INSIDEBEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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THEY’RE BACK26 years after the groundbreaking NBCminiseries V first aired, ABC has updatedthe sci-fi franchise for a new generation

Page 2 • Inside Beat Column • Theater November 12, 2009

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BY JASON STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

It’s a tough pill to swallow livingin a state split between two MajorLeague Baseball teams. It is evenmore frustrating being in a collegesplit down the middle between lovefor two teams like the PhiladelphiaPhillies and the New York Yankees.Mind you, one will rarely get eitherside’s fans to agree on each other’spotential for greatness, and that willalways be the case. The only thingeach team’s fan base can agree on isa hatred for the New York Mets, withall due respect. What worried meabout watching this year’s World Se-ries (outside of the stress and almostsuicidal tendencies I suffered watch-ing Game Four) is how extremely vi-cious a man can become watchingtheir team face off for glory.

For me, a Phillies fan wantingto see my boys repeat a World Se-ries win, the ravenous nature ofmy sports viewing became almostsuffocating and at times hurtful tothe people around me. Not sincemy high school days — when Iwould willingly chew my team-mate’s heads off in gym volleyball— have I have been snippy and attimes downright vicious to myfriends and family who were on op-posing sides of I-95 as far as teamsgo. For someone like me whonever gets into a competitivemindset, it was quite surprising towatch me yell at the Phillies entirehitting staff and wanting to puncha hole through my apartment wall.How would I explain to housingservices the softball size blemishin our living room? Thankfully, Ihave a restraint on my madness.

A World of Woe and Almost Fatal

Ground Balls

EDITORIAL BOARD

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Sukanya Dutta, Marc Mance, Ashley Park, Laura Silverman, Erin Sweeney.

Cover photo courtesy of ABC.

MARGARET DARIAS

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STACY DOUEKASSISTANT EDITOR

NIDHI SARAIYABOOKS EDITOR

ADRIENNE VOGTCOPY EDITOR

MICHAEL MALVASIOFASHION EDITOR

EMILY SCHACHTMANFILM EDITOR

JASION STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTITV EDITOR

RAMON DOMPORPHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

BY MARC MANCESTAFF WRITER

Let’s break down The ToxicAvenger. Nerd goes on a berserkkilling spree after being horriblymutated? Check. Blind girl who fallsin love with the horribly mutatednerd? Check. A good amount of sex-ual and New Jersey jokes? Check.Cross dressers? Check. Rock musi-cal?! Check. As ridiculous as theseingredients might sound, meshthem together and you have onehell of a good time laughing at al-most every given moment.

Set in the fictional town of Tro-maville, New Jersey, toxic pollutantsravage the land because of a corruptgovernor. Enter Melvin Ferd theThird (Nick Cordero, who createdthe role at the George St. Playhouse),a lanky, unconfident, pushover nerd

The Toxic AvengerNew World Stages / Stage 1 | A

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weekly meetingsheld every MONDAY at 9:15 p.m.

located at the RUTGERS STUDENT CENTER, suite 431

But the fact remains I was angryat times, almost physically pissedat watching the series regardlessof its highs and lows on both sides.

The series was indeed one of thehighlights of my year, and while Ihave stated time and time again myappreciation for both teams’ abili-ties, I’m amazed at what it does topeople. I also blame the infuriatinggloaters on Facebook for their abil-ities to brag or complain about theseries through typed sentences andstill annoy a journalism major. But Ithink I have been able to pinpointthe problem.

This is a country built on com-petition, dating back hundreds ofyears. The desire for independencefrom the British, the space race andeven the cola wars were based onthe premise of one upping theother for supremacy. In the worldof sports, supremacy is domesticand territorial. New Jersey doesn’thave a baseball team so we have tochoose based on location, and youwouldn’t expect someone inBergen County to like the Phillies— you go with what is closest tohome. Even more so is the fact thatwhichever team you are a sup-porter of, you want them to pros-per, and all of the competition in theway of that is dead meat. It’s notlike you need a rocket scientist tofigure this whole thing out, but forsomeone like me who never evengot competitive over class spellingbees or science fairs, feeling en-raged at the events of a simplebaseball game gave cause for alarmin my life. To quote a good friend ofmine who has been a Phillies fansince he was on the bottle, “Nowyou know how I feel!”

that tries to put an end to it. But, thegovernor finds out his intentions andhas her goons dispose of him bythrowing him into a barrel full oftoxic. The Toxic Avenger is born asMelvin mutates, receives superhu-man strength, and vows to put an endto whoever pollutes.

