" 2B - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 3, 2005 The Michigan Daily Random won't help crying girl taboe f|co nte nt s Steve Du Bois: 3B What's the status? The Weekend List auto-neurotic Iwith Alexandra Jones CONTROL COFFEE AND MUSIC By Evan McGarvey Daily Music Editor R: Hello? TMD: Hi, is Carly there? R: Hold on one second ... hello? TMD: Hello, you've been selected to do The Michigan Daily Random Student Interview. R: OK. TMD: You got some time? R: Yeah. TMD: All right. Be honest: How depressing is it outside right now? R: Yeah, it's pretty bad. TMD: Do you want to elaborate on that? Any personal stories? R: Um, no. TMD: So what, are you too busy sit- ting indoors drinking and listening to Elliot Smith? R: No ... TMD: So what else are you listening to? Joy Division? Nirvana? R: Um ... all sorts of stuff. What am I being interviewed for? TMD: The Michigan Daily Weekend Magazine. R: Yeah, I know what that is. TMD: Inside the front cover they have the Random Student Interview. R: Oh really? TMD: Yeah, you should read it more often because usually they're pretty funny. R: I don't want to be on that! That's embarrassing! TMD: Why would it be embarrass- ing? R: Are they going to know it's me? TMD: It's going to say your name, Carly, and that's it. R: Oh my god, can they do this? OK, I'll do it. TMD: Well, we've been reporting the whole time, so ... R: Oh my god! That's so embarrass- ing! TMD: Well, welcome to 2005. All right, do you know where Kashmir is? R: Like the sweater? TMD: Yes, like the sweater. I'm talk- ing about the war-torn region between India and Pakistan that's up for interna- tional debate. But don't worry, it's not like we go to a really big school and everyone's going to read that. R: (incoherent background yelling) TMD: It sounds like there's a wild ani- mal loose in your room. Should I call the authorities? R: (to her roommate) ... and he goes "like the sweater" ... you talk to him. (Random's roommate gets on the phone) They're scared to talk to you, dude. I walked in the room and they handed me the phone. TMD: Yeah, I'm doing an interview for the Daily, for the Random Student Interview and I seem to have asked Carly where Kashmir is and she said "like the sweater?" R: OK ... TMD: I take it she's not a Poli-Sci major. R: No, she's not. TMD: Well, let's keep her away from international relations. So when's the last time you saw someone cry in public? R: Yesterday, I saw a girl crying. TMD: What happened? R: I don't know. She was out in front of the MLB. Wait, it wasn't yesterday. It was like Friday. TMD: You tell a really good story. R: I don't know what happened. She was crying. TMD: Was she alone? Did you see if she was all right? R: No. TMD: God, you're a horrible person. R: I didn't know her! I didn't know what was wrong with her. TMD: So what? No common cour- tesy? You can't walk up to her and be like "Excuse me, Miss, are you all right?" R: No. TMD: Why not? R: If I was crying in public, I wouldn't want someone to ask me if I was OK. TMD: What if someone came up to you completely cordial and just wanted to make sure you were all right? R: I wouldn't like that, I don't think. TMD: What if she had broken a bone in her foot and she couldn't walk and she had to stand out there all night in the cold? R: Well, I'm sure she has a cell phone. TMD: What if she can't afford one because she's from a real working-class family? R: Well, I'm from a working-class family and I have a cell phone. TMD: What if her family is even more working-class? Like instead of blue-col- lar, it's like really blue-collar? R: I don't know then. She could have went in the MLB. It was during the day. TMD: Well, let's just hope she was all right. So zombie movies and zombie video games: Are they disrespectful to zombies and zombie culture? R: Yeah, they probably are. TMD: What stereotypes do you think they perpetuate about the zombie? R: That they eat brains. TMD: Eat brains. Interesting. Do you think they should have affirmative action for zombies at the University? R: Probably, yeah. They're a group just like everyone else. TMD: So by group, that means that groups like people who eat nachos in their underwear should get affirmative action. R: Haha, do you know of a lot of people who eat nachos in their underwear? TMD: Hey, more than you think. It's really relaxing. R: OK, all right. They should be. TMD: So are you going to watch the Super Bowl? R: Probably. It'll probably be on. TMD: You know what? I think the Super Bowl might be on TV. R: I mean it'll be on the room that I'm in. I don't know if I'll be actively watch- ing. TMD: What room do you think you'll be in? R: I don't know. When is it? TMD: They're traditionally played on the winter solstice when the first hawk cries while soaring above the majestic blue sky. They're on Sundays, just like every other football game other. R: Oh, so on Sunday? TMD: Yeah. So have you ever used a cell phone during sex? Like if it got bor- ing, you'd want to call