'wI
6 - Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Ghostface lives on
Angsty rhythm on Thee
Oh Sees latest effort
Former Wu-Tang
member teams up
with Adrian Younge
By JACKSON HOWARD
DailyArts Writer
Ghostface Killah might be
known best as a member of
the Wu-Tang Clan, but take a
quick look at
his Wikipe- -
dia page, and
it's very clear Twelve
that he's much Reasons
more than just
a Wu disciple. to Die
He's released Ghostface
10 studio KiIlah and
albuns
including two Adrian Younge
classics and Soul Temple
an R&B-styled
one - six col-
laboration projects, appeared
in six films, five TV series and
four video games. Simply put,
Ghostface constantly refines
and expands his game, even 20
years after Wu-Tang's classic
debut.
It's not a complete surprise,
then, that Ghostface decided
to cut a concept album with
a live band - led by a mostly
unknown producer - centered
on a mythological black mafia
don in 1960s Italy. The album,
Twelve Reasons to Die, is also
being released with an accom-
panying comic book. Of course
it is.
Ghostface and Adrian Younge
- the Los Angeles-based pro-
ducer behind Twelve Reasons
to Die - somehow manage to
expand Wu-Tang Clan's seem-
ingly unchangeable sound into
an entirely new product. Grant-
ed, Younge's haunting, sweeping
instrumentals take more than a
couple pages from the playbook
of the album's executive produc-
er, narrator and Wu-Tang found-
er RZA, but for the most part,
Twelve Reasons to Die captures
the greatness of Wu-Tang while
also putting an original twist on
its signature style.
The story arch revolves
around Tony Starks - one of
Ghostface's many alter egos
- and his rise, fall and rebirth
battling the fictional DeLuca
mob family in the crime world
of 1960s Italy. The album flows
together naturally from the
introductory overture "Beware
of the Stare," mostly due to
Younge's cinematic instrumen-
tal combination of classic Wu-
Tang style beats, 1960s vintage
soul and jazz. The presence of
Younge and his band, Venice
Dawn, is felt on every track of
the album through extended
outros and mid-song break-
downs during which Ghost-
face seems completely content
to step aside and let the music
play.
Still, Twelve Reasons to Die
is a Ghostface Killah album,
and the authentic feel of the
live band backing him only
makes Ghostface sound better.
His wit, storytelling and feroc-
ity are as strong as they have
ever been, and though it's clear
he's somewhat out of his com-
fort zone with the new style at
times - his trademark charisma
seems lost behind the band on
the first two songs, "Rise of the
Black Suits" and "The Center of
Attraction."
But when he finds his groove,
he's unstoppable. Ghostface
bursts out the gates firing on
the third track, "I Declare
War," an opera-wailing, organ-
laced tale of his conquering the
DeLuca family.
Though surrounded by
ornate production and atten-
tion worthy Wu-Tang member
appearances, Ghostface makes
sure to stick to the storyline of
the album. He falls in love with
the Boss's daughter on "The
Center of Attraction," and then
becomes paranoid about her
allegiance to him on the excel-
lent and grimy "Enemies All
Around Me" featuring the high-
pitched wails of William Hart,
the former lead singer of the
Delfonics.
Tony Starks's suspicions are
confirmed when the Boss's
daughter sells him out on the
seventh track, "An Unexpected
Call (The Set Up)." However,
this is far from the end.
On "The Rise of Ghostface
Killah," maybe the best song
on the album, RZA narrates
how the DeLuca family pressed
Tony's remains into 12 vinyl
records. Tony, then, is able
to come back from the dead
and wreak havoc as .Ghostface
Killah. "Medusa stare, my guns
bust in silence / I'm a black vigi-
lante killer, pro violence / It's
the rebirth, born again / Rise
through the vinyl spin," he raps
confidently over Younge's sim-
ple break-beat and noir-film-
sounding guitar strums.
The rest of the album fin-
ishes up Ghostface's rise and
takeover with "The Catstro-
phe," "Murder Spree" and "The
Sure Shot (Parts 1 and 2)." For
the standout posse-cut "Mur-
der Spree," Ghostface, U-God,
Masta Killa, Inspecta Deck and
Killa Sin all take turns detail-
ing the different ways to die,
from guillotines, cyanide, ice
picks and, as Ghostface threat-
ens over the lingering opera in
the background, "Ghost carved
through your skin tissue till the
bone grizzle."
