The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Wednesday, October 15, 2008 -5A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, October15, 2008 -5A

Not ready for
the furnace

Robots! Cars! Robot Cars!

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ophomore year, I attached to "Blueberry Boat"
received the dreaded call or "South is Only a Home." And
from home after a foot- screw it: ISeven liked Rehears-
me in the fall. Shadow, ingMy Choir. Any band that
sty black Labrador com- wants to put their grandmother
that saw me through on an album - and actually pull
ole it off - has done something
hild- right in my book, even if what
had really made the Furnaces audi-
ut to tory shape shifters - Eleanor's
arlier "s quick wit and unbelievable sto-
y. It rytelling ability - was thrown
e sort into the backseat and replaced
ring M[]AT by a shrieking grandma.
new EMERY And really, I love the
ritually brother/sister duo. They were
. But that sort of prepa- the ones that even made that
and thinking still doesn't thing the University calls "The
t any easier. He was 14 Michigan Difference" matter. I
rist's sake, and saw more had no idea what Michigan was
memories than most about, but when I heard tracks
loggies ever see. Some like "Blueberry Boat," Eleanor
avorite times in life are quipping, "You see, I'm from
ed to the red-collared Grand Rapids and up my way /
and I wouldn't trade They grow the best blueberries
or any signed copy of in the U. S. of A.," it was impos-
est of rare first-pressed sible not to love the guys. And
f Who Will Cut Our Hair "Benton Harbor Blues" actually
We're Gone?. It was time made me consider a road trip to
dow to go, and that's the city, just out of sheer love
mething I'd have to deal for the track (despite the some-
what depressing title).
as much as it hurt me to But it was over. The Fur-
vas ready to do the same naces suffered from a prob-
e Fiery Furnaces. It lem that strikes a lot of great
seem like a loose connec- bands: Their sound was so
ut really it's not - espe- original and so spastic, that the
onsidering the Furnaces only way they could progress
obably write a bubbly would be to build upon Elea-
bout putting their own nor's ridiculously engrossing
sleep any day now. stories and Matthew's tightly
h the release of 2007's scatterbrained instrumental
City, I knew it was time arrangements. But they'd worn
Eleanor and Matthew out their welcome. Even their
erger's project out to the alienating, bombastic, flutter-
and pasture in the sky. ing kitsch was wearing off.
ounded so far removed It was time to put them
leanor's growling quips down.
Coke and Pepsi and And then, the grizzled black
wordplay about snaggle- Lab soared off the porch and
and the careening guitar fetched a tennis ball with all
ches that enveloped the gusto of a frolicking tank-
ike "Straight Street." of-a-puppy once again. The
ew's pitter-patter of Furnaces released their live
album, Remember.
Remember isn't a life-
ry Furnaces changing, genre-bending,
marathon orgasm that the
back. If only Furnaces might be capable of.
But it does show the Friedberg-
dog Shadow ers ina charming new light.
They're still their blaring,
were, too. chaotic selves. But the album,
more than anything else, shows
the band in their element. The
damn album dips its hand into
lazes from tracks like the pot of all their previous
arfield El" vanished ina albums, and reworks songs so
f grinding guitar. Even much that at times, it's impos-
aker tracks off Bitter Tea sible to decipher exactly what
crushed the isolated, song they're headed toward.
tch tracks from Widow "Blueberry Boat" kind of
leanor, who'd never sounds like "Blueberry Boat,"
d deflated before, was but only occasionally during
ent. the live track. Hell, Eleanor
Furnaces never treaded even flubs up some lines.
on any musical terrain, But their passion and energy
ey actually fit the billing is what makes Remember the
t-garde, though they'd band's saving grace. Tracks
ly just shrug it off. like "Chris Michaels" and
rw wrote tracks on the "1917" explode with the electric
ay shit that should never vitality that seemed to have
th a damn, and Eleanor disappeared years ago. Even
d them her own - tracks Widow tracks "Philadelphia
ish football clubs, ' Grand Jury" and "Clear Signal
an geography, ciga- from Cairo" pop with Eleanor's
Hell, their second album vocals blending against Mat-
olossal concept effort, thew's glistening keyboard
till stands as one of the flourishes. It's the kind of thing
om the new millennium. that saves a band from extinc-
exy, indie. tion and reveals a newfound
Furnaces's dynamic energy.
was what always made And all of the sudden it
he band they were. But didn't matter anymore that
same time, it pigeon- their sound might have been

hem, and pretty much getting old. Sure, it's still
t them up to disappoint prickly and static, pissing off
rs in the future. They more people than making new
all into the traps like fans. But more than anything
of did, releasing two else, their creativity was back.
bums, then collapsing No longer were they stale. And
drowsy and monotonous in the words of Eleanor Fried-
pieces and Paul Banks's berger: "My dog was lost but
evably incomprehensible now he's found." And thank
s, but they still had their God for that.

