The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, December 7,2011 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, December 7, 2D11 - 5A
Snappy 'Happy Endings'
These are the Black Keys. This is a photo of them.
Black Keys rev it up
Band learns to walk
'El Camino' on
latest smash
By KAVI SHEKHAR PANDEY
SeniorArts Editor
As Dan Auerbach howls, "I
got a love that keeps me waiting"
in "Lonely Boy," fans of Akron's
finest (sorry,
Lebron) realize
how lucky they
are to have a The Black
love that doesn't
- it's been a Keys
mere 18 months El Camino
since the Black
Keys dropped Nonesuch
Brothers, and
their new album El Camino marks
their third release since 2008.
The breadth to which their fan
base has grown is as remarkable
as their work ethic - with the
Black Keys as the last vestiges of
unadulterated, plug-it-in-and-jam
rock'n'roll, it's clear why jabronies
and housewives rock out to them
with equal abandon.
But don't believe Auerbach's
wails of being lonely for a sec-
ond. The days of him and drum-
mer Patrick Carney cranking out
tunes in abandoned factories are
long gone, and with a little help
from their friends - a scorching
bassist, booming backup singers
and virtuoso producer Danger
Mouse - the Black Keys have
crafted the tightest record in
their arsenal.
El Camino turns on the after-
burners from its first track, going
from zero to 80 within the open-
ing licks of the boisterous "Lonely
Boy." Melding a firecracker of a
riff with smashing set work by
Carney, the song nails the one
thing the Black Keys had always
been missing - music that gets
people to bust a move.
The Black Keys maintain this
level of amplified energy through-
out the album - it's still their
signature soul and freewheeling
vivacity, taken with a few cases of
Red Bull. "Dead and Gone" drives
relentlessly, pulsating with the
harmony of a mighty chorus. The
followingtrack, "Gold onthe Ceil-
ing" is a24-carat cut of blues rock,
featuring lacerating riffs and
searing, Jack White-esque solos.
The band has racked up a lot
of mileage, prompting El Camino
to sputter in a few songs. "Hell
of a Season" and "Sister" lie
among the pack of fairly forget-
table tracks, spearheaded by the
unbearably screechy "Run Right
Back." The missteps aren't as
lethal as the sleepiness that sunk
their last collaboration with Dan-
ger Mouse, Attack and Release,
but the band still has some fine-
tuning to do before completing
an immortal album.
El Camino is buoyed by "Little
Black Submarine," the rare song
in the collection in which the
band stops to catch its breath
- albeit a brief one. Auerbach
begins with a heart-wrenching
serenade, emotive yet uncom-
plicated, before launching into
a throttling barrage of frenzied
solos, alongside Carney, who lets
loose with his best Jon Bonham
impersonation. Oozing with
bombast and bravado, the song is
the Black Keys at the pinnacle of
their emotional and instrumen-
tal ingenuity. Is it their "Stairway
to Heaven"? Their "Runaway"?
Time will tell.
The saviors of modern
rock'n'roll as we know it, the
Black Keys unleash their pent-up
energy throughout El Camino in
a crisp 38 minutes. As the album
comes to its thunderous conclu-
sion with "Mind Eraser," Auer-
bach moans, "Don't let it be over"
on top of a slap-happy bass line
and Carney's primal thrashing.
Don't worry guys, we want the
tunes to keep coming too. If you
play it, we will listen.
By KAYLA UPADHYAYA
Daily Arts Writer
"Happy Endings" had a rough
start last year, as it tried to reju-
venate the tired sitcom setup of a
group of young
adults living ****.
in nonsensi-
cally spacious Happy
apartments in End
a big city. Nev-
ertheless, the Season Two
show managed Midseason
to attract a
cult following, Wednesdays
most likely due at19:30 p.m.
to the strong ABC
comedic back-
ground of its cast: Two members
are Upright Citizens Brigade
veterans (Adam Pally and Casey
Wilson), and Eliza Coupe gained
popularity as the wickedly insen-
sitive Dr. Denise "Jo" Mahoney
on "Scrubs." Even so, most crit-
ics were surprised when ABC
renewed "Happy Endings" for a
second season.
