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(09/20/07 4:00am)
It's hard to deny the power of a cheerleader chant -- at least it is when you're listening to The Go! Team. Indeed, as samples and instruments blast joyously around the chants in "Doing It Right" from GT's second album, Proof Of Youth, it makes you wonder why few (if any) acts employed this trick in the years between Toni Basil's "Mickey" and the present.\nThen again, as Proof progresses, this question is gradually answered: Cheerleaders, at least for GT, have diminishing returns. One track of cheerleader-esque vocals equals "woo-hoo!" But seven out of 11 tracks on an album? Uh … not so much. And given cheerleaders' prominence in their 2004 debut, Thunder, Lightning, Strike, the gimmick starts to wear thin, which brings us to the general problem with Proof: It feels rehashed. \nTLS was so singular and brilliant, its follow-up was virtually doomed to be disappointing. When you come out of left field with a sound that's like a cross between '80s hip-hop, '70s TV soundtracks and the local high school pom-pom squad, what do you do next? For Proof, The Team clearly decided to please the crowd by loading the album with songs like TLS' first single, "Ladyflash." The clearest evidence of this rests in "Fake ID" and GT's collaboration with Chuck D, "Flashlight Fight" -- both of which start off into promising new directions, only to have elements from "Ladyflash" (chants, runs, big swells) intrude like Miss Piggy in a "Muppet Show" duet.\nBut while it doesn't get high points for originality, this is hardly the worst direction that Proof could have gone -- after all, it's much more fun than if GT had tried to prove their status as "serious artistes." You'll want to get TLS first, but if your booty still needs shakin' -- give Proof a call.
(09/20/07 4:00am)
Attention A&R reps for labels with nationwide distribution: SIGN THESE KIDS!\nFirst, let's make something perfectly clear: I'm not cutting Prizzy Prizzy Please any slack for being local. Nor do I have any personal stake in their success. (I've met lead singer-saxophonist Mark Pallman once, long enough to take a show flier from him.) I've seen the Prizzies three times in the last year and a half, but given that they play about 1,200 gigs in Bloomington every month, that's a paltry number. Thus, when I say that I think they have the talent to make a go at this rock 'n' roll stuff, I mean just that.\nSo, if you're not from Bloomington, or completely avoid the local music scene, what do the Prizzies sound like? To these ears, The Descendents crossed with Rocket From The Crypt and a slight dash of Bee Gees thrown in. Translation: Short, punchy punk with eccentric tongue-in-cheek lyrics (like The Descendents); but with bouncy, high-energy big-band-like instrumentals (saxophone, horn like RFTC); and the occasional deviation into falsetto, white-boy soul vocals (Bee Gees). Got all that?\nAt a mere 25 minutes and nine songs, the Prizzies' self-titled full-length debut flies by, but packs in more fun, memorable moments than many albums twice its length. These moments come in the form of the bold bass, drums, keyboard and sax run that opens the album's first track "Shorgasm;" the shout-along pogo of "Flea Bomb" or "Thundergust of Woodpeckers;" the fight song chronicling IU alumnus Aaron Waltke's world record for wearing the most T-shirts at once ("Too Many T-Shirts"); or pop-tastic tributes to disaster monkeys ("Captain Bob") and partying with Campfire Girls ("Campfire Girls' Weekend Party"). The only misstep comes with an ill-considered spoken-word intro to the otherwise terrific "Thought Command" that puts a speed bump in the album's momentum. But all-in-all, it's a mad, tremendously entertaining effort from a band that should be preparing to take on the world beyond Monroe County.
(09/17/07 2:19am)
Do you love your country? Do you love it more than going to class?\nLast week, an event came to pass that threatened to upend the world order and undermine U.S. competitiveness in a key strategic area – and it’s going to be up to us to take a break from school and set things right.\nOn Tuesday, the government of Russia’s Ulyanovsk province gave residents the day off to go home and reproduce. Officially, this was a measure taken to boost Russia’s flagging population – the country claims (note: “claims”) that its population is dropping, fueled by low birthrates, a low life expectancy, high emigration, etc. The Ulyanovsk government went so far as to declare a “Day of Conception” contest, with prizes for couples that give birth nine months later, just to lend credence to their story.\nBut, if there’s one thing that more than four decades of cold war taught us, it’s never to trust the Russkies.\nNow, we shouldn’t be worried about population – the United States has about double Russia’s population – and at a fertility rate of 2.09 children per couple versus Russia’s 1.39, we’re poised to keep that edge.\nBut it doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to suspect that all this “conception” might involve sex. And, as you’ve undoubtedly seen in James Bond films, sex (along with sports cars, baccarat, tuxedos and martinis) was a critical weapon in the Cold War. Therefore, it’s not outrageous to posit that this “Day of Conception” might merely be a cover for a secret Russian crash program to gain global superiority in shagging, just as they attempted to do with space flight. Armed with advanced new positions, devices and techniques, the Russians could wage a new war for hearts and minds (and loins), quite literally seducing more naive and inexperienced countries into their fold. And that’s not to mention the health benefits. Think of a reinvigorated, happier, stress-and-prostate-cancer-free Red Army marching on the ancient capitals of Europe – an iron beaded curtain descending across the continent …\nThis simply cannot be allowed.\nAnd so it falls to us American citizens to rise to the challenge, to stand tall and vigorously fill this sex gap. To sacrifice whatever it takes, even at the cost of our precious educations.\nThus, I propose – nay, insist – that the university give students a day off from class to do our citizenly duty and show those formerly-commie devils that when it comes to the horizontal mambo, they’re all left feet. To demonstrate that, when it comes to the rumpy-pumpy, the forces of oppression will never gain the upper hand over those who love freedom and democracy. To come together as a people, to come together as people. Because some things cannot be learned in the classroom – at least, not until after everyone else has left the building.\nAnd if IU says that we can’t get class off to go have sex, then it’s clear: those liberal pointdexters hate America.
