OSCAR SWANS – Then and Now

Historic icon Coco Chanel once claimed, “Fashion changes. Style remains.” But we can only imagine what Ms. Chanel would have thought of the annual Academy Award trends when she said this. With that in mind, Oscar season is here and once again, swan dress is the new Oscar black. A decade following singer Bjork's famous “swan dress,” the bird is a hot topic now thanks to much hype around the nominated Black Swan. Yes, we admire the originality of Lady Gaga's meat dress, but we cannot forget all of the fashion hype that Bjork's ballerina inspired ensemble—swan tutu, pointe shoe pink heels and all—sparked back in 2001. Now the idea of the swan plays a big role in the form of film and dance in 2011. Anticipating the pre-show red carpet event, who knows what looks we will see, but viewers may not be as shocked as they used to be thanks to previous outlandish efforts.

—Olivia Kinter

BENT!

The age-old activity of playing with you food never ceases to be entertaining. Whether you’re chilling in the dining hall making funny faces out of your uneaten remnants or throwing a hardboiled egg at your best friend, there’s always some enjoyment in it. Here, we’ve found some quirky art that mixes food with normal, everyday objects to create something incredibly comical. These whimsical works of art, titled “Bent Object(s),” are all clever. Our personal favorite is “Sylvia Muffin Put Her Head In The Oven”—it’s a funny parody on famous American Poet Sylvia Plath. Another notable Bent Object favorite is “Zombies Are Nuts About Brains.” dead peanuts walking around eating the contents of a lively peanut shell? Hilarious.

—Emily Gabriele

MUSIC SCENE: Boo Hoo, Bonnaroo

The announcement of this year’s Bonnaroo lineup has made us sorely upset. It’s a reminder that while people in Tennessee, Seattle and Indio, California get to enjoy this year’s biggest names in music, we are stuck with nothing in the East this summer except for Bamboozle, whose headliner promise of Lil Wayne hardly makes up for their poor selection of artists in many years passed. Whatever happened to All Points West? Time to plan a trip down South… who’s with us?

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VG ZONE: Champions Online goes Free-to-Play

 

Recently, Cryptic’s superhero MMO Champions Online went free-to-play, allowing any player to download and play the game.  Current subscribers have now become Gold Members, which gives them access to special costumes and mission packs among other things.  For the free player, the game is pretty much the same as the Gold version, except for the fact that free players cannot create a totally original character with any powers they want.  Instead, free players choose an “Archetype” such as The Grimoire (a sorcerer) and The Inferno (basically a Human Torch rip-off).  While gameplay can seem repetitive at times, overall Champions Online is worth the free download. 

-Jason Pearl

VIDEO DUMP: Beware the Snookifier!

Snooki gives an 11 year old girl a makeover for AOL's "You've got..." series.



Needless to say, we are extremely disconcerted. Fear the poof, impressionable tweenie-boppers of America!

Happy Holidays from Inside Beat!

COVER SPOTLIGHT: Teenage Dream by The Rescues

Perky, peppy Katy Perry songs can rub our ears raw after the fifty-gajillionth time on the radio. The Rescues, an up-and-coming band in Los Angeles, turn Perry's Teenage Dream 180 degrees to create a refreshing, haunting, and absolutely entrancing single (now available on iTunes). The slow and beguiling harmonies of their voices pulse with guitar, drums, and piano, creating a delicate and beautiful song that goes perfectly with a hot cup of coffee and a warm, rainy day.

 Courtesy of www.therescues.com