INSIDEBEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

OC

TOBE

R 8,

200

9 •

Vol. 2

7, N

o. 6

Mr. Langdon

In Dan Brown’s latest thriller, Robert Langdontravels to the Capitol Building to make aspeech, but stays longer than planned.

Goes to Washington

Page 2 • Inside Beat Books • Column October 8, 2009

ran

t

BY TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTIASSOCIATE EDITOR

For almost my entire life, I consideredeveryone on a college campus an adult. Ididn’t care that someone was a first-yearstudent — to me, once they started 13thgrade, they were grown. Even in my sen-ior year of college, I viewed everyone asmore-or-less equal.

Then, something shocking happened: Igot old.

I began my fifth year of Rutgers inSeptember, and as I drove myself toschool the first day (that’s right, I’m soold that I’ve happily and voluntarilygiven up the college lifestyle and settledback into my parents’ house) I couldn’tbelieve how young everyone was. Ba-bies, all of you!

That’s not fair. I still think all collegestudents are adults. But something hap-pens when you start that fifth year of col-lege. You get this feeling, like everyonearound you knows you don’t belong.Like somehow, from May to September,you’ve aged so drastically that peoplegasp as you walk past, giggling to eachother about your wrinkles and out-of-style clothing.

I tell myself that people don’t know I’mpast my collegiate prime, and that going toschool beats my plan for the next few years:erroneously blaming my unemployment onthe economy. I say, “I’m sure they didn’t seeme sitting with the grown-ups at footballgames.” (That’s right, we sit during games,because our backs hurt.)

Fifth Year Senior (Citizen)

INSIDEBEATRutgers Student Center

126 College Avenue, Suite 431New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Phone (732) 932-2013Fax (732) 246-7299

Email beat@dailytargum.com Web www.inside-beat.com

Advertising in Inside Beat, Call (732) 932-7051Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

EDITORIAL BOARD

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Ariba Alvi, Emily Gabriele, Amanda Litchkowski, Marc Mance, Ashley Park, Peter Sperlazzo, Natalia Tamzoke.

Cover photo courtesy of Getty Images.

MARGARET DARIAS.................................................EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI..................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

STACY DOUEK......................ASSISTANT EDITOR

NIDHI SARAIYA.........................BOOKS EDITOR

ADRIENNE VOGT..........................COPY EDITOR

MICHAEL MALVASIO.....................FASHION EDITOR

HAVE A LITTLE FAITHMitch Albom | B+

EMILY SCHACHTMAN...........................FILM EDITOR

JASON STIVES......................................MUSIC EDITOR

DAN BRACAGLIA...........PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI........................TV EDITOR

BY ASHLEY PARKSTAFF WRITER

There once was a priest and a rabbi.Wait a minute, haven’t we heard this onebefore? No, because never before has itbeen told like this.

In Have a LittleFaith, Mitch Albomweaves together thelives of a priest and arabbi into an unforget-table true story of love,kindness and faith. It isAlbom’s first non-fictionnovel since Tuesdayswith Morrie, and inmany ways the two re-semble one another.However, we soon findthat the book has itsown unusual tale to tell.

The story’s eight-year journey beginswhen Albom’s rabbi, Albert Lewis,asks him, “Will you write my eulogy?”Although it means a commute of 1,000miles between Illinois and New Jersey,Albom decides to get to know the manbehind the pulpit. In doing so, he soonfinds himself back in a world he hadleft long ago.

Back in his hometown of Detroit,Albom discovers a dilapidated Chris-

tian church struggling in the midst ofthe recession led by Henry Coving-ton, a reformed criminal and drug ad-dict. The 128-year-old church hasmissing windows, peeling paint, andworst of all, a gaping 10-foot hole inthe ceiling. Huddled together under a

makeshift tent in afreezing church, thecongregants of I Am MyBrother’s Keeper grasponto something muchlarger than themselves.As the building aroundthem falls apart, itsmembers and pastorcling more tightly totheir faith.

In these troublingtimes, it is an upliftingstory that speaks tomany of us who are con-fused, dispirited andlost. It is written for

those who yearn for a hope andstrength that they alone cannot cre-ate. With resounding clarity, Albomstrips away the complexities of theworld, drilling to the core of what wehold dear in life. It is an inspirationaltale about how faith can restore thebeliefs of the apathetic, heal thehearts of the broken and change thelives of many.

But when I put on my slim-cut jeans inthe morning, or listen to Z100 on the driveover, I get this eerie feeling that everyoneknows I’m just doing it as a desperate at-tempt to cling to some last remaining scrapof my youth. As if they’re saying, “Hey, oldguy. We see you walking over there withyour iPod and your little sweatshirt; youaren’t fooling anyone.”