The play as a whole is satirical,sarcastic and humorous, with nohint of seriousness, but rather alllaughs. There are scenes whereMelvin rips off the arms and legsof his foes in a comedic fashion,with obviously fake props andblood, while the house band rocksout background music. Irony isshown through the interaction be-tween Melvin and Sarah (Ameri-can Idol’s Diana DeGarmo), ablind librarian who falls in lovewith “Toxie,” the name she giveshim, despite his mutilated face.

Their scenes together consisted ofcatchy tongue in cheek love duetsentitled “Hot Toxic Love.”

The best part of The ToxicAvenger is the fact there is only acast of five characters. There aretwo main actors (Melvin andSarah) and the other three playevery other character. There iseven a scene where one of the ac-tresses is on stage as both of hercharacters, arguing with eachother in song. Not only werethey good actors, but everyonewas on point with singing, infect-ing melodies in your head likethe closing tune “Who Will SaveNew Jersey?”

Overall, the mix of music andthe stoner comedy aspects of thismusical make it a must-see,whether you are a regular playwatcher or not.

November 12, 2009 Books • Theater Inside Beat • Page 3

BY ASHLEY PARKSTAFF WRITER

Homosexuals and the home-less, AIDS and alcohol, drugs anddrag queens — combine all that issocially taboo and you get some-thing absolutely breathtaking:Rent, an electrically explosive playabout friendship, love and life.

The Livingston Theatre Com-pany, in its 12th season, presentedRent at the Crossroads Theatre indowntown New Brunswick. It ranfrom Nov. 5 to 8 with openingnight completely sold out.

With its fist-pumping rebelliousspirit, Rent challenged its audiencesto re-evaluate prejudices and opentheir eyes to the shared human ex-perience. At some points, it was ab-solutely shocking. The performersdid things that left mouths agape instunned surprise, since Rent involvedsome intimate caressing, dirty danc-ing and sexual innuendoes. Yet, theplay was also deeply heartfelt. Itspoignancy brought many of the au-dience members to tears.

BY NIDHI SARAIYABOOKS EDITOR

Maureen Sher-bondy’s short story col-lection, The SlowVanishing (September2009), is aptly named.Her tales are like a tast-ing menu, giving thereader only a momentto savor a great bite be-fore moving onto thenext course.

The themes of herstories also reflect thisidea of holding ontofleeting moments.

Some, like “The Party Planner” and “What the DeadDesire,” ponder life in its final hour and others, like“Catching the Bus” and “Head above Water,” tacklemoving on after death. Sandwiched between these se-rious pieces are comic tales like “Three Monkeys”and “Her Hair,” which sound like daydreams gonewrong. Sherbondy’s endearing characters andpoignant descriptions about lives that are not too dif-ferent from our own are the connecting thread.

Although The Slow Vanishing is Sherbondy’sdebut short stor y collection, her talent as a poetshines through her work. Sherbondy, a Rutgersalumna, has written two poetr y compilations, Afterthe Fairy Tale and Praying in Cof fee Shops, and hasreceived numerous honors, including the Hart CranePoetry Award.

Sherbondy, drawing from her experiences of rais-ing three sons, will please mothers with “VanishingSarah” and “Empty Nest.” But with stories about anIndian couple, a Jewish family and a tsunami survivor,it is clear that Sherbondy can see the world through abroad range of perspectives. Her ability to conveyuniversal themes in five pages or less will win overjust about anyone.

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Edwin Push leased the Java Joe drive-throughafter an avid coffee drinker sued Java Joe.While pressing the speaker button on his cell

phone, the claimant spilled his jumbo Sumatra and re-ceived multiple burns. The lawsuit increased Java Joe’sinsurance premiums so much that a month after thelawsuit settlement, a FOR LEASE sign appeared in theJava Joe window.

