Inside Beat 2012-02-02

Men’s FashionMen’s Fashion

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REDTAILS• CHAIRLIFT • WILCO • PUMPED UP KICKS• SKYRIM MODS • MAN ON A LEDGE

Zoolander Round Two?

THE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

February 2, 2012 • Inside Beat

EDITOR’S RANT, THEATER & ART

Spence BlazakTammie Choiu

Diana CholankerilJessica Espinosa

Elena GeorgopoulosSaskia KusnecovGianni Stefanelli

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR

EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR

HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR

JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR

KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR

ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR

JASON PEARL...............................................................................ONLINE EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

E D I T O R I A L B O A R D

Rutgers Student Center126 College Avenue, Suite 431

New Brunswick, NJ 08901Phone (732) 932-2013

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INSIDEBEATTHIS WEEK’S

CONTRIBUTORS TO

INSIDE BEAT :

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT EDITOR

Cover Photo Courtesy of style.com

BY ASHLEY PARKASSISTANT EDITOR

Some people might say thatfashion, instead of moving for-ward, revolves in circles. For ex-ample, flare jeans have movedfrom hippies in the ’60s, to thebottom bins of the Goodwill andback into the wardrobes of mod-ern-day hipsters. Looks likeflares took one leap forward andtwo steps back. Just last year, Iwas eyeing a Kate Spade hand-bag that I couldn’t af ford. Now,the same design is on sale but ina different color, and I still can’tafford it! Assuming that a lot ofthe products churned out every

FASHION ADS: STYLED TO SELL

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVSTAFF WRITER

There’s a growingtheme of nostalgia in theart world … last week itbrought us Tom Tier-ney’s paper dolls, andthis week it brings usthe Museum of Bags.

The Museum of Bagswas founded by Lee andHoward Forman. Anavid collector of Bloom-ingdale’s shopping bags,Lee Forman becamemore interested in thedesign and history ofbags as cultural iconsafter graduating fromAmerican University

BY HEATHER TEDESCOTHEATER EDITOR

Rutgers Night Live IV: Cinderella StoryCabaret TheatreFeb. 3-4cabarettheatre.org

Much Ado About NothingRutgers Theatre CompanyFeb. 3-18masongross.r utgers.edu/the-ater/calendar

EurydiceJameson ProjectFeb. 8-12masongross.r utgers.edu/the-ater/calendar

Leagaly Blonde **AUDITIONS**Livingston Theatre CompanyFeb. 10-11rultc.org

How I Learned to DriveCabaret TheatreFeb. 17-25cabarettheatre.org

Topdog/UnderdogRutgers Theatre CompanyFeb. 24 – March 3masongross.r utgers.edu/the-ater/calendar

A Taste of HoneyJameson ProjectFeb. 29 – March 4m a s o n g r o s s . r u t g e r s . e d u /theater/calendar

BareMarch 1-4rultc.org

Cool Things in the ArtWorld:Museum of Bags

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

season are not new, but old madenew, why are we as consumers al-ways wanting more?

Despite all the heavy market-ing — a “new” trend, a “hot” col-lection, the “it” bag — there’sactually a lot of monotony to fash-ion perhaps created by the mar-keting itself. Think about it. Howmany products advertised in pastissues of VOGUE or Harper’sBAZAAR do you actually remem-ber? There’s a sort of emptinessand formulaic nature to the adcampaigns that render them un-memorable — Photoshop plus aleggy model plus clothes and ac-cessories only bought by the “1percent.” Is it really innovation

we’re looking at or just the sem-blance of innovation? The sheersaturation of images and fast-paced season-by-season nature ofthe fashion world encourages for-getfulness, making it seem likethat blouse is “so modern” whenactually it walked the runway fiveyears ago. Ho hum.

So like a hypnotist’s pocketwatch, heavy advertising in thefashion world simultaneouslymakes consumers forget old styleswhile tricking them into thinkingnew trends are actually new! Theycreate black holes of want, of de-mand, which result in a financialvoid. They condemn existing en-sembles as “out,” and delude us

into thinking that by buying intotheir “nowness,” we will somehowbe enhanced — taller, slimmer,more confident — only to bebrought down again next season.Urban Decay just came out with asequel to their successful eyeshadow palette, NAKED. The“new” colors are very similar withsome tonal rearrangements hereand there. But really, is anyonegoing to stop you on the street andsay, “Those colors on your eyesare clearly from the NAKED 2, notNAKED 1, palette.”

