The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 — 7

The power of music 
to draw out time

By CATHERINE BAKER

Daily Arts Writer

Where 
are 
you? 
Right 

now, right this very second. 
Maybe you’re in the UGLi, 
procrastinating finishing that 
paper due at midnight. Perhaps 
you live in a quaint cottage in 
Iowa and you’re reading this 
next to your roaring fireplace 
because of your keen, if a 
little misplaced, interest in 
the happenings here at the 
University. Or maybe you’re 
my mom, reading this because 
I know you stalk me day and 
night. (Hi, mom.)

Forget all that. That’s not 

what you’re doing. At this 
exact moment in time, you are 
on a rock hurtling through 
space and revolving around 
an extremely hot ball of gas at 
a speed of approximately 18.5 
miles per second. (For those of 
you who struggle with numbers 
like myself, that’s really fast.) 
There are thousands of planets 
circling their own suns, many 
of which might sustain life, 
and some of which think they 
are the only sentient beings in 
an ever-expanding universe. 
Who knows, maybe somewhere 
out there an exact duplicate 
of Earth is floating around, 
except Justin Bieber is the one 
roasting Martha Stewart.

In the grand scheme of 

things, 
human 
life 
serves 

remarkably little purpose aside 
from living out a set number 
of years on a tiny speck in the 
universe. 
The 
Sun 
doesn’t 

give a shit that you failed your 
Econ midterm or that you 
finally kissed that boy in your 
Wednesday discussion. (This 
is supposed to be a lot more 
comforting than it sounds, I 
promise.)

To counteract and mask all 

this morbidity, humans created 
time. If we set goals that exist 
within certain timeframes, our 
short stories on Earth seem 
slightly 
more 
accomplished 

and if people remember you 
then, whoa, now you’ve really 
made it big.

(Yes, I’m bringing this back 

around to music, just give me a 
moment.)

My point is, we are allotted 

x number of days to live on 

this lovely planet and how 
we choose to spend them is 
entirely up to ourselves. Yes, 
some classes can feel like they 
last an eternity, while other 
moments pass in the blink of 
an eye. And in a world so full 
of deadlines and alarms it’s 
crucial for your sanity to step 
back and take those three 
minutes to listen to that song 
that makes you feel like time 
has stopped.

You know the songs that I’m 

talking about — the ones that 
make moments slow down and 
worries seem insignificant. It’s 
not necessarily your favorite 
song, or even a good one, but 
it’s the one that sticks with 
you long after it has stopped 
playing. 

It could just be a line or 

a lyric, or even just a quick 
guitar riff that resonates with 
something inside you, but for 
that one instant it’s just you 
and that song. Forget those 
millions of people bustling 
about in their own lives — these 
three minutes are yours. 

I have a few songs of my 

own, one of them being Jimi 

Hendrix’s 
“All 
Along 
the 

Watchtower,” and I save it for 
those times when everything 
needs 
to 
stop, 
just 
for 
a 

moment. (Don’t ask me why 
Jimi Hendrix, because I still 
don’t know.) Similarly, I was 
crying the first time I listened 
to 
“Landfill” 
by 
Daughter, 

and, while it is an odd song, 
I’ll never forget how much it 
meant to me when I was 14. 

It’s 
during 
these 
times 

that I realize how much the 
world 
needs 
music. 
Movies 

and television shows are both 
valiant forms of entertainment 
that definitely have merit, but 
it’s music that drives this media 
forward. A movie without a 
soundtrack falls short, because 
removing its sound removes its 
soul and leaves the viewer with 
little 
emotional 
attachment 

to what they just watched. 
The swelling of violins, steady 
drums 
or 
electronic 
beats 

all play an important role in 
dictating how the audience 
should feel and allows these 
larger-than-life 
moments 
to 

linger, even after you’ve left 
the theater or switched off the 
television.

Mark 
Ruffalo’s 
character 

speaks a line in the movie “Begin 
Again” that encompasses what 
I’ve been trying to say in a much 
shorter word count: “That’s 
what I love about music. All 
these banalities suddenly turn 
into beautiful pearls.”

We aren’t given very long on 

this Earth, but with the right 
music, any time can feel like a 
lifetime.

