0 Tuesday March 1, 2003 michigandaily.com mae@michigandaily. corn RTS 8 TV Dish: News from the tube By Christian Smith Daily Arts Writer For those of you clamoring for the latest news on what's going on in TV Land, welcome to the Daily's new tele- vision dish, detailing anything and everything in the world of television - news, ratings, guest stars, you name it. future James Gandolfini/"Sopranos" legal battle might be solved before it even starts. After Gandolfini filed suit last week saying he wasn't properly notified by HBO that there was going to be a fifth season of "The Sopranos," HBO fired back this week with a countersuit, delaying the scheduled start date of production on the fifth season. Flying in to possibly save the TIMMAYI! - "South Park" returns with all new episodes im starting tomorrow night on Comedy Cen- tral at 10 p.m. If only the world of pol- itics could offer something to satire. SWEEPS STARS - Finally, though there is still a month or so to go before MALKMUS RETURN By Scott Serilla Daily Arts Editor "I care / I care / I really don't care," Pavement master- mind Stephen Malkmus sang during fluke near-hit "Cut Your Hair" on 1994's stunning alt-touchstone of slacker- dom Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain. And so was born the A. Courtesy of tf ' Matador Records The Jicks are dressed for success, success it never comes. 4S WITH PIG LIB' Mike Clark on keyboards) emerge a confident, fully- formed unit developing something unique for themselves. Their evolution is especially remarkable considering the huge shambling legend cast by Pavement. While SM sounded fairly self-assured on his 2001 self- titled album, he still seemed to be holding back, touring in a host of immediately pleasing, but seemingly half- baked tunes. The same goes for the Jicks who sounded loose but tentative on Malkmus' eponymous last album. Many sought to immediately label the new group as noth- ing more than hired hands, yet the musical personality displayed here negates that. Like most of Malkmus' best work there is an underlying melancholy buried beneath Pig Lib's songs. Hints of sour break-ups and nervous breakdowns play about the edges of the record. Meanwhile the surprise prog-rock instrumental breakdowns of the bitter "Sheets," the spacey "Animal Midnight" and the downright scary "Dark Wave" set the tone for the psychedelic epics like the shadowy "Witch Mountain Bridge" and the nine-minute "1% of One." The simple but gorgeous beauty of the ironic Cin- derella story "Vanessa from Queens" and the soft, understated "Ramp of Ramp" are satisfying achieve- ments, but it is the album's closer that really lives up to other classic Malkmus moments. That song, "Us," seems a genuine moment of earnestness from SM, a brightened update of his longing for CCR- inspired utopianism that runs throughout "Box Elder" and "Range Life," although here the song bleeds over with hard- won hopefullness, sharply countering the sardonic and bit- tersweet tones of this otherwise dark, but engaging album. LEGAL BIZ - First day is show producer Brad Grey. Even the networks start amping things up thing's first, two with a disappointing 4th season, we for May sweeps, there is already muc prominent television must hope Grey can successfully bro- to look forward to, especially in terms figures are heading to ker a peace. Otherwise, what are they of creative casting. Macaulay Culkin court. Howard Stern going to do, make viewers wait 14 will make his sitcom debut witha has beat hotornot.com months for it? Oh, wait ... guest appearance on "Will & Grace' to the punch. While the later this spring as a divorce lawyer creators of the website GOT ANY GUM? - Matthew Perry will try and showcas were considering suing ABC over "Are Meanwhile, David his acting chops on "The West Wing' You Hot? The Search for America's Letterman is apparent- in late April, taking a break from his Sexiest People," Stern has filed a $100 ly not ready to return "Friends" role to play a Republican million lawsuit against ABC and the to his late-night host- lawyer interviewing for a Whit producers of the show for copying ing duties. Over the House associate position underneath "unique aspects" of a radio segment in past few weeks, such stars our favorite TV president, Josiah Bart which members of his crew and guests as Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and let (Martin Sheen). evaluate the bodies of in-studio contest- Will Ferrell have filled in for Dave In addition, Steven Bochco is ants. Before ABC's program debuted, as he recuperates from a case of the apparently keeping his promise t Stern was in talks to develop a TV shingles. Though Dave was expect- Kim Delaney. After leaving "NYPD series based on his radio segment, but ed to be back this week, his doctor Blue" to star in her own legal drama once "Are You Hot?" aired, talks for his ordered more recovery time. As a "Philly," last fall, Bochco agreed t own TV show fell through, the lawsuit result, "Everybody Loves Ray- let her rejoin "Blue" if "Philly' said. Just when we thought all