The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Friday, February 2, 2018 — 5
One of the most remembered
records by the unparalleled
Pavement,
Brighten
the
Corners, is turning the big 2-1
on Feb. 11. Amid the rise of
teen idol pop bands like the
Backstreet Boys and the Spice
Girls, the four college students
that
made
up
Pavement
were
recording
music
in
their friend’s basements in
Stockton, Calif. and releasing
lo-fi, melodic, raw-bone noise
into the world
After
releasing
three
records full of unexpected
reverb and scratchy guitar
strums, Pavement perfected a
blend of classic rock and West
Coast underground sounds on
Brighten the Corners. I’ll name a
few things you should listen to
this week to celebrate Brighten
the
Corners’s
influence
on
modern music of all types,
from art pop and indie rock to
lo-fi bedroom shoegaze.
The two introductory tracks
on Brighten the Corners and
two of the most well-known
Pavement
songs,
“Stereo”
and “Shady Lane,” epitomize
the band’s ability to combine
steady drum beats with deep
bass hits and shaky guitar
riffs. In each song, Stephen
Malkmus’s double-edged voice
spills wit into a rhythmic
atmosphere.
The
resulting
quick
but
relaxed
groovy
pace for the rest of the record
creates
a
rooted
balance
between swift punk clashes
and smooth rock ‘n’ roll tunes.
The
diverse
sound
of
Pavement’s music stems from
their deep pool of sometimes
unrelated
influences
that
deserve just as much attention
when remembering Brighten
the
Corners.
In
“Perfect
Sound Forever: The Story of
Pavement” by Rob Jovanovic,
there is a list of albums and
artists that each band member
pinpointed
Pavement’s
creation on. The list jumps
from the art rock sounds of
The Velvet Underground to the
ambient noises of Faust.
The shallow bass strums on
Brighten the Corners bring us
back to the sounds found in
the song “A Can of Lemonade”
off the album Remorse Code
by The Desperate Bicycles.
In the song “Walking Talking
Channel,” Malkmus’s distinct
vocals that hop with guitar
hits
are
found
in
Danny
Wigley’s jumpy and crooning
voice. Remorse Code’s fuzzy
and guttural guitar sounds
were ahead of their time with
its 1979 release, handing the
world endless possibilities of
exploration with the do-it-
yourself attitude.
Pavement
was
also
influenced
by
one
of
my
personal favorite records, Pink
Flag by Wire. Pink Flag is full
of chunky bass-lines, weepy
vocals
and
heavy
reverbs.
The songs “Strange” and the
record’s title track hit all of the
right spots in your eardrums
and commands your body to
move with the drums, creating
an experience that Pavement’s
“We Are Underused” instills
in listeners.
Other honorable mentions
that made Pavement who they
were, and that also made music
what it is and what it can be,
are (of course) “Rise Above”
from Black Flag’s Damaged, “I
Dreamed I Dream” from Sonic
Youth’s Daydream Nation and
“Dreams Never End” from
New Order’s Movement.
Each
of
these
songs
showcases
how
broad
the
spectrum can reach in the
worlds of lo-fi, punk and rock,
and how each band’s distinct
sounds
can
be
borrowed
and crafted into something
like
Brighten
the
Corners.
At its release, Brighten the
Corners was incredibly fresh,
delivering individual sounds
with honest lyrics, and now, it
takes its own place on the list
of eternal influential records.
Required Listening: Happy
21 to ‘Brighten the Corners’
SELENA AGUILERA
Daily Arts Writer
MUSIC
‘Please Stand By’ lacks
in its portrayal of autism
FILM REVIEW
MAGNOLIA PICTURES
This past year, there have
been many attempts to give
proper
representation
to
characters
on
the
autism
spectrum. “The Good Doctor,”
starring
Freddie
Highmore
(“Bates
Motel”),
found
a
receptive audience with its
portrayal of a young surgeon
on the spectrum. Highmore’s
dedicated
performance
as
Shaun Murphy earned him
a Golden Globe nomination.
On the other hand, Netflix’s
“Atypical”
received
mixed
reviews for its treatment of
the sensitive subject. Keir
Gilchrist
(“It
Follows”)
wrongly
transforms
the
emotional trials of a person
with
autism
into
a
cold
impression,
disappointing
fans with his characterization
of a depressed teen akin to his
performance in “It’s Kind of
a Funny Story.” Add “Please
Stand By” to the list of earnest
attempts to destigmatize this
mental condition in media.
Unfortunately, like “Atypical,”
“Please Stand By” lacks the
caliber of a nuanced actor or
quality script to succeed.
Wendy
(Dakota
Fanning,
“Brimstone”), a young woman
on the spectrum, lives in a
group home. When she hears
about
a
Star
Trek
script
contest,
she
eagerly
goes
to work writing her own
installment. She has a rigid
schedule to help her through
the day, including shifts at
a
nearby
Cinnabon.
Soon,
the
submission
deadline
arrives, but Wendy fails to
deliver her script to the post
office on time. In order to
get her script to Los Angeles,
Wendy must leave her group
home and reliable schedule
to embark on an adventure.
Along the way, with only her
429-page screenplay and pet
Chihuahua for company, she
meets some helpful and not so
helpful people. Through her
dedication, she hopes to show
her older sister Audrey (Alice
Eve, “Before We Go”) that she
can be trusted to return home
despite her past outbursts.