Balancing wants (an upgradedpair of Nike Air Safaris) and needs(a coat without holes in it) is notalways easy, especially when fash-

ion articles are always screamingthat readers “must have” this.Don’t be afraid to question the au-thorities — even the fashion high-priestess Anna Wintour. Be smart.What sort of agenda might the au-thor have? Will this product reallyfill a gaping hole in my wardrobe,or do I already own some versionof it? Does this fit my style? If theanswers are negative, sit on yourwallet. If you whole-heartedly be-lieve you’re making a thoughtful,non-impulsive purchase, goahead. It never looks good to be abrainless, trend-following man-nequin. As Yves Saint Laurentonce said, “Fashions fade, style is eternal.”

with an arts degree. TheMuseum of Bags is anonline archive of a totalof 7,000 bags — paperand plastic — from vari-ous times throughouthistory, featuring artistsand cultural icons fromthe 1800s to modern day.There are items such as Roy Lichtenstein’sThanksgiving turkey bagand Andy Warhol’s soupcan bag, as well as mon-uments from periods ofhistory like the silver ju-bilee of the coronation ofQueen Elizabeth in 1952.

The Museum is cur-rently only online, de-spite a plan to also have

a physical venue. On-line you can view theseitems in categories like“From Americana toArt,” “Politics and War”to “Special Occasions”and more. The bags aremeant to bring aboutmemories from allareas of life, whetherthey’re religiousevents, political mile-stones, fashion or art.While the store is notopen yet, these bagsare a must-see for any-one interested in de-sign or history.

For more informa-tion, you can check outthemuseumofbags.org

February 2, 2012 Inside Beat •

FASHION & BOOKS

BY JASON PEARLONLINE EDITOR

While many team books likeNew Avengers or the most recentAnnihilators miniseries tend tofocus on big action scenes, X-Fac-tor’s main focus is on character.With a large and diverse cast fea-turing mutants of several differentcreeds, nationalities and sexualorientations, this book delivers ona level that many other superheroseries struggle to reach.

The current X-Factor series,which was launched in 2005 withveteran scribe Peter David at thehelm, focuses on the mutant de-tective agency X-Factor Investi-

Graphic Content:X-FACTOR

BY ZOË SZATHMARYINSIDE BEAT EDITOR

College students arestereotypically portrayed pre-ferring comfort to style … butwho says you can’t have both?Fashion blogs, as well asmajor runway designers, havetapped into the stylish streetwear culture, offering a widearray of cuts, textures and de-tailing. Instead of woozilysauntering to class with ahangover and beat-up tennisshoes, consider one of the fol-lowing smart options below.

PPuummppeeddUUpp KKiicckkss

gations. Led by the self-duplicat-ing Jamie Madrox (aka MultipleMan), this investigative outfit iscomprised of some of the most in-teresting characters in the Mar-vel Universe. Even when notsolving metahuman mysteriesthe team has had to face count-less other crises, ranging fromextradimensional assassins tomystical were-children.

Most recently, the group tookon a case involving the murder ofSquatter and her kidnapped son,which brought them into conflictwith a soul-stealing demon. Dur-ing the ensuing battle, Madroxwas seemingly killed by theaforementioned hellspawn. How-

ever, it was revealed that whileMultiple Man’s body may havebeen killed, his consciousness isbeing pulled into alternate realityversions of himself as they eachface death as well. Back in themainstream reality, as the mem-bers of X-Factor attempt to rec-oncile their teammate’s death,they are surprised by the reintro-duction of former team leadersHavok (Cyclops’ brother) and Po-laris (Magneto’s daughter).

With the return of a fan-favorite(super) power couple andMadrox’s intriguing bouncethrough the multiverse, X-Factorwill surely continue to be one ofMarvel’s best monthly series.

