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14B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, February 21, 2002
A guide to who's where, Thursday, February 21
what's hapenng and why TIIT through
you n tobemthere... Wednesday, February 27
Films opening1__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magaine
'HITTING THE POST'
WCBN keeps the airwaves alive with i
Dragonfly While many of you travel to
foreign nations to celebrate your spring
break, Kevin Costner will stay in
America playing to empty theaters and
downward thumbed critics. At
Showcase: 12:55, 3:10, 5:25, 7:40,
10:05, 12:20 (Fri. and Sat.).
Queen of the Damned This isn't funny:
Don't you hate it when an actor dies in
real life and then dies in a film that
comes out posthumously. I haven't
seen this movie yet, but I'm bringing
tissue. At Showcase: 12:00, 12:30,
2:15, 2:45, 4:30, 5:00, 6:45, 7:15,
9:00, 9:30, 11:15 (Fri. and Sat.),
Films holding
BY WILL EL-NACHEF
DAILY ARTS WRITER .
The University's radio station, 88.3 WCBN FM, is largely unknown.
But, similar to that hole in the wall restaurant that's really good
but you don't want other people to find out about and "ruin" it
for you, WCBN's obscurity isn't such a bad thing. "We try to pres-
ent our music in a way so that we can get as many people to lis-
ten to what we're doing as possible, but there's a fundamental
E roblem in playing music that isn't built into the mega-money
usiness like the formatted radio stations are," explained James
Ilgenfritz, a senior at the School of Music and a WCBN DJ.
A Beautiful Mind Why does Daniel Day-
Lewis make two movies every four
years and Russell is on screen every
other week?! At Showcase: 1:15, 4:00,
6:40, 9:50, 12:25 (Fri. and Sat.). ***
Big Fat Liar Pig Vomit used to be an up-
and-coming star; now he's second fiddle
to middle-loving Malcolm. At Showcase:
12:45, 2:40, 4:35, 7:10, 9:05, 11:10
(Fri. and Sat.). *
Black Hawk Down Ridley Scott could
learn a little something from "La Grande
Illusion" and realize that our military
enemies are real people, too. At
Showcase: 12:45, 3:40, 6:35, 9:35,
12:15 (Fri. and Sat.). *** -
Collateral Damage It is official, turn on
AMC because Arnold's "Predator" is
now an official classic; "If it bleeds, we
can kill it." At Showcase: 12:25, 2:55,
5:10, 7:25, 9:45, 12:00 (Fri. and
Sat.).**o
The Count of Monte Cristo Guy Pearce
is on the cover of GQ, those Aussies are
taking over! At Showcase: 1:30, 4:15,
6:50, 9:55, 12:20 (Fri. and Sat.). ***
Crossroads "Hey Babe, how's the
fetus?" An actual line from Britney's
film debut. At Showcase: 12:50, 3:15,
5:15, 7:20, 9:25, 11:25 (Fri. and Sat.).
*
Hart's War We now know WWII was
really about our hearts, not those pesky
Nazi's. At Showcase: 1:45, 4:20, 7:35,
10:10, 12:30 (Fri. and Sat.). **
I am Sam Sean Penn should go back to
directing low-budget indie films no one
sees. At Showcase: 1:20, 4:05, 6:55,
9:40, 12:10 (Fri. and Sat.). ***
In the Bedroom ITB's director Todd Field
almost got the lead in "Say Anything"
over Johnny Cusack; spread the knowl-
edge! At Showcase: 1:05, 3:45, 6:30,
9:10, 11:55 (Fri. and Sat.). ****
John Q Julia Roberts can't live in a
world where Denzel hasn't won the
Oscar for best Oscar; go count your
money, Julia. At Showcase: 12:10,
12:40, 2:35, 3:05, 5:05, 5:35, 7:30,
8:00, 10:00, 10:30, 12:30 (Fri. and
Sat.). ***
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of
the Ring Frodo's journey will be easy if
he just watches out for downed power
lines during all ice storms. At
Showcase: 1:10, 4:45, 8:15, 11:40 (Fri.
and Sat.). *****
Monster's Ball Puffy says this monster
bash is a graveyard smash At
Showcase: 12:05, 2:25, 4:40, 7:00,
9:20, 11:50 (Fri. and Sat.). ****
The Mothman Prophecies Can this real-
ly be in theaters when "Dragonfly"
comes out? They are the same movie!
