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MALE LISTS T HE MOST IMPORTA NT
AND "TH E NOTEBOOK" IS ONLY NO. 10.
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{the b-side}
Politics don't
mix with'24'
By PAUL TASSI on the ground and begins to lose
DailyFilm Editor his shit after executing his friend,
a mushroom cloud erupts in the
All right, so no one can say I'm background. Terrorists have com-
not a big enough fan of "24." After pleted a successful nuclear strike
watching the first three seasons on downtown Los Angeles.
in about five days freshman year, The good news is that these
I've tuned in every season since to events were some of the most
watch how the wrath of Jack Bauer intense and memorable scenes in
saves the world from imminent "24" history. The bad news is that
destruction. He now protects my this was just the four-hour season
apartment from terrorist attacks premiere. Since then, it's pretty
as a4 monstrous 8-foot-tall poster much been downhill. "24" is now
in my living room, which makes all doing something it should stay far
male visitors bow down in rever- away from: social commentary.
ence and all females move toward In the search for the remain-
the exit. ing four nukes, the show is trying
That said, this season my enthu- to tackle issues like stereotyping
siasm is waning. After last year's Muslims, civil rights violations and,
Emmy award-winning plot involv- most notably, the dangers of a cow-
ing the arrest of the president as a boy as commander in chief. While
war criminal, this time the show these issues are ripe in today's
lacks the punch that made me clear United States, "24" takes them on
my Monday nights permanently. in such a blatantly obvious way that
Let me catch you up. the end result is laughable.
Jack's back from being tortured Take the Muslim internment
in China for two years, and after camp set up by the government to
about 40 minutes of silence, he round up anyone who looks Mid-
jumps right back into his ass-kick- dle Eastern. An entire eight-epi-
ing ways as he bites the tendon out sode subplot was devoted to this,
ofa terrorist's neck. Now that's how attempting to be a deep exploration
you start a season of "24." Soon of civil rights that ultimately led
after, Jack is forced to shoot and nowhere. It became clear it was the
kill longtime cast member Curtis show's attempt at an exceptionally
as he threatens the life of an impor- awkward apology to the Muslim
tant lead in the case. As Jack falls community who have been upset
Thursday, April 5, 2007 - 3B
We have a feelingJack is about to break a few Geneva conventions.
for years about being stereotyped
on the show.
That's just the beginning. The
atom bomb that broke the camel's
back this season has brought the
introduction of the very abrasive,
very southern Vice President Noah
Daniels. The president is comatose
after an attempt on his life, and the
vice president assumes command.
Not only does he try to frame the
only Middle Eastern man in the
room for the assassination attempt,
he also orders a nuclear "warn-
ing strike" on the Middle Eastern
country where the rampaging ter-
rorist was born, despite the fact it's
clear the country had nothing to do
with the actual attacks.
Surely you see the exceptionally
obviousanalogyrelatingtoacertain
war here, so I'm not going to spell
it out. Although the country about
to be annihilated is never named
explicitly (although "24" seems to
have no problem calling out co-
conspirators Russia and China), it's
clear the show is trying to do some-
thing way over its head: satire. "24"
is not "South Park," and people do
not watch to see the foolishness of
our foreign policy laid out. They
watch to see which body part of a
terrorist Jack will cut off this week.
(And if you still think that leads to
stereotypes, keep in mind the mas-
terminds of nearly all the threats
have been revealed tobe American,
including the president and Jack's
own brother and father.)
"24" just needs to find its roots
again: Jack Bauer killing terror-
ists regardless. of skin color while
"breaking protocol" and being
informed of objectives he needs to
complete within the hour. If the
producers want "24" to remain to
the best action show on television,
they'll turn off the news and come
up with their own storylines.
)f Ant
Honestly, Neko Case's voice is angelic. (No pun intended.)
FAITH
From page 1B
or convey their artistic inten-
tions. Sure, these musicians would
,ikely claim to be Christians. They
vs'ould also consider themselves
a tists. "Christian artist," on the
oth er hand, suggests an appeal to
a limited, specific audience as well
as the burden of negativity associ-
ated with faith-based music.
