Buzz Magazine: Jan. 15, 2004

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WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? BROKEN IT YET? | DATEXXXX, 2004 buzz

z buz January 15-21, 2004 Arts | Entertainment | Community

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COMMUNIT Y

Parasol owner talks music (Page 5)

ARTS

Look with your hands at Verde’s new exhibit (Page 6) MUSIC

The Unicorns are people, too (Page 9)

CALENDAR

Greedy Loves and Dan Darrah (Page 12) FILM

In America strikes home (Page 20)

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I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED...TRULY APPRECIATING THE MUSICAL GENIUS OF QUEEN | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

editor’snote

insidebuzz

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Goodbye Barbie, Hello Kitty

The other day I ran face-first into a new “genre” of music on the cover of a music magazine, Scream-O. Apparently, hard metal, nu-metal and hardcore were not good enough to brand the raucous, fist-pumping anger songs of angst-ridden teens. According to a “How Scream-o are you?” quiz, I rank as the “off the wall, underground as hell Scream-o,” in part because I have heard of The Blood Brothers. In addition, I have been bestowed this title because I do not do the following things at rock shows: A.) Cartwheel into people’s faces; B.) Jump up and down on my imaginary pogo stick, trying desperately to get an autograph; or C.) Bring on the mosh. I digress.

Is it just me or has their been a recent overabundance of new genres surfacing? Without sounding too Seinfeldian, What is post-rock? I understand the characteristics of the genre, and what sound I can expect from bands tagged with the brand. Post-bop, post-punk, post-grunge (Creed and Candlebox, bleh), post-experimental, post-hardcore, postromantic and post-minimalist. The grandfathers of these “post” movements are postromantic; more specifically, anything after romanticism or post-bop that surfaced in the 1960s.

Faithful readers, I urge you to make a pact

Watch out Barbie. A rival pink icon is capturing the heart of little girls around the world.

And, though Barbie’s fans dump her by the end of childhood...

Arts 6 Verde Art Gallery displays beauty Anyone who has walked into an art exhibit–particularly one featuring sculpture–is surely acquainted with the term...

Music 9 Unicorns are musicians, too “Someone’s gonna die,” Nicholas “Niel” Diamond says of his band’s stage show. “If there’s anybody with a pacemaker in the room...

Calendar

12 The best little jazz band in town: Edison Jazz Band If you’re in the mood for live jazz, spend this weekend with Edison Middle School’s jazz band–but don’t be fooled by their young age.

Film

21 Chasing Liberty? Nah, run away

Volume 2, Number 2 COVER DESIGN | Mark Hauge

Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Katie Richardson Copy Editor Chris Ryan Designers Mark Hauge, Maggie Dunphy, Paul Wagner, Jacob Dittmer Production Manager Theon Smith Editorial Adviser Elliot Kolkovich Sales Manager Lindsey Benton Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory

with me at this very moment. No more genres.

Erase emo from your mind, and don’t prescribe to labeling bands like Death Cab For Cutie with this awful but easy term stemming from the word “emotional.” Once again, very specific. Children of the emo, I urge you to cut your comb-over and listen to some Tom Waits.

So-called “emo,” when done well, can sound like Death Cab For Cutie or Rainer Maria. I’m not knocking the music. Although Rainer Maria was named after a famous poet, I’m not sure if their music is any more emotional, than say, Nick Drake, that on an emotional level could be called the grand poobah of emo, but he is referred to as a more reputable singer/songwriter.

Before I get angry letters from high school yearbook staffs, I want to make a disclaimer.

The tag “emo” discredits music that is good.

Yes, some of it is good. Music critics, including myself on occasion, use this term because it’s easy, and it means we don’t have to stretch ourselves and actually describe the sound.

Lumping bands like Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab seems like a crime against humanity, but believe me, it happens. The moral is obvious here. Stop placing general labels on artists that take pride and time in crafting their sound. Don’t make up a genre for one or two specific bands because it gives you cred.

Just listen and enjoy.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries actress Sarah Jessica Parker announced recently that she washes her hair with Mane 'N' Tail shampoo, a product made for horses. I recommend that you consider switching to it, too. It's time to please your inner thoroughbred, whose animal intelligence and wild vitality will be essential to you in the coming weeks.You're finally ready to activate higher levels of ambition; to enter a bigger race for a better prize.

Humanity. Is it crazy and self-defeating to want both things? Guilty Leo" Dear Guilty Leo:You've summed up a dilemma that many Leos are wrestling with. My advice? Honor both your urge to express beauty and your desire to aid your fellow humans. I have a vision of you wearing a gold tiara and Prada's Sculpted d'Orsay pumps as you frame a wall for a new house in Haiti.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King" is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies released in 2003. Yet some of its fervent fans have come forward to identify its many problems with continuity. Did you notice that Frodo's scar migrates from his right cheek in one scene to his left cheek in a later scene? That's just one of over 30 flaws registered by readers of the moviemistakes.com website. I applaud this effort. I've always believed that the most useful critiques often come from people who deeply appreciate the subject they're critiquing.This so happens to be your mandate in the coming week, Taurus: Compassionately assess what needs improvement about everything you love.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I predict that 2004's mysterious gifts will free you from your old self. At least one of your inhibitions will disappear. Attacks of self-consciousness will diminish in frequency and intensity. You'll realize how fun it is to rebel against your antiquated image.The only new taboo you might take on is a taboo against imitating the overused shticks that have worked for you in the past. Because of these explosive improvements in your relationship with brash spontaneity, you may be ready to acquire your porn name. Here are two suggestions about how to generate the new moniker. 1. Combine the name of your first pet with the name of the street where you lost your virginity. 2. Go to www.mypornname.com and follow the directions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My survey of New Year's resolutions

by Geminis reveals some surprising trends. Twenty-one percent of you have vowed to lose weight in 2004, but 26 percent of you hope to gain weight. Thirty-six percent of you plan to launch a new hobby, whereas 58 percent want to get rid of one of your hobbies so as to have more time for the others. While 31 percent of you are plotting to supercharge your ambitions or career, 42 percent of you are quite sure you want to work less and cultivate more leisure and luxury. Finally, 16 percent of you want more "espresso sex" -- quickies with casual acquaintances -- while 69 percent have your hearts set on deep, slow, cozy love-making with emotionally intelligent partners who crave cuddling.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): To frame your assignment this week, I'm plundering an old horoscope from "The Onion" (www.theonion.com), America's finest source of news and entertainment.

"Even the mighty Ozymandias, king of kings, was brought low by time," the 'scope read. "If possible, live your life without this mysterious phenomenon." To help you carry out this difficult but rewarding task, Libra, here are a few tips: 1. In your initial attempt, don't overdo it. Spend no more than three days eluding the oppressive grip of time.2.Hide all clocks and watches.3.Read historical novels and watch movies set in other eras. 4. Fantasize about what you were in your previous incarnations and what you'll be in your future lives.5.Meditate on Plato's idea that "Time is a moving image of eternity."

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The "Weekly World News" reports that U.S. President George W. Bush, the world's most famous Cancer, plans to invade the moon and declare it the 51st state.To fill the office of the moon's live-in governor, Bush intends to appoint his former foe Al Gore, who garnered 540,520 more votes than the President in the election of 2000. In the weeks ahead, I urge you Crabs to come up with an equally nutty and brilliant strategy as you expand your empire to exotic new locales and shake off old adversaries.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "When in a doughnut-eating competition," writes Esquire's Cal Fussman, "press down hard on each one before biting into it. If you don't, the air inside will bloat your belly and you'll get blown out after six." I suggest you regard this as your metaphor to live by in the coming week, Scorpio.

Squeeze out all the filler that might dilute your enjoyment of the really killer stuff. Don't get bogged down in empty symbolism and vacant fantasies that wear down your competitive edge.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Dear Doctor Rob: I'm battling mixed emotions. On the one hand, I have frequent surges of intense compassion that make me want to build houses for poor folks.

On the other hand, I'm beset by flashes of vanity that make me want to spend my money on Prada shoes and expensive jewelry rather than on trips to Third World countries to help Habitat for

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Greek myth, Psyche was a pure-hearted young woman whose misadventures with love got her into trouble. One day she found herself at the mercy of the goddess Aphrodite, who commanded her to sort a big heap of mixed millet, wheat, and poppy seeds into separate piles. You're now in a situation that reminds me of Psyche's predicament,

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

Buzz will not publish a letter without the verbal consent of the writer prior to publication date. Free speech is an important part of the democratic process. Exercise your rights.

All editorial questions or letters to the editor should be sent to buzz@readbuzz.com or 244-9898 or buzz, 57 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Buzz magazine is a student-run publication of Illini Media Company and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

Copyright Illini Media Company 2004

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You now have the power to design and implement a fresh version of fate for yourself. This window of opportunity won't last long, though, so I suggest you act with swift decisiveness.To guide your work, I offer two observations.The first is from Alan Kay, who conceived the laptop computer: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." The second is my paraphrase of astrologer Hadley Fitzgerald's paraphrase of Ram Dass: "On the one hand, everything is preordained. On the other hand you have complete free will. When you truly grasp that paradox, you're no longer a slave of your conditioning."

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian singer Justin Timberlake suffered a temporary blow to his reputation last November.

Speaking to ABC-TV's Diane Sawyer, his ex-lover Britney Spears implied that he is under-endowed in a part of his anatomy that most men take very seriously. It didn't take long for Timberlake's grandmother to come to his defense. "I helped raise him, and I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with him physically," 70-year-old Sadie Bomar told the press. I predict you will soon undergo a similar fall and redemption, Aquarius. Start rounding up the allies you will want to testify in your behalf.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Thinking outside of the box presupposes you were able to think in it." This gem from automotive executive Bob Lutz sets the tone for your new plan of action, Pisces. In the coming week, you should concentrate on understanding your life's long-term trends from an inside-the-box perspective. Stick closely to what you actually know, as opposed to what you might speculate or fantasize. Confine your analysis to the data you can definitely confirm. Starting next week, it'll be time to think outside the box. Having prepared a strong foundation, you will have ensured that your imagination will provide useful visions when you finally unleash it.

HOMEWORK: Name ten ☎ Rob Brezsny's Free Will ✍ items from among your perAstrology beautyandtruth

sonal possessions that you would put in a time capsule to be dug up by your descendants in 500 years.

Tell us at www.freewillastrology.com.

@ f r e e w i l l a s t r o l o g y. c o m 415.459.7209(v)• 415.457.3769 http://www.freewillastrology. com P.O. Box 798 San Anselmo, CA 94979

CROSSWORD PUZZLE - ANSWERS ON PAGE 7

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E-mail us at buzz@readbuzz.com or you can send us a letter at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Sagittarius. Is there any hope for you to complete your own version of this seemingly impossible task? Yes, there is -- especially if you garner the kind of help that Psyche did. Feeling compassion for her plight, thousands of ants swarmed to her aid, separating the seeds for her overnight. Can you call on an equivalent ally?

-M.M.

15 Stay out of sight 16 TV family member

Got an opinion?

odds & end

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ACROSS

PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

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JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | I DON’T WANT SCHOOL TO START

1 Savvy 7 Basketball player’s

After watching President Bush’s daughters rebel throughout American territory, one may wonder what would happen if they were set loose...

BUZZ STAFF

buzz

whose words are often bleeped 17 Layperson in a monastery 18 “And?” 19 Not at all shady 21 Diamond with a mike 22 They may hold money for passengers 23 Run off, in the old days 24 Beekeeper in a 1997 film 25 A hero may have it 29 Tallies: Abbr.

30 Clipped 32 At the time of 33 QB Detmer and others 34 Place to display goods 38 Downed, as shots 41 No longer work

42 Caught on camera 46 Like some dis-

counted mdse.

47 Receives eagerly 50 It may be for the birds 51 Four in an acre 53 “What have you been up to lately?” response 55 Aplenty, once 56 Not work independently 58 Part of some platters 61 Conductor knighted in 1996 62 Tundra borderer 63 Painter Meissonier 64 Taboo 65 Worrywart’s words DOWN Casting event Ochlocracy Siren Have second thoughts about 5 “___ le feste” (“Rigoletto” aria) 6 Sticks, in a way 1 2 3 4

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with traveling 10 Part of some letters 11 Certain Iraqi 12 Bump 13 Cause of some attacks 14 Business setback 20 It’s associated with dens: Abbr.

23 North Dakota city 26 Cravings 27 When D.S.T. begins 28 Call from the field 31 London’s ___ Court 35 Player of Caroline in “Caroline and the City” 36 Questionable gift 37 1996 song that was #1 for 14 weeks 38 Dish Network rival 39 Picked-out material?

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crazy eights 49 Burst 52 Loser 54 Land, in Lyon 56 Mobility improver

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who played both Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes 59 Pitch preceder 60 Under the table

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SO MANY MOVIES, SO LITTLE TIME | JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004 buzz

Drive-thru Reviews

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ALONG CAME POLLY (PG-13) 11:15, 1:20, 3:25, 5:30, 7:35, 9:40 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 TORQUE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 12:00, 1:55, 3:50, 5:45, 7:40, 9:35 FRI/SAT LS 11:30 TEACHER'S PET: THE MOVIE (PG) 12:05, 1:50, 3:35, 5:20, 7:05 THE COOLER (R) STADIUM SEATING 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 CHASING LIBERTY (PG-13) 11:15, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 BIG FISH (PG-13) 11:00, 1:35, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:55, 1:45, 3:35, 5:25, 7:15, 9:05 FRI/SAT LS 11:00 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) 11:20, 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40 LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) 12:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) 11:10, 1:40, 4:10, 6:40, 9:10 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) 12:05, 3:10, 6:15, 9:20 PAYCHECK (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 PETER PAN (PG) 11:35, 2:00, 4:25 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (PG13) STADIUM SEATING 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) 1:15, 3:55, 6:35, 9:15 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 COUPON THE LAST SAMURAI (R) 20OZ.DRINK 6:50, 9:45 MASTER AND COMMANDER (PG-13) 9:00

with $2.50 purchase of 46oz. bag of buttery popcorn

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BEST DEAL in eNewsletter at www.savoy16.com

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CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:40 SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:50 10:00 12:15 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:40 10:00 STUCK ON YOU (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 8:45 11:00 CHASING LIBERTY (PG–13) Sun. - Thu. 8:45 Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 HAUNTED MANSION (PG) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 3:10 5:10 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) (2 SCREENS) Fri. 12:30 1:00 2:50 LAST SAMURAI (R) Fri. - Thu. 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 9:30 9:50 7:00 10:00 11:50 Sun. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 Mon. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:30 9:50 IN AMERICA (PG–13) Fri. & Tue. - Thu. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 Sat. 12:40 3:00 7:00 9:20 11:40 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 7:00 9:20 Sat. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 11:50 Showtimes for 1/16 thru 1/22

NICOLE KIDMAN AND JUDE LAW This Civil War epic has been nominated for more Golden Globes than any other film. A wounded soldier returns home to Cold Mountain hoping to find the love of his life waiting for him. This film is based upon the best-selling novel and also stars Renee Zellweger as a semi-comic sidekick. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SEAN PENN AND BENICIO DEL TORO For two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness. Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death and the echo of tears shed. That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal cinematic catastrophe. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Boardman’s Art Theatre

BIG FISH ★★★ EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow impatient with it. However, it is the film’s inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003’s best. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

CALENDAR GIRLS ★★★ HELEN MIRREN AND JULIE WATERS Instead of a cheap, sexist comedy, screenwriters Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi capture, with subtle humor, a wonderful portrait of a group of slightly confident and empowered women who find some mid-life joy in shocking their conservative English village for a good cause. (Syd Slobodnik) Now showing at Beverly

MANDY MOORE AND STARK SANDS Often times, the script of Chasing Liberty loses itself in an attempt to use genuine feel-good romance, while adding silly humor at the same time. In light of a plot that needs some tweaking, the love story isn’t so sweet that it can’t be swallowed, but toward the end it resembles a pure saccharine rush that is sure to please the preteen crowd.

(Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN ★★★ STEVE MARTIN AND BONNIE HUNT Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action–to captivate and entertain audiences and is a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is.

If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation and smiles, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see. (Jennifer Keast) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

Boardman’s

and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone chasing after him. Although the plot is good, unbelievable scenes, bad chemistry and disorganized pace rip into Paycheck’s potential. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PETER PAN ★★★

EDDIE MURPHY AND JENNIFER TILLY Ever since he started making kid comedies, Eddie Murphy has become sweeter than candy. This continues the trend that Eddie Murphy only makes terrible, terrible, terrible movies that no one past grade school age could possibly like.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

JASON ISAACS AND JEREMY SUMPTER For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the Disney animated film is the surest bet. This live action version is missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★

RETURN OF THE KING ★★★★

THE HAUNTED MANSION

21 GRAMS ★★★★

CHASING LIBERTY ★★

ALONG CAME POLLY (PG–13) COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Thu. 12:30 3:40 7:00 10:00 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 ◆ RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) 9:30 (3 SCREENS) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 1:00 3:00 4:15 5:00 7:20 8:30 9:00 TEACHER'S PET (PG) Fri. Thu. 12:50 2:50 4:50 7:10 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:30 TAD HAMILTON (PG–13) Fri. 7:30 9:30 11:50 Sun. 5:20 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:30 9:30 ◆ BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:45 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:45 MONA LISA SMILE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:30 4:30 7:10 9:40 TORQUE (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:30 9:40 11:50 PAYCHECK (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:30 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 12:00 9:40 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

COLD MOUNTAIN

JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the best-selling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy

IN AMERICA ★★★★ SARAH BOLGER AND SAMANTHA MORTON In America is a small, fragile film with enormous weight, and it builds with a competent focus that still allows its heartwarming finale to feel like a wallop of surprising depth.

Christy’s last wish is unpredictable, unbelievably liberating and a luminous conclusion to one of the year’s most unforgettable films. Definitely a “must see.” (Matt Pais) Now Showing at Beverly

THE LAST SAMURAI ★★★★ TOM CRUISE AND KEN WATANABE The Last Samurai is an epic adventure with a great soul and a great message. With so many bad samurai movies in the vaults, it is refreshing to see a film finally relate the concept of the samurai to moviegoers in a way they can understand: a Tom Cruise flick. One of the year’s best films and one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

MY BABY’S DADDY EDDIE GRIFFIN AND ANTHONY ANDERSON Aside from assorted jokes the film couldn’t help but stumble onto in 90 minutes, My Baby’s Daddy was a complete flop. For seven dollars, you could get 10 times the entertainment from almost anything else than you’d get from My Baby’s Daddy. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PAYCHECK ★★ BEN AFFLECK AND UMA THURMAN After three years, Ben Affleck awakens from his memoryerased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Uma Thurman

Art Theatre

126 W. Church St. Champaign, IL

21 Grams R, runs 125, minutes, flat, presented in HPS-4000/DD.

Starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts Showtimes: Daily at 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 10:00 p.m., matinees Sat/Sun at 2:30 p.m.

“Two thumbs up!”... Ebert and Roeper.

“Winner, one of the five best pictures of the year.”... National Board of Review “Winner, best actor for Sean Penn”...

National Board of Review and Venice FilmFestival.

At the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston LOTR3!

eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES www.BoardmansTheatres.com 1-800-BEST PLACE (800-237-8752) 217/355-0068 eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesn’t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of Best Director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale at the same time. Besides its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; it’s a battle cry for epic filmmaking.

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE ★★★★ JACK NICHOLSON AND DIANE KEATON This truly is Keaton’s film. While the always remarkable Nicholson has some revelatory and tender moments, and the rest of the cast stands tall, the film gets its unmistakable shine from Keaton and her ever-sharp comic timing, her winning personality, charm and the beauty she effortlessly radiates throughout each scene. (John Loos) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

STUCK ON YOU ★★★ MATT DAMON AND GREG KINNEAR Though it is a bit longer than necessary–there are at least two places that would have made equally satisfying endings–Stuck on You remains an often hilarious, insightful comedy about finding love and happiness in the face of biological barriers. It’s a respectful mix of comedy and compassion, a formula the Farrellys will hopefully stick with.

(Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND ALONG CAME POLLY

BEN STILLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON Stiller plays a man who assesses risk for a living and has a painfully stable, risk-free life. This life is thrown out the window when he meets a woman (Aniston) hell-bent on taking risks. Stiller’s character, a married man, mind you, hooks up with Aniston’s character and hilarity ensues.

(Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

TORQUE

ICE CUBE AND MARTIN HENDERSON From the director of such gems as The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious comes the newest film from said genre, Torque. This tale of murder, framing, vengeance–and motorcycles–tells the story of a framed murderer running from Ice Cube’s biker gang. Promising incredible chase scenes–and plenty of motorcycles–Torque hits theatres this weekend.

(Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

TEACHER’S PET

NATHAN LANE AND SHAUN FLEMMING Disney’s newest animated movie stars the voice of Nathan Lane as a dog named Spot that can talk, read and apparently pose as a human. Shaun Flemming lends his voice to Spot’s master, Leonard. Together, Spot and Leonard attend school.

Nothing but fun and adventure can come from a talking dog, school and Nathan Lane. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

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buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | LOVE ON THE ROCKS, NO ICE ... DOWNLOAD IT, LIVE IT, LOVE IT

Election 2004: and the candidates are...

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER I’ve bitched about our current president several times in this column, and God love him, I’m positive he’ll give me countless more reasons to bitch before it’s all said and done. It’s easy to spot a problem, though it’s much harder to come up with an answer. With an election coming up in November, I set out to find an alternative to Mr. Bush. The obvious answer should be one of the Democrats, but I’m not so sure.

One thing is, I don’t much like the process.

They have a debate in Iowa, campaign in New Hampshire, and talk about how important it is to make a strong showing in South Carolina.

You can’t win in these states, they say, but you can certainly lose there. Um, why is that?

Did you ever play the game where you try to write down all 50 states? People always miss a few states here and there. My guess is the most commonly overlooked states in this game are Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Okay, they may get South Carolina, but only because of the existence of North Carolina. I wouldn’t trust any of these states to water my plants for the week, let alone elect a president.

What are they known for? Let’s see, Iowa is corn probably, New Hampshire, uh, I’m guessing syrup or something, and South Carolina, they make cigarettes, don’t they? Yeah, let’s let these guys get the presidential ball rolling. I’m surprised anyone’s paying attention by the time good states like Illinois, Florida and New York get around to voting. I feel California should be barred from voting for a few years until that Schwarzenegger thing blows over.

The candidates aren’t much better than the states picking them. They all seem to agree that Bush shouldn’t be president, but after that they act like a bunch of little kids arguing over the score of a schoolyard kickball game. In the debate I watched this past Sunday, everyone was picking on Howard Dean, basically because he’s the front runner. Al Sharpton called him out for not having any blacks or Hispanics in his cabinet when he was Vermont’s governor for 12 years.

Okay, that’s a fair question for just about anyone except Howard Dean. He comes from Vermont. It’s 98% white and their population is only like 400 people to begin with. Forget the fact that he’s been endorsed by more members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses than any other presidential hopeful, Al, just try to start some shit whenever possible.

That’s all any of the candidates want to do.

I know it’s the United States and anyone can grow up to be the president, but that doesn’t

mean everyone should try to do such a thing. Some folks just aren’t cut out for the job.

If someone wanted to pick on Al Sharpton, how hard would it be to pull a skeleton out of his closet? Dennis Kucinich of Ohio probably wishes someone would pull a skeleton out of his closet. At least that would bring him some attention. Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun probably shouldn’t be campaigning anymore. There’s a reason the word “former” always appears in front of her name.

Then there’s Joe Lieberman. Geez, that guy looks so familiar, but I don’t know from where.

Take them all out and you aren’t left with much. John Edwards of North Carolina strikes me as kind of an ass-kissing pretty boy. Besides that, I’m not really sure if he’s the one who talks to dead people on Crossing Over so I’d have to vote no on him. Dick Gephardt seems like a fairly decent, honest guy to me, so he obviously has no place in politics. The list keeps getting shorter.

When John Kerry did an interview with Rolling Stone and used the “f-word,” I sort of liked him better. People said it was unbecoming for a candidate to use such language, but whatever. I’m not sure you want a goody twoshoes running the country because it gets pretty ugly these days. I would happily vote for a presidential candidate who said fuck. The problem is, when I look a little closer, that shouldn’t be the only reason I’m voting for that person and to be honest, it sort of is.

This pretty much leaves us with Howard Dean and I suppose that’s OK. They say he has the best chance to win against Bush, not because of character or qualifications, but because he has the most money. That’s all it comes down to, really. Any candidate is going to be talking out of both sides of his mouth anyway, so I suppose you need twice as much money to air television commercials about both your viewpoints on a particular subject. Do we really want Howard Dean?

I almost lost hope and then remembered someone. There’s still one outside shot at a candidate, a guy who wasn’t even at the debate in Iowa, retired Gen. Wesley Clark. I’ve listened to him a couple of times and he wasn’t argumentative, resentful or vindictive. In this instance, the less you know about someone, the more attractive they seem. He says what he thinks and the strange thing about him is that he actually makes sense, a rarity for a candidate. He might just be the best man for the office. If he can only continue to stay away from all the other idiots, he might just have a chance to prove it.

Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several

News of the weird Questionable New Products: Triumph International, the Swiss maker of unmentionables, presented a prototype of an anti-smoking brassiere containing perfumes (including lavender and jasmine) that are turned unpleasant by tobacco smoke. And in November, Jones Soda Co. of Seattle bottled 6,000 units of turkey-and-gravy soda, which, remarkably, has the consistency and taste of pureed turkey and gravy; also remarkably, the entire run sold out, with some bottles offered at a huge premium on eBay.

Weird Science Freelance writer Jean Lund (her pen name), 51, disclosed to the Boston Globe for a November story that she suffers from persistent sexual arousal syndrome (perpetually on the verge of orgasm) and hopes that her revelation will help people understand how uncomfortable the condition is. According to Lund and others, the arousal is much different than sexual desire and in fact is not satiated by orgasm. Suspected causes are chemical imbalances, seizures and irregular blood flow. “It’s just a horror,” said a 71-year-old sufferer; it “never stops, it never lets up.”

Recent Alarming Headlines

“Westchester Ordered to Pay $2,500 to Pedophile Clown” (an August New York Times story about clown Richard Hobbs’s winning a lawsuit against a county that had tried to keep

him out of a public park). (2) “Champion Liar Accused of Cheating” (a November London Evening Standard report that this year’s winner of the World’s Biggest Liar contest in Cumbria, England, read from a script instead of extemporaneously lying).

Undignified Deaths In November, a 70-year-old businessman had just finished testifying against the Homer, Alaska city council’s proposed no-smoking ordinance (calling the reported dangers to health “baloney”) when he keeled over and died of a heart attack. (He had said that eating breakfast with smokers every morning “hasn’t bothered my health any.”) Also in November, in New York City, a 79-year-old man who was using a blender to make a health drink for his wife was killed when the appliance exploded, with a glass shard severing an artery.

Also, in the Last Month A 21-year-old woman was charged with public nudity for being naked in a downtown bar, even though the police’s only evidence was a photograph of her, naked, in the bar, that she had posted on the Internet (Lincoln, Neb.) A 36-year-old woman was arrested for stealing 50 antique glass eyeballs (which have little resale value) from a hospital display case (Owensboro, Ky.).

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atch out Barbie. A rival pink icon is capturing the hearts of little girls all over the world. And, although Barbie’s fans tend to dump her by the end of childhood, the rival’s fans never seem to outgrow her.

Hello Kitty is her name, and she’s celebrating her 30th birthday in 2004.

“All the little girls love it,” said Crystena Smith, store manager for Dry Ice at Market Place Mall where red, pink, denim and powder-blue Hello Kitty-phenalia splatters 13 feet of wall space in the center of the store.

According to Smith, Hello Kitty is a key product line that draws customers of all ages into Dry Ice. The appeal to all ages, not just young girls, is one the foundations of Hello Kitty’s success.

An adorably cute feline who supposedly lives in suburban London, Hello Kitty was designed

by Yuko Shimizu and manufactured by the Sanrio Company. Hello Kitty, whose proper name is Kitty White, debuted in Japan in 1974.

Marketed as a “best friend” for everyone, Hello Kitty’s first goal was to be a fabulous girlfriend to her boyfriend Daniel. With her mouthless expression, Sanrio promoted Hello Kitty as speaking from the heart and acting as their ambassador to a world that is not bound by one language.

Two years later, in 1976, that trademark mouthless expression and red bow made their appearance in the United States. Though originally only appearing on a coin purse, a variety of Hello Kitty products, including stuffed animals, T-shirts and school supplies soon followed. Hello Kitty mania had begun.

Hello Kitty’s following continued to grow through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, even as her client base, young girls, matured. With the maturing of her followers, Hello Kitty’s products also evolved, from pencils and rulers to washing machines and laptops. At Puroland, the Hello Kitty theme park in Japan, the ultimate fan can have a Hello Kitty wedding. The ultimate wedding gift, a diamond encrusted Hello Kitty watch, sells for $30,000.

Hello Kitty’s lasting appeal to young women well into their 20s and 30s is recognizable locally. Barb Vabic, manager for Art Mart Toys at Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana, notices the older Hello Kitty culture among her clientele.

“Many of our regular customers are collegeaged or young-adult career girls,” said Vabic.

These regular customers are what turned Hello Kitty into a multi-billion dollar industry that has charmed the hearts of little girls from childhood through young adulthood. One of those life-long devoted fans is Urbana resident Renee Hart, a 25-year-old stylist for Timothy

CHASING LIBERTY | MANDY MOORE, MATTHEW GOODE

CHASING LIBERTY ★★

BY JANELLE GREENWOOD | STAFF WRITER

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PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

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John Salon.

