The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.come Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - 5 Ward up for award Ten thoughts on 'Countdown' 'U', a A AG with racist girl or feasti Top I sugar ricane along poolir lands( Un myn about she li the ev ond n were rience ages i recog the b Natio the m literat Corm Welty the se be an emon} Wa assist, writin South worki memo a con cess for th into h Line sen b Book immu profes alum and author "(Writing) can be reallydemor- alizing; it can make you want to National Book quit," Ward said. "I wanted to quit before my first novel was pub- ward nominee lished, definitely." Not to mention that the expe- By JENNIFER XU rience of Hurricane Katrina was Senior ArtsEditor so emotionally draining, Ward wasn't able to get started on "Sal- aulf Coast town encrusted vage the Bones" for several years. generations of poverty and Ward narrated her experi- a. A pregnant, motherless ences during Katrina: She had n the brink of womanhood been staying with her family, ng on dinners of crunchy enjoying a well-earned vacation Ramen noodles and warm in her hometown of Deisle, Miss. water. Meanwhile, Hur- following her graduation from Katrina muscles its way the University - when the house the coastline, slinkily began to flood. ng rolls of water across the "We had to leave out of the cape. house in the middle of the storm iversity MFA graduate Jes- because we didn't want to crawl Ward knows how to write up to the attic and drown, which natural disasters because was a possibility because the ved through one. Many of water was rising so quickly," she vents described in her sec- said. ovel, "Salvage the Bones," Their original goal was to drive colored by her own expe- to a local church in pursuit of shel- es during Katrina's rav- ter. But with the water rushing in n August 2005. Ward was and fallen trees blocking the path, nized last month when Ward's family had no choice but to ook was nominated for a sit in an empty field full of tractors nal Book Award - one of and watch the sheets of rainwater ost prestigious awards in cascading down outside. When the ure (Jonathan Franzen, family that owned the field came ac McCarthy and Eudora out in the middle of the storm to r count themselves among check on their possessions, Ward 'lect coterie). Winners will was struck by how unwilling the sounced at an awards cer- family was to invite them inside. y tomorrow. She suspected racism. rd currently serves as an "They told us to stay in the field ant professor of creative until the storm passed, since they ig at the University of had too many people in the house Alabama' and is already to let us come in the house," she ng on a third book - a said. "I thought they were prob- ir. Though she has enjoyed ably lying ... because they were siderable amount of suc- white and we were black." as a writer - her thesis And so the family sat. When se MFA program turned the water level finally receded er first novel, "Where the enough for them to progress far- Bleeds," and she was cho- ther down the road, Ward found y Essence magazine as a another family at the next inter- Club Selection - she is not section that took them in for the ne to the hardships of the remainder of the hurricane. sion. It wasn't until three years after Katrina that Ward was able to reflect on her experiences in writing. . "It took me a while to commit to doing it," she said. "I think it silenced me for a while. And I couldn't deal with everythingthat had happened." The young writer spoke about the motivations involved in com- posing the novel. Nonfiction had never seemed like the right genre for her, because the themes exposed by Hurricane Katrina had more universal implications than mere personal account. And so she chose fiction to communi- cate these subjects of sacrifice, loss and poverty braided into the tragedy. But Ward also wanted to write "Salvage the Bones" because she was fed up with uneducated ques- tions from people who were not from the area. "(They) would say stuff like, 'I don't understand why everyone didn't evacuate' and, 'The reason that the storm hit the coast and did what it did ... is because every- one's soulless and godless,' " she said. "They didn't understand," she added. "They didn't understand the people; they didn't under- stand the culture here; they didn't understand the real impact the storm had." know this is awfully peri- natal of me, but I've had Beyonce's "Countdown" on the brain for weeks. So, with natural numbers, I'm running down some thoughts on a song that has been stuck in my head and whispered out of my lips while antici- pating buses, JOE scrubbing DIMUZIO my back and pacingthe kitchen, waiting for the kettle to hiss. Ten years of courtship later and six years after "Crazy in Love," Beyonce has progressed, to nutty-bordering-incoherent - devotional with one riff and defiant with the next - in a kaleidoscope of atomic voca- lese. "Countdown" gives her the canvas for it - in mixed media - a patch-worked roller coaster through which no dominant melody or mood can pierce. From that opening melismatic "boy," (transcribed loosely as buoyee-eh-eeh-yee-hee-yee- hee-ee-hee-ee-yee-ee! and yes, you call us "girl," we'll call you "boy!") Beyonce is transfigur- ing/deconstructing (grammar?), tearing up the damn place. Rather than pie-ee-eece out her