And, of course, all of this is completelyunfounded. For one, universities are filledwith people of varying ages, from teens tothe elderly, and very rarely does someoneseem out of place. Also, I still look like I’m18 years old. There’s no reason for me tofeel out of place.

Part of it comes with the stigma thatcollege, like high school, needs to be com-pleted in four years. In high school, it wasa legitimate challenge to not finish in fouryears. If you showed up every day andslept in the cafeteria till it was time toleave, odds are you still graduated on time.College is very different. Some people(like me) change majors halfway throughand need more time to complete require-ments. Others take lighter course loads tomaintain careers and support families. In auniversity setting, outside of athletics, fouryears is a pretty arbitrary number.

It only makes sense that people expectto see guys my age — and older — intheir classes. Common sense would tellyou that no one knows I’m graduatinglate, or that they’d care if they did know.

But if that’s the case, how come I stillcan’t shake this feeling that I just don’t be-long anymore?

A shelf boasting brand-name jeans occupies an en-tire wall, while next to itstands a rack of floor-length and cocktail dresses.

A variety of high heels — bothvintage and new — are placed onshelves around the boutique. Col-orful bags and leather purses hangfrom the ends of racks circling theroom, while shelves by the frontdesk display vintage, new and con-signment jewelry.

“I try never to get more thanthree of each [item], so that it’snot saturating and ever yone’swearing the same thing,” Weinberg said.

In addition to of fering theitems she has in stock, Wein-berg also processes special or-ders for customers looking forspecific pieces.

Peachepot’s medley of clothesand accessories cater to the tastesof young women across HighlandPark and New Brunswick. Herpopularity has risen among highschool students, who shop for thestore’s bargain-priced vintage,which sells at about $20, withsome dresses running between$30 and $40.

“I feel like this month, I’vehad a lot of happy customers,”Weinberg said. She is attemptingto reach out to the University

October 8, 2009 Fashion • Theater Inside Beat • Page 3

BY AMANDA LITCHKOWSKISTAFF WRITER

Peachepot Boutique, located inHighland Park, proves that Rut-gers fashion can be found beyondGeorge Street.

Specializing in women’s vin-tage and new clothing, the bou-tique opened in 2008 and ishoused in a quaint first-floor flaton Raritan Avenue. The notablysmall space comprises of wall-to-wall garments hand-pickedby owner Nora Weinberg, a University alumna.

“I wanted there to be cheap,moderate, and then more expen-sive stuff because I feel like that’show people have their wardrobeset up,” Weinberg explained.

After passing the boutique’shandcrafted front desk and amulti-tiered shelf holding variousT-shirts, customers enter a chan-deliered main room. Blouses,jackets, tank tops and skirts min-gle together on the racks outlin-ing the room.

Weinberg, who partially creditsher knowledge of business to herfive-year work experience at a localHighland Park gift store, consid-ered organizing her merchandiseby designer or by style, but “in theend, color is the predominant thingwith function,” she stated.

BY ARIBA ALVISTAFF WRITER

Profound Aesthetic — a name that conjures up im-ages of something grand and meaningful — is in fact aT-shirt company, started up about one year ago by 24-year-old Rutgers alum Faraz Zaidi.

Zaidi graduated from Mason Gross School of theArts in May 2008 with a double-major in environmentalbusiness economics and visual art. During his years atthe University, Profound Aesthetics was an idea that healways had floating around in his head. It was not untillast September that Zaidi brought his vision to life.

“I’ve always had a strong interest in fashion and art,so I figured, why not create my own brand?” Zaidi said.

With some help from his cousin and sister, as well aswith the support of his family, he began the process oftaking his images and transferring them onto T-shirts.

He uses a local silk-screen company to produce theshirts, which come from American Apparel, a companythat prides itself on being 100 percent sweatshop-free. Zaidifeels that it is important for Profound Aesthetic to not onlylook and feel good, but to also be a responsible brand. Thatis why the message behind Profound Aesthetic is “Designfor the Conscious Mind,” an idea that is apparent on theshirts. Each shirt has its own meaning and message, likethe “Weapon of Mass Destruction” tee, which features amicrophone up in smoke, swinging like a cannonball. An-other T-shirt, “The Universal Symbol,” features a peacesign made with a hand, and reads, “you can bomb theworld to pieces but you can’t bring peace with bombs.”

“I wanted to create a brand with substance. I thinkthe key was to keep the designs visually appealing, butat the same time attach meaning to them, which inessence makes people appreciate it more,” Zaidi said.

One of Zaidi’s own personal favorite tees is a shirtcalled “Peace by Piece” — a black shirt that is mini-malistic and features just the text, reminding peoplethat world peace happens in pieces.

