Arts

Arts

Devin Toohey | Pop Culture Gone Bad

March 24

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this important announcement: Asher Roth? Really? For the love of crumbcake, Concert Board, what did I ever do to you to deserve such treatment? Are you all "Dark Knight" (2008) fanatics or something?     Early this semester I became familiar with the horrible dirge entitled "I Love College." Well, it's not really a dirge, though it does make me wish I was at my own funeral whenever I hear it. Let's disregard the fact that the guy can't rap; his attempts at stringing words together into semi-coherent statements are so pathetic that they border on the parody of a white rapper. Let's ignore the fact that the track has the production quality of something I might have made in my basement in high school. Let's ignore the fact that that his voice sounds like that of a pampered eunuch who has just finished gargling sour milk for two hours.     Go look up the lyrics. Or listen to it. Or, if you are brave (or mindless enough), watch the video (personally, I think "2 Girls, 1 Cup" is more watchable than this). If your eyes and ears don't recoil in pain not imagined since Marquis de Sade wrote "The 120 Days of Sodom" (1785), keep those "lyrics" in mind as you read the rest of this column.     So this is what college is to this guy? Bad pizza, worse beer and getting girls "completely naked?" (Lucky, dude, my friend can never get that left sock off.) While I enjoy hedonistic indulgences as much as the next guy, that's not college. Maybe to someone who rhymes "two, um" with "shoes on" and most likely flunked "Rocks for Jocks," it is, but let's show some standards, people. To this monstrous parody of a bro, college boils down to drinking and women. I'm pretty sure you can get those in many other places. I'm also pretty sure that we're not paying thousands of dollars a year so we can have the privilege of playing beer pong with Miller Lite. Asher Roth's depiction of college sounds exactly like what that naïve, aggravating prefrosh thinks college is going to be like.     What bothers me about this song? Perhaps that it's the gross celebration of the anti-intellectualization of America. God forbid that perhaps we actually care about learning. Nope. Classes are to be skipped and ignored. We "party!" and that's it. We will revel in being dumb, drunk, fat, horny slobs who are compelled by nothing more than our stomachs and genitals.     I know I sound Puritanical right now. I know you all like your stomach and genitals. Can't we include the brain in that trinity? Come to think of it, I'm not asking, I'm telling. Anyone who says "no" can get off of my campus right now.     I can't believe that my money is going to pay Asher Roth. That mindless, talentless, conceited [insert obscenity so horrible it defies imagination] is going to get thousands of dollars for his performance, some of which will be mine. I suddenly understand the cries for endowment transparency. I want to know where my money is going before they make the choice.     That my last spring fling will be stained by his act makes me simultaneously despise college, rap, music and the English language. I feel violated. I feel enraged. I thirst for justice. And you can bet your lit-theory reading, Vergil-quoting, Marlowe-analyzing keister that I'll be heckling him come Fling, loud and for everyone to hear.     "Do something stupid?" You already did that, Concert Board. --

