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The Indiana Daily Student

Grammys album a rocky road of good, bad and awful

By C. Warner Sills and John Barnett · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:35 p.m.

As usual, 2007's Grammy nominees are an extremely mixed bag. Playing as a kind of semi-discerning alternative to the NOW! That's What I Call Music compilations, this particular mix showcases both a tiny bit of the best and a whole mess of the worst of what 2006 had to offer, with everyone from Paul McCartney to the Pussycat Dolls chipping in. As with any record-exec-arranged mix, especially one that's been hastily compiled by a label dubiously known as "Strategic Marketing," it's best to separate the good from the bad and the bad from the just plain ugly.

The Indiana Daily Student

Super sweet 15

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsky · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:33 p.m.

When Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland were asked to photograph their neighbor's quinceañera, little did they know doing so would result in an extraordinary film and winner of two Sundance Film Festival awards (Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize). "Quinceañera" is a coming-of-age story about 14-year-old Magdalena (Emily Rios), and the events that lead up to her quinceañera, a traditional Mexican celebration when a girl turns 15. When Magdalena doesn't fit into her quinceañera dress, it is assumed she is pregnant. Although Magdalena is a "virgin," a pregnancy test confirms she is pregnant.

The Indiana Daily Student

Solid as a rock

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsky · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:31 p.m.

Critics labeled "Gridiron Gang" cliché and predictable. I can't say I disagree. More and more sports movies are released every year following similar plotlines saddled with the frequent tagline, "based on a true story." I've begun to doubt these types of movies. Yet, there is something that stands out about "Gridiron Gang." Without much directing experience to his name, Phil Joanou did a great job with this film and making it stand out from other sports films.

The Indiana Daily Student

A mediocre 'Beginning'

By C. Warner Sills and Ash Cartwright · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:29 p.m.

"Texas Chainsaw: The Beginning" naturally garners low expectations with its credentials -- it is the latest in a series of films spawned from a popular horror movie and a comparatively lackluster cinematic offering put foreword to take advantage of interest in the "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" stirred up by the recent, fairly high-quality remake of the original. It is also directed by Jonathan Liebesman, who was responsible for "Darkness Falls" (remember, it was the one with "the tooth fairy?").

The Indiana Daily Student

Model 'Employee'

By C. Warner Sills and Stuart McWhirter · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:28 p.m.

There's a certain genre of comedy that few people actually know exists titled: "Work Sucks but Isn't It Funny?" Many hit comedies through the years have fallen into this category, like "Caddyshack" and, of course, "Office Space," the 1999 cult favorite about working in a cubicle typing at a computer. "Employee of the Month" falls right into this category of films and actually turns out to be a pretty entertaining one. Although it wasn't a major success in theaters, the movie has many high points and is much more highbrow than might be expected of a film of this caliber.

The Indiana Daily Student

Green Day re-issue goes 'Kerplunk!'

By C. Warner Sills and Christopher Lee · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:26 p.m.

Green Day was a completely different band before American Idiot. Before being signed to major label Warner Bros., the trio released two albums on Bay Area independent label Lookout!. The first was a compilation of various EPs titled 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, while the latter, Kerplunk!, featured what would become the definitive lineup of Billie Joe Armstrong on guitar and vocals, Mike Dirnt on bass and Tre Cool on drums. Both albums are being reissued through Warner Bros.

The Indiana Daily Student

Clap your hands say 'meh'

By C. Warner Sills and Brian J. McFillen · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:24 p.m.

If there's one lesson to take away from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's second album, Some Loud Thunder (out Jan. 30), it's this: Ambition is a fine thing, but ambition alone is not enough. Indeed, for those of us who love out-of-the-mainstream music, it could serve as an aesthetic test: Can we distinguish complexity from quality? Can we tell the difference between something that's difficult-but-rewarding and something that's simply difficult?

The Indiana Daily Student

Grammys album a rocky road of good, bad and awful

By C. Warner Sills and John Barnett · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:22 p.m.

As usual, 2007's Grammy nominees are an extremely mixed bag. Playing as a kind of semi-discerning alternative to the NOW! That's What I Call Music compilations, this particular mix showcases both a tiny bit of the best and a whole mess of the worst of what 2006 had to offer, with everyone from Paul McCartney to the Pussycat Dolls chipping in. As with any record-exec-arranged mix, especially one that's been hastily compiled by a label dubiously known as "Strategic Marketing," it's best to separate the good from the bad and the bad from the just plain ugly.

The Indiana Daily Student

The birds and bees of indie electronica

By C. Warner Sills and Craig Shank · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:20 p.m.

If you're part of an electronically inclined indie duo, odds are that last year went well for you. Over the past 12 months, we've seen outstanding new works from twosomes including The Knife's Silent Shout, The Blow's Paper Television and the Junior Boys' So This is Goodbye, among others. This year may be young, but another duo is poised to continue the streak with an infectious new LP released on the legendary Blue Note record label.