A week before the sign was hung, Edwin Push com-pleted his two thousand hours of counseling and re-ceived his North Carolina license allowing him tocounsel patients without the supervision of Dr. Jillian,a man he had grown to dislike. The son of an inventorand entrepreneur, Edwin was more of a risk taker thanother psychologists he knew. At a party thrown by hislawyer cousin, he’d gotten the idea for drive-throughtherapy when his cousin confided in him that he’d re-cently cancelled four consecutive appointments withhis own psychologist.

“I’m a busy guy. Last-minute court appearances andall. If only it was like fast food, you know, a drive-through type of business. One where you don’t haveto make appointments.”

Edwin had never felt that bright light bulb glowingover his own head before – that jolt of discovery thathis father experienced on a daily basis. But there itwas. Poof. Light bulb. Idea. Drive-through therapy. Noinsurance accepted, no appointment required.

In this attention-deficit-disorder society, it seemedlike a good idea – a drive-through talk, a sort of busyperson’s confessional. Maybe it had been the three ginand tonics planting the seed that night. Maybe he wasstill young enough to try something dif ferent. WhenEdwin signed the one-year lease and took down theJava Joe sign, he felt a big smile spreading on his freck-led face. In the mirror, the highlights in his brown-redhair glowed redder than ever before, as if suddenly thesun shone on him, or perhaps it was the light from hisunique idea.

Excerpt from “Therapy”

Rent, a renowned Broadwaymasterpiece, chronicles the livesof poverty-line vagabonds on thestreets of New York City. The mu-sical begins on Christmas Eve,opening with Mark (Dave Destro),a freelance filmmaker, and hisHIV-positive musician friend,Roger (Dave Seamon). Both grap-ple with heartbreak. Maureen(Annie Rutherford Lutz), Mark’sex, recently dumped him for awoman, Joanne (Daphne MichelleClark). Mimi (Sarah Esmi), anS&M dancer, becomes the new ob-ject of Roger’s affection. Mean-while, Mark’s gay friend, TomCollins (J. Aaron Boykin), starts anew relationship with a flamboy-ant cross-dresser Angel (Nick Car-tusciello). Mark’s landlord Benny(Derrick L. Hicks) was a formerfriend who married for money andconstantly demands rent from theloft-mates. Together, the friendsendure harsh trials of love —forged and fallen. They are youngmen and women trying to findtheir place in the world — a story

most Rutgers students can relateto. Rent’s liberality and rebelliousspirit truly caters to the tastes of acollege environment.

The complex roles of Rent callsfor a multitalented cast — a chal-lenge the Livingston Theatre Com-pany matched with ease. Thegifted performers danced, sangand acted with believable dramaand angst.

The music, originally written byJonathan Larson, was performedwith a hauntingly sublime beauty.The cast delivered a tenderheartedrendition of the famous song “Sea-sons of Love.” A live pit orchestraplayed music from a dock behindthe stage, creating beautiful har-monies in a cacophonous world.

For rejoicing Broadway-fanat-ics, Rent is a true musical —hardly a word goes unsung. TheLivingston Theatre Company de-livered a poignant and unbeliev-ably powerful performance. Rent,proving there is “no day buttoday,” is an experience thatshould not be missed.

THE NEW SERIESAlien ships hover a few hundred feet above

all the world’s major cities. A big-eyed, short-haired, attractive woman who calls herself Annaappears on a screen and informs Earthlings thatshe represents these visitors and is here on amission of peace. The world sighs and cheers,and everyone is relieved that first contact hasbeen made.

But was it truly first contact?What if first contact was made a long time

ago, and some aliens have been lying dormantin our society, observing us and planning, as ifthey were a terrorist cell?

That’s the premise of V, the new sci-fi showon ABC based on a cult classic 1983 miniseriesby the same name.

FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell,Lost), assigned to the anti-terrorism unit, noticesthat all the sleeper cells acting inside the UnitedStates see a huge drop in communication whenthe aliens arrive — except one.

