University of South Carolina Libraries
WEB SITE REVIEW Site gives scoop on best, worst teachers WWW.TEACHERREVIEWS.COM ★★★★ out of ☆ ☆☆☆☆ BY GABRIELLE SINCLAIR TIIKCAMKCOCK In the same spirit of online textbook trading and the file shar ing of Morpheus and Limewire, behold TeacherReviews.com, the seminal site to get the dirt on who the best and worst teachers at USC are — in the wise and objec tive perspectives of the students who took — and perhaps failed — them. The site was created initially by Dylan Greene, during his senior year at the University of Maryland. Greene was “fed up” with not knowing anything about which teachers in each subject were best to take and best to avoid. He launchedTeacherReviews.com in 1999 and it now covers six thou sand schools in 200 countries. USC has so far accumulated 1280 reviews (the third most), and grows daily. What the site lacks in visuals — a bland blue and white motif that could use a bit more zest — it makes up tenfold with the char acter of the individual students who log in and submit reviews. There are no evil pop-ups and the simplicity makes it easy to navi gate and search for teachers. Teachers are categorized by de partment and class. Reviews range from detailed, intricate dissertations to three sentence summations of pure, unadulterated fear. Reviewers have, the option of giving a “grade” for components such as homework, lectures, handwriting and personality, and there is space for a written evaluation. Reviewers give final grades of A through F. It’s interesting how some crit ics give professors F’s when they admit in their review that they did not do the homework or ever study. It’s important to not choose or reject a teacher based simply on the grade one person chooses to bestow. TeacherReviews.com is far from perfect. All students have their own perspectives. One might question what exactly it is that makes a great professor. Is a teacher areat because he lets you out ear ly, curves every test 30 points and never use a text book? Or is a good pro fessor ut terly ab sorbed in the subject matter, liv ing and breathing it and expecting each student to do the same? This site could definitely use some sort of indicator of what each reviewer’s intentions were in the class. The lack of details on the site is also frustrating. The site does not indicate how many students were in a class, whether it was an honors course and what time the class was held — all of these may influence the effectiveness of the professor. On the whole, though, this ad dictive little site provides an oc casional fun insight. If you’re in the mood for something a little more bite-sized, try out www.rate myprofessors.com. Its rating sys tem, along with one-sentence re views, uses different smiley faces to indicate easiness and overall quality, along with the option to rate a professor on overall sexi ness. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW GZA’s staying power obvious on ‘Legend’ “LEGEND OF THE LIQUID SWORD” GZA ★★★* out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY JUSTIN BAJAN THE GAMECOCK GZA’s second album, “Liquid Swords” was the cornerstone for the Wu-Tang Clan’s solo ventures. un 11, spewea caustic tales of street life over the heart wrenching produc tion of RZA — the Clan’s mastermind. But on his next album, “Beneath the Surface,” GZA for went this successful Lumumauuu, using multiple pi u ducers and brightening his grim image. It backfired on GZA, but he used this questionable founda tion anyway on his newest re lease, “Legend of the Liquid Sword.” The album begins with GZA’s son detailing the early life of GZA in the summer of 1977 in New York, GZA’s home and training ground. The track then transi tions into “Auto Bio,” where GZA puts his life into rhyme. The rugged veteran opens the song with the lyrics, “I was born with the mic in my hand,” and main tains an intensity not seen on his last album. Celebrated Wu-Tang Clan mem ber Ghostface Killah and Clan alum Streetlife sound off with GZA on “Silent,” a dark composi tion reminiscent of “Liquid Swords.” Streetlife reminds fans of the Clan’s unmatched synergy, as he raps “with Ghost, Street, GZA, great minds relate, you know a brother’s bond is hard to break.” On “Animal Planet,” GZA em barks on a lyrical safari, using ani mal names to describe everyday life. He excels with lines like, “Out of fear/the deer/watch for the eye of the tiger/the clutch from the co bra and the venomous viper” and “The owls are private eyes that watch from the bark/Black pan ners are tne mwiani vho strike in the lark.” On all of GZA’s al )ums, he devotes a rack to a theme, •apping about the >eople or places it iubsumes. On ‘Liquid Swords” he __j i_i_i __i_ i ajjo uomg icv/Uiu laucio auu un “Beneath the Surface,” magazine titles. Following tradition, this album has a track called “Fame” where GZA does some serious name-drop ping. Lines like “Suge’s Knight re moved the rook off the board/ Donna King was checked and A1 Sharpton the sword,” remind lis teners that, after all these years, GZA still has it. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Lyrical content and solid production keep former Wu-Tang Clan member GZA on top of his game. CD REVIEW Five Way Friday tries new sound “WRECKED" Five Way Friday ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Five Way Friday has defi nitely refined its sound since "Run Like This," released in 2000. Its new album, "Wrecked," is scheduled for release on Feb. 11 and will be the band’s fifth al bum. Thoughthe band is from Greenville, S.C., they are just as mucn a pan ui Columbia’s music scene. Five Way Friday is easily one of the most mature bands playing the local scene. On the band’s Web site (www.fivewayfriday.com), it described its sound as rock-pop, similar to that of Matchbox Twenty and the Gin Blossoms. "Wrecked" should allow Five Way Friday to tran scend its current popularity and net them regional, and possibly national, success. Friday’s song "Homecoming" was featured on an episode of "Dawson’s Creek," and the band has toured with Vertical Horizon and Cowboy Mouth. "Wrecked" starts out with "Lapsed Catholic," perfect for introducing the band’s style to new listeners. Featuring vocal interplay and oddly-timed riffs, the 5 next songs, "Around Again" and "Everybody’s Angel" re iterate the same rock-pop formula, but at a lesser in tensity. "Good Girls Don’t Lie" slows the pace down and ref erences the blues in struc ture. "Call," a 41-second gui tar and vocal piece about a long-distance relationship offers an in teresting de viation from their usual, over-utilized songwriting format. in vision in wnne, lean vocalist Randy Helmly cata logues the events of his past, similar to Billy Joel’s "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant." The best song on the album is the somber love song "Return," whose catchy hook "return to me" attaches to the listener. There will be a listening party for the album at Mezzane in Charleston on Feb. 10. Comments on this story ? 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