The Indiana Daily Student

All hail the Good Queen

By C. Warner Sills and Eric Smith · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:18 p.m.

Blur's Damon Albarn has created a new side project, and unlike the surprisingly transcendent experiment that was the Gorillaz, this new group may only be around for one shining moment. The Good, the Bad and the Queen is the improbable combination of vocalist/pianist Albarn, the Verve guitarist Simon Tong, the Clash bassist Paul Simonon and afrobeat legend Tony Allen on drums.

The Indiana Daily Student

Suburbia under a magnifying glass

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:16 p.m.

As I watched "Little Children," I felt like I was on one of the worst emotional rollercoasters in a long time: One long moment of laughter followed by a sudden 50-foot plummet into anxiety only to gaze at a horrific corkscrew in the distance. After it ended, I felt blown away by all the forces thrown at me in succession. Director Todd Field ("In the Bedroom") takes the New York Times best-selling book by Tom Perrotta (they also collaborated on the screenplay) and places the world of suburbia under the magnifying glass. Only unlike so many portraits of that world, this time the sun is shining to burn away the seams.

The Indiana Daily Student

Whitaker takes the crown in 'Scotland'

By Olivia Morales · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:15 p.m.

Living in Scotland in the 1970s, a new young doctor decides to spin a globe with his eyes closed and make a new life for himself wherever his finger happens to point when the globe stops spinning. "The Last King of Scotland" is partly about choice and partly about fate. It is fate we witness when Dr. Nicholas Garrigan's finger lands on Uganda, and it is the choices he makes that concern the rest of the film.

The Indiana Daily Student

What were they 'Smokin'?

By C. Warner Sills and Zack Teibloom · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:13 p.m.

As the kid behind me in the theater put it, the preview for this movie made it look "fuckin' bad ass." Looks can be deceiving. I expected a stylized action movie where top-flight actors run around trying to kill Jeremy Piven's latest incarnation since Ari Gold, Buddy Israel, with witty, quick dialogue and terrific action scenes.

The Indiana Daily Student

'Letters' from Eastwood

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:11 p.m.

As I walked out of the theater last October after viewing "Flags of Our Fathers," the disappointment in my mind only reminded me that "Letters from Iwo Jima," Clint Eastwood's companion piece from the Japanese perspective (filmed almost entirely in Japanese, save two English segments), would be a better film. What I did not expect upon viewing "Letters" is that it would join "Saving Private Ryan," "The Thin Red Line" and "The Longest Day" as one of the greatest WWII films ever made.

The Indiana Daily Student

House textbook bill passes first test

By Beka Mech · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:06 p.m.

A House bill that could eliminate taxes on college textbooks passed through the state's Committee on Education with a unanimous vote of 12-0, said IU Student Association Vice President Andrew Lauck. The IUSA-supported bill also saw a change that added graduate textbooks to the tax exemption. The bill now moves on to the Ways and Means Committee, which will decide if the bill receives funding.

The Indiana Daily Student

Online Only: The L-word

By Indira Dammu · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:03 p.m.

It's official. Sen. Hillary Clinton became the latest Democrat to announce a presidential run -- I mean, a Presidential Exploratory Committee. Undoubtedly, Clinton gives hope to many: She is the best shot to be this country's first woman president. Such an achievement would establish equality more than any other, unless, of course, we could elect a black president.

The Indiana Daily Student

Old like me

By Kirk Nathanson · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:02 p.m.

Take a trip back with me, back to the time when Pogs were heading for extinction and "Goosebumps" books became the treasured most assets of savvy, in-the-know 10-year-old collectors. In those days, what I had learned in kindergarten really was all I needed to know, and by middle school my staggering sixth-grade genius seemed unmistakable. Yet despite my best efforts, adults still ran my life.

The Indiana Daily Student

Dances with princes

By Johnathan P. Rossing and Jonathan P. Rossing · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:02 p.m.

Someday my prince will come -- but if my 3-year-old niece has any say, I won't be dancing with him at the ball. My niece loves Cinderella, and on a recent trip to visit my family, she instructed us to pretend that we were all attending Cinderella's ball. So I asked, "Can Uncle Jonathan have a turn dancing with the prince?"

The Indiana Daily Student

State of reality?

By Rachel Fullmer · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 8:01 p.m.

After 365 days of unrealized promises, wasted time and flagrant abuse at the hands of a do-nothing congress, a war-weary American public gathered in anticipation of another attempt to, in 50 minutes, dress up our political reality in pretty prose.

The Indiana Daily Student

High concern with low interest

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Jan. 25,2007 7:53 p.m.

Like the ubiquitous "Hit the monkey and win a free iPod!" pop-up banners, a headline screaming that student loan interest rates had been halved by a congressional bill yielded immediate feelings of wariness.

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