She and her partner investigate this groupand find out that a secret meeting is being heldconcerning them. After sneaking in, she and ahandful of other attendees are given anestheticshots and they have part of the skin on theirhead pulled back, to make sure they have askull underneath.

The leader of the resistance informs themeeting’s attendees that there have been aliensliving among us for 10 years. This isn’t a missionof peace, he says — it’s a takeover.

He knows this because, as we learn shortlyafter, his close friend Ryan Nichols (MorrisChestnut, Boyz N the Hood) is actually an alien.Ryan has turned against his orders, though, andhas taken up the cause of assisting mankind inresisting the invasion.

Then after a quick scuf fle we learn thereason for the skin-cutting: under theirhuman facades, the aliens have reptilian skinand scary snake eyes. Ryan, injured in therow, has a gash on his arm revealing hisscaly interior that he must hide from his un-knowing fiancée.

Erica’s son Tyler (Logan Huffman) is alsoinvolved with the Visitors. After taking asanctioned trip to the mothership to stand inawe of their technology, he is recruited by acute blonde alien who asks him to join an am-

In 1983, NBC aired a two-part sci-fi miniseries called V. The stoInstead of showing up and shooting lasers, the aliens lookemanufacture some resources they’d teach us their technologicalrevealed. Now the miniseries has been updated into a slick sci-fi

After 26The isito

bassador program. Erica soon finds videos ofTyler online spray-painting walls in supportof the aliens.

Meanwhile, Anna (Morena Baccarin, Fire-fly) has found a puppet she can use to spreadthe Visitors’ message. Newsman ChadDecker (Scott Wolf, Party of Five) interruptsher first press conference to scold reportersfor asking her tough (meaning relevant)questions and says something awful, alongthe lines of “Are all the aliens as pretty asyou?” Anna, realizing his journalistic skillsare weak, asks him to conduct her first majorTV interview.

Before the interview, Chad informs Annathat he’s going to be tough. She tells him thatif that’s the case, the interview is off. Chadbacks down, lobs softballs the whole time, andhis performance is celebrated by the Visitors’public relations machine.

It is in this interview, though, that the showbogs itself down a bit in current politics. Annapointedly talks about “change,” overtly refer-encing President Barack Obama’s campaignslogan. She then says that their medical tech-nology can heal everyone on Earth — if thepoint isn’t obvious enough, Chad clears it upby asking, “You’re talking about universalhealth care?”

So what political message is V trying tomake? It makes some sense to use the leaderof the Visitors to represent Obama. LikeAnna, Obama rose to national attention de-spite a great deal of mistrust of his motivesor background by much of America. Butclearly Anna’s motives are evil — after all,she represents a group of secret-lizard peo-ple who have been stocking up on C4 andspying on Eathlings for a decade. Is the showreally trying to equate our president to anevil creature plotting our doom while pre-senting an attractive public persona?

If you look past its trying-too-hard politicaltheme, though, V gets it right on every level. Itsspecial effects and CGI resemble those of a sum-mer blockbuster, the acting and writing are spot-on, and like its predecessor, it weaves topical andclassic political themes into its message.

But to fully understand what makes the newV an excellent show, it helps to understand whatmade the original so brilliant.

ory dealt with an alien invasion, but it was not a typical attack. d and spoke like humans, and promised that if we let them l secrets. But as they gained our trust, a more sinister plan was i show on ABC. How does the remake match up to the original?

6 Years, ors Return

THE ORIGINALKenneth Johnson’s V was a huge success

in 1983. In its first run, the miniseries pulledin more than 80 million viewers. Originallyintended to be a political thriller about therise of fascism in America, V was tweaked toinclude aliens due to the recent surge in E.T.-centric films.

The change worked well, though. In fact, itworked perfectly. In the original V, the eventsplayed out a bit differently. There was no FBI in-vestigation; the Visitors had everyone wrappedaround their thumb. That is, everyone but sci-entists and one rogue cameraman.

With general ease, the Visitors took over thenewspapers and TV stations and used them aspropaganda machines. They also very quietlygot all the world’s governments on their side.Without much delay, they began publicly sham-ing scientists. After spreading a lie about howscientists were planning a conspiracy against theVisitors, they convinced mankind to turn in anyscientists they could.

