, which is just gross. But they’ll probably try to get on your good side.

– By the end, you’ve caught up with 20 people and three different TV shows and you’ve gained six pounds and you suddenly miss the rec center even though you never go. By then, it will be time to go back to school.

Where do you even buy mistletoe? Why are Christmas trees so expensive? These holiday staples are inconvenient to come by, especially in college, and especially when there’s a thick layer of snow on the ground. Here are some cheap, easy ways to decorate for the holidays. I don’t look at Pinterest, so sorry if you’ve already seen these ideas. Here are some ideas for the lazy people who don’t have their shit together.

2-D Tree:

Need: strand of green twinkle lights, bag of bows and a paper bag

All of these items can be purchased at Rite Aid on Willamette Street.

First, tack up a strand of green twinkle lights into the shape of a triangle on a wall. If you’re very agile, you can use multiple strings and create branches. Then, tape up the bows to look like ornaments. Cut the paper bag into a rectangle to use for the trunk of the tree and into a star for the top of the tree.

Popcorn garland:

Need: popcorn, needle and thread

All of these items can be purchased at Safeway on High Street.

Pop the popcorn. Thread the needle and then poke the needle through the kernels until the thread is full. Tape it up in your twinkle light tree or put it up in your kitchen and snack periodically.

Present art:

Need: frames or any kind of wall art (besides a poster), wrapping paper and bows

All of these items can be purchased at Safeway.

Tired of looking at the framed photo of a baby lion on your wall? Wrap it up in some festive paper, stick a bow on it and hang it back up on the wall like a present.

Ceiling Snowflakes:

Need: white paper, string and tape

All of these items can be purchased at Safeway.

Get your artistic friends to cut cool snowflakes out of white paper. Then tie strings on them, get on a chair and tape them all over the ceiling. These have been making my living room colder for over a year now.

Holiday Bathroom Games:

Need: paper and willing roommates

This may be a wildcard, but bathroom games rule. Just make a holiday-themed hangman, tape it to the most direct line of view someone has while going to the bathroom, and toss a pen on the counter. Possible games include hangman, connect the dots, trivia and that game where you have to draw lines to create boxes.

If in doubt, light 50 tea lights and place them around. Your house may look sensual, but nobody can say it’s not festive. You can also hang socks for stockings, dress someone up as Santa or just sip some eggnog, listen to the holiday Pandora station and gaze out at frosty Eugene.

We all have that one family who lives on the East Coast, who we just really don’t know. But out of seasonal obligation, we’re expected to get them gifts, which is a nice idea. But we all know what it’s like on Dec. 21 in the middle of the mall with a gaggle of sixth-grade girls holding American Eagle paper bags to your left and three elderly people in matching sweater sets on your right. When that happens, pull out your smartphone and consult this list!

1. Socks. Perhaps the least personal but still weirdly intimate gift you can give. Socks say, “I care about you, but not really.” Despite this, they’re one gift that everyone can use. Maybe someday someone will figure out where they all go, but for now, socks are still one of the more useful gifts.

2. Lottery tickets. Use caution as this can backfire if the person you’re gifting them to wins $10,000 or something. Unless you they give you some of the winnings, but if you don’t know them, that well they probably won’t. These work great as last-minute gifts as every convenience store carries them and they’re only $1.

3. Gift card to the mall. This says, “I don’t know you whatsoever but I’m obligated to give you a gift.” Like you can’t even pick out the right size of socks and you don’t know whether or not a lottery ticket would offend them. An iTunes gift card also works well.

4. Candles. There’s a reason why Anthropologie can charge $20 a piece. Candles fuel the market for all nieces and nephews to buy last-minute presents for their aunts. Plus, they’re the gift that just keeps on giving.

5. Catchphrase. Board games are great impersonal gifts. You’ll also win major brownie points when the family sits around the table “bonding” and they have you to thank. Give yo’self a pat on the back for being impersonal.

6. Pizza. I can’t be the only person who dreams of having a fresh, hot pizza under the tree (This idea probably should be reserved for a cousin around the same age or someone with a sense of humor.) Plus you can probably grab a slice or two…

7. Gas cards. The perfect gift for your 16-year-old cousin Mary who just got her license and a new car. This gift will also make you look good to her parents, who won’t have to buy her gas for a week.

8. Foods that double as gifts. These don’t include apples, vitamins or boxes of macaroni, but they do include coffee and alcohol. Adults gobble up these delicacies and you can show them you use your ID for more than just buying alcohol.