As with many young-adult fans, Hart became enamored with Hello Kitty early on in life. A picture in Hart’s collection reveals her wearing a Hello Kitty T-shirt when she was a wispyhaired child about six or seven years old. Hart’s older sister–13 years her senior–bought the T-shirt as a gift along with some miniaturized Hello Kitty pens, pencils and stickers.

“Store clerks of places I frequent a lot tend to notice I always have a Hello Kitty purse, a Hello Kitty wallet, Hello Kitty checkbook, Hello Kitty pencil,” said Hart as she laughed about her obsession.

She also has a Hello Kitty tattoo.

Hart decided to permanently perch Hello Kitty’s image on her right foot while attending beauty school during the summer of 1998. The simple design was taken from another T-shirt, one of many Hart pulled out of a collection she stores in a Hello Kitty hatbox.

At Target in Champaign, Hello Kitty’s popularity awards her over six feet of shelf space in the electronics department. Here, Hello Kitty appeals not only to young girls but to Target’s aspiring young-adult culture with TVs, stereos, personal CD players, shower radios, phones and clocks.

Hello Kitty’s overwhelming popularity allows Sanrio to use her image to reach far beyond the shelf space at retailers.

Currently, Hello Kitty appears on T-shirts whose sales benefit the YouthAIDS organization which works with children in over 70 countries to educate them about, and protect them from, HIV and AIDS. Sanrio also donated merchandise, including a fully-decorated bedroom, to be auctioned off at the Divine Design fundraiser for Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles-based charity that delivers meals to men, women and children living with AIDS. Today, for those maturing Hello Kitty gals like Hart, Sanrio has created and licensed products that have truly grown up with them. Sanrio founder Hello Kitty merchandise at the Art Mart.

Tsuji Shintaro recognized relatively early that Hello Kitty’s products could be sold value in the future.

“Anybody’s that’s ever been with me to to adults as a way of hanging on to their childhood. For those fans who are looking for an shop for Hello Kitty realizes what a process it unconventional way to relive their youth, is. All my friends make fun of me,” said Hart, Hello Kitty’s cute moon-shaped face can be who generally goes for all the cute stuff first found on cigarette cases, condoms and even before painstakingly narrowing her selection down to items that she needs or would be vibrators.

Nowadays though, fans’–like Hart’s–prefer- good for her collection.

Hello Kitty’s version of a Louis Vuitton bag, ences for Hello Kitty lean toward nostalgic items or items that will have some vintage rhinestone body tattoos and open-healed

DAUGHTER PRODUCTIONS

Goodbye Barbie, Hello Kitty

BY CHERI HELREGEL | STAFF WRITER

Velcro tennis shoes are some of her most prized pieces. Items that are reflective of other cultures, like Japanese Kitty, French Kitty and the hippie-like Flower Kitty are among other favorites.

“If I don’t get it for Christmas, I have to have the Hello Kitty radio that goes in the shower,” said Hart.

Hello Kitty in the shower? Barbie could only wish. buzz

film&tv

JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004 | A NUDE, OLDER WOMAN IS ART, MY BABY’s DADDY IS JUST BAD

fter watching President Bush’s daughters rebel throughout American territory, one may wonder what would happen if they were set loose on foreign soil. Chasing Liberty asks that very question, only it replaces two popular paparazzi socialites in exchange for a brighter-eyed version of a First Kid. Rebellion in the White House seems near impossible for a teenager, and even if he or she attempts to scratch at its surface, the infraction is quickly cleaned up and moved aside. In Chasing Liberty, however, the plot explores the possibility of First Child Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) losing herself on foreign soil in the European countryside.

Under constant surveillance, young Anna loses her privacy along with other rites of passage many American kids take for granted.

After a long-awaited date ruined by her celebrity, Anna runs into the Oval Office whining that she’ll “die before ever getting to third base” if her father’s Secret Service agents don’t leave her alone. Befuddled by Anna’s increasing maturity, the president decides to keep a close eye on her while vacationing in Prague.

After the family’s vague diplomatic duties, Anna wants to attend a concert with a friend.

In typical overprotective fashion, her father sends Secret Service agents to swarm the event, and Anna darts off into the arms of some random British guy named Bed (Matthew Goode) waiting outside the club.

Often times, the script loses itself in an attempt to use genuine feel-good romance, while adding silly humor at the same time. In light of a plot that needs some tweaking, the love story isn’t so sweet that it can’t be swallowed, but toward the end it resembles a pure saccharine rush that is sure to please the preteen crowd.

Chasing Liberty finds itself at odds with its agenda of an American girl finding her way while in Europe. However, it is easily forgiven here because it gives us more than an Olsen twins runthrough of Rome. At least famed European tour guide Rick Steves would find the picturesque scenery of the film worthy of a Forbes guide.

MY BABY’S DADDY NO STARS

BY ANDREW CREWELL | STAFF WRITER

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ne day, somewhere, at some Hollywood movie studio, someone’s going to figure it out. What, you may ask, will they figure out?

That these prepackaged comedies boasting minor celebrity and a plot that initially sounded funny at the bar after throwing back a few drinks, just won’t work on the big screen.

My Baby’s Daddy is an absolute bomb, and not just a playground firecracker, but more along the lines of Fat Man or Little Boy. The premise is simple: Three friends that grew up together all have kids at the same time and have to learn to be fathers at the same time, while living in the same house.

Eddie Griffin stars as Lonnie, a ghetto technerd who impregnates his long-time crush and hood-rat girlfriend Rolanda. Griffin, one of the most underrated stand-up comics in the history of HBO, unfortunately brings himself down a peg by starring in and co-writing this film.

It’s tough to say an actor’s forte is profanity and vulgarity, but Griffin is the perfect example. The regrettable PG-13 rating doesn’t quite mesh with Griffin’s high-octane personality,

moviereview

CALENDAR GIRLS ★★★

BY SYD SLOBODNIK| STAFF WRITER

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n the recent month’s season of Christmashyped blockbusters and annual pre-Oscar nomination chatter, some filmgoers may overlook a small, crowd-pleasing comedy that recently slipped into local cinema multiplexes.

Nigel Cole’s Calendar Girls tells a charming true story of a group of 50-something British women and their unique fund-raising plan to help a local hospital.

Nearly a dozen members of the Yorkshire Knapley Women’s Institute, a traditional conservative community organization, decide to pose for a series of discreet nude snapshots for an alternate Women’s Institute annual calendar, which usually features scenes of local bridges, churches or arts and crafts.

The film’s leads, 58-year-old Helen Mirren and 53-year-old Julie Walters, demonstrate the existence of solid roles for women past their fifth decade in mainstream films. As Chris Harper and Annie Clark, two life-long friends and members of the Women’s Institute, they decide on the fund-raising idea when Clark’s

and the film loses an edge because of it.

Aside from the out-of-place actors, My Baby’s Daddy also boasts poor directing. Cheryl Dunye, who has a resume shorter than the audience’s attention span, lacks any coherent ability to speak of. This couldn’t be more obvious than in the film’s poor character development. An overload of background information on the three stars is annoying, and doesn’t help create even one likable character.

Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli co-star with Griffin as the film’s two other new fathers. While recognizable and well-liked faces, their roles are as dimwitted as Griffin’s and don’t help the film. The circumstances in which these three bumbling idiots rear children is depressing, and should never be talked about in film again.

Moreover, the jokes aren’t funny. But this wouldn’t be that big of a disappointment if every idea hadn’t been ripped off from a previously successful film or TV show. Three Men and a Baby with Ted Danson was at least good enough to render a sequel. Not a far cry from the Danson flick, My Baby’s Daddy makes the original look Oscar-worthy. What’s more, if anyone makes it to the end, they will see the first season of Friends in which Ross loses his child to a woman turned lesbian and her lover; only this time Michael Imperioli and Joanna Bacalso play as key ingredients.

The film isn’t an entire waste of space; a couple of scenes earn some chuckles from the crowd. Method Man cameos as Anthony Anderson’s cousin “No Good.” As “No Good,” Method Man brings a comedic ghettohusband dies suddenly from leukemia. Before his death, he writes a touching speech comparing the beauty of the Yorkshire wildflowers to that of the mature Yorkshire women, thus becoming the inspiration for the calendar.

Recent Oscar nominees Mirren (Gosford Park) and Walters (Billy Elliot) effectively dominate the film with a charming mix of mild lowbrow humor with more subtle wit and mature sensitivity. Mirren’s Chris is an outspoken and assertive woman, who rarely misses a chance to speak her mind; masterfully demonstrated in a scene where she addresses a national meeting of the Women’s Institute seeking its endorsement of the calendar.

Walters’ Annie is a skillful balance of emotions from her moody feelings of her recent widowhood to her newfound joys of celebrity.

The ensemble cast of other middle-aged British actresses, who play the remaining calendar girls, are also wonderful in their light, silly manners.

The photo sessions are the film’s funniest and most effective scenes. After a series of short interviews with numerous professional photographers, the women decide on a somewhat reluctant and imaginative photographer named Lawrence to manage the shoot. The slightly embarrassed young man agrees to set up the lighting and compositions, strategically placing plants, books, pastries and other objects discreetly in front of the ladies’ most private parts, while the models remain fully clothed. When all is set, he leaves the room to allow the model to disrobe, while one of the other women snaps the photo. All the while, Lawrence manages the shoot through a key-

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MY BABY’S DADDY | EDDIE GRIFFIN parenting aspect to his role that the entire film was originally supposed to have. As Griffin’s uncle, John Amos (Coming to America) has a couple of one-liners on responsibility.

Aside from assorted jokes the film can’t help but stumble upon in 90 minutes, My Baby’s Daddy is a complete flop. The redeeming value lies in seeing Marsha Thomason in a small role as Griffin’s new love interest toward the end of the film. Not particularly well-known yet, the British bombshell stars in NBC’s Las Vegas.

Despite having absolutely nothing to do with the movie, her role is something besides the end of the movie to look forward to. For seven dollars, you could get 10 times the entertainment from almost anything else than you’d get from My Baby’s Daddy.

BUNENA VISTA PICTURES

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CALENDAR GIRLS | HELEN MIRREN, JULIE WATERS hole while crouching in the next room.

At another point, one woman justifies her participation in the project by objecting to the word “naked.” She corrects another by saying, “nude.” When someone asks, “What’s the difference?” she proudly claims, “Art!” What may be most unique about this sometimes thinly-plotted comedy is that many of the people in the audience laughing loudest were older folks who haven’t been to a movie lately that doesn’t feature the latest sexy, 20year-old starlet wannabe spewing sexist trash talk. Instead of a cheap, sexist comedy–which would awkwardly exploit and objectify these women in various compromising states of nudity–screenwriters Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi capture, with subtle humor, a wonderful portrait of a group of slightly confident and empowered women, who find some midlife joy in shocking their conservative English village for a good cause.

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JANUARY 15 -21, 2004

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Q & A

It was started by Geoff Merritt. He was a fan who wanted to start putting out records for bands that weren’t getting attention elsewhere.

Geoff had the label that put out records by my band and while advancing attention for my band, I thought I could start doing other bands as well. I wanted to work for the greater good while advancing my band as well. It was really a happy accident that I started working here.

★★

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG | JENNIFER CONNELLY

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unwatchable

“It was all right. Good for girls.”

★★ Ashley Vance Champaign

“It was good. It kept my attention.”

★★ Tracy Baker Champaign

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I like that it’s big enough to be anonymous in but small enough that you can be an interesting part of the community. I like that I went to the grocery store yesterday and knew three people.

Champaign has it all and still has that small town feel.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Never punt on the fourth down.

JANUARY 2-31 – THAT’S ALL MONTH LONG!

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SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

Champaign

trying to use that Still (cheap) residential

What’s your favorite part of the ChampaignUrbana community?

nu

Fearful that her family will be deported and killed, Aghdashloo provides the requisite crying and screaming for an Oscar nomination, but comes off as wholly honest yet blissfully ignorant of the world around her.

The art of compromise and civility disappear from the list of options each party has in this house battle. While intended to be heartwrenching and harrowing, the ending comes off as slightly overdramatic and almost operatic in context. Still, House of Sand and Fog provides some of 2003’s best performances.

Nathan Quinlin

For the past 13 years, Bill Johnson has been managing one of Urbana’s most treasured musical gems, Parasol Records, an independent label and mail-order music store. At Parasol, Johnson discovers new bands every day and represents many

We have five labels that we run that produce over 30 records a year. Three of the higherprofile bands we have represented include the first three albums by a Swedish band called Soundtrack of Our Lives. They were picked up

by Universal and had airtime on MTV. They were also nominated for (a) Grammy for Best Alternative (band). We have also had Ken

I find tons of new bands every year. This year I really like the Moonbabies and another group called Folksongs for the Afterlife. Honestly, though, I still listen to the same stuff I listened to in high school, like U2. I think a lot of us are still pretty attached to that stuff because we spent so much time with them.

E

Chasing Liberty

What artists do you represent?

What is your favorite band?

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C-UViews

It is easily finding new bands I have never heard and giving them wings. It is also being able to tell people about bands they may have never heard of before. I would say 20 of the 30 bands we represent would not have been able to come out without us.

I used to have a math teacher in high school that would make us answer these questions on the first day of class and my classmates and I would put down funny answers and try to outdo each other. I used to put down Pete Rose. I can’t say that one anymore. Really, now, it would be my parents and my wife.

They all have done a good job of putting up with me.

A

The NAACP announced its annual Best Film nominees, including two films that feature no black lead characters. But never fear, those two popular films are joined by Oscar-worthy black films such as Bad Boys II and The Fighting Temptations. That's something to shake a tailfeather to.

What’s the best part of your job?

an

f the happy holidays of last month put you into a spirit of joy and delight, one good dose of House of Sand and Fog will smash you down into the chasm of suicide and sadness in which this film seems to revel. Except for brilliant performances by Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo, there is nothing to smile about in this tragic tale.

House of Sand and Fog, based upon the bestselling novel, tells a story of a house that, in and of itself, isn’t really that special. It has an ocean view, but only from behind trees and power lines and only when its residents are seated on the roof. It has a beautiful location, across the street from a forest. But its white picket fence has faded and the house itself seems only one step removed from squalor. Yet this very ordinary house has the power to send Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a recovering alcoholic, over the edge to do everything she can to take it back from an Iranian couple (Kingsley and Aghdashloo).

For the Iranian couple, the American Dream soon shatters into a nightmare as legal issues hurt their last chance at family success. In Iran,

Maybe Michael Jackson isn't an alien after all; maybe he's a wise man commissioned by the pope to provide spiritual guidance. Well, probably not, but that's his character in the upcoming film Miss Cast Away, which has beauty contestants unravel the mystery of Noah's Ark.

Who do you most admire?

S

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

her a simultaneous maturity and vulnerability as deep as the film itself.

The sentimentality is so acutely observed and naturally created that even the most gentle, emotive scenes never feel forced. Instead, In America is moving in an overwhelmingly human manner. It doesn’t seek to draw saccharine sadness from familial anguish or sociological disparity; rather, its huge heart is so full of both smiles and tears that it’s nearly impossible not to be invigorated by the film’s alternating joy and heartache. There’s a stinging paranoia to each of the family’s experiences, but this only makes their triumphs even more quietly powerful.

This is a small, fragile film with enormous weight, and it builds with a competent focus that still allows its heartwarming finale to feel like a wallop of surprising depth. Christy’s last wish is unpredictable, unbelievably liberating and a luminous conclusion to one of the year’s most unforgettable films.

How did Parasol Records come about?

I don’t really have a typical day. I go where the day takes me. I spend a lot of time finding new music for the mail order shop to carry. There is lots of music out there and much of my day is spent wallowing through the muck to find the cream of the crop. I correspond with our own bands and try to lure other bands to put out records with us.

I am a new father so I have one other interest.

I have a six-month-old baby girl so it is difficult for me to see beyond her to other interests. I do like watching Illini basketball. I took her to the game on Saturday.

30-75% OFF STOREWIDE!

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★★★

IN AMERICA | PADDY CONSIDINE

I started out as a fan and went from being a fan to forming a band during college. Things kept rolling from there.

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HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG

Kingsley was a high-profile colonel who lived in luxury and provided his two children the best of everything, including a lavish wedding that opens the film. But when the country fell under a different regime, the family fled and the colonel began to work menial jobs in America to keep his wife and son living beyond their means. Buying the house cheaply and then selling it will provide the family with a new start in America. But then Kathy informs the county that they incorrectly repossessed her home and that she wants her home back.

So who deserves the home? In this film, it really doesn’t matter.

House of Sand and Fog is indeed a film about a house, but it is carried by performances, not plot. First-time director Vadim Perelman left the world of television commercials behind to make this haunting film that sees into the characters’ hearts and simultaneously paints them with pity and compassion.

Connelly renders a masterful performance, though hers is the weakest of the three, as she refuses to fall victim to the not-so-swift arm of justice. She appears to be the film’s heroine in the beginning of the film until her relationships and emotions spin her out of control.

Kingsley provides a brilliant, subtle performance. He can speak volumes without saying a word, with stares into the distance more powerful than Shakespearean soliloquies. Quiet yet commanding, he remains in reserve as if to remind viewers that there’s more to his character than what meets the eye.

Aghdashloo, who might become the first Iranian actress to be nominated for an Oscar, rounds out the trio with a heart-wrenching performance given mostly in a foreign tongue.

What’s a typical day like for you?

What are some of your other interests?

Old kimonos, unusual gifts, toys, sterling jewelry & more!

THAT’S JUST THIS MONTH & THEN IT’S WAIT-TIL-NEXT-YEAR!

2 GREAT STORES–1 GREAT LOCATION • 204 N. NEIL ST., DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN

moviereview

How did you get started in the music industry?

Compiled by Jason Cantone

E

T

o anyone who has never cried in a movie: Prepare to be challenged. Director Jim Sheridan’s delicate film In America, the semi-autobiographical story of an Irish family emigrating from Canada to the United States after the death of their youngest child, is emotionally rich and tear-jerking in all the right ways.

Largely based on Sheridan’s real-life immigration into New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, and melded with the director’s memory of his younger brother’s childhood death from a brain tumor, this film is more than just personal. With a screenplay written by Sheridan and his two daughters, it’s a sweeping ode to life’s little miracles and a supremely tender tale of one family’s attempt to recover from tragedy.

Sarah Bolger plays 10-year-old Christy, the family’s eldest daughter and the heart-tugging narrator of In America. Christy explains that her deceased brother, Frankie, believed that everyone gets three wishes throughout their lives, and the film creates a great deal of

Mena Suvari lost her virginity in the American Pie series, bathed in roses for American Beauty and will now join the cast of HBO's hit drama Six Feet Under.

Let's hope guest star nude scenes go to Suvari this season and not to Kathy Bates, who will also return to the show after going au natural in About Schmidt.

BillJohnson

M

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

Stringfellow who played with REM on the label and WhiteTown, who had a one-hit wonder with his song “Your Women.”

2 GREAT STORES–1 GREAT LOCATION • 204 N. NEIL ST., DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN

★★★★

artists on a local and international level. Also a new father, Johnson currently resides in Champaign with his wife and six-month-old daughter.

Movie News TM and Twenteth Century Fox

IN AMERICA

catharsis as she uses each of these wishes carefully. Seemingly endless hardships present constant opportunities for the family to use the wishes, but Christy repeatedly remarks about her desire to utilize Frankie’s faith at only the most appropriate times.

While dad Johnny (Paddy Considine) attempts to use his flair for accents to bolster his career as a stage actor, mom Sarah’s (Samantha Morton) grief over the loss of her son sparks a desire for another child. But when Christy and 6-year-old Ariel (Emma Bolger) befriend Mateo, an artist living a floor below them, In America takes on a whole new invigorating optimism and zest for life.

The entire cast shines, mixing heartbreak and redemption with an uplifting sweetness that never feels too sugary. Hounsou gives Mateo a complex fury that shifts gracefully from repressed anger to a glorious grin as Christy and Ariel draw from him warmth that he initially appears to have forgotten.

The Bolgers are truly radiant, though; they are In America’s greatest acting triumphs in a film full of memorable performances. In her debut role, Emma delivers one of the most vibrant, believable performances by a young child in recent memory. Ariel’s smile is one of the film’s brightest rays of light; her spirit is undeniable. Sarah fares just as well in an even more demanding role. In confronting the guilt of a child’s death and the difficulty of coming to America, Christy takes her place as the family’s emotional foundation that holds them together. Sarah Bolger’s performance allows

COLUMBIA PICTURES

moviereview

I

MICHAEL JACKSON A WISE MAN? ONLY IN A MOVIE | JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004

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arts

IN A RECENT SURVEY, SCULPTURE WOOD MADE GREAT FIREWOOD | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

buzz

Glossy images, smooth feel at Verde A

Joe Gower with Sculpture

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Furnished one bedrooms and efficiencies for Fall semester from $325 near John and Second or Healey and Third. 356-1407.

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T-1 (UIUC & Internet)

Embrace (right) and California (left) by Joe Gower

variations of a similar form.

One of the most captivating sculptures Gower has on display is his Four Directions, a work (like Amazing Grace) carved from a single piece. The visible grains of the wood harmonize with the imposed form of the sculpture, which rounds over the natural knots. As a whole, it exhibits several visible points of clashing stresses pressing against each other to exude clear notions of opposition within a single organic form.

The larger Verde Retrospective exhibit that

will accompany Gower’s sculptures will be comprised of artists whose works have been displayed over the course of the gallery’s first year in operation. It will include artwork ranging from photography to abstract expressionism. Featured local artists include Toni Putnam, Herbert Marder, Jana Mason, Salvatore Carovilla, Sandra Ahten, Derek Hambly, Beth Darling and Deborah Fell.

The Verde Gallery and Cafe Verde are located at 17 E. Taylor St. in downtown Champaign. buzz

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Rooms from $285 per bedroom on campus. Available January 2004.

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205 EAST HEALEY, C Renting Aug 2004. Very large 1 bedroom apartments. Carpet, window A/C, parking available at $30/mo.

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BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 905 E. Harding 3 bedroom apartment large living room central air/ heat, separate laundry with washer/dryer. $700 355-8026, 7784840.

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ROOMMATES 1 Month Free!

Roommate wanted for Spring in 3 br apartment. Right on campus, only 2 minutes from Grainger. Call 217367-6184 or email Ggallo@uiuc.edu

Immediate female roommate, for furnished 2 bedroom, Presidential Towers. All utilities included, parking available. $499/mo call Sara 847528-8996.

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Things to Do 700 VACATION | TRAVEL

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classifieds

PHOTO | BRIAN WARMOTH

nyone who has walked into an art exhibit–particularly one featuring sculpture–is surely acquainted with the token “Do not touch” signs placed alongside works to discourage wandering hands from disturbing the artwork. The Verde Gallery's current exhibition of sculptures by regional artist Joe Gower conspicuously lacks these messages, as the sculptor uniquely encourages viewers of his work to look with their sense of touch as well as sight. The works on display, all wooden sculpture, offer a broad sampling of pieces exploring light, function, form and their aesthetic values.

The exhibit holds special meaning for Curt Tucker, who opened the gallery almost a year ago and continues to manage it. Gower was Tucker’s high school art teacher in Olney, Ill., where he now instructs part-time at Olney Central College. Tucker says Gower first left a lasting impression on him through one of his ceramic sculptures. “He inspired the gallery in a way,” says Tucker. This gives extra significance to the exhibit, as it will be part of a larger retrospective exhibit on display from Jan. 13 through Feb. 7.

The craftsmanship and precision put into each piece on the floor is more than evident as most of the pieces exhibit Gower’s close attention to displaying wood’s natural grains and maintaining its organic forms, while bringing out–and in some cases piecing together–new shapes. Even more astonishing, though, are the various approaches Gower has taken to his sculptures, giving each piece its own aesthetic and functional values.

Tucker says what he finds most compelling about Gower's work is “the abstract sensuality.

It's human but completely abstract. They're finely crafted, too.” The exhibit’s abstract nature certainly lends itself to accessibility by the viewer, bringing hints of very human images into contexts ripe for interpretation.

Furthermore, Gower's art takes on another dimension for its viewers, because he encourages people to feel the shapes they are seeing.

“He wants people to touch them,” Tucker says.

Feeling the smoothed textures of the wood on sculptures that are splashed with gorgeous curves and incredible twisting crevices opens up an entirely new dimension of aesthetic appreciation to the viewer.

Embrace, one of the more prominent sculptures from the exhibit, is a prime example of both the sculptor’s skill and his Platonic aesthetic aspirations. The piece is a magnificent fastening together of several woods fitted with pegs and hinges to create an entirely new organic form with three pliable arms that engulf an empty space, which reaches out to the viewer. Herein lies the sensuous aesthetic that Gower strives to produce in his art.

Amazing Grace is an entirely different figure in the back of the gallery, which plays much more with light. The sculpture’s form possesses the traits of both a standing human as well as an opening flower. The opening of its head plays brilliantly with the lights shining on it from above. Unlike Embrace, Amazing Grace is made of a single sculpted piece of wood rather than many pieces fit together.

Several smaller sculptures may also be seen around the gallery, including California, and a display of two musical instrument pieces titled OON-GOW-AH #1 and OONGOW-AH #2. California is another example of several different woods being combined into one form while taking on distinctly fish-like attributes. The OON-GOW-AH pieces are the sole musical instrument pieces in the exhibit–both

19

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | LOOK UP, YOU MIGHT SEE THE ANVIL THAT IS FALLING FROM THE SKY

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PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

BY BRIAN WARMOTH | STAFF WRITER

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THERE IS NO PLACE BETTER TO GET A NEW ROOMMATE THAN PLACING AN AD HERE | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

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PHONE: 217/337-8337

INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

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• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

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Employment 000 HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

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T-1/UIUC/Ethernet $395-$540 Engineering Campus 1004-906-911 W. Springfield, Urb.

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105 E. CLARK & 105 E. WHITE, C. Avail Aug 2004. Attractive modern loft apts. Dishwasher disposal, window a/c, ceiling fans, patio/ balconies, carpet, laundry, parking, 2nd floor skylights. Rents from $350/mo. $50/month to furnish. Apts. shown 7 days a week.

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706 S. WALNUT, U Renting for August 2004. Quiet neighborhood. 1 bedroom apts. from $465/mo. 2 bedroom from $505/mo.

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808 S. LINCOLN, U Renting Aug 2004. Classic older building with Unfurnished 1 BR+ sun room, 1 BR + den, Furnished 2 BR apts and efficiency across from Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Near Krannert, Law School, Music, etc.

Features hardwood floors in upper units, laundry on site. Parking $45/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

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Ones, twos, threes, and houses. On or near campus. Available now, December 15, 2003 and for August 2004. Rent starting at $349/mo. for 2 bedroom apartment. 841-4549 Renting August 2004. Quiet building in nice Urbana neighborhood. 2 bedroom townhouses, furnished $590/mo., unfurnished $570/mo. 2 bedroom apartments, furnished $525/mo. Parking optional, central A/C, carpet, laundry facilities, gas heat. Daily showings, 7 days a week BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

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1005 S. SIXTH, C.

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BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

102 N. GREGORY, U. August 2004. Close to Illini Union. 2 bedrooms at $500/mo. 1 bedroom $390/mo. Efficiencies $350/mo. Carpet, Gas Heat, Laundry. Parking available at $30/mo. 7 days a week showings.

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105 E. DANIEL, C Avail. Aug. 2004. 4 bedroom apt near Frat park. 1,000 sq. ft., spacious living room, dining area, 2 baths. Balcony, laundry facilities, dishwasher/ disposals. Parking $50/ mo. Rent starts at $1,350/ mo.

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2 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE Available January 15. Campus Bus, CA, DW. $685. 328-1998 www.lincolnshireprop.com

201 N. LINCOLN, U August 2004 rental. 1 and 2 bedroom apts close to campus with parking, ceiling fans in some units, laundry, carpet/tile floors. Shown 7 days a week. 1 bdrm $390/mo, 2 bdrms from $500/mo.

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Shown 7 days a week.

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Security Building 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, large rooms, AC, furnished, parking, quiet building. Aug. 04 369-0237. www.zhengrentals.com

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Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

611 W. Green, U New 2 bedroom luxury apts avail. for Aug 2004. Georgian style architecture with brick exterior in historic Urbana neighborhood. Balcony/ patio, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal, internet access, assigned parking $40/ mo.

Rent $950/ mo. Call for details.

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702 W. WESTERN, U. Aug 2004. 1 bedrooms with window a/c, carpet/tile floors, boiler heat, laundry on site. Parking avail. Rents start from $380 to $495/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

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706 S. FIRST, C Excellent Value for Aug 2004. Half block south of Green on First Street.

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BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

705 S. 1st St. Apts.

First & Green

Luxury 2, 3 & 4 BRM apts Balconies, Central A/C, 2 Baths 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009 705 W. STOUGHTON, U. Aug 2004 rental. 3 bedroom apts.

Near Lincoln Ave. and Engineering Campus. Fenced-in yard. Balconies/ patios. Microwaves, carpet, central A/C, disposal, dishwasher, parking $25/mo. Rents start at $615/mo.

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BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. LOCUST, C. Aug 2004 rentals. One block west of First Street, close to campus in quiet neighborhood. Window A/C, Gas heat, Carpet, Covered Parking available, Laundry facilities. Efficiency $300/mo, 1 bedrooms $395/mo and 2 bedrooms $610/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

802 W. GREEN, U. Aug 2004 rental. One block from Lincoln Ave. Great architecture and design - not a box apt. Large units with central A/C, carpet, patios/balconies, laundry. Off-street parking at $45/mo. 2 bedrooms from $595/mo.

