Region

Kweller: small stature, big sound

By -Alec Toombs · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:15 p.m.

Ben Kweller made one of the best albums of this past year with his solo debut, Sha Sha. Hence, I had no reservations in traveling to Indy's Emerson Theater on Sunday night to see the youthful pop rock prodigy. True to form, Kweller did not disappoint, nor did opening acts The Pieces and Brendan Benson and the Wellfed Boys, albeit to a lesser extent.

Predictable script disappointing

By Hannah Holt · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:11 p.m.

Adding to this year's streak of good ole romantic comedies, "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" sticks with the trad predictability of the genre. Although cheesy and farfetched, the movie is also quite funny and succeeds in entertaining.

'Boyz' faster and more furious

By -Paul Straw · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:09 p.m.

At first look, "Biker Boyz" appears to be "Fast and Furious" with motorcycles, but Boyz is an exceedingly better film for a few reasons. First, Derek Luke and Laurence Fishburne can act. Also notable is Kid Rock who has a small part as one of the motorcycle club presidents. Secondly, the overall plot of the movie is more down to earth. "Boyz" is similar to "Fast and the Furious" in that it is about people who gather and race in the streets. But "Boyz" is about biker clubs whereas "Furious and the Furious" is just individuals and cars.

Plot thin in latest CIA action flick

By Jake Bilinski · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:06 p.m.

James Clayton (Colin Farrell) is a young, MIT-graduate computer connoisseur with a night job bartending. Walter Burke (good ol' Pacino) is a recruiter for the CIA. When Clayton is approached by Burke and urged to join the agency, he is immersed into a life of training, deception and intrigue where "everything is a test" and "nothing is what it seems." Along the way he gets involved with fellow recruit Layla (Bridget Moynahan), and finds that getting her into bed is harder than the training. Insert plot twist here: conspiracy is asunder as Clayton is informed Layla is a mole and must tail her at all costs to find out who she's working for. We, the audience, sit back and watch who's manipulating who in the field and in the bedroom. Spies, sabotage and sex = fun.

Marr makes a name for himself with latest

By Seth Forster · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:03 p.m.

Since The Smiths broke up over a decade ago, it might seem obvious to say that Johnny Marr has disappeared from the pop-rock scene. But then, he was always taken for granted and hidden somewhere in the shadow of the other immeasurably influential bandmate Morrissey (well, if not hidden in his shadow, then definitely somewhere in his hair). Though he's an excellent sideman and easily as important to the bands he's worked with as a lyricist, Marr has never had to take on the frontman role.

Edwards shows promise, but not greatness - yet

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2:01 p.m.

The references to Neil Young and Crazy Horse pepper the press material for Kathleen Edwards' debut album, Failer. It seems Zoe Records wants desperately to connect its 24-year-old chanteuse to Young, one of the godfathers of the singer-songwriter genre who has become both endearing and hackneyed. But linking anyone, especially an untested artist like Edwards, to a (deservedly) hallowed icon like Young can be tricky.

Band leaves a bad taste in the mouth

By K James Sward · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 2 p.m.

What else can be said for a band who can't even land a opening on the Top 40 Charts, but instead settles for a No. 7 rating on High Times Magazine's POT 40 list? Hey, you take what you can get, right? Peach Melba is suited only for a bumpy back road trip from Bloomington to Memphis, otherwise, listeners are better off without. No Preservatives is a live album that showcases the bands various styles ranging from rockabilly to bluegrass.

Unoriginal music seems overproduced

By Michael Tapscott · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1:58 p.m.

In an interview done for personal reasons with Robert Christgau, the "dean" of American rock critics, I was told, "Michael, God doesn't say there's always going to be new bands. If you look back at the history of the arts, arts ebb and flow... maybe the fact you think they're a good group is a function of your age and your own limitations." So the Warlocks ebb? With a name stolen from the pre-economist Grateful Dead period and riffs just plain robbed from "Sister Ray"-era Velvet Underground, the Warlocks could fool a lot of people's mothers.

No dark shadows in this debut

By Michael Tapscott · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1:56 p.m.

