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Making love in 'times of romance'

By Alyson Brodsy and Diana Glozman · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 10 p.m.

The Lovemakers, a racy three-person band from California with Scott Blonde (vocals, guitar, programming); Lisa Light (vocals, violin, bass instrument, programming) and Jason Proctor (keyboards, programming), seem to be trying to popularize 80s new wave dance in this modern age. The Lovemakers' style flirts with the thin boundary between "hip" and "cheesy."

Weller's career on a single album

By Alyson Brodsy and Ryan McLaughlin · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:59 p.m.

Paul Weller's 8th solo effort, As Is Now, isn't much of a departure from his 1992 self-titled solo debut. As Is Now, much like its 1992 counterpart, draws upon much of Weller's roots and influences, including punk, mod rock, 1960s and 70s U.S. rhythm and blues, soul, jazz and funk. Although not a hot commodity in the U.S., Weller is revered as a musical icon in the UK and his soulful singing has drawn many similarities to Steve Winwood.

Bonding by the 'campfire'

By Alyson Brodsy and Jeff O'Reilly · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:56 p.m.

For three anxious years Boards of Canada fans have anticipated the follow-up to 2002's highly praised Geogaddi, and the wait should come with much satisfaction. The Campfire Headphase is a beautifully nostalgic album, striking an eerie familiarity in the listener that evokes sounds and images of a forgotten time. The Scottish electronic music duo has an admitted fascination with reminiscence, and The Campfire Headphase successfully articulates this fascination.

The marriage of music and film

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:54 p.m.

Cameron Crowe is the kind of director who values music almost as importantly as the acting, script and cinematography in film. In an interview about the choice of music in his films from the "Elizabethtown" Web site (www.elizabethtown.com) Crowe said, "There is nothing more powerful than when the right piece of music marries with the right piece of film." Like other music-savvy filmmakers (Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson) Crowe seems to have a knack for using music and songs to help project the mood of his films.

It's a new year and a new band

By Alyson Brodsy and Josh Kastrinsky · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:49 p.m.

For those about to rock, these guys salute you. In their first step toward bringing back the 1980s, Story of the Year emblazoned the cover to In The Wake of Determination with the band's moniker in neon green, a staple of the hair-metal superstars Poison. With song titles like "Take Me Back" and "Taste the Poison," the album finds a band wearing its collective childhood hair-metal allegiance on its sleeve.

More than just noise

By -Nate Bethea and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:47 p.m.

San Francisco's Deerhoof is one of those bands that incite strong feelings of either love or hate depending on who's speaking about them. On one hand you have inventive, off-kilter pop fireworks and thoroughly challenging and yet exciting music. On the other, you have a weirdo Japanese girl mumbling, screeching and blithering baby-talk lyrics over improper-fraction time signatures and loud, loud noises. When they played at last summer's Intonation Festival in Chicago, the Chicago Tribune referred to their performance as "band practice with the Muppets."

Depeche Mode back to its roots

By Alyson Brodsy and Daniel Hiester · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:44 p.m.

Playing the Angel begins with a loud, warbling, distorted noise that will make your neighbors wonder why they hear a bomb raid siren. It's sounding the alarm that Depeche Mode is back, and they're leading a 52-minute assault on good moods everywhere. The new album is much edgier, angstier and more aggressive than its sleepy, ironically-titled predecessor, Exciter. But does a little extra energy make a better album? You're damn right it does.

Theron gives another Oscar performance

By -Kehla West and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:42 p.m.

The premise of "North Country" had "Lifetime movie" written all over it. Josey Aimes, a single mother, moves back in with her parents and takes a job in a mine to provide for her children. She faces unspeakable sexual harassment, pressure from her son and father to quit and the general torment of the town for daring to "take a job away from a man." She then puts the wheels in motion for the first class-action sexual harassment suit and makes U.S. history.

It's got the look

By Alyson Brodsy and Rob O'Connor · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:40 p.m.

"Stay" is a perfect example of a movie that values style over storyline. The dialogue is stilted, the ending is a cop out and the story has plot holes big enough to drive a fleet of Mack trucks through. And yet, this movie still holds your attention with bizarre imagery, wonderful editing and strangely blended shots that create the perfect dreamlike feel director Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland") was going for.

Kids that should be expelled

By Alyson Brodsky and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:37 p.m.

A group of high school students come together to override their dictating principal. Sound familiar? That's probably because you saw a movie similar to it back in the late 90s. "Kids in America" missed the boat by about six years and really should have come out circa "Ten Things I Hate About You" and "She's All That."

Touching movie for the family

By Alyson Brodsy and Mary P. Hansell · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:35 p.m.

Yes, it's about a horse, and a family, and love, but it's those exact elements that make "Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story" a winner. Admit it, everybody loves animals in films, and even more when the animal struggles against incredible odds. "Dreamer" is a heartwarming story about a father and daughter that come together by helping to heal an injured racehorse. Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell star as the father and daughter duo. Dakota is Cale Crane, a strong, caring young girl who yearns for her father's love and finds true friendship with her horse, Sonador, (Spanish for "dreamer").

