The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 5A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 5A Media satire to '18 Months' backed by classic Harris sound permeate 'Tragedy' Basement Arts The 50-minute play's humor other props, DiUbaldo has chosen has been compared to that of to observe Eno's written direc- takes minimalist "The Daily Show," and explores tions of keeping a bare stage. the absurdity of news media and "(It) lets the actors and the approach to parody its tendency to create stories audience focus on the charac- rather than follow them. ters, and their relationships, and By MAX RADWIN "Tragedy" focuses on one their words," he said. "Which I For the Daily central crisis: It's nighttime, the think is really important." sun has set and no one knows if it For anyone unfamiliar with This election cycle, Jon Stew- is ever going to rise again. Noth- Eno's work, this performance art of "The Daily Show" has ing has happened to suggest that can serve as an opportunity to pulled better it won't; nevertheless, reporters experience a comedy by one of ratings from Igy A are there on the scene to capture America's rising playwrights. young audi- the action and cover the story Among other achievements, ences than any Tragedy as if it were really the end of the Eno's 2005 play "Thom Pain major cable world. (based on nothing)" was a final- news network. Thursday, Each member of the news ist for the Pulitzer Prize in It's no surprise Friday and team seems to embody a differ- Drama. considering the Saturday at 7 ent archetype of the media. Their "He really does have his own frenzy of elec- p.m.and Friday names alone are a satirical com- genre of theater I think that he's tion coverage at11 p.m., mentary on the industry: Michael starting to develop," he said. coming from Walgreen the Legal Advisor is a know-it-all The chance to direct one of 24/7 media Drama Center who knows nothing, Frank in the Eno's shows isn't an opportunity outlets. And Free Studio might remind older audi- DiUbaldo is taking for granted - with the over- ence members of an aged Walter he's relishing the experience. flow of infor- Cronkite and Constance at the Just like "The Daily Show," mation, political satire may feel Home serves as the token female Eno's "Tragedy: A Tragedy" like a necessity. on staff in charge of special inter- can provide an intellectual and Perhaps because of these sen- est stories. cultural experience for those timents, Basement Arts director The show explores "how lan- in search of one. But it can also Avery DiUbaldo chose to put on guage doesn't mean anything. provide the kind of lighthearted "Tragedy: A Tragedy" by Pulit- It's just a pile of words that ends satire Stewart has so popular- zer prize-nominated playwright up sinking down on itself," said ized as well. Will Eno. DiUbaldo. "It's a really funny show," "(The play) is partially a sat- According to DiUbaldo, the DiUbaldo said. "People can get ire- on the news media, but it source of the play's humor lies turned off by all that high-mind- is also sort of a more probing in the struggle to extract impor- ed talk and the meaningless- question into what gives a per- tant information from a situa- ness of one's life and existential son's life meaning ... " DiUbaldo tion that is obviously devoid of it. wordplay, but (in) the very core explained. Except for a desk and a few it's a really funny show." By GREGORY HICKS Daily Arts Writer The average listener may assume that 18 Months is Cal- vin Harris's debut album, but it will actually be his third stu- dio album - and he's going Calvin Harris stronger than ever. As the 18 Months lead producer of Rihanna's "We Found Love," Harris gained the attention need- ed to become an even bigger inter- COLUMBIA Calvin Harris is confused today. nationa his Rea Har lighthe was on fans at of '80s twist." to the; listener ris. Th wiches instrun flooded combin and "Al Th To t 18 Mo synthp: laborat with N the Bo Clearly on the past hi: and "I' 1 sensation than he was in It wouldn't be a true electro- dyfor the Weekend days. house album writhout a few lyr- ris may not be the same ic-less tracks repetitive enough arted, nu-disco style DJ he to use as a CIA torture device. his first two albums, but "Awooga" begins as a relatively e still getting a fair share musical piece but becomes two- throwback with a modern and-a-half-minutes of (what School" is a brief flashback sounds like) a semi-automatic simple, quirky sounds that laser gun. rs should expect from Har- "Iron" is Harris's experiment e production quality sand- with heavy dubstep. With any the song with cheap synth luck, it will be left as an experi- aentation, but becomes ment. The intro track, "Green Val- with soothing reverb ley," would be a simple, successful ed with vocal "Oooo's" lead into the record if it weren't hhh's" at midpoint. for the female vocalist, who con- tributes no singing and merely an "Oh" every seven seconds. e British are Perhaps Calvin Harris has some grudge against this woman and wants his listeners to feel com- pelled to loathe her monotonous annoyance. Promotionally speaking, how- keep up with the times, ever, the collaborations are not nths has harder-hitting America-friendly. Harris found op, particularly in its col- success in American hits with ive songs like "Let's Go" "Feel So Close," "We Found e-Yo and "Drinking from Love" and "Let's Go" thanks to ttle" with Tinie Tempah. the U.S. familiarity of the singers, ,Harris wanted to expand but America's xenophobic musi- sound (and success) of his cal tendencies will do Harris no ts "You Used to Hold Me" favors. m Not Alone." Around these parts, Florence Welch is the "Dog Days"lady,Ellie Goulding is the "Lights" girl and Kelis is the one that likes to sing about her milkshakes - despite having nine Top-10 singles in the United Kingdom and two Gram- mys. Good luck finding someone who has even heard of Example and Dizzee Rascal. Unfortunate- ly, Europe's hit-makers are Amer, icas one-hit wonders, and their names aren't the best method to grab attention. With few exceptions, Harris continually displays significant talent in the field of composi- tion, proving that he isn't merely a sound junkie. Also, nearly every featured artist is widely regarded as a powerful lyricist - perfect to compensate for the writing aspect that Harris is known tobe least skilled with. The teamwork with these artists is what makes 18 Months a quality piece of work and a guaranteed hit - at least in Europe. The record might be too radio- friendly for his die-hard fans, but his nu-disco sound still works its way into the music, if not every- where. Calvin Harris - the singer, songwriter, producer and DJ - is no one-trick pony. TWEET-LE DEE, TWEET-LE DUM FOLLOW US YOU LAZY BUM @michdailyarts THAT MATCHES YOUR PASSION FOR SUCCESS. Quinnipiac University's new Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine has all the resources you need to become a culturally competent physician and change the way health care is delivered across the country. Apply to become a member of our Fall 2013 charter class. Our students will enjoy: - State-of-the-art facilities in a spacious new building - Experienced faculty dedicated to teaching - Early clinical experience and engagement withhealth care students and faculty from the Schools of Health . Sciences and Nursing . A respectful, diverse and inclusive community Learn more at nettersom.quinnipiac.edu, call toll free 1-855-582-7766 or email medicine@quinnipiac.edu. 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