Last Friday night, indie-folk
hero Stevens performed in his
famous "bird-wing costume" and
strummed his banjo to a packed
crowd, as inflatable Santa Claus
and Superman dolls were tossed
off the balcony like beach balls.
But it was his lecture the following
morning - yes, a lecture by Sufjan
Stevens - that really stuck out. Not
without reservations, the singer
explained his problems with the
"Christian artist" tag.
"Art isn't a tool," Stevens said.
"It's sacred. There's a tendency
to misplace focus on the role of
'artist' rather than the art itself.
As artists, we participate in cre-
ation."
"Participating in creation" is
key to understanding the motiva-
tion of musicians like Stevens. This
idea emerges from the belief that
all creative art is modeled after the
Creator - i.e. God - and by "par-
ticipating" in the creative process
the artist discovers a larger, spiri-
tual connection. Sound mystical
enough for you? Well, that's par-
tially the point. For these musi-
cians, the mystery surrounding
the art-making process is half the
attraction.
Is it surprising, then, that musi-
cians like Daniel Smith find the
"Christian artist" tag so frustrat-
ing? If we are to believe, as Smith
does, that dealing with art is to
deal with abstract truths, little
good can come from labeling the
results.
Following the screening of the
documentary "Danielson: A Fam-
ily Movie," Smith - an eccentric
indie-rocker as well as visual artist
- explained how the term "Chris-
tian artist" is more of a marketing
campaign than anything else.
"Let's not call it anything,"
Smith said, referring to the Chris-
tian music culture. "I don't want to
be a part of a genre or fad ... I want
to do the work I'm made to do and
then die."
Smith's petition of simply "doing
the work," or creating the art, ade-
quately describes the ambitions
of these like-minded Christians.
Music is an art form. Part of its
appeal is its immediacy. Often we
overanalyze music that has reli-
gious connotations at the expense
of our enjoyment and pure under-
standing of the music.
The festival interview with
Neko Case was a case in point. Best
known for her country-folk solo
career as well as her contributions
to indie-pop band The New Por-
nographers, the songwriter was
asked a series of overtly specific,
somewhat spiritual and aimless
questions by author/high school
English teacher David Dark. Nev-
ertheless, Case kept to her graces
and Dark could only blush in
return.
After Case's stellar
performance, her vulnerable yet
iron-willed vocals ringing within a
sea of pedal-steel guitar, it became
clear: Dark's earlier analysis was
superfluous to the pure experi-
ence of the music. Truthfully, most
musical art is best left to experi-
ence rather than discuss.
of course, there is no tidy
answer to the question of how
Christian faith influences the
art being produced. Perhaps this
is why the Festival of Faith and
Music and its artists are unique
from other Christian festivals and
performers - there's no need for a
simple answer. The late Catholic
writer Flannery O'Connor might
describe the process as finding the
spiritual in the everyday. In a can-
did scene from "Danielson: A Fam-
ily Movie," however, Daniel Smith
offers another interpretation:
"(The artistic process) is like a
little kid helping his dad change
a tire," he says. "in reality, the kid
isn't really changing the tire - he
just gets to feel a part of something
bigger."
Embracing a 'transformative new art'
By TED CULLINANE
DailyArts Writer
On March 7, U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.)
used the congressional floor to defend mixtapes
and remixed music as "transformative new art."
In his advocacy of more lenient copyright laws,
Doyle referenced mixtape king DJ'Drama and
mash-up impresario Girl Talk. Drama's recent
arrest on charges of bootlegging has pushed
the debate over the proper uses of copyrighted
music into the national spotlight.
The media's coverage of the mixtape phe-
nomenon generally focuses onthe legality of
the format and leaves little room for actual
discussion of the tapes themselves. From clas-
sic '90s releases by Tony Touch, Doo Wop and
Ron G to the current tapes by Kay Slay, Clinton
Sparks and J Period, mixtapes have continu-
ally pushed the creative envelope and worked
to establish a direct line of communication
between an artist and his fans. In recent years,
mixtapes by DJ Drama, Lil Wayne and Clipse
have been thoroughly praised and chronicled
by the music press. But with new tapes released
every week, many notable releases remain rela-
tively obscure.
