The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, January 24, 2011 - 7A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, January 24, 2011 - 7A

Tuning in to show tunes

COURTESY OF MTV
"Oh wait, the zombie uprising is tomorrow?"
'Sk

Remake of British
teen show too much
for U.S. to handle
By CAROLYN KLARECKI
Magazine Editor
It seems like all teenagers do
these days is drink excessively,
have copious amounts of coitus
and overdose
on nondescript
narcotics. At *
least that's Si
what Brit-
ish teens are Pilot
doing, accord-
ing to the Mondays at10 p.m.
U.K. hit series MTV
"Skins." Over-
seas audiences just love those
deranged little narcissists, but
when MTV premiered an Amer-
ican version, people freaked out.
The American pilot is sur-
prisingly similar to its British
counterpart. Tony (newcomer
James Newman) vows to help
his best friend Stan (newcomer,
Daniel Flaherty) lose his virgin-
ity. They buy weed, they crash a
rich girl's party, someone ODs,
they steal a car and then drive
it into a lake. You know - regu-
lar, wholesome kid stuff. Clearly,
this, consequence-free shenani-
gans will be the U.S. version's
bread and butter.
When looking at the premise,
the show doesn't seem too dif-
ferent from "Degrassi," but after
only one episode, companies like
Taco Bell, GM and The Wrig-

ley Company have pulled their
advertising, claiming, "Skins"
isn't fit for their brands. Fur-
thermore, MTV execatives are
worried about potential child
pornography lawsuits that may
ensue after the third episode,
in which Tony runs bare-assed
down a suburban street. New-
man, at 17, is underage, along
with the rest of the cast.
Aside from the controversy,
though, the show isn't too ter-
rible.'The cast is almost entirely
made up of non-actors, but for
the most part, the kids deliver.
They're certainly not seasoned
professionals, and some of
the actors do simply suck, but
within the cast there are some
fresh-faced new stars emerg-
ing. Newman plays Tony with
a sinister coolness reminiscent
of Ryan Philipe from "Cruel
Intentions," Flaherty's Stan is
adorable and Michael Cera-
esque and it's not unfathomable
to imagine Rachel Thevenard,
(who plays Tony's girlfriend and
Stan's crush, Michelle) becom-
ingthe next Blake Lively.
However, the dialogue often
gets in the way of the acting.
The BBC has looser obscen-
ity policies than the FCC, so the
kids in the British version were
able to drop a "fuck" whenever
they wanted. The American
kids get bleeped out every now
and then, but mostly the writ-
ers were forced to come up with
cutesy euphemisms for sex like,
"tonight, we present Mr. Happy
with the keys to the furry city"
and "I'm gonna park my Chevy

in Michelle's garage." Nobody
talks like that - nobody.
The show has an aesthetic
unlike anything else on MTV.
Shot in Toronto, the tree-lined
streets of picturesque neighbor-
hoods and cookie-cutter subur-
ban start-ups contrast harshly
with the carpe diem lifestyle of
these teenagers. We're used to
the beaches on Jersey's shore
and L.A.'s palm trees and sky-
scrapers. Canadian suburbia
might be a teenager's prison,
but it's a nice change of pace.
Similarly, gone are the shaky
cameras and crappy sound of
MTV's reality programming as
it evolves with a scripted show.
The U.K.'s "Skins" launched
the music careers of many up-
and-coming bands and artists.
Consequently, the U.S. version
prides itself on a soundtrack
made up of songs by obscure,
underground artists, many of
which were viewer-submitted.
Should "Skins" make its way
past the controversy, it has the
potential to launch the indie
into the mainstream in thesame
way "The O.C.' once did.
The biggest problem with the
drugs and sex on "Skins" is not
that they're shocking, offensive
and immoral, but that they're
just plain false. Yes, teenagers
often make bad decisions, but
despite what MTV tells you,
most of them do understand
their actions have consequences
and they do care about things
other than themselves. But, that
just wouldn't make good televi-
sion.