While these sneakers may notnecessarily be appropriate foryour next athletic adventure,they’ll certainly make asplash on the runway that isCollege Avenue.

From top to bottom: Nike Court Force High

Top Sneakers, $116.38 Ash Genial Mid Heel Buckle

Wedge Sneakers, $248.88 Le Coq Sportif High Top

Sneakers, $108 Mancapane Silk & Lace Flo-

ral High Top Sneakers, $195 Rachel by Rachel Roy Adi-

nah Sneaker, $80

menus much easier. The SkyUIteam aims to find a balance be-tween overloading menus with toomuch information and creatingmenus that too simplistic.

This mod makes a profoundimprovement to Skyrim’s worldmap. In addition to adding high-resolution textures to make themap look better, IcePenguin's mapmod displays main roads, makingtravel across Skyrim a lot more en-joyable.

Tytanis’ Ultimate Mod is quitepossibly the most ambitious proj-ect on Skyrim Nexus. This modadds what can only be describedas a mountain of new items,spells, weapons and perks toSkyrim’s already impressive arse-nal. However, this is only one di-mension of The Ultimate Mod.Tytanis has promised that futureupdates will include numerousmultiplayer features, includingcooperative dungeons and evenopen world PvP servers.

Those fortunate enough to

possess a PC that exceedsSkyrim’s system requirementscan download this mod to en-hance the game's visuals. SkyrimHD is a massive 1.5 gigabytemod that replaces default tex-tures with incredibly detailed,custom ones. Of course, thesenew textures can lead to drops inframe rate and increased loadingtimes, but the quality differenceis very noticeable.

For those looking for a bitmore immersion in their Skyrimexperience, this mod can remedysuch a desire. The Wars in Skyrimmod adds a bit of unpredictabilityto exploring the world by spawn-ing groups of tough enemies atrandom locations and times. Fur-thermore, there exists the chanceof encountering multiple factionsof enemies at the same time andtriggering large-scale battles thatmake the game more challenging.

Mods are a fun way to extenda game's longevity. Skyrim is al-ready an incredibly detailed andlong game on its own, but thepresence of mods will encourageadditional playthroughs foryears to come.

February 2. 2012 • Inside Beat

TV & VIDEO GAMES

BY FREDDIE MORGAN

TV EDITOR

Get a load of these unbe-lievable news stories about tel-evision stars that happenedjust last week!

Former staffer Paul Tarasciofiled a lawsuit against NBC Uni-versal and the host of Late Nightwith Jimmy Fallon, accusing theshow of gender bias. The plain-tiff alleges in the suit that he wasdropped from his job as stagemanager because he’s a male.According to Fallon’s directorDavid Diomedi, Jimmy prefersto take direction from a woman,and has replaced several men bywomen upon request.

In an interview with TheHuffington Post, The Nannystar Fran Drescher said bothshe and her ex-husband PeterMarc Jacobson had an en-counter with aliens when theywere teenagers while drivingon the road with their fathers.Drescher speculates that theirsimilar experiences were notcoincidence, stating, “I thinkthat somehow we were pro-grammed [by aliens] to meet.”Drescher adds that she and Ja-cobson both have “the exactsame scar on the exact samespot.” Jacobson believes shescalded herself with hot water,but Drescher believes “that’swhere the chip is.”

Former So You Think YouCan Dance choreographerAlex Da Silva was sentenced to

BY RYAN SURUJNATHASSOCIATE EDITOR

One of the best things aboutPC gaming is the wealth of highquality, user-created content avail-able over the Internet. With TheElder Scrolls V: Skyrim havingbeen on the market for severalmonths now, the wizards over atSkyrimnexus.com have been hardat work, attempting to augmentand improve an already spectacu-lar game. From massive, game-changing overhauls to fine-tuningsmall details, there are all sorts ofmods readily available for thosewho wish to add something totheir Skyrim experience. Of thehundreds of mods available atSkyrim Nexus, here are a few well-implemented ones that are worthchecking out.