your friends and be like "what are you doing right now?" R: No, I wouldn't want to call my friends during sex. TMD: Well, what would happen if your partner was like "Yeah, I just gotta check my voice messages?" R: No, that'd be bad. TMD: So in case you didn't know, The Michigan Daily just changed edit boards. Hot or not: the new edit board change. R: Hot! I read the thing at the bottom today and I was really excited about the new editors. TMD: Oh, so it got you all hot and bothered. R: Yeah. TMD: Fantastic. So are you on The Facebook or what? R: I am, but I just use it to look at other people. TMD: Oh, so you're what the French would call a voyeur. R: Yeah. TMD: Oh, that's really creepy. My respect for you is plummeting like a rock in a lake. R: Haha, I'm sorry. TMD: It's OK. So what's your favorite type of alcohol. R: I don't know. I don't know my favor- ite type. TMD: Have you ever brewed toilet wine? R: No, I haven't. TMD: Have you ever watched any prison shows like "Oz?" R: No, I haven't. TMD: In between the scenes of spiri- tual redemption and brutal gang rape, they have people leaving plums and oranges in toilets and then they ferment into wine and then they get really trashed. R: Oh! No, I haven't seen that. I wouldn't try that. TMD: Do you drink? R: Well, I'm not in prison, so ... TMD: Oh, OK, fair enough. I think American history might be a little bit backwards. You actually can drink if you're outside prison. It's a new law. R: Oh, OK. TMD: Started out in 1787. Anyway, thanks for all your time. Look for this in Weekend Magazine. R: OK. ............. ... , ., - . -,%-- -%--,.':Z-.': . - I ::,:.: 7.: 7! ........................... 4B 5B Students use time off to help others Finding fun in our own state Light The cons and Dark: pros and of tanning 8B 10B 11B 12B No plans? No money? No problem Ellen McGarrity: Odd (wo) man out Trouble in spring break paradise Weekend Entertainment with Alexandra Jones Travel agencies help students travel in style WEEKEND BOX OFFICE Gross in millions of dollars 1. Hide and Seek (219) - It's official: Robert De Niro only reads his paychecks and not his scripts. 2. Are We There Yet? (16.3) - The only reason Ice Cube scowls is because he's in crappy movies. 3. Million Dollar Baby (12.2) - What's with Hilary Swank and all these manly roles? 4. Coach Carter (8) - That kid from "Finding Forester" sure has a knack for playing underprivileged teen basketball players. 5. Meet The Fockers (8) - Well, at least De Niro can say this is better than "Hide and Seek." 6. The Aviator (7.5) - The ratio of good movies to bad movies Kate Beckinsale has been in is now 5:1 7. Racing Stripes (6.5) - Isn't it a little too soon for a remake of "Babe?" 8. Sideways (6.3) - Pigs must be flying: Lowell from "Wings" has gotten an Oscar nod. 9. In Good Company (6.2) - Don't worry Topher. We still love you even if you did a voice in Roberto Benigan's "Pinnochio." 10. Assault On Precinct 13 (4.2) - Don't quit your day job, Ja Rule. Actually, that would be great. work at a coffee shop, a sttre in a chain that, while their products are quality, shall remain nameless. My specific shop's location, however, doesn't draw students and A2 bohemi- ans like some of our other locations do; we attract a steady stream of busi- nesspe*ol k and engineers, reseawlw ers, teachers and soccer moms. Only a few grad students dare to #eutur so far north to study and drink straw- berry Italian soda. Inexchange fr my dedication to the art of making coffee drinks, I get to choose what music to play in the store. Mswahahahaha. It's an intoxicating privilege that I take full advantage of, listening to pretty much anything I want, The music you hear in public places r be it or the 'dunes shill-cum-clas- sic rock "station" that contextualizes my shopping trips to Kroger with John Mayer and (inexplicably) "Won't Get Fooled Again" - is asort of atmospher- ic variable, like the decor at a restaurant or the clothes other people wear. You might like it or hate it, but you have no control over it; the best way to affirm or protest what those around you are doing is to make a pointed response with your own style. But when you control the atmosphere in a public place like a store or restaurant, you've sometimes got to hold your own ego in check while pre- senting patrons with something interest- ing, even if they don't particularly want to hearit. Unfortunately, most of my customers - especially those who earn a salary, who make a point to match their hand- bags and their shoes to their eye shadow and pantsuits, who pretty much live off of medium skimlattes - don't always music was simply unfit for consump- want to hear my music. They coulddt tion by someone with her own delicate care less about the latest glitch-folk sensibilities. As though I was blasting album by your English teacher's band Dead Kennedys or something. Acting or Neutral Milk Hotel's acclaimed In like she owned the place. the Aeroplane Over the Sea, or, neces- ButI just