The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
the b-side
Thursday, January 15, 2015 — 3B
LITERARY COLUMN
Starting the year
on a new page
J
anuary is a time of
optimism. The days
are slowly growing
longer, a fresh layer of snow
lies
on the
ground
and the
prom-
ise of
Spring
Train-
ing in
two
months
forti-
fies us against the bitter cold.
Invariably, with this renewed
sense of enthusiasm for the future
comes New Year’s resolutions.
Maybe this year your goal is to
get fit. Or perhaps you’re trying
to live on a budget. While all are
no doubt well-intentioned, resolu-
tions have a nasty habit of folding
under the pressures of daily life.
According to a 2002 study by
the University of Scranton, about
a quarter of people abandon their
New Year’s resolutions after one
week.
If you’re still on track with
your original New Year’s resolu-
tion, keep it up, you go-getter, you.
If, however, you find yourself in
the dreaded 25%, and you’re cur-
rently filled with both an entire
large pizza and a copious amount
of self-loathing, or you’re staring
at a bank account sitting pretty at
17 cents, surrounded by hundreds
of dollars worth of impulse online
shopping purchases (curse you
and your outrageously reasonable
prices, Forever 21!), fear not.
Hope
springs
eternal,
for
there’s one resolution that’s sim-
ple, effective and almost impos-
sible to screw up.
Read more!
How much more, you ask? Well
that’s the beauty of it; it’s entirely
up for you to decide. You could
do the Goodreads 2015 Reading
Challenge and choose a specific
number of books you wish to read
in the year, or you could set aside
a set amount of time each day
devoted exclusively to reading.
I, for one, am participating in
POPSUGAR’s 2015 Reading Chal-
lenge. The challenge lays out 50
different literary-themed stipula-
tions, from reading a book with
more than 500 pages to reading
a book you started but never fin-
ished. All told, if you don’t use
a single book to fulfill multiple
items, the final goal is to read 52
books by the end of the year (one
of the conditions is to read a tril-
ogy).
Because I have a penchant for
planning ahead, I’ve compiled a
list of titles I plan to use for each
condition. Looking at my collec-
tion, I feel confident enough to
say I have a great year of reading
ahead of me.
What I like about this particu-
lar challenge is that it forces you to
pick up works you may never have
chosen to read when left to your
own devices: a book that came
out the year you were born (“The
Giver”), a book that takes place in
your hometown (“Split Images”),
a book written by an author with
your same initials (“Enormous
Changes at the Last Minute”). The
list is filled with enough whimsy
and variety as to ensure a fun and
diverse literary experience the
whole year through.
I have put down books I’ve
been meaning to read for years,
like Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite
Runner” — which will count for a
popular author’s first book — and
Joseph Heller’s satirical classic
“Catch-22” — a book with a num-
ber in the title.
And I will finally, FINALLY
read something by Neil Gaiman.
I know, I know, I don’t know how
I’ve managed not to read anything
by him yet. I even follow the man
on Tumblr for God’s sake. But I’ll
be making up for lost time this
year with both “Neverwhere” and
“The Sandman,” so cut me some
slack.
My list also includes books I
fully intended on reading this
year anyway, such as the always
delightful Amy Poehler’s “Yes
Please,” as well as my third
encounter with the brilliant
sophisticate
Edith
Wharton
with “The House of Mirth.” One
of the books I’m most excited to
get started on is Joe Gola’s “The
Satanic Bridegroom,” a self-
published work written in the
Lovecraftian vein that, I have on
good authority, does the Weird
Fiction genre (a mix of ghost
story and speculative fiction)
proud.
Of course, some books will be
easier to get through than oth-
ers. I’m not particularly looking
forward to the book with bad
reviews condition, as I’ve settled
on a work entitled “Mr. Darcy,
Vampyre.” It might be uninten-
tionally hilarious or downright
torturous, but either way it’s
sure to be an experience.
So if you’re feeling adventur-
ous, come take the 2015 Reading
Challenge with me. And if by
any chance someone can recom-
mend a book with a love triangle
that isn’t (shudder) young adult
fiction, I’d be much obliged.
Prosniewski is about to start
another romance novel. To stop
her, e-mail gpros@umich.edu.
GRACE
PROSNIEWSKI
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
University carilloneur Kipp Cortez plays the bells in the Burton Memorial Bell Tower.