syllables mechanically like Katy Perry or faux-tropically via Rihanna, Beyonce's (occasion- ally overachieving - but here, wholly earned) aerobics massage them, oiling in casual snarls, octaval flips, jubilance. Love is "low-ooh-of" Sing is "sayng." (to rhyme with chain). Boo becomes "hoof," no questions asked. When language limits me, I have been known to sing. Or make up words. Nine is the number of people credited with writing "Count- down," ticism Franke hall, T Men, st in! Eac the nex white-f ing, ton dated, has tak ist pop, salvo o inside; 8. If Beyonc we're g hyphen wave, E empow T Be p World1 (Put A too con or redu intenti in dom sexin'-1 unabas But she divine' /If you mind," But the it on hi can't do deserv( which equal c man w Seve times)i down" Billboa ing this things 'which bears little skep- To begin with, "Countdown" considering the song's can't sit nicely with anything nsteinian chassis. Dance- Euro-thumping the top 10 (even usk-style horns, Boyz II Rihanna has folded) these days. teel drums, throw it all None of 4's singles have had h segment collides with much staying power, which t, edge-of-folding-chair, seems to say more about their finger-tipped snare-roll- independence (maturity?) from m-breaking, methypleni- pop radio's clubbing-turning- adjective pileup. If K-pop to-fatalism/predestination (i.e. en the torch of maximal- Ne-Yo on Pit-Bull's "Give Me "Countdown" is the final Everything" "for all we know / f a nation one year deep we might not get tomorrow," a a darker decade. trend I like) than of their medi- we're going to hash out ocrity. e's place in feminism, 6. Let the culture vultures ;oing to need some pick at "Countdown"'s video is. Post/non/second?- for its cut-and-paste pastiche/ Bey's calls for female plagiarism of Hepburn/Keers- 'erment, like in "Run the maeker/everything. The clip's hydra-headed po-po-mo veloc- ity suits the track like its kinky snapped fingers set against those his song is twee, clinking keyboards - !y once to the unexpectedly well. yonce o the 5. A conversation via text with power of 10. a female friend at 3:15 a.m.: Me: Writing about Beyonce Friend: She run the world Me: Thoughts on her? (Girls)" or "Single Ladies Friend: Sassy diva bitch with Ring On It)," are either meaty thighs (in a good way) iflicted to bear inspection 4! rctive against their best 3:33 - total track time, 213 - ons. "Countdown" revels seconds total, 33 - number of estic pleasures - still- replays on my iTunes in a week. but-no-longer-clubbin,' Give it time. hedly heteronormative. Two months ago, there was gets her kicks in with the a comment - so beautifully "Say it real loud if you fly succinct - regarding previ- leave me you out of yo ous single, "Run the World a threat and an invitation. (Girls)," about who really "runs" en we've got "Yup I put the world, featured on an m, it ain't nothing that I article titled "Beyonce Wants to o /Yup I buy my own if he Rebrand Feminism," saying it e it, buy his shit too," in better than I can: "SIMPLE.... sex and money, as always, MEN DON'T, WOMEN DON'T... ontrol. Lest we forget a SATAN THINKS HE DOES... rote these lyrics? BUT GOD DOES ACTUALLY." nty-one (I cheat some- 1... What is the countdown to, is the top spot "Count- exactly?? has reached on the ;rd Hot 100 (as of writ- s) which suggests some and makes nothing clear. Dimuzio is looking for other things to count ... down. E-mail suggestions to him at shonenjo@umich.edu. A2 welcomes local artist By JULIA SMITH-EPPSTEINER Daily Arts Writer University Jazz & Contempla- tive Studies alum Theo Katzman is a soulful staple in the Ann Arbor music scene. After gradu- ation, Katzman transitioned to touring with My Dear Disco, then reestablished himself in Ann Arbor as a singer-song- writer and a mentor for nearly 40 music students through his previous faculty position at Ann Arbor Music Center. Katzman's debut full-length LP Romance Without Finance was released on iTunes today. Though he recently moved to Brooklyn, his album release show took place on Nov. 5 at The Ark in Ann Arbor. The overall volume of the NAUGHTY DOG "I may look tough, but allI ever really wanted was a pony." An 'Uncharted'level of success Theo Katzman's Nov. 5 album release party was at The Ark. instruc this p ence cc intima his ban a more Julian Goss o bass an backup Th "I w with th analog of bein Katzm with T why I c tion foi The ing an album final tr Financ the tim time)" ite peo record1 a kitch the alb The ments was taken down for was recorded with a cassette erformance so the audi- machine, originated from a dark ould hear the lyrics. The time in Katzman's life. Through te vibe was magnified by the means of "I Feel Love (All rd Love Massive playing in The Time)," he was able to sort calm, acoustic register - through his emotions. Allen on the cajon, Woody "There's always this inherent n keyboard, Joe Dart on appreciation for life that we can id both Allen and Dart on access at any moment," Katzman vocals. said. "Sometimes it's the hard- est thing to find or to feel, but it's there. So that's what I'm hoping .eo Katzman for in that song." e KThis funky 25-year-old bru- has soul. nette has constructed a record of nine tracks with lyrics ranging from simply comedic to mantra- worthy. He explained his lyrics anted to make a statement are a mix of personal situations e live show that