Wednesday March 17, 2004 arts.michigandaily.com artseditor@michigandaily.com ARTS Sil v THE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER Tom Hanks being funny - With Tommy turning all serious on us in the '90s, the days of "Dragnet" and "Big" are long gone. Still, next week's release of "The Ladykillers" looks to prove Hanks hasn't lost his funny bone. 4 "House of Bush, House of Saud" by Craig Unger - In his latest book, Variety reporter Unger investigates Saudi involvement in Sept. 11 and details the Bush-sponsored flights of many prominent Saudis and bin Laden family members out of the U.S. days after the attacks. "Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories"- Thanks to "Chap- pelle's Show," Eddie Murphy's brother can finally step out of his sib- ling's shadow (or should I say darkness). Not only did the sketch create a new catchphrase ("I'm Rick James, bitch") but it also brings a message ("Cocaine's a helluva drug"). By Andrew M. Gaerig Daily Music Editor 2 Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr. Blue Sky" - Originally released in 1977, ELO's Beatles-influenced romp around a sunny day has reached an entire new audience playing over the trailer for Jim Carrey's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."; Twenty-seven years later it's still a I.. theatrical, fun epic.r The return of "The Shield" andx "South Park" - New episodes of y "The Sopranos" get all the press, but #x FX and Comedy Central own the two best shows on TV. Vic Mackey busts your chops and your bones every Tuesday night, and "South Park" takes on anime' in its premiere tonight before turning to "The Passion of the Easter Bunny" later in the season. ourtesy of comedy Central and the skill it takes to play bass guitar, the backbone they provide for a band is irreplace- able. The importance of the rhythm section in underground music - where songwriting and arrangements can get slushy - is especially pro- Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand Domino MUS IC REVI EW The effects of a good rhythm section on rock music have been well-documented. For all of the jokes about the collective intelligence of drummers for their antiquated approach: They make rock music the old-fashioned way, from the rhythm on up. The elastic, buoyant basslines of Bob Hardy and snapping percussion of Paul Thomson stand out not because of premeditated genre constructions, but because they serve as a foundation for Franz Ferdi- nand's finely crafted pop. "Take Me Out" is exemplary of the transforma- tion a song undergoes once it is subjected to Franz Ferdinand's rhythmic juggernaut. Beginning with a minute of vague, dismissible pop-rock, the track morphs into a roaring post-punk anthem that both echoes the shout-worthy thrash of Gang of Four and carves out the imminent tunefulness of Blur. The rest of the album finds a similar niche. "This Fire" is Ferdinands most anthemic chant, skipping along on heavy bass burbles. "Tell Her Tonight" is an alto- gether less serious affair, as singer/guitarist Alex Kapronos delivers a jerky verse before riding smoothly into an upbeat chorus. Some of the comparisons to New York's dance- punks are warranted, but the similarities arise Courtesy of Domino Full album in 30 minutes or It's free. more out of content than aesthetic similarities. The coked-up, disco homage "Michael" is a memo- rable barn-burner. The synthesized organ and vaudeville melody that open the superb "Auf Achse" reek of a late-'70s dance floor, even if the chorus pushes the song in a decidedly darker direction. The first single, "Darts of Pleasure," is built on a bold, theatric melody that builds into a glimmering, showboat finale. The band does have faults. Kapronos's heavy Scottish accent is slightly off-putting, and the band's reputation for being fashion-conscious pretty boys won't raise their stock among the punk crowd. There's not a weak track on the album, but there are several tracks - "Cheating on You" and the closer "40 Ft" - that aren't particularly memorable. Franz Ferdinand paint in broad, majestic strokes, riding their stellar rhythm section into propulsive, exultant rock music. They have an ear for cutting, acute melody, but it's their sharp arrangements that breathe life into their debut album. They're the rare rock band that's not embarrassed to sing and dance. I nounced. Indie rock's recent stabs at dance music have ostensibly re-established the importance of rhythm in punk music. Scottish quartet Franz Ferdinand has already received plenty of comparisons to the already-falter- ing "dance-punk" genre, but they're more notable *I New show misses the punch lines *NSYNC member is Schizophrenic in debut By Doug Wernert Daily TV/New Media Editor TV REVIEW Following in the footsteps of "Mal- colm