Classifieds
Call: #734-418-4115
Email: dailydisplay@gmail.com
ACROSS
1 “Mamma Mia!”
group
5 Tunes
10 Fundamentals
14 Talking iPhone
feature
15 Destroyer
destroyer
16 Messy stuff
17 __ smasher
18 “I’m innocent!”
19 Hindu deity
20 High-speed war
plane maneuver
22 Hunter’s device
23 Gets close to
24 Cheat, in a way
25 Seasonal malady
27 Find work
30 Shakespearean
fairy queen
33 Large-leafed tree
35 Batman portrayer
Kilmer
36 Skating
commentator
Lipinski
37 Passionate
38 Dishes for
company
40 Eagerly excited
41 Golfer
Ballesteros
42 Furrow maker
43 Ruling period
45 Charlemagne’s
realm: Abbr.
46 Avant-garde
48 Low or no
follower
49 Insert for a 6-
Down
51 Shoot well under
par, in golf lingo
53 Syria’s Bashar
al-__
55 Focuses even
harder ... and a
hint to the starts
of the answers to
starred clues
59 Letters after phis
60 “The Planets”
composer
61 Texter’s “If you
ask me”
62 Adorable
63 Wipe off
64 Dismissed, with
“off”
65 “Until next time,”
in texts
66 Oscar’s
roommate
67 Tolkien’s
Treebeard et al.
DOWN
1 PDQ
2 __-Honey
3 *Rhode Island
school
4 Pop singer Mann
5 *Like Southern
California
beaches
6 Duck player in
“Peter and the
Wolf”
7 Punishment with
a grounding
8 Risk, e.g.
9 Canonized Mlle.
10 Feel the same
way
11 *Title female
“trying to make a
devil out of me,”
in a Santana hit
12 “¿__ está?”
13 Fix, as a pet
21 Blow one’s top
22 Cotillion honoree
24 *One of two cold
atmospheric
cyclones
25 Jiffy
26 Iron-rich meat
28 Miller’s “__ From
the Bridge”
29 First calendar
pg.
31 Food court
attraction
32 Something to
pick lox for
34 ’50s political
monogram
36 Label
39 “__ so?”
44 Fish caught in
pots
46 Author Buntline
47 Tennis great
Andre
50 Studio piece
52 “Swan Lake” swan
53 Customer
holding: Abbr.
54 Closed
55 Produced, as fruit
56 Tel Aviv airline
57 Smidgen
58 Quiet yeses
60 Celeb with a
mansion
By Alan DerKazarian
©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
12/02/15
12/02/15
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
xwordeditor@aol.com
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6A — Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
Thanksgiving with
soulful CHERUB
By CATHERINE BAKER
Daily Arts Writer
It’s half past four and the
Thanksgiving meal that my
family spent two days preparing
for has been devoured in less
than thirty minutes. That in
itself is a miraculous feat, but
what is more exciting is that
we’ve managed to finish our
dinner with none of my elderly
relatives
saying
anything
extremely offensive. I take this
as a win.
As I retire to the living room
for my post-Thanksgiving nap, I
decide the noise of the familial
argument beginning to take
place in the kitchen is better
replaced by the sounds of my
own music. The first song up
on my Spotify Discover playlist
is “Simple” by CHERUB, which
is a band I’ve always liked but
never truly appreciated enough.
Nevertheless, in my turkey
induced haze I take a liking to
this song in particular and I
pull up the rest of their album.
CHERUB is an electro-indie
duo from Nashville, Tennessee
formed in 2010. It consists of
Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber
who met in college at Middle
Tennessee
State
University
while
studying
music
production. Building their fan
base by making their songs
payment-optional,
CHERUB
recently played at Lollapalooza,
South
by
Southwest
and
Bonnaroo festival. Their debut
album, Year of the Caprese,
was released on May 27, 2015
and combines genres like post-
disco, synth pop and funk.
Their
most
popular
song,
“Doses and Mimosas,” charted
at number 42 on Billboard’s
Rock Airplay chart and 23rd on
the Alternative Songs Chart.
Opening the album with
“Simple,”
CHERUB
makes
electronica soulful, combining
traditional synthetic elements
with
meaningful
lyrics.
Reflecting, “I just want to live
it all with ones I love / And
simple minds lead to simple
lives,” lead singer Kelley muses
on his personal goals in life.
Transitioning seamlessly into
“Disco Shit,” the electronic
elements stay and the serious
lyrics leave. With a dance beat
and psychedelic components,
“Disco Shit” describes party
culture
and
drug
scenes,
finishing the song with a muted
sound like you’re underwater,
presumably
mimicking
the
effects of said drugs.
“This Song Is for You” is
intimate and slows things down
with a simple, syncopated synth
beat, singing, “We were the last
ones standing / Never knew
that life would end up being so
random.” It is slow, reflective
and
lyric-heavy,
focusing
on
previous
and
broken
relationships
rather
than
wondering about the future.
