COURTESY OF STAR TRIBUNE "Because we are living in a material world. Golden rap duo prevails BY DAVID RIVA DailyArts Writer There are so many blogworthy sto- rylines behind Watch the Throne, it's hard to keep track: Its organic devel- opment from an EP to a full length; the lack of leaks Watchthe and secrecy kept Throne from inception to its ever-changing Jay-Z and release date; the Kanye West iTunes and Best Roc Nation Buy exclusives that prompted an angry letter by independent record stores; the big-brother and proteg6 narra- tives. All these components have made Watch the Throne one of the most anticipated releases in recent memory. But at the end of the day, none of this buzz really matters. One plain and simple fact should remain the most important: Watch the Throne features two rap giants collaborating for 12 tracks. And any fan of music should be thrilled by the potential outcome. Opener "No Church in the Wild" lays down a tribal, pulsating beat - a typical trait of recent Kanye produc- tions. The ensuing lyrical assault, however, is wider in scope than any- one ever could have expected. Frank Ocean takes the hook, outlining the hierarchy from human to Higher Power, but begs the question of wheth- er or not that chain of command mat- ters in a chaotic world. Jay-Z responds in the first verse by blending religious and philosophical references to con- clude that the teachings of the proph- ets known as Yeezy and Hova stand as equal to - or perhaps superior to - any belief or opinion. This hip-hop boast isn't anything new - especially for the opening track to a Jay-Z album - but with a reference to Plato's Euthyphro, this is as academic as a rap can get. For an album that couldn't have any high- er expectations, the first track packs a mind-boggling, disorienting punch. This isn't feel-good, shut-off-your- mind-and-enjoy kind of music. This is heavy stuff. But after the intellectually loaded first track terminates, a weight is lift- ed and the fluffy "Lift Off" does quite literally what its title suggests. Beyon- c6's perfectly pitched voice soars for a radio-ready chorus as light and airy as "Church"washeavy. Completelyvapid of lyrical complexity compared to its predecessor, the track squeezes in all the tropes of a mediocre club track - brief yet frenetic drum machine, ran- domly injected background shouts and, of course, heavy bass throughout. "Lift Off," however, is the rare exception in an exceptionally brainy album. "New Day" contains Kanye's most direct address of his past trans- gressions to date. While "Runaway" was just a superficial skirting of the I'mma-let-you-finish debacle, Kanye finally faces his demons head-on in song form. The "George Bush hates black people" statement after Hurri- cane Katrina, his rocky relationship with ex-girlfriend Alexis Phifer, his mother's death at the hands of an ill- advised plastic surgery operation and, his infamously stubborn personality - it's all here. Kanye's reflection on these events, however, has a larger function. Kanye and Jay-Z have their potential off- spring on the mind. Their feelings are similarly sympathetic for sons who will never carry out a normal life because of the fame of their fathers. The track is slightly tainted by an ill- advised, auto-tuned sample of the Nina Simone classic "Feeling Good." But the lyrical exchange between the two wannabe future fathers- sounds like a deep and heartfelt conversa- tion among a pair of personalities that truly understand each other. In fact, the chance that "New Day" actually stemmed from an in-person dialogue is increased by the nature of Watch the Throne's recording. According to Jay-Z, in an interview with The Rolling Stone, both artists were present in the same location during the entire recording process - an impressive feat considering their globe-trotting tendencies and packed work schedules. The resultant chem- istry can be felt on tracks like "Why I Love You" and "Gotta Have It," which feature trade-off vocals bouncing off one another as if they're finishing one another's thoughts. "Otis" is perhaps the best display of this ping-pong-ing and is a clear album standout. Named for the track's sam- ple (Otis Redding's "Try A Little Ten- derness"), "Otis" is a throwback not only because it features a song from the '60s, but it also recalls Jay-Z and Kanye's earliest collaborations, which used old soul and Motown samples. This time around, Kanye decides to maintain an authentic feel. Redding's completely unadulterated vocal prow- ess shines and is matched by a simi- larly scrappy approach to the song's verses. Throughout Watch the Throne, Kanye and Jay-Z seem to constantly be on the same page. Every line is mutually understood and every verse is complemented by the other. The purpose of the album's title is assumed to be another one of those hip-hop boasts - Jay-Z and Kanye West are the kings of the rap game. The obvious question of "How many seats does this throne have?" posed before listening to the album is clearly resolved by its end. The pair claim the top two spots of rap royalty. And unlike many simi- larly ego-driven claims by their peers, Jay-Z and Kanye are probably right. Watch the Throne is just one of many examples of how they defend their unmatched sovereignty. Monday, August 15, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com French film unlocks a Holocaust story BY PHILIP CONKLIN Cut to the present, when DailyArts Writer Julia's domestic problems (she's pregnant, but her hus- "Sarah's Key," a French film band doesn't want another from director Gilles Paquet- baby), which in any other Brenner ("Walled In") and movie could carry the story, adapted only serve as a tedious, slow from the lRe lull in Sarah's narrative, the novel "Elie - one the audience really cares s'appelait Sarah'sKey about. Sarah" by Julia's story gets inter- Tatiana De At The esting when she discovers Rosnay, is, Michigan the apartment she is mov- like most ing into with her husband, Holocaust The Weinstein whose family lived in it for films, very Company 60 years from 1942 on, is the sad, almost same one Sarah and her fam- unbear- ily lived in before the raid. ably so. This further complicates her Kristin Scott Thomas issues at home, and leads her ("Nowhere Boy"), in a terrific on a search for Sarah, who performance, stars as Julia she believes might still be Jarmond, a journalist from alive. But when Sarah's story New York who has settled in merges with the present, and Paris with her husband (Fr4- Julia's search takes over, the deric Pierrot, "I've Loved You film loses steam. It seems as So Long") and their young though the filmmakers tried daughter. Julia is investigat- to fit too much of the novel ing the infamous 1942 Vel' into the film, and the final 15 d'Hiv Roundup, when thou- minutes feel muddled. sands of Jews were arrested Despite its faults, "Sarah's by the French government Key" is beautifully shot and and sent to Auschwitz. Julia's adroitly directed. Even dur- investigation and the banali- ing the often-dull scenes in ties of her modern existence the present, the power of the are intercut and intertwined images is enough to evoke real with the horrifying experi- emotion from the audience. ences of Sarah Starzynski, a young Jewish girl arrested during the Vel d'Hiv, played wonderfully by young Sorrow and French actress Mdlusine Mayance. But as hard as the beauty mesh in film tries, the juxtaposition of these two stories never two stories. feels quite right; it makes too much of the visual con- trast between the two time periods, with the cold, ster- Toward the end, Julia asks ile and static present at odds one of her colleagues, who is with the earthy, turbulent appalled at the treatment of past. Though each is well the Jews by the French during done, they never quite mesh. the war, "How do you know Sarah's story is thrilling what you'd have done?" This and heart wrenching. She theme - reckoning with the is separated from her par- terrible events of the past from ents, but eventually escapes the safe refuge of the mod- from the concentration camp ern world - is hinted at but, and begins a journey back to disappointingly, never fully Paris, with the help of a kind explored. However; Sarah's old French couple. It's equally story is compelling enough to sad and exciting, and keeps hold the audience's interest the audience on the edge of that "Sarah's Key" turns out to their seats. be a worthwhile watch.