The start of the second season
proves this show truly deserved
its renewal. It sticks to a simple
yet effective formula, managing
to pair together any combination
of these characters and make it
work, something few shows pull
off in their early seasons.
"Happy Endings" is different
from the typical friends-in-the-
big-city sitcom in that there prob-
ably won't be any inter-ensemble
relationship drama or love tri-
angles. Max (Pally) is gay, Jane
(Coupe) and Brad (Damon Way-
ans Jr., "The Other Guys") are
married and Dave and Alex are
split for good (hopefully). Very
few sitcoms pull off trying out
romantic pairings of main char-
acters, but the writers of "Happy
Endings" don't have to worry
about these balancing issues.
Instead, they have the freedom
to bring on countless noteworthy
"You wanted to be an Olympic pole vaulter?!"
guest stars to play the love inter- This season has also shown
ests of the main cast, which is a vast improvement in physical
always fun for the audience. The comedy. The days of cheap roller-
writers give a knowing wink to blade-wedding crasher moments
the lack of Ross and Rachel-style are gone, and they're replaced
relationships in "The Code War," by smoother, simpler scenes -
in which Alex starts crushing on including the juxtaposition of
Max and does all sorts of bizarre Penny's ice cream-fueled break-
things to try to win his affection, down against the backdrop of an
like buying him a harmonica. authentic 1920s housewarming
party and the shellfish bloodbath
in the season premiere. The Hal-
No benefits for loween episode similarly high-
lights physical comedy with Max
these friends, and Penny's slightly creepy moth-
er-and-baby-conjoined costume
getup.
Not needing to rely on a par-
As former lovers, Dave and ticular gimmick or style to stand
Alex, Zachary Knighton ("Flash- out, "Happy Endings" is refresh-
Forward") and Elisha Cuthbert ingly uncomplicated. It leans on
("24") used to be the show's weak- the strong chemistry of its actors
est link, with comedic timing and upbeat, well-crafted dialogue
that was never as precise as their thatsets it apart from many ofthis
castmates in season one. Their fall's new sitcoms, whose leads
disastrous wedding-day breakup pump out irrelevant jokes amid
catalyzed the show, and much of contrived lines.
the first season focused on them. As long as "Happy Endings"
But the writers have figured out sticks to its formula and contin-
Dave and Alex work best when ues with its zippy pacing, it will
they're not in scenes together, stand out against similar sitcoms.
and the focus has switched to the The premises aren't necessar-
ensemble. This allows the whole ily groundbreaking, but the rapid-
cast to prove its abilitiy, Dave to fire jokes and well-meshed cast do
become a more engaging charac- the trick, making "Happy End-
ter and Alex to have some hilari- ings" one of the most consistently
ous lines. funny sitcoms this season.
TV REVHW
kLukewarm 'Hate'
a "M
Approximately 40 percent of every incoming PharmD class
consists of former LSA students.
By BRIANNE JOHNSON
Daily Arts Writer
If there's one thing a teenage
girl cherishes more than her lip
gloss collection and manuscripts
of "Twilight"
fan fiction, it's
her reputa-
tion. No one Hate My
understands
this as well as Teenage
FOX, whose Daughter
new sitcom, "I
Hate My Teen- Pilot
age Daughter," Wednesdays
invites door- at9:30 p.m.
slamming,
"misunder- FX
stood" adoles-
cents (and their moms) to revel in
the desperately narcissistic jour-
ney to teen-queen social royalty.
A disappointingly dowdy and
tired Jaime Pressly ("My Name
is Earl") leads as Annie Watson,
* a naive conservative mother
to monster-in-a-training-bra
Sophie (Kristi Lauren, "Living
the Dream"). As her daughter's
nature is revealed to be one
halo short of angelic, Annie and
best friend Nikki (Katie Finner-
an, "You've Got Mail"), whose
daughter (Aisha Dee, "The Sad-
dle Club") is part of a terrible
teenage twosome, are faced with
an impossible mission: to punish
their children. Mocked by unin-
volved husbands, a smug uncle
and a snooty principal, Annie
and Nikki must rely on each
other in navigating the unchart-
ed territory of mother-daughter
relationships.
