0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 -- 5
* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, Novtmber 20, 2012 - 5
Rihanna's latest is catchy
and 'Unapologetic'
Ballads balance
excellently with
FOOD COL,-'
Dressing up
sweet potatoes
upbeat tracks ,
By GREGORY HICKS
Daily Arts Writer
And so begins the dispute over
Rihanna's non-stop stream of
album releases. If only Rihanna
were willing to
move on from ****
Chris Brown as
fast as she was Rihanna
willing to from
Talk That Talk. Unapologetic
But why slow Def Jam
down? Rihanna
doesn't need
an extra year to ponder what
music she'll be writing for her
next record, and every reputa-
ble songwriter and producer is
dying to have their work heard
on the Barbadian pop star's
album. The life of an artist is too
short to release new work every
three years, only to discover it's
a flop.
Unapologetic is no such thing,
however, and the worldwide
sensation of its lead single "Dia-
monds" bodes well for the suc-
cess of Rihanna's seventh studio
album. This ballad track might
be an atypical style for Rihanna,
but Stargate is most certainly not
an atypical production team -
the team is responsible for many
of the Barbadian's 11 number-
one hits.
"Diamonds" sets out to prove
that basic dance tracks aren't
the only way for a pop artist to
leap into the Top 10 in nearly
every country in the world. With
the release of the official remix
featuring Kanye West, Rihanna
channels Katy Perry's numerous
attempts to bump a single into
modus
course
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Thank
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with a
turkey
potato
hough praising and toes. We would be left with
bashing the eats in Ann nothingbut scrambled eggs and
Arbor is my customary baby food ... not exactly ideal. So
operandi, I'm shifting instead, we're going to have to
a bit this time around employ the culinary technique
or of of egg tempering.
y Day. To do this, adda dollop of the
e as I r hot sweet potato mash to the
gether egg mixture. With exigency,
amily completely whisk the potatoes
es, a into the eggs. Repeat this pro-
bbon cess with three more dollops
ry to sufficiently temper the eggs,
que NATHAN meaning their temperature has
and WOOD risen enough that addingthe
eal- rest of the sweet potatoes won't
ps scramble them. Beat every-
cks that - served with thing together with an electric
h of sarcasm - will have mixer until lusciously thick and
oking up the perfect creamy.
sgiving dinner in no time. To prepare the pecan crumb
fourth installment of my topping, stirthe four ingredients
rt Thanksgiving series, in a small bowl until combined.
ounding out the meal Nothingspecial here.
couple of my favorite Pour the sweet potato custard
dinner side dishes: sweet into a shallow, one-and-one-
es and dressing. half-quart baking dish. Sprinkle
on the crumb topping and cook
uncovered in a 350-degree oven
:)u c just for one hour. The result is a cus-
tard with a delicate, buttery, dul-
ve turkey on cet texture that envelopes your
taste buds with the mouth-filling
your plate. flavors of sweetness and umami.
Combined with a toothy crunch
from the pecan crumb topping,
this dish is an autumn classic in
en I was a kid, I didn't my home that's sure to become a
liked sweet potatoes. family favorite in yours.
gly sweet, canned lumps Another Thanksgivingside
ge mush with stale, broil- I look forward to every year
nt marshmallows? I think comes to us courtesy of my
s. But then I tried my "Aunt" Carm (technically speak-
im's Sweet Potato Crisp. ing, I think she's actually my
first cousin once removed). This
Sweet Potato Crisp dressing, which is based on Sally
Ingredients: Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions"
recipe for chestnut stuffing,
tard Ingredients: never ceases to satisfy my Tur-
edium sweet potatoes key Day carb cravings.
Rude Boy was, indeed, big enough.
the number-one spot.
Elements identical to Usher's
smooth, R&B sound make their
way into "Numb," "Pour It Up"
and "Loveeeeeee Song," all of
which are conveniently grouped
together on the tracklist. This
slow-paced, club-suited style is
the lure that brings in Rihanna's
fanbase, who are always waiting
to hear the latest sound experi-
mentation from the artist.
"Numb" is particularly cap-
tivating, with its seductive R&B
essence mixed with hints of a
Middle Eastern style. Eminem
also flaunts the contrast from
their "Love the Way You Lie"
collaboration by bringing 'more
Slim Shady to the track.