(09/10/07 1:23am)
First thing on the morning of Sept. 6, hundreds of people (at the very least), including myself, waited in a big, long queue winding through the foyer of the IU Auditorium. Why, you ask? \nFor tickets to the Oct. 19 Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello show at Assembly Hall, of course.\nYeah, but why get up early and endure the vagaries of the box office’s lottery-based queue-organizing system for this particular show? \nIf you had asked that of me, or anyone else there, we likely would have told you some variant of, “Because Dylan is a living legend.”\nOK, but why?\nI don’t mean to question Dylan’s status as a rock icon – I certainly believe he deserves it. What I’m wondering instead is how a musician or band achieves such prominence. How do we decide who’s among the greatest acts in the history of music?\nIs it popularity? If popularity is measured in terms of album sales, then there are loads of popular acts who – how do I say this nicely? – are not conventionally considered great. Nickelback keeps selling lots of albums, after all. \nIs it critical acclaim? This seems to be part of it – it is, after all, largely the critics who end up declaring and then debating about which acts are great (or, as The Onion wonderfully put it in a headline: “History Of Rock Written By The Losers”). Then again, many acclaimed groups slip between the cracks and others maintain only a cult status. Neutral Milk Hotel’s In The Aeroplane Over The Sea has been praised to the hilt since its 1998 release, but ask anyone outside of indie rock geekdom if they’ve heard of the band, and you’ll probably receive only blank stares. And what about the bands that were disregarded by critics in their time, most famously Led Zeppelin?\nIs it historical influence? You can make this argument for the titans of the music canon – Dylan, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys – but what about the bands who had a less-than-widely-acclaimed influence? For example, Pearl Jam spawned Creed, Staind, Nickelback and “mainstream alternative,” while Fugazi helped create emo. And what about classic metal inadvertently giving rise to hair metal?\nThen there’s the boomer factor. Most “unquestionably great” acts come from the 50s, 60s and 70s – is this because they’re really that fantastic, or because they’re what the large, wealthy, socially dominant baby boom generation grew up with? Isn’t there always a temptation (among everyone, not just boomers) to argue that music today doesn’t hold a candle to when they first got into it? And now that mass media has made finding a musical niche much easier, will younger generations even be able to come to a consensus about what makes for great acts?\nI don’t have answers for these questions, but I can say this: it all points to a need to avoid complacency, to give new music a chance and question sacred cows. We must try to listen to things with fresh ears – ones that, hopefully, don’t have too bad a case of tinnitus after all this.
(09/06/07 4:00am)
Among us fans of contemporary British rock, it's a common refrain: "Why isn't this band big in America?" Granted, Super Furry Animals could never be "big" per se -- they're too weird -- but in a country where The Flaming Lips and Of Montreal are soundtracking commercials, one could reasonably ask why SFA isn't more popular. After all, for SFA "strange" hardly means "difficult," "overly-intellectual" or "unpleasant" -- their songs are catchy, beautiful and upbeat, even when they're about having "Ice Hockey Hair," speculate whether rocks are secretly alive or are sung entirely in Welsh. If you haven't yet, do yourself a tremendous favor and get a copy of their 2005 collection Songbook: The Singles, Vol. 1.\nNow, that said, SFA's latest album, Hey Venus!, is unlikely to finally give them a breakthrough over here. Well, OK, that's partly because it's currently only available as an import -- but, more importantly, it's like a gorgeous six-figure sports car that only packs a tiny four-cylinder engine. That is to say, song after song is pretty and starts off promisingly but doesn't go anywhere. \nNot that it doesn't have wonderful moments. Opening track "The Gateway Song" packs more hooks into 43 seconds than most bands can manage in four minutes and, as the name suggests, leaves you gagging for more. "Neo Consumer" is a shining bit of pop-rock to pogo up and down to. And "Into The Night" offers the charmingly geeky aspects of prog rock (lyrics about flying through the universe, spacey effects) without the filler (12-minute drum solos, etc.).\nBut other tracks too often settle into a groove in their first 30 seconds that they never leave, simply repeating until things wind down. They're still lovely and, for most bands, this would still be enough -- but SFA are capable of so much more.