Happily, people began turning in theirneighbors. A brave few hid scientists and theirfamilies in their garages and helped transportthem through police barricades. This invasionhad turned into the holocaust, and anyonewho could figure out the aliens’ sinister planwas weeded out.

A group of scientists escaped and set up shopin an abandoned building. There they beganbuilding a resistance. Their symbol was a red“V” spray-painted on the propaganda postersplastered all over the world.

Young men were introduced into a programthat taught them about the Visitors’ lifestyle andmade them sympathetic to the cause. They weregiven a gun and asked to patrol their neighbor-hoods and turn in defectors.

There were no mixed metaphors in the orig-inal V: Though the aliens showed up with asmile on their face, they were clearly Nazis.People constantly disappeared, young menwere brainwashed and their logo even lookedlike a futuristic swastika.

And that’s what made V such a brilliantminiseries. In just more than three hours, theaudience was introduced to a friendly alienrace, then watched as they very slowly unrav-eled their villainous plan. It wasn’t until halfway

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through the series that we were shown theirscaly skin, or the awesome shot on their leadereating an entire guinea pig in one bite. Theminiseries format allowed more characters toget screen time than a normal movie, but neverallowed for a minute of filler. Watching thewhole thing in one sitting is a treat because ofhow the plot flies along.

HOW THEY COMPAREIt’s hard to take two excellent products, made

26 years apart and trying to accomplish differ-ent things, and say which is better. Both have ex-cellent special effects for their respective eras —of course, the modern version looks much bet-ter. But they are both fantastic looking.

The original series gets the edge is in its for-mat and approach to politics. Though the new Vhas just started and is poised to be an excellent se-ries, it was fantastic that the old version presenteda complete, satisfying story in just a few hours.

Politically, it will be difficult for the new se-ries to continue its current trend across a wholeshow without turning off large sectors of its po-tential audience. The old show, though, got itjust right. In alluding — sometimes subtly,sometimes obviously — to the Holocaust, itconnected with all viewers’ knowledge of thatdark historical period.

If you’re able to get your hands on a DVD ofthe miniseries V, you are in for a treat. But if youcan’t, be sure to tune in to the new series. It issmart, exciting, intelligent and full of potential.

Page 6 • Inside Beat Film • TV November 12, 2009

BY CIARA COPELLSTAFF WRITER

Though lacking central action at times, Amelia tells the amazingand tragic story of Amelia Earhart and proves to be a decent tributeto the aviatrix. The film, directed by Mira Nair (Vanity Fair), fairlysticks to the historical facts of Earhart’s life. It includes details of herfamous cross-Atlantic flights along with her marriage to publicistGeorge Putnam (Richard Gere) and rumored affair with Gene Vidal(Ewan McGregor), as well as her eventual disappearance on her at-tempted trip around the world.

Hilary Swank delivers an outstanding performance in the leadrole, capturing the essence of Earhart perfectly. Richard Gere andEwan McGregor (Angels and Demons) also come through with goodsupporting performances.

Though the overall story of Earhart is fascinating, the film seems todrag in some places and. It could have been cut shorter and still havemaintained the effective plotline. The biopic featured interesting editing— such as turning newspaper covers into live action — and good act-ing, but it was not stellar. Again, this is mostly due to a lack of actionthroughout the film.

There is also a subplot involving Elinor Smith (Mia Wasikowska), ayounger pioneer in women’s aviation, but the film does not explain herrole in aviation and the character does not contribute much to the movieat all. She appears in a few scenes to either add conflict or show Earhart’scompassion for woman fliers, but it seems like a completely random ad-dition to the story.

The life of Amelia Earhart is incredibly interesting and undoubtedlyfilled with many obstacles, but the film’s characters seem static and thereis not much conflict throughout the movie. In fact, everything seems togo perfectly for the aviatrix until her tragic last flight, which still does notdisplay the action one would expect.

Earhart is a legendary woman and has been the inspiration fornumerous other movies in her honor. Though the film featuresgood acting and an accurate portrayal of the aviatrix, it seems toonly provide a super ficial view into her hardships and truly remarkable accomplishments.