University carillon
rings above campus
By DANIELLE
RAYKHINSHTEYN
Daily Arts Writer
The bucket list of a typical
University student reads some-
thing like this: go to Rick’s,
paint the Rock, sneak into a din-
ing hall, blackout at Rick’s, spin
the Cube, swing on the swing in
front of UMMA, go to Skeeps
after Rick’s, go see if Shady is
really all that shady, attend at
least 14 football Saturdays ...
And, finally, see a carillon
being played.
The carillons — the techni-
cal name for the multiple-bell
instruments that sit atop Bur-
ton Memorial Tower on Central
Campus and the Ann and Rob-
ert H. Lurie Tower on North
Campus — are played every
weekday from 12:00 p.m. to
12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to
2:00 p.m. on Central and North,
respectively. At those times,
they are open to the public.
“When people do come up
here and see it and realize
where this music is coming
from, their jaws just hit the
floor,” said University carillon-
neur Kipp Cortez.
As University carillonneur,
Cortez plays the bells, teach-
es others how to play them
and organizes other carillon
necessities such as the recital
schedule, keeping up the Face-
book page and making sure the
instruments undergo regular
maintenance.
The bells themselves never
need to be retuned, but every
year, the same bell foundry that
built the Burton Carillon, John
Taylor & Co., will check other
parts of the instrument such as
the wooden levers used to play
it, for loose or worn-out parts.
The Burton Tower Carillon,
built in 1936, is the third-heavi-
est carillon in the world, mea-
suring in at 43 tons, the lightest
of which weighs 15 pounds and
the heaviest of which weighs 12
tons. Yes, tons.
The carillon is situated at the
very top of the Burton Tower,
two floors above where the ele-
vator stops. On the ninth floor
is Cortez’s office, and at the top
of a rather narrow set of stairs
beginning in the hallway out-
side of his office sits the instru-
ment.
The Ann and Robert H. Caril-
lon was built in 1996 and has 60
bells, but they are much smaller
than those housed in the Burton
Memorial Tower.
“We have two carillons on
this campus, which is so unusu-
al. It’s totally not the norm,”
Cortez said.
Cortez began his musical
career in eighth grade, when
he began taking organ lessons,
which he became intrigued by
after seeing one at church. After
attending Valparaiso Univer-
sity for his bachelor’s degree in
organ performance and church
music and the University for his
master’s degree in organ per-
formance, he began pursuing
his doctorate in musical perfor-
mance at the University as well.
It was during this time, in April
2013, that he became a carillon
Graduate Student Instructor
and was put in charge of all car-
illon matters.
“I’m an organist, and I like
big instruments,” Cortez said.
“One day I decided that the
organ was no longer big enough
or loud enough, and I thought
to myself, ‘Wicked cool to have
a big-ass carillon.’ ”
While Cortez said that he is
the one person who plays the
instrument most often, he also
had six carillon students during
the Fall 2014 semester who also
played.
“When the instrument was
built, the dean of the music
school said that it would become
the voice of the University,”
Cortez said. “What I take that
to mean is that these are the
musical expressions and styl-
ings of the students of the Uni-
versity. They’re able to express
themselves on this instrument
for the whole campus to hear.”
Cortez added that only one
of these six students is in the
School of Music, Theatre &
Dance, and he would never
deter anyone who wanted to
learn to play the instrument.
“Most people just go blindly
searching for ‘Michigan bells,’
and it turns out, ‘Oh, this is a
musical instrument! Oh, I can
learn to play this! Oh, this is
awesome!’ ”
The carillon resembles a
piano in the sense that it has
foot pedals and keys spanning
several
octaves.
Instead
of
the white and black keys of a
piano, the carillon is composed
of wooden levers that, when
pushed down using a soft fist,
move a lever that rings the cor-
responding bell. The foot ped-
als on the carillon are linked to
the larger bells, as more force is
required to ring them.
“The sound of the bells is mar-
velous,” Cortez said. “The instru-
ments we have here are just world
class instruments. It’s such a priv-
ilege to come up here and make
music and to share it with other
students, with the community
and with the rest of the campus.”
Cortez said he has an arsenal of
songs that he generally repeats,
but he likes to add in at least one
new song every week, and there
is a large amount of music avail-
able for the carillon. He also said
there is a responsibility as a caril-
lonneur to be cognizant of world
events and to play songs accord-
ingly.
