The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 — 5

On new Elton, Yellow 
Brick Road is closed

By SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

For the Daily

Elton John peaked at “Can 

You Feel the Love Tonight.”

Since 1994, the legendary 

British 
art-

ist has been 
on 
a 
rapid 

decline. Won-
derful 
Crazy 

Night is Elton 
John’s 
last-

ditch attempt 
to relive the 
glory 
years; 

much like an 
aging 50-year-
old dad going 
through a mid-life crisis, this 
album reeks of desperation.

Throughout the ’70s, ’80s 

and early ’90s, Elton John was 
a force to be reckoned with. 
He was spontaneous, jumping 
from power ballads “Empty 
Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)” and 
“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” 
to classic rock ‘n’ roll numbers 
“Crocodile Rock” and “Rock 
and Roll Madonna.” Elton John 
was in the prime of his life, and 
everybody could tell. His rich 
singing voice exploded with 
vivacity and liveliness, making 
any song an instant classic.

His new album is the exact 

opposite. Through garish and 

loud melodies, Elton tries to 
breathe life into an already 
exhausted career. His effortless 
dream of a singing voice is off-
putting when paired with back-
ground tunes that are just this 
side of trying too hard. Won-
derful Crazy Life is just a crazy 
disaster. 

At its peak of originality, the 

album begins with the song 
“Wonderful Crazy Life.” A 
whirl of tacky melodies nearly 
overpowering 
Elton 
John’s 

vocals sets the scene as he tries 
to drag his listeners back to 
the era of parachute pants and 
shoulder pads. “Some things 
you don’t forget, some things 
just take a hold / a wonderful 
crazy night like that takes you 
back, won’t let you go” he sings, 
and the audience is reminded 
why they should never try to 
revive the past. This song is 
a chandelier in a frat base-
ment: lurid, exaggerated and 
completely out of place. These 
unsuitable 
peculiarities 
are 

mimicked in “Claw Hammer” 
and “Tambourine.” Filled with 
muted guitar strums, “oh, my 
lord”s and uninventive, tam-
bourine-inspired lyrics, these 
songs are so unlike Elton John 
it hurts. What happened to the 
man that won hearts over with 
“Your Song?”

The only two songs that 

redeemed the album from total 
failure were the back-to-back 
“Looking Up” and “Guilty Plea-
sure.” These two casual rock 
‘n’ roll anthems were a breath 
of fresh air among the achingly 
slow and stuffy “Blue Wonder-
ful,” “A Good Heart” or “Free 
and Easy.” With both the steady 
beat and Elton John’s vocals 
keeping the songs from drag-
ging along, his abilities as a 
musician are somewhat vin-
dicated. The problem is, these 
songs only stand out because 
they aren’t as tedious as the rest 
of the album. Standing alone, 
they would be only decent at 
best.

Overall, 
Wonderful 
Crazy 

Life is a lackluster stab at rel-
evancy. Through trying to keep 
his old sound while also trying 
to channel artistry from cur-
rent pop hits, Elton John cre-
ated a chaotic album that is a 
burned out husk compared to 
the bright flames of his past. 
With 30 solo albums in the last 
44 years, his music is already 
timeless. It’s time for Elton 
John to take a step back and 
let people remember “Candle 
In The Wind,” “Rocket Man (I 
Think It’s Going To Be A Long 
Long Time)” and all that he 
used to be, in peace.

FILM NOTEBOOK
Sundance shorts are 
creative slices of life

By VANESSA WONG

Daily Arts Writer

“Festival shorts could be any-

thing,” a friend warned me, but 
therein also lies the charm. Bit-
tersweet, sensitive and surpris-
ingly funny, the Sundance Shorts 
touring program, which came to 
the Michigan Theater last week, 
spans genres for a gymnastic 
study of just how agile film as a 
medium can be.

Starting off is a naturalistic 

film from the US Fiction cate-
gory. “SMILF” tacks “single” on 
the MILF (“Mother I’d Like to 
Fuck”) acronym and reveals the 
unsexy reality of motherhood 
in a hilariously awkward casu-
al sex encounter. Uncomfort-
able physical insecurities and a 
mid-coitus conversation about 
the toddler sleeping on the bed 
beside them illustrate the bal-
ance between a single mother’s 
old freedom and shifting post-
pregnancy priorities.

