The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, February 26, 2016 — 5
Breezy, happy ‘Light’
By DANIELLE IMMERMAN
Daily Arts Writer
In my mind, I always think I like
Ra Ra Riot more than I actually do.
The thing about Ra Ra Riot is that
they have a few
jams, but only
just a few. “Can
You Tell” and
“The Orchard”
are
the
shit,
and if anyone
says otherwise
they’re
just
lying. The prob-
lem I now real-
ize, though, is that “Can You Tell”
and “The Orchard” are the only
Ra Ra Riot songs that I’ll never
tire of — every other song they’ve
ever produced sounds identical
and annoying after three listens.
And as I’m sitting here at Espres-
so Royale listening to their latest
album, Need Your Light, I find it
hard to decipher one song from
the next.
Produced
by
Rostam
Bat-
manglij, formerly of Vampire
Weekend, Need Your Light is a
10-track, feel-good album falling
somewhere in between Passion
Pit’s high-energy, upbeat vibes
and Vampire Weekend’s baroque/
indie-rock sound. Overall, the
album as a whole isn’t awful — Ra
Ra Riot’s sound has come a long
way, no doubt. With dazzling vio-
lins intertwined with Wes Miles’s
iconic chirpy vocals and electronic
synth beats, Need Your Light is one
of the least depressing albums I’ve
ever listened to. It could be played
at an ’80s dance party, on the
beach as you sip a pina colada or as
you lay in an eno, swaying peace-
fully on a breezy summer evening,
high on all sorts of good stuff.
Despite the fact that this album
almost took away the pain of my
broken foot with its peaceful,
positive energy, I failed to add a
single song to any playlist. It’s not
that any song in particular is bad,
they just all sound the same. For
example, “Absolutely” is a pretty
solid jam, in that I could play it in
the car for a few weeks without
tiring of it, but will it be played a
year from now? Nah. Similarly, I
would dub “Call Me Out” a high-
light of the album — it’s catchy,
features the iconic Ra Ra Riot
violin/cello integration and sur-
prisingly features lyrics that actu-
ally vary every line or two — but,
again, I can barely remember
what it sounds like after listening
to the rest of the album.
The only significantly different
songs, at the end of the day, aren’t
even Ra Ra Riot products at all —
Rostam was featured on “Waters”
and “I Need Your Light,” resulting
in the two best and the two most
stylistically distinct songs on the
album. “Waters” is a smooth,
calming track while “I Need Your
Light” is just all around solid. But
I think it’s only solid because Ros-
tam made it solid. It’s less synth-
pop and more indie-rock, Vampire
Weekend-esque with the soaring
vocals and lack of bombastic Ra
Ra Riot instrumentals; the minute
“I Need Your Light” ends, though,
we’re back to the same old Ra Ra
Riot sound that dominates the
album.
But this is where my song-by-
song commentary ends — the
remainder of the album isn’t much
to elaborate on aside from the fact
that it very well might have been
intended for Cyndi Lauper to sing.
TV REVIEW
Intelligent ‘Yorker’
By SOPHIA KAUFMAN
Daily Arts Writer
The New Yorker is known for its
polished prose, witty cartoons and
sophisticated style. With Amazon
Prime
Video’s
“The New York-
er
Presents”,
the magazine’s
elegance
has
been transmut-
ed to screen.
Overseen
by
Oscar-winning
filmmaker Alex
Gibney (“Going
Clear:
Scien-
tology and the
Prison of Belief”), the series offers
short narrative films, documentary
work, poetry, animation and car-
toons, as well as exposure to some
critically acclaimed artists of a
variety of mediums. Compelling in
both form and content, “The New
Yorker Presents” seems poised not
only to become the strongest cur-
rent option of docutainment but to
be another weapon in Amazon’s
battle as it strives to reach the kind
of popularity that Netflix has a
streaming service.
The pilot opens with a segment
on people that have the “Truman
Show Delusion” — they think their
lives are being filmed without their
consent for reality television —
which immediately hooks viewers.
It features a segment from Gibney
about how 9/11 could have been
prevented, if the CIA hadn’t kept
information from the FBI. Though
a complex and perhaps risky seg-
ment to start out with — especially
considering they only have 34 min-
utes to fill — it’s comprehensive; an
outline is given of all the informa-
tion to which the CIA had access
and withheld from important FBI
agents. By analyzing these events
through the tension between these
two organizations, the writers
of this segment stay away from
sounding too much like govern-
mental conspiracy theorists.