At Showcase: 12:25, 2:50, 5:20, 7:50,
10:20, 12:35 (Fri. and Sat.). ***
Rollerball What happened, McTiernan? I
remember when the Predator used to
Die Hard in Red October. At Showcase:
2:30, 4:50, 9:15, 11:30 (Fri. and Sat.).
Retum to Nevedand You know, for the
kids. At Showcase: 1:00, 3:00, 4:55,
7:00, 8:45, 11:00 (Fri. and Sat.).
The Royal Tenenbaums The new
Criterion Collection "Rushmore" is out
and it rocks; "Oh, are they?" At
Showcase: 8:10, 10:25. ****y
Snow Dogs Cuba shoplifted the pootie!
You had me at ... never. At Showcase:
12:15, 2:10, 4:10, 6:10. *
A Walk to Remember It's a bitch fight
at the theaters: Spears vs. Moore.
Let's go virgins! At Showcase: 12:20,
7:05.
Courtesy of Universal
Kevin Costner loses control on the set of "Dragonfly" after learning that he will not get to be a superhero in a dragonfly costume.
Thursday
BOOKS
Deborah Copaken Kogan Reads
Copaken Kogan reads from and signs
copies of her book "Shutterbabe:
Adventures in Love and War." 7 p.m.,
Borders Books & Music, 612 E. Liberty,
free; 668-7652.
Kathryn McCamant Reads McCamant
reads from her book "Cohousing." 8
p.m., Shaman Drum Bookshop, 315 S.
State, free; 662-7407.
CAMPUS CINEMA
Amelie She has stolen hearts all over
the world, and Audrey Tautou isnow
coming for Renee Zellweger's. State
Theater, 6:45 & 9:15 p.m.
The Business of Strangers Julia Stiles
and Stockard Channing star in a por-
trait of power in business. Michigan
Theater, 9:40 p.m.
Elizabeth Cate Blanchett's Oscar nomi-
nated performance is mesmerizing and
beautiful as the titular queen. Michigan
Theater, 7 p.m.
Gosford Park This is what happens
when dinosaurs attack the British elite.
State Theater, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
Monster's Ball The moving tale of a
beast recovering from a baseball acci-
dent when he wasn't wearing a cup.
Michigan Theater, 7:10 & 9:30 p.m.
MUSIC
Ron Brooks Trio Does Ronnie make it in
every week because he is that good or
beause I am toolazy to change this
template? You be the judge. Bird of
Paradise, 312 S. Main St., 8 p.m. $5
662-8310.
Danny Barnes & thee Old Codgers
Bluegrass with a banjo. The Ark, 316 S.
Main St., 8 p.m. $13.50 761-1451.
Bruce Pooley Duo Drown in this Pooley
of pop. Habitat Lounge, Weber's Inn
3050 Jackson Road 8:45 p.m. Free
665-3636.
THEA TER
Eleemosynary Through monologues and
short scenes, this Basement Arts play,
written by Lee Blessing, examines the
permutations of the mother-daughter
bond among three generations of
women. 7 p.m., Arena Theatre, Frieze
Bldg, Free; 764-6800.
Elizabeth Rex A runaway hit at
Stratford, this play centers on the
meeting of Ned Lowenscroft,
Shakespeare's genius player of women
and Elizabeth I, England's genius player
of men. 8 p.m., Performance Network,
120 E. Huron, $20; 663-0681.
A LTERNA TIVES
SamulNori Led by artistic director Kim
Duk Soo, this quartet is dedicated to
preserving and performing traditional
Korean music and dance. 8 p.m., Power
Center, $16-30; 764-2538.