The very same complexity
that makes Twelve Reasons to
Die work is also the album's
biggest potential flaw. Grant-
ed, most listeners who get the
album are die-hard Ghostface
fans that are prepared to dis-
sect his every rhyme, yet for the
common listener, there's a good
chance Ghostface and Younge's
fantastical and noir-drenched
concept won't be understood
completely.
The album ends with the
instrumental coda title track,
which effectively immortal-
izes the legend of Tony Starks
with looping Wu-Tang piano
and slow violins. He has risen
from the grave to reclaim what
is his, and through the haze
of Younge's swirling and wild
synths, you can almost see
Ghostface fading into the dark-
ness in a cloud of cigar smoke,
the wind howling outside his
window, quietly waiting to
pounce on his next challenger.
By KATIE STEEN
Daily MusicEditor
Last fall, San Francisco band
Thee Oh Sees bestowed upon us
an unexpected gift in the form of
the EP Putri-
fiers I. As the
name . might
suggest, the EP Floating
was grimy - but .
also delightful. COffm
Each song was Thee Oh Sees
its own distinct
entity - at times Castle Face
fierce and elec-
tric, other times
lethargic and mellow. While Thee
Oh Sees can be praised for its con-
sistent ability to provide quality
California garage-rock, something
about Putrifiers II stood out as
being evolved and'distinct. When,
months later, Thee Oh Sees provid-
ed us with the single "Minotaur" to
preface their newest LP, Floating
Coffin, the song had a more solemn,
aged feeling to it.
Now, as we consider the EP, and
single and all the bread crumbs
alongthe beach Thee Oh Sees have
left us with - well, those weren't
really helpful at all. No, those were
just a distraction from the rotting
corpse inside the Floating Cof-
fin that has slowly been washing
ashore.
Floating Coffin Segins with a
pretty standard Thee Oh Sees
track, "I Come From the Moun-
tain." It's driven with a relentless
and agitated energy, sprinkled
with the band's classic reverber-
ated shrieks of "oo!"and "woo!" or
some variation. The track eventu-
ally overheats, melting down with
a keyboard-guitar duet. The subse-
quent track, "Toe Cutter - Thumb
Buster," moves slowly and angrily,
fighting against a thick, guitar-
driven mass of sludge. But the track
-like much of Thee Oh Sees'swork
- balances grim fury with the soft
and sugary falsetto of John Dwyer
and Brigid Dawson. The title track,
a frantic, pounding songthat seems
to mimic the panic of being buried
alive, is granted an eerie quality
0
0
Kerrytov
with th
son gli
against
Now
Oh See
well as
bursts i
wave of
harmon
and pri
then, w
song igr
guitars
seconds
with th
ing fro:
pleasan
Floating
about it
pick.
J
yo1
The
consists
pissed o
er, andi
their pa
it's a lit
definite
to the f
us fall i
the firs
II may1
looking
dynami
ing to F
wn.
e vocals of Dwyer and Daw- to the shock of seeing your younger
ding above fists pounding cousin turn into a sullen, 10-inch-
mahogany. taller teenager who has acquired
here on the album do Thee braces and an army of zits since the
s show off their vocals as last time you saw him at the Christ-
on "No Spell." The song mas dinner table, baby-faced and
nto a shimmering, dreamy bow-tied.
guitars, rollingover angelic Perhaps, though, if the band is
sized vocals. It's smooth just entering its angst-ridden meta-
stine as undisturbed sand, phorical"teenage" days (thebandis
ith a classic Dwyer yelp, the actually quite older than what you
nites in a scorching burst of might expect after listening - or
- but only for around 20 looking- at them),then maybe that
. "No Spell" rolls in and out means they have years and years of
e tide, but remains enchant- developing and maturing to look
m dawn to dusk. But this forward to. "Minotaur," the last
t little track is an oddity on track off Floating Coffin, expresses
g Coffin. Make no mistake all the wisdombut also disenchant-
t; this album has a bone to ment that can come with grow-
ing older. It emerges in the fog, a
languid track filled with weighty
cellos, and tells the tale of the
?aying out namesake mythical beast, trapped
in a life of sickness and meaning-
ir teen years less drudgery and dreams that will
never come true. It's not necessar-
ily sad, but resigned. In the music
video for the song, the Minotaur,
majority of Floating Coffin after failingto win over a damsel in
s of Thee Oh Sees sounding distress, is eventually killed in his
ff about one thing or anoth- sleep.
it doesn't divert much from Perhaps Floating Coffin is a fight
st work beyond the fact that against this sense of defeatthat can
tle more angsty. The album come with growing older, as pos-
ly satisfies and stays true sibilities seem to slip between your
uzzy, wild sound that made fingers without you even noticing.
n love with Thee Oh Sees in . Maybe we are indeed being nailed
t place. But while Putrifiers shut alive in our individual coffins,
have had Thee Oh Sees fans floating along contentedly as it hap-
'forward to an album just as pens, but the wrath contained in
c and fun as the EP, listen- Floating Coffin offers a wakeup call
{oating Coffin is sort of akin against this apathy.
