2B - Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
U
THE STONE ROSES'THE STONE
ROSES' (1989)
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The Daily Arts guide to
upcoming events in Ann Arbor
and the surrounding area.
Today 11.06.08
Yoga with Yoga Therapist and Healer
Ma Maneesha
10 a.m.
At FreeSpace, 343 S. Fifth Aveue at William
Free
Dutch Artist Theo Jansen Discusses
"Kinetic Sculptures": Penny Stamps
Lecture
5 P.m.
At the Michigan Theater
Free
Toitorrow 11.07.08
"Mammals" Presented by U-M Base-
ment Arts
7 pm
At Walgreen Drama Center Studioe1
Free
"The Smoked Seafood Cookbook"
Author T.R. Durham Signing
7 p.m.
At the Ann Arbor District Library
Free
Saturday 11.08.08
"Geoffrey & Jeffrey" Theater Perfor-
mance
5p.m.
At the Performance Network (120 E. Huron)
$30, $20 with student ID
Kamikaze Theater by the Residential
College Players
3 p.m.
At the RC Auditorium East Quad
$5,$3with student ID
Emanuel Ax and Yefim Bronfman,
Pianists: Presnted by UMS
3 p.m.
At Hill Auditorium
$10-$56
Sunday 11.09.08
Idle Equipment and Furniture Sale
Noon
At the Ann Arbor District Library
Free
Contact Improv: Interactive Freeform
Dance Workshop
1p.m.
At The Mind Body Spirit Academe (1785 W. Stadium
Free
"How to Select New Roses"
2 p.m.
At UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Free
Please send all press releases and event
information to arts michigadaily.com.
.."~ °
,2,
Next Metallica album will be distributed
exclusively at Piggly-Wiggly.
10:1
Discouraged by not having a polling
place, International Nudists Alliance call
for "nude president" in 2012.
48:1
After losing election, John McCain falls
asleep until March, 2009.
800:1
Following the election, Joe the Plumber
gets his own video game: "Joe the
Plumber Brothers."
2,000:1
New Apatow film "Jonah Hill and Seth
Rogen Make a Gay Porno" does not fare
well at box-office.
5,550:1
Next Palin prank-phone call: Sarkozy
himself pretending to be the ghost of
Ronald Reagan.
9,000:1
Jon Stewart quits his show because
he'll have no one to make fun of when
Obama's term begins.
100,000:1
John McCain chosen as Jon Stewart's
successor on "The Daily Show."
1,000,000:1
By HARUN BULJINA
Daily Arts Writer
In the 1980s, Manchester must
have been a cold, gray place - a.
Thatcheritemetropolisthatbirthed
such cheery artists as Joy Division
and The Smiths. But by the second
half of the decade, things began
to change. Fueled by local talent,
electronic music and, most impor-
tantly, the ecstasy tablet,'the once
dreary city saw the rise of acid
house and rave culture. There's
no question that this melting pot
of drugs and DJs pushed the city's
rock scene in new:directions. The
single greatest statement of this
era's Mancunian rock, however,
came from a relatively traditional-
ist four-piece with a penchant for
Jackson Pollock and Beatles hair-
cuts - The-Stone Roses.
It's still hard to believe the band's
1989 eponymous full-length was
also their debut. Practically every-
thing about The Stone Roses is so
perfectly crafted that it sounds as
if they've been building it up for
years. John Squire might've start-
ed out playing punk, but his guitar
work here sounds more 1963 than
1977. His partner in crime, vocal-
ist Ian Brown, crafts vivacious pop
songs and satanic poetry in equal
measure. Behind them, bassist
Mani and drummer Reni make up
the greatest rhythm section in the
history of British indie rock. The
pulsating undercurrent they added
to Brown and Squire's rock'n'roll
marks the completion of the band's
signature sound. On this album, it
made for an air-tight collection of
some of the best guitar-pop tracks
of the post-punk era.
But The Stone Roses weren't
just technically great - they were
iconic. Their reputation rests not
only on the appeal of their sound,
but on the mystique and legend
they consciously built ontop of it as
they went along. Brown didn't just
"want to be adored," as the self-
aggrandizing opener states - he
damn well expected it. And when
faced with the throbbing beats
and kaleidoscope guitars of the
first 30 minutes, who's to argue?
"She Bangs the Drums" may have
made it as a bonus track on "Guitar
Hero III," but any number of songs
would've been equally suitable.
Take, for instance, "Waterfall"
and "Made of Stone." The first is a
chiming mid-tempo number over
which Brown paints a romanticist
landscape of "steeple pine / (and)
hills as old as time." Squire not only
lays down a breezy solo, but adorns
the whole track with a drone that
subtly references their debt to the
nightclub dance floor. On the lat-
ter, Brown's lyrics take a more sin-
ister turn, describing a car crash
with devilish glee. Together with
the anthemic chorus and another
soaring guitar solo, it is a standout
track on The Stone Roses.
One of the major differences
between The Stone Roses and their
indie peers is that they unabash-
edly embraced rock stardom in
general and the '60s in particular.
The Clash and other sneering revo-
lutionaries of the punk revolution
might have called for the public
execution of The Beatles's legacy,
but the Roses were steeped in it.
Squire's guitar sound takes a page
The album that
ushered in a new
Vintage sound,
timeless appeal
generation of
pop iconoclasts.
not just from George Harrison, but
from The Byrds and Simon and
Garfunkel as well. Brown's lyrics
aren't far behind either. On "Bye
Bye Bad Man," behind a decep-
tively mellow instrumental track,
Brown celebrates throwing stones
at the police during the '68 stu-
dent protests. With "Elizabeth My
Dear," he takes it a step further and
calls for stoning the queen.
The bulk of The, Stone Roses's
legacy rests on this appeal: An indie
band, maturing amid the same
scene that produced Tony Wilson
and Morrissey, but at the same time,
unapologetically shooting for the
top of the charts. For a testament to
their influence, lookno furtherthan
Britpop and the meteoric rise of
self-conscious bands like Blur and
Oasis - none of it would've been
possible without the success of The
Stone Roses. And in turn, The Stone
Roses would never have achieved
success if its first album hadn't
been such a thorough masterpiece.
From the megalomaniacal chant of
"I Wanna Be Adored," to the earth-
shattering coda at the end of "I Am
the Resurrection," The Stone Roses
synthesized the past, embodied
its time and promised a glorious
future. A generation of British indie
kids would never be the same.
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Resources may be limited.
Ideas are NOT.
So if you have a breakthrough idea for helping
planet earth to be a more sustainable place, then
enter the Dow Sustainability Innovation
Student Challenge.
Concepts, which should be interdisciplinary in
nature, can be related to chemistry, climate change,
energy conservation, product safety, public policy,
or other critical ideas. Students with the top three
ideas will receive $10,000, courtesy of the Dow
Chemical Company.
The Dow Challenge is exclusively for U-M graduate
students. Individual and team submissions will be
accepted. The entry deadline is Nov. 1S, 2008.
So don't delay. If you think you have a winning idea
...go ahead.
Apply online at www.graham.umich.edu.
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