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8B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, September 18, 2003
JOEL HOARD - 0Do'T BE FOOLED Y THE ROCKS THAT I GOT
THE JOYS OF JUST1N: DON'T HATE THE MAINSTREAM

The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine -

Taste of the town:

Tack White said something back
in April that has been bothering
me for almost five months now.
In a Rolling Stone interview,
tVhite said, "I consider music to be
storytelling, melody and rhythm. A
lot of hip-hop has broken music
down. There are no instruments and
no songwriting. So you're left with
just storytelling and rhythm. And
the storytelling can be so braggado-
cious, you're just left with rhythm. I
don't find much emotion in that."
For the sake of this argument, let's
-Lever mind that Jack used the word
"braggadocious" in an interview.
There's nothing more despicable
than dismissing an entire genre of
music with one sweeping statement,
especially when the one doing the
dismissing is currently the most
important and influential man in
rock. I'm tempted to call Jack a
racist, but then I remember that he's
actually an elderly black bluesman
stuck in a young white man's body.
He's more of an ageist who hates his
own age group. Go figure.
White's comments reflect a dan-
gerous traditionalist attitude that

has been creeping into our culture
since the rock revival started a few
years ago. Indie and modern-rock
elitists hate everything new (or at
least new-sounding) and long for
the days of yore when music was
purer and less commercial.
Throwbacks like the White
Stripes remind them of happier
times when artists did it for the
music and not the money. (Not sur-
prisingly, two weeks after the White
interview, David "Davy Ramone"
Fricke, Rolling Stone's resident tra-
ditionalist and Jack White's kindred
spirit, wrote a gushing five-star
review of the Stripes' latest record,
Elephant. Must the media promote
such attitudes?)
Pop and commercial artists so
often serve as the object of hatred
like Jack White's, because with
most detractors, the attitude is guilt
by association, a way of thinking
that is both arrogant and irresponsi-
ble. Their argument states that
because pop stars are financed by
evil major labels, they are therefore
wicked.
(Don't think for a moment that

I'm suggesting that major record
labels are saintly organizations who
faithfully serve the common man.
They are some of the most despica-
ble establishments on the planet and
are run by greedy, ignorant, deceit-
ful megalomaniacs. Please, by all
means, go ahead and hate them.
Lord knows I do.)
With other critics, the popularity,
and not the money, is the issue at
hand. They need to feel that they are
part of an exclusive club, like they
know something that the rest of the
world doesn't. They're always on the
lookout for the next big thing, but
once it actually becomes the big
thing, it's no longer desirable.
Of all the targets of mainstream
bashers, no one stands out more
than Justin Timberlake. Whether
they're willing to admit it or not, all
the ladies want Justin, and all the
fellas want to be Justin. However, as
the pop-est of the pop stars, Mr. JT
inspires obscene amounts of hatred,
a great deal of which must be attrib-
uted to his association with the boy-
band phenomenon that many feared
was a threat to their "real" music.

This unnecessary hatred and fear
leads many to the conclusion that
pop music is awful and utterly with-
out merit. I'll admit that I was never
a huge fan of boy bands, but I cer-
tainly enjoyed many of their pol-
ished pop singles and found some
pleasure in their novelty.
I assumed that within a few years
the boy band craze would fizzle out
and the teen idols would be forgot-
ten. While boy bands have certainly
waned in popularity, it turns out that
the latter part of my assumption was
dead wrong.
My mind was changed when I
first heard Timberlake's solo debut,
Justified, a record of pure pop per-
fection and easily one of last year's
best releases. With flawless produc-
tion from the Neptunes and
Timbaland, a confident, command-
ing voice and earnest lyrics, J-Timb
quickly emerged as the heir appar-
ent to Michael Jackson's deserted
King of Pop crown.
But still, the Justin bashing con-
tinued, simply because the haters
were unwilling to even give the
record a chance.
I am by no means against indie
artists; in fact, I often prefer them to
more popular artists. All I ask is that
Justin Timberlake and other pop
stars be shown some respect. You
don't have to love them, and you
don't have to buy their records. Just

don't hate them, and certainly don't
fear them.
If you give them a chance, you
may find yourself in a situation like
my most emo associate Sean Dailey,
who has taken to advising people
that "Justin Timberlake makes great
pop music."
At the very least, remember that
without the mainstream, there could
be no indie. After all, where would
God be without the Devil?
The damage is done, so I guess
I'll be leavin'.
- Joel Hoard is a latin-singing
sensation. Fan mail and autograph
requests can be sent to
I.ho umich.edu.