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Arts

Dan Deacon's newest album, 'Bromst,' allows for freedom of interpretation

March 24

    The word "Bromst," the name of the latest album by electronic musician Dan Deacon, doesn't appear in the Oxford English Dictionary. Nor does it appear in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary or on UrbanDictionary.com. There are just under 100 thousand Google hits for "Bromst," but no definitions of the word. It takes about an hour to get a rough idea of what "Bromst" means, and far longer to begin to comprehend it, but this is time well spent.     Deacon trained in electronic and computer music composition at SUNY Purchase and is a founding member of the Wham City music collective based in Baltimore. He first came to the attention of the music world with the 2007's "Spiderman of the Rings."     After gaining a dedicated following with "Spiderman" and his live shows, which are usually joyous, sweaty dance parties, Deacon went to Montana to work on something more mature. It's hard to listen to "Bromst" and, not having any point of reference, call it mature, but the word fits when compared to its predecessor.     "Bromst" is, for the most part, fully realized, beautiful nonsense. Deacon's music combines instruments and distorted vocals with electronically-produced sounds to create something wholly unique and wonderful. The sine waves he experiments with and the bleeps, boops and distortion may upset some ears not fully prepared for the aural party, but those who can open their minds won't be disappointed.     On its best tracks "Bromst" is reminiscent of some illegitimate child of LCD Soundsystem, trading in James Murphy's too-cool hipster-snark for Deacon's childlike wonder. All of the tracks are more polished than Deacon's previous material due to his collaboration with the talented producers from SnowGhost Studios in Montana.     "Snookered," easily the best track on the album, is also the longest. Coming in at just over eight minutes, it is equivalent to "Spiderman's" "Wham City," that album's centerpiece (though "Wham City" was nearly five minutes longer). The song moves in waves from a series of chimes at the beginning which set the pace for the song. Next up comes a chattering of voices that fade into a buzzing synth section and slow percussion, which builds for two minutes until the singing finally kicks in. Most of the vocals on "Bromst" are highly distorted, but on "Snookered," the main vocal track is clear, though the backing parts are echoed, whispy and sped up, all played together for great effect. Halfway through, the song changes drastically as the clear vocals are replaced by a beat made from various vocal samples. The latter half slowly fades back into the harmony. By the end, all elements previously heard come together for a dizzying effect that few artists can attain.     Other standout tracks include "Of The Mountains," a tribal-sounding, upbeat tune; "Woof Woof," which sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks rapping backwards (which works way better than one might think); and "Build Voice," probably the most mature (musically, at least) track on the album.     Not all of these daring tracks succeed, however: "West Wings" is nearly unlistenable. It consists of a single vocal sample of a woman soulfully wailing, looped over and over to create what, if it wasn't so grating, might be considered haunting. "West Wings" is completely out of place on "Bromst." One could chalk it up to Deacon just doing his thing, experimenting and pushing boundaries, but that does not excuse the song from standing out as a glaring smudge on an otherwise near-mint work.     It is imperative to understand that "Bromst" is not for everyone, and it will be a long, long time before Dan Deacon will get Top 40 radio play. That said, it is easy to tell that Dan Deacon is a man who enjoys his craft. The love that he pours into his music transforms what could be half-baked ideas in the hands of lesser madmen into fully-formed eargasms. "Bromst" begs to be played loudly on speakers and shared with the world. It is impossible to listen to "Bromst" without smiling, and even listeners who believe whole-heartedly that they have no rhythm whatsoever will find themselves tapping their toes along with the frantic beats.     Maybe there's a reason that there is no definition for "Bromst" on the Internet or in any book. Without sounding too lofty, if "Bromst" the album defines "Bromst" the word, it makes sense that it couldn't be defined in concrete terms. It means whatever one wants it to mean, but most assuredly, it is a good thing.

