The Michigan Daily- michigandaily.com

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 5

* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, October 9, 2012 - 5

Annual concert
celebrates Lennon

A sexual awakening
through film

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irthday benefit versities was acknowledged.
"We used to initially go to all
funds peace sorts of high schools and things
like that and talk about Veterans
scholarship for -Peace," said Chapter 93 Vice-
Coordinator Bill Shea. "And then
By TYLER BAILEY one day we got thinking about it:
DailyArts Writer Wouldn't it be grand if we could
support people who are doing
what would be his 72nd peace studies asa degree?"
lay, chapter 93 of the Veter- Though still fairly new, the
r Peace will be presenting fund has already impacted the
th annual Ann Arbor community signifi-
Lennon John Lennon cantly.
day Ben- "A veteran by the name of
Concert" David Flores just wrote his dis-
e Ark this Benefit sertation at U of M. We awarded
lay. Concert him $5,000 to cover the expenses
a national of his research, and we'll have
ization The Ark that on display at the show on
ed on rais- Tonight at Tuesday night," Shea said.
awareness The scholarship would not be
costs of 7:30 p.m. possible without money raised
Veterans From $15 from the John Lennon Birthday
eace hope Benefit Concert, though the con-
se money cert is as much a statement of
eir Peace Scholarship Fund. peace as it is a fundraising effort.
its inception in 1985, this The artists featured will be play-
has raised over $20,000 to ing Lennon's music in addition
Michigan college students, to other peace-themed songs
ably veterans, who take in tribute to a man who had an
es focused on the spread of extreme impact as a peacekeep-
. ing advocate. They have also
is concert and scholarship had some support from a famous
its the Veterans for Peace's name - Yoko Ono helped to make
well. The Ark's website this project a reality with an ini-
heir members "feel strongly tial donation of $10,000 and the
ne of the best ways to stop blessing of allowing John Len-
armed conflicts is to help non's name be attached to the
ote peacemaking through event.
tion." "It's a real good chance to hear
e idea for the peace schol- some top-shelf musicians. It's
fund came about when open, it's a family event ... it's a
rtage of "peace studies" good musical event and it's a good
es at many Michigan uni- opportunity to support Veterans

for Peace," Shea said.
The chapter works diligently
to get excellent local artists will-
ing to demonstrate their art in
tribute to a legend. Chris Buhalis
is one of the people whose help
was instrumental to putting the
concert together.
"He has a long history of put-
ting together peace concerts,
so we're very fortunate to have
him." Shea said of Buhalis. "He
knows the talent, (and) he gets
first-rate guys from Detroit and
other places to come to play."
In addition to the concert,
Veterans for Peace continu-
ously strives to raise community
awareness of the costs of war.
"What we often do is a thing
called Arlington Midwest," Shea
said. "We started to make mark-
ers, crosses and stars and other
markers, reflecting the war dead.
We did this a number of times out
at Vet's park and it's a stunning
display. Now we do a little bit (of
a) different display. We memori-
alize the fallen in Michigan."
These displays may not raise
money as much for the cause, but
they give a visual representation
of the sometimes forgotten casu-
alties of war - something that
Veterans for Peace believes is
just as important as fund raising
efforts.
Whether people go for the
music, the legacy, the charity or
just another reason to eat birth-
day cake, the "Birthday Benefit
Concert" is a visual display of
peace and community support
of which John Lennon himself
would surely be proud.

