FOR RENT
3 & 4 Bedroom Apartments
$2100‑$2800 plus utilities.
Tenants pay electric to DTE
Showings scheduled M‑F 10‑3
w/ 24 hour notice required.
1015 Packard
734‑996‑1991
5 & 6 Bedroom Apartments
1014 Vaughn
$3250 ‑ $3900 plus utilities
Showings scheduled M‑F 10‑3
w/ 24 hour notice required
734‑996‑1991
ARBOR PROPERTIES
Award‑Winning Rentals in
Kerrytown
Central Campus, Old West
Side, Burns Park. Now Renting for
2018.
734‑649‑8637 | www.arborprops.com
CENTRAL CAMPUS
7 BD furnished house, LR, DR, 2
baths,
kitchen fully equipped, w/d, int.cable,
parking 4 ‑ 5. MAY to MAY. Contact:
706‑284‑3807 or meadika@gmail.
com.
FALL 2018 HOUSES
# Beds Location Rent
6 1016 S. Forest $4900
4 827 Brookwood $3000
4 852 Brookwood $3000
4 1210 Cambridge $3400
Tenants pay all utilities.
Showings scheduled M‑F 10‑3
w/ 24 hr notice required
734‑996‑1991
HELP WANTED
DOMINICK’S NOW HIRING
all positions FT/PT. Call
734‑834‑5021.
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Call: #734-418-4115
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ACROSS
1 Big sister?
7 Way more than a
whimper
11 Pixie
14 Circus equipment
15 Online
marketplace
16 Madhouse
17 First U.S.
national park
19 Syncopated
piece
20 Calvin Klein or
Perry Ellis
21 Caution
22 Spilled the beans
23 Love personified
24 Letter writing,
some say
26 Oenophile’s
concern
28 Bear with a
purple bow tie
32 “Yada yada
yada” letters
35 Co-star of the
1955 comedy
“How to Be Very,
Very Popular”
38 Revolutionary
murdered in a
tub
40 Groom’s garb
41 Generous slices
42 Subject of a 19th-
century famine
45 Menu general
46 Tar pits site
47 “Pretty please?”
49 Che’s given
name
52 State-spanning
rds.
56 Cross by wading
59 Digging
60 The good dishes
61 “The Mikado”
band?
62 Aquanaut’s
workplace ... or a
hint to what’s
graphically
represented four
times in this
puzzle
64 Dram
65 Thailand, once
66 Recess
67 Fictional
vigilante’s mark
68 Ballpark figs.
69 Christian of “Mr.
Robot”
DOWN
1 Sanctuaries
2 Substitute
players
3 Frodo inherited
his ring
4 Queen of mystery
5 Small-runway
aircraft acronym
6 Spokane-to-
Walla Walla dir.
7 Software to
debug
8 Scrub, at NASA
9 Aspirant
10 Drano compound
11 Biblical reformer
12 Library
transaction
13 “Around the
World ... ” hero
18 Affirmed in court
22 Happy hour
perch
24 __-di-dah
25 Lighter brand
27 Bible book read
during Purim
29 Frank’s cousin
30 Gambling
parlors, for short
31 Very
32 Expressionist
painter Nolde
33 Plantation near
Twelve Oaks
34 Nursery
purchase
36 Rural road
feature
37 One demanding
payment, say
39 Comparable to a
beet
43 Pressed
sandwiches
44 Confucian ideal
48 Cornell’s city
50 Conclude by
51 Parts of some
flutes
53 First of a series
54 __ of Hearts,
accused tarts
thief
55 Cavalry sword
56 With “the,” TV
character who
first jumped the
shark—literally
57 Village Voice
award
58 Harvest-ready
60 Spreadsheet box
62 Employ
63 KLM rival
By David Poole
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/26/18
01/26/18
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
RELEASE DATE– Friday, January 26, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
You
may
have
heard
of
blackbear.
The
image-
conscious
singer
got
quite
popular during the latter half
of 2017 after the release of
his high-water mark single
“do re mi,” which is actually
a pretty good song. The rest
of blackbear’s music is OK,
I suppose. I would compare
it to a well-baked loaf of
white bread: Competent in
execution,
but
bland
and
unsurprising.
Despite
his
insipid but otherwise harmless
music, blackbear manages to
be actively insufferable due to
his lyrics and persona.
Blackbear
is
proof
that
singing about drugs and sex
does not automatically make
you cool; this is a guy who
is trying way, way, too hard.
Blackbear evidently wants to
occupy a role similar to that
of The Weeknd, but due to his
astounding lack of nuance and
subtlety, his persona comes
off as less of a tortured yet
attractive rogue and more like
the three-way love child of
Adam Levine, one of those guys
who comment on PornHub
videos and a cigarette.
