The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

2B - Thursday, November 4, 2010

Judging A Book
By Its Cover
Why read a single page when the cover
tells the whole story?

SINGLE REVIEW

For those of you who aren't suf-
ficiently terrified by Nicki Minaj,
check out her new track "Roman's
Revenge." Being
the most con-
spicuous femi-
nine presence in Nicki Minaj
hip hop today, %.Emnem
Minaj certainly
hasalottoprove, "Roman's Revenge"
and this single
off the forthcoming Pink Friday
makes the message resoundingly
clear: Minaj is a "bad bitch," a
"dungeon dragon" and Disney's
Aladdin all rolled into one fire-
breathing package. And if that's
confusing, maybe the legitimately
head-banging beat can help clari-
fy: Don't fuck with her.

But come on, we get it. Here,
Nicki comes on so strong that it
turns the track into a clear case
of overcompensation. The speed-
bag snares, the rabid growling,
the murderous guest verses by a
seething Slim Shady - it's clum-
sily manufactured to sound as
aggressive as possible, thereby
deflating any real fury the song
could have had. Plus, Nicki's
vocal tics have gone from charm-
ing idiosyncrasy to worn-out
shtick before she's even released
an album, which doesn't exactly
augur well for her shelf life. Sure,
Nicki, we'll respect your authori-
ty. But it's just kind of hard to take
you too seriously.
-JEFF SANFORD

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COURTESY OF CASH MONEY

Tearswere shed, fistswere raised
and models were sewn into their
outfits mere minutes before grac-
ing the runway.
Lifetime's "Proj-
ect Runway" aired
its season eight P
finale last Thurs-
day, but not with- RUnWay
out sharpening its Finale, Part 2
claws and ripping Brave
into the remaining
contestants first.
Ranging from bizarre to boring,
the collections of Gretchen Jones,
Mondo Guerraand AndySouthwere
presented in their full glory. Judges
included fashion editor Nina Gar-
cia, overly tanned designer Michael
Kors, obnoxious supermodel and

host Heidi Klum and, for some rea-
son, musical artist Jessica Simp-
son. While the panel split between
Guerra's Betsey Johnson-meets-
Heatherette collection and Jones's
less-trip-to-the-future-more-dive-
into-the-dumpster palette, South's
Asian-inspired astronomy project
was ruled out less than 15 minutes
in, with no other mention as Klum
shrieked for a pair of boxing gloves
against the aggressive opposition.
Though Guerra proved to be a
fan favorite, Jones, with her urban-
casual collection, was unfortunate-
ly declared season eight champion.
Here's to hoping that next season
is less about tomorrow's trends and
more abouttoday's talent.
-BRIANNE JOHNSON

EPISODE REVIEW

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Forget other sci-fi time-trav-
eling novels; Cassandra Clare's
"Clockwork Angel (The Infernal
Devices, Book One)" will put the
rest to shame. In 18th-century
London, Samuel Hutchenson
seems just a little out of place,
but when the charismatic Lucy
Greene tries to break open his
aloof and mysterious exterior,
she finds more than she bar-
gained for.
Samuel isn't just a quiet, young
cobbler; he's actually a time-
traveling seraph on a mission for
God. Samuel recruits his young
friend to join him in preventing
the industrial revolution. They
embark on a series of high-stakes
missions to save humanity from
itself.
Never before has a message
been so subtly and intricately

woven into a piece of fiction.
The People's Republic of Heaven
is such a delicate metaphor for
the sublime state of being, only
accessible to those who over-
come dependence on gadgets.
Clare has set up the begin-
ning of what will likely be a very
engaging series. The team of
Lucy, Samuel and their sidekick
dog, Patches, is the most dynamic
since Harry Potter and his gang.
With romantic tensions left unex-
plored and a plan to destroy Big
Ben, we're eagerly awaiting the
release of "Book Two."
If you love gears and top hats,
you'll love "Clockwork Angel."
Modern literature's obsession
with steampunk will only be
fueled after this book is crossed
off everyone's reading list.
-CAROLYN KLARECKI

The website for game devel-
G ER Voper 5th Cell's next title "Hybrid"
is whatishybrid.com. Well the
real question is,
"What is going
on over at 5th
Cell?" Not to say HYb
"Hybrid" looks
like its going to 5lhCell
be particularly
flawed or anything, but it's a vast
departure from 5th Cell's recent,
games - namely, the addictively
simple "Drawn to Life" and "Scrib-
blenauts" franchises.
The teaser trailer offers little
gameplay, but the graphics exceed
the common expectations for a
downloadable game. And the dark,
COURTESY OF 5TH CELL brooding voiceover feels straight

out of a "Deus Ex" trailer, which is
just about the best compliment it
could be given.
Now, 5th Cell has done this kind
of game before a while back, but
while theywere busy makinggames
forpeoplewholikedrawings,nouns
and adjectives, otherswere making
games for people who like shooting
- games "Hybrid" resembles strik-
ingly. The war against the variants
sounds suspiciously like the fight
against the splicers of "BioShock."
If genetic modification is 5th Cell's
twist, it'll be too little too late. But
let's just take a moment to celebrate
that there are developers out there
capable of catering to both the
casual and hardcore gamers.
-JAMIE BLOCK


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