Nothing gets out alive

By Alyson Brodsy and Matt McMullan · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 9:32 p.m.

I remember when I was a moody adolescent, I'd go over to my buddy's house where he and I would spend hours playing a popular, ultra-violent video game on his dad's computer. This summer, when I was a much more well-adjusted college student, I sat in front of my television for hours playing a similarly popular, ultra-violent video game by the same name on my Xbox. I guess some things never change. You can imagine my surprise when the powers that be decided to grace us with a live action version of countless hours wasted.

American hypocrites

By Precious Sanders · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:18 a.m.

It becomes more and more apparent every day: American society is a collection of contradictions. Or, if you'd prefer it in more blunt terms, we're hypocrites. One might chalk it up to tradition. Thomas Jefferson, the man who is known for writing "all men are created equal" in the Declaration of Independence, never released his slaves.

Remember the dead

By Levi Harris · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:17 a.m.

Last week I loaded up some friends and took my first trip to Washington, D.C. We picked an exciting time to go. Snippets of conversations in Capitol Hill restaurants were studded with names like Scooter Libby and Harriet Miers. Tourists and suit-sporting regulars stood together on sidewalks to gawk at news that an arrest warrant had been issued for deposed House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas. All of downtown D.C. was abuzz with talk of scandal and presidential incompetence.

In the end zone

By Colin Dugdale · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:13 a.m.

Football gives me the giggles. The outrageous fanaticism of the crowd and bombardment of male stereotypes are downright giggle-worthy. With every passing quarter, however, these giggles grow louder and louder, until finally, a guffaw resonates like a sonic boom -- shattering glass and ripping brassieres.

No more nice guy

By Matt Peyton · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:08 a.m.

The other day I was in class when I realized I have been sitting next to these people for a couple of months now, and I don't really know any of them, nor do they know me. Do you remember in elementary school or junior high when everyone in class would write his or her name on the top of a piece of paper and then pass it around so each student wrote something nice about every other student? It's really a nice idea. I mean, I'm not saying it's a college-appropriate activity, but who doesn't like getting 24 compliments to read?

A house divided

By Mathew S. Schoettmer and Patrick Schoettmer · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:07 a.m.

Conflict and disagreement are at the heart of the democratic experience. The belief that reasonable people can disagree, yet still come together as a nation to strive for a common good, is the cornerstone of our society. Without this understanding, we risk evolving into nothing more than warring clusters of rival interests. Sure, this notion of everyone being reasonable, fair and intellectually honest in their disagreements might be a bit utopian, but I have been really struck by some of the truly horrible ideas put forth in the past few weeks. People sometimes take cheap shots at each other -- that's human nature. My wife reminds me that I've put on some extra weight every time we get into an argument. The thing is, though, she recognizes it's a cheap shot when she says it and (usually) apologizes for it shortly thereafter. While hoping that people will always be fair might be a bit idealistic, I do not consider it unreasonable to ask that people who disagree at least disagree in good faith.

Burrito-town

By Felipe Maya · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 1:03 a.m.

"Black beans, steak, mild salsa, both cheese and sour cream." If you have a burrito-making speech memorized then you're hooked. McDonald's has a Mexican-American cousin and we're obsessed. Chipotle is rocking our taste buds on a daily basis. A Chipotle-loving friend of mine is convinced the restaurant puts crack in the sour cream. But we'll leave that for nutritionists to investigate. As addicting as Chipotle is, some people just can't seem to get the name right. My roommate is certain it's pronounced Chipolte (chip-ole-tay), no matter how much I correct him. But my favorite is Chiptole (chip-toll). Chipotle might be hard to say, but it's even harder to say no to. Taco Bell fans might want to have a seat for this one: Chipotle's food is made from scratch and cooked fresh daily. The restaurant even use bowls made out of recycled newspapers.

Dr. Do-Nothing

By Amy Obermeyer · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 12:53 a.m.

They say that everything's clearer by light of day. Obviously "they" haven't watched enough daytime television. No one is going to pretend that "Passions," "Days of Our Lives" or "Guiding Light" is serious entertainment with a social or artistic message. But it's not soaps that really concern me; they try to be trashy. They play one-up games of trashiness. There are awards for the trashiest soap. In short, people don't model their lives after soap operas.

Intoxicated driver takes 40-year plea bargain

By Elisha Sauers · Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 12:50 a.m.

A pool of the jurors were seated and ready to be selected for the trial. After a weekend of late night counsel meetings, deputy prosecutors Jeff Kehr and Amy Travis and defense attorney Stuart Baggerly arrived at the Monroe County Court on Monday, braced for the trial of a man accused of crashing his car head-on into another car driven by 24-year-old IU alumna Kate Comiskey, killing her. But before any lawyers could utter opening statements, defendant Bryan "Mitch" Gooldy halted the proceedings. Just two hours after the court convened for trial, the day was done. Gooldy signed a plea and sentencing agreement under which he could serve up to 40 years in prison. "We all assumed this was going to be a trial," Baggerly said.