Anthem" while "Hey Ladies" is updated with
the bounce of Biggie's "Hypnotize." On the
tape's opener, "Hold It Now Hit It" (originally
produced by Rick Rubin in 1986) is blended with
"99 Problems" - a Rubin beat from 2003. It's
the seemingly effortless blends and timely guest
appearances by Busta Rhymes and Clipse that
make New York State of Mind a must-have for
any Beastie Boys fan or mixtape enthusiast.
. Similar to Clipse's We Got it 4 Cheap series,
Joe Budden's Mood Muzik mixtapes show just
how critical mixtapes are to today's hip hop cli-
mate. Because of a shaky relationship with Def
Jam, Budden has yet to release a follow-up to his
self-titled 2003 debut. In an effort to keep his
name afloat, Joey has taken the mixtape route
and released two critically acclaimed volumes
of Mood Muzik with DJ On Point. Budden uses
the tapes as aform of catharsis - it's notuncom-
mon for him to rap for six minutes about his
shortcomings in the industry and past battles
with drug abuse. Mood Muzik 2 finds Budden
embracing this introspective style and shying
away from the club songs and punch-line-cen-
tered raps on which he built his name. "Forty
Licks" is a lucid rumination on-his emotional
well being: "I'm like an old man with no friends
or family / Tryin' to cleanse what he's got left
of his sanity." DJ On Point simply adds sound
effects and personalized drops - Budden's
invigorating rhymes are all he needs to catch
anyone's attention.
Lupe Fiasco - Fahrenheitr/15PartIII: A
Rhyming Ape
When 50 Cent's strategic use ofmixtapes pro-
pelled him to stardom in 2003, aspiring rappers
took notice. To build buzz for his major-label
debut, Chi-town wunderkind Lupe Fiasco dis-
tributed three mixtapes for free on the Internet.
The third installmentofFahrenheit/15features
Fiasco rapping over loops from the Gorillaz's
Demon Days album. His intricate wordplay and
astute social commentary brings greater speci-
ficity to the politics of tracks like "Kids With
Guns" and "Every Planet We Reach is Dead."
on his remix of the foreboding "Last Living
Souls," Fiasco is critical of the artistic direc-
tion of his peers: "Expand your horizons from
... rappin' and rhyming about cocaine supplyin'
/ And clappin' is anyone out there or are y'all all
absent?" When his verse segues into the original
song's refrain of "Are we the last livingsouls?" it
sounds as if Fiasco is recording right alongside
the cartoon band.
DJ Green Lantern - New York State of Mind
In2004 Green Lantern was tappedby Capitol
Records to help promote the upcoming release
of the Beastie Boys' To The Five Boroughs. The
end result is New York State of Mind - a blend of
the Beastie Boys' biggest hits with some of the
most epic hip-hop instrumentals. The concept
alone is enticing, but it's Green Lantern's flaw-
less execution that turns the Beastie's classics
into 21st century bangers. "Pass the Mic" is rei-
magined over "What Up Gangsta" and "Dipset
DJ Dirty Harry - The Warriors
This 2005 Dirty Harry tape was released in
promotion for the video-game treatment of the
cult '70s gang flick "The Warriors." DH pep-
pers his blends with battle cries from the film
and dialogue from "Casino" and "Gladiator"
to establish a gritty cinematic feel. The tape's
highlight is an ingenious reworking of G-Unit's
"I Don't Know Officer" from the Get Rich or Die
Tryin'soundtrack. Using snippets from a collec-
tion of Jay-Z a cappellas, DH splices together
various Jigga lyrics to recreate the G-Unit cho-
rus word for word. His addition of a verse from
Nas's unreleased "Sometimes I Wonder" made
it (at the time) the closest thing to a real collabo-
ration between the two rap giants.
Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 2
New York $131 London $410
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