Arts & Culture

Over 100 students lined up to dance to the music of the Super Mash Brothers on May 20 at Freeborn Hall. But even for first-time listeners, the tunes were familiar. That’s because Super Mash Brothers creates mash-ups, or combinations of music originally created by other artists. Musicians, lawyers, corporations and music lovers alike have long debated the legality and legitimacy of the mash-up. And in today’s digital age, the argument is still far from settled.

These are the experiences we experience, the memories we create. The small defining moments we seek that make our day that much brighter. It is the meeting point of where the velvety texture of butter hits the tip of our tongue and dissipates over thousands of taste buds, or the sound of Frank Sinatra gliding across the air waves and breaking the chaotic bustling of aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, mothers and fathers embracing for the first time in years. The Matter of Taste, the theatre and dance department’s final Granada Artist-in-Residence performance this year, is a collection of stories which capture the essence of what the human experience is all about. It’s a place where we sit, talk, listen, laugh, shed tears and most importantly-eat.

Duy Ha doesn’t feel the need to “catch ’em all.” Rather, the first-year psychology major is satisfied with his 200 caught Pokémon, and invitation to the National Pokémon Video Game Championships in this summer. On May 15, Ha came out on top in the West Coast regional competition – living out childhood dreams as one of the best Pokémon trainers in the U.S.

In their last concert of the ’09-’10 season, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (UCDSO) will present their annual Family Concert on June 3 at 7 p.m. at the Mondavi Center. Tickets are available to students for $5. The concert will feature two pieces showcasing the winners of the two different competitions held at UC Davis.

MUSIC: Super Mash Bros.; The Finches, Key Losers, Katie Delwiche, Coal Beautiere; Jackstraw, TV Mike and the Scarecrowes; The Common Men, The Kimberly Trip; Music on the Green featuring Thao Nguyen, Boxes, AshEL, Lounge Lizards, David Ronconi and Seamoose; Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom IX.

Integrity in sponsorship is a big deal. When the news of Tiger Woods’ lustful debauchery reached the public, sponsors like Tag Heuer and Gillette rightly dropped him from their billboards. And in the end, nobody really cared.

The Expendables will perform at Freeborn Hall on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., marking the Entertainment Council (EC)’s final concert of spring quarter.

Look out, Quentin Tarantino – UC Davis is bringing you some new competition. Student filmmakers will be showcasing their latest creations at the 10th annual UC Davis Film Festival, from May 26 to 27 at the Davis Varsity Theater.

If you’re a UC Davis student, you’ve likely heard of the UC Davis sports budget cuts. Many, however, may not have heard of the budget cuts to the University Gospel Choir, which helped to cut participation from around 150 students per quarter to around 20.

Citing The Strokes, Funkadelic, Television, David Bowie, Os Mutantes and Jimmy Cliff as inspiration, Life on Mars describes their genre as “space rock” – marked by catchy hooks, psychedelic guitar, slap-funk bass and raucous drumming.

It’s like finding a blank canvas amid a pile of Kitsch paintings or taking an Elliott Smith melancholy tune and embellishing it with drum machines and synthesizers. It’s Retrospect: a new and refreshing band that doesn’t exactly fit into a specific mold or genre.

Xyphl provides unique, shoegazey electronic music, standing out as more of a sonic art project than simply another rock band.