Monday
September 18, 2006
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ART S
5A
Third-grade
'Class' dismissed
By Imran Syed
Daily Arts Writer
There are many solid concepts
for sitcoms that just don't pan out.
Here is one of
them: A group
of people who The Class
may once have Mondays
known and at 8 p.m.
even liked each CBS
other meet up
again years
later in a wildly different setting.
Comedy ensues.
Taking advantage of the growth
of some charaters and the regres-
sion of others, it would be an
interesting riff on the inevitable
progress of life. CBS's new com-
edy "The Class" seeks to do just
that. Unfortunately, in opting for
the quick and easy over the origi-
nal and the banal, laugh-tracked
tidhits over a fresh, provocative
narrative, the show is hardly
worth a look.
"The Class" centers on early
middle-aged adult Ethan (Jason
Ritter, "Joan of Arcadia"), who
wants to impress his fiance
Joanne with a gift that'll really
stun her. He's already tried sky-
diving, so naturally he figures
the next best thing would be to
just invite their entire third-grade
class over for a party. And so he
gathers up as many of them as he
can. Of course, he tracks down
all of the ones that matter - the
jock now turned gay, the cute kid
with glasses now at the brink of
suicide, the video game nut still
living in his mother's basement
and yes, even the twin sisters
(one bossy, one ditzy). They're
all here.
Why exactly, and how they
hope to make a show of it, is still
unclear.
In its setup lies the seed of the
show's failure. Though it's sup-
posed to be an extended reunion
of a group of friends who had
grown apart from each other
over the years, going all the way
back to third grade creates prem-
ise-defeating discrepancies. At
the age of 29, who even remem-
bers the names of the people in
He did his thesis on Buddy Holly.
CUCKOO FOR CULTURE FLUFF
POP CRITIC COMES TO BORDERS
She was the fat kid.
his third-grade class, much less
thinks that meeting all of those
people again is exactly the kick
his sour life needs?
If it had been the reunion of
high school or college friends 10
to 15 years after graduation, then
perhaps we could take Ethan seri-
ously. But given that he wants
to invite people from the third
grade - people he didn't really
know and who must have changed
entirely since - makes his stab at
sentimentality simply ridiculous.
The complete emptiness of
a supposedly nostalgic prem-
ise aside, "The Class" is still
missing the one thing that can
salvage subpar sitcoms: laughs.
Without establishing characters
or their comedic sensibilities,
the pilot jumps immediately
into emotional frustrations and
personal dilemmas of people we
don't yet know or care about.
Though some characters show
promise (the video game nut and
the suicidal loner), there aren't
really any funny moments for
us to remember them by. Luck-
ily, we won't need to - even in
the unlikely case that this show
makes it through October, we
still won't miss much by over-
looking it.
By Punit Mattoo
Daily New Media Editor
Pop culture is America's new religion.
And for millions of rectangle-framed,
Spoon-loving, constant-blogging adher-
ents., Chuck Klos-
terman is god. The
author of college- Chuck
favorites "Sex, Drugs Klosterman
and Cocoa Puffs" and Tonight at 7 p.m.
"Killing Yourself to Free
Live: 85% Of a True
Story" has made his Borders
mark espousing his
analyses on the shows we watch, the music
we listen to and the celebrities we read
about. Whether it's an evaluation of his
past relationships as explained by various
KISS albums or an honest-to-god disserta-
tion on "Saved By the Bell," Klosterman
has cemented himself as our country's pre-
eminent pop-culture laureate.
Tonight, he'll be at the Borders on
Liberty Street, touring in support of
his newly released "Klosterman IV: A
Decade of Curious People and Danger-
ous Ideas" (an allusion to Led Zeppelin's
self-titled collection). The inspiration for
"Klosterman IV," a collection of essays
written previously for various publica-
tions, came about on his last college tour
from students eager to gain writing tips
and read more of his work.
For Klosterman, now 34, the age gap
between himself and his generally col-
lege-aged fanbase doesn't hinder his
ability to speak on topics that younger
generations aren't familiar with.
"I still have the same culture interests
as younger people," he explained.
Klosterman also makes it clear that
he isn't trying to force his own personal
favorites upon his readers. Rather, his lit-
erary objective is to "show people how art
is part of our lives and (to) put the way we
view the world into the art we have."