'Warning: This column
may contain lan-
guage, sexual content
and cheeky puns unsuitable for
children.
Let it be known: "Bring It
On" is the
gateway drug
of PG-13 films.
By 11 years
old, I was
addicted - I
thrived on the
thinly veiled,
homoerotic BRIANNE
innuendo JOHNSON
(Hello, Sexy -
Leslie and
Jan-Jan the Cheerleading Man!);
I cheered along to the chorus of
"B-E AGGRESSIVE" and I coast-
ed on the high of my growing
vocabulary of expletives, none of
which I put to use (or even under-
stood).
Stepping into junior high
school, Ihad expected to achieve
juvenile delinquency before trad-
ing in my retainer for big-girl
braces. Suffer no misunderstand-
ing; I wasn't the steal-your-
neighbor's-GameBoy bully, nor
the Head Bitch of the Big Wheel .
gang. While I had been known to
don an orange jumpsuit (albeit
as a life-size jack-o-lantern for
my ninth Halloween), my life of
crime began with a slip of the
remote control and an ABC Fam-
ily "Bring It On" special.
Charged with third-degree
underage viewing of a PG-13
movie (The boner jokes, the
blasphemy!), and sentenced to
years of shame, Iam a hardened
ex-cinema criminal, with noth-
ing to show for it but memories
of Kirsten Dunst ina scrunchie
chanting about a gas pump.
What mesmerized me most
was not scenes of bitter cheer
rivals, nor the snappy one-liners
and signature '00s belly shirts
that drew my spirit fingers to the
VCR's.pause-and-rewind.
It was the sex. Obviously.
"But, Brianne," you argue,
"There's about as much sex in
'Bring It On' as in.the twin bunks
of a Betsy Barbour double."

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haps, but instead I speak of no-good, perverted clutches of
sence of sex: the raw, hair- the media, providing them with
ng, back-arching crawls a shining example of a good
s audition room tables as girl-gone-bad seed? Am I made
ant's "Cherry Pie" growls rotten by graphic afternoons,
a background boom box. by leaving "Barney & Friends"
ed (and a bit terrified) by behind for what some may deem
conds-longclip, I felt like a soft-core porn?
en boy discovering his dad's Nah. I prefer the term
of Hustler mags, feeling "biased-social-psychology-
s (figuratively, mind you) experiment-gone-awry" for -
maybe, shouldn't have take a seat, you may want to sit
eeling. down for this one - I turned out
As most great tales of sexual just fine.
very say, 'it all went down- Ask me if the media was my
om there.' My infatuation go-to source of sexual educa-
d the dustier shelves of tion, and I won't hesitate to nod
rents' movie collection, fiercely; "You bet your ass it
thing R-rated gems like was." When schools distribute
rican Pie" and "Bad Santa" sex-ed pamphlets explaining no
coal than gem). Sneaking more than abstinence and "Hair
nutes of "Old School" per in Funny Places" and when
paved my road to Hell, a adults underestimate a child's
on which no after-school ability to comprehend the con-
ng guard could lead me to cept of sex, where else could I
. Soon I would scramble have turned for the taboo topic
the bus stop to my bedroom, but Hollywood?
case smuggled against my It's easy to forget one's men-
button. I strained to hear tality as a child, to dismiss the
oards creaking down the immature mind as innocent
s my finger hovered over the and oblivious chaos. Denying
"Off" dotting my TV. that sex could have invaded
your naive thoughts at 11 years
old - too simple. But my mother
could clasp a hand over my eyes
for only so long; I began to won-
wer been this der what I'd been missing. Sex,
its not something I considered
R-rated. doing - I was still batting at
negative third base, flirting with
a creased Aaron Carter poster
and making Barbies kiss. But
arned what it truly meant to deny that I was aware of sex
"life on the edge:" Starring would be a lie, proven by my
eyed at a muted "American fourth grade punishment for
scene as your mother cooks disrupting the class for a good
r rooms away. laugh at the dictionary's most
this point, reader, you interesting word: "breast."
t me to indulge you in sto- Maybe my mind was a sponge
f my downward spiral into at 11 years old, but does that
1 addiction, an unaired make me a submissive audience,
documentary and an my brain soaking up the sexual
able libido comparable to imagery like Little Bobby's post-
endowed men with well- Playboy Kleenex? No. Sex in the
wed mustaches. media: It sells (heck, it excites),
se, but no cigar (do I sense but it doesn't corrupt. Bring it on.