(09/02/07 11:00pm)
Today is Labor Day – a day when we reflect upon the accomplishments of the common person, and America’s workers take a much-deserved break from their toils. Around the country, hard-working men and women are grilling burgers or going to sales at K-Mart or, uh, taking advantage of their last opportunity to wear white shoes.\nThat is, unless they write opinion columns for the Indiana Daily Student, which doesn’t give us the day off. \nYes, for us it’s just another workday: slaving away in a dark, dank room for 19 hours straight, the crack of the editor’s cat-of-nine-tails, getting paid in cast-off United Nations humanitarian aid rations, cranking out opinions for the today’s demanding media-savvy consumer ... \nWell, someone has to stand up and say something! Someone has to fight for our rights! So today, I’m laying down my burden. I’m taking my day off. Nope, today, I’m not writing a column – consequences be damned!\nFor example, I’m not going to scan the Chronicle of Higher Education looking for news about what’s happening at colleges around the country. And I’m not going to comment on the story they posted Friday about how president Glenn Poshard of Southern Illinois University is facing accusations that he plagiarized material in his 1984 dissertation. On any other day, I might have highlighted this as an example for IU students of the fact that cheating will always catch up to you and noted all the times that I have caught people plagiarizing in the course of my work as an instructor. I might even have said that at the very least you should stop copying from Wikipedia because it’s very easy to catch. But I’m not going to do it. Nope, not going to say a thing.\nNor will I mention another cautionary tale for IU students in Sunday’s New York Times about exploitative practices by the private student loan industry, or cite the Times’ statistic about student debt more than doubling in the past decade, or point the finger accusingly at state governments (and taxpayers) that seem to be ignoring their duty to help provide an affordable college education. Perhaps I might have qualified this opinion by saying that I’m generally a very market-oriented capitalist (except when casting myself as a downtrodden member of the proletariat serves my interests), but highlighted that even Adam Smith supported state-sponsored education as being a public good that the market could not provide at optimal efficiency. I won’t, though.\nAnd, unlike 60-75 percent of opinion columnists in the free world, I won’t find something to say about Idaho’s Sen. Larry Craig resigning after getting busted for soliciting a plainclothes police officer in a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport men’s room because … well actually, because it’s just another “out-the-conservative” sex scandal, and I find it hard to care. But I still won’t write about it.\nYes, let my editors look upon this empty space where a column should be and gnash their teeth in anger. That will teach them the value of Labor Day.
(08/30/07 4:00am)
The killer watches the teenage couple go into the house. We see it through his eyes. We hear his breathing. \nAs he creeps behind a window, the couple make out on a couch. The boyfriend tries on a clown mask and asks the girl, "Are we alone?" "Michael's around here somewhere," she says dismissively, and leaving the mask behind, they go upstairs to have sex. The killer puts on the mask and fetches a knife from the kitchen. After the boyfriend leaves, the killer climbs up the stairs. The girl sits topless at a mirror brushing her hair, oblivious to his presence -- until it's too late. He stabs her to death. As he leaves, he is caught, his mask ripped off to reveal: a 6-year-old boy in a clown costume.
(08/30/07 4:00am)
Four albums in, the first of Canada's modern indie supergroups is still going strong -- albeit with a bit of wear around the edges. \nIn what could foster a schism among fans, The New Pornographers' latest, Challengers, is a more laid-back affair than the band's previous releases: only two of its 11 tracks recreate the Porno's signature sugar-rush power-pop ("All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth" and "Mutiny, I Promise You"). The rest are either mid-tempo builders (that is, they start off light and build up to grand sing-along marches) or more ballad-y tunes akin to "The Bleeding Heart Show" and "These Are The Fables" from 2005's Twin Cinema. The new non-hyperactive stuff is almost uniformly excellent -- but, dang, if those two tracks don't make you miss the old sound.\nThe only other knock against Challengers is that the ingredients could use a bit more mixing. It has been noted elsewhere that this release shows a lot of similarity to group leader A.C. Newman's solo LP, The Slow Wonder -- and, indeed, it does. But more jarring, both within the course of Challengers and in comparison to the band's past work, are the chunks of Bejar left sticking out. As many of you already know, Pornos co-songwriter Dan Bejar also records solo as Destroyer -- and Challengers' "Entering White Cecilia" and "The Spirit of Giving" actually sound like Destroyer rather than New Pornos tracks, complete with '60's folky strumming and the insistent, declarative vocals. If, like a lot of music critics, you loved 2006's Destroyer's Rubies, this should make you quite happy -- if you're like me however, you … erm … tolerate it. By contrast, the also-Bejar-penned "Myriad Harbor" not only fits better with the group sound, it's the best song on the album -- with a soaring chorus, witty lyrics and terrific call-and-response vocals. Indeed, "Harbor," an example of a Pornos-Bejar song awkwardly highlights the Destroyer-Bejar nature of "Cecilia" and "Spirit" (and casts them deep into its shadow). \nBut realize that for all the words expended, these are two minor complaints against an album from one of the best indie bands out there. The songcraft is keen and charming, Neko Case's voice is as lovely as ever, and Challengers is quite fun. There's still plenty of reason to embarrass your less-hip friends and family by talking in public about how much you love The New Pornographers.
