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(04/27/06 4:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Grizzly Bear
Sorry for the Delay (The Early Recordings)
3 stars
Audiences have always put up with some amount of filler on a record.
In the pre-album era, singles were more a benchmark for success than full-length LPs. The move from vinyl to CD blew the lid off length requirements, almost doubling from a standard 45-minute release to a maximum run time of 80 minutes.
The increased canvas has led to sprawled albums, to point where anything less than 50 minutes is dubbed "compact."
(04/13/06 4:00am)
CONCERTREVIEW
Editors/Stellastarr
Cat's Cradle
April 5
3.5
The concert experience is really an alternate universe.
Like in a movie theater, I can for a few hours immerse myself in a suspension of reality.
I walk in, and I'm on vacation. Or in a complete state of mediation. Until the house lights come on and we exit into the night's fresh chill, there is nothing outside of this room.
(03/30/06 5:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
Hard-Fi
Stars of CCTV
3.5 Stars
Hard-Fi is the new Killers.
Before you fire up your hype machines, consider this: The Killers are nothing special.
But mediocrity is not what these two bands share. Rather, Stars of CCTV - like Hot Fuss - is a punchy pop album with more hits than B-sides and nary a weak song in sight.
Since its U.K. release last summer, the band's debut album has peaked at No. 1 on the British charts and includes four Top-20 singles.
Of course, commercial success is no substitute for quality.
But Stars is the real deal.
(03/30/06 5:00am)
CONCERTREVIEW
Hard-Fi
Cat's Cradle
Tuesday
1.5 stars
Usually a negative review has an upshot. The writer and readers can at least share a chuckle over the follies of Ashlee Simpson, Limp Bizkit or some other artist who no one takes seriously.
But when London rockers Hard-Fi played Cats Cradle on Tuesday night in support of their debut, Stars of CCTV, the sight was merely sad and disappointing.
(03/29/06 5:00am)
"A lot of jokes just fall flat," says freshman business major Preston Neill, sitting by the Old Well and discussing the challenges of writing comedy. "It's all about timing."
That's something he and freshman Doug Branson, a communication studies major, have learned working on their new television show, "The RA."
Modeled after BBC sitcom "The Office," it's one of the shows debuting on Student TV's Premiere Night, airing today from 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Neill and Branson have been swapping DVDs since their high school days in Gastonia, but this is the first time the pair has collaborated creatively.
It was during a January viewing session of the BBC series that the idea came. The two writers were struck by the show's awkwardness and natural "mockumentary" style, and they decided to apply the same scenario to dormitory life.
"That was the impetus to do this," Branson said. "We saw it and said, 'That's something we can do.'"
By the end of the month, the two had begun writing episodes about an inept resident assistant who moves in spring semester and struggles to establish authority and gain respect.
Branson, who plays RA Bill Pullman, based the character on David Brent of "The Office."
Pullman is proud of his name, which he shares with the acclaimed actor of "Independence Day" and "Spaceballs." But he is humiliated continually by his hallmates, who don't like him, and by the fact that he is the only RA who has a roommate.
Branson, Neill and a student cast of fewer than 10 filmed during February for eight to 10 hours every week. Aiding the show's mockumentary style is the setting - not a TV studio, but the fourth floor of Mangum Residence Hall.
To keep the show feeling natural, Neill keeps the camera rolling through the many unexpected flubs that come with filming in public.
"If someone's playing their guitar really loudly down the hall, that's OK," Neill said. "If you're filming in a dorm, people are going to stick their heads in and wave - that's normal."
The creative duo will join a host of other new shows on STV's Premiere Night, when directors introduce their pilots and answer audience questions on live TV.
The studio opens its doors for fans to watch in person while munching on free food from Chapel Hill eateries.
Last year studio manager Jessica Tardieu, a senior communication studies and philosophy major, ran into a man in a bear suit on the way to the filming.
Confused but inspired, she invited him to do an impromptu introduction on air - in full uniform.
"He had no idea who anyone was, but he went on TV anyway," Tardieu said. "It's pretty much a big party."
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/06 5:00am)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - Five days. Fourteen hundred bands.
That was the flood that overtook the Texas capital from March 15 to March 19 at the 20th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference. Some 10,000 concertgoers flocked to more than 50 venues to see six, eight or as many as a dozen bands nightly.
The number of performers was 40 times that of the original Woodstock.
And the Chapel Hill music scene was right in the middle of it.
Yep Roc Records made history by being the first record label to have two showcases during the festival - a pair of nights that featured exclusively Yep Roc bands.
Merge Records held a showcase featuring local staple Superchunk, among others, while other Merge bands such as Spoon played elsewhere in the city.
Yep Roc traditionally has been known as a roots label, housing artists such as Wilco collaborator Billy Bragg and Raleigh bluegrass quartet Chatham County Line.
"People get a record from us and think it's going to be an alt-country sort of thing," said Glenn Dicker, co-owner of Yep Roc.
