The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 - 5
TRUMAN IN 'THE HILLS'
Cat Power
returns with
stunning covers
fter watching "The Tru-
man Show" and "The
Shining" over the course
of last week, I can confidently say
"The Truman Show" is the scari-
est movie ever
made.
If you were
to tell me I
could choose
between nar-
rowly escap-
ing death at
the hands of MICHAEL
my insane, PASSMAN
non-existent
wife or finding
out my entire life is a big fucking
joke thanks to some d-bag named
Christof, I'd gladly accept a little
domestic violence and go about my
business with my fresh life insur-
ance check. I challenge you to dis-
agree.
And all I could think about while
watching Truman (Jim Carrey) try
to take a ferry to Fiji was that this
is currently happening to someone
who's well aware of it - well, at
least on some level. Truman Bur-
bank, meet Lauren Conrad.
Conrad - or L.C., if you're into
that kind of thing - has spent her
life on television since 2004 when
MTV started following her and her
cronies around for "Laguna Beach:
TheRealOrangeCounty."Aftertwo
years, Conrad moved to Los Angeles
and picked up her own show, "The
Hills," which chronicles her life as
a student/intern/pseudo-socialite.
Basically, MTV follows her around
with a camera, while allegedly feed-
ingherandherfriendstheoccasional
line and tweaking some "dramatic"
situations. In case you're not grasp-
ing the intricacies of MTV's prized
possession, here are the contents of
a general episode: overhead shot of
L.A.; Conrad gets yelled at by boss;
Conrad goes to club; Conrad gets
in fight with boy; overhead shot of
L.A.; credits.
(At this point, I should acknowl-
edge that I am not, nor have I ever
been, what one might term a regu-
lar viewer of "The Hills." I disclose
this not because I don't want to
associate myself with the show -
which I don't - but because I think
you should know these things. Any-
'I love taking pictures"
way, I'v
times,a
of the
people)
Yet,t
truly hi
enough
LooksI
You ca
title, b;
basicall
cam
of Conr
narrate
As some
to ever,
video, t
actually
ple year
compre
doyou
of your
cover lse
prospe
'e seen the show roughly 7.5 character reference? Do you mail it
and I'm familiar with most to Grandma instead of calling her
characters (read: Not real once in a while?
but that's about it.) Still, Conrad's "Greatest Hits
he absurdity of Conrad's life Vol. 1 (2004-07)" isn't even the
t me when I was fortunate most tragic and Truman-esque
to catch "The Hills: Lauren aspect of her recent existence. She
Back" a couple weeks ago. certainly isn't the first person to
n probably infer from the ever be trailed by a film crew for a
ut "Lauren Looks Back" is reality show, but Conrad's situation
y a two-hour highlight tape is unique because she essentially
started her life over again with a
film crew in tow, even though her
How does face had already been plastered all
over a TV network that the vast
ending lfe on majority of her peergroup watches,
i atleast occasionally.
sera change it. So, almost everyone who has
ever come into contact with Conrad
since "The Hills" debuted knows
ad's life starting in '04 that's they are either being filmed for TV,
d by the show's protagonist. or have the potential to be on TV if
eone who has been too afraid some sort of relationship develops.
watch his own bar mitzvah Regardless of individual intentions,
he idea that someone could it seems impossible for anyone to
y watch and narrate multi- have any kind of interaction with
rs of his or her life is beyond her that would be congruent to
hension for me. And what their relationship sans MTV. Plac-
evendo with ahighlighttape ing a camera in front of someone
life? Do you attach it to your changes him or her on some level,
tter in lieu of a resume? Do and even if Conrad is used to being
ctive landlords screen it as a taped, not everyone she encounters
is. This has to have some adverse
effects on her life. Plus, she lives in
L.A., a place where three out of five
people are trying to whore them-
selves out for some kind of enter-
tainment gig in the first place. She's
like a blind child living next to two
million sex offenders.
Conrad has to realize this. Any
semi-self-aware human in her situ-
ation would be able to grasp that
people are acting differently around
him or her - and she doesn't appear
to be a stupid person. Yet, her life is
one big show, which at least some
of her acquaintances have to be
exploiting for their own gain. She's
not Lauren Conrad the person, she's
L.C. the TV character at all times.
And that's how she will continue to
be approached until she eventually
moves on with her life, if that's even
possible.
But at least she'll have the forma-
tive years of her life on DVD when
she's older. I'm sure her kids will
love that.
Passman is secretly in love
with Conrad and disappointed
he isn't on her DVD. Console
him at mpass@umich.edu
By WHITNEY POW
DailyArts Writer
When you think of "New York,
New York," traditionally sung by
01' Blue Eyes, the first thing that
comes to mind
isn't something
"sexy." The song ****
instead brings
to mind Broad- Cat Power
way, kicking Jukebox
can-can dancers
and hoards of Matador
Hawaiian-shirt-
ed, binocular-necklaced tourists
running around frantically, hot
dog in one hand, small child in the
other.