The show adds a dose of humor
in the form of a short narrative film,
“Le Café de Blazac” — shot with a
perhaps semi-ironic yet still aes-
thetically pleasing sepia filter — in
which Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”)
plays Honore de Blazac, the 19th
century French author known for
drinking unbelievable amounts of
coffee daily. An even shorter come-
dic piece by Simon Rich (creator of
“Man Seeking Woman”) features
Alan Cumming (“The Good Wife”)
playing God speaking to Brett Gel-
man (“The Other Guys”), who runs
around preaching in his under-
wear, as per God’s instructions.
Within the first few episodes,
there’s an interview with perfor-
mance artist Marina Abramovic.
Due to time constraints, it feels like
a more superficial introduction to
her work than she may deserve, but
it’s functional and fun nonethe-
less. The main investigative piece
is a profile on biologist Tyrone
Hayes, which is as entertaining
as it is informative. Finally, one of
the most evocative pieces is the
exploration of racialized violence
in America through art by writer
Edwidge Danticat, in a segment
titled “Black Bodies in Motion and
in Pain,” inspired by Jacob Law-
rence’s Migration Series.
The b-roll in “The New Yorker
Presents” is just as skilfully made
and beautiful to watch as the foot-
age from the main stories, and the
score always perfectly comple-
ments the segment. The animated
cartoon sequences and The New
Yorker office vignettes provide
breathing space in between the
more complex stories, and balance
out the journalistic and creative
elements. Unlike other NYC-cen-
tric media, it’s completely acces-
sible to those who aren’t familiar
with the magazine — though for
those that do read it, there are
familiar touches. The style of The
New Yorker’s copy — down to the
fonts — is echoed in the cinematog-
raphy.
“The New Yorker Presents” may
feel uneven in terms of what kind
of content is in each episode, but
that doesn’t detract from it; rather,
it’s one of the strongest points of
the show. The combination and
complementation of documenta-
ry-style work, animated cartoons,
narrative films and storytelling,
poetry and conversations with art-
ists is what makes the series fun
to watch in a way that a straight
documentary often struggles to
accomplish.
BARSUK
Yung Bill Hader on the right.
ALBUM REVIEW
B-
Need Your
Light
Ra Ra Riot
Barsuk
A-
The New
Yorker
Presents
Series Premiere
Amazon Prime
Video
‘Love’ is complex
By SAM ROSENBERG
Daily Arts Writer
Most TV shows that face the
subject of love head-on tend to
take a formulaic route: boy-meets-
girl
premise,
simplistic sup-
porting charac-
ters, romantic
setting,
some
sort of conflict
and
resolu-
tion, etc. It’s a
rather
broad
and
touchy
topic that has
been
recycled
over and over again for years in
pop culture. But who says love
doesn’t still contain some artistic
merit? For Netflix’s newest origi-
nal series, “Love,” all those clichés
about love, romance and relation-
ships are thrown out the window
for a practical, grounded perspec-
tive on every aspect of the show’s
namesake.
Despite
its
grating,
gener-
ic-sounding name, “Love” is a
down-to-earth, charming comedy
bolstered by strong writing, two
standout leads and a stinging sense
of realism. Set in L.A. (my home-
town), the story follows two thirty-
somethings, the socially awkward
Gus (Paul Rust, “I Love You Beth
Cooper”) and the aimless Mickey
(Gillian Jacobs, “Life Partners”),
and their developing relationship
from strangers to friends to pos-
sibly more than friends. Through
awkward dates, revealing confron-
tations between exes and other
romantic and sexual misadven-
tures, Gus and Mickey successfully
and hilariously guide the show’s
exploration of relationships and
female outlooks on modern love.
Executive-produced by “Train-
wreck” and “Knocked Up” direc-
tor Judd Apatow, “Love” is exactly
what you would expect from an
Apatow production: risqué and
vulgar, yet full of poignancy and
heart. It isn’t always laugh-out-
loud funny, but for those who enjoy
observational humor within the
underpinnings of day-to-day con-
versations or physical cringe com-
edy, “Love” is the perfect show to
watch. With a UCB pedigree, Rust
masterfully embodies the nerdy
Midwestern nice guy archetype
as Gus, but his character’s deep-
seated aggression and disappoint-
ment with life’s constant downfalls
elevates Rust’s acting. Having
been on six seasons of the NBC-
turned-Yahoo! cult hit “Commu-
nity,” Jacobs effortlessly delivers
as Mickey, transcending the well-
worn high-functioning alcoholic
archetype through a subversive,
passionate performance.
Though its first season is only 10
episodes, “Love” is steadily paced,
the characters and plotlines unrav-
eling gradually with each episode
(Mickey and Gus don’t even meet
until the end of the first episode).
