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2B - Thursday, February 8, 2007
ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 0

BROKEN ENGAGEMENT
After four years together, "Van
Wilder" star Ryan Reynolds and
singer Alanis
Morisette have
called off their
two-year engage-
ment. The split
was officially con-
firmed by their
respective rep- R
resentatives, and REYNOLDS
the two supposedly remain close
friends despite recent events.
CHARGED
Granville Adams, former star of
HBO's "Oz," faced murder charges
after allegedly pushing a man down
an elevator shaft. He was arraigned
on Feb. 4 and charged with crimi-
nally negligent homicide. Adams
denied the accusation and claimed
it was an accident, but the victim
was pushed with enough force to
warrant suspicion of a deliberate
attack.
LEGACY
Best-selling Sidney Sheldon
author died of complications from
pneumonia at 89. Sheldon pub-
lished 18 novels in his time, and also
worked as a playwright, producer
and screenwriter. Sheldon's "The
Bachelor And The Bobby-Soxer"
won him the Best Original Screen-
play Academy Award in 1948, and
the TV show "I Dream of Jeanie"
was his original creation.
ARRESTED
Actor Ryan O'Neal was arrested
for assault with a deadly weapon
and negligent discharge of a fire-
arm Saturday after calls were made
to the police around 12:30 a.m.
O'Neal was involved in a family dis-
pute with son Griffin O'Neal, and
reportedly fired at least one gun-
shot. O'Neal was released early the
nextmorning after posting$50,000
bail.
FINISHED
J.K. Rowling recently
announced the completion of the
seventh Harry Potter book, the
last in the series. To commemo-
rate the occasion, Rowling made a
note in black ink on a marble bust
in the hotel she was staying at. The
book will be released on July
2. Daniel Radcliffe, titu-
lar star of the "Harry Potter"
films, made news last week
when he appeared nude in
press photos for his new
play "Equus." Parents of
"Harry Potter" fans were
not pleased.
RUNNING FOR OFFICE
Comedian and author
Al Franken has been
confirmed as a Demo-
cratic senate candidate

in Minnesota in the 2008 election.
The former "Saturday Night Live"
actor will take on Norm Coleman,
the incumbent Republican. The 55-
year-old actor will leave his radio
show on Air America Radio Feb. 14.
RECORD RATINGS
The Super Bowl earned its sec-
ond-best ratings ever Sunday with
93.1 million viewers, beat only by
the 1996 game between Dallas and
Pittsburgh (94.1 million). It was
the third most-watch telecast of all
time; the series finale of "M*A*S*H"
remains No. 1, having earned 106
million viewers in 1983.
YOUTUBE CONTROVERSY
Viacom's demand that YouTube
remove more than 100,000 of the
clips it owns from the video-shar-
ing site and institute a screening
system that would ensure they are
not reposted has sparked contro-
versy on two fronts. Google, which
recently acquired the site, issued a
statement admonishing the deci-
sion, while some YouTube users
said the company wrongly singled
out their personal videos in its
demands. YouTube has not com-
mented.
PARIS ON VIDEO - AGAIN
A recent amateur video of Paris
Hilton was recently released on the
Internet - not quite as good as the
last one - in which Hilton blatant-
ly uses derogatory terms toward
the LGBT community and Afri-
can Americans. Gay rights leaders
in Los Angeles have demanded
a public apology to "all offended
groups."
ARRESTED
Actor Daniel Baldwin was
arrested in Detroit Tuesdays after
he failed to appear in court in
Orange Country, California, on
charges of grand theft auto. Howev-
er, it appears to have been a mix-up,
since the vehicle's owner has come
forward and said Baldwin had per-
mission after all.

T 'WAKE UP EVERYBODY' (1975)
The other city of soul music

*I

By TED CULLINANE
For the Daily
Casual discussionofclassicsoul
and R&B tends to focus on two cit-
ies: Detroit and Memphis. What's
often overlooked is the soul music
that came from the City of Broth-
erly Love, known simply as The
Sound of Philadelphia, or TSOP
for short. Developed by record
producers Kenneth Gamble and
Leon Huff, the Philly sound
emerged in the '70s as a worthy
counterpart to the music coming
out of Motown and the South. As
founders of Philadelphia Inter-
national Records, Gamble and
Huff produced a string of bril-
liant soul albums, creating a style
best described as Motown with a
little more grit. Gamble and Huff
embraced the symphonic lean-
ings of Motown, but shied away
from the wall of sound approach,
instead favoring arrangements
that gave more space for individ-
ual instruments to shine - and
vocalists more freedom to impro-
vise.
Harold Melvin & The Blue
Notes's 1975 LP Wake Up Every-
body is a classic example of the
Philly Sound. When Melvin
stepped down as lead singer in
1970, a young Teddy Pendergrass
(still performing as Theodore)
became the focal point of The Blue
Notes. It was under Pendergrass's
lead thatthe group found theirbest
success on the charts. On Wake Up
NOW IN THEATERS
The Messengers
At the Quality 16 and Showcase
In their English-language debut,
Danny and Oxide Pang, the
Hong Kong-bred film editors,
take every haunted-house and
dead-little-kid convention they
can find and cook up soft horror
for preteens. Seems a long way
to travel to cough up such shit.
Because I Said So
At the Quality 16 and Showcase
The dude responsible for that flick
where Josh Hartnett couldn't
dick around for 40 days brings us,
obviously, the story of a middle-
aged mother (Diane Keaton)
who bitches at her daughters
'cause she's getting old. Mandy
Moore's in it, too. Creepy.