For a story that focuses on a
character with an internalized
condition, the lead actor must
carry the film. Dakota Fanning
gives her best effort but falls
short. Sometimes, when bad
actors
portray
characters
with neurological disorders,
the result is catastrophically
offensive. Thankfully, Fanning
avoids this fate through her
earnest approach to Wendy.
However, if it weren’t for her
wide-eyed
innocent
look,
Fanning’s performance would
be an utter flop. She lacks
the depth to really explore
Wendy’s need to share her
creative work or her struggles
and the lackluster script does
not help. Instead, a strong
supporting
cast
bears
the
brunt of the heavy lifting.
The
always
spectacular
Toni
Collette
(“The
Way,
Way Back”) adds warmth and
thoughtfulness to her role as
Wendy’s psychologist Scottie.
Collette steals the spotlight in
every scene, overshadowing
the litany of plot holes and
unresolved
plotlines.
Tony
Revolori
(“Dope”),
playing
Nemo,
Wendy’s
coworker
at the Cinnabon, provides
humor. His cheeky lines and
energy
upstage
Fanning’s
blank, deadpan look. However,
the
standing
ovation
goes
to Wendy’s Chihuahua Pete
and
his
perfectly
timed,
judgemental faces. The fact
that the dog is the highlight
of the film goes to show the
mediocrity of “Please Stand
By.”
MEGHAN CHOU
Daily Arts Writer
“Please Stand By”
Magnolia Pictures
Amazon and iTunes
MATADOR RECORDS
‘Dirty Money’ documents
the dark corporate world
TV REVIEW
NETFLIX
Poisoned air. Drug cartels. A
maple syrup heist. All of these
equally
heinous
crimes
and
more are explored and exposed
in Netflix’s latest docuseries,
“Dirty Money.”
Produced by Oscar-winning
documentarian
Alex
Gibney
(“Going Clear: Scientology and
the Prison of Belief”), “Dirty
Money” is an in-depth and
artistic look into the corporate
greed and corruption that gave
birth to some of the business
world’s
biggest
scandals.
It
employs six different directors
for six hour-long episodes, each
Brighten the
Corners was
incredibly
fresh, delivering
individual
sounds with
honest lyrics,
and now, it
takes its own
place on the
list of eternal
influential
records
SAMANTHA DELLA FERA
Daily Arts Writer
one
stocked
with
sickening
facts and first-hand accounts
of exactly how far some people
and corporations will go to turn
a profit.
The series opens with “Hard
NOx,” a look into the inner-
workings and manipulations that
perpetuated Volkswagen’s diesel
emissions scam. The German
car company claimed to be
producing a car that would help
reduce the release of harmful
emissions. Instead, Volkswagen
cars actually contributed up to
50 percent more than the average
vehicle to emission levels. The
company was able to lie to
consumers by installing a device
in cars that essentially allowed
them to cheat on emission tests.
Though disgusting and cruel,
this topic is admittedly not
the most engaging. Yet Gibney
uses his exemplary directing to
turn a complicated and twisted
scandal into something no one
can peel their eyes away from.
Most effective is his ability
to personalize the storyline
— Gibney himself bought a
Volkswagen and was proud to
be taking a step towards helping
the environment. That is, of
course, until news of the diesel
scam broke. Gibney is visibly
infuriated
and
claims
that
his wife was ready to “take a
chainsaw to the dealership” (cue
an episode highlight in which
Gibney’s wife absolutely roasts
a Volkswagen salesman. He will
never recover.).
Things
do
get
a
bit
sensationalized,
as
any
documentary must be in order to
engage viewers. Gibney recalls
Volkswagen’s beginning as a
Nazi project, and circles back to
this point in order to enhance the
malicious image he is attempting
to accent. It is an effective
strategy, and one that is rooted
in fact. Still, the comparison
reaches a questionable point
when
Volkswagen’s
fumes
were paralleled with “gassing.”
Despite the at-times extreme
measures taken to stress its
message, “Hard NOx” remains
an episode that is equal parts
educational as it is engaging and
infuriating.
The remaining five episodes
follow a similar formula, with
each new director adding a
personal touch. Topics vary
but the core moral persists:
Corporations care more about
money
than
they
do
their
consumers, and the government
is helping them despite this fact.
The costs of a successful business
vary — in “Hard NOx,” it comes at
the expense of the environment,
and in “Drug Short,” that cost is
someone’s life.
Yet “Dirty Money” does not
only concern itself with the most
high-profile cases. “The Maple
Syrup Heist” follows a storyline
that is pretty self-explanatory,
and not as silly as it sounds.
Each
episode
highlights
an
aspect of the corporate world
that is evil — be it ties with
terrorist organizations or the
legal loopholes used to trick
consumers.
The series is by no means
anti-capitalist
propaganda.
Rather, it effectively highlights
the
issues
that
a
strictly
capitalist society sustains in
order to begin the conversation
on proper reform. Should the
government care more for
corporations or consumers?
How
much
regulation
is
too much? How much is not
enough? Do we have a moral
responsibility
to
expect
more
from
the
businesses
we buy from? In this post-
Citizens United era, these are
important questions that need
to be asked, and “Dirty Money”
is not holding back.
‘Dirty Money’
is an in-depth
and artistic
look into the
corporate greed
and corruption
that gave birth
to some of
the business
world’s biggest
scandals
“Dirty Money”
Netflix
‘Dirty Money’
does not only
concern itself
with the most
high-profile
cases