in the Middle" and the critically acclaimed "Arrested Development," the FOX network has produced another pro- gram about strange families that put the "fun" in dysfunctional. "Cracking Up" has the strong cast and premise to create another comedic gem, but the laughs are unfortunately few and far between. Ben Baxter Cracking Up (Jason Schwartz- Mondays at 8:30 p.m. man, "Rushmore") FOX is a psychology student who moves into a lavish Bever- ly Hills house to counsel young Tanner Shackelton (Bret Loehr). Oddly enough, Tanner is the sanest member of his family, which is good news for Ben, as he now must deal with the boy's crazy father (Christopher McDonald, "Happy Gilmore") and an unstable mother (Molly Shannon, "Sat- urday Night Live). Tanner's siblings are also a handful, as an obsessive- compulsive jock named Preston (Jake Sandvig) and a ditzy cheerleader named Chloe (Caitlin Wachs) give Ben TH RE E ( A KS o R 0 U P Cool Apartments/Houses Great Locations in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti - U of M- Kerrytown EMU- Depot Town Clean - Well-Maintained All Unit Types/Sizes . From Budget to Luxury Newly Renovated Units Going Fast! - Available Now and Fall 2004 Professional Management 734-214-1600 bill@three-oaks.com By Emily Liu Daily Arts Writer coute sy u, This Is me In a nutshell. Help! plenty of subjects to study. In the first few episodes, Ben adjusts to the family and then attempts to con- vince the parents to give their kids "the talk." Usually with scenarios such as these, the laughs would never stop. Unfortunately, the jokes rely on topics such as sex and circumcision, and the truly funny actions and punch lines do not happen nearly enough. The chemistry between the parents is there, as their happy husband-and-wife banter has all the comedy elements nec- essary, but fails to deliver. Preston's neu- rotic jock persona is refreshing and Ben is certainly a character that audiences can enjoy, but the parents - one of the reasons "Malcolm in the Middle" is so good -just fall flat, through no fault of Shannon and McDonald. "Cracking Up" is a prime example of trying to capitalize on a formula that has worked in the past. Most of the time, the follow-up program fails to capture the magic of the original, and that is exactly the case here. Although the premise is unique and some characters are intrigu- ing, the show is certainly not all it is cracked up to be. MUSIC REVI EW * As the second member of *NSYNC to go solo, J.C. Chasez seems doomed to follow in the footsteps of Justin Timber- lake, whose pop-R&B album, Justified, was barely rescued from dullness by the Neptunes' ingenious production. Chasez, however, . makes a departure C. Chasez from the tried-and- ' , true boy band for- Schizophrenic mula with his Jive debut album, Schizophrenic. True to the album's title, Chasez explores a variety of musical stylings with varying degrees of success. The album opens with the single "Some Girls (Dance with Women)," which has an infectious dance club beat and suggestive lyrics. In fact, Schizo- phrenic is loaded with sexual tension to the point of absurdity. Even though "Come to Me" has a nice '80s new wave beat, lyrics such as " 'Cause when I'm all alone / I lie awake and mastur- bate" are extremely laughable. Similar- ly, in the same song, "Conversation hotter than a fireman engulfed" does not conjure sparks of passion, but rather images of pain and searing flesh. While "100 Ways" also contains bizarre lyrics about sex, Chasez effec- tively evokes Prince with both breathy and falsetto vocals, as subtle bass guitar rounds out the tune. "One Night Stand" includes per- plexing dialogue between Chasez and a female voice, in which Chasez asks, "So Pm thinking it's kind of crowded. You wanna get out of here?" The female replies sarcastically, "Yeah, 'cause you're so smooth.' Who knows what Chasez was thinking when he included that sound clip, because it deteriorates the sexy image that he tries so desperately to create for him- self. The female's orgasmic moans, straight out of a bad pornographic film, are an irritating distraction and comprise yet another pathetic attempt to make the album sexy. Chasez sounds most comfortable toward the end of Schizophrenic in the sugary pop ballads, which are reminis- cent of the more innocent songs of *NSYNC. Throughout the rest of the album, Chasez struggles to project a sexualized image with no success; his awkwardly worded, overtly sexual lyrics merely make one cringe. To his credit, the album's diverse songs, all co-written by Chasez, showcase his vocal talent and versatility. Chasez's debut is decent and musically interest- ing, but this former Mouseketeer is simply a boy next door who is inca- pable of convincing his audience that he is an over-sexed playa. 4 a