The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Just tell
us the
title, JJ
When Eric Cartman first opened
Cartmanland on "South Park," he
made one thing very clear to pro-
spective patrons: "It's the best theme park in
the world, but you can't
come!" Although his
original plan was to keep
his park empty so he
could avoid lines, it gen-
erated such a huge buzz
that everyone wanted in.
This is the driving
principle behind the PAUL
secretive viral market-
ing of today's films. TASSI
"This movie is going to
be so cool, you can't see any part of it." It's
this philosophy that studios today employ
to generate excitement for an upcoming
release, despite the fact that the film doesn't
come out for a year and a half, and you're
generally watching about three seconds of
actual footage.
Take the original teaser trailer for
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl," which featured five seconds of
a skeletal foot walking on the ocean floor.
This was pretty ineffective since it left
everyone confused: "Wait they're making
a movie out of that Disney ride? What the
hell"?
Another example of a teaser that's pretty
terrible is the "Transformers" preview,
released almost a year before the film's
release. A narrative explains how the latest
Mars rover didn't actually crash and, sure
enough, the shadow of Megatron comes
along to stomp the life out of it. It's incred-
ibly lame in execution, but the appearance
of the "Transformers" title at the end was
enough to send shivers up a few die-hard
fans' spines.
But now, things are going a step further.
So vague
it's sick.
In a bad way.
It's not enough to have just a teaser trailer
- you have to have an entire viral market-
ing campaign to go along with it. Sometimes
this works, sometimes it doesn't.
Two notable examples are available right
now: J.J. Abrams' "1-18-08" and Christopher
Nolan's "The Dark Knight." Guess which
one works, and guess which one pisses you
off. If you've ever seen "Lost," you probably
already know the answer.
Abrams is the king of making you want
more. Three seasons into "Lost" and we're
still wondering what the hell is wrong with
this island. And now, his movie is so secret,
it doesn't even have a title. That's right, it's
just referred to as its release date because
he apparently couldn't generate a name that
wouldn't give the entire movie away. Really,
he's just doing this for the buzz it creates.
It may be working, but it's still annoying as
hell.
"1-18-08" appears to be some sort of
monster movie judging by the teaser trailer,
where a Godzilla-esque screech is audible,
shortly followed by the Statue of Liberty's
head bowling down Times Square. Abrams
has set up a number of websites with "clues"
about the film, including one with moveable
photographs that you can flip over to read
messages on the back that don't make any
sense. And if you wait six minutes on the
site, you get to hear that Godzilla scream
again. I've had the site open while I've been
writing this, and it just now freaked the
hell out of me when my computer started
screaming like the devil.
Another site has a short video of a girl
saying goodbye to a guy who's leaving. The
video ends with a revelation of her bladder
infection once she thinks the camera is off.
Is that it? Does the monster have a bladder
infection? Is that what you're trying to tell .
us, J.J.? Clues only work when they actu-
ally mean something, and I will bet my life
that if you spent 72 straight hours putting
together all these bits and pieces, you would
maybe, maybe discover that the monster is
a giant polar bear made of smoke or some-
thing J.J. Abrams-y like that. There's creat-
ing suspense by being secretive and there's
just being an asshole.
Compare this with "The Dark Knight,"
which strings you along with little candles
along the way, giving you a glimpse into the
forthcoming film. The producers have also
set up numerous websites, one of which
promotes Harvey Dent running for political
office. Another is full of the Joker's mania-
cal laughter if you highlight the entire black
screen. The one perhaps most widely circu-
lated is the site that, after a little digging,
becomes a picture of Heath Ledger as the
scar-faced, clown-painted villain himself.
As it draws closer to springtime when
Batman returns, screenshots are leaking
slowly. Just enough so people are excited,
and not enough so it ruins the plot. And the
trailer? The Batman logo. With talking. For
30 seconds. It's minimalist but highly effec-
tive, especially when you hear the Joker
laugh for the first time. Now that'll send real
shivers up your spine.
And as the crowds eventually started}
streaming into Cartmanland, so too will
audiences flock to "The Dark Knight." "1-18-
08," however, may find us lost in the theater,
since they dop't even know the name of the
damn movie.
- Tassi only reveals bladder infections whet
off tamera. t-mail him at lanai tamicheda.
MUSIC REVIEW
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KOMPAK
Are these boys just the cutest little superheroes
or what?
.Supermayer is here, and
electronica gets another jolt of life.
By MATT EMERY
Daily Arts Writer
Somehow it happened: electronic is
hot, again. Groups like Hot Chip, CSS
and The Blow - bands that a few years
ago would have only
been listened to in the
privacy of headphones ****
- have now become the
epitome of dance chic. Supermayer
Evgn darker, trance
variant groups like The Save the World
Knife or The Field have Kompakt
found critical success.
