Wednesday September 8, 2004 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com be lcdWijan Oaut RTs 11 . ... . . . . .. ......................... - - , - - - - - . . . . . . . . .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. .. ... .. .. .. .. . ....................... Look Ma, no bald spot! Guided By Voices take one last shot By Andrew M. Gaerig Daily Arts Editor Bob Pollard has spent the last decade living the indie rock dream. Stuck as a grade-school teacher in suburban Ohio, he and his band of basement tapers took one last shot at indie glory (the legendary Bee Thousand) and launched a decade Guided by of famous drunk- Voices enness and shame- Half Smiles of the less Who-inspired Decomposed pop. Unlike the Matador other major play- ers on the indie scene - Pavement, Radiohead, Flam- ing Lips - Guided By Voices albums never felt like events, but rather some- thing you could set your watch by. A new album simply meant that eight to 12 months had passed and that Pollard had penned 15 to 30 new songs, 10 to 20 of which were likely very good. Half Smiles of the Decomposed, however, is different: Proclaimed the last album of GBV's illustrious career, it comes with a sense of finality and weight that prior albums lacked. The title says a lot actually: Whereas no one knows what the fuck Mag Earwig Meant, Half Smiles is both annoyingly wordy and humorously morbid, sug- gesting that Pollard is connecting on a far more personal level than on prior releases. The last two GBV albums were widely hailed as a "return to form" for Pollard after the disastrous studio-pol- ished outing Do the Collapse, but after those two albums failed to live up fully to his early work, it's clear that they weren't a return to form. They are the form. Pollard isn't nearly as consistent as he used to be, and it seems the best fans can look for is moments of shining brilliance and really solid filler. Half Smiles is no different: There's nothing here that approaches the tossed-off talent of earlier albums. In his heyday, Pollard seemed to have so many songs seeming from his curly, beer-soaked locks that they were strewn around the studio, just wait- ing to be thrown onto an album. The "new" Pollard writes longer, meatier songs that - gasp - actually repeat choruses and verses. Half Smiles is, on the whole, a slow- I should have taken the elevator. any GBV release before it. Pollard is far more transparent here than he's ever been before. "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Look- ing)" is exemplary of his mood. "Sing For Your Meat" is a black hole of a song, as Pollard exclaims "18 is the legal age to die" over four minutes of lonely electric chords. The song works, as Pollard convincingly con- veys a hurt not present on earlier albums. It's a sad, sight, however, to see indie rock's Peter Pan give away rock'n'roll's enduring myth: youth. Even amid his darkest moments, Pol- lard turns in inspiring moments. The aforementioned "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Look- ing)" survives on rollicking, gleeful melodies, even as Pollard talks 'of "the pillars of self esteem." "Girls of Wild Strawberries" is not only the best song on Half Smiles, it's one of Pollard's best, period: dirty, romping chords give way to sickly sweet, romantic musings. Fittingly, there's nothing particularly gripping or special about Half Smiles. Sonically, it will be remembered as nothing more than an average GBV album. Emotionally, it's the album on which Pollard finally betrays his trump card: the eternal hope and joy of youth. He's been dark in the past, but Half Smiles is the first album on which Pol- lard actually sounds old, betrayed by the fallacy of rock'n'roll and longing for more. On his final song as a member of GBV, "Huffman Prairie Flying Field," he sings passionately in a blur of Pete Townshend's glorious power chords, crooning "Far too long." Nothing lasts forever, Bob, not even glorious, fuzzy, minute-and-a-half pop songs. the scene to give the videogame Spidey an added headache. There is also a subplot introducing the Black Cat, an intriguing female cat burglar, who creates a love triangle between her, Peter and Mary Jane that was not found in the film. The standard game mechanics found in "Spider- Man 2" have been around since the first install- ment on the original Playstation. Running around the city and web-slinging should be second nature to veterans of the series, though they are improved greatly. The developers took their time in mak- ing the swinging and aerial combat look and feel like they do in the film and comics. Spidey zips through the city on his webbing, but now it's the major mode of transportation from one end of the city to the other. Spider-Man can also do tricks in the air, and while they are not quite as impressive as those found in "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater," they still add to the excitement. The biggest change to the series is the more open-ended nature of the game structure. Gainers must