But when the slow and sul-
try bass drum kicks up in Cat
Power's cover of the same song
on her most recent album, Juke-
box, short, stocky men in cultur-
ally mismatched wardrobes don't
appear. Instead, the lights dim and
'20s-era "Great Gatsby" women
materialize as Chan Marshall, the
singular genius behind Cat Power,
croons as if on her fifth pack of
cigarettes that day, "I want to be a
part of it / New York, New York."
Her breathy, saturated voice reeks
of a woman's languor on a long
couch with cocktail glass in hand.
It's too sexy.
Jukebox is Cat Power's second
coversrecord,thefirstbeing2000's
aptly named The Covers Record,
which held offerings such as a
single-guitar-and-voice version of
The Rolling Stones's "(I Can't Get
No) Satisfaction." What's different
about Jukebox is that, beginning
with Marshall's astounding The
Greatest, her songs became incred-
ibly lush with orchestration and
fuller production qualitynolonger
adhering to the "single eccentric
woman and guitar" formula. Now
it's the "single eccentric woman
and whole fucking jazz band."
Jukebox consists ofnew, surpris-
ing (and perhaps eyebrow-raising)
renditions of songs by well-known
artists including Janis Joplin,
Hank Williams, Joni Mitchell, Bil-
lie Holiday, Bob Dylan and even
CatPower herself (the record has a
new version of "Metal Heart" from
her 1998 album MoonPix).
However, saying the songs are
new renditions of older songs is
an understatement: The songs are
altered completely to suit Cat Pow-
er'ssmokystyle. In facteverything
but the lyrics are almostcompletely
different. Yes, these songs are the
same ones you listened to on your
record player with your parents,
but intrinsically, they are not.
Chan Marshall just seems to
have a penchant for making clas-
sic songs her own. "New York,
New York" is injected with a
lethal dose of sexy. Hank Wil-
liam's twangy, country-laden
"Ramblin' Man" is turned into a
suitable song for a smoky jazz bar
in hipster New Orleans. And Joni
Mitchell's piano ballad "Blue" is
redone with touches of moog and
synthesizer, Marshall's hoarse
voice pulling off moans of "Blue,
songs are like tattoos" in homage
to Mitchell, but she incorporates
throaty vocals the original didn't
contain.
Jukebox contains a sultry and
compelling sound that's hard
to create and keep in a covers
record, as the nature of covers
records is copycatting. It's easy
for the listener to jump to track
two, put down the earphones
and say, "I've heard this before."
Instead, Marshall takes her chops
and smoky voice and wields her
songwriting abilities in ways that
re-tune the classic songs, allow-
ing listeners to find new nuances
and new feelings in the old sin-
gles. Her efforts will surely cause
nay-sayers to sit back, rub their
chins thoughtfully and discard
snarky comments two minutes in,
leaving earphones in place while
enjoying a damn fine record.
With Feist and The Books, ads take aim at new audience
By CHRIS GAERIG
Daily Music Editor
In 2002, one of the most decorat-
ed and acclaimed groups became
synonymous with a car company
of the same stature. Long thought
to be an immovable and unreach-
able piece of music, Led Zeppelin's
"Rock and Roll" became the first
track in the group's catalog to be
used in a television commercial.
And fittingly, the song appeared
alongside a new, high-class Cadil-
lac line with the advertising tagline
"Breakthrough."
Seemingly the beginning of a
new wave of advertising, one where
nothing was off limits, where
groups like Led Zeppelin would
play alongside Budweiser bottles
and Applebee's ribs, the commer-
cial actually signified something
much more interesting: A shifting
age group and responsive, aware
advertisers.
As the Baby Boomer generation
aged and became the target audi-
ence for high-end cars, Cadillac
had to shift their advertising cam-
paign to accommodate and intrigue
a generation that had grown up
with the rock legends. The CEOs of
2002 were in their 40s and 50s and
had no use for the often dry and
irrelevant advertising campaigns
of Cadillac's past. So in the face
of an increasingly down-to-earth
buyer, the American car company
responded.