Recently, business has picked up significantly, espe-cially with the release of a Michael Jackson tribute shirt.Their fan base has even expanded internationally to placeslike Indonesia and Malaysia. The designer is also in talkswith a few retailers, such as Metropark and Urban Outfit-ters, who may possibly carry the label in the near future.He is also working to strengthen Profound Aesthetics’message by partnering with a charitable organization.

“We have been overwhelmed with the responsesthat we got from people, including retailers wanting tosell Profound in their stores,” the designer said. “I thinkwe’ve come a long way in one year, and it is just a wholelot of hard work and dedication from here.”

Profound Aesthetic clothing can be found on theirWeb site, ProfoundAesthetic.com, and prices rangefrom $20-$30.

BY NATALIA TAMZOKESTAFF WRITER

Last weekend, Cabaret Theatrehoused contemporary playwrightSarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, a fresh andvibrant take on the famous Greekmythological tale. Though Eury-dice is a tragedy, the performanceitself was just about the opposite.

The story begins as two lovers,Orpheus and Eurydice, are married.When Eurydice encounters astrange man who lures her to hisapartment with a letter from her de-ceased father, she follows. Ultimately,misfortune ensues as Eurydice fallsto her death and is whisked away tothe Underworld. Eurydice is nolonger able to recall her past until herfather stumbles upon her and helpsher to remember. As they spend timecatching up, Orpheus devotes histime to finding Eurydice, wherevershe may be. When he manages tosurpass the gates of the Underworld,he is offered to take Eurydice backwith him on the condition that — nomatter what — he cannot look backat her before she reaches the earthly world.

Upon entering the theatre onDouglass campus, the intimatespace was accommodating and invit-ing. Decorated with yellow stringlights on one end, blue lighting and

profou

ndaesthetic

EURYDICECabaret Theatre | B-

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FARAZ ZAIDI

spotlight: Boutique

Peachepotcommunity by posting fliers,handing out coupons and givingUniversity students a 20 percentdiscount on purchases.

Weinberg has allowed student-run organizations to usePeachepot’s clothes for fundrais-ing events such as date auctionsand fashion shows. She is particu-larly interested in extending hermerchandise to sororities who arehosting such events.

“I don’t need to make anythingoff the experience,” she ex-plained. “It does something forme, it does something for them,and they don’t have to pay to getclothes anywhere.”

Weinberg also stresses the im-portance of small boutiques lo-cated in the University area.“There’s a huge Rutgers popula-tion, and there’s almost nothingfor girls to shop at without goingto the mall,” she said.

In the future, Weinberg wouldlike to sell men’s clothing as wellas local designers. She is planningon carrying a T-shirt line based onher own designs.

More information onPeachepot and photos of the bou-tique’s clothing can be found at www.facebook.com/peachepot.

a circular stream on the other end,and a bridge connecting the twoworlds in the middle, the set cap-tured the mystical attributes sovividly brought to life by Ruhl’s text.

The performance of the actorswas well done and seemed to im-prove as the show progressed. JPMcCloskey (Orpheus) and SarahEsmi (Eurydice) created a very play-ful and sincere chemistry, which en-hanced the audience’s attachment tothe two characters. Andrew Saunders(A Nasty Interesting Man/Lord ofthe Underworld) generated intrigue,fear and laughter from his roles.William Carey (Little Stone), GiaZampella (Big Stone), and ChristinaProcaccini (Loud Stone) added an in-teresting and — at times — humor-ous effect, acting as a sort of Greekchorus of three. Joey Braccino (Fa-ther) gave a stellar performance,playing his role genuinely and con-sistently with impeccable precision.

Annie R. Lutz, a University stu-dent, directed Eurydice as her seniorthesis. Her vision for the show trans-lated the beauty of the text simply andstrategically. The dream-like qualitycame through, while still maintainingthe characters’ earthliness.

Though Eurydice ran for onlythree performances, the experi-ence was notable, worthwhileand enjoyable.

THE SITESReaders may expect The Lost

Washington D.C.’s most frequencoln Memorial, Arlington NationWhite House. However, except fment and Smithsonian Museum, B“tourist traps” and reveals some Washington, D.C.’s hidden gemin architecture.

Washington National Cathedron Wisconsin Avenue is the sixtlargest cathedral in the world anthe second largest in the UniteStates. Several stones in the flooin front of its main altar were takefrom Mount Sinai. Its spacthemed stained glass window hapieces of moon rock in the centeBut, as Langdon mentions, it is udoubtedly most famous for iDarth Vader gargoyle found on thnorthwest tower.

