The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 -- 7
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, April 5, 2011 - 7
For the love of listening
n my heart there is a
24-hour Lightning Bolt
show, but my head says
wear ear plugs, terrified of
committing when my body is
trying its
best to sway
and head-
bang when
appropriate.
I become
the ghost of
genre, the
corporeal JOE
re-enactment DIMUZIO
of decades I
wasn't alive
in. I am wearing clothes owned
by other men, maybe women,
discarded. Listening to old
records that have been scratched
and handled by individually oily
fingernails, scrubbed hands com-
posite in the decision that it was
worth the money or died, hand-
ing it over.
I can listen to the sounds of
any song I want, so I stick to
roughly four or five thousand, an
island, a curse. I am regretting
my predilection for melody, heart,
emotion and wordplay. I am try-
ing to remove the rhythm and
compactness from pop and the
elation and soul from anything
else other than what has been
approved by straight, white men
15 years my senior. I tell myself I
am not like them or anyone else I
know, and that wandering in the
dark is possible when your lights
are turned on and your laptop
back-lit screen is brighter than
the dim lamp illuminating eyelids
at 2:48 a.m. I am convinced I will
dream in Technicolor.
I have come to believe in
cliches, because they make me
comfortable. I have settled for
conclusions on Brian Wilson,
Prince Rogers Nelson and any
number of emotional, physical,
drug, dream casualties because
I'm predisposed to become quiet
when sad, rhythmic when angry.
I have not learned that music
doesn't calm any damn beast, it
just confuses it to the point of
exhau:
best fr
Musicl
the bes
I am h
I lon
obsess
no loni
a day-I
Stone,:
head o
it's cra
Campu
vinced
loway'
as gooc
it at 5:C
while'
and a t
minute
son int
(unpro
I ha
is no st
confess
but a c
off dur
longer
receive
who ha
believe
I sangi
I was u
tions a
chappe
Taking
ing it t
stion. Iam downplaying my by ingrates who pretend to drink
iend's purchase of Fear of alot, too tired to get drunk.
because I know it is one of I have told myself that "Whip
st records he's ever bought. My Hair" is a fluke when I know
oping my friends fail. it's an answer, and ignored the
g for a counterpart in my reality of death and familial
ions, knowing they would decay. I have pretended not to
ger be obsessions. I wield care. I am touched by Trey Songz
ong love affair with Sly when shields are low, and cannot
replaying an album in my remove Alvin Lucier from the
n a bus trip and deciding echoing chasm of my carefully
p in the course of North guarded, half-deaf head. I tell
as to CC Little. I've con- people Iwill make time, find-
myself that Aaron Dil- ing the clock past midnight not
s Chain Shot will neverbe returning from the ball. Staying
d as the first time I heard out past mybedtime, affairs with
00 a.m. on my headphones reluctant lovers, tunes I forget in
wearing basketball shorts minutes I waste, matchmaking.
-shirt, believing for a few I have listened to quiet my
es that I was the only per- head when it is loud and clamor-
the world listening to it ing for silence after 21years of
ven, likely true). noise. Accepting safety in the
ve danced alone, which belief of hearing it all, casually
atementof pride but a admittiig the skin that is scraped
sion that merits nothing when Sun Ra launches, Suicide
ry for help. I tore my shirt digs in and Julie London waltzes
ing a DJ set that lasted no likea panther in vocal smoke.
than half an hour and was I tried to hold on when Lime
ed by 20 or so drunk people told me it was magic, when Iam
ad nothing else to do. I lost in nine minutes dubbed like
in things that don't exist. a lifetime in short - purpose
into the mirror realizing forgiven when a soul achieves
tterly devoid of the emo- transcendence. Speaking without
nd words coming out of my thinking, skipping over words
ed lips and buttered heart. like the melody of a week spent in
it seriously, seriously tak- absence of knowing you are sing-
oo far. ing dead songs breathed life.
Turn "it" up.
I will downplay the vulner-
ur i'u ability I have for mirrors and
facile dead ends. The realizations
Do it. that occupy days in which eter-
. I. nity seems manageable and the
grasp of hopeless future seems
likea three-chord elegy written
t bored at the Pike Room in feedback, food prepared with
cided it was all over and love and deliberation to come
ffee could change things back for seconds. Knowing that
could Sign '0 the Times. I one listen is never enough, and
helves of books Ihave no that infinity is a lifetime of defeat
on of reading, cassettes spun on minute hands, amplified,
e heat-damaged, relation- waves crashing however they
have failed to nourish. I choose on some precious, private,
utched the drooping plas- desperate shoreline.
