This out-of-body experience was mine when walking into comedian Aziz Ansari's sold-out Madison show Thursday night at the Barrymore, the ninth stop of his "Buried Alive" tour.

Ansari was quick-witted and came prepared with joke after joke that pushed comedic boundaries of humor, each more risqué than the one before. Ansari did not ignore his roots: the energetic quirks that made him famous in past projects, like playing Tom Haverford on "Parks and Recreation." Many jokes targeted the large number of 20 and 30-somethings in the audience, and his skits were punctuated with club-scene, party-boy humor (in most cases, a desperate party boy who refuses to get turned down). And although there was a long line already formed outside for his second showing of the routine, Ansari ended by serenading his audience with a lengthy array of squeaky, sardonic pop songs.

The name "Buried Alive" hints at a few highlights of his current stand-up routine, or rather lowlights, which brought out the darker elements of Ansari's humor -- a side of his comedy that many fans familiar with his "Dangerously Delicious" act may not have known existed.

For example, one bit he performed focused on the institution of marriage, and jokingly accused several couples in the audience of being unprepared for married life and likely to get a divorce. Many jokes dabbled in race and gender, another touched on teen pregnancy, and yet another visited the issue of child molestation -- in which Ansari plays with the idea so abstractly that audiences are left wondering if the hypothetical perpetrator, not the victim in his scenario, is in fact deserving of sympathy. It's tempting to decry these controversial pokes of fun as indecent or in bad taste -- until our funny-bones remind us what's what.

This handful of on-edge jokes acts as a necessary reminder to us, the viewers, that professional comedy is meant to be entertaining but also thought-provoking. The art of telling a joke involves delving deep into issues so unbearably heavy that laughter is often necessary to discuss them, and understand them fully.

Some comedians may be truly ignorant. But jokes like Ansari's, that are mostly thoughtful and informed by observation, help people to explore and confront complex topics. By bringing up these issues in a stand-up sketch, a comedian is laughing in the face of hate, not making light of it. It may be a concept the casual comedy-goer rarely thinks about -- until, like in this case, it is done well.

All seriousness aside (which isn't something one normally hears in regard to a stand-up routine) Ansari put on a great show. His was a hilarious class act, and fans would have accepted nothing less.

Sarah Witman is a writer for the ArtsEtc. section, and would love to receive feedback and responses to this review at switman@badgerherald.com. For all your Aziz Ansari needs, his site azizisbored.tumblr.com is updated by him regularly. The nationwide "Buried Alive" tour is ongoing until July 21.

Excellent question!  This is an extremely frequent concern among vibrator connoisseurs everywhere.  The simple answer is no, frequent use of a vibrator will not desensitize a clitoris.  There is nothing about the vibration stimulation that damages, reduces, or changes the physiology of nerve receptors in any way.  Orgasming from a vibrator, no matter how many times you've done it, will not interfere with your body's capability to orgasm in other settings.

However, it is possible to become accustomed to a certain types of stimulation.  When we train ourselves to orgasm a certain way--whether it be the toy we like to use, the jerking motion we're a fan of, the tongue lapping we frequently request, the rubbing technique we find ourselves coming back to time and time again, whatever -- it can be difficult to imagine ever being able to come a different way ever again.  This is rarely ever actually the case, as the brain can be trained to incorporate many different types of stimulation into its repertoire of reward indicators.

If you're fretting at the possibility that you have become accustomed to getting off with your vibe, I have a few suggestions.  You could try laying off the toys for a bit, although it's totally not physically necessary.  If you want to get yourself real riled up and horny, abstaining from masturbation for a couple days before hooking up could do the trick.  You could try using your vibrator in a different way or even experiment with a different toy that will do the same trick.  You could suggest the possibility of inviting your best friend along for the bedroom party with your partner, as long as you talk it over beforehand -- toys need not be reserved solely for solo play!  If your partner feels concerned or threatened by the presence of the toy, you can try reassuring them that your advanced homeosapien brain recognizes that human connection trumps any kind of pleasure that an inanimate object can provide you with.

Lastly, if you're interested in mixing the strength of vibration with the human skin-to-skin contact with your boyfriend, try this neat trick:  Take a small bullet, egg, or peanut vibrator (as little as $5 at sexuality boutiques or online sex toy shops).  Turn it on and place it in between your index finger and thumb, with your index finger slightly extended beyond the bullet.  Voila!  You have an instant finger vibe!

Hope that helps!

The most recent trailer for Disney's upcoming Pixar movie "Brave" has been released, and yet the plot is still as ambiguous as it was two trailers ago.

Very little information has been revealed as to what lies underneath "Brave's" gorgeous visuals and theme of self-empowerment. We see the main character, Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II"), struggle against the expectations of her overbearing mother (voice of Emma Thompson, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II"), the Queen Elinor of Scotland. While Queen Elinor tries to prepare her daughter to be a well-mannered princess, Merida much prefers her bow and arrow to the tight dresses her mother forces her to wear.