Though the intensely ste-
reotypical portrayal of a raging
teenage population is obviously
an intentional exaggeration, "I
Hate My Teenage Daughter"
falls short of social satire, lack-
ing the biting humor that makes
a viewer want to laugh along.
Instead, the characters' obses-
sions with reputation seem more
like a screenwriter's half-assed
attempt at mocking female inse-
curities. The sexist stereotypes
are endless: skimpy outfits, com-
plete lack of sports knowledge,
manic fixation on weight and
desperation for male attention.
Due to their lack of credibility,
Annie and Nikki fail to win over
viewers - their superficial antics
mirror the stereotypes repre-
sented in their daughters. Refer-
ring to each other as a "pathetic"
working mom and a "lazy, stay-
at-home whore," the women
voluntarily sacrifice their posi-
tions as respectable role models.
Because the mothers seem to
vie for acceptance just as much
as the teens, viewers (and the
characters) are unable to regard
anything the women say with
authority.
Yet the show does offer a fairly
consistent amount of typical sit-
com laughs, even if nothilarious-
ly creative. While Pressly seems
a bit unnatural in such a con-
servative role (the only playboy
Annie Watson gets on her knees
for is Jesus), Finneran glows
with a natural comedic timing.
Charming in her self-depreca-
tion, indulgence in desserts and
general oblivion, Nikki is the
perfect sidekick to her rather
plain best friend.
Nobody likes
a teenager,
anyway.
The two, dedicated to drown-
ing their daughters in dancing
parent-induced embarrassment,
provide a bouncy dynamic that
ushers in the majority of the
show's comedy. A necessary
break from the draining annoy-
ance that is the remaining cast,
the motherly duo deserves the
attention of a program otherwise
dedicated to the woes of teenage
girl-dom.
"I Hate My Teenage Daugh-
ter" presents two important les-
sonsthat all (especiallyyou, FOX)
must learn: First, there's nothing
- not even a manicured adoles-
cent witch - that can't be fixed
with a healthy dose of embar-
rassment. Second, if the deci-
sion is made to title a program,
"I Hate My Teenage Daughter,"
don't be surprised when the audi-
ence hates her, too.
So. You want
one good reason
to earn a
pharmacy degree
from the
U 0
University of
Michiga?
Here are 12 good reasons,
for starters:
1. Financial support unequalled by any other U.S.
pharmacy school.
2. Outstanding pay.
3. Job security in economically uncertain times.
4. Unlimited opportunities to improve people's lives.
5. Unparalleled career choices.
6. Continuous growth potential.
7. Life and career mobility.
8. The power to apply medical knowledge at
the forefront of technological innovation.
9. Membership in an influential alumni network
spanning the globe.
10. The prestige of owning a degree from one
of America's top-ranked pharmacy schools.
11. One-to-one learning with world-renowned
faculty.
12. A small college environment within a major,
academic institution.
Choosing the right career requires equal parts knowl-
edge, insight, and planning. If you are weighing your
career options, please be sure to attend one of the pre-
pharmacy counseling sessions listed below.
To learn more about Michigan's PharmD Program, visit
the College Web site at www.umich.edu/-pharmacy.
Or contact the U-M College of Pharmacy at 734-764-
7312 or at mich.pharm.admissions@umich.edu.
Pre-Pharmacy Sessions at the U-M College of
Pharmacy: Academic Year 2011-2012:
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2011- 4- pm, Phtaracy Building,
Room 11)19
Thuday, Oct. 20, 2011 - 4-5 pm C.C. Little Building,
Room 1567
Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 - 4-5 pm, CC Littlei Building,
Room 1567
Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011 - 4-5 pm, C.C. Little
Building, Room 1567
Monday, Jan. 23, 2012 - 4-5 pi, C.C. Little Building,
Room 1567
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 - 4- lnt, C.C, Little Building,
Room 1567
Tuesday, Mar. 27, 2012 -
Room 1567
Friday, Apr. 6. 2012 -4-
Room 15617
4- pm, C.C. Little Building,
5 pin, CC Little Building,
Your future never looked bn'ghter.