Artists from Rihanna to the Morning Benders have aided the Japan relief effort through releases.
Tuning in to relief
I]
I go
and de
that co
and so
have s
intenti
that ar
ships I
have cI
Music for Japan
binds sound and
selflessness
ByJULIA SMITH-EPPSTEINER
Daily Arts Writer
Music has been proven to alter
brain waves and heart rate, affect
plant growth, mend a broken
heart and - most importantly -
to raise money for charity. This
time around, Japan is in need, and
iTunes, the Morning Benders and
Sava's Cafe have stepped up to the
plate with fervor.
It's true that we very rarely
have the sound satisfaction of
seeing our cash directly translate
into a concrete place of assistance,
thus doubts can arise. We may
have doubts about our money
providing tangible relief, but it
is such a devastating occurrence
that even the possibility makes it
worth it.
Mainstream music's biggest
names have responded to the
devastaljqn frpm the 8.9-mag-
nitude earthquake near the east
coast of Honshu, Japan and the
ensuing Pacific tsunami with
Songs for Japan. The album con-
tains 38 previously recorded
popular songs for $9.99 (found
on iTunes's homepage), and all
proceeds go straight to the Japa-
nese Red Cross Society to be used
for immediate relief and eventual
recovery support.
Songs for Japan features 30
altruistic artists including U2,
Norah Jones, Kings of Leon,
Rihanna, Black Eyed Peas, Adele,
Bob Dylan, Justin Bieber, Emi-
nem and Bruce Springsteen.
It seems that a lot of the songs
on the compilation, like "Imag-
ine" by John Lennon and "Hold
On" by Michael Bubl, were cho-
sen for their lyrically inspiration-
al tone. However, there are some
that don't fit the philanthropic
shoe.
For instance, it escapes me as
to how Rihanna's "Only Girl (In
The World)" suits the album's
purpose, with lyrics like, "Take
me for a ride, ride / Oh baby, take
me high, high / Let me take you
by surprise / Oh make it last all
night, night." Does she want the
disaster to last all night long?
Can't be that ... the connection to
Japan is lost on me.
But in reality, if "Only Girl"
and other irrelevant songs on the
album boost the number of pur-
chasers - contributing to relief
down the line - then I'm not
opposed.
There is one album that I
admittedly like better and is
also assisting Japan through the
power of music: Japan Echo. The
Morning Bendersy e-somewhat
small-time band. from Berkeley,
Calif., came out with their sev-
enth EP a week after the disaster
took place. One hundred percent
of their proceeds are being donat-
ed to Japan Society's Earthquake
Relief Fund.
Japan Echo has eight tracks
full of remixed indie-pop rapture.
One can purchase this album
for incremental prices spanning
in generosity from five to one
hundred dollars, with all levels
of donation appreciated by the
Morning Benders.
This humanitarian EP feels
much more connected to the
Japan tragedy than Songs for
Japan, as band member Chris
Chu was born in Japan and has
"always had a deep love for the
country and people," according
to a statement he made on the
album's release. Even further
attaching the Morning Benders
to the island nation is the fact that
they were scheduled to play their
first Tokyo show when the disas-
ter hit.
Japan Echo gets superbly
funky with "Excuses" (RAC
Remix), "Hand Me Downs"
(Wild Nothing Remix) and "Bet-
ter In Blue." These eight tracks
aren't just a rehashing of old
songs but will bring a pleasing
electronic soundscape for do-
gooders to dance to.
More locally, on Ann Arbor's
beloved South State Street, Sava's
Cafe held "Jam for Japan" last
Wednesday. There was a live
performance by Derby Mama,
Future Genies, Leap Year and
Buttonsphere, and even the col-
lege students at the event dished
out their treasured pocket money.
. Sava's raised oezbii'0 as of 12
a.m. on Thursday, when they still
had two more hours of benevolent
partying to go.
Even if I prefer listening to
Japan Echo or local bands over
sweet potato fries, I'm beginning
to realize that allofthese attempts
are hitting different demograph-
ics (in some cases Bieber Fever
hooligans) and have serious value.