The trailer is visually stunning and promises to deliver even more of the quality computer animation that Pixar has come to be known for, and even in the brief clip scenes of Scotland's breathtaking scenery look like HD footage. However, the plot of "Brave" is still fuzzy. We see Merida make some kind of deal to change her fate with a magical cauldron and a rival kingdom threaten war with Merida's, but details are nonexistent.

This most recent trailer's purpose is to draw audiences in with "Brave's" production values and downplay the fact that its plot is still not clear - it just might take a trip to the theatre to attain clarity.

In the spirit of the upcoming LitFest, this week I'm going to review one of the best books on human sexuality I've read in a very long time--"Sex at Dawn," by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá.

"Sex at Dawn," which was published in 2010, is an incredibly provocative, hotly debated non-fiction (some might go as far as to say "scientific") account of why human monogamy is unnatural. That's right: why partnering for life--and, um, that little thing we call marriage--is unnatural.

In their account, the authors argue that although there was once a time when monogamy made sense economically (during which time a woman would exchange exclusive access to her, erm, goodies for physical protection and economic stability), that time has passed. Monogamy is no longer a sustainable lifestyle for modern Americans, as technological advancements have created a culture in which women need not rely on a single man for childbearing.

To build their argument, Ryan and Jethá trace human history back to our earliest ancestors, exploring topics ranging from the egalitarian nature of humans to the historically communal practices of childbearing, from the non-monogamous sexual behaviors of our closest primate relatives to the biological male patterns of sperm competition--all of which ultimately favor polyamorous sexual relationships over monogamy.

The bold and witty authors ultimately claim that monogamous pair bonding is an irrelevant, outdated cultural adaptation to the agricultural revolution--an adaptation we must take the time to understand in our culture as our divorce rates continue to rise.

Not surprisingly, "Sex at Dawn," a book that destabilizes the foundations of monogamous marriage, has found popularity in the LGBTQA community. Savage Love podcast producer, sex columnist, and LGBTQA advocate Dan Savage cites "Sex at Dawn" as "the single most important book about human sexuality since Alfred Kinsey unleashed Sexual Behavior in the Human Male on the American public in 1948."

If you've got time over Spring Break, badgers, give it a read and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your reviews.

Don't forget to be on the lookout next Wednesday for my next column. 'Til then!

Send Amie some suga at humpday@badgerherald.com.

Yesterday was my first tailgating experience and I learned a lot about how to do a successful tailgate. Now I'd like to pass that knowledge on to you. Here is...

TAILGATING 101

1. Always keep your meat and other perishables (like beer) cool. As you can see, we have a very professional grade chili pot cooler at our disposal with a special bungee cord lid-locking system.

1. It helps to block the wind when you're lighting your coals. And to not take pictures of your friends when they're struggling to light your coals. They'll probably yell at you to stop taking pictures and help block the wind. Probably.

1. Remember to bring beer. And people to fetch you beer. But not a bottle opener, because you can just use your teeth or your tailgating neighbors for that (that's what I did).

1. Make sure you have friends.

1. When the coals are white, put the meat on!

1. Bring an appetizer.

1. Or two.

1. Bring a garbage bag for all your trash, especially if it's Earth Day.

1. Grillmaster Josh's Grilling Tips: Rotate the meat often, moving the meat in the center out to the edges where it's cooler and the meat on the edges into the center where it's hotter. When a brat is no longer pink in the center, it's done. Don't burn it. Enjoy!

1. Finally, go to Kopp's Frozen Custard for dessert after the game! Mmmmm, turtle sundae.

HAPPY TAILGATING!!!

It's not easy to read Old English. Considering that series such as Harry Potter and the Hunger Games' reading difficulty are just shy of my weekly, 2nd grade, "Look Who's Reading" pamphlets, maybe Tolkien's books would get more credit if they were dumbed down and/or changed to resemble more modern, urban speech. Since there aren't too many kids who can use the "I dunn read gud" excuse at a fine institution such as Madison, I have to assume it must be the difference in language that keeps students from really getting into the books. So, to help everyone get in the LOTR spirit, I've translated an excerpt of Tolkien's "The Return of the King" into a more popular urban vernacular that most students will relate to better. Though there were some difficult translations to be made, the overall plot remains unchanged.

Lahr's "The Return of the King"

Pippin woke up soooo hung over he almost puked all over his new threads. "Last night actually turned out to be pretty tight," he thought. He was getting his sword and shit on when that goddamn wizard came knockin' on the door again. "For real old man? I thought I told you, I'm ready when I'm ready, gimme five damn minutes Gandalf..." 

Soon as Pip was ready and headed out, he spotted some real evil looking shit out towards Mordor. Gandalf was definitely not tryin' to get his or Pip's asses killed, so they figured they'd just try and roll east towards Minas Tirith, which is basically, you know, the main place to be in Gondor. 