9. Anything with the first letter of their name on it. Stationary, a towel, a mug, a wooden cutout of the letter “A.” This gift is personalized in theory, but is really so impersonal.

10. Honorable mention: Fast food. While you’re getting some Taco Bell on your way to a large extended family game night, why don’t you pick up a Cheesy Gordita Crunch for Uncle Peter?

Schools out, buildings are closed. You can’t even hang out on campus if you want to, although it’s currently the best place to see a Hunger Games style all-out snow brawl. So sprawl out on your couch and let yourself enter a snow daze with some #snowday Netflix entertainment.

Love Actually– Follow ten vignettes about all kinds of love in one of the best modern Christmas comedies. It’s witty, sharp, touching and most importantly, British.

Kung Fu Panda: Holiday– Don’t hold me to this being a quality film, but Jack Black did indeed agree to voice Po once again, so who knows. I’m sure you will enjoy it if you watch it while sipping on some hot cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind– This mind-bending movie is about a guy who chooses to have his entire memory of a girl erased from his mind. It’s not really a holiday movie, but it has some beautiful shots of Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet lying in the snow.

Happy People: A Year In The Taiga– Curl up with a documentary by the director of “Grizzly Man” that follows people who live along the River Yenisei in rural northern Russia. It’s snowing here. It’s snowing there … great snow day movie.

Clue: The Movie: This cult 1985 classic comedy thriller features all your favorite characters from the Clue board game, in a twisted murder mystery. It’s extremely campy, a little bit twisted and a lot of fun.

Sherlock: It’s the perfect time to binge watch a miniseries. With each episode the length of an an average movie (except those released last Christmas, when every movie started being three hours for some reason), a snow day gives you ample time to get hooked. Sherlock is a modern look at the adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty companion, Watson. The Emmy-winning writing in this show is spot-on, you’ll be drawn in immediately.

Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t offer Cool Runnings, the 1993 classic about the Jamaican national bobsled team’s debut in the Winter Olympics. If you can get your hands on the bad boy, I can’t imagine a better day. Other honorable mentions include Dumb & Dumber, Snow Dogs and Edward Scissorhands.

In a way, Silver Screen Video is representative of the current landscape of video rental stores. There are smashed cardboard boxes strewn about, a bottle of bourbon on the ground, shelves of $1 video cassettes for sale and more than 10,000 DVDs — some of which haven’t been rented in years.

The store, located on the corner of 24th Avenue and Agate Street, was one of Eugene’s first video rental places, and just may be its last. The small store opened 25 years ago and is still surviving, despite the instant stream plague that killed Blockbuster, the former video rental juggernaut that will shut its last store in January.

But first, let’s rewind.

It’s 1972. VCRs have just been introduced, and in due time, the first ever video rental stores were up and running.  The first Blockbuster opened in Dallas on Oct. 26, 1985 — the same day that Michael J. Fox first time-traveled in “Back To The Future.” Three years later, Blockbuster had more than 500 stores and was the top video retailer in the United States.

Hit the fast forward button to 2003, when Blockbuster began to lose its market value. Coincidentally, this is the same year that DVD rentals first surpassed cassette rentals. By 2005, 75 percent of the video rental giant’s market value was lost. That same year, Netflix offered itself to Blockbuster for a mere $50 million. In a decision upper management would come to regret, Blockbuster said no.

Pause at 2013.

On Sept. 23, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy with $930 million in debt. On Nov. 9, at 11 p.m., in Hawaii, the last Blockbuster movie ever was rented — ironically, the Seth Rogen comedy titled ‘This Is The End.”

UO students recently witnessed the closing of the Blockbuster on the corner of 18th Avenue and Willamette Street. The store’s remaining DVDs were sold at a sidewalk sale in front of the Duck Store. But do students even care that video rental stores are getting Blockbusted? Not when they have a virtual video store at their fingertips, thanks to the generosity of their roommate’s parents through various streaming services.

So, with Blockbuster gone, will all video rental stores be doomed to live on only in the lists of things we’ll tell our kids about that no longer exist, like “Arthur” or calling 4-1-1?

Don Flinn doesn’t think so. Silver Screen has a few things going for it that Blockbuster did not. For one, Flinn owns the building, so he doesn’t have to pay rent.

“Blockbuster was way too big for the building. They spent way too much on rent. It’s kind of a misnomer that I’m really making money with this. I could rent the building for more,” Flinn said.