The SkyUI team has attemptedto undertake a pretty dauntingtask: revamping Skyrim’s entireuser interface. SkyUI replacesSkyrim’s default menus withsleeker and neater interfaces thatare more intuitive with keyboardand mouse controls. It even man-ages to include a very useful text-search utility, which makesnavigating inventory and magic

MMOODDDDIINNGG SSKKYYRRIIMM

1. SKYUI BY SCHLANGSTER

2. A QUALITY WORLD MAP

WITH ROADS BY ICEPENGUIN

3. THE ULTIMATE MOD BYTYTANIS

4. SKYRIM HD BY NEBULA

5. WARS IN SKYRIMBY ALEXANDROX

WWee ii rr dd TT VV NN ee ww ssCOURTESY OF FANPOP.COM

COURTESY OF BUZZBOX.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BETHESDA

ALEX DA SILVA

FRAN DRESCHER

10 years in prison after a juryconvicted him on rape chargesFriday. According to TMZ.com,the 43-year-old choreographer,who worked on the FOX showthrough the first four seasons,was convicted of one count ofrape and one count of assaultwith intent to commit rape. Hewas initially arrested in 2009and charged with the rape andsexual assault of four womenwho were once his dance stu-dents. Since then, the remain-ing counts were subsequentlydismissed. Da Silva was or-dered to register as a sex of-fender as well.

Jay Leno has been facing alot of backlash from a gag thatappeared on Jan. 19 broadcastof NBC’s Tonight Show. In thisbit, a parody from The Insiderdepicted the homes of the Re-publican presidential candi-dates. When Mitt Romney’ssummer home was an-nounced, the video instead cutto an image of the GoldenTemple in Amritsar, the spiri-tual center of the Sikh faith.India’s outraged Sikh commu-nity was the first to protest, butwhat was meant as a throw-away joke has now snowballedinto a global controversy. Lenoand NBC were sued fordefamation over the matter,and now British Labour Partylawmakers are seeking anapology to all Sikhs for a dis-respectful representation ofthe Golden Temple.

It’s a Man’s World

Balmain - War and Peace

Dandies, princes and lounge lizards — these were just some of the stylishpersonas presented at the Fall/Winter 2012 menswear shows in New York,Paris and Milan. While the majority of fashion journalism is dedicated tothe ladies, there’s a whole sea of men waiting for their turn in the spotlight.Inside Beat investigates the hottest men’s fashions, soon to be seen on asidewalk near you. — Zoë Szathmary, Inside Beat Editor

Olivier Rousteing may be a newcomer at the renowned French fashion house, but he put forth some of the strongest —and wearable — looks for men this year. Allegedly inspired by Russian military uniforms, his overcoats and blazers aresure to soon be seen everywhere. Rousteing kept things from getting too stately with motorcycle boots, zipper jackets andinteresting detailing … imagine Prince Andrei as a member of a rock ‘n’ roll band. Don’t be surprised if your favorite mu-sicians start wearing Balmain threads everywhere.

Domenico Dolce and Steffano Gabbana seem to have raided the legendary clotheshorse’s wardrobe this year, asmodels sauntered down the runway in fur-trimmed overcoats and rich wool suits. A smaller percentage of the collec-tion, however, featured chunky knits and professorial trousers. While the majority of the collection was intriguing andByronic, certain pieces, like the brocade blazers, were awkward and unwelcome.

It’s a Man’s World

Dolce & Gabbana - Beau Brummell 2.0

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STYLE.COM

Editors’ Picks

Gucci - That ‘70s ShowGucci creative director Frida Giannini has never been embarrassed by her love for glam rock — she’s admitted in in-

terviews to having a record collection in the thousands, featuring records by David Bowie and Roxy Music. Her collec-tion for 2012 was subdued, louche and sexy: corduroy jackets in rich greens, satiny charcoal and purple trousers, andwell-cut overcoats are all drool-worthy...perfect for the morning after a night at Studio 54.

Burberry Prorsum - Tinker, Tailor...’70s chic was all over Christopher Bailey’s runway, too...but it seems to have taken its inspiration from John le Carré’s

celebrated spy novels instead. Models were impeccable in sharp, menacing tweed suits — matching their sharp, menac-ing cheekbones, lending an air of Cold War paranoia. Other looks featured quilted jackets and newsboy caps, whichbrought to mind huntsman in the English countryside. Bailey did add some, flair, however, by throwing in tinkered-withNavajo prints and geometric patterns on coats, sweaters and umbrellas.