Thing is, there was a grip of orcs and other crazy things comin' from Mordor. Everyone knew they were gunna have some crazy weapons and shit on them that prolly was gunna put some serious hurt on Minas Tirith, so before they left Gandalf was like "Hey yo Aragorn! We're heading out bro. Just so we're straight I hope you know I'ma kill you if you're playin me about those horses you said you was sending our way tomorrow." 

Aragorn, lookin' pissed as hell, was like "Chill, bro. My plan's gunna be bomb as hell, why you hatin'? I got six thousand Rohirrim just chillin' out back, they just waitin' to put some serious hurt on those orcs, but you keep gettin' in my face about it and I'll tell 'em all the whole things off." Gandalf looked like he was real upset, but Pip knew he was just actin hard.

So they rolled out, and Pip was glad cuz Rohan smelled soo dank he couldn't stand it, and not that good kinda dank either. Speaking of which, Gandalf was smoking some greens he'd never heard of, and every time he tried askin' for a toke, Gandalf would be like "This aint to Longbottom leaf you know, this shit will wreck you if you never smoked it." Finally the old man gave in and Pip took a hit. Damn was that stuff bomb. For like six hours Pip was thinkin' that he was riding on top of some bigass white dragon that could talk and laugh and shit, and that he had eyes that could see in the dark, even though it was day. Let me tell you dude, that was the craziest thing he ever smoked, no joke.

When they finally got to Minas Tirith the guy in charge was all pissed cuz Gandalf was late or something and they were about to get beat down by a some huge damn army from Mordor. Gandalf wasn't having that. He was like "Dude, you want a badass wizard here or not, yo? Me and dis hobbit here don't gotta be up in yo crib. You keep up that lip and you can try and fight that mofo Sauron on your own. That clear son?" That shut him up real quick. Pip was about to rub it in his face when he heard some loud ass horn. Everyone looked real spooked when they saw those orcs steppin' all over their turf. Gandalf turned 'round said "Dayum boys, hope all ya'll brought a fresh pair of underwear and some smokes. This shit's about to go down for keeps. Ya'll betta be hopin' that damn ranger didn't play us fo' fools or we all gunna get dusted."

A crowd of cross-legged teens composed most of the audience at Mrs. Magician's first ever Madison show. When the lights went on guitars started riffing and the fledgling band proved itself as a contender in a market saturated with seawater.

Amid acts like Wavves and Real Estate this San Diego surfer band plays solid tunes at home on any beach.

Many sub-genres in the past and present have recruited armies of bland imitators. But the latest reawakening of Beach Boy-fused rock has produced some great bands and catchy tracks.

With songs about ex-girlfriends sleeping around and getting drunk alone in bars, Mrs. Magician brings a modern cynicism to a traditionally romantic genre.

A little of their punk vibe comes out song titles like "I'm Gonna Hangout With The Lesbians Next Door & Drop Acid." Add a little roughness to the sweet croon of Girls' vocals and you have Mrs. Magician.

Of course any band that stays committed to a genre is destined to be forgotten in a wash of similar material. One may have that prediction for Mrs. Magician after hearing their sound, which adds a touch of lime to the fish taco that is surf-rock.

But this fledgling band has plenty of time to grow. They released their debut album Strange Heaven only this last March and have been touring ever since.

The band-members looked at home on stage. They have assumed the veteran rocker look people expect from bands they have to pay to see and had the talent to wear it.

Young bands often stumble when trying to translate the studio-sound to the stage but Mrs. Magician played well enough to make a decent demo.

Aside from fuzzed out vocals that made all but one chorus barely audible, the band sounded tight.

After three songs the crowd began warming up to the band. There were whoops and hollers coming from the mouths of even people who just walked into the Majestic.

While Mrs. Magician was an inarguably good band, it is not likely they acquired any new fans Tuesday night. One can get the same fix from them as from any other band riding the waves of their resurgent genre.

Until this fresh-eyed group gains the confidence to experiment with new sonic territory Mrs. Magician dooms itself to be compared to its more successful predecessors.

It is hard to imagine in this world with infinite combinations of computerized sounds that any band could break new ground through the use of rock's traditional instruments.

Listeners can only hope someone will come around with the imagination to turn rock's direction from recycling old sounds to creating new ones.

But Mrs. Magician will probably not be that band. While their songs are as pleasant and listenable as any by No Age or Wavves, they lack the originality to draw fans from either of those more well-established bands.

The great thing about Mrs. Magician and any genre that accumulates good bands is that there are more chances for people to see performers doing shows. Fans of sitar music are out of luck, but surf-rock buffs may rejoice at the current musical climate.

Under the Technicolor lights on King street Mrs. Magician put on an energetic show despite a tired crowd, proving themselves as a band to go and see if not listen to at home.

The 20-year-old undergraduate is majoring in Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and will be graduating early with a degree in Radio, TV, and Film. Upon graduating in May, Parsons said he will be moving to Los Angeles where he will work as a production assistant.