Competing 
in 
the 
Visual 

Poetry category, glacially beau-
tiful “Object” is grounded in 
pursuit, a wintery underwater 
search from three perspectives. 
It switches between clean, geo-
metric shots tracking workers 
methodologically 
cutting 
ice 

and checking machinery, claus-
trophobic close-ups of the div-
er’s face as he swims through 
murky water and the still seren-
ity of unknowing pedestrians 
strolling far beyond on shore. 
Creative framing and a deft use 
of both sound and silence make 
it an immersive technical feat.

Next is the silly, animated 

chaos of the French film “Storm 
Hits Jacket,” where two scien-

tists ward off a witch-induced 
cow storm (yes: cow storm), a 
doom-be-upon-all evil villain 
set on stealing their invention 
and a side of spy-on-spy romance 
thrown into the mix. Scratchy, 
cartoon-esque animation ushers 
in delightful and progressively 
weirder oddities with every turn 
of scene.

In one of the program’s stand-

outs, “Oh Lucy!,” a middle-aged 
woman in Japan grapples with 
the loneliness and self-doubt 
of aging. She escapes colorless 
cubicle drudgery to conversa-
tional English classes where 
she adopts a Western name and 
the mask of a youthful, worldly 
persona to match. Actress Kaori 
Momoi (“Memoirs of a Geisha”) 
bares her character’s every vul-
nerability, and hearts pang upon 
witnessing her jealousy for a life 
and personality she does not 
have. In just 22 minutes, “Oh 
Lucy!” unearths a level of char-
acter development that many 
feature-length films dream of 
creating.

Casting audition tapes act 

as the narrative framework for 
the next short, “The Face of 
Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul.” 
The camera stays locked as a 

stream of dolled-up preteens in 
pink velvet pose prettily against 
a generic studio background, 
with tears, troubles and hopes of 
their nation’s post-war climate 
flickering poignantly beneath 
their pageant-level poise.

The program closes with the 

Grand Jury Prize for Short Film 
winner “World of Tomorrow,” a 
science fiction cartoon of a tod-
dler’s now adult, third-genera-
tion clone, Emily 3G, traveling 
back in time to show original 
Emily Prime the future. Both 
stick figures, Emily 3G walks her 
original counterpart through 
the spatially flat, simple vector-
designed internet void that is 
the new world. She explains the 
detachment that comes from a 
hyper-digitized extended life, 
where to experience something 
is rarely more than reliving pre-
viously archived memories. Her 
robotic monotone narrating the 
story reveals a startling depth 
of emotion, a bittersweet and 
wryly humorous juxtaposition 
against Emily Prime’s vibrant 
naiveté. (This short is also avail-
able on Netflix for those who 
missed the Sundance screening.)

For viewers who don’t have 

much 
experience 
watching 

short films, this is an excellent 
introduction. 
It’s 
astounding 

how such complex stories can be 
compressed into mere minutes, 
and these award-winning shorts 
use that space to experiment 
with technical effects or niche 
plotlines. But for all its serious 
artistry, the collective program 
still manages to stay accessible 
to emotions everyone experi-
ences. You laugh. You might cry. 
You definitely live.

ALBUM REVIEW
Young DIIV plays it 
safe on follow-up LP

By SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

As a relatively new band, DIIV 

still has some time to figure out 
its approach to music. After an 
entrancing 
debut, 
2012’s 

Oshin, 
the 

Brooklyn 
out-

fit 
cemented 

their style as 
an 
eclectic 

cross between 
shoegaze 
(My 

Bloody 
Valen-

tine), 
grunge 

(Nirvana) and modern surf rock 
(Mac DeMarco, Real Estate). 
Despite looking like most indie 
rock groups trying to make it into 
the music industry, DIIV’s mel-
low and pleasant sound is oddly 
refreshing to listen to, especially 
with tracks “Sometime,” “Fol-
low” and most notably “How Long 
Have You Known.”