The Library of Congress doenot sound like a place reputed foits architecture, yet it is often amired for just that reason. Thmain reading room, where Landon and his friends spend a part their adventure, is filled with beatiful symbolic statues and gianmarble columns supporting thdomed ceiling. The rich ornametation on the walls and arched widows bathed in sunlight create aaura of tranquility to this librarwhich holds the most literature ithe world.

AMERICA’Srevealing

THE ARTAlthough Dan Brown could have featured the works of the National Gallery

and the Smithsonian Museum like he did with Paris’ Louvre in The Da Vinci Code,he instead picked some of the most beautiful, yet puzzling pieces of art scatteredthroughout the capital to showcase in The Lost Symbol.

It would have been impossible for Brown not to include the capital’s residentart enigma, the sculpture Kryptos by Washington-born sculptor James Sanborn.Located at the CIA’s headquarters, this copperplate, wood and graphite sculptureis filled with four sections of unintelligible, encoded text. To this day, the final 97characters have not deciphered — not even by the CIA’s cryptographers.

One of the famous wonders of the ancient world, the Statue of Zeus atOlympia, may be lost to us, but Langdon tells us how Horace Greenough’sstatue, Enthroned Washington, preserves its powerful message. Inspired by theGreek sculpture, Greenough created this imposing seated figure of our firstpresident to display in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. However, its depiction of a bare-chested Washington drew harsh criticism from the public, and the statue wasrelocated several times before finally being displayed in the National Museumof American History.

Melencolia by Albrecht Dürer is just as mystifying as the Masonic rituals thatBrown mentions throughout his novel. With symbols like a nearly empty hour-glass, a winged Genius (a Roman mythological protective deity), a balance, ar-chitectural tools and a comet, it’s hard to make sense out of the engraving, but ofcourse Langdon manages to make order out the chaos.

Although the Capitol’s external beauty is often admired, there are many won-derful works of art within its walls. As Langdon points out, one of the most fa-mous, The Apotheosis of Washington by Constantino Brumidi, is right under theiconic rotunda dome. As the name declares, the fresco shows a scene of our firstpresident rising to the heavens and becoming a god while in the presence of theclassical figures Liberty and Victory and 13 maidens who represent the originalcolonies. The divine symbolism of the central scene is balanced by the represen-tations of six earthly themes: war, science, marine, commerce, mechanics andagriculture. These depictions show a connection between the Roman gods andsome of America’s greatest leaders and inventors of the time, such as Minervaguiding Benjamin Franklin, Robert Fulton, and Samuel Morse, and Venus grasp-ing the transatlantic cable. Lit by natural light during the day, the fresco seems totruly reach toward the skies.

BY NIDHI SARAIYA • BOOKS EDITOR

lost sec

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES

MELENCOLIA

HOUSE OF THE TEMPLE

Out of all the places in Washington, D.C.to give a speech, Langdon’ favorite is theNational Statuary Hall in the Capitol Build-ing. The amphitheater’s echoing acousticsdid not serve the House of Representativeswell as a meeting hall, but now as an art gallery,

the room’s inner beautyshines. The hall is filledwith statues of past pres-idents and politicians atthe base of each columnand is topped by a beauti-ful coffered dome. In thecenter of the hall, with thegazes of some of America’smost influential figures fac-ing in each direction, it ishard not to the feel the pres-ence of our nation’s history.

No story about Masonswould be complete withoutincluding the House of theTemple. Based on the oneof the seven wonders ofthe ancient world, theMausoleum at Halicarnas-sus, the Masonic templeis resplendent with largeIonic columns and sev-eral sphinx sculptures.Located at the corner of 16th and S Streets, the building also holds a large collection of Masonic books and materials.

Symbol to feature some ofnted locations like the Lin-nal Cemetery and even thefor the Washington Monu-Brown steers clear of theseof

ms

ralthndedorene-aser.n-ts

he

esord-

heg-of

au-nthen-n-

any,in

S

THE REVIEW: A-Dan Brown may be an international bestselling author,

but he sure is formulaic. A mysterious phone call. Rushto the scene of the crime. Gruesome violence explainedonly by a puzzling message. A chase around the city and

a race against the clock to find the criminal. It al-most makes you wonder whether he is writing anovel or a screenplay for the next action adven-ture blockbuster.