Parsons has been involved with a number of different film-related organizations on campus like Hollywood Badgers and Badge TV, but his primary involvement has been with WUD Film, a student-run committee under the Wisconsin Union Directorate. He is currently the director of WUD Film.

WUD is made up of Hoofers -- an outdoor recreational program -- and eight other special interest committees such as Art, Publications, Alternative Spring Breaks, Global Connections, Music, Distinguished Lecture Series, Society and Politics, and Performing Arts. According to its website, students "plan, program and promote hundreds of recreational, art, community service and cultural events on campus" every year. The following is an edited and condensed version of his interview.

What does WUD Film mean to you?

It's a place to gain leadership experience and film industry knowledge you wouldn't be able to get elsewhere. It's a place where you can grow as an individual, and as a student. It's a place for people to bond after classes and have a good time. We're all very close, and we do exciting things together outside of WUD Film as well.

What do you do in WUD Film? Is it difficult to direct?

It's quite a bit of work. There are six associations that work under me and about 40 people come every week to talk about campus events and to vote on films. We have subcommittee meetings where brainstorming and voting takes place and then another committee that has to approve that list. Finally, we contact distributors who work with second-run venues like us. Second-run basically means we screen films after all the big theaters, but before they go on DVD. After that, we do all the promotional work to get people to come. On average, we pay $700 per film to get the rights to screen it, but if the films are already out on DVD, they're $350. We also have screenings called Sneaks where distributors pay us $500 to screen and advertise their films.

What do you think WUD Film means to the university, the students and the public?

It started in 1940, so it's been going for 72 years now. It has a very long tradition that it's upholding, and it constantly improves. Up until six to seven years ago we still charged $2.50 to $3.50 for admission, but now that we've completely converted over to free, it's allowed for our diversity of films to broaden a lot more. We can program what we want to and try to get people to come. So many people grew up watching a lot of films; it's a part of pop culture, so I would hope it's important to those not involved with the campus. I think that by offering all these free movie screenings here, it's a big thing for people. I think a lot of people rely on it since there aren't many theaters downtown.

What would you be doing if you weren't involved with WUD Film? 

Generally, I'm involved with very film-related groups. But, if film didn't exist, I would find something I'm passionate about that I could really apply myself toward. I think whatever it is, I just want to be engulfed in it, and just live and breathe whatever subject it is. I think it's really important to be closely connected with your major and invested in it. I think your leisure activities should help benefit that as well.

Do you have any personal projects that you're working on?

Over the summer, with one of my friends, I shot a short film here in Madison. It's about 10 to 15 minutes long, but I haven't had time to crop and edit it yet. It's too late to submit it to the Wisconsin Film Festival this year, but I might submit it to next year's festival. The number one thing I'm working on is in WUD Film. Every spring semester we have a MiniIndie Film Festival that basically showcases a bunch of independent films that students wouldn't have the opportunity to see anywhere else. There's going to be a segment for student films as well, and I'm excited for that. We took a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, an annual independent cinema festival, in January for potential films to play at MiniIndie. It was a special opportunity to see these gems that were really great, but maybe aren't able to draw a huge audience. The whole festival was just really amazing.

What is advice you would share with your peers?

Getting involved with student extracurricular activities is so important. I know I probably sound like an old person saying this, but there are so many opportunities in college. A lot of people focus on getting perfect grades or doing all their assignments really well, but there are a lot of things that can help. Even if you're just focused on your major, there are so many things that can benefit your major and add stuff to your resume that can prepare you for your career. Honestly, your classes will only take you so far in preparing you for after graduation. I think that joining groups, wherever they are, is really beneficial as well.

WUD Film has six to 10 movie screenings every week. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are collaborated screenings with other organizations on campus. Thursdays are alternative film screenings, and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are reserved for big Hollywood film screenings.

To learn more about WUD and how to get involved, visithttp://www.union.wisc.edu/wud.

1. It can be inserted up to 8 hours before. Wow! Think of the potential! This means if you wake up feeling super smokin' and just have an inkling that today's the day to get laid, you could pop this bad boy in, take a shower, go to work, go to class, meet your study buddy later and take a study break, and WA-BAM! The condom is already in place. You're good to go and don't have to fumble around to play the who-has-the-condom game. This can make for that longed for, roll-right-into-it spontaneous sex.
2. In theory, it provides more protection against contact spread STIs like herpes and HPV. Now this isn't proven, but in theory, the receptive condom provides more protection against contact spread STIs like herpes and HPV because of the added material that lies on the external genitalia. An extra bonus for those concerned with the high prevalence of these STIs!
3. It's made out of polyurethane. So, good news for people with latex allergies! Even some people without latex allergies prefer the feel of polyurethane because it is more conducive to transferring body heat.
4. It's got some added pleasure features. Some penises like to complain that the ring around the base of the insertive condom is too tight and causes them to lose their erections -- which sounds like a shitty excuse not to use a condom to me. With the receptive condom, there's less justification for this! No restricting ring = no boner loss. The only tightness you will feel is the tightness of your partner ;) Also -- in an initiative to improve safer sex practices in sub-Saharan Africa, a research team distributed the receptive condom for use by female participants. Interestingly enough, their male partners gave the most positive feedback, saying they were a fan of the "pleasure bump" they felt when their penis heads rubbed against the inner ring of the condom.
5. Aunt Flo no longer puts a damper on your sex life. Of course, you never have to stop having sex for a whole week out of the month just because of a little period blood. But if you do mind the mess, try popping a receptive condom in. The blood will stay inside of the body without causing a mess so you can thrust away.