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Arts

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian | Bad Samaritans

March 23

We recently set out to answer the age-old question: what makes a good movie? People of America, we are trying to tackle the important subjects in life. We think President Barack Obama could take a page out of our book and stop discussing bracketology with ESPN or making fun of the disabled on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."     So, after many grueling hours, we have devised a foolproof formula that precisely calculates whether or not a movie can be considered "good." Naturally, we needed a test subject and decided to use Liam Neeson's newest action thriller "Taken" (2008) as our guinea pig. Our analytic formula revealed some shocking results: "Taken" is not a good movie. It is the best movie ever made.     To satisfy our formula, a film must first have universal appeal. Just like "Apples to Apples," "Taken" appeals to an audience ranging in age from nine to 99. About 50 percent of the adult world will be able to relate to the tragic story of divorce evident in "Taken." The powerful social commentary about sex trafficking and prostitution should engage the other 50 percent. For the under 18 crowd, there is a party where a birthday girl gets a pony as well as a teenager's story about gaining independence and growing up (then being abruptly kidnapped and sold). For the young adult portion of the population, there are a huge number of action sequences in which Liam Neeson goes Jason Bourne on some corrupt foreigners. That's right, we said foreigners. The French and Albanians to be exact. This film has a patriotic vibe, too.     Not only did "Taken" earn great marks for universal appeal, but, by combining aspects from different film genres, it scored an A-plus in the versatility category. Although classified as an action/thriller, "Taken" has a steamy love interest characteristic of romance films. Of course, the love interest in this film is between a corrupt, tubby sheikh and the sexy 17-year-old American virgin he purchased for $250,000, but Cupid's arrows strike in mysterious ways.     The movie mixes in some comedy, too. For example, Jon Gries, the same guy who was pegged with an orange when he played Uncle Rico in "Napoleon Dynamite" (2004), takes on the role of an ex-CIA member in this film. Plus, "Taken" features the Irishman Neeson trying to feign an American accent. Now that's comedy.     By now it should be obvious that we love cinema. We vehemently believe that every good movie has a Hollywood feel with inexplicable plot gaps and corny one-liners. "Taken" fits the bill perfectly. For example, at the end of the film, Neeson is able to board his Delta flight from Paris and land safely in America. We guess the director omitted the scene where French customs stops, detains and imprisons Neeson for hotwiring several cars, killing dozens of people and shooting the wife of a powerful French official at point-blank range.     Also, "Taken," like every good movie, has several memorable quotes that rev our engines. When Neeson warns the men who have just abducted his daughter about his murderous skills, we feel a rush of adrenaline and get psyched up. The audience knows that Neeson is about to single-handedly lay an epic beat-down on some Albanians.     Forget "Citizen Kane" (1941), "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994). "Taken" makes those films seem like sissy Lifetime originals. Well, at least judging by our formula. The next time you want to analyze the quality of a film, try doing it our way: Check for universal appeal, versatility, plot gaps and quotes. Depending on your results, you might have another "Casablanca" (1942) on your hands, or maybe even another "Taken." Nah, that's crazy talk. --

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Arts

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian | Bad Samaritans

March 23

We recently set out to answer the age-old question: what makes a good movie? People of America, we are trying to tackle the important subjects in life. We think President Barack Obama could take a page out of our book and stop discussing bracketology with ESPN or making fun of the disabled on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

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Arts

The Decemberists give fans plenty of good reasons to 'Love' their epic latest album

March 23

    Indie darlings the Decemberists released their fifth full-length studio album on March 24, a sprawling alt-rock opus titled "The Hazards of Love." Billed as a ‘rock opera' in the vein of such progressive-rock classics as The Who's "Tommy" (1969) and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (1979), the album sees usual frontman Colin Meloy joined by fellow crooners Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond and Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond in leading roles and undertakes to tell a story far broader in scope and detail than anything else the band has produced to date.     Storytelling has always been Meloy's strongest and most distinguishing talent, and he is in top form here. The album's plot does not disappoint: The main character, William, having been abandoned as a baby in an enchanted forest, is adopted by the fairy queen, who desires a son of her own. To ensure that William will never forsake his forest home, the queen places a spell upon the young man that changes him into a fawn by day and returns him to his human form each evening. Some years later, William, now a grown man, meets Margaret, a woman from the nearby village. A romance blooms, and Margaret soon finds herself pregnant.     Ousted from her parents' home in shame, Margaret seeks out William in hopes of settling down and leaving the forest altogether. The queen, fearful that her son may be tempted to rejoin the world of men and leave her alone, turns to a violent assassin, sending him to kidnap and defile Margaret as punishment. This prompts William to embark on a quest to rescue his true love.     This plot, reminiscent of both Disney fairytales and Shakespearean dramas, is narrated alternately in first and third person by the three lead singers. Master lyricist Meloy sings about enchanted lovers and sadistic rapists with equal — and sometimes discomforting — ease and flair.     Musically, the "The Hazards of Love" is possibly the Decemberists' strongest work to date. The album unfolds like a theatrical soundtrack, with no pauses between songs and each tune's endpoint sliding smoothly into its successor's opening. The first four tracks introduce the melodic and harmonic themes that characterize 80 percent or more of the entire work, yet at no point does the music feel stale as the band continually finds new and more psychedelic ways to combine motifs, rotate instrumentation and expound upon ingenious thematic variations in ways that would make even Beethoven proud.     The album's sound is lush and full; harpsichord and heavily distorted electric guitar are given equal treatment as the driving instruments, although "Hazards" still artfully includes the band's familiar litany of acoustic guitars, mandolin, banjo, organ, accordion, strings and basses, both upright and electric.     Individual songs draw on such diverse musical inspirations as classical orchestral overtures, riff-driven blues, power chord-based heavy metal, traditional acoustic bluegrass and old-time banjo and fiddle music. While the album continues the band's shift toward a more hard-edged sound that began with their last album, "The Crane Wife" (2006), it manages to retain the distinctive nu-folk flair that characterized most of the band's early work. This blend of inspirations and sounds means that to characterize "Hazards" in genre terms is an impossible undertaking.     Unfortunately, while it is a wonderful achievement, "The Hazards of Love" is not perfect. The Decemberists keep up the musical and lyrical momentum for almost the entire album, but the story's ending — and the album's final song in particular — turns out to be profoundly disappointing. The murderous rogue, who is introduced with a song describing in gleefully gruesome detail the untimely deaths of his three children, is ultimately defeated at the critical moment by the vengeful wraiths of his slaughtered progeny, sparing Margaret's life and dignity. This ending completely circumvents any final showdown with William, rendering the entire preceding quest and the implied subsequent romantic deaths of the protagonists somewhat superfluous.     On the whole, however, these few gripes don't diminish the overall appeal of the album. Anyone who has previously fallen under the Decemberists' spell should feel right at home with this latest outing. First time Decemberists listeners would perhaps do better to explore the band's previous albums, though, if only to become accustomed to Meloy's notoriously distinctive voice. The album is certainly not for everyone, but anybody willing to devote a solid hour to a close listening of the CD in its entirety will surely find "The Hazards of Love" a rewarding musical experience, with a story so dense and intricately constructed that the album merits and rewards repeat plays.

