Friday, March 30, 2007
The next British invasion
By Joshua Lane
, tudent lite editor
The British are coming...again. This time they've
decided to leave their redcoats at home in exchange
for some good tunes. It seems every year at about
this time. our good friends from across the pond
export all their musical goods into the U.S. Last
years biggest import The Arctic Monkeys album
Whatever People .S'a\ I am That Is What I Am Not.
ho 1 . .5. stores in late Feb. and blew up the college
music charts with their hit, "I Bet You Look Good
On The Dance Floor. - It sold 300,000 copies with
in three months, a mere fraction of their 1,150-000
sold in the UK. making it the largest release in UK
luston„.
This \ car's invasion comes with a little less hype
but is not short on quality. The Kaiser Chiefs. Amy
Winchouse and Mika are all British imports and
their albums have all been released this month.
They each bring a different style to the musical
table and ultimately brine a breath of fresh air to a
stagnate t' S. music industry during a time of year
that record labels are known for releasing their
mediocre-at-hest stuff.
Elie headliners of this year's imports are the
Kaiser Chiets. Last Mardi their alhum Employment
%\ent to number one in the 1 1 K and climbed into the
top 10 here in the States thanks to large media coy
dage and the intectious hit "I Predict a Riot. - This
year's album } ours Ruh, Ang," -
J . 101). has ahead\ climhed to 111.1 M
her une in the l K and is aWaitil
decision here in the states.
The Chick hring hack the
catchy rock style once again. hi
this time a little more mature. Thy
songs iire Lleimitely more la‘cre,
anal ( , 11 get the feeling that tl
Chick atc realk trvint2 to ttecon
more time wound. Lea
Wilm)11 1011 es LIOW
oiLe. going loi
In toad OI I,INA. and he end
1.111 \\, ith wand that tru
attempts to channel Englis
tiperqttr.
l'hcfe no llorta2c. of (mid
,ong. , , on the album. The First sin
121 C. "Ruby, - incredibly infe,
(101.1 and the video is all O\
11:SE network and MTV (fox tht
fifteen minutes at four in the
morning when they actually
ideos). Some songs seem
to gi off the classic rock vibe.
"When the Heat Dies Down - is reminiscent of The
Rolling Stones, "Paint it Black - and other songs
like "The Angry Mob, - with lyrics like "It's only
cause you came here with your brothers too/ If you
came here on your own you'd he dead, - give off a
Mika brings Elton John and Queen to new pop
r'lr
- ty. Her writing style
Ids nothing back as
feels free to con
;s everything from
Inking too much to
!aking guys' hearts,
ing her the bad girl
)e. Her first single,
,ehab - is about just
it. It opens with the
ie "They tried to
make me go to rehab/
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Vv'inehouse channels old greats on new album but I say no, no,
no/They tried to
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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Kaiser Chiefs lead the new british invasion
Thin Lizzy feel.
Amy Winehouse releases her second album Back
to Black this month and hopes to get some good
sales out of her U.S. release. She has been met with
a lot of adoration from the media for her new-gen
eration-Motown feel. She gets some help from
super producer Mark Ronson, who has brought the
1-new feel to artists
te Christina Aguilera
id another UK
wort, Lily Allen.
Winehouse
Illy harkens back to
I time greats Billy
Iliday and Etta
tmes, while bringing
Motown sway and
make me go to rehab/
hut I wont go, go, go. - Winehouse has a deeper,
raspier voice that seems to lie about her age, mak
ing her sound much older than she actually is.
The last of the imports, Mika is actually from
Lebanon, but grew up in London. He brings straight
pop with no apologies, and his first single "Grace
Kelly," which is the first song on the album, sums
up what is in store for the remaining 12 tracks. Mika
has great song writing ability and can write a great
piano pop song that sounds more like Elton John in
his heyday than the ultra-generic "Daniel Powter."
Mika's best talent, perhaps even better than his song
writing, may be the fact that his vocal style sounds
like Queen's lead singer Freddy Mercury. You can
close your eyes and the similarity is uncanny. The
album is a toe tapper from track one and never lets
up.