‘Odyssey’ is one 
third a good show 

Multiple storylines 
fail to coalesce in 
new NBC series

By MATT BARNAUSKAS

Daily Arts Writer

“American Odyssey” is a 

solid “third of a show.” Telling 
the interlocking stories of three 
people plunged 
into the middle 
of an interna-
tional 
emer-

gency, 
NBC’s 

latest 
drama 

is only able to 
produce 
one 

strong plotline 
among medio-
cre others that 
are marred in 
predictability 
and flat char-
acters.

The first and strongest of 

these threads is that of Odelle 
Ballard (Anna Friel, “Pushing 
Daisies”), a special forces oper-
ative whose squad uncovers 
files that potentially connect 
Al-Qaeda with an American 
corporation, S.O.C. After her 
unit is brutally attacked and 
executed by the Blackwater-
esque O.S.E.L.A, Odelle finds 
herself the lone survivor just 
trying to live another day and 
get back home to her husband 
and daughter.

The storyline puts its entire 

weight on Friel, who is more 
than up to the challenge. The 
actress displays a persever-
ance in her character that goes 
beyond dogged determination. 
Trapped in a hostile nation and 
pursued by a brutal group of 
mercenaries, Odelle is the char-
acter going through the titular 
“odyssey” in her quest to get 
home against insurmountable 
odds. 

The show couples its nar-

rative ambition with dynamic 
visuals. Use of long takes dur-

ing the opening combat situa-
tions reveals the well-trained 
unit Odelle helps command, 
but the most impressive cam-
era work comes when the story 
becomes constricted. During 
the first episode, “Gone Elvis,” 
Odelle finds herself captive in 
a manhole cage. In the scenes 
depicting her imprisonment, 
the frame is almost entirely 
restricted to her trapped view-
point as she begs her captors. 
When a woman burns herself, 
the tension rises as Odelle 
instructs a teenager, Aslam 
(newcomer Omar Ghazaoui), in 
helping the woman while the 
viewer struggles along with her 
to assess the situation.

This combination of charac-

terization and ambitious craft 
make Odelle’s sections worth 
watching. However, the rest of 
“American Odyssey,” is not so 
compelling. 

There’s corporate attorney 

Peter (Peter Facinelli, “Twi-
light”), who realizes something 
fishy is going on with his client, 
S.O.C., and begins to investi-
gate. Meanwhile social activist 
Harrison (Jake Robinson, “The 
Carrie Diaries”) meets a para-
noid conspiracy theorist named 
Bob (Nate Mooney, “It’s Always 
Sunny in Philadelphia”), who 
isn’t as crazy as he sounds.

Peter and Harrison are most-

ly blank slates, ready to tackle 
the dark truths they uncover — 

Facinelli and Robinson do what 
they can — but the characters 
aren’t very intriguing in them-
selves. Instead, all the intrigue 
is displaced to the events that 
surround them. There are snip-
pets of backstory, but the show 
throws you so many side char-
acters and mysterious organiza-
tions that there is little time to 
get to know Peter and Harrison. 
While Odelle is given time to 
develop as a character, the con-
spiracy trumps any real develop-
ment for her two counterparts.

But the growing conspiracy 

suffers from being overly famil-
iar. Every death and “disap-
pearance” is easy to see coming. 
There’s also the traditional “He 
knows,” phone call between vil-
lains after one of the protago-
nists uncovers key information. 
There’s nothing really that sur-
prising to catch a well-versed 
viewer off-guard, keeping the 
show from becoming the thriller 
it aspires to be.

It’s commendable to see NBC 

air a show with such an ambi-
tious nature, but this ambition is 
overshadowed by a lacking pilot. 
There is some strong cinema-
tography and performances, but 
they all seemed centered on one 
particular storyline right now. 
If “American Odyssey” is going 
to be a journey worth taking, it 
needs to find a better balance 
between its three primary plot 
threads.

Listen to life’s music

By MELINA GLUSAC

Daily Arts Writer

A lot of people on campus 

are into working out. I couldn’t 
even do a somersault when I was 
a kid, so you can imagine how 
inadequate I feel when, almost 
every day, a marathoner whiz-
zes past my vanilla latte and 
me — a couple who are perfectly 
happy together, I might add 
(and going two years strong), 
and travel at a content, glacial 
pace. Feeling particularly lazy 
last Friday afternoon, I tried 
some wonky YouTube cardio 
workout in my dorm. It was bad; 
I was so bad. Thank goodness I 
write for this paper. Typing is 
my aerobics.