Yet beyond those initial similarities, it is clearthat his latest book, The Lost Symbol, sequel to thehit novel The Da Vinci Code, deviates from thatpattern. No more forced romance with the femalelead, and less corny descriptions about the attrac-tiveness of the characters — just Harvard symbol-ogist Robert Langdon, his friends and somenot-so-pleasant government officials putting theirsmarts together to crack the case. But the best de-parture from his earlier books has to be that it

takes place in Washington, D.C. Langdon’s adven-ture takes readers from some of the capital’s finest

public attractions to sites that only the Architect of theCapitol has permission to see, and shows us early Amer-

ican history in whole new light.In the six years since the release of The Da Vinci Code,

it is apparent that Brown has worked hard to make hisimplausible plots have a touch more realism. From the

very first pages, Brown spends time breaking down thecharacters’ personalities and motivations. Unlike the pre-vious novels, when the stories began abruptly with an ur-gent phone call, this time the story starts with theinitiation ceremony taking place in D.C. We later find outthat the initiation was for a member joining the highestranks of a centuries-old secret society known as theFreemasons, and despite earning their trust, the initi-ate is planning to commit the ultimate betrayal. At thesame time, Langdon also finds himself in WashingtonD.C. giving a speech at an event for the Smithsonian

Museum at the request of his old friend and museum secre-tary Peter Solomon. But as soon as Langdon arrives he dis-covers that Solomon, who is also a prominent Freemason,may need more than just a small favor. Langdon finds him-self caught between the villain’s anti-Masonic crusade andSolomon’s safety, and once again he must use his uniquecode-breaking skills to save the day.

Once Langdon is the midst of the action, Brown’s knack forwriting suspenseful, fast-paced thrillers really begins to shine.Brown switches between Langdon and the criminal’s point ofview from chapter to chapter and keeps shifting the balance ofsuccess between the two, making it difficult to predict who willtriumph in the end. During their struggles, Brown throws inmany interesting bits of ancient trivia and modern research.As Langdon deciphers each cryptic message, he is forced todraw upon his knowledge of art, history and — of course —symbols. In a manner similar to the discussion of antimattertechnology in Angels and Demons, Brown also weaves in factsabout another cutting-edge field of science that looks at theconnection between religion and science in a novel way. Allthis information from different disciplines sounds confusing,but Brown masterfully combines the seemingly diverse topicsinto a cohesive plot.

With the phenomenal success of The Da Vinci Code, itseemed unlikely that Brown could ever meet the expectationsof his fans. But there is no doubt that The Lost Symbol sur-passes its predecessor in every respect. With the improvedwriting, increased character depth, and fascinating mix of art,history, science, and religion, there is something to interestjust about any reader. And if there is one thing about Brown’swriting that never fails, it is that he knows how to write a bookthat is difficult to put down.

crets

From the secret society of our nation'sforefathers to the covert operations of the

CIA, Dan Brown's latest novel takes usbehind the scenes of Washington, D.C.

KRYPTOS

WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

October 8, 2009Film • TVPage 6 • Inside Beat

The Man Behindthe Strongman

BY EMILY SCHACHTMANFILM EDITOR

Stanley “Stanless Steel” Pleskun lives what he believes. This much isevident from first-time director Zachary Levy’s documentary Strongman.The film follows Pleskun, a South Brunswick native, as he strives to riseabove a chaotic personal life and disheartening professional obstaclesto do the thing he dreams of: performing great feats of strength for arapt crowd. Levy fielded a few questions about Pleskun while also re-flecting on his own filmmaking experience.

Emily Schachtman: Stanley addresses you by name a fewtimes in the film — did you try to attain a distance from Stanand his family or did you become attached, and if so, wasthat dif ficult?

Zachery Levy: Yes, I try to have pretty strict ethics about how I in-teract with everyone during production. Like more than a lot of docu-mentary filmmakers, I try to keep my role as a filmmaker first as clearas possible. That doesn’t mean of course I don’t care — these are peo-ple I care about deeply and I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t — so yes, it wasdifficult to see them go through things that weren’t always easy.

ES: What was your first impression of Stan, and how did youview him after making this film?

ZL: I think I probably saw him as a gentle giant the first time I methim. That’s of course very much part of his personality, but he is alsofar more complex and interesting than just that. I think Stan is one ofthe most intelligent people I know — really intuitive about the way hegets through the world. And despite all the chaos that comes with hislife, he is still able to sit back and look at himself in a way that is reallyhonest and unique. He is strong in ways that few people are. He is trulya great artist in own right — he approaches his work with a sense ofartistic integrity that would put most painters and musicians and nov-elists to shame. I see him really as one of the great American charac-ters of our time. I mean that in the biggest sense — he is worthy ofMelville or Whitman.

ES: What made you decide not to use a musical soundtrack?ZL: Good question! Well, the kind of films I like come out of a ’60s

and ’70s vérité tradition that in its strictest form tends not to use music.Making a film without music is very hard; audiences these days are soused to having music to guide them through a narrative. Often an audi-ence isn’t even aware that music is there, but it’s used to really shape theway they feel about a film and help give it pace. I felt like in the samesense that Stan approaches his own art with a certain purity, I felt thefilm should echo that. I wanted to make something that trusted the au-dience to figure it out. It’s the filmmaking equivalent of bending a penny— you are giving yourself less to grip onto and still trying to see if youcan bend it.