“What we carillonneurs try
to do is to be sensitive to hap-
penings around campus, things
that happen in the state and
around the world,” he said. “On
Veterans Day or on the Fourth
of July, we’ll do a program of
patriotic music.”
“The day after (the Ottawa
shooting) I played the Cana-
dian national anthem, as part
of standing in solidarity with
them to the north.”
Cortez said he ultimately sees
this instrument as something
for the students, as it reaches
most students’ ears every single
day. While the bells that ring
every 15 minutes are mecha-
nized, the carillon is an instru-
ment he encourages everyone to
learn or at least come see.
“When you hear real music
coming out of the tower, it is
actually a human being,” Cor-
tez said.
If you would like to learn to
play the carillon, you may apply
for the class through the SMTD
website or contact Kipp Cortez
directly at kippcor@umich.edu.
EPISODE REVIEW
Last week, Lifetime brought
a popular British television
show to the
American
screen.
Over
the course of
eight
weeks,
the American
MENSA holds
a competition
that tests 20
of the coun-
try’s
most
intelligent and
well-rounded
children, all of whom are under
twelve. They endure a series of
extensive quizzes, answering
questions on high school level
mathematics, world geography
and history, SAT vocabulary,
science and other subjects. The
show cuts from question to
question quickly, barely allow-
ing the audience time to process
the information or play along
like in other game shows, dem-
onstrating how the topics fly
over our heads even as adults.
The show opens with insight
into each contestant’s “normal”
home life. The preparation
behind the scenes is toilsome
and exhausting, but the grand
prize is enticing: $100,000
toward
college,
and
more
importantly, the prestigious title
of Child Genius. Thus, for the
kids, their days include rigorous
intellectual training routines,
various extracurricular lessons
and parents who drill them
without cessation. One mother
justifies to her son, “I’m not a
Tiger Mommy … (I) just don’t
want you to look like an idiot.”
At the end of the episode, half
of the contestants are cut – to
their disheartening sobs, and
their parents’ scowls. Though it
should be uplifting to see poten-
tial in a generation that will
lead our future, “Child Genius”
is often labeled as “the most
controversial reality TV show.”
Even before they have reached
double-digit ages, these chil-
dren’s greatest fears are failure
and disappointment. The series
is not unlike other reality televi-
sion programs that “exhibit” (or
exploit?) the talents of today’s
youth. Is this a worthwhile price
for precocity?
-KAREN HUA
LIFETIME
C-
‘Child
Genius’
Series Pilot
Tuesdays
at 10 p.m
Lifetime
SINGLE REVIEW
Doped up and peacocking
for a pretty lady in a crappy
diner is the premise of Child-
ish Gambino’s
newest music
video
for
“Sober.” Don-
ning
cords
and a cardi-
gan,
Gam-
bino stumbles
across a diner,
overconfi-
dent and drugged, to converse
with the curly-haired woman
sipping at her soda. The lyrics
paint the video’s storyline, “And
now that it’s over / I’ll never be
sober / and now I’m so high.” As
the nervous diner chick starts
to distance herself from the
inebriated fellow with a pocket
tee, the video transitions into an
awesome 21st century mating
ritual. Is this a stoner’s drug-
induced fantasy? Or perhaps
this is the classic correlation
between drunken heartbreak
and a rebound? Or is the diner
chick his lost love? Who cares.
The video’s intention is untel-
lable and relatively unimportant
in comparison with the simple
creativity of Gambino’s perfor-
mance.
Funny,
idiosyncratic
and suave, especially following
a clever admission of “I’M SO
HIGH,”
Gambino’s
perfor-
mance is viscerally enjoyable.
This is a video not meant for
excessive deliberation or analy-
sis; instead, as a viewer, give this
video a quick YouTube search
and watch a great performer
present a great performance.
Never before has a perfor-
mance by Childish Gambino
felt as close to the rapper’s true
identity: comedian, actor and
screenwriter Donald Glover.
Gambino, in comparison to
Glover, has always appeared
rougher, tougher and more
capable of actually fighting
Drake. Complete with carefree
air guitar performances and
magic tricks involving doves,
the randomness and creativity
underlying his additions draw
the rapper persona closer to its
highly intellectual counterpart.
-AMELIA ZAK
GLASSNOTE
A
‘Sober’
Childish
Gambino
Glassnote
JAMES RESLIER-WELLS/Daily
Video of Kipp Cortez playing the Carillon in the Burton Bell Tower on Tuesday.
“...the voice of
the University.”