The 
phrase 
“always 
a 

bridesmaid, 
never 
a 
bride” 

instantly comes to mind upon 
reading Busy Philipps’s (“I Feel 
Pretty”) filmography. She has 
built a lengthy and impressive 
career playing the best friend or 
another member of the ensemble. 
Despite being featured in movies 
and television now considered pop 
culture milestones like “White 
Chicks” or “Freaks and Geeks,” 
she has never helmed her own 
vehicle, which is why it seemed so 
unexpected, yet slightly intriguing 
that she would be given the 
opportunity to host a talk show.

In hindsight, “Busy Tonight” 

has many elements that should 
have assured its success. The title 
is snappy, Tina Fey is credited 
as an executive producer and it 
faces little to no competition in 
inheriting the female late night 
talk show throne that Chelsea 
Handler so recently abdicated. The 
only problem that presented itself 
is Philipps’s occupation in a weird 
purgatory of Hollywood. She is not 
an unknown, nor is she a household 
name. Thus, she is familiar enough 
to be recognizable, but unfamiliar 
enough that it is easy to question 
why one would tune into her, of all 
people, every night.

This issue did not have to be a 

dealbreaker, as Philipps’s relative 
obscurity could have been used 
as a means to introduce her show 
— as well as herself — to the world 

on her own terms. But, instead of 
gently wading into the pool, “Busy 
Tonight” cannonballs in, almost 
giving viewers whiplash with 
how strong its host comes across. 
Through her numerous half-baked 
(and frankly, forced) references to 
self-care, margaritas and feminism 
that feel ripped from some boring 

30-something’s Pinterest board, 
Philipps does not come across 
as a relatable host, but rather as 
an actress doing a bad job with a 
character piece.

To clarify, it is important to 

acknowledge the difficulty in 
beginning a new talk show. When 
one becomes accustomed to long-
running hosts, gimmicks, sets 
and other standards of a show, it is 
easy to critique aspects that make 
a show appear to be fledgling. 
In addition to the audience’s 
perception of a show, it is also 
grueling for the people behind the 
scenes to find a niche and develop 
a tone. While “Busy Tonight” 
definitely suffers from the regular 
growing pains of a new television 
show (like a low-budget title 
sequence and a closing musical 
number that enticed me to throw 

my computer at the television), its 
central problem is a simple lack of 
entertainment value.

The 
very 
brief 
20-minute 

stretch of the program quickly 
felt like pulling teeth, as there 
were many elements that simply 
felt purposeless. For example, at 
the beginning of each episode, 
Philipps begins a conversation 
with her writers, who are sitting 
nearby in the studio audience. 
These exchanges are played off 
as “improvisational,” yet feel as 
forced as a fourth grader reading 
from their new knock-knock joke 
book. Making matters worse, 
these moments are not blips in 
the episode, and the bits last for 
far too long, quickly veering into 
awkward territory.

This stark lack of entertainment 

value also expands into the 
celebrity interview segment as 
well. Rather than prompting the 
stars with questions that will 
launch them into a funny anecdote 
about their lives or the project they 
are promoting, Busy, in a clear 
attempt to maintain the phony 
“chill” vibe of the show, just carries 
on a normal conversation with 
them. This, in itself, is not a terrible 
idea. However, the idea does not 
translate well, as the conversations 
lack any semblance of direction, 
and the only topics that seem to be 
game for discussion are Coachella, 
SoulCycle, margaritas and crying. 
For someone who starred in “White 
Chicks,” she should have better 
awareness of when she is coming 
across as a grating stereotype. In 
addition to the uninspired talking 

points, Philipps 
herself is not the 
best interviewer. 
For example, in 
her 
interview 

with 
Vanessa 

Anne Hudgens, 
Philipps 
fails 

to 
facilitate 

a 
natural 

conversation, 
and 
opts 
to 

interrupt 
her 
guest 
at 

numerous 
points 
throughout 
the 
interview, 

as 
well 
as 

consistently 
re-center herself 
as the subject of 
conversation.

As evidenced 

in the past with 
other talk show 
flops, 
“Kris” 

and “The Queen 
Latifah Show,” 
not everyone is 
cut out to be a 
talk show host. 
After watching 
the 
first 
four 

episodes, it is 
clear that the 
issues 
with 

“Busy Tonight” 
will 
not 
be 

solved in due 
time. Lack of 
charm 
cannot 

be 
as 
easily 

remedied 
as 

someone simply 
forgetting their 
cues. As much 
as I hoped for 
this to be a 
career-making 
highlight 
in 

Philipps’s 
career, it seems 
as though this is 
going to be one 
that she buries 
and 
tries 
to 

forget. I know I 
want to. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, November 5, 2018 — 5A

By Frank Virzi
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
11/05/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

11/05/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Monday, November 5, 2018