ES: What did you take away from making this film? Is thereanything viewers should keep in mind while watching it?

ZL: There’s a line in a Pete Seeger song that I like: “In this world ofjoy and sorrow, we still can have singing tomorrows.” I think that’s thekind of thing I took away — a sense of our universality and a hope thatfor all the things in our lives, [and] we still can find a way to go forward.

In this kind of filmmaking, you really begin to see how much truththere is in everyone’s different perspectives. There is truth in every-thing. And making this kind of film forces you to look for it.

I don’t think people should keep too much in mind while watching it— I just hope they can open themselves up and let the film bouncearound in there. Afterwards, maybe the one thing I’d say to keep inmind, that even though I really believe this as “real” a movie as maybethey have ever seen — it’s still a movie. When I talk about Stan and Bar-bara, I am talking about them as characters. It is very close in many waysto who they are in real actual life, but it can’t ever be exactly who theyare. That doesn’t mean it’s fake — just that real life is always faster than24 [frames per second]. It’s when you get close that it’s exciting.

Stongman is being screened at 7 p.m. by the New Jersey Film Festivalat Scott Hall 123 on the College Avenue campus on Oct. 11 and Oct. 17.For more information, visit the Web site at www.njfilmfest.com.

‘ ’

The Vampire DiariesThe CW, Thursdays 8 p.m. | B-

BY ARIBA ALVISTAFF WRITER

There’s a plethora of vampiresout there today, from Twilight toTrue Blood, and they won’t begoing anywhere for a while. Toadd to that list is The CW’s newesthit, The Vampire Dairies.

Although the show has noproblem getting viewers, it mightnot be able to keep them. Thewriters need to up their game ifthey want to make the show last,and want it to be good as, if notbetter than, the first few seasonsof One Tree Hill.

The Vampire Diaries has oneof the hottest casts on TV thisseason. With Lost heartthrob IanSomerholder as Damon, Cana-dian newcomer Nina Dobrev(Degrassi), and AmericanDreams’ Paul Wesley as Stefan,this show is sure to keep the at-tention of male and female fansalike. Not a single cast memberis less than gorgeous.

The show centers on ElenaGilbert (Dobrev), the sole sur-

BY PETER SPERLAZZOSTAFF WRITER

The Cleveland Show, a Family Guy spin-off thatpremiered on Sept. 27, is popular animator Seth Mac-Farlane’s third foray into animation. The ClevelandShow stars Cleveland Brown, a popular supportingcharacter from the Family Guy series, as he and hisson move to Stoolbend, Va.

In the beginning of the pilot episode, we are in-troduced to Cleveland, who has just lost his house tohis ex-wife and gained custody of his son, ClevelandJr., who is now 14 years old, grossly obese andspeaks with an irritatingly monotone voice. Cleve-land decides to move to California with his son topursue his dream of becoming a baseball scout;however, Cleveland’s dream becomes interruptedwhen he is reunited with his old high school love,Donna Tubbs, and her two children, teenagerRoberta and toddler Rallo.

Unfortunately, The Cleveland Show has manyflaws. The jokes are unoriginal and repetitive; theshow often resorts to tired black stereotypes; and

TheClevelandShowFox, Sundays 8:30 p.m. | D

COU

RTESY OF FOX

COU

RTESY OF THE CW

COURTESY OF NJFFvivor of a tragic car accident herparents died in. Around her arethe two gorgeous vampire broth-ers Stefan and Damon Salvatore.

The two brothers are polar op-posites — one good and one bad— both fighting for Elena, who re-sembles their past love, Katherine.Stefan is trying to be mortal andhas given up feeding on humans,but Damon is not ready to give itup, and gains more strength everytime he feeds.

The show is lacking in its dia-logue, and the writers reallycould add more. Where a scenecould be deep and pull the view-ers in, it falls flat. Elena’s charac-ter is lacking the depth thatwould hook in viewers.

The strongest points of thewriting are the diary scenes (thatthe show is named for), which adda lot of depth. Stefan writes in theepisode “Friday Night Bites”: “Ithought there was hope … thatsomething deep inside somethingin Damon was still human, wasnormal. But I was wrong. There isnothing human left in Damon. No

good, no kindness, no love. Only amonster, who must be stopped.”

One of the most intriguingthings about the show is that itmakes you jump, something thatBuffy, Angel and Twilight never re-ally did. You never know what’sgoing to happen. One minuteDamon is taunting Stefan, the nexthe’s reminding Stefan who is morepowerful by throwing him into agarage door.