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Clo

Success for 'Lonerism'

By KATIE STEEN
Daily Arts Writer
Remember in 2010, when Aus-
tralian neo-psychedelic band
Tame Impala came out with "Sol-
itude is Bliss,"
and Kevin
Parker taunted, *** y
"There's a pah-
ty in my head Lonerism
and no one is Tame Impala
invited?" Yeah,
we're still not Modular
quite invited
to Tame Impala's party - the
group's latest work is actually
called Lonerism. And Parker's
still making it clear that he's
quite Acomfortable strolling his
local beach in Perth without you
or anyone else. But if you're still
doubtful of the joys of isolation,
just listen to the album - being a
loner soundsgreat.
Lonerism starts off with the
misleadingly simple track "Be
Above It." The song begins
with sounds of a person walk-
ing and a crescendoing whisper
of "gotta be above it." A quick
drumbeat is added, and the song
takes off with an inspirational
refrain. There's a tide through
this song, at times drawing back
so you can hear the self-moti-
vating whispers, but also inter-
mittently met with upsurges
of warm instrumentals. The
footsteps in "Be Above It" are
an actual recording Parker took
from an unsuspecting passerby
walking by his hotel. Several
other songs also feature record-
ings of people, giving aspects of
the album a peeping tom feel -
rather than engaging with soci-
ety, Parker is recording it.
Much of the album is more
complex than "Be Above It" and
as a result, more difficult to pin
down as having a single sound.
This isn't to say that Lonerism
doesn't have that initial draw
to it like many of Innerspeak-
er's beauties. "Mind Mischief,"
for instance, kicks off with an
unforgettable guitar line, dis-
torted but clear, that layers with
a dreamy chorus. Eventually the
song floats off into this lovesick
disbelief, with Parker singing,
"She remembers my name" and
evoking some post-high school
dance memory - basking in a
glow of a social event magically

a phallic symbol?).
Have I proven the over-
zealous censorship councils
right in the'ir tirades against the

Johnson is smuggling movies
from the library. To help her,
e-mail briannen@umich.edu

Up and comig group
better on 'Numbers'

The night is dark and full of loners.
turned successful. "Mind Mis- point of Lonerism - to let your-
chief"-eventually beams off into self get lost in the noise? In
phasered reverberating guitars "Keep on Lying," the song even-
while Parker's voice become tually drifts into what sounds
muffled and incoherent. The like a party, created again by
dude's left the planet. Kevin's recordings of unknow-
ing subjects. You begin to feel
like you're dozing off on the
W ho says that couch in the corner while the
party continues to buzz around
loners have it you, the voices and music tom-
bining and extending into a
bad? Not bizarre semiconscious haze. If
you were planning to get fucked
Tame Impala, up beyond speech this weekend,
spare yourself the hangover and
just listen to someone else expe-
rience it for you.
"Feels Like We Only Go Back- But nothing argues for the
wards" is another song that has sake of voyeuristic wander-
instant appeal, but nothing on ing like the closing track,
Ldnerism has as strong a pull "Sun's Coming Up (Lambing-
as "Elephant," which kicks off tons)." The song begins with a
with a hard-hitting rock 'n' roll delightfully melancholy piano
sound not too far from the likes and Parker's strangely barren
of an AC/DC intro. The song vocals devoid of psychedelic
enters the album like, well, an embellishments. He offers the
elephant crashing through all ominous line "I disconnect
the psychedelic mush, and if it completely, see how that works
sounds out of place on such a out," after which the song drags
floaty, cool-headed, Lonerism, on despondently until he sighs,
that's because it was originally "I guess it's over." Cue hugely
created during a pre-Inner- distorted guitar, rippling over
speaker jam session. But even the end of the album as we hear
"Elephant" avoids being too recorded footsteps walking on a
straightforward - about a min- beach, eventually reaching the
ute in, the song morphs into water. And then, there it is, the
an intermission of fuzzy jams irony of Lonerism - the entire
that don't hit and punch - they album unraveling as a girl's
glide. Then the song returns to voice pops up on the recording
the same heavy, crunchy sound. at the end of "Sun's Coming Up,"
Some songs like "Music to quickly cut off with the press of
Walk Home By" and "Keep on a button. While Parker insists
Lying" might get lost in the mix upon his lonerism on a beach, at
due to their tendency to melodi- a party, in a hotel room - well,
cally wander, but isn't that the he's not quite alone, is he?