Efficiency $355/mo. Showings 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

903 W. NEVADA, U Quality rooming house. Near Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Rooms avail for Aug. 2004. Rents from $260/mo to $330/mo. Laundry facilities, Common kitchen. Showing 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

905 S. Locust, 2 Br. • Furnished, Balcony • Dishwasher, Central A/C • Microwave, Disposal • Onsite Laundry Room • Vaulted Ceiling-3rd Floor • Parking • Ethernet available • Starts at $645 • Call Mon-Sat.

766-2245 www.905locust.com

Locust III Apts 906-908 S. Locust St.

Spacious efficiencies and 1,3 & 4 bedroom apts.

Some units paid heat/water 1 SPRING LEASE AVAILABLE

367-2009

JOHN & LOCUST, C Showing for Aug 2004. Quiet neighborhood. One block west of First Street and close to campus. Huge one bedroom apts, very bright. Window A/C, Carpet, Gas Heat. Parking $20/mo. Rents start at $350/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR What is your source of inspiration in your photography?

J

ohn Sfondilias graduated from the University of Illinois with a doctorate in instructional design and computer-based education.

His “past life” activities include working as a systems engineer for IBM, a consultant for the U.S. Air Force Space Command, and a designer and developer of technology-based educational programs. His work in technology explains some of his current direction in photography. John acquired his first professional SLR camera more than 20 years ago, but it wasn't until the advent John Sfondilias of the digital camera that John's photography really took off. In the last year-and-a-half or so, John estimates he has taken over 4,500 digital photographs. His work is on display until Jan. 31 at the Aroma Cafe in downtown Champaign (see sfondilias.com/aromaexhibit/ for the online version of the exhibit).

PHOTO | KATIE RICHARDSON

DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Apartments

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

arts

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WILL YOU WALK THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN?

Why did you make the switch to digital photography?

It seemed a natural fit for me. I like taking as many photographs as I wish without worrying about wasting film or incurring processing costs. I also like the instant feedback of downloading and seeing the results of a day's photo shoot immediately. And, as the mega-pixels in digital cameras increase, it only gets better. The only drawback I can see is that I'm ending up with so many images I'm forgetting what I've got.

For me, there is an inner component and an external one.

Externally, I find photography (and inspiration) easy when in a wonderful environment. There is no end to inspiration in a place like the Aegean Sea or a beautiful canyon in the Southwest. However, to avoid simply snapping pictures, one has to have some kind of internal vision or put some kind of “voice” into the work. I often see photographs in places that leave other people wondering why I'm stopping and what in the world I'm doing. If this inner voice isn't “speaking,” my photography doesn't seem to amount to much.

What I really hope to accomplish is to create a “window of interpretation” that the viewer can appreciate. When this actually works, the viewer has a connection to the original subject matter, one that combines both the photographer's interpretation as well as the viewer's.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 23 S H O T P U T

M O B R U L E

A L L U R E R

D I R E C T V

I R O N O R E

D R O O L E R

R E A S S E S S

T U T T E

S H P O E W A B L R S S A L U L E S E S T A P S

E A R L D S W C O E S L A W E L I N E B O T E N

A N D S P S B O U R H A T N E E N E M I M A M I P P O N T R O O M T A P U P C A N O T A L O P E R A P R E V E R N E D E A R

A N X I E T Y

N E T L O S S

E G O T I S M

D E T E N T E

Of course, there are the master photographers. Closer to home, there was a former Presbyterian minister who ran a photography workshop more than 20 years ago. He taught me to establish a relationship with my photographic subjects, especially as applied to human subjects. It's just too easy “to steal” a photograph with today’s ultra-zoom lenses. I’ve thought of his point of view often.

Then, there is the advice I heard from a more current photographer, which was that the only bad photograph was the one not taken.

These two viewpoints can come into conflict on occasion. It makes it interesting when one begins to debate ethical photographic conduct when in the middle of a photo shoot.

Why did you choose the piece you're featuring?

Tommy G’s Bar and Grill

The primary reason is that it looks good in black and white. I've concentrated on color photography, so I had to search for an image that would look good in the Buzz.

“Stairway to Heaven” is also a photograph with an interesting story. It was taken in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe (N.M.) In the 1800s, the “Sisters of Loretto” were asked to leave Kentucky and begin a girl's school in Santa Fe. After enduring enormous hardships, they made a go of the school.

When their chapel required a special staircase, legend has it that a man showed up on a donkey, built an “engineering marvel” of a staircase (with two 360-degree turns and no visible means of support), then disappeared without asking for thanks or payment (For more detail, see www.lorettochapel.com/html/history.html).

featuring food by Foudini’s

Fri., January 16th FREE FOOD FRIDAYS!

Jammin’ Jimmy Bean & Andy Baylor live - free food, no cover!

The Blues deacons True local blues veterans. 10 PM

Sat., January 17th Adam wolf & the party Hounds An acoustic band that uses the internet to do your requests They can do any song ever written! 10 PM

FREE MUSIC no cover weekdays!

Where are you headed with your photography?

I am currently involved in two nearly completely separate endeavors. One is local exhibits and shows involving my framed photography. The other is commercial stock photography, which is posted and sold via stock photo agency Web sites. I've heard it said that one needs to head to either the East or West Coast to make it as an artist. I'm here for now, so the stock photography hedges my bets a little bit. What I really envision myself as doing someday is settling in some wonderful little town in Colorado and opening a gallery.

Well, one can imagine.

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Who has influenced you in your photography?

Every Tuesday Adam wolf’s Acoustic Night

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN SFONDILIAS

0718buzz011504

Plus $2 Tuesdays - two dollar drafts,cans, dom. Bottles, well drinks, order of wings, basket-o-spuds, chips-n-salsa.

Every Wednesday Kilborn Alley Thursdays - Pool Tourney, Cash Prizes, 7 PM Coming in December

Stairway to Heaven

23 - RENEGADE’S LAST GIG! 123 S. Mattis, Champaign - Counrty Fair Mall, 359-2177

www.tommygs.com

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krannertcolumn

DAMN, CINDERELLA GOT HOT! | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

MIND BODY SPIRIT

Corporate Silver Sponsor

Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner of Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9am followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information, call 355-8835 or www.prairiezen.org.

BY JEFF NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

D

on't let January cold and a lack of large numerical offerings keep you away from Krannert this month. The University’s superlative center for the performing arts has some superlative offerings, even if they aren't numerous. The Moscow Festival Ballet will present Sergei Prokofiev's Cinderella Jan. 20, 21 and 22, a rarely performed or recorded work by a 20th century master of ballet music.

Sergei Radchenko will conduct and Rostislav Zakharov will do the choreography. Here is some great family entertainment that is not commonly performed, and the Tryon Festival Theatre is a great venue to watch ballet. Please note the 7 p.m. starting time.

Two string quartets will grace the stage of the Foellinger Great Hall in January: The Brentano Jan. 25 and The Pacifica Jan. 29. The Brentano will interweave Bach's “Art of Fugue” with modern works and the Pacifica will perform, among other works, the rarely heard Paul Hindemith string quartet.

On Fri. and Sat., Jan. 30 and 31, the wonderful, crazy, “Cirque Eloize: Nomade” will perform at the Tryon Festival Theatre, but this is hardly one of Krannert's betterkept secrets, as all performances are sold out. Check after Jan. 23 for returned tickets to go on sale.

Ending the month on Jan. 31, Ian Hobson will pay Ludwig von Beethoven another full concert tribute, with Awadagin Pratt performing as the soloist for the “Piano Concerto Number Three.”

Patron Co-Sponsors Charlotte Chilton Janet and Ralph Simmons

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. For more information, call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.

‘Science of Mind’ Study Group – This group’s purpose is the sharing and discussion of spiritual topics as we each improve our own lives and live from our own spiritual center. Anyone interested in attending is welcome. The group will use the monthly “Science of Mind” magazine for discussion, meditation and study topics. The Jan 14 meeting topic is “Going North to Go South.”Wed 9:45am-11am. For more information, go to www.scienceofmind.com or contact Jo Heiser at joheiser@juno.com, 384-0437.

Cinderella Moscow Festival Ballet

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF KRANNERT

A prince, true love, and a new pair of shoes. What more could a girl ask? To dance the night away!

JAN20-22 333.6280 The Moscow Festival Ballet presents Cinderella Jan. 20, 21 and 22.

calendar

buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Raindrop Technique Class – Healing Touch Spiritual Ministry is offering this class on raindrop technique, a powerful technique using several essential oils. The goal is to use the power of essential oils to bring the body into structural and electrical alignment. Each participant will learn about the procedure, give a treatment and receive a treatment. The class instructor is Deb Reis, a Certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in holistic health. 303 Glover, Urbana. Fri 5-9pm. $55. To register or for more information, call Gayle Mohr at 2889466 or 202-7467.

THEATRE LISTINGS Elysium on the Prairie, Live Action Roleplaying – Vampires stalk the city streets and struggle for dominance in a world of gothic horror. Create your own character and mingle with dozens of players who portray their own undead alter egos. Each session is another chapter in an ongoing story of triumph, tragedy and betrayal. Friday,“Vampire: The Masquerade” For more information visit www2.uiuc.edu/ro/elysium/intro.html. Check site for location, 7pm.

Points/Counterpoints— the Art of Fugue, Bach and Beyond

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” – The Zoo Theatre Company presents this performance at the Virginia Theatre Jan 22, 23 and 24. Shows begin at 7:30pm with additional shows at 2:30pm and 7:30pm Jan 24th.

Tickets on sale now at the Virginia, call 356-9063.

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all. He is at the pinnacle of success, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are interwoven with classic elements of true tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. Jan 2225, Jan 28-Feb 1, and Feb 4-7 at 8pm, except Sun matinees at 3pm. Wed, Thur and Sun tickets are $8, Fri and Sat tickets are $10. Wed tickets are 2for-1. For reservations, call 384-4000.

“Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fund-raising event that will showcase student bands. So far, you will be able to hear 10 student bands at the event, which takes place Feb 22, 12-6pm.

{

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, this quartet links past and present with a program that interweaves movements of Bach’s Art of Fugue with musical reactions from ten living composers: Wynton Marsalis, Sofia Gubaidulina, Chou Wen-chung, Shulamit Ran, Steven Mackey, Nicholas Maw, Charles Wuorinen, Bruce Adolphe, Eric Zivian, and David Horne.

Patron Underwriters Judith and Jon Liebman

The Second Annual Filmic Dependency Film Festival – The best low budget/no budget films, locally and from around the world. Station Theatre and Cafe Paradiso, Urbana. Jan 23-24.

FUND-RAISING visit KrannertCenter.com

Brentano String Quartet

$32 / SC & Stu 31 / UI & Yth 15

Jan25 333.6280

visit KrannertCenter.com

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

Country in the City – Antiques, architectural, gardening, home accessories. custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St, Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am5pm. 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave, Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign.

352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 11am5:30pm.

Glass FX – New and antique stained glass windows, lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of stained glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The gallery also offers workshops.

220 W Washington St, Monticello. 762-7790. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand-painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – Limited and open edition prints by Larry Kanfer, nationally acclaimed photographer. Choose from over 300 University of Illinois images. Gift certificates for Valentine’s. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and open to the public.

Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com.

LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic

photography up to 6 feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr, Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994.

Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, hand signed limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Prairie Boatworks Gallery – Unique items made by local artisans including furniture, clothing, jewelry, glass, paintings, photographs, ceramics, basketry, books and more. 407 E Main St, Mahomet. Tue, Fri and Sat 10am-5pm. Sun 12-4pm. 586-6776.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St, Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Verde Gallery – Showing in main gallery: Sculptures In Wood by Joe Gower. In café and halls: paintings

by Jess Byler. In the newsroom: New works by Toni Putnam and sculptures by Jim Zimmerman. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists.

Visitors can sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art. 210 W Washington, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com “Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery through Feb 7. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign.

Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

“One Place After Another” – The Illini Union Art Gallery presents this non-traditional 3-D show through Feb 4. 1401 W Green, Urbana. Open every day 7am-10pm.

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson and Shoshanna Bauer, along with art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana.

“Digital Dabblings” – An eclectic selection of digitally processed photographs by John Sfondilias on display at Aroma Cafe through Jan 31. Subjects include the University’s South Farm and Quad as well as locations as far away as Greece and Turkey.

118 N Neil, Champaign. Open seven days a week, 7am-midnight. For information, contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

“Ethereal Organics” – Photographs from Jim Hultquist on display at Cafe Aroma through January. Hultquist:“A project in the study of light interacting with natural forms.” 118 N Neil, Champaign. Open seven days a week, 7amMidnight. For information, contact Amanda Bickle.

356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

“Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence Japanese woodcuts had on his technique. On display at the Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody, Urbana.

Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm.

333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

Clear Sky Zen Group – Meets on Thursday evenings in the Geneva Room of the McKinley Foundation.

Newcomers to meditation and people of all traditions and faiths are welcome – McKinley Foundation, 809 S Fifth St, 6:25-9pm.

buzz

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music

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | I WAS BORN A UNICORN

They were born unicorns

Canada’s latest indie-rock outfit, The Unicorns, come to Champaign

BY LOGAN MOORE | STAFF WRITER

has involved, at one point or another, puppet shows, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and fistfights between band members. They occasionally hire homeless men to impersonomeone’s gonna die probably,” Nicholas ate the band onstage. These are simply not the “Niel” Diamond says of his band’s stage show. actions of sane, rational adults. It corresponds “If there’s anybody with a pacemaker in the that the shows are, most likely, all the better room, I’d say they should stand towards the for it.

On the phone, Diamond regaled me with the back. Human sacrifices should be required; we previous night’s exploits: “Last night, all the try to keep it fun.”

Aaaah, the grandiose ravings of violence- power went out and Jaime the drummer just prone, suburban punk bands, old enough to kept the beat going and then this fucked up wear ripped shirts, yet not quite at the age drum circle happened, then Alden got naked and I started ripwhere the much-covetping, tearing stuff ed act of sexual interoff the roof, and course can be obtained then we crowdthrough the usual legal surfed.” All of this venues, right? No, forinformation was, of tunately not. The ironcourse, conveyed in ic posturing of a lapthe sort of laid-back top, goth, industrial tone that might as project, stemming from – Nicholas Diamond of The Unicorns easily have been a bitter wit honed used to describe a through years of high trip to the grocery school “wedgie” incistore. dents, spent poring Yes, before you go off believing The over the works of Tim Burton, their only light in a world of darkness being the “poetry” of Unicorns to be a trio of demon-possessed, artTrent Reznor. I’m afraid not. Diamond is a damaged gremlins that slither out from their member of The Unicorns, the best little band caves to compose pop songs, beat themselves you might not have been tipped off to yet, and up onstage and eat children, they are in fact human beings. They have a shitty touring van I fear he means every word.

Somewhere, the line has to be drawn with no stereo system. They listen to hip-hop; between bands that try “odd” on for a few Nick enjoyed Viktor Vaughn’s album this year. songs, and those bands that are truly peculiar Alden is studying the finger-picking styles of in just about every aspect. Diamond, co-song- Elizabeth Cotton. They’ve had some terrible writer Alden Ginger, and newly acquired touring experiences. “We’ve played some drummer Jaime Thompson are one of those pretty dark places in Canada,” Diamond says. bands. The Unicorns are strange in much the “We played an open mic night in Regina, same way that kung fu films and the duck- which is a town in Saskatchewan. We played to billed platypus are strange, not out of some four people.”

According to most accounts, The Unicorns’ desire or effort to be “crazy”, that’s just the way they are. It’s an organic sort of weird. musical career began and remains in Like the aural equivalent of a Kurt Vonnegut Canada–Montreal to be exact. Their precise novel, they use familiar elements of pop music origins remain shrouded in mystery, though. to create songs that are devastatingly off-kilter. Some claim that Nicholas and Alden met in No two parts of a song are exactly alike; bril- high school and were in a few bands before liant pop moments are discarded as abruptly starting The Unicorns as a duo. Some claim as they reveal themselves. Guitars take off on they all performed together in a church choir, a drunken sprint and collide headlong into had the most angelic voices of the group and keyboard solos played by brilliant, drug- after practicing together on weekends, decided addled three-year-olds. On headphones, to start writing their own songs. Nicholas bleeps, blips, crashes, farts and scratches peer claims the band were all members of the same out from darkened corners of each song then curling/roller-skating league and that upon disappear. Yet the songs never outrun them- discovering a guitar in someone’s basement–a selves. Each hairpin turn is executed perfectly, device which none of them had ever seen and no portion of the song ever seems awk- before–they decided their life’s work would be ward or self-consciously “arty.” In short, these to form a group and play music. OK, so they’re not entirely normal. guys are not Mr. Bungle.

The drawback to abnormality, however, is Their stage show apparently corresponds to the aesthetic of their album. It purportedly, that “the man,” unable to cope with something

S

[

[

Alden got naked and I started ripping, tearing stuff off the roof, and then we crowd surfed

foreign to his prehistoric six senses, tries to put you into a box, a category, so that he’ll know where to file your album in the CD section at Best Buy. The Unicorns got slapped with the “lo-fi” tag, that bastion of early ’90s pretentiousness, early on. And if that conjures up images of a 30-something record store clerk caterwauling about failed relationships into a four-track in his mother’s basement, you’re not alone. If listened to in a critical vacuum, though, there’s very little that’s “lo-fi” about Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone, The Unicorns’ latest opus. The production is actually quite complex at times, with subtle electronic and analog accents floating through the s t r a t o sphere of the album.

Diamond agrees.

“I don’t t h i n k we’re a lo-fi band that sets out to make our records sound tinny or shitty. I mean, we were working on a shoe string budget … but I think we made it sound as hi-fi as possible.” The Unicorns are looking to expand their sound as well, and have a seven-inch due out in March that they hope will kick it up a notch.

And now The Unicorns are bringing their unique sound to the good ol’ U.S. of A. They’ve toured extensively all over their own great nation of universal health care and

moose. (Let us never forget the moose, noble beast that it is.) Canada is a country of apparently untapped reservoirs of interesting music as exhibited by the likes of bands like Canadian superstars The New Pornographers and recent critical darling Broken Social Scene.

The Unicorns measure up to the hype, though, having already toured with The Microphones, Daniel Johnston, Cat Power, and most recently, Hot Hot Heat. On the first leg of their tour of the Land of the Rising Deficit, they’ll be bringing all the chaos and mayhem to Nargile in our sleepy little town of Champaign-Urbana.

A warning from Nicholas, “Bring earplugs anyone whose coming out to the show.

Hearing is the most important thing.” buzz

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | JACOB DITTMER

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Nicholas Diamond and Alden Ginger are the Unicorns

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HOUSE IS NOT TECHNO | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

buzz

Seven dirty words you can’t say around DJ Mertz MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY BRIAN MERTZ | STAFF WRITER

I

t is simple. If you want to get under my skin, if you want to make me doubt what I have been doing with a big part of my life for the last two years, if you want to ruin my Friday night, just say seven simple words: “Ummm… do you have any hip-hop?”

I am counting “Ummm” because it inevitably comes before anyone timidly or boldly approaches the DJ booth and makes the request that drives me wild. These words have nothing to do with what I think about hip-hop. I actually like hip-hop (Chingy and Bone Crusher aside). It more has to do with the underlying message behind the request.

I am a house DJ. And I passionately believe in what I do. That request causes nothing but foolish doubts in my mind about what I am doing.

Last week I was let go from a club where I received the seven word request more than anywhere else I have played in my two years as a house DJ. I have no ill will towards the club. In fact, a lot of great people work there and the sound system is incredible. And when I was not getting that evil request, I was having a lot of fun. So I am not here to bash the venue.

No, this column goes out to all of the people who decide to approach and make requests of any of the local DJs in this town while those DJs are spinning and creating their art. All of you clubgoers can keep asking those seven words

(or variances of them), but hopefully this column will help you understand what those of us on the other side of the DJ booth are thinking.

So here are a few simple rules for making a request: First, clubs hire DJs for their specific sound–when a club actually takes the time to worry about such things. If the club has no clue what sound it wants or doesn’t care about such things, then all bets are off.

In this town, there are probably close to 200 DJs playing everything from house to hip-hop to reggae to salsa to drum ’n’ bass. So a good club has the ability to pick and choose whatever sound it wants to be pumping through its speakers on a given night.

A DJ is hired to create a mood, not to play every request that a guest wants that night at the club. If a club wants to only play whatever the patrons want, they should buy a jukebox. Good clubs will want a mix of both requests and DJ choices, but that mix always favors the DJ. On a good night, a talented DJ can play tunes no one has ever heard for the entire evening and the crowd will still be jumping.

If you go into a club and do not hear the music you want, take the time and ask the DJ what type of music they play before you start barking requests. And if you outright hate house music (or “techno” as the masses incorrectly call it), then do not be pissed at the DJ for not playing what you want.

In this town, for every club that is playing the music you hate, there is a nearby club playing the music you love. Find the nights you like and go to those. Reward clubs for believing in a sound that you like by going to those evenings.

Next, the word “request” doesn’t mean

The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo will release his second album Cee-Lo is the Soul Machine Jan. 20. The album’s first single “I’ll Be Around” features Timbaland. The album will feature numerous contributions from artists such as The Neptunes, Ludacris and DJ Premier. Soul Machine is the follow-up to Cee-Lo’s debut Cee-Lo and His Perfect Imperfections.

TopFive

1. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” Stevie Wonder

2. “Take on Me” A-Ha

What the hell?

Moment of the week Corey Hart has his own label. Hart has entered into \a licensing agreement with Warner Music for his new label Siena Records. Hart composed that eternal hit “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night.” He has since made a lucrative career writing hits for Celine Dion and will write and produce most of the acts he signs. His membership as one of the four horseman of the coming apocalypse was unconfirmed at press time.

A number one hit in the summer of 1985, “Take on Me” is the perfect example of a onehit wonder. A-Ha went on to do...well, nothing, and “Take on Me” went on to be featured on numerous CD compilations that you’ll see advertised at 2 a.m. on cable.

3. “Drive” The Cars

make your request specific. If you only ask for “some hip-hop,” then don’t be mad when the indie-rock DJ plays Talib Kweli or Atmosphere.

You might have really wanted to hear a new Ying Yang Twins song, but the DJ did not know that because you just asked for “hip-hop.” We are DJs, not mind-readers.

Lastly, if a DJ does play your request after you ask, make sure you dance and do not be afraid to thank them. By all means, do not be afraid to ask for requests. Even those of us who pride ourselves on our underground record collections have weak spots for mainstream songs out of our genre (i.e. my love for “Milkshake”).

I’m sure the next time I play people will jokingly ask for hip-hop. I am fine with the joke.

But what I am not fine with is a lack of respect for an art form and a style of music that I am intensely passionate about. No one goes to a club in Chicago and complains that a superstar DJ is not playing enough Little Jon. People go to dance and they trust those big DJs. No Champaign DJ has the level of celebrity as Funkmaster Flex or Paul Oakenfold. But all of us local DJs believe in our music as strongly as the big DJs do. Some of the other DJs in this town are better than the big name ones.

So trust us, and treat us with the same level of respect you would give the celebrity, and we all will make sure you have a good night the next time you are in a local club.

And to all the other DJs in this town, keep doing what you believe in. Even if the annoying drunk won’t stop begging for 50 Cent.

In addition to being a law student, Brian Mertz is a music writer and a house DJ. He spins every Saturday night at Nargile–without any Chingy records.

’80s Love Songs

Is it better to burn out than to fade away? Well, we won’t go into the argument over this song found in High Fidelity.

Although not a breathtaking Stevie Wonder masterpiece, “I Just Called to Say I Love You” sums up all that sappy crap that makes it a quintessential love song.

Influential ’80s underground band Mission of Burma have signed to Matador Records. The new album is due out in May 2004 and will be their first record in over 22 years. Although they have had a short-lived career(six years, one album, and one EP) and virtual anonymity throughout their existence, the Boston-based rock band has cast quite a shadow over indie rock, influencing bands such as Sonic Youth and Fugazi.

After a five year delay, M o d e s t M o u s e have announced that their new album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, is scheduled to be released March 30. The album, their first since 1999’s The Moon and Antartica, was produced by Dennis Herring (Throwing Muses, Camper Van Beethoven) and features the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on several tracks, as well as one track remixed by David Fridman (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips).

“order” or “requirement.” If the DJ doesn’t play what you want, that is because it is just a request. Do not yell at the DJ. Do not pester the DJ. Do not spill drinks on the DJ’s equipment until he or she plays the Jay-Z song you want.

Accept the fact that you are asking the DJ to do you a favor. They are not there to be ordered around by belligerent drunks. They are there to entertain the entire crowd.

Third, if the club is packed and everyone but you is dancing to one style of music, do not be surprised when the DJ is unwilling to play your request for a different style. Good DJs learn to read crowds. Even if a house DJ has some hiphop records with him, he’s not going to ruin a vibe for the one person who is not dancing when several hundred other people are getting down to what is working.

If everyone around you is having fun, let your guard down a little and you might find that you like house or jungle, too.

Fourth, pay attention to what music the DJ has been playing. If the DJ trusts you enough, he’ll let you leaf through his records or CDs. But if a DJ has brought 100 slabs of drum ‘n’ bass vinyl, do not look angry or surprised when he tells you he does not have OutKast’s “Hey Ya.” Record shopping is an art form, and serious DJs who dig through crates of vinyl for hours every week take their collections very seriously.

Nearly every record is calculated to create a mood, so every record the DJ owns is special n some way. DJs do not just buy music in order to have every song on the radio.

So by thumbing your nose at the music the DJ has, you are thumbing your nose at their passion and their hard work.

Fifth, if you have a specific request, then

“Who’s gonna drive ya home tonight?” Man, that’s a great line. The narrator knows the girl is crazy. He knows he shouldn’t care for her so much.

But still, he can’t help but wonder, who is going to drive her

home tonight? Who hasn’t been there? Who doesn’t like this song?

4. “In Your Eyes” Peter Gabriel

And so Lloyd Dobbler did raise the speaker over his head in Say Anything. He did press the button on his stereo, and this ballad didst pour from his speaker and into the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever made out in the backseat of an ’85 Corolla. Possibly the greatest love song ever, this song single-handedly makes up for every other schlocky piece of crap Michael Bolton and his ilk threw up in the ’80s. God Bless Lloyd Dobbler.

5. “Never Tear Us Apart” INXS

This is a damned fine love song. Great ’60s girl group kind of melody, great pauses, and a chorus “And they could never tear us apart.” Lord, it’s friggin’ tailor-made for pumping your fist and singing at the top of your lungs after a phenomenal first date with that adorable girl in geometry class... whose father happens to hate you.

Next week: Top five songs to incite a riot What’s yours? E-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

calendar

buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com 1/24 Appleseed Cast @ Metro, 18+ 1/24 Steve Forbert @ Schubas 1/24 Frogs @ Bottom Lounge 1/25 Reigning Sound @ Subterranean 1/25 Ordinary People’s @ Schubas 1/25 April March @ Schubas 1/25 Michael Glabicki @ Durty Nellie’s 1/26 Swell @ Schubas 1/26 Rilo Kiley @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 1/27 Twista @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/27-31 Train @ Schubas 1/28 StarSailor @ Metro, all ages 1/29 Linkin Park @ Allstate Arena 1/29 Gomez @ Vic, all ages 1/30 Lee Rocker @ Subterranean 1/30 Jonny Lang @ Star Plaza 1/30 Huun Huur Tu @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/30 DJ Hollywood @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/30 KC & the Sunshine Band @ House of Blues 1/30 Mahjongg @ Empty Bottle 1/30 Alan Jackson, Martina McBride @ Allstate Arena 1/30 Simple Plan, MXPX @ Riviera, all ages 1/31 Natalie MacMaster @ Harris Theater for Music & Dance 1/31 Webb Wilder @ FitzGerald's 1/31 Joan Jett @ Paramount Arts Center 1/31 Neil Aline @ Smart Bar

FEBRUARY 2/3 Crash Test Dummies @ Schubas 2/3 Super Furry Animals @ Metro, 18+ 2/4 Mae @ Metro, all ages 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margaret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/7 Jon Rauhouse, Rico Bell, Trailer Bride @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/12 Dollar Store @ Schubas 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/17 Nebula @ Subterranean 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens 2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas 2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyr’s 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues, all ages 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues

329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449

Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

KIDS & FAMILIES T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Thu 4-5pm.

Great Magazine Giveaway – Back issues of hundreds of the library's magazine titles free for the taking. Bring your own boxes and bags and load up. Sat 9am-5pm. For more information, call 4032000.

Preschool Museum – Children can learn from museum educators and library staff about animals, history, art and more. This week’s presentation will be led by the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum; third in a series of four weekly programs.

Champaign Public Library, Multipurpose Room.

Tue 10-10:45am. To register, call 403-2030.

Know Zone – Students can get help with their homework at the library throughout the month of January. Douglass Branch LIbrary, Conference Room. Tue 4-5pm. For more information, call 4032090.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents with their children, daycare groups and elementary school classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:3010am (Storyshop 1), 10:30-11am (Storyshop 2).

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 10:30-11am.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

CPDU's offered. 1102 E. Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com

Intention” – (Open Studio). For information on these visit www.spiritofsandra.com and click on “classes,” then e-mail or call for reservations.

Art Classes At Verde Gallery – Verde Gallery presents art classes for adults and children beginning in January. Signup and payment required by Jan 12, sign up by Jan 5 and receive a 10% discount.

Drawing Fundamentals l For Adults: Meets for 8 sessions, Mon 7-9PM, starting Jan 19. Cost: $120.

Includes materials. Children’s Art Class: Meets for 5 sessions, Sat 10-11:30am, starting Jan 17. Children ages 6-12 welcome. Cost: $90. Includes materials.

More class details are available at www.verdantsystems.com/education.htm

Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. 220 W Washington Street in Monticello.

ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd, White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com..

“Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

“Collage for the Soul” – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Cafe Kopi – Work from local artist Shannon Batman on display through January. Artist statement: “Collage technique layered with oil painting is the process that I have been attempting to master for several years. This medium allows tangible images to communicate while the color fields and symbolic imagery speaks to areas of intuition and emotion.” 109 N Walnut, Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 3594266.

Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

Other Classes: “Making Monoprints,” “Art With

this week Su Jan 18

@

krannert center

We Jan 21

Art-to-Go – Presentation, discussion and hands-on activity led by Krannert Art Museum staff.

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 4-5:30pm.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration 5pm, FGH, free

Baby Time – Come to the library for a half-hour of lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Thu 10:30-11am.

Tu Jan 20

Th Jan 22

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38 Sponsors: Charlotte Chilton Janet and Ralph Simmons

Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free

Family Fun Day Sunday in the Square – Every Sunday through Mar 27, enjoy interactive rides, including Bounce Houses, Screamer Slides and the Kid Wizard. There will also be food, shopping, games, miniature golf and more. Lincoln Square Mall. Sun 1-5pm. Call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872 with any questions.

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38

Tennis Center Social Mixer – The theme of this month’s social mixer is “holiday.” Just bring a racquet and drop in for a game of tennis. Fun for the whole family. Tennis Center, 2802 Farber Dr, Champaign. Fri 6:30pm. Fee: $10 per person. For more information, call 352-6044.

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award-winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced affordably and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com

Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.

Season Sponsors Coporate Season Underwriters

Patron Season Sponsors

CAROLE AND JERRY RINGER

15

KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX 217/333-9714 (TTY) 217/244-SHOW (Fax) 217/244-0549 (Groups) kran-tix@uiuc.edu Ticket Office Open 10am to 6pm daily; on days of performances open 10am through intermission.

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calendar

ThursdayJan15 LIVE MUSIC Edison Jazz Band, Central Jazz Band – The Iron Post, 7pm, TBA Danni Leigh, Kate Hathaway – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5

DJ DJ J-Phlip – Barfly, 9pm, free

ON STAGE Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

FridayJan16 LIVE MUSIC Jeff Helgesen Quartet – The Iron Post, 5pm, TBA Jammin' Jimmy Bean – Tommy G's, 5pm, TBA Hillary Scott – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Jazz Mandolin Project – Canopy Club, 10pm, $12 Sick Day, Ludo, Mike Ingram – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 The Blues Deacons – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA Jiggsaw, Monster Honkey, Little Black Spiders – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $3 Edison Jazz Band – Market Place Mall, 5:30pm X-Krush, Tormented – Spanky’s in Decatur, 9pm, TBA

DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Impact - Nargile, TBA

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 8pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

SundayJan18 LIVE MUSIC The Greedy Loves, Dan Darrah, Temple of Low Men – The Highdive, 10pm, $5

DJ Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 2pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 2:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

MondayJan19 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam – The Iron Post, 7:30-10:30pm, TBA Open Mic Night – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 “G” Force Karaoke – Kam’s, 10pm-2am

DJ 2ON2OUT – indie – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – indie – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, free

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

SaturdayJan17

LIVE MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC Ozzmosis, Pariah, None Taken – Canopy Club, 10pm, $6 Centaur, Ring, Cicada – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $6 Adam Wolf and the Party Hounds – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA The Rob Hecht Quartet – The Iron Post, 9pm-12am, $3 Edison Jazz Band – Borders Books, 1pm X-Krush – Daddio’s in Bloomington, 9:30pm, TBA

DJ DJ Sophisto – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz – Nargile, TBA

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 8pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

Community Drum Circle – Ten Thousand Villages, 7-9pm, free

TuesdayJan20 Open Mic/Open Jam hosted by Openingbands.com: featuring Rosehill Drive – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – Tommy G's, 10pm, free

DJ DJ Resonate – hip-hop – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Donovan Finn - indie and garage - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo – goth/industrial – The Highdive, 10pm, $2 DJ Hoff – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

ON STAGE Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella – The story of Cinderella has inspired young and old, artists and animators, filmmakers and choreographers. Former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko returns to Krannert Center with the company he founded in 1989 to present the classic ballet choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov to music of Sergei Prokofiev. With elegant dancing and comical miming, rich costumes and colorful scenery, Cinderella will enchant families and all who love classical ballet. Tryon Festival Theatre. 7pm. Tickets $35-$38.

WednesdayJan21 LIVE MUSIC Openingbands.com Showcase: Broken Day, Second Son, Sick Day – Canopy Club, 10pm, $3 The Unicorns, Triple Whip, TBA – Nargile, 10pm, $6 Dank 454, Honest Pod, TBA – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover “G” Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm

DJ DJ Chef Ra – roots/rock/reggae – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1 d-LO and Spinnerty – Cowboy Monkey, TBA, $1

COMEDY Loren Guy – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA

ON STAGE Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella – The story of Cinderella has inspired young and old, artists and animators, filmmakers and choreographers. Former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko returns to Krannert Center with the company he founded in 1989 to present the classic ballet choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov to music of Sergei Prokofiev. With elegant dancing and comical miming, rich costumes and colorful scenery, Cinderella will enchant families and all who love classical ballet. Tryon Festival Theatre. 7pm. Tickets $35-$38.

C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes & Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 351-9011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (The Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444 Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana, Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950

Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike n’ Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 351-0068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 355-1406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign

CHICAGOSHOWS JANUARY 1/15 Greg Trooper @ FitzGerald's 1/16 Joie Calio @ Schubas 1/16 Kevn Kinney @ Schubas 1/16 Bonnie Koloc @ FitzGerald’s 1/16 Alan Parsons @ Oasis 160 1/16 Stripping the Pistol @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Samples @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/17 Old 97's @ Metro, 18+ 1/17 Evan Dando @ Double Door 1/17 Del Ray, Unicorns @ Empty Bottle 1/17 Demolition Dollrods @ Bottom Lounge 1/17 Wrens @ Schubas 1/17 Ani DiFranco @ Chicago Theatre 1/17 Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Lexxus @ Cubby Bear 1/18 Unicorns @ Fireside Bowl 1/18 Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues, all ages 1/18 Joan of Arc @ Empty Bottle 1/19 Jamie Cullom @ Schubas 1/19 Jimmy Gnecco @ Schubas 1/21 Sevendust @ House of Blues, all ages 1/23 Archer Prewitt @ Schubas 1/23 DJ Luv Bug Starski @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/23 Neko Case @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/23 Matthias Heilbronn @ Smart Bar 1/23-24 Marcia Ball Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/23-24 SuperDiamond @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/24 Adam Green @ Schubas, 18+

buzz

music

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | STRONGBAD WILL SHOW YOU TECHNO

CDReviews

1114buzz011504

THE THRILLS So Much For the Big City Virgin Records

★★★

BY BRIAN MERTZ

Leave it to a band on the other side of the pond to make a better record about California than most American bands could. Five Dubliners called The Thrills crafted a debut album called So Much For The City that stands as something special in a world full of hackneyed major label releases, but still has a long way to go when compared to the albums released by their obvious influences.

Singing about the sun of California, it is easy to be influenced by the vocal melodies of The Beach Boys and The Monkees. They even borrow the famous Monkees hook (“Hey hey, we’re the Monkees”) for their first single, “Big Sur.” And if during their four-month stay in The Golden State, The Thrills tapped into the American indierock scene, then Wilco and The Shins can both be considered influences instead of just obvious comparisons.

Stir up those beautiful four-part summery harmonies with the folky American indie sound and constantly sprinkle them with Irish-pop flourishes on banjoes, violins and guitars and you’ll know what all of So Much For The City sounds like.

For the first several listens, that sunny combination is a pleasure–particularly during this cold winter. And some of the songs are just inescapably catchy. The chorus of “Big Sur” lodges itself in listeners’ brains, causing them to wake up in the morning, still humming the tune from the night before.“Deckchairs and Cigarettes” might get flack for not having enough lyrical depth, but the morose melody can change a good mood to a somber one within the first two minutes of listening.

Every song has at least a few moments for those music fans that completely lose themselves whenever a band pulls off quality four-part vocal harmonies. If that’s not appealing, then you might want to skip over this album–and all of the important parts of pop history while you’re at it.

Some freezing Midwesterners will obviously be turned off by the four songs with California references in the titles and choruses in other songs such as “Let’s go to San Diego/ ‘Cause that’s where all the kids go” during “Deckchairs and Cigarettes.”

So Much For The City as an album covers the same amount of sonic ground on two or three tracks as all of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. That puts it in good company, but anyone who has found masterpieces like Yankee Hotel will grow bored with The Thrills’ first effort.

While we all wait to see what the Wilco boys will do next, So Much For The City can serve as an adequate holdover. Who knows? If this quintet can find some new lyrical inspiration, their sophomore effort might be one to cherish from start to finish after an infinite amount of listens.

FIERY FURNACES Gallowsbird’s Bark Rough Trade Records

★★★★

BY JOE MARTIN

Eleanor Friedberger, the Fiery Furnaces’ multiinstrumental frontwoman has the kind of voice that virtually begs for adjectives like “clipped,”“detached” and “laconic” to be thrown its way.

She comes off like the ideal descendant of vaguely

Dadaist rock forbearers like Steve Malkmus and Mark E. Smith, tossing out intriguing and/or incoherent lyrics with an enthusiastic aloofness. And, like said forbearers, her seeming disinterest in her own words makes her that much more alluring and believable. Eleanor Friedberger is part of a long-standing rock tradition of puzzling frontpeople and, as a result, is about as “unintentionally” engaging as a singer gets.

Happily, the band’s music doesn’t just match her paradoxically impersonal personality–it’s almost a natural extension of it. Comprised of Friedberger and her brother Matt, New York’s Fiery Furnaces set up a sort of haphazard conflict-and-resolution in their songs, cannily faking imprecision while secretly guiding each melody to its logical end. The initial effect is a kind of aural vertigo: Gallowsbird’s Bark, upon first listen, feels somewhat shaky and unnecessarily chaotic. The chaos soon becomes the beauty of the record, though. The Fiery Furnaces are all about the eternal “put-on” and they refuse to let any aspect of their album be taken at face value.

Accordingly, the band’s music–a clattering olio of ragtime pianos, wah-wah guitars, buzzing synths, cacophonous percussion and fuzzed-out bass–both adheres to and throws rocks at standard pop structure with a sort of giddy abandon. Verses and choruses stretch or narrow as needed. Simple hooks are given plenty of time to ingrain themselves into the listener’s brain, often comprising the meat of a song. Each track stands on its own, but most flow seamlessly into each other. On some level, the whole production resembles an old-fashioned concept album–a consistent sound is maintained throughout and lyrics routinely center, thematically, on travel and the banalities of modern life.

Buried at the root of everything, Friedberger’s lyrics are probably Bark’s greatest asset–and, in typical paradoxical fashion, its biggest problem. She has a way with a confusing-yet-relatable aphorism (“I pierced my ears with a three hole punch/I ate 12 dozen donuts for lunch”) and a casually brilliant melody (especially in songs like “I’m Gonna Run” and “Inca Rag/Name Game”), but her tendency towards coolly convoluted travelogues becomes kind of repetitive. Ultimately, though, little minor imperfections like this are handily swallowed up by the entire package, which is totally charming and unique. In a world where garagey two-person bands are a dime a dozen, the Fiery Furnaces really don’t sound like anyone else. Their clatter is distinctly their own and, as a result, Gallowsbird’s Bark is one hell of a debut.

THE UNICORNS Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?

Alien 8 Records

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

The seventh song on The Unicorns’ new album Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? is called “Child Star.” It begins as a sort of mournful dirge over a catchy keyboard hook; like something The Microphones could have written in a good mood. Then at about three-an-a-half minutes into the song, after a keyboard solo that sounds as if it could use some Dramamine, the song abruptly shifts into a drum machine-driven, musical back and forth argument between the principal singer-songwriters of the group, Nicholas Diamond and Alden Ginger.

“You liked my latest film/No I didn’t/Yes you did/No I didn’t/Yes you did.” The song then takes a brief detour into drunken, toddler country music as the two principals joyously proclaim their hatred for one another. It wraps up like something the Fraggles might have composed if they’d decided to start a killer pop band rather than work for Jim Henson. Suddenly the listener realizes they are in the presence of the same unassuming pop genius that drove so many to love the Pixies and Guided By Voices.

In the hands of many lesser bands, the whole childish indie-pop schtick has borne some of the most infantile, annoying crap of our time. The Unicorns, on the other hand, are much more intelligent than they initially let on.

Your first inklings of this lie in the crazy hooks and lovely melodies that inhabit virtually every nook and cranny of this album. Then you suddenly realize you haven’t really heard a chorus or a verse twice. By the time you’ve managed to decipher the abstract and often silly, but somehow deeply touching meditations on fear and death that make up the lyrics, you’re already worshipping at the altar of the one-horned beasts.

That’s probably the most admirable quality of Who Will Cut Our Hair: the subtlety that lies beneath the more up front loonyness of the album. The lack of a verse/chorus structure is one hell of a trick to pull off, yet The Unicorns make it seem effortless. Each portion of the song seems like the logical conclusion of the previous, each part flowing into the next.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS 1. The Concretes - The Concretes (Licking Fingers Records) 2. The Aluminum Group - More Happyness (Wishing Tree Records) 3. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge Records) 4. The Church - Forget Yourself (Cooking Vinyl Records) 5. Lovecup - Greefus Groinks and Sheet (12 Inch Records) 6. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda Records) 7. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (Sounds Familyre Records) 8. Heavy Blinkers and Orwell - Intercontinental Pop Exchange, No. 3 (Endearing Records) 9. The Homosexuals - The Homosexuals' CD (Morphius Records) 10. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Sub Pop Records)

NEW RELEASES Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine Ani DiFranco - Educated Guess Dizzee Rascal - Boy in da Corner Dub Narcotic Sound System - Degenerate Introduction King Cobra - King Cobra (EP) Sister Hazel - Live Firewater - Songs We Should Have Written John Vanderslice - Cellar Door Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! - Volcano, I’m Still Excited!!

Songs: Ohia - Pyramid Electric Co. Oneida - Secret Wars The Dexateens - The Dexateens Camera Obscura Underachievers Please Try Harder The Church - Forget Yourself The Mekons - Punk Rock

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Un-listenable

“Tuff Ghost” is a driving disco-rocker, driven on twin engines of analog synth and snappy drumming, punctuated with melodic crescendos, and eventually imploded around a hopping bass line and some jammy keyboard work. “Ghost Mountain” is a handsome little pop song that keeps raising the stakes melodically with each “chorus”occasionally stopping to take a breath. “I Was Born (A Unicorn)” is one of the downright catchiest jangle-pop songs to come rolling down the street in awhile, and reminds you how much crap you let slide by under the moniker of “pop.” “Sea Ghost” has the balls to kick itself off with a flute solo, a friggin’ flute solo! They follow it up with a bar fight between Rivers Cuomo and Robert Pollard that ends with a guitar hook that could cure cancer.

The Unicorns have managed to take the familiar (analog synths, guitars, pop music) and crafted an album that is overflowing with the creative and the bizarre. They remind us that pop music was never meant to be perfect; that it’s all the more compelling when it’s humorous and art-damaged, yet still has soul. It’s time to tear off your own head and groove to the sound of the’ Corns.

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SUNDAY

Homemade Soups Everyday!

1

$

25

TUESDAY

95

BlueMoon and Michelob Amberbock 16 oz. drafts

T Middle-schoolers hit the right notes

lb. of Wings

12

$

Leinie Honey Drafts 75 Leinie, & Mich Ultra

$

16 oz. Drafts Cheeseburger and Fries

3

$

Double Cheeseburger and Fries BUY BUY A A LEINIE LEINIE & & REGISTER REGISTER TO TO WIN WIN A A TRIP TRIP TO TO GRANITE GRANITE PEAK PEAK SKI SKI RESORT! RESORT!

95

2 for 1 Ponyshoe

5

$

Domestic Pitchers (64 oz.)

WEDNESDAY

5

$

25

A new kind of jazz comes to The Canopy Club

MONDAY

2

2

Domestic Bottles

16 oz. Domestic Drafts

$ $

2

$

I

f you’re in the mood to hear some live jazz music, spend this weekend with Edison Middle School’s Jazz Band 1–but don’t be fooled by their young age.

Band director Sam Hankins begins teaching interested students how to understand and play jazz music as early as sixth grade. Students must audition for positions in the first, second and third jazz bands, and as popularity in the extracurricular program has grown, so has the roster of talented students in each of the bands. Jazz Band 1 is the elite crew you can watch this weekend.

Jazz Band 1 has spent the last year playing music around the country and winning awards such as “Band of the Day” at the University of Louisville (Ky.) and Grand Champion at 2003’s MusicFest Orlando.

And it does not look like the group has any plans of slowing down in the future. Comprised of 21 students, Jazz Band 1 continues to grow in popularity. The group already has shows scheduled for this year, including this weekend’s performances.

The band is scheduled to perform Thursday at The Iron Post, Friday at Market Place Mall, and Saturday at Borders Bookstore before leaving for the International Association of Jazz Education Conference in New York City on Jan. 21, where they were invited to perform.

he Jazz Mandolin Project, a three-piece ensemble from Vermont brings its experimental blends of jazz music to the Canopy Club Friday night.

Mandolinist Jaime Masefield heads the group, as does his mandolin. The group breaks away from traditional jazz in that Masefield’s mandolin acts as the lead instrument instead of the more likely horn or guitar.

The band is breaking rules in its mission to show listeners that jazz does not have to conform to just one or two approaches to the genre. Instead, the Jazz Mandolin Project illustrates that jazz can take any form and use any approach that works for the band and its listeners.

It’s Miller Time at Legends!

Three acts set to rock The Highdive

T

emple of Low Men join Dan Darrah and the Greedy Loves Sunday at The Highdive for a night of quality music with plenty of variety to please everyone.

Singer/songwriter Dan Darrah adds a chill feeling to the night with songs that let you unwind and have a drink while still tapping your foot to the rhythm.

Local band the Greedy Loves speed up the beat a little with their catchy hooks and pop influence seamlessly threaded into their songs. Also, enjoy music from local regulars Temple of Low Men as the group balances out the night with its unique blend of rock music.

For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com

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1/14/04

2:42 PM

Page 1

12

calendar

calendar

buzzpicks

SUNDAY

Homemade Soups Everyday!

1

$

25

TUESDAY

95

BlueMoon and Michelob Amberbock 16 oz. drafts

T Middle-schoolers hit the right notes

lb. of Wings

12

$

Leinie Honey Drafts 75 Leinie, & Mich Ultra

$

16 oz. Drafts Cheeseburger and Fries

3

$

Double Cheeseburger and Fries BUY BUY A A LEINIE LEINIE & & REGISTER REGISTER TO TO WIN WIN A A TRIP TRIP TO TO GRANITE GRANITE PEAK PEAK SKI SKI RESORT! RESORT!

95

2 for 1 Ponyshoe

5

$

Domestic Pitchers (64 oz.)

WEDNESDAY

5

$

25

A new kind of jazz comes to The Canopy Club

MONDAY

2

2

Domestic Bottles

16 oz. Domestic Drafts

$ $

2

$

I

f you’re in the mood to hear some live jazz music, spend this weekend with Edison Middle School’s Jazz Band 1–but don’t be fooled by their young age.

Band director Sam Hankins begins teaching interested students how to understand and play jazz music as early as sixth grade. Students must audition for positions in the first, second and third jazz bands, and as popularity in the extracurricular program has grown, so has the roster of talented students in each of the bands. Jazz Band 1 is the elite crew you can watch this weekend.

Jazz Band 1 has spent the last year playing music around the country and winning awards such as “Band of the Day” at the University of Louisville (Ky.) and Grand Champion at 2003’s MusicFest Orlando.

And it does not look like the group has any plans of slowing down in the future. Comprised of 21 students, Jazz Band 1 continues to grow in popularity. The group already has shows scheduled for this year, including this weekend’s performances.

The band is scheduled to perform Thursday at The Iron Post, Friday at Market Place Mall, and Saturday at Borders Bookstore before leaving for the International Association of Jazz Education Conference in New York City on Jan. 21, where they were invited to perform.

he Jazz Mandolin Project, a three-piece ensemble from Vermont brings its experimental blends of jazz music to the Canopy Club Friday night.

Mandolinist Jaime Masefield heads the group, as does his mandolin. The group breaks away from traditional jazz in that Masefield’s mandolin acts as the lead instrument instead of the more likely horn or guitar.

The band is breaking rules in its mission to show listeners that jazz does not have to conform to just one or two approaches to the genre. Instead, the Jazz Mandolin Project illustrates that jazz can take any form and use any approach that works for the band and its listeners.

It’s Miller Time at Legends!

Three acts set to rock The Highdive

T

emple of Low Men join Dan Darrah and the Greedy Loves Sunday at The Highdive for a night of quality music with plenty of variety to please everyone.

Singer/songwriter Dan Darrah adds a chill feeling to the night with songs that let you unwind and have a drink while still tapping your foot to the rhythm.

Local band the Greedy Loves speed up the beat a little with their catchy hooks and pop influence seamlessly threaded into their songs. Also, enjoy music from local regulars Temple of Low Men as the group balances out the night with its unique blend of rock music.

For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com

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ThursdayJan15 LIVE MUSIC Edison Jazz Band, Central Jazz Band – The Iron Post, 7pm, TBA Danni Leigh, Kate Hathaway – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $5

DJ DJ J-Phlip – Barfly, 9pm, free

ON STAGE Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

FridayJan16 LIVE MUSIC Jeff Helgesen Quartet – The Iron Post, 5pm, TBA Jammin' Jimmy Bean – Tommy G's, 5pm, TBA Hillary Scott – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Jazz Mandolin Project – Canopy Club, 10pm, $12 Sick Day, Ludo, Mike Ingram – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $3 The Blues Deacons – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA Jiggsaw, Monster Honkey, Little Black Spiders – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $3 Edison Jazz Band – Market Place Mall, 5:30pm X-Krush, Tormented – Spanky’s in Decatur, 9pm, TBA

DJ DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Impact - Nargile, TBA

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 8pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

SundayJan18 LIVE MUSIC The Greedy Loves, Dan Darrah, Temple of Low Men – The Highdive, 10pm, $5

DJ Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided by DJ Spinnerty and DJ Bozak – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. A multiple surprise ending caps this hilarious romp. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 2pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 2:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

MondayJan19 LIVE MUSIC Jazz Jam – The Iron Post, 7:30-10:30pm, TBA Open Mic Night – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2 “G” Force Karaoke – Kam’s, 10pm-2am

DJ 2ON2OUT – indie – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – indie – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, free

Little Shop of Horrors – presented by the Tuscolabased Actors’ Rural Theatre Company, Little Shop of Horrors is a musical comedy about a flower shop employee, Seymour Krelborn, and his newly found plant, Audrey II. Fine Arts Center in Tuscola, 211 E Overton. 7:30pm. For reservations or more information, call 253-6699.

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

SaturdayJan17

LIVE MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC Ozzmosis, Pariah, None Taken – Canopy Club, 10pm, $6 Centaur, Ring, Cicada – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $6 Adam Wolf and the Party Hounds – Tommy G's, 10pm, TBA The Rob Hecht Quartet – The Iron Post, 9pm-12am, $3 Edison Jazz Band – Borders Books, 1pm X-Krush – Daddio’s in Bloomington, 9:30pm, TBA

DJ DJ Sophisto – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 DJ Mertz – Nargile, TBA

ON STAGE Meet My Husbands – Presented by Red Mask Players, this comedy by Fred Carmichael stars the characters Elaine Scott, an advertising executive whose position is in jeopardy. After Elaine hires a beach bum to pose as her spouse, her “new” husband arrives at the hotel as well as her former husband. Katherine Randolph Theater, 601 N Vermilion. 8pm. To buy tickets, contact the Red Mask Players at 442-5858.

Community Drum Circle – Ten Thousand Villages, 7-9pm, free

TuesdayJan20 Open Mic/Open Jam hosted by Openingbands.com: featuring Rosehill Drive – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Adam Wolfe, Jess Greenlee – Tommy G's, 10pm, free

DJ DJ Resonate – hip-hop – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Donovan Finn - indie and garage - Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo – goth/industrial – The Highdive, 10pm, $2 DJ Hoff – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1

ON STAGE Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella – The story of Cinderella has inspired young and old, artists and animators, filmmakers and choreographers. Former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko returns to Krannert Center with the company he founded in 1989 to present the classic ballet choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov to music of Sergei Prokofiev. With elegant dancing and comical miming, rich costumes and colorful scenery, Cinderella will enchant families and all who love classical ballet. Tryon Festival Theatre. 7pm. Tickets $35-$38.

WednesdayJan21 LIVE MUSIC Openingbands.com Showcase: Broken Day, Second Son, Sick Day – Canopy Club, 10pm, $3 The Unicorns, Triple Whip, TBA – Nargile, 10pm, $6 Dank 454, Honest Pod, TBA – The Highdive, 10pm, $5 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover “G” Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm

DJ DJ Chef Ra – roots/rock/reggae – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Boardwalk – Mike n’ Molly’s, 10pm, $1 d-LO and Spinnerty – Cowboy Monkey, TBA, $1

COMEDY Loren Guy – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA

ON STAGE Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella – The story of Cinderella has inspired young and old, artists and animators, filmmakers and choreographers. Former Bolshoi Ballet principal dancer Sergei Radchenko returns to Krannert Center with the company he founded in 1989 to present the classic ballet choreographed by Rostislav Zakharov to music of Sergei Prokofiev. With elegant dancing and comical miming, rich costumes and colorful scenery, Cinderella will enchant families and all who love classical ballet. Tryon Festival Theatre. 7pm. Tickets $35-$38.

C-UVENUES Assembly Hall First & Florida, Champaign, 333-5000 American Legion Post 24 705 W Bloomington Rd, Champaign, 356-5144 American Legion Post 71 107 N Broadway, Urbana, 367-3121 Barfly 120 N Neil, Champaign,352-9756 Barnes & Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 351-9011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (The Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 C.O. Daniels 608 E Daniel, Champaign, 337-7411 Cosmopolitan Club 307 E John, Champaign, 367-3079 Courtyard Cafe Illini Union, 1401 W Green, Urbana, 333-4666 Cowboy Monkey 6 Taylor St, Champaign, 398-2688 Clybourne 706 S Sixth, Champaign, 383-1008 Curtis Orchard 3902 S Duncan Rd, Champaign, 359-5565 D.R. Diggers 604 S Country Fair Dr, Champaign, 356-0888 Elmer’s Club 45 3525 N Cunningham, Urbana, 344-3101 Embassy Tavern & Grill 114 S Race, Urbana, 384-9526 Esquire Lounge 106 N Walnut, Champaign, 398-5858 Fallon’s Ice House 703 N Prospect, Champaign, 398-5760 Fat City Saloon 505 S Chestnut, Champaign, 356-7100 The Great Impasta 114 W Church, Champaign, 359-7377 G.T.’s Western Bowl Francis Dr, Champaign, 359-1678 The Highdive 51 Main, Champaign, 359-4444 Huber’s 1312 W Church, Champaign, 352-0606 Illinois Disciples Foundation 610 E Springfield, Champaign, 352-8721 Independent Media Center 218 W Main St, Urbana, 344-8820 The Iron Post 120 S Race, Urbana, 337-7678 Joe’s Brewery 706 S Fifth, Champaign, 384-1790 Kam’s 618 E Daniel, Champaign, 328-1605 Krannert Art Museum 500 E Peabody, Champaign, 333-1861 Krannert Center for the Performing Arts 500 S Goodwin, Urbana, Tickets: 333-6280, 800-KCPATIX La Casa Cultural Latina 1203 W Nevada, Urbana, 333-4950

Lava 1906 W Bradley, Champaign, 352-8714 Legends Bar & Grill 522 E Green, Champaign, 355-7674 Les’s Lounge 403 N Coler, Urbana, 328-4000 Lincoln Castle 209 S Broadway, Urbana, 344-7720 Malibu Bay Lounge North Route 45, Urbana, 328-7415 Mike n’ Molly’s 105 N Market, Champaign, 355-1236 Mulligan’s 604 N Cunningham, Urbana, 367-5888 Murphy’s 604 E Green, Champaign, 352-7275 Nargile 207 W Clark St, Champaign Neil Street Pub 1505 N Neil, Champaign, 359-1601 Boardman’s Art Theater 126 W Church, Champaign, 351-0068 The Office 214 W Main, Urbana, 344-7608 Parkland College 2400 W Bradley, Champaign, 351-2528 Phoenix 215 S Neil, Champaign, 355-7866 Pia’s of Rantoul Route 136 E, Rantoul, 893-8244 Pink House Routes 49 & 150, Ogden, 582-9997 The Rainbow Coffeehouse 1203 W Green, Urbana, 766-9500 Red Herring/Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana, 344-1176 Rose Bowl Tavern 106 N Race, Urbana, 367-7031 Springer Cultural Center 301 N Randolph, Champaign, 355-1406 Spurlock Museum 600 S Gregory, Urbana, 333-2360 The Station Theatre 223 N Broadway, Urbana, 384-4000 Strawberry Fields Cafe 306 W Springfield, Urbana, 328-1655 Ten Thousand Villages 105 N Walnut, Champaign, 352-8938 TK Wendl’s 1901 S Highcross Rd, Urbana, 255-5328 Tommy G’s 123 S Mattis Ave, Country Fair Shopping Center, 359-2177 Tonic 619 S Wright, Champaign, 356-6768 Two Main 2 Main, Champaign, 359-3148 University YMCA 1001 S Wright, Champaign, 344-0721 Verde/Verdant 17 E Taylor St, Champaign, 366-3204 Virginia Theatre 203 W Park Ave, Champaign, 356-9053 White Horse Inn 112 1/2 E Green, Champaign, 352-5945 Zorba’s 627 E Green, Champaign

CHICAGOSHOWS JANUARY 1/15 Greg Trooper @ FitzGerald's 1/16 Joie Calio @ Schubas 1/16 Kevn Kinney @ Schubas 1/16 Bonnie Koloc @ FitzGerald’s 1/16 Alan Parsons @ Oasis 160 1/16 Stripping the Pistol @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Samples @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/17 Old 97's @ Metro, 18+ 1/17 Evan Dando @ Double Door 1/17 Del Ray, Unicorns @ Empty Bottle 1/17 Demolition Dollrods @ Bottom Lounge 1/17 Wrens @ Schubas 1/17 Ani DiFranco @ Chicago Theatre 1/17 Dillinger Escape Plan @ Metro, all ages 1/17 Lexxus @ Cubby Bear 1/18 Unicorns @ Fireside Bowl 1/18 Gavin DeGraw, Matt Nathanson @ House of Blues, all ages 1/18 Joan of Arc @ Empty Bottle 1/19 Jamie Cullom @ Schubas 1/19 Jimmy Gnecco @ Schubas 1/21 Sevendust @ House of Blues, all ages 1/23 Archer Prewitt @ Schubas 1/23 DJ Luv Bug Starski @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/23 Neko Case @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/23 Matthias Heilbronn @ Smart Bar 1/23-24 Marcia Ball Band @ FitzGerald’s 1/23-24 SuperDiamond @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/24 Adam Green @ Schubas, 18+

buzz

music

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | STRONGBAD WILL SHOW YOU TECHNO

CDReviews

1114buzz011504

THE THRILLS So Much For the Big City Virgin Records

★★★

BY BRIAN MERTZ

Leave it to a band on the other side of the pond to make a better record about California than most American bands could. Five Dubliners called The Thrills crafted a debut album called So Much For The City that stands as something special in a world full of hackneyed major label releases, but still has a long way to go when compared to the albums released by their obvious influences.

