2B -The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 28, 2006 I I 6 4 "Odessey and Oracle" (1968) The Zombies By Matt Kivel Daily Arts Writer With all of the attention and praise surrounding Brian Wil- son and Pet Sounds these days, it seems the music industry has chosen to simply ignore all of the other great psychedelic pop albums of the '60s. The recent deaths of Arthur Lee and Syd Barrett are poignant reminders of the impending mortality of our musical heroes. It's time to take action, to shed light upon some of the more forgotten treasures and exhume albums that iTunes will not podcast and PBS will not document. The Zombies' 1968 album, Odessey & Oracle, is a perfect pop record. Its melodic inven- tion is breathtaking and the utter sweetness and majesty of the songwriting is so rare that it will leave you digging through yard sales for more Zombies music - though they don't have much more - only a backlog of scattered (and sometimes brilliant) singles, and their debut LP, which lends the feeling that the consistency and brilliance of this record was a product of some higher power. There were two principal song- writers in The Zombies - Rod Argent and Chris White. Argent has tended to garner most of the media attention, mainly because he wrote all of the band's radio hits, but it should be noted that Chris White was just as inte- gral in the songcraft (seven of Odessey's 12 songs were his). The album begins with the sprightly piano jingle of "Care of Cell 44," which finds lead singer Colin Blunstone shifting effortlessly through various key changes. "Feels so good / You're coming home soon," he booms at the blissful chorus. The song sketches the story of a prison inmate's impending return to society, told through the eyes of his lonely lover. In three minutes and fifty-three seconds The Zom- bies have slyly redefined the lyri- cal conventions of a modern pop song. Odessey & Oracle is consis- tently rewarding upon repeat listens. "Brief Candles" borders upon classicism in its use of tex- ture and chord changes to comple- ment some of White's best lyrics, eloquently portraying a couple that has fallen out of love: "His alone girl fades away/ Left out on a limb / Finds he needs her more / Because she has no more need for him." The rich piano and muted trumpets on "This Will Be Our Year" swing with purpose and add light bursts of color to the song's infectious melody, eventu- ally giving way to the lone organ drone of the creepy war-ballad "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)." The Zombies were tak- ing chances with instrumentation that no other band, Beatles aside, could dream of. "Hung Up on a Dream" is incan- descent, its woozy guitars shifting through a foundation of mellotron and treated piano, perfectly main- taining the lyrical atmosphere of uncertainty and mental confu- sion. Argent's writing brims with emotion, and the song's sense of isolation and disillusion reaches its peak at the triumphant cho- rus: "A sweet confusion filled my mind / Until I woke up only find- ing everything was just a dream." The album produced a lone hit single, "Time of The Season" - a moody exercise in surf-rock - which has since become one of the defining musical moments of its era. Sadly, the song's suc- cess came long after the group had called it quits, disbanding after Odessey & Oracle's failure to sell. It is unlikely that Odessey & Oracle will ever be given the "royal" treatment of a Pet Sounds or Sgt. Pepper's, but its failure to gain wide public exposure only makes it more of a personally rewarding listen. It is an album to share among close friends, one that will brighten your Ann Arbor winter days. Television As if "Saturday Night Live" weren't in bad enough shape as It is, cast members Chris Parnell, Horatio Sanz and Finesse Mitchell have been dropped from the show following a flurry of rumors this month. No announcement was made about the trio's departure --their names were simply omitted from a recent press release. Joining the SNL exodus are Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch, who both announced over the summer that they would be leaving the show. Parnell was a cast member for seven and a half years, Sanz for eight years and Mitchell for three years. Dustin Diamond, the lovable Samuel "Screech" Powers of late-'80s and early '90s sitcom "Saved By The Bell," is rumored to have his very own sex tape. After telling Howard Stern listeners that he packs nine inches of punch in his pants, Diamond now has the opportunity to prove it to skeptics. Although Screech's manager denied knowledge of the film, he did note that this would help Diamond shed his Screech typecast and help the struggling comedian/ actor get more bookings. What title should eager fans scan local video store shelves for? You've got it: "Saved By The Smell." The politics of the Middle East and Sept. 11 are still making money in Hollywood. Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon will star in "Rendition," New Line's political thriller set in the Middle East. The story focuses on a CIA analyst based in the Middle East who questions his assignment after he oversees a secret police interrogation of a suspected terrorist. Similar projects set in the Middle East, both related to slain journalist Daniel Pearl, are currently in production: Paramount Vantage's "A Mighty Heart" starring Angelina Jolie and a Beacon thriller based on the book "Who Killed Daniel Pearl?" by Bernard-Henri Levy. Torah tattoos. Kicked drug addictions. Cheating? Jeffrey Sebelia of Bravo TV's "Project Runway" was recently accused of cheating on one of the contestants' challenges. Despite having appeared frazzled and behind schedule during a judge's check-in mid-challenge, Sebelia claimed to have eked out an impressively well-sewn line. Fellow contestant Laura Bennett was the first to throw accusations at Sebelia, whose work typically strays from his recent sewing cariiber. The scandal is perfect fodder for an epic finale. It has been more than three weeks since the tragic death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin. While filming a documentary, Irwin, 44, was impaled through the heart by a bull stingray. Despite the international love for Irwin, there has been some controversy since his passing. In the past Irwin had claimed that should he die on 4 courtesy of Bravo/upefiasco.com TOP: Jeffrey Sebelia of "Project Runway." BOTTOM: Lupe Fiasco. the job he would want the footage of his death to be released; however, only a handful may be privileged enough to view the video. Irwin's wife, Terri, and manager, John Stainton, believe the tape should be kept private if not completely destroyed. Video games The video game market is as fertile as ever, and now it seems that some of the industry's most talented rappers have caught on to the trend. The 2K Sports video game franchise released NBA 2K7 on Tuesday, and while the game itself has gotten mixed reviews, a surprisingly slamming soundtrack accompanies the game play. Artists like Lupe Fiasco, Ghostface, A Tribe Called Quest, Rhymefest, E-40 and Mos Def all contributed tracks. The all-star lineup doesn't end with the soundtrack's artists, either. Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, of Handsome Boy Modeling School and Gorillaz fame, produced the soundtrack, which includes a remix of A Tribe Called Quest's "Lyrics to Go." Microsoft made the claim that Xbox 360 will be the most important gaming platform for the next five years in Barcelona yesterday. It was also announced that Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, producers of the upcoming "Halo" movie, are starting up a Microsoft-backed interactive- entertainment studio called Wingnut Interactive that will develop a "Halo" project as well as other titles that won't be games or movies, but some sort of hybrid. Other new Xbox 360 titles announced included sequels to "Project Gotham Racing," "Banjo Kazooie" and a "Marvel Universe Online" multiplayer game. - Compiled by Caitlin Cowan, Rachel Common and Elie Zwiebel. A MACDONALD Continued from page 1B campaign of 1992's "Wayne's World," now gracing dorm rooms across the country - "You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll hurl." There's always some snappy wit out there in tagline land: "In Vietnam, the Wind Doesn't Blow ... It Sucks" ("Full Metal Jacket"). "Escape or Die Fry- ing" ("Chicken Run"). "Nobody Does Him Better" (classic Bond film "Octopussy"). The Brits in particular often make a good show of it, as with 1994's "Four Weddings and A Funeral": "Five good reasons to stay single." Ha. But despite the many top minds of commercial advertis- ing (another ha), some lame ducks inevitably fall through the cracks. "Mission: Impossible" announced itself with the unen- ergetic "Expect the impossible," and its sequel didn't exactly improve: "Expect the impossible again.'mNot even an exclamation point. I'm surprised the M:I 3 billboards didn't read "Expect the impossible again. Really, guys. Promise." Just for kicks, a final round (bonus - guess!): - "The Ultimate Trip." ("2001: A Space Odyssey." Hip- pies everywhere could not agree more.) - "History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can't spell." ("Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." A total gimme.) - "You can't scream if you can't breathe." ("Anaconda." You also can't scream if you're laugh- ing too hard at watching Jennifer Lopez try to scream.) - "He sits. He stays. He shoots. He scores." Bonus points if you immediately thought of that Li'l Bow Wow basketball movie. It's actually "Air Bud," but if you guessed "Air Bud," I'm going to have to take points away.) - MacDonald can be reached at kmacd@umich.edu. 6 a I Pilot's license not required.