There you have it! Convinced? Stop by the Sex Out Loud office or Campus Women Center for free samples of the receptive condom!

Having directed three years of Jimmy Kimmel and "The Man Show," it's safe to say we can expect a lot more raunchy comedy from writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait. Though, from the trailer, the tight budget may have killed some of the essential production quality this kind of film desperately needs. Watching Frank get rid of some of the filth should be enjoyable enough on its own, as long as the movie doesn't get too preachy.

Hopefully "God Bless America" will deliver plenty of laughs as its commentary on today's social stupidity enlightens instead of bears down on audiences.

"God Bless America" is currently available on-demand from a variety of sources and will make its way to theaters May 11th.

Hypothesis: searching for "sex" in the Pinterest search bar will bring up images of scantily clad, near-naked female supermodels. Or possibly people having sex.

Method: I typed "sex" into the general Pinterest search bar.

Results: I was surprised to find neither near-naked female supermodels nor images of couples copulating. Here's what I did find:

Political information related to sexuality

• A photograph of Mitt and Ann Romney outside a foreign sex shop with a click-through link to a NYT op-ed article investigating the pair's investment in Goldman Sachs, which owns a 16% share of Backpage.com, the United State's largest online prostitution ad forum
• An infographic smartly depicting the fact that in the United States, you can legally marry your own cousin in more states than you can marry your same-gendered partner
• A video about a proposed law that would require men to be declared medically impotent before filling a prescription for Viagra
• A creative Venn diagram explaining the difference between gender identity, sexual orientation, and biological sex

Recipes with the word "sex" in the title

• Better Than Sex Cake
• Better Than Sex Chex Mix
• Sex in a Pan
• S'more Sex Cake

Products and images that use the word "sex" in their description

• Make-up company NARS features a blush dubbed "Sex Appeal"
• Clothing store New York & Company's striped blouse called "Sex at the Office" (which they removed from their site after two days)
• Beauty product company Lush sells a "bath bomb" called "Sex Bomb"
• The popular book "Sex at Dawn" by Christopher Ryan
• Hundreds of pictures of shoes with the description "Sex for my toes"
• Books about how to talk to children about sex
• Every product ever featured on Sex and the City

Conclusions: Pinners use sex to promote their political opinions, help educate others by spreading sexual health news and information and (not surprisingly, as Pinterest is still an online shopping community) to promote consumer products. Which, at the very least, is more than we can say for the average Calvin Klein billboard.

Send Amie your sizzling sex questions at humpday@badgerherald.com.

I know you're poor. And I know you love pizza. But trust me, you're doing it wrong.

Now listen up, because I'm about to drop some knowledge on y'all. Without further ado, here is...

DELIVERY PIZZA 101

Lesson #1: Papa Murphy's is Your Best Friend

Right now you're probably thinking, "Who is Murphy, and who did he sire, and why should I care about him?" Well, Papa Murphy's is a pizza company, and they make raw pizzas that you take home and cook in the oven yourself. Before you shy away from any pizza-baking responsibility, think about this: your kitchen = the restaurant. That means the freshest delivery-quality pizza possible, because the pizza gets delivered in literally no time at all. And the delivery vehicle is your hand, not a beat-up 1992 Ford Taurus in Awkward Green with a plastic Domino's sign slapped on the roof.

Lesson #2: Coupons Are A Must

Particularly the ever-present $7 For A Large One-Topping Papa Murphy's Pizza coupon, which can be found here (click on the link that says "4 Papa Murphy's Coupons"). If that link is out of date, you can literally Google "papa murphy's coupons" at any time of year and it should come up in some form within the top three results. Get this coupon and get the cheapest large pepperoni (or ham or sausage or some other meat) you'll ever find.

Lesson #3: Time To Go Grocery Shopping 

Go to the grocery store. Get black olives. Get fresh tomatoes. Get onions. Get a real jalepeño. Colby-jack shredded cheese. Get anything your little heart desires to have on a pizza, and make sure it's the cheapest stuff they have. The sky is the limit, and I promise your total, combined with the $7 pizza, will be less than the $20+ any other delivery place like Domino's, Toppers or Pizza Hut would demand for the same, not-as-fresh product.