One thing to note about 

humans who partake in regu-
lar physical activity: almost all 
listen to music while they’re 
doing said activity. Every time 
a plugged-in pedestrian passes 
me, I find myself in intrigued. 
What’s going on in your ears, 
dear gentleman? Do you run to 
the gruffness of Led Zeppelin, 
or do you glide to the efferves-
cence, the timelessness of Pit-
bull? Is “King Kunta” by (Sir) 
Kendrick 
Lamar 
motivating 

you, or are you pushed to finish 
those last few miles by T. Swiz-
zle’s “Blank Space”? 

Whatever it is, you’re missing 

out. 

Now, a disclaimer: I am a 

firm believer in music’s mys-
tical powers. It elevates your 
mood, inspires you and it defi-
nitely motivates you. Runners 
have every right to listen to 
music while they’re voluntarily 
killing their bodies; they need 
something to take the edge 
off. The issue lies with walk-
ers, like myself. So many saun-
ter the streets of Ann Arbor, 
Beats firmly planted over their 

ears, on a strict mission to not 
be disturbed by anything, ever. 
Maybe they’re going home, or 
maybe they’re making a beeline 
to Espresso Royale to quell that 
sleep depravation (relatable) – 
regardless, they’re not paying 
attention.

We’re all guilty of this. It’s 

so easy to pop in headphones 
and forget the world. Music is 
comforting, 
and 
sometimes, 

when you’re walking around 
the city, it just feels right to lis-
ten to whatever tune is making 
you feel the most alive lately. 
Whether it’s looking at a tall 
building (“The Immortals” by 
Kings of Leon), strolling aim-
lessly (“Carbon Monoxide” by 
Regina Spektor) or trying to get 
somewhere quickly (“Y.A.L.A.” 
by M.I.A.), there seems to be a 
song for everything.

Right? Wrong. Well, kind of.
We live in a city that offers 

a new symphony every day 
— 
something 
better 
than 

Beethoven, better than Juicy 
J. As I walk, and I walk, and I 
walk, into town from my dorm 
on The Hill, I hear music with-
out headphones. The cars whiz-
zing past under the bridge, the 
girl on her phone yelling at her 
mom about this pair of boots 
that she somehow can’t live 
without, the crunch of the guy’s 
shoes in front of me, the wind, 
the rain. It may seem cacopho-
nous, distracting, a burden and 
you may have to listen a little 
harder sometimes — but it’s 
music. 

As I sit outside Espresso 

Royale on Main St., on a warm 
Saturday afternoon, I hear and 
see people walking by. Lov-
ers (so many lovers), families, 
friends. There’s a little boy 
walking down the street next 
to his parents with a long cane, 
feeling his way forward. I feel 

guilty, at first, that he can’t see 
this beautiful day. But as I hear 
the percussive taps of his cane, 
the melodic crescendo of excite-
ment when his dad says they’re 
going to get mac and cheese for 
dinner (“mmmMMM”) and see 
his euphoric face, I realize that 
I’m listening and watching life’s 
own music video. That’s better 
than anything you’ll ever see on 
MTV. 

If I had been plugged into 

my phone that whole time, sub-
consciously forgoing that little 
boy for Lil Wayne, I would’ve 
missed out on something one-
of-a-kind. As brilliant as Wayne 
is, I can hear his music as much 
as I want, at the press of button. 
I’ll probably never see that little 
boy again — and I’ll definitely 
never hear him like that again. 
The second we hit the pavement 
every day, we’re hearing a brand 
new song, unique to our ears. It 
doesn’t take a certain amount of 
battery charge or Wi-Fi to load 
it. It’s just us. The scariest part 
is we’ll never be able to play 
that song again, but that’s also 
the most electric — we must, 
then, listen harder to the world 
around us, soaking it all in, and 
add to our melody with our own 
footsteps, breathing, humming. 

A little time passes as I’m 

walking home from the café, 
and a car creeps up on the street 
my back is facing — a cruising, 
vintage 
’70-something 
whip 

with a long torso. In it is an old 
man wearing a Bogart-esque 
hat and a full, white suit. He’s 
blasting some old blues tune; it 
sounds like John Lee Hooker to 
me, and I immediately crane my 
neck to see him drive by. He’s so 
badass, I think, as flashes of my 
blues-ridden childhood begin to 
joyously flood my mind. If you 
let go and unplug, sometimes 
the music finds you.