Editors’ Picks

Marc Jacobs Alexander Wang Balenciaga Alexander McQueen


FILM

BY SPENCE BLAZAKSTAFF WRITER

When debating the issue ofHollywood's leading man, nameslike DiCaprio, Depp and Damonare frequently tossed around theconversation. While all of these ac-tors are indubitably at the top oftheir profession, there is one actorwho has proved time and timeagain that he just might have nopeer: no, not Ashton Kutcher, butPaul Giamatti.

Some people say that there isno way to measure actors upagainst each other, but quitefrankly, those people are deadwrong. One can use the followingscale to judge the full scope of anactor's prowess: to perform in com-edy as well as drama, to have a ca-reer that can survive being in akid's movie, to play both support-ing and starring roles, to have awide array of “flawless perform-ances” and to act well in an awfulmovie. Paul Giamatti gets a perfect10 in every one of these categories,while Philip Seymour Hoffman andGeorge Clooney fall just short.

Firstly, the majority of Giamatticharacters feature swells of emo-tion with accessible tendernessone second and perfectly timedcomedic relief the next. In termsof comedy, his two best roles arethe villain in Shoot ’Em Up whohunts Clive Owen while trying tosalvage his marriage and his guestappearance as a socially inept TVeditor who is obsessed with the Is-landers on 30 Rock. When his role

BY ELENA GEORGOPOULOSSTAFF WRITER

George Lucas was once a god tofan boys, creating some of the mostmemorable and successful moviefranchises to grace the silverscreen. Recent years and reviewshave not been so kind to Mr. Lucas,who recently said he would retirefrom directing and producing main-stream movies. However, he doesso after completing his latest projectRed Tails, a WWII movie 15 years inthe making. Why did it take solong? Red Tails describes the

Paul Giamatti: America’s Best Leading Man

Red TailsAnthony Hemingway | C +

COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM


Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots in the military at atime when the country they werefighting for still had Jim Crow laws.Lucas said that studios were reluc-tant to release this film since itwould not appeal to a non-U.S. mar-ket, thus hurting profits. Neverthe-less, in a genre so understood andplayed out, this war movie tells onestory that hasn’t been told.

Red Tails is very much a filmthat would have been released in1950 in order to justify and glorifyAmerica’s role in WWII; it fea-tures brave soldiers who are torn

between following orders or theirhearts, motivational speeches, evilNazis and young men willing tofight and secure their place in his-tory. Intense air combat scenesand racially-charged argumentscreate good suspense for the au-dience, truly making a viewer rootfor these men.

Unfortunately, what detractsfrom the overall movie is a lack ofgood writing, original cinematog-raphy and any character develop-ment. Traits and features aboutthe characters are introduced onlyto be ignored for a chunk of the

film and never really be explained.The usual archetypes are filled outin this war movie — the conflictedcaptain, the tough colonel, the hot-headed joker, the youngest manwanting to prove himself — pre-senting these men as alternaterace versions of characters fromother war films rather than indi-viduals with their own demons andinsecurities. The main hope thatthis film puts across is to create aninterest in a group of soldiers thatwere just as brave, if not braver,than anyone else who goes to war.However, it ignores what other

more recent war movies point out:war is not about bravery or hero-ism, nor is it an adventure-filledplace where you get to make newfriends. Those who experienced ithave traumas and stories thatshow the ugliness of all human be-ings, and to suggest that it is anydifferent is insultingly unrealistic.

All in all, Red Tails is still anemotionally pulling and entertain-ing film that covers usuallyglossed over heroes and should beappealing to young people whowant more than what the text-books tell them.

asks him to be, Giamatti is alwaysthe funniest man on the screen.

Another important part of awell-rounded career is being ableto swallow one's pride and take asupporting role every now andagain. Films like The Illusionistand Cinderella Man are prettygood, but without the glue of Gia-matti's performances holdingthem together, they would havejust been dismal.