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Arts

Indie film 'Sunshine Cleaning' isn't without clouds

March 23

    There seems to be a growing trend in cinema toward the unusual and quirky indie films with equal amounts of comedy and drama. In 2006, "Little Miss Sunshine" was the little movie that could, milking an $8 million budget to achieve critical acclaim and financial success. In 2007, teenage pregnancy replaced child beauty pageants as "Juno" propelled itself to similar success. This year, "Sunshine Cleaning" fills 2009's quirky-indie niche, but not as well as its predecessors.     Rose Lorkowski (played by Amy Adams) was once a top cheerleader, dating the star quarterback in high school, but a decade or so later, she is a lowly maid, stuck cleaning houses for meager pay. The quintessential screw-up, Rose is full of potential yet stuck in a rut and full of regret. Forced to raise a child without a husband, take care of her indifferent adult sister Norah (Emily Blunt) and watch over her loopy father (Alan Arkin), she shoulders immense responsibility with no help.     In an attempt to ease her pain, Rose meets up with her former boyfriend, now a married police detective, for their weekly motel room trysts. Following his advice, Rose decides to quit her current job and start a crime scene clean-up business with her sister Norah. Rose begins to move up in the world. Done cleaning the houses of living people, she now cleans the houses of the recently deceased for substantially more money. However, though her financial problems begin to dissipate, Rose's emotional issues still prevent her from being truly happy.     Unlike the light-hearted "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Juno," this film deals with life and death on a much more serious level. The script presents the audience with ample humor, but the film's drama defines its comedy instead of the other way around. The best aspect of "Sunshine Cleaning" is the character development. Blunt and Arkin shine in their supporting roles. Blunt gets to deliver most of the self-deprecating and sarcastic jokes and also shows real emotion as the dynamic Norah. Arkin falls right back into the same senile old man character that won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "Little Miss Sunshine." Adams portrays Rose with such innocence that the audience has to pity her, and no matter how much she smiles, her sad eyes reveal a woman completely broken down from the uncontrollable downward spiral of her life.     "Sunshine Cleaning" uses death to advance the plot in multiple ways. As her life unravels, it becomes clear that Rose may have made her career switch for more than just money. At some point, everyone crosses paths with death and loss, so many audience members can relate to the feelings of the film's characters. Despite this, the movie's mature content prevents it from relating to younger generations the way "Juno" did.     The movie runs into considerable problems in terms of storyline. With incredible character development, abundant jokes and a 102-minute running time, the film is simply not long enough for necessary plot development. To be an exceptional film, plot points need to be more focused. The ending leaves too many things unresolved and without any apparent purpose. This is not to say that "Sunshine Cleaning" is a sub-par movie, because it excels in many areas and is an enjoyable watch, but it lacks the depth of an Oscar-caliber work.     "Sunshine Cleaning" may not be the next indie success story, and it may be a chick-flick, but it succeeds where so many movies fail. This film exhibits real heart and feeling and could have been absolutely great with a few minor changes.