Flinn bought the store eight years ago when the original owner sold it because of declining business. Today, Flinn says Silver Screen is doing alright and has experienced an increase in customers since Eugene’s last Blockbuster store shuttered. Flinn believes the store will still be in business even 10 years in the future.

“The point is that people like to browse, like in bookstores. It’s not that hard to run, so I suspect it will keep going,” Flinn said.

Senior Riley Stevenson used to rent from Silver Screen when she lived near it.

“Silver Screen is the last place in Eugene you can rent a movie the old-fashioned way,” Stevenson said. “I like the quirkiness of it. I don’t want to go to Redbox because I don’t like the selection and I’m forgetful.”

Blockbuster was notorious for a strict adherence to its late fees policy in the early and mid-2000s — late fees accounted for $800 million, or 16 percent of the video rental behemoth’s revenue, in 2000. By 2010, that figure plummeted to $134 million. Some of that drop-off may be attributed by a move the company made to compete with the growing popularity of Netflix’s business model of charging a monthly membership fee for unlimited rentals.

The “No Late Fees” campaign launched in 2005, claiming Blockbuster customers would no longer be assessed a late charge for returning movies past their due date. By March of that same year, the company reimbursed customers in 47 states on its new $1.25 “re-stocking” fee and paid $630,000 to those who invested in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Netflix never had to deal with such headaches associated with rental return dates.

The company started in 1997 as a result of the increasing popularity of DVDs. Since discs were small, Netflix developed a simple mailing method and was able to sell monthly subscriptions. These were popular with parents, but unattractive to our generation as they required a three-day wait period and lacked glossy DVD covers.

Ten years later, Netflix introduced instant gratification streaming and had 7.5 million members. Today, Netflix has 40 million members internationally and streams through all Internet connected devices. According to Bloomberg, Netflix accounts for one-third of all North American Internet traffic on a given weekday.

Surprisingly, video rental stores were facing hardship as early as the 1990s. According to Nielsen Media Research, 1986 was the peak year for video rentals. But Blockbuster managed to stay in business for almost 30 more years.

A New York Times article published in 1990 titled “Movie Rentals Fade, Forcing An Industry To Change Its Focus,” said that many people in the video store industry believed “the national mania for renting movies on video is over.” The article said that in the future, video stores would carry at least 10,000 titles, a prediction which came true. Perhaps today’s belief that movie renting is over also just means a change in tactics.

“This trend is an extension of American values like individualism, consumerism and a preference for convenience,” cinema studies instructor Caroline Claiborne said. “However, these trends also mean an increase in surveillance, corporate power and unprecedented access to information about individual consumers. The way we watch films is more individualized than ever.”

Netflix preys on these values, enabling easy access on personal devices, such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, and only limiting access on TVs that have no online capabilities. No video rental store can match convenience when it comes to Netflix’s streaming capabilities. Recommendations have become more individualized than ever with Netflix’s technology. Instead of getting recommendations from your friendly 17-year-old part-time Blockbuster employee who really likes Uma Thurman, you have a list of “Top-10 Picks for ’Insert your name here,’” generated by anything you’ve clicked on while browsing its increasingly specific categories.

Silver Screen Video rents and sells all DVDs for $5 or less. Due dates are flexible as Flinn directs customers to “bring it back around Friday,” and there are also no late fees. Stevenson no longer frequents Silver Screen and mostly uses Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming services.

Silver Screen Video may represent a possible future for video rental stores. Flinn believes that if they are to stay in business, they must do something different like offer another service. So he plans to include a restaurant in his store. Ultimately, the space will be two-thirds restaurant and one-third video store, which will also sell high-end audio and music memorabilia, as Flinn has an extensive collection of Grateful Dead guitars and Bobby Darin’s possessions.

Freshman Nora Elam worked at Silver Screen while in high school, and was one of the store’s only employees.

“Working there was fun because a lot of neighborhood families would come in and I could give them recommendations. With Netflix and Hulu you can’t have that experience. I will miss the sense of community there,” she said.

Perhaps video rental stores will never become completely obsolete because they offer something that Netflix, Hulu and Redbox never can: personal human interaction.

Looking for a way to help people, but OSPIRG and Fraternity and Sorority Life aren’t quite what you’re looking for? An increasing number of high schools are requiring students to complete community service hours — an honorable goal. However, in college, it becomes hard to find the time, opportunities and motivation to continue these habits. Fortunately, the University of Oregon has a student service group that would make Al Gore proud.