One of “Love” ’s greatest strengths
is making sharp examinations on
the ecstatic highs and destructive
lows of human interaction through
its protagonists’ points of view.
The third episode, “Tested,” finds
Gus having trouble with his job as
an on-set teacher tutor for a bratty
young TV actress (Iris Apatow,
“This is 40”), while Mickey has sex
with her boss, radio host Dr. Greg
Colter (Brett Gelman, “Another
Period”), to avoid getting fired.
“Party in the Hills” depicts Gus
and Mickey having different expe-
riences at the same party, with Gus
spontaneously jamming out with a
few hipster dads to Paul McCart-
ney and Wings’s “Jet,” while
Mickey tackles an uncomfortable
situation with two former beaus
(stand-up comedian Kyle Kinane
and Rich Sommer, “Mad Men”).
In “The Date,” Mickey stays home
and does whatever she can to avoid
drinking again after going sober,
while Gus and Mickey’s perky Aus-
sie roommate Bertie (the winning
Claudia O’Doherty, “Trainwreck”)
go out on a date that twists and
turns into an unexpected outcome.
In addition to a tongue-in-cheek
title sequence and an eclectic
soundtrack that includes Queen,
Jamie xx, Diane Coffee and Biz
Markie, “Love” is stylistically on-
point. As a native of Los Angeles, I
can definitely say that the cinema-
tography in “Love” does a fantastic
job of encapsulating both the beau-
ty and energizing nightlife of the
city, from the hipster-friendliness
of Echo Park to the laid-back hive
of Silver Lake. It’s typical to just
display West Hollywood or Bever-
ly Hills, but “Love” unearths some
hidden spots in the L.A. backdrop,
which only adds to the visual and
emotional experience of watching
the show.
“Love” isn’t necessarily about
falling in love or finding love, but
about human connection and
interaction in the realest, rawest
sense. The show doesn’t roman-
ticize or glamorize love; it simply
shows the complicated, troubled
and occasionally amusing nature
intertwined within the context
of love, whether it’s dealing with
a breakup from a long-term rela-
tionship, a toxic attachment to an
old lover or throwing out a collec-
tion of Blu-Ray DVDs to signify the
media’s distorted idea of what love
really is.
A-
Love
Series
Premiere
Netflix
TV REVIEW
‘Cooked’ brings food
back to the TV table
By DANIELLE YACOBSON
Daily Arts Writer
“For is there any practice less
selfish, any labor less alienated, any
time less wasted, than preparing
something deli-
cious and nour-
ishing for people
you love?” Best-
selling
author
and
journalist
Michael Pollan
writes about his,
and our, rela-
tionship
with
food in a poetic
cadence, sending an ode to his-
tory and the years of evolution that
have been shaped by what, where
and why we eat. Based on Pollan’s
“Cooked: A Natural History of
Transformation,” Netflix brings
his culinary stories and insights
to screen in “Cooked,” a four-part
documentary series that ties food
to the core of our civilization and
humanity.
Each
episode
of
“Cooked”
focuses on one of the four natu-
ral elements — fire, water, air and
ground — and explores the uni-
versal impact that it has had on
both biology and human nature.
Continuing the stories of subjects
in Pollan’s book, the documentary
series takes on “food” from a global
perspective, featuring individuals
from countries like India, Morocco
and Peru. While what we eat is so
often categorized by culture and
regional cuisine, “Cooked” is able
to paint a picture that shows the
act of feeding, in all its variety, as
simple. “We are a product of cook-
ing,” Pollan narrates, arguing that
the very act of heating up our food
is what made us human from the
start. “Fire,” the first episode of
the series, primes the audience to
explore humanity through the lens
of cooking as a group of aborigi-
nal hunters sets fire to a deserted
landscape. It burns, catching from
shrub to shrub, but however for-
eign their way of hunting might
seem, “Cooked” effectively shows
that the simplest natural elements
connect us all at our most basic
need.
From economics to chemistry,
“Cooked” is able to clearly articu-
late the complicated systems in
preparing food without losing
its audience in the process. Cov-
ering an impressive range, Pol-
lan effortlessly transitions from
detailing the microflora composi-
tion of “designer cheeses,” prod-
ucts of modern fermentation that
favorably alter human immune
systems, to discussing the socio-
logical implications of Sunday
family dinners. The series presents
food as a relationship, not a prod-
uct, and recognizes the complexity
of the topic without entitlement or
blame.
