YouTube, Part two: For musicians, it
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If you make the videos, they will come.
YouTube: the home of your favorite drunk squirrel, sneezy panda and the "America's Funniest Home Videos" that will never make it on TV because they are too obscene, too violent or really just not all that funny.
The internationally bestselling book series The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, which begins with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has become wildly popular in the United States during the past few months. Word-of-mouth buzz and the series' bestselling status might lead one to expect a thrilling mystery with intriguing characters and a little bit of romance - and it just so happens that this is exactly what you get.
When you go to see a Shakespeare play, you may expect to see long dresses, balconies and swords. What you may not expect to see are Solo cups, Sperry’s and pant suits. Colleen Kelly, guest director of the University’s drama department’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona, chose an interpretation that turns Milan into a college town and servants into fraternity pledges. Kelly, a former University drama department faculty member, was asked to direct the performance because of her wide variety of experience with Shakespearean plays, including her current position at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va.“Shakespeare doesn’t have to have be flowing gowns and flowing hair,” fourth-year cast member Folami Williams said. “You can shape the language of Shakespeare into whatever interpretation you think works.”There can be no doubt in the audiences’ mind that this is what the cast and crew of Two Gentlemen of Verona have done. Though the set represents, for the most part, a Verona and a Milan that are older and antiquated, the costumes and music choices represent a decidedly more modern feel. During scene changes the audience will be able to enjoy Kelis’ classic song “Milkshake” and Michelle Branch’s “Goodbye to You,” evoking the feel of a romantic comedy.“It was difficult to get a feel for it at first,” said Jamie Coupar, the play’s sound designer and a University graduate. “But it was a lot of fun putting together an overplayed teen movie sequence.” The scene featuring “Goodbye to You,” which recalls many, many chick flicks, is complete with a cliché goodbye scene in the rain between two young lovers.Despite all the trappings of a stereotypical teen love story, this show promises to deliver Shakespeare’s play at its best. The experienced cast knows that while the appearance of the show is modern and fun, there is still some depth and beauty of language in the play.“The students were cast very early and had Winter Break to work on their scripts,” Kelly said. “They were well prepared for rehearsals and were thus able to contribute to the creative process and interpretation.”Though the interpretation seems lighthearted and fun, it doesn’t make the show any easier for the cast.“Shakespeare scares most people,” Williams said. “Being able to take this intellectual idea of Shakespeare and make it your own and then give it to the audience, it isn’t easy.”But despite the language and the question of whether this specific interpretation of college life applies to the source material, the audience will be able to relate to the show. With strong undercurrents of the strength and flexibility of friendship and the necessity of forgiveness, Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy that, like all of Shakespeare’s comedies, has a deeper message if you choose to see it.“The two gentlemen are friends, brothers in a sense,” Kelly said. “They have a loyalty that prevails at the end, a bond that can endure. What we all agreed on is that this is about young people and new experiences, when morals and beliefs are put to the test.” This basic idea is what led the creative team to the idea of a Greek-related scenario. College in itself is a new experience that tests its students, but fraternity and sorority life especially relates well with the themes present in the play. Whether you enjoy the intricate and beautiful language of Shakespeare, or you really enjoy romantic comedies and Greek life, Two Gentlemen of Verona is sure to entertain.The show’s run will continue to this weekend with shows April 22 to 25 at 8 p.m.
“The Hand and the Soul” is a title that can present itself as literal or metaphoric, abstract or concrete. In the case of the newest exhibit at the University Art Museum, it is both the exhibit’s title and a book edited by Assoc. Art and Architecture Prof. Sanda Iliescu.The exhibit’s full title is The Hand and the Soul: LeWitt, Slutzky, Illiescu. Prominently placed directly across from the exhibit’s entrance is a wall painting that follows the process set out by Sol LeWitt, a conceptual artist in his own right as well as one of Illiescu’s mentors. The wall was divided into 300 squares and each square has exactly one line. Nine students and Illiescu split up the squares so that each had 30 lines to draw. The lines are curved or straight, horizontal, diagonal or vertical, continuous or broken. Together these 300 lines make up a complicated, interwoven piece of conceptual art.“I did a lot of straight lines,” said Supriya Sudan, a fourth-year Architecture student and museum intern. “Curved lines are really hard to get right.” That seems counterintuitive, but when your line has to be absolutely perfect and absolutely the same no matter how many times you trace over it, Sudan’s statement is more understandable.“Your line is communicating with every other line,” Sudan said. “It’s part of the whole communication process.” Nine students, Iliescu and one of LeWitt’s assistants, Roland Lusk communicated a good deal to ensure that the wall was completed according to what they wanted it to look like. This includes perfect angles, level lines and no closed shapes that immediately attract the eye. Robert Slutzky’s paintings on display are from the same generation of abstract art, featuring a similar democratic concept as the wall painting based on LeWitt. Each square inch in his painting is as important as the next. Just as no one section of the wall painting should immediately draw your eye, neither should any inch of Slutzky’s abstract paintings.The concept of the exhibit is not only evident in its title, the wall painting and the abstract colors of Slutzky, but also in Iliescu’s works that are on display.“The hand stands for making, creating and the aesthetic,” Illiescu said. “The soul stands for what is right and just in this world, from humans to the environment. Art is as much about ideas as it is about objects.”The relationship between the quality of something’s goodness and the quality of its beauty is a prevalent theme throughout history. Fairytale witches might be beautiful, but they use their beauty to lure one into death and decay.Iliescu takes things that might seem dull or boring and turns them into beautiful and evocative art. Her “kitchen table collages” feature pieces of paper bags from her son’s lunches, scraps of thought from her manuscript pages as well as swatches of fabric sewn together to create something that is both solid and aesthetic.Iliescu’s other works on display featured eight out of 16 pieces in a series in which she wrote a poem regularly with her right hand, and backwards with her left hand on the same line. She would then erase the poem and start the whole process again one line down. She essentially created a formula or recipe for a style of art, much like LeWitt’s wall paintings. They allow the viewer to see not only the hand — the time, effort and practice that went into the poem art — but the soul as well, the piece of us that will always be dedicated to poetry and emotion. Iliescu “is an unwavering reminder of why I love art: because at its core, it is the simple and beautiful act of making a mark,” said Rachel Singel, a fourth-year College student who contributed to the wall painting and the installation. “That mark may be solely for the individual, but it can also be for something more: a community, a cause, an artist being remembered.”
