Dan's Recs: Off the Chain

1. Shining Force 2

In remembrance of the '90s and playing SEGA Genesis, I decided to bust out my old SEGA and play some classics. My hands down favorite is Shining Force 2, which is one of the first real good RPGs of its time.

Shining Force has a pretty typical storyline: An ancient devil is released and kidnaps the princess of your city. So you assemble your team of knights, mages, and whatnot to rescue her. You travel a continent and have countless battles, which actually involve some thinking and strategy on your part.

Overall, it is just pretty awesome.

2. Growing a Mustache

There was once a time when the mustache was thought of as stylish and classy, but those days are long gone. Now, the mustache has bears a stigma. A man with a mustache these days is considered a sleezeball, and gets looked down upon.

I have a dream, that one day the mustache will return to prominence and lose the bad reputation. So grow one, everybody is doing it.

3. River Monsters: Unhooked

I know many people were big Steve Irwin (R.I.P.) fans like I was, and I don't think anything will ever be like the Crocodile Hunter, but River Monsters: Unhooked comes as close as it gets.

Jeremy Wade is a British marine biologist with an affinity for huge, man-eating freshwater fish. He travels all over the planet looking for the monsters and catches them. He has an episode dedicated to a fish in New Guinea that eats men's genital. It doesn't get much better than that. Not mention, he does sweet commentary.

4. Lobsterfest

Yup, I even used Exec Recs as a shameless ploy to promote Lobsterfest. There is going to be a ton of good bands, and cool dudes such as myself there. Not to mention, it is all free except for the Dave Rave. So take a break from studying and stressing out to enjoy some awesome music. It's going to be off the chain.

5. Bowling

One of my favorite sports. It doesn't take much. You don't need to be athletic, it's usually not super competitive, and you can just chill with your friends and drink some brews. You can't really ask for much than that.

--Dan Lesiczka, Music Director

Christine's Recs

1.The Breeders


“Cannonball” – The Breeders

I am a person that will listen to the same album or song over and over again. All spring break I listened to Pod and Last Splash on repeat. Spring break was cold sleet weather and I spent most of it on my parents couch, but I was content humming along to the ripe musical produce of the Deal sisters. I am a girl of simple pleasures.

2. Working Out


“Work It” – Missy Elliot

Specifically work-out music. I often listen to Girl Talk and Pixies albums during my hot and sweaty dates with the elliptical machine because I am too easily distracted to sit down and make playlists. Every once in a while I’ll go with hip hop or riot grrrl. I’m also doing zumba which is basically just dancing around like an idiot, at least when I do it.

3. Sleater-Kinney


“Get Up”- Sleater-Kinney

I’ve recently been revisiting THE band of my childhood and teen years. I’m thirteen again and in my bedroom and bleating along at the top of my lungs. They inspired my feeble attempts at guitar-playing and provided an outlet for my teenage rage. They got me through an early puberty and saved me from drowning in the social shark tank of being the new kid at school again and again by providing some after school relief and understanding. They are a part of why I’ve proudly and unabashedly considered myself a feminist since first having an inkling of the concept.

4. The X-Files

As you have already witnessed, nineties music is already an integral part of my life and now, thanks to Netflix, nineties television is too. I don’t remember very much from when The X-Files was originally on other than the spooky synths. This is probably due to its being on after my bedtime (I was four when this show started) and hearing it through the thin walls of the apartment while my parents or the babysitter watched it. Now that I am grown, I get the pleasure of squinting at my dark television screen while dark shapes run around yelling “Scullleee!?” and Mulllderr!?”

5. The Heavy Guitar Bible

The Heavy Guitar Bible by Richard Daniels

This was recommended to me right before spring break and I’m about halfway through the concepts. It’s heavy on theory and minimal in design. In terms of books, I’ve learned the most from black and white instructional texts that are slim and straightforward. Topics range from physics and chemistry to guitars and cooking.

--Christine Davis, Programming Director