8A - Friday, September 19, 2014
The Michigan Daily- michigandaily.com
8A - Friday, September19, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
The princess of pop?
TSwift has the
bankable personality
other stars lack
By GIBSON JOHNS
DailyArts Writer
A few weeks ago, Taylor Swift
finally admitted what we've all
known for a while now - that
her music has slowly but surely
transformed from country to
pop. No longer is Swift strad-
dling the often-blurred line that
splits country music from pop 'Hey Stephen"
music, Miranda Lambert from
Katy Perry and Jason Aldean growth as an artist. I can appre-
from Bruno Mars. And for this, ciate country music as much
we should all be thankful, both as anyone, but with her newly-
because of the music she will pro- announced upcoming pop album,
duce in the future and the kind 1989, Swift can stop worrying
we'll no longer be hearing from about filling her country quota
her. and expand the breadth of music
Swift's last album, Red, show- that she allows herself to be influ-
cased her lean toward entering enced by, and thus, the possibili-
the pop realm while still feeling ties of what her music can sound
the need to produce country-ish like will be endless.
records. For every "We Are Never Say what you want about
Ever Getting Back Together" on "Shake It Off," the first single
the album, there was a solid, yet from 1989 and the only offering
safe, country track (see: "Stay we've heard so far, but it's hard
Stay Stay" and "I Almost Do"). to argue that it doesn't bring
Still, Red had some memorably something different to main-
fresh moments like the smash ("I stream pop radio. Depending on
Knew You Were Trouble" - often your views of the track, it's either
noted for its use of dubstep), the gratingly or pleasantly addicting.
perfect sing-a-long ode to your Point being: it's addicting. And
early twenties ("22") and per- that, coupled with the hoopla
haps her best-written song yet surrounding her announcement
(the Jake Gyllenhaal-inspired of the single and album on Yahoo
"All Too Well"). What all of these demonstrate the absolute, com-
tracks had in common was the manding power that she holds;
fact that they were gloriously and "Shake It Off," predictably so,
undeniably pop, despite what the shot straight to No. 1 on the Bill-
genre label on iTunes said. These board Hot 100. Everything she
songs were Swift at her absolute does is undeniably Swift, yet she
new best, and yet, as fans, we remains predictably unpredict-
didn't get a full album of them able, which is not something that
because someone, somewhere can be said about a lot of other
was insisting that her identity pop stars.
still be Taylor Swift: Country Though she's arguably, already
Star. the biggest artist in the world
Let me be clear: I'm notusually this side of Beyonc6, Taylor Swift
(read: ever) one of those people has a real chance to take control
who thinks artists should have to of the pop music scene with her
classify their music into a single upcoming release. Pop is full of
genre. The best albums are usu- solo female artists,yetnone of the
ally those that bend genre bound- big names (again, save for Beyon-
aries and give us something that c6) have produced anything that
our ears have never heard before. memorable in the past year or so.
But, at this point, the classifica- Katy Perry's Prism seemed prom-
tion of Taylor Swift's music as isingly led by "Roar," but the
"country" is simply inaccurate. singles that followed were under-
And it's also what has limited her whelming ("Unconditionally,"
0
I
4
BIG MACHINE
"Birthday"). Lady Gaga's next
release is a standards album with
Tony Bennett, which, though a
novel idea, won't be bringing her
any hit singles. Rihanna's next
album is long overdue, but there's
been no word from her about
when and what we can expect.
And let's not even talk about Brit-
ney Jean. Ariana Grande may be
able to churn out hits, but her
lack of personality and stage
presence is concerning. Meghan
Trainor, whose "All About That
Bass" is currently the No. 1 song
in the country, has yet to prove
that she's anything but a one-hit-
wonder. With Beyonce wrapping
up the Beyonce era, it seems that
Swift is poised to take control of
the airwaves and withher savant-
like songwriting talents and her
knack for giving us music that we
didn't even know we needed, this
can only be a good thing.
Taylor Swift is no longer just
the girl with the guitar singing
about her famous ex-boyfriends
- she's said that the material on
1989 covers a wider range of sub-
jects like her friendships with
other females, family and grow-
ing up - she's now a maturing
pop star capable of real growth
and exploration.
If 1989 ends up being the
album that I and many others
expect it to be, then gone will be
the days of the country duds that
Taylor Swift used as fillers on Red
and we'll finally be ushered into
an era in which she can deliver
the properly well-rounded pop
album we all knew she was capa-
ble of giving us.
Country music and T-Swift are
never ever getting back together.
Like, ever.
ABC
#Eight MonthsPregnant
Diverse programming
carries network TV
By CHLOE GILKE
Daily TV/New Media Editor
At 10 years old, there was no
feeling that could rival the excite-
ment of seeinglJack Bauer's scowl-
ing face in my mailbox. I'd sneak
my contraband issue of TV Guide
magazine back to my room, grab
a colored marker from my back-
pack and pore over my TV nerd's
Bible. The pages sticky with hot
September air, I'd put a green
star next to everything I want-
ed to watch. ("Lost," "House,"
"Veronica Mars," anything on the
WB network.) Obviously, most of
what I circled wasn't appropriate
viewing for a kid, but that didn't
matter. It wouldn't stop me from
sitting on the floor in the upstairs
hallway, watching "Desperate
Housewives" from the open crack
of my parents' door. It wouldn't
keep me from participating in the
joy of network TV pilot season.
With the popularization of
cable television, pilot season
seems endearingly quaint. The
nostalgia of seeing the TV Guide
perched on the newsstand at
Kroger is like going home for the
weekend and remembering that
your dad still likes those Friday
night family dinners at the same
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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Mel-Tones xwordeditor@aol.com 09/19/14
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pizza place. Oh, yeah, they're still
doingthat.
Though cable has more street
cred (and cursing, beheadings and
boobs), network TV is still impor-
tant. Not only are its ratings con-
sistently higher than those of its
cable counterparts, but network
series are constantly adapting to
new business strategies and find-
ing ways to stay relevant in the
Twitter age. Proclaiming that art
and entertainment can only be
found on channels is incredibly
narrow-minded, and overlooks
the collection of diverse program-
ming found on traditional net-
works.
It's impossible to talk about
21st century network television
without first mentioning the
behemoth of Shondaland. Shonda
Rhimes' production company has
been an ABC staple since 2005,
when Chloe's Green Star List
alum "Grey's Anatomy" pre-
miered. With "Grey's Anatomy,"
Rhimes essentially changed the
face of TV. Where before eve-
ning TV was pogrammed for
men to enjoy after work, "Grey's"
popularized the female-centric
primetime soap. "Grey's" shame-
lessly featured the plot twists and
steamy sexual tension of a day-
time soap opera, but it reached an
unprecedented audience. It won
critical acclaim, Emmy awards
and ridiculously high ratings -
not just among females, but the
hyper-masculine boys in my sixth
grade drama class. The series is
entering its eleventh season, and
shows no sign of slowing down.
"Grey's Anatomy" is .still one of
the most-watched series on tele-
vision.
Along with other shows of its
era, "Grey's Anatomy" proved
that a top procedural series didn't
have to be set in a police precinct
or feature gruff, gun-toting men.
Female friendships, a diverse
and talented cast and whirlwind
romance were enough to draw in
viewers. "Grey's" paved the way
for other female-centric network
TV shows, like "The Good Wife,"
"Revenge" and "Nashville." This
new generation of primetime
soaps blends entertainment and
drama to create unique and com-
pelling television, no matter the
gender of its viewers.
Shonda Rhimes has followed
up on her "Grey's" success with
"Scandal" and the upcoming
"How to Get Away with Murder."
The series star award-winning
actresses Kerry Washington
("Django Unchained") and Viola
Davis ("The Help"), respectively.
The draw ofworking with Rhimes
might be enough to bring these
fantastic actresses to television,
but there has to be something
else at play. Network television
offers an unprecedented vari-
ety of great roles for women of
color. While cable-counterparts
continue to order shows about
angsty white men, ABC is kick-
ing off a trend of providing more
diverse programming. Represen-
tation pays off in higher ratings
- not surprisingly, Black viewers
are likely to tune into shows in
which Black characters play cen-
tral roles. "Grey's Anatomy" and
"Scandal" are especially popular
in Black households, and some of
the other top series for this demo-
graphic include well-knownBlack
actresses as main characters (Tar-
aji P. Henson in "Person of Inter-
est," Nicole Beharie in "Sleepy
Hollow"). Like "Grey's Anatomy,"
these series aren't just popular in
this specific demographic. "Scan-
dal" and "Sleepy Hollow" have
top ratings nationwide.
Other networks are beginning
to follow ABC's successful busi-
ness model. Since TV series that
feature all-white casts tend to be
the lowest-rated, networks are
ordering more showsawith diverse
leads. CBS's summer hit "Extant"
stars Oscar winner Halle Berry
as an independent astronaut, and
Fox premiered the third season of
the raucously funny "The Mindy
Project" "Mindy" is not only the
first American sitcom centered on
an Indian-American woman but is
also led by the only Indian-Amer-
ican showrunner in Hollywood
right now. Diverse casting has
made significant progress since
"Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost,"
and on network TV, you can now
find a materialistic Indian goof-
ball, a gay Latina cheerleader and
a Black leading lady'detective on
primetime. Though stereotyping
isn't completely gone, the variety
of personalities associated with
characters of color is becom-
ing much more realistic. This
isn't your grandmother's net-
work television. While cable lags
behind, network TV is making
great strides in acknowledging its
diverse viewers.
Barring any more discussion of
race and gender, a lot of network
TV shows are just damn good.
"Hannibal" features such stun-
ning visuals and subtle acting
that it's practically unrecogniz-
able as a "typical network show."
There's plenty of violence, more
gut-wrenching than anything
I've seen on "Game of Thrones"
- if you're whining about how
broadcast networks censor gore,
get back to me once you've seen
Mason Verger feed his ownface to
a dog. There's sex, too, but restric-
tions on nudityeliminatethe male
gaze that pervades most steamy
scenes on cable. "Hannibal" aired
a threesome sex scene last sea-
son, and it was actually creatively
filmed and edited (as opposed to
consecutive close-ups of Emilia
Clarke's boobs, which is how we
all know the same scene would
.have been handled on "Game of
Thrones"). Many critics, (includ-
ing this one), list "Hannibal" near
the top of their favorite programs
on television, right up there with
shows like "True Detective" and
"BreakingBad." Itdoesn'tdeserve
that spot just because it's good
"for network." It's fucking great
television - comparable to any-
thing on cable, if not even better.
Network television isn't dead.
It's alive and thriving, though
its face is no longer recognizably
white or male, nor is its program-
ming comparable to whatever
was airing ten years ago. TV
is an evolving creature, and as
cable and streaming have added
new challenges, network TV has
adapted to its new environment.
As I pick up the newest copy of
TV Guide from my mailbox (yes,
I am a college student with maga-
zine subscriptions) and decorate
the pages with green stars, I don't
shy away from making dates for
network shows. So many series,
on countless networks and plat-
forms, are available .to viewers,
but that doesn't mean the tradi-
tional ones are worth abandoning.
Don't count network television
out - she might just surprise you.
0
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41 mystery guest
moniker
43 Highs and lows,
perhaps
44 Suppress
46 KOA visitors
48 Mice, to owls
49 Riddle, part
three
52 Buddy
53 Monkey wrench
wielder?
56 Catch ina web
58 Many a lap dog
59 Coatcloset
locale, often
61 Dropped the ball
63 Selloutsign,
briefly
64 End ofthe riddle
68 Lagoon border
69 Goad, with "on"
70 Heroic stories
71 Like a string
bean
72 Burnt crisp
73 Unauthorized
disclosures
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