While most a capella groups perform and record songs by their favorite artists, very few of these artists recognize the effort. Ben Folds, however, is — as always — a bit different. When he discovered the plethora of tributes to his music by a capella groups on YouTube, he set up a contest through which winners’ songs later were featured on a compilation CD.Enter the Sil’hooettes, one of the University’s well known a capella groups. The Sil’hooettes entered the contest with “You Don’t Know Me,” a duet that Ben Folds sang with Regina Spektor. While they did not win and will not be featured on the CD, they did receive an impressive consolation prize: The Sil’hooettes opened for Ben Folds Monday at his concert at Mary Washington University, performing their version of “You Don’t Know Me.”“It’s cooler than being on the CD anyway,” said Courtney Stroud, a third-year Nursing student who is the group’s business manager. “We get to meet him.”The opportunity came during a busy period for the Sil’hooettes. They will soon host their 20th anniversary concert; about two-thirds of their alumni will return. The concert will feature songs from both alternative and well-known artists including Feist, KT Tunstall, Jewel, Lloyd, Queen and Bob Marley.“We don’t want to be a typical a capella group,” said Jenna Pastuszek, Sil’hooettes President and a fourth-year College student. “We try to stay away from the Top 40 list and perform songs that sound hard.”Any member can submit songs to the music director, fourth-year College student Sara Dougadir, who then arranges the songs into an a capella format. Dougadir is one of three members who are music majors. The group, though, welcomes anyone who is interested in joining to try out.“Anyone can audition,” Pastuszek said. “We even have two girls who can’t read music. They do have very good ears though.”The Sil’hooettes are also releasing a new CD this semester, titled Take it to the Bridge, a double reference to both the bridge of a song and Beta Bridge. The CD’s cover will feature Beta Bridge painted for the Sil’hooettes.“I’m in charge of managing and keeping track of all funds,” Stroud said. “And CD production is a big expense.” In the current economic crunch, the group’s financial hurdles are higher than usual. “Believe it or not, we’ve been pretty heavily impacted by the economy.” Pastuszek said. “We usually have somewhere between 10 and 12 paying gigs a semester and now we’re down to two.”Luckily for the Sil’hooettes, their recent marketing push and tendency to take every gig that comes their way means they will not be fading away despite setbacks. The recognition the group has received during the past several years also helps.The Sil’hooettes will perform their 20th anniversary concert April 4 at McLeod Hall at 8 p.m.
“Being the director of a small art museum is a bit like being a small town doctor,” University Art Museum Bruce Boucher said. “You end up treating the whole family — and everyone is related to Thomas Jefferson.”Mr. Jefferson led the recently hired Boucher to the University by way of a book he wrote about Andrea Palladio, an Italian architect whose work greatly influenced Jefferson’s designs. Sound familiar? Think “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.” Neither Bacon nor Palladio, however, can take all of the credit. Boucher already had a vested interest in the University through family connections, including a brother who graduated from the Medical School. Despite his English accent and European education, Boucher was born and raised in Birmingham, Ala. It was only after completing a Harvard undergraduate education that he moved to England, first for an English degree from Oxford, and then graduate work in art history at the University of London. “Art is part of a larger story that you could call cultural history,” Boucher said. Though the University of London offered him a position as a lecturer before he even finished his graduate work, he chose “time off for good behavior” instead. Traveling throughout Europe gave him not only the perspective of an international education but also the cultural experience required to truly understand art.“The study of art history is the study of the leap between reception and interpretation of phenomenon that makes art such an important part of history.” Boucher said. “It’s about understanding [the world of the past] and broadening our own perspective.”Of course, Boucher’s contribution to the art museum will not be purely ethereal. Elizabeth Turner, vice provost of the arts, recently facilitated the renovation of the Bayly Building, in which the art museum is located, and there still is plenty of work left. “I would really like to see the second floor galleries brought to a higher state of functionality.” Boucher said. He also hopes to add an extension to the back of the building for more classroom space and to improve lighting and climate control. These aspects of the museum may not often be associated with art, but they are very important to the upkeep of works. After all, both lighting and temperature affect the kind of art that museums can maintain. Not only will these practical improvements help with the upkeep of the museum, but they will also help to raise the University’s profile as a school dedicated to its art program. “I want to create a forum for discussion of the arts and their role in the University,” Boucher said. “It is very important that the museum facilitate discussion of art issues.” By combining practical improvements and a raised profile in the community, Boucher hopes to help facilitate the importance of art in a well-rounded education. “Art is an important part of the curriculum.” Boucher said. “Education shouldn’t be strictly utilitarian.” This brings us back to Thomas Jefferson, who agreed with this perspective and wanted to hire a fine arts professor at the University but could not because of restrictions from the state legislature. Perhaps this history will be explored in the next major exhibit — “Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village” — which most likely will come to the museum in late August or early September. Kevin Bacon would be proud.The University Art Museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
