Longform

Arena rock band becomes musical joke

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, March 24,2004 4:03 p.m.

In one episode of "The Simpsons," we see a shirtless Apu washing his Trans Am. As he hoses the car down, he sings along to Cheap Trick's "Dream Police." There's something inherently hilarious about a cartoon guy with a faux Indian accent crooning, "The dream police, they live inside of my head / the dream police, they come to me in my bed."

Carr put the 'Prisonbound' in 'Blues'

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, March 24,2004 4 p.m.

Leroy Carr was only 30 when complications from chronic alcoholism put the blues vocalist and piano player six feet under. But while Carr might not have been around for very long, he was around long enough to become one of the most influential and significant artists in the history of the blues.

Great Big Sea transforms into solid rock band

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:57 p.m.

With Something Beautiful, Great Big Sea pretty much completes its transformation from a Celtic combo into a full-fledged rock band, a metamorphosis which might, somewhat understandably, concern the Newfoundland group's hard-core fans.

Bondie beatdown boosts band's blastoff

By -Nate Bethea · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:54 p.m.

The Von Bondies only real claim to fame -- I'm really not kidding -- is the fact that lead singer Jason Stollsteimer got his ass kicked in a bar by White Stripes frontman Jack White.

'Spartan' proves sword mightier than pen

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:49 p.m.

Say what you will about David Mamet: the man can write. I can think of few stage or screenwriters who use the immensely versatile word "fuck" with such aplomb (okay, Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith come close). In giving the coarse class, Mamet has turned obscenity into art. I respect this. You should too.

The 'Secret' is out: Depp rocks

By Jennifer Whalen · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:46 p.m.

Writer/director David Koepp adapts Stephen King's novella "Secret Window, Secret Garden," which concerns a writer, Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), who secludes himself in a cabin after discovering his wife cheating on him after 10 years of marriage.

Take my life away

By Neal Taflinger · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:40 p.m.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist."

'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Film'

By Tony Sams · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:38 p.m.

To say "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the new movie written by the audacious Charlie Kaufman, is incredibly original would be highly redundant.

Horror remake avoids 'Dead' end

By John Barnett · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:36 p.m.

Known primarily for his television commercials featuring sleek foreign cars, director Zack Snyder tries his hand at feature filmmaking with a bold remake of a '70s horror classic. That's some balls for a rookie, but amazingly, he succeeds far beyond expectations. Never before (not even in "28 Days Later") have the living dead seemed so unstoppable and menacing.

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

By Patrice Worthy and Patricia Worthy · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:29 p.m.

Maxim's Hottest Woman of the Year for 2003 is now starring in one of her most complex roles, with a movie due out April 9. Elisha Cuthbert, siren and star of "The Girl Next Door," and award-winning actress on the dramatic series "24" speaks about her experiences in a starring role.

CELTIC TIDES

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, March 24,2004 3:11 p.m.

Head north and east until you reach North Sydney, Nova Scotia nestled at the very edge of continental North America.

A 'SWELL' PROJECT

By Doug Smith · Wednesday, March 24,2004 2:42 p.m.

The times roll, but they can also rock. With the eclectic sounds and ever-evolving musicians which make up the Bloomington music scene, another band has emerged. In half compliance with the status quo of collegiate bands -- rock 'n' rollers with energizing intentions of producing their own sound -- The Swell diverge substantially when it comes to the process of conception.

A Homemade Sound

By Kathleen Quilligan and Kathleen Quilligen · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:41 a.m.

At the end of the long gravel driveway, in a building adjacent to the farmhouse, the tails of horses no longer attached to their owners twitch next to the skeletons of violins. On a shelf across from the tails rests a book titled "How to Rehair a Bow," the masters thesis of Harold Evans, southern Indiana's sole violin maker. Evans Violins, 77 N. Sewell Rd. -- the store run by Evans and his son Michael -- fulfills the needs of a large niche of the Bloomington music community. But in telling the story of Evans Violins, it's impossible to separate the shop from the story of the musical family that runs it. The smell of sawdust hanging in the air of the shop is nothing new to Harold Evans, who spent his childhood watching the workers in his father's shop build cabinets, doors and windows.

Jefferson wins NCAA

By Rob DeWitte and Rob eWitte · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:40 a.m.

Rarely is an NCAA mile won in as decisive a fashion as the one sophomore Sean Jefferson claimed March 14. Grabbing the lead with just over 600 meters left, Jefferson crushed the field -- including reigning 2003 champion, hometown favorite Arkansas' Chris Mulvaney. Crossing the line with arms raised in 4:00.16, Jefferson gave IU its first individual track title since 1993. As he shot a glance up at the massive monitor on the final turn of the NCAA Championships mile, he couldn't believe what he saw.

Israel vows to destroy Hamas

By Alyson Brodsy and Ibrahim Barzak · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:39 a.m.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Israel threatened to kill the entire leadership of the Islamic militant group Hamas after assassinating its founder and hinted Tuesday Yasser Arafat could wind up on the hit list in the future.

Dark comedy an original

By Alyson Brodsy and David Germain · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:39 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Some filmmakers tiptoe around the word "remake." Others delicately suggest their film is not so much a remake as a "revisitation or reimagining," afraid of being scorned for filching someone else's ideas. The Coen brothers guffaw over such euphemistic distinctions. "Listen, this is a remake," said Joel Coen, who joined with brother Ethan to write, produce and direct "The Ladykillers," starring Tom Hanks in an update of the 1955 Alec Guinness black comedy. Leave it to the Coens to call it a remake while infusing it with so much of their own warped humor and macabrely funny imagery that it feels entirely original.

MDA to lock up volunteers

By Nellie Summerfield · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:38 a.m.

IU students and other Monroe County citizens are becoming jailbirds for charity. The volunteers will be locked in the Fountain Square Mall and hope to raise $800 as bond money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The annual Bloomington Lock-Up will be held from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. April 6 and 7.

Job search yields bad luck for graduates

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:37 a.m.

Mark Skiffington, a senior engineering student at Marquette University, isn't looking for work. He's going back to school. So is Cynthia Zimmerman, a Marquette senior majoring in accounting.

IU updates file-sharing policy

By Rick Newkirk · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:36 a.m.

Ahead of impending lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America, IU has updated its existing peer-to-peer file-sharing policy relating to such popular music downloading programs as www.KaZaa.com. The policy update was announced before the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday in a report given by Chief Information Technology Officer Mark Bruhn.

Tuition hikes cause statewide worry

By Chris Freiberg and Warren Christopher Freiberg · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:36 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IU board of trustees held a statewide public forum on tuition at IU-Purdue University Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon. IU Vice President Judy Palmer outlined the proposed tuition increases for all eight IU campuses, noting each was under the 4 percent limit the Herbert administration had instituted.