6 - Tuesday, October 1, 2013

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.cam

6 - Tuesday, October 1, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom 4

Dr. Dog bears soul on LP

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'B-Room' senses a renewed commitment to
push the boundary of the genre
xperiments even further. It's surprising, then,
that B-Room still manages an "
th live sound impressive cohesion, with each
song building on the previous in a
AKE OFFENHARTZ logical yet unexpected manner.
DailyArts Writer The album opens with "The MR
Truth," a breezy, Motown-
er this year, Dr. Dog influenced track that moves just
d on an ambitious, slow enough to make the listener .
s project ... and then turned miss the danceable, summery
cus to sing-alongs on the band's previous
Before album, Be the Void. This inclination
g is quickly rewarded as singer/
- the B-Room bassist Toby Leaman delivers the Dog MD.
eighth necessary shot of energy on the
- Dr. Dr. Dog next track, with the instrumentally standout
spent Anti upbeat "Broken Heart." But with unprecet
working the opening lines, "Love for me ballad°
y to just been a walk in the park / It Backedc
a former silversmith doesn't really matter / It never acoustic
to a brand-new studio. really mattered," the song quickly harmoni
sychedelic rockers then defies any expectations derived plays lii
this spirit of do-it-yourself from the initial cheerful guitar hopefuln
ation into the recording work. While certainly catchy and a rare in
opting to forgo their usual on some levels simplistic, "Broken undercuo
and overdubbing, and Heart" introduces themes of is broug
taping most tracks as a live nihilistic detachment that will lie Leaman'
he result is Dr. Dog's most consistently under the surface for pitch t
record to date, showcasing the remainder of the album. alongsid
ionalearnestness that often This struggle with despondency guitar p
een beneath the indie-rock is most evident on the piano-heavy the norm
'sprightly luster. "Distant Light." Culminating with reprieve.
turally, B-Room plays like lines, "Following the distant light Closi
ion of timeworn snapshots, / Don't I know if I keep walking album's
work of the past in which I'll never touch it / But as long as I experim
ght, 1960s-era pop can sit move it'll shine on me," the song track, "
ably next to lo-fi indie folk is a meditation on maintaining its most
chedelic funk. And while optimism - however unfounded - still a ft
has always embraced these in the face of purposelessness. could ca
es unapologetically, one Without question, B-Room's steady el

track - and also its most
dented - is the bare-bones
Too Weak to Ramble."
only by Scott McMicken's
guitar and delicate
es, Leaman's harsh bellow
ke a lament to the false
ness of "Distant Light" It's
oment where the album's
rrent of hopelessness
;ht to the surface. With
s voice reaching a fever
then nearly shattering
e an increasingly soft
art, this divergence from
a feels like a much-needed
ng the curtain on an
worth of cross-genre
entation, B-Room's final
Nellie," sees Dr. Dog at
t Dr. Doggian - though
ar cry from what anyone
ll conventional. Behind a
lectric piano, Leaman and

McMickenharmonize McCartney
and Lennon-style, wailing in
unison, "You know you love her
butdoyoureallyknowher...Ican't
help myselffromgoingwandering
with her from roomto room." And
while the influence of both The
Beatles and The Beach Boys is
sonically evident, "Nellie"- and
the rest of B-Room - is simply
too existentially burdened to be
placed in the realm of sunshine
pop.
Dr. Dog has made a career of
muddling the edges between real
and psychedelic, emotive and
desolate,impassioned and hopeless.
It paints the world in vibrant colors,
just barely concealing an ominous
aura that occasionally reveals itself.
That descent into nihilism looms
urgentlyonB-Room,thoughthanks
to a heavy varnish of Motown-
soul, Dr. Dog's preoccupations
sound better than ever.

'EP2' shows off FKA Twigs's sound

By ADAM DEPOLLO
DailyArts Writer
English singer FKA Twigs grew
up in Gloucestershire, the petite
daughter of a Jamaican father and
part-Hispanic
mother. As she
revealed in a
recent Pitchfork EP2
interview, she
developed her FKA Twigs
musical persona Y
singing choruses YogTarks
over rap songs at
local Jamaican youth centers. She

felt more at hom
culture, feelingc
largely white End
Traces of that
girl leak througl
EP2 in the m
of brooding bas
reverb underne
voice.:The four t
produced by Y
Arca - take cu
British trip-hop
theme song to "
from the so-cal
of The Weeknd
Well. But Arca le

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e with her father's marinate and blend together into seems to chug along under ghostly
out of place in the something a bit darker and more vocal samples and Twigs's multi-
glish farm country. industrial than either. tracked voice. The end result feels
lonely, "sortcof off' The swelling bass line at the like walking through the metallic
h on FKA Twigs's beginning of the opening track shell of an abandoned factory while
orose atmosphere "How's That" meshes well with disembodied voices echo out of the
s lines and heavy the dull thud of the kick and the walls.
'ath her ethereal echoing of the delay-laden snare Twigs's singing isn't
racks on the EP - drum, only to have that solidarity overshadowed by Ara's
eezus collaborator shattered by what sounds like production, however. The clear
es from the 1990s a ping-pong ball bouncing back tone of her voice and the power of
scene (think the and forth between the right and her lyrics demand attention. On
House, M.D.") and left sides of the stereo. Area's "Ultraviolet," she sets herself adrift
led PBR&B styles penchant for unusual percussion in an endless expanse of broken
or How To Dress continues on the crushing "Water promises and hanging questions,
ts these influences Me," where a clicking radiator layered with sexual tension and
basking in sensuality and all of
its dark pleasures. Sexuality,
of course, is and has been an
important part of the appeal of
R&B since its inception, and it's an
Call: #734-418-4115 aspect which Twigs doesn't shy
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com away from onEP2.
F NHonest and
ord Puzzle indecisive.
ewis
47 "No worries,
48 "Shame, shame!"AMPUS REALTY Her sexuality is nothing like
49 Detailed map at te Cra Hoase the egotistical showmanship of
53 Rwnuws for next year !!! R. Kelly: She prefers to outline the
56 Franchised 734-665-8825 subject without filling in all of its
supermarket www.campusrealty.com scandalous detail, singing "I want
brand you / In my / Oh, oh, you / You
57 Almost never CENTRAL CAMPUS feel right, and that's so amazing"
60 Sit-up targets h ad 7bedoom houses on "How's That." She approaches
61 Oppoent great furnitredecor on"w'Thr"Seapacs
ethernet and wireless sex in a way reminiscent of
EVIOUS PUZZLE: free laundry and parking The Weeknd, acknowledging
PEA 8 L for rent NOW for May 214 both the physical pleasure and
www.ovatprperties.com or all
F U R G E S (734) 972-736 emotional ambiguity of the act.
A S I R E D Indeed, Twigs's perspective -
D A H E A D WWW.CARLSONPROPERTIES.- assertive and yet aware of the
SAp u CH COM 734-332-6000. two-sided nature of sexuality
d A o u T - is an interesting foil to The
8R A FRET Weeknd's occasionally repentant
3 A L A A S P scumbag (he has been giving out
H I R T condoms on his KissaLand tour).
K A P P A On "Water Me" in particular,
UtEtST 1ION
U E X I T Twigs recognizes the reciprocal
S S R I S E THESIS EDITING. LANGUAGE, nature of the love-making act,
A Y S E E D organization, formaL All Disciplines. acknowledging her own errors as
10/0113 734/996-0566 or writeonliiservnet much as those of her lover.
10 11 12 EP2 does run into some trouble,
however, in that Twigs seems
HELPstuck on more or less one topic
on all four tracks. She vacillates
21 between losing herself in the
26_sensual pleasure of physical love
31 WWW.STI)DENTPAYOUTS.com and languishing in remorse after
Paid srvey takers aedi A2 the fact, andintheendneverreally
5 100% FREE to join. Click on Surveys. comes to a conclusion. Her singing
39 seems to reflect being trapped
in this dilemma, as she never
ventures far out of a single octave
46 4 st 49 over the entire ER
54_That being said, Twigs's
58_ indecisiveness is a refreshing
MARCH FOR ELEPHANTS! perspective in a culture where
Marchers needed @ State & North U sexuality is an unquestionable
em 10 AM. Fri, Oct 4. Elephants in crisis! good. The contrast of Area's
En 35,000 kiled last year for ivty dark beats and her delicate voice
Extinctionless thantFyrl Sign up at mirrors the emotional ambiguity
10/01/13 March for Elephants Ann Arbor of sex, foringyou to ask if it's quite
as good as it seems toube.

Calculating the
true costs of
movie piracy
is name is Joe. From for the first time in nearly
the usual vantage a decade, piracy has shown
points, Joe is like signs of stagnancy, neither
any other schmoe - most of growing nor shrinking in
his life revolves around going volume. Yet, it's still there.
to school, So why not legalize it? The
taking harsh reality is, no matter how
his dog many roadblocks we throw up,
on walks, no matter how many people
maintaining we try and make an example
some of, piracy won't go away. The
semblance Internet is simply too big. To
of a social put it in terms most geeks
life and, on AKSHAY would understand, getting rid
occasion, SETH of file sharers individually
trying to would be like playing a game
make time of "Duck Hunt." Everyone
to watch weekly "Maury" wants to cap those damn
marathons on Lifetime. But ducks, but each time you shoot
there's something about Joe one down, another is more
most people don't know. Joe, than willing to take its place,
over the course of the past six secure behind a shroud of
years, has illegally downloaded anonymity. There's no stupid
971 movies using file-sharing laughing dog to rub it in your
services such as The Pirate Bay face when you inevitably fail,
and Torrenthound. That's the but you get my point.
equivalent of approximately The question remains:
1,700 hours of film, close to Why not legalize it? Stealing
71 days of sitting still and should never be legal, so of
doing nothing but watching a course, money would have
computer screen glow. to exchange hands (and we'd
Joe knows he's not a bad guy, have to stop calling it piracy),
but he has no delusions about but for people like Joe, the
the 71 days of his life he has ones just looking for an
spent breaking the law. So from efficient, anonymous means
this sentence on, I won't hide it of delivery, virtual access to
behind words like downloading uploaded files in exchange for
or file-sharing. It's stealing, a periodical fee is a necessity.
plain and simple. So plain, so Pause, homie. Netflix got dat
simple, so where's the solution? game on lock.
The streaming service is
a step in the right direction,
Servicesli but it only has access to a
like drop of the vast sea of content
f x are out there. The rigmarole of
LIiAare drawing up licensing deals,
changing the ironing out distribution
quotas and God knows what
landscape. else with individual studios
and production houses is too
cumbersome, so why not allow
governments to enforce a
From a purely monetary blanket licensing methodology
standpoint, the legal that requires a small input,
consequences are debilitating say $7, from every citizen?
in their severity, or in the The tax revenue would go
form of my brother's artful partially to the government
elocution, "dat pay be cray." for maintaining the service
Any stolen document, whether and largely to content
it be a 30-second MP3 file or an producers themselves. Detailed
entire Bollywood celebration of distribution of revenue would
song and dance, is punishable have to depend on relative
with up to $150,000 in fines, popularity of specific content,
necessary adjustments but it's crucial that all content
made for first-timers, repeat be available. It's a simple
offenders and people who solution but a daunting task.
somehow figure out a way to France tried to pass a
successfully convince the judge similar piece of legislation
they had no way of knowing called the Global License
they were breaking the law (it in 2005, inspiring the Don't
might work if you're Amish or Make Me Steal movement that
over the age of 60). So to allow gained some steam but, like
my TI-89 calculator to put the legislation, was ultimately
things into perspective, Joe forgotten in the shadow of a
would be paying somewhere much more direct, futile hunt
in the ball park of A Shit Ton for pirates. Even though the
Of Money, and while doing so, movement failed, it raised the
he'd be sitting in the clink for question everyone involved
up to five years per file stolen in the piracy debate should
("A Shit Ton of Years," said be asking themselves: When
TI-89). it's so easy to break the law,

The severity is a scare should all the blame rest on the
tactic that fails to scare, criminals' shoulders? Through
simply because the last few SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act),
years have shown us that the a now-dead proposal that, if
Motion Picture Association of passed, would have forever
America is unable to enforce changed the notion of online
their policies, no matter how freedom, the past few years
draconian they may be. People have shown us that most of our
unavoidably get caught, but lawmakers thought the answer
in a world where it's harder to that crucial question was
to be found accountable than "yes."
it is to get away, it shouldn't At a time when piracy
really be a surprise that the has finally shown signs of
government has had difficulty stabilizing, and for the sake of
finding a starting place. In the "criminals" like Joe, I think it's
face of ever-savvier Internet time to try again.
users and an ever-evolving
piracy market, the MPAA Seth is taking down the
has struggled to keep pace. pirates. To duel him, e-mail
Successes have been had, and akse@umich.edu.
'BREAKING BAD' IS
OVER, SO YOU HAVE
TIME NOW.
JOIN DAILY ARTS.
E-mail arts@michigandaily.com to
request an application.

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