BOSTON UNIVERSITY

By Sravya Chirumamilla
Daily Arts Writer
The mission is dangerous and
highly crucial for the betterment of
all lives: the search for a decadent
treat devoid of sin but still with all of
the pleasure. The finale of the sum-
mer months leaves only one option
as an appropriate target, a cool,
creamy dessert.
Leaving behind the calorie-
induced ice cream parlors of South
State Street and South University
Avenue, I ventured to East Liberty
Street, where the striped awning of
American Spoon caught my watchful
eye. My feet responded to my growl-
ing stomach and marched past the
Michigan Theater, the formerly
named Twiggy (now Poshh) clothing
store and into the parlor.
Stealthily walking to the right side
of the store, I found a tabletop deco-
rated with an array of jams and
spreads. The wooden spoons and cho-
lesterol-free crackers helped in dis-
pensing and with consuming the jams.
I chose a few spreads based on color,
name (yes, a very important part of
any jam) and beauty of the jar label,
because we all know that one can
judge a jam by its cover.
While at the counter, I note the all
too common faux pas of trying to pass
off yellow-colored, sweet items as
mango-flavored. Unfortunately, they
are usually mistaken in the taste and
ruin people's perception of the tropi-
cal fruit. American Spoon also
attempts to create a bar-b-que sauce
with mango flavoring, and while it
was a sweet-tasting grilling sauce, it
included no flavors related to man-
goes. Moving away from the choles-
terol-free crackers that are dry yet
light, I found a basket filled with har-
vest granola. The dried cherries
enticed me and held me captive as I
enjoyed the chewy combination.
Finally, I made my way over to the
gelato counter, where the syruppy-
sweet staff asked me if I wanted to
try some flavors. Reminiscent of a
Rocher chocolate, the hazelnut
Weekend>
MAGAZINE tl
Writers: Sravya Chirumamilla,
Lauren Hodge, Scott Serilla
Photo Editors: Tony Ding,
Brett Mountain
Photographers: Ashley Harper,
Brett Mountains Jonathon
Triest, Ryan Weiner
Cover Photo: Tony Ding, Brett
Mountain
Cover Compiled by: Elise
Bergman
Arts Editors: Todd Weiser
Mana ingq Editor, Jason Roberts,
Scott erla, Editors
Editor in Chief: Louie Meizlish


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RYAN WEINER/Daily
American Spoon Foods not only offers a wide variety of jams and spreads for your crackers, but they also have a wide
selection of gelatos.



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Financial aid is available.

N Ia uf
IN CONCERT
wrna m
GUESTS f D
T. A ND
TRAPT
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6
N SALEI SATURDAY
9/21 at 10:00 AM
tickets also available at Palace -COM The New Albuz
The Palace Box office, all dtqetfllaster In StreSept. a 3
locations. Charge at 248-645666.

chocolate gelato was pleasing with
chunks of chocolate and a hint of
hazelnut. The chocolate almond
gelato, while appearing dark and
indulgent, was bitter and left a harsh
aftertaste.
The consensus on the favorite flavor
was easily the zabaglione gelato, as it
was much smoother and lighter than
the rest of the flavors, and tastes very
much like an Italian ice found in the
backstreets of Little Italy in New York.
The marionberry flavors that
American Spoon offers in both its
Fruit Perfect brand spreads and sor-
betto are a delightfully tart combina-
tion of cherries and berries.
At under 7.5% milkfat, these
deserts are rich in flavor and teeming

with country goodness. While the
serving cups seem very small in com-
parison to the waffle cones of similar
price, the gelatos and sorbetos are
heavy and filling.
Numerous curious customers asked
the confused staff whether the gelato
contained any gelatin. Thankfully for
the vegetarians, the gelato making
process does not include the use of
any animal products.
Prompted by the brochures at the
store, I paid a visit to the American
Spoon website where I was shocked to
find exorbitant prices. While the cata-
log is expansive and inviting, the

prices included such excesses as
$74.95 for six pints of gelato.
Not only does American Spoon
offer tasty spreads and desserts, but it
also provides low-calorie and modest-
ly priced items at its country-style
store. Enjoy a spoonful.

American Spoon Foods
539 E. Liberty St.
Open: Sunday 12 p.m. -
6 p.m. Tues - Wed 11 a.m.
- 9 p.m. Thurs - Sat 11
a.m. - 10 a.m.

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Boston University
International Programs.
232 Bay State Road
Boston, MA 02215
617-353-9888
Fax: 617-353-5402
abroad@bu.edu

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