Lesson #4: You Can Probably Guess What Happens Next 

Go home, preheat your oven, pile on the goods, and stick that thing in the oven. And smile, because in about 25 minutes you're going to have a delicious, ooey gooey, supremedeluxeultimatestuffed personal pizza creation that cost you way less than your next-door neighbors ordering a $10 small pizza from Glass Nickel. You're doing pizza like a boss. Don't get me wrong, Glass Nickel is amazing. But that's for when you're a REAL boss earning a billion dollars a year (you know, like four years from now). For now, Papa Murphy's is your home. Your crib. Your digs. Your spread. Gangsta.

I'd guess it took most people less than four minutes, on average, of bumping through the crowded, terraced floor levels of the Majestic to raise their eyes to the celling and witness the big projection above the stage, though I'd also guess they'd claim it took longer. The screen, which Axe made the centerpiece of their free One Night Only Concert last Tuesday in Madison, is meant to entice the audience -- the entire social media generation -- to interact, by offering them a tiny bit of spotlight while allowing deniability that they've done it for the benefit of an ad campaign. Like a recognizable shape hidden yet outlined behind stretched cloth, the payoff is obvious, but the temptation to reach out is tenfold greater.

Here's what I mean: The screen keeps a carefully curated live-feed of tweets, check-ins, updates and photos rotating through, more or less in real time. This is fair enough, since all tickets to the show were completely free and provided by Axe, despite the fact that a paired Chiddy Bang and Diplo ticket would otherwise settle into the high-middle market of Madison campus-area ticket prices: More expensive than Cake, probably, but likely cheaper than Bassnectar. It's all part and parcel of the One Night Only tour's M.O. -- a calculated decision that the best short-term marketing strategy for Axe is to bypass the extremely limited financial capital of their target market in favor of their social capital, which is virtually unbound.

Since I was live-tweeting the event anyway (through the ArtsEtc. Twitter account), I thought I'd give it a whirl. The result: "@AXE has a projected screen with all tweets from the concert carrying the #AXEOneNightOnly hashtag." Within minutes it was up on the board, followed by a response from Axe's account to the effect of: "You guys see that? Better get to tweeting!" Call it a barely concealed measuring stick for the virility of Axe's brand, the only concealment a thin layer of self-promotion for the people doing the tweeting. I can say with near certainty that if I were to have my own twitter account I would never tweet at Axe. Yet seeing the ArtsEtc. handle up there was downright intoxicating; objective journalism became suddenly difficult with all that blood rushing to my phone.

That said, One Night Only was a blast. Lunice made waves with the early crowd, but didn't bring enough energy to get the floor truly in motion until he unleashed a remix of a Drake song toward the end of his set. From there, his performance was a legitimate small show unto itself, the first floor of The Majestic swaying as his beats unspooled unhurriedly through the speakers.

The energy rose noticeably with Chiddy Bang's performance. Complete with live drummer and armed with name recognition probably exceeding Diplo's (with the assembled crowd, obviously no one given full information, would rank Chiddy Bang's resume higher than Diplo's) the duo burst onto the stage, Chiddy rapping "Breakfast" from the debut album of the same name with an edge not present in his recorded verses. It was evident that Chiddy, at least, was pumped for the show, though there was a weird lack of interaction between he and Xaphoon Jones. Still, when you close with "Ray Charles" and "Opposite of Adults," in front of a room that snuck drinks in the dorms to the strains of Oracular Spectacular, suffice it to say you'll go over well.

Diplo was tremendous. I was a little premature with the details -- I swear I've never tweeted like that before -- but since it's already been reported, that's probably the best way to sum up the concert's two best moments:

• BH_Arts: Diplo jumps from balcony, briefly dropped, bounces back pic.twitter.com/jTl2iwDO
• BH_Arts: Diplo now just straight up drinking champagne on stage. To his own beat, "Look at me now." Seems fair. #axeonenightonly

I know, I know. That hashtag says volumes.

But how's this for objective journalism -- I don't use Axe products. Earlier that night, after toweling off from the shower, I applied a mist of Old Spice. Pure Sport scent, if you must know. The commercials may be different, but spray deodorants for guys are all cut from the same cloth, right down to the hand-sized cans toped with silo-like domes. Phallic, you might say, if you're looking for it. 

I threw on a shirt and headed out the door with the girl I was taking to the show. We spent the walk up to the Majestic trying to figure out what exactly would motivate a company to throw a free concert with no lead time and a venue announced day-of. Twitter followers? Facebook friends? Surely it's not the size of your online presence that matters, it's what you do with it -- the motion of the social media ocean, so to speak. Since I hadn't waited in line for passes (my gilded life as an ArtsEtc. Editor: Free free tickets!), I'd not seen Axe's full campaign for the tour. The flags adorned the balconey rail: Beneath a hybrid guitar/female torso, reading, "Axe One Night Only: Who you gonna bring?"

Remember that old marketing truism about how sex sells? It's, famously become part of a larger quote: "Sex sells in advertising sells, but only if it's sex you're selling." Diplo closed out his show with a balls-out series of remixes, bouncing from Kanye and Jay-Z's "N----- in Paris" to ACDC's "Thunder" to Lundacris' "What's your Fantasy," then slowed it down for "Midnight City" by M83. 