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Arts

Biblical 'Kings' premieres with solid acting, regal expectations

March 22

               NBC kicked off its newest midseason series, "Kings," last Sunday with a two-hour pilot episode complete with action, romance, betrayal and mystery. Backed by stunning visuals and terrific acting, the episode showed promise and ambition but also revealed what the series will have to do (and avoid doing) if it wants to last.     "Kings" is essentially a modernization of the King David story from the Bible. And yes, it's much more than a Sunday school lesson. In this version, David Shepherd (played by Christopher Egan) is a young soldier fighting for his kingdom of Gilboa (think contemporary New York City, but sleeker) against the neighboring Gath. When his unit learns that two of its men have been taken hostage, Shepherd goes against orders and sets out on a rescue mission that ends successfully after he blows up an enemy tank named, of course, Goliath.     When Shepherd begins his mission, however, he doesn't know that one of the hostages is Prince Jack Benjamin (Sebastian Stan), and just as Shepard's court-martial is about to begin, King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane of "Deadwood" fame) shows up to change his life completely. The King brings Shepherd back to Gilboa's capital, Shiloh, for a lavish hero's welcoming ceremony and offers him a coveted new job as military liaison to the royal press secretary. Although he is reluctant to take the job at first (he's not a city boy), Shepherd agrees to stay, giving himself ample time to get to know the king's daughter, Michelle (Allison Miller).                As the plot progresses, some secrets are revealed about King Silas and Prince Jack that promise to provide interesting subplots in the future; Silas has a secret second family and seems to have married the queen for her money. Silas' brother-in-law is introduced as his slimy financial chief who may prove to have more power than the king himself.               The series is already falling into some clichéd characters — secret families, romancing the princess, slimy brother-in-law — and certain elements feel predictable. It also borrows its overarching story and characters from classic tales, not only biblical ones. Accordingly,  the young, handsome, innocent hero is going to get the beautiful girl, and the prince is going to be jealous that someone else is getting all the attention.              These are minor flaws, however, that are redeemed by the show's beautiful scenery, well-designed graphics and stellar performances. The battle scenes are gray and gritty, while the city scenes are bright and sleek and fully immerse the viewer into the show's fantasy setting. McShane's acting anchors the show, as he is able to sell even the cheesiest line with his eyes alone. Clichés and a predictable plot don't make this show any less entertaining.              NBC has ordered a 13-episode first season for "Kings," and that may be more than enough. Not only did the show premiere to low ratings (a mere 6 million viewers tuned in over the two hours), but it already feels like it may be better suited for a miniseries format than that of a full-fledged weekly series. "Kings" can't rely on shiny graphics or Bible-lovers alone if it wants to see a second — or even the rest of its first — season. The show must work to its strengths, namely its superb actors, in order to create characters with depth that will keep audiences interested. It must continue to develop Shepherd as a likeable everyman who is getting caught up in his newfound fame and status and King Silas as a vicious monarch who has his redeeming qualities.             "Kings" has much more working for it than against it, including series creator Michael Green, who has previously worked on shows like "Heroes" and "Everwood." "Kings" launched with a grand premise borrowed from a familiar source to create a dazzling alternate reality, and it would be a shame if it did not get a chance to fully realize its vision. Here's to hoping this exciting new series won't be prematurely dethroned. Long live the "Kings."

