The University of Idaho Argonaut

Kelley Armstrong spins a masterful tale of a 15-year-old girl who develops strange abilities.

In “The Summoning” readers meet Chloe Saunders, a high school girl that stumbles across the ability to communicate with and raise the dead. Her life is mundane until she sees her first ghost, and he sees her.

Athens, Ga., has been the formative place of many great bands. Neutral Milk Hotel got their start there, as did R.E.M. and the B-52s. Something about Athens spawns killer music.

Of Montreal is also from Athens and is one of the best bands in indie rock. Their 10th album, False Priest, follows 2008’s Skeletal Lamping, which disappointed many music critics. This album consisted of Kevin Barnes, leader of Of Montreal, taking on the persona of Georgie Fruit, a 40-year-old “black she-male.” The music was a departure from anything the band had done and resulted in a lackluster album.

In 2003, Sufjan Stevens made an ambitious claim — he said he would release a concept album about every U.S. state. He began with an album about Michigan, an ode to his home state, and released Illinois in 2005. Illinois received rave reviews and topped several year-end lists.

He had not released an album since.

Earlier in the year, pop-rock act, The Spill Canvas released two EPs. Their first release, Abnormalities was amazing, but the second, Realities, was mediocre at best. However, both albums showcased the band’s potential to put together a senior thesis, of sorts as they attempted to follow-up their solid sophomore and junior albums, One Fell Swoop and No Really, I’m Fine.

Once the track listing was released, it was obvious The Spill Canvas did not have interest in releasing an entire album. Formalities, the newest album features two new tracks, which is not enough to justify a new EP, much less an entire album. The other four “new” tracks are acoustic versions of songs from the trio of releases – which in all honesty are a let down.

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David “Sharks” Brabham plays drums Tuesday night in the SUB Ballroom. Brabham plays for Jameson and the Sordid Seeds, a band from Whitefish, Montana.

Conan returns to TV after lengthy break

Conan O’Brien’s hiatus from television is quickly coming to an end. After a failed run on the Tonight Show, O’Brien took a $45 million payout from NBC to make way for Jay Leno’s return.

One stipulation of the buyout was O’Brien being barred from working in television for eight months. Those eight months are coming to an end and O’Brien prepared for his new show by announcing its name Wednesday — “Conan.”

University of Idaho musicians strive for perfection

Katherine Brown/Argonaut
Freshman Kristin O'Neill polishes her flute piece Thursday.  O’Neill is a music major with a concentration in flute performance. The image was shot against a mirror in a practice room in Ridenbaugh Hall.

Steven Devine/Argonaut
Michael Bonham, member of Vandal Volunteers, helps to harvest fresh produce at the Soil Stewards farm just outside Moscow city limits.

A freezer hummed in the Idaho Commons and music education and composition major Jeff Chambers quickly identified it.

“I have perfect pitch. Basically I can hear any pitch sound anywhere and I know what it is,” Chambers said. “Like that’s humming at an A right now.”

Chambers is a percussionist and said it is unique to have perfect pitch.

“What it means is if someone asked me to sing an F I could sing an F,” Chambers said. “What that means is I can hear a ton of music in my head …  I think I’ve actually written pieces without ever sitting down at a piano. I feel really lucky to have that.”

vandals inACTION

Steven Devine/Argonaut
Katherine Gavin, member of Vandal Volunteers, helps harvest fresh produce at Soil Stewards farm just outside Moscow city limits.

Every Thursday, students and patrons can buy organic fruits and vegetables outside the Student Union Building, sold to them by the University of Idaho soil stewards club.

A small group of graduate students started the organization six years ago; it began as an organic farming club that ran an actual farm, which was only about a half-acre at the time. Now, the UI Plant Soil Research Farm is on three acres of land, and there is a greenhouse on campus for planting seeds in the spring.

Erin Coyle, club president, said the purpose of the club is to help on the farm, but members don’t have to be agriculture majors — there are opportunities for all students.

“Depending on your degree … you can get credit as internship,” Coyle said. “You can do an internship for one to six credits, and you can also just work out there for fun and volunteer. We have a work-for-share program as well … and in the spring we have a bunch of students come to the greenhouse and fulfill their service hours for core.”

Johnny Saltarella, “New York Johnny,” prepares a fresh hot dog modeled after a traditional family recipe in downtown Moscow.

Two-hundred-year-old recipe hits Moscow

His secret: homemade olive oil. The recipe: over 200 years old. Will we ever know this recipe? Never, or ’mai,’ in Italian.

The newest late-night food vendor, Johnny’s New York Style Hotdogs, runs into late night on weekends and is located across the street from Friendship Square in downtown Moscow.