The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 5
Shuffling
through my past
hen you put your iPod
on shuffle and "Come
on Eileen" by Dexys
Midnight Run-
ners is the first .
song to play,
you know the
iPod gods have a
sense of humor.
I've been
doing a lot of
this sort of thing JOSH
lately. Putting my &yjgg
iPod on shuffle,
that is. There's such a swamp-load
of music on that beast (74.3 giga-
bytes, to be exact) that sometimes
I don't even know what to listen to.
So I leave my fate to technology.
And, with alarming frequency, I feel
like there's a little oumpa Loompa
in there who knows exactly what
I want. There's a sort of blissful
dream logic in hearing "Venus in
Furs" by The Velvet Underground
sandwiched in between songs by
the Pixies and Interpol. It can really
give you a slice of "the big picture"
of music history (i.e. - who has
influenced who and all that music
geek wet dream hullabaloo). It can
also be like going to a rummage
sale. My iPod has so much random
music on it that various friends have
passed down tome over the years,
a huge chunk of which I've never
even listened to. So the "shuffle"
tactic can be a good getting-to-
know-you exercise.
But there's also a spiny flipside
to shuffling things up a bit. Some-
times songs from my childhood
will begin playing, and I'll realize
that they used to be so magical, but
I've completely outgrown them.
Hearing the old tunes through an
adult set of ears can make me wish
I'd left my shiny memories of them
untouched and unblemished.
The offspring was my favorite
band from kindergarten to about
10th grade. I saw the group live
four or five times, and each time I
was in absolute heaven. So it goes
without saying that I have some
pretty fond memories of those So-
Cal pranksters. But hearing them
now, I can barely stomach them. I
want so badly to listen to "Original
Prankster" and bask in warm nos-
talgia, but it just won't compute. It
sounds like Kidz Bop to me now.
The same thing happens when
I listen to the Red Hot Chili Pep-
pers. They snatched the title of
"Josh's Favorite Band" from The
Offspring during my junior year of
high school and held it until Radio-
head bested them during my senior
year (which is when everything
changed, by the way). But now that
I'm all growed-up with my left-
field music tastes and existential
crises, I can't help but perceive the
Chilis as a bit juvenile and bland,
even if they're very talented musi-
cians. But part of me still wishes
I could still go doe-eyed and gaga
over lyrics like "you try to be a
lady, but you're walking likea sau-
erkraut."
Revisiting these old flames and
not enjoying their company any-
more makes me feel a bit like a coal-
hearted Scrooge, steamrolling over
his past with an elitist lawnmower.
This is probably just me being
cynically overdramatic, because
there are just as many songs from
my youth that'll pop up on shuffle
and sound even better now than
they did years ago. These are the
real zingers. Just the other day,
when "Razor Boy" by Steely Dan
randomly came swelling in hi-fi out
of my speakers, it was like a double
shot of nostalgia. I wasn't sure if
I wanted to go sit in the corner of
my apartment, cry and reminisce
about my senior year of high school
or happy-dance around the living
room. In reality, I didn't wind up
doingeither. ButI felt really, really
great regardless.
And something happened a
couple of days ago that made me
feel significantly less Grinch-like.
My 12-year-old sister told me she
The iPod gods
have a sense
of humor.
wanted me to hear her favorite
song. I was bracing for a Natasha
Bedingfield-induced brain freeze.
But instead, I was whammed with
"Your Cover's Blown" by Belle and
Sebastian, my absolute favorite
song circa my summer before col-
lege. I had given it to her that sum-
mer when I'd commandeered her
iPod and filled it with music, but
I had never really expected her to
listen to it. And hearing it pump-
ing through her speakers like an
old friend who hasn't changed a
bit, aware that my little sister and
I share a favorite song, was exactly
the kind of heart-thawing experi-
ence I needed. Moments like that
really kick me in the ass.
So I guess the moral of the story
is this: Although my taste has cer-
tainly evolved and I'm not going
to like all the same music I did a
few years back, the past is not all
lost and there's a time and a place
for everything. Maybe when I'm
going through my mid-life crisis,
"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" will
be exactly what I need. But right
now, it isn't. And I suppose I'll just
have to deal with that and keep on
shuffling along.