Simply put, the series calls for
a cooking renaissance. It does not
push a political or activist agenda
down the throats of its viewers,
nor does it scream of boycot-
ting corporations that infiltrate
our minds and bodies with high
fructose corn syrup. “Cooked”
doesn’t forcefully rally for some
monumental change in society, but
rather, hopes to reconnect us with
nature. Pollan explores the time-
consuming, complicated and beau-
tiful relationship between humans
and food, as sweeping shots of
desert landscapes and exquisite
close-ups of bubbling stew show
that humanity simply could not
exist without the primal act of
mixing water and ingredients and
then heating it up. The docu-series
is soft-spoken and light, and while
it fails to capture an unwavering
and undivided focus, it succeeds in
gracefully maneuvering through
the technical aspects of cooking
as well as backing out to a cultural
lens. Instead of lecturing people
back to the kitchen, “Cooked” lures
them back in.
B+
Cooked
Documentary
Series Premiere
Netflix
TV REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
By BEN ROSENSTOCK
Senior Arts Editor
On paper, the ongoing plots of
“Togetherness”
seem
recycled
from practi-
cally
every
other dram-
edy
about
white people
in their 30’s.
Brett
Pier-
son (co-cre-
ator
Mark
Duplass,
“The
One
I
Love”)
and his wife Michelle (Melanie
Lynskey, “Two and a Half Men”)
desperately try to reignite their
spark, which has faded after years
of marriage. Meanwhile, Brett’s
dorky best friend, Alex (Steve Zis-
sis, “Jeff, Who Lives at Home”),
struggles to deal with his feel-
ings for Tina (Amanda Peet, “The
Whole Nine Yards”), Michelle’s
sister who’s way out of his league.
The show works so beautifully,
though, because these characters
are more than their apparent stock
roles. With Duplass’s wide-eyed
earnestness, Brett is well-meaning
in a way that makes his occasional
whininess endearing. As well,
his friendship with Alex is one of
the most charming male friend-
ships on TV, supportive and joyful
even during their most unlikable
moments.
In the second season premiere,
though, Duplass isn’t the only cen-
tral player at the top of his game.
Following a radical period of
weight loss for Zissis, Alex is now
a successful actor filming a movie
in New Orleans, with a hot young
girlfriend of his own. He’s just as
kind and funny as he was last year,
but his smile is wider and more
confident after spending some
time away from Tina and gaining
some professional success. Seeing
this happy new Alex, Tina can’t
TV REVIEW
Sweet ‘Togetherness’
help but awkwardly step in and try
to regain his favor, buying him a
ridiculously expensive compass for
his birthday. Whether Tina has real
feelings for Alex or if she just self-
ishly craves his puppy-love atten-
tion, she can’t stand their awkward
dynamic following his first season
declaration of love for her. Peet is
hilarious in her cringe-inducing
portrayal of Tina as transparently
jealous and desperate.
Lynskey is another standout, her
expressions subtle yet managing to
convey so much. The first season
ended in a cliffhanger, with Brett
pledging to be a better husband
while
Michelle
simultaneously
commits her first infidelity, sleep-
ing with her friend David (John
Ortiz, “Silver Linings Playbook”).
Now, the full scene and its after-
math is shown to us in disturbingly
immersive flashbacks, the sound
design filled with nightmarish bass
courtesy of Braids’s “Lammicken.”
It’s painful, over the course of the
episode, to see Brett striving to be
the perfect husband, planning little
playful surprises and asserting
his dedication to Michelle. Brett
notices that something’s been off
with Michelle, but he attributes it
to her distrust of his romantic ges-
tures. He has no idea that Michelle
has had an affair, and going for-
ward, the show will surely build
towards this devastating revela-
tion.
As affecting as the flashback
scene is, Zissis and Peet share the
strongest scene of the episode, the
ending scene. Frustrated with the
way Alex has been subtly push-
ing Tina away, she confronts him
at the ice machine in their New
Orleans hotel. After an episode full
of wide smiles and gentle media-
tion, Alex finally lets his confident
movie star persona fall away, and
he expresses all the hurt Tina
caused him by breaking his heart.
It’s a magnificent scene, with both
the characters dropping the pas-
sive-aggressive bullshit and laying
their emotions on the table.
Above all, that emotional hon-
esty is what’s most impressive
about “Togetherness.” The series
easily could’ve been just another
carbon copy of every other show
of its genre, but its sincerity and
genuineness makes it something
heartfelt and deeply emotional.
Like the Pfefferman dynasty of
“Transparent” or the Cole fam-
ily of “Casual,” the friends at the
center of “Togetherness” help the
series transcend the genre’s cli-
chés. To watch them, feel for them
and become deeply invested in
them is a special feeling.
A-
Togetherness
Season 2 Pre-
miere, Sundays
at 10:30 p.m.
HBO