Singing about the sun of California, it is easy to be influenced by the vocal melodies of The Beach Boys and The Monkees. They even borrow the famous Monkees hook (“Hey hey, we’re the Monkees”) for their first single, “Big Sur.” And if during their four-month stay in The Golden State, The Thrills tapped into the American indierock scene, then Wilco and The Shins can both be considered influences instead of just obvious comparisons.

Stir up those beautiful four-part summery harmonies with the folky American indie sound and constantly sprinkle them with Irish-pop flourishes on banjoes, violins and guitars and you’ll know what all of So Much For The City sounds like.

For the first several listens, that sunny combination is a pleasure–particularly during this cold winter. And some of the songs are just inescapably catchy. The chorus of “Big Sur” lodges itself in listeners’ brains, causing them to wake up in the morning, still humming the tune from the night before.“Deckchairs and Cigarettes” might get flack for not having enough lyrical depth, but the morose melody can change a good mood to a somber one within the first two minutes of listening.

Every song has at least a few moments for those music fans that completely lose themselves whenever a band pulls off quality four-part vocal harmonies. If that’s not appealing, then you might want to skip over this album–and all of the important parts of pop history while you’re at it.

Some freezing Midwesterners will obviously be turned off by the four songs with California references in the titles and choruses in other songs such as “Let’s go to San Diego/ ‘Cause that’s where all the kids go” during “Deckchairs and Cigarettes.”

So Much For The City as an album covers the same amount of sonic ground on two or three tracks as all of Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. That puts it in good company, but anyone who has found masterpieces like Yankee Hotel will grow bored with The Thrills’ first effort.

While we all wait to see what the Wilco boys will do next, So Much For The City can serve as an adequate holdover. Who knows? If this quintet can find some new lyrical inspiration, their sophomore effort might be one to cherish from start to finish after an infinite amount of listens.

FIERY FURNACES Gallowsbird’s Bark Rough Trade Records

★★★★

BY JOE MARTIN

Eleanor Friedberger, the Fiery Furnaces’ multiinstrumental frontwoman has the kind of voice that virtually begs for adjectives like “clipped,”“detached” and “laconic” to be thrown its way.

She comes off like the ideal descendant of vaguely

Dadaist rock forbearers like Steve Malkmus and Mark E. Smith, tossing out intriguing and/or incoherent lyrics with an enthusiastic aloofness. And, like said forbearers, her seeming disinterest in her own words makes her that much more alluring and believable. Eleanor Friedberger is part of a long-standing rock tradition of puzzling frontpeople and, as a result, is about as “unintentionally” engaging as a singer gets.

Happily, the band’s music doesn’t just match her paradoxically impersonal personality–it’s almost a natural extension of it. Comprised of Friedberger and her brother Matt, New York’s Fiery Furnaces set up a sort of haphazard conflict-and-resolution in their songs, cannily faking imprecision while secretly guiding each melody to its logical end. The initial effect is a kind of aural vertigo: Gallowsbird’s Bark, upon first listen, feels somewhat shaky and unnecessarily chaotic. The chaos soon becomes the beauty of the record, though. The Fiery Furnaces are all about the eternal “put-on” and they refuse to let any aspect of their album be taken at face value.

Accordingly, the band’s music–a clattering olio of ragtime pianos, wah-wah guitars, buzzing synths, cacophonous percussion and fuzzed-out bass–both adheres to and throws rocks at standard pop structure with a sort of giddy abandon. Verses and choruses stretch or narrow as needed. Simple hooks are given plenty of time to ingrain themselves into the listener’s brain, often comprising the meat of a song. Each track stands on its own, but most flow seamlessly into each other. On some level, the whole production resembles an old-fashioned concept album–a consistent sound is maintained throughout and lyrics routinely center, thematically, on travel and the banalities of modern life.

Buried at the root of everything, Friedberger’s lyrics are probably Bark’s greatest asset–and, in typical paradoxical fashion, its biggest problem. She has a way with a confusing-yet-relatable aphorism (“I pierced my ears with a three hole punch/I ate 12 dozen donuts for lunch”) and a casually brilliant melody (especially in songs like “I’m Gonna Run” and “Inca Rag/Name Game”), but her tendency towards coolly convoluted travelogues becomes kind of repetitive. Ultimately, though, little minor imperfections like this are handily swallowed up by the entire package, which is totally charming and unique. In a world where garagey two-person bands are a dime a dozen, the Fiery Furnaces really don’t sound like anyone else. Their clatter is distinctly their own and, as a result, Gallowsbird’s Bark is one hell of a debut.

THE UNICORNS Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone?

Alien 8 Records

★★★★

BY LOGAN MOORE

The seventh song on The Unicorns’ new album Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? is called “Child Star.” It begins as a sort of mournful dirge over a catchy keyboard hook; like something The Microphones could have written in a good mood. Then at about three-an-a-half minutes into the song, after a keyboard solo that sounds as if it could use some Dramamine, the song abruptly shifts into a drum machine-driven, musical back and forth argument between the principal singer-songwriters of the group, Nicholas Diamond and Alden Ginger.

“You liked my latest film/No I didn’t/Yes you did/No I didn’t/Yes you did.” The song then takes a brief detour into drunken, toddler country music as the two principals joyously proclaim their hatred for one another. It wraps up like something the Fraggles might have composed if they’d decided to start a killer pop band rather than work for Jim Henson. Suddenly the listener realizes they are in the presence of the same unassuming pop genius that drove so many to love the Pixies and Guided By Voices.

In the hands of many lesser bands, the whole childish indie-pop schtick has borne some of the most infantile, annoying crap of our time. The Unicorns, on the other hand, are much more intelligent than they initially let on.

Your first inklings of this lie in the crazy hooks and lovely melodies that inhabit virtually every nook and cranny of this album. Then you suddenly realize you haven’t really heard a chorus or a verse twice. By the time you’ve managed to decipher the abstract and often silly, but somehow deeply touching meditations on fear and death that make up the lyrics, you’re already worshipping at the altar of the one-horned beasts.

That’s probably the most admirable quality of Who Will Cut Our Hair: the subtlety that lies beneath the more up front loonyness of the album. The lack of a verse/chorus structure is one hell of a trick to pull off, yet The Unicorns make it seem effortless. Each portion of the song seems like the logical conclusion of the previous, each part flowing into the next.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS’ TOP 10 SELLERS 1. The Concretes - The Concretes (Licking Fingers Records) 2. The Aluminum Group - More Happyness (Wishing Tree Records) 3. Camera Obscura - Underachievers Please Try Hard (Merge Records) 4. The Church - Forget Yourself (Cooking Vinyl Records) 5. Lovecup - Greefus Groinks and Sheet (12 Inch Records) 6. Moonbabies - The Orange Billboard (Hidden Agenda Records) 7. Sufjan Stevens - Michigan (Sounds Familyre Records) 8. Heavy Blinkers and Orwell - Intercontinental Pop Exchange, No. 3 (Endearing Records) 9. The Homosexuals - The Homosexuals' CD (Morphius Records) 10. The Postal Service - Such Great Heights (Sub Pop Records)

NEW RELEASES Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine Ani DiFranco - Educated Guess Dizzee Rascal - Boy in da Corner Dub Narcotic Sound System - Degenerate Introduction King Cobra - King Cobra (EP) Sister Hazel - Live Firewater - Songs We Should Have Written John Vanderslice - Cellar Door Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! - Volcano, I’m Still Excited!!

Songs: Ohia - Pyramid Electric Co. Oneida - Secret Wars The Dexateens - The Dexateens Camera Obscura Underachievers Please Try Harder The Church - Forget Yourself The Mekons - Punk Rock

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Un-listenable

“Tuff Ghost” is a driving disco-rocker, driven on twin engines of analog synth and snappy drumming, punctuated with melodic crescendos, and eventually imploded around a hopping bass line and some jammy keyboard work. “Ghost Mountain” is a handsome little pop song that keeps raising the stakes melodically with each “chorus”occasionally stopping to take a breath. “I Was Born (A Unicorn)” is one of the downright catchiest jangle-pop songs to come rolling down the street in awhile, and reminds you how much crap you let slide by under the moniker of “pop.” “Sea Ghost” has the balls to kick itself off with a flute solo, a friggin’ flute solo! They follow it up with a bar fight between Rivers Cuomo and Robert Pollard that ends with a guitar hook that could cure cancer.

The Unicorns have managed to take the familiar (analog synths, guitars, pop music) and crafted an album that is overflowing with the creative and the bizarre. They remind us that pop music was never meant to be perfect; that it’s all the more compelling when it’s humorous and art-damaged, yet still has soul. It’s time to tear off your own head and groove to the sound of the’ Corns.

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HOUSE IS NOT TECHNO | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

buzz

Seven dirty words you can’t say around DJ Mertz MENDOZA MUSIC LINE

BY BRIAN MERTZ | STAFF WRITER

I

t is simple. If you want to get under my skin, if you want to make me doubt what I have been doing with a big part of my life for the last two years, if you want to ruin my Friday night, just say seven simple words: “Ummm… do you have any hip-hop?”

I am counting “Ummm” because it inevitably comes before anyone timidly or boldly approaches the DJ booth and makes the request that drives me wild. These words have nothing to do with what I think about hip-hop. I actually like hip-hop (Chingy and Bone Crusher aside). It more has to do with the underlying message behind the request.

I am a house DJ. And I passionately believe in what I do. That request causes nothing but foolish doubts in my mind about what I am doing.

Last week I was let go from a club where I received the seven word request more than anywhere else I have played in my two years as a house DJ. I have no ill will towards the club. In fact, a lot of great people work there and the sound system is incredible. And when I was not getting that evil request, I was having a lot of fun. So I am not here to bash the venue.

No, this column goes out to all of the people who decide to approach and make requests of any of the local DJs in this town while those DJs are spinning and creating their art. All of you clubgoers can keep asking those seven words

(or variances of them), but hopefully this column will help you understand what those of us on the other side of the DJ booth are thinking.

So here are a few simple rules for making a request: First, clubs hire DJs for their specific sound–when a club actually takes the time to worry about such things. If the club has no clue what sound it wants or doesn’t care about such things, then all bets are off.

In this town, there are probably close to 200 DJs playing everything from house to hip-hop to reggae to salsa to drum ’n’ bass. So a good club has the ability to pick and choose whatever sound it wants to be pumping through its speakers on a given night.

A DJ is hired to create a mood, not to play every request that a guest wants that night at the club. If a club wants to only play whatever the patrons want, they should buy a jukebox. Good clubs will want a mix of both requests and DJ choices, but that mix always favors the DJ. On a good night, a talented DJ can play tunes no one has ever heard for the entire evening and the crowd will still be jumping.

If you go into a club and do not hear the music you want, take the time and ask the DJ what type of music they play before you start barking requests. And if you outright hate house music (or “techno” as the masses incorrectly call it), then do not be pissed at the DJ for not playing what you want.

In this town, for every club that is playing the music you hate, there is a nearby club playing the music you love. Find the nights you like and go to those. Reward clubs for believing in a sound that you like by going to those evenings.

Next, the word “request” doesn’t mean

The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture COMPILED BY LOGAN MOORE

Goodie Mob’s Cee-Lo will release his second album Cee-Lo is the Soul Machine Jan. 20. The album’s first single “I’ll Be Around” features Timbaland. The album will feature numerous contributions from artists such as The Neptunes, Ludacris and DJ Premier. Soul Machine is the follow-up to Cee-Lo’s debut Cee-Lo and His Perfect Imperfections.

TopFive

1. “I Just Called to Say I Love You” Stevie Wonder

2. “Take on Me” A-Ha

What the hell?

Moment of the week Corey Hart has his own label. Hart has entered into \a licensing agreement with Warner Music for his new label Siena Records. Hart composed that eternal hit “I Wear My Sunglasses at Night.” He has since made a lucrative career writing hits for Celine Dion and will write and produce most of the acts he signs. His membership as one of the four horseman of the coming apocalypse was unconfirmed at press time.

A number one hit in the summer of 1985, “Take on Me” is the perfect example of a onehit wonder. A-Ha went on to do...well, nothing, and “Take on Me” went on to be featured on numerous CD compilations that you’ll see advertised at 2 a.m. on cable.

3. “Drive” The Cars

make your request specific. If you only ask for “some hip-hop,” then don’t be mad when the indie-rock DJ plays Talib Kweli or Atmosphere.

You might have really wanted to hear a new Ying Yang Twins song, but the DJ did not know that because you just asked for “hip-hop.” We are DJs, not mind-readers.

Lastly, if a DJ does play your request after you ask, make sure you dance and do not be afraid to thank them. By all means, do not be afraid to ask for requests. Even those of us who pride ourselves on our underground record collections have weak spots for mainstream songs out of our genre (i.e. my love for “Milkshake”).

I’m sure the next time I play people will jokingly ask for hip-hop. I am fine with the joke.

But what I am not fine with is a lack of respect for an art form and a style of music that I am intensely passionate about. No one goes to a club in Chicago and complains that a superstar DJ is not playing enough Little Jon. People go to dance and they trust those big DJs. No Champaign DJ has the level of celebrity as Funkmaster Flex or Paul Oakenfold. But all of us local DJs believe in our music as strongly as the big DJs do. Some of the other DJs in this town are better than the big name ones.

So trust us, and treat us with the same level of respect you would give the celebrity, and we all will make sure you have a good night the next time you are in a local club.

And to all the other DJs in this town, keep doing what you believe in. Even if the annoying drunk won’t stop begging for 50 Cent.

In addition to being a law student, Brian Mertz is a music writer and a house DJ. He spins every Saturday night at Nargile–without any Chingy records.

’80s Love Songs

Is it better to burn out than to fade away? Well, we won’t go into the argument over this song found in High Fidelity.

Although not a breathtaking Stevie Wonder masterpiece, “I Just Called to Say I Love You” sums up all that sappy crap that makes it a quintessential love song.

Influential ’80s underground band Mission of Burma have signed to Matador Records. The new album is due out in May 2004 and will be their first record in over 22 years. Although they have had a short-lived career(six years, one album, and one EP) and virtual anonymity throughout their existence, the Boston-based rock band has cast quite a shadow over indie rock, influencing bands such as Sonic Youth and Fugazi.

After a five year delay, M o d e s t M o u s e have announced that their new album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News, is scheduled to be released March 30. The album, their first since 1999’s The Moon and Antartica, was produced by Dennis Herring (Throwing Muses, Camper Van Beethoven) and features the Dirty Dozen Brass Band on several tracks, as well as one track remixed by David Fridman (Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips).

“order” or “requirement.” If the DJ doesn’t play what you want, that is because it is just a request. Do not yell at the DJ. Do not pester the DJ. Do not spill drinks on the DJ’s equipment until he or she plays the Jay-Z song you want.

Accept the fact that you are asking the DJ to do you a favor. They are not there to be ordered around by belligerent drunks. They are there to entertain the entire crowd.

Third, if the club is packed and everyone but you is dancing to one style of music, do not be surprised when the DJ is unwilling to play your request for a different style. Good DJs learn to read crowds. Even if a house DJ has some hiphop records with him, he’s not going to ruin a vibe for the one person who is not dancing when several hundred other people are getting down to what is working.

If everyone around you is having fun, let your guard down a little and you might find that you like house or jungle, too.

Fourth, pay attention to what music the DJ has been playing. If the DJ trusts you enough, he’ll let you leaf through his records or CDs. But if a DJ has brought 100 slabs of drum ‘n’ bass vinyl, do not look angry or surprised when he tells you he does not have OutKast’s “Hey Ya.” Record shopping is an art form, and serious DJs who dig through crates of vinyl for hours every week take their collections very seriously.

Nearly every record is calculated to create a mood, so every record the DJ owns is special n some way. DJs do not just buy music in order to have every song on the radio.

So by thumbing your nose at the music the DJ has, you are thumbing your nose at their passion and their hard work.

Fifth, if you have a specific request, then

“Who’s gonna drive ya home tonight?” Man, that’s a great line. The narrator knows the girl is crazy. He knows he shouldn’t care for her so much.

But still, he can’t help but wonder, who is going to drive her

home tonight? Who hasn’t been there? Who doesn’t like this song?

4. “In Your Eyes” Peter Gabriel

And so Lloyd Dobbler did raise the speaker over his head in Say Anything. He did press the button on his stereo, and this ballad didst pour from his speaker and into the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever made out in the backseat of an ’85 Corolla. Possibly the greatest love song ever, this song single-handedly makes up for every other schlocky piece of crap Michael Bolton and his ilk threw up in the ’80s. God Bless Lloyd Dobbler.

5. “Never Tear Us Apart” INXS

This is a damned fine love song. Great ’60s girl group kind of melody, great pauses, and a chorus “And they could never tear us apart.” Lord, it’s friggin’ tailor-made for pumping your fist and singing at the top of your lungs after a phenomenal first date with that adorable girl in geometry class... whose father happens to hate you.

Next week: Top five songs to incite a riot What’s yours? E-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

calendar

buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com 1/24 Appleseed Cast @ Metro, 18+ 1/24 Steve Forbert @ Schubas 1/24 Frogs @ Bottom Lounge 1/25 Reigning Sound @ Subterranean 1/25 Ordinary People’s @ Schubas 1/25 April March @ Schubas 1/25 Michael Glabicki @ Durty Nellie’s 1/26 Swell @ Schubas 1/26 Rilo Kiley @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 1/27 Twista @ House of Blues, 18+ 1/27-31 Train @ Schubas 1/28 StarSailor @ Metro, all ages 1/29 Linkin Park @ Allstate Arena 1/29 Gomez @ Vic, all ages 1/30 Lee Rocker @ Subterranean 1/30 Jonny Lang @ Star Plaza 1/30 Huun Huur Tu @ Old Town School of Folk Music 1/30 DJ Hollywood @ Funky Buddha Lounge 1/30 KC & the Sunshine Band @ House of Blues 1/30 Mahjongg @ Empty Bottle 1/30 Alan Jackson, Martina McBride @ Allstate Arena 1/30 Simple Plan, MXPX @ Riviera, all ages 1/31 Natalie MacMaster @ Harris Theater for Music & Dance 1/31 Webb Wilder @ FitzGerald's 1/31 Joan Jett @ Paramount Arts Center 1/31 Neil Aline @ Smart Bar

FEBRUARY 2/3 Crash Test Dummies @ Schubas 2/3 Super Furry Animals @ Metro, 18+ 2/4 Mae @ Metro, all ages 2/5 Kevin Welch & Kieran Kane @ FitzGerald's 2/5 Monolake @ Empty Bottle 2/5 Life of Agony @ House of Blues, all ages 2/6 DJ Red Alert @ Funky Buddha Lounge 2/6 Buckwheat Zydeco @ House of Blues, 18+ 2/7 Hank Williams III @ Martyrs' 2/7 Immortal Technique @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/7 American Motherload @ Metro, 18+ 2/7 Ann-Margaret @ Star Plaza 2/7 Amy Rigby @ Schubas 2/7 Jon Rauhouse, Rico Bell, Trailer Bride @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/8 Cyril Pahinui, Cindy Combs, Dennis Kamakahi @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/10 Scotland Yard Gospel Choir @ Metro, 18+ 2/12 Josh Groban @ Rosemont Theatre 2/12 Dollar Store @ Schubas 2/13 Cyndi Lauper @ Cadillac Palace 2/13 Kate & Anna McGarrigle @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/13 Mindy Smith @ Schubas 2/14 Pam Tillis & Juice Newton @ the Hemmens 2/14 Him @ Empty Bottle 2/14 Numbers @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 2/14 John Ondrasik @ Schubas 2/14 Colin Hay @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/17 Nebula @ Subterranean 2/18 Sarah Brightman @ Allstate Arena 2/19 Enrique Iglesias @ Arie Crown Theatre 2/20 Big Sandy & His Fly Rite Boys @ FitzGerald’s 2/20 Habib Koite @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/20 Delbert McClinton @ House of Blues 2/21 Carrie Newcomer @ Schubas 2/21 David Wilcox @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/21 Sergio Mendes @ the Hemmens 2/22 Jake Fairley @ Empty Bottle 2/24 Deep Purple @ Chicago Theatre 2/25 Mary Timony @ Schubas 2/26 Alaska @ Bottom Lounge, 18+ 2/26-27 Gossip @ Bottom Lounge, 2/26 all ages 2/27 Junior Brown @ Subterranean 2/27 Boris Grebenshikov & Aquarium @ Martyr’s 2/27 John Hammond, Jr. @ Old Town School of Folk Music 2/27 Sting @ Rosemont Theatre 2/28 Erykah Badu @ Auditorium Theatre 2/28 Flying Luttenbachers @ Fireside Bowl 2/29 Cannibal Corpse @ House of Blues, all ages 2/29 Ellis Marsalis Trio @ Old Town School of Folk Music

CHICAGOVENUES House of Blues

329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 The Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, (312) 923-2000 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449

Metro 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-1322 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine at Lawrence, Chicago Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Arie Crown Theatre 2300 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6000 UIC Pavilion 1150 W Harrison, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 Martyrs 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 288-4545 Aragon 1106 W Lawerence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Fireside Bowl 2646 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 Schubert Theatre 22 W Monroe, Chicago, (312) 977-1700

KIDS & FAMILIES T.A.C.K. – The library’s Thursday Arts and Crafts for Kids program welcomes children to come make a craft. Douglass Branch Library, Conference Room.

Thu 4-5pm.

Great Magazine Giveaway – Back issues of hundreds of the library's magazine titles free for the taking. Bring your own boxes and bags and load up. Sat 9am-5pm. For more information, call 4032000.

Preschool Museum – Children can learn from museum educators and library staff about animals, history, art and more. This week’s presentation will be led by the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum; third in a series of four weekly programs.

Champaign Public Library, Multipurpose Room.

Tue 10-10:45am. To register, call 403-2030.

Know Zone – Students can get help with their homework at the library throughout the month of January. Douglass Branch LIbrary, Conference Room. Tue 4-5pm. For more information, call 4032090.

Storyshop – A story and activity concert held twice each Wednesday. Parents with their children, daycare groups and elementary school classes are welcome. Main Library, auditiorium. Wed 9:3010am (Storyshop 1), 10:30-11am (Storyshop 2).

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 10:30-11am.

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes offer technical instruction and the exploration of materials through the expressive and spontaneous art process. Independent studies of personal interests and ideas, dreams, etc. are expressed and developed through collage and assemblage art, drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. Call for times and schedule. For more information contact Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

CPDU's offered. 1102 E. Washington, Urbana. www.creationartstudios.com

Intention” – (Open Studio). For information on these visit www.spiritofsandra.com and click on “classes,” then e-mail or call for reservations.

Art Classes At Verde Gallery – Verde Gallery presents art classes for adults and children beginning in January. Signup and payment required by Jan 12, sign up by Jan 5 and receive a 10% discount.

Drawing Fundamentals l For Adults: Meets for 8 sessions, Mon 7-9PM, starting Jan 19. Cost: $120.

Includes materials. Children’s Art Class: Meets for 5 sessions, Sat 10-11:30am, starting Jan 17. Children ages 6-12 welcome. Cost: $90. Includes materials.

More class details are available at www.verdantsystems.com/education.htm

Join Artists and Workshops at Gallery Virtu – Gallery Virtu, an artist-owned cooperative, now invite applications from area artists. The Gallery also offers workshops for adults, teens and children in knitting, embroidery, photography, jewelry making, printmaking, papermaking, bookbinding and ribbon flowers. Gallery Virtu offers original works by the members including: jewelry, pottery, collages, sculptures, journals, hats, handbags and other textiles. For more information please call 762-7790, visit our website at www.galleryvirtu.org, e-mail workshops@galleryvirtu.org or visit the gallery.

Regular hours: Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am6pm. 220 W Washington Street in Monticello.

ART EXHIBITS & GALLERIES Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic art by Michael Schwegmann and more. 403 Water St, Champaign.

Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists.

Original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, woodturning and more. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd, White Heath. ThuSat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Art Classes at High Cross Studio – All classes are held at High Cross Studio in Urbana. 1101 N High Cross Road. E-mail or call for reservations and details. (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com..

“Portrait Paintings with Oils”– This course will provide instruction in painting portraits from photographs. Paint a portrait of your loved one or yourself. Mon-Fri daytime class and weekend workshop offered.

“Collage for the Soul” – Students will learn a variety of collage techniques, including photo and photocopy transfer, papermaking and manipulation, and frontage, while exploring a particular subject, such as a place, a memory, an experience or a relationship. No art-making experience necessary.

“Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain” – For adults who have always wanted to learn to draw, but felt as if they lacked talent or confidence.

Cafe Kopi – Work from local artist Shannon Batman on display through January. Artist statement: “Collage technique layered with oil painting is the process that I have been attempting to master for several years. This medium allows tangible images to communicate while the color fields and symbolic imagery speaks to areas of intuition and emotion.” 109 N Walnut, Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 3594266.

Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

Other Classes: “Making Monoprints,” “Art With

this week Su Jan 18

@

krannert center

We Jan 21

Art-to-Go – Presentation, discussion and hands-on activity led by Krannert Art Museum staff.

Douglass Branch Library. Wed 4-5:30pm.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration 5pm, FGH, free

Baby Time – Come to the library for a half-hour of lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes, music activities and play time for your infants. Douglass Branch Library, Meeting Room. Thu 10:30-11am.

Tu Jan 20

Th Jan 22

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38 Sponsors: Charlotte Chilton Janet and Ralph Simmons

Wine Tasting 5pm, LOB, free

Family Fun Day Sunday in the Square – Every Sunday through Mar 27, enjoy interactive rides, including Bounce Houses, Screamer Slides and the Kid Wizard. There will also be food, shopping, games, miniature golf and more. Lincoln Square Mall. Sun 1-5pm. Call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872 with any questions.

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38

Moscow Festival Ballet: Cinderella 7pm, TFT, $20-$38

Tennis Center Social Mixer – The theme of this month’s social mixer is “holiday.” Just bring a racquet and drop in for a game of tennis. Fun for the whole family. Tennis Center, 2802 Farber Dr, Champaign. Fri 6:30pm. Fee: $10 per person. For more information, call 352-6044.

ART NOTICES Portraits – Award-winning portrait artist Sandra Ahten is currently accepting commissions for portraits for holiday giving. Portraits are priced affordably and professional exchange or barter may be accepted. For examples of work and a quote, contact Sandra Ahten at (217) 367-6345 or spiritofsandra@hotmail.com

Some Krannert Center programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and patron and corporate contributions.

Season Sponsors Coporate Season Underwriters

Patron Season Sponsors

CAROLE AND JERRY RINGER

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KrannertCenter.com 217/333-6280 or 800/KCPATIX 217/333-9714 (TTY) 217/244-SHOW (Fax) 217/244-0549 (Groups) kran-tix@uiuc.edu Ticket Office Open 10am to 6pm daily; on days of performances open 10am through intermission.

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

Country in the City – Antiques, architectural, gardening, home accessories. custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St, Urbana. Thu-Sat 10am5pm. 367-2367.

Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981.

Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave, Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020.

Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s-1980s, retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University, Champaign.

352-5150. Sun-Mon 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 11am5:30pm.

Glass FX – New and antique stained glass windows, lamps and unique glass gifts. Gallery is free and open to the public. Interested in learning the art of stained glass? Beginning, intermediate and advanced stained glass classes offered. 202 S First St, Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. 359-0048. www.glassfx.com.

Griggs Street Potters – Handmade functional and decorative pottery. 305 W Grigg St, Urbana. MonFri 11am-4pm, or call for appointment. 344-8546.

Gallery Virtu Cooperative – Original works by the nine artist-owners: jewelry, pottery, paintings, collages, hats, handbags and other textiles, sculptures and journals. The gallery also offers workshops.

