ARTS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 27, 2005 -11 Ringtones revolutionize the charts I By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer No one thinks that Coldplay is unstoppable, but who would've ever thought that they'd be thrown from No. 1 spot on the U.K. Singles Chart by a spastic, ear-piercing, 20-hertz AC wave known as "Crazy Frog?" In what seems like an instant, ringtones have gone from insignificance to a chart-topping $3-billion worldwide industry. Led by the now-infamous "Crazy Frog" and the creation of Billboard's Top 20 Ringtones Chart, the infectious sound bites are fast becoming a fixture in pop culture and the music industry. The first cell phones were capable of playing only monophonic ring- tones. The tinny rhythms gave owners little flexibility or choices. Consumers could hear classics like Mozart's "Fur Elise" and "40 Sym- phony" but were unable to obtain other tones. Polyphonic ringers soon took over the field, allowing for more realistic songs and clips. As the technology improved, the tones began to sound more like actual songs. The newest type of ringer is the "real music" ringtone. These ringers are highly com- pressed MP3 or WAV files, allow- ing actual recordings to be played over a phone's speakers. It is these tones that have led to the surge in popularity. Before two years ago, all you'd hear disturbing your anthropology lecture was a few beeps, but now you're lucky enough to bounce to "Ignition (Remix)" for 30 seconds or so. The most widely known ringtone is Jamster's "Crazy Frog." The proj- ect was started several years ago by artist Erik Wernquist as an attempt The "Crazy Frog Song," released on May 23, 2005, quickly reached the No. 1 spot on the U.K. Singles Chart, bumping British powerhouse Coldplay from the top spot. to imitate small automobile engines. It was later purchased by Jamster and it became one of the most down- loaded ringtones on the market. The Bass Bumpers - a German group of musicians - took the popular ringtone and crafted a song from it using samples and melodies. The "Crazy Frog Song," released on May 23, 2005, quickly reached the top of the U.K. charts. The Bass Bumpers are not the only group capitalizing on the "Crazy Frog" phenomenon. British dance trio L.O.C. recently released "Ring Ding Ding," a track that samples the "Crazy Frog." While it wasn't nearly as successful as The Bass Bumpers's smash hit, it did manage the No. 58 spot on the U.K. Singles Chart. Conversely, rock group Frog Must Die released "Kill the Frog" - the name leaves little to the imagination. "Crazy Frog" has opened count- less doors in the music industry; No human artist is needed to record a hit single anymore. While The Bass Bumpers are credited with the creation of the "Crazy Frog Song," the foundation of the track was something generated randomly with no intention for musical use. The lack of artistic expression needed for a successful ringtone could result with music executives across the country sampling random bab- blings and layering them on top of the demo track on the closest Casio keyboard. The release date of Missy Elliot's The Cookbook and Mike Jones's Who Is Mike Jones? saw another milestone. Cingular Wireless offered downloadable MP3s of every song on each album. This not only helped to promote the CDs but also the ringtones that would later be offered. In 2003, Jay-Z's "Black Phone" - a spin-off marketing ploy for his hugely successful Black Album - was our first glimpse of these inno- vations. The special edition of the Nokia 3300 came pre-programmed with the entire Black Album and had features like exclusive wallpapers, ringtones and text and voice mes- sages from Jay-Z himself. With such a broad spectrum of downloads, though, how else would they be used? LSA sophomore Sang Do Lee's phone plays the "Super Mario Bros." theme when he gets a call, while fellow LSA sophomore Madeline Bean rocks to Jay-Z's "Change Clothes." Each person can find an anthem for their own phone. Ringtones stand to completely revolutionize the music industry as a whole and become a significant cultural entity. They pose a serious threat to musicians and the musical process as it's known, but for now remain one of the more light-hearted expressions of individuality in con- temporary society. "Did someone just step on a duck?" RISE OF THE 'BAXTER MELANCHOLY HERO REVIVES ROMANTIC COMEDY DAILY AR TS. TOBIAS: "TIME FOR ME TO TAKE OFF MY RECEPTIONIST SKIRT AND PUT ON MY BARBARA STREISAND IN THE 'PRINCE OF TIDES' ASS-MASKING THERAPIST PANTSUTll WANT TO SEE US RE-ENACT THE SCENE? COME SUNDAY'S AT12 34 TO 420 MAYNARD ST. By Kristin MacDonald Daily Arts Writer Fji M REVIEW "Compromise is the key to success" - or so claims Elliot Sherman, the sad-sack hero of the new romantic comedy "The Baxter." This is the type of guy who orders white wine spritzers at bars, T sports your grandfather's plaid pageboy The Baxter cap and refers to dating as "courting," At the Michigan all with an unironically straight face. Theater In other words, Elliot (Michael Show- IFC Films alter, who also wrote and directed) is a "baxter," the movie's term for any guy who doesn't get the girl and never has. In high school, college and grad school alike, Elliot sits back and watches as each potential love interest, tired of his over- gentlemanly passivity, rush into the arms of some other lead- ing man's movie-moment speech of eternal devotion. Enter Caroline (Elizabeth Banks, "Spider-man"), an attrac- tive blonde businesswoman with whom Elliot somehow gets himself engaged, despite the fact that she is clearly way the hell out of his league. Once armed with a fiancee, Elliot's life settles into a contented plateau - until a much more appealing blast from Caroline's past (Justin Theroux, "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle") sweeps in to upset Elliot's future. Will he be able to salvage his engagement? It doesn't really matter, because, in fact, nobody should want him to. Elliot is indeed too nice a guy to make this livewire of a woman happy, and so her reason for being with him, much less for staying with him, remains a mystery. They are too mismatched to ever root for, and even if that's not clear to Elliot, it certainly is to everyone else. He is far more suited to fellow dweeb Cecil (Michelle Williams, from TV's "Dawson's Creek," who, between a perky bob and bright pink cheeks, is almost unbear- ably cute), and takes an inordinately long time to realize it. The simplicity of Elliot's plight inevitably leads the plot into a few too many devices used purely to perpetuate the comic awkwardness of inept Elliot getting snubbed again and again. Such humor could have very well proved monotonous - that is, if Showalter was not such an expert. Perhaps due to a long history as one third of the comedy troupe featured on Com- edy Central's "Stella," Showalter proves well versed in keep- ing the awkward interesting. "The Baxter" is funny, plain and simple - quirkily, inanely, and, yes, awkwardly funny. And the lively party owes more than a little credit to the varied mix of fairly well-known comedians who nicely flesh out the supporting cast. Peter Dinklage, none other than the popular Hollywood dwarf, is the most noticeable of the scene-stealing side char- acters. He plays Caroline's gay wedding planner - a role that could have easily slipped into the usual limp-wristed carica- ture. Dinklage instead plays randy without sinking to insult, and one of the most memorable moments in the entire film consists of little more than his few seconds of hopeful guy- watching on a New York City street. In a movie about a man frustratingly incapable of taking even a step toward what (or who) he wants, it's fitting that the highlight should come from a guy who's more than willing to make the first move. I 1,-, CINIQUE GN1 sCAMPUS BOOK & SUPPLY 0 Free!1xa. 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