The UK has been good to us for almost fifty
years. They seem to have found the perfect time to
give us their best stuff.
The Beatles invaded and tore it up on the Ed
Sullivan show almost 50 years ago. They've been
trying for a repeat of the great invasion but have yet
to do it. That doesn't mean that with the talent they
have they shouldn't at least give it a try.
Kaiser Chiefs: A-
Amy Winehouse: B
Mika: B-
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90s indie-pop group stays eclectic
By Chris LaFuria
editor-in-chief
From giving a lecture in Physics to exploring a
new style of robotic Queen anthemic rock, Bob
Schneider and his adoles-
cent-voice-
el int ie-pop
supergroup, the Apples in
Stereo, have hit the shelves
once again with their latest
installment of eclectic
rock, New Magnetic
Wonder. Schneider, who
also produced and mixed
the album, leads The
Apples in the same trippy,
psychedelic experience
that got them through the
mid-90s and into 2007.
His vocals are backed by
his own expertise on lead
and rhythm guitars, piano,
organ, bass and percussion.
Joining Schneider on the
album are his Colorado
cohorts Hilarie Sidney,
who plays the drums,
rhythm guitar, and lends
her vocals to the reassuring "Sunndal Song," Eric
Allen on the bass and John Hill, who adds more
rhythmic guitars. Keeping with the Apples' com
mon theme, the quartet not only incorporates such
classical instruments as the clarinet, violin and sax
ophone, but also such frequently underused instru
ments as the cowbell and plastic whistle.
On this album, the Apples take a psychedelic
journey through many different varieties of sounds.
After a brief melodic and robotic intro, the hand
breaks into the catchy, "Can You Feel IC" that can
be heard blasting from a 17-year-old cheerleader's
convertible with the top down.
The physics-influenced "Energy," in which
Schneider rapidly repeats the phrase. "And the
world is made of energy," portrays the band in their
acoustic playpens, dabbling around, creating sim
plistic chord progressions and suddenly breaks into
300 conquers the box office
By Josh Booth
contributing writer
The stylish 300 is an amazing feat of 21st centu
ry cinema packed with stunning visuals, powerful
characters, and beautifully-choreographed battle
sequences. Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel
of the same name, the film accurately translates
Miller's unique vision onto the big screen. 300,
directed by Zack Snyder, is the ferocious retelling
of the famous 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, in
which 300 Spartan soldiers defended Greece for
three days against the massive 250,000-strong
invading Persian army in a heroic last stand.
The film revolves around Sparta: the Grecian city
state that specialized in military training, where
men were born to end lives. 300 depicts the training
process of a Spartan soldier that begins at a very
young age. At birth, Spartan boys are inspected for
any signs of deformity or weakness. If so, they are
cast off
cliff a
left to d
The fi
centers
K i n
Leonid
played
Gera
Butler, am
his 3
Sparta
who set
to defer
Gree
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO fly and blood
Gerrard Butler (right) and Vincent Regan prepare for glory in 300 spurts through
the air. It feels
wrong to be so intrigued by so much violence and
gore, but it can't be helped. It's not just the battle
sequences. Every single frame is so beautifully por
trayed, you feel as if you're watching a painting in
motion. The Grecian sky never looked so colorful.
Even the nudity is done tastefully. Never does it feel
(and most
important-
ly, Sparta)
from the invading Persian armies under the com
mand of the bejeweled god king, Xerxes (Rodrigo
Santoro). Scottish actor Butler does not disappoint
in the role of King Leonidas. He has a commanding
presence on screen, especially when rallying his
men with a thunderous "SPARTANS!" call. Yet, he
also successfully portrays Leonidas' sensitivity and
genuine concern for the future of Sparta. Brazilian
actor Santoro's brilliant portrayal of the effeminate,
power-hungry, self-proclaimed deity Xerxes were
easily some of the best scenes in the movie. One of
my favorite scenes in the film is when King
Leonidas first comes face to face with Xerxes, who
"rides in" on a gigantic gold-encrusted throne.