With a little bit more depth and vision into Amelia Earhart’s tragicvoyage and other difficult aspects of her life, Amelia could have been agreat movie. Unfortunately, because of the lack of conflict and intensity,it turned out just average.

BY EMILY SCHACHTMANFILM EDITOR

Though An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig,provides a detailed glimpse into the suburbanstylings of 1960s England and displays some greatacting, its overwhelming flaw is twofold. First, the en-tire movie rests upon the supposition that mysteriousDavid (Peter Sarsgaard) is so utterly charming hecan sweep intelligent teenager Jenny (Carey Mulli-gan, Pride and Prejudice, Public Enemies) off her feet.Second, the movie maintains an argument for an hourand 20 minutes only to turn and disagree with itself.Though the film is in many respects fun and lively,the result still feels schizophrenic.

The film opens, cutely enough, with animatedchalk lesson plans superimposed over scenes of girlsin high school. These girls are groomed to be well-rounded; they learn physics and cooking, Latin andsewing, Jane Austen and lacrosse. The audience isthen introduced to Jenny, a smart and pretty girlwhose parents have determined she is going to Ox-ford. Thus Jenny works hard at all the activitiesshown in the credits, along with playing the cello, butwe soon learn that she is disheartened and boredwith her relentlessly studious life. Instead, Jennyloves Camus and jazz, smoking and drinking, art auc-tions and trips to Paris.

From there, the story traces Jenny’s relationshipwith the much older David, who offers her cello a ridein his flashy car one rainy afternoon (he suggestsJenny walk alongside the car to ensure neither shenor the cello are kidnapped). They begin dating and,

AMELIA Mira Nair| B-

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In honor of a television show that has been bringing “sunnydays” to children around the world for the past four decades, hereare 10 little-known facts about Sesame Street.

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Elmo is the only puppet in history to have testified before Congress.

Sesame Street has won 118 Emmys to date — the most for anytelevision show in history.

A Birdseed Milkshake at Hooper’s Store cost $0.20 in 1969and costs $2.99 now.

Although Big Bird is a curious 6-year-old and Oscar is aGrouch, the two are identical on the inside. At age 75, CarrollSpinney has been both characters since 1969.

Currently there are nine Elmo puppets, including a remote-controlled version.

The Jim Henson Company has built over 5,000 puppets forSesame Street over the past 40 years.

Why the name Sesame Street? The word "sesame," an allusionto the fabled command from The Arabian Nights, "Open,Sesame!" suggested excitement and adventure.

All of the Sesame Street Muppets have four fingers, exceptCookie Monster, who has five.

Big Bird is covered with approximately 6,000 dyed NorthAmerican turkey, rooster, ostrich and hackle feathers.

At the end of Sesame Street’s 40th season, 4,212 episodeswill have aired.

Source: Sesame Workshop

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despite her misgivings about his shady professionallife, she accepts his proposal of marriage and dropsout of high school. It is only after she gives up every-thing that she realizes David is not all he presentshimself to be.

Though Sarsgaard has played the straight man(Shattered Glass, Kinsey), he has just as often playedunstable characters (Garden State, Boys Don’t Cry),and it is this image that Sarsgaard does not com-pletely play against. He alternates between smarmyand suave, but little details like his insecurity aboutJenny’s intelligence or his insistence on awkwardbaby names leave Jenny’s insistence on making a lifewith him a mystery.

Furthermore, when she realizes the full extent ofhis dishonesty, her return to school invalidates (withoutexplanation) every complaint Jenny had about educa-tion. She accuses the educated women around her ofbeing miserable frumps and her housewife mother ofworse, yet she inevitably returns to education withoutresolving her issues with the life that this education pro-vides. Mulligan perfectly shows her growth from naïveto love struck and finally — maturity. Still, the strange,unexplained shift in tone that perhaps satisfies viewersgreedy for a happy ending leaves far too many ques-tions about what Jenny really wanted in the first place.

Despite these complaints, the film still looks fan-tastically retro-cool and is worthwhile for fans ofscreenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fi-delity). The film also features a hilariously cranky per-formance from Alfred Molina. An Education is a filmworth renting for the performances and the visuals,just not for its shaky principles.

