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Good luck, seniors!
Keep rockin' and rollin'. We
know you'll all kick ass out
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michigandaily. corm /arts
ARTS
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GRADUATION
SPRING, 2001
ENTERTAINMENT
1997
: HOW WE SPENT OUR TIME
t
i
1
I
AND MONEY FRESHMAN YEAR
f1
FI
P.TA. and L.A. rise above the '97
crop to nab serious cinematic digs
Chart topping hits:4
Ten songs that made
bump, gnnd, shout, puk,
By Matt Freid
For the Daily
By Matthew Barrett
Daily Arts Writer
The most enduring image at the
movies in 1997 sliced through its p: th
like a hot knife through butter. Sheer
size was its initial attraction but to those
who experienced it, thinking of it only
in terms of its girth failed to do the
mighty beast justice. In the end it had
no mercy on the rich or the poor, bring-
ing people from all walks of life down
to their collective knees. Those
involved with it had their lives forever
changed. It was a streamlined mass of
pure steel and it was the center of the
movie of year. And so without further
adieu let's look back at five of the most
memorable and definitive films of
1997, which will be rated on a scale of
1-4 Digs in honor of our main man -
Eddie Adams from Torrance.
"Titanic" - Considered a colossal
risk when it was first released, "Titanic"
went on to become the biggest money-
making movie of all time and winner of
11 Oscars. Like its central character,
"Titanic" has not aged very well. As the
years go by, critics and moviegoers
alike have cooled on the film. Along
with its enormous box-office and many
awards, "Titanic" will be remembered
for making Leonardo DiCaprio the man
of the moment and for director James
Cameron's pompous and ridiculous
speeches at the Academy Awards. No
Digs.
"Wag the Dog" -- _Few films have
ever been quite as timely as "Wag the
Dog." The movie's plot centers around
Washington spin doctors and a Holly-
wood crew working together to create a
fake war with Albania in order to divert
the country's attention from a White
House scandal. Which worked out quite
well, considering that the film was just
gaining wide release when the whole
Clinton/Lewinksy affair was coming to
light. Timeliness aside, this is a very
funny film due to the sharp writing of
David Mamet and Hilary Henkin and
stellar acting of Robert De Niro, Dustin
Hoffman and Anne Heche, among oth-
ers. 2Digs.
"Good Will Hunting" - When
"Good Will Hunting" hit thcaters,
moviegoers across the count\ fell in
love with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
for their rags to riches story of going
from virtual nobodies to writing and
starring in their own movie. When the
film was released it had a fresh feel to it
and caught on with audiences big time.
The movie struck a chord with students
at Michigan and held court at the State
Theater for the entire 1998 winter
semester a record which like DiMag-
gio's hitting streak may never be
touched. No matter how much you like
the film, never say "how do you like
them apples" ever again. Trust me. Ben
and Matt passed me the word that even
they think the phrase has run its course
and have taken to murmuring "son of a
bitch stole my line" whenever people
yell it to them at Red Sox games. 2.5
Digs.
"L.A. Confidential" - The biggest
film event in Ann Arbor of 1997 was
when novelist James Ellroy and writer-
director Curtis Hanson blew into town
to introduce their film "L.A. Confiden-
tial." In the same vein as "Chinatown,"
the film takes an unflinching look at the
seedy side of 1950s Los Angeles. "L.A.
Confidential" got stoned for Best Pic-
( . ,o f ';Lne ( ei'na
Eddie Adams gets mad digs swingin'
into his Torrance love pad.
ture, won Kim Basinger an Oscar
(Julianne was robbed!), introduced us
to Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce and
marked another notch in the belt of'
great performances by Kevin Spacey.
FYI, it's still cool to say "off the record,
on the Qi and very hush hush" espe-
cially if you're interviewing people for
this newspaper. 3.5Digs.
"Boogie Nights" - The entire Arts
staff bows in thanks to Paul Thomas
Anderson for not only making the most
daring film in ages but also for giving
us things to riff on for nearly four years.
