The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 5A
COURTESY OF SUB POP
Married couple's pre-sex routine: Step one, take pulse. Step two, listen to heartbeat. If vital signs are normalcoitus is plausible.
*Ah nd ome ward
Samberg's LP
is incredibland
By JACK PORTER likely the most "featured" man on
DailyArts Writer Earth), lampoons hip hop's ten-
dency to flaunt material wealth for
Since The Lonely Island's main its own sake. The track comes com-
audience is college students, most plete with majestic synth strings
readers of The and T-Pain's signature auto-tuned
Michigan Daily vocals, providing a grandiose back-
are probably drop for silly lyrics like, "But this
already intimate- ain't SeaWorld, this is real as it gets
ly familiar with TheLonely / I'm-on a boat, motherfucker, don't
Andy Samberg's Island you ever forget."
musical comedy The rest of Incredibad is made up
act, be it through Incredibad ofeither older, lesspopular material
"Lazy Sunday," Universal Republic or new odds and ends recorded just
"Dick in a Box" or for the album. Predictably, these
the more recent other songs don't hold up to the
"Jizz in My Pants." The group mem- quality of the singles. Some tracks
bers have become Internet super- rely on overly simplistic jokes, and
stars over the last three years, with the subsequent riffing grows tire-
"Jizz in My Pants" alone garnering some. "Punch You In The Jeans"
over 30 million views on YouTube. stretches out the weak punch-line
The song is the first single for the of its own title for nearly three
group's long-awaited debut LP minutes. And "Natalie's Rap" starts
Incredibad. from a premise that's too easy -
After a promising debut,
Handsome Furs strike gold
with 'Face Control'
By DAVID RIVA
Daily Arts Writer
Have you ever wondered why people are
so unnerved by the concept of public surveil-
lance in the form of cameras
and wiretapping, yet never
hesitate to partake in the
process of self-monitoring
through Facebook and blogs?
Have you ever experienced
the frustrating feeling of dis-
connectedness as a result
of communicating through
technology that can't encap-
sulate pure human emotion?
Handsome
Furs
Face Control
Sub Pop
Russia is the locale of choice for the concep-
tion of Face Control, the Furs' second studio
release. The album's title refers to a practice
utilized in the Russian club scene: A person
must pay in advance (through a PayPal account)
to potentially gain access to a nightclub, but
must be approved by someone at the door based
on quality of appearance. In effect, the person
becomes an object - a mere pawn to satisfy
another's standards.
No song on the album expresses this concept
of materialism run rampant better than "Talk-
ing Hotel Arbat Blues." The melody is initially
reminiscent of Joan Jett's garage-rock hit "Bad
Reputation,"but ittakes on alife of its ownwhen
the refrain of"I don't know what I've been told
/ Every little thing has been bought and sold"
bursts in backed by a humbling guitar line and
a pulsating bass drum heartbeat. The simplic-
ity of the first refrain is absent the second time
around as a confusing mess of distortion leads
to a cliffhanger ending.
"(Passport Kontrol)" picks up on the leftover
momentum of "Arbat Blues," acting as a word-
less epilogue to its predecessor. Its whining
synthesizers make for an uneasy listen. The
ideas from "Arbat Blues" beg for reflection and
evoke a troubling question: What if the con-
cept of Russian face control were brought to
the border of countries and prevented people
from boarding flights because their appearance
wasn't exactly what a country was looking for?
The idea might seem ridiculous and relatively
inconceivable, but it forces an active conscious-
ness about the surveillance that people accept
every day without question. 1'
Boeckner obviously has some grievances
with the world around him and the people that
run it, but at no time does he appear preachy
or political. He conjures up obscure thoughts
that force people to think about their sur-
roundings through a different lens than they
previously had.
On "All We Want, Baby, Is Everything," and
"Nyet Spasiba," The Furs flex their pop muscles
with danceable drum beats, layers of seductive
synths and guitar lines that will latch onto your
musical consciousness for hours, if not days.
These upbeat tracks are especially refreshing
consideringthe esoteric, sonic realmthat Boeck-
ner's other band, Wolf Parade, often treads in.
Without bandmate Spencer Krug holding him
in check, Boeckner is free to express his inner
pop star to any extent he wants.
Throughout the album, Boeckner's vocals
consistently rise above the occasional mess of
frenetic synthesizers and clamorous guitars to
produce a lasting impression. The assertive and
vibrant vocals are exhibited on closer "Radio
Kaliningrad," which captures all the elements
that make Face Control such an impressive
album: thought-provoking lyrics ("I know you
love me baby / I know your heart is just a little
dry" and "We're all just waiting for the future
and uranium / and sleeping in the all red sky
/ You can wait outside"), synthy experimenta-
tion balanced by conventional guitar parts and
a danceable yet listenable beat.
The album is more or less a
greatest-hits compilation padded
with a few new songs and skits - a
bit disappointing for fans who have
likely heard the more famous songs
dozens of times before.