"Jump" brings an end to the
pure R&B section of the record
and introduces a dubstep style.
The - Skrillex-sounding make-
over of samples from Ginuwine's
"Pony" might be too intense,
even for the listeners who seek
Rihanna's musical ferocity.
More pop-friendly dubstep
finds its way into "Right Now"
- brought to life by none other
than David Guetta himself. Evi-
dently, Rihanna's attention span
for Calvin Harris has worn off.
Melodically and lyrically, the
track is dull, but the hammering
kick and dirty synths are sure to
draw in the "Where Have You
Been" crowd.
If there's one attribute of
the album Rihanna were to be
Unapologetic about, it would be
her collaboration with Chris
Brown. It might be "Nobody's
Business," but it's guaranteed
to reel in the attention of any-
one who glances at the tracklist.
This '90s-esque dance tune is
the catchiest song on the record,
despite poor mixing decisions,
such as Brown's inaudible intro
vocals and tacky, high-pitched
inserts of "I wanna be your
baby." The track samples lyrics
from Michael Jackson's "The
Way You Make Me Feel," but
Brown is trying much too hard
to achieve the classically jagged
tone of Jackson's voice.
With the initial release of
"Diamonds" and the contin-
ued expression from tracks like
"Stay," "Love Without Tragedy"
and "Get It Over With," listen-
ers will hear the impassioned
side of the pop star's music in a
way that has remained dormant
since Rihanna's Rated R days.
Don't fear this bit of familiarity,
though. The Rihanna Navy will
still get its fair share of dynamic
styling that it's come to expect.
ha
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MUSIC NOT E Oh
And now introducing the holy
triumvirate of new school R&B
By JOHN LYNCH
Daily Arts Writer
In 14th-century Rome, the
Renaissance movement revo-
lutionized European art and
thought. In 1920s New York, the
Harlem Renaissance produced
an innovative group of poets and
writers who changed the liter-
ary world and U.S. culture. In
the Internet age of 2012, there is
another Renaissance quietly tak-
ing place in R&B music.
In the past decade or so, main-
stream R&B has become bogged
down with formulaic pop tunes.
As the Billboard charts evolved
to become more club friendly in
the 2000s, R&B followed suit
and began producing countless
synth-driven songs with trite,
predictable lyrics.
While Usher, Chris Brown
and many other acts have con-
sistently found commercial suc-
cess with this type of music, they
hardly bring anything new to
the table. Even soul singers like
Anthony Hamilton and R. Kelly
have continually put out unin-
spired albums that sound like
retreads of their previous work.
R&B was in need of a savior -
someone who could rescue the
genre from drowning in unorigi-
nality by being a creative force
and producing fresh music - and
luckily, it found three.
Around 2011, three artists
- The Weeknd, Frank Ocean
and Miguel (or as I like to call
them, The Holy Triumvirate of
New School R&B) - came out
of nowhere and began indepen-
dently releasing compelling and
original music. Just as Leonardo
da Vinci and Michelangelo har-
kened back to the works of clas-
sical scholars, Frank, Miguel
and The Weeknd took inspira-
tion from R&B's greats - includ-
ing Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder
and Prince - and created ambi-
tious and inventive records to
reinvigorate the stagnant genre.
cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
teaspoon kosher salt
1/ cup ( stick) butter
1/3 cup heavy cream.
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
extract
Pecan Crumb Topping
Ingredients:
cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons (1/ stick) but-
ter, softened'
Directions:
Similar to how we boiled our
Yukon Gold potatoes yesterday,
peel the sweet potatoes and
chop them into rough, 2-inch
cubes. Again, it's optimal if you
can force someone else to do
this for you. Cover with cold
water in a large pot to ensure
even cooking. Bring the water
to a boil, reduce the heat to a
simmer and cook for approxi-
mately 30 minutes. When
effortlessly poked through with
a fork, the sweet potatoes are
finished cooking.
Drain the water and transfer
the sweet potatoes to a small
mixingbowl. Give them a quick
mash and slowly add the heavy
cream while mixing with an
electric mixer. Whip into a lush,
silky consistency. We're talking
like baby food puree, people: .
Blend those potatoes!
