The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, March 28, 2008 - 5
New 'rap-rock'group
avoids genre's stigma
Awkward
youth
Teen indie-punk group returns with a
mature and coherent second album
By SASHA RESENDE
DailyArts Writer
By BRIAN HAAGSMAN
DailyArts Writer
The combination of rap and rock can
be dangerous. Turn-of-the-millennium
bands like Limp Bizkit and Crazy Town
are the warning label,
displayingthe sheer mag- Why?
nitude of musical dev- "
astation that can occur Friday at
when the two elements 8 p.m.
are put in the wrong At Pierpont
hands. Fortunately, Oak- Commons
land Bay Area quartet $8forstudents
Why? knows how to
manage this mixture. The band will bring
its mixture of harsh percussion, peculiar
sampfes, resonating piano and acoustic
instruientation beneath the bitter croon-
ing and staccato flow of vocalist Yoni Wolf
to Pierpont Commons this Friday.
Why? started as an outlet for Yoni
Wolf's solo self-recordings. Growing up
in Ohio, Yoni found a four-track recorder
in his father's synagogue. The four-track
demanded that Wolf add more and more
layers of samples while singing and rap-
ping in a nasalvoice. The rest is history. (In
a interview with Wolf, he only confirmed
that he got his start with a four-track
from the synagogue where his father was
a rabbi and described these initial efforts
as "layer-by-layer" recording, but after lis-
tening to the products of this early experi-
mentation, the embellishments seem
plausible enough.)
This early approach of sound collage
and raw vocals led to a split EP and even-
tually to Wolf's 2003 full-length debut as
Why?, Oaklandazulasylum, on the then-
fresh Oakland-based hip-hop label An-
ticon. Some time after the release of
Oaklandazulasylum, Why? expanded from
Wolf's solo experiments with layering to
a full band's experiments with layering.
2005 saw the results of this in the form of
the Sanddollars EP and the second full-
length Elephant Eyelash, which received
widespread praise from critics and fans
alike. Elephant Eyelash showed the band's
increased input of enthralling moments,
like the multiple climaxes of "Waterfalls"
- piano notes from separate airy melodies
reverberate and tie into each other before
quickly fading. They are supported by the
rhythmic clanks of drumsticks on jars, the
friction'of paper on paper and the deep
thuds of drums behind cutting-but-senti-
mental chants of "Your face never forgets
a cry / Like trace remnants of acid in your
spine." Other standout tracks like "Yo Yo
Bye Bye" play with more electronic sound-
scapes and beats to create a soft landing
for Wolf's delivery of lines like "I'm fuck-
ing cold like a DQ Blizzard."
But on Why?'s weeks-old third LP Alo-
pecia, the band achieves this same success
in a slightly different way. The album fea-
tures the band acting surprisingly more
like a group. Wolf points to change in the
recording style as the reason. "Elephant
Eyelash we did as a band, but in a home
recording setting, so one track at a time,
in a very, sort of, meticulous layer-by-layer
sort of fashion," he said.
But Alopecia moved away from the style
They rap. They rock.
But that doesn't
mean they're like
Limp Bizkit.
he had worked with since the beginning.
"Alopecia we recorded pretty much live
as a band in the studio. This is our first
time recording in a studio with Why?"
said Wolf "It made everything sort of a lot
more immediate. I think it gives it its own
probably more organic quality."
Alopecia maintains the samples and
Why?'s knack for swelling piano and per-
cussion throughoutc- most impressively on
the catchy, slow jam "Simeon's Dilemma"
- but with more guitars and simple bass
lines. Songs like "Fatalist Palmistry" and
"Brook & Waxing" sound strangely like
indie-rock. Without sacrificing energy or
surprises, Alopecia shows that the current
sound of Why? is thanks to four guys play-
ing instruments, not fiddling with knobs.
It's an exciting template to apply Why?'s
sound to, and one that should be able to
thrive in front of a live audience.
hen the adoles-
cent-powered
punk group Be
Your Own Pet hit the scene
in 2006 with their self-titled
debut, I lamented that the
group came four years too late.
My inner fourteen-year-old
self loved the album - a mix
of playground taunting, teen-
age aggression and unadulter-
ated street
speed. Com-
plete with
the under- .Y
age, stage-
minded Own Pet
lead singerG
JeminaPearl GetAwkward
Abegg - Ecstatic Peace
who quickly
garnered
comparisons to the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs's renowned frontwom-
an Karen 0 - the Nashville-
based group created a fan base
of punk devotees who missed
the genre's uncensored bel-
ligerence but preferred to
skip out on the movement's
more violent connotations.