would be and imagination, songs like "You ous to the record in terms Could Never Know" being far g able to hear the music," abstracted to the point where an said in an interview most listeners probably couldn't he MichiganDaily. "That's perceive the meaning he began hose the (acoustic) direc- with. r it." Katzman's lines are abstract- room was filled with lov- ed from real feelings into engag- d familiar faces, and the ing concepts, like on the track parallels that love. As the "Called To Tell You": "I missed ack on Romance Without my first real anniversary/'Cause v sings, "I feel love (all I was drinking by myself / Being ie), all around me (all the an artist." - Katzman had his favor- "I think the first anniversary ple over for dinner and to line was from a time when I felt group vocals and claps in I was more into the idea of being en setting, which made the tortured artist than actu- um more real for him. ally being happy," Katzman said. track, one of two that "But that's definitely a funny line. It's supposed to be a joke, but it's serious too. I'm putting myself on the chopping block there to say, 'Look how stupid we can be.' " Planning to release more tracks, including "Three Sec- onds" and "Someone For You" in the near future, and with future albums on the horizon, Katzman is committed to his love for music for a lifetime. "I want to really impress music," he said. "I want to take her out to dinner and I want to treat her right, I want to do it up real big ... it's that sentiment." Katzman was heavily influ- enced in his childhood by many things: his father's professional career as a jazz trumpet player, working in the Los Angeles stu- dio scene and the classic music produced by his mother's parents. Though raised in that particular musical foundation, he found his own sound inspired by artists ranging from Cuban musicians to Led Zeppelin to Feist. "People who care about you want to tell you what to do because they're worried about you not being OK," Katzman said. "I think that if you really play that game and let yourself get surrounded by that and con- trolled by that, you can go down the wrong path." experience. With gorgeous graphics, a compelling story and the gameplay to back it up, "Uncharted 3" is the whole package of a single-player experience. By SHIN HIEFTJE DailyArts Writer "Uncharted 3: Drake's Decep- tion" is one of the few games that can actually create a cinematic The narrative is very much an "Indiana Jones" affair. A descen- dant of Sir Francis Drake, the protagonist, Nathan Drake, is a born treasure hunter who wants to uncover a mysterious fortune that his ancestor omitted from the record books. While no one knows what the treasure con- tains, a nefarious faction thinks the reward could be enormous. From there the story becomes a race to see who can get there first. Much like "Indiana Jones," it's a fantastical tale, with historical namedrops, globetrotting and some mysticism thrown in for good measure. While not espe- cially believable, it's a fun story and it's helped by some of the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception PS3 Naughty Dot best vo heard logue 1 sharp, ter an that br Wh castica being est deb the "u primar er, the and pi in a ty climb' to get find a next l the en In we All t ing, p formin incred mation which to cov and ex zles m rice acting that's ever been lighting effects in "Uncharted 3." in video games. The dia- And while the platforming is not between the characters is very difficult, the leaps look so with genuinely funny ban- death-defying and ridiculous, the d some serious moments ease doesn't matter. ing balance as well. Developer Naughty Dog can en Nathan Drake isn't sar- present Drake so cinematical- illy cracking jokes, he's ly and bombastically that the an action hero to the full- character doesn't seem like he gree. Gameplay varies in would be controllable. One scene incharted" series - 'while will put the player in control of rily a cover-based shoot- escaping from a sinking cruise re is a lot of platforming ship with water rushing behind. uzzle solving as well. So Another has Drake hanging onto pical scenario, Drake will the back of a flying cargo plane, up the ledges of a chateau shootingenemies while tryingto inside, solve a puzzle to climb in. It's both ludicrous and clue that will lead to the amazing. ocation and then fight off The multiplayer of "Unchart- emy to escape the building. ed 3" holds it back from perfec- tion. For whatever reason, the aiming feels less accurate than It's like if in single player, which is consis- tently frustrating. There's also a diana Jones co-op mode, which feels tacked on in comparison to the polished re animated. single-player That being said, it hardly mat- ters because the single player is paced to near pitch-perfection. hree elements - the shoot- There's rarely a dull moment in uzzle solving and plat- the entire 10-hour campaign. g - are all helped by the The original score is outstand- ible presentation. The ani- ing, the graphics are stunning rofthe characters is superb, and the gameplay holds its end of makes moving from cover the bargain as well, making for a er in gunfights more tense hell of a fun ride. It might be the xciting. Some of the puz- closest experience to playing an ake use of the phenomenal action movie currently available. I A