KITT gets an upgrade

Revamped "Knight Rider"
revives Hasselhoff franchise
By DAVE REAP
Daily Arts Writer
If a show's quality could be determined by the
first seven minutes of its pilot
episode, then NBC's "Knight
Rider" would stink. Jam-
packed with cheap ploys like
a car's interior rising to such Knight Rider
a dangerously high tempera- Wednesdays,
ture that the hot girl must 8 p.m.
take offher clothes to survive, NBC
"Rider" 's opening sequence
probably caused most self-
respecting television watchers to quickly change
the channel. Surprisingly, though, "Rider" is
deep - it boasts a complex main character and
dares to break from its parent series - and that's
something that takes more than seven minutes to
realize.
On the most basic level, "Knight Rider" is
about special agent Mike Traceur (Justin Bru-
ening, "All My Children") and his car, an artifi-

cially intelligent Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR
nicknamed KITT (short for Knight Industries
Three Thousand). Together, man and machine
pursue international terrorists and are employed
by Knight Industries, a secret organization that's
also dedicated to this goal. In this way, the cur-
rent "Rider" mirrors its predecessor - which
ran from 1982 until 1986 and starred David Has-
selhoff, partnered with his own KITT, atalking
Pontiac Trans Am.
It's clear the new "Rider" only needs to present
itself as an updated version of a show that had a
long, prosperous run and loyal fan base - which
was evident in the large audience the made-for-
TV movie (which had the same cast) attracted
last winter - to have some success. Yet, admira-
bly, the new series takes steps to forge an identity
of its own - somethingthatwill probably pay off
in the long run.
The most compelling element of our genera-
tion's "Rider" is its central protagonist, Traceur,
who's haunted by his experience fighting in the
Iraq War. Like other heroes in contemporary
action dramas (such as "Jericho"), Traceur's life
at home continues to be damaged by unspeak-
able things he did in Iraq. But his situation is a bit
more complicated than the others: His memories

have been mysteriously erased, and for reasons
unbeknownst to him, people he served with in
Iraq are now trying to kill him. Adding to all the
confusion is the revelation at the end of the pilot,
which suggested that one of Tracuer's superiors
at Knight Industries was behind the wiping of his
memories.
By going with this storyline, "Rider" evolves
from a show about some dude and his cool car to
a suspenseful drama about a mantrying to recap-
ture his life from those who he thought were his
friends. No disrespect to the original series, but it
now takes more than a talking carto make a last-
ing impact on audiences, and the complexity of
the Traceur character helps achieve this goal.
This doesn't mean "Rider" is radically different
from the original series, as it dutifully continues
the franchise's trademark use of KITT as both a
supporting character and the focus of more eye-
popping action scenes. This frequently occurs in
the pilot as KITT shoots at enemies with lasers,
transforms into a truck and even bandages up a
man's bleeding hand. (Don't ask) The pointis, the
car can do justaboutanything.Onethingremains,
though: In this version of "Rider," Traceur is the
main attraction and everyone, and everything,
else - including KITT - takes a back seat.

Knighticy lacks
the royal charm

Fie
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By ANNIE LEVENE
Daily Arts Writer
Another year, another Keira
Knightley period piece. It's unclear
what the girl
has against blue *
jeans, but she
should probably The Duchess
talk to some-
one because it's At the Michigan,
becoming a seri- Quality16 and
ous problem. Showcase
Not in the sense Paramount Vantage
that she doesn't
look good in bil-
lowing ball gowns and tight corsets;
it's more that Knightley's fetish for
all things ornate has led to some
bad decisions when choosing movie
roles. "The Duchess" is one such
poor choice.
"The Duchess" is one of those
"real" tales of the scandalous lives
of the 18th century elite. Keep in
mind scandalous was a relative
term back then. Sure, living with
your wife and mistress under one
roof must have been pretty shock-
ing. But in those days, so was the
idea of letting women vote.'
The film chronicles the marriage
and subsequent tumultuous union
between Georgiana Cavendish,
Duchess of Devonshire (Knight-

