The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, October 7, 2013 - 7A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, October 7, 2013 - 7A

TV NOTEBOOK
Hope for broadcast
in premiere week

MUSIC NOTEROUK
Despite criticism, EDM
and disco have merit

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The Big Four "The Walking Dead" and A&E's
"Duck Dynasty," have led people
etworks aren't to proclaim broadcast's death, the
Big Four networks (CBS, NBC,
dead yet FOX and ABC) still drawthe most
consistently high numbers -
By ALEC STERN night in and night out.
DailyArts Writer Luckily, this past week's pre-
mieres were surprisingly success-
he past, the first week of ful, inspiring cautious optimism
roadcast-television season for what's to come.
ie of the most exciting times Each network had at least one
id fans. After months of very big series premiere. Lead-
ation, stemming from the ing the pack was ABC, whose
nnouncements of the net- highly anticipated "Agents of
new schedules, premiere S.H.I.E.L.D." won its Tuesday 8
inally allows us to explore p.m. timeslot with a 4.7 18-49 rat-
hows and reunite with our ing. Not only did "S.H.I.E.L.D."
d ones. Recently, however, convincingly beat TV's No. 1
re week has been marred. drama, "NCIS," but it was also
d of being filled with enthu- the highest drama premiere since
and promise, television 2009. On NBC, "The Blacklist"
ives and ratings enthusiasts premiered to a big 3.8 18-49 rating
artheworst. Isthistheyear and12.58 millionviewers. FOXhas
ast will crumble? How low found success with "Sleepy Hol-
e ratingsgo? What does this low," which premiered one week
for the future of television? early to a 3.5 18-49 rating. Con-
e these lingering questions, versely, FOX's short-lived "The
ar's outcome was quite sur- Mob Doctor" opened to a 1.5 at the
. Now, with premiere week same time last year. Even better,
I us, there may actuallybe a "Sleepy Hollow" held onto much
er of hope. of its audience in week two (3.1 rat-
dety over the future of the ing), despite the onslaught of pre-
ast networks is warranted. mieres and heavy competition. For
he past decade, broadcast CBS, "The Crazy Ones," coming
have been falling while offofamonster "BigBangTheory"
ratings have been climb- premiere, earned a 3.9 rating and
ot only that, but the promi- was seen by 15.52 million viewers.
of DVR, "binge-watching" Veteran series also continued
sore originals outside of to deliver over the week. "Grey's
ion (including Netflix and Anatomy" 's 3.4 premiere rating
Plus) have all contributed may seem low compared to the
adcast's continuing decline. show's blockbuster history, but
rend even led NBC Enter- for a show in its 10th season, that
nt chairman Bob Green- number is practically a slam dunk.
o declare, "At this point in FOX's "Bones," now in its ninth
siness, flat is the new up." season;held onto its 2.3 rating from
ugh this may be true, last year. Both "NCIS" iterations
ast networks do still rule maintained last year's momentum,
levision landscape. While while fellow CBS series "How I
ast's slipping numbers and Met Your Mother" began its final
uster ratings for a hand- season very strong. Over on NBC,
able shows, such as AMC's the fifth season of"The Voice"gar-

nered its highest rating since the
season two premiere and "Sunday
Night Football" continues to be
TV's highestrated program.
Of course, it's never all good
news. FOX's Tuesday comedy
block, led by "New Girl" in the 9
p.m. hour, drew miniscule num-
bers in week two despite OK
premieres earlier in September.
Additionally, most of CBS's new
series and revamped schedule
hashadtrouble findingits footing
- worth noting, given the net-
work's utter dominance in past
seasons. ABC also had to endure
"Lucky 7," a lottery drama that
premiered DOA Tuesday night.
So what do all of these num-
bers mean? Most importantly,
it proves that viewers are still
most tuned into what's going on
in broadcast; that with intriguing
premises and solid buzz, these
networks can still bring in excep-
tionally higher numbers than
anything on cable or elsewhere.
However, as TV fans know all
too well, premiering high means
nothing if you can't hold onto
most of the number. Whereas
cable series typically premiere
lower and build their audience
over the years (see "Break-
ing Bad," "Dexter" and "True
Blood"), network series most
often hit their highest ratings at
the start. While "Revolution" had
the best premiere last year with a
4.1 18-49 rating, its season finale
earned only a 2.0 rating (and fell
to as low as 1.8 over the course of
its season).
The solid premieres for many
of broadcast's new series are
promising, but the next few
weeks will be of the utmost
importance. I'm not saying
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." or "The
Crazy Ones" are goingto save the
Big Four ... but if they can hold
onto a solid audience, they could
buy broadcast a little more time.

By KEN SELANDER
For theDaily
Electronic music has been all
the rage (pun intended) since
its mainstream breakthrough
around 2010. What makes elec-
tronic music so unique is that
it's largely unprecedented. For
every other genre of music
today, there has been some sort
of imagined precedent or mile-
stone set for that given genre by
earlier artists, meaning that it's
rare that an artist or band can
escape comparisons to other
past groups. This constant
urge to compare artists can
be detrimental for musicians,
because in some ways it deters
creativity by making artists
avoid straying from the beaten
path. Many rock drummers, for
instance, face a daunting com-
parison from rock aficionados
to the drumming machine that
is Neil Peart, which must be
quite unnerving.
Unlike most genres, elec-
tronic music does not date
back much further than about
a decade, and it's difficult to
compare it to most traditional
genres of music. You might be
able to make a weak compari-
son between electronic music
and punk rock, simply because
they have a subversive lifestyle
connected with them; however,
the strongest comparison you
can make is between the emer-
gence of electronic music and
disco.
Luckily for electronic music,
there is no beaten path to fol-
low, and this allows artists to
explore all forms of electronic
music. It's not unusual for an
artist to have a whole host of
songs that are nothing like
each other. When Rush strayed
from its usual sounds with Per-
manent Waves, a more radio-
friendly album, many loyal
fans flipped a shit.
Similarly, disco was a largely
unprecedented genre at its birth
in the late 1970s and could be
whatever an artist wanted it to
be. The spastically high-pitched
vocals of the Bee Gees feature
a much different sound than
Rick Dees's quacktastic and
creepy "Disco Duck," yet both
were still regarded as perfectly
acceptable disco music.

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biggest trial faced by the Internet to make it available
ectronic music and disco to millions of people world-
people try to compare wide. The visibility means that
enre to others, like rock thousands of sub-par DJs- and
While both disco and quality DJs alike can distrib-
nic music usually feature ute their music to whomever
ts of either genre - like wants to take a listen. Unlike
d verses from a hardcore rock, electronic music domi-
ist like Tupac of Biggie nates online music-sharing
filthy dubstep beat or outlets like Soundcloud that
iky bass lines anchoring are extremely popular and host
disco songs - they are anyone who wants to create an
ely dissimilar. There is account. By default, this realm
way to try and compare of music does have a significant
riff to a dubstep drop. lack of quality control.
ng to make such a com- Disco, on the other hand,
leads many music could be considered respon-
to question the musi- sible for the start of the "club
idity of both electronic drug," and its drug culture was
nd disco. Many see dub- certainly comparable to the
d hear the harsh noises drugworld entrenched in EDM.
asted by an old Gateway Both raves and discotheques
:er in an attempt to feature lots of very involved
dial-up connection and dancing, flashing lights and
pull their hair out when booming music, which many
ear disco come on the feel can be enhanced and
intensified with the use of
club drugs. Occasionally, this
doesn't work out so well, such
lectronic as when I witnessed guy scal-
ing a wall at the Royal Oak
S ar Music Theatre during a rave.
OG ~ r are In fact, many club drugs
Isicians, tood originated and gained popular-
ity during the disco era. The use
of club drugs like molly has now
spilled over in to other genres as
ough many refuse to well, most predominately rap.
it, making a solid elec- Some rappers seemingly can't
song often is a long, go an entire verse without mak-
ae process, much like ing a reference to the drug. It's
together a disco or rock safe to say that disco, in its own
Many critics claim that way, has had a sizable impact on
roducers are talentless the music scene today outside of
nnot even be put on the just electronic music.
playing field as "real" Those musically inclined
ans (guitarists, bassists, people who still refuse to
ers, etc.). This belief can regard electronic music or disco
lenged by looking at the as an acceptable music genre
nces in music culture are missing the point. Regard-
n the rock and electron- less of one's thoughts on either
i genres. It's important genre, music provides a differ-
that the Internet did ent experience for each person
exist during the hey- who listens to it. The overall
classic rock. If someone energy and vibe provided by
shitty garage band, the the powerful, fast-paced bass
ople who would hear it of dubstep and the sheer groovy
heir cranky neighbors. feeling one gets from listen-
rtists usually only ever ing to disco is undeniable. Just
audience through live because you might not like
nances and/or a record something doesn't mean anoth-
er person can't form a strong
ly by downloading some connection to it. Some people
J software, any average just simply enjoy listening to
n attempt to create an electronic music and disco. And
nic song and then use that's what makes it music.

FI LM R EVIE W
- Parkland' spreads camera thin
with too many characters

By JAMIE BIRCOLL
Daily Arts Writer
The assassination of John F.
Kennedy is certainly one of the
most discussed and fascinat-
ing events of
recent history. C_
It's founded
in political Parkland
intrigue and AtState
murder, an
investigation Excusive
shrouded in
secrecy, basi-
cally all the elements of a great
film. "Parkland" attempts to
re-examine the assassination
by focusing on the support-
ing, lesser-known players of
the three-day ordeal. Unfortu-
nately, it spreads its runtime on
too many subjects and too many
points of view to create a cohe-
sive narrative.
The audience is introduced
to no less than eight main char-
acters in six different locations
in the first 10 minutes of the
film, making it all too easy to


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t among the commotion. own, sort of), that is its Achilles
g them are Paul Giamat- heel; only two or three charac-
Rock of Ages") Abraham ters are onscreen for more than
der, the businessman 15 minutes. Due to this lack of
ilmed the entire assas- focus, no character really gets
in, Billy Bob Thornton's the chance to develop - instead,
in Boots") Forrest Sor- they react and then disappear.
he Dallas Secret Service That's really the best way to
charged with protecting describe "Parkland": a reaction
esident, Zac Efron's ("17 piece. It seeks not to provide
") Dr. Charles 'Jim Car- answers or even to ask more
who operated on Kennedy questions. Rather, it shows
his arrival at Parkland another side of the assassina-
tal and many, many more. tion that doesn't get as much
attention and then concludes. In
that sense, "Parkland" would be
els more likegreat as a History Channel film,
hut certainly not one most audi-
eaction piece ences would consider if they're
looking for drama, secrecy and
than an exposition.
There is one storyline that
irtful film, is an exception to this, and it is
that of Robert Oswald (James
Badge Dale, "Iron Man 3"),
brother of suspected assassin
s "Parkland" 's expan- Lee Harvey Oswald (Jeremy
ist, featuring all talented Strong, "Lincoln"). Dale is real-
(even Efron carries his ly quite outstanding, managing

in only 20 minutes to really
explore his character - we
see his torn loyalties between
his love for his brother and
his hatred for the act he com-
mitted and, most importantly,
the fear in his eyes at the pros-
pect of living with the name
Oswald. It's fairly heartbreak-
ing to watch Robert frantically
bury his brother as though he
can also bury the consequenc-
es of the assassination in an
attempt to save some face for
the future.
"Parkland" spends a plu-
rality of its time on Robert
Oswald's story, a wise decision
from first-time director Peter
Landesman, but it's not enough
to lift the film or to convey the
raw emotion and deeper char-
acters of its subjects. Instead,
it paints a picture of an event
and, like all paintings that are
"just OK," it fails to hold atten-
tion - very quickly, you'll go
looking for something a little
more breathtaking.

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