With its newest record, the 

awkwardly titled Is The Is Are, 
DIIV disconnects from its multi-
genre roots and instead plugs into 
a simpler, more relaxed sound. 
But by attempting to deconstruct 
its composed and nuanced music 
into something very laid-back, the 
group ends up creating a banal, 
hour-long record that moves at a 
gratingly slow pace. The album’s 17 
songs all contain similar elements: 
a mid-tempo beat, glimmers of 
guitar screeches and reverbs, 
soft vocals and a general feeling 
of drug-induced numbness. And 
while it all sounds nice, Is The Is 
Are doesn’t take any risks nor does 
it break any boundaries.

Though the first few tracks 

radiate some potential, the major-
ity of the record squanders any 
possibility for something to pop 
out. The enchanting “Out of Mind” 
opens Is The Is Are, followed by 
the chill “Under the Sun.” But by 
the third song, the droning “Bent 
(Roi’s Song),” the album starts to 
tire — and there’s still about 50 
minutes left.

The rest of Is The Is Are is a 

rather hypnotic mess; there are 
moments when DIIV can sound 
captivating, but it’s easy to tune 
them out. “Take Your Time,” “Yr 
Not Far,” “Healthy Moon” and 
“Loose Ends” are such examples 
of that: their languid speed and 
faint instrumentals make for good 
vibes, but not much else. Addition-
ally, the dark and hollow “Mire 
(Grant’s Song)” is fairly reminis-
cent of Nirvana, yet it stands out 
not for its familiarity, but how 
much it grossly contrasts against 
DIIV’s own sweet-sounding musi-
cal pallette.

On the other hand, Is The Is Are 

contains some highlights, particu-
larly the drugged-out romance 
ballad “Blue Boredom.” Though 
DIIV frontman Zachary Smith 

doesn’t sing on “Blue Boredom,” he 
gives his girlfriend and indie rock 
enchantress Sky Ferreira the lead, 
her breathy vocals energizing the 
drowned-out production. The title 
track provides some much needed 
escapism, even though the album 
has already done a pretty good job 
of that; the dazzling, 17-second 
interlude “(Fuck)” sounds like a 
song waiting to be finished; and 
the poignant, multi-layered album 
closer “Wasted Breath” gives a 
solid ending to an otherwise drab 
record. 

While these songs are decently 

written and well-produced, they 
just don’t have the vitality nor the 
gravitas that Oshin displayed. It’s 
even difficult to hone and com-
prehend the lyrics, as Smith’s 
benign vocals are buried under 
several strands of noise. Perhaps 
the album’s lack of effort and cre-
ative sparkle can be traced back 
to the actual recording process. 
DIIV began work on Is The Is Are 
a year after Oshin’s release but ran 
into some delays for a variety of 
unfortunate reasons: failed ses-
sions with Chet “JR” White of the 
defunct indie rock group Girls; 
Smith’s drug addiction and arrest; 
controversial 
online 
remarks 

regarding bass guitarist Devin 
Ruben Perez; the departure of the 
band’s drummer Colby Hewitt due 
to an alleged drug addiction. Even 
with all that mind, it’s disappoint-
ing that Is the Is Are offers noth-
ing new for DIIV or their listeners. 
Instead of propelling to greater 
musical and thematic heights, the 
members of DIIV just kind of sit in 
place, not really sure of where they 
want to go.

E

nglish Prof. Jeremy 
Chamberlin opens every 
class with the same 

phrase: “Does anyone have any 
gigs they want to share?” He 
doesn’t just 
offer the 
time to share 
interesting 
happen-
ings around 
campus 
because he’s 
a fantastic 
teacher and 
cares about 
building a 
community, 
(although he 
is and does, and everyone should 
take a class with him if they have 
the chance), but because there 
are fascinating and neoteric 
ideas, groups and businesses 
emanating from almost every 
crevice of Ann Arbor.

This city promotes creativ-

ity and imagination through so 
much of what it does, but growth 
has been especially surprising 
and noteworthy in the burgeon-
ing literary community. Inde-
pendent publishing companies 
in particular have been inclined 
to take root in Ann Arbor, as 
love for books generated in the 
University flows with ease to 
the surrounding areas. One such 
benefactor of this ardor is Fish 
Out of Water, run by Jon and 
Laurie Wilson, a husband and 
wife publishing team based in 
Ann Arbor. They have lived here 
for 20 years but only recently 
acted on their dream of going 
into publishing.