Many times the question has been asked, just what would Phish sound like if they were a good band? Well, one option might be the Midstates, the band formed from the wake of Novasonic Down Hyperspace. Choosing to sound psychedelic through the studio rather than counting on constant melodic reiteration has always been and will always be a good idea. The Calumet City, Ill. band's debut is a glorious ode to orchestrated pop in the vain of Grandaddy and the infamous Flaming Lips.

Zwan only somewhat graceful

By -Val Tsoutsouris · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1:48 p.m.

He's baaaack. He still has that knifing guitar, that keen pop sense and that way with guitar repartee.

Classic Toy Gallery offers chance to relive childhood fantasies

By Adam Aasen · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1:44 p.m.

Arranging "Batman Beyond" action figures into fighting stances. Taking one's Transformers and converting them from their vehicular to their robotic warrior form. Carefully snapping together Legos to make a town filled with stores, homes and hard plastic yellow-faced citizens.

'Become You' tour a celebration of Indigo Girls' acoustic beginnings

By Kathleen Quilligan and Kathleen Quilligen · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1:37 p.m.

When their independent album "Strange Fire" debuted in 1987, it probably would have seemed overzealous to think in the future they would have recorded with Sheryl Crow and Joan Osborne and shared the stage with REM and the Grateful Dead.

Record spring enrollment at IU's Bloomington campus

Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:31 p.m.

A record number of students have enrolled at Indiana University for the spring semester, following the all-time high set last fall.

Powell presents case to persuade reluctant allies that Iraq thwarting United Nations

By Barry Schweid · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 11:22 a.m.

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary of State Colin Powell, making his case that Iraq had evaded demands that it disarm, played an audio tape for the U.N. Security Council Wednesday between Iraqi military officers purportedly discussing hiding prohibited vehicles form weapons inspectors.

A legacy's liftoff

By Aaron Sharockman · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 11:20 a.m.

MITCHELL, Ind. -- It's easy to miss this one stoplight town without the stoplight, 25 miles south of Bloomington. And it's even easier to stick out if you don't belong. In this town of two barbershop chairs, but only one barber, secrets are never safe. Families take up blocks. And everyone has a Gus Grissom story. Grissom is the town's favored son and a national hero -- the second American in space and the first to leave Earth twice.

Teaching program is alternative for new grads

By Sarah Schwimmer · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 1 a.m.

Graduation day is quickly approaching for the class of 2003 and with their hard-earned diplomas, thousands of young college graduates are thrust into the real world, many asking themselves "What next?" Teach for America could answer that question for many college grads. The application deadline for graduating seniors who wish to be in the program is Feb. 21.

Independent films brought to Collins

By Alyson Brodsy and Brandon Morley · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:58 a.m.

A film festival that has traveled internationally and appeared last August at Bloomington's Buskirk-Chumley Theatre will appear at the Collins Living Learning Center, located at 541 N. Woodlawn, today and tomorrow from 8 to 10 p.m.

IU joins ranks at eArmyU.com

By Christina Galoozis · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:58 a.m.

Beginning in May, IU will offer courses to U.S. Armed Forces around the world by joining the ranks of the Army's online university, www.eArmyU.com. Army University Access Online, the Army's distance-education program, was created in January 2001. The program currently offers 111 degree programs and enrolls more than 30,000 soldiers based in the U.S. and abroad in South Korea and Germany.

IU study seeks answers to a decade of higher education funding inequities

By -Brandon Tucker and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:56 a.m.

According to a new report by the Indiana Education Policy Center at the IU School of Education, IU and Purdue have been under-funded for more than a decade. The study, "Trends in Higher Education Finance in Indiana Compared to Peer States and the U.S.: A Changing Context, Critical Issues and Strategic Goals," examines the current issues facing the state of Indiana higher education and the inequities in funding.

Professor studies life in Kosovo

By -Paul Straw · Wednesday, Feb. 5,2003 12:54 a.m.

Associate professor Brian McCormick spent his sabbatical last fall working with the International Organization for Migration in Kosovo, Yugoslavia, rather than taking a break from his eight years as IU professor. McCormick, who is a professor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, decided to use his sabbatical to work with a program that deals with psycho-social trauma response overseas.