November 12, 2009 Music Inside Beat • Page 7

BY LAURA

SILVERMANSTAFF WRITER

With her third album PlayOn, Carrie Underwood is prov-ing again that she is goingabove and beyond the 15 min-utes of fame allotted to Ameri-can Idol alums. With thisrelease, Underwood claims thatshe’s definitely going to bearound for a while.

Play On | A

Carrie Underwood

BY JASON

STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

In the two years following therelease of The Shade of PoisonTrees, the creative direction ofChris Carrabba and his emo out-let Dashboard Confessional hasbeen in much dispute. While thealbum was a return to theacoustic sound that made themfamous back in 2002 on ThePlaces You’ve Come to Fear theMost, many applauded the main-stream turn they took with2006’s Dusk and Summer, whichyielded some extensive radioplay and their highest-chartingrelease to date. So the core fanbases’ desire for them to con-

Dashboard Confessional

Alter the Ending | B+

BY SUKANYA

DUTTASTAFF WRITER

Dead Man’s Bones is the self-titled debut album of award-win-ning actor Ryan Gosling and hisbest friend Zach Shields. Thealbum will initially attract listen-ers due to Gosling’s fame. Re-gardless of the band’s starpower, people will still have agreat time listening to thisbizarre yet catchy record — per-fect for this time of year.

The album has a ghostly focus(it was appropriately releasedaround Halloween), with eeriesong titles like “Werewolf Heart”and “Flowers Grow Out of MyGrave.” Sung in Gosling’s mourn-ing baritone and Shield’s sweetvoice, the haunting lyrics of trackslike “Buried in Water” sound more

DEADMAN’SBONES

Dead Man’s Bones | B

COURTESY OF CMT.COM

COURTESY OF LAST.FM

COURTESY OF CBSRECORDS-MEDIA.COM

Her lead-off single, “CowboyCasanova,” star ts of f in Under-wood’s tradition of fun, ener-getic, sure-to-be-karaoke format.She doesn’t stick to one stereo-typical female singer song typeeither. The album is not all“woman scorned,” nor is it all“happily in-love,” as she finds abalance and leaves all her fansable to identify with many of thealbum’s tracks.

It’s refreshing to listen to analbum from a country singer withpop success who still sticks to herroots. The banjo and pedal steel

guitar certainly help in the coun-try feel, but it’s the singing itselfthat makes the album. Under-wood’s powerful voice transcendsmusical boundaries as proven byevery track.

Underwood has a countrymusic “twang,” and the subjectmatter of her songs is as down-home as the music. They tell astory and have a past and presentto them. Country or otherwise,the impressive vocals and themusic that back them up reallymake this album. Play On shouldproduce many hit singles.

tinue in the tradition of theiracoustic roots and the need toprogress as a more palpable highprofile band is brought to headwith the duel acoustic and elec-tric release of their newest re-lease, Alter the Ending.

The outcome of the final prod-uct is one for dispute among thesplit fan base. While choosing be-tween either version is purely achoice to the fan, both the electricand acoustic versions of certainsongs on the album can split a fanon what album they prefer. Theacoustic versions of tracks like“Everybody Learns from Disas-ter” and “Belle of the Boulevard”fit better in the Swiss Army Ro-mance Dashboard than the band’smore recent releases. However,while the acoustic versions of thealbum’s tracks leave a nice feel tothe more traditional Dashboard

fans, the punch is more promi-nent in Carrabba’s soaring vocalsand sorrowful lyrics on tracks like“Get Me Right” and “I KnowAbout You,” which utilize rip-roar-ing guitar melodies and thesteady back beat that has becomethe permanent brand of the Dashboard name.

Carrabba proves once again hisblissfully bitter songwriting aboutlove, desire and the scorn of a 30-year-old man has an endearing fac-tor to it, even after almost 10 yearsof being put into play. While thealbum has the potential to drive ina new audience or alienate the oldone mainly for its polished andsleek mainstream appeal,Carrabba and company will alwayshave an audience to sing about thegirl that got away long after thisalbum has reached the end of itsradio rotation.

like a real ghost story than a song.What emphasizes the shivery fac-tor of the compilation is the ac-companying SilverlakeConservatory of Music children’schoir, whose swooping, innocenthowls are the most morbid bit ofthe record.