(08/29/07 1:15am)
This is going to sound really boring for a moment – but it’s about professors and sex, so stay with me.\nOn Friday, The Chronicle of Higher Education posted a blurb about the latest round in an argument between professor Paul Abramson of UCLA and conservative writer/intellectual Dinesh D’Souza. Abramson is coming out with a new book called “Romance in the Ivory Tower: The Rights and Liberty of Conscience” which, among other things, will argue that state university rules banning romance between professors and students violate the Ninth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (the Ninth Amendment being: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”). D’Souza expressed skepticism about this – and, most recently, Abramson has told D’Souza that he needs to wait until the book comes out before he can criticize it.\nNow, as to whether there is a “right to romance” implicitly protected by the Ninth Amendment, I really can’t say. I’m not a legal scholar, and what makes for non-enumerated rights (that is, rights not specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights, such as the right to privacy) has been a subject of decades-long debates over judicial interpretation and court precedent.\nI can say this: I think academia honors bans against professor-student relationships more in theory than in practice, because if professors and students couldn’t hook up, the professorate would go extinct.\nNow, I think we can almost all agree that dating a student while he or she is in your class is inappropriate – but what about students not in your class, but with whom you might have to otherwise professionally interact? When I think of all the seemingly happily married couples that I know who started out as faculty advisor and graduate student advisee, the line starts to blur. \nLook at it this way: most academics’ social universes could be bound in a nutshell and within that nutshell, many of the individuals are already married. So, if you’re still single upon entering academia, you really feel the pinch. And, then you put professors with students who have common interests. For example, as shocking as it might sound, both political science professors and political science majors tend to be very interested in politics. The rules seek to discourage any attractions that develop. It’s like academia is a dating agency in the ironic punishments division of Hell.\nThings seem to have improved since I entered college in the late 90s, as universities have gotten a grip on what constitutes sexual harassment and what does not. Still, reading through IU’s Handbook for Student Academic Appointees, a lot of vagueness remains. While universities should protect students from abusive professors, they can’t really expect academics to follow the famous quote from “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom.” You know the scene I mean.\n“No time for love, Dr. Jones.”
(08/23/07 4:00am)
Attention friends: You need this one. \nOkkervil River is a six-man outfit led by singer-songwriter Will Sheff that merges rock's energy with both lo-fi acoustic and grand operatic sounds. But the band members distinguish themselves by not merely wearing their hearts on their sleeves, but by virtually plucking them out and flinging them into the audience -- no abstract images or quirky stories here, just Sheff's howl of pain toward the heavens. This is, of course, rather melodramatic -- but Okkervil River shows just enough restraint to keep it convincing, achieving emo-like emotional release without resorting to its shopworn musical and lyrical tricks.\nThe Stage Names manages to surpass even 2005's excellent Black Sheep Boy in aesthetics and ambition -- making it one of this year's best indie-rock records. \nThis is, to no small extent, due to Sheff's extraordinary lyrics, which tell vivid stories by blurring the line between his characters and the media in their lives -- most strikingly, in "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" and "A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene," which express a wish to control life like it was a film or TV show (respectively), and in "Plus Ones" and "John Allyn Smith Sails," which incorporate familiar songs into their larger narratives. But all this eggheadery would mean little were it not for Okkervil River's stunning instrumentation, which takes everything from the ringing anthem of "Our Life" to the shuffling, downcast beauty of "A Girl in Port," and sends it vibrating down your spine. \nIf Okkervil River suffered from success before, now it's truly doomed.
(08/21/07 11:01pm)
On Aug. 6, right before the brief hiatus between our summer and fall publishing schedules, the Indiana Daily Student ran an article warning about the thefts that can occur during move-in and provided advice on what you can do to prevent them. To those who read it, this might have seemed like a helpful, clear-cut, perfectly reasonable piece of public service information. But to those of us who want to steal… \nAhem… that is to say, to those of us who are astute media observers, we understood this for what it really was: journalistic sensationalism intended to scare people into picking up more papers. The more papers you pick up, the more those fat cats in management get to light their cigars with $100 bills. Don’t be scared into lining their pockets. This weekend, it will be up to us to show them that we refuse to live in a society of fear – a world where people don’t trust each other and decent folks feel like they can’t walk the streets at night. If you want to demonstrate that YOU ARE NOT AFRAID, here’s what you should do:\n• Leave all your doors and windows unlocked – or, better yet, open. If you live on an upper floor, you can really show your daring by leaning a large ladder against the side of the building. If you own a dog or other large, dangerous creature, show courtesy to your neighbors by putting it on a leash, or in a kennel. Then, go down to Kirkwood or the other bars downtown – even Indy – and party the night away. There’s nothing those fear-mongers hate more than folks having a good time! \n• If you’ve really got moxie, how about this idea? Take your most expensive, portable and easy to fence items, put them in a storage case or cardboard box – then leave it on the curb for the whole of move-in. You’ll be saying: “Look at me thieves, I’m calling your bluff!” Make sure the container has handles and isn’t too heavy, and don’t leave anything with engravings or other personalization (you don’t want to risk misplacing something with such sentimental value). And during this time, if you see a suspicious, but unconventionally handsome character prowling around your dorm, don’t pay him no nevermind – heck, offer him a beer. He’s probably just there to help watch out for the real thieves. \n• In fact, why not let someone else worry about your valuables? As I believe in backing up my words with actions, I volunteer to selflessly look after your things. Just send your costly, untraceable items to “Brian McFillen c/o The Indiana Daily Student, Ernie Pyle Hall.” Note: I cannot be held responsible for anything that gets lost in the mail. \nBelieve me, once you lose your fear, you’ll gain a richness of spirit far beyond any material wealth – and, really, what is the cost of a laptop or diamond bracelet compared to that?
(08/04/07 4:00am)
In 2006, Bishop Allen announced its plan to self-release a new EP every month for a year. Sure, this was a gimmick, but it worked. Besides gaining the notice of MP3 blogs and Pitchfork, BA was finally signed to Dead Oceans, Secretly Candadian/Jagjaguwar's new sister label. And the band's latest album, The Broken String, shows why they could get away with such a shameless plea for attention. A mix of rerecorded songs from the EPs and new tracks, it plays like a singles collection -- and several of those singles are real gems.