Their most popular song,
“Doses
&
Mimosas,”
uses
unusual sounds like the snap
of the tab of a pop can to create
an electronic pop sound. An
extremely cynical chorus, “To
all the bitch ass hoes / That hate
me the most / Oh yeah, I hate
you too,” probably played a role
in “Doses & Mimosas” rise to
fame amongst adolescents. By
singing all the verses in falsetto
and emphasizing the synth,
CHERUB’s newest hit is unlike
anything on the radio today.
“<3
(Heart)”
starts
off
similarly to the rest of the
album
with
an
electronic
beat and pop-infused lyrics.
However, the second half of
the
song
devolves
quickly
into an acoustic cry for help.
With nothing but a broken and
strained voice backed by the
plucking of a guitar, Kelley
chokes out, “Just wait until I
get the nerve to break / Your
precious little heart.” In an
unexpected, but not unwelcome
twist,
CHERUB
showcases
an entirely new side to their
musical ability.
While CHERUB’s music is
different from most popular
musicians, the range of styles
and topics it covers on Year of
the Caprese should put it on
the top of your “To Listen”
list. And I can certainly attest
that it is perfect for that post-
Thanksgiving nap.
Grimes empowers
on hooky ‘Art Angels’
Latest from pop
provacateur is
entirely unique
By VANESSA WONG
Daily Arts Writer
Follow an artist long enough
and even the most loyal of fans
may not stay tethered. Both artists
and
listeners
evolve, and not
always in the
same direction.
For
Grimes,
the schism has
begun:
the
release of Art
Angels all but
polarized her
fan base. “She’s gone pop,” dis-
senters cry with disgust, tossing
around descriptors like “selling
out” and “going commercial” as
if they’re natural synonyms for
the genre.
They’re wrong; pop music is
transcendental. Grimes plunges
us into a millennial maelstrom
of bouncy beats, hyper-digital
samples and saccharine vocals –
the kinds of songs that make you
dance around your bedroom in
your underwear for two hours
straight. Fiery vocal delivery and
song titles juxtaposed with a sup-
posedly “vapid” sound makes Art
Angels a tool for empowerment, a
sonic middle finger to anyone who
dares belittle femininity.
Grimes eases us into this cru-
cible knowingly. The first track,
“laughing and not being normal,”
pairs breathy vocals and a tex-
tured orchestral sound, recreat-
ing the same moody minimalism
we heard in previous albums.
But surprise! it changes gears,
launching us into jangly “Califor-
nia.” With lyrics like “what they
see in me, I don’t see in myself,”
Grimes directly addresses those
who view her only as a concept
rather than a living human being
with a mind of her own.
This is the most we’ve ever
heard her voice. Previously, her
breathy vocals blended in like yet
another instrument, but on this
album, her voice slices a clean arc
through fizzy earworm instru-
mentals. Layers of cyberpunk
noise and frequencies bubble up
in the background, but take sec-
ond stage behind radio-friendly
guitar riffs and sing-along hooks.
Oft praised is “SCREAM,”
the collaboration with Taiwan-
ese rapper Aristophanes that
was originally released as a
single. Together, the duo is your
worst nightmare. Aristophanes
commands the vocals, spitting
out Chinese lyrics with cruel
laughter overtop Grimes’s ani-
malistic screams and growls.
Gym class whistles and adren-
aline-pumping guitar complete
the hit-girl aesthetic.
Though “SCREAM” exudes
destruction, it doesn’t feel out
of place from the sugary-sweet
tracks it segues into. Grimes
said in an interview that she’s
inspired by the Japanese arche-
type of cute and fearsome,
which is a theme wound through
the entire album. This dichoto-
my is best represented in “Kill
V. Maim.” Its J-pop beats and
cheerleader-style chorus may
sound childish, almost artificial,
but punctuated with spiteful
screeches (“they don’t! know!
me!”), it unveils the restless
intelligence simmering behind
the curated teen queen persona.
This theme is without a doubt
the album’s greatest triumph. It
acknowledges that feelings of
rage, loneliness, infatuation, and
empowerment can still be pack-
aged in a fun, high-gloss produc-
tion style. It develops pop music
as a force to be taken seriously.
It’s taken Grimes, as an artist, to
a new realm of musical explora-
tion, leading her to collaborate
with pop diva Janelle Monae for
a song. And to anyone who criti-
cizes her ever-evolving sound?
The closing line of the album
says it all: “If you’re looking for
a dream girl/I’ll never be your
dream girl.”
FILM COLUMN
What’s in a name?
I
have a confession: I love
“Rocky IV.” I love it for the
cartoonish ‘roided up Russian
Ivan Drago. I love it for the flashi-
ness that so aptly epitomizes the
‘80s. I love
that more
than a third
of its runtime
is montage.
I love that
Rocky with
his slurred
speech and
swollen face
singlehand-
edly ends the
Cold War by delivering a rousing
victory oration about the values of
being ‘Murican. I love it because it
is the definition of excess, the kind
of movie that gets played repeat-
edly on cable on slow Sunday
afternoons.