The next step is to be able toappear in a movie as bad as Ladyin the Water and still hold yourhead high. As silly as the movie is,Giamatti never once makes a foolof himself. The same goes withkids’ movies like Fred Claus andBig Fat Liar. In the former, heplays a Santa Claus for the ages.

Finally, every great actor getsat least one “role of a life time,” butGiamatti has had four: a man at thebrink in Sideways, a cynical comicbook artist in American Splendor,a Founding Father in HBO’s JohnAdams and a neurotic TV pro-ducer with decades of girl troublein Barney’s Version. He shows arange that not many other actorsposses and loses himself in rolesin a way that rivals Marlin Brandoor Laurence Olivier.

If Giamatti retired from actingtoday, he would still be his gener-ation’s best actor, and his body ofwork is filled with uncountablehours of gems. Almost every per-formance from the Giamatti vaultis worth checking out for fans ofcinema, actors or disgruntledbearded men.


FILMBY SASKIA KUSNECOV

STAFF WRITER

With all the elements of mod-ern gangster movies, Frenchcrime director Jean-PierreMelville’s Le Cercle Rouge cap-tures the intellectual surrealism ofFrench cinema in a grounded, en-gaging manner.

French film star Alain Delon(Un Flic) stars as Corey, a sly, pol-ished criminal with an extravagantmonetary agenda. He is releasedfrom prison to fulfill a task given tohim by one of the policeman in theforce — setting up a theme of po-lice corruption and a general lackof innocence among men. Thesame day he is released, the mur-derer Vogel escapes from the cus-tody of Mattei, the policesuperintendent, on a moving train.The two eventually meet, at firstexpecting one to fear the other,launching both men into an in-stinctive aggression. But when thetwo men realized they are bothguilty and running, the only natu-ral choice seems to be teamwork.

The first scene presents an al-leged quote from Siddartha Gau-tama: “When men, evenunknowingly, are to meet one day,whatever may befall each, what-ever their diverging paths, on thesaid day, they will inevitably come

Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle)

BY LISA-ANNA MIGLIORESTAFF WRITER

Director Asger Leth’s latestthriller, Man on a Ledge, uniquelymaneuvers around the in-escapable expectations of its titlebut still fails to present the aboveaverage film many assumed itwouldn’t be. The film centers onfugitive Nick Cassidy (Sam Wor-thington, Texas Killing Fields), aman who threatens to jump to hisdeath from his Manhattan hotelwindow. He is soon joined byLydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks,

MAN ON A LEDGEAsger Leth | B-



Our Idiot Brother), a disgraced po-lice negotiator who is hesitant buthopeful of talking down the ex-copturned convict. Although it ap-pears Nick is going to end his life,the audience learns that Cassidy isactually diverting attention awayfrom a huge diamond heist occur-ring just a few buildings down: aheist focused on unearthing thevery diamond tycoon, David Eng-lander (Ed Harris, That’s What IAm), who framed him for stealinga year earlier. It is up to Cassidy toconvince Mercer, the only one will-ing to listen, of his innocence and

clear his tarnished name from thehistory books forever.

The challenge with using a bla-tantly foretelling title like Man ona Ledge is that viewers enter themovie thinking, “to jump or not tojump?” They know that the latteris not an option because jumpingoff the hotel ledge mid-moviewould make it too short and unful-filling. Actor Sam Worthingtondoesn’t even appear to be as fright-ened as he should be. It could beargued that Worthington is calmerin demeanor than he should be be-cause his character knows it is all

a ruse. However, his failure to in-voke the sentiment of outmost ter-ror hovering thousands of feetabove concrete calls attention tothe fact that the landscape is a fakeand possibly green screened.What’s so scary about that?

Asger Leth and writer Pablo F.Fenjves are able to save the“thrill” in this thriller by includinga heist subplot to amend wherethe outer layer of the story fails.Burglaries, villains and corruptpolice add cliché twists to thestory, but they are the only semi-interesting things moving it along.

Also, since Cassidy’s past is re-vealed slowly as he is relaying it toMercer, this grabs the attention ofviewers who are anxious to knowwhy he chose to get on that ledgein the first place.