Comprised almost entirely of
high schoolers, the band filled
this niche and received atten-
tion for its youth and undeni-
able talent. On its sophomore
attempt, Get Awkward, Be
Your Own Pet tones down its
previously unchecked aggres-
sion without compromising
the haughty attitude that put
the group on the radar. ,
Naturally, making music
dictated by punk's "fuck
everything" ethos is going to
raise some eyebrows. As such,
it's hardly a surprise that cer-
tain songs on Get Awkward's
U.S. release through Ecstatic
Peace were cut by Universal
Records, the label's distribu-
tor. Universal claimed that
three songs on the album were
"too violent" for U.S. listen-
ers - a bold claim from a label
that, has released albums by
Hatebreed and Marilyn Man- "
son. The label couldn't com-
promise its commitment to
"family-friendly" media by
fully supporting a band that
is fronted by a precocious,
blonde-haired20-year-oldgal,
who is notorious for her wild C.
stage persona and for scream- ti
ing on her newest record that w
she "wants you so bad inside e
it hurts!" The band's interna- s
tional label, XL Recordings, li
found nothing objectionable si
on the record and released it gl
on March 18 with the three /
banned tracks:"Becky,""Black n
Hole" and "Blow Yr Mind." is
The most noticeable differ- m
ence between Get Awkward rE
and the group's debut is the ft
gradual elimination of min- a:
ute-long filler tracks of pure k
punk mayhem - which com-
prised the bulk of the Be Your is
Own Pet LP - in favor of finely is
tuned songs with a more pop P
sensibility. This is apparent on w
"Creepy Crawll" where Abegg o
becomes a hybrid between a w
laid-back Karen 0 and a quirky d
Peaches as she narrates the oft- m
told story of agirl who feelslost si
within her failed relationship. g
Thisprogressiostowards more 1
listener-friendly jams is con- /
an you identify the indie kid who stole your Chucks?
nued with "You're A Waste,"
'hich vaguely sounds like an
arly No Doubt track. Also, the
ong is incredibly relatable for
steners, as Abegg muses pas-
ve-aggressively "Now I'm
lad you've got a broken heart
'Cause I've been trying to fix
iine from the start." The song
the record's closest approxi-
iation to a love ballad, as the
est of the album breaks away
or fast-paced proto-punk
nthems about food fights and
illin' bitches.
"Super Soaked" is a solid
ntegration of the two prevail-
ng aspects of Be Your Own
et's musical formula. As
'ith the ass-kicking album
pener, the cut is a havoc-
'recking anthem to teenage
ebauchery and drug-fueled
iayhem. Quick paced guitar
trings highlight Abegg's sexy
rowl, as she announces "Just
9 when I lost all my dignity!
Today's my birthday, now
I'm 20! / Don't wanna have
responsibility! / Don't wanna
be a part of society!" Despite
this borderline nihilistic out-
look, the track is fairly acces-
sible and quickly propels the
listener into Be Your Own
Pet's world of wild partying,
fast three-cAord progressions
and pure adrenaline.
The band channels its not-
too-distant past with its bare-
boned punk cuts ("Bummer
Time" and "Food Fight!"),
which are based largely on the
band's repeated chanting and
simple guitar chords. While
these unembellished punk
tracks are what propelled the
band to early underground
fame, Be Your Own Pet
maturesbeyondsimple,anger-
fueled madness on their latest
release. With Get Awkward,
the band proves that it has the
ability to channel its quirky
punk foundations while con-
tinuing to mature as a group.
ARTS IN BRIEF
Television
Verdict on new sitcom: dark
depiction of real life
"Canterbury's Law"
Fridays at 9 p.m.
FOX
bodies percussively.
The program notes ascribe part of the choreogra-
phy to the companies themselves: "In collaboration
with the dancers." This seems a natural extension
of the facts of how the collaboration came about
- with patience and openness, over three years. "Les
6cailles" covers a lot of ground, thematically discuss-
ing memory, love and resistance - and aesthetically,
switching up the dancers, styles, costumes and lan-
guages often.
Both companies have ample critical acclaim under
20
T-7-7* . --...
