Tuesday November 26, 2002 michigandaily.com/arts mae@michigandaily.com ATS 5 MTV's smash 'The Osbournes' returns By Christian Smith Daily Arts Writer When the reality TV craze started a few years back, no one could have expected that former metal icon Ozzy Osbourne would usurp the almighty Jeff Probst's status as the genre's cul- tural idol. Even less likely, when "The Osbournes" debuted last spring on MTV, who would have guessed that it would become the unavoidable cultur- al phenomenon that it did, becoming the channel's most popular show in its 20-year history while simultaneously a far more daunting task: Diagnosed with colon cancer last summer, this season will take us through the ups and downs of her fight, covering her radiation treatments and all. Mean- while, Sharon's battle has thrown Ozzy back off the wagon. While whining about continuing his cross- country Ozzfest jaunt, Ozzy tries to drown his sorrow over his soul mate's cancer by hitting the bottle again. Additionally, in a move of all-too- convenient irony, or a gesture of goodwill, depending on how you look at it, the family adopted another spawning its own sub- genre of television? The Osbournes have been a busy bunch since the end of the first season, winning Emmys in between vis- its to the White House and Buckingham Palace. And while we THE OSBOURNES: SEASON 2 Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. MTV "main character," Kelly's friend Robert Marcato, after his mother passed away from cancer. Despite all these neg- ative circumstances, and Sharon's recent claim on "20/20" that this season would be the can't blame the Osbournes for "The Anna Nicole Show," Kelly Osbourne's excruciatingly ornate attempt to pervade the music industry can only be attributed to the massive success of the show's first season. There is a glimpse of this on tonight's second season premiere, as Kelly masquerades at the MTV Movie Awards, infecting those present with her noxious cover of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach." . But it's not only Kelly who is off exploring new things, as everyone has taken on a side-project of sorts. Jack, of course, continues to double part- time as a talent scout for Epic Records, as any normal teenager would. Matriarch Sharon has taken on last, the Osbournes are contractually obligated for two more, and the show will continue for at least that. It's obvious that the show won't be the same as before - it can't be, given the family's propulsion to massive pop-culture celebrity status - because all the simplicity is lost with their awareness of this new- found celebrity. Most of the family's escapades could have been followed this past summer by simply keeping up with the daily entertainment gossip, but all the fun lies in bemusing in their asi- nine exploits. Watching their effort- less everyday interaction is what made "The Osbournes" so special in the first place. Courtesy of HBO HBO's acclaimed mini-series "Band of Brothers," or a deleted scene from "Drop Zone?" HBO's 'BROTHERS' LANDS ON DVD s Courtesy of MTV The Osboumnes look to be their usual happy selves. PEARL JAM RIOT ACT Epic RECORDS By Joseph Litman Daily Arts Writer By Todd Weiser Daily Film Editor HBO can pretty much do no wrong. Last year, around this time, the fourth season of "The Sopranos" was delayed to give creator David Chase more time to work on the upcoming seasons of his Emmy-winning project. Disappointed fans did not want to wait another year for a new season and sadly, the new season has not proved worth the prolonged hiatus. However, during those few months last fall, at the normal Sunday at 9 "Sopranos" timeslot, HBO unveiled an incredible 10-part mini-series about a company of men who served in World War II. Even when HBO dis- appoints, it finds a way to be better than everyone else. Now, that mini-series, "Band of Brothers," arrives in stores, and the six-DVD set suitably matches the supreme quality of the actual pro- gram. If you've seen the episodes then you've probably already thought of buying the DVD set and the lavish tin that contains the DVDs surely will push you over the pur- chasing edge. For those who have somehow survived without witness- ing the mini-series from creators Steven Spielberg and Tom Hank, then this is your chance. Shot in that signature "Saving Pri- vate Ryan" style, the series not only echoes the Spielberg WWII drama but surpasses it in quality and excite- ment. The intensity and realism of those first 20 "Private Ryan" min- utes is once again