The Vampire Dairies is basedoff of a ’90s trilogy of books by thesame name. Fans’ main objectionto the show is that it does not staytrue to the original. In the novels,Elena is supposed to be a blonde,her brother Jeremy doesn’t exist,and Vicki is not supposed to beMatt’s sister. Not only that, butmajor parts of the plot have beenchanged as well.

Right now, they are countingon the good looks of their castand the superficiality of the view-ers to keep ratings up. We’ll seehow the season progresses, andthen decide whether or not thisshow really bites.

some jokes that are funny the first time are overused.For example, the “character yelling a comment off-screen” gag was used eight times in the 22 minuteepisode. The Cleveland Show appears confused in itstypes of humor — at times it attempts to emulateFamily Guy’s off-the-wall style, and other times it triesto act as a typical family sitcom. In both instances, TheCleveland Show fails to satisfy.

The characters in The Cleveland Show are notvery interesting either. Cleveland Jr.’s jokes fall flat,Donna and Roberta seem no dif ferent from theirFamily Guy and American Dad counterparts, andRallo’s wisecracks are neither original nor funny.Cleveland’s new friends are no better; their person-alities are dull and forgettable. Even Tim, an an-thropomorphic bear, falls short of beingentertaining and delivers far too many groan-in-ducing racial jokes in his strange accent.

In the end, The Cleveland Show fails to live up tothe caliber of Family Guy or even American Dad. Itrelies too much on recycled jokes, characters andthemes. The Cleveland Show is a program that isbest forgotten.

October 8, 2009 Music Inside Beat • Page 7

BY AMANDA LITCHKOWSKISTAFF WRITER

Aug. 25, 2009 was the day fora comeback.

After spending two years coast-ing on the fame and success of itstwo-time platinum albumFavourite Worst Nightmare, theArctic Monkeys released its thirdalbum Humbug to impatient fans.

The 39-minute Humbug com-prises10 songs by the UK’s prizedindie-rock band, all stuffed to thebrim with the rock and roll poeticgenius of lead singer Alex Turner.Turner demonstrates that al-though his words are ambiguousenough to suit alternative rockers,the Arctic Monkeys’ jams can stillproduce the image of beautifullydistant girls in smoke-filled, hole-in-the-wall London bars.

Following a steady pattern ofprogression into the realm of UKindie-rock and NME’s hall of fame,

In Case You Missed It:

Humbug | B

BY EMILY GABRIELESTAFF WRITER

Mayday Parade has reinventedthemselves with the release of theirsecond album, Anywhere But Here.The reinvention was expected afterone of their lead vocalists/lyricists,Jason Lancaster, left the bandshortly after their debut album, ALesson In Romantics, was released.Their new style is poppier thantheir older songs, yet it is nothingto be turned off from.

They released the title track,“Anywhere But Here,” on theirMySpace profile in the summer.Listeners got a taste of how May-day would hold true to their emo-tional lyrics of loneliness, yet adda bit more of a blissful tone. Intheir song, “Bruised andScarred,” lead vocalist/key-boardist Derek Sanders sums upthe basic feeling of the album bysinging “Now I’m wearing a smile

BY MARC MANCESTAFF WRITER

Scrapping the pop-rock soundthey had with their breakthroughalbum Riot!, Paramore utilizedtheir sound to pump out their latesteffort, Brand New Eyes. The albumis packed with emotion, yet rocksharder than anything else theyhave put out. To say they have ma-tured their sound is an understate-ment, as in each track, they show aside of Paramore that no one hasseen yet — from songs fueled bylead singer Hayley Williams’ ag-gressiveness and fury, to folk-liketracks and love-driven ballads.

This progression is clear fromthe first few tracks of Brand NewEyes, where Williams spews outbitterness and contempt. Accom-panied by heavier guitars anddrums from their norm, Williams’

BY JASON STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

When talking to a singerabout her career, if the ’70s sci-ficlassic Logan’s Run pops up inconversation, you know you arenot dealing with your everydaypop artist. But in reality, Lightsis quite normal. The Canadianpop starlet, generating buzz allover the Great White North, hasbeen making her way into theU.S. market with an extensiveappearance on this summer’sVans Warped Tour and the re-lease of her first full length, TheListening. In an industry hell-bent on sales figures and mar-keting, Lights says she hasnever let it get to her.

“I have never let the music bizget to me. It has never beenabout the money count for me, itcan box you in if it bothers,” shesays. “I like doing things my way,I love my music and I wouldn’tkeep doing it if I didn’t, so I neverlet expectations get to me.”