Blackbear has two lyrical
modes, and both are hackneyed
and lazy. One is the “revenge
love” theme, where he has
nothing to say that hasn’t been
said a million times before by
other “revenge love” songs (a
theme that generally makes its
way into his tweets, as we’ll
soon see). The other mode is
a clumsy attempt at imitating
the
braggadocious
and
materialistic aesthetic found
in a good deal of hip hop/R&B,
except with none of the humor,
charm or self-awareness. The
effect is cold and caustic,
giving rise to songs devoid of
personality with catchiness
as the only redeeming factor.
There’s
nothing
inherently
wrong with this. Music can
still be memorable even if it
isn’t meaningful, but his lyrics
and aesthetic suggest that he
takes himself more seriously
than he should.
Let’s play a game.
Below are six tweets, three
of which are taken directly
from
blackbear’s
official
Twitter account, while the
other three have been taken
from Bryson Tiller parody
accounts. The game is to
guess whose are whose. In the
interest of fairness all letters
have been made lowercase, all
“you”s have been changed to
“u”s, all “to”s and “too”s have
been changed to “2”s and all
“for”s have been changed to
“4”s.
1. “wasted so much time
wishing i was good enough 4 u”
2. “i loved u at my worst u
only love me cuz im at my best”
3.
“don’t
fight
4
their
attention. if they really care, u
shouldn’t have 2”
4. “worst part is i’ll never
know”
5. “wasted hella time on u”
6. “they ain’t down 4 u like
i am”
Correct answer: blackbear is
the author of tweets 1, 2 and 4,
while tweets 3, 5, 6 belong to
an assortment of inspirational
Bryson Tiller parody accounts.
If you aced it, congratulations,
because even after writing the
quiz, I still couldn’t. A quick
glance at blackbear’s Twitter
page will make clear that these
are not isolated examples —
he really is just that goddamn
corny.
What’s such a shame about
blackbear is that he does
actually possess some talent:
He has a great voice and a
knack for catchy melodies.
His instrumentals are never
particularly
innovative,
but
they are well-crafted. The
problem
is
both
that
his
lyrics are intolerably vapid
and that his public persona is
inescapable, pervading every
aspect of his music, from
his inane song titles (e.g. “i
hope ur whole life sux”) to
his
derivative
and
cloying
lyrics (“Cause I have hella
feelings for you / I act like I
don’t fucking care / ’Cause
I’m so fucking scared,” etc).
If he would drop his odious
pose, his music would be
tolerable, maybe even good.
But given his general lack of
self-awareness or tact, I find
this situation unlikely. Until
that happens, it’s impossible
to listen to blackbear’s music
without remembering that this
is the same guy who tweets
stuff like, “i think of u often
hope u kno.”
blackbear just sux and I
will never get used 2 it
MUSIC NOTEBOOK
JONAH MENDELSON
Daily Arts Writer
American
folk
music,
to
me, is a tradition that’s as
rich as the stories behind it.
Combining elements from song
and story, folk music has been
an American tradition for years
and continues to thrive all
across the country.
However,
with
music
becoming
more
and
more
commercial
over
the
past
100 years, the medium has
taken motives of passion and
expression and shifted to more
monetary driven intentions, and
it sometimes shows. This isn’t
me trying to discredit any genre
— it’s just a fact. As music has
become more valuable, whether
it
be
through
increasing
accessibility or just the sheer
rise in the number of people
listening to and producing their
own music, it has become a
commercial industry.
Despite this fact, Mountain
Heart — a group that borrows
from
folk,
Americana
and
bluegrass — continues to write
music reflecting not only their
roots, but the roots of the genre
as a whole. Although they’ve
been around for almost 20
years, they’ve remained true to
their sound and kept a tradition
of storytelling alive and well.
With
their
upcoming
performance
at
The
Ark’s
Folk Festival, The Daily spoke
with lead singer, guitarist and
keyboardist Josh Shilling about
the group’s new album, playing
in Ann Arbor and what it’s like
to be in a group that stays true
to its roots.
Coming fresh out of recording
their currently untitled album,
Shilling says that they’re ready
to share some new stories
with audiences and return to
some old ones. After their last
album, Blue Skies, Shilling told
his groupmates that they were
going to have a really tough
time “beating the songs that
they wrote for that album.”
Shilling
said
that
this
upcoming
album
is
unique
because while he had written
most of the songs in the past, this
album features songs written by
the group as a collective.
“As a band, we’ve never sat
around together and written
one
song,”
Shilling
shared,
“but
with
this
upcoming
song, ‘Restless Wind’ ... It
was a collective effort. The
songwriting is killer.”
And the recordings feel like
just that.
“We’re playing and singing
live,” he said. “It’s about as raw
and organic as you can get. It
feels like you’re in the room
with us.”
Continuing on with their
legacy of sharing themselves
with the audience, both through
a recorded medium and live on
stage, Mountain Heart wanted
this album to feel the same live
as it feels recorded.
Even after playing all over
the world, Ann Arbor remains
as one of the group’s favorite
cities.
