3B — Thursday, January 8, 2015
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
For someone who seemed
nothing more than a one-hit
wonder plastered on a series of
lucky hits, Sam Smith has risen
to the ranks of the some of the
world’s most consistent artists.
With that, it’s hard to believe
that In the Lonely Hour is only
Smith’s debut.
Smith
is
technical,
but
doesn’t let that get in the way
of raw emotion. He’s dramat-
ic, but earnest. His lyrics are
relatable, each packaged in a
painfully
honest
storybook
form. In some ways, it’s repeti-
tive, really. In The Lonely Hour
tells the same perplexity of
unrequited love in 10 differ-
ent colors through each of his
tracks.
Mustering
three
top
10
tracks in the United States and
six whooping Grammy nomina-
tions this year alone, Smith has
broken through the realm of
contemporary adult pop, bring-
ing the voice of contemporary-
classics in the likes of Michael
Bublé and Adele back into
mainstream media. While each
track narrates love’s down-
falls and the ultimate triumphs
of heartbreak, Smith’s voice
tells another story of strain
and mental ache. Through his
music, Smith acquiesces to
his fate, and tells his story in
stream-of-consciousness fash-
ion, replicating the exactness
of every sting and stitch he felt
through his experiences.
In some ways, it’s incredu-
lous to imagine Smith’s sound
being anything other than mel-
ancholic. But for someone who
knows his sound impeccably
well — more than most other
artists in his genre, at least —
it’s hard to imagine him saying
he conceived making a Rihan-
na-esque record in mid-May
when he didn’t believe he had
the vocal timbre to pull it off.
In The Lonely Hour is per-
fect. It conjoins single-worthy
melodies with a voice that truly
knows how to capture emotion.
Yet, when perfection repeats
itself, it no longer is per-
fect. Show us something else
extraordinary, Smith. That’s
how you’ll stay.
-AMRUTHA SIVAKUMAR
3. In The Lonely Hour
Sam Smith
Best Albums of 2014
Despite
being
one-word
short of being mute, Groot
grows into the hearts of any-
one who enjoyed “Guardians
of the Galaxy.” But it may sur-
prise some that Groot made the
list because (1) Groot predomi-
nately plays a supporting role
and (2) Groot (mostly) doesn’t
make his own decisions. But
Groot’s general lack of volition
contributes to his childlike
innocence, which makes him
more easily lovable.
Groot is also super fuckin’
cool because (SPOILER) Groot
totally sacrifices himself for
the group by transforming into
a protective cocoon and saving
the Guardians from destruc-
tion. Kudos to Vin Diesel on
his
masterful
voice
acting
and probably being the least
-expected actor to voice one
of the best characters. We are
Groot.
-ZAK WITUS
3. Groot
“Guardians of the Galaxy”
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES
Ralph Fiennes, best known
to our generation for portray-
ing Lord Voldemort, turned in
one of the finest performances
of 2014 in “The Grand Buda-
pest Hotel.” A concierge of the
titular hotel, Monsieur Gus-
tave H. reveals very little about
himself, entrancing audiences
simply by oozing charisma. He
operates in the perpetual pres-
ent, living every moment of his
life with more gusto than most
do on their wedding day, which
explains why, though he’s often
drawl and sometimes conde-
scending, Gustave H. endears
audiences: he appreciates the
simple treasures life has to
offer, like interesting company
or a good lay.
-CONRAD FOREMAN
4. Monsieur Gustave H.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Terence
Fletcher
is
the
teacher you think hates you,
and you know what? Maybe he
does. He taunts the musicians
in his prestigious jazz band into
submission, ruthlessly preying
on their insecurities until tal-
ent arises out of pure, cold fear.
Once he wrings every last fiber
out of his students’ beings, he
cruelly demands more, physi-
cally and emotionally draining
them to the point where tough-
love motivation distorts into a
deadly breed of self-inflicted
torture. He admits to genu-
inely supporting his students,
but where should the line be
drawn between motivation and
abuse? You don’t know, and you
never will, because all you are
is a worthless pansy ass who
cries like a whiny nine-year old
girl and Terence Fletcher will
always be one step ahead of you.
-VANESSA WONG
5. Terence Fletcher
“Whiplash”
ASYLUM
Since the rise of Icona Pop’s “I
Love It,” Charlotte Aitchison has
been hopping from track to track
on fellow artists’ radio hits, and
in the final chapter of 2014, Charli
XCX brought about a glitz-and-
glam pop-punk record that seam-
lessly weaves its aggressions into
the threads of its live-like-crazy
preachings.
And while the heightened real-
ity of Aitchison’s “London Queen”
lifestyle can appear out of touch
at times, the pop singer’s Gwen-
Stefani-esque cheerleader chants
will pull anyone along for the ride
— even if on the “wrong side of the
road.”