(08/01/07 9:32pm)
Students: Got a problem with the University? Don’t worry – given enough time, the problem will go away. No, it won’t be solved. But after a few years, you’ll graduate and won’t be around to complain about it. So no more problem, right? Right.\nLast Thursday, this view was upheld by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Editors from Kansas State University’s student newspaper the Kansas State Collegian had sued the school for violating their free speech rights when the university fired the Collegian’s faculty advisor over the administration’s disapproval of the paper’s content. (The latter was determined through an investigation by College Media Advisors, a student media support and advocacy group.) But the firing, and subsequent lawsuit, occurred in 2004 – and this is 2007. The editors have since graduated from Kansas State. Student journalists graduating? Madness, I know. \nThus, the 10th Circuit ruled that because they are no longer students, the suit was moot because “there is no reasonable expectation that (they) will be subjected, post-graduation, to censorship by defendants in connection with that paper.” \nSo, if you take a university to court over your rights as a student, all they have to do is delay the legal process until you graduate. Then your claims are binned.\nI’m far from being a legal scholar, but this result has me wondering how far this ruling can apply to other cases. For example, if your school is not sufficiently handicap-accessible, and you sue based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, can the administration simply hold out until you graduate? Likewise, what if you’re at a school that fails to fund women’s sports sufficiently under Title IX? Or, how about, if you have a professor who discriminates against you based on your race, gender, religion, political beliefs, etc.? The ADA and Title IX have proven, time and again, to be solid bases for suits against universities – but, then again, they’re hardly as fundamental to our legal system as the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. \nThis ruling by the 10th Circuit merely reinforces a favorite response by administrations to any sort of controversy that could be expensive, contentious or otherwise uncomfortable to sort out: Make a show of creating a task force or advisory group and, after a long investigation, have them produce a report. If people are still interested by the report’s release, make some superficial changes, give a speech, have a photo op, perhaps, then let things drift back to business as usual.\nEven hoping that the 10th Circuit’s ruling is overturned in an appeal – what can students do to achieve lasting change, given such a turnover? My recommendation is that students take advantage of the technologies that are already changing our lives: social networking connections between alumni and current students, searchable databases and archives to preserve organizational memory and so on. \nOtherwise, all you can do is try to achieve as much as you can before you’re gone. The clock is ticking.
(07/26/07 4:00am)
At Uncle Fester's late Saturday night, The Besnard Lakes opened their set by unleashing a booming collective drone and a blast of mist from a strategically-placed fog machine. It was quite an introduction, but it nevertheless fit perfectly with the band's sound: big, brash, theatrical, hazy, dream-like, mysterious. \nHailing from Montreal, The Besnard Lakes are the latest in this decade's seemingly endless run of excellent Canadian indie rock. Like co-nationals Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene, they are a somewhat-large band (six members, although only five were present at Fester's) that seasons their traditional rock elements (electric guitars, drums, etc.) with baroque flourishes (violins, horns, flutes, saxophones). But that's where the similarities end. The Besnard Lakes have crafted their own unique sound, with the sweet, Pet Sounds-like male-female vocal harmonies of married duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas overrun by massive power chords and squalling space rock. And, fortunately, this crossing of Brian Wilson and Spiritualized goes together like peanut butter and jelly.\nPerhaps the clearest example of this is "Disaster," the first track on The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse, the band's second and newest album. Opening with Lasek's falsetto croon and easygoing acoustic strumming, a peaceful bit of horn, violin and rhythm guitar are added -- then, just before the two minute mark, a buzzing electric guitar descends on the proceedings like killer bees attacking a picnic, and things fall into a loping sing-along with two overlapping choruses ("c'mon, baby, c'mon" and "you've got disaster on your mind"). Throughout Dark Horse, honeyed voices drip lyrics vaguely hinting at apocalypse, disillusion and betrayal (espionage and war appear as major themes) and are accompanied by complex chamber pop orchestrations that, in turn, give way to sweeping guitars, drums and choruses. This gets a little monotonous after a while, making the latter half of the album a little less striking than the first -- but hey, its hard to complain about lovely melodies and crunching guitars.\nBy they way, a bonus bit of info from Saturday: The Besnard Lakes do an on-target cover of Fleetwood Mac's "You Make Loving Fun." Who knew?