And now we have
another addition: Supermayer's Save
the World, a collaboration between two
of Germany's top techno/house DJs,
Michael Mayer and Aksel Schaufler, bet-
ter known as Superpitcher. The album
delves deeply into the far reaches of 21st
century dance-groove music galaxy.
Though some of the results are more pol-
ished than others, Save the World man-
ages to produce some dingy, syncopated,
trance-induced anthems that expand
what can be done inside of the genre.
Part of the inevitable appeal of the
super group is the diversity that comes
from the backgrounds of each. Each suc-
cessive track on Save the World makes a
sonic jump from the previous, but in most
ways, it's a refreshing wind in a world
of consistency. "The Art of Letting Go"
- easily the most accessible track and
the most smoothly produced - starts
the album with a punchy, groovacious
bass line juxtaposed against the droning
wails of "Let's get to it, relax, let me go."
The added element of tinkling bells and
appropriate cowbell plays out as a well-
conceived indie-dance track.
But before being lulled into an album
filled with similar ass-shakers, "Saturn-
days" redirects, opting to get into dark-
er, deeper oscillations that scatter from
speaker to speaker, before heading into
the hollowed-out house sound of the sur-
prisingly short "Superbrane Transmis-
sion."
The same rings true for later transi-
tions. "Two of Us," though about three
minutes too long, struts along with a
pulsating, grinding synth riff and back-
ground electronic gyrations before their
interrupted by silky xylophone plinks.
All of this is slowly sanded down to a halt
with "Cocktails for Two," which features
acid jazz undertones of fluttering guitar
fade-outs and occasional electro-trum-
pet riffs, all held together by an epoxy of
keyboard and bass rhythms.
But sometimes these sonic shifts come
back to hurt them. Some are just too
drastic, and Supermayer compensates
WHO IS SUPERMAYER?
Supermayer is composed of two of Germany's top DJs,
Michael Mayer and Superpitcher (Aksel Schaufler).
Both operate underthe Cologne-based Kompakt
label, known for its trance-induced acts including The
Field and The Orb. Two of the labels most recogniz-
able faces - in not just Germany, but throughout the
world - both men have been stalwarts in the German
electronic music scene for the past five years. Super-
pitcher has worked on producing albumsafor the likes
of Dntel amongst others and has also released two of
his own self-mixed albums. Mayer has also dabbled in
producing and releasing numerous compilation albums
of trance-inspired music.
by interjecting ludicrous sound dowels.
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
breaks two polar-opposite songs with
wolf howls (?) while "Us and Them"
trudges along with silly, useless vocals,
smeared against a wall of keyboard bore-
dom.
Despite, or because of, the varying
experimentations with genre, Save the
World holds together remarkably well.
Whereas The Knife and label-mates The
Field may shy away from poppier dance
tracks, Supermayer embraces the con-
cept while still inserting darker trance
variants, never falling into monotony.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007- 5
MUSIC IN BRIEF
Sinking like a 'Lead'
balloon
Atreyu
Lead Sails Paper Anchor
Hollywood
After an exhaustive career with
the Victory Records label, produc-
ing three albums and, yes, a Best
Of compilation, this makeup mosh-
rock outfit from Orange County
returns with its debut album for
Hollywood Records. On its myspace
page, Atreyu defines itself as Metal/
Rock. While "emocore" is a more
accurate description of its sound,
metal-rock perfectly captures
Atreyu's strategy.
On Lead Sails Paper Anchor,
the band oscillates mechanically
between throated verses and poppy
melodic refrains, steadfastly fixed
to this formula. Songs such as "Lose
It" and "When Two Are One" begin
with "atmospheric" string work
before introducing the standard
churning guitars that systematically
fill out each song. Ultimately the hid-
den-track cover of "Epic" by Faith
No More comes across as the most
genuinely played piece of music on
the entire album. Due to its estab-
lished position in the mainstreamn
metal-pop scene, Atreyu contin-
ues to produce unsurprising music
- a fact that pleases its many fans (I
mean come on, it has sold more than
one million albums) and leaves the
rest of us wondering what purpose it
serves or when it'll put out its second
Best Ofcompilation.
GABRIEL BAKER
Left behind at the
Station'
Metro Station
Metro Station
Red Ink
Metro Station's self-titled debut
album can be summed up as the
musical story of an underage boy
who wants to bone an underage girl
without getting caught by mom and
dad. For band member Trace Cyrus,
the pain of high school romance
was so sexually frustrating that he
teamed up with Mason Musso on
Disney Channel's set of Hannah
Montana (their little siblings both
have lead roles). Together, the two
worked outtheir teen angst the only
way high school boys know how
- they started a band. The entire
album is so predictable a mathema-
tician could write a theorem for it.