Sucker growls in the face of
every female power-pop singer of
2014, and has the sonic distortion
and lyrical brutality to back up its
third degree heat.
Don’t end up being the guy on
the other end of a Charli XCX lyric.
-GREG HICKS
2. Sucker
Charli XCX
In 1988, a group from Long
Island called Public Enemy
released It Takes a Nation
of Millions to Hold Us Back.
Though the album can be cat-
egorized as early hip hop, it’s
more of a study in noise rap,
and it synthesized various ele-
ments of rock, punk and jazz
into a single mortar shell that
shattered the history of street
music and street politics.
In 2014, El-P and Killer
Mike, one of hip hop’s new-
est and most overlooked duos,
produced an idealized fusion of
Public Enemy’s noise art with
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth’s
symbiotic rap. The result is
RTJ2, a work born of fire and
brimstone, one that channels
anger and confusion into red-
hot chrysalises, one that teems
with vitality and bursts with
napalm. Killer Mike and El-P
take their burning fury and
shape it into verse that hits
the jugular again and again.
In the opener “Jeopardy,” the
duo spares no blow: “I spit
with the diction of Malcolm or
say a Bun B / Prevail through
Hell, so Satan get thee behind
me,” Mike sings at the end
of his verse. El-P adds to the
attack, “I live to spit on your
grave, my existence is to dis-
grace you / The kitten became
a lion that looks to your face
like great food.” All 39 minutes
run something like this. Two
talented, middle-aged rappers
harmonizing one perfect ver-
bal assault after the other.
Above all, these are sturdy
songs with highly intelligent
production beats, bars and
brushstrokes. Take, for exam-
ple, the subtle but devastating
internal rhyme scheme Killer
Mike delivers in “Blockbuster
Night Part 1”: “I Jake the Snake
‘em, DDT ‘em in mausoleums
/ Macabre massacres killing
cunts in my coliseum.” Like the
album as a whole, these two
lines seamlessly perpetuate the
collective momentum while
also polishing the interior like
clockwork. Even the structure
of RTJ2 achieves harmony, as
the second side injects some
air into a first side consumed
with gunsmoke. It’s this kind
of precision that makes RTJ2
an album of staggering energy,
one that doesn’t join the ranks
of history so much as it does
break them to bits.
-BRIAN BURLAGE
4. RTJ2
Run the Jewels
YOUNG MONEY
5. The Pinkprint
Nicki Minaj
In a year where most of hip
hop’s major stars did not release
an album, The Pinkprint stands
practically alone as a sprawling
classic filled with emotion, experi-
mentation and pure talent. On her
third album, Nicki Minaj mixes
deeply personal lyrics befitting of
a classic break-up album with the
more familiar unhinged hip-hop
swagger that made her a star. She
forms a perfect dream trio with
Beyoncé and Hit-Boy on “Feel-
ing Myself” — a bouncy, focused
burst of energy that was one of the
most exciting songs of the year —
and she brings out a surprising,
beautiful singing voice on tracks
like “Pills N Potions” and “Grand
Piano.” On top of that, The Pink-
print spotlights the unpredictable,
maniac Minaj on “Anaconda,” a
song that was part novelty, sure,
but also a subversive, empowering
party-starter. How many break-up
records proudly declare, “I got a
big fat ass?”
-ADAM THEISEN
CAPITOL RECORDS
In
“Birdman,”
Michael
Keaton walks the fragile line of
reality playing both washed-
up actor Riggan Thomson and
Birdman, the haunting alter
ego that stems from his super-
hero movie past. Thomson
attempts to both revive his
dying career in a Broadway
play and deal with his broken
family, alcoholic actors and
his apparent nosedive into
mental illness. The single-shot
cinematography of the film
exposes all of the flaws and
anxieties of a man desperately
trying to prove his relevance
in a world of tweets and blogs
that he can’t even understand.
Keaton conveys the nuances of
Thomson’s insecurities with
ironic accuracy, as he himself
has been cast off as a depleted
source of talent. Keaton plays
Thomson brilliantly, forcing
the audience to accept that
this Birdman might really fly.
-REBECCA LERNER
2. Riggan Thomson
“Birdman”
Who is Amy Dunne? For the
first half of “Gone Girl,” we’re
really not sure. It’s kind of
funny that our favorite char-
acter of the year is missing for
a large portion of her movie;
she is “Gone,” after all. That
being said, Amy is certainly no
damsel in distress. She’s the
coolest, most intriguing and
by far the scariest character of
2014. Via a slow-burn patch-
work of flashbacks and reveals
that only David Fincher could
make happen onscreen, we
begin to learn the complex
story of who Amy is and why
she disappeared. Uncovering
her secrets was one of the best
experiences film had to offer
this year.
-JACOB RICH
1. Amy Dunne
“Gone Girl”
Best Characters of 2014
20TH CENTURY FOX
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