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between
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bers, ms
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Me Feel
combine
writing;
Philadel
Wake U
stunning
Philadel
in its ow
Theal
for its
Finding
traditiot
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title tra
SC:
por
PO
the
what Go
on the a
to as "tI
that we
long." W
preachit
that dop
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of foster
ing acti
no bette

dy Pendergrass alternates gotta change it for you an' me." As
the gruff inflections of a testament to the country's will-
m's title track and the sub- ingness to support quality music
ispering of slower num- with a meaningful message,
ist notably the chillingly "Wake Up Everybody" reached
You Know How To Make No. 1 on the R&B singles chart
So Good." His versatility and No. 12 in the mainstream.
d with the all star song- After listening to albums that
and production teams of are as sonically refined and as
phia International makes socially committed as Wake Up
p Everybody not only a Everybody, it's hard not to won-
gexample of The Sound of der what on earth happened to
phia, but a timeless album R&B - and pop music in general.
n right. In trying to answer this question,
lbum should also be noted it's helpful to take a close look at
socially conscious tone. the legacy of Wake Up Everybody.
its roots in the gospel No song can better characterize
n of using spirituality as the decline of the soul aesthetic as
hor for social change, the "Don't Leave Me This Way," the
ck echoes the longing for opener to Wake Up Everybody's b-
side. In it's initial incarnation, the
song is an emotionally charged
rew modern romp with Pendergrass throwing
his entire spirit into the pleas of
W e still got the chorus: "Baby my heart is full
of/love and desire for you / Now
se old gems. come on girl and do / what you
_ gotta do." But the lush arrange-
ments and impassioned cries of
the original were quickly given
amble (in an inscription the disco treatment in a now ubiq-
Ibum's back cover) refers uitous remake by Thelma Hous-
he righteous government ton. Record companies found
all have prayed for so mass appeal in the tepid instru-
:hile at times it hinges on mentation and exaggerated vocals
ng ("dope users, stop using of Houston's version, which went
re"), the overall message on to win a Grammy in 1977. Pen-
:e Up Everybody" is one dergrass himself was not exempt
-ing community and tak- from the lure of the industry, as
on: "The world won't get he soon abandoned the Blue Notes
r if we just let it be ... We to become an oversexed R&B star,

a career move that resulted in a
succession of platinum albums in
the late '70s.
But the legacy of Wake Up
Everybody is not simply one of
growing commercialization.
Along with much of the PIR cata-
logue, Wake Up Everybody has
been a continual source of inspi-
ration for generations of artists
in search of musical, as well as
spiritual guidance. For Common
and Kanye West's meditations
on the trials of inner-city life,
the meandering piano of "Wake
Up Everybody" serves as a fitting
backdrop.
As recently as December,
emergingrapper Saigonmined the
opening lick of "Don't Leave Me
This Way" for a cut on his latest
mixtape. As Saigon laments over
"the way things (have) changed"
in the music game, it becomes
clear that music as timeless as
Wake Up Everybody will continue
to serve as inspiration, regardless
of the direction of popular music.

An all-black university. Rival
fraternities. Many, many men get-
ting served. It's all here, and it's
all precisely what you'd expect
from a move called "Stomp the
Yard." In other words: a sub-
lime Saturday at the movies.
Pan's Labrynth
At the Quality 16 and
Showcase, opens tomor-
row at the State Theater
Guillermo del Toro's lush and
complex masterpiece fiercely
articulates the evils of fas-
cism with a gorgeous fan-
tasy outfit, including fauns,
fairies and the whole bit. But
be advised: the year's most
uncompromised vision is also
one of its most violent.
Smokin' Aces

Stomp the Yard At the Quality 16 and Showcase
At the Quality 16 and Showcase ** "
Basically an intermediate

between "Ocean's Twelve" Alejandro Herrero-
and "Ocean's Thirteen" with Olaizola:
fetishistic lesbians, graphic Latin-American Writers and
violence and washed-up celeb- Franco's Spain
rities in place of the A-listers,
it's a shoot-'em-up that does Today at4 p.m.
everythingin its power to get Free
you to stop paying attention. At Shaman Drum
The Painted Veil Josh Ritter live
At the Quality 16 and Showcase Tonight at 8 p.m.
$15-s20
*** k At the Ark
The adaptation is customarily
faithful, the actors are custom- MastersRectal: Kevin
arily strong and the scenery Miller, collarorative piano
is customarily fetching. All Tonight at 8 p.m.
is well in "Painted Veil" land, Free
but sometimes doing every- Al thet V. Moore Building
thing just fine yields a movie
no one will want to see. Music at Midday with
Franklin Jen
Night at the Museum Tomorrow atll:30 a.m.
Free
At the Quality 16 and Showcase AtPierpont Common
Finally a history lesson that Dance Student
doesn't lull you to sleep. Well, sort Assembly Dance Jam
of. Ben Stiller, living dioramas Tomorrow at 8 p~m.
and some cheerfully ignorant Free
history make for a charming live- At hoOance IBling
action version of "Toy Story" that
isn't especially funny but provides Jazz Festival Feature
a solid diversion all the same. Concert
Saturday at 8 p.m.
Notes on a Scandal $20-30,$10with student ID
At the Power Center
At the Quality 16 and Showcase
Michigan Chamber
Some elegantly packaged Players
homophobia, a little faux-thriller Sunday at 4 p.m.
pretense and two of the best Free
actresses at work today make for At Rackham
a creepy-in-a-way-it-shouldn't-
be awards-season misfire.
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