I love the latest “Rocky” fran-
chise installment “Creed” because
it is the exact opposite of “Rocky
IV”: contemplative, emotional,
slow, restrained. It’s a boxing
movie where boxing serves as the
vehicle to examine complex char-
acters dealing with real emotions
and real conflict that’s internal
rather than external. It’s a sequel
that pays homage to its past but
holds its own, and could function
as a completely standalone work
where no one had ever heard of
the Italian Stallion.
“Rocky IV” reminds me that
movies don’t always have to be
high art, that they can be fun
and exist solely for entertain-
ment. “Creed” reminds me that
high art and entertainment can
exist as one — it reminds me of
why I love movies.
I realized what makes “Creed”
so special very early on: a quiet
scene where young Adonis Creed
watches a YouTube clip of his long
ago deceased father Apollo fight-
ing Rocky from one of the early
“Rocky” films. The clip is pro-
jected onto the wall and blown up
so Creed and Balboa appear quite
large in stature. Though the foot-
age looks grainy, the ferocity on
the faces of these fighters remains
clear. The amateur boxer Adonis,
dressed in shirt and tie, watches
for a moment, but then rises and
approaches the screen and begins
to shadow the movements and
punches of the fighters. At first
it seems touching, a son walking
in the footsteps of his father. But
Adonis isn’t mirroring Apollo, nor
is he fighting Rocky — he’s fight-
ing Apollo.
This image so perfectly cap-
tures the essence of the film: a son
grappling with the legacy of his
father, a legacy he didn’t ask for
from a father that left him before
he was born. Boxing is just the
physical representation of this
very personal conflict.
That’s why cinema is so fond
of the boxing/fighting film. There
is no greater exemplification of
the personal struggle than the
fighter’s quest for greatness: it’s
boiled down and raw and brutal.
Emotional tension can be felt,
but physical confrontation — the
crack of a rib, the spray of blood
on the ring — these sounds and
images resonate and boom. And
when these physical struggles
mesh with and mirror the more
personal, emotional struggles,
the audience becomes absorbed
in the characters. Suddenly, their
fight becomes our fight too. And in
“Creed” the emotions resonate so
loudly because its fight is so per-
sonal and human.
Watching “Creed,” I felt like
I sat ringside, cheering on our
protagonist. And it wasn’t sim-
ply because the camera weaves
between the fighters to create a
sense of 360 degree immersion,
nor was it because of the use of
surround sound that places char-
acters in front of and behind the
audience so as to propel us smack
into the middle of the scene. It
was because I cared, because I
could relate.
Growing up, family and friends
remarked how much I resembled
(still resemble) my father: the
same appearance, the same sense
of humor, the same walk, the
same voice, the same manner-
isms, the spitting image of my
father. And so for years I could
only compare myself to him: was
I as smart as he was when he was
my age, was I as personable as
him, was he stronger than me,
faster than me, what could he
do that I couldn’t, and why
couldn’t I do it too. Up until
this past April, I was studying
to go to medical school in large
part (though not completely)
because my father did — not
because he wanted me to, but
because I was still competing
with him, with his name.
But his name is my name, and
names and legacies do not make
an individual. They are inescap-
able and immutable, they help
shape an identity, but they do not
define that identity. And at some
point I realized that I am my
father’s son and I bear my father’s
name, but though he has pro-
foundly influenced who I am, I am
not my father.
And so Adonis reaches the
same conclusion by the finale of
“Creed,” though he achieves that
catharsis through sweat and blood
rather than self-contemplation.
But his internal fight to define his
own self-worth is universal; who
among us has not compared him-
self to a parent, a family member,
a friend or even a younger, more
successful self?
This idea of names, the weight
they carry with regards to one’s
pride, is a powerful concept, far
more powerful than an uppercut
to the jaw or a quick left jab to the
ribs. And “Creed” plays up the
concept in so many ways: by jux-
taposing a young character with
an absent but well-established,
legendary figure and by contrast-
ing an aging Rocky with constant
reminders of his youth and suc-
cess, but also by “Creed” ‘s very
existence as a sequel to one of the
most beloved films of all time.
When a film taps into all of
these deeper levels — narratively,
metaphorically, existentially
— yet still entertains as a crowd-
pleaser, that excites as a sports
picture, that moves as an inter-
personal drama and manages to
reflect in its characters a struggle
universal but individual, then
that film becomes something
more, something worth remem-
bering and cherishing.
I could never relate to “Rocky”
the way so many did when it
came out in 1976. But I under-
stand “Creed,” I understand this
struggle and this fight and this
identity crisis. I understand the
image of a young man shadow-
boxing a ghost. “Creed” is not
“Rocky,” but it is my “Rocky,” the
underdog sports drama I’ll think
back on for years to come.
Bircoll is in the middle of
a LSAT-studying montage.
To send your moral support,
e-mail jbircoll@umich.edu.
JAMIE
BIRCOLL
A
Art Angels
Grimes
4AD
4AD
Grimey.
Year of the
Caprese should
top your “To
Listen” list.
ALBUM REVIEW