March 1, 2005 The Lion’s Eye Page 5 Fve on Entertainment American Dad has bright eyes for Best Buy Music Bright Eyes ‘I'm Wide Awake, It’s Morning’ 8 9 ‘Digital Ash in a Digital Urn’ After purchasing the two albums that were being released by Bright Eyes on Jan. 25, 2005, and listening to them, I kept "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" for myself and gave "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" to my mom. I bet you're asking yourself why. I found that "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" turned out to be the same sound that Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan presented to the world over 30 years ago. Conor Oberst, lead singer of Bright Eyes who is originally from Omaha, Neb., is considered the best writer of our generation at 24. Although young, Oberst has had quite an impact on the hearts of teens across the globe. Although Oberst has become very popular in the underground music scene with his 2002 album, "Lifted," he is still faithful to the small independent label, Saddle Creek, which he helped create when he was 13. Although "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" sounds more like folk and is mostly acoustic, "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" is more experimen- tal, and sounds like electronica-flavored pop. The lyrics from the song, "Devils in the Details," from "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn," are Oberst at his finest self-centered moment, singing about everything from life and death to confessing he is a jerk when he drinks. Such as when he sings, "Me, I'm not a gamble, you can count on me to split." Oberst is fearless in his lyrics, and in the song, "Lua," on the "Wide Awake" album, he sings an acoustic ballad about doing drugs all night with a desperate lover, who has (metaphorically speak- ing) a heavy heart, when he sings, "So many men stronger than me have thrown their backs out try- ing to lift it." Emmylou Harris joins Oberst for three tracks on "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning." On "Wide Awake,” the good tracks start about halfway through the album. There are some crazy synth transgressions to * start you off, but after the first few songs, you will find that the rest of the tracks are quite enjoyable. For not being a Conor Oberst or a Bright Eyes fan, I give "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" two paws. For "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn," I give three paws. If you've been questioning whether to buy either of the albums, I'd say download the songs, or wait until a friend buys the album, and burn it. But, if you desperately want a Bright Eyes album, I'd recommend "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" for those who prefer alternative music, and "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" for those who pre- fer folk and classic rock. alge — — ./. — KATIE NEWS T.V. Show ‘American Dad’ The premiere season for "American Dad" begins Sunday, May 1, at 8:30 p.m. The pilot for the new show, from the creators of "Family Guy," first aired on Fox Feb. 6, after the Super Bowl. The new series, from Seth MacFarlane, has a striking resemblance to his hit show "Family Guy" as it seems all of the characters were duplicated. The father in "American Dad," Stan Smith, is a self-proclaimed "ladies man" and works as a CIA agent. He is a far cry from the obese, ignorant father in "Family Guy," but they both provide viewers with real-life situational comedy, along with "bathroom humor," and are the heart of their respective shows. Stan is extremely patriotic, he sports the American Flag above his bed, in his office, and on a pin he wears on his suit. He is a muscular man who seems ready for action in an instant. He shoots a toaster when toast pops up, tackles his daughter when she sets off the metal detector in the house, and dives across his bedroom for his gun when he hears a sound downstairs at night. Although, in the pilot episode the audience is introduced only to the immediate family, most of their personalities are strikingly obvious. The mother, Francine, is a stay-at-home wife who settles disputes between the children, Steve and Hayley. She is also responsible for keeping an alien named Roger under wraps. Stan brought the alien home illegally from the CIA. Francine also has to listen to woos from the pet goldfish, who has the brain of a German Olympic skier. The fish, similar to baby Stewie in "Family Guy," ogles and makes sexual references to her most of the time. Steve is the younger of the two siblings. He is a “high school student at Pearl Bailey High School, and not exactly the most popular guy. He wears glasses and has low self-esteem. He reminds him- self constantly in the pilot episode: "You're cool with chicks, you're cool with chicks." Hayley is a liberal who sports a bandana, peace sign necklace and has most of her piercable body parts pierced. She attends the local community college and disagrees with her "right-wing lunatic" father on most of the issues that arise. A humorous show targeted at teenagers and young adults, "American Dad" does not disap- point. — MARTIN BEATTY Shopping Best Buy 8 "Turn on the Fun," they told me. "Thousands of Possibilities," they told me. Pffft. Best Buy is a great concept for a store: music, movies, games, and a whole host of other electron- ic mumbo-jumbo all in one place. I have spent many an hour browsing Sam Goody's music selec- tion and Suncoast's movie selection, so I thought Best Buy would be a great place. I was wrong. First, I'll’ start with the staff. They flat-out don't care about you, unless you plan on buying something like a 51-inch flat-screen television. My dad's birthday is coming up, so I decided I wanted to get him a DVD player. I got the atten- tion of one of the clerks and asked him what they had for around $100. He pointed me in the direc- tion of DVD/VCR combinations that also serve as recorders, which were out of my price range. I expressed to him that all I wanted was a regular DVD player, and he said he'd be back in two min- utes. ; I waited. ... and waited. After almost 10 min- utes, I decided to look around myself. I found what I was looking for in a matter of seconds. I love video games. I looked in the games sec- tion and was unimpressed. Maybe they just understocked that day, but there were many empty racks. For a store that calls itself "Best Buy," the prices could have been at least $5 cheap- er than other retailers. Disappointed and a bit frustrated, I went to the CD department. The music section is Best Buy's saving grace. They have a good selection; you can find every- thing from jazz to those stupid "Now" pop compi- lations. The prices are decent, as well. Places like Sam Goody and FYE sell CDs for up to $20, whereas Best Buy sells them for around $13. Unfortunately, even the CD department was dis- appointing. They didn't have any CDs of my favorite band, King Crimson. At that point, I did- n't want to bother with the movie selection. One final gripe I had was the music choice, especially at night. They play annoying techno which gets tiresome after the first 10 seconds. They blast the music. I just got sick of the whole place and left. I guess I can understand why people like Best Buy. The loud, obnoxious music and colorful dis- plays are very attention-grabbing. Het — DAVE HARDISON
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