Then, also using an electric
mixer, whip together the but-
ter and sugar in a separate bowl
until light and fluffy. While
continuing to stir on low speed,
incorporate the eggs one a time,
mixing for one minute after each
addition. Stir in the salt and
vanilla just until combined.
Now, let's say we were to
throw caution to the wind and
simply dump the egg mixture
into the hot sweet pota-
Dressing Ingredients:
1 loaf whole grain bread
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 Vidalia onions .
1 package celery
2 tablespoons fresh sage
2 tahlespoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground
black pepper
1 cup homemade turkeybroth
2 cups chopped chestnuts
Directions:
Begin by dicing the whole
grain bread into -inch cubes.
Set aside.
Melt the butter in the bottom
of a Dutch oven set over medium
heat. Roughly chop and add the
celery and onions. Saut, stir-
ring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Then, add the seasonings and
turkeybroth - the final cup of
four that we made last week in
my first column of this Thanks-
giving series. Cook for another
five minutes to reduce.
Remove the mixture from the
heat and fold in the chestnuts,
and cubes of bread. Transfer to
a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking
dish and bake at 350 degrees for
40 minutes, or until the top is
golden brown and the edges are
crisped.
I can't brag enough about the
flavor and texture complexities
imparted by the fresh herbs,
savory homemade turkeybroth,
earthy chestnuts, crunchy whole
grain bread and sweet onions.
Pairing perfectly with yester-
day's recipe for gravy, this dress-
ing has rightfully earned its
annual place of prominence on
my Thanksgiving plate. Bake up
a batch and you may find your-
self making room for it on yours,
as well.
Wood will round
it all out in the next
installment.
RCA
"Bitch, I know I'm fabulous."
Wit
talgia,
Channe
has es
foremo
decade
surpris
and m
with g
and oti
poet w
images
tion an
ciative
hard tc
ten an
pretati
h the release of 2011's nos- more compelling material to
Ultra and this summer's sing about in usually heteronor-
e1 Orange, Frank Ocean mative genre. In several songs,
tablished himself as the including the heart-wrenching
'st R&B singer of the new "Bad Religion," Frank laments
Channel Orange was a about his unrequited love fox a
ing commercial success man. Needless to say, R&B has
odern masterpiece, filled never seen anyone like him.
gorgeous strings, synths Miguel, on the other. hand,
her-worldly vocals. He's a began his career in a more tradi-
hose lyrics paint abstract tional R&B vein.His first album,
of heartbreak, prostitu- All I Want Is You, wasn't par-
d the plight of unappre- ticularly distinctive in the realm
rich children that are of popular R&B, but with the
o comprehend at first lis- release of Kaleidoscope Dream,
d certainly open to inter- Miguel has found his niche with
on. an accessible, yet wildly original,
sound. Miguel's single, "Adorn,"
is a fascinating piece of syrupy-
ow let's see synth seduction that recalls
Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing"
em re-paint but sounds entirely modern. It's
a captivating pop hit that gives
:he Sistine Miguel room to showcase his
vocal chops, which are unrivaled
Chapel. on today's Billboard charts.
Abel Tesfaye, a Canadian
singer who goes by the stage
name The Weeknd, is a dark
ddition to being excep- and mysterious musician who
y talented, Ocean is also creates compelling, gloomy,
al, which gives him even sinister-sounding music. Unlike
Frank Ocean's introspective lyr-
ics, the words of The Weeknd
tell hedonistic tales of painful,
drug-filled sexual encounters.
With the release of three mix-
tapes in 2011 - House of Bal-
loons, Thursday and Echoes of
Silence, which are all remastered
and re-released on Trilogy - The
Weeknd created an entirely new
sound, one of trip hop-inspired,
atmospheric synths and hard-
hitting drum beats.
What separates this trio from
the rest of the R&B crowd is these
artists are true auteurs of their
craft. Much' like Wonder and
Gaye, who had complete creative
control in their later Motown
days, Ocean, Miguel and Tesfaye
all produce and write their own
music. The albums these three
have released in the past two
years are relatively free of label
influence which can often cor-
rupt the quality of R&B records.
With an unhindered ability to
take chances in their music,
Ocean, Miguel and The Weeknd
have produced and will con-
tinue to produce masterful R&B
music.
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