There are the inevitable critics who
paint Klosterman as a name-dropping
commentator eager to spout his opinions
to anyone who'll listen. A great major-
ity of these are members of the so-called
"blogosphere," able to generate buzz
though a series of endless hyperlinks.
Aware of his backlash on media sites
such as gawker.com, Klosterman imme-
diately gave an exasperated and frus-
trated response, blaming the self-created
sense of fame many of the bloggers have
and their skewed vision that anyone more
famous than them must be an overexposed
celebrity.
Those concerned with the focus on
seemingly trivial pop culture have thrown
their insults Klosterman's way as well.
"That's what the nature is when you keep
explaining the method that encourages it.
Who complains about being too much pop
culture? It's the people who cover it."
With an already-established collec-
tion of books, Klosterman has branched
out recently to a litany of magazines and
even espn.com. Though the same level of
creative freedom doesn't exist with estab-
lished publications, they've allowed him
to explore currently relevant topics, and
interview celebrities including Britney
Spears and Bono.
"I've had the freedom to talk about
what I want, but my interests in sports
and music have changed so I write what's
interesting to me at the time and how peo-
ple like it," Klosterman said. "I'm never
certain if anyone will care, and I hope I'm
right."
In an attempt to separate himself from
his patented self-analysis through pop
criticism, Klosterman's newest project is
a non-autobiographical novel. The tran-
sition isn't easy. Said Klosterman: "It's
hard. Not hard like coal mining is hard,
but it's harder than non-fiction. It's slow.
So it'll be a while."
"I'm getting the sense that people are
getting sick of me," he said. "So it might
be good timing."
'Black' Magic: Black Keys rock steady
By Andrew Sargus Klein
Associate Arts Editor
Music RE-V11-W *
It might seem like a conflict of interest
to take a low-fi, garage sound and make it,
well, hi-fi, but Ohio's
The Black Keys do
just that without los- The Black
ing an ounce of that Keys
dirty aesthetic, This Magic Potion
past summer saw Nonesuch
the release of Chula-
homa, a six-song EP
dedicated to the memory of fellow blues-
man and influence Junior Kimbrough.
While important to understanding the
group's development as an independent
blues band, guitarist/vocalist Dan Auer-
bach and drummer Patrick Carney made
little creative headway. 2003's Thickf-
reakness and 2004's Rubber Factory pro-
vide the starting point for Magic Potion,
The Black Keys' most subtle, grooving
album to date.
From the liner notes, there's no deny-
ing the Ohio bluesmen's devotion to the
garage - mics are placed in steel sinks
for extra reverb, Auerbach riffs atop a
washing machine. But the product is
nothing like the unabashed raunchi-
ness of 2002's The Big Come Up. The
album's 11 tracks possess a tightness usu-
ally found in high-end studios - and the
thing is, Auerbach and Carney produced
the record themselves. Carney aren't as confined by the groove
"Just Got To Be" isn't the album's as they are on earlier albums. Their
strongest track, but as the opener, its songwriting has noticeably taken a turn
fuzzed-out intro and lazy blues riff toward sophistication - "You're The
sets a legitimate pace (and reminds us One" and "The Flame," the album's two
of Auerbach's legit chops). Every Black slow-burners, carry more weight than
Keys record exudes patience and a devo- "The Lengths" on Rubber Factory.
tion to skeleton grooves, but Magic Magic Potion, though, is missing
Potion builds on the forceful riffs on such swing-infused jams as "Act Nice
Thickfreakness and the melodic escapes and Gentle" (Rubber Factory) and the sion of an arguably exhausted medium:
on Rubber Factory. Although the result tremolo-drenched "Meet Me in the the blues. Pessimistic and dismissive
doesn't carry as much weight as it should, City" (Chulahoma). There's a more arguments about white boys and black
it's their most balanced, patient-but-still- noticeable uniformity throughout the music aside (and overly-simple compari-
kinetic album. album - an honest criticism - but it's sons to The White Stripes), The Black
The boys break from their restraint underlined by a conscious, deliberate Keys are making steady progress, with
on "Modern Times," a forceful track aesthetic. The Black Keys know what no compromises made to their musical
reminiscent of "Have Love Will Travel" they're doing. approach. Let honest blues and massive
(Thickfreakness). But Auerbach and But what we get is a legitimate exten- guitar tones speak for themselves.
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