The promo-liquor bottle wielding stage girls had long since found their way back to floor level when the unmistakable a cappella yelp of Justice emanated from the speaker wall. "We Are Your Friends," is a hell of a way to close out a show, but upon reflection it may have been a little off message for Axe to send sweaty, grinding pairs off into the night on such a platonic note. I left with the same girl I came with, each of us clasping a plastic gift bag full of men's hygiene products.

But I don't blame those incongruent capstones to the night for for not getting laid. Whatever the moral implications (it's easy to rag on an ad campaign, but a quality secret concert in the best venue in Madison? That's a great thing!) Axe was clearly trying their hardest to wingman for me -- for all guys in attendance -- in hopes that we'd wingman right back and help them close the deal with that sultry, sexy social media demographic. Everything was set up perfectly: The glowing, cylindrical innuendo was there, the aphrodisiacal bass, the just-flirty-enough-to-cause-a-twinge-of-jealousy Axe girls, the dancing, the Orpheum bar, the 1:00 a.m. end time, everything. That all left just one piece of the puzzle, one possible thing I could have been missing.

Shouldn't have worn that fucking Old Spice.

I'm a huge proponent of the History Channel. Sometimes there's nothing better after a long day of toiling over mind-numbingly exhausting classes than sitting down and letting it indulge me with its infinite wisdom without even asking me to read a few hundred pages for tomorrow after the show ends. Recently, a special came on regarding the "Greatest Generation" and the hardship they endured to ensure you and I can shove double cheeseburgers down our throats while Facebooking until our eyeballs bleed. For those of you who aren't too keen on your generational knowledge, if you're in college right now, your grandparents were most likely part of the Greatest Generation.

Essentially, most members of this generation grew up on gruel and pissed in the woods during their childhood in the Great Depression, saved the world by slaying Nazis and Japanese in WWII and set up the greatest economic infrastructure the world has ever seen in the years that followed. I'm pretty sure they invented the missionary position as well.

Sure, it's an impressive resume, but what about the other generations, including us? Why should a few small achievements accomplished 60 years ago by a bunch of old farts merit the esteemed title of the "Greatest?"

Our parents and their Baby Boom generation created and promoted some of the best music ever heard in the '60s and '70s, spearheaded sexual freedom and introduced massive amounts of marijuana to college campuses across the U.S. These are all luxuries reaped by future generations (including ourselves), but let's be honest, none of these accomplishments merits the title of the Greatest Generation.

Naturally then, the only feasible other candidate for the title of the greatest generation that ever lived is none other than our generation. In the following list I have compiled a number of reasons for the official change from our current title of the Millennial Generation to the highly envied title of the Greatest Generation.

Instant Gratification: This is something I'm sure all generations desired, but only we in the Millennial Generation have achieved. My parents would tell me that getting what you want when you want it makes you an impatient asshole. I disagree. Letter writing, telegraphs and catalog shopping were the sad attempts of prior generations to do what we have done with the Internet, cell phones and cable TV. If I want a beer bong shaped like a pink flamingo, a five-pound cheese wheel or a giant life-sized cutout of Jessica Alba, eBay can assure it will be in my eager fingertips within days. Plus, who needs to break up with their significant others through a tear-stained letter when you can just text your heartbreaking words in half the time? DUH!

Electronic Entertainment: The only thing more fun than liberating the world one Nazi dog tag at a time is faking it. I can do everything that my grandpa did on the shores of Normandy from my couch, late at night, all the while enjoying Taco Bell and a Coke. Sure, our parents tickled their video-game fancy with "Pong," but we made the real stuff. Throw in an HDTV and some surround sound and you've got an entertainment experience fit for kings, pioneered by none other than our thrill-seeking generation.

Music: It's easy to disregard our generation's popular music as inferior to what our parents grew up with, but do not be deceived. The Millennial Generation has systematically streamlined music as we know it, incorporating our much-coveted notion of instant gratification into our music-making process. Don't have the time to learn how to sing or play an instrument? No problem. Auto-tune and synthesized drums, strings and background vocals have sidestepped this issue.

With the leaps and bounds made in songwriting recently, all you really need is a MacBook, an attractive face and a slim midsection. Plus, if you run out of ideas for a catchy melody, you can always go the way of Kid Rock and just throw together a couple of classic tunes from dead '70s singers, sing a couple of lyrics about drunken summer nights and sell it as your own.

We Elected the First Black President: I know my conservative, veteran grandpa and all of his poker buddies didn't vote for Obama. Clearly this alone sets us up as the undisputedly ethical generation.