220 W Washington St, Monticello. 762-7790. Thu 12-4pm, Fri 12-8pm, Sat 10am-6pm. www.galleryvirtu.org Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand-painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill, Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – Limited and open edition prints by Larry Kanfer, nationally acclaimed photographer. Choose from over 300 University of Illinois images. Gift certificates for Valentine’s. 2503 S Neil, Champaign. Free and open to the public.

Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 398-2000. www.kanfer.com.

LaPayne Photography – Specializes in panoramic

photography up to 6 feet long of different subjects including sporting events, city skylines, national parks and University of Illinois scenes. 816 Dennison Dr, Champaign. Mon-Fri 9am-4pm and by appointment. 356-8994.

Old Vic Art Gallery – Fine and original art, hand signed limited edition prints, works by local artists, art restoration, custom framing and periodic shows by local artists. 11 E University, Champaign.

Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am-4:30pm. 3558338.

Prairie Boatworks Gallery – Unique items made by local artisans including furniture, clothing, jewelry, glass, paintings, photographs, ceramics, basketry, books and more. 407 E Main St, Mahomet. Tue, Fri and Sat 10am-5pm. Sun 12-4pm. 586-6776.

Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques, framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St, Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-2924. www.steeplegallery.com Verde Gallery – Showing in main gallery: Sculptures In Wood by Joe Gower. In café and halls: paintings

by Jess Byler. In the newsroom: New works by Toni Putnam and sculptures by Jim Zimmerman. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign. Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

Ziemer Gallery – Original paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists.

Visitors can sit, relax, listen to the music and just enjoy being surrounded by art. 210 W Washington, Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 762-9786. www.ziemergallery.com “Verde Retrospective: New Works by Old Friends” – New show featuring new work from featured gallery artists of the past year on display at Verde Gallery through Feb 7. 17 E Taylor St, Champaign.

Cafe hours: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm; gallery hours: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204.

“One Place After Another” – The Illini Union Art Gallery presents this non-traditional 3-D show through Feb 4. 1401 W Green, Urbana. Open every day 7am-10pm.

ART EXHIBITS – ON VIEW NOW Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson and Shoshanna Bauer, along with art by family and friends of the studio on display at Creation Art Studio. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955. 1102 E Washington St, Urbana.

“Digital Dabblings” – An eclectic selection of digitally processed photographs by John Sfondilias on display at Aroma Cafe through Jan 31. Subjects include the University’s South Farm and Quad as well as locations as far away as Greece and Turkey.

118 N Neil, Champaign. Open seven days a week, 7am-midnight. For information, contact Amanda Bickle. 356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

“Ethereal Organics” – Photographs from Jim Hultquist on display at Cafe Aroma through January. Hultquist:“A project in the study of light interacting with natural forms.” 118 N Neil, Champaign. Open seven days a week, 7amMidnight. For information, contact Amanda Bickle.

356-3200. art4aroma@yahoo.com.

“Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – Marking the 100th anniversary of James McNeill Whistler’s death, this exhibition highlights his works on paper and examines the influence Japanese woodcuts had on his technique. On display at the Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody, Urbana.

Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm.

333-1860. Suggested Donation: $3.

Clear Sky Zen Group – Meets on Thursday evenings in the Geneva Room of the McKinley Foundation.

Newcomers to meditation and people of all traditions and faiths are welcome – McKinley Foundation, 809 S Fifth St, 6:25-9pm.

buzz

9

music

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | I WAS BORN A UNICORN

They were born unicorns

Canada’s latest indie-rock outfit, The Unicorns, come to Champaign

BY LOGAN MOORE | STAFF WRITER

has involved, at one point or another, puppet shows, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and fistfights between band members. They occasionally hire homeless men to impersonomeone’s gonna die probably,” Nicholas ate the band onstage. These are simply not the “Niel” Diamond says of his band’s stage show. actions of sane, rational adults. It corresponds “If there’s anybody with a pacemaker in the that the shows are, most likely, all the better room, I’d say they should stand towards the for it.

On the phone, Diamond regaled me with the back. Human sacrifices should be required; we previous night’s exploits: “Last night, all the try to keep it fun.”

Aaaah, the grandiose ravings of violence- power went out and Jaime the drummer just prone, suburban punk bands, old enough to kept the beat going and then this fucked up wear ripped shirts, yet not quite at the age drum circle happened, then Alden got naked and I started ripwhere the much-covetping, tearing stuff ed act of sexual interoff the roof, and course can be obtained then we crowdthrough the usual legal surfed.” All of this venues, right? No, forinformation was, of tunately not. The ironcourse, conveyed in ic posturing of a lapthe sort of laid-back top, goth, industrial tone that might as project, stemming from – Nicholas Diamond of The Unicorns easily have been a bitter wit honed used to describe a through years of high trip to the grocery school “wedgie” incistore. dents, spent poring Yes, before you go off believing The over the works of Tim Burton, their only light in a world of darkness being the “poetry” of Unicorns to be a trio of demon-possessed, artTrent Reznor. I’m afraid not. Diamond is a damaged gremlins that slither out from their member of The Unicorns, the best little band caves to compose pop songs, beat themselves you might not have been tipped off to yet, and up onstage and eat children, they are in fact human beings. They have a shitty touring van I fear he means every word.

Somewhere, the line has to be drawn with no stereo system. They listen to hip-hop; between bands that try “odd” on for a few Nick enjoyed Viktor Vaughn’s album this year. songs, and those bands that are truly peculiar Alden is studying the finger-picking styles of in just about every aspect. Diamond, co-song- Elizabeth Cotton. They’ve had some terrible writer Alden Ginger, and newly acquired touring experiences. “We’ve played some drummer Jaime Thompson are one of those pretty dark places in Canada,” Diamond says. bands. The Unicorns are strange in much the “We played an open mic night in Regina, same way that kung fu films and the duck- which is a town in Saskatchewan. We played to billed platypus are strange, not out of some four people.”

According to most accounts, The Unicorns’ desire or effort to be “crazy”, that’s just the way they are. It’s an organic sort of weird. musical career began and remains in Like the aural equivalent of a Kurt Vonnegut Canada–Montreal to be exact. Their precise novel, they use familiar elements of pop music origins remain shrouded in mystery, though. to create songs that are devastatingly off-kilter. Some claim that Nicholas and Alden met in No two parts of a song are exactly alike; bril- high school and were in a few bands before liant pop moments are discarded as abruptly starting The Unicorns as a duo. Some claim as they reveal themselves. Guitars take off on they all performed together in a church choir, a drunken sprint and collide headlong into had the most angelic voices of the group and keyboard solos played by brilliant, drug- after practicing together on weekends, decided addled three-year-olds. On headphones, to start writing their own songs. Nicholas bleeps, blips, crashes, farts and scratches peer claims the band were all members of the same out from darkened corners of each song then curling/roller-skating league and that upon disappear. Yet the songs never outrun them- discovering a guitar in someone’s basement–a selves. Each hairpin turn is executed perfectly, device which none of them had ever seen and no portion of the song ever seems awk- before–they decided their life’s work would be ward or self-consciously “arty.” In short, these to form a group and play music. OK, so they’re not entirely normal. guys are not Mr. Bungle.

The drawback to abnormality, however, is Their stage show apparently corresponds to the aesthetic of their album. It purportedly, that “the man,” unable to cope with something

S

[

[

Alden got naked and I started ripping, tearing stuff off the roof, and then we crowd surfed

foreign to his prehistoric six senses, tries to put you into a box, a category, so that he’ll know where to file your album in the CD section at Best Buy. The Unicorns got slapped with the “lo-fi” tag, that bastion of early ’90s pretentiousness, early on. And if that conjures up images of a 30-something record store clerk caterwauling about failed relationships into a four-track in his mother’s basement, you’re not alone. If listened to in a critical vacuum, though, there’s very little that’s “lo-fi” about Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone, The Unicorns’ latest opus. The production is actually quite complex at times, with subtle electronic and analog accents floating through the s t r a t o sphere of the album.

Diamond agrees.

“I don’t t h i n k we’re a lo-fi band that sets out to make our records sound tinny or shitty. I mean, we were working on a shoe string budget … but I think we made it sound as hi-fi as possible.” The Unicorns are looking to expand their sound as well, and have a seven-inch due out in March that they hope will kick it up a notch.

And now The Unicorns are bringing their unique sound to the good ol’ U.S. of A. They’ve toured extensively all over their own great nation of universal health care and

moose. (Let us never forget the moose, noble beast that it is.) Canada is a country of apparently untapped reservoirs of interesting music as exhibited by the likes of bands like Canadian superstars The New Pornographers and recent critical darling Broken Social Scene.

The Unicorns measure up to the hype, though, having already toured with The Microphones, Daniel Johnston, Cat Power, and most recently, Hot Hot Heat. On the first leg of their tour of the Land of the Rising Deficit, they’ll be bringing all the chaos and mayhem to Nargile in our sleepy little town of Champaign-Urbana.

A warning from Nicholas, “Bring earplugs anyone whose coming out to the show.

Hearing is the most important thing.” buzz

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION | JACOB DITTMER

0916buzz011504

Nicholas Diamond and Alden Ginger are the Unicorns

0817buzz011504

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DAMN, CINDERELLA GOT HOT! | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

MIND BODY SPIRIT

Corporate Silver Sponsor

Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting – Prairie Zen Center, 515 S Prospect, Champaign, NW corner of Prospect & Green, enter through door from parking area. Introduction to Zen sitting, 10am; full schedule: Service at 9am followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11 followed by tea until about noon. Can arrive at any of above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. For information, call 355-8835 or www.prairiezen.org.

BY JEFF NELSON | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

D

on't let January cold and a lack of large numerical offerings keep you away from Krannert this month. The University’s superlative center for the performing arts has some superlative offerings, even if they aren't numerous. The Moscow Festival Ballet will present Sergei Prokofiev's Cinderella Jan. 20, 21 and 22, a rarely performed or recorded work by a 20th century master of ballet music.

Sergei Radchenko will conduct and Rostislav Zakharov will do the choreography. Here is some great family entertainment that is not commonly performed, and the Tryon Festival Theatre is a great venue to watch ballet. Please note the 7 p.m. starting time.

Two string quartets will grace the stage of the Foellinger Great Hall in January: The Brentano Jan. 25 and The Pacifica Jan. 29. The Brentano will interweave Bach's “Art of Fugue” with modern works and the Pacifica will perform, among other works, the rarely heard Paul Hindemith string quartet.

On Fri. and Sat., Jan. 30 and 31, the wonderful, crazy, “Cirque Eloize: Nomade” will perform at the Tryon Festival Theatre, but this is hardly one of Krannert's betterkept secrets, as all performances are sold out. Check after Jan. 23 for returned tickets to go on sale.

Ending the month on Jan. 31, Ian Hobson will pay Ludwig von Beethoven another full concert tribute, with Awadagin Pratt performing as the soloist for the “Piano Concerto Number Three.”

Patron Co-Sponsors Charlotte Chilton Janet and Ralph Simmons

Prairie Sangha for Mindfullness Meditation – Monday evenings from 7:30-9pm and monthly retreats on Sunday. Theravadan (Vipassana) and Tibetan (Vjrayana & Dzogchen) meditation practice. Meets in Urbana. For more information, call or email Tom at 356-7413 or shayir@soltec.net. www.prairiesangha.org.

‘Science of Mind’ Study Group – This group’s purpose is the sharing and discussion of spiritual topics as we each improve our own lives and live from our own spiritual center. Anyone interested in attending is welcome. The group will use the monthly “Science of Mind” magazine for discussion, meditation and study topics. The Jan 14 meeting topic is “Going North to Go South.”Wed 9:45am-11am. For more information, go to www.scienceofmind.com or contact Jo Heiser at joheiser@juno.com, 384-0437.

Cinderella Moscow Festival Ballet

PHOTOS | COURTESY OF KRANNERT

A prince, true love, and a new pair of shoes. What more could a girl ask? To dance the night away!

JAN20-22 333.6280 The Moscow Festival Ballet presents Cinderella Jan. 20, 21 and 22.

calendar

buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Raindrop Technique Class – Healing Touch Spiritual Ministry is offering this class on raindrop technique, a powerful technique using several essential oils. The goal is to use the power of essential oils to bring the body into structural and electrical alignment. Each participant will learn about the procedure, give a treatment and receive a treatment. The class instructor is Deb Reis, a Certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in holistic health. 303 Glover, Urbana. Fri 5-9pm. $55. To register or for more information, call Gayle Mohr at 2889466 or 202-7467.

THEATRE LISTINGS Elysium on the Prairie, Live Action Roleplaying – Vampires stalk the city streets and struggle for dominance in a world of gothic horror. Create your own character and mingle with dozens of players who portray their own undead alter egos. Each session is another chapter in an ongoing story of triumph, tragedy and betrayal. Friday,“Vampire: The Masquerade” For more information visit www2.uiuc.edu/ro/elysium/intro.html. Check site for location, 7pm.

Points/Counterpoints— the Art of Fugue, Bach and Beyond

“Ain’t Misbehavin’” – The Zoo Theatre Company presents this performance at the Virginia Theatre Jan 22, 23 and 24. Shows begin at 7:30pm with additional shows at 2:30pm and 7:30pm Jan 24th.

Tickets on sale now at the Virginia, call 356-9063.

The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? – This play revolves around Martin, a man who has it all. He is at the pinnacle of success, but he has a secret–a secret that has the potential to destroy his marriage, his career and his life. Comic moments are interwoven with classic elements of true tragedy. The Station Theatre, 223 N Broadway, Urbana. Jan 2225, Jan 28-Feb 1, and Feb 4-7 at 8pm, except Sun matinees at 3pm. Wed, Thur and Sun tickets are $8, Fri and Sat tickets are $10. Wed tickets are 2for-1. For reservations, call 384-4000.

“Maroonapalooza” – The Central High School Band Boosters are organizing a fund-raising event that will showcase student bands. So far, you will be able to hear 10 student bands at the event, which takes place Feb 22, 12-6pm.

{

On the occasion of its tenth anniversary, this quartet links past and present with a program that interweaves movements of Bach’s Art of Fugue with musical reactions from ten living composers: Wynton Marsalis, Sofia Gubaidulina, Chou Wen-chung, Shulamit Ran, Steven Mackey, Nicholas Maw, Charles Wuorinen, Bruce Adolphe, Eric Zivian, and David Horne.

Patron Underwriters Judith and Jon Liebman

The Second Annual Filmic Dependency Film Festival – The best low budget/no budget films, locally and from around the world. Station Theatre and Cafe Paradiso, Urbana. Jan 23-24.

FUND-RAISING visit KrannertCenter.com

Brentano String Quartet

$32 / SC & Stu 31 / UI & Yth 15

Jan25 333.6280

visit KrannertCenter.com

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THERE IS NO PLACE BETTER TO GET A NEW ROOMMATE THAN PLACING AN AD HERE | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

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ARTIST CORNER

PHONE: 217/337-8337

INDEX Employment Services Merchandise Transportation Apartments Other Housing/Rent Real Estate for Sale Things To Do Announcements Personals

000 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

• PLEASE CHECK YOUR AD! Report errors immediately by calling 337-8337. We cannot be responsible for more than one day’s incorrect insertion if you do not notify us of the error by 2 pm on the day of the first insertion.

• All advertising is subject to the approval of the publisher. The Daily Illini shall have the right to revise, reject or cancel, in whole or in part, any advertisement, at any time.

• All employment advertising in this newspaper is subject to the City of Champaign Human Rights Ordinance and similar state and local laws, making it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement which expresses limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, prior arrest or conviction record, source of income, or the fact that such person is a student.

• Specification in employment classifications are made only where such factors are bonafide occupational qualifications necessary for employment.

• All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, and similar state and local laws which make it illegal for any person to cause to be published any advertisement relating to the transfer, sale, rental, or lease of any housing which expresses limitation, specifications or discrimination as to race, color, creed, class, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental handicap, personal appearance, sexual oientation, family responsibilities, political affiliation, or the fact that such person is a student.

• This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate that is in violation of the law. Our readers are informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal oppportunity basis.

DEADLINE:

2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

RATES:

Employment 000 HELP WANTED | Full Time Express Personnel Services 217.355.8500 101 Devonshire Dr., Champaign

EMPLOYMENT WANTED $250-$500/week. Will train to work at home helping the US Govt. file HUD/FHA mortgage refunds. No experience necessary. Call toll-free 1800-778-0353.

Services

100

BUSINESS SERVICES Graphic design studio is seeking models for beauty and style photography. www.victoriasphoto.com Victoria’s Photographics 217-328-3013

BUSINESS SERVICES

O’HARE/MIDWAY

30

$

EACH WAY*

Hinsdale Oasis Advance Reservations Required

Leave HUFF HALL 4th & Gregory 4:45am 7:45am 9:45am 12:45pm 3:45pm

Leave IL Terminal 45 E. University 5:00am 8:00am 10:00am 1:00pm 4:00pm Dependable Service since 1998

Bluebird 800-400-5500 www.bluebirdec.com *Rates expire 1/25/04

CLEANING Exact Extraction. Carpet & upholstery cleaning. Free estimates. 6883101.

Bejeweled idol from Taiwan. Rumored to bring luck to all who call it theirs!

buzz classifieds SOMEONE might want it.

LAWN CARE FREE ESTIMATES: Tree trimming, Topping, Removal, Stump Grinding.

384-5010.

(217)337-8337

Available Jan 1st One Bedrooms

Billed rate: 34¢/word Paid-in-Advance: 25¢/word Photo Sellers 30 words or less + photo: $5 per issue Garage Sales 30 words in both Thursday’s buzz and Friday’s Daily Illini!! $10. If it rains, your next date is free.

Action Ads • 20 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $14 • 10 words, run any 5 days (in buzz or The Daily Illini), $7 • add a photo to an action ad, $10

T-1/UIUC/Ethernet $395-$540 Engineering Campus 1004-906-911 W. Springfield, Urb.

400

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished | Unfurnished 1 bedroom lofts $497 2 bedrooms $585 3 bedrooms $750 4 bedrooms $950 Campus, parking.

Fall 04, 367-6626

105 E. CLARK & 105 E. WHITE, C. Avail Aug 2004. Attractive modern loft apts. Dishwasher disposal, window a/c, ceiling fans, patio/ balconies, carpet, laundry, parking, 2nd floor skylights. Rents from $350/mo. $50/month to furnish. Apts. shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1108 S. LINCOLN, U Aug 2004 rental. Older classic building close to Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Avenue. Upper apts. have hardwood floors. Laundry in building. Efficiencies have carpet and are furnished with rents from $325 to $360/mo.

Unfurnished 1 bedrooms from $560/mo. Unfurnished 2 bedrooms from $695/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. WALNUT, U Renting for August 2004. Quiet neighborhood. 1 bedroom apts. from $465/mo. 2 bedroom from $505/mo.

Gas heat, central a/c, laundry facilities. Parking included. To furnish $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

808 S. LINCOLN, U Renting Aug 2004. Classic older building with Unfurnished 1 BR+ sun room, 1 BR + den, Furnished 2 BR apts and efficiency across from Jimmy John’s on Lincoln Ave. Near Krannert, Law School, Music, etc.

Features hardwood floors in upper units, laundry on site. Parking $45/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

1 BR+ SunRoom- from $605/mo(UF) 1 BR+ Den - from $605/mo (UF) 2 BR - from $495 to $540/mo (F) Efficiency - from $370/mo (F) BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available Now. 2 bedroom on campus for January. $550 per month.

367-6626.

Boutique style apartments and lofts.

Ones, twos, threes, and houses. On or near campus. Available now, December 15, 2003 and for August 2004. Rent starting at $349/mo. for 2 bedroom apartment. 841-4549 Renting August 2004. Quiet building in nice Urbana neighborhood. 2 bedroom townhouses, furnished $590/mo., unfurnished $570/mo. 2 bedroom apartments, furnished $525/mo. Parking optional, central A/C, carpet, laundry facilities, gas heat. Daily showings, 7 days a week BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

Bailey Apt., 344-3008 www.BaileyApartments.com

205 N. Busey, one bedroom, pay own electric $490.00. Doyle Properties 398-3695

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

1005 S. SIXTH, C.

111 S. Busey 3 bedroom townhouse, elegant, DW, AC, 2 bath, 1 block engineering. $1150/mo. 398-1998 www.lincolnshire.com

Aug 2004. A+ location! Next to UI Library. Great older building. 1 bedrooms from $405/mo. Laundry facilities, Window A/C, Carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1006 W. STOUGHTON, U. Very close to Engineering campus.

Avail for Aug 2004. Masonry construction.

2 bedrooms from $620/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Parking $25/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1007 S. FIRST, C. Aug 2004. Good location near First and Gregory. Quiet building. Attractive well-maintained. 2 bedroom apts from $625/mo. 1 bedroom from $425/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Laundry facilities. Parking included.

Apts shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

101 N. BUSEY & 102 N. LINCOLN, U. August 2004. Excellent location near Green & Lincoln. 2 bedroom apts from $500/mo. Window A/C, Laundry. Parking avail at $30/mo. Apartments shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

102 N. GREGORY, U. August 2004. Close to Illini Union. 2 bedrooms at $500/mo. 1 bedroom $390/mo. Efficiencies $350/mo. Carpet, Gas Heat, Laundry. Parking available at $30/mo. 7 days a week showings.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

103 E. DANIEL, C Showing for Aug 2004. Beautiful building. Great location close to Frat park. Efficiencies from $370/mo.

Central A/C, Storage units, Laundry.

Parking avail at $50/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. DANIEL, C Avail. Aug. 2004. 4 bedroom apt near Frat park. 1,000 sq. ft., spacious living room, dining area, 2 baths. Balcony, laundry facilities, dishwasher/ disposals. Parking $50/ mo. Rent starts at $1,350/ mo.

Shown Daily.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

105 E. GREEN, C Studio apts avail Aug 2004. Carpet, electric heat, wall a/c units, off street parking avail, laundry on site. Rents from $320/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

1107 S. EUCLID, C Aug 2004 rental. First rate location near Armory, IMPE, and Snack Bar. 1 bedroom apts. Window A/C, Gas Heat, laundry. Parking $35/mo.

Rents start at $395/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

2 BEDROOM TOWNHOUSE Available January 15. Campus Bus, CA, DW. $685. 328-1998 www.lincolnshireprop.com

201 N. LINCOLN, U August 2004 rental. 1 and 2 bedroom apts close to campus with parking, ceiling fans in some units, laundry, carpet/tile floors. Shown 7 days a week. 1 bdrm $390/mo, 2 bdrms from $500/mo.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

304 & 306 E. Clark,C 3 Bedroom- $650, 4 Bedroom- $850.

2 Bath, laundry in unit, Central HVAC. Nice and clean. Also, one 1 Bedroom available.

Castle Apartments 384-1099 Castle_Apartments@ameritech.net

311 E. WHITE, C. Avail for Aug 2004. Large furnished efficiencies close to Beckman Center. Rent starts at $325/mo. Parking avail at $30/mo. Window A/C, carpet. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

404 W. HIGH, U Renting for Aug 2004. Huge 2 bedroom apts. Completely remodeled.

Washer/Dryer in each unit. Parking available. Quiet Urbana neighborhood. Rents start at $695/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 502 E. University, C.

Security Building 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, large rooms, AC, furnished, parking, quiet building. Aug. 04 369-0237. www.zhengrentals.com

509 W. MAIN, U. Quiet Urbana location very close to campus avail for Aug 2004. 1 BR apts. Rents start at $390/mo. Carpet, laundry facilities, window A/C, storage, parking avail at $25/mo.

Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

611 W. Green, U New 2 bedroom luxury apts avail. for Aug 2004. Georgian style architecture with brick exterior in historic Urbana neighborhood. Balcony/ patio, washer/dryer, dishwasher, microwave, garbage disposal, internet access, assigned parking $40/ mo.

Rent $950/ mo. Call for details.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873

702 W. WESTERN, U. Aug 2004. 1 bedrooms with window a/c, carpet/tile floors, boiler heat, laundry on site. Parking avail. Rents start from $380 to $495/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com

706 S. FIRST, C Excellent Value for Aug 2004. Half block south of Green on First Street.

Large apts in security building. 2 bedrooms from $480/mo. Window A/C, Carpet, Hot water heat. Parking at $30/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

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CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

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Near Lincoln Ave. and Engineering Campus. Fenced-in yard. Balconies/ patios. Microwaves, carpet, central A/C, disposal, dishwasher, parking $25/mo. Rents start at $615/mo.

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706 S. LOCUST, C. Aug 2004 rentals. One block west of First Street, close to campus in quiet neighborhood. Window A/C, Gas heat, Carpet, Covered Parking available, Laundry facilities. Efficiency $300/mo, 1 bedrooms $395/mo and 2 bedrooms $610/mo. Shown 7 days a week.

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802 W. GREEN, U. Aug 2004 rental. One block from Lincoln Ave. Great architecture and design - not a box apt. Large units with central A/C, carpet, patios/balconies, laundry. Off-street parking at $45/mo. 2 bedrooms from $595/mo.

Efficiency $355/mo. Showings 7 days a week.

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BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR What is your source of inspiration in your photography?

J

ohn Sfondilias graduated from the University of Illinois with a doctorate in instructional design and computer-based education.

His “past life” activities include working as a systems engineer for IBM, a consultant for the U.S. Air Force Space Command, and a designer and developer of technology-based educational programs. His work in technology explains some of his current direction in photography. John acquired his first professional SLR camera more than 20 years ago, but it wasn't until the advent John Sfondilias of the digital camera that John's photography really took off. In the last year-and-a-half or so, John estimates he has taken over 4,500 digital photographs. His work is on display until Jan. 31 at the Aroma Cafe in downtown Champaign (see sfondilias.com/aromaexhibit/ for the online version of the exhibit).

PHOTO | KATIE RICHARDSON

DEADLINE: 2 p.m. Monday for the next Thursday’s edition.

Apartments

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished

arts

JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | WILL YOU WALK THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN?

Why did you make the switch to digital photography?

It seemed a natural fit for me. I like taking as many photographs as I wish without worrying about wasting film or incurring processing costs. I also like the instant feedback of downloading and seeing the results of a day's photo shoot immediately. And, as the mega-pixels in digital cameras increase, it only gets better. The only drawback I can see is that I'm ending up with so many images I'm forgetting what I've got.

For me, there is an inner component and an external one.

Externally, I find photography (and inspiration) easy when in a wonderful environment. There is no end to inspiration in a place like the Aegean Sea or a beautiful canyon in the Southwest. However, to avoid simply snapping pictures, one has to have some kind of internal vision or put some kind of “voice” into the work. I often see photographs in places that leave other people wondering why I'm stopping and what in the world I'm doing. If this inner voice isn't “speaking,” my photography doesn't seem to amount to much.

What I really hope to accomplish is to create a “window of interpretation” that the viewer can appreciate. When this actually works, the viewer has a connection to the original subject matter, one that combines both the photographer's interpretation as well as the viewer's.

ANSWERS TO PUZZLE ON PAGE 23 S H O T P U T

M O B R U L E

A L L U R E R

D I R E C T V

I R O N O R E

D R O O L E R

R E A S S E S S

T U T T E

S H P O E W A B L R S S A L U L E S E S T A P S

E A R L D S W C O E S L A W E L I N E B O T E N

A N D S P S B O U R H A T N E E N E M I M A M I P P O N T R O O M T A P U P C A N O T A L O P E R A P R E V E R N E D E A R

A N X I E T Y

N E T L O S S

E G O T I S M

D E T E N T E

Of course, there are the master photographers. Closer to home, there was a former Presbyterian minister who ran a photography workshop more than 20 years ago. He taught me to establish a relationship with my photographic subjects, especially as applied to human subjects. It's just too easy “to steal” a photograph with today’s ultra-zoom lenses. I’ve thought of his point of view often.

Then, there is the advice I heard from a more current photographer, which was that the only bad photograph was the one not taken.

These two viewpoints can come into conflict on occasion. It makes it interesting when one begins to debate ethical photographic conduct when in the middle of a photo shoot.

Why did you choose the piece you're featuring?

Tommy G’s Bar and Grill

The primary reason is that it looks good in black and white. I've concentrated on color photography, so I had to search for an image that would look good in the Buzz.

“Stairway to Heaven” is also a photograph with an interesting story. It was taken in the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe (N.M.) In the 1800s, the “Sisters of Loretto” were asked to leave Kentucky and begin a girl's school in Santa Fe. After enduring enormous hardships, they made a go of the school.

When their chapel required a special staircase, legend has it that a man showed up on a donkey, built an “engineering marvel” of a staircase (with two 360-degree turns and no visible means of support), then disappeared without asking for thanks or payment (For more detail, see www.lorettochapel.com/html/history.html).

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Where are you headed with your photography?

I am currently involved in two nearly completely separate endeavors. One is local exhibits and shows involving my framed photography. The other is commercial stock photography, which is posted and sold via stock photo agency Web sites. I've heard it said that one needs to head to either the East or West Coast to make it as an artist. I'm here for now, so the stock photography hedges my bets a little bit. What I really envision myself as doing someday is settling in some wonderful little town in Colorado and opening a gallery.

Well, one can imagine.

7

Who has influenced you in your photography?

Every Tuesday Adam wolf’s Acoustic Night

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN SFONDILIAS

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arts

IN A RECENT SURVEY, SCULPTURE WOOD MADE GREAT FIREWOOD | JANUARY 15-21, 2004

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Glossy images, smooth feel at Verde A

Joe Gower with Sculpture

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BARR REAL ESTATE, INC. 356-1873 www.barr-re.com Available fall 2004 Large 2 bd on Chalmers. Furnished, C/A, DW, parking and Ethernet available. $740/mo. PPM, Inc. 3511800. www.ppmrent.com Available Now 706 S. Locust 2 bdrm $550/mo John Randolph Atrium Roommate Program Avail starting @ $330/mo BARR REAL ESTATE, INC 356-1873

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Furnished one bedrooms and efficiencies for Fall semester from $325 near John and Second or Healey and Third. 356-1407.