have a confession to make.
I love show tunes. I've
loved them ever since I first
heard the soundtrack of Andrew
Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the
Amazing
Technicolor
Dreamcoat."
I remember
my mother
putting the
disk in the '
family boom-
box while my
siblings and LEAH
I were wait- BURGIN
ing for the
bus one day
in elementary school. We had
never seen the musical, didn't
know the story and didn't under-
stand the difference between
a Beatles album and a musical
soundtrack - but we loved it. We
danced around in a circle chant-
ing "Go go go Joseph!" until the
bus unfortunately interrupted us.
Yeah, we were super cool.
From there, my love for show
tunes grew astronomically. I
became an Andrew Lloyd Webber
freak. I knew the words to every
song in "Cats," "Joseph," "Evita"
and "Phantom of the Opera." Not
satiated, I turned to other classics
like "Les Misdrables," "The Sound
of Music," "Fiddler on the Roof,"
"Godspell," "Hair," "Aida" and
"1776:' The list went on and on and
on. In fact, it's still growing.
As I eventually discovered,
knowing a show's music greatly
increased my enjoyment of seeing
that musical. I knew the songs
in "Hair" and "Aida" by heart
before I saw either show onstage.
Knowing the music makes per-
formances so much more familiar
and rewarding. It's like going to
a concert - if I don't know the
music, the concert doesn't always
have the same experience. When

I went,
band V
only lis
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cert, I'
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or love
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Plus

to see the indie hip-hop the story arc. But out of context,
Thy? a few years ago, I had it's not really listener-friendly.
tened to Alopecia, which Putting these concerns aside,
ip a small portion of the let me make my case for show
show. For most of the con- tunes and legitimize my obses-
was just bopping along to sion. First of all, "I love show
I hadn't come to appreciate tunes" is not an all-encompassing
. When I saw Why? again statement. If someone said "I love
ar, I had explored more rock music," I would assume they
sand's discography and meant "I prefer to listen to rock
d the show much more. music sometimes, but don't love
OK, OK, OK. Yes, I under- every band that falls within that
he ridiculousness of some genre or every track that bears
unes and why some people the rock moniker." The same goes
em annoying. Some of for show tunes: I like some of
re traditional show tunes them, but am definitely not mak-
songs from "Oklahoma!" ing a case for every single show
'Fair Lady" - are a bit tune ever.
and can be ... interesting For me, this genre of music
emporary listeners who - when done well - represents
now what the hell a sur- a marriage between two of the
r care about British class things I love most: music and fic-
ousness. I get that - those tion.
aren't my favorite either. When the musical's story-
, a lot of show tunes - line is good, I'm immersed in a
world completely different from
anything I will ever experience.
Listening to "Aida," I find myself
s what I sin transported back to a B.C. Egypt
chock full of love triangles, war-
S the rain. fare and an entiretrackdedicated
to underwear. "1776" takes me to
my favorite time in history, and I
can listen to the musical musings
lly the forgotten numbers of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin
1 by the wayside in com- Franklin and other genius forefa-
n to show-stoppers like thers as they attempt to commit
mpossible Dream" - make the highest treason and declare
ely no sense out of context. independence from Great Britain.
vka," removed from the The 20th century Paris Opera
"Fiddler on the Roof" is House comes to life in "Phantom
and weird. What is Anat- of the Opera," complete with a
Why are these people nam- sexy, misunderstood, masked
dom things like hats and renaissance man.
'How is this music? The So, in order for me to appreci-
nly gains meaning within ate a musical's soundtrack, it .
text of the show's plot: It's has to have a good story. A lot of
ting and heart-wrenching famous shows - like "Annie Get
o a home that a community Your Gun," "West Side Story,"
s are being forced to leave "Wicked" and "Rent" - don't
e of anti-Semitism. In con- really hold an interest for me.
s a wonderful addition to See BURGIN, Page 8A

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