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Crazy has entered the building

By -Nate Bethea and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

Fiona Apple has long been known for two things: writing eye-opening, nuanced piano songs and being crazy. Neither of the two has changed in the six years since her last album, the consistent and underappreciated (if dense and inaccessible) When the Pawn... For starters, anyone who downloaded the leaked version of the album in the past year or so will be happy to learn that the final mix sounds much better than what was passed around on the internet. Producer Jon Brion was dropped in favor of hip-hop producer Mike Elizondo, and the album was re-recorded.

A reunion like no other

By Alyson Brodsy and Ryan McLaughlin · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

The DVD release of Cream's Royal Albert Hall performance shows the highlights of the long overdue reunion concert of rock's first "super-group." The 2-disc DVD set contains more than 20 classic Cream songs, including "Badge," "Crossroads," "White Room" and "Sunshine of Your Love," as well as interviews with band members Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker.

Is "Commander in Chief" the warmup act for a real White House run?

By Alyson Brodsy and AP Reports · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

NEW YORK -- ABC's "Commander in Chief" would seem to be a pretty straightforward drama. The president dies. The vice president (played by Geena Davis) succeeds him in the Oval Office. And, omigosh, she's a woman!

Good 'morning'!

By Alyson Brodsy and Patrick Hurley · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

To call My Morning Jacket a unique band is an understatement. Hailing from Louisville, KY, MMJ got started with five members. After some amount of success, two of the founders of the band decided they weren't cut out for the constant touring that comes with success. The remaining members didn't know where to go next. Would they dismantle the band? Would they continue with three members? Would they add new members? Bingo, the remaining three: singer/songwriter and guitarist Jim James, bassist Two-Tone Tommy and drummer Patrick Hallahan decided to add keyboardist Bo Koster and guitarist Carl Broemel to the mix.

The Different Drummer Belly Dancers will be performing at this year’s Eroticon.

Fishnets Fetishes & Fun

By Stephen Crane · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

Just as the monotony of daily routines begin to take hold, yet another opportunity to unleash the inner 'id' is coming to Axis Nightclub at 9 p.m. Oct. 15, with the return of Eroticon, the event formerly known as Stimuli. This 20th appearance of Eroticon, an erotic convention, is packed with contests, booths and events guaranteed to titillate. "Basically, it's a fun, safe place for people to creatively express their sensuality," said Leyna Wallace, media spokesperson for Sessions Inc., who is organizing the event.

This 'curse' is hilarious!

By Alyson Brodsy and Evan Ross · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

For those of you uninitiated (okay, most of you, myself included), British animator Nick Park created the claymation duo of Wallace and Gromit back in 1989. For years, his animated shorts have existed almost completely on the other side of the Atlantic. However, Dreamworks decided to distribute Wallace and Gromit's first feature-length debut here in the States. Can an obscure stop-motion British duo make it? By the reaction this film received in the theater, the answer is a resounding "yes." First, an introduction: good-natured inventor Wallace (voice of Peter Sallis) and his trusty silent partner/dog Gromit are making a small fortune helping out their small town with their humane pest control business. Looking for a permanent way to stop these bunnies from chomping up prized vegetables, Wallace constructs a machine in order to change their rabbit-y nature. Unfortunately, the machine malfunctions and instead lets loose a hopping mad monstrosity on the town.

Another day, another Ryan Adams album

By -Nate Bethea and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

Ryan Adams is nothing if not prolific. He already released a double album (Cold Roses) this year with his new band the Cardinals, and since 2000 he has put out seven releases, all of varying quality. 2000's Heartbreaker was a jaw-dropping alt-country dirge; 2003's Rock 'n' Roll was a tongue-in-cheek rip-off of just about every alternative rock act ever. Adams seems to have come full circle from his days in Whiskeytown -- after conjuring every genre, he's back to straightforward country. It certainly sounds great, and the fact his picture isn't plastered all over every surface of the album means he may be becoming less of a prima donna.

This 'scene' is overwhelming

By Alyson Brodsy and Nate Gowdy · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

An experimentation has always been central to rock, and that's what Broken Social Scene's new eponymous album epitomizes. Not satisfied to stay with what's already worked for them, they've pushed the envelope even more, taking the "growing as a band" cliché literally.

At home on this 'prairie'

By Alyson Brodsy and Dan Hopmann · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

There are no tricks or gimmicks on the latest Neil Young release. The album art looks just like the music sounds -- unpretentious and down-home. Fans have seen this approach previously from Young on 1972's Harvest. The lyrics conjure images of country roads and boundless cornfields, and the stripped-down musical elements contribute to an agrarian vibe. Prairie Wind may not contain the characteristic blustering guitar solos and thick distortion, but it's a welcome album.