ACROSS
1 Gillette razor 
introduced 
several years 
after the Trac II
5 Sleety road 
concern
9 Spherical
14 Cook, as 
cavatelli
15 Alien-seeking 
org.
16 “SNL” producer 
Michaels
17 What “bosun” is 
short for
19 Words to the 
audience
20 God of the Quran
21 Minute part of a 
min.
23 Voiced
24 Necessities
27 Town mentioned 
in “Sloop John B”
30 Give permission 
to
31 CPR expert
32 Kind of sax
36 When some 
news shows air
40 Maxwell Smart 
catchphrase
44 Knee-to-ankle 
bone
45 Elevator name
46 A half-dozen
47 Cinnabar or 
hematite
49 How dishes are 
often sold
52 October holiday 
in Canada
58 Draws a bead on, 
with “at”
59 Centers of 
activity
60 Ventricular outlet
64 Bronze or beige
66 Quilt, e.g. ... 
and a hint to the 
circled letters
68 Sagal of “8 
Simple Rules”
69 Vicinity
70 First chip in the 
pot
71 “Goosebumps” 
author R.L.
72 U.K. mil. medals
73 “The Americans” 
FBI agent 
Beeman

DOWN
1 Palindromic 
Swedish band
2 Saw, for one
3 Iranian money
4 Rite sites
5 Opposite of NNE
6 Reeves of “John 
Wick”
7 Formal answer to 
“Who’s there?”
8 Home fries 
server
9 Suffix with Cray-
10 “Goblin Market” 
poet Christina
11 “Monty Python’s 
Life of __”
12 Split up
13 Monopoly cards
18 Mr. Met’s former 
stadium
22 Cartoon frame
25 Wharf
26 Word after 
Happy or square
27 Politico Gingrich
28 Mine, in Amiens
29 Retained part of 
a paycheck
33 Canterbury 
commode
34 Tsk relative
35 Kimono sash

37 Hardy’s “__ of 
the D’Urbervilles”
38 Songwriter Sands
39 Bakery call
41 Simba’s home
42 Like the night, 
usually
43 Morales of “La 
Bamba”
48 Immigrant’s subj.
50 Easy thing to do
51 Old Greek 
gathering places

52 “Honey do” list 
items
53 Drum kit cymbals
54 Valuable viola
55 Spoil
56 Cupcake-topping 
workers
57 YouTube clip
61 __-a-car
62 “Later,” stylishly
63 Yemeni seaport
65 Watching organ
67 Flier to Oslo

Yaeji had El Club’s sweaty 
walls banging last week

I don’t remember the first 

time I heard “raingurl,” the 
single that launched Brooklyn-
based electronic music artist 
Yaeji into the limelight. I can’t 
put my finger on when the song 
started to worm its way into 
my friend group, who exactly 
turned to who first and said: 
“Wait, you have to listen to this 
song.”

All I know is that one day 

towards the end of the summer 
“raingurl” 
just 
appeared, 

already deeply rooted in road 
trip 
playlists 
and 
morning 

walks to class — the soundtrack 
to pregames and parties and 
every social event in between. 
The song’s muted ease holds a 
quiet fortitude, from the initial 
“make it rain girl, make it rain” 
that quickly collapses into a 
sweeping beat to throughout 
the rest of the track, as 
whispered 
lyrics 
in 
both 

Korean and English dance off 
each other, gathering into the 
final culmination of, “Mother 
Russia in my cup / And my 
glasses foggin’ up / Oh yeah 
hey dog hey what’s up / Oh 
yeah hey dog hey what’s up.” 
“raingurl” is a track that builds 
without release; each element 
of the song is muffled, as if 
wrapped in gauze, and it wraps 
you up in a similar way: Even 
as you try to move the song to 

strictly background noise, your 
foot can’t help but tap out the 
rhythm. Your mouth can’t help 
but mimic the omnipresent: 
“Make it rain girl, make it rain.”

It’s a banger that doesn’t 

announce itself, but instead 
sweeps you up for the ride 
without 
hesitation 
— 
a 

disposition that seems to be 
paralleled by Yaeji herself, as 
she appeared to at the forefront 
of El Club’s stage last Tuesday, 
round glasses reflecting the 
club’s strobe lights back out 
into the audience. Emerging 
suddenly and barely tall enough 
to be seen above the waving 
arms of the first row, Yaeji was, 
at first, distinctly unimposing. 
Yet, as she launched into 
her opener “Feel It Out,” 
she transformed. Her stage 
presence grew larger-than-life 
as all of the glory of the song’s 
spiraling synths alongside her 
hypnotic vocals washed the 
room with colorful energy. As 
the song bounced from one 
corner to the other, so did she, 
and our own bodies couldn’t 
help but follow. We were 
caught up in the enthusiasm 
of the moment and of the song 
itself. We were entrapped. We 
were entranced.

More than anything, more 

than any other show I’ve 
attended at El Club, we were 
having fun. Throughout the 
setlist, as “Feel It Out” bled 
into the hollow of “Full Of 
It,” as “Guap”’s deep baritone 

flattened into “after that”’s 
off-kilter crawl, even as the 
wildly popular cover of Drake’s 
“passionfruit” 
settled 
over 

us like a blanket, we were 
never allowed to stop moving. 
And neither did we want to, 
with each song in the lineup 
gaining energy from the track 
that came before, the space 
around us sparking with raw 
kineticism. 