ley) and William Caveedish, Duke
of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes,
"Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix"). The problem, as it
always seems to be with those Brit-
ish aristocrats portrayed on film, is
Georgiana's inability to produce a
male heir. The rest of the film is a
compilation of high and unattract-
ive hair-dos, cheating husbands and
shirtless shots of Dominic Cooper.
Not unlike the young celebrities
of today's Hollywood, Georgiana
was the subject of both praise and
gossip: Praise for setting fashion
trends and hosting parties; gossip
for stepping out on the Duke for hot
(and illegitimate child-creating)
sex with future Prime Minster -
and inspiration for Earl Grey tea
- Charles Grey (Cooper, "Mamma
Mia!").Knightley doesjust fine with
that socialite side of her character
- she can pull off the costumes and
the proper behavior. It's the other
aspect of Georgiana, the matri-
arch side, which just doesn't seem
believable coming from an actress
like Knightley. While the film is
ultimately a tragic tale, Knight-
ley doesn't ever really portray any
sort of emotion other than that of
a moody teenager, complete with
awful posture at the dinner table.
She also lacks any sort of credibil-

Keira Knightley goes to the Kentucky Derby.

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portraying a mother of four. attempts to communicate are a
he's a child herself. She just perfect portrayal of a man who
ke she's babysitting. can't be bothered with the triviali-
htley's immaturity is ampli- ties of a marriage. He just wants a
sen contrasted with the two son and some time alone. Rampling
Fiennes's Cavendish and ("Babylon A.D."), in turn, does
what Knightley can't. She creates
a character who is sympathetic to
'he queen of the tribulations of being a woman
in that time period, but who also
uds returns. knows there is little that can be
done.
It's unclear when Knightley
was crowned the "it girl" of period
tte Rampling, as Lady Spen- pieces, but there should probably
orgina's mom, are the film's be a recount of the votes. "The
graces. For playing such Duchess" does have gorgeous,
ikeable guy - his pastimes extravagant sets and costumes,
finding mistresses and but Knightley's scowling face over-
ig his children - Fiennes's shadows it all. Not unlike Georgi-
s actually quite funny. His ana and the Duke, Knightley and
n responses to his wife's "The Duchess" is just a bad match.

ARTS IN BRIEF
Dance Preview
Maalem blurs cultural lines
with new adaption of 'Rite'
"Rite of Spring"
Tonight, B p.m.
At the Power Center
$16- $38
Algeria is a country of contradictions, one
where lush forests line the Mediterranean
coastline while the harsh, expansive desert in
the south lies uninhabited. The country's vast
beauty and tranquility contrasts its violent past
and present.
Instead of ignoring his country's political sit-
uations, Heddy Maalem, the artistic director of
Compagnie Heddy Maalem, uses his French and
Algerian descent as an inspiration for his art.

"Perhaps to be an artist was the only solu-
tion to survive the conflict inside of me and to
express it in a positive way," Maalem said.
Maalem's dance group will be presenting
"The Rite of Spring," an hour-long piece that's
set to the score of the same title by Stravinsky.
Prior to Maalem's version, countless interpreta-
tions - in styles such as ballet and hip hop -
have been based on the story of an ancient Pagan
ritual in which a virgin is sacrificed.
Maalem's "Rite of Spring" builds upon the
idea of primitivism and sacrifice while incorpo-
ratingtoday's world issues. While spending time
in Lagos, Nigeria, Maalem was inspired by the
city's hustle and bustle. The New York Times
describes the work as "a fleeting glimpse of a
primal force," which reflects Maalem's descrip-
tion of the city as "a mix between disaster and
hope."
Maalem works with a variety of different
dancers for each of his works. He chose 14 danc-
ers from the western parts of Africa for "The

Rite of Spring" because they have experienced
similar political and social struggles in their
own countries, such as Mali, Senegal and Benin.
Documentary director Benoit Dervaux and
music composer Benoit De Clerck are both
friends of Maalem who worked closely with him
to present an innovative take on "The Rite of
Spring" 's original score and dance. Maalem's
take on the "The Rite of Spring" differs from
past interpretations because it's atestamentto
modernity that demonstrates shared cultural
experiences.
TRINA MANNINO
ARTS & EATS
Compagnie Heddy Maalem will perform atthe Power
Center on Wednesday at 8p.m.t's accompanied by the
Arts &Eats package. By purchasing an Arts & Eatsticket,
stodentscao buy ticket for$t 5ersesa$35 forregualy
priced ticket, eat piztoatth e Aluw i Center, andattend a
btief talk prior to theshow.

ountains to climb to stay
just like any great dog,
a lot of my memories

Emery needs directions to
Benton Harbor. E-mail him at
emery@michigandaily.com.
A