Here's a quick recap of the
Island's past for readers who may
be just now emerging from beneath
their respective rocks. "Lazy Sun-
day" relates the story of a carefree
Sunday afternoon spent munch-
ing cupcakes and watching "The
Chronicles of Narnia," delivered
with the pomp and vitriol of hard-
core rap. Revealing the group's
softer side,, "Dick in a Box" is a
smarmy R&B number about the
perfect Christmas gift for that spe-
cial someone: a package within a
package, so to speak. Finally, "Jizz
in my Pants" joins a banging Euro-
club beat to lyrics about, well, arriv-
ing unfashionably early.
However, the band's latest sin-
gle is a full-blown musical parody
piece, rather than a crude joke with
a musical style tacked on. "I'm on
a Boat," featuring T-Pain (now
Look, it's a disc
in a box.
Natalie Portman is secretly a sex-
addicted, drug-abusing gangster
- and uncomfortably pushes its
comic potential to the breaking
point (hearing Natalie Portman
yelling, "I'll sit right down on your
face and take a shit" is cringe-wor-
thy in any context).
But there are some surprising
winners as well, like "Ras Trent,"
about a WASP undergraduate who
convertstoRastafarianismandsings
a bastardized reggae tune about the
woes ofliving"inthe shanty dorms."
But even "Ras Trent" was originally
a skit performed by the group on
Saturday Night Live. More new
material would have been a boon
to the disc. As it stands, Incredibad
is only essential for fanatics and the
uninitiated.
These are the things that the members of
Handsome Furs - husband and wife Dan
Boeckner and Alexei Perry - ponder while on
tour in countries that don't necessarily contain
vast crowds of indie-rock enthusiasts. Boeck-
ner and Perry perform in these foreign places
to draw creative inspiration from alien cultures
firsthand. But their journeys are not just for
kicks -- they spark ideas for future recordings.
The Furs' 2007 debutPlague Park, for example,
was influenced by a trip to a mass grave of the
same name in Helsinki, Finland.
Palestinian films
reach Ann Arbor
By KAVI PANDEY they have to say about their coun-
DailyArts Writer try and culture."
In recent years, films from Pales-
For the most part, the world has tine have been making big splashes
had little exposure to the cinema at international film festivals. The
of Palestine. The Ann Arbor Palestine Film Festi-
2005 Oscar nom- Ann Arbor val's opening night film, "Salt of
inee for Best For- This Sea," was selected for the
eign Language 2008 Cannes Film Festival. The
Film, "Paradise Film Festival movie follows an American-born
Now," is arguably h daughter of Palestnian refugees as
the most famous Today through she returns to her family's home,
movie from Pal- Saturday which is now in Israel. Palestinian
estine, but in Various locations director Annemarie Jacir is becom-
recent years, the Free-$10 ing a leading voice in Palestine cin-
region has devel- ema, having already earned a 2003
oped its share of notable films. Cannes selection with short film
Such films will be on display start- "Like Twenty Impossibles."
ing tonight at the first Ann Arbor Other selections include "Driv-
Palestine Film Festival. The four- ing to Zigzigland," a tale about a
day event will feature a selection Palestinian cab driver in Los Ange-
of short films and full-length mov- les, and "Leila Khaled Hijacker,"
ies depicting the culture and con- an introspective documentary on
flict of Palestine. a member of a Palestinian libera-
Festival founder and co-director tion group who became the first
Hena Ashraf is a 2008 University woman to successfully hijack a
graduate, so it was an easy deci- plane. The festival will also show-
case a variety of short films, from
"Make A Wish," where a Pales-
tinian girl must overcome sev-
Offering new eral obstacles to find money for a
birthday cake, to the music video
cultural "People Not Places," inspired by a
Palestinian emigrant's reflection
perspectives on on homesickness.
"Slingshot Hip-Hop" is anoth-
the silver screen. er film screening at the festival
that has recently garnered a lot
of attention. The documentary
entered the global spotlight after
sion for her to choose Ann Arbor its premiere at the 2008 Sundance
to host the event. Film Festival. It follows a group of
"Ann Arbor is a really good place Palestinian rappers as they pur-
to have a Palestine Film Festival," sue their love of hip hop amidst
she said. "The town is liberal, pro- the political strife in Gaza and the
gressive and there's a lot of open West Bank. "Slingshot Hip-Hop"
dialogue. Ann Arbor represents will headline the festival's closing
a place where people can openly night on Saturday.
discuss (Palestinian) issues." Ashraf plans to hold the festival
Ashraf hopes to dispel common as an annual event in Ann Arbor.
views of Palestine by bringing Pal- "The first year it was difficult,
estinian films to a local audience. 'but it will become easier and easi-
"I think the reason why so many er," she said. "We have a lot of sup-
people misunderstand Palestinians port from sponsors, metro Detroit
is because if you just watch the reg- and people across the country that
ular news networks, they are not are really happy we're doing this."
fair and objective," she said. "Pal- The Ann Arbor Palestine Film
estinians are not given a voice." Festival begins tonight atthe Michi-
"Media plays a huge role in this gan Theater. It continues tomorrow
bias, and Hollywood movies do in the Natural Science Auditorium,
that, too. The best way is to coun- Friday in the Michigan League
ter that through films made by Ballroom and concludes Saturday
Palestinians. You should see what at Rackham Auditorium.
Something to not cheer about
ByKAVI PANDEY
DailyArts Writer
Cheerleading comedies have
been reduced to a series of direct-
to-video "Bring
It On" sequels its
recent years, but
"Fired Up!" had Fired Up!
the potential to
smack the genre At Qualityl6
upside its head Screen Gems
- the film has
genuinely funny
moments and its two leads have
impeccable comic timing. Still,
with its flood of teen comedy con-
ventions and a stupendously awful
supporting cast, it ends up amount-
ing to little more than a forgettable
high-school movie.
The premise of "Fired Up!"
isn't very hard to follow. Football
jocks Nick (Eric Christian Olsen,
"Eagle Eye") and Shawn (Nicho-
A noble attempt
at satire that
amounts to only
juvenile dreck.
las D'Agosto, TV's "Heroes") like
sex. They will do whatever it takes
to have sex with lots of beautiful
women. The two decide to forgo
football camp one summer in order
to attend cheer camp, since they
would be the only men among
hundreds of female cheerleaders.
Naturally, the girls all happen to be
athletic, promiscuous and smokin'
hot. At the camp, Nick and Shawn
begin their conquest of these
women until, rather unsurpris-
ingly, their real emotions kick in.
Shawn falls for Carly (Sarah Roem-
er, "Disturbia"), his team's captain,
and he must win her away from her
jerk of a boyfriend with his charm
and cheerleading prowess.
"Fired Up!" centers on the
strong, entertaining relationship
between Nick and Shawn. It's a
Hollywood convention to hire
older actors to play high school stu-
dents, so the amusing fact that the
actors playing Nick and Shawn are
31 and 28, respectively, is not very
distracting. The duo's rapid-fire
rapport will have viewers chuck-
ling constantly. It also creates a
natural chemistry that allows the
audience to believe that the pair
have been best friends for years.
Nick, in particular, dominates the
film with his quick wit and cre-
ative PG-13 profanity. His wide
range of pop-culture references
is impressive; he goes from joking
about the suckage of Nickelback
to inexplicably quoting "Hamlet
2." As Nick, Olsen resembles Jim
Carrey on Ritalin, with his subtle
physical comedy and speedily-
delivered dialogues.
But every supporting char-
acter in "Fired Up!" is an aggra-
vating stereotype. The worst
offenders include Gwyneth (Anna-
Lynne McCord, TV's "90210"), the
super-bitchycaptainofarivalsquad,
and Brewster (Adhir Kalyan, "Paul
Blart: Mall Cop"), the token gay
cheerleader. The only exception is
Rick (David Walton, TV's "Quarter-
life"), Carly's boyfriend and appre-
ciator of Chumbawumba, who uses
his limited screen time to become
one of cinema's greatest douchebag
boyfriends. Films like "Knocked
Up" have spoiled audiences by get-
ting accomplished comedians to fill
out even the smallest of roles, sothe
contrast is noticeable when movies
like "Fired Up!" pluck their actors
from third-rate CW shows and
give them ridiculously unorigi-
nal characters to play.
With its noble attempts at
satire, it's obvious that "Fired
Up!" is trying to rise above
dreck like "Meetthe Spartans."
An ingenious scene occurs dur-
ing a screening of "BringIt On,"
where the entire camp recites
the dialogue word-for-word.
The humor is occasionally
clever, with jabs at the declin-
ing status of network program-
ming and the unrealistic good
looks of all teenagers in movies.
Unfortunately, these sequences
are few and far between; most
of the film relies too heavily on
lame sexual innuendos. The
initials of the title, used heavily
in marketing, give audiences a
good idea of what to expect.
Ultimately, "Fired Up!" fol-
lows the same frustratingly
predictable formula as most
sports comedies. There is the
inevitable misunderstanding,
angry confrontation, last-min-
ute reconcilement, inspiring
"Careful with that right hand, please."
motivational speech and climactic
final competition. The banality of
the plot is remarkable.
With a little more work on the
script, "Fired Up!" could have been
a sharp satire in the vein of "Shaun
of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" -
films that parody a genre within
a story typical of the genre. Only
Eric Christian Olsen, who should
be graduating into lead roles in
the near future, really shines in
the film. Audiences will snigger
throughout "Fired Up!" but will
probably forget it as soon as the
credits roll.
Wednesday, March 11th
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