Besides singing, Gosling isDMB’s pianist and organist,while Shields is the drummerand supplies a flute solo on “MyBody’s a Zombie for You.” Apartfrom these gloomy melodies,the exuberance Gosling andShields display prevent thealbum from inevitably soundinglike a funeral, and instead makeit sound like an unforgettabletrick-or-treating adventure.Gosling and Shields, who dis-guise themselves as werewolveswhen performing, have no seri-ous prior musical background.This only adds to the un-processed charm of this eccen-tric, yet endearing, band.

Page 8 • Inside Beat Fashion November 12, 2009

BY ERIN SWEENEYSTAFF WRITER

Rutgers loves to party. Thurs-day through Saturday, come 9p.m. , music blasts down the dormhallways, while hordes of fresh-men and sophomores get ready togo out and dance their butts off.As a girl, I know that half the fun isgetting dressed up with your girl-friends before leaving for the par-ties. However, some of us havethe tendency to let the festivemood get the best of our judg-ment, so that we choose too-re-vealing outfits which foregocomfort in favor of perceived sexi-ness. Get inspired by this season’srockstar trend when putting to-gether a Friday night look that’sboth classy and alluring.

The easiest basis for a sultrynighttime outfit is an embellishedmini dress. A pared-down struc-ture keeps it casual while sparklesin the form of studs or sequinsglam up your look. The shortnessof the dress lets you feel uncon-strained on the dance floor; justmake sure to pair it with some leg-gings or opaque tights in order toavoid an embarrassing wardrobemalfunction. Alice and Olivia’sone-shouldered sequin dress ingold is a chic option, but it seri-ously threatens your wallet at$484. Forever 21 sells its own sim-ilar black version, which is muchmore affordable at $24.80. Plus,the dress in black is edgier andmore demure than the gold one.

The next most essential com-ponent to a killer look is footwear.I know you ladies love your heels,but you could stay out so muchlonger in more comfortableshoes! Consider biker boots — a

Style For Less

ALICE AND OLIVIA, $484 FOREVER 21, $24.80

FRYE’S ROGAN ENGINEER BOOTS, $328 MOTO STRAP BY DEENA AND OZZY,URBAN OUTFITTERS, $68

ALEXANDER’S LEATHER MOTO VEST, NET-A-PORTER.COM, $1,295

CROPPED MOTO JACKET,FOREVER 21, $39.80

Expensive Reasonable

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open Firefox and type this into the address bar:

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cooler and more comfortable al-ternative — that won’t leave youquite as achy as your other op-tions. Additionally, the chunki-ness of the boots will play downthe girliness of the dress, tough-ening up your look and lendingyou a more laissez-faire attitude.Frye’s Rogan Engineer boots aregorgeous in real leather butpainful to pay for at $328. Forsomething more budget-friendly(that you’ll also feel better beatingup), check out the Moto StrapBoot by Deena and Ozzy at UrbanOutfitters for $68. It’s not exactlypocket change, but they do havethe bonus of extra hardware.

Finally, as we come into thecolder months of November andDecember, you really need to in-vest in a jacket to keep warm onthe way to parties. Since jacketsare hard to keep track of whileyou’re out, and they usually sus-tain considerable wear and tear,,don’t sink too much money intothis piece. The ubiquitousleather jacket of this season isideal, and there are plenty of fauxversions that won’t break thebank. Alexander’s Leather Mo-torcycle Vest is a dream, but seri-ously, at $1,295, keep dreaming.A more realistic choice is For-ever 21’s Cropped Moto Jacketfor $39.80. The leather jacket isanother great accessory thatmakes you look like you aren’ttrying too hard.

Don’t forget some chain-heavyjewelry and a slash of red lipstickto complete the look, along with across-body bag to keep yourphone and wallet close by at alltimes. Now you are ready for aFriday night party, dressed in fash-ion that wont break the bank.