(07/26/07 4:00am)
In the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington," when Marge gets incensed about a sexist comic in Homer's copy of "Reading Digest," he seeks to defuse the situation by saying: "Oh Marge, cartoons don't have any deep meaning. They're just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh." Then he stands up, revealing a glorious view of his plumber's crack.\nBut despite the admonishment of the genius mind behind Flaming Moes, moon waffles and Skittlebrau, academics have sought to probe into what lies behind "The Simpsons" -- the show's significance, that is, not Homer's crack. The show is history's longest-running sitcom, the winner of 21 Emmys and a Peabody, a regular nominee on lists for greatest TV series of all time and a show that, in 2001, was estimated to reach 60 million people a week in 70 countries. In other words, "The Simpsons" has gone far beyond a mere half-hour of animated antics. So what does its success say about us, its audience? What does it say about American culture and society? And what influence has "The Simpsons" had in the 18 years since its debut?\nForemost among the research into "The Simpsons" is the show's social criticism.\nIn his 2005 book "Planet Simpson," journalist Chris Turner declared the show unmatched in the field of satire, "(expressing) a deeper contempt for authority than anything else on prime time and as sustained a critique of mainstream society as anything else in the pop culture of the day." Undoubtedly Bill "Well, I'm a pretty lousy president" Clinton and George W. "general cuckoo bananas in charge" Bush would concur.\nAmerican studies graduate student Benjamin Aldred, who has taught on Bugs Bunny's role as a folk icon, claimed that as a cartoon, "The Simpsons" was able to push the boundaries of what could be said on network television.\n"Animation and narrative art have always enjoyed an innocent reputation that allow those who know the medium to get away with things that wouldn't be tolerated elsewhere," he said. \nAnd yet, the role "The Simpsons" plays as social commentary has been questioned. For all its stinging jabs, the program is solidly part of the mainstream media -- owned by a mass-media conglomerate (Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation) and party to a wide range of advertising and branded merchandise. Communications and culture professor Jon Simons pointed to the fact that the program could be seen as both a sharp source of social criticism and a cynical corporate shill. For all the skewering of Krusty Burger, Krusty-O's and the notorious Canyonero, fans have also been encouraged to eat Butterfingers and "Do The Bartman."\nPolitical science graduate student Scott Nissen, who has used "The Simpsons" to teach three different courses on satire and political issues, noted that the show evolved from a countercultural icon to a mainstream institution not only thanks to its wit but also because of its embrace of traditional American values.\n"As time went on and more people started to watch it, they acknowledged the fact that it's not necessarily a parody of American culture anymore," Nissen said. "(Instead) it's a very true reflection of American culture. There's a lot that's good about the Simpsons (family) that doesn't get a lot of airplay." \nHighlighting the fact that, despite their shortcomings, the Simpsons consistently demonstrate altruism, religious observance and community involvement, Nissen said, "It has become a pretty true reflection of what we'd like American life to be."\nFor instance, barring the occasional throttling, Homer and Marge show themselves to be loving parents. \n"We may have forgotten how to pass on hope to our kids," therapist Karin Bruckner said in 2005's "The Psychology of The Simpsons," "but the Simpsons have not. ... Their love for each other and their children, while flawed and at times alarmingly misguided, is intact and unfailing. They teach us how, when our dreams are crushed either through our own folly or the cruel ways of the world around us, it is the power of love that makes it all right again. ... "\nLikewise, in his 2001 book "The Gospel According to The Simpsons," journalist Mark Pinsky argued that, for all the series' criticism of organized religion, it ultimately expresses a spiritual optimism: the Simpsons eventually do the right thing (by the episode's end); villains get their come-uppance, Heaven and Hell exist, their strangely five-fingered God answers people's prayers and Ned Flanders, annoying as he might be, is also a very de-diddily-e-cent neighbor.\nIn examining "The Simpsons" family dynamics, gender studies professor Brenda Weber provided an example of the show's tricky balance between challenging social values and reinforcing them. \n"Though it doesn't do a whole lot to complicate pretty conventional norms of how families are constituted (mother, father, kids, etc.)," she said, "it does critique the 'naturalness' of those arrangements through the combined function and dysfunction of Marge and Homer, particularly as put in contrast with their sanctimonious neighbors, the Flanders."\nBut for all this, we're still missing the sixth major member of the Simpsons family. No, I don't mean Grandpa. Something more like a teacher, mother, secret lover ... "While 'The Simpsons' is a show about a family, it is also a show about television ... ," Fordham University communications and media professor Jonathan Gray said in his 2006 book, "Watching With The Simpsons." Through parody, Gray argues, "The Simpsons" reinterprets all of TV's cultural texts (e.g., sitcoms, films and news stories), mixing them together and giving them new meanings. \nThus, Homer's barbershop quartet sings "Baby On Board" on the roof of Moe's bar (in front of an indifferent George Harrison), sadistic cartoon mouse Itchy beheads Quentin Tarantino and painter Jasper Johns steals random items with the soon-ubiquitous word "yoink!"\n"'The Simpsons' links itself to high culture and popular culture alike," William Irwin and J.R. Lombardo said in the 2001 book "The Simpsons and Philosophy," "weaving an intricate design, making the show fit for repeat viewing and worthy of close attention."\nWell, all that combined with the fact that 18 years into the show, it's still quite funny. And, after all, "laughter is the language of the soul."\nI assume you're familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda.