The label created a second showcase this year to raise awareness for the indie rock side of its roster.
The label featured its mixed lineup at its Saturday afternoon party, from Raleigh folk sirens Tres Chicas to Cities, an indie rock quartet that includes a UNC student and an alumnus.
For Cities, the youngest band to sign with Yep Roc Records, this was its first year at SXSW. Its self-titled debut comes out April 18.
"It's been a lot of running around," said Cities guitarist Robbie Mackey.
He might have been talking about the night the band returned to find that its van had been towed.
But being a music fan, Mackey more likely was referring to the overwhelming task of running from show to show all week.
"There's been a considerable amount of alcohol involved," he said. "It's been a lot of fun. . If we're lucky, we'll be coming back soon."
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(02/23/06 5:00am)
CONCERTREVIEW
Electric Six
Cat's Cradle
Sunday
3 Stars
In the wake of a flurry of controversy ignited by The Daily Tar Heel's negative review of Se
(01/26/06 5:00am)
Four attractive teens hover by the stage in a dingy yet fashionable club. Backing their gossipy chatter is a crowd of impeccably dressed models, lush, sexy lighting and - Modest Mouse?
Or maybe it's the Walkmen, or Death Cab for Cutie.
That's the way they live on "The O.C.": hip, wealthy and with an impossible knack for underground music. And they're starting to affect consumers.
Now in its third season, the show's tendency to feature indie music has plucked many bands from relative obscurity. Frontrunners include Jem, Imogen Heap and Rooney, whose album sales tripled following an on-air performance.
But in a world where entertainment is as much a business as it is an art, injecting indie music into the mainstream raises questions about who's making the decisions and where their interests lie.
Alexandra Patsavas, the savvy young music supervisor of "The O.C.," is in the trenches. Swamped by hundreds of CDs every week, it's her job to wade through submissions from as far as France or Sweden and select the handful (five or so) that will make it onto an episode.
It's a difficult process, and with the show's booming popularity and influence, her responsibility has heightened even more.
But some fans and musicians alike worry about the effects of commercialization on a movement that has thrived on its hardworking underground. Purists might even jump to disown bands once they become mainstream.
"I was that snobby indie-rock girl, so I understand (that) impulse," Patsavas said.
There is a notion that bands are built on the road, in tour vans and tiny clubs, perfecting their craft for years before striking commercial gold.
Call it Darwinian, call it the American dream, but it seems right that hard work is what pays off.
Add to that the show's image: A dramatized world in which snotty 25-year-old teens vie for love in a world filled with yachts and cocktail parties. Not every band wants to be associated with that, and as famous ad campaigns have shown, visual imagery can permanently graft itself onto a song.
How many people can separate The Who's "Who Are You?" from "CSI" on CBS, or Phantom Planet's "California" from the show that launched it?
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is one band that seems to have those concerns. Reportedly, the band declined an offer to be played on "The O.C." and still managed to sell more than 50,000 copies of its self-titled debut - all without a record deal.
Yet Patsavas insists that the show's powers are being used for good, not evil.
A longtime music fan, she started music supervising for B-level horror movies in 1995 and was booking and promoting bands as early as her college years.
"The producers and I really strive to do the music the best we can on the show," Patsavas said. "Why use manufactured music when there's so much good music out there?"
But even those who believe in TV's good intentions recognize its effect on the independent scene.
The term "indie" used to refer to bands not on a major label, but it has since become a buzz word describing a number of musical styles uncommon to the mainstream - for now.
"There's a spirit behind independent music," said Death Cab for Cutie drummer Jason McGerr, who was in Raleigh for an October show at Disco Rodeo. "People put a little more thought into the music sometimes, especially lyrically."
Death Cab for Cutie is the poster child of indie rock. Transatlanticism, the band's fourth major release on indie label Barsuk Records, pushed them into the spotlight, but their move to Atlantic Records and subsequent appearance on "The O.C." garnered an explosion of press coverage.
"(The attention) doesn't bother me, but it's sort of proven the fact that media sells more records than radio these days," McGerr said.
"When kids are at home watching their favorite program once a week, they're associating with actors and actresses and people that portray whatever it is they're going through.
"And you can't stop that association, no matter what."
Corporate Co-opting
Sometimes music's visual association can irreparably alter an artist's image, especially in advertising. One Honda ad campaign used the indie credibility of the Postal Service and MIA, while a famous Volkswagen commercial featured Nick Drake's "Pink Moon."
"It seems a little duplicitous," said Jason Killingsworth, reviews editor for Paste Magazine. "People are thinking, 'This is cool, this is indie. I can trust whoever's using this music.'
"How do you pry apart 'The O.C.' and Death Cab, and how do you pry apart the Shins and 'Garden State'?" he said. "It's tough, but any artist that's attaching music to a visual runs into that problem."
But many also acknowledge the beneficial effects of commercial use. Television and advertising can expose bands to new audiences, as the recent indie trend has done.