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Embrace (right) and California (left) by Joe Gower

variations of a similar form.

One of the most captivating sculptures Gower has on display is his Four Directions, a work (like Amazing Grace) carved from a single piece. The visible grains of the wood harmonize with the imposed form of the sculpture, which rounds over the natural knots. As a whole, it exhibits several visible points of clashing stresses pressing against each other to exude clear notions of opposition within a single organic form.

The larger Verde Retrospective exhibit that

will accompany Gower’s sculptures will be comprised of artists whose works have been displayed over the course of the gallery’s first year in operation. It will include artwork ranging from photography to abstract expressionism. Featured local artists include Toni Putnam, Herbert Marder, Jana Mason, Salvatore Carovilla, Sandra Ahten, Derek Hambly, Beth Darling and Deborah Fell.

The Verde Gallery and Cafe Verde are located at 17 E. Taylor St. in downtown Champaign. buzz

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ROOMS 502 W. Green, Urbana. Furnished, $290/mo, washer/dryer 621-5226.

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1BR apt. at Prospect Point, Savoy.

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Available January 5th. 1st and Clark, 1 bedroom loft, dishwasher, parking included, unfurnished, $466/mo.

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205 EAST HEALEY, C Renting Aug 2004. Very large 1 bedroom apartments. Carpet, window A/C, parking available at $30/mo.

Rents start at $385/mo. Shown daily 7 days a week.

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BARR REAL ESTATE 356-1873 www.barr-re.com 905 E. Harding 3 bedroom apartment large living room central air/ heat, separate laundry with washer/dryer. $700 355-8026, 7784840.

Available early January. Large 2 Bedroom. Race Street/Washington in Urbana. $500/mo. January rent paid. Sublease January - July 31st.

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Roommate wanted. 1 male. Furnished apartment $300/mo. 508 White St. C/A. 217-390-0821. Ask for Scott. berka@uiuc.edu.

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Things to Do 700 VACATION | TRAVEL

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PHOTO | BRIAN WARMOTH

nyone who has walked into an art exhibit–particularly one featuring sculpture–is surely acquainted with the token “Do not touch” signs placed alongside works to discourage wandering hands from disturbing the artwork. The Verde Gallery's current exhibition of sculptures by regional artist Joe Gower conspicuously lacks these messages, as the sculptor uniquely encourages viewers of his work to look with their sense of touch as well as sight. The works on display, all wooden sculpture, offer a broad sampling of pieces exploring light, function, form and their aesthetic values.

The exhibit holds special meaning for Curt Tucker, who opened the gallery almost a year ago and continues to manage it. Gower was Tucker’s high school art teacher in Olney, Ill., where he now instructs part-time at Olney Central College. Tucker says Gower first left a lasting impression on him through one of his ceramic sculptures. “He inspired the gallery in a way,” says Tucker. This gives extra significance to the exhibit, as it will be part of a larger retrospective exhibit on display from Jan. 13 through Feb. 7.

The craftsmanship and precision put into each piece on the floor is more than evident as most of the pieces exhibit Gower’s close attention to displaying wood’s natural grains and maintaining its organic forms, while bringing out–and in some cases piecing together–new shapes. Even more astonishing, though, are the various approaches Gower has taken to his sculptures, giving each piece its own aesthetic and functional values.

Tucker says what he finds most compelling about Gower's work is “the abstract sensuality.

It's human but completely abstract. They're finely crafted, too.” The exhibit’s abstract nature certainly lends itself to accessibility by the viewer, bringing hints of very human images into contexts ripe for interpretation.

Furthermore, Gower's art takes on another dimension for its viewers, because he encourages people to feel the shapes they are seeing.

“He wants people to touch them,” Tucker says.

Feeling the smoothed textures of the wood on sculptures that are splashed with gorgeous curves and incredible twisting crevices opens up an entirely new dimension of aesthetic appreciation to the viewer.

Embrace, one of the more prominent sculptures from the exhibit, is a prime example of both the sculptor’s skill and his Platonic aesthetic aspirations. The piece is a magnificent fastening together of several woods fitted with pegs and hinges to create an entirely new organic form with three pliable arms that engulf an empty space, which reaches out to the viewer. Herein lies the sensuous aesthetic that Gower strives to produce in his art.

Amazing Grace is an entirely different figure in the back of the gallery, which plays much more with light. The sculpture’s form possesses the traits of both a standing human as well as an opening flower. The opening of its head plays brilliantly with the lights shining on it from above. Unlike Embrace, Amazing Grace is made of a single sculpted piece of wood rather than many pieces fit together.

Several smaller sculptures may also be seen around the gallery, including California, and a display of two musical instrument pieces titled OON-GOW-AH #1 and OONGOW-AH #2. California is another example of several different woods being combined into one form while taking on distinctly fish-like attributes. The OON-GOW-AH pieces are the sole musical instrument pieces in the exhibit–both

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JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | LOOK UP, YOU MIGHT SEE THE ANVIL THAT IS FALLING FROM THE SKY

Excellent location. Aug. 2004 rental.

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PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

BY BRIAN WARMOTH | STAFF WRITER

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call 217.337.8337

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film

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community

JANUARY 15 -21, 2004

5

Q & A

It was started by Geoff Merritt. He was a fan who wanted to start putting out records for bands that weren’t getting attention elsewhere.

Geoff had the label that put out records by my band and while advancing attention for my band, I thought I could start doing other bands as well. I wanted to work for the greater good while advancing my band as well. It was really a happy accident that I started working here.

★★

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG | JENNIFER CONNELLY

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unwatchable

“It was all right. Good for girls.”

★★ Ashley Vance Champaign

“It was good. It kept my attention.”

★★ Tracy Baker Champaign

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I like that it’s big enough to be anonymous in but small enough that you can be an interesting part of the community. I like that I went to the grocery store yesterday and knew three people.

Champaign has it all and still has that small town feel.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

Never punt on the fourth down.

JANUARY 2-31 – THAT’S ALL MONTH LONG!

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SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

Champaign

trying to use that Still (cheap) residential

What’s your favorite part of the ChampaignUrbana community?

nu

Fearful that her family will be deported and killed, Aghdashloo provides the requisite crying and screaming for an Oscar nomination, but comes off as wholly honest yet blissfully ignorant of the world around her.

The art of compromise and civility disappear from the list of options each party has in this house battle. While intended to be heartwrenching and harrowing, the ending comes off as slightly overdramatic and almost operatic in context. Still, House of Sand and Fog provides some of 2003’s best performances.

Nathan Quinlin

For the past 13 years, Bill Johnson has been managing one of Urbana’s most treasured musical gems, Parasol Records, an independent label and mail-order music store. At Parasol, Johnson discovers new bands every day and represents many

We have five labels that we run that produce over 30 records a year. Three of the higherprofile bands we have represented include the first three albums by a Swedish band called Soundtrack of Our Lives. They were picked up

by Universal and had airtime on MTV. They were also nominated for (a) Grammy for Best Alternative (band). We have also had Ken

I find tons of new bands every year. This year I really like the Moonbabies and another group called Folksongs for the Afterlife. Honestly, though, I still listen to the same stuff I listened to in high school, like U2. I think a lot of us are still pretty attached to that stuff because we spent so much time with them.

E

Chasing Liberty

What artists do you represent?

What is your favorite band?

L

C-UViews

It is easily finding new bands I have never heard and giving them wings. It is also being able to tell people about bands they may have never heard of before. I would say 20 of the 30 bands we represent would not have been able to come out without us.

I used to have a math teacher in high school that would make us answer these questions on the first day of class and my classmates and I would put down funny answers and try to outdo each other. I used to put down Pete Rose. I can’t say that one anymore. Really, now, it would be my parents and my wife.

They all have done a good job of putting up with me.

A

The NAACP announced its annual Best Film nominees, including two films that feature no black lead characters. But never fear, those two popular films are joined by Oscar-worthy black films such as Bad Boys II and The Fighting Temptations. That's something to shake a tailfeather to.

What’s the best part of your job?

an

f the happy holidays of last month put you into a spirit of joy and delight, one good dose of House of Sand and Fog will smash you down into the chasm of suicide and sadness in which this film seems to revel. Except for brilliant performances by Ben Kingsley and Shohreh Aghdashloo, there is nothing to smile about in this tragic tale.

House of Sand and Fog, based upon the bestselling novel, tells a story of a house that, in and of itself, isn’t really that special. It has an ocean view, but only from behind trees and power lines and only when its residents are seated on the roof. It has a beautiful location, across the street from a forest. But its white picket fence has faded and the house itself seems only one step removed from squalor. Yet this very ordinary house has the power to send Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a recovering alcoholic, over the edge to do everything she can to take it back from an Iranian couple (Kingsley and Aghdashloo).

For the Iranian couple, the American Dream soon shatters into a nightmare as legal issues hurt their last chance at family success. In Iran,

Maybe Michael Jackson isn't an alien after all; maybe he's a wise man commissioned by the pope to provide spiritual guidance. Well, probably not, but that's his character in the upcoming film Miss Cast Away, which has beauty contestants unravel the mystery of Noah's Ark.

Who do you most admire?

S

BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

her a simultaneous maturity and vulnerability as deep as the film itself.

The sentimentality is so acutely observed and naturally created that even the most gentle, emotive scenes never feel forced. Instead, In America is moving in an overwhelmingly human manner. It doesn’t seek to draw saccharine sadness from familial anguish or sociological disparity; rather, its huge heart is so full of both smiles and tears that it’s nearly impossible not to be invigorated by the film’s alternating joy and heartache. There’s a stinging paranoia to each of the family’s experiences, but this only makes their triumphs even more quietly powerful.

This is a small, fragile film with enormous weight, and it builds with a competent focus that still allows its heartwarming finale to feel like a wallop of surprising depth. Christy’s last wish is unpredictable, unbelievably liberating and a luminous conclusion to one of the year’s most unforgettable films.

How did Parasol Records come about?

I don’t really have a typical day. I go where the day takes me. I spend a lot of time finding new music for the mail order shop to carry. There is lots of music out there and much of my day is spent wallowing through the muck to find the cream of the crop. I correspond with our own bands and try to lure other bands to put out records with us.

I am a new father so I have one other interest.

I have a six-month-old baby girl so it is difficult for me to see beyond her to other interests. I do like watching Illini basketball. I took her to the game on Saturday.

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★★★

IN AMERICA | PADDY CONSIDINE

I started out as a fan and went from being a fan to forming a band during college. Things kept rolling from there.

G

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG

Kingsley was a high-profile colonel who lived in luxury and provided his two children the best of everything, including a lavish wedding that opens the film. But when the country fell under a different regime, the family fled and the colonel began to work menial jobs in America to keep his wife and son living beyond their means. Buying the house cheaply and then selling it will provide the family with a new start in America. But then Kathy informs the county that they incorrectly repossessed her home and that she wants her home back.

So who deserves the home? In this film, it really doesn’t matter.

House of Sand and Fog is indeed a film about a house, but it is carried by performances, not plot. First-time director Vadim Perelman left the world of television commercials behind to make this haunting film that sees into the characters’ hearts and simultaneously paints them with pity and compassion.

Connelly renders a masterful performance, though hers is the weakest of the three, as she refuses to fall victim to the not-so-swift arm of justice. She appears to be the film’s heroine in the beginning of the film until her relationships and emotions spin her out of control.

Kingsley provides a brilliant, subtle performance. He can speak volumes without saying a word, with stares into the distance more powerful than Shakespearean soliloquies. Quiet yet commanding, he remains in reserve as if to remind viewers that there’s more to his character than what meets the eye.

Aghdashloo, who might become the first Iranian actress to be nominated for an Oscar, rounds out the trio with a heart-wrenching performance given mostly in a foreign tongue.

What’s a typical day like for you?

What are some of your other interests?

Old kimonos, unusual gifts, toys, sterling jewelry & more!

THAT’S JUST THIS MONTH & THEN IT’S WAIT-TIL-NEXT-YEAR!

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How did you get started in the music industry?

Compiled by Jason Cantone

E

T

o anyone who has never cried in a movie: Prepare to be challenged. Director Jim Sheridan’s delicate film In America, the semi-autobiographical story of an Irish family emigrating from Canada to the United States after the death of their youngest child, is emotionally rich and tear-jerking in all the right ways.

Largely based on Sheridan’s real-life immigration into New York’s Hell’s Kitchen, and melded with the director’s memory of his younger brother’s childhood death from a brain tumor, this film is more than just personal. With a screenplay written by Sheridan and his two daughters, it’s a sweeping ode to life’s little miracles and a supremely tender tale of one family’s attempt to recover from tragedy.

Sarah Bolger plays 10-year-old Christy, the family’s eldest daughter and the heart-tugging narrator of In America. Christy explains that her deceased brother, Frankie, believed that everyone gets three wishes throughout their lives, and the film creates a great deal of

Mena Suvari lost her virginity in the American Pie series, bathed in roses for American Beauty and will now join the cast of HBO's hit drama Six Feet Under.

Let's hope guest star nude scenes go to Suvari this season and not to Kathy Bates, who will also return to the show after going au natural in About Schmidt.

BillJohnson

M

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

Stringfellow who played with REM on the label and WhiteTown, who had a one-hit wonder with his song “Your Women.”

2 GREAT STORES–1 GREAT LOCATION • 204 N. NEIL ST., DOWNTOWN CHAMPAIGN

★★★★

artists on a local and international level. Also a new father, Johnson currently resides in Champaign with his wife and six-month-old daughter.

Movie News TM and Twenteth Century Fox

IN AMERICA

catharsis as she uses each of these wishes carefully. Seemingly endless hardships present constant opportunities for the family to use the wishes, but Christy repeatedly remarks about her desire to utilize Frankie’s faith at only the most appropriate times.

While dad Johnny (Paddy Considine) attempts to use his flair for accents to bolster his career as a stage actor, mom Sarah’s (Samantha Morton) grief over the loss of her son sparks a desire for another child. But when Christy and 6-year-old Ariel (Emma Bolger) befriend Mateo, an artist living a floor below them, In America takes on a whole new invigorating optimism and zest for life.

The entire cast shines, mixing heartbreak and redemption with an uplifting sweetness that never feels too sugary. Hounsou gives Mateo a complex fury that shifts gracefully from repressed anger to a glorious grin as Christy and Ariel draw from him warmth that he initially appears to have forgotten.

The Bolgers are truly radiant, though; they are In America’s greatest acting triumphs in a film full of memorable performances. In her debut role, Emma delivers one of the most vibrant, believable performances by a young child in recent memory. Ariel’s smile is one of the film’s brightest rays of light; her spirit is undeniable. Sarah fares just as well in an even more demanding role. In confronting the guilt of a child’s death and the difficulty of coming to America, Christy takes her place as the family’s emotional foundation that holds them together. Sarah Bolger’s performance allows

COLUMBIA PICTURES

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MICHAEL JACKSON A WISE MAN? ONLY IN A MOVIE | JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004

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moviereview

atch out Barbie. A rival pink icon is capturing the hearts of little girls all over the world. And, although Barbie’s fans tend to dump her by the end of childhood, the rival’s fans never seem to outgrow her.

Hello Kitty is her name, and she’s celebrating her 30th birthday in 2004.

“All the little girls love it,” said Crystena Smith, store manager for Dry Ice at Market Place Mall where red, pink, denim and powder-blue Hello Kitty-phenalia splatters 13 feet of wall space in the center of the store.

According to Smith, Hello Kitty is a key product line that draws customers of all ages into Dry Ice. The appeal to all ages, not just young girls, is one the foundations of Hello Kitty’s success.

An adorably cute feline who supposedly lives in suburban London, Hello Kitty was designed

by Yuko Shimizu and manufactured by the Sanrio Company. Hello Kitty, whose proper name is Kitty White, debuted in Japan in 1974.

Marketed as a “best friend” for everyone, Hello Kitty’s first goal was to be a fabulous girlfriend to her boyfriend Daniel. With her mouthless expression, Sanrio promoted Hello Kitty as speaking from the heart and acting as their ambassador to a world that is not bound by one language.

Two years later, in 1976, that trademark mouthless expression and red bow made their appearance in the United States. Though originally only appearing on a coin purse, a variety of Hello Kitty products, including stuffed animals, T-shirts and school supplies soon followed. Hello Kitty mania had begun.

Hello Kitty’s following continued to grow through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, even as her client base, young girls, matured. With the maturing of her followers, Hello Kitty’s products also evolved, from pencils and rulers to washing machines and laptops. At Puroland, the Hello Kitty theme park in Japan, the ultimate fan can have a Hello Kitty wedding. The ultimate wedding gift, a diamond encrusted Hello Kitty watch, sells for $30,000.

Hello Kitty’s lasting appeal to young women well into their 20s and 30s is recognizable locally. Barb Vabic, manager for Art Mart Toys at Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana, notices the older Hello Kitty culture among her clientele.

“Many of our regular customers are collegeaged or young-adult career girls,” said Vabic.

These regular customers are what turned Hello Kitty into a multi-billion dollar industry that has charmed the hearts of little girls from childhood through young adulthood. One of those life-long devoted fans is Urbana resident Renee Hart, a 25-year-old stylist for Timothy

CHASING LIBERTY | MANDY MOORE, MATTHEW GOODE

CHASING LIBERTY ★★

BY JANELLE GREENWOOD | STAFF WRITER

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PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

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John Salon.

As with many young-adult fans, Hart became enamored with Hello Kitty early on in life. A picture in Hart’s collection reveals her wearing a Hello Kitty T-shirt when she was a wispyhaired child about six or seven years old. Hart’s older sister–13 years her senior–bought the T-shirt as a gift along with some miniaturized Hello Kitty pens, pencils and stickers.

“Store clerks of places I frequent a lot tend to notice I always have a Hello Kitty purse, a Hello Kitty wallet, Hello Kitty checkbook, Hello Kitty pencil,” said Hart as she laughed about her obsession.

She also has a Hello Kitty tattoo.

Hart decided to permanently perch Hello Kitty’s image on her right foot while attending beauty school during the summer of 1998. The simple design was taken from another T-shirt, one of many Hart pulled out of a collection she stores in a Hello Kitty hatbox.

At Target in Champaign, Hello Kitty’s popularity awards her over six feet of shelf space in the electronics department. Here, Hello Kitty appeals not only to young girls but to Target’s aspiring young-adult culture with TVs, stereos, personal CD players, shower radios, phones and clocks.

Hello Kitty’s overwhelming popularity allows Sanrio to use her image to reach far beyond the shelf space at retailers.

Currently, Hello Kitty appears on T-shirts whose sales benefit the YouthAIDS organization which works with children in over 70 countries to educate them about, and protect them from, HIV and AIDS. Sanrio also donated merchandise, including a fully-decorated bedroom, to be auctioned off at the Divine Design fundraiser for Project Angel Food, a Los Angeles-based charity that delivers meals to men, women and children living with AIDS. Today, for those maturing Hello Kitty gals like Hart, Sanrio has created and licensed products that have truly grown up with them. Sanrio founder Hello Kitty merchandise at the Art Mart.

Tsuji Shintaro recognized relatively early that Hello Kitty’s products could be sold value in the future.

“Anybody’s that’s ever been with me to to adults as a way of hanging on to their childhood. For those fans who are looking for an shop for Hello Kitty realizes what a process it unconventional way to relive their youth, is. All my friends make fun of me,” said Hart, Hello Kitty’s cute moon-shaped face can be who generally goes for all the cute stuff first found on cigarette cases, condoms and even before painstakingly narrowing her selection down to items that she needs or would be vibrators.

Nowadays though, fans’–like Hart’s–prefer- good for her collection.

Hello Kitty’s version of a Louis Vuitton bag, ences for Hello Kitty lean toward nostalgic items or items that will have some vintage rhinestone body tattoos and open-healed

DAUGHTER PRODUCTIONS

Goodbye Barbie, Hello Kitty

BY CHERI HELREGEL | STAFF WRITER

Velcro tennis shoes are some of her most prized pieces. Items that are reflective of other cultures, like Japanese Kitty, French Kitty and the hippie-like Flower Kitty are among other favorites.

“If I don’t get it for Christmas, I have to have the Hello Kitty radio that goes in the shower,” said Hart.

Hello Kitty in the shower? Barbie could only wish. buzz

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JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004 | A NUDE, OLDER WOMAN IS ART, MY BABY’s DADDY IS JUST BAD

fter watching President Bush’s daughters rebel throughout American territory, one may wonder what would happen if they were set loose on foreign soil. Chasing Liberty asks that very question, only it replaces two popular paparazzi socialites in exchange for a brighter-eyed version of a First Kid. Rebellion in the White House seems near impossible for a teenager, and even if he or she attempts to scratch at its surface, the infraction is quickly cleaned up and moved aside. In Chasing Liberty, however, the plot explores the possibility of First Child Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) losing herself on foreign soil in the European countryside.

Under constant surveillance, young Anna loses her privacy along with other rites of passage many American kids take for granted.

After a long-awaited date ruined by her celebrity, Anna runs into the Oval Office whining that she’ll “die before ever getting to third base” if her father’s Secret Service agents don’t leave her alone. Befuddled by Anna’s increasing maturity, the president decides to keep a close eye on her while vacationing in Prague.

After the family’s vague diplomatic duties, Anna wants to attend a concert with a friend.

In typical overprotective fashion, her father sends Secret Service agents to swarm the event, and Anna darts off into the arms of some random British guy named Bed (Matthew Goode) waiting outside the club.

Often times, the script loses itself in an attempt to use genuine feel-good romance, while adding silly humor at the same time. In light of a plot that needs some tweaking, the love story isn’t so sweet that it can’t be swallowed, but toward the end it resembles a pure saccharine rush that is sure to please the preteen crowd.

Chasing Liberty finds itself at odds with its agenda of an American girl finding her way while in Europe. However, it is easily forgiven here because it gives us more than an Olsen twins runthrough of Rome. At least famed European tour guide Rick Steves would find the picturesque scenery of the film worthy of a Forbes guide.

MY BABY’S DADDY NO STARS

BY ANDREW CREWELL | STAFF WRITER

O

ne day, somewhere, at some Hollywood movie studio, someone’s going to figure it out. What, you may ask, will they figure out?

That these prepackaged comedies boasting minor celebrity and a plot that initially sounded funny at the bar after throwing back a few drinks, just won’t work on the big screen.

My Baby’s Daddy is an absolute bomb, and not just a playground firecracker, but more along the lines of Fat Man or Little Boy. The premise is simple: Three friends that grew up together all have kids at the same time and have to learn to be fathers at the same time, while living in the same house.

Eddie Griffin stars as Lonnie, a ghetto technerd who impregnates his long-time crush and hood-rat girlfriend Rolanda. Griffin, one of the most underrated stand-up comics in the history of HBO, unfortunately brings himself down a peg by starring in and co-writing this film.

It’s tough to say an actor’s forte is profanity and vulgarity, but Griffin is the perfect example. The regrettable PG-13 rating doesn’t quite mesh with Griffin’s high-octane personality,

moviereview

CALENDAR GIRLS ★★★

BY SYD SLOBODNIK| STAFF WRITER

I

n the recent month’s season of Christmashyped blockbusters and annual pre-Oscar nomination chatter, some filmgoers may overlook a small, crowd-pleasing comedy that recently slipped into local cinema multiplexes.

Nigel Cole’s Calendar Girls tells a charming true story of a group of 50-something British women and their unique fund-raising plan to help a local hospital.

Nearly a dozen members of the Yorkshire Knapley Women’s Institute, a traditional conservative community organization, decide to pose for a series of discreet nude snapshots for an alternate Women’s Institute annual calendar, which usually features scenes of local bridges, churches or arts and crafts.

The film’s leads, 58-year-old Helen Mirren and 53-year-old Julie Walters, demonstrate the existence of solid roles for women past their fifth decade in mainstream films. As Chris Harper and Annie Clark, two life-long friends and members of the Women’s Institute, they decide on the fund-raising idea when Clark’s

and the film loses an edge because of it.

Aside from the out-of-place actors, My Baby’s Daddy also boasts poor directing. Cheryl Dunye, who has a resume shorter than the audience’s attention span, lacks any coherent ability to speak of. This couldn’t be more obvious than in the film’s poor character development. An overload of background information on the three stars is annoying, and doesn’t help create even one likable character.

Anthony Anderson and Michael Imperioli co-star with Griffin as the film’s two other new fathers. While recognizable and well-liked faces, their roles are as dimwitted as Griffin’s and don’t help the film. The circumstances in which these three bumbling idiots rear children is depressing, and should never be talked about in film again.

Moreover, the jokes aren’t funny. But this wouldn’t be that big of a disappointment if every idea hadn’t been ripped off from a previously successful film or TV show. Three Men and a Baby with Ted Danson was at least good enough to render a sequel. Not a far cry from the Danson flick, My Baby’s Daddy makes the original look Oscar-worthy. What’s more, if anyone makes it to the end, they will see the first season of Friends in which Ross loses his child to a woman turned lesbian and her lover; only this time Michael Imperioli and Joanna Bacalso play as key ingredients.

The film isn’t an entire waste of space; a couple of scenes earn some chuckles from the crowd. Method Man cameos as Anthony Anderson’s cousin “No Good.” As “No Good,” Method Man brings a comedic ghettohusband dies suddenly from leukemia. Before his death, he writes a touching speech comparing the beauty of the Yorkshire wildflowers to that of the mature Yorkshire women, thus becoming the inspiration for the calendar.

Recent Oscar nominees Mirren (Gosford Park) and Walters (Billy Elliot) effectively dominate the film with a charming mix of mild lowbrow humor with more subtle wit and mature sensitivity. Mirren’s Chris is an outspoken and assertive woman, who rarely misses a chance to speak her mind; masterfully demonstrated in a scene where she addresses a national meeting of the Women’s Institute seeking its endorsement of the calendar.

Walters’ Annie is a skillful balance of emotions from her moody feelings of her recent widowhood to her newfound joys of celebrity.

The ensemble cast of other middle-aged British actresses, who play the remaining calendar girls, are also wonderful in their light, silly manners.

The photo sessions are the film’s funniest and most effective scenes. After a series of short interviews with numerous professional photographers, the women decide on a somewhat reluctant and imaginative photographer named Lawrence to manage the shoot. The slightly embarrassed young man agrees to set up the lighting and compositions, strategically placing plants, books, pastries and other objects discreetly in front of the ladies’ most private parts, while the models remain fully clothed. When all is set, he leaves the room to allow the model to disrobe, while one of the other women snaps the photo. All the while, Lawrence manages the shoot through a key-

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MY BABY’S DADDY | EDDIE GRIFFIN parenting aspect to his role that the entire film was originally supposed to have. As Griffin’s uncle, John Amos (Coming to America) has a couple of one-liners on responsibility.

Aside from assorted jokes the film can’t help but stumble upon in 90 minutes, My Baby’s Daddy is a complete flop. The redeeming value lies in seeing Marsha Thomason in a small role as Griffin’s new love interest toward the end of the film. Not particularly well-known yet, the British bombshell stars in NBC’s Las Vegas.

Despite having absolutely nothing to do with the movie, her role is something besides the end of the movie to look forward to. For seven dollars, you could get 10 times the entertainment from almost anything else than you’d get from My Baby’s Daddy.

BUNENA VISTA PICTURES

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CALENDAR GIRLS | HELEN MIRREN, JULIE WATERS hole while crouching in the next room.

At another point, one woman justifies her participation in the project by objecting to the word “naked.” She corrects another by saying, “nude.” When someone asks, “What’s the difference?” she proudly claims, “Art!” What may be most unique about this sometimes thinly-plotted comedy is that many of the people in the audience laughing loudest were older folks who haven’t been to a movie lately that doesn’t feature the latest sexy, 20year-old starlet wannabe spewing sexist trash talk. Instead of a cheap, sexist comedy–which would awkwardly exploit and objectify these women in various compromising states of nudity–screenwriters Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi capture, with subtle humor, a wonderful portrait of a group of slightly confident and empowered women, who find some midlife joy in shocking their conservative English village for a good cause.