Cavafy's World This exhibit, located in
the Works on Paper Gallery, presents a
series of etchings by well-known British
artist David Hockney. The drawings
focus on Hockney's representations of
themes explored by poet Constantine
P. Cavafy, including homosexuality and
human memory. Michigan Museum of
Art, 525 S. State, Free; 764-0395.
Women Who Ruled: Queens,
Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650 This
new exhibit focuses on the representa-
tions of powerful females during the
16th and 17th centuries, a time when
numerous states and kingdoms were
led by women. Michigan Museum of
Art, 525 S. State, Free; 764-0395.
Friday
7 p.m., Nicola's Books, 2513 Jackson,
free; 662-4110.
CAMPUS CINEMA
Amelle See Thursday. State Theater,
6:45 & 9:15 p.m.
Gosford Park See Thursday. State
Theater, 7 & 9:30 p.m.
Lantana Geoffrey Rush and Anthony
LaPaglia star in this award-winning
Australiansmystery. Michigan Theater,
6:45 & 9:15 p.m.
Monster's Ball See Thursday. Michigan
Theater, 7:00 & 9:30 p.m.
MUSIC
Funktelligence, The Athletic Mic
League Do they live atthe Blind Pig?
The Blind Pig, 208 5. 1st St., 10 p.m.
$6 ($8 under 21) 996-8555.
Preston Woodward He goes folk now
but he used to do alt. Rock and punk,
that's some serious flava. Zou Zou's,
Chelsea, 8 p.m. Free 433-4226.
Superdot They're not a polka band but
if they were the easily amused would
laugh. T.C.'s Speakeasy, Ypsilanti
10:30 p.m. $3 483-4470.
THEA TER
Eleemosynary See Thursday.
Elizabeth Rex See Thursday.
ALTERNATIVES
Cavafy's World See Thursday.
Women Who Ruled: Queens,
Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650 See
Thursday.
Saturday
BOOKS
Loren Estelman and Deborah Morgan
There's a lot more going on in the must
basement of the Student Activities Buildin
than simple disc jockeying. Several of th
WCBN DJs practice the style of freeforn
radio - a style of DJing that most peopl
consider an art, or at least as something art
like. In its briefest, simplest definition
freeform is playing songs of all genres fror
all parts of the world in one show. The artfu
aspect of freeform is that most of these DJ
don't have adamant playlists and instea
improvise and often choose songs according
to how a previously chosen song inspire
them.
"Usually I'll show up with a couple thing
of my own that I hope I might get to, but
I just sort of improvise the whole
thing. I'm always ready to sudden-
ly have some brilliant
thing and I'll have
to completely redi-
rect myself at any
moment," said
Ilgenfritz.
"What I try to do is
never play the same
genre back to back or more than twice in th
show," added John Schietinger, an LSA jun
ior and freeform DJ at WCBN.
Freeform isn't just about variety of music
though. The DJ's purpose is to reach and dis
play a deeper understanding of the music.
"It's not just about the songs you're play
ing; it's about the meaning of everything
you're playing in the context of the whol
world. Whatever you're playing, you play i
from the perspective of 'it's my job t(
Editors:
Matt
kGrandstaff,
JaneKrull
MAGAZINE
Associate Editors: Caitlin Nish, Andy
Taylor-Fabe
Writers: Will El-Nachef, Jenni Glenn,
Rich Haffner, Kari Johnson, Neal Pais,
Manish Raiji
Photo Editor: David Katz
Photogra her: Emma Fosdick, Kelly
Lin, Brett ountain, Alyssa Wood
Cover Photo: Alyssa Wood
Arts Editors: Lyle Henretty, Luke
Smith, Managing Editors, Jeff
Dickerson, Associate Editor
Editor in Chief: Jon Schwartz
y
g
e
n
e
-
z,
n
Is
d
g
d
address the music of all parts of the world, of
all walks of life,' from European classical
music to punk rock to folk music to West
African polyrhythmic drumming. It goes
beyond simple eclecticism - the more you
are able to strive for the ideals that freeform
stands for, you're getting closer to the real
true meaning that lies beneath all music ...
