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I The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, April 19, 2013 - 5A
I The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, April 19, 2013 - 5A
Saving 'Rock and Roll'
Scottish twins, Craig and Charlie Reid, have been playing together for 30 years.
The.Proclaimers
to play at The Ark
Charlie Reid talks
upcoming album
and tour
By PAIGE PFLEGER
Daily Arts Writer
Leith, Scotland is a town of
immense historical significance
and, in 1962, that significance was
furthered with the birth of twin
brothers, Craig and Charlie Reid
- the duo that created The Pro-
claimers.
"We were always interested
in music from when we were
young, but we didn't start play-
ing until our mid-teens," Charlie
said. "We just became more and
more obsessed with it, I suppose,
until we got to the stage where we
wanted to do it professionally."
For a band that has created
such a legacy, however, The Pro-
claimers didn't immediately rock-
et to fame. The brothers spent a
lot of their free time writing songs
and trying to build up an act that
they felt they could take on the
road. Even though there wasn't
instant gratification, they worked
for many years in order to pursue
music professionally.
"The early part of. our career
was so stop-start," Charlie said.
"I think initially a lot of guys who
come out and make a record and
have some success and have some
following; you get insecure. You
think it is going to evaporate and
disappear. When it became obvi-
ous to us that it wasn't in the ear-
lier part of the 2000s, we felt we
really had something going."
For most siblings, spending as
much time together as The Pro-
claimers would have resulted in
a million fights, but for the Reids,
musicmaking is the family busi-
ness.
"We're twin brothers, so
we've spent our whole lives
together," Charlie said. "We
were in the same class at school,
we had the same friends, and
when we were young, we slept in
the same bedroom. Being with
my brother is more normal than
not being with him, you know?"
The two brothers fought a lot
when they were younger, Char-
lie admitted, but they got it out
of their systems before they
decided to make music. With
this mentality, The Proclaimers
have created nine studio albums,
garnering the UK Silver, Gold
and Platinum certifications.
Now, 30 years after the band
formed, The Proclaimers are
still together and releasing
music. Their next album, The
Very Best of The Proclaimers
is a compilation of some of the
band's favorite songs.
"For live shows, 'Sunshine
on Leith' has always been very
important to the fans," Charlie
said, "even though it's a ballad,
and it's quieter than a lot of the
other material we do. 'I'm On My
Way' has always been great, and
obviously 'I'm Gonna Be (500
Miles)' has been by far the big-
gest success we've ever had and
the biggest success we ever will
have."
Even though the band has
played many live shows, they like
to change it up, playing their hits
interspersed with other songs in
order to give the fans a different
show every night. Their cur-
rent tour takes them all over the
United States, including The Ark
in Ann Arbor.
"It's a great town; I like the
college towns in the U.S. gen-
erally," Charlie said, "But Ann
Arbor seems like a nice, friendly
place to me. The venue itself is
excellent; we've played there
once acoustically and two or
three times with a band, and I
really like it."
Looking forward, The Pro-
claimers want to keep writing
and making music, developing
their act and bringing fans a
truly unique live show.
"As long as we feel like we're
doing it justice, we'll carry on,"
Charlie said. "I hope they go
away from the show feeling bet-
ter than when they comein.
By BRIANNE JOHNSON
Senior Arts Editor
One week after Fall Out Boy's
new LP streamed online, set-
ting the web ablaze - and, with
it, a pile of past
albums torched A-
by the band
in hometown Save Rock
Chicago's U.S. and Roll
Cellular Field -
the fire refuses Fall Out Boy
to fade as Save
Rock and Roll, Island
released Tues-
day, burns in a
searing ode to punk rock resur-
rection.
With the screeching and
squealing dramatics of an empire
risen again, Fall Out Boy bursts
into "The Phoenix" like a team of
Trojans armed with guitars and
the contagious anarchic spirit
that drives one to preface every
word with an impassioned exple-
tive: "Fucking epic," you whisper,
fists clenched as your roommate
burrows deeper into bed at 3:54
a.m., "like fucking rock 'n' roll
chariots."
. Like FOB's lyrics, you don't
know what this means, but it's
fucking epic.
As the first single gallops
straight into its unapologetically
snarling twin, "My Songs Know
What You Did In The Dark (Light
Em Up)," frontman Patrick
Stump sails into Steven Tyler-
esque shrills, only to barrel back
down and spit through, verses,
demanding that the listener
"burn everythingyou love /then
burn the ashes." This is no mere
comeback - it's a battle cry.w
And these punk-rock warriors
are no strangers to a catchy war
chant, for every song - from the
choral bellows of "Alone Togeth-
er" and "The Mighty Fall"'s riot-
ous simmer, to the thumping and
thrashing "Death Valley" - will
"Pete Wentz' penis was the first one I ever saw."