now earn "hero points" and complete jobs at both the Daily Bugle and the pizza parlor in order to unlock story chapters. At first this con- cept seems novel, and it actually provides a lot of entertaining situations, as Spidey must talk to citi- zens to help solve crimes or save civilians. How- ever, these sequences grow tedious as most of the missions require relatively the same basic tasks of either foiling a robbery or arriving at a destina- tion just in the nick of time to catch someone from falling. While not everything about the larger structure works, the sheer size of the city is impressive. To swing from one end of the city to the other takes a great deal of time and the buildings and scenery change noticeably, depending on what district the player is in. And even though it becomes repeti- tive, stopping holdups and following police chases is initially quite fun. The fighting itself relies strongly on special moves, which are purchased with "hero points," and the use of "spider powers." Borrowing a page from the "Max Payne" series, "Spider-Man 2" now has its own form of "bullet time." With the press of a button, everything slows down so that Spidey can battle his unwitting foes with increased reflexes. This ability is limited, as indicated by a powers bar, which is also shared with his web-shooting powers. These skills enable players to dispose - almost too easily - of most foes. During the boss battles, those super-villains follow a pattern in their attacks, making them simple to defeat once the gamer discovers the necessary strategy and timing. Graphically, player models feature the like- nesses from the film, and even characters that don't appear in the movie are remodeled to look as if they do. Even though the big name talent like Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst provides the voices and appearances for their characters, they still don't look that much like their big-screen coun- terparts. Furthermore, the city looks a little sloppy, with jagged edges and little detail on some of the edifices. Interiors are not only poorly designed, but also create awkward situations for combat with the webhead. Spidey's powers better suit the outdoor environments, which make the inside fights seem cumbersome and clumsy. "Spider-Man 2" shows a lot of promise, but ulti- mately falls short of becoming a classic. Every- one's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man actually moves and acts just like garners would want, but there are still a few kinks to iron out. For the web- slinging and ambitious ideas alone, "Spider-Man 2" is worth a play. British rockers The Libertines return on new LP By Joel Hoard Daily Arts Writer licized antics of singer-guitarist Pete Following the release of their debut album, Up the Bracket, in early 2003, The Libertines seemed doomed to one- iit-wonderdom. But it wasn't because Afa lack of critical acclaim - The Libertines were critics' darlings both at tome in Britain and in the U.S. - and it 0 :ertainly wasn't because of any lack of :nusical ability or songwriting prowess, is Up the Bracket proved that they have :alent to spare. Instead, The Libertines' apparent Joom was caused by the much-pub- Doherty. In the past year, Doherty has been in and out of rehab for cocaine and heroin addic- tion, burglarized band mate Carl Bart's apartment, The Libertines The Libertines Rough Trade possessing an offensive weapon. So given the circumstances, the mere completion of the band's eponymous second album was a minor miracle. Predictably, the result is an album as wonderfully messy and chaotic as Pete Doherty's life. While The Libertines lacks the bevy of hooks that populated Up the Bracket, it still benefits from the same reckless approach. Doherty and Barat casually throw off meandering guitar riffs and engage in sloppy guitar duels like the drunken jokester offspring of Tom Ver- laine and Richard Lloyd, most impres- sively on the opener "Can't Stand Me Now," a three-minute epic that show- cases some of The Libertines' most complex songwriting to date without sounding too refined. The band playful- ly dabbles in genres from early Beatles pop and Motown on "Don't Be Shy" and "What Katie Did" to an undeniably Lon- don Calling-era Clash sound through- out, thanks in no small part to former Clash guitarist Mick Jones returning as producer. As Pete Doherty has proven time and again, The Libertines live on the brink of self-destruction, and that's exactly where their charm lies. They're con- stantly falling apart at the seams and enjoying every moment of it, and thank- formed a second band also called The Libertines and been sentenced to jail for fully on The Libertines, they're willing to take us along for the ride. i* I~n II I 21 S.State 31[I. Above M .Greeks Cool Clothes, Cheap Prices! leahe Jckts* Cat *70 Sirt etBcl Ann Arbor Branch 52"d Annual Used Book Sale Stop by the Clinique counter located at Von Maur in Briarwood Mall Ann Arbor and receive a FREE Clinique Gift ' to. f+ - -r r - r r Q 1r-r m r