TV REVIEW

NBC

Power scarf.

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

MUSIC NOTEBOOK

4AD

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Presents: Music.

“All these 
banalities 

suddenly turn 
into pearls.”

STYLE REVIEW
Fashion comes to 
focus at Dance Mix

By MARA MACLEAN

Daily Arts Writer

Dance performances, which 

showcased a diverse set of tal-
ent across several University 
dance groups, wowed the crowd 
on Friday, April 10 at the Michi-
gan Theater. Some captured the 
crowd’s attention with glow 
sticks or breakdancing, and oth-
ers commanded the stage with 
their tap soles and pirouettes. 

Almost as captivating as the 

graceful and powerful move-
ments were the strategic cos-
tume 
choices. 
Many 
dance 

groups form costume commit-
tees to discuss a certain look 
for a performance. Some groups 
will brainstorm ideas and then 
allow the dancers to choose 
a comfortable option that fits 
within their theme. Other com-
mittee heads will choose identi-
cal costumes for each member. 

Some clothing choices were 

simple and nondescript, allow-
ing the dance to carry the 
show forward. Salto, a ballet 
and lyrical group, wore basic 
black leotards and long skirts 
to accentuate their classical, 
streamlined movements. Oth-
ers, like Michigan Izzat, chose 
outfits that played along with 
their storytelling dance. The 
men wore sequined sailor out-
fits for their “Pearl Harbor” 
performance, tying in their 
themes of adventure and broth-
erhood.

And, of course, there were 

groups who just looked effort-
lessly cool.

Contemporary 
company, 

Impact Dance, and modern 
group, Cadence, leaned toward 
simple, 
black 
attire 
that 

allowed for easy movement. 
In turn, the audience focused 
on their technical movements, 
which 
were 
highlighted 

against stark backgrounds. The 
clothing allowed their flowing 
and gravitational movements 
to seem all the more angular 
and expressive in Impact’s 
performance 
to 
Beyoncé’s 

“Haunted” 
and 
Cadence’s 

dance to “Wait” by M83.

The 
Michigan 
Bhangra 

Team 
performs 
traditional 

dances 
from 
the 
state 
of 

Punjab, India to preserve the 
core values of their culture. 
The members were outfitted 
in bright colors with beautiful 
embellishments, 
typical 
of 

Punjabi attire. The team wore 
traditional 
muteyaar, 
which 

LSA junior and member Howie 
Magaro said is essential for the 
traditional folk dance.

“I 
think 
the 
costume 

contributes a lot to the whole 
presentation. It’s very colorful 
and it brings a pop to the 
performance,” he said.

FunKtion, the first all-male, 

multicultural hip-hop dance 
group 
on 
campus, 
brought 

the cool to Dance Mix with 
smooth 
moves, 
hilarious 

stage presences and flawless 
costumes. The boys sported 

mock varsity jackets and khakis 
for their first performance and 
later rolled out in custom boiler 
suits. The looks begged for the 
comparison to the T-Birds from 
“Grease.” 

EnCore, 
a 
co-ed 
hip-

hop 
group, 
gave 
a 
strong 

performance to go along with 
their “Career Day” set. Each 
dancer wore some variation of 
children’s clothing: overalls, 
denim 
or 
primary 
colors. 

Engineering 
freshman 
and 

member Allison Goss said the 
denim 
and 
primary 
colors 

allowed them to look youthful 
but still could transition into 
some of the sexier routines. 
The movements flow from 
what the dancers put on their 
bodies.

“If you’re comfortable in a 

costume, you dance better,” 
Goss said. “If we don’t feel 
the movement while we are 
wearing 
our 
costumes, 
it 

won’t portray well with the 
audience.”

The 
routines 
at 
Dance 

Mix were inspirational and 
entertaining 
and 
endless 

hours of practice and physical 
strength were needed to pull 
off such an excellent show. 
However, the costumes cannot 
be forgotten as an essential 
part 
to 
any 
performance. 

Clothing allows free movement 
so 
every 
dance 
move 
is 

enhanced — every grand jeté 
more graceful and every crump 
more powerful.

C+

American 
Odyssey

Series 
Premiere

NBC

Sundays at 

10 p.m.