Despite its clichés, predictabil-ity and use of superficial stereo-types, it is still a clever movie.Various stories could havespawned from the simple conceptof having a man on a ledge, butLeth and Fenjves chose to presentan entertaining heist thriller thatyou’ll want to see once, maybeeven twice.

together in the red circle.” The redcircle is the symbolic chalk draw-ing by the Buddha that bringsthese men together. In the case ofLe Cercle Rouge, even men as softand simple as Mattei have to cometo understand this.

Stylistically, Le Cercle Rougemaintains the unsaturated colorand wardrobe of other crime filmsby French directors of its time.The aspect that sets Corey apartfrom Vogel is his dress: his lighttrench coat and polished shoesallow him to blend in with theother investigators and police-men, blurring the traditionalimage of the criminal straightfrom the sewers. By denyingviewers clear visual cues as towhether characters are good orevil, Melville allows audiencemembers to inspect the true na-ture of characters for themselves.The faded, unsaturated earthtones of the mise-en-scene in thefilm provide clarity and a sense ofreality among very surreal andprovocative plot developments.

Overall, this monument in theFrench crime genre is a com-pelling one for those who are in-terested in commentary on humannature, corruption in French soci-ety, or someone who is sick of thebang and boom of modern daycrime films.


MUSIC

BY GIANNA STEFANELLISTAFF WRITER

T h eq u i r k ysongstress,I n g r i dMichaelson,treks into for-eign territoryon her fourth

studio album, Human Again.Ditching the coffee shop lullabies,Michaelson takes a more seriousstance on her new album. Thistime around, she strays from hersweet and whimsical musical for-mula — Human Again is muchmore than Michaelson’s prettyvoice and her ukulele.

INGRID MICHAELSON

BY DIANA CHOLANKERIL

STAFF WRITER

W h e nartists like Ri-hanna churnout hit-mak-ing albumsevery year, afour-year gapbetween al-

bums seems like an eternity in thefast-paced music world. Yet, avid

C h a i r l i f tSomething| B+

Human Again| A

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FANPOP.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SECRET ROAD AND GAVIN CONATY

music lovers and producers alikeforget that time is sometimes nec-essary to produce solid works ofmusic. That’s exactly what electro-pop band Chairlift has on theirhands with its sophomore release:an undeniable work of electro-popart. The group’s newest release,Something, is definitely more thanits mediocre namesake and provesthat quality indeed trumps quantity.

Something opens with the be-witching number “Sidewalk Sa-

fari” — it leaves listeners spell-bound as if they just walked into abroken ’80s video game. But on asecond, third and 10th listen, it be-comes apparent that this intoxicat-ing farrago of bubbling synths andgenuine vocals are an excellent be-ginning to Something’s charm.

Chairlift’s members prove onthis album that they are consum-mate shape-shifters. Their influ-ences are quite varied andfar-ranging in the pop world.

Songs like “I Belong in YourArms” and “Ghost Tonight,” arereminiscent of Fleetwood Macand Hall & Oates. However, theballad “Cool as a Fire” takes a dif-ferent direction. When it pulsatesthrough the speakers, you haveto do a double take and makesure you didn’t just play an oldWhitney Houston record. Ofcourse, there are a few down-tempo moments that don’t quitematch with the pace of the rest of

the album, but they are the onlyweak points on this otherwisewonderfully toxic album.

Fans delighted by Chairlift’sdebut effort will be blown away bySomething. It’s what a good albumshould strive to be — a story. In amusic world that is becoming in-creasingly disenchanted byminute-made singles and evenmore so removed from full-lengthalbums, this is definitely a dia-mond in the rough.

Full of orchestral powerhousesand lyrical gems, the album is evi-dence to Michaelson’s growth as anartist. On her album, Michaelsoncollaborates with the producer,David Kahne, who worked withartists like Imogen Heap, Paul Mc-Cartney and Stevie Nicks. His influ-ence on the album is apparent, asHuman Again contains brilliant popsongs that are the perfect balancebetween emotional and commercial.

