I 2B - Thursday, November 29, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com REDUCTIVE REASONING Picking one and one apart. The Daily Arts guide to the best upcoming evests Tomorrow 11.30.07 "Exit The King" Also Saturday 7:30 p.m. At the Walgreen Drama Center Free The G-Men Fall Concert 8 p.m. At the Rackham Auditorium $9/$6 with student ID "The Taming of the Shrew" 8 pm. At the Mendelssohn Theater $5/$3owith student 10 Saturday 12.1.07 Native American Heritage Month Culture Shock Camp Concert 7 p.m. At the Trotter House Free Michigan Pops Orchestra presents "Pop Goes Wild!" 7 p.m. At The Michigan Theater $8/$5 with student ID FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:'THE VICE PHOTO BOOK' Three-hundred thirty five pages with ample blood, artists, vomit, breasts, guitars and cheeseburgers. Over the course of 13 years put- ting out a magazine focusing on the realms of our guilty pleasures, Vice has compiled provocative pieces of photojournalism into one $45 coffee book. Visit www.viceland.com and you'll discover there's more of an academic approach to por- nographic filmmaking than you had previously believed. You'll also find that some of your peers enjoy lip salve derived from a poached and slaughtered orangutan - they actually relish in knowing their balm's origin. Vice has dedicated its Web forum and printed magazine to exploring the dirty things that make usfeel a certain sense of discomfort, if not from the content itself then from our seem- ingly unnatural (or immoral) attraction it. The "Photo Book" acts as a gallery for some ofnthe better images Vice's cameras have captured, From photojournalistic pieces to snapshots of Lil' Wayne to fashion pics straight from the catwalk, the coffee-table book leaves no vices unexposed. It also includes several interviews with Vice's foremost photographers. "The Vice Photo Book" will hit select stores (including American Apparel and amazon.com) in early December, just in time for you to buy that special gift for that perturbed, curious person in your life. ELIE ZWIEBEL U H VAT T.P.ORCHESTRE POLY-RTHMO:'THE KINGS OF BENIN URBAN GROOVE' (1972-80) More than simply an album By GABRIEL BAKER Daily Arts Writer This isn't so much an album review as it is an unknown his- tory of one of the most prolific big Y bands on the African continent. 2 On the coast of western Afri- ca, obscured by two Anglophone countries with rich musical heri- tages and considerable financial support, lies the tiny republic of Benin. Amid a series of coup d'Etats and regime changes in the 1960s and '70s, only one thing ing high-hat. The overall sound seemed to remain intact and ret- is so rich and nuanced it makes ognizable during the decade - the Graceland sound like nothing but Tout Puissant absurdly prolific Paul Simon and a two-string gui- Orchestre Poly-Rhthmo band. tar. The song is essential road trip This album, distributed by music for driving along the Afri- the international soul-funk gods can coast - or, you know, any- of Soundway records, compiles where. a baker's dozen of beautifully With due respect to Paul Simon restored Poly-Rhthmo tracks, and the magnificent Okyerema showcasing the band's outrageous Asante, Poly-Rhthmo's own kit- dexterity. The better word here master, Yehouessi Leopold, is is expertise. When Poly-Rhthmo unparalleled as the band's rhyth- switches from Beninese folk to mic backbone. His beats are a hard Afrobeat or from highlife to cohesive force, instantly crossing salsa rhythms, it does it with com- over from jazz to straight funk at manding precision - a precision his command. it has cultivated after more than In its heydayinthe late'70s,the 40 years of playing together with band was composed of 16 musi- a staggering 50-LP history that cians, including three guitarists has contributed to their demi- god status in Benin. In addition 'Kokoriko' is an to their proper records, the band was known to play backup on the majority of releases coming out of essential road the country in the '70s and '80s. But despite this illustrious career - one that, amazingly, continues to this day (we're talking 40-plus about anywhere. years here) - the band's material is practically non-existent in the United States. Thankfully, this and a rotating cast of vocalists. album changes all of that. Poly-Rhthmo's music capitalizes The first track, "Aihe Ni Kpe on these individual parts, produc- we," is an epic slice of pulsating ing a resonant, full-bodied sound Afrobeat that indulges in jazzy with no excess. interplay and a Cuban-style trum- There are dozens of Poly- pet. Latin influences reappear Rhthmo LPs in Cotonou record several times on the album, most shops that will never make it notably on "Gendamou Na Wili to the United States, whether We Gnannin," where salsa mixes because of poor sound quality or with Congolese soukous. The simple inaccessibility. word "soukous" is said to derive It takes individual collectors from the French verb to shake - a and independent labels to scourge perfect descriptor for the group's for these lost tapes. It takes a fusion of traditional African pop genuine will to want to share this with Caribbean rumba. music with the world. The highlight of the album To the people of Benin, these is a deceptive little pop number records were, and still are, daily that conceals technical complex- pleasures. But the music and the ity and mastery under buoyant band transcend the quotidian. guitar and keyboard progres- Poly-Rhthmo is a testament to the sions. "Kokoriko" begins trium- suffocation and ultimate resil- phantly with surging trumpet ience of the Beninese people. It's a and step-stone xylophone before testament to their versatility and giving way to a flurry of congas, adaptability. It's also an incred- a jangling guitar and precipitat- ible album. 4 4 I WEEK IN REVIEW " OPRAH backs Obama. STREI- SAND backs Clinton. But Edwards is a ho-ttie.@" FEDERLINE named unlikely candidate for Dad of the Year by Details magazine. But Britney gets the kids for Christmaslll " SEAN TAYLOR shot and killed in his Miami home, despite reportedly defend- ing himself with a machete. " Marie Claire cover reveals a half-naked CHRISTINA AGUILERA with pregnant belly exposed. It's very ... bronze. , LOHAN getting drunk post- rehab is not news. But what is news? We don't know anymore. Brange- lina? That's hot. 40 6 Student Storag 0 n 's' m otvvnr appr'ed by U I 1 1Adminita All orders include pick up and delivery! Free delivery campus-wide for boxes & tape. John's Pack & Ship 0 0 I '