The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, March 9, 2020 — 5A
There are a select few who
can claim to have as much of
an impact on electronic music
in the 21st century as Caribou,
also known as Dan Snaith. In
the 2000s, he expanded upon
the
plunderphonics
of
DJ
Shadow’s
Endtroducing
with
Up In Flames and flirted with
a psychedelic Laurel Canyon
sound on Andorra. In the 2010s,
he ventured into dancehall on
Swim and Our Love. Throughout
his career, whether as Montreal
or Caribou, he has pushed
electronic music towards the
sublime. Similarly to Four Tet,
Caribou tends to explore the idea
of vibrance through his music.
As a result, color and texture
have become domineering tools
in Caribou’s arsenal. He will
often let layers of sound invade
the mix until the music blends
into one element. Now, entering
the
new
decade,
it
seems
Caribou is opting for a more
reserved approach, resulting in
his most contemplative album
yet: Suddenly.
He appears to be emulating
several artists on the record,
including
Floating
Points,
whose style has always favored
a more introspective listening
experience.
Suddenly
finds
Snaith
embracing
soft
and
isolated synth tones alongside
the
pop-inspired
dancehall
he’s so familiar with — synth
tones that sound eerily similar
to the tones on Floating Points’
last record. Another influence
is Against All Logic (Nicolas
Jaar), whose 2012-2017 project
reinvigorated house, capturing
more
mainstream
listeners.
Both
albums
exhibit
very
in-your-face type sample work.
This type of plunderphonics
is new for Caribou. Before, his
use of samples was always as a
means to fill the background
with some color; now, it’s an
integral player in most of the
songs on Suddenly. The vocal
samples in particular on tracks
like “Sunny’s Time” and “New
Jade” demonstrate an effort on
the part of Snaith to find more
esoteric ways of developing a
song.
Song development in general
is much different here than on
previous records. Suddenly feels
more definitive in its direction.
The music doesn’t wander off
because it doesn’t have the time.
Snaith finds virtue in brevity
with an average track length
of less than four minutes. The
only song that goes against
this trend is the last one which,
unsurprisingly, is the longest. As
a result, this structural option
combined with the occasional
trap beat makes this feel like
Caribou’s
most
conservative
release. Fortunately, it appears
to be intentional, as it leaves
room for Snaith to express more
lyrically than he ever has in the
past.
Snaith makes it pretty clear
that Suddenly is about emotional
clarity. Every track details a
certain moment of transparency
where he is able to let out the
feelings he has kept confined.
His work has always been
relatively romantic but typically
this was presented through
the music. Now, it’s entirely
found in his words. He talks
of heartbreak and the fear of
loss. “You and I” specifically
addresses the loss of his brother-
in-law, and how such an event
can empty someone. He speaks
of each aspect with astounding
palpability.
Perhaps the only issue with
Suddenly is that it’s a bit top-
heavy. All of the best and most
inventive tracks were put on
the first half, leaving the more
subdued songs to close out
the project. This leaves the
album feeling unbalanced. The
solution would be as easy as a
simple reordering. Regardless,
Caribou has put out a strikingly
personal effort on Suddenly that
leaves the listener enlightened
and ready to move forward.
‘Suddenly’ is Caribou’s
most meditative release
MERGE RECORDS
DREW GADBOIS
Daily Arts Writer
Suddenly
Caribou
Merge Records
ALBUM REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
With the current political
climate
as
terrible
and
terrifying as it is, the last thing
you may want to do is get up
and dance. But, according to
Professor Michael Gould, that
is actually the first thing you
should do.
The
2020
“Dance
for
Democracy” is an evening
at the UMMA of live music,
dancing
and
democratic
engagement.
On
Tuesday,
Mar. 10, three bands — E.
Reid with Kultur Grenade (for
which Gould is the drummer),
local band The Kelseys and
funk
band
Sabbatical
Bob
— will perform, while event
organizers
help
attendees
become more democratically
engaged. The event is free
and open to all U-M students,
with a capacity of 300 people,
no matter what their political
ideals are.
Gould
got
the
idea
when frustration from the
disappointing
news
cycle
threatened to overtake him.
“The only thing at that
moment that popped into my
mind was locking myself in a
room and dancing my ass off
until exhaustion,” Gould wrote
in an email interview with The
Daily. “What a funny thought
— so, I decided to act upon this
and do something positive.”
This event is meant to
bring
together
students
from all across the political
spectrum. Everyone is feeling
the
frustration,
no
matter
their political ideals. But that
doesn’t mean we can’t all dance
together and try to understand
each other’s opinions.
“My thought was let’s bring
everyone together in a large
venue — blue, red, purple ... to
enjoy the democratic process
without the divisiveness that
has raged across the US,”
Gould wrote.
The
event
will
strongly
emphasize voting. There will
be tables with information
specific to voting to ensure a
large voting turnout among
college students.
“I think everyone’s voice
and vote matters and it is
extremely
important
that
college aged students get out
and vote — we need your input
on how you want the future of
our country to be run,” Gould
wrote.
Gould also talked about
the potential of the event to
facilitate dialogue across the
political spectrum.
“My hope is that everyone
gets out on the dance floor —
builds up a good sweat and
then takes a break and talks
about their views in a civilized
manner,” Gould wrote. “It is
hard to be angry after dancing
your ass off to great music —
music is one of the greatest
ways to bring people together
… so come out and express
yourself in motion and then
talk in the tabling section or
the periphery of the event.
Give the opposing view a
chance and a hug or high five
or fist bump (hey, and wash
your hands).”
No
matter
how
you’re
feeling about the presidential
candidates, Gould and those
with “Dance for Democracy”
want
to
emphasize
the
importance of voicing your
opinions and allowing others
to voice theirs. Part of what
keeps our democracy intact is
freedom to have discussions
like this, and if they can be
done with dancing, then even
better.
