Wednesday April 13, 2005 arts. michigandaily. com artspage@michigandaily.com ARTS 5 I MliE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER S Scotty Ngyuen Bobble-Head Dolls - 1998 World Series of Poker champion Scotty Nguyen finally joins the ranks of Detroit Piston Ben Wallace and Detroit Red Wing Steve Yzerman, modeling for a bobble- head likeness of himself at a card table dressed in characteristic '80s garb. He's holding pocket snowmen, a pair of eights - be scared, baby. Zach Braff - The young "Scrubs" golden boy has "Oscar" written all over him after writing, directing and starring in "Garden State." In between "Scrubs" shootings, he also managed to direct the music video of the Gavin DeGraw single "Chariot" and squeeze in a hilarious guest spot on "Arrested Development." Has the Academy lowered the age limit for Lifetime Achievement Award yet? "We Be Burnin' " - Sean Paul's newest Jamaican-inspired jam - a reggae salute to all those who make money, help the economy and smoke "Mary J." everyday - hits the airwaves this week. Bet- cha can't wait to see Dubya halt the war on drugs after hearing this testimony to good citizenship. Ken Jennings - As if his "Jeopardy!" millions weren't enough, Jennings monopolizes the television for a second time in a string of commercials for Allstate and Cingular, both of which include gen- tle jabs at his monstrous success. Oh, and for all those who quit on Trebek after Jennings exited, put your thumbs back on the buzzer: word is he'll return for an "Ultimate Tournament of Champions" epi- sode at the end of the month. FALLING INTO FAME, GENTLY YOUNG PIANIST AND SINGER-SONGWRITER PLAYS THE ARK By Kat Bawden Daily Arts Writer CONCERT PREVIEW To those familiar with her dual career as pianist and singer/songwriter, Vienna Teng's original profession of choice - computer engineer - might sound surprising. Vienna Teng "I realized that I wasn't meant Friday at 8 p.m. to be a computer engineer," and 10 p.m. she said. "I didn't care about it Tickets $13.50 enough ... So I thought, well, At The Ark what am I good at and excited about and could dedicate my life to for some long period of time? And music was the only thing. And that was kind of scary." Teng's budding career is already coming full cir- cle. She performed at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival in February and will return to perform two shows at The Ark on Friday. Teng has nothing but praise for Ann Arbor. "There's such a great audience there - you feel like everyone's really listening to you. There are a handful of places, including The Ark, that feel like home," Teng said. When compared to her ethereal, piano-driven bal- lads, Teng's favorite albums and primary influences might also raise a few eyebrows: Paul Simon's Vision of the Sea, Bjork's Vespertine, Tori Amos's From the Choir Girl Hotel, Radiohead's OK Computer and Beethoven's Three Sonatas all make her list. Even so, the musical touchstones explain her versatility - she's been classically trained in piano, keyboards and guitar since age five - and multi-layered sound. "I listen to Radiohead and say, 'Well I'll never be able to do that,' but I listen to it so much that I absorb some of it," she explained. Since her first album, Waking Hour, was released in 2002, Teng has performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and NPR's "Weekend Edition," gaining public exposure. "I think the most exciting thing is getting to the point when you're being cov- ered by people who put together a good profile of Fox T.V. - Football hasn't been this exciting since the Super Bowl, "24" is hot and getting hot- ter, Jeffrey Tambor and his "Arrested Development" co- stars keep everyone in stitch- es, the 16th season of "The Simpsons" reigns supreme in the animated genre and Fox clearly has a lock on the Sunday-Mon- day schedule. It may not have Jack Bauer, but "Ameri- can Idol" pulls in more votes than the last presidential election. courItesyo fIViI "It wasn't me. I swear." what you're about and what you do. It's cool to watch and be like, 'Yeah, that's accurate,' " she said. While writing her third album, Teng said she has noticed her style shifting. "I feel like I'm changing with each year, so I feel the third album will sound different than the others," she said. "I'm listening to more jazz and more hip hop, so I'm more interested in rhythms and having things be rhythm driven rath- er than piano driven." Teng has also noticed a stark contrast between her past artistic adventures. "(Waking Hour) was recorded in college, and half of it is filled with pianos because we didn't have any other musicians to work with. (Waking Hour) was basically a hobby project that became my first album, and (Warm Strangers) was with a record deal, and a timeline and a producer and all that." So is Teng ever satisfied with the final product, or is listening to her own music on par with look- ing at embarrassing junior high school photos? "I think the goal I'm striving for is to make music and an album that I can listen to and imagine myself as someone else who has never heard it before and be moved by it, or to finally make an album that, after a year out, (I don't) think, 'Oh no. don't listen to that!' " she said. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight .1 Carey's latest 'Mimi falter's By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer Despite an ill-fated stint of R&B and rap-inspired crossover albums, Mariah Carey made a significant impact on the music world in the '90s - she Mariah Carey was the top-sell- ing female art- The ist of the decade. Emancipation On the Glitter of Mimi soundtrack and Island Butterfly, Mariah abandoned her infectious pop confec- tions and powerful eight-octave voice for club mega-hits and uptempo drivel with rap's hottest stars. Her latest full- length release, The Emancipation of Mimi, returns to Carey's pop roots but still lacks the charisma of her most powerful records. Mimi is an alter ego that Carey was probably introduced to during her exhaustion-fueled freak-outs. Her "emancipation" on this disc - a word that is explicitly defined in the liner notes - is a homecoming for her airy vocals and lackluster love songs. On "Shake It Off," Carey sounds like a 13-year-old boy going through puberty, singing love songs to a grade school crush. A few dreary guest appearances fail to complement Carey's hearty croons. Twista arrives with more rapid but insipid verses. Snoop Dogg and Nel- ly's rhymes also fail to add dimension to Carev's music and are monotonous DAILY ARTS. WHo WE BE? i A Morning in the Chem Lab, an Afternoon at the Beach Choose from over 600 courses. You'll be joining 7,000 other students who know that world-class learning at Boston University also means world-class summertime fun in Boston. Do you like crossword puzzles? Bored during summer classes? Need something to read during the lazy days of summer? -c / -Then Check Out The Summer Daily!!. Published every Monday throughout both spring and summer terms, except on May 3' and May 31"s, and Monday July 4h. On these days, there will be publications on Tuesday. 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