"All of a sudden, my mother has heard of Nick Drake," said Sean McCrossin, owner of CD Alley on West Franklin Street.
"I think it's great when bands get the exposure," McCrossin said. "I do question as to how they're getting to put on these soundtracks. . Is there payola going on, or are the people making the soundtracks just liking the music a lot?"
It's a valid question. Payola - the underhanded exchange of airplay for cash or perks - has plagued pop music for years. In 1959 there was scandal involving Dick Clark's "American Bandstand."
More recently, in 2001, Sony BMG admitted to paying for airplay in exchange for on-air contest prizes, station payments and bribes to the programmers.
But music fans have every reason to be hopeful. For each SUV commercial scored to a Jimi Hendrix tune, there are a dozen under-the-radar bands seizing an opportunity to reach new audiences.
"'Selling out' is one way to put it, but you're just reaching out," McGerr said. "You can't count on radio to get your music out there anymore."
"And you can't stop that association, no matter what."
Corporate Co-opting
Sometimes music's visual association can irreparably alter an artist's image, especially in advertising. One Honda ad campaign used the indie credibility of the Postal Service and MIA, while a famous Volkswagen commercial featured Nick Drake's "Pink Moon."
"It seems a little duplicitous," said Jason Killingsworth, reviews editor for Paste Magazine. "People are thinking, 'This is cool, this is indie. I can trust whoever's using this music.'
"How do you pry apart 'The O.C.' and Death Cab, and how do you pry apart the Shins and 'Garden State'?" he said. "It's tough, but any artist that's attaching music to a visual runs into that problem."
But many also acknowledge the beneficial effects of commercial use. Television and advertising can expose bands to new audiences, as the recent indie trend has done.
"All of a sudden, my mother has heard of Nick Drake," said Sean McCrossin, owner of CD Alley on West Franklin Street.
"I think it's great when bands get the exposure," McCrossin said. "I do question as to how they're getting to put on these soundtracks. . Is there payola going on, or are the people making the soundtracks just liking the music a lot?"
It's a valid question. Payola - the underhanded exchange of airplay for cash or perks - has plagued pop music for years. In 1959 there was scandal involving Dick Clark's "American Bandstand."
More recently, in 2001, Sony BMG admitted to paying for airplay in exchange for on-air contest prizes, station payments and bribes to the programmers.
But music fans have every reason to be hopeful. For each SUV commercial scored to a Jimi Hendrix tune, there are a dozen under-the-radar bands seizing an opportunity to reach new audiences.
"'Selling out' is one way to put it, but you're just reaching out," McGerr said. "You can't count on radio to get your music out there anymore."
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(01/19/06 5:00am)
MUSICREVIEW
The Playwrights
English Self Storage
3 Stars
Misdirected talent is always a shame.
British art-rockers The Playwrights demonstrate clear musical chops and poetic mastery on their second album, English Self Storage. But when it comes to marrying the two in an attempt at cohesive songwriting, their efforts fall disappointingly flat.
(01/18/06 5:00am)
The room was austere, the dress formal, but the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History's Brown Gallery glowed hot with passion Tuesday night as students and faculty gathered for "He Was a Poem," the second annual poetry reading commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.
Not a seat was left unfilled as students and faculty performed pieces by Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni and others to honor King.
The poems were read with vigor, many of the readers incorporating actions and speech affectation to bring the works to life.
Among those reading was Jeffery Beam, assistant to the biology librarian in the Couch Biology Library and a published poet.
"You can say things in poetry that you can't say in other ways," Beam said. "Certainly in black culture, poetry has always been a part of that culture. Martin Luther King's words were always very poetic even when he wasn't speaking in poetry."
Reading another poet's work can be daunting, he said. The reader has no way of knowing the author's exact intent, so he must take care in applying his own interpretation.
"I spent quite a bit of time out loud with the poem, trying to find out the music in it," Beam said. "It's a lot like being an actor ... You don't know who you're going be in the play; you can't tell what they're like just from reading the lines."
One of the returning performers was Nigil Lee, a sixth-grader at Camelot Academy in Durham. Despite being presented with the responsibility of the opening piece, he seemed unfazed by the pressure.
"I broke it up into parts, then I memorized each part separately," he said. Was he nervous? "A little," he shrugged, munching on hors d'oeuvres.
Stone Center Librarian Raquel Von Cogell organized Tuesday's event as well as last year's first reading.
"Part of that committee was planning events, including speakers," she said.
With the help of a few students, Cogell selected the readers last year. Many returned this year, while a few new readers came through recruitment or by recommendation.
"There are people who've never (read publicly) at all, who are participating in this for the first time," Cogell said. "It's a great opportunity for anyone."
The program's title was inspired by a Gwendolyn Brooks piece published in the Chicago Tribune as a eulogy the day after King's death.
"His dream still wishes ... His word still burns," the poem reads - a tradition they continued.
Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.