4B — Thursday, March 12, 2015
the b-side
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
By AMELIA ZAK
Daily Music Editor
Who is the coolest teacher
you’ve ever had? Maybe they
were well versed, well traveled,
or even just very well dressed.
Many favorite teachers are
described as more relatable,
or able to inspire interest or
personal
immersion
into
a
typically academic topic.
Imagine
an
instructor
who
teaches
only
in
the
summertime, dictates writing
techniques and the lessons to
be derived from literature on
the side of a mountain in the
American northeast. He loves
John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut
and holds garnered experiences
from the real-world application
of inspiration derived from
literature
in
the
form
of
lyricism. This is because you
have a teacher who also leads
a double life as a celebrated
indie folk singer-songwriter of
especially potent fame in the
Ann Arbor community. He’s the
coolest teacher you’ve ever had;
he is Chris Bathgate.
Though
some
University
students may know Bathgate
from his role at the University’s
New
England
Literature
program, his career extends
far beyond the depths of the
forrests of New Hampshire.
Bathgate
attended
the
University back in the early
2000s and with the gained
support and from the school’s
community of musicians as well
as the nurturing warmth of the
general Ann Arbor music scene.
“Ann
Arbor
helped
me
the
most
in
providing
an
infrastructure
that
allowed
emerging
musicians
to
grow;that’s
probably
the
number one thing I can thank
Ann
Arbor
for,”
Bathgate
said. And musical growth is
what followed his collegiate
experience.
In
2006,
Bathgate
simultaneously released two
albums, A Detailed Account of
Three Dreams and Throatsleep,
in addition to an EP. This
excessive
deployment
of
music was ultimately deemed
ARTIST
PROFILE
IN
VIRGINIA LOZANO/Daily
When not performing, Chris Bathgate is an instructor in the University’s New England Literature Program.
STYLE RECAP
Strobe lights and a rock ‘n’
roll stage defined the envi-
ronment for Saint Laurent’s
Fall ready-to-wear 2015 col-
lection at Paris fashion week.
The show opened with the
rise of a Courtney Love wan-
nabe model popping out of
the ground and stomping her
pink high-low prom dress
down the runway. Unfortu-
nately, this tacky opening
was a grim indication for how
the rest of the show’s collec-
tion would appear. The punk
theme was carried fairly lit-
erally throughout the entire
collection. So much so that
the workmanship of Hedi
Slimane’s more constructed
pieces was completely ignored
in favor of the cliché styling.
The shredded tights, up-to-
here leg slits and questionable
cut outs pushed the collection
into garish costume territory.
There was also a lot of boob
in the show, including a solo
boob appearance from a dress
that was supposedly intend-
ing to cover only half of the
model’s chest.
As is usual for Saint Lau-
rent, the collection’s decent
range of outerwear ended
up being this season’s sav-
ing grace. By and far making
the coolest statement at the
show, the outerwear varied
from structured blazers to
furry oversized coats to long
trenches, all of which played
into the oversized androgy-
nous theme. The highlights
of the outerwear pieces were
of very contradicting styles:
a silver, thigh-length trench
coat and a flowing leopard
print cape.
If this collection is any
indication for the future of
Slimane’s creations at Saint
Laurent, the label may be in
trouble of becoming the next
overrated fashion house. A
serious
reconsideration
of
styling is in order for next sea-
son, as without the reckless
overkill of bad girl clichés,
this collection could have
been a top performer at Paris
fashion week.
-KATIE CAMPBELL
YVES SAINT LAURENT
THE D’ART BOARD
Each week we take shots at the biggest
developments in the entertainment world.
Here’s what hit (and missed) this week.
Design by Gaby Vasquez
Her father will hear about this
Kim K dyes hair platinum blonde,
Draco Malfoy comparisons ensue.
Han Yolo
Harrison Ford
crashed a plane, is
doing fine.
He turned left!
‘Zoolander 2’ stars Ben Stiller
and Owen Wilson crash
Valentino Paris Fashion Week
runway.
Bran Eater
Hall & Oates sue granola
maker Haulin’ Oates.
Got to Give It Up
Robin Thicke and Pharrel to pay
Marvin Gaye estate $7.4 million,
putting the entire Hot 100 at risk
of being sued.
successful, grabbing for him
the 2006 title of “Best Solo
Artist in Michigan” from Real
Detroit Weekly. This young
initial fame launched his career
forward, as far as overseas, and
placed him as the opening act
of the experimental indie pop
band, Saturday Looks Good to
Me, in their European tour. He
signed on to numerous labels,
including the famous European,
Björk-approved,
One
Little
Indian. The opening track of
his 2007 album A Cork Tale
Wake, “Serpentine,” earned the
acclaim of the NPR’s Song of the
Day back in 2008. And since his
accomplishments of the ’00s,
and his gorgeously melodic
most recent album, the 2011 Salt
Year, Bathgate has remained, to
the uneducated eye, relatively
dormant.
“I
took
a
hiatus
from
performing live for about two
years and in the interim in that
period of time I’ve been working
on a record that’s actually tracking
this week. And then I’ve also been
working on a collaborative project
titled SKULLLS, which is another
record that will be coming out
hopefully by the end of the year.”