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SO MANY MOVIES, SO LITTLE TIME | JANUARY 15 - 21, 2004 buzz

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ALONG CAME POLLY (PG-13) 11:15, 1:20, 3:25, 5:30, 7:35, 9:40 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 TORQUE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 12:00, 1:55, 3:50, 5:45, 7:40, 9:35 FRI/SAT LS 11:30 TEACHER'S PET: THE MOVIE (PG) 12:05, 1:50, 3:35, 5:20, 7:05 THE COOLER (R) STADIUM SEATING 12:50, 3:00, 5:10, 7:20, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 CHASING LIBERTY (PG-13) 11:15, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 FRI/SAT LS 11:45 BIG FISH (PG-13) 11:00, 1:35, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:55, 1:45, 3:35, 5:25, 7:15, 9:05 FRI/SAT LS 11:00 HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (R) 11:20, 1:55, 4:30, 7:05, 9:40 LOST IN TRANSLATION (R) 12:45, 3:00, 5:15, 7:30, 9:45 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (PG) 11:10, 1:40, 4:10, 6:40, 9:10 FRI/SAT LS 11:40 COLD MOUNTAIN (R) 12:05, 3:10, 6:15, 9:20 PAYCHECK (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30 FRI/SAT LS 12:00 PETER PAN (PG) 11:35, 2:00, 4:25 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (PG13) STADIUM SEATING 12:00, 4:00, 8:00 MONA LISA SMILE (PG-13) 1:15, 3:55, 6:35, 9:15 FRI/SAT LS 11:55 SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (PG-13) STADIUM SEATING 11:30, 2:05, 4:40, 7:15, 9:50 COUPON THE LAST SAMURAI (R) 20OZ.DRINK 6:50, 9:45 MASTER AND COMMANDER (PG-13) 9:00

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CALENDAR GIRLS (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:40 SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 4:10 7:10 9:50 10:00 12:15 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:40 10:00 STUCK ON YOU (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 8:45 11:00 CHASING LIBERTY (PG–13) Sun. - Thu. 8:45 Fri. & Sat. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:10 7:10 9:40 HAUNTED MANSION (PG) Fri. - Thu. 1:10 3:10 5:10 CHEAPER BY DOZEN (PG) (2 SCREENS) Fri. 12:30 1:00 2:50 LAST SAMURAI (R) Fri. - Thu. 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 9:30 9:50 7:00 10:00 11:50 Sun. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 Mon. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:30 9:50 IN AMERICA (PG–13) Fri. & Tue. - Thu. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 Sat. 12:40 3:00 7:00 9:20 11:40 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 7:00 9:20 Sat. 12:30 1:00 2:50 3:10 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:30 9:30 9:50 11:50 Showtimes for 1/16 thru 1/22

NICOLE KIDMAN AND JUDE LAW This Civil War epic has been nominated for more Golden Globes than any other film. A wounded soldier returns home to Cold Mountain hoping to find the love of his life waiting for him. This film is based upon the best-selling novel and also stars Renee Zellweger as a semi-comic sidekick. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SEAN PENN AND BENICIO DEL TORO For two of the most chilling, numbing hours of the year, 21 Grams creates a genuinely upsetting, poignant swan song to happiness. Without morbidity or melodrama, it shows, with compelling honesty and brutal truth, the fragility of life, the nearness of death and the echo of tears shed. That might not make for a cheerful movie outing around the holidays, but it achieves something rare in the area of personal cinematic catastrophe. (Matt Pais) Now showing at Boardman’s Art Theatre

BIG FISH ★★★ EWAN MCGREGOR AND ALBERT FINNEY Many critics have claimed that Big Fish is too literary for people to understand, and that the masses will grow impatient with it. However, it is the film’s inability to make the characters worthy of compassion that grows irksome. Big Fish will serve as one of 2003’s most imaginary films, but it falls short of its potential to also be one of 2003’s best. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

CALENDAR GIRLS ★★★ HELEN MIRREN AND JULIE WATERS Instead of a cheap, sexist comedy, screenwriters Tim Firth and Juliette Towhidi capture, with subtle humor, a wonderful portrait of a group of slightly confident and empowered women who find some mid-life joy in shocking their conservative English village for a good cause. (Syd Slobodnik) Now showing at Beverly

MANDY MOORE AND STARK SANDS Often times, the script of Chasing Liberty loses itself in an attempt to use genuine feel-good romance, while adding silly humor at the same time. In light of a plot that needs some tweaking, the love story isn’t so sweet that it can’t be swallowed, but toward the end it resembles a pure saccharine rush that is sure to please the preteen crowd.

(Janelle Greenwood) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN ★★★ STEVE MARTIN AND BONNIE HUNT Cheaper by the Dozen manages to use it all–humor, drama and action–to captivate and entertain audiences and is a reminder of how fun and important being a part of a family is.

If one is looking for a few hours of relaxation and smiles, Cheaper by the Dozen is the film to see. (Jennifer Keast) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

Boardman’s

and has mailed himself 19 innocent-looking everyday items as clues to unravel his self-induced mystery and escape from everyone chasing after him. Although the plot is good, unbelievable scenes, bad chemistry and disorganized pace rip into Paycheck’s potential. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PETER PAN ★★★

EDDIE MURPHY AND JENNIFER TILLY Ever since he started making kid comedies, Eddie Murphy has become sweeter than candy. This continues the trend that Eddie Murphy only makes terrible, terrible, terrible movies that no one past grade school age could possibly like.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

JASON ISAACS AND JEREMY SUMPTER For those looking for a magical adventure into Never Never Land (no–not the Michael Jackson ranch), the Disney animated film is the surest bet. This live action version is missing some of the magic that brought the story of Peter Pan into homes everywhere. Like its band of heroes, this film occasionally soars, but spends most of its time stuck on the ground.

(Jason Cantone) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG ★★★

RETURN OF THE KING ★★★★

THE HAUNTED MANSION

21 GRAMS ★★★★

CHASING LIBERTY ★★

ALONG CAME POLLY (PG–13) COLD MOUNTAIN (R) Fri. Fri. & Sat. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 Thu. 12:30 3:40 7:00 10:00 9:30 11:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:40 5:10 7:20 ◆ RETURN OF THE KING (PG–13) 9:30 (3 SCREENS) Fri. - Thu. 12:20 1:00 3:00 4:15 5:00 7:20 8:30 9:00 TEACHER'S PET (PG) Fri. Thu. 12:50 2:50 4:50 7:10 MY BABY'S DADDY (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:30 TAD HAMILTON (PG–13) Fri. 7:30 9:30 11:50 Sun. 5:20 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 3:20 5:20 7:30 9:30 ◆ BIG FISH (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:45 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:45 MONA LISA SMILE (PG–13) Fri. - Thu. 12:30 4:30 7:10 9:40 TORQUE (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:30 9:40 11:50 PAYCHECK (PG–13) Fri. & Sat. Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:00 7:30 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30 12:00 9:40 Sun. - Thu. 1:20 4:30 7:00 9:30

FIRST THING’S FIRST...

COLD MOUNTAIN

JENNIFER CONNELLY AND BEN KINGSLEY Based upon the best-selling novel which was boosted by joining Oprah’s infamous book club, this film focuses on an Iranian couple forced out of the Middle East and a former junkie. When the junkie loses her house to the couple, a psychological battle ensues that provides brilliant performances but lacks some emotional depth. (Jason Cantone) Now showing at Savoy

IN AMERICA ★★★★ SARAH BOLGER AND SAMANTHA MORTON In America is a small, fragile film with enormous weight, and it builds with a competent focus that still allows its heartwarming finale to feel like a wallop of surprising depth.

Christy’s last wish is unpredictable, unbelievably liberating and a luminous conclusion to one of the year’s most unforgettable films. Definitely a “must see.” (Matt Pais) Now Showing at Beverly

THE LAST SAMURAI ★★★★ TOM CRUISE AND KEN WATANABE The Last Samurai is an epic adventure with a great soul and a great message. With so many bad samurai movies in the vaults, it is refreshing to see a film finally relate the concept of the samurai to moviegoers in a way they can understand: a Tom Cruise flick. One of the year’s best films and one of Tom Cruise’s best performances. (John Piatek) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

MY BABY’S DADDY EDDIE GRIFFIN AND ANTHONY ANDERSON Aside from assorted jokes the film couldn’t help but stumble onto in 90 minutes, My Baby’s Daddy was a complete flop. For seven dollars, you could get 10 times the entertainment from almost anything else than you’d get from My Baby’s Daddy. (Andrew Crewell) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

PAYCHECK ★★ BEN AFFLECK AND UMA THURMAN After three years, Ben Affleck awakens from his memoryerased daze to find that he is being hunted by his employers because of something he did, is engaged to Uma Thurman

Art Theatre

126 W. Church St. Champaign, IL

21 Grams R, runs 125, minutes, flat, presented in HPS-4000/DD.

Starring Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts Showtimes: Daily at 5:00 p.m., 7:30 p.m., & 10:00 p.m., matinees Sat/Sun at 2:30 p.m.

“Two thumbs up!”... Ebert and Roeper.

“Winner, one of the five best pictures of the year.”... National Board of Review “Winner, best actor for Sean Penn”...

National Board of Review and Venice FilmFestival.

At the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston LOTR3!

eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

BOARDMAN’S THEATRES www.BoardmansTheatres.com 1-800-BEST PLACE (800-237-8752) 217/355-0068 eTickets/reserved seats: www.BoardmansArtTheatre.com

ELIJAH WOOD AND IAN MCKELLAN Even if The Return of the King doesn’t win the grand prize on Oscar night, anything short of Best Director victory for Peter Jackson would be an unforgivable injustice. He has raised the bar for fantasy and redefined themes of friendship, honor and courage on a grippingly grand and poignantly intimate scale at the same time. Besides its structural limitations, The Return of the King is more than a rousing ending to a celebrated legend; it’s a battle cry for epic filmmaking.

Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE ★★★★ JACK NICHOLSON AND DIANE KEATON This truly is Keaton’s film. While the always remarkable Nicholson has some revelatory and tender moments, and the rest of the cast stands tall, the film gets its unmistakable shine from Keaton and her ever-sharp comic timing, her winning personality, charm and the beauty she effortlessly radiates throughout each scene. (John Loos) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

STUCK ON YOU ★★★ MATT DAMON AND GREG KINNEAR Though it is a bit longer than necessary–there are at least two places that would have made equally satisfying endings–Stuck on You remains an often hilarious, insightful comedy about finding love and happiness in the face of biological barriers. It’s a respectful mix of comedy and compassion, a formula the Farrellys will hopefully stick with.

(Matt Pais) Now showing at Beverly and Savoy

OPENING THIS WEEKEND ALONG CAME POLLY

BEN STILLER AND JENNIFER ANISTON Stiller plays a man who assesses risk for a living and has a painfully stable, risk-free life. This life is thrown out the window when he meets a woman (Aniston) hell-bent on taking risks. Stiller’s character, a married man, mind you, hooks up with Aniston’s character and hilarity ensues.

(Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

TORQUE

ICE CUBE AND MARTIN HENDERSON From the director of such gems as The Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious comes the newest film from said genre, Torque. This tale of murder, framing, vengeance–and motorcycles–tells the story of a framed murderer running from Ice Cube’s biker gang. Promising incredible chase scenes–and plenty of motorcycles–Torque hits theatres this weekend.

(Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

TEACHER’S PET

NATHAN LANE AND SHAUN FLEMMING Disney’s newest animated movie stars the voice of Nathan Lane as a dog named Spot that can talk, read and apparently pose as a human. Shaun Flemming lends his voice to Spot’s master, Leonard. Together, Spot and Leonard attend school.

Nothing but fun and adventure can come from a talking dog, school and Nathan Lane. (Paul Wagner) Opening at Beverly and Savoy

3

buzz JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | LOVE ON THE ROCKS, NO ICE ... DOWNLOAD IT, LIVE IT, LOVE IT

Election 2004: and the candidates are...

BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER I’ve bitched about our current president several times in this column, and God love him, I’m positive he’ll give me countless more reasons to bitch before it’s all said and done. It’s easy to spot a problem, though it’s much harder to come up with an answer. With an election coming up in November, I set out to find an alternative to Mr. Bush. The obvious answer should be one of the Democrats, but I’m not so sure.

One thing is, I don’t much like the process.

They have a debate in Iowa, campaign in New Hampshire, and talk about how important it is to make a strong showing in South Carolina.

You can’t win in these states, they say, but you can certainly lose there. Um, why is that?

Did you ever play the game where you try to write down all 50 states? People always miss a few states here and there. My guess is the most commonly overlooked states in this game are Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Okay, they may get South Carolina, but only because of the existence of North Carolina. I wouldn’t trust any of these states to water my plants for the week, let alone elect a president.

What are they known for? Let’s see, Iowa is corn probably, New Hampshire, uh, I’m guessing syrup or something, and South Carolina, they make cigarettes, don’t they? Yeah, let’s let these guys get the presidential ball rolling. I’m surprised anyone’s paying attention by the time good states like Illinois, Florida and New York get around to voting. I feel California should be barred from voting for a few years until that Schwarzenegger thing blows over.

The candidates aren’t much better than the states picking them. They all seem to agree that Bush shouldn’t be president, but after that they act like a bunch of little kids arguing over the score of a schoolyard kickball game. In the debate I watched this past Sunday, everyone was picking on Howard Dean, basically because he’s the front runner. Al Sharpton called him out for not having any blacks or Hispanics in his cabinet when he was Vermont’s governor for 12 years.

Okay, that’s a fair question for just about anyone except Howard Dean. He comes from Vermont. It’s 98% white and their population is only like 400 people to begin with. Forget the fact that he’s been endorsed by more members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses than any other presidential hopeful, Al, just try to start some shit whenever possible.

That’s all any of the candidates want to do.

I know it’s the United States and anyone can grow up to be the president, but that doesn’t

mean everyone should try to do such a thing. Some folks just aren’t cut out for the job.

If someone wanted to pick on Al Sharpton, how hard would it be to pull a skeleton out of his closet? Dennis Kucinich of Ohio probably wishes someone would pull a skeleton out of his closet. At least that would bring him some attention. Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun probably shouldn’t be campaigning anymore. There’s a reason the word “former” always appears in front of her name.

Then there’s Joe Lieberman. Geez, that guy looks so familiar, but I don’t know from where.

Take them all out and you aren’t left with much. John Edwards of North Carolina strikes me as kind of an ass-kissing pretty boy. Besides that, I’m not really sure if he’s the one who talks to dead people on Crossing Over so I’d have to vote no on him. Dick Gephardt seems like a fairly decent, honest guy to me, so he obviously has no place in politics. The list keeps getting shorter.

When John Kerry did an interview with Rolling Stone and used the “f-word,” I sort of liked him better. People said it was unbecoming for a candidate to use such language, but whatever. I’m not sure you want a goody twoshoes running the country because it gets pretty ugly these days. I would happily vote for a presidential candidate who said fuck. The problem is, when I look a little closer, that shouldn’t be the only reason I’m voting for that person and to be honest, it sort of is.

This pretty much leaves us with Howard Dean and I suppose that’s OK. They say he has the best chance to win against Bush, not because of character or qualifications, but because he has the most money. That’s all it comes down to, really. Any candidate is going to be talking out of both sides of his mouth anyway, so I suppose you need twice as much money to air television commercials about both your viewpoints on a particular subject. Do we really want Howard Dean?

I almost lost hope and then remembered someone. There’s still one outside shot at a candidate, a guy who wasn’t even at the debate in Iowa, retired Gen. Wesley Clark. I’ve listened to him a couple of times and he wasn’t argumentative, resentful or vindictive. In this instance, the less you know about someone, the more attractive they seem. He says what he thinks and the strange thing about him is that he actually makes sense, a rarity for a candidate. He might just be the best man for the office. If he can only continue to stay away from all the other idiots, he might just have a chance to prove it.

Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, “This Sporting Life” and has hosted several

News of the weird Questionable New Products: Triumph International, the Swiss maker of unmentionables, presented a prototype of an anti-smoking brassiere containing perfumes (including lavender and jasmine) that are turned unpleasant by tobacco smoke. And in November, Jones Soda Co. of Seattle bottled 6,000 units of turkey-and-gravy soda, which, remarkably, has the consistency and taste of pureed turkey and gravy; also remarkably, the entire run sold out, with some bottles offered at a huge premium on eBay.

Weird Science Freelance writer Jean Lund (her pen name), 51, disclosed to the Boston Globe for a November story that she suffers from persistent sexual arousal syndrome (perpetually on the verge of orgasm) and hopes that her revelation will help people understand how uncomfortable the condition is. According to Lund and others, the arousal is much different than sexual desire and in fact is not satiated by orgasm. Suspected causes are chemical imbalances, seizures and irregular blood flow. “It’s just a horror,” said a 71-year-old sufferer; it “never stops, it never lets up.”

Recent Alarming Headlines

“Westchester Ordered to Pay $2,500 to Pedophile Clown” (an August New York Times story about clown Richard Hobbs’s winning a lawsuit against a county that had tried to keep

him out of a public park). (2) “Champion Liar Accused of Cheating” (a November London Evening Standard report that this year’s winner of the World’s Biggest Liar contest in Cumbria, England, read from a script instead of extemporaneously lying).

Undignified Deaths In November, a 70-year-old businessman had just finished testifying against the Homer, Alaska city council’s proposed no-smoking ordinance (calling the reported dangers to health “baloney”) when he keeled over and died of a heart attack. (He had said that eating breakfast with smokers every morning “hasn’t bothered my health any.”) Also in November, in New York City, a 79-year-old man who was using a blender to make a health drink for his wife was killed when the appliance exploded, with a glass shard severing an artery.

Also, in the Last Month A 21-year-old woman was charged with public nudity for being naked in a downtown bar, even though the police’s only evidence was a photograph of her, naked, in the bar, that she had posted on the Internet (Lincoln, Neb.) A 36-year-old woman was arrested for stealing 50 antique glass eyeballs (which have little resale value) from a hospital display case (Owensboro, Ky.).

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I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED...TRULY APPRECIATING THE MUSICAL GENIUS OF QUEEN | JANUARY 15-21, 2004 buzz

editor’snote

insidebuzz

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Goodbye Barbie, Hello Kitty

The other day I ran face-first into a new “genre” of music on the cover of a music magazine, Scream-O. Apparently, hard metal, nu-metal and hardcore were not good enough to brand the raucous, fist-pumping anger songs of angst-ridden teens. According to a “How Scream-o are you?” quiz, I rank as the “off the wall, underground as hell Scream-o,” in part because I have heard of The Blood Brothers. In addition, I have been bestowed this title because I do not do the following things at rock shows: A.) Cartwheel into people’s faces; B.) Jump up and down on my imaginary pogo stick, trying desperately to get an autograph; or C.) Bring on the mosh. I digress.

Is it just me or has their been a recent overabundance of new genres surfacing? Without sounding too Seinfeldian, What is post-rock? I understand the characteristics of the genre, and what sound I can expect from bands tagged with the brand. Post-bop, post-punk, post-grunge (Creed and Candlebox, bleh), post-experimental, post-hardcore, postromantic and post-minimalist. The grandfathers of these “post” movements are postromantic; more specifically, anything after romanticism or post-bop that surfaced in the 1960s.

Faithful readers, I urge you to make a pact

Watch out Barbie. A rival pink icon is capturing the heart of little girls around the world.

And, though Barbie’s fans dump her by the end of childhood...

Arts 6 Verde Art Gallery displays beauty Anyone who has walked into an art exhibit–particularly one featuring sculpture–is surely acquainted with the term...

Music 9 Unicorns are musicians, too “Someone’s gonna die,” Nicholas “Niel” Diamond says of his band’s stage show. “If there’s anybody with a pacemaker in the room...

Calendar

12 The best little jazz band in town: Edison Jazz Band If you’re in the mood for live jazz, spend this weekend with Edison Middle School’s jazz band–but don’t be fooled by their young age.

Film

21 Chasing Liberty? Nah, run away

Volume 2, Number 2 COVER DESIGN | Mark Hauge

Editor in chief Marissa Monson Art Directors Meaghan Dee & Carol Mudra Copy Chief Chris Ryan Music Jacob Dittmer Art Katie Richardson Film Paul Wagner Community Emily Wahlheim Calendar Maggie Dunphy Photography Editor Christine Litas Calendar Coordinators Lauren Smith, Cassie Conner, Erin Scottberg Photography Christine Litas, Katie Richardson Copy Editor Chris Ryan Designers Mark Hauge, Maggie Dunphy, Paul Wagner, Jacob Dittmer Production Manager Theon Smith Editorial Adviser Elliot Kolkovich Sales Manager Lindsey Benton Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory

with me at this very moment. No more genres.

Erase emo from your mind, and don’t prescribe to labeling bands like Death Cab For Cutie with this awful but easy term stemming from the word “emotional.” Once again, very specific. Children of the emo, I urge you to cut your comb-over and listen to some Tom Waits.

So-called “emo,” when done well, can sound like Death Cab For Cutie or Rainer Maria. I’m not knocking the music. Although Rainer Maria was named after a famous poet, I’m not sure if their music is any more emotional, than say, Nick Drake, that on an emotional level could be called the grand poobah of emo, but he is referred to as a more reputable singer/songwriter.

Before I get angry letters from high school yearbook staffs, I want to make a disclaimer.

The tag “emo” discredits music that is good.

Yes, some of it is good. Music critics, including myself on occasion, use this term because it’s easy, and it means we don’t have to stretch ourselves and actually describe the sound.

Lumping bands like Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab seems like a crime against humanity, but believe me, it happens. The moral is obvious here. Stop placing general labels on artists that take pride and time in crafting their sound. Don’t make up a genre for one or two specific bands because it gives you cred.

Just listen and enjoy.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries actress Sarah Jessica Parker announced recently that she washes her hair with Mane 'N' Tail shampoo, a product made for horses. I recommend that you consider switching to it, too. It's time to please your inner thoroughbred, whose animal intelligence and wild vitality will be essential to you in the coming weeks.You're finally ready to activate higher levels of ambition; to enter a bigger race for a better prize.

Humanity. Is it crazy and self-defeating to want both things? Guilty Leo" Dear Guilty Leo:You've summed up a dilemma that many Leos are wrestling with. My advice? Honor both your urge to express beauty and your desire to aid your fellow humans. I have a vision of you wearing a gold tiara and Prada's Sculpted d'Orsay pumps as you frame a wall for a new house in Haiti.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): "Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King" is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed movies released in 2003. Yet some of its fervent fans have come forward to identify its many problems with continuity. Did you notice that Frodo's scar migrates from his right cheek in one scene to his left cheek in a later scene? That's just one of over 30 flaws registered by readers of the moviemistakes.com website. I applaud this effort. I've always believed that the most useful critiques often come from people who deeply appreciate the subject they're critiquing.This so happens to be your mandate in the coming week, Taurus: Compassionately assess what needs improvement about everything you love.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I predict that 2004's mysterious gifts will free you from your old self. At least one of your inhibitions will disappear. Attacks of self-consciousness will diminish in frequency and intensity. You'll realize how fun it is to rebel against your antiquated image.The only new taboo you might take on is a taboo against imitating the overused shticks that have worked for you in the past. Because of these explosive improvements in your relationship with brash spontaneity, you may be ready to acquire your porn name. Here are two suggestions about how to generate the new moniker. 1. Combine the name of your first pet with the name of the street where you lost your virginity. 2. Go to www.mypornname.com and follow the directions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): My survey of New Year's resolutions

by Geminis reveals some surprising trends. Twenty-one percent of you have vowed to lose weight in 2004, but 26 percent of you hope to gain weight. Thirty-six percent of you plan to launch a new hobby, whereas 58 percent want to get rid of one of your hobbies so as to have more time for the others. While 31 percent of you are plotting to supercharge your ambitions or career, 42 percent of you are quite sure you want to work less and cultivate more leisure and luxury. Finally, 16 percent of you want more "espresso sex" -- quickies with casual acquaintances -- while 69 percent have your hearts set on deep, slow, cozy love-making with emotionally intelligent partners who crave cuddling.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): To frame your assignment this week, I'm plundering an old horoscope from "The Onion" (www.theonion.com), America's finest source of news and entertainment.

"Even the mighty Ozymandias, king of kings, was brought low by time," the 'scope read. "If possible, live your life without this mysterious phenomenon." To help you carry out this difficult but rewarding task, Libra, here are a few tips: 1. In your initial attempt, don't overdo it. Spend no more than three days eluding the oppressive grip of time.2.Hide all clocks and watches.3.Read historical novels and watch movies set in other eras. 4. Fantasize about what you were in your previous incarnations and what you'll be in your future lives.5.Meditate on Plato's idea that "Time is a moving image of eternity."

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The "Weekly World News" reports that U.S. President George W. Bush, the world's most famous Cancer, plans to invade the moon and declare it the 51st state.To fill the office of the moon's live-in governor, Bush intends to appoint his former foe Al Gore, who garnered 540,520 more votes than the President in the election of 2000. In the weeks ahead, I urge you Crabs to come up with an equally nutty and brilliant strategy as you expand your empire to exotic new locales and shake off old adversaries.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): "When in a doughnut-eating competition," writes Esquire's Cal Fussman, "press down hard on each one before biting into it. If you don't, the air inside will bloat your belly and you'll get blown out after six." I suggest you regard this as your metaphor to live by in the coming week, Scorpio.

Squeeze out all the filler that might dilute your enjoyment of the really killer stuff. Don't get bogged down in empty symbolism and vacant fantasies that wear down your competitive edge.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): "Dear Doctor Rob: I'm battling mixed emotions. On the one hand, I have frequent surges of intense compassion that make me want to build houses for poor folks.

On the other hand, I'm beset by flashes of vanity that make me want to spend my money on Prada shoes and expensive jewelry rather than on trips to Third World countries to help Habitat for

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): In Greek myth, Psyche was a pure-hearted young woman whose misadventures with love got her into trouble. One day she found herself at the mercy of the goddess Aphrodite, who commanded her to sort a big heap of mixed millet, wheat, and poppy seeds into separate piles. You're now in a situation that reminds me of Psyche's predicament,

We reserve the right to edit submissions.

Buzz will not publish a letter without the verbal consent of the writer prior to publication date. Free speech is an important part of the democratic process. Exercise your rights.

All editorial questions or letters to the editor should be sent to buzz@readbuzz.com or 244-9898 or buzz, 57 E. Green St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Buzz magazine is a student-run publication of Illini Media Company and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of the University of Illinois administration, faculty or students.

Copyright Illini Media Company 2004

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You now have the power to design and implement a fresh version of fate for yourself. This window of opportunity won't last long, though, so I suggest you act with swift decisiveness.To guide your work, I offer two observations.The first is from Alan Kay, who conceived the laptop computer: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." The second is my paraphrase of astrologer Hadley Fitzgerald's paraphrase of Ram Dass: "On the one hand, everything is preordained. On the other hand you have complete free will. When you truly grasp that paradox, you're no longer a slave of your conditioning."

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian singer Justin Timberlake suffered a temporary blow to his reputation last November.

Speaking to ABC-TV's Diane Sawyer, his ex-lover Britney Spears implied that he is under-endowed in a part of his anatomy that most men take very seriously. It didn't take long for Timberlake's grandmother to come to his defense. "I helped raise him, and I can assure you that there's nothing wrong with him physically," 70-year-old Sadie Bomar told the press. I predict you will soon undergo a similar fall and redemption, Aquarius. Start rounding up the allies you will want to testify in your behalf.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): "Thinking outside of the box presupposes you were able to think in it." This gem from automotive executive Bob Lutz sets the tone for your new plan of action, Pisces. In the coming week, you should concentrate on understanding your life's long-term trends from an inside-the-box perspective. Stick closely to what you actually know, as opposed to what you might speculate or fantasize. Confine your analysis to the data you can definitely confirm. Starting next week, it'll be time to think outside the box. Having prepared a strong foundation, you will have ensured that your imagination will provide useful visions when you finally unleash it.

HOMEWORK: Name ten ☎ Rob Brezsny's Free Will ✍ items from among your perAstrology beautyandtruth

sonal possessions that you would put in a time capsule to be dug up by your descendants in 500 years.

Tell us at www.freewillastrology.com.

@ f r e e w i l l a s t r o l o g y. c o m 415.459.7209(v)• 415.457.3769 http://www.freewillastrology. com P.O. Box 798 San Anselmo, CA 94979

CROSSWORD PUZZLE - ANSWERS ON PAGE 7

stat

E-mail us at buzz@readbuzz.com or you can send us a letter at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820.

Sagittarius. Is there any hope for you to complete your own version of this seemingly impossible task? Yes, there is -- especially if you garner the kind of help that Psyche did. Feeling compassion for her plight, thousands of ants swarmed to her aid, separating the seeds for her overnight. Can you call on an equivalent ally?

-M.M.

15 Stay out of sight 16 TV family member

Got an opinion?

odds & end

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

ACROSS

PHOTO | CHRISTINE LITAS

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JANUARY 15-21, 2004 | I DON’T WANT SCHOOL TO START

1 Savvy 7 Basketball player’s

After watching President Bush’s daughters rebel throughout American territory, one may wonder what would happen if they were set loose...

BUZZ STAFF

buzz

whose words are often bleeped 17 Layperson in a monastery 18 “And?” 19 Not at all shady 21 Diamond with a mike 22 They may hold money for passengers 23 Run off, in the old days 24 Beekeeper in a 1997 film 25 A hero may have it 29 Tallies: Abbr.

30 Clipped 32 At the time of 33 QB Detmer and others 34 Place to display goods 38 Downed, as shots 41 No longer work

42 Caught on camera 46 Like some dis-

counted mdse.

47 Receives eagerly 50 It may be for the birds 51 Four in an acre 53 “What have you been up to lately?” response 55 Aplenty, once 56 Not work independently 58 Part of some platters 61 Conductor knighted in 1996 62 Tundra borderer 63 Painter Meissonier 64 Taboo 65 Worrywart’s words DOWN Casting event Ochlocracy Siren Have second thoughts about 5 “___ le feste” (“Rigoletto” aria) 6 Sticks, in a way 1 2 3 4

7 React to some-

thing hilarious

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8 Court great 9 Grp. concerned

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with traveling 10 Part of some letters 11 Certain Iraqi 12 Bump 13 Cause of some attacks 14 Business setback 20 It’s associated with dens: Abbr.

23 North Dakota city 26 Cravings 27 When D.S.T. begins 28 Call from the field 31 London’s ___ Court 35 Player of Caroline in “Caroline and the City” 36 Questionable gift 37 1996 song that was #1 for 14 weeks 38 Dish Network rival 39 Picked-out material?

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eager 43 Discussion 44 Not thinking of others 45 Thaw

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crazy eights 49 Burst 52 Loser 54 Land, in Lyon 56 Mobility improver

57 Actor Reginald,

who played both Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes 59 Pitch preceder 60 Under the table

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WHAT’S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION? BROKEN IT YET? | DATEXXXX, 2004 buzz

z buz January 15-21, 2004 Arts | Entertainment | Community

FREE!

COMMUNIT Y

Parasol owner talks music (Page 5)

ARTS

Look with your hands at Verde’s new exhibit (Page 6) MUSIC

The Unicorns are people, too (Page 9)

CALENDAR

Greedy Loves and Dan Darrah (Page 12) FILM

In America strikes home (Page 20)