Thursday
February 16, 2006
arts. michigandaily. com
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R TSe ictigan Ily
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THE ToP OF PoP
FIVE TOP PIECES OF POP CULTURE
COMPLIMENTS OF THE DAILY ARTS EDITORS
'House of the Dead 2: Dead Aim' - Production values rarely eclipse
WOLV-TV, the zombies look slightly more fearsome than your local church's
haunted house and the biggest star on this straight-to-DVD monster mash
is Sticky Fingaz, a former mid-'90s rap star most famous for his persona in
the "Def Jam: Fight For NY" video game. So, why is the film a small suc-
cess? Without being too campy, the cut-rate zombie movie packs just the right
amount of exposition (zero) into bundles of campy gore, shotguns and humor.
You'll like it, even though you may hate yourself in the morning.
'The Bachelor: Paris' - Just flick to ABC and take a gander at a gaggle
of beauty-school dropouts and other cerebrally challenged, collagen-stuffed
"women" descend upon the City of Light. For the love of Peter, can the next
"Bachelor" take place in a developing country? We could watch former nurs-
ing students and Hawaiian Tropic models forage for nuts in Sub-Saharan
Africa or go spearfishing in the Samoan islands. Or they could just go back to
suburbia. Whatever.
'The Best of Youth' - The robust Italian epic, new to DVD, follows two
brothers - one of whom becomes a conservative policeman, the other a some-
time-activist doctor - from their idealistic early days in 1966 and on to some
of the most chaotic events in the nation's history. Yes, it runs a little more than
six hours. It's worth it. Set in an idyllic Italian countryside circa 2000, the calm-
ing conclusion is among the most rewarding cinematic finales in years.
FROM LEFT: Courtesy of Sony Urban Music/Columbia, S-Curve and La Face
John Legend, Joss Stone and Big Boi all contribute covers of classic Sly Stone hits.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS FAIL TO DO CLASSIC SOUL ANTHEMS JUSTICE
Rachel Weisz - She studied at Oxford, she still lives
in London and she made the "Mummy"
series look competent. She's in "The Con-
stant Gardener,"also new on DVD, and
yanked down an Oscar nod for her
role as the compassionate, brave yet
secretive British activist in Africa
It doesn't matter that she's a
burning, Old World beauty.F
She's brilliant and that's more
than enough.
By Anthony Baber
Daily Arts Writer
Music REVIEW
During the '60s, American culture was all
about race, power and speech. Everything was
a controversial divide. Then there were artists
like Sly and the Family Stone, who made soul
Paris Hilton - She has a birth-
day on Friday, she got impaled
in "House of Wax," and still, no
one seems to care. Is it fair that
there are East African children
dying each day from dysentery
and people waging religious
wars when they all essentially
worship the same god, and all
the while Paris Hilton is still
healthy and secure? Is she a
symbol, along with the SUV
and Starbucks, of every-
thing that's diseased in our
nation?
Ah, who cares. We've all
seen her privates and she's five
years away from 30. Have a fun
trip downhill.
music steeped in languages
of peace, love and harmony.
They had no barriers, and
broke stereotypes of race
and gender by doing the one
thing they all had in com-
mon: performing music.
In a time when, inequal-
ity was rampant, Sly and the
Family Stone found a com-
mon sound everyone could
Sly and the
Family Stone
and Various
Artists
Different Strokes
By Different Folks
Legacy
could really recapture the unique flavor and
poetic flare the Family once had.
Though there are few cases where a truly tri-
umphant or even reasonably exuberant tribute
album can be created (see the Notorious B.I.G.'s
Duets: The Final Chapter), there's always a
money-hungry label with dollar signs in its eyes
willing to give it a shot. The concept is to take
the best music created by a once-great artist and
combine it with music by today's top artists to
put together a sort of super album.
Different Strokes By Different Folks follows
this trend and puts together some of the best
contemporary vocals with Sly and the Family
Stone classics. Though the release ultimately
falls short of emulating its roots, the album's
impressive roster has some incredible combina-
tions: the sultry and sweet voices of Joss Stone
and John Legend and the fantastic guitar styles
of John Mayer and Buddy Guy inhabit the same
space.
But with the good also comes the bad, such as
the not-so-triumphant return of Moby, who has
been out of the spotlight for some time, although
no one's really noticed.
To its credit, the album contains inventive
new takes on old songs such as "I Want to Take
You Higher" featuring Aerosmith frontman Ste-
ven Tyler, or the mixed version of "Everybody
is a Star" by The Roots, which first appeared on
their album The Tipping Point. The remakes are
all different takes on classic songs, but the art-
ists sidestep the fact that sometimes a great song
just doesn't need to be remade. Think about it:
Does anyone really need to hear the Maroon 5
version of "Everyday People"?
That's the central problem with the album:
It's all fine and good, but most of the disc seems
dated and inessential.
Different Strokes is a strong effort, but like so
many others before it, the album never makes a
real impact of its own beyond the scope of the
original material. Every attempt at duplication
and improvement stems from an idea that sim-
ply doesn't work. There's no chance that giving
Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am a solo verse on any
song is going to help a case. Next time someone
decides to pay a tribute, it would be better to
bake a cake, throw a party or whatever - just
don't make another dead-end album.
boogie to. Almost half a century later, a project
to pay tribute to the electrifying ensemble has
arrived. And while Different Strokes By Differ-
ent Folks make an honorable effort to pay hom-
age to the band, no catalogue of all-star artists
,g. j r I
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REC
SPORTS
INT RAMUR AL S
The University of Michigan
Department of Recreational Sports
Intramural Sports Program
www.recsports.umich.edu
734-763-3562
REC
SPORTS
INTRAMUR ALS
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Entries taken:
Mon, 02/20 ONLY
11:00 AM - 4.30 PM
IM Building
Entry Fee:
590.00 per team
Manager's Meeting:
MANDATORY
Wed, 2/22
6:00 PM
IM Building
Play begins:
Mon, 3/6
IM Building
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Entries due:
Mon, 02/20
4:30 PM
IM Building
Entry Fee:
$30.00 per team
Meet Date:
Entries also Tues, 2/21
taken online Indoor Track Building
Relays Meet
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1M Building
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S82.00 per team
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Wed. 2/22
8:00 PM
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Play begins:
Tues, 3/7
Sports Coliseum
Mini- Soccer
Entries taken:
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Wed, 2/22
7:00 PM
IMBuilding
0 Play begins:
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Yost lee Arena
Broomball
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