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n ears for days.post-listen, voice soars over the band's boy-
he lingering haze of the ish chants in song "Save Rock
discographic bonfire. and Roll," in which the two gen-
the album charges for- erations of musicians unite for a
verses fueled by angst ahd grand, emotional swell of a fina-
roats settle, slowing FOB's le. "I will defend the faith," John
to a saunter smoothed by and Stump roar, "Going down
influences reminiscent of swinging / I will save the songs /
's 2011 solo album, Soul the songs we're singing."
The group attempts to Like a protest and post-apoc-
soul into the LP's ham- alyptic celebration, Save Rock
g heartbeat; however, even and Roll begs the question: What
11 dose of such comparable needs saving? Or, more specifi-
gy can leave the lyrics cally, what can be saved?
and the pace hiccuping, Exploring themes of destruc-
n by missteps "Where Did tion and reconstruction through
arty Go" and "Miss Miss- the revival of music, the resur-
ou." Lucky for FOB, even rection of love and the redis-
illest of lyrics can sharpen covery of oneself, Save Rock and
:he aid of a biting melody, Roll is the downfall and uprising
te songs are still, at worst, of a band - and FOB wants you
nome "roll" to the album's to join in on the cynical fun; go
ahead, toss that copy of Infinity
on High into the flames.
With tracks like "Young Vol-
w canoes," the group revels in its
Ugr , W own destruction, bobbing heads
to the playful, acoustic camp-
1S g * fire jam as the city burns before
them - a welcome image eight
years since Stump crooned, "I
I nothing - or no one - swear I'd burn this city down to
ms "rock" more than alt show you the light" in Under the
ourtney Love, whose raspy Cork Tree's "Sophomore Slump
es reclaim the raw atti- or Comeback of the Year."
f the genre in FOB's bratty Sounds like Fall Out Boy has
m, "Rat a Tat," and the leg- kept its promise: It's hard to miss
y Sir Elton John, whose th&light of a fire this fervid.
Hands-on impressions of
the futuristic Oculus Rift
Infinite' takes on history
By ELLIOT ALPERN
SeniorArtsEditor
You arrive at a lighthouse in the
middle of the ocean, its beam cir-
cling in the blackness of the night.
You are coerced
into ascending A
the spire, even-
tually arriving BioShock
only to be shot .iite
off to some dis-
tant, fantastic PC,Xbox360,
city. And, there, PS3andOSX
the wondrous 2K Games
expanse of the
cityscape is ...
well, nothing short of breathtak-
ing.
Where have we heard that
one before? Surprisingly, "Bio-
Shock Infinite" 's opening is just
as exciting as the original 2008
release. Instead of sinking into
the murky deep that was Rapture,
we are instead rocketed off to the
floating paradise city of Colhmbia.
Both expose the worst of society's
4flaws; both exploit near-magical
mutations (now called "vigors"
instead of past games' plasmids)
,and mechanical behemoths - but
it's clear that "Infinite" is a new
adventure.
Taking control of ex-security
agent Booker DeWitt, the player is
tasked with journeying to Colum-
bia in search of a girl named
Elizabeth to "erase the debt," as
emphasized enigmatically over
and over again. The world that
unfurls upon arriving at Colum-
bia is beautiful in all of the right
and wrong ways. This gleaming,
cheery boardwalk-city yields to
a much more sinister underbelly
- a massive steampunk represen-
tation of America's turn-of-the-
century exceptionalism. Every
nook and cranny hides a secret of
Columbia's past, present and even
future. Explorers can feel free to
eat their hearts out.
Considering that the gameplay
2K GAMES
I didn't chop down the cherry tree ... I shot it down.
boasts
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for tho
a dozen or so guns and only improve vigors or guns, depend-
lots to place them, average ing on the type) is a must for
t would start to get repeti- tackling more difficult enemies/
tut the variety of enemies armies of enemies later on.
es the opposite. "Patriots," But even with the gorgeous
can only be described as graphics and exciting action
mechanized effigies of our sequences, "Infinite" clearly
ing fathers, appear random- excels most in its storytelling. You
pply pressure to any situa- could breeze through the game
and, yes, you're encouraged and still grasp a solid amount of'
oot a George Washington- the intricate, creative plot - but
d automaton in the face. every voxaphone adds another
goes.) Bosses range from hidden piece of the puzzle. The
e to legitimately spooky points of the narrative are diffi-
I without giving too much cult to talk about without spoil-
"Infinite" threw a particu- ing, which is itself a testament to
terrifying experience into the many twists and turns. But
ix three-quarters of the way even as villains change or per-
gh the story. Keep an eye out severe, there's always the subtle
at. reminder that there are much
greater forces at work.
The ending is ... well, if you've
beaten it, there's really nothing to
t's a worthy add. The resolution leaves ques-
tions over which fans can debate,
successor. but it's definitely satisfying in a
"I-didn't-see-that-coming" kind
of twist. In fact, I told my friends
that I was pretty sure what the
e vigors, on the other hand, ending would be when I was
particularly change much about halfway through, only to be
the plasmids from the previ- absolutely wrong. Don't even try
vo games. A few cool effects guessing - your brain will hurt
troduced or switched, but more than wrapping your head
e most part, the system will around the space-time "tears"
ght at home - shock here, Elizabeth is able to conjure. Oth-
lame there. Upgrading at erwise, enjoy the experience and
ng machines (where you can where it takes you.