imagined numer- ous times in "Band of Brothers." While the arrival by sea onto Omaha beach in "Ryan" was violent and tur- bulent, the view from above as seen by the featured Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division is an infi- nitely more thrilling and visually breathtaking experience. If that treacherous D-Day sequence in episode two does not include enough CGI paratroopers and airplanes in the sky, then the Operation Market Garden drop into Holland later in the series will certainly delight the eye. With a gigantic cast featuring at least 100 speaking roles and centering around a core group of at least 20 sol- diers, a viewer can easily become lost in the maze of names and ranks. Lt. Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) and company information officer Capt. Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston, "Office Space") are the closest the viewer gets to main characters as different episodes usually focus on different men of the company, but all usually comes back to them. In a cast largely made up of unrecognizable faces and the late Stephen Ambrose, the mini- series follows Easy Company from the previously mentioned drop on D- Day to their holding the line at the Battle of the Bulge and finally onto the raiding of Hitler's Eagle's Nest. It all seems so amazing that one small company (with one of the highest casualty rates of the war) could accomplish so much and be a part of SINEAD O'CONNOR SEAN-NOS NUA VANGUARD RECORDS By Niamh Slevin Daily Arts Writer Courtesy of HBO Six of the 10,000 cast members of "Band of Brothers." "One does not have to be a 'singer' to sing." - Sinead O'Connor Truer words were never spoken in this case. O'Connor's newest exploit, Sean-Nos Nua (an Irish saying loosely translated to "The New Oldies"), proves her acute self-critique if noth- ing else. Although she attempts to revamp classic Irish ballads and chil- dren's songs, her signature wail effec- tively ruins their previous melodic charm. "Paddy's Lament" clearly con- veys the sentiments on her vocal tech- nique. She begins the tune in quiet tones and then interjects with piercing screeches, destroying the peaceful meaning in most of the songs. The two pieces she chose not to bastardize, "Baidin Fheillimi" and "I'll Tell Me Ma," connect the record's intention with its reality. The simplici- ty of the lyrics allows the music to take the foreground here, incorporat- ing contemporary style with tradition- al Irish folk sound. Some tracks feature a slight country twang while others draw on subtle Caribbean rhythms and modern pop sounds in As the '90s recess further and fur- ther into history, Pearl Jam's posi- tion in popular culture becomes more and more inexact. Are they still a group at the vanguard of music - revered yet reclusive artists whose records are particular- ly noteworthy releases? What if, instead, Pearl Jam has become irrel- evant, its music a vestige from a dif- ferent time now lost in the milieu of Linkin Park-rock? The second conclusion is likely correct and that melancholy truth has been mostly promulgated by the band itself. Often inaccessible and disdainful toward the media which cover them, Pearl Jam has alienated those who have the power to keep them salient. Yet most importantly, many music fans have found PJ's fourth, fifth and sixth albums to be a sonic departure from their more popular predecessors. Riot Act seems as though it will perpetuate this bifurcation - pleasing the devot- ed fans while dis- appointing more casual listeners - because the record's overall sound seems like an amalgamation of those more unique ones respectively explored on No Code, Yield and Binaural. Riot Act is extremely listenable, and with the exception of the point- less "Arc," all of the album's songs will interest their audience. Tracks like "Can't Keep" and "Love Boat names, David Schwim- mer stands out as Lt. Herbert Sobel, Easy. Company's original commanding officer before his in-the-field mistakes propel Winters into his position. In his brief role, Schwimmer delivers a surprisingly nuanced performance. Another key supporting role is that of companyJ BAND OF BROTHERS Picture/Sound: ***** Mini-series: ***** Features: ****I HBO 1st Sgt. Car- wood Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg). The brilliant, young, unfamiliar cast helps the realistic production feel even more authentic as the absence of any real star gives the viewer a band of men to relate to, and not just a single hero (i.e. Tom Hanks). Based on the