The story of the rise, fall and rebirth of
porn-star Dirk Diggler is peerless when
it comes to the movies of 1997. This is
a legitimate film with so much going on
that it gets a little bit better and a little
richer each time you watch it. The cast
is flaw less and Anderson deserves
kudos for tapping unknowns like John
C. Reilly Don iCheadle. Heather Gra-
ham and Philip Seymour Hoffman, all
of whom went on to bigger but not nec-
essarily botter things. We're still waiting
you to come speak to us PT.A., but we
owe you a big thanks anyways. 41Digs.
CoG.. y of Wa'ner B uthers
The rough-and-tumble boys of "L.A. Confidential"? The very definition of digs.
I
Best TV offerings oifr
the last four years
By JeffDickerson
TG/New Media Edor
1. "Survivor" - Elisabeth Filarski.
Colleen Haskell. 'Nuff said.
2. "The Sopranos" - Tony Sopra-
no proves mobsters do the darndest
things in this brutal HBO drama. The
Emmy Award-winning show has
become the channel's cop show, besting
its previous champion, "G-String
Divas."
3. "The Simpsons" - Still on, still
good. The writing for the new episodes
is sharp as ever and the reruns in syndi-
cation are a great resource for animated
humor. If only all shows were this
good.
4. "Homeboys From Outer Space"
- Best show ever made. Who am I
kidding? Nobody watched this trash,
but damn what a great name for a TV
show.
5. "Seinfeld" - I think a little bit of
all of us died when Jerry, George,
Elaine and Kramer said goodbye. We're
all still scratching our heads over the
last episode. Newman!
6. "South Park" - 'Trey Parker and
Matt Stone keep the controversial show
fresh and always full of offensive mate-
rial. I bet you never thought you'd hcar
get your bitch ass in the kitchen and
make ie some pie" on TV
7. "Behind The Music" - Just try
to watch one episode. It's so addicting it
should !e regulated by the government.
From Milli Vanilli to Culture Club,
everything you wanted to know about
your favorite musicians is revealed in
theatrical fashion.
8. "When Good Pets Go Bad" --
FOX has aired dozens of bizarre spe-
cials in recent years, but nothing can
top the exaggerated nightmare of ani-
mals attacking mullet-toting white
trash.
9. "The Practice" -- Lara Flynn
Boyle can turn anything into gold as
she's proven the past few years with the
success of this ABC melodrama.
10. "Conan O'Brien" - Consis-
tently the best late night humor found
on TV Yes it isn't the same without
pudgy Andy sitting on the couch, but it
still provides more laughs than Jay
Leno ever has.
When it comes to the music that
topped the charts in 1997, there was a
lot of bad to go with the good. For many
artists, such as Matchbox 20 and The
Wallflowers, it was a breakthrough year.
However, it was also the same year that
saw "Mmmbop" and "Return of the
Mack" top the charts. It was tough to
cut the list down to ten, and there are
several good songs that failed to make
the list, but still deserve some recogni-
tion. "Walking On the Si" (Smash
Mouth), "One Headlight" (The Wall-
flowers), and "Triumph" (Wu-Tang
Clan), all made their marks on the
charts, but will have to settle for the
honorable mention award.
10. "Lovefool"-- The Cardigans
It's okay if you don't want to admit in
front of your friends that you like this
song, but you know you do. It was the
fourth most played song in America in
1997, and it seemed to go right to the
Cardigans' head. In a recent interview.
they said that because of the success of
"Lovefool," they no longer feel obligat-
ed to impress the music industry. If
you've been unlucky enough to hear any
of their new stff, you know that's an
understatement.
9. "Crash"/"Tripping Billies"/"Lie
In Our Graves"/Anything else off of
Dave Matthews Band's Ciash
This album was so good, it was
impossible to single out any one song.
It topped the charts for all of '90 and
'97, and was knocked off in '98 only
because they released Before These
Civwded Streets. Although Eveyday is
tearing up the charts now, in four years
it will be collecting dust in the back of'
your CD book while Cmsh is still play-
ing on your stereo.
8. "Brick" - Ben Folds Five
This trio (no,
there's not five of
them) hit gold
with this song, but
apparently their
success was too
much for them to
handle. Because
of problems rang-
ing from disputes
with their record
label to personal
differences, Ben
Folds Five broke
tip in 2000. But.