From Pride and Prejudice to modern day chick flicks, the relationship between love and annoyance has fascinated even the most cynical. But Spectrum Theater’s newest production I Love You Because ... offers a new and intriguing take on why we love who we love.This production is University alumnus Myles Glancey’s “little baby.” Not only did he pick and cast the show, but he also set up its self-governing format in which each of the six cast members are all co-stars and co-directors. The auditioning process included an interview, as well as a typical theater audition, to establish directing and acting ability. This meant that all the actors contributed their own ideas and criticisms equally. They all contributed both advice and talent to the final production, making major decisions about the show’s choreography, lighting and blocking.“Everyone is really working together,” Glancey said. “The cast members are all in charge.”The inspiration for this style came from a recent Broadway show and favorite of Glancey’s called [Title of Show], a musical about making a musical with a similar governing structure. But the structure isn’t the only unique aspect of this show. Though there are four actors who play one character each, the remaining two actors play everyone else in the show, from bartenders to guardian angels. These two guardian angel characters push the plot along, helping the couples find each other.“It’s definitely different than anything I’ve ever done,” said cast member and second-year University student Caitlin Alexander. “It not only involves lots of costume changes, but changing posture, habits and voice — basically everything.”Actually based on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, I Love You Because ... is the story of Austin Bennet and Marcy Fitzwilliams falling in love through the schemes of a blind date, with the gender roles reversed from Austen’s original story. As they fall in love, Austin’s brother, Jeff, and Marcy’s best friend, Diana, also find themselves drifting closer together.“Diana thinks that dating, like everything else in life, can be figured out by numbers and rules,” said fourth-year student Elizabeth Baxa about her character. “She sort of finds out that rules don’t apply.”This is especially true because the character opposite her in the relationship is Jeff Bennet, Austin’s frat-star older brother.“Jeff is a crass, gross, frat boy older brother,” said fourth-year student DJ Lick, who plays Jeff. “He’s much more interested in friends with benefits than relationships.” The differences between Jeff and Diana seem like they might make their eventual relationship impossible, but it only furthers the whole theme of the show — that individual quirks make up who we are, and that when we fall in love, we fall in love with a whole person, not just that person’s best qualities. We are our faults as much as we are our positive traits.“This show sends a great message,” Alexander said. “We love because of differences and strange quirks — because of, not in spite of them.”The show will run Thursday, Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Student Activities Building.
Dan Auerbach, known in the music world as the vocalist and guitarist for alternative blues-rock band the Black Keys, released his solo album Feb. 10. The solo album, titled Keep it Hid, follows the same vein as the Black Keys’ low key, blues-inspired, edgy sound but without much of the dark driving force produced by drummer Pat Carney. Keep it Hid features an eclectic variety of sounds while still maintaining Auerbach’s signature low-key alternative sound. Auerbach opens his solo album with a Deep-South type of folk song, “Trouble Weighs a Ton.” Despite its simplicity of arrangement and lyrics, the song manages to show off both Auerbach’s eclectic abilities and his depth of treatment of tradition and influential musical styles. Its sympathetic lyrics — the repetition of the line “Oh, dear brother, trouble weighs a ton” (inserting “sister” and “mother” throughout the song) — and the subsequent lack of the typical religious connotations of this style make it a universal, understanding song that preludes an album with similar stylistic depth. The album then immediately jumps into “I Want Some More,” a psychedelic flashback that merges with blues in a swampy, bayou tangle that is almost sexy in its darkness. The opening guitar line is reminiscent of “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” from The Beatles’ own more alternative days. As soon as Auerbach starts singing, however, his original voice individualizes the style, merging it with that murky sound to create something entirely unique. The album represents a fairly clear progression in sound, as each track seems to build on the one before it while tweaking an important underlying theme to individualize each song. “Heartbroken, In Disrepair” pulls the album out of the murk into a clearer, crisper treatise about heartbreak but holds onto the dirty blues of its preceding song. The line is startlingly broken up by the track “Because I Should,” which seems to just be 58 seconds of a sound clip from a scary movie. It continues onward in the form of “Whispered Words (Pretty Lies),” which even further cleans up the sound, adding a slightly creepy, very dramatic pulsing nostalgia to the album’s range of sounds. If it weren’t for the already established eclectic set of sounds that Auerbach has progressed through on the album, “My Last Mistake” would seem woefully out of place. With its upbeat, pop musicality and it’s contradictory but conventional lyrical sentiments, Auerbach weaves together a summer-style pop song that still manages originality with a sound, in its gravelly edge, that pays tribute to the vintage equipment used in recording. What is odd about Keep it Hid is that while it presents a variety of styles and themes in its music, the variety is able to slip past the listener. There is depth and change and progression, but the unique, specific vocals, guitar style and sound produced by Auerbach’s equipment blends the songs together so that mere surface listening produces one steady stream of background music. The individuality manifests itself in details and finer points that a cursory run-through might miss. It’s entirely up to the listener what he or she wants to make of this album, but if you are looking for an alternative, interesting and unique sound, than Keep it Hid is sure to please.