the mond" star Brad Garrett, comedian tanked. It did, and because her stin blame had been allocated to ABC, real- Tom Dreesen and Bonnie Hunt will on "CSI: Miami" didn't last ity television and the American public, take over hosting duties Monday Delaney will be back on "NYPD Howard Stern has to come along and through Wednesday, with reruns air- Blue" starting in May. It's unclear a take a piece. ing Thursday and Friday due to the this point whether her return will be Elsewhere in the justice system, the NCAA Tournament. permanent. Cliche-*d Grisham tale of wealth and legal power will comfort only fans P h s n a ~ " r. ,e is n e h t- s 0 a 0 " it t, tt ,e 61 ambiguous rallying cry of an apathetic generation more than ready to embrace Pavement's half-ass genius for dense, stream-of-conscience word- play, inventive deconstructionism and off-kilter lo-fi guitars. To give a crap or not to give a crap - that's always assumed to be SM's question. But hardcore SM Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Pig Lib Matador Records junkies (are there any other kind?) take it as a matter of devotion that their beloved ramshackle indie guitar-poet added each and every little wrong note and lyrical non sequitur on purpose. Everybody always wanted to believe that the puzzles would eventually make sense if you listened obsessively enough, but still fans prayed for a sign - something to let them know Malkmus was giving his songs and lyrics more thought and effort than he often let on. Enter Pig Lib, a new record from SM that feels nothing if not deliberate and mature. On this latest album, Might King Opaque and his Portland-based group the Jicks (Joan- na Bolme on bass, John Moen, drums and fresh recruit By Ricky Lax Daily Arts Writer S I BOOK REVIEW John Grisham's latest novel, "The King of Torts," tells the story of the young lawyer Clay Carter's rise and fall through a legal field portrayed as little more than cattle herding - round up the clients, settle the case. One day, Carter works at the Office of the Public Defender making about $40,000 a year; the next day, he owns his own law firm, jet, yacht, tropical getaway home and has a super- The King of model girlfriend. Ridley, the model, Torts wants money; By John Grisham Carter wants sex, Doubleday and neither of them is fooling anybody. Carter would dump his bombshell girl if Rebecca, the woman he dated for four years, would just come back to him. Too bad her affluent parents rejected him before his rise to legal royalty. Pace's client, a large drug compa- ny, tested an anti-crack drug in the Washington area that inexplicably drove some of its users to murder. Max Pace, a self-described fireman, tells Carter that if he can get the families of the deceased to each take a couple million dollars with no questions asked, Carter will receive $15 million in legal fees and his own law firm to fight a separate case against Pace's client's competitors, Ackerman Labs. The plotline is cliche, but "The King Of Torts" isn't concerned with originality. The book is concerned with giving Grisham readers what they want - entertaining stories about American law - and it does. We've been on Grisham's roller coaster many times, but return again and again for the mile-long drop, the mile-long mahogany desks and the mile-long string of zeros following dollar signs. The book delivers in all the right places, and Grisham fans will happily breeze through it. There is one major flaw in the book's plot. Carter knows that he may get audited. He thinks, "No sense trying to beat the government out of some taxes. Pay them and sleep well." Carter is a multi-mil- lionaire. Still, though, not three pages after the above thought, he engages in insider trading, selling short 100,00 shares of Ackerman Labs, the very corporation he per- sonally filed suit against. Big sur- prise, he gets caught. While power, wealth and shady business practices come to trade- mark Carter's character and legal practice as his lawsuits come and go, he remains rational such that this insider trading move destroys "The King of Torts" momentum of believ- *I ability. Even the dumbest criminal (think Joe Pesci from "Home Alone") wouldn't do something this stupid. If Carter did anything to cover his illegal buy, like shorting the stock through a friend of a friend or using a bank account with a fake name, Grisham sure didn't let the reader know. Because of this flaw, "The King of Torts" can't be crowned the king of legal novels, but for being so enter- taining, I will knight the book as court jester - and sometimes we need a court jester to distract us from life, even if just for 400 pages. Georgetown University 2003 Summer Sessions Take advantage of a unique opportunity to study at Georgetown University next summer at special summer tuition rates. Choose from more than 300 undergraduate and gradu- ate day and evening credit courses during three sessions. Pre-Session: First Session: Second Session: May 19-June 13 June 2-July 3 July 7-August 8 Call 202-687-5942 for a catalogue or visit our website. On-campus hous- I