By JOHN LYNCH
For the Daily
Odd Future - a Los Ange-
les hip-hop collective of young,
talented and deviant rappers,
singers and
producers -
emerged in
2010 and capti- Numbers
vated the Inter-
net world with MellowHype
its assemblage
of charismatic Cslumbia
personalities
and diverse musical sounds. The
majority of the group's spotlight
has focused on Tyler, The Cre-
ator, the deep-voiced rapper/
producer and ringleader of the
crew; Earl Sweatshirt, a young
and gifted wordsmith who spent
most of his time at a Samoan
boarding school for at-risk boys
during OF's ascendance; and
Frank Ocean, the Stevie Won-
der of his generation. There are,
however, many underrated cre-
ative forces in the outfit that have
quietly been producing quality
music since the group's incep-
tion - chiefly MellowHype, the
duo of rapper Hodgy Beats and
producer Left Brain.
MellowHype's latest album,
Numbers, is the duo's strongest
bid for OF prominence thus far.
Since 2011's BlackenedWhite,
MellowHype has evolved soni-
cally in a remarkable way. Left
Brain, arguably OF's best pro-
ducer, seems to be working
with a whole new set of tools
on Numbers. While many tracks
still feature the sinister, mini-
malist beats that are prominent
throughout all of OF's music,
there are songs on this album,

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s the haunting "666," that and Earl Sweatshirt. Frank han-
ncredibly cinematic and dies the chorus on the fantas-
tic "Astro," singing alongside a
nbers also represents a soulful piano about how Prince
d improvement in the has inspired him to "wear a yel-
if Hodgy Beats, an intense low tux at the Grammy's and
with a lightning-quick rock out with (his) cock out."
hat doesn't always hit its In the most compelling moment
In the majority of these of the album's second half, Earl
Hodgyrestrains his verbal contributes his best verse since
ss abandon just enough to returning from Samoa to the
ressively effective, but on song "P2," describing in a diz-
like "Monster" and "Gnt," zying fashion how, despite being
apses and spits muddled, "far from Harvard," he has found
control verses. success in the world thanks to
his OF crew.
There are many songs on
11o Numbers, however, that are
IellowHype either disastrously out of place
;teps out of or entirely worthless altogether.
- With a run time of nearly 60
FW GKTA's minutes, the album is riddled
with filler tracks, including the
shadow. pointless nonsense of "Leflair"
and the dreadful "Snare," which
features a chorus that sounds
like Hodgy doing his best Pas-
gy's best performance is sion Pit impression - with chil-
/Breakfast," which is the dren's choir and all - and falling
's standout track and pos- flat on his face.
he greatest MellowHype Although it rambles on toward
date. The song's first half, the end and lacks consistency
eatures a bright, piano-led throughout,Numbers is certainly
imilar to the warm, boun- worth a listen.
duction of Pharrell Wil- With "65/Breakfast," Hodgy
and pointed rhymes from and Left Brain have crafted one
, including a boast that his of the best rap songs of 2012, and
as "contagious as a herpe overall, the album is formidably
tip of a Slurpee straw." entertaining and an excellent
cond half, "Breakfast," is representation of MellowHype's
nospheric cloud of synths talents.
ngelic background vocals Numbers is certainly flawed
nds Hodgy ruminating on and occasionally frustrating, but
s, the next chapter of his nonetheless, it is a solid release
and death. that will earn MellowHype a spot
nbers is enhanced signifi- in the top tier of Odd Future's
by performances from fascinating and ever-expanding
F members: Frank Ocean music catalogue.

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