(07/25/07 8:19pm)
On Friday, the Journal & Courier of Lafayette, Ind., revealed that, on June 30, Purdue University spent $576,778 on a party for 600 donors to the university. Purdue justified the expense by saying that it was a drop in the bucket compared to the $1.7 billion the donors had contributed, and that costs had increased due to the location and timing of the event (Mollenkopf Athletic Center had to be specially equipped, and student musical groups were unavailable in the summer). \nIntrepid journalist that I am, I managed to get hold of a (purported) list of expenses from Purdue’s big donor blowout, along with notes from the event planning staff:\n• Tickets to send Purdue University’s parents on “surprise second honeymoon” ($2,000). “This’ll get them out of the house!”\n• Renovation to enlarge basement of Mollenkopf Athletic Center ($100,000). “We’re talking about 600 people – we can’t fit that many on the futon.”\n• Rental of party advisor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ($10,000). “You remember when they made up MIT’s Great Dome to look like R2-D2? I hear he was totally behind that!” \n• Accounting and legal advice ($50,000). “Cause we don’t want to get in trouble.”\n• 600 “Dwarven Stone” 20-sided dice and giant 18-by-8 foot dungeon master’s screen ($2,400). “Friggin’ sweet!”\n• “Stargate SG-1” seasons 1-8, digital projector, rental of 660-square-foot outdoor screen ($4,240). “But not season nine, ‘cause the show has sucked since Richard Dean Anderson left.”\n• Speaker’s fee for Tom Morga, Leonard Nimoy’s stunt double from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” ($2,200). “He was in that scene where Spock’s floating around in the spacesuit. Quit hatin’ – it was the best I could do.”\n• The Champagne Music of Lawrence Welk, DJ Killbot digital dance remix ($12). “Seriously phat beats.”\n• Helmets, kneepads, goggles ($3,000). “Since there’s going to be dancing.”\n• Motion sickness pills ($1,000). “Again, the dancing.”\n• Deodorant, 12 tons ($60,000).\n• Peppermint Schnapps, 50 cases ($25,000). “We gone get tore up, boyeee!” \n• Clean-up fees ($5,000). “Estimated cost following ingestion of 50 cases of Peppermint Schnapps.”\n• A woman ($250,000). “My friend’s sister – she said that for $250K, she’d stay at the party for half an hour. She’s way hot.”\n• Condoms, 600 ($225). “’Cause, OMG, there’s going to be a woman there!”\n• Clean underwear ($1,200). “OMG, a woman!”\n• Custom-built World of Warcraft costumes ($30,000). “This online company will totally make costumes that look like your avatar. For VIPs only.”\n• Student rental (20 students, $400 total). “In case the donors want to meet some students – how else can we get them to come to campus in summer?”\n• Liger rental ($10,000). “It’s the greatest animal ever: A lion and tiger mixed, bred for its skills in magic.”\n• Crimson and crème décor ($20,101). “’Cause if they know this is Purdue, people probably won’t come.” \nAccording to its hosts, the party was a rousing success, lasting until at least midnight. However, no guests could be reached for comment.
(07/19/07 4:00am)
For those of you who aren't familiar with Interpol yet: skip reading this review and simply get a copy of their 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights. It's one of this decade's best alternative albums and, really, a sort of time capsule for the period immediately following the September 11 attacks. (Note: if you're a Joy Division fan, ignore the claims that Interpol sounds "just like them" -- instead, expect something more akin to Ian Curtis fronting a "shoegaze"-influenced outfit with arena aspirations.)\nNow, for fans, your reaction to Our Love To Admire is going to depend on what you thought of 2004's Antics. If you liked Antics, or were introduced to Interpol via Antics, Our Love is going to seem rather monochrome and dull. However, if you were disappointed by Antics, Our Love will seem like a return to Interpol's Bright Lights form (if not quite as good).\nOur Love resurrects Bright Lights' chilly, expansive sound -- if anything, Our Love, rather than Antics, seems like the immediate follow-up to Interpol's debut. No upbeat "Slow Hands" here -- the darkness is back, and it feels good (or, that is, feels bad in a good way). Our Love is also more consistent than Antics, and the lyrics, while opaque as usual, hold none of that album's notorious clunkers (such as the "I make money like Fred Astaire" line in the song "Take You On A Cruise," for example).\nBut Our Love never matches Antics' high points either. The album is one long, slow burn, with no songs as memorable as "Evil," "NARC" or "Slow Hands" -- much less the fantastic tracks from Bright Lights. \nNevertheless, repeated listens reveal plenty of fine moments. Besides its hooks, "No I In Threesome" is a wonderfully cheeky number about convincing a reluctant partner to, well ... guess. "Heinrich Maneuver" boogies vigorously and carries some small hints of R.E.M. "Mammoth" has absolutely towering instrumentals, which should help justify my "shoegaze" claim above. And "All Fired Up" is a great little anthem complete with a fist-pumping chant ("I'll take you on!"). \nThe rest is never bad -- just not that exciting.
(07/18/07 9:20pm)
Last week, the New York Stock Exchange’s Dow Jones industrial average saw its greatest “one-day percentage gain in four years,” and this week it climbed past an index value of 14,000, which means it’s worth a whole lot of samoleons. Therefore, it seems like the market conditions are finally right to take this column public.\nWhoa, don’t go throwing money at me yet! There’s a long process to go through before this column’s initial public offering. I still need to fill out the paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Then there’s the chores that accompany that: assembling the legal team, having auditors go over the financial records, gathering all the info required for public disclosure by the SEC, shredding all the other info that I don’t want the SEC and public to know about, tying potential whistle-blowers to rocks and sinking them into the Jordan River ... I’m going to be busy for a while. \nBut in the interest of whetting your appetite, here are some things to consider when investing in this column:\n• A recent Harvard University study found that 60 percent of teenagers pay little attention to the news, and those who do prefer “soft stories about celebrities” to “hard news stories like congressional votes or developments in Iraq.” Given that the teenage demographic is one of the most desirable for advertisers, and that this column rarely, if ever, has any actual news value, this speaks well to its future profitability. And by using phrases like “nude coed,” “beer bong” and “Justin Timberlake,” the increased page views for this column’s online edition should raise profits that much more.\n• A column by Robert J. Samuelson for the July 23 issue of Newsweek currently up online has noted the declining presence of commas, both in personal discourse and in professional print. In “Economics 101” terms, this is called “scarcity,” and a decrease in the supply of something should, ceteris paribus, increase its price. You will note, that, this, column, has, quite, a few, commas, and, a tremendous, capacity, to, generate, more. Just imagine everyone lining up, looking for a little something to top off their “Sincerely’s”! And that’s not to mention that every share also gets you part-ownership of my colon.\n• And this isn’t even touching upon this column’s wonderful potential for extortion, finagling and assorted lucrative mischief. Why, look at what Whole Foods chief executive John Mackey was able to accomplish by anonymously posting online comments praising his company and dissing competitors (so as to lower their stock prices)! Imagine getting 500 words to do that every week. Why use a “sock puppet” (in non-geek: “a false online identity”), when I’m offering you a top-of-the-line, googly-eyed Muppet?\nSure, much of this might not be “legal,” per se. But, with high enough stock prices, that could take an awful long time for the courts to decide. Meanwhile, I’m sure I can post from, say, Cuba.