non-fiction book by phoniness never makes its way into the series; the War is presented as realistically and complex as war really is, with the audience deciding who the heroes are, not the filmmakers. Most of the bonus features could have been seen by an HBO viewer over the past year, but that doesn't make them any less remarkable. Any so many astounding events in such a short time but unlike "Saving Private Ryan," the sto- ries are all true. With episodes directed by such talents as Phil Alden Robinson ("The Sum of All Fears") and Tom Hanks, that signa- ture Hollywood/Spiel- berg stamp of patriotic 4ualms over the lack of commentaries should be silenced by the 30-minute "Making of 'Band of Brothers' which includes cast and crew inter- views and wondrous behind-the- scenes footage of the giant $110 million production coming together with weapons specialists, uniform specialists, snow specialists and more. Also included is "We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Compa- ny," the emotional documentary which pieces together interviews with the surviving soldiers and pictures from their time served. HBO broke ground with its Apollo mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon," assembling an all-star cast to tell the NASA shuttle stories Tom Hanks knows so well. "Band of Brothers" also brings viewers to a dif- ferent time - a time when some ashamed young men actually took their own lives when they were deemed 4F, unfit for military service. Produced before Sept. 11, Hanks and Spielberg had no ulterior motives for their production besides honoring a group of men who would never dare call themselves heroes, but deserve to be so identified by others. I Captain" feature Eddie Vedder's emotional and slightly pained crooning that has served as both as his distinguishing trait and a sound many other artists have tried to emulate (hi, Mr. Stapp). Meanwhile, "You Are" and "Green Disease" showcase the fer- vent interest the band has in its instrumentation, a preoccupation that has encouraged such unique and melodic songs as "Parting Ways" in the past. To the album's detriment, though, there are no groundbreaking or chal- lenging efforts like "Parting Ways" on Riot Act. Instead of again find- ing a new musical identity, as they commendably and successfully did on previous records, Pearl Jam seems to have been satisfied with inertia. This disappointing absence of creativity makes some of Ved- der's vocals sound hollow - the tone exists without a credible impe- tus, like he is going through the motions - and some of the songs sometimes boring - where is the imagination? Riot Act is fine but not exciting. Having satisfied the stipulations of their contract with their label Epic, Pearl Jam is now at a Frost- like career divergence: Continue down the path on which they have traveled or make a turn and find something else. The uninspired Riot Act makes the former seem tired and inauspicious. The potential to forev- er fade into musical obsolescence makes the latter seem bleak. Perhaps PJ can make their own third path and next time return both energizing and engaging. SHORT TAKES VARIOUS ARTISTS, CASH MONEY RECORDS PLATINUM HITS; CASH MONEY RECORDS It's quite audacious for Cash Money to release a greatest hits collection just 11 years into its existence. It's even more audacious when the num- ber of tracks on the album outnum- bers the roster of artists by 12. Every track on the album comes from Juve- nile, Big Tymers, B.G., Lil Wayne or Turk. (Don't be fooled when you see Hot Boyz and Cash Money Million- aires listed, because they're just col- lectives of the aforementioned.) There are a few worthwhile tunes here including !Juvenile's "Ha" and "Back That Azz Up" and CMM's "Project Bitch," but overall, the collection is pretty unnecessary. * * - Joel M. Hoard ZAPPA PIcKS, VOLUME 1: JON FISHMAN, VOLUME2: LARRY LALONDE; RYKODISC RECORDS In a pretty bizarre attempt to pro- mote the immense Frank Zappa back-catalogue, Rykodisc is releas- ing a series of career-spanning com- pilations put together by famous fans of the late twisted genius. The choic- es are solid, but idiosyncratic (both expected when dealing with Zappa), but who actually cares what Phish's drummer Fishman and Primus' gui- tarist LaLonde favorite song off Zoot Allures is? Save your cash and just buy a real Zappa album like Over- nite Sensation or Sheik Yerbouti or if you're desperate for an introduction, try the more complete 'best-of', Strictly Commercial. * * * - - Scott Serilla RATING: