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 ACROSS DOWN 37 A muse may 54 Cardiologist's 1 Caesar in "Rise 1 Farm fieldcry inspire them concern of the Planet of 2 "That's a surprise" 38"Fooled you!" 55 Lakers coach_ the Apes," for 3 Lyricist Gershwin 40 With joy Scott one 4 Bdlsh subject? 42 Louis _, 57 Nearsighted one 6 Loadleged replaced hythe eponym of the 60 Activity on a mat g-egg eurKentucky city 62 Image on the 14 Halos 6 Beef. e.g. 45 All square Michigan state 7 Answerto the 47 Lose sleep (over) flag 11 Bolg alternative riddle 50 Square one 65Through 1B Really ticked B Melonlikefruit It Tooth covering B6 "Grossl" 17 Startof a riddle sHeadlight seing 13 Pinch 67 Small opening? 18 "Shirt Front and 10 "Let us part, _ Fork artist the season of ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 19 Well-mannered passion forget fellows us": Yeats ERN A W M A N HANK S 20 Summertime 11 Singer's asset T H E W H A T S A B 0 1 L woe 12 Riverrsammal H I C N I C E A N ID E A S Y 23 "_ Shorty": 13Makes a home I N C A P O I O A T H S Elmore Leonard 21 Egyptian snakes C O 0 L R U N N I N G S novel 22 Actor Green of WEEP G E O L I P 24 Sursptuous "Rohot Chicken" meals 24 Doesn'thtake GUA RD A B L E S I N E 27 Some anything in O F F T O A G OO 0STAR T microbrews 25Fanfare D O E S G I N O TOME S 25 Rm. coolers 2B Tokyo-based a a R 0 R L C Y A N 30Riddleparttwo brewsey SW E T S IXT E N 32 Big piece 28 Bar, in law M A I N E WAR SEX Y 34 Kazakhstan, 31 Suffixnwith Mao 34cAzhsr 033Smashingat the W I C K E D W I T C H S I M once: Abbr. box office E L M E R S C A L E O L E 3aChevrolestU 36 Singer with the B L E S S J E T E R N E T Mel-Tones xwordeditor@aol.com 09/19/14 "PRIME" PARKING FOR Sale 721 S. Forest "Forest Place" $1500 Limited Passes Remaining 734-761-8000 primesh.com CAMPUS PARKING $70/MONTH, near U of M bus. 734-418-2050 or info@828greene.com 1. !NORTH CAMPUS 1-2 Bdrm. ! Riverfront/Heat/Water/Parking. ! ! www.HRPAA.com ! WWW.CARLSONPROPERTIES.- 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. 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