But this campaign wouldn't
last long. Recently, Cadillac has
diverged from the Baby Boomer
market. Their latest set of com-
mercials appeal to ayounger crowd
by using the explosive, yet mostly
unknown "Stars," off of Hum's epic
You'd Prefer an Astronaut. Possibly
noticing the average age of their
patrons slipping lower, the com-
pany smartly picked a more aggres-
sive and youth-friendly theme
song. The driving percussion and
aggressively distorted guitars are
the perfect backdrop for Cadillac's
ARTS IN BRIEF
'Superbad' even
better on DVD
FILM: ****
EXTRAS: ***
"Superbad" DVD
Sony Pictures Entertainment
high-po
ative o
buying:
But C
panytal
Apple
leaning
compan
Wit
con
bombar
Feist, a:
childish
years a;
cial eve
wered machines and indic- M.I.A.'s grimy "Galang" in their
f the younger generation animated commercial.
their vehicles. Chicago's Wilco sold the rights
-adillac isn't the only com- to six songs from their latest album
kingthisyouthful approach. Sky Blue Sky to Volkswagon for a
- a rather Generation-Y- mass of commercials, while Hum-
and progressive-thinking mer and the KnowHIVAIDS cam-
:y in its own right - has paign have both used songs by
spastic samplers The Books. All of
these stand as testaments to the
th new buyers buying power and importance of
today's youth, as well as the intel-
aes new music ligence of these advertising firms.
But arguably the most intrigu-
ing aspect of all of these artists is
their status in the musical world.
ded the airwaves with Each one of these groups (except
n indie-rock staple, and her Led Zeppelin) is commonly consid-
sly delightful "1234." A few ered to be in the indie realm, out-
go, a Honda Civic commer- side of the mainstream. It seems as
n used Sri Lankan princess though the mainstream media has
finally caught onto what critics and
die-hard fans have thought to be a
superior brand of music - a trend
that began most notably with the
"Garden State" soundtrack and the
media frenzy that followed.
Now, where before it seemed
impossible, there appears to be a
common ground between these big
name marketers and the hipsters
walking around with tight jeans
and too many pins on their shoul-
der bags. What that means to music
industry behemoths likes Clear
Channel Radio and MTV are yet to
be seen, but the outlook is promis-
ing. Less Britney Spears and more
Feist. Less of Moby and more of
The Books. Who knows?
All I know for sure is that I really
want a Cadillac.
INVITES YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING!
personality while the litany of voice-
mails Hill leaves on Cera's phone
("Michael'sVoicemails fromJonah")
are strangely hilarious. A short skit
of "The Vag-tastic Voyage" is truly
jarring, but the film's good-natured
qualities return when Hill is forced
to interact with snakes, spiders and
frogs on "Snakes on Jonah."
Whether or not you appreciate
Rarely do we encounter a film the often despicabl(
that describes the lives of adoles- "Superbad" is wortl
cent males as accurately as "Super- in laughs, which, as
bad." It's vile, disgusting and know, don't weigh mu
sex-driven, but then again, so are CH
adolescent males. It fits.
A movie suited more appropri-S h
ately for DVD players - inside jokes SomehoW, p
tossed around over a beer or during tickets ente
late-night, laptop study breaks -
than embarrassingly public movie **
theaters, "Superbad" is unquestion-
ably more enjoyable when seen in "Parking Wars"
an intimate setting. Watching it in Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
your living room makes the palpa- A&E
bly awkward situations that Evan
(Michael Cera, TV's "Arrested Double-parked, d
Development") and Seth (Jonah whatcha gonna do? W
Hill, "Knocked Up") encounter do when you haven
throughout the movie even more you?
realistic. "Parking Wars,"
And while the film itself is the tongue-in-cheek re
real gem, the special features are centers on the Phila
similarly priceless. The hilarious ing Authority and h
"Everyone Hates Michael Cera" is ers, as disgruntled c
a skit mocking Cera's overly genial "ticket first, ask qu
e characters,
Ih its weight
you probably
ch.
RIS GAERIG
arking
rtain
ouble-parked,
Vhatcha gonna
no change on
A&E's new
ality show,
delphia Park-
now its work-
itizens put it,
estions later."
Just hope she doesn't come to Ann Arbor.
And somehow, it delivers. The emo-
tional rants of aggravated ticket
recipients, coupled with an ironic
soundtrack, make for entertaining
TV. Watching a woman cry over her
towed car while the song "You Don't
Know What You Got 'Til You Lose
It" plays is a magical experience, as
is one man's critical analysis of the
parkingauthority.ApparentlyPhilly
parking cops have a lot in common
with Hitler's Gestapo.
The charming personalities, the
hail of insults and the rapping- yes,
there's a rapping parking cop - all
elicit sympathy for the PPA employ-
ees, who spend their days surround-
ed by a constant, negative backlash.
"Parking Wars" might not be
enough to make you feel better
about waiting an hour to claim your
car from some barb-wired car jail,
but there's something pleasurable
about laughing at exasperated peo-
ple and "meter maids."
JOHN DAAVETTILA
CLOVERFIELD is coming to Ann Arbor for a special college screening!
If you want a pass good for 2 people, come to the Student Publications
Building at 420 Maynard. Hurry...these will probably be gone fast!
No purchase necessary. While supplies last Employees of Michigar Daily and Promotional partners are not eligible to mn.
OPENS IN T HEATERS JANUARY 18!