As President Obama takes office, completing an almost revolutionary change in our nation’s political status quo, the University’s Art Museum is recognizing the government’s transition with an exhibit of political cartoons from artist Patrick Oliphant.The exhibit, entitled Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the Bush Years, features cartoons, pencil drawings, bronze and wax sculptures and an oversized charcoal drawing — drawn specifically for the exhibit while Oliphant was speaking to art students at the exhibit’s opening. The exhibit is accompanied by a smaller exhibit, With the Line of Daumier, which features many historical cartoons from Honoré Daumier, as well as quite a few prints from British, French and American cartoonists from the 18th to 20th centuries.“The two exhibits represent a dialogue between past and present,” said Elizabeth Turner, acting museum director and vice provost for the arts. This discourse shows the long history between art and social critics. For instance, Daumier was particularly known for his caricatures of political figures and his satire of typical French behavior in the 19th century. The Daumier pieces in the exhibit come from the University’s museum collection, the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.“Daumier is a predecessor of Oliphant’s, whom he considers very important to him,” said Art History Assoc. Prof. Matthew Affron, who also serves as the museum’s curator for modern art. “The relationship between Daumier and Oliphant makes for a rich presentation.” The influence of Daumier on the cartoons is evident, both in Oliphant’s drawings and in their satirical commentary and subject matter.Oliphant was born in Australia in 1934 and immigrated to the United States in 1964, in the midst of one of our most divisive and controversial decades, which included the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the assassinations of two of the nation’s most influential and beloved figures.It was during this time that he began work at The Denver Post. In 1965, his comic was nationally and internationally syndicated, and he has since won the National Cartoonist Society’s Best Editorial Cartoonist Award seven times, the Pulitzer and the Thomas Nast Prize.Oliphant is well-known for his political satire. “The exhibit features something contemporary with its historical context,” Affron said, noting that it juxtaposes Oliphant’s modern-day social commentary and Daumier’s precedent of using art as such a venue for discussion.We have the unique right in our country to an entirely free press, which often provides the opportunity for extraordinary and impossible stories to be printed in tabloids, but also provides us with a venue through which the public can see the other side of the story. Through news stories and commentary in articles, and through paintings, sculpture and cartoons, we can hear from the undecided and the unconvinced. We can hear the opinions of the people who disagree, the minority opinion and even the people who disagree with them. Artists like Daumier and Oliphant have, throughout history, forced us to acknowledge these other opinions, forced us to question commonly held beliefs and understandings, and they have done so cleverly, with amusing candor.“Oliphant emphasizes presentation as a medium of inquiry and communication,” Turner said. Two things without which there cannot be any sort of debate or discussion.Leadership: Oliphant Cartoons and Sculpture from the Bush Years will be on display until March 8. The art museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m.
With a comfortable country blues sound and low, gravelly vocals, it’s no surprise that the Derek Trucks Band’s new album is titled Already Free, evoking winding country roads and solitary convertibles zooming off into the distance. Its track list includes a wide range of styles and sounds that draw upon a wealth of American musical traditions.The opening song on the album is a cover of a Bob Dylan song, “Down in the Flood,” which was recorded in 1967 and was featured on the album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Volume II. On the cover, Trucks is able to pay homage to Dylan’s musicality while adding his own personal touch to the song. Trucks’ version is slightly earthier with jazz undertones and a distinctly New Orleans vibe. “Down in the Flood” also has recent significance, as former President George Bush is succeeded by President Barack Obama and leaves behind the legacy of Hurricane Katrina, an event that bears a somewhat startling similarity to the lyrics of the song.Trucks is primarily known as a guitar virtuoso and played as a member of the Allman Brothers Band, touring with the band as early as age 11. While he demonstrates his impressive guitar talents on every track, he allows others to show off their vocal talents on the album. His musical accompaniment to wife Susan Tedeschi’s vocals on the track “Back Where I Started” however, can hardly be called accompaniment. Tedeschi’s soulful voice perfectly complements Trucks’ guitar line; neither overshadows the other.What is particularly captivating about the album is the extraordinary variety of styles that the Derek Trucks Band manages to capture. While the cover of Dylan’s “Down in the Flood” is a purer earthy blues track, songs such as “Don’t Miss Me” and “Sweet Inspiration” are songs that, though very different from each other lyrically and stylistically, are similar in the wide range of sounds they cover.“Sweet Inspiration” is a jazzy gospel-esque number with a guitar riff in the middle that sounds much more ’80s rock than Baptist. Its sound is both smooth and energetic, dancing its way across the room in a sensual happiness that is at once sexy, uplifting and completely unassuming. There is no better way to describe it than to say that it makes you want to get up and sway your hips with a sexy smirk on your face. Its lyrical demands for “sweet inspiration” certainly aid in this sensation.Contrarily, “Don’t Miss Me,” which is the next track on the album, combines blues and rock with vague pop undertones in the hook that illicit smoky images, apathetic breakups and dark figures turning the corner. It starts off slowly, easing into an almost lazy cool aided and abetted by Trucks’ hoarse voice and lilting lyrics that suggest that even if you did miss him, he wouldn’t really care.What the Derek Trucks Band succeeds in carrying out is a sense of an album that can suit any sort of mood from nostalgic to vengeful to apathetic to reminiscent. An album that falls under no stereotype, it can be classified as rock, R&B and blues. Though it contains elements of all of these, and many more, it doesn’t fit well into any category. Instead the Derek Trucks Band has infused its sound with elements of all genres, creating a new sound that is wholly unique and entirely appealing.Already Free is an album that should be listened to in a convertible with the top down, driving in the evening down solitary country roads.