Ben Folds fans
shouldn't worry. It
is rumored that
Hanson is trying
to get Folds to co-
write some tracks
with them for their We'll always miss ya
next album. In
addition. Folds is currently wrapping up
his solo debut, slated for a July release.
7. "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"
- Puff Daddy
Puffy's breakthrough hit, "Can't
Nobody Hold Me Down," marked the
beginning of a successful career in sam-
pling. An obvious rip-off of the '80s
song "Break My Stride" by Matthew'
Wilder, Puffy followed it up with "I'll
Be Missing You" (any Police fans out
there?), which also spent most of '97 at
the top of the charts.
6. "Karma Police" - Radiohead
This is what you get when you mess
with the karma police. According to
many Radiohead fans, the big record
labels are finally getting what they
deserve. They believe that the karma
police are getting revenge on the record
companies through Napster Who exact-
ly are the karma police you ask? While
there are many conflicting answers, one
thing is for sure. Beware the karma
police, because they will catch tip with
you sooner or later.
5. "Dangerous" - Busta Ryhmes
cour sy of F~a dhe1JW
Radiohead's Thom Yorke is all abdtt
sticking it to the record companies
For all of you hardcore ti a
Rhymes fans out there, here is tt
you should enjoy. The chorus to ",.
gerous" is actually from a 1983 ,publip
service announcement made for J6 (
New York TV by a local poison cnfrl
center. For all of those people who t n(ik
rap is detrimental to society, it shokldb
refreshing to know that someone is -
ing to help people understand that
son is bad. You should have a halthy
fear of us, cause too much of us is-dam
gerous. Thanks for the tip Busta.
4. "Devil's Haircut" - Beck -7
After winning a Grammy in 1997:f '
best alternative music performanroe
OdelayB eck proved that he is not a
loser baby, so you don't have to kill him.
Although "Devil's Haircut" was' ta
big of a hit as "Loser," it certily,
stopped critics from calling Beck mio rg
hit wonder. No one knows for sure wht
Beck is talking about in this song, buta
does it really matter?
3. "Virtual Insanity" - Jam-
quai
There's nothing worse than living in a
virtual insanity. Hands down, "VTn
Insanity" was thd
coolest song o
1997. For anyon
who can remem
ber, the video fo
<: this song wa
unbeievable
won best mu1
video at the 1997
MTV music vide
awards. However
Jamiroquai needs
to take their ow4
advice. If they
think that they car
sit back, relax and!
simply ride out
this hit for years
to came. to
they're the o
living in a virtual
i, Big Poppa. insanity.
2. "Bitterswee
Symphony" - The Verve
This song was truly bittersweet for
The Verve. While "Bittersweet Symn4
phony" looked like it was going to bei
the hit that would launch them into
stardom, it sent them straight inta
downward spiral. Because of a s
background sample taken from a
Rolling Stones related track, the Verves
had to give tip 100% of the royalties
from the song. Two years later, they
broke tip.
1. "Hypnotize" - Notorous
B.I.G.
Since it seemed unfair to put two
Biggie songs in the top ten, it was a
close call between "Hypnotize" and
"Mo Money Mo Problems" However.
"Hypnotize" edged it out based on
fact that it had a much better video
The first single released off his double
disc album, "Hypnotize" propelled Life
After Death to the top of the charts for
most of the year. Biggie, Biggie, Big-
gie, can't you see, sometimes your
words just hypnotize me. Couldn't
have said it better myself.
Potpourri
on weekends, attacking anything
ed houses to fire-breathing drag-
e: "Goldeneye" - Bond never
1oldeneye" redefined tournament
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f- A
23rd Ann Arbor
Antiquarian Book Fair
Sunday, May 20th
11-4
$5 Admission
- e. *"First Editions
-'eAmericana
" Fine Printing
Y Old & Rare
Courtesy of conanobrier com
Conan O'Brien, we salute you.
The category is: Arts'
By Jim Schiff
Fine/Performing Arts Editor
Best Musical: "Titanic" -- 1This stage version of
the famotis sinkine ship made a splash with the critics
teenagers indoorse
from giant, animat
oils.
Best N64 Gam
looked so cool. "G