FHSTheFlash The Flash Volume 54, Issue 2 January 2014 | Page 11

Entertainment
11
Review: Paradise Valley
January 2014, Volume 54, Issue 2

Karoline Asdal

Album art and album cover for John Mayer’s Paradise Valley

Flash Staff Reporter

The Grammy-winning guitarist and vocalist John
Mayer had just recovered from a throat surgery
when he started recording his new album “Paradise
Valley”. Because of this, people questioned the quality of it before it even was released, but the album
has generally received very good critics. “Paradise
Valley” was out on August 20th 2013 and is the sixth
of his albums. The singles from this album is “Paper Doll” and “Wildfire”, released in June and July.
Every song, except for one, “Wildfire Pt. II”, where
he collaborates with rapper Frank Ocean, is written
by Mayer himself.
It is nearly impossible to place John Mayer in
one genre, and some people would say it changes
from album to album and song to song. This album
is leaning towards country and folk, and he said
he considers this album more of a “summer, cook

breakfast and outdoors-y” record; a great
example is the song “They Call Me the Breeze”
with a very catchy tune.
John Mayer has been a very popular artist in
the celebrity press for a long time, and he has
been linked to a lot of famous stars, among
others the young country star Taylor Swift.
Actually, the track “Paper Doll” is speculated
to be a response to her song “Dear John”,
where she expressed her feelings about how
bad he treated her. His lyrics’ says “You’re like
twenty-two girls in one/ And none of them
know what they’re runnin’ from/ Was it just
too far to fall/ For a little paper doll” which
is rumored to be aimed directly towards his
ex-girlfriend. After a while he got tired of all
of these scandals following him everywhere

and decided to move out to the middle of
nowhere, more precisely Paradise Valley,
Montana, hence the album title. He also said
this peaceful site gave him inspiration for the
record and that it shines through clearly.
Since I’m already a big fan of John Mayer’s
music, my expectations for this album were
high. It is in many ways similar his previous
album, “Born and Raised”, only with even
more significant guitar playing and personal
lyrics. In my opinion, it’s definitely worth
a listen, and I even think it deserves to be
re-played over and over again. My personal
favorite tracks are the single “Wildfire” or the
duet with his current girlfriend Katy Perry,
“Who You Love”, which is a soft ballad about
falling in love when you least expect it.

Thor: The Dark World
Erica Kloski
Flash Staff Reporter

 Thor: The Dark World
sets stage on an ashen alien
planet called the Dark World
where grisly Dark Elves and
the Asgard Kingdom battle
to take control of a powerful
red presence, the Aether.
The Asgardians capture
the Aether and hide it from
the Elf leader Malekith
(Christopher Eccelston).
Thousands of years go by
as Malekith is lying in wait,
biding his time to retaliate.
In post- Avengers present
day, Jane Foster (Natalie
Portman), Thor’s (Chris
Hemsworth) romantic
interest, accidentally
becomes injected with
the Aether. Gaining the

attention of Thor, the
Asgardians, and the Dark
Elves, Thor brings Jane
to Asgard in an attempt
to protect her, unleashing
war within his home from
the invading Dark Elves
led by Malekith.
During the time of the
unleashing wars, the nine
realms of the universe
are aligning, making
the passing between
the realms simple and
uncomplicated. The
Dark Elves no longer
hesitate in their plan
for revenge. Aiming to
use the Aether for world
domination, sending it
spiraling into darkness,
Malekith brings his
battle to earth. The only
person who can help Thor

Movie Poster for Thor.

stop the Dark Elves is
Thor’s traitorous brother,
Loki (Tom Hiddleston).
Begrudgingly, Thor teams
up with his treasonable
brother to save the Marvel
universe, putting aside
their hate-filled past,
bringing together the
brother’s mighty forces
for the ultimate battle of
power.
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