Rockin Deal

Every Monday night at fire and ice is college student night. Students with a valid college ID eat all they can for a discounted 10.95 price. This is a terrific deal. For those unfamiliar with fire and ice, it is an all you can eat buffet where you create your own meal. Pick and choose from an excellent variety including udon noodles, shark, broccoli, aged tenderloin, chicken breast, pasta, egg noodles, meatballs, and bacon.They have an excellent selection of sauces for whatever you decide upon. If your feeling dangerous, try a scorpion bowl or an ice bowl; or both. The cooks will prepare your meal in front of you at their large circular grill. The experience is unique, and the food delicious. I recommend the sweet chili sauce on anything and the cheeseburgers are out of this world. Every college student should take advantage of this deal. Located in Harvard Square or in Boston on Arlington St.

Pearl Jam - Backsapcer (2009)

Pearl Jam, one of the most iconic bands from the 90's grunge scene, is back with their latest effort entitled "Backspacer". Since their debut album in 1990, the amazing "Ten", the band has released 9 full length albums including their latest. The band's sound has undoubtedly changed over the years as most bands do with age; unless your AC DC of course and keep rockin' that same chord progression all these years.

The opening song is a track called "Gonna See My Friend". It explodes out of the gates with a driving, head banging energy. Everything one is accustomed to hearing from pearl jam is here; a growling bassline, energetic drumming, layered guitar work and Vedder's howling vocals.

The lead single from the album is the next song, titled "The Fixer". This is with out a doubt PJ's poppiest song to date, and quite possibly their catchiest. Upon first listen it was stuck in my head. Now many fans may take issue with the band recording such a pop oriented song, but in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with an upbeat, cheerful song every now and then.

There are some really slow, acoustic, mellow tracks on the album that are reminiscent of Vedder's solo work on the soundtrack for Into "The Wild". The closing track is one of them, conspicuously titled "The End". This is a beautiful, touching track about life, loving, losing, and growing old. Vedder sounds like he's on the verge of tears and the guitar work compliments this wonderfully. Other highlights for me include "Amongst Waves" and "Unknown Thought".

There are some songs however that are just ok; not songs that can be placed amongst Pearl Jam’s upper echelon of songs, but listenable none the less. A song like "Johnny Guitar" is a prime example of this. There is nothing wrong with it per say, but nothing about it is immediately recognizable.

"Backspacer" IS their best album since 1998's "Yield", but nothing will come close to topping "Ten"; which is fine. For a band that has been around for as long as they have, and have released a few more than subpar albums, it’s safe to say, they still got it, and are going in the right direction.
7 out of 10