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 tedly, q these ad ter is ex Also, where a music vi sions. B time blo informa feel a bit Twitt Pallett w ver show concert- ing abou We alsol Barnesi John Oa of Unde zine w h inc thr some mu about las cial deal which is who pro budget ( Follow ers also what m when th ing or r Muhlyh Scrabble words t which on receive n no ATE! no" at ra It's er geniuses Nico M Massage lett? Wh @crbear 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.