The more you're able to play all the different
kinds of music, you're getting a larger pic-
ture of the whole thing. It's like a mosaic,"
Ilgenfritz said.
A lot of what a
,4 freeform DJ does
;s depends on juxtaposi-
tion. An example of
this is contrasting the
moods of the songs,
like an aggressive
song followed by a
mellow one, or a loud song fol-
lowed by a soft song. The DJ also
plays songs from uncommon genres in
series to produce another type of contrast.
For example, a sample of Schietinger's set
from his freeform show last Friday goes:
e British electronic, reggae, '50s soul, ambient
- electronic, folk, lounge and then instrumen-
tal hip-hop.
"I think it's an important position that
freeform DJs have. Because there's so much
music in this world that to put it in a certain
- order is totally unique to you ... I can put
g music in the right context to make it sound
e differently than it would otherwise,"
t Schietinger said.
o The DJ can also play the freeform
game by using consistency in the order
of songs.
"I'll arrange five or six tunes that
will make a beautiful transition from
one kind of music to another by way
of like 'they're all composed by
one person' or 'they're all from
people who lived in the same
town.' Some sort of connection in
the music that goes beyond the
notes," Ilgenfritz said.
With all this heavy talk of the craft of
the disc jockey and the art in present-
ing music in freeform, some people
may find WCBN's format to be eso-
teric.
"I don't want to say it's for a more
select few, but there are fewer people
that are able to identify with it immedi-
ately," admitted Ilgenfritz. However, he
continued, "As a college radio station
goes, our listenership is enormous.
But it's not the kind of level as
the kind of radio stations that
play pop or any other single
format type of thing."
Although WCBN has received
praise by magazines such as Rolling Stone
for its freeform format, the station has gotten
criticism as being a heavily leftist station that
does not play what the students want to hear.
Schietinger counters the critics by answer-
ing, "I don't think it's the station's responsi-
bility to pander and give people what they
can hear anywhere else. It's whatever the DJ
wants. It's not about playlists ..: Do you
want all the movie theaters to be show-
ing the same movies? Do you want all
the TV channels to be showing the
same shows? That's why you have sta-
tions like this and art house movie the-
atres. Not everybody wants the same
Pthing."
Schietinger.compared WCBN to format-
ted radio stations, saying, "Music is more
than just MTV and Britney Spears and
everything that you're forced to listen to.
When you turn on the radio, you don't have
a choice in what they're playing. They'll
play it 50 times a day just so it'll sell more
units. That's not at all what this station is
about; that's what people need to know."
With its non-profit and non-commercial-
ized orientation, it's easy to understand that
money is tight at WCBN. If you ask to see a
picture of Bill Cosby's visit to WCBN when
he first started touring college radio stations
to begin his comedy career, you'll notice
that the walls and design of the
station then are identical to
today's.
"It would be nice to
have a new studio, but
to be surrounded by the things that peo-
ple saw
nice. It
part of a
WCBT
listener
in dona
comes d
is what I
But th
tain by 1
talk by
charging
the song
WCBN,
pay," sai
DJ John Lamberson, Angela Pilchak and Ben Tausig share a few la
BOOKS
Phone Numbers: Michigan Theater: 668-8397; Quality 16: 827-2837; Showcase: 973-8380;
State: 761-8667.
Showtimes are effective Friday through Thursday. Matinee times at State Theater are
effective for Saturday and Sunday only.
Pam Flowers Reads Author and explor-
er Flowers reads from and signs copies
of her book "Alone Across the Arctic."