Whether the expectationsare high or not, the 22-year-old

Mayday ParadeAnywhere But Here | B-

ParamoreBrand New Eyes | B+

Star Lights,Star Bright

ARCTIC MONKEYS

COURTESY OF MYSPACE.COM/LIGHTS

COURTESY OF MYSPACE.COM/MAYDAYPARADE

COURTESY OF PARAMORE.NET

that I don’t believe it / inside I feellike screaming.” Though thesongs have a happier-soundingtone, they still have an underlyingsense of emotional breakdown.

If you’re a newcomer to May-day Parade, you will probably bemore than satisfied with the albumas a whole. However, for the agedMayday fans, it may take a littlegetting used to. The tracks that re-semble their older music the mostare, “If You Can’t Live With Me,Then Why Aren’t You Dead Yet?”

and “The End.” The feel-goodsong of the album is titled “GetUp,” where they talk about howunity of a band is very importantin saying, “sometimes it isn’t whereyou’re going / it’s who you’re with.”Though a band member has leftthem, they are still moving for-ward and making music, and it’ssomething that they love to do. Allin all, it’s the same old Mayday —with a new twist. It’s what old lis-teners should have expected, andwhat newcomers will love to hear.

Toronto resident has beenbusy in the past couple yearslanding a record deal that sawthe release of an EP and sev-eral successful singles inCanada. For Lights, writing is atherapeutic experience — onethat gets the best out of her.She says it takes a special placeand state of mind to get thebest creative ideas to paper.

“I love writing lyrics, and Ihave to be alone to do thesethings,” she says. “In writingverses, it takes one part of thepuzzle to create the rest of thesong. Once you figure outverses, then the melody andoverall feeling of the song can gofrom there.”

That formula has no doubtpaid off. Her debut full-length,The Listening, is full of vivid im-agery of stars, out-of-body ex-periences and the feelings of joyand love. It is not necessarilynew ground in popular music,but the lyrical content is sotruthful that only a spiritual per-son like Lights can make itcome to life through synth-

laden melodies and harmonybackbeats. Tracks like “Savior,”“Ice” and “Drive My Soul” delveinto the heart of a believer inoneself, and she is not shy totell her audience that.

While to many she mayseem like just a pretty face,Lights is as normal — and attimes as geeky — as any per-son one may know. She neverhides the fact that in betweentouring and recording, she in-dulges in Star Wars movies,World of Warcraft tournamentsand the music of Phil Collinsand Supertramp, but this is allpart of her personality. Shehas never had to create herimage — the music createsher image.

“There is no manual on howto be successful, and it goesthrough your head constantly,”she says. “What I want my fansto see is myself, and I livethrough the characters in mymusic, even though the charac-ters all turn out to be just me,and that is what I want everyoneto see and hear.”

vocals flesh out the emotion fromthe lyrics, as she sings “you treatme just like another stranger/igno-rance is your new best friend.” In“Playing God,” her vocals shineagain, as the frustration evident inthe lyrics “next time you point afinger/I’ll point you to the mirror”becomes alive.

In “The Only Exception,”Williams sings a little folk ditty withjust an acoustic guitar, with lightdrumming kicking in toward theend. It is the complete opposite ofwhat Paramore has done in thepast, but it surprisingly works. Thealbum’s closer, “All I Wanted,”leaves a haunting impression, asWilliams pleas “all I wanted wasyou,” again wailing out simple lyricswith powerful vocals.

Though Williams is the mainhighlight of this album, the otherband members do not hide behindher shadow. They each show theirspice in the recipe, individuallyshining at various moments in thealbum. With this combination,Brand New Eyes proves thatParamore is more than just the av-erage pop-rock band.

the Arctic Monkeys show greatdevelopment in Humbug. Thetunes have transformed from post-punk revival jumpers to slower,The Smiths-like croons highlight-ing Turner’s Yorkshire-accentedeloquent lyrics.

Humbug opens with “My Pro-peller,” a gradually climbing balladcharacterized by begging pausesand relatively dark tones. Thealbum’s single “Crying Lightning”follows in a more classic ArcticMonkeys fashion, sporting aslightly faster beat and a tale of asweetly rotten romance.

“Crying Lightning” boastslyrics describing many sugaryfood items and — quite frankly —who else could incorporate theword “gobstopper” into an indie-rock single but these guys?

Humbug continues with distinctvocals and novel composition toback the band up. Surpassing thelimits locking the Arctic Monkeysin the pop-rock genre, Humbugproves that the band does not wishto minimally satisfy its large fanbase. Instead, the Arctic Monkeyshave stepped beyond their boundsand produced a strong, yet differentalbum from their previous efforts.