“Even if you feel discouraged
about the political process, shy
about dancing, scared about
what is going to happen with
the upcoming election — come
on out and talk to other people
who most likely feel the same —
and in the process, hear some
great music that will hopefully
get you moving,” Gould wrote.
Dance for
Democracy
Mar. 10 @ 9 p.m.
UMMA
Free admission, 300
person capacity
DANA PIERANGELI
Daily Community Culture Editor
Go dance your ass off at
‘Dance for Democracy’
412EW
Horror movies, in general,
are not my favorite things in the
world. I got nightmares simply
from reading the synopsis of
“Us,” and had I known what
“Get Out” was about, I would
not have agreed to see it with my
friends. Obviously, Jordan Peele
isn’t the only person making
horror movies, but of the ones
I’m interested in seeing, his
movies rank the highest. On
top of their plots, however, they
have another thing in common:
their release dates. “Us” aired in
theaters on Mar. 22 last year and
“Get Out” was released on Feb.
24, 2017. Both are extremely
innocuous dates, with nothing
all that culturally important
happening.
Maybe
midterms
at U-M, but at that point in the
semester, we could all use a
good scare that doesn’t come
from a Canvas page.
The
idea
behind
movie
release dates is classic. So
classic, in fact, that several of
my college classes have used
it as an example to discuss
what’s known as the prisoner’s
dilemma. In essence, studios are
trying to avoid opening certain
movies on certain days in order
to gain the biggest profit. It’s a
concept that’s easy enough to
understand and, traditionally,
may also result in releases on
certain dates, like Thanksgiving
or Christmas, to boost opening
day profits. Again, a totally
expected thing to do. Except for
the fact that, for some reason,
various production studios have
decided to release horror movies
on holidays that, quite honestly,
don’t need horror movies.
This
past
December,
Universal
Pictures
released
“Black
Christmas,”
a
film
centered around a group of
sorority girls trying to avoid
being murdered on their empty
campus
during
the
holiday
season.
Though
it
wasn’t
released on Dec. 25, its holiday
season ad campaign put a serious
damper on the red-and-white
Macy’s doorbuster ads any sane
person would prefer. That said,
not all Christmas movies have
the happy-go-lucky bad acting
of the Hallmark variety — “The
Nightmare Before Christmas”
is a classic, though I personally
have never seen it because Jack
Skellington gives me the creeps.
What “The Nightmare Before
Christmas” proves, however, is
that the key to a good Christmas
horror movie is to maintain the
essence of the holiday season.
“Black Christmas” is mired in
clichés; sorority girls alone on
campus being attacked by a
mysterious man has been done
in more movies than I can count.
An animated skeleton that finds
the true meaning of Christmas?
Now there’s an original idea.
Not
all
seasonal
horror
is
created
equal,
however.
Valentine’s
Day,
as
commercialized a holiday as you
can get, was made for horror
movies. While I would rather
watch Taylor Swift and Taylor
Lautner exchange sloppy teen
kisses and a large white teddy
bear in “Valentine’s Day” over
and over, I can understand the
appeal of sitting through a scary
movie with your significant
other. They give people the
excuse to cuddle up and hold
hands, if only because they’re
scared. Absolutely genius, truly.
And it makes sense, then, that
when I googled “Valentine’s day
horror movies,” there were at
least six options to choose from.
It’s honestly impressive the way
studios and the floral industry
capitalize on our constant need
to feel close to someone.
Even July 4 isn’t safe —
“Midsommar” was released this
past summer on July 3, and the
whole third season of “Stranger
Things” was released on the
fourth.
“Midsommar”
being
released during the summer
holiday is forgivable, mostly
because July 4 really shouldn’t
be a holiday anyway. At this
point, it’s just an excuse for
Americans to blow things up
and drink, but that’s not really
relevant.
What
is
relevant,
however, is the fact that Florence
Pugh gave us a reason to watch
her frolic with an eerie band of
people wearing flower crowns.
And though “Stranger Things”
isn’t a film, with the binging
culture that Netflix has created,
watching season three all the
way through is almost the same
as watching a horror movie, but
with more opportunities to go
get more popcorn, or even a tan.
The
one
horror
movie
holiday release date that I
can’t
understand,
however,
is Mother’s Day. There is no
reason that people should be
going to the movies on Mother’s
Day, let alone to see a horror
movie. Maybe your mom is
into feeling frightened, which
is fine, but when I’m watching
a sewing tutorial and have to
mute my computer and watch
a trailer through my fingers
for a horror movie not even
released on Mother’s Day, but
on Mother’s Day weekend, I
have some questions for the
marketing
department.
Let’s
just discuss the date itself, not
even its connotations — how
many people actually know
when Mother’s Day is without
googling it? I’m not an awful
daughter; when May comes
around, I will figure it out and
set my Google Calendar to
remind me the day before, but
as a consumer I want to be told a
concrete date. What I don’t need
is a scary man’s voice telling
me, three months in advance,
that this Mother’s Day I should
be ready to run from Sarah
Paulson’s
newest
character,
when I don’t really even know if
Mother’s Day is on a Saturday or
a Sunday.
Lionsgate, I don’t need any
help scaring my mother
FILM NOTEBOOK
FILM NOTEBOOK
EMMA CHANG
Daily Arts Writer
A24
COMMUNITY CULTURE PREVIEW
Various
production
studios have
decided to release
horror movies
on holidays that,
quite honestly,
don’t need horror
movies.
Not all seasonal
horror is created
equal, however.
Valentine’s Day, as
commercialized a
holiday as you can
get, was made for
horror movies.