smiled kily, tipped my sarily, anytingby Bjrk. head to one side and gave her some- It's not surprising that most of the thing equally smart and poppy and patrons.wo.hagout at my store, some- wonderful to hear, an album she could times nursing 'a small cofne for my ever claim to dislike for being too entire shift, plug into their own laptops, angular too angry or too loud: Belle iPods ndportable C players to block and Sebastian's The Boy With the Arab out noise from the coffee grinders and Strap, which just happens to be one of whatever Silver Sews album I happen the most delicate records to come out to be obsessed with that day. But what ofvScoandsince,um,anyofbelleand is a little odd - and maybe, consider- Sebastian's other albums. I'm happy.to ing my tendency to shoot my mouth off compromise, people - just don't tell when I'm irked by stupidity/utter lack of mehovtodoimy job. musical taste, it's just me - is that in My favorites that people actually my six months of gainful employment seem to enjoy: as a coffee bitch, I've only been asked Anything by Wilco. to change or turn down the music three Those who don't care will find times. The first was some guy who Tweedy &Co.'s music palatable enough thought that Rufus Wainwright's Want to ignore, and you might even convert a One (perfect cafm music; so glamorous few potential indie kids with "Pot Ket- that it almost lets me forget that we're tle Black" or "Shot In the Arm. located in a suburban shopping center) The Cars SIT was turnedtup a bit too loud. I concurred Reminds me of a time before I was and turned it down. born (1978) and people weren't yet But every once in a while, I'm willing to pay $4for coffee drinks. inwardly incensed by some customers' Brian Wilson's Smile requests: one woman, meeting with a This one generally makes every- friend or coworker, asked me to turn thing seem happier, so anyone who off A.C. Newman's utterly sublime, wants it turned off automatically feels meticulously arranged pop masterpiece like a jerk for disliking sweetness and The Slow Wonder on the grounds that light and crazy ex-Beach Boys. it sounded "too corrosive" for her. This - -- woman - who certainly hadn't pur Next time you're in a coffee shop, chased recorded music since Frampton look for Alexandra to be serving Comes Alive, who probably wasn't out cappucinos while jamming to capable of listening to music for plea- Pavement. She can be reached at sure - had the nerve to tell me that my almajo@ umich.edu. MAGA ZIN E ............ ........... ... ... ....................... :, : - : - ........ ... ............ ................. .... .. .... ... . .. . . . ........... I I Daily Arts Mix Tape DATE/IME flNOISE REDUCTION DATE/TIME NOISE REDUCTION * I U an evening of modern dance set to jazz Choreography by Alexandra Beller & faculty Musical Direction by Ellen Rowe UM School of Music University Dance Co. & UM Jazz Ensemble February 3 at 7:30pm * February 4 & 5 at 8pm * February 6 at 2pm * Power Center Tickets $20-and $1 5w Students $9-with-Il e"-Le-agueTicket-Office- -734=764-253& ----- * Pilates * Spinning **Yoga * Aerobics 6-classes for only $49 734.761.4440 www.lonlclub.com Writers: Christine Beamer, Emily Fellows, Kristin Halladay, Megan Jacobs, Tian Lee, Evan McGarvey, Kathryn Rice Photo Editor: Ali Olsen Photographers: Tony Ding, Alexander Dziadosz, Peter Schottenfels, Ryan Weiner Cover Photo: Ali Olsen Arts Editors: Adam Rottenberg, Managing Editor Alexandra Jones, Melissa Runstrom, Associate Editors Managing Editor: Alison Go Editor in Chief: Jason Z. Pesick Feeling pensive? Intellectual? Emotionally torn? Professors find it so important to pose those uber-helpful rhetorical questions during a riqorous lecture. This mix wiil attempt the same. Why are artists so inquisitive? Side A boasts a collection of songs doubling as meditative questions. These queries are real thinkers, so take your time conceiving your answers. Side B features a variety of NO answers. Do the tifles reflect some sort of Freudian connection of indie rock and the notion of questioning in the larger sense? I have no idea, but enjoy your contemplation. -- Aaron Kaczander 1. Hello? Is This Thing On? 2. Is It Wicked Not to Care? - Belle & Sebastian 3. The Future, Wouldn't That Be Nice? - The Books 4. Why Can't'I Be With You? - The Cure 5. beYou l2ealize?-The Flaming Lips 6. Will You Come and Fetch Me? - Of Montreal 7. What Difference oes It Make? - The Smiths 8. What Is He Thinking? - The Streets 9. Oh Cod, Where Are You Know? - Sufjan Stevens 10. Was I In Your Dreams? - Wilco 1. No, Not Now - Hot Hot Heat 2. No Child of Mine -PJ Harvey 3. No Christmas. While .I'm Talking - The Walkmen 4.. No bark Things - Echo and The Bunnymen 5. No Legs - Adam Green 6. No Life Singed Her - Pave- ment 7. No Love Lost - Joy Division 8. No No No - Yeah Yeah Yeahs 9. No One Mourns The Wicked -Wicked 10. No Regrets - The Von Bond- ies 11, No Weather --Stellastarr COME TO THE MASS MEETING TONIGHT AT 7m P. AT 420 MAARD St.