Still awaiting 'the day'

By Alyson Brodsky and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

One of hip-hop's most in-demand rappers, Twista, is back with a fresh beat and a new album to show for it. The multi-platinum rapper teamed up with award-winning producers Scott Scorch, David Banner, Timbaland, the Neptunes, Toxic and Cuzo to create The Day After.

Decent film in a bad age of entertainment

By Alyson Brodsy and John Barnett · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

Steven Spielberg's first foray into World War II films, unless you count 1979's godawful pseudo-comedy "1941," "Empire of the Sun" concerns itself with the fate of a young British boy (newest Batman Christian Bale, aged 12 years here) stolen away from his comfortable, upper-class existence and forced to endure the war in a Japanese prison camp in China. Generally and perhaps unfairly dismissed as one of Spielberg's select few failures as a director, "Empire of the Sun" is actually a somewhat harrowing tale of one youth's steadfastness in the face of incomprehensible adversity.

With 'Two,' all bets are off

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Wisner · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

If you're going into the theater expecting "Two for the Money" to be this amazing study of the sports-gambling business, you might end up disappointed. There's more to life than winning football games and 7-point spreads -- there's the drama that comes from losing.

MTV's Seven Deadly Sins

By Alyson Brodsy and John Barnett · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

The conversation goes like this. Suspiciously attractive Valley girl: Do you wanna be with me? Mush-mouth SoCal pop-collar: (long pause) Yeah and no. SAVG: Well which one? MMSCPC: Yeah, but no, too. SAVG: Ok. You can always call me, yeah? Envy, Sloth Thus ends another late afternoon in the lives of the cast of MTV's blatantly banal "Laguna Beach," a show which purports itself to be "The REAL Orange County" while the rest of us wonder if there really is such a thing. "Talent"-scouted from an actual California high school, the cast, which features vamp-tramp Kristin Cavallari (doing her best Paris Hilton ad-infinitum) and a seemingly IQ-less bevy of male hangers-on, bumble around their ritzy Cali digs with a haughty assurance unbecoming of a group of people with so little of importance.

Disgusting, but so funny

By Alyson Brodsy and Matt McMullan · Thursday, Oct. 13,2005 12 a.m.

"Waiting..." is about youth in limbo. It's about that feeling you get when you're twenty-something, a couple years past (or shy of) a college degree and you have no idea what to do with your life. It's about the feeling as if you have no point. No direction.

Geography matters in marriage age

By Alyson Brodsy and Stephen Ohlemacher · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:30 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Couples in the Northeast are hearing wedding bells later than men and women elsewhere in the country, especially in Utah, where younger newlyweds are the norm.

Bush: Faith important to Miers

By Deb Riechmann · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:28 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Religion was an issue the White House avoided in pushing the nomination of John Roberts to be chief justice of the United States a month ago. For Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court, President Bush and his top aides are taking a different tack. Trying to patch a growing fissure in the Republican Party over Miers, the president is openly talking about her conservative religious beliefs.

New Orleans police deny excessive force

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:27 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- A police union official and a lawyer for officers accused in the beating of a retired teacher on Wednesday sharply disputed the man's contention he was brutalized during his arrest, which was captured on video.

UN exploring ways to speed up avian flu vaccine

By Alyson Brodsy and Frances D'Emilio · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:27 p.m.

ROME -- U.N. officials said Tuesday they are exploring ways to step up the production of a vaccine in case bird flu mutates and sparks a human flu pandemic.

Aftershocks hit Pakistan as aid arrives

By Alyson Brodsy and Sadaqat Jan · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:25 p.m.

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan -- Rescue efforts gave way to aid relief, as hopes faded Wednesday of finding more survivors in Pakistan's devastated quake zone. Still, miracles emerged amid the misery: A Russian team rescued a 5-year-old girl trapped for nearly 100 hours under the rubble of her family home. Trucks and helicopters with aid from dozens of countries choked up roads to the crumbling towns of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but the hungry and homeless in hard-hit areas remained isolated four days after the temblor.

Writers misrepresent Rokita

By Alyson Brodsy and Lindsay Kerrigan · Wednesday, Oct. 12,2005 11:24 p.m.

Friday's Indiana Daily Student article covering Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita's visit for the IU Republican Women's speaker series "Something to Talk About" did not accurately represent the ideas expressed at the event. Rokita's comments about Hurricane Katrina were in response to a question asked by an audience member who actually paid attention.