Bayer actually listens to 'Kidz
Bop' when he's alone. Make fun
of him at jrbayer@umich.edu
"Baby we were born to receive AARP The Magazine."
A work in progress
The Boss's latest
is a mixed bag of
blue-collar hits and
uninspired songwriting
By DAVID RIVA
Daily Arts Writer
It's no secret that Bruce Springsteen is one
of the most distinguished
songwriters of the rock era.
In the past four decades, his
expansive musical catalog is Bruce
rivaled only by the likes of
Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Spiiigsteen
The Boss's most recent stu- Working on
dio output is evidence that a Dream
he feels he still has more
work to do. Even so, Working Columbia
on a Dream, his 16th studio&
release, is not among his finest.
The album has some outstanding individ-
ual songs, but as a whole it doesn't present a
compelling narrative with relatable charac-
ters, which was his winning formula on past
albums. The new album's themes are person-
al, but they lack a common purpose. Dream is
a nice departure from its over-produced and
overtly political predecessor, 2007's Magic,
but it fails to return Bruce to his glory days.
Springsteen touches on familiar subject
matter throughout the title track as he deliv-
ers his customary American working class
voice. Cheerful whistles between lines like
"Now the cards I've drawn's a rough hand /
darling I straighten my back / and I'm work-
ing on a dream," provide a refreshing take on .
often-revisited ground.
"Queen of the Supermarket" starts as a
beautiful piano ballad, but as the words take
shape, itbegs the question: How did a song this
ridiculous make it onto a Springsteen album?
There is no irony and no underlying metaphor
as the Boss croons over his newfound crush: a
girl in the grocery store.
Thankfully, Dream picks up and soars in a
number of spots, and musical clarity is para-'
mount to the success of the album's strongest
cuts. "Tomorrow Never Knows" chugs along
with its country-plucked acoustic guitar as
a complacent Springsteen croons about how
life's beauty is completely unpredictable.
"Tomorrow" is a new exercise for Bruce; he
uses his lyrical prowess to feebly describe
nature's beautiful simplicity, holding off any
mention of the material world until halfway
through the song. For that restraint, the blue-
collar Springsteen deserves some recognition.
"Life Itself" continues the mood of deep
reflection and contemplation. The lyrics, "why
do the things that connect us slowly pull us
apart / 'til we fall away in our own darkness
/ stranger to our own hearts," are among the
album's most stinging and potent lines. These
flashes of great wisdom represent a trend
of maturity running through Springsteen's
recent work. If Bruce in the '70s thrived on
impulse and wild youthful experience, the
Bruce Springsteen of the 21st century shines
brightest when contemplating life's tougher
questions.
"Good Eye" is a pleasant surprise as it fits
well in Dream's mixed bag of songs. On it,
Bruce submerges himself in the gut-churning
pulse of Delta blues while a whiny harmoni-
ca and Springsteen's gritty vocals display an
energized attitude reminiscent of his style on
1973's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street
Shuffle.
The album comes packaged with a bonus
track, "The Wrestler," the theme song for the
new film of the same name. This underdog
anthem is one, of Springsteen's finest songs
in the past decade. Sparse instrumentation
allows Bruce's voice to take center stage as
he relies on pure emotion to produce a spine-
chilling effect. It's the kind of song that could
make a grown man cry. A stellar close to a
mediocre album, it's the perfect reminder of
why we call this man "The Boss."
P10 EV ARTS IN BRIEF
Lacking in true answers and true love FilmReview
A 'Hotel' of horrible ideas
By EMILY BOUDREAU
DailyArts Writer
"The Reader" was set for success.
It's headlined by
Ralph Fiennes
("The Duchess")
and Kate Winslet The Reader
("The Holiday")
and it has a script At the
adapted by Oscar- Michigan
nominated writer Theatre
David Hare ("The The Weisfein
Hours"). Also, it's Company
under the direc-
torial guidance
of Stephen Daldry, the man behind
"The Hours" and "Billy Elliot."
Regardless of its phenomenally tal-
ented cast and crew, somehow "The
Reader" falls a bit flat.