RELEASE DATE- Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS DOWN 35"1 knew it!" 47 Top-notch
1 Soccer officials 1 Daily grind 37 Thom in one's side 48 Golden Slam
5 "You _ dead!": 2 Besides Chile, the 39 Appears strikingly winner Graf
"'m telling mom!" only South on the horizon 50 Said
10 Location American country 40 Co. letterhead 52 Awayfromthe
14 Beny in healthy that doesn't abbr. wind
smoothies border Brazil 41 Welcome 54 Takes home
15"No way!" 3 _ market summer forecast 55 Punch bowl
16 Jazz classic 4 Break a 42 Noticeable lipstick spoon
'Take Train" Commandment 42 ot 56i c soand do
17 Lost color in one's 5 'Toy Story' boy 45 Comedown hard 60 Hard to see
cheeks 6 Fend off 4o d n 64rhad as s
19 Greasy spoon 7 Dance around on 64 French lndmass
grub 8 Somme sat 46 Fild pa 6dcsdity 005
20 Hit hard 9 Where Nike ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
21 Like blue hair headquarters is JUD...A.A..F.
22 "Faust" dramatist 10Considerable, as J 5 E L h B A R A F D S
24 Fred's dancing discounts OGRIEDO M INORB AdR lh
sister g 11Terse critical K I N G S I Z E B E D D I N G
26 Bartender's twist appraisal E E I N Y E T I L E S
28BBeer to drink on 12Ties to a post, as H C h 0 V C B H E L 0
Cincode Mayo a horse
30 Four quartey s 13 Art gallery props R E L O T A T A
31 Taxagcy. 18Delightful spot U F O T L C R S V P S
32 Archaic"once" 23 "Paper Moon" M A J O R A T T R A C T I O N
33 Talk show Oscar winner p R O M S O L E E L
pioneer Jack Tatum A S P S T I F F
36 Residential bldg. 25Many, informally G E N E R A L S T R I K E
units 27 Change from 0C5CBAL0TRIK
38 Stack of vampire to bat, say E. L L T O R O T E N U R E
unsolicited 29Kwik-E-Mart FO L L O W THE L E A D E R
manuscipts owner on "The T R E E A R A G E L O C O
41 Bushsecretaryof Simpsons" S Y N E RENO EST S
laorlane 34 Extend an
n invitation for xwordeditor@aol.com 04/16/13
"Blazing 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 1112 13
Saddles" 14 1516
44 Emails the wrong
person, say 17 1a 19
48 UiSCanada's~2
Canals so z1 22 us
49 Sunrise direction,
in Kln ' 524 5 2 u7
51 Buyer's "beware" 05 29 30 31
53 Tribal carving
57 Go 32 33 34 35 s 37
58 City on the Rio
Grande s 39 40
5B Feed the kitty
61 "Cool" monetary 41a2 43 44 4s 4s a7
amt 48 49 50 51 52
62 Even-handed
63 lt may be filled s 4 55 .5 07
with a garden
hose s 9 50 61
66 Helsinki resident
6t7Actress Barstn 6 6 as
68 Hp-swiveling
dance stnas
69 Vexes 69 707
70 Extremely poor
71 Ruin Bond's
martini (c)2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc 416/13
Cal#734-418-4115
Emi:dailydisplay@gmail.com
INTR-CBP .CRNEPWANTED IICENTL MUSFUISHED
bath., internet, summer from $350, fall
from$500. Call 734-276-0886.
EFFICIENCY 1 BDRM. Fall 2013-
14. $825-925. Most include heat & wa-
1303 WILMOT ST ! NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! ter. Prkg extra cost where avail. cappo-
Availability: 5/1/13-8/21/13 LOCAL NON-PROFIT foundation ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! management.com 734-996-1991.
Price: $600 per month looking for interns. Preferable if you ! www.HRPAA.com 996-4992 !