Alpha Phi Omega, or APO, is a national coed fraternity whose goals are friendship, leadership and, most importantly, community service. Originally started in 1925 as a way for boy scouts to continue doing service in college, the fraternity became open to all students in 1976. The group is technically a fraternity because of its history and connection with the more than 375 other Alpha Phi Omega chapters across the United States, and although it shares some of the same traditions as Greek Life, such as hosting chapter meetings, the nonexclusive group has no association with FSL on campus.

President Jenna Boss, a senior mathematics major, joined APO her sophomore year and appreciates its straightforwardness. “I wasn’t finding what I needed in other groups, so I just went for it and joined APO. It’s a generally happy group of people who like to serve others. No complications,” she said.

Last Saturday, several APO members spent their Saturday afternoon putting on an event called the Community Meal. The bi-annual event provided a hot meal, sandwiches, canned food, sleeping bags, clothes and toiletries to homeless people.

Julie Collins, a junior majoring in sociology, was the Community Meal’s coordinator. Starting the first week of the term, she’s been working hard to plan the event, doing everything from getting food handlers’ permits to networking with local businesses to get food donations.

Collins, like many of the other members, enjoyed doing community service in high school and wanted a place to continue while in college.

“I really found a community of people that’s awesome to know and they enjoy doing the same things I do,” she said. “I never had met anyone who was in APO before I joined and now I’m friends with everyone.”

APO is comprised of 30-50 members per term, all from different areas of campus, making the group extremely diverse. They complete upwards of 1,000 service hours a year through events like Relay for Life and Dance Marathon, and with organizations like Books for Africa and Mount Pisgah Arboretum. Each member is required to complete 10 hours of service per term, which is easy thanks to all of the APO-organized opportunities. The group also bonds through retreats, potlucks and hanging out before and after events.

Juan Rivera, a UO junior majoring in biopsychology, joined APO because of his passion for civic duty and desire to make friends.
“I would recommend APO to anyone who wants to get involved,” Rivera said. “If you’re passionate about helping people and meeting new people — and helping yourself — then it’s truly worth it.”

Thanksgiving offers all kinds of entertainment like drunk grandparents and prodding questions about your life and football (if you’re into that). But, beyond that, Thanksgiving is about movies. Like any important uniquely American holiday, Thanksgiving is a time to capitalize on people’s willingness to spend time and money to boost movie ticket sales.

Some of the most classic films of the 90s had Thanksgiving Day releases, including “Toy Story,”  “A Bug’s Life” and “Flubber.” The list of movies that open on Thanksgiving is available the night before, much like Black Friday now happens on Thursday night.

Homefront — Rated R

Not all Thanksgiving Day movies have to be family friendly. Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) wrote this action thriller, which is based off a book by crime author Chuck Logan and includes a fight scene in a gas station, people cooking meth and James Franco with a Southern accent. The basic plot is this: A former Department of Justice agent moves to a small town with his daughter wanting to get away from danger, only to find more danger.

Starring: Jason Statham, James Franco, Kate Bosworth and Winona Ryder

Frozen — Rated PG

Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” this newest Disney movie musical tells the story of a girl who goes on an adventure with a mountain man, a reindeer and a snowman to stop her sister, the Snow Queen, from putting a spell on their kingdom to make it eternally winter. This movie features “an emotionally gripping core, brilliant Broadway-style songs and a crafty plot,” according to the New York Post. Called “the greatest animated event since the Lion King” by the trailer, this movie-musical has a lot to live up to.

Starring the voices of: Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad

Black Nativity — Rated PG

Based on a Langston Hughes play, this film features a boy raised by a single mother (Jennifer Hudson) who goes to New York to spend Christmas with his strict grandparents whom he has never met. It looks heart-warming and inspiring. Your grandma will probably cry, but also buy a ticket for you. Oh, and it’s a musical.

Starring: Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson, Jacob Latimore and Mary J. Blige

Old Boy — Rated R

Spike Lee directs this remake of the Japanese cult film “Oldboy” (2003) which is based on a Japanese manga series written in the late 1990s. In this thriller, a man wakes up in a motel room with no idea of how he got there. It becomes his prison for 20 years. When he eventually gets out, he must discover who imprisoned him, why he was imprisoned and why he was set free. Looks thought provoking and intensely moving.

Starring: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, James Ransone and Samuel L. Jackson

If none of these make you as excited as pumpkin pie does, there are some tasty films already in theaters, including “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Delivery Man” and “Thor: The Dark World.”