Although Michaelson’s newmaturity is obvious, it is refreshingto see that she has yet to grow outof her ability to relate to her audi-ence. She is something of a poet,as her witty metaphors and honestlyrics are the driving force behindall of her tracks.

Michaelson proves to be a tal-ented storyteller in the simple butmoving ballad, “How We Love.”Throughout the track, she pon-ders on the nature of love and howit personally affects a lonely andheartbroken man she once knew.She croons, “We hate the rainwhen it fills up our shoes/But howwe love when it washes our cars.”

“Fire” is the next best track onthe album. As it starts with a swellof strings, it quickly picks up to tellthe tale of a masochist in an un-healthy relationship. While it is filmtrailer catchy, it is also truly sin-cere…much like many of the songson the album. Expect to hear a cou-ple of the great tracks on HumanAgain on your TV or radio soon.

hoots and hollers of acrowd. The first fivesongs of the live sessionare selections from TheWhole Love. It is evidentthat the song selectionwas very carefully cho-sen in hopes of accentu-ating the accessibility ofthe group’s most recentalbum that was lookedover by many listeners.

The final three songsare “War on War,” “Pas-senger Side” and a coverof “Cruel to Be Kind.”The first is a Wilco clas-sic about futility, but thefinal two are the album’s strongestpoints. The former is from theirfirst album and has rarely beenperformed live in recent years.

Hearing Tweady sing his passion-ate song from over a decade and ahalf ago about control issues in arelationship adds the perfect

amount of nostalgia to the project.The album closes with NickLowe’s classic ’70s pop song thatstrikes an exemplary tone by fea-

turing Lowe himself along withWilco. All in all, the EP is yet an-other reason to reanalyze Wilco’simpressive catalog of work.

wind instruments. In their highlightsingle, “Major,” the band brings in afiring squad of trumpets that bounceoff of Mette Lindberg’s chalky alleycat voice, with heavy echoing reverbthroughout the bridge.

“Cloak and Dagger” pulls out anoir element. It dresses down witha steady bass beat and an airywhistle, matching note-for-note

with Lindberg. Her voiceskips down the versesand leads to the track’sbright, concluding ex-plosion, once again, withbright brass.

On the sweeter side,“Suburban Space In-

vader” hums with a dreamy gushof bubbly, waterfall-like synths.Transitioning back and forth fromexplosive to lo-fi sounds, Out ofFrequency is a splurge of dance-popbliss and should take up a choicespot in your summer playlist.


MUSIC

BY TAMMIE CHIOU

STAFF WRITER

The Asteroids Galaxy Toursounds a little like an undergroundProhibition speakeasy trans-planted on Newt Gingrich’s “mooncolony” — or even a soundtrack ofa movie about space cowboys. Theduo features producer Lars Iversenand vocalist Mette Lind-berg. Hailing from Den-mark and specializing ina rambunctious, free-for-all sound, they havegained popularity withbig brand companies,such as Heineken andApple, who have snapped up theirsongs for commercials.

The majority of the songs on Outof Frequency are accompanied byglitzy and sparkly clanking andbanging, which backs a blustery en-tourage of brass and occasionally

BY SPENCE BLAZAKSTAFF WRITER

After only three months,Wilco is back. The Chicago pio-neers of alternative countrykicked off 2012 with a briefiTunes-only studio session. Freshoff of the album, The Whole Love,the group has been receiving alot of heat. Fans and critics grum-ble that they “aren’t the sameband they used to be,” and manyremark that front man JeffTweady has been constructing“hasty” lyrics and “halfhearted”guitar licks.

Wilco: iTunes Session is here tosilence the haters. The album con-sists of eight songs that have allthe clarity and feeling of a live per-formance without the relentless

W I L C O Wilco: iTunes Session| B+

Out of Frequency| B+

GALAXY

TOUR

ASTEROIDSASTEROIDS

GALAXY

TOUR

COURTESY OF ZORAN ORLIC

COURTESY OF AUSTIN NELSON

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK.COM/THEASTEROIDSGALAXYTOUR

COURTESY OF SIGURD GRUNBERGER

Inside Beat 2012-02-02

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Transcript of Inside Beat 2012-02-02