Features: All utilities included, incl ca- have own transportation. Contact -IHALF OFF SALE
ble & wifi, A/C units in each bdrm, henryhlin@gmail.com and see EXPIRES 4-30-13
coin !dry avail on-site, 1 prkg space www.scottfoundation.org ! STERLING 411 LOFTS has limited HALF OFF PROCESSING FEE
Link: cribspot.com/sublet/35 summer only bed spaces available start- HALF OFF SECURITY DEPOSIT
ing at $599 all inclusive. Lease dates PLUS GET $250 OFF 1ST MONTH'S
are May 3rd -August 13th, 2013. 2 RENT!
535 WALNUT ST blocks from Central Campus and (FULL 2 BEDROOMS AND MAY
Availability: 5/5/13-8/25/13 STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM downtown. 734-998-4400 TO MAY ONLY)
Price: $350 per month Paid survey takers need in A2. www.4etevenlofts.com Visit us at
Features: Brand new porch, big room 100% FREE to join. Click on Surveys. www.universitytowers-mi.com
and large downstairs ! STERLING 411 LOFTS - Reserve 536 S. Forest Ave.
Link: cribspot.com/sublet/36 your 2013-14 bed space at U-M's Best Ann Arbor, MI 48160
hi S nd tPnrlv fnr the l 3'734-761-2680
0
0
817 ARCH
Availability: 6/l/13-8/20/13
Price: $300 per month
Features: Wireless available,
centrally located.
Link: cribspot.com/sublet/34
U OF M student lab assist.
Aging research. Mouse husbandry and
data collection. Holiday and weekend
availability needed. 10to 15 hours per
week. Contact Sabrina at
lienzar@umich.edu or 734-936-2164.
WORK ON MACKINAC Island This
Summer - Make lifelong friends. The
Island House Hotel and Ryba's Fudge
Shops are looking for help in all areas:
Front Desk- Bell Staff Wait Staff
nousng. -oi out early or me ast.
years. 2 blocks from Central Campus
and downtown. 1 - 4 bedroom apart-
ments with May to May or August to
August lease terms available. First
month FREE on a May to May lease.
Sign within 48 hours of a tour on an
August to August lease and receive a
$500 gift card. Limited academic
leases available. Roommate matching,
parking and private baths available.
Rates starting at $673. 734-998-4400
www.4elevenlofts.com
ARBOR PROPERTIES
Award-Winning Rentals in Kerrytown,
Central Campus, Old West Side,
Burns Park. Now Renting for 2013.
734-994-3157. www.arborprops.com
CAMPUS MANAGEMENT, INC.
invites you to visit
www.CampusMgt.com
the best local website for a wide selec-
tion of apartments and houses. We spe-
FVILrS, DI L1, VUL 1,
SUBLET WANTED JUL-AUG. Sales Clerks, Kitchen, Baristas. Hous-
Very near campus. Please contact me at ing, bonus, and discounted meals.(906)
gaylnessgiumich.edu 847-7196. www.theislandhouse.com
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT
1Univemity
"HALF OFF SALE"
(Expires April 15, 2013)
Half off processing fee
Half off security deposit
Plus get $250 off
first month's rent!
(Full 2 bedrooms
and May to Maypnly)
Visit us at
universitytowers-mi.Com
536 S. Forest Ave.
Ann Arbor, MI 48160
734-761-2680
PRIVATE TUTORING FOR LSAT, cialize in houses and apartments very
LAW SCHOOL, BAR EXAM close to central campus. All are attrac-
My credentials: COLLEGE PRO IS now hiring tively priced, most include parking,
" perfect 180 on LSAT painters all across the state to work out- many are furished and some include
- Michigan Law grad (3.85 GPA) doors w/other students. Earn $3k-5k. utilities. Contact us for details. Com-
" licensed attorney Advancement opportunities + plete listing for Fall 2013 available
" 20+ years' teaching experience internships. 1-888-277-9787 or now! Or call and speak with our
" hundreds of delighted students www.collegepro.com Leasing Consultant, Pat at '
734.996.2861 www.TESTGURU.com 734-663-4101.
SUMMER STORAGE STUDENT
Specials- Indoor and closest to campus. HEADED BACK TO the Grosse M bdgfurn ed 400 e prS nea
Hook online now annarborstorage.com uPointearea this summer? Want to work 704-650-9929 or chkeeler@umich.edu
or cull 734- 663-0690 outside? We are lookhog for student_______________
painters. 40 hrs/wk. $8.50/h. Bonus WWW.800FULLER.COM
THESIS EDITING. LANGUAGE, based on work completed. Email (734) 769-7520
organization, format. All disciplines. Williamto apply at willcall@umich.edu 1 & 2 bdrm., modern, clean, quiet
734-996-0566 or writeon@iserv.net 5 min. walk. Free Wi-Fi.
0