(07/12/07 4:00am)
The noughties' reunion tide keeps a-rollin'. Now, more than two years after leader Billy Corgan's dramatic plea to his former bandmates via a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune, The Smashing Pumpkins are back -- uh, sort of. \nActually, its two original members -- Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin -- are back, plus three new, little-known recruits. But that qualifying "sort of" is due less to their roster than to the sound of their new album "Zeitgeist." Perhaps it's in response to the unfavorable reception of the Pumpkins' last two albums -- 1998's quiet acoustic/electronic "Adore" and 2000's hyper-produced, high-concept prog-rock "Machina/The Machines of God" -- but with "Zeitgeist" the band seems content to churn out fairly standard, top-40 alt-rock, distinguished from the pack only by the presence of Corgan's familiar vocals.\nNot that it's a bad listen, per se -- it, after all, generally sticks to proven formulae. The Pumpkins push their instruments to 11 on almost every track -- especially on standouts such as "Doomsday Clock," "Tarantula" and "(Come On) Let's Go." The main problem, instead, is that not much of "Zeitgeist" is particularly memorable -- which is disappointing, given that Corgan's ability to pen a sharp, hook-laden tune was what elevated the band above their '90s heavy-rock peers in the first place. \nAnd then there's the lyrics. Coming from the guy who wrote the brilliant chorus "For all of my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage," the lyrics for many of Zeitgeist's songs are shockingly uninspired. Take, for example, "That's The Way (My Love Is)": "they say that life ain't easy/they'll say your love's a crime/destroy up all your reason/how I'm alive," then "they'll say that nothing matters/not even your will to survive/of course I love you baby/'cause I'm alive." Or the (requisite) anti-war tune "For God And Country": "for God and country, I'll fight/for God and country, I'll die/for God and country, my soul is so alive." Yawn.\nIf you want a more exciting fix of "new Pumpkins," do yourself a favor -- pick up Silversun Pickups' 2006 album "Carnavas." You won't be disappointed.
(06/28/07 3:57pm)
This week, the Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment free speech protection did not extend to the case of an Alaskan high school student who was suspended for displaying a banner reading “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” at a school-sponsored event. The school argued that the statement was an endorsement of illegal drug use; the student argued, according to a June 25 Associated Press article, “He intended it to proclaim his right to say anything at all.” \nBut in all this tussle over free-speech rights versus schools’ “en loco parentis” responsibilities, an important aspect of this case appears to have gone neglected: the gross historical inaccuracy of suggesting that Jesus smoked a bong.\nGranted, the popular image of Jesus – the long hair and beard, the flowing robes, the sandals – could be interpreted as indications of possible bong use. And cannabis was available as a drug during Jesus’ time – its appearance in Chinese medical textbooks dates back to 2,700 B.C., and it had been employed for its medical and psychoactive properties in ancient India, Tibet, Assyria, Persia and Europe all before Jesus’ birth. (Although there is little evidence of its use by the most influential culture of his time, the Romans. Then again, it’s not like he was on good terms with the Romans). However, the timeline concerning the development of the bong (debated as it is) simply does not overlap with the timeline of Jesus’ life (debated as it is). \nWhile Jesus was born, lived and died sometime around the B.C.-A.D. crossover, evidence does not indicate that the bong itself is quite so old. If one adopts the common assumption that the bong is descended from the hookah or nargile popular among Middle Eastern and Central Asian cultures, this would put its origins in India at around the 15th century A.D. – hence, 1,400 years too late. An alternative theory, presented March 30 in the “On Marijuana” blog, argues that the bong has an African origin – the concept of smoking marijuana having traveled from Africa to Asia, rather than the other way around. But even if this theory is correct, the earliest African pipes date to 1100-1400 A.D. – again, much too late. Thus it is highly unlikely that there were any “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” at all.\nThis, then, speaks to a serious issue well beyond the limits of free speech among children in school – one that should be far more worrisome for educators. What does it say about the quality of our U.S. educational system when high school students express such glaring historical inaccuracies? We are, after all, talking about an error of at least 1,000 years. What’s next? Shall we have George Washington inventing the Twinkie? Did Napoleon listen to the “hip-hop” music? Is this where “No Child Left Behind” has brought us?\nHuh? What do you mean “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” was a joke? I don’t see what’s so funny about such disturbing historical inaccuracy. And I’m an academic – we never take things too seriously.