Elizabeth Canterbury, heroine of Fox's new drama their belts. Both
"Canterbury's Law," isn't a prophet like Eli Stone, awards. It's Con
isn't immortal like John Amsterdam and doesn't have UBW's first app
superhuman strength like the Bionic Woman. But colaboration sho
that's OE, because Canterbury totally kicks ass at her
job - and the result is quality television without all
the fantasy fluff. Performance Preview
Canterbury (Julianna Margulies, "The Sopra- Shaw's
nos") is a hardoosed attorney who defends the most Sh w
vile, reprehensible clients - and usually wins. But
although she dominates in the courtroom, her tragic W algreen
personal life constantly takes a toll on her. A failing
marriage and a missing child are just some of the "You Never Can
issues that Canterbury has to deal with, as well as At the Walgreen
maintaining her reputation as the city's most feared Thursday, April 3
public defender. Friday, March 28
"Canterbury's Law" is a dark and cold depiction of Saturday, March
a world where people exist only to use one another Sunday, March 31
for information, comfort or sexual gratification. The $9 for students, $
characters are dynamic, which is to be expected from
have received the notable "Bessie"
mpagnie Jant-Bi's debut here and
pearance since 1994. The unlikely
uld be a fruitful one.
ABIGAIL B. COLODNER
ama comes to life at
Drama Center
Tell"
Drama Center
at 7:30 p.m.
& April 4 at 8 p.m.
29 & April 5 at 8 p.m.
0 & April 6at 2 p.m.
24 general admission
executive producer Denis Leary, whose
production, "Rescue Me," is known for i
personalities.
Forget superpowers - "Canterb
demands attention because of its realist
struggling to master their professional
lives.
Performance Preview
When two worlds colli
African-influenced dan
Les tcailles de la Memoire (The Scales
Urban Bush Women and Compagnie Ja
At the Power Center for the Performing
Friday, March 28, 8 p.m.
Sat., March 29, 8 p.m.
$10- $40
At the Conference of Contemporary
in 2004 two choreographers met and t
faith. Despite the fact their respective
panies spoke different languages (one
Wolof), worked in far-flung cities (one
one near Dakar) and functioned un
dance aesthetics (one is all-female, one
they had work to do together.
The midpoints they found are in athle
styles that grew organically from African
tions and a concern for the concept beh
ing. UMS's program and supplementar
that the Urban Bush Women's idea-driv
cuss the enfranchisement of women an
Diaspora. They're no shrinking violets
ers are athletic and forthright, using the
other current This year, the Theatre and Drama department has
ts memorable chosen one of George Bernard Shaw's lesser-known
plays, "You Never Can Tell," for its annual spring
bury's Law" play. The show will run tonight through April 6 at the
tic characters (Arthur Miller Theatre) Walgreen Drama Center on
and personal North Campus.
The play revolves around a mother and her three
DAVE REAP children who have just returned to England after an
la-year exile in Madeira.
Upon their arrival, the Clandon family meets the
rigid social hierarchy of 20th century England with a
le in shock. Suddenly, the absence of the children's father
becomes more visibfe to society, and their mother
ice - who ended her marriage after leaving England
- is hesitant to share with her children their father's
of Memory) identity. It's their visit to the dentist that alters their
nt-Bi fate when, by coincidence, they meet their father.
Arts What ensues is a humorous and witty dialogue as
familial relationships are recreated.
This play isn't just fun and games, though. Shaw's
social commentary reveals itself with themes of child
rearing, courtship and families.
Art in Florida "Shaw never wrote anything without social reper-
ook a leap of cussions," said guest director, Priscilla Lindsay, the
dance com- associate artistic director at the Indiana Repertory
English, one Theatre. "The language of this play and ideas they
in Brooklyn, talk about is what is important."
der different The 11 cast members, picked from the 85 who audi-
e is all-male), tioned, began practicing in February with rehearsals
six days a week. The intimate space created at the
ticism, dance Arthur Miller Theatre lends flexibility to the actors
n dance tradi- to move about in what Lindsay calls a "transforma-
ind the dane- tive space."
y notes, state "Their ability to adjust to direction is remarkable
en pieces dis- for actors, and they doit with not only grace but with
d the African skill," Lindsay said. "They speak Shaw's words with
- the danc- great facility,"
Thurs day, ApriL 3, 2008
5- 8 p.m.
Move On 2008: 9fedinq atamni OcwaA am&vkc
Your Alumni Association will provide you with all the
information you'll need as you move on from Ann Arhor to
cities across America. And who doesn't Love a good road trip?
Did you know that there are more than 8,000 Michigan
alumni in Los Angeles? And more than 3,000 in Atlanta and
Denver? Use the power of the Michigan alumni network to
make your next move a snap!
-top by the Alumni Center anytime between 5 p.m. and 8
p.m. to get information and resources on elocating.
The first 300 students will receive a retro T-shirt, free food,
.ames and activities!
ur spot today at
umni.com/ students.
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
UNIVERSITY-OF MICHIGAN
eir voices and
PRIYA BALI