All this while bouncing from
a film set in Baton Rouge to a
recording studio in New Orleans,
Bathgate hasn’t abandoned his
musical post. With his newest
music
venture,
SKULLLS,
a
collaborative
project
that
he
admits gained more influence
in the jazz and hip-hop world,
and an upcoming tour for his
nearly
complete
upcoming
album, Bathgate’s creativity and
musical advancements have not
dissipated. Rather, as a riper
musician, Bathgate holds the
temperament and wisdom of an
experienced artist. He holds a
practiced process of inspiration
that is still dictated in his most
recent work: solitude, location
and poetry.
“For the landscape I spend
a lot of time on the coast, on the
East and West, and in the South
most recently, but whether or
not the cultural music identity of
those locations makes its way into
the music—the landscape surely
advances my state of mind,”
Bathgate said. “So in the South
there are these beautiful bald
cypress groves and swamp land
that are incredibly beautiful.”
Bathgate
dissected
himself
further, explaining, “I don’t know
if you could pinpoint one specific
note or lyric that is directly
connected to those landscapes but
they definitely change my state of
mind.”
“Solitude is always a neces-
sity, you just need time to work
through your ideas and it’s diffi-
cult to create with people in that
space, but with poetry, it’s kind
of always been there,” Bathgate
said. “With SKULLLS, this pres-
ence is definitely traceable.”
Unsurprising, isn’t it, that
a
jack-of-all-trades
musician
who holds skill in the complete
spectrum of instruments, also
assimilates the English language
and his literary experience into
his music. The Renaissance man
himself bashfully implied it too.
“As the sole lyricist for my
music, and in order to sustain
this role, I think I will always
find this to be true.”
And how exciting it is, really,
for those individuals most apt
to find indie folk inspiring are
also likely to find inspiration in
the words of some of Bathgate’s
favorites, like Steinbeck and
Vonnegut.
His perfectionism is another
concurrent
constant
for
the
Bathgate process, one that he
admits “maybe it’s at the dismay
of fans who are waiting for an
artist’s newest art but you can
only release a record once, so
sometimes it just takes me more
time.”
His complete rejection of
any half-ass job, coupled with
the seemingly endless amount
of hats Bathgate wears, would
obviously produce a man who
just can’t release new music on
an incredibly regular basis. With
age and experience, he’s learned
to allow himself more liberties
with his work, letting “patience
play a key role in composing and
restructuring a song.”
Time and gathered influences
have funneled his music into
numerous pathways and styles,
and so the perfectionism takes
its positive toll – one that the
fans like myself must dutifully
endure.
Bathgate returns to the stage
this spring with an initial set
of shows in Michigan before
continuing
onto
a
larger
audience on the East Coast.
This long set of shows begins
this Saturday, Mar. 14 at the
Blind Pig where Bathgate will
be performing with The Go
Rounds and the Antivillains.
The cyclical return of watching
an Ann Arbor musician, a
man
so
well
versed,
well
traveled, and perhaps even well
dressed, return to his original
foundation of inspiration. His
musical roots never feel far
from his present self, a musician
who once found inspiration
in the accessible solitude of
North Campus, surrounded by a
landscape of student musicians,
allowing the ebb and flow of
literary academia impact his
sound – everything now has
changed, but everything has
stayed the same.
MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW
An alarm beeps at 5:00 a.m.
and an arm covered in blue paja-
mas swings over and snoozes
it.
Wait,
I
have
that
clock! WAIT,
that
arm
is
attached
to
Tom
Hanks!
Yes, “Call Me
Maybe” song-
stress,
Carly
Rae
Jepsen,
managed
to
cast Tom Hanks as the star of
her newest (and bestest) video.
As Hanks sits up in bed, the
beat slithers in through his
penthouse windows amid the
morning darkness. Holy shit.
In the middle of a five-in-the-
morning-stare-at-the-carpet-
in-distress moment he begins to
lip-sync the first verse. He rubs
his eyes, stretches and the magic
begins. As he looks into the bath-
room mirror, his demeanor and
performance gain some more
energy and, BOOM, as he lifts
his head from spitting up some
mouthwash, he is walking along
a street in NYC high-fiving and
fist bumping anyone who walks
by. I really want a fist bump from
Tom Hanks at this point.
As he jumps into a cab, an
emojiful conversation between
Carly and him appears on screen;
it’s time for them to meet up at
the real video shoot. Walking
the last leg of the trip, bystanders
are seen swiping right on Hank’s
Tinder profile (who wouldn’t??).
During final touches, Hanks
pauses to recite the song’s short
conversation.
Hanks: I’m pregnant.
Jepson: Okay
Hanks: Just kidding.
YES. Now the duo, along with
a crowd of back-up dancers,
perform a thriller-esque street
dance. It’s brilliant and infec-
tious. Hanks’s moves are dad-
meets-boyband. Wait, who is
that dancing next to Jepsen? Oh
wow, that’s Justin Bieber. And
for a total of 21 life-altering sec-
onds, Bieber manages to not be a
tool and Hanks follows Jepsen’s
carefree choreography.
Hanks gives a humorous and
uplifting dub of “I Really Like
You.” His stagnant upper-lip just
adds another layer of awesome-
ness. It’s not supposed to be seri-
ous, and Jepsen certainly knows
how to put on a good time. I real-
ly really really really really really
like this video. And you do too.
-CHRISTIAN KENNEDY
SCHOOLBOY/ INTERSCOPE RECORDS
A+
I Really
Like You
Carly Rae
Jepsen
Schoolboy/Inter-
scope Records