10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 11, 2004
ARTS
0
Oh No makes
his own name
By Cyril Cordor
Daily Arts Writer
Dear prom rejects, welcome to dumpsville. Popuiation: YOU!
FOXS reality s pOof
finds some laughter
but mosty'Obnoxi(
The music and entertainment industry has
repeatedly seen people who try to gain fame by
riding on the coattails of their more famous and
more accomplished siblings. Emcee and producer
Oh No, the younger brother
Courtesy of FOX of beat virtuoso Madlib, must
prove on The Disrupt that he is Oh No
not just cashing in on Madlib's The Disrupt
reputation. Throughout the Stones Throw
album, Oh No proves that he
may not be able to work a
mixer like Madlib, he definitely spits fire better
than his brother.
Oh No stuns the listener with his verbal wiz-
ardry and complex delivery. On the opening
, song, "Right Now," he displays his skill to rhyme
:)Us syllables: "It's Oh Niz here now, intricate child,
unlimited style / Always reppin' Cali, wild vet-
eran / Might see me smoking on herbal medicine
s, are what / Then I'm known to shift your host chief like
re hilarious. David Letterman / I'm the power of the Edison,
w the teams I serve the blackouts / The snap arms cause tap-
are change, outs that routes South California." Even with
even more more laid-back production, as on the self-pro-
fights, bas- duced "Perceptions," he delivers a nice and lax
ent trips to flow, and he mentions that he is, "Wild for the
izzi (for the night, ill for the day / And I don't need weed and
end of each liquor, but it's here anyway, hey."
Yo, this Is supposed to be more symbolic than gin and juice, or something.
By Nick Kochmanski
Daily Arts Writer
It's not "The Apprentice," but then
again, FOX's new reality show, "My
Big Fat Obnoxious Boss," isn't intended
to be. Instead, the new show is shoot-
ing (quite literally, it seems, because
in future episodes the contestants get
shot at with paintba guns) for laughs,
Todd's insanely zany antic
give the show life. They ar
While the first episode saw
begging in the streets for sp
future episodes look to be
entertaining with paintball
ketball matches and frequ
N. Paul Todd's private jacu
ladies of course!). At thee
The album melds together in part because of
Oh No's diverse lyrical content and nice skills
and also because of the originality and creativity
of the beats. Again, Oh No's handling of most of
the production is evidence of his ability to cre-
ate his own reputation. Nonetheless, Madlib does
provide him beats for six tracks. The pumping feel
that Madlib gives to the drums and bass on tracks
like "WTF" lay down a solid basis for Oh No's
extreme hunger for emceeing. The real gem on
the album is "The Ride," in which Oh No samples
music from the videogame "Ninja Gaiden" and
slaps it over thick drums and a riding bassline.
The Disrupt is simply quality hip-hop which,
ironically, is its only real weakness. The album
is highly creative but has neither the focus and
consistency nor the innovation that would push
it to classic status. Nevertheless, this is another
quality release from Stones Throw Records. Do
not let the relation to Madlib nor the fact that Oh
No might have the worst rap name ever fool you
about his skills. Pick up this album.
A
not drama. In
this endeavor, the
show succeeds. To
a point.
The pilot epi-
sode begins by
introducing the
supposed president
of IOCOR, a fake
My Big Fat
Obnoxious
Boss
Sundays at 9 p.m.
FOX
corporation invented by the demented
bigwigs in FOX's creative department.
Named N. Paul Todd, and played by
William August, this "billionaire"
truly is the boss from hell. In fact, Mr.
N. Paul - Fox has yet to reveal what
the "N" stands for - even insults one
of the contestants for being short. Now
that's a low blow!
The basic structure of the show is
very similar to NBC's "The Appren-
tice." Twelve contestants are split into
two teams by gender, after which they
are forced to duke it out in a series of
increasingly ridiculous challenges.
These challenges, along with N. Paul
show, one contestant is booted off. The
catch is that the decision is made by
a mystery man whose identity will be
revealed at a later date. Sounds sortof
interesting.
While easily the show's best asset,
the hilarious situations these contes-
tants are forced to endure is also the
down-fall of "My Big Fat Obnoxious
Boss." Simply put, this program is very
obnoxious. The jokes and challenges
have a high propensity for annoy-
ance as opposed to hilarity. After just
an hour of viewing, laughter became
forced, and the actor's performances
seemed grating. This will inevitably
hurt the show, as future episodes will
rehash more of the same.
