6A - Tuesday, September 3, 201 3

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

. s
s UNIERSALREPUBLIC
f ae It's not Ariana Venti.

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"One of us should probably take off our glasses. Nosegoes"
Blanchett steals
show inasmine

Ari ana Grande strives
for diva stardom

Wo
dra

Wh
bad g
good
as
and t
is w
fuzzy
the
wants
wrap-
life
suppli
Life is
worth
but it
picnic
writer
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urious
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ody Allen layers that ain't so sweet. Embarrassed
and broken - with nowhere else
matic tension in to go - she flees to San Fran-
cisco and'bunks with her sister,
latest opus Ginger (Sally Hawkins, "All is
Bright"), much to the dismay of
By CARLY KEYES Ginger's soon-to-be fiance, Chili
DailyArts Writer (Bobby Cannavale, "Lovelace").
To claim Blanchett carries the
en movies end with the film is an immense understate-
uy getting caught and the ment. She's part of an incredibly
guy getting the girl, it's talented and impactful ensem-
repulsive ble cast that makes an indelible
rite as it A impression, but Blanchett is a
arm and reigning giant among ... smaller
Sure, Blue giants.
audience Jasmine It's'impossible not to pity and
s a happy hate her character simultane-
*up, but At the ously: She's lost everything, but
seldom Michigan she refuses to accept that she's
ies those. lost everything, which makes
hard. It's Perdido life harder than need be..
living, She tightly grips her Louis
's hard and certainly no Vuitton luggage and firmly
for the tragic heroine in clings to her Chanel belts as she
r-director Woody Allen's reminisces about her previous
effort, "Blue Jasmine." position of wealth and power
mine (Cate Blanchett, and expresses zero gratitude
Hobbit: An Unexpected for Ginger's generosity and
ey"), the way-upper-class zero interest in gaining her own
attan socialite formerly financial independence. This
n as Jeanette, loses her lux- obstinacy and intense rejec-
s and glamorous lifestyle tion of reality prompts several
her sexy sugar daddy (Alec sessions of manic-depressive
in, "AmeriQua") when behavior. She talks to herself in
iscovers his authentic self public, pops prescription pills


and downs drink after drink to
quell the chaos inside her head.
It's hard to root for her as she
lives in denial and copes destruc-
tively, but she's so pathetic that
it's easy to root for her, too, even
if only to stop the moping mad-
ness.
Jasmine's wistful inter-
nal flashbacks manifest visu-
ally as Allen cuts back and forth
between past and present, a tech-
nique that heightens the dramat-
ic tension and moves the story
along at an exciting pace without
revealing too much too soon.
Allen layers. He layers the
story; he layers the characters
and, in doing so, layers view-
ers' emotions. He peels them
away like an onion - not simply
because an onion physically has
layers - but it becomes more and
more difficult to refrain from
tearing up as the beats go on.
The staggering complexity
hits home for anyone who's ever
experienced an' entirely unex-
pected loss then slipped into
their denial hoping that - just
maybe - they'll bounce back to
an even higher spot than before.
But to begin anew, we must let
go of the old. And it's hard. Life
is hard. But sometimes it doesn't
have to be as hard we make'it.

By GREGORY HICKS
DailyArts Writer
Initially glancing at the cover
for Ariana Grande's newest
record release, Yours Truly, the
gray-scaled
star (doused I
in spotlight)
can come off YoursTruly
as a bit tooA
diva-esque for Ariana Grande
a debut album Universal Republic
- but she sure
does have the
pop-chops to back it up. Don't be
fooled by Grande's juvenile biog-
raphy, the 20-year-old Nickel-
odeon actress has vocals directly
comparable to the high-ranged
powerhouse that is Mariah
Carey herself.
Grande entered into the Top
10 with her multi-platinum lead
single "The Way," simultane-
ously swooping up a broader
demographic of listeners. Pre-
viously, the former "Victori-
ous" actress released immature
disasters like "Put Your Hearts
Up," along with a variety of
poorly chosen covers such as
Demi Lovato's "You're My Only
Shorty." The new R&B aim for
Grande's career spawns a seri-
ous tonality in her work, thus
canning the teenybopper image
that was so heavily embedded
into her music.
"The Way" became represen-
tative of the overall direction

of Your
record
and pro
uels at
the ten
singer-r
being a
Carey.7
nal tha
Records
writing
parable
for rati
unorigi
Unor
ted in
the firs
album.
indistin
"Beauty
cifically
keys in
This so
title oft
Truly t
trovers'
to Mar
dream.
Yot
Wa:
nE

s Truly - an R&B-style position, lyrically and melodi-
almost entirely written cally, but beat usage becomes
duced by Harmony Sam- excessive at times. The record's
nd Babyface. Babyface, second promotional single, "Baby
i-time Grammy Winner I," exploits nearly every beat in
songwriter, is notable for existence, resulting in messiness.
hit-maker for Mariah Puttingsoul snaps on the majority
Therefore, it's only ratio- of tracks also becomes increasing-
it Grande and Republic ly monotonous. Despite this pro-
s would recruit a song- duction flaw, the album practices
legend for such a com- a worthy bassline and vocal mix,
voice. Points awarded using many pleasant harmonies.
ionality, points lost for The collaborations pro-
nality. vide considerable assistance in
iginality is further spot- Grande's strive to be taken seri-
"Daydreamin,' " one of ously on this debut. Mac Miller
t tracks recorded for the and Big Sean may lean toward
The song is melodically the obnoxious side of rapping,
guishable from Grease's but following a trend certainly
School Dropout," spe- helps when trying to sit at the
'when tapping the piano same table as .industry domina-
the track's introduction. tors. "Popular Song," however,
ng title was initially the will do MIKA more favors in the
the record, but the Yours long run as he attempts to break
itle appeared after con- into the American music demo-
y in name-similarity graphic.
iah Carey's album Day- Truthfully, it's difficult not
to label Grande as a Mariah-
Carey ripoff, but consider this:
Where is Mariah Carey now?
Fang pop star The fact that an artist with that
much legendary prowess can't
nts to be the even scrape a Top-10 hit or sell
a decent number of records is
xt M ariah frankly embarrassing. It's no
wonder her new record is called
Ca yThe Art of Letting Go. Carey
needs to let go of her career and
let someone else take the reigns.
And Grande may very well be
tracks are of quality com- just the singer for that.

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