The film tells the life story of
lawyer Michael Berg (Fiennes) by
piecing together excerpts from sig-
nificant moments in his life. Begin-
ning in pre-World War II Berlin,
a young, sickly Michael (David
Kross, "Krabat") has a chance
encounter with a much older
woman, Hanna Schmitz (Wins-
let). Despite a visible awkward-
ness between the two, Michael
and Hanna start sleeping together,
and Michael reads to Hanna from
his schoolbooks during his visits.
The pair's relationship, as well as
their sex, isn't so much shocking
as it is tedious. There's no visible
chemistry or affection between
the two. Nonetheless, they share
a brief summer together until the
war begins and Hannah disap-
pears from Michael's life.
Fast-forwarding to over a decade
later, the film heats up when Michael
goes to law school to study the
Nuremburg trials. Hanna appears in
his life again, except this time she is
on trial for the crimes she commit-
ted asa prison guard in a concentra-
tion camp. The weighty questions
of justice in the courtroom provide
an interesting contrast to the oth-
erwise ethereal feel of the film. As
he tries to explain the issues of the
trial, Michael insists, "We are trying
to understand."
Yes, it certainly seems that way.
The past few months have seen the
releases of contrived Holocaust
movies like "The Boy in the Striped
Pajamas" and "Defiance." It appears
that audiences and directors are
all still trying to understand the
horrors of the Holocaust, and per-
Boring characters
have boring sex.
haps we never truly will if we rely
on these overdone Holocaust films
that offer little historical perspec-
tive and so few answers.
Amatterofmore pressingconcern
to the audience, however, should be
trying to understand why Hanna
has such a pull on Michael. The
film alternates choppily between
past- and present-day Michael and
the only element that continues to
connectthe two is Michael's contin-
ued obsession with Hanna. Yet their
relationship never seemed that pas-
sionate to begin with.
Hanna is a rather flat character,
though by no fault of Winslet, who
does an amazing job with what she
is given. It doesn't seem like there
was much room in the script for her
to expand her cinematic role.
Kross does a fine job as the
younger Michael Berg, although
it is not until halfway through the
movie that he actually begins deliv-
ering on his potential. As the older
Michael, Fiennes is acceptable, but
the role doesn't really let him dis-
tinguish himself.
The movie drags at times, espe-
cially in the present-day setting,
but there is enough material and
intrigue in the plot to keep the
audience's interest. The ending is
totally unexpected, given that the
theme of reconciliation and accep-
tance is carried out a bit exces-
sively. As could be expected from
a movie called "The Reader," the
original novel on which the film
is based does a much better job of
communicating a fabulous story.
"Hotel for Dogs"
Dreamworks and Nickelodeon Movies
At Showcase and Quality 16
Well, the canines were cute, but other than that there's not much
motivation to sit through "Hotel for Dogs."
Andi (Emma Roberts, "Nancy Drew") and Bruce (Jake T. Austin,
"The Perfect Game") are, orphans living in a foster home. Their foster
parents Lois Scudder (Lisa Kudrow, TV's "Friends") and Carl Scudder
(Kevin Dillon, TV's "Entourage") hate all animals and behave as such.
What the Scudders don't know is that Andi, Bruce and some friends
from the neighborhood spend their spare time rescuing stray dogs
from the town's overly sadistic animal control officers. They put the
strays up in an abandoned hotel, where Bruce has designed inventions
that cater to every dog's needs, ranging from a golden fire hydrant to
a car ride simulator. The fact that a nine-year-old boy could come up
with these ideas is highly improbable, and even with Bruce's inven-
tions, the hotel would most likely be considered a health code viola-
tion. It is full of unsupervised dogs, after all.
The cast is an interesting mix of fairly talented and less developed
actors. Don Cheadle ("Hotel Rwanda") plays a social worker, but his
performance can't save the film. Kudrow and Dillon, two normally
talented actors, are totally unfunny despite their, strange antics. And
the young performers are like a much lamer, less talented cast of
"High School Musical."
EMILYBOUDREAU
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"Why doesn't the Tooth Fairy come anymore?"