“I met Laurie after she had 

moved from suburban Detroit 
to Manchester, England in 1988. 
We were married in 1989 and 
moved to Ann Arbor in 1993,” 
Jon said in a recent interview. 
“We had been considering the 
idea of starting a publishing 
company that would reflect our 
mutual love of fish out of water 
stories — about visiting other 
countries, having to integrate 

yourself into a foreign culture or 
simply growing up as a fish out 
of water in your own neighbor-
hood.”

After leaving Manchester for 

Michigan, Laurie insisted that 
the Wilsons settle in Ann Arbor. 
Both Laurie and Jon worked in 
other creative industries — mar-
keting and academic publishing 
respectively — before following 
their dream of starting their 
own publishing company.

“In many ways, Ann Arbor 

feels very much home-from-
home. We have met friends from 
all over the world in this six 
square miles surrounded by real-
ity. The diversity and vibrancy of 
the Ann Arbor community has 
provided us with a very recep-
tive audience. This is most defi-
nitely conducive to independent 
book publishing,” Jon said.

Listing some of the upcoming 

events in the local literary com-
munity, Jon said he was espe-
cially excited about them after 
just releasing the first book for 
Fish Out of Water.

“This is an exciting time, with 

the recent addition of Midwest-
ern Gothic’s “Voices of the Mid-
dle West” conference, along with 
the Ann Arbor Book Festival in 
mid-June and the Kerrytown 
BookFest in September. Both of 
these events have grown signifi-
cantly over the last 10 years and 
attract writers and an audiences 
from far and wide,” Jon said.

The first and newest book 

published by Fish Out of Water 
also bears the proud stamp 
“Made in Ann Arbor.” The novel, 
called “Love & Vodka,” was 
written by R.J. Fox, a teacher at 
Huron High School.

“In my first year (at Huron 

High), I had a student who hap-
pened to be the son of John 
Wilson and Laurie Wilson all 
four years,” Fox said. “I was 
publishing pieces of my book 
on Facebook and (Jon) just hap-
pened to be launching a pub-
lishing business. And the types 
of books they were looking to 

publish match the story I had, 
a sort of fish out of water. They 
approached me and asked if I’d 
be interested. I figured why not? 
It’s kind of risky. They were a 
new company, and there’s noth-
ing guaranteed, but it’s been 
amazing. It’s their first book 
so they have so much at stake 
themselves. We’ve really just 
enjoyed the last few months of 
getting this book out there. The 
support here in Ann Arbor’s just 
been unbelievably fantastic. It’s 
obviously a very literate com-
munity.”

Despite the challenges of a 

shoestring budget and adaptation 
to publishing and distribution in 
the twenty-first century, Fox and 
Fish Out of Water released “Love 
& Vodka” in 2015. It was met 
with spirit and warmth from the 
literary community, which Fox 
credits toward the general zeal of 
Ann Arbor.

“I’ve been living here in Ann 

Arbor for about 6 or 7 years. I 
feel like the literary community 
was already in place when I got 
here. I feel like since I’ve lived 
here, they opened up some more 
places. Literati’s opened, and 
they’ve been just phenomenal 
and want so much to support 
authors,” Fox said.

He added that he thought the 

literary community, hit hard 
by the recession and changing 
technologies, is rebounding with 
a life force that few would have 
expected. But he also made the 
point that in the bubble of Ann 
Arbor, we are fortunate in the 
enthusiasm that the University 
and the town itself generate for 
literature.

“People say books are a dying 

breed, but by the same token, 
these stores are thriving,” Fox 
said. “I couldn’t have asked for 
a better place to launch a book 
than Ann Arbor.”

Lerner is looking for a 

book to interpret her dreams. 

To recommend one, e-mail 

rebler@umich.edu.

LITERATURE COLUMN

Homegrown 
literature in A2

REBECCA 
LERNER

MERCURY

Daily Tooth Gap Columnist

ALBUM REVIEW

D-

Wonderful 
Crazy 
Night

Elton John

Mercury

C+

Is The 
Is Are

DIIV

Captured Tracks

A gymnastic 
study of just 
how agile film 

can be.

The songs don’t 
have the vitality 

that ‘Oshin’ 
displayed.