“It really always feels like
a second home to us,” Shilling
said. “The fans are huge music
lovers and supporters ... They
really make us feel at home. It’s
really special.”
It’s one of the reasons why
they come back almost every
winter, and it’s why they decided
to record their live album here
back in 2007. Along with the
fans, Shilling commented on
how fantastic the acts are that
play at The Ark, saying that he
doesn’t think that he’s “ever
seen a bad act play that stage …
They just have great taste.”
“If I lived in Ann Arbor, I’m
sure I’d be hanging around at
The Ark all the time,” he said.
This isn’t Mountain Heart’s
first time at the Folk Festival,
either. About a decade ago, they
graced the stage in Ann Arbor,
and they couldn’t be more
excited to return.
“I remember the lineup then
was just phenomenal,” Shilling
said, “and this lineup with John
Prine, Jason Isbell, Aimee Mann
… all those folks. Everyone’s
phenomenal. They really seem
to get it right. I don’t think any
artist would turn this down …
Who wouldn’t want to be part
of this?”
Tickets are selling out quickly
for both Friday and Saturday
nights of the Folk Festival,
but Mountain Heart will be
returning in April for those who
will be missing the Folk Festival
and still want to be swept away
by the stories of the group.
Mountain Heart to bring
songwriting to Ann Arbor
COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
RYAN COX
Daily Arts Writer
As a guilty pleasure watcher
of
the
“Stomp
the
Yard”
movies, I had a simple request
for Netflix’s new movie “Step
Sisters”: Entertain me. No need
for great acting or a decent
screenplay,
just
entertain.
Unfortunately, “Step Sisters”
has
such
a
convoluted
message
on
race,
cultural
appropriation and sisterhood
that any enjoyment is tinged
with confusion. A movie that
makes fun of white people
should elicit a few laughs or
ah-ha moments, but perhaps
“Get Out” set the bar too
high. Instead, “Step Sisters”
struggles to overcome a faulty
premise that even its pizazzy
dance numbers cannot conceal.
Jamilah
(Megalyn
Echikunwoke, “CHiPs”), an
overachieving college student,
has high hopes for Harvard
Law School. She also has the
credentials necessary to fulfill
her
dream:
legacy
status,
volunteer work at a local
community center, president
of a Black sorority and a killer
work ethic. When the dean of
Westcott University promises
to write a recommendation
letter for Jamilah, in exchange
for her teaching an unruly
and majority white sorority
(Sigma Beta Beta) how to step,
she agrees. The implications
of a group of white girls
taking over a dance style with
deep African roots make her
uncomfortable, though, so she
hides her association with SBB
from her family and friends.
(Yes, this plot sounds exactly
like “Bring It On.” No, the film
does not live up to the same
standard).
Unlike other commercially
successful
female
ensemble
films
like
“Pitch
Perfect,”
“Step Sisters” does not have
that one actor who holds up the
rest of the team. Echikunwoke
gives her best effort, but her
character’s motivations are so
poorly written that even she
cannot deliver an applaudable
performance.
Furthermore,
in comparison to other dance
or
singing-oriented
films,
the
cast
lacks
chemistry.
The oddball aspects of each
individual are not explored. All
that’s left are stock characters
with backgrounds that allow
for forced perspectives on the
controversial situation.
“Step Sisters” has moments
of self-awareness regarding
the cultural appropriation its
plot toys with. At one point,
Jamilah exclaims that races
can’t own things — not rap,
not golf, not dance. However,
the idea that white people
who have trained a few weeks
can beat people of color with
a strong history of stepping at
a national competition does
not sit well. (Not to mention
the
unaddressed
inclusion
of a step group that wore
traditional
Chinese
qipaos
as
their
costumes,
toted
oriental
fans
and
sported
stereotypical
haircuts.
But
let’s not get into that.) Mixed
in with this semi-hypocritical
message, “Step Sisters” makes
occasional jabs at different
forms of problematic liberals
like Jamilah’s boyfriend Dane
(Matt McGorry, “How to Get
Away with Murder”), who
embraces Black culture as a
way to prove his “wokeness.”
With
the
involvement
of
Chuck
Hayward
from
“Dear
White
People”
and
Lena Waithe from “Master
of None,” “Step Sisters” has
enough talent to create a
more nuanced and fresh take
on race relations. The film
instead
tramples
through
sensitive issues with faux pas
and cringe-inducing banter.
However, the film does try to
promote the idea of unity and
the performances are well-
choreographed with plenty of
fire. Although “Step Sisters”
fails to deliver an articulate or
enlightening lesson on cultural
appropriation, it does make the
subject more approachable.
Clunky ‘Step Sisters’ can’t
move to the right rhythm
FILM REVIEW
MEGHAN CHOU
Daily Arts Writer
“Step Sisters”
Netflix
MOUNTAIN HEART
6— Friday, January 26, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com