The context for the discussion was an article published in Salon magazine at the end of January, When safe words are ignored: Women in the bondage and kink scene are speaking out about sexual assaults in the community, and calling for change. The BDSM community, for so long, has been viewed as a "cover" for perpetrators to facilitate abuse. To combat this misled assumption, the attitude of some kinksters has generally been to deny the existence of any abuse. One participant at the Pillow Talk drew attention to the ridiculousness of this assertion-- violence happens in all communities, so of course it will inevitably occur in the BDSM scene as well. Kitty Stryker-- a sex worker, kink activist, and feminist blogger who was interviewed for the Salon article-- says, "How on earth can we possibly say to society at large that BDSM is not abuse when we so carefully hide our abusers and shame our abused into silence?"

The Pillow Talk session centered on conversations about safe words, consent culture, risk-aware consensual sex, and victim blaming within the community. One particularly heated conversation centered around deciding whose responsibility consent should be. Kitty Stryker poses the question, "Is it the fault of the submissive who didn't safeword when they should have or is it the fault of the dominant who didn't notice that their submissive didn't safeword [when they should have] or is it the fault of the community that makes it complicated?"

This becomes even more complex when we consider that there is a general "cultural disdain" for submissives to use their safeword; they tend to gain a reputation as "difficult" or "whiny" submissives. On the flipside, some dominants would argue that a submissive that neglects to safeword when their boundaries have been crossed has subsequently turned their dominant into a rapist, "without their consent". Mind=blown!

Now that Ultra is over and the last rays of Miami sunshine have faded, it's time to decode the notes, sort through the photos and hash out the festival that was. While the BH takes a moment to adjust to the temperature change, we're giving you our own Ultra playlist with some of the best tracks of UMF 2012.

1.     "Blue Monday" by New Order

2.     "The Devil's Den" by Skrillex feat. Wolfgang Gartner

3.     "Internet Friends" by Knife Party

4.     "Midnight City" by M83

5.     "Girl Gone Wild: by Madonna, remixed by Avicii

6.     "Waiting" by Dash Berlin

7.     "Kick Out the Epic Motherfucker" by Dada Life

8.     "Turbulence" by Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke, feat. Lil Jon

9.     "These Silent Hearts" by Armin van Buuren

10. "Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris, remixed by Dillon Francis

11. "The Big Bad Wolf" by Duck Sauce

12. "Youth Blood" by Little Jinder, remixed by 12^th Planet

13.  "Eyes" by Kaskade

14. "Memories" by David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi

15. "Song 2" by Blur, remixed by Bassnectar

So listen to these details, and forgive our initial skepticism: The concert is being held at an as-yet undisclosed location. No tickets are being sold to the public. It features the unlikely pairing of Diplo and Chiddy Bang. And it was announced, like, less than a week ago. But, improbably, this one is real.

To get tickets, you've got to follow Axe's social media campaigns. An Axe truck will be handing them out in "high traffic areas on campus during the day before the concert," (Monday) according to their press release, but to find out exactly where, Axe hopes you'll check their Facebook page and twitter acount.

Obviously, The Badger Herald will be at the concert, reviewing and live tweeting the event. For updates, keep an eye on ArtsEtc.'s twitter feed or check back here at The Beat Goes On.

Electronic music today is largely based on the remix and the sample. While a good percentage of artists create unique material, a DJ that never samples is rare. Using someone else's song as the base for a track is standard practice, and a single song can be remixed by countless DJs. While DJs are sometimes commissioned to remix particular songs, other songs just seem to strike DJs' fancies, getting remixed and sampled over and over.

One song that has been sampled by nearly every non-Top 25 DJ (and some Top 25 DJs as well) is Avicii's "Levels," likely for the sole reason that fans seem to flock to it like moths to a flame. But another less likely song that has also been remixed incessantly is Kanye and Jay-Z's "Niggas in Paris."

Porter Robinson dropped the track yesterday, the song was in Paper Diamond's recent set, Zed's Dead played it this afternoon, Laidback Luke blared it from the Main Stage, and those were just the acts the BH caught playing it.

The hip-hop song seems to have exploded onto the set lists of DJs from all genres, and is paralleled in popularity only by Knife Party's "Internet Friends," which was played by Tiesto, Porter Robinson, Datsik, Steve Aoki, and, naturally, Pendulum.

The mystery of just what makes these songs so attractive to DJs remains, but the trends are undeniable, and the top three tracks at Ultra may be no different than the top three tracks at Electric Daisy Carnival or Electric Forest this year.

While we'll definitely hear "Internet Friends" in Knife Party's set tomorrow, chances are it won't be the only time. And though Avicii's Madonna-studded performance at Ultra is over, it's guaranteed some strains of "Levels" will be played out tomorrow. And while it's incredibly unlikely either Jay-Z or Kanye would step foot in an electronic show, their instantly recognizable opening tones will find their way into one set or another.

But the beautiful thing about electronic is that even when songs are repeated, they are never exactly photocopied, but more used as base layers that the song is modeled on. And for every time a song is sampled there are hundreds of other moments where the sound is unique, unexpected, and on its way into the set lists of everyone else.