In small doses, FOX's "My Big Fat
Obnoxious Boss" can be a funny little
diversion, but it's no "Joe Schmoe,"
simply because the gag has already
been pulled. Audiences would be
better served watching FOX's under-
rated "Arrested Development," on
right before this reality TV farce. It's
funnier, sharper and certainly less
obnoxious.
By Puja Kumar
Daily Arts Writer
MUSIC REvEW
The results of last week's election
have spurred talk among students of
moving to Canada. If any of these
dissenters end
up in Toronto,
they might want
to look up Jason
Amm.
After almost
a decade of scat-
tered releases
Solvent joins local label and takes off
Solvent
Apples and
Synthesizers
Ghostly international
with melody-driven, hook-infused
songs that humanize a characteris-
tically aloof genre. Standout track
"My Radio," for example, packs
enough liltingly layered melodies
and high energy to make even the
warped vocoder vocals seem like
they're being delivered by a misty-
eyed robot. These detached vocals,
which appear on a number of tracks
and are a new turn in Solvent's
work, sound best when done mini-
mally. Heavy vocals on songs such
as "Think Like Us" tend to dominate
and flatten what should be moving,
pounding lines.
Occasional tonal repetition gives
the album a tedious feel, but Apples
and Synthesizers varies enough to
prove that Solvent takes synthesis
seriously. "Science With Synthesis"
is a euphoric offering of different
sounds with tight enough production
to avoid sounding cacophonic. The
following track, "Background Noise
(Don't Become)" is an aptly ambient
piece with a kind of transience and
fluidity that is distinctive of label-
mate Kiln.
Emotional lyrics - though fil-
tered through a vocoder - add to the
album's warmth. "For You" is arche-
DAILY ARTS. FREE ANNYONG.
at different labels including Morr
Music, Ersatz Audio and his own
imprint, Suction Records, Amm, aka
Solvent, seems to have found his ele-
ment on Ann Arbor's own Ghostly
International. His latest release,
- and first full-length in three
years - Apples and Synthesizers, is
holistically an homage to the skilled
artistry of synth-pop and, at a dis-
mantled level, 13 melodious tracks
equally worthy of booty-shaking and
contemplation.
Electro-pop is often derided by
critics as being clinical; Apples and
Synthesizers evades this pigeonhole
What a lovely day for a tea party!
typically romantic and nostalgic, and
"My Radio" mourns an old FM sta-
tion: "It doesn't seem so long ago /
When I loved you, my radio." Though
Solvent's tracks revolve around cozy
centers, there is an overall sharp,
metallic production that creates a
balanced sound fun enough to dance
Courtesy of Ghostly
to but intelligent enough to appreci-
ate as artful exploration. In Apples
and Synthesizers, Solvent masters,
without recreating, the retro appeal
of catchy electro-pop (think '80s
Brit-synthers The Human League)
while respecting and polishing a pro-
gressive vision of electronic music.
40
What Do
These Leaders Have
in Common?
If you thought pharmacy was
only filling prescriptions, think again.
The University of Michigan
College of Pharmacy has been
Gwendolyn Chivers, Chief
Pharmacist, University of Michigan
Health Service
Gayle Crick, Senior Marketing
Advisor,
Eli Lilly & Co,
Cynthia Kirman, Manager,
National Managed Pharmacy
Program, General Motors Corp.
developing leaders for
positions in business,
biotechnology, health
care, the pharmaceutical
industry, education,
engineering, law, and
other careers for 128
years.
It's one reason our
College is consistently
ranked among the
world's best.
You owe it to
yourself to find out
about the outstanding,
high-paying career
opportunities available
to U-M College of
Pharmacy graduates.
To learn more about
Michigan Head Pain & Neurological x. '
Institute is conducting an in-clinic research
study evaluating an investigational
medication for migraine.
Participants must be 18 to 75 years old and
suffer no more than 2-8 headaches per month. A total of three
clinic visits are required. Visit 2 is a three to four hour
treatment visit while having an acute headache. Participants
must be available to come to the clinic during normal business
hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
Study-related medical care and reimbursement for time and
travel will be provided. For more information, please call a
Study Coordinator.
Michigan HeadePain
& Neurological Institute
Joel R. Sape;, M.D., FA.C.R, Director
3120 Professional Drive, Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 677-6000, ext. 4
14
Peter Labadie, President,
Williams-Labadie, LLC, a
subsidiary of Leo Burnett
Communications
Albert Leung, President,
Phyto-Technologies, Inc.
Robert Lipper, Vice President,
Biopharmaceutics R&D,'
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.,
Pharmaceutical Research Institute
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