8A - Monday, April 5, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam 8A - Monday, April 5, 2010 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom E JAPANDROIDS From Page 7A even if your music wasn't different from everybody else," he explained. "It was getting so ridiculous to the point where I just started sarcasti- cally referring to ourselves as post- nothing. We weren't post-anything. Post-absolutely-nothing." While this jab, which became Japandroids's debut album title, is partly King's way of mocking music journalists who attempt to encapsu- late a band's sound into a witty pack- age, it's also an expression of King's sarcastic sense of humor. His irreverent, tongue-in-cheek amusement is evident throughout Post-Nothing. Whether reminisc- ing about alcohol-drenched nights or expressing his desire to "french kiss some French girls," King's lyrics typi- cally profess the glory of youth at the expense of the boring 9-to-5 routine. Despite his own grueling tour schedule, King believes that these themes are still present in his daily life. Ultimately, his songs are about "escapism" and he firmly believes they can be relatable to high schoolers and 30-plusers alike. "I think there are elements of the lyrics and the themes of the record that supercede age and super- cede what's going on at every given moment," he said. "They're reallygen- eral and really universal in some way." Japandroids's tour schedule has prevented the group from working on new music, but King believes he will return to jam sessions in the fall. In the meantime, the band will release past material throughout the year in the form of 7" records. Before the band returns to the stu- dio in the fall, it will continue to tour throughout the U.S. and Europe with stops at Bonnaroo Music Festival, Sas- quatch! and Primavera Sound in Bar- celona. With countless shows behind them, including a sold-out appear- ance at Manhattan's Bowery Ball- room last Thursday, Japandroids will surely give an energized performance tonight at the Pig. E I 4 COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. "Hey, hey look! That's the guy from 'Avatar,' right? Hey. Will you sign my eyeball?" Humans vs. Gods (vs. viewer) 'Clash of the Titans' and its logical fallacies are a real Greek tragedy By HANS YADAV DailyArts Writer Nothing is more irritating than finding out the person you've been flirting with at the club is completely empty-headed. It's amazing how people try to compensate for what they clearly don't have by, say, hiking up a dress, Cbsh of popping a collar or styl- ing their hair. "Clash of the Ttans the Titans" follows this At Quality very screwed-up universal 16 (2-D) and principal by throwing out Showcase(2-D flashy effects to obscure and 3-D) how little is actually going on in the movie. Warner Bros. The film is a remake of. the 1981 classic of the same name. Humans are sick and tired of the Olympian Gods mis- treating them. When a queen blatantly pro- claims her daughter is more beautiful than even the loveliest of the gods, the god of the underworld, Hades (Ralph Fiennes, "The Reader"), steps in to lay down the law. He demands that unless the queen's daughter dynamic between gods and humans, while at is sacrificed within 10 days, he will unleash the same time exploring the myths and leg- his monster of epic badass-ness, the Krak- ends behind the story. But of course, "Clash" en, to ravage her city. Young Perseus (Sam does neither. Worthington, "Avatar"), already pissed at First, it simplifies the gods vs. humans the gods for causing the death of his family, struggle into a story of revenge, and even decides that the city's distress is an oppor- this is convoluted. Though the gods are ada- tune moment to go on a quest to retrieve a mant about teaching the humans a lesson, weapon to be used against the Kraken and they nonetheless bestow Perseus with gifts ultimately save the day. - a sword and Pegasus - to aid him in his The inconsistencies in this movie are out quest. So the gods are helping Perseus stop of control. And while this is not normally a the gods? This stupid mind-fuck echoes the problem in fantasy movies, it's a huge prob- inconsistencies in the whole movie and is lem in "Clash," because without anything downright bewildering. to fall back on (like a cohesive plot or devel- "Clash" also does too much in too little oped characters), viewers are forced to think time by throwing in as much mythology as about the holes. The whole journey feels possible. Instead oftaking the time to explore jerky. The places Perseus and his entourage captivating creatures of lore, the movie bar- visit and the monsters they defeat don't all rels through them at machine-gun speed. fall under the timeline to which the charac- Absolutely nothing is fleshed out. A few quick ters are supposed to adhere. lines about their backstories is the movie's Remember, Perseus only has 10 days to facile solution. If all the monsters had been seek help and find a weapon. And yet he is replaced by giant transforming robots (pos- seen traversing mountains, deserts, forests sibly in disguise), nothing in terms of plot and even the underworld. Perhaps if the would have changed, thus rendering the story had more substance, the logical falla- mythic beasts inconsequential artifacts. cies wouldn't beso important. In the movie-dating business, it's tough to Indeed, the story is the kicker. Predict- find the perfect flick with the visual appeal ability, linearity and superficiality aside, to match the solid substance underneath. the plot is mind-numbingly atrocious. Its "Clash" certainly does not produce the ideal banality and childishness are a slap in the romance and, at the end of the day, is just face. Ideally, the movie would focus on the another pretty face. GOLDFRAPP From Page 7A Warm," shimmery keyboards cre- ate an out-of-orbit sound and "Alive" trickles in a lively, glittery ambiance. "Alive" is certainly a new-wave, dance crave and clearly a standout on the album. Also exceptional is the title track, in which Goldfrapp longs for her newly found love as she soulfully sings, "You were always on the land /I was always in the air / My whole world in light / Head first in love." The track sets a mood of breezy admiration and joyous love, and the aphrodisiac atmosphere is set with shooting-star effects and dainty "la la la"s. While most of the tracks on the album are more airy, "Hunt" is a bit darker and almost animalistic. Heavy breathing in the background haunts a lover gone astray. Goldfrapp hunts them down as she warns "Every night, every day / Making plans for your escape / All you love you destroy / Everyone is your toy." The album as a whole might com- pel you to whip out your Lite Brites and rhinestone Ray Ban Wayfarers and tap your toes as you rock out with your boom box out. Hipsters everywhere can playfully congre- gate at their closest Urban Outfitters to hear this album blasted in every showroom. Goldfrapp's collection of sounds, Wow, Mufasa sure looks ... different. though vintage, does semi-success- fully convert to a well put-together modern album. Gregory's compos- ing skills combined with Goldfrapp's soft vocals create a dreamy, poppy album, but also one that lacks staying power. The album is barely distinct in that it sounds like a toned-down Madonna performance. The duo tries to glide back into its electronica roots (after veering away in their fourth album, 2008's Seventh Tree) and with Head First they do so quite artfully. Although Goldfrapp is back to its tra- ditional tone, it seems as if the band is afraid to sound original. Time travel has been compacted into a forty-minute journey back to dancercise, roller-skates and spandex hip-huggers. Goldfrapp's Head First allows listeners to voyage through other dimensions - no matter what those crazy scientists say. 0 Developing Mat( Increasing Safety 0 I For A Better Life In 1990, plastics accounted for about 9 percent of the aterials used in the average car. Today, the figure can $e as high as 20 percent. Bayer MaterialScience is one of the world's largest . $ and most innovative suppliers to the auto industry, playing an active role in shaping the future of the automobile. Developing windows made of plastics, for example, which offer increased safety benefits. 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