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8 - Tuesday, October 9, 2007
CAVEMEN
From page 5
Sports" and constantly laments
the libertine ways of his ex, Amy.
Nick is perennially broke but has
no shortage of criticisms for Joel,
whom he advises to "crave the
cave" - i.e., date cavewomen only,
not admittedly luscious "Sapes"
like Kate.
"Cavemen"is a clever show - the
dialogue is fast-paced and witty,
and though the cavemen's yuppie
lifestyle is comic and sad, they are
likable characters. These cavemen
are no materialistic, Patrick Bate-
man-style cut-ups; they offer levels
of depth that reveal them as good
guys impaled by the spear of mod-
ern pop culture, and at heart are
great friends and caring humans
- er, cavemen.

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Critics of "Cavemen" might
wonder how long viewers will
put up with, watching hairy,
wide-faced cave-dwellers inter-
act in society akin to normal
humans. The show is reminiscent
of Michael Jacobs's "Dinosaurs,"
which had weirder-looking char-
acters and was considerably more
biting in its satire, yet managed
three seasons. "Cavemen"borrows
that show's "non-humans-acting-
like-humans" idea, but it doesn't
ruthlessly dissect human foibles
in the same cutthroat manner. Its
social satire is more of a friendly
poke than a jab.
ABC describes "Cavemen" as a
"show that turns race-relations on
its head," but it's difficult to decide
what to make of this idea. Is "Cave-
men" supposed to be an allegory on
the plight of other disadvantaged
minorities? Actually, it's probably
the other way around, especially

Their pool cleaning bill can't be good.
considering ABC re-shot the pilot
to downplay its racial undertones.
Joe Lawson, who penned the
"Cavemen" pilot as well as many of
the commercials, says the ad spots
were a critique of what he saw as an
overly politically correct society.
But the show complicates this
idea, because the cavemen we see
are no longer reactionary talk-
ing heads but real beings who talk

SUNSET
From page 5
with his female counterpart by
only describing her in ways he
could write a song. This subtle
occurrence may just reflect the
extreme concentrationpaidtothe
intricacies of the album before
Krug breaks out of his mindset
with the timely placed line of,
"Oh, but enough about me."
The movements of Krug's fairy
tale are hardly typical - sonic
jumps from the complete chaos
of a song like "Stallion" with its
eerie, "Edward Scissorhands"-
esque piano plinks cascade into
"For the Pier (and dead shim-
mering)." The track's feathery
guitar strums and pseudo-steal
drum raptures work as the per-
fect antithesis to the prior, drea-
ry piece. The same goes for the

penultimate and closing tracks.
"Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot!
Toot!" - the closest thing to
anything on Shut Up - features
a disjointed, ghostly suite that
dumps into the subtle acoustic
closer "Child-Heart Losers." It's
the perfect conclusion to this
bizarre fairy tale: soft-spoken
vocals, simmering guitar strums
and a self-reflection as Krug
and Ingr chime, "Why so many,
many, many, many, many, many
violins?"
Chaos is Krug's medium.
Taken in parts, Random Spirit
Lover is overwhelming. But what
great story makes sense when
read out of order? So when Krug
belts, "And chaos is mine," it's
true: He's the Picasso of chaos,
becoming the master keyboard
counterpart among the big-name
list of Tweedy and Mangum.

on cell phones, order beers at bars
and pay for lattds with travelers'
checks. Obviously, these cavemen
differ from the rest of society, but
pop culture and technology have
made the common ground between
them and humans more level than
ever. It might be best to just pre-
tend these cavemen are just normal
dudes - after all, they aren't so dif-
ferent from us.

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