If you have contributed to better-
ing the lives of the Japanese survi-
vors in this way already, continue
to enjoythe tunes. If not, jump on
it and get jammin' for Japan.
tic ofhagshousing vinyl _Iknow I
will never love enough. They will
drape my living room like relics
in an under-funded museum run
Dimuzio secretly listens to
Willow Smith. To catch him in the
act, e-mail shonenjo@umich.edu.
TV RpEoV a EfWi
'Bd'prvsa alr
By KELLY ETZ
DailyArts Writer
With TV already dominated
by crime scene investigators and
* overly sexed doctors, "Body of
Proof" has a
hard time carv-
log out its own
space. Though Boyof
the premise is Proof
promising - a
hrilliant neu- pilot
rosurgeon is
forced into the Tuesdaysat10 p.m.
* role of a medi- ABC
cal examiner by
injuries suffered from a car crash
- the rest of the pilot falters.
Most notably, the lead character,
Dr. Megan Hunt (Dana Delany,
"Desperate Housewives"), is a
hastily thrown-together mess,
frequently sputtering dialogue
0 so painfully tired and overused it
will make your ears bleed.
Hunt can't seem to make up
her mind on which stereotypi-
cal character from a medical or
criminal procedural drama she
wants to embody. She's a char-
* acter from a different show in
every scene - from a snarky
doctor with an inferiority com-
plex (a la "House"), to a socially
incompetent brainiac ("Bones"),
to a tough cop out for justice
("Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit"), to a woman dealing with
a repressed love for her partner
("Castle"). Yet all these hopeless-
ly hackneyed possibilities don't
save Hunt from acting like she's
walking around with a question
mark over her head.
You know a show is bad when
even a seasoned actress like
Delany can't quite pull off such
a mundane character. There are
moments where it seems that
she might just break through
the achingly awful dialogue
and overly trite plot, but every
attempt falls short of satisfactory.
It's a shame, given that a power-
ful female character spearhead-
ing a new series should have
HEY MICKEY YOU SO FINE,
YOU SO FINE YOU.
SHOULD WRITE FOR DAILY FINE ARTS.
E-mail join.arts@umich.edu for information on applying
to cover campus performances and exhibits.
coURTESY OF ABc
"Get up, everyone knows you're faking."
proved to be a refreshingly origi- Apparently, Hunt believes she
nal change. Unfortunately, ABC can solve the case all by her lone-
made the misguided decision to some, and her long gazes into
place "Body of Proof" on Tues- empty spaces supposedly alert
day nights, thus pitting it against viewers to her brilliant deductive
several female-targeted dramas, reasoning skills. And what do
including "The Good Wife," an you know, as the episode draws
already popular show featur- to a close, Hunt smugly puts the
ing a strong female lead. View- final pieces in place and shoves
ers won't know where to turn, her superior investigative work
and will likely end up dismissing right in the detectives' faces. By
"Body of Proof" altogether. this time, there's an almost vis-
ceral need to see both detectives
tell Hunt to shut it and go back to
I egan hunts her lab where she belongs.
The show may have started
for personality. with an intriguing concept, and
yes, Delany was a good choice
for the role. But "Body of Proof"
has to work harder to distinguish
The unfortunate time slot may itself from the surplus of other
prove to be the least of view- dramas in its genre. If it hopes
ers' worries, though. The mul- to stay afloat, it must attempt to
tiple discrepancies put forth are carve out at least a few decent
tiresome at best and decidedly characters who are distinct in
sloppy, even for a premiere. Hunt their own right, rather than bor-
seems way too passionate about rowed from overworked, too-
her medical examiner work, familiar stereotypes.
given thatshe's been forced into it If "Body of Proof" can rise
after losing the ability to perform from the ashes of its burned-out
what she reallyloves - neurosur- pilot, it may hit a notch slightly
gery. Even harder to understand above mediocre. However, find-
is why Hunt believes she is an ing enough viewers to stick
honorary detective, despite the around that long will prove to be
lack ofabadge or training. a challenge.
I
PAY SM&ART
FRANK TALK ABOUT SAFE PRACTICES AND PROPER EQUIPMENT
Tuesday, April 5, 2011 pk
3:20 p.m. Lloyd Carr
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