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Though this philosophical question may not have a definitive answer, art’s link to culture and identity is much less obscure. This will be discussed during the Gesel Mason Guest Artist Residency, which will take place Jan. 15 to 17. While she is here, Mason will host a master class, as well as a lecture and a performance. Her lecture, Culture and Identity Through Art, will reflect on how cultural questions can be approached through movement.Mason’s performance will consist of her innovative routine No Boundaries: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers. The dance combines the solos of influential choreographers such as Donald McKayle, Bebe Miller, David Rousseve and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar into a show that celebrates the work of black artists in modern dance. Her performance will also consist of videos of performers, choreographers and cultural artifacts.The University was presented with this opportunity when Drama Prof. Theresa Davis, who had worked with Mason previously, helped the department apply for a grant from the New England Foundation of the Arts. Mason’s residency is being presented in conjunction with the drama department, the Vice Provost for the Arts’ office, the College, the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, the Office of Diversity and Equity and the Office of African-American Affairs. Because this residency is in conjunction with such a wide variety of associations and departments, the turnout is expected to be strong. “The reaction has been really wonderful,” the event’s publicity coordinator Caroline Ryon said. “We look forward to continued interest in the days leading up to the residency.”The master class will consist of dancers from both the University and Charlottesville communities. Dancers, however, will not be the only artists privy to Mason’s expertise.“Mason will also teach classes for University student-actors that will explore issues of identity through improvisation, text and movement,” drama department staff member Jennifer Mays elaborated. Identity plays a major role in Mason’s work. Through art, not only can individual identity be established but cultural identity, as well. Mason is a unique artist in that she is able to translate these abstract concepts into dance.“As an artist, I find Gesel’s work unique in how she sees the world and translates it into movement and dance specifically,” Assoc. Drama Prof. Theresa M. Davis said. “She is an amazing artist.”Mason will also speak to students about light, costume and production design, as well as creative collaboration with actors and dancers. Through her work, Mason is able to communicate a collaborative cross-cultural and cross-discipline experience where more than just dance or black cultural identity is used. Mason incorporates all relevant cultural experiences into her movement, and she recognizes the other components that make up an artistic experience. “We hope students will come away from the event with a greater perspective on the creative and collaborative processes present in the theater and dance as well as the cultural influences that can affect art,” Mays said.Tickets go on sale today and can be purchased through the drama department box office.
You’ve all heard the story. Girl moves to a new town. Girl meets boy. Boy seems strange. Girl and Boy fall in love. Boy turns out to be a vampire? In an interesting twist on an age-old love story, Stephenie Meyer has given her fans an addicting read, a devastating vampire to fall in love with and a brand new franchise to follow. The Twilight series is the story of Isabella Swan who moves to Forks, Wash. to live with her father when her mother remarries. There she finds a loving but reticent father, lots and lots of precipitation and a family of vampires blending in with the locals. When she captures the attention of one of them, she enters a world where supernatural danger is well hidden under rain clouds.Twilight, the first book in the series, was published in 2005 on the eve of the end of Harry Potter, and it seemed that as soon as Potter fans had finished the last book, Twilight became an overnight success. With its captivating, almost-too-perfect hero Edward Cullen stealing hearts from fictional and real women alike and its relatable, yet sarcastic main character, Bella Swan, Twilight is nearly impossible to put down, even by those who aren’t necessarily huge fans. There is something about the unflinching, unwavering and overwhelming love that Edward not only holds for Bella but communicates eloquently and often that makes readers swoon. Of course, Edward Cullen is neither the only vampire nor the only alluring aspect of the series, but he is also undeniably the focus of the series’ appeal.“When I finished the Harry Potter series, I was desperate for another world to delve into. I was looking for something a little less epic, yet just as engulfing as Rowling’s series,” second-year College student Amber Wilson said. “Despite the clichéd love story with a Romeo and Juliet overtone, it was just what I needed.”Though on the surface the Twilight series seems to be just another teen love story, the currents of Bella and Edward’s love run deep enough to touch upon a level of devotion and understanding not often seen in teen literature. Edward not only has to manage a boy’s love for a girl, but a vampire’s love for a human whose blood smells sweeter to him than anyone else’s ever had in his nearly 100-year-long life. Twilight is about the complexity of love, commitment and choice.Of course, with Twilight’s overwhelming, wildfire-style takeover of readers everywhere, the comparisons to Harry Potter were inevitable. Though it is often hailed as “the next Harry Potter” by reviewers and fans alike, the comparisons have seemed out of place and inapplicable by many.“I don’t see what the fuss is about. It’s not half as good as Harry Potter was — I don’t think it’s even comparable,” second-year College student Cristina Wood said. “The book was all right but I don’t see what the big deal is.”Though many loyal Harry Potter fans resent the comparison, claiming that the Harry Potter series has much more to offer readers than the Twilight series, in reality they are just two different series, both wildly popular and in the fantasy category.Of course, in natural order of phenomenon, the Twilight movie is being released tomorrow. Fans everywhere, even those who didn’t read the book ecstatically, or avidly, are looking forward to Twilight’s venture to the big screen. The manifestation of Edward Cullen alone is enough to send teenage girls in to fits of screaming fancy, but the vaguely alternative nature of the film and the creator’s willingness to deviate from the overwhelming adoration toward a more sardonic, albeit incredibly loving, interpretation promises entertainment for all levels of fandom.Second-year College student Chloe Carcamo put it best: “Though the Twilight phenomenon is verging on the overly fanatic, it’s easy to understand why ... The series engulfs you into the fictional world of vampires and timeless love while incorporating it into an everyday teenage existence, making the reader feel like it could happen in their own reality.” Because really, who doesn’t want their own adoring, overwhelmingly-in-love vampire?