Yaeji 
left 
“raingurl,” 

predictably, 
until 
the 
very 

end, letting the final echoes of 
the song fully die out before 
expressing her gratitude and 
joy in seeing all of us fill El 
Club’s space to its capacity in 
a quiet voice that belied the 
utter chaos of only moments 
before. It is this unassuming 
quality that makes Yaeji, and 
her 
entire 
discography, 
so 

powerful. Instead of forcing 
themselves upon listeners, the 
songs simply invite a hand out, 
welcoming you to dance with 
them, outwardly express with 
them.

And as Yaeji climbed back 

onstage for the encore — her 
remix of Charli XCX’s “Focus” 
— I felt the synergy, between 
Yaeji and us, between us and 
the song, at its peak. Together, 
we closed out El Club, the 
song’s hook — “I just want 
you to focus on my love / Just 
focus on my” — becoming all-
consuming as we raised our 
voices to match Yaeji’s: one 
final, perfect harmony. 

SHIMA SADAGHIYANI

Daily Music Editor

GODMODE

“Busy 

T
onight”

E!

Episodes 1-4

Sundays-

Wednesdays, 10 

p.m.

The legacy of artist and 

activist Victor Jara

On Sept. 11, 1973, the Chilean 

president, a socialist named 
Salvador Allende, was forcibly 
removed in a military coup led 
by the brutal general Augusto 
Pinochet. For the next 20 years, 
Pinochet suspended democratic 
rule in Chile, presiding over an 
oppressive, sadistic military 
junta that completely reversed 
Allende’s socialist economic 
programs, banning unions and 
privatizing 
state 
programs 

such 
as 
social 
security. 

Moreover, his regime hunted 
down all manner of dissidents, 
imprisoning tens of thousands 
and executing thousands, with 
little to no pushback from the 
international community.

Victor Jara was an artist 

who transcended the world 
of arts and culture. He is 
remembered as both a martyr 
and hero for social activists in 
Latin America and beyond. In 
addition to being an immensely 
talented songwriter, he was 
also a university professor and 
theater director. In general, Jara 
was a symbol for progressive 
politics in the era of Pinochet, 
despite being killed before 
Pinochet’s reign. He was a 
vanguard in the Latin American 
“nuevacanción” movement and 
genre, which took influences 
from traditional folk songs but 
focused less on reinterpretation 
and more on invention of more 
modern styles.

His 1971 album El Derecho 

de Vivir en Paz is the best place 
to start with his impressive 
discography. 
Jara 
has 
the 

smooth 
ability 
to 
span 
a 

wide variety of sonic ranges. 
The first and title track is a 
meditation on the conflicts in 
Southeast Asia and a hopeful 
plea for all humans to have “the 
right to live in peace.” He takes 

a more playful tone in songs 
like “Las Casitas del Barrio 
Alto” and a more restrained one 
in songs like “Abre la Ventana.” 
While 
there’s 
nothing 

musically 
groundbreaking, 

the 
combination 
of 
Jara’s 

songwriting and clever, socially 
aware lyrics make the album an 
enjoyable listen.

Unfortunately, 
his 

championing 
of 
progressive 

causes 
through 
his 
music 

and other avenues led to his 
tragic demise at the hands of 
the Pinochet regime. By the 
time the dictator took power, 
Jara was famous throughout 
the Americas, even in the folk 

circles of the United States. 
Due to his fame and his lack 
of 
restraint 
in 
lambasting 

conservatives, he was rounded 
up — along with thousands of 
other activists and socialist 
party members — and herded 
like 
an 
animal 
into 
the 

national soccer stadium in 
the capital Santiago shortly 
after Pinochet’s coup. After 
being beaten, military guards 
smashed his fingers, cruelly 
taunting him by saying he 
would never play the guitar 
again and forcing him to sing 
for his fellow prisoners. Not 
long after, his body was found 
in a Santiago street, riddled 
with bullet holes. This year, a 
ninth soldier responsible for 
killing Jara was sentenced to 
time in prison, two years after 
a former Chilean officer living 
in Florida was found liable for 
his death.

Jara’s slaughtering by the 

hands of the Pinochet regime 
was not forgotten, and ever 
since, he has become a Chilean 
hero and a symbol worldwide 
for the continuing struggle for 
human rights and progressive 
politics. His story has been 
invoked by countless artists, 
including 
U2 
and 
Bruce 

Springsteen. 
Jara 
was 
not 

simply a political artist. He was 
not just a preacher of “peace 
and love,” but one who bravely 
put his heart and soul into 
political activism in addition 
to his music. His story, while 
tragic, is a reminder of the very 
real social impact the arts can 
have.

SAYAN GHOSH
Daily Arts Writer

DAILY WORLD MUSIC COLUMN

CONCERT REVIEW

Busy Philipps is not cut 
out for the talk show gig

E!

TV REVIEW

ALLY OWENS
Daily Arts Writer

Victor Jara was 
an artist who 

transcended the 
world of arts and 

culture