Even the supporting cast delivers solid perform
ances. Dominic West plays Theron, a corrupt sena
tor who clashes with Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey)
and disapproves of sending aid to King Leonidas.
Vincent Regan plays the Captain, a valorous soldier
loyal to King Leonidas and Sparta.
300 is a two hour thrill ride of testosterone
induced, adrenaline-pumping action. But, that's not
to say this film is for guys only. King Leonidas'
wife, the beautiful Queen Gorgo, plays a major role
in the film and gives female moviegoers a powerful
role model. Headey's Queen Gorgo excels at pro
viding a strong parallel to Butler's King Leonidas.
Kinks lend sound to new
The Behrend Beacon I
a hem ilv-distorted chorus.
As the hand experiments, they take a trip back to
the 60s with "Play Tough," which sounds as if it
could fit into a repertoire with The Kinks and The
Hollies. In addition to the simple melodies,
Schneider and his band develop
a Beach Boys-esque vocal har
mony that allows the listener to
lazily drift into an aesthetic daze.
Not only does the music have
an eclectic feel to it, but also the
presentation and packaging of
the CD is intriguing. The cover
of CD, designed by artist
Andrew McLaughlin, looks sim
ilar to a pack of wild animals
running through a floral arrange
ment in an antique shop. No
kidding. McLaughlin holds
nothing back on designing the
artwork
The CD also includes an
enhanced CD that has additional
music, films and other down
loads. Along with the CD is a
link to download additional
oNTRiBtTED PHOTO
Apples in Stereo songs and an Apples in Stereo
ringtone.
The hand uses every resource they can in the pro
duction of their latest album that, in their CD cover,
they acknowledge the "London Audience" as an
additional musician for their "anger due to Apples'
overly-loud guitars."
Whether out of respect for the musician for his
talent or his contribution to psychedelic music, the
hand has dedicated this album to Syd Barret (1946-
2006), one of the original members of Pink Floyd,
who recently died due to complications from dia
betes.
New Magnetic Wonder is further evidence as to
why the Apples in Stereo survived the 90s indie-pop
scene. Credit Bob Schneider with the musical mas
tery and his Colorado crew for complementing
Schneider and making New Magnetic Wonder one
of 2007's Must Buys.
In Miller's novel, Queen Gorgo only appeared very
briefly and did not play a pivotal role in the story.
Yet, in the film, her role was expanded as she lob
bies before the skeptical Spartan Senate to send aid
to King Leonidas and his men to help stop the
advancing Persian forces. In fact, Spartan women
had more freedom than any other groups of women
during that period in history. They walked amongst
men, held jobs and helped run Sparta while the men
went off into battle. When a Persian messenger
questions the reason for the Queen's outspokenness
in front of men, she tells him it is "because only
Spartan women give birth to real men."
The film heavily relies on brutal violence, gore
and sex as its selling point... and there is nothing
wrong with that. It rightfully earns its "R" rating.
The emphasis is not on just the violence, gore, and
sex, but on how Snyder artistically crafts the gore
and violence. The battle sequences are pure poetry
in motion. The expertly trained Spartans move as if
gratuitous
The only flaw in 300 is its lack of emotional
depth. There's a lot to see in the film, but it doesn't
touch the heart. However, it does not hurt the film
in any way. With this type of film, I wasn't expect
ing any emphasis on emotional depth. 300 is not
supposed to touch the heart. If you want to be
touched, go see something else. If you want eye
popping visuals and adrenaline-pumping action,
then 300 is the film for you.
300 takes modern filmmaking into a new direc
tion, which has only been explored by way of
Miller's previous adaptation, Sin City. Snyder shot
the entire picture using real actors and a blue screen.
He was able to impressively bring to life Miller's
graphic novel with a budget of only $6O million.
The public seemed to respond to this revolutionary
style of filmmaking. kV dominated the box office
in its first two weeks since its release on March 2,
and has grossed $l6O million so far.
the battle were a
ballet. Spear
chucking and
sword thrusting,
the Spartans
smoothly flow
through the
Persian forces
with effortless
speed. Then,
suddenly, some
scenes
slowed down
"Matrix-style"
as severed limbs