As a band gets more popular, they very often lose something in their sound. They become less themselves and more like everyone else. Snow Patrol’s new CD, A Hundred Million Suns, shows the band’s unique ability to avoid this problem. The quiet intensity of Snow Patrol’s music has remained unique without being repetitive, and the group’s lyrics have stayed interesting and comprehensible without becoming clichéd.A Hundred Million Suns is the kind of CD you can fall asleep to. It is not depressing, but it isn’t loud and driving either. It does not inspire the listener to jump out of bed to achieve great things nor does it try to. It is a more contemplative, empathetic album that reaches out to that intangible feeling of searching for something more.Lead single “Take Back the City” — currently in rotation on both VH1 and MTV — is not the best representation of this album. Though it is by no means a bad song, it sounds more stilted than the rest of the tracks on the CD. It does not have quite the same soothing pulse the other songs have; instead, a constant bass drum in the background gives the song a sense of urgency and drive that the other tracks avoid. ”Disaster Button” is also a less than accurate representation of the album as a whole. While it is less driving than “Take Back the City,” it maintains that sense of urgency that seems a little out of place, even in its lyrics: “Hit that button there / The one that just says wrong / We’ll lose our lives through all our favorite songs.”A better representation of the album would have been a song like “Crack the Shutters Open.” Its lyrics depict a couple waking up in the morning after having spent the night together, and it is a song that one would want to listen to in similar circumstances. It also is a song to listen to throughout the day, to remind you of that sense of peace and comfort so you know what you are going back to. The chorus particularly emphasizes this — “Crack the shutters open wide / I want to bathe you in the light of day.”Of course, while urgency may not be Snow Patrol’s usual modus operandi, intensity often is. While their songs do not often feel as though the listener is in a speeding car watching the world blur past, they often carry a certain pensive intensity that has more to do with lyrics and less to do with instrumentation. Some of their song titles demonstrate this, such as “If There’s a Rocket, Tie Me to It.” The song’s lyrics paint a picture of self-destruction in the face of loss, of the need to get out of a situation taking only what you can carry. The chorus is the most substantial verse, making up three of the song’s five stanzas. “A fire, a fire, you can only take what you can carry / A pulse, your pulse, it’s the only thing I can remember / I break, you don’t, I was always set to self destruct though / The fire, the fire, it cracks and barks like primal music.” The repetition provides a surface intensity that is underscored by the lyrics, which make the pressure more evident. A good album is one you not only want to listen to but that you get something out of — be it inspiration, optimism or empathy. Snow Patrol’s A Hundred Million Suns has a contemplative, understanding theme that demonstrates the intensity of life without overwhelming and it does so in its own style, at its own pace, without measuring itself by generic standards.
iTunes has a problem with defining genres. Skeletal Lamping, the newest album by Of Montreal epitomizes alternative music, shattering the mold of “rock” music in which iTunes has placed it.Instead of the more defined and pounding beats that usually accompany rock music, Of Montreal uses a lighter, somewhat muddled background beat, even for their slower, more melancholy songs such as “Touched Something’s Hollow.” Their sound is vaguely reminiscent of The Beatles during their less pop, more drugs phase, bringing to mind such songs as “I am the Walrus” or “Mean Mr. Mustard.” A more accurate description might include a meeting between The Beatles and Scissor Sisters.Another, more disconcerting oddity of Skeletal Lamping is that many of the songs just seem to end, as opposed to conclude. Each song, exempting a select few such as the first and the last, just cuts off, jumping immediately into the next song. There is no distinction, no space, no way of knowing that you’ve changed songs except for changes in tempo or style.Of course, a function of alternative music is that it defies your expectations. With their references to Oedipus Rex in “Plastis Wafer” and song titles such as “An Eluardian Instance” and “Triphallus, to Punctuate!”, Of Montreal certainly do not disappoint. Though at times it feels like they are being weird for the sake of being weird, for 90 percent of the time it works for them. Their complex lyrics integrate well with their strange instrumentation and bouncing beats.One song on which the band’s style works particularly well is the last song on the album, called “Id Engager,” starting with the title, which references the id — Freud’s unconscious part of the psyche. While the song’s lyrics for the most part require the same analysis as intricate poetry, the chorus is rather simple and catchy, creating a musical balance between a light, playful background and teasing, carefree lyrics. Though the message, entombed in the chorus as “Can’t help it if it’s true, don’t want to be your man, just want to play with you,” is anything but wholesome, it certainly is identifiable, as many of Of Montreal’s listeners have probably found.Their off-color style, however, doesn’t work quite as well in “Women’s Studies Victims” as it does in many of their other songs. It is slower and creepier, at times echoing as though it is being played through very old speakers in a very large room. Different parts of the song are incongruous with each other, and though it fits in well with their overall sound, a lack of cohesiveness makes it hard to listen to.Overall Skeletal Lamping is one of those albums you truly have to be in the mood to listen to. Its lyrics force the listener to think, to actively listen to understand them. It is not for passive listeners or for background music. It is not for the faint of heart or for the simplicity of the radio. It doesn’t fit with generic standards or with mainstream concepts of good music. It is alternative in the best sense of the word, expanding the reaches of music far beyond the lowest common denominator that has become so prevalent in popular music.
It is difficult to imagine something we all take for granted just disappearing — but this is exactly what this weekend’s drama department show addresses. In Day of Absence, all of the black people in a sleepy southern town disappear, resulting in chaos and calamity as the citizens of said town realize just how important every culture is to society.“Day of Absence is a complex piece and, due to its heightened style, it contributes potential controversy,” assistant director Lauren Jenkins said.Day of Absence is a play done in a reverse minstrel style. Minstrel was a popular style of comedy in the 19th century that involved white actors in “black face” or with their faces painted black. These skits were extremely degrading and racist, portraying blacks as ignorant and ultimately ridiculous. Reverse minstrel involves black actors playing in “white face” — a provocative hint to the history of theater.“Trying to break the barrier of what a minstrel show is and what is its ultimate purpose may be interesting to some people,” said Mylrick Lapointe, actor and publicity assistant for the show. “But I have found that it has been disturbing to others.” It is a performance style more likely to disturb than some others, especially given the history of the style itself and the open and masked ways in which reverse minstrel style examines racial stereotypes. Ultimately, Day of Absence is a satire performed to address issues and make a statement, while also remaining funny.“To be able to remain realistic and yet funny was one of the hardest challenges,” Lapointe said. This dichotomy is a fundamental part of drama, to entertain without losing a sense of reality, but it is particularly difficult in comedy, especially within such blatant satire. The actors need to stay true to the entertainment value while staying equally true to the message and the mirror of reality.With such a potential for controversy in the chosen style of the show, publicity has been difficult, Lapointe said. It isn’t just the show’s public image at stake, however, but the performances themselves. Any performer, be it in sports, music or drama, can confirm that atmosphere makes a big difference.“I think that these responses will affect the show’s mood greatly,” Lapointe said. “There is a big difference when the crowd thinks that the satire is funny and when they think that it is not.” Understandably, a joke is only as funny as the laughter it receives.What is particularly important to note in the viewing of this show, however, is the message. In Day of Absence, audience members are sure to see not only a play on racial stereotypes and an examination of race relations, but also a treatment of the importance of all cultures and institutions to overarching society.As with most satire, messages often prompt more questions than they do answers, and Day of Absence will certainly demand that of its audience, with elements of truth that will require the audience members to question their own assumptions about culture and race and the integration of both into American society, especially in Southern towns.“Day of Absence exposes folly and the harsh realities of bigotry that still exist today, while showcasing the aesthetic and beauty of black theatre,” Jenkins said.Day of Absence will run today through Oct. 25, Oct. 28 to 31 and Nov. 1 at 8 p.m. in the Helms Theater.
Dance is often described as the expression of the mind and the soul through the body. The upcoming Strands of Motion dance performance weaves this concept with religious stories and messages to form what the drama department hopes will be an inspiring and intriguing performance.Fourth-year College students Ashley Romanias and Jake Pasko choreographed two of the dances for this second-annual Fall Dance Concert, and also will dance in the performance.Romanias’ dance is based on the description of Adam and Eve from Genesis, the first chapter of the Bible. This chapter describes the origins of sin and free will in Christian tradition, and the story’s complexity leads to an incredibly intricate translation to movement.“As a Christian, the story of the fall [of man] is a foundation for what I believe,” Romanias said. “I believe that God created man as innocent, was angered by the fall and sent his son to pay the price for all sin. I decided to create this piece at a time when I was feeling very confused about things and weighed down by my own brokenness. As a result, it is a very difficult piece for me to dance.”The depth Romanias has put into her dance is both extraordinary and daunting. Her piece promises to not only intrigue but also to touch and to inspire the audience. It is the understanding that “interpretation of art is subjective and free from the measures of correctness,” Romanias said, the understanding that art itself is individualistic in its power, that makes her piece accessible to each member of the audience, whom Romanias hopes can adapt her personal journey to their own understanding of the religious concept of the fall of man.Pasko, however, takes a less traditional and less specific approach to motion. His dance centers around the individuality of religion. The ideas behind it range from “manipulations and statements misinterpreted for the sake of personal gain” to “struggles not known to the public but rather lying in the subconscious of the soul,” Pasko said. While Romanias’s choreography represents a personal belief and experience, Pasko’s seems to reach outward, to take an all-encompassing approach that each individual can fit into his or her own faith and understanding of religion.“In the end, it comes down to realizing the skeletons in your closet, dealing with them and letting them go to let a new day begin,” Pasko said. “I believe religion is proof of humanity’s attempt to be good and ultimately proves our desire to be good to one another, but faith is a personal subject. You cannot tell a person what to believe.”Of course, Pasko and Romanias are not the only choreographers who have dances in the show. Dance minors Lindsey Turner, Mary Saunders, Sarah Santos, Colleen Shendow and Kai Chang will also have pieces in the show, with styles ranging from flirtatious belly dancing choreographed by Santos to a juxtaposition of nightmares and slapstick humor in Chang’s piece.Also featured in Strands of Motion is an aerial piece choreographed by Rose P. Beauchamp, adviser to the dance minor program. Aerial pieces can utilize, as in this case, fabric hung from the ceiling to aid motion.“The piece is reminiscent of a mobile above a baby’s cradle,” publicity coordinator and dancer Russ Hicks saidThe two other faculty contributors are faculty contributor Autumn Proctor, whose piece features “abstract ideas of industrial, environmental and mechanical systems,” and lecturer Keira Hart, whose piece “explores men and women and their searching, looking and wanting, and the wanting to be seen, wanting to be held and wanting to be loved,” according to the program’s press release.In a world that is too often plagued by simplification, it is inspiring that Strands of Motion is able to convey the complexity of humanity in the language of movement.
Ben Folds’ newest album Way to Normal — released Sep. 30 — is the latest in Fold’s collection of music with complex lyrics driven by his signature piano lines. As with Folds’ previous albums, Way to Normal contains a variety of songs from pulsing, repetitive, audience-callback songs, such as “Hiroshima (B B B Benny Just Hit His Head),” to slower, more introspective songs like “Cologne.”Unfortunately, the wide range of music lends itself to a lack of cohesion, and not all of the songs live up to the lyrical genius of which we all know Folds is capable. Despite its fast-paced, throbbing beat, the ninth song, “Bitch Went Nuts,” doesn’t seems like an excuse to use prolific profanity. Of course, it is a sentiment that usually derives from a situation in which prolific profanity is unavoidable, so perhaps the greater lyrical depth isn’t necessary. Though the song may not live up to the standards of depth and creativity of some of Folds’ other albums, its simplistic message accompanied by a basic pulsing rock beat may be just what one needs when this song comes up.Not to worry, though — Folds comes back with a vengeance in “Cologne,” as his story-telling prowess emerges to combine with a light, simple piano background and a strong, lyrical story about the power of leaving someone, of letting someone go. It is just the kind of song for which Folds is known, but it is a new story in its own right, not just a repeat of past successes. Similar in its demonstration of Folds’ musicality, “Effington” is also an example of powerful story-telling, but with its more complex, high-powered beat and off-tone choral beginning, it’s a completely different story, lyrics aside. The lyrics, which provide the title for the album, are straightforward and clipped, but they correspond to the music in a way that adds to them, so you almost don’t realize the immature play on the word “Effington.” Even this works with the song, however, and its concept of the mundane. What could have been merely an odd and clipped-sounding song actually comes together in a strange cohesive look at the normal, evidenced in the juxtaposition of “If there’s a god / he’s laughing at us / and our football team,” and “are they f’ing in their yards” in the beginning of the song.Songs such as “Cologne” show off Folds’ personal triumphs in song writing, but “You Don’t Know Me” is an exemplary collaborative effort with the unique indie singer Regina Spektor. Those who have listened to Spektor and know her style can hear it distinctly — not only in the lyrics, but in the rhythmic, circular flowing music, reminiscent of Spektor’s own radio hit “Fidelity.” Spektor also features the piano as the focus of the instrumental aspect of her music, so with both her alternative sound and his straightforward story-telling, “You Don’t Know Me” is one of the best songs on the album.All in all, Way to Normal is a good album. Though it doesn’t have the cohesiveness long-time fans might be looking for, and though Folds uses his story-telling skills in seemingly meaningless ways — such as describing how he fell off the stage in Japan in “Hiroshima” — the Ben Folds we all know and love comes out in the occasionally off-color lyrics, the powerful stories and the often orchestral background through the album. Not every album can be a “Brick.”
In May 2008, China’s Sichuan province experienced a catastrophic earthquake that killed almost 70,000 people. Another 375,000 were seriously injured, and 4.8 million more lost their homes. Despite the immense distance between China and the University, many of the students and faculty here felt the impact of this tragedy.Graduate Education student Jie Chao, a member of the Chinese Student & Scholars Society, was particularly affected. She and other members of CSSS set up donation boxes in the chemistry building and sent e-mails to friends asking for donations. Tom Rose received one of these e-mails, and thus a partnership was born.Rose and Chao had something in common — neither one wanted to feel helpless anymore. Instead, they wanted to take meaningful action. When Rose received the e-mail, he recognized a group that could put his idea for a fundraising concert series into action.“This is the only thing I know how to do,” Rose said in reference to the concert series. Rose works at the University for the Education School’s technology support staff but defines himself as a graphic designer and musician. With Rose’s musical contacts and prowess, and Chao’s and the CSSS’s finances, they were able to put the concert series into action.The concert series began Aug. 1 this year. Since then, 16 concerts with musical styles ranging from classical to jazz to bluegrass, along with a large variety of rock bands, have been held. Artists have included amateurs and professionals alike.Rose, who has been in charge of booking all the artists and venues, developed the idea as a result of his belief in the power of music.“Music has pretty much been the food of life as long as I can remember,” he said. “The philosophy is a diversity of people coming together. We want to have a good time because we’re lucky enough to celebrate.”Chao has been touched by the reaction to the project.“It feels like home,” she said, adding that though many international students feel isolated from the Charlottesville community, “this particular project brings people together.”The concerts span a variety of venues in Charlottesville including Rapture, The Outback Lodge and First Baptist Church. Support for the relief effort has come from a variety of sources, mostly notably the Education School, the International Studies Office and the University Alumni Association.Both Rose and Chao emphasized the importance of the contributing musicians and the volunteers. With a core group of six and more 40 other volunteers, this project is still a massive effort that can always use more support.“It’s been truly amazing,” Rose said. “But there are never enough donations.”The Alligator Concert, the next installment of the series, is scheduled for Sept. 12 at Uncle Charlie’s Smokehouse. It is an excellent opportunity to hear some good music and donate to a worthy cause.“We’re all neighbors, part of the same community,” Rose said. “It is this sentiment that brings out the best of our society. We’re all members of the same global community, and we’re all in a place to help other humans in need.”
Considering the amount of self-governance at the University, the strength of the jazz program should not be surprising. Jazz, with its free-flowing and improvisational style, uses musicians' self-governance and individual interpretation to blend solos and scores into something entirely unique. It may come as some surprise, though, that the Jazz Ensemble at the University is one of the lesser-attended music ensembles.