By STEVEN TWEEDIE
Daily TV/New Media Editor
This hands-on review will
fail. Even with my most creative
analogies, it will fail to accurately
illustrate how mind-boggling it
is to pull some goggles over your
head, open your eyes and sud-
denly find yourself surrounded
by a new environment. And that's
what happens when you strap on
the sharpest of cutting-edge tech-
nology, the Oculus Rift, a head-
mounted display that sucks you
into a 3-D virtual world.
The Oculus Rift sent shock-
waves through the tech industry
after the device's meteoric crowd-
funding campaign on Kickstarter,
raising just shy of $2.5 million
and leaving enthusiasts reeling
with thoughts of its potential.
Being one of the lucky few that
actually own an Oculus Rift Dev
Kit, I can confidently say that
I've put it through the paces. I've
explored the bombastic gameplay
of "Team Fortress 2," floated in
space surrounded by flying cubes
and a looming planet, ridden a
medieval roller coaster and taken
flight Neo-from-"The-Matrix"
style, soaring over landscapes and
buildings. It's a great time for vir-
tual-reality enthusiasts as many
developers release free demos
online via forums for those with
developer kits to tryout.
There's a feeling in the air that
we're experiencing the ground
level of a new technology - not
unsimilar to the first cinemas or
television screens. A lofty claim,
sure, but one that doesn't feel
risky. If the Oculus Rift was a reli-
gion, evangelism would be a piece
of cake. Just have someone try
on the thing and you have a new
convert. So, what is it about the
Oculus Rift that almost entirely
avoids criticism from those who
have tried it? Let's start with a bit
of history.
So-called "virtual reality"
headsets have been around for
years, and all of them suffer from
a glaring problem: Instead of
being surrounded by the screen,
older headsets made it appear head-tracking capabilities.
as though you were sitting in a Even with plenty of room for
dark theater, staring at a floating improvement before the Rift hits
screen. But the Oculus Rift team shelves, the current hardware
has increased the field of view is still awe-inspiring. The head-
Instead of sitting in the back of tracking enables you to physi-
the theater, you're now in the cally look upward and take in an
action, with the screen seemingly environment's ceiling, or stare
wrapped around you and filling down at your feet and realize that
your peripheral vision. Combine you're now much fatter and carry-
this with, stereoscopic 3-D, and ing a gatling gun. While shooting
the Oculus team has cooked up straight ahead at a target, you can
a recipe for immersion that will look over your shoulder to ensure
only be beat by future iterations of an enemy isn't sneakingup on you.
the device. Also, for the first time Showing the device to my
in history, this level of technologi- friends, it was hilarious to see
cal immersion will be available at how many forgot that there was
an affordable price (the Oculus an objective to the game; that's
team is targeting a $200 - $300 how content they were to just
price point for the consumer gaze around at the virtual world
model). in amazement. That's when I first
began to understand how much of
a "gamechanger" the Oculus Rift
You'llhav was. And then I tried flying.
YoUll h ave Riding a virtual roller coaster
to see it to on the Rift was a terrifying thrill:
The initial coaster drop tricked
believe it. my nervous system into thinking
I was plummeting hundreds of
feet, and I actually smacked my
hand on my desk as I braced for
Now, the Rift's hardware isn't impact. But even this experience
perfect - nor is it supposed to be pales in comparison to actually
- as the unit I tried was intended flying with the Rift. Thanks to
for game developers, enabling somp built-in demos that come
them to create content to run on with the device, I was able to soar
the Rift. This is made obvious in around a castle, and I felt like
the device's screen. High-resolu- Harry Potter on a broomstick. I
tion displays of such a small size was zipping around, hundreds of
are extremely hard to purchase feet in the air, and diving down a
in bulk - unless you're Apple or castle's stone face, only to pull up
Samsung - and the Oculus team at the last second and zoom off
had to forego HD in the Rift into a courtyard. The first time I
developer units in order to send flew under the arch of a bridge, I
them out in a timely matter. The ducked my head to avoid hitting it.
consumer version, due out in 2014, Instead of thinking how silly it all
has been all-but-guaranteed to was, I thought to myself, "Damn,
sport at least a 1080p display. For I'd make a good seeker." (J.K.
now, the low resolution is annoy- Rowling, if you're feeling bored
ing, but not experience-breaking. and want to get richer, just com-
Instead of lookingthrough a glass mission a Quidditch Oculus Rift
window into the virtual world, it's game and watch the money pour
like you're looking at the world in).
through a beekeeping or fenc- The Oculus Rift Developer
ing mask, as the screen's pixels Kit, even in its early stage, is not
lack the desired density. Further just game-changing, it's game-
anticipated improvements on the shattering. The future is fast
developer kit include a lighter approaching, and it's going to be a
unit, lower latency and increased wild ride.
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