"Wish We Were Older" opens with
techno-influenced beats that try
to compensate for the lack of art-
istry throughout the song and leads
into a bridge of "Take my hand /
I'll never let go" and "Thought I
loved you now I hate you." Motion
City Soundtrack and Fall Out Boy
would be proud: Metro Station is a
perfect protg, right down to the
subtly raunchy lyrics and fantasies
of escaping to California.
KAREN STACEVICH
'Trapt' as always
Trapt
Live!
Eleven Seven Music
On Live!, its first release since
2005's Someone in Control, post-
grungers Trapt combine two new
studio songs with nine entirely
unnecessary live recordings to form
one underwhelming disk. With the
exception of Chris Brown's awk-
ward banter and some muffled
crowd noise, the songs are indistin-
guishable from their album coun-
terparts. The two new tracks are
standard Trapt fare, with familiar
quiet-loud-quiet structures and
melodramatically confrontational
lyrics like "When they cast the first
stones /They will cast them at you!"
Not recommended unless you sim-
ply must have the new songs and
don't have an iTunes account.
MATT RONEY
The devil's back. Take no notice.
By MARK SCHULTZ
Daily Arts Writer
The concept of a misguid-
ed fool selling his soul to the
devil is as old as the 15th-cen-
tury legend "Faust." Recent-.
ly, a few films and TV shows
have tried to rework this tale
by placing a
prototypical
'90s slacker
in the role
of, the soul- Reaper
loser.
The latest Tuesdays
result of this at 9 p.m.
is CW's new CW
show "Reap-
er," which
has all the characteristics of
"Idle Hands" but none of its
macabre originality.
Sam (Bret Harrison, "The
Loop") is that brand of lazy-
but-you-can't-hate-him
misdirected youth who is a
suspiciously prime candidate
for a life-altering event. He
runsthecashregister at"Work
Bench" (it's Home Depot,
folks), harbors an intense
crush on fellow salesgirl Andi
(Missy Peregrym, "Stick It")
and wastes his nights chas-
ing shots with porky sidekick
U
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Sock Wysoski (Tyler Labine,
"Boston Legal"). The only
life change Sam expects on
his 21st birthday is the ability
to drink legally, but his par-
ents have something else in
store for him: Before he was
born, they sold his soul to the
devil to save his father's life,
assuming they would never
have a child. Unfortunately,
Sam became their little acci-
dent, and now he's doomed
to toil for Beezlebub himself.
Lucky for him, hell is not his
immediate destination; Luci-
fer (Ray Wise, "24") wants our
boy to spend the remainder
of his life capturing "escape
souls" with a demonically
possessed Dirt Devil.
The soul-catching process
is less funny than one would
think - most of the chuckles
come from Seth Rogen-esque
Sock, who keeps momentum
going with non sequiturs and
duct-tape gags. The show
would likely be doomed to
TV's lake of fire without him,
because the second-funni-
est character is Sam, who is
reminiscent of Nate on "Free
Ride" - and that show got
cancelled. The congeniality
of the "insurance salesman"
Devil
most
since
"Re
drama
comed
be tak
would
to oni
minut
follow
slow-r
confu
St
a f
of ov
shoulc
into it
up be
drama
netwo
and "C
Kev
the pi
is amusing; he's the - as well as slacker come-
original devil character dies "Clerks" and "Mallrats"
Ned Flanders. - should have know better
aper" tries to be a than to try to mine more gold
edy, but the drama and dout of the rapidly aging "Gen-
dy are too disparate to eration X" demographic. The
en as a whole. The show humor is updated for contem-
i be better off sticking porary slackers as well as the
e side of the fence. Ten sudden Judd Apatow fanatics,
es of deadpan dialogue but Smith knows in his heart
ved by ten minutes of "Reaper" is just "Mallrats"
paced action are just meets "Hellraiser," without
sing and show a lack Jay or Silent Bob.
If the year was 1997, and
I had never seen "Dead Like
Me," and the concept of a
Old hat is ne'er-do-well who can barely
work his television remote
ill good for getting otherwordly pow-
ers was still novel, this could
ew, amiiar have been a good show. Unfor-
ew, familiar tunately, Doc Brown's time
laug s machine was not available, so
a . it's hard to pretend this show,
though funny, is unique in
any way.
The stock characters recy-
erall focus. "Reaper" cled from past renditions of
d inject more humor this concept do little to dis-
s action, before it ends tinguish or elevate the mate-
coming a supernatural rial. "Reaper" is a cute show,
in the same vein as but it smacks of unoriginal-
:rk-partner "Smallville" ity. Watching it may make
harmed." long for the old days of Seth
'in Smith, who directed Green with a bottle stuck in
lot episode of "Reaper" his head.
MASS, MEETING
Tuesday, Oct. 2,8 p.m.
Michigan League
Vandenberg Room
join a Growing Movement
Combining Service and Advocacy to
Bring Change to Darfur.
- Go to:
www.willworkforfood.org