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Arts

Two Men of Florence' depicts science's struggle with the Church

March 12

"Would you transform the world?" Galileo's daughter, Maria (played by Molly Schreiber), asks her father, the controversial and brilliant scientist. Galileo (Jay O. Sanders) replies, "Not the world, but the mind of man by which the world is known." Remaining true to this theme, The Huntington Theatre Company presents a play that, while it doesn't physically bend the world, succeeds in altering viewers' perception of what theater and life can accomplish.

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Arts

Interview | Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins talks about music and fame

March 12

Last weekend, Missy Higgins took the stage at the brand-new House of Blues Boston alongside Justin Nozuka and Lenka. Already an award-winning Australian singer/songwriter, Higgins recently released her second album, "On a Clear Night" (2007). After touring with Ben Folds last summer, Higgins started her own U.S. tour last month in order to promote her music and attract a larger audience. Her single "Where I Stood" has been featured on numerous popular television shows like "Grey's Anatomy" and "One Tree Hill." Her popularity continues to grow as her soulful, strong-woman sound becomes available to a more mainstream audience. Higgins recently took the time to give this interview via e-mail about her music and who she hopes to attract and inspire with it. Catherine Scott: What are some sources of inspiration for your songwriting? Missy Higgins: I'm inspired by people. The way they think... the motivation behind their actions, their fears, their insecurities and their past experiences that have shaped them into the person they are today. CS: Have you always wanted to be a singer/songwriter, or was it a passion, hobby or dream that just took off and that's where your path has led you? MH: It started out as me just wanting to sing. I first realized I could sing in primary school when I was cast as a fairly main character in the school musical "Joseph and the Technicolored Dream Coat." I had so much fun singing in front of an audience for the first time with a microphone in my hand and [everyone] in the palm of my hand that I just knew I wanted to do it forever. It made me feel more alive than ever. Then songwriting came a few years later. CS: What musicians or types of music do you most often listen to and draw inspiration from? MH: I guess I mostly listen to music with powerful lyrics and simple production. Songs that take me somewhere, or suck me right in to the moment they're singing about and I'm unable to come up for air until it's finished. A song that completely takes over my body with its rawness and fragility and pure honesty. CS: Many of your songs are about being a girl or a woman, and the experiences that go along with that. What kind of message do you want to send to other women as a female singer-songwriter, if any? MH: I don't consciously write with any sort of message in mind. I think the best way to affect other people positively is to write unselfconsciously and openly. When there's no pretense it allows the listener to drop their guard as well and then the real connection can be made. The most healing songs are the ones that make you feel as though the singer is teling your story for you in a way that you were never able to articulate yourself. CS: What is the best part about being on tour? What is the worst? Being from Australia, what do you think of touring in America? MH: I get to play music every night. That is hands-down the best part about touring. Losing yourself onstage for an hour-and-a-half makes all the grueling traveling worth it, ten-fold. American audiences are, for the most part, amazing to play for. They're respectful and willing to make you feel really good about yourself on stage. They want to be entertained which, as crazy as it sounds, is not always the case with audiences. CS: What message would you give to young musicians and artists who want to succeed in the music industry? MH: Ask yourself what your idea of success is. Is it fame? Money? A record deal? Playing sell-out stadium tours in Europe? Getting chased by the paparazzi and dating a supermodel? Get it straight in your head. Think about what will really make you happy. Think about what music means to you and if you really need half of those things in order to feel proud of yourself. The amazing thing about music is that regardless of whether you have an audience or not, you can still have music and it will always be just as precious. Sometimes those other things get in the way of that. Be careful and don't worry. Just respect your inner artist, always listen to it and never compromise. CS: If you could take three things to a desert island, what would they be? MH: My guitar, my sister and my brother. CS: My favorite song on "On a Clear Night" was "Sugarcane." What's yours and why? MH: I don't have a favorite song; they all mean different things to me. I have favorite live tracks which change all the time as we change the arrangements. At the moment it's "Secret" because we've developed an interesting line-up of percussion instruments that everyone in the band plays at the front of the stage.

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Arts

Film 'Watchmen' is almost unwatchable

March 11

Alan Moore has famously said that "Watchmen," his 1986 Hugo Award-winning graphic novel, is unfilmable. For two decades Hollywood heeded his words, but wunderkind director Zack Snyder couldn't leave it alone.

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Arts

Funny 'Later Life' explores an old relationship

March 11

The Southern couple, the gay man and the British lesbian will make audiences laugh uncontrollably, while Ruth (played by sophomore Lily Zahn) and Austin (sophomore Austin Field) will leave viewers tense with anticipation as they try to revive a quasi-relationship of the past. Who are these two people, and what have they gone through since they last met for one night in the Island of Capri? "Later Life," a one-act comedy written by A.R. Gurney and directed by junior Ned Berger, has all the answers.

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Arts

Mikey Goralnik | Paint the Town Brown

March 11

When I first saw STS9, I was 16 and they were a thought-provoking, ludicrously skilled, highly energetic band with a small but committed following of warm, interesting people. Its music dipped and swelled, generating tension and then releasing it in a haze of live drum and bass -- organic electronica. With its rhythmically enveloping music, it has something that I don't think anyone else has, or can really match. It's pointless to try to describe what my first several shows were like, and I'll probably never have the vocabulary or syntax to convey what that music and community meant to me. Just know that they were important.

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Arts

Director of 'Watchmen' talks about the challenges of adapting a famous graphic novel into a major motion picture

March 11

Long spoken of as the unfilmable graphic novel, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' comic masterpiece "Watchmen" (2009) was recently brought to theaters by Zack Snyder, director of the imaginative and successful "300" (2006). Known for his reverence of the superhero genre, Snyder walks a thin line between pleasing the legions of fanboys and girls who hold the source material sacred and creating a marketable, successful feature. To bring the novel to life, Snyder took some cues from the online community. For instance, he directed his casting crew to consider forums on the Internet Movie Database that threw around suggestions for which up-and-coming actors would be suitable for different roles in the film. Recently, the Daily sat down with Snyder to discuss his interest in the "Watchmen," the events that led to the creation of the film, the reasons behind the changes that he made and his hopes for its reception. Question: How did you go about getting the film? Zack Snyder: The studio actually called me. I was doing post on "300," and I got a call, and they had a script for a comic book they bought called "Watchmen," and I don't think they actually knew much about it. But they thought, "Oh, Zack loves comic books, so he'll love this." But it was strange because I don't think they realized, you know, how crazy it was. Q: Do you think there's anything specifically political you want to say with "Watchmen?" ZS: I think the thing that's interesting with "Watchmen" is ... it does talk about superhero politics, and they're similar in the sense that ... what we learn from the graphic novel and hopefully from the movie is that the morality of policing your neighbors or the morality of being a vigilante with superheroes is a slippery slope. The movie sort of asks: Who polices the police? Who watches the watchers? Who governs the government? Or, who gods God, you know? Those are, to me, the questions of "Watchmen," and I think they are political. I think it also takes on ... American popular culture and sort of looks at America generally. You know, Alan Moore is English, and he's sort of looking at America generally through distance and time, and it's interesting how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Q: Can you talk about Alan Moore at all? ZS: Yeah, I can talk about him. I'm a giant fan of Alan Moore's. When I came on to the project ... the first question I asked was "Okay, when do we get to go talk to Alan Moore?" and I was greeted with the reply, "Umm, we don't get to talk to Alan Moore. Alan Moore has famously divorced himself from our motion picture and, yeah, you don't get to talk to him." That bummed me out because I thought that was how ... it seemed to me would be the easy way to do the movie. Since then, I've just had to flounder through my own experiences. In some ways, maybe it's a truer experience for the viewer. What I think was I tried to make the movie based on the experiences from when I first read the graphic novel back in '88. I'm a huge fan of Alan's, and he's asked that I try not to make any assumptions about what he thinks and not to contact him, so that's what I plan to do. Q: In what ways did Dave Gibbons, artist of the comic, influence the direction of the film? ZS: Someone asked me "Did he help you make the movie?" and I mean, he wasn't there on a day-to-day basis helping, but he did do ... thousands of drawings that helped me, so in a lot of ways, Dave is the visual author of the movie. If you think about the movie like a normal book, Dave becomes the imagination, in some ways, of the reader. I think that that's an amazing gift that he gave the movie because the movie is not only the texture of what Alan wrote, but it's also the mood that the drawings of Dave Gibbons did that I tried to get into the movie. Q: How did you approach keeping the things that you did in the movie and changing what you did? A: I guess the way I approached that was that there were certain sorts of things that I really wanted to get at ... especially the Comedian, the Comedian's funeral, Manhattan on Mars, Rorschach's interrogation and then the final conflict -- what we like to call "Mount Olympus," or the discussion of nature's plan. These are the big things that I tried to get at. Changes went to pulling up the story to get at those things. We've also changed the end, changed the device employed. The reason we did it was that we really didn't want to spend that time to explain [the end] because we would have to lose a lot of character. And also, I think, the concept that Adrian [Veidt, the world's smartest man] finds the thing we blame, the thing that we have to divorce from our lives, that being God. I just found that elegant and interesting.

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Arts

Music Review | Dan Auerbach's first solo outing does not need to be kept hidden

March 10

In his first solo project, The Black Keys' frontman Dan Auerbach strays away from faster, driving drumbeats and muddy blues for a slower, stripped-down sound. The Akron-based Auerbach recorded the album in his own studio using almost entirely vintage instruments, most of which he plays himself. This technique is definitely effective, as both the album and its cover seem as through they were taken straight from the early '70s.

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Arts

Devin Toohey | The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

March 10

As you have probably guessed, I'm a man who puts a lot of effort and passion into his pet peeves. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that one of the things that irks me most is when people foster disingenuous hatred. These people despise not because a tremendous inferno burns within their soul but as a show and means of social integration. Should I be clearer? Let me give an example: Hipster Haters.

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Arts

Zach Drucker and Chris Poldoian | Bad Samaritans

March 9

It seems like the Stan Lees, Frank Millers and even Charles Schulzes of the world compose their visual masterpieces with the intent of producing storyboards that translate into epic blockbusters. Ever since "Superman" (1978) lit up the silver screen, movies based on comic books and graphic novels have been some of the most and well-renowned blockbusters in popular culture. With the release of last summer's "The Dark Knight" (2008), last weekend's "Watchmen" (2009) and the prospective releases of about nine other comic book movies this year, we decided to dissect the components needed for mating a successful and worthy film adaptation of a comic book.

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Arts

Tupac's latest lacks energy

March 9

The newest album from Tupac Shakur, the Elvis of Generation X, is a mere phantom of the rap legend's former work. Forget all those bogus sightings and conspiracy theories: Tupac's latest of many posthumous releases, "One Nation," is conclusive proof that the rapper is six feet under. Featuring hip-hop "supergroup" Boot Camp Clik, this album would never have seen the light of day under Pac's discerning eye. Its tracks are uncharacteristic of the artist's usual West Coast thug love, preaching unity between coasts and the "one nation" of hip hop. To understand the strange theme of the album and the reason it took 13 years to complete, one must rewind to 1996.

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Arts

Latest installment of 'Futurama' brings closure

March 9

"When a love comes to an end," Oscar Wilde once said, "weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love, and the wise already have one in reserve." Fans of "Futurama," which aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003, had ample time to prepare for the end, but many never found a replacement show or never got over its untimely cancellation. After five seasons, Fox pulled the plug. Since then, however, the show's heartbroken fans have obsessively bought the seasons on DVD, convincing Comedy Central (the company that owns the show's syndication rights) to commission a series of four direct-to-DVD feature-length films, of which "Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder" (2009) is the last.

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Arts

3Ps brings absurdist play to Balch Arena

March 9

The Pen, Paint, and Pretzels' spring minor production of "The Garden Party" embraces the circular arguments and absurdist nature of the original production. Among snippets of humor and a cascade of superficial disagreements, the political context of communist Czechoslovakia in the '60s is laid bare on stage.

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Arts

Street Fighter' doesn't stand a fighting chance

March 8

It is not easy to critique "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" without feeling bad for it; it's like reviewing a four-year-old's drawing of his family. This movie is so terrible that it's not "so bad it's good." It's so bad that it goes past good, past bad, and to "arranging the contents of a trash can would have been a better use of two hours."

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