The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, October 9, 2009 - 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, October 9, 2009 - 5
Love, music
is in the Air
By JASMINE ZHU with fervent violins, bringing to
DailyArts Writer mind visions of film noir, smoky
jazz clubs and silent-screen sirens.
If the first stage of love con- Sometimes, however, the pur-
jures images of poseful aggression of Love 2 has
infatuation and * a jarring, wince-inducing effect.
new beginnings, "Night Hunter" disconcertingly
then its subse- Air juxtaposes mellow instruments
quent stage must Love 2 like clarinets and vaguely oriental
be a progression Virgin piano against extremely discor-
from it - some- dant synth and antagonistic gui-
thing much more tars stretched and bent far out of
nuanced and developed. This is tune.
certainly the case with Air's latest The unimpressive closer "Afri-
album, Love 2. can Velvet" may leave listeners
Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit wondering if there is a Love 3 in
Dunckel, the French duo known the works. The song trails off to
as Air, have opted for a bolder, an unimpressive ending making
more direct sound with their lat- it feel like an unfinishel thought.
est album. As a result, the album feels incom-
Love 2 opens aggressively with plete.
"Do the Joy," featuring heavy Holistically, vocals play a sec-
synth, prog guitar and a robotic ondary role to the supple and
voice intoning phrases in very richly layered ambient instrumen-
harshly accented French. The song tation, which comprises much of
sets the auditory precedent for the ' the album's overall appeal. Air is
album, which takes an unexpected renowned for its moody tone, but
"You know what sucks? Having your nostrils perpetually clogged by a mustache."
A n w neighborhood
'Family Guy' spin-off gets
by on its source material
but breaks no new ground
By ERIC CHIU
DailyArts Writer
You can't escape Seth MacFarlane.
Now, that's not necessarily a negative state-
ment, just a restating of the
obvious. Besides creating and -**J
currently starring in Fox's
"Family Guy" and "Ameri- The
can Dad!," MacFarlane regu- aeiand
larly appears on co-star Seth
Green's show "Robot Chick- ShoW
en," heads his own online Sundays at
comedy series, acts on the 8:30 p.m.
side and has a recurring role
on ABC's fall drama "Flash- Fog
Forward."
But considering how increasingly difficult
it is to turn to ahy given channel and not see
something related to MacFarlane, "The Cleve-
land Show" - a spin-off of"Family Guy" - rais-
es the obvious question: Does the world really
need another show from Seth MacFarlane? It's,
a question "The Cleveland Show" isn't particu-
larly sure how to answer.
"The Cleveland Show" revolves around
Cleveland Brown (voice of Mike Henry), a
recurring character on "Family Guy." Tired of
playingsecond fiddle to Peter Griffin and want-
ing to move on after a divorce, Cleveland and
his son Cleveland Jr. move back to his home-
town, where he meets up with a former high
school crush and ends up becoming a father for
her and her kids.
From the hyper-saturated "Sanford And
Son"-esque opening theme to the leisurely
rate at which the show develops its setting and
cast, it's clear"The Cleveland Show" aims to do
something different than "Family Guy."
The story line moves at a somewhat more
deliberate pace than the other shows in Mac-
Farlane's oeuvre, but that's not saying much.
The show makes occasional use of cutaway
gags - the nonsequitur scenes that "Family
Guy" is known for - but there's a conscious
effort to give the show less of a gag-per-minute
mentality, putting it closer in toneto shows like
"King of The Hill."
As admirable as those aims might be, the
execution only occasionally hits its mark.
There's a common thread in MacFarlane'swork
of defying convention, whether it's the anar-
chistic disregard "Family Guy" has toward the
sitcom format, throwing in musical interludes
and cutaway gags at random points or the sheer
bizarreness of "American Dad!"
Right now, though, "The Cleveland Show"
lacks both the teeth of its less conventional
cousins and the emotional base to support its
loftier ambitions. On "Family Guy," Cleveland
was always a capable foil to the absurdity of
any given episode, but anchoring an entire
series around a character who is essentially a
generic straight man requires a kind of finesse
the show doesn't yet have.
The show's premise adheres to especially
tired genre tropes - Cleveland has to deal with
quirkily precocious sons, a combative teenage
daughter and his stereotypical neighbors. But
there's never really a sense that MacFarlane,
along with co-creators Mike Henry and Rich
Appel (who all worked on "Family Guy") know
how to tell a story without a cutaway gag.
Even with the twists "The Cleveland Show"
applies to the traditional sitcom formula - for
example, Cleveland and his new family live
next to a talking German bear couple voiced by
MacFarlane and, inexplicably, political com-
mentator Arianna Huffington - the unadven-
turous writing is bland, straddlingthe political
incorrectness of "Family Guy" and the emo-
tional heart of "King of the Hill," but never
finding a comfortable balance in between.
"The Cleveland Show" isn't terrible - the
pilot has the occasional sharp joke, with Tim,
the bear husband, regularly stealingthe scenes.
But for a show that's ostensibly "The Cosby
Show" by way of Seth MacFarlane, it's remark-
ably tame and, consequently, can't help but feel
like squandered potential.
turn for aband known mostly for its
dreamy, "light as air" harmonies.
Lead single and album stand-
out "Sing Sang Sung" is one of
the record's frothier offerings. At
times, the timbre of the vocals is
strangely reminiscent of of Mon-
treal's Kevin Barnes. It's not sur-
prising, given that both groups
are influenced by the same '70s
synthesizer sounds. The song is
deliciously coy and unhurried,
with jaunty tambourines accom-
panying breathy vocals, skillfully
offsetting the album's largely
assertive feel.
In contrast, "Missing the Light
of Day," another standout, follows
the aggressive mien of the opening
track with a pounding, insistent
rhythm and fluid harp melodies,
which add a layer of atmospheric
complexity to the song. The song
has an understated, yet energetic
and danceable beat.
"TropicalDisease," also employ-
ing this more forcefulsound to pos-
itive effect, is perfect for lounging
around in a velvet dressing gown
while languidly smoking a pipe.
Sultry saxophone quickly segues
into a James Bond-like theme rife
The most
aggressive Air
you'll ever hear.
the bold aggression of atmospher-
ic sounds is used to mixed results
on its latest album. At times, the
aggressive tone is too deliberate
and overworked, clashing against
Air's traditionally more delicate
sound. It's unfortunate none of the
songs on the album quite live up to
the new direction offered by the
promising opening track.
Love 2 is an enjoyable, lis-
tenable album, but it certainly
doesn't compare with Air's best
works (Talkie Walkie, Moon Safa-
ri). Despite all this newly inserted
aggression, Love 2 remains a rela-
tively innocuous album, lacking
Air's signature cheekiness and
poignancy.
As in real life, love is good, but
it isn't necessarily all it's cracked
up to be.
Connecting through Twitter
By LEAH BURGIN
For the Daily
At 3:50 p.m. on Sept. 26, I looked
down at my phone and saw I had a
message from Twitter. The update,
short and to the point, read "zinger-
man's bliss #annarbor." I promptly
started to freak out - not because I'm
a fan of Zingerman's (though I am)
or because I love Ann Arbor (which I
do), but because the person who made
that update was none other than
Edward Droste, the vocalist, guitarist
and pianist for acclaimed band Griz-
zly Bear.
Edward Droste is just one of the
millions of people using Twitter, the
ubiquitous online micro-blogging site
that limits tweeters to 140 characters
-per entry. Since the site's creation in
2006, Twitter has been used by presi-
dential candidates, celebrities, pro-
testers and - of course - the plain
Janes and average Joes convinced that
everyone cares about their answers to
Twitter's famous question: "What are
you doing?"
According to The New York Tines,
Twitter's creators intended the site to
be a "mixture of messaging, social net-
working, 'microblogging' and some-
thing called 'presence,' shorthand for
the idea that people should enjoy an
'always on' virtual omnipresence."
This, for many people, is the appeal of
Twitter - the constant feeling of inter-
connectedness, of being able to keep
tabs on friends and family members.
However, for me, Twitter has tran-
scended this realm of provincial post-
ings, opening the pearly gates to the
heaven of indie stalker-dom. Sure, I
"tweet" a little and occasionally look
at my friends' Twitter profiles, but I
spend most of my time following the
lives of indie celebs.
In addition to Edward Droste, I
follow such prodigious individuals
as Chris Bear (also of Grizzly Bear),
Rostam Batmanglij and Ezra Koenig
of Vampire Weekend, Owen Pallett of
Final Fantasy, Nico Muhly (a contem-
porary composer) and Vincent Moon
(an independent filmmaker who cre-
ates music videos for indie bands).
It may seem a bit unhealthy - or
pathetic - that I wish to be constantly
updated with whatever 140-character
bone the
me. But
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ese indie titans wish to throw Twitter is the one place where I
in all actuality, being (admit- can observe these indie behemoths
uite loosely) connected with stripped ofalltheirpovers,made mor-
imirable individuals via Twit- tal by the effects of everyday life. Nico -
tremely enriching. Muhly: "There is never any neosporin
Twitter is often the place in Europe." Chris Bear: "Damn.....Den-
rtists first post a link to new tist tomorrow..."
dens, interviews or photo ses- Contrastingly, Twitter is also the
y using Twitter, I spend less one place where I can fully observe
ig-hopping and get the same the gap between the lives of us human
ltion sooner. Plus, it makes me weaklings and those of the indie-
more "in the know." famous. Ezra Koenig: "this week, we
er followers knew that Owen got shouted out by Miley Cyrus and
was goingto cancel his Vancou- dissed by Alice Cooper. next week:
ron Sept. 25 before many of the iCarly and the Nuge?" Edward Droste:
goers did, as he began tweet- "Can't believe I just met Brian and
it his flu diagnosis at 9:09 a.m. Lizzie of Gang Gang Dance at a wed-
knew that of Montreal's Kevin ding in south of France, and on friday
interviewed Daryl Hall and we play together! #small world."
tes for the most recent issue But, most importantly, Twitter
r the Radar before the maga- makes me feel like I have a legitimate
as distributed. Additionally, connection to these formerly distant
individuals. When Edward Droste
tweeted about Zingerman's the day of
the Grizzly Bear show in Ann Arbor, it
Fj inding the gave me a crumb of happiness to know
that we have something in common.
uman side of It was nice to know that Chris Bear
thought enough of Ann Arbor to tweet,
die musicians "Michigan theatre is beautiful. Super
nice folks. Got our zingerman's fix in.
'ough Tweets. reunited w/ beach house."
Through these specific tweets and
countless others before them, Edward
Droste and Chris Bear have become
usicians will post information more than indie icons - they've
st-minute ticket offers or spe- become individuals, personalities
s on upcoming album releases, with which I can identify. And know-
always appreciated by those ingmore about these two indie moguls
'crastinate and follow a strict added a whole other dimension to the
like me). Grizzly Bear show this September - it
wing famous indie Twitter- was the best Bear performance I had
satisfies my curiosity about ever seen.
y favorite artists are doing For indie-stalkers like me, Twit-
hey're not performing, writ- ter is a gold mine of information and
ecording. Most recently, Nico anecdotes. It may be creepy. It may be
as become addicted to iPhone pathetic. But it's always interesting to
and constantly posts which know how some of the brightest and
he program recognizes and most fascinating individuals of the
nes it doesn't. It is hilarious. I musical world chose to answer the
messages like "YOGA yes ZEN question "What are you doing?" Fur-
N no SHIVA yes SH yes SHH thermore, when their answer to this
ndom intervals. question is something along the lines
ndearing to see these indie of "Thanks Michigan!" (as it was for
tease each other via tweets. Edward Droste at 11:50 p.m. on Sept.
uhly: "Who left Calendula 25), a bond is formed between stargaz-
Oil in my house!? @owenpal- er and star. And in the end, that's what
o all else has been up in here. social networking - and music - are
(Chris Bear)?" all about: connecting.
Witches ain't shit.
Black-magic predictability
By CHRISTINA ANGER
For theDaily
With fantasy storylines like those found in
"Twilight" and "Harry Pot-
ter" intriguing the masses,
it seems any form of magical
realism is a recipe for success. Eawd
With this assumption in mind,
"Eastwick," based offthe John Wednesdays
Updike novel "The Witches at10 p.m.
of Eastwick," seemingly sets ABC
itself up for the ratings of a
lifetime. Its premiere, though,
is a series of predictable events with stereotypi-
cal characters. For good measure, let's just say
the magic wasn't there.
Eastwick is a small town with a history
filled with magic and supernatural myths. The
opening scene sweeps the audience through
a festival on a crisp day reminiscent of Hal-
loween. After wishing upon a fountain, three
women find themselves drawn together by a
mysterious force and begin to discover powers
they never knew they had.
Roxie (Rebecca Romijn, "Ugly Betty"), Joan-
na (Lindsay Price, "Lipstick Jungle") and Kat
(Jaime Ray Newman, "Made of Honor") find
themselves strangely linked to Eastwick's new
businessman, Darryl Van Horne (Paul Gross,
"Slings and Arrows"). Van Horne unleashes
each woman's inner powers, which does abso-
lutely nothing except completely give away
every aspect of the unsurprising plot. Roxie
is the developing psychic; Joanna plays the
uptight-nerd-turned-seductress; and Kat nur-
tures her motherly character with the power to
call upon nature.
A plot in which three witches deal with the
unknown forces of a man who seems to know
more about their powers than they do them-
selves has some appeal to it. Even so, it cannot
be stressed enough that every scene is either
predictable or literally predicted earlier in -the
show. They are, after all, witches.
The writers of "Eastwick" must have forgot-
ten that fact. While psychic powers are fasci-
nating, there's something to be said about a
surprise here and there. Each woman's deepest
desire manifests itself in the witch's individual
power, and the plot insinuates that trouble will
ensue. Of course, as a townswoman blatantly
implies, the fate of Eastwick will undoubtedly
be in the hands of the women and puppeteer
Van Horne.
As for a bright spot in the program, the
ambiance is delightful. The deep autumn col-
ors presented throughout most scenes create
a sense of fall nostalgia, the kind that easily
Halloween nostalgia
and nothing else.
slips into the childish fun of anything magical.
"Eastwick," though, isn't trying hard enough
to become the mystifying show it could be. The
three witches don't question their newfound
powers as much as they should and Darryl Van
Horne isn't nearly as creepy as he should seem,
beinga man who has control over the trio. It's
safe to say the' witches' individual character-
istics are banal, but perhaps the series will
develop each of the characters more deeply,
eventually pulling more out of the acting than
the writing itself.
"Eastwick" isn't a show that will cast its spell
as wide as other magical mediums have in the
past. And as for that slight feeling of nostalgia, a
bite into a caramel apple will suffice.