ARTS

The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 9A


Burned out
Money not
*all that hot
By Joseph Litman
Daily Arts Writer
Music REVI EW *
Cash Money got the band back
together for Let 'Em Burn, the mislead-
ing Hot Boys follow-up to their 1999
splash Guerilla Warfare. Burn is a legit-
imate Hot Boys record, as all four origi-
nal members are present; however, this
release is one that Cash Money Records

ABC's latest sitcom is 'Lost' from start

has been sitting on
since Warfare, and
in the time between
that release and
now, B.G. left the
label, Juvenile left
and just recently

Hot Boys
Let 'Em Burn
Cash Money Records

bearable and ironically hardly fresh -
are Manny Fresh's synthesizer-and-
drum-kit-driven bounce beats.
' Fresh has changed his style and made
the label's sound less predictable and
more diverse; yet, before that transfor-
mation, Fresh almost exclusively relied
on simple drums, an active synthesizer
and ornate filler sounds that created
often immature melodies.
Burn sounds out of place in today's
hip-hop world, an antiquated remnant
from a musical moment now concluded.
While the bounce style may still interest
fans in Louisiana, approval of such an
aural mode has become a musical shib-
boleth, and Fresh's beats likely won't
impress those outside his home state.
On the LP's few notable songs, like
the infectious "My Section," Fresh's
beats don't sound too old, and Hot Boys
fans will easily remember the promising
entrance that the Boys made. Yet, there
are too few tracks of that quality and
too many beats that become bland and
at times annoying.

By Daniel Yowell
Daily Arts Writer
TV REVIEW
There has always been a place in the world of
television for drippy, overly moralistic and highly
implausible sitcoms. They are a staple of the
American TV diet.
But it is possible for
this kind of show to
go too far, failing to 3
balance the sappyY
and the funny. "Lost
at Home" is not just
unbalanced; so much
plot is packed into
its first episode that
the rest of the series
seems unnecessary.
Adman Michael
Davis (Mitch Rouse,
"Strangers with Could "Full House" get worse
Candy") has been
working long hours for several years, putting his
career ahead of his family to the point where he

relationship with his family.
Despite a very talented cast, "Lost at Home" is
bogged down by overly sentimental scenes and
all-too-easy resolutions to the show's main con-
flict. The first episode is filled mostly with melo-
drama that would only fly on a show like "7th
Heaven." When the wit of the show does peek out
- which is not nearly often enough - it can be
really funny. It's just
not worth suffering
through numerous
unbelievable scenes
4 where the charismat-
.. ic Michael smoothly
 pieces his family
<k, . together with mini-
mal effort.
After years of
being absent from
his family's life, he
returns as some kind
Courtesy of ABC of "Superdad" -
Looks like it. knowing all the right
things to say and do
to reconnect with his kids.
It is impossible to suspend disbelief for this
show. In one scene, Rachel informs Michael that
their youngest son, Joshua (Gavin Fink), tries to
be a perfect little boy in order to make him feel
worth coming home to. No problem for "Super-
dad." He cooks up a scheme involving reverse
psychology to make Joshua realize that he doesn't
have to be perfect for Dad to love him.
Patching things up with his daughter, Sara
(Leah Pipes), is also a breeze. Michael just asks
her best friend, Tucker (Aaron Hill), to tell him
everything she likes. They talk over a pint of Ben

and Jerry's and it appears that all wounds are
healed.
The first episode of "Lost at Home" spoils a
premise that had potential by seemingly resolving
the conflict in less than 30 minutes. It is hard to
imagine where the show can go from here. At the
end of one episode, Michael is already on better
terms with his wife and all three of his kids.
What's left to do? "Lost at Home" will need more
than a map and compass to get out of the hole it
has dug itself into.
a
Iinvite you and a guest to a special advance screening

? I

returned and Turk went the way of
Jimmy Hoffa.
Most of Burn was recorded years
ago, and the chemistry that character-
ized Warfare is again present. Juvenile,
Turk, B.G. and Lil' Wayne all work well
together, and many songs follow a stan-
dard format that allows each MC to spit
a few bars before passing the mic to a
compatriot. The schematic is a compli-
mentary one for the Hot Boys because
each, save for Juvenile, has a style that
works well in moderation but not in
heavy dosage. Thus, Wayne's baby-
voice, B.G.'s southern drawl and Turk's
matter-of-fact staccato all remain bear-
able, if not fresh.
Unfortunately for the Boys and Burn,
also still present - though fleetingly
...
For the Ann Arbor
Community
Cosponsored by
inSt Mary Student Parish
-First Baptist
-First Congregational
First United Methodist
Churches of Ann Arbor
Held at First United Methodist
Church, 120 S. State Street
(at Huron)
Services offered at
12:00, 12:30 & 1:00
stay for one service or all three

doesn't even know them any-
more. When his wife, Rachel
(Connie Britton, "Spin City"),
threatens him with a divorce,
he must rethink his priorities.
Realizing that his family is
indeed the most important
thing in his life, he springs

Lost at
Home
Tuesdays at
9:30 p.m.
ABC

T hisflm is not tyet ratel
The first 100 people to stop by The Michigan Daily office
will receive a complimentary